Luck, Serendipity, and the Kindness of Strangers Work Together to Save Family Artifacts

Longtime readers of both this blog and our StLGS Quarterly journal know that people frequently contact StLGS after discovering photographs, diaries, or other family memorabilia. Although we try very hard to reunite objects with their families if there is identifying information, we aren’t always able to find matches. Recently, however, we have had some heartwarming success that we wanted to share with you as a way to encourage you to identify your photographs, write down and publish those all-important family stories, and reach out to help others when possible. Ironically, both of our success stories start with a woman called Bobbi(e)!

The first of our reunions occurred the end of last summer when we were contacted by a man who was cleaning out his sister-in-law's storage area. He found a box of photographs and papers, some of which had identifying information, and he contacted the society to see if we would accept them. (Stepping out of my role as blogger now, as from here on this story gets personal . . .) I agreed to look at what he had, but when he brought the box into our office, I discovered that many of the items were not labelled. However, as he was talking about the contents of his box, he began to mention some things he had seen that set off bells for me. Unbelievably, I recognized the family name in the box, and as I looked through the documents, I realized I actually knew this family. I had been very friendly with the woman, nicknamed Bobbie, whose possessions he had. Bobbie died a few years ago, and, although she left behind descendants, somehow these valuable treasures had become separated from those who would most appreciate them. As luck would have it, I was still in touch with the eldest of her grandchildren, J. M., now married and with three children of his own. I gladly accepted the box and wasted no time in emailing him.

The day I was able to pass this box of treasure back to its family was immensely rewarding. J. M. had never seen any of the photos and certificates in the box. He recognized his father as a child, as well as many of his relatives. Most touching was to see J. M.’s eyes fill with tears when he found a single photo of a grandparent whose surname had been passed on as J. M.’s own middle name and which he had given as a first name to his eldest son. Luck and serendipity had paid a huge part in this exchange, as well as the kindness of a stranger who didn’t just toss out these family treasures. (Photo of Bobbie on the right from the author's collection; used with permission)

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Our second reunion came just a few weeks ago when our Ask Louie team received a note from another kind stranger, this time a woman named Bobbi in California, who had discovered a journal at an estate sale. The journal consisted of letters written by a Mrs. Cummings to her children while she was on a cruise to South America in 1936. Bobbi wrote, “I took it home and read about J. H. Cummings and her son Harry Joe. . . . I found it so interesting, I couldn’t put it down.” Intrigued, she began doing some research, and she discovered a biography of the journal’s author, Jane “Dearie” Cummings, written by one of our StLGS members, Abbie Hawkins (Cantwell) Bast. Bobbi asked us to see if Abbie might be interested in getting the journal back, and our Ask Louie team volunteer, Debbie, contacted her.

What followed was another lovely and touching reunion. Abbie is an avid family history researcher and treasures a collection of handmade beaded purses she inherited from her grandmother Dearie. After Debbie arranged for Bobbi to return the journal to her, Abbie told us that Dearie had typed the journal entries. Abbie said that Dearie “always packed in her things to travel her featherweight Singer sewing machine (to sew her beaded purses) and her small typewriter (to type her own letters).” She added, “I am thrilled that someone would take the time and trouble to read a lost journal.” When Debbie asked if we could share Abbie’s correspondence, she heartily agreed, saying “With people reading it, it might generate more interest . . . You never know what gets the spark.”

Abbie first wrote about Dearie and her stunning beaded purses for our St. Louis City/County Biographies Project. She then went on to write a much longer article on Dearie and her fascinating life for our StLGS Quarterly. Although our first “Bobbi(e)” story was based on luck, our second had a happy ending because Dearie’s biography was easy to find on our website. If you have an ancestor who lived or worked in St. Louis, we hope you will follow Abbie’s advice, and use this blog post as the spark to submit a biography or two to the project. (Photo of Dearie Cummings in the collection of Abbie Bast; used with permission.)

If you are a member of StLGS, you can read Dearie’s story in volume 53, pgs. 72–75, of the summer 2020 Quarterly. The shorter biography of Dearie that attracted Bobbi’s attention is on our website. Complete instructions for submitting biographies are there too, and we look forward to your submissions.