It's Family Friday and I've got some BIG NEWS!!!
We’ve all seen a story on social media or mainstream news
about some random person making an unlikely discovery of another family’s
heirloom or other personal family effects. Little did I know that I would soon
become part of such a discovery!
A few
days ago I received a message from a good friend, Lorissa Edwards. She
mentioned that she had a project for me and that she would tell me about it
later. She called me that evening to tell me she had been out “thrifting” at a
local Goodwill and found some really cool art pieces. As the conversation
continued, she mentioned that she found a photo album that caught her
attention. As she thumbed through the album she discovered that there were some
personal photos inside the album. “Are you sure those aren’t stock images?” I
asked. She replied “No, these are someone’s personal photos - old photographs –
a couple look to be from the 1800’s! There are even handwritten letters from
1916 and letters typed on Emory University letterhead from the 1920’s and
1930’s!” I had to sit all the way up! “What?!” I exclaimed.
We continued talking about how we couldn’t believe she had
made such a discovery. She offered to drop the information to me the next day
and let me have at researching since that’s my thing. “Connecting families one
ancestor at a time” is what I do. We exchanged calls and messages over the next few days to
piece together the ins and outs of the matter and decided that we would try to
reunite this family with this information. If you are related to this family please contact madamancestry@gmail.com.
We also need your help in
spreading the word, so share, share, share! If no family members come forward
to claim this information by August 31, 2016, we discussed the possibility of donating this information to the Emory University Archives.
Take a good look at these photos and let us know if you recognize this family or if you are any relation to this family.
We are not sure who the woman on the left is, but the man and woman on the right we believe to be Mr. & Mrs. Ponder Lane Smith.
We believe the photo on the top left is an older photo of Mamie Harden (Hardin?) and the photo on the bottom left is a young photo of Silas "Sike" Harden (Hardin?) - his name is actually written on the back; The top right photo is believed to be Mamie; the middle photo is believed to be Rose (Rosa?), Mamie, and their other sisters Robin (Dee?), Frances, and Sarah; the bottom right photo is believed to be an older photo of Mamie and Silas "Sike" Harden (Hardin?).
This is a copy of the death notice for Ponder Lane Smith (P.L. Smith) along with a photo of his burial.
This is what we've concluded:
- Rose (Rosa?) was a nurse (and possibly a student) at Emory
- Rose and Mamie were sisters
- Rose married Robert "Bob" Young and Mamie married Silas "Sike" Harden (Hardin?). They are listed as Mrs. Robert Young and Mrs. S.S. Hardin in their father's death notice in the paper.
- Ponder Lane Smith (P.L. Smith) is the father of Rose and Mamie and three other daughters - Robin (Dee?), Sarah, and Frances, according to his 1939 death notice in the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
- The family was in Juliette (Monroe Co.), Atlanta, and Forsyth. Mamie and Silas were in Jacksonville, FL.
After reviewing additional records, it appears that Ponder Lane Smith (P.L. Smith) was married to Janette M. Sawyer and they had 7 daughters: Mamie (b. 1902); Robin D. (Dee?) (b. 1905); Rose (Rosa?) (b. 1907); Lillian (b. 1908); Willie (b. est. 1910); Frances (b. est. 1910); Sarah T. (b. est. 1910).
There were only five daughters listed in Ponder Lane Smith's death notice, so at this point we do not know what happened to the other two daughters. I've added images of the letters as well, in case this information can offer additional clues to possible relatives. Many of the letters have sections that are blurred to reserve sentiment for possible relatives. Again, we would like to reunite family members with this information, so if you are related to this family please contact madamancestry@gmail.com by August 31, 2016.
REMEMBER: It is so important that you do not throw out photos, letters, and other things of that sort. If you do not know what to do with them, donate them to a library or historical society so that they can be properly archived and preserved.
