Like a fisherman who selects the right bait to attract the right fish, family history bloggers try to attract the attention of those who are searching our families too by blogging, maintaining an online family tree, posting memorials on Findagrave, and even sharing old photos on Instagram and Pinterest.
While my blog is small with a small readership, I have connected OR RE-connected with cousins who willingly share information and photos. Just last week, my sister sent a photo I had posted on my “Photo Friday” series to our second cousin Joel to see if it was of his mother. He returned the favor with a baby picture of his grandfather, my grandmother’s baby brother.
Joseph Calhoun Rucker Jr
3 Apr 1911 - 21 Mar 1975
I had never seen this photo before. I knew Uncle Joe Rucker only as a grown man whose cheek was always full of chewing tobacco.
Joe had a reputation for being rather wild and crazy, maybe gruff. As a kid, I thought he was funny, but maybe he wasn’t. His wife Janice was the total opposite – quiet, sweet, welcoming, just the nicest person. Our family always wondered how she put up with him.
Joe Rucker and Janice Rucker, my grandparents Lucille Rucker Davis and Orvin Davis,
Del Palmer (family friend) and my sister Mary Jollette in front
1962 Virginia Beach, Virginia
But I must say, Joe certainly was a pretty baby.
I thank Cousin Joel for sharing the sweet side of his grandfather, my granduncle.
Amy Johnson Crow continues to challenge genealogy
bloggers and non-bloggers alike to think about our ancestors and share a story
or photo about them. The challenge is “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.”
Wendy
© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.
