Trip to Ely

Israel F. Shaffer

Last week I wrote about the anticipation and excitement building around my trip to Ely, Iowa, to visit my grandmother's cousin and scan family photos. I tried to tell myself not to get too excited so I wasn't disappointed.

But there was no need for that.

Dan and Jan were extremely gracious to allow me into their home for what became four solid hours of scanning, scanning scanning! I came home with 179 new photos of the Shaffer and Richards family, including a few I had seen before and most that were new to me.

There are too many gems to select the "best" to post here, but I will post a few that spoke to me for a number of reasons. First, is this oval photo of my great-great grandfather, Israel F. Shaffer. Until my trip to Ely I had a handful of photos including Israel, all from his later years. Seeing this photo of a young Israel was absolutely fantastic, especially paired with the young photo of Bessie Dan had emailed the week prior.

Bessie (Richards) Shaffer with her
mother, Katie (Foxwell) Richards

There were many photos of my great-great-great grandmother, Katie (Foxwell) Richards, which was a special treat. Katie lived to be 99 1/2 years old and there are many stories about her in the family. It's great to see her sweet, smiling face in so many images. Even though our times on this earth are separated by 30 years, I can't help but feel a connection and admiration for her in the photos. That's what happens when you do family history research - you start to feel like you know your ancestors.

The photo I chose to post today is one of Katie and her daughter (my great-great grandmother) Bessie. It's just a random candid picture, but it's so incredibly warm and lovely that I just adore it.

This trip didn't satiate my desire for family photos. In fact, it only made it more intense. Now it's time to comb the family tree and figure out who's next. Watch out, cousins, I'm on my way!