Lost Images Reunited

31/12/2025

2025: A Round Up of Our Second Year

What an incredible year 2025 has been for "Lost Images Reunited"!
Since January, I have worked on..138 cases, ranging from single Victorian cartes-de-visite to sprawling family albums.

So far, I have..31 confirmed reunitees, which is a 22% success rate, not bad I think. Even when I don't get a direct "success," I’ve noticed that items I promote for sale on eBay—which often have little to no interest initially—frequently sell shortly after I message people about them.

These successes consist of 7 albums and 45 photographs, which have been reunited.

This year also saw the unofficial formation of our "Special Investigation Unit," led by the brilliant Rose. Her knack for digging up those hard-to-find details—like tracking down the inquest report for Captain Evan Evans—has been a game-changer for the more tragic and complex cases.

We were also in Who Do You Think You Are Magazine in May (thanks Abby) and also started up a Wordpress blog to mirror this page.

I’ve also noticed a much kinder reception lately; even when people aren't interested in buying a specific photo, they often become followers and offer wonderful words of encouragement.

I’ve been so touched by how generous everyone has been in sharing their family sagas and interesting facts about their ancestors, from the sugar plantations of Jamaica to the blacksmith shops of Wharton. I feel like an honorary family member to so many of you now!

As I look forward to "2026" (blimey, you blink and then another year goes by!), I’m currently preparing a short talk for my local genealogical and family history group to share the highs and lows of this fulfilling hobby. I want to say a massive thank you to everyone for your interest, support and encouragement.

30/12/2025

case #152: The Challenge of the Sparkhill Smiths

I bought this pair of albums a long time ago on eBay because they were listed at a low price with absolutely no interest. Despite the low price, they looked fascinating, filled with beautiful artwork and annotated photographs, I thought it was going to be easy to identify them. However, once they were delivered and I sat down for a good look, my heart sank: the main family name appeared to be "Smith"! As any genealogy enthusiast knows, a common name can be a brick wall, so I put the albums aside for a while. That was until Rose, our Senior Investigator (well she is the only one, but she still is great) in the Special Investigation Unit, came on the scene and managed to crack the case!

Through her research, she identified the subjects as Gwendoline ("Gwennie") Smith (1893-1976) and her sister, Hilda Julia Smith (1889-1964). The albums paint a picture of a very sociable pair, packed with photographs of holidays and day trips and friends, alongside charming drawings gifted by their companions. The girls lived at 848 Stratford Road, Sparkhill, Yardley, Birmingham, where their father, William, served as the sub-postmaster and stationer. Both Gwennie and Hilda worked right alongside him as clerks in the shop.

Finding a "reunitee" for this branch is proving tricky, as it doesn't appear that Gwennie or Hilda had any children of their own. Gwennie never married and Hilda married later in life. I’ve been looking into their Aunt, Emily Whitehead (née Smith), in the 1921 census for clues. That census contains some truly poignant details in the final column: it suggests Gwennie’s grandmother was blind from birth.

Because there are no existing trees for their parents (I think they may feature in a pair of photographs, we are now looking at the siblings of their mother and father to find a descendant. In the meantime, I have contacted the manager of Gwennie’s grave on "Find a Grave" to see if they’d like a short bio and some photos added, just in case we can't find a family home for the physical albums.

Does anyone have any connections to the Smiths or Whiteheads of Sparkhill, or perhaps recognize the address at 848 Stratford Road? I would love to see these sociable sisters' artwork reunited with a distant cousin! In the meantime the albums remain safely with me

13/12/2025

case #135: A Bouquet of Flowers in the Reeds
I was intrigued when I found this postcard one morning, I really liked the photograph and wondered about the relationships in the photograph. I loved the message on the back which reads…

"Dear Auntie, I only just received these (photos) from Scotland as I had some more done you know. How are you Auntie and everyone, You will be surprised to hear I have broken off my engagement and have another boy. Alice Sumpter is married last Saturday week I had some cake. Love to all Affect(ionate) Niece Rose."

It also has a name and address, which were invaluable in determining who these people are.

This photograph shows Rose Lydia Reed (1883-1963) with two of her sisters, Daisy (1878-1937) and Lily (born 1892) , along with Daisy's son, Charles William Henry Skinner (1900-1952), apparently known as "Willie"

The message on the postcard is such a lovely, personal glimpse into life back then, especially Rose's casual mention of breaking one engagement and having a "new boy"! Rose married Phillip Ryan in 1910, so, unless she was very fickle, perhaps this "new boy" became her husband. Rose and Daisy both eventually emigrated, with Rose following her sister by 1913.

The photograph has been reunited with Willie’s Grandson in Australia , which is fantastic given Willie had emigrated there. The reunitee shared some interesting, though sad, details about "Willie" Skinner's life. Tragically, when he was just 15 years old, he lost his arm in a freak accident, see the newspaper clipping the reunitee provided. Despite this hardship, he went on to have a full and happy life. The reunitee also shared Willie’s school photographs, one from England and one from Australia, taken only a few year apart, they really show a contrast, it really looks like two different worlds!

I’m so glad this little snapshot of the Reed sisters and Willie has made its long journey back to the family in Australia. I have so many links to Australia myself - so many branches of my tree end up there, much more so than any other country.

07/12/2025

case #147: Rose triumphs again with this Shoemaker and his wife

I have had this photograph for a while in my "interesting pile"! It's a characterful portrait of “Grandad and Grandma Moorewood”, likely taken or copied around the 1910s. I bought this one myself, thinking it looked promising! The photo came with the intriguing annotation "C.E. Hamilton" and lots of studio information. I am often struck by these photographs how the men's fashion seems far more flattering than the women's (I certainly like Grandad’s coat , watch chain and cane more than Grandma’s headgear).

I wasn't having much luck until the excellent Rose (LIRs own Special Investigation Unit lead) came to the rescue by researching the photographer's studio location in Congleton, and building a small family tree. She discovered that the Moorewoods married into the Hamilton family, which explained the annotation—it referred to their granddaughter, Caroline Hamilton.

This is Hugh Moorewood (1856-1923) and his wife, Mary Moorewood (née Hancock 1857-1920). Hugh was a shoemaker in Congleton, and he and Mary certainly had their hands full as they had lots of children! I wonder if any of their children or grandchildren continued the shoemaking trade? I come from a long line of shoemakers in Portsmouth (the Smees) and it seems to have been common to pass on this trade - everyone needs shoes. The family connection to C.E. Hamilton (Caroline), who was known to the reunitee as “Auntie Carrie,” really helped complete the picture. It's lovely when a small clue like a name on the back ends up being the key to the whole story!

I'm really pleased to say this photograph has now been reunited with a Great Granddaughter! (who actually doesn't live far from me). She was especially delighted because she also possesses Hugh and Mary’s family bible, which was passed down, and was actually the item that started her on her own family history journey. She didn’t have a photograph of her Great Grandparents, so that is even more pleasing.

02/12/2025

My Great Grandfather has made the front page!
Not a lost image, but just sharing that my research and my Great Grandfather's story is in the Christmas Issue of Who Do You Think You Are Magazine! Ironically photographs of William are very hard to find! It is strange to think that our ancestors would never consider that one day their skeletons in the cupboard would be of such interest (and they would have got away with it “if it wasn't for those pesky kids” ;)

23/11/2025

case #155: Annotations, seaweed and emigration!
I have found some wonderful albums recently, and this one was packed with information and lovely portraits! There was a particularly useful and fantastic annotated portrait of Caroline Millier (nee Manning) and her ten children (I wish my Great Grandparents did that with their 10 children!). The album contains many additional useful clues, including a photograph of William Henry Elston (1852-1939), with annotations that state he was a GWR Manager at Derby who emigrated to Australia around 1910, and later in the album a picture of his sons likely sent back to the family. (there’s also a statement that the family bible went with them, you can hear the longing for that information. I wonder if that still exists and who has it now? If anyone can track them down that would be great to add to the story). So it was relatively easy to track down who they were and find family trees with these families in. Looking through the album and all the annotations it appears to have belonged to Charles Edgar Millier (1872-1956), top right in the photograph, and his wife Alice Mary Elston (1864-1958). It would seem, looking at the annotations, that they were made by their daughter Edith (1902-2000).
The family have shared with me a fantastic story about Augusta’s descendents, she is Charles’ eldest sister and is on the left in the photograph. She once worked as a schoolmistress, married Walter Drew and they had four children. Their eldest was Kathleen Mary, Kathleen studied botany and was one of the first women to graduate from Manchester University in 1922. She stayed on to research edible seaweed from the North Welsh coastline. Sadly, she had to give up her employment when she married Henry Wright Baker, an engineering professor. However, a fellowship allowed her to continue her vital research. Her story then takes on a surprising international turn when her discoveries about the life-cycle of seaweed helped Japanese seaweed farmers recover from poor harvests. To honor her, the Nori farmers in Uto, Japan, erected a memorial (see photograph) for her and celebrate the Drew Festival every year on April 14th. She is locally known as the Mother of the Sea. Isn't that an incredible legacy? I've included a photograph of the memorial the Nori farmers erected to Kathleen in Japan! .
Considering the context of the photograph featuring William Elston (Alice’s brother) and his sons in Australia, it's worth noting that emigration was significantly more prevalent in the past. In a world with far fewer communication channels—prior to email or Zoom—it was common for emigrants to lose touch with their family entirely. Consequently, photographs like this one would have been highly treasured possessions.
I am so pleased this album is now back with the family, reunited with a 1st cousin three times removed of Charles (they share the reunitees 3xGGparents). It’s great to hear a woman’s story like Kathleen’s, and the next time you have sushi, perhaps you will remember her!

09/11/2025

I've created a blog!

I am constantly thinking of ways to help people accept my messages at face value and not view them as a scam. Which is why I created this FB page, which has helped.

But of course, in order to view this you have to be a member of facebook, and not everyone is, and my target demographic are probably less likely to be on social media than average. |

So, I've started a blog (using the same content) and am gradually transferring these posts over. I will, in future be creating posts on both platforms. Please go and have a look - and leave comments if you'd like - it will help with the launch of it.

https://lostimagesreunited.wordpress.com

Do you think this is a good idea?
Would you respond better to a message from someone with a blog and page? Please let me know what you think.

Reuniting vintage photographs with their families so they can be treasured again.

08/11/2025

𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲 #𝟭4𝟭: Elusive Foxes

I bought this photograph a while ago. It came annotated with "Charles and Ida Fox," was taken in Liverpool, and even dated "4th March 1880." On the face of it, this looked like an easy case. I wasn't sure if they were husband and wife or perhaps siblings, but I thought it would be the work of a moment to track them down.

Well, this one proved surprisingly difficult, which is why I've had it a while. I had to call in what I am now referring to as the "Lost Images Reunited Special Investigations Unit"—who is actually my wonderful follower and now friend, Rose! Rose has helped me out on a few occasions now (you might remember her excellent work on other cases as a follower) and she loves digging a bit deeper into the ones I find difficult (I tend to stick to the "low hanging fruit"!). She has loads of research skills, and after constructing a short list and whittling it down, she found the answer. She is utterly brilliant and also really makes me laugh!

This is a portrait of siblings, Charles James and Ida Alma Fox. We think it was possibly taken to celebrate Charles' qualification as a Master Mariner (what we would recognise as a ship's Captain), a role that took him all over the world. Their father was also a mariner, and Charles was actually born in Cape Town, South Africa (Master Mariners regularly took their wives with them on ship). Charles was a good mariner, too—he invented a ship's hatch cover that was also a lifeboat! In 1880, the same year as this photo, he was awarded a bronze medal for "services to shipwrecked seamen" after he was involved in a rescue.

I'm thrilled to say the photograph has now been reunited with a Great Grandchild of Charles and Ida's sister, Emily Jane Fox. And Emily's story is just as fascinating! The reunitee told me:

"Emily Jane Fox... married Elias Joste in Chile – they are my great-grandparents. Reportedly, it must be true, Elias had been shown a photograph of Emily Jane and asked her brother (which one, there were several who went to sea) whether she would consider coming to Chile to marry him. She was very brave and accepted… It was said to be a very happy marriage."

How amazing is that? She travelled all the way to Chile to marry a man who had only seen her photograph! I've included a photograph of Emily and Elias presumably taken in Chile.

This case has also brought Fox family members together as others have responded to my messages and I have been able to put them in contact with each other.

27/10/2025

case #137: The Typist, the Widow, and the Bootmaker
I found this fascinating photograph for sale on eBay. It had a lot of information on the back. It took some deciphering but there are interesting relationships and a few stories to tell here! Luckily there were plenty of names, including Alfred Woodruff, Emile Monchablon, and Annie Gilbert, so I was able to track them down and research them. This photograph was taken in the late 1890s or early 1900 in Wellingborough, where Alfred's family was from.

It all centres around Alfred Woodruff (born 1870, centre middle). Behind him are mother and son Elizableth Monchablon and her son Emile. Elizabeth (a widow, who had, with her late husband been a leading light in the emerging world of stenography) and Emile were so close to Alfred that they listed him as an "adopted son" on both the 1901 and 1911 census! Also in the photograph are Alfred's sisters: his older sister Annie Gilbert (b. 1864, on the right) and his youngest sister Louisa Robbins (Mary Louisa b. 1873). In 1906 Louisa married Walter Robbins in China, where he was a clergyman in Ningbo Cathedral. How Louisa came to be in China is unclear. As the annotation says, sadly it appears that Walter and Louisa's life together was sad and short, they had three children together, and Louisa dies shortly after the birth of her 3rd child. None of the children appear to have survived. Walter went on to remarry in 1912.
Alfred's own family was involved in boot manufacturing. Alfred began his working life selling boots, but during his time living with the Monchablons he seems to have been a typist and stenographer. He later returned to the trade as a boot buyer. This is probably how he met his wife Alice (20 years his junior!), who was the daughter of a boot shop manager. They married when Alfred was 50, they went on to have two children.
I am so happy to report that this photograph has now been reunited with the Great Great Granddaughter of Annie Gilbert (pictured on the right)! Which is a great outcome. It's wonderful when a photo with such a complex and interesting story finds its way back to the family.

26/10/2025

case #28: A Meticulous Gentleman

I bought this photograph a while ago, as I was intrigued by it. It's a portrait of Kenrick Alexander Dowse, and the back is annotated with an incredible amount of detail, including his exact age in years and days, and even his height! He does look quite particular in this photograph. I wonder if this was a photograph for an official reason? Perhaps it was taken around the time he qualified as a solicitor.

With a little research, I found that Kenrick did indeed become a solicitor and was eventually a partner in his own law firm. His father, Frederick, appears to have been a self made person, who set his son on a good path to succeed in life. Kenrick and his wife, Alice, married late (around 37) and didn't appear to have any children of their own.

I'm glad to say it has now been reunited with a relative. She told me that this has given her a stimulus to research this part of her family tree, which is always a wonderful outcome! It does appear to be quite interesting with an international feel and artists in the family (although sadly I couldn't find any of their art).

05/10/2025

case #132: Another Policeman!

I found another! You know I have a soft spot for photographs of policemen, as one of my own ancestors was one of the first policemen in Portsea. So I was delighted to find this portrait of a young officer. The back was clearly marked with his name, Leslie, his birthplace of Newlyn and that the photograph was taken in Plymouth. With all these clues, it was a relatively straightforward task to trace his family history and find some potential descendants to contact. In my research I was surprised to find that Crowle is quite a common name in Cornwall and also there there were quite a few PC Crowles - maybe there was a relative who inspired Leslie to join the force?

So, this is Leslie Crowle, born in Newlyn in 1909. He tragically lost his father at a very young age in the Battle of Jutland in 1916. He later joined the police force and moved to Plymouth, where he married and raised his own family. He went on to have an illustrious career which culminated in a role with the security department of the Foreign Office. This important position took him all over the world! I wonder if anyone can recognise where this photograph was taken (and I wonder what's behind the drape?)

I’m so pleased to say that this great photograph has now been reunited with Leslie’s grandchildren. They were delighted to receive this portrait of their grandfather as a young man in his police uniform. It’s always special when a photograph finds its way back to such close family who will treasure it and the memories it represents.

28/09/2025

I was having a play with AI today to see if it could generate a good image, possibly as a logo. I asked it to look like the back of an old photograph (cdv). It came up with these, what do you think? I'm pretty impressed. I particularly like the wear and tear on the light ones.