Follow Friday - Found Heirlooms on Ebay

I started this blog with very low expectations. I'd have some fun writing up the stories for my family and hopefully eventually find a cousin or two. Well, what a surprise! I have accomplished those two things but also much, much more! 

I'm not connected with many of my co-workers or local friends and family on Google Plus but there are a lot of genealogy folks there. One person I follow is Pam Beveridge of Found Heirlooms. The name kind of sums up what she does - she is a buyer & seller of heirlooms and works to reunite them with families. I also connected with Chris Dunham of The Maine Genealogy Network. Chris and I are distant cousins through my Dunham line. He has been incredibly helpful and pointed me toward some great finds like my 2X great-grandparents' divorce records. That made for some interesting blog posts. 

Recently, they teamed up to bring me one of the best finds yet! Pam noticed on E-bay some letters to a Timothy J. Carter in Bethel, Maine and messaged Chris about them. Chris recognized them as belonging to my 3X great-grandfather's brother, Timothy Jarvis Carter. Chris told Pam and she sent me a message. I quickly looked them up and entered a bid. Then I waited patiently, with fingers crossed, praying that the price would not escalate. And then last night, I learned that they are mine! I sent payment and am (not so) patiently waiting for them to arrive.

Upon closer inspection of the letters, I discovered that the letters were actually written by my 3rd great-grandfather, Elias Mellen Carter. He signed one E. M. and the other just Mellen. The seller had read the handwriting as "Miller." I can't wait to have them in my hands and transcribe them! Look for the blog posts soon. 

In the meantime, check out Found Heirlooms and Pam Beveridge on Google Plus and Chris Dunham's Maine Genealogy Network. You never know what connections will be made and what treasures may come your way but you've got to get your name out there to make it happen. 

Elias Mellen Carter and Timothy Jarvis Carter were sons of Dr. Timothy and Frances (Freeland) Carter. 
Elias married Rebecca Williamson - an Irish immigrant
Augustus Mellen Carter married Mary Frances Stanley
Edward Mellen Carter married Fannie May Capen
Thomas Richard Carter - my grandfather