Making Connections – Local woman reunites long-lost photos with family members
ATTLEBORO, Mass. – They call her The Photo Angel.
Attleboro, Mass., resident Kate Kelley spends her spare time connecting people with long-lost photographs of their ancestors.
It all started last spring with a box of old photos of her great-grandparents.
“There were many photos of my great-grandparents’ friends mixed in with family photos,” Kelley said. “My mom and I had heard so many stories about these people growing up, but now the two families are a couple of generations removed. I thought: wouldn’t it be nice to get these pictures back to family members, so they can cherish them and pass them on for posterity?”
That was her very first success story.
“They were so excited to receive the photos. It felt so good,” she said. “I decided I could see myself doing more of these.”
Since then, she has reunited hundreds of photographs, connecting people across hundreds of miles during a time when human connection is severely lacking.
She looks for photos, often in local antique shops, that are labeled with the person’s name, and possibly a location. With those two clues, she uses websites like Ancestry, MyHeritage and Find A Grave to track down living relatives who might be interested in the photos.
Kelley eventually started to chronicle her success stories on her Facebook group The Photo Angel. The name was bestowed upon Kelley by an early follower of her work.
The page is growing in popularity, with more than 7,000 members.
She started keeping track of the places she has sent photos using a large map and pins. Her goal is to reach all 50 states by the end of the year — and she’s already well on the way, with about 10 more to go.
She’s even sent photos to the United Kingdom, Germany, New Zealand, Australia and Canada.
“It’s so fun. You never know what’s around the next corner,” she said. “I’ve been able to meet so many people and hear so many stories. It feels like I’ve been preparing for this role my whole life.”
A few months ago, a couple in Maine stumbled upon three steamer trunks filled with photographs, letters and other ephemera while renovating a historic home. They’d seen Kelley’s Facebook page, and reached out to invite her to take the items.
“I felt like I hit the lottery when I got that phone call,” she said. “I just sent a box full of photos to a cousin in Missouri who is related to the family that owned the house. They’ll be scanning the photos and sending them out to other relatives. Kindness begets kindness … it just keeps going.”
She usually connects with relatives through genealogy sites, since she knows they’re interested in their family history.
Through every connection made, Kelley forms her own bond with the subjects in the photos as she learns more about them through her research and from their living relatives.
“It’s wonderful because it brings the photo to life,” she said. “These were living, breathing people who had their own dreams and their own stories to tell.”
In the trunks, for example, she was able to read newspaper clippings, medical documents and journals, gaining an even deeper insight into the subjects in the pictures.
She shares snippets of those stories on her Facebook page, where other people may share their own reunion stories. The purpose of the page is not for people to post photos for Kelley to identify, but she said other pages like that exist.
“It’s taken me on a very exciting journey,” she said. She has even been able to meet with family members, when they’re local.
A stack of photos purchased at the Rhode Island Antique Mall in Pawtucket depicted members of the Ashley family, who owned The Ashley Building in downtown Attleboro where they operated a pharmacy.
The pictures were returned to relatives in R.I., who invited Kelley to join them on Thanksgiving. Kelley was able to deliver them more photos that she found, and hear stories about the people in them.
The trouble in only posting her success stories, is that Kelley makes the reunion process look easy. She has a “challenges” folder filled with photos she hasn’t been able to reunite — yet.
“I always go back to it. I’m hesitant to ever send them back to the antique store,” she said.
Sometimes, though, the process from start to finish is relatively quick.
“I’ve gone to an antique store and connected with a relative on the same day,” she said. “I wish they were all that way.”
One of her favorite reunions so far was with the Meola family in West Boylston, Mass. She purchased some high school portraits at Stillwater Antiques, and later learned that the family operates a well-known dairy business in the area.
“I was able to track down a son through a genealogy website and when we met he brought their family photo album. He had never seen this high school portrait,” she said.
They stopped at the dairy for ice cream.
As word spreads about Kelley’s page, she said she’s connecting with more and more people worldwide.
“Sometimes I’ll post a photo and someone will comment: ‘oh my God, that’s my old neighbor!’” she said.
“It’s been a truly incredible journey, she added.
Kelley’s first live speaking engagement is set for the Portsmouth Public Library on Sunday, Jan. 30, from 2 to 3 p.m.