We sat under the shade of a big tree on a stretch of lawn and looked through a box of old photographs and papers from Mark's family. I've started doing family history for his side, which I have absolutely become addicted to because Mark knows so little about his family.
The photograph above is of a double wedding of his father's parents, Lillian and Henry Holsten (on the left) and another relative (maybe a sister?) and her husband. Henry was an asbestos worker and worked on ships. Lillian (Humphreys) lost her parents at an early age and was raised by an uncle and aunt. By researching records and reading old letters, I learned that after Lillian's death, Henry married again, and some family members were not happy with his new union. This was something that no one knew and I love, love, love, knowing their stories! It makes the roots of our family feel deeper and I love being able to connect Mark to his past.
Post Script: I was able to track down a distant family member from the Humphreys' family line who had done a bunch of genealogy for the family. He then put us in touch with another distant relative named William Humphreys who is a distant cousin of Mark's. We spoke with him on the phone (he lives in West Virginia). He actually knew Mark when Mark was a baby and filled in a bunch of gaps in his family story that I'd been curious about. Turns out Mark's great-great grandfather fought in the Civil War and his great-grandfather remembered the sounds of the battles he heard as a child. I couldn't be more excited to learn these details, and it's not even my own family!!
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