You would think that favorite photos for family history would be old ones that have been discovered whilst researching or talking to family. But, interestingly, my favorites are the photos I have taken myself whilst visiting some of the places of my ancestry.
The first is a photo of an old church. Recently I asked several members of my family including my father and mother to come with me to the towns where they were born and show me some of the family properties. But this church was one they did not know about.
My great, great, great grandfather, Richard Adams donated the land on which this church was built to the Zion Baptist Church in 1869.
I had read about the church in a family history and wanted to see if it was still standing. The actual location in Newham, Victoria took some tracking down but imagine our excitement as we rounded a bend in the road to see the actual church still standing and the sign at the front still visible.
The next photo was taken on the same day. The Cook family, were blacksmiths. So Mum and Dad directed us to the location of the old blacksmith business in Rochford, Victoria. Once again we were surprised when we saw an old sign on one of the sheds saying “Cooks Smiddy”.
Now to my father’s side of the family. This is a photo of the house my grandmother grew up in. That’s her with her father and mother. It still looks very much the same today as it did over 100 years ago.
And the final one is the stained glass window that features my great grandparents names. They were god fearing Irish Catholic folk and the story goes that the local parish priest told the family that he would “tie you to the ground” if a donation was not made towards the new church. It is a beautiful window isn’t it?
A Genealogy Journey 
These photos are stunning Pauline! How lucky that such tangible and recognisable evidence remains of your ancestors lives!
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Thanks Anne. Yes it so exciting to see these landmarks. I have also enjoyed sifting through the actual physical land records etc at the Public Records Office but that’s another story………
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I love that you have found places in your history and have been able to take photos. Well done! I love the stain glass window photo.
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Hello Marcia, It was a wonderful day travelling to these places with a mini bus load of our family. The stain glass window I looked at each Sunday as a child and it really is beautiful. Thanks for reading
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A great idea from the prompt.
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Thanks Sharon. Trying to think outside the box.
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Hi Pauline, thanks for visiting my Finding Hidden Treasures post! I’m also the same. I’ve been taking visiting places in the old family photos I’ve found and been taking photos. These are the photos of Sunnyhurst that my Great Grandfather built in 1906 and where my mum lived from 1938 to 1947 – http://suewaters.com/portfolio/sunnyhurst-history-and-photos/
@suewaters
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What a beautiful property! How wonderful to see it still looking so magnificent in 2017.
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Hi Pauline, i am also related to the cooks of cooks smiddy. I would love to see your side of the family tree.
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Hi Chloe. Great to meet a cousin. Do you subscribe to Ancestry? If so my “McCarthy” family tree is public so you can have a look at the Cook side of the tree.
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Hi Pauline. I was looking at an old photo of this building with David Cook standing out front and typed it in google and got your site. This was my father’s, mother’s, father’s, blacksmith building. Are you able to share the address so I can take a look and a photo please.
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Hi Neil. I am glad you reached out. The address is Monument Road Rochford, just off Rochford Road. I wonder if I could have a look at the photo? I am not sure what our direct relationship would be, but my Great Grandfather was Ernest John Cook. If you are willing/able to share the photo, my email address is hello@paulinewilson.com.au
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