Two weeks ago, the Lovely One and I were researching the family of Isaac Van Sciver, born in New Jersey in 1793. On 28 Sep 1816, he married Lucy Hutchinson in Gloucester County, New Jersey. Lucy was born in 1796 in New Jersey to "parents of foreign birth." Thus far, we have discovered four children for Isaac and Lucy, namely, Jeremiah, Emily, Elizabeth and Isaac, Jr. I have a feeling there are more.
I did a routine Google search for Lucy Hutchinson, hoping that some other family historian had posted biographical information about her. Lo and behold, there was a message posted about four years ago by Marge Rice of Joliet, Illinois, stating that she had an old photograph of Lucy in her possession and wanted to reunite it with her family. I thought, "four years ago; someone else probably contacted Marge Rice for the photo by now. And maybe Marge's email address has changed." I decided to send her an email anyway, because one never knows for sure until one tries. Well, Marge Rice wrote me back right away with the good news that she still had the photo and would be happy to send it to me for a nominal price, enought to cover her costs! The Lovely One and I were delighted to be sure, and we sent a check to Marge right away.
Today, the picture arrived in the mail. It was taken around 1860 at the Benjamin Lochman Photographic Gallery in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Marge purchased it from an antique dealer in Georgetown, Texas about 6 years ago. Marge Rice is a remarkable lady, who makes a hobby of reuniting old photos with their families. According to an article about her, which she sent with the photo, she has sent over 1,332 photos to 969 people since 2000. The gratitude expressed by the families, who receive these wonderful images, fills her with happiness. Now I have custody of this unique treasure.
We still have searching to do on this family. Lucy died sometime before 1880, because her husband Isaac is described as a widower on the 1880 census of Camden, New Jersey. But now, thanks to the kindness and thoughtfulness of Marge Rice, I can connect an image with the name of Lucy Hutchinson Van Sciver.
4 comments:
That is so cool, Dad! I love to see the faces of our ancestors. And what a remarkable lady Marge is to employ such a hobby! Wow!
Someone by the name of "Chance Van Sciver" left a comment on my blog not too long ago. He came across it while googling his last name. Anyway, he was from NJ and I was curious what, if any, connection there is to him? It's always interesting to find out the people we are related to!
Greetings, Princess Sarah!
I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting Chance Van Sciver. He was probably born around 1970. I think he currently lives in the Burlington, NJ area. I copied the following post about him from the net:
"Chance Van Sciver
General Manager
Early Childhood Resources
Mt. Laurel, N.J.
What is your current position?
I am general manager of Early Childhood Resources. My duties are to manage all business operations, including sales, purchasing, warehousing, finance, and human
resources. I have held this position for two years.
What is the main focus of your company or organization?
Early Childhood Resources is a manufacturer/distributor of furniture and
craft products for the school and day care market in the United States and
Canada. Customers include: School Specialty, Kaplan, Costco, and Sam's Club.
What are your career highlights and education--before your current job?
I graduated from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. I have spent the last six years working with some fantastic people in diverse segments of the wholesale distribution industry-- equestrian supply (Weatherbeeta USA) as well as books music and video (Baker & Taylor). Prior to that, I spent the early part of my career in different segments of the publishing industry. First with Peterson's, developing surveys and databases to collect data for book and database products, and then at MetroKids magazine, serving as the controller.
Why did you join NABE?
In addition to a love of the subject in general, I have a strong need to forecast economic conditions to chart a course for the company I run.
What drew you to economics?
I welcomed the opportunity to try and understand what drives the world economy."
If he has an interest in family history, I'm sure we'll connect with each other at some point. Perhaps, his great grandfather was Chancellor M. Van Sciver, born in Beverly, NJ on 21 Mar 1874.
Thanks for looking at my infant blog.
Love,
The Ancient of Weeks
Dad,
You should know that I have a lot of interest in the Van Sciver family and I also try to find information online about the mighty Van Scivers.
I thought I found a family crest online somewhere but it might be fake. Do you know anything about a family crest??
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