Finding Tim

When my sister and I were little we spent a lot of time with our cousin, Timmy, who was the son of my mother's youngest brother, David and his wife, Muriel.

We loved Timmy like a little brother--maybe even more, because there was no sibling rivalry. Since he was younger than both of us, we got away with a lot where he was concerned because he was always willing to do whatever we asked him to do. We dressed him up as the Avon lady and got him to ring doorbells around the neighborhood. He always greeted the homeowner, who was no doubt surprised at seeing a miniature cross-dresser on the doorstep, with a cheery "Avon calling!"

Our little Avon lady

When Timmy was around 8 or 9 his parents were divorced and his mom moved back East with Timmy and his little sister, Kathleen, to be close to her family . We lost track of them and never saw Timmy again, but we never stopped thinking about our lost "little brother."

Timmy showing off his muscles

In my family history research I have received help from others time and time again, so I decided to explain this problem to the Facebook group I made for my cousins and others interested in my mother's family (Descendants of David Jewett and Edith Rae Crabtree). I posted this photo (above) and my query on July 28, 2014 and within an hour had the information I needed to contact him. 

By the next morning Tim and I were in touch and a lively and thrilling reunion by correspondence began. The little Timmy I remember is now a great-grandfather, which is pretty hard to get my mind around. I try very hard to remember that he's all grown up now and that I must call him Tim, not Timmy. 

Once again, Sheila Antworth Lafferty, who has been thanked on this blog before, was the heroine! She has given us a wonderful gift in helping to reunite my family with my long-lost cousin-like-a-brother. Tim knows now that we never forgot about him, and is learning more about his dad's family through this blog, the Facebook group of cousins, and the family tree pages on Ancestry.com. 

It took over 50 years of wondering and then just an hour to locate the right person with the right skills and knowledge to find the answer that finally solved this family mystery.