Everything Under The Sun: Searching For Family Photos

Saturday, March 5, 2016

Searching For Family Photos

Andrea, with the grandfather she loves so much.

Thomas Cain is now 84 years old, and this suprise happened about two years ago. Before he had reached his teen years, he had lost both of his parents, but he has lived a full life, a marriage of 61 years to his best friend, Margaret, plus children and grandchildren.

It was one of his grandchildren, Andrea Ferrell, 29, who decided to search for images of Thomas' parents, because she knew he had never had any. His mother, Ora Mae Blackmon, had died from pneumonia complications in 1943; his father, Henry Cathay Cain, had died a few years before that.
Andrea said, "Everyone says that my grandpa is the greatest guy in the world. He loves family. I've always known that he's wanted [a photo of his parents] so I just kind of started looking."

We all know how the internet has changed lives, especially when you are searching for information that you couldn't find before the technology was there. Andrea began her search in 2011, starting with Ancestry.com. Although she was able to get in touch with some distant relatives, none had photos of Thomas' parents.

Then, she contacted the local newspapers (the family comes from Bladenboro, NC, and has lived there since before Thomas was born). The Bladen Journal published a story about Andrea's search. There were a few leads, but then the trail became cold. But she persisted, "I didn't give up, but I didn't pursue it as hard after a while."

Then, just by chance, in 2013, a woman who had been reading about the quest for a photo, connected with Andrea. She had a photo of Ora Mae, handed down to her from a distant relative. Finally, she had the photograph - and what a family resemblance! Andrea was struck by it, "I immediately knew who it was. [My grandfather] looks exactly like her; I can see the facial features of him and my mom - his daughter. I just was flabbergasted. I could not wait to give this to him."

The right occasion came between Thomas' birthday on June 6, and Father's Day, in 2013. The framed photo was wrapped in bright green paper. Andrea was there to video her grandfather's reaction, as he tore away the paper. Andrea reported, "Up until that point, I've never seen [him cry] just because he's always the strong person." But the tears did flow as he spotted the face of his mother, something he hadn't seen for more than 70 years. In the end, as she said, "I could not have asked for a better reaction. I love this man so much!"

Ora Mae Blackmon, Thomas' mother.

Obviously, the search hasn't ended yet. Although Thomas now has a picture of his mother, he still lacks one of his father. So, if you have a photo of Henry Cathey Cain, born in 1904 in Bladenboro, NC, please let Andrea know through her FACEBOOK PAGE, so the family circle can be complete.