Unexpected Benefits of an Online Tree

 By Andrea Lister

Originally published in the January 2022 Maple Ridge Historical Society Family History Newsletter

In the genealogy world we often talk about online trees as "cousin bait"—a way to attract cousins who are willing to share and collaborate. Online trees can have other unexpected benefits. On October 17, 2021 I received the following message through Ancestry:

Hello! I recently purchased a cabinet card photo of Fred Rounsefell. From what I can see I think he is the nephew of your great great grandfather. My hobby is returning these old photos to family members doing research. You seem to be the closest relative who is active on ancestry. He was a confirmed bachelor who died at 40-something in Boston. The photo is incredibly striking. I hate to see it lost to family histories. Let me know if you are interested and I can mail it to you (for free). If I don't hear back within a few weeks I may look for someone else but will try to post a picture of it on Ancestry. Best—Michael

Michael has the Instagram account Lost Photos Found. He buys photos and works to unite lost family photos with folks doing genealogical research.

Of course, I replied with my PO Box information and immediately started researching Fred Rounsefell while I waited for the mail. Frederick Rounsefell was born on August 25, 1875 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada to David Henry Rounsefell and Anna Bell Preston. He was their third child. Frederick, his parents, and his four siblings moved to Boston in 1879.

Frederick was a first cousin to my great-grandmother Margaret DeWolf (Rounsefell) Richardson. 

Fred Rounsefell, 1900 
ANDREA LISTER COLLECTION
PHOTOGRAPHER JAMES EDWARD PURDY

The photograph arrived and it is indeed striking. It captured Frederick in 1900 at age 22. According to the 1900 US census he lived at 24 Forest Rox and was employed as a clerk. The Boston Directory for 1898 shows that Frederick worked for insurance and real estate agency, Carroll & Peers.

The photograph was taken by James E. Purdy, the leading photographer for the Boston-area high schools for much of the 20th century. Purdy died in 1933 (which means the photo is in the public domain).

In 1902 Frederick petitioned to become a citizen of the United States. In 1907 Frederick was initiated into the Washington Lodge of the Freemasons. In 1908 he was noted in the Boston Directory as a Justice of the Peace. 

In September 1918, Frederick filled out a draft registration card. He was forty-three and employed as a bookkeeper at the Exchange Trust Co. bank. The physical description on Frederick's registration noted he was of medium height with a slender build, blue eyes, and brown hair. The First World War ended on November 11, 1918 so it is unlikely that Frederick went overseas.

The Boston Directory of 1932 noted that Frederick was a clerk for the Exchange Trust Company.

In April 1932 the Exchange Trust Company was one of the over 1,400 banks that suspended operations in 1932 and one of over 9,000 banks that failed during the Great Depression in the United States.

25 Apr 1932, Mon Fitchburg Sentinel (Fitchburg, Massachusetts) Newspapers.com

The Exchange Trust Company was taken over by the state in April 1932. The June 4, 1932 issue of the Fitchburg Sentinel noted that the assets of the Exchange Trust had been placed in the hands of a liquidator.

Frederick Rounsefell died July 1, 1932 at age fifty-six. His cause of death still to be researched.

I am grateful to Michael for his generosity in purchasing and returning the photo to me. His gift spurred me to research a member of my tree whom I had neglected. 

Everybody has a story.