One of the joys of doing genealogy research is the possibility of finding long-lost cousins you never knew you had. I've spoken of this before when I found my Ilg family and some of Mark's family as well. It's been so great to make connections, share stories, and see pictures of family that we never would have seen before. But there is one more aspect of this that really tops the cake. Actually meeting them in person!
A few months back, we had the privilege of meeting some of our lost lost cousins. Here in St. Louis, they have an annual Art Fair in Clayton, Missouri where they invite some of the biggest artists around to display and sell their work. And this year, our cousin would have a display! So you bet we were going to go see him. They live in Texas, so this would be the best opportunity to finally meet up.
With nerves and excitement going with us, we headed out to Clayton to the Art Fair. Parking was going to be the biggest issue for sure, but we found a good spot (at least I know how to parallel park haha). The art fair was at least outside and it covered a couple of blocks. We still wore our masks to be safe though. And I'm glad we looked up how to find him on the map otherwise we would have gotten lost. But we didn't and we found him!
May I introduce cousin Greg Davis! He is Mark's 2nd Cousin through is Rickards line. Their connecting ancestor is Great-Grandpa Paul Jones Rickards from Centralia, Illinois. Mark's Grandpa went to St. Louis which Greg's Grandpa, also known as Big Daddy, went to Texas. That's where both families have been settled since.
Mark's connection to Greg
Greg's mom, Sara has met up with Mark's family in the past, but this is the first time Mark is meeting this side of the family. It was such a wonderful experience. Greg and his girlfriend, Amy were so amazing. We already were talking about us coming to Texas for a visit sometime to see the rest of the family.
I originally got in contact with the Davis family through Greg's brother, Gary Davis, who is their family historian. We've been sharing stories and photos for years now. So it was great to finally get to meet one of the family members. I've also talked with Sara, their mom, on multiple occasions. I really do hope we can make a trip to see them all.
I will say, not only was it great to see our cousin but to view his photography was a huge bonus. He travels all around the world and works for National Geographic as well. His art is just tremendous. He has such an amazing eye and captures so much beauty in his photographs. So, of course, we had to get some to display in our house. We are just waiting to get some frames to hang them up. If you get a chance, please head over to his website and check out his photography. You will be amazed, I promise.
Since starting my blog, I have found so many long-lost cousins. They end up searching online for information about their family and my blog will come up if their surname or ancestor is mentioned. This is why I am so happy I decided to start a blog. If you are considering starting your own blog and are not sure if it's the right thing to do, I absolutely recommend it, especially if you want to find long-lost family members. Definitely worth it!
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