GOOSE BUMPS by Kathy S. Finn [email protected]

I am in the antique business which goes well with the genealogy search. Not long ago I was in an antique mall in Fernandina Beach, Florida where I have a booth. I was canvassing the aisles to see what was new in this particular location. Mainly I am looking for metal objects to polish and restore, so when I was drawn to a box of old photographs I felt strange. I reached my hand in the middle and withdrew a postcard photo of a baby taken about 1915-1920. On the back was an inscription "George Christy CARTER, our little captain." The card cost me $3 and when I paid someone said it was an odd thing for me to purchase.

When I returned home to Jacksonville that evening, I called a friend of mine who had recently lost her son, to whom I had been close in high school. I told her of my find and took it to her. She had a mate to it -- it was her deceased husband as a baby! I knew his name because of my association with the family. Her husband had been dead some 24 years and I had never known him. Her son had been dead only four years and I still miss him. We were certain that both of them were trying to let each of us know that they were fine and for us to not grieve.

On a return trip I tried to find the same box again, but never could. It had mysteriously disappeared. Even writing this today, six months later, I still get goose bumps. In my genealogical research, I have always relied on instincts when in doubt of a connection. They always pay off.