Quest for a picture
I've started an intense search for a childhood picture of my Grandpa James Ballard. Since he was a foster child, we don't have any. The only picture I've ever seen from his younger days was an Army portrait of him that was hanging in my grandparents' house. I desperately want to find a school picture, whether it's a yearbook photo or a class group photo. There's got to be one somewhere!
I started with where I know he went to school - Graves County, Kentucky. This is where he lived with his foster parents, in the town of Hickory. Through several emails with the school, I learned that students who live in Hickory today go to Lowes Elementary. I contacted them and sadly, they don't have anything from the 1930's. They had a fire there in the 1950's so they may have lost a lot of the records then. It was also suggested that I call the Graves County Public Library, which I will do when they're done moving to their new location (they're closed to the public for a couple of weeks while they move).
I still have another avenue to explore while I wait. From June 1930 until sometime in 1932, my grandpa lived at the Kentucky Children's Home in Jefferson County. Just last week, I learned that the home had its own school called Ormsby Village School. My grandpa would have been old enough to attend school while he was at the home, so I called the archives office of the Jefferson County Public Schools. I feel like a real genealogist now - that was my first-ever phone call for genealogy help! Everything I've done, I've done through online research or through emailing people. The person I needed to speak with wasn't in the office, but I should be able to talk to her tomorrow.
Now I just wait until tomorrow. I'm not holding out much hope, since I don't even know if Grandpa went to school in Ormsby, but I need to hit everyplace I can think of.
UPDATE: The very nice and helpful lady I spoke to from Jefferson County Schools told me it was highly unlikely that there would be any pictures of my grandpa from Ormsby Village, since he didn't go to high school there; most of the records they kept were the high school students'. She also can't look for anything until I send proof that my grandfather is deceased due to privacy policy. I'd have to scan a copy of his death certificate and email it to her.
I also talked to a records officer with the Cabinet of Health and Family Services about how I could obtain orphanage records for my grandpa and his sister Juanita. I'd have to get a court order through the Jefferson County Circuit Court! He wasn't allowed to tell me whether they even HAVE any records - but he was able to tell me, "You should definitely pursue this. You understand what I'm saying here, right?" Yes! That was so exciting. Getting the court order won't be as daunting as it sounds, either. Basically it's filling out a legal form...oh, if only I could get my hands on my great-aunt Juanita's file. Getting her information would be even more valuable to me than my grandpa's files at this point, because it just might shed some light on where she ended up. I might not be able to get them because I can't prove she's deceased, and because she was born in 1922, there's the possibility that she could still be alive.
I started with where I know he went to school - Graves County, Kentucky. This is where he lived with his foster parents, in the town of Hickory. Through several emails with the school, I learned that students who live in Hickory today go to Lowes Elementary. I contacted them and sadly, they don't have anything from the 1930's. They had a fire there in the 1950's so they may have lost a lot of the records then. It was also suggested that I call the Graves County Public Library, which I will do when they're done moving to their new location (they're closed to the public for a couple of weeks while they move).
I still have another avenue to explore while I wait. From June 1930 until sometime in 1932, my grandpa lived at the Kentucky Children's Home in Jefferson County. Just last week, I learned that the home had its own school called Ormsby Village School. My grandpa would have been old enough to attend school while he was at the home, so I called the archives office of the Jefferson County Public Schools. I feel like a real genealogist now - that was my first-ever phone call for genealogy help! Everything I've done, I've done through online research or through emailing people. The person I needed to speak with wasn't in the office, but I should be able to talk to her tomorrow.
Now I just wait until tomorrow. I'm not holding out much hope, since I don't even know if Grandpa went to school in Ormsby, but I need to hit everyplace I can think of.
UPDATE: The very nice and helpful lady I spoke to from Jefferson County Schools told me it was highly unlikely that there would be any pictures of my grandpa from Ormsby Village, since he didn't go to high school there; most of the records they kept were the high school students'. She also can't look for anything until I send proof that my grandfather is deceased due to privacy policy. I'd have to scan a copy of his death certificate and email it to her.
I also talked to a records officer with the Cabinet of Health and Family Services about how I could obtain orphanage records for my grandpa and his sister Juanita. I'd have to get a court order through the Jefferson County Circuit Court! He wasn't allowed to tell me whether they even HAVE any records - but he was able to tell me, "You should definitely pursue this. You understand what I'm saying here, right?" Yes! That was so exciting. Getting the court order won't be as daunting as it sounds, either. Basically it's filling out a legal form...oh, if only I could get my hands on my great-aunt Juanita's file. Getting her information would be even more valuable to me than my grandpa's files at this point, because it just might shed some light on where she ended up. I might not be able to get them because I can't prove she's deceased, and because she was born in 1922, there's the possibility that she could still be alive.
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