April 13, 2018

Moses Wolfe found at Choctaw, Arkansas

This was a serendipitous find. I was flea market shopping at Backyard Antiques in Choctaw, Arkansas on April 7, 2018. This flea market was previously located at Clinton, Arkansas, just a few miles north. I ambled by a booth and a family picture on the shelf immediately caught my attention because it was identical to one I had purchased at the old location and had successfully returned to a family member. It was the Sheeks family photo which is in an earlier post on this website. Fortunately, I had kept the phone number of the Sheeks family member I had returned it to and gave him a call on the spot. The sad part about the family photo is that he had relayed earlier that it was from a chest of stolen items from his Dad’s place. Both parents had died and the family had left things stored in a trunk in a padlocked shed until they could get back to go through it.  Before they returned, a thief broke into the shed and took things including the family trunk. Since another copy of the family photo had surfaced, I looked around the flea market booth and snapped a shot of this very old photo. On the back was captioned “Grandpa Moses Wolfe.” I texted a picture of it to the family member who asked his Uncle about it. Indeed, Mr. Wolfe belongs to their family. He’s the great-grandfather of the man I called. This is one of the saddest examples of how old photos land in flea markets. Not through any intention of the family, but because someone stole family items including the photos and then sold them for whatever they could get. I found Moses Wolfe’s profile on FamilySearch.org. He was born 14 September 1845 in Greenwood, Johnson, Indiana and died 24 July 1910 in Nevada, Vernon, Missouri. The grandson who identified his photo said he was a minister. I estimate the photo was taken in the 1890-1900 era, meaning it is almost 130 years old. The photo of Grandpa Moses Wolfe will be returned to the family, to a great-grandson living in Kentucky. I’ve added the photo to Moses Wolfe’s profile on FamilySearch.org so that other family members will be able to see it there. I firmly believe that God wanted this photo and the family photo back in the hands of the family and I’m just happy to be part of the plan to make it happen.

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