Gobsmacked to find a portrait of my ancestor...

[ElvinaFrizzell]

Hope you don't mind me sharing this. I would love to be able to say that years of careful research led to my find when it was in fact sheer good luck and erm google .
I occasionally do a web search for my more unusual names but on this occasion I had a look for a Jones ancestor and was amazed to come up with this
Charles Gee Jones was my 4 x great grandfather. I knew that he was a mariner according to his children's baptisms and that shortly before he died in 1851, he was landlord of the Pulteney Arms in Bath. The wikipedia article confirms this and adds that he was a pilot in the Bristol Channel. He also left a will which I have had difficulty reading but am tempted to have another go at now if I can remember where I saved it .

I have very few old photos - most of my ancestors were too poor and definitely no oil paintings. On this line I have photos of my great gran in 1944 when she was in her 60s. That's the furthest back until now when I can see what her own great grandfather looked like! Think I need to go for a lie down

Anyone else in the habit of googling for ancestors and come up with anything interesting?

wow - that is cool.

I found one - not so old BUT was researching some family on my mother's side and found a great great uncle - his ww2 record has a passport size photo of him at 18 years old - just before he shipped out to Japan as part of the occupation forces.

I've never found any portraits of my lot - mostly peasants! But I did have an email from a very distant cousin a few weeks ago, who has made a connection with Nancy Astor and the Waldorf family (as in Waldorf Astoria)and of course the involvement in the Profumo scandal. I was most impressed to have some real VIPs.

mine were all miners and labourers so no pics that I can find.

that's cool!
inspired by this i googled my grandmother and found her name in a list of autographs in an autograph book owned by someone's grandmother - funny!

oh it's from 2000 (the thing I found) but she's offering copies so I might try her for a copy (also one of someone else in the family)

hey that is pretty amazing Mrs JC.

we've got the most amazing photo album from the late 1800's - sadly many of the pictures are un named, and we've really struggled to find out who they are, and I too have my gt gt grandfathers naval picture from the early 1900, at 17, which is amazing.

Sadly, google has not helped me - except to bring up a picture of my brother in the newspaper a couple of years ago!!

wow - fab ! I've done this before and found assorted paternal great grandparents and others beyond them - cotton mill owners and farmers in Lancashire - is fascinating.
A cousin researched her grandmother's side of the family (my great aunt0 and discovered military heroes and an England hockey captain !

Some more great finds!

I'm now trying to work out how to get a copy of the painting. Also found an article about the graveyard where my ancestor was buried. There was an exhibition a couple of years ago to mark the reopening of the graveyard after it had been tidied up and restored. My ancestor even got a mention as one of the 'famous' people buried there [too proud].

Cool. Does he look like anyone in your family?

that's cool - I'm sure you've already done this - but have you tried contacting the Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners' Royal Benevolent Society as that's apparently where the original is............

Pennies: What do you think?

My 4x great grandad and his great grandaughter my great gran

Well I think there is...

FAQ

Only found this at the weekend, so haven't yet, but will do. Although do you think they might think I'm barking? Just composing the email in my head...so I was googling my Jones ancestors...

I think that's quite a striking resemblance. That's amazing!