My 2nd great grandfather, Francis Theodore Thomas, went missing around 1902 or 1903.  He went swimming at Rockaway Beach in Brooklyn and never came home.  His clothing was found at the beach, but no sign of him ever turned up.  For years. I didn’t know anything about him really, other than his name.  Last year, when I went to Syracuse for my grandmother’s funeral, I found an entry for him in the family bible.  In that entry, I found the name of a brother and two sisters.

In the box my dad just brought home from his visit with my grandfather, I found a picture of my gg-grandfather – the only one I’ve ever seen.  In the photo, he is seated on Rockaway Beach in the year or so before his disappearance. Seated next to him is my gg-grandmother Anna Noteboom.  Pictured below is the photo as is and a cleaned up version.

Francis Thomas and Anna Noteboom at Rockaway Beach, circa 1900

Francis Thomas and Anna Noteboom at Rockaway Beach, circa 1900