‘Photo Angel’ Reunites Long Lost Photos With Their Rightful Families

Most people know Kate Kelley as a special education teacher in Plainville, Massachusetts, but others know her as the “Photo Angel.”

Kelley is on a mission to help people piece together their family history and reunite them with missing photographs.

It all started when she found a pile of labeled pictures of non-relatives that were mixed in with her grandparents’ old family photos. Wondering who they were, she started searching on genealogy websites and eventually began connecting with relatives of the people in the photos. From that moment on, her curiosity became a full-time hobby!

Kelley frequents antique shops and flea markets and always finds discarded family photos that end up in dusty boxes. She sees these pictures as treasures that should be cherished possessions, rather than garbage at a store.

She posts the photos online and does a lot of research when trying to reunite the photos with their rightful families. Many people who find old pictures contact her for help.

Cody and Hannah Guilford of Lovell came across a trunk filled with photos and documents when renovating a historic home and immediately got in touch with Kelley. Kelley felt as though she hit the lottery once she saw all of these photos.

The first thing Kelley does when she comes across old photos is to see if there is a name or other information on the back of the picture. She then uses sites such as Ancestry.com and findagrave.com to find descendants.

The majority of people she contacts are thrilled and thankful to be reunited with old pictures of their family members.

“Hand delivering photos to excited family members is by far the most rewarding part of this project!” she told The Bridgton News. “One family invited me to their Thanksgiving dinner to express their gratitude and share stories about the people in the photographs that I had purchased at an antique store. Everyone involved had such a wonderful time that they invited me to join them again next year!”

Hear more of her story in the video below:

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