Uncovered Photos Reveal Adversity, Bravery, and Lost Family Connections in Woman’s Ancestry

Edwina Sleeman was able to uncover a number of family mysteries with Ancestry

Albert Dock in Liverpool (Getty Images)

Photo albums can be treasure troves for rich family histories full of exciting twists and turns.

Having known very little about the paternal side of her family beyond her grandparents, 59-year-old civil servant Edwina Sleeman was amazed to discover a fascinating tale of poverty and medical achievements when perusing photos of her grandfather in her great-grandmother’s photo album.

The photo album had originally been purchased on eBay by an individual called Marion Brooker, who had felt intrigued by the photos within and compelled to find the family to whom they belonged.

By using Ancestry, Marion was able to find Edwina's family tree and made contact with her out of the blue.

Since then, Edwina has been avidly updating her family tree for six years, using Ancestry to get to the bottom of several familial mysteries.

One of the enigmas concerned her grandfather Dr John W Cowen, who she’d never had the opportunity to meet, as he’d died before she’d been born.

Edwina, who’s based in Cornwall, had originally thought that her grandfather must have come from a privileged household, having worked in the medical profession.

From left to right: Dorothy Palmer Mills (née Johnstone, great-aunt), Harry Raymond Mills (husband of Dorothy and great-uncle), Philippa Cowen (née Johnstone), Dr John Cowen (husband of Philippa and grandfather). In front of car: Marjorie Kingston McLean (née Johnstone, great-aunt) and John Stewart McLean (husband of Marjorie, great-uncle) (Edwina Sleeman)

However, it turned out that he’d actually grown up in very tough conditions.

Her great-grandfather, Thomas Cowen, had been placed in Kirkdale Industrial School in Liverpool at the age of 11, which used to be a workhouse for orphans where they were taught various trades.

As a young man, Thomas’ son and Edwina’s grandfather John had been awarded a scholarship, which had allowed him to train as a doctor despite being of little means.

John’s life came to a premature end in 1954, passing away suddenly at the age of 52.

However, prior to his untimely death, John had achieved incredible feats both before and after the onset of the NHS.

In the early stages of his career, John had worked as Resident Medical Officer at Port Sunlight Hospital in Merseyside, which has since been transformed into the Leverhulme Hotel.

Following his stint at the hospital, John became a partner at a medical practice, which consisted of him carrying out his work as a doctor from his home in Bebington with his family taking on the duties of staff.

John’s medical prowess was pushed to the limit during the Second World War, with two of the doctors that he’d partnered with enlisting in the army and the older doctors being on the verge of retirement.

From left to right: Dr John William Cowen (grandather), Ellen Johnstone (née Fearon, great-grandmother), george Johnstone (great-grandfather) and Philippa Cowen (née Johnstone, wife of Dr John Cowen and grandmother) Picture taken late 1920s/early 1930s (Edwina Sleeman)

From August 1940 until January 1942, the city of Liverpool was subjected to an onslaught of bombings from the German armed forces.

John’s family was evacuated to Wales at the time.

However, John chose to stay behind so that he could tend to the wounded, during which time he would travel from Bebington to Liverpool along the river Mersey in order to help those who had been injured.

His funeral was a very mournful occasion, with shopkeepers standing outside of their stores as the procession passed them by in order to show respect for their much-beloved doctor.

On the other side of Edwina’s family, there had always been a lot of mystery surrounded an elder half brother of her mother called Harry, who had been in the navy.

Edwina’s maternal grandfather had tried contacting his son throughout the years, with a letter that he received revealing that Harry had a son called Christopher.

However, despite further attempts to contact Harry through the Salvation Army, nothing more was heard from him. That is, until Edwina used Ancestry to trace his family’s whereabouts.

Edwina managed to find Christopher’s address, writing him to explain that they were cousins.

Edwina learnt about her grandfather, Dr John Cowen, by investigating her great-grandmother's photo album (Edwina Sleeman)

Much to Edwina’s delight, Christopher responded, stating that he’d known very little about his father’s family, including the fact that his father had four sisters, a half sister, two brothers and a half brother.

Edwina now remains in close contact with her cousin Christopher, his wife and his daughter, and has described the events that led to their meeting as “wonderful.”

She's been astounded by the amount of information that she’s been able to gather through Ancestry, which also surprisingly included a marital connection with a member of the Russian royal family.

Delving into her family's past proved a very eye-opening and shocking experience for Edwina.

Click here to uncover your family history with Ancestry