money After 50 years, a long-lost family photo has made its way back where it belongs
Fifteen years ago, as Victoria Johnson read a used book she had just purchased, a photograph that had been tucked inside fell out. This was the beginning of a mystery that she finally was able to solve last month, thanks to internet sleuths.
The picture was of a Black family, and Johnson, a professor in New York City, estimated by their clothes that the shot was taken in the 1960s. She would look at the photo often, wondering who they were and if they were still living. In February, Johnson asked for help on Twitter, and the picture was retweeted thousands of times.
The great-niece of the man in the photo messaged Johnson, to let her know it was a photo of Sheldon and Margaret Sudduth and their daughters, Valerie and Sharon. The picture was taken in 1964 at their home in Topeka, and mailed to relatives in New York City. While Sheldon and Margaret have died, Valerie and Sharon are both alive and reside in Texas.
During a phone call, Valerie Sudduth told Johnson that her mother, a nurse, was a widow, and met Sheldon at church. Sudduth explained to Johnson that in the picture, she "looks so happy because she was thrilled about her new dad. Sheldon was kind, funny, and gentle. He made her feel she could handle anything she set her mind to." The photo is now on its way to Sudduth.
Let’s begin w/the pic that intrigued 1000s & CNN. Found it in a used book abt 15 yrs ago. No, don’t remember what book. Looked at pic often & asked myself—tried to ask them—who they were. Yes, I’m a historian, but it wasn’t professional curiosity. A sense of shared humanity. 1/ pic.twitter.com/t01PyOaSVw
— Victoria Johnson (@VSJohnsonNYC) February 28, 2021
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