CEDAR CITY — Family history is wearing many faces, from the new FamilySearch to a barrage of television shows geared at the rediscovery of roots.
But some of the greatest family history adventures still happen under your own roof, sometimes by accident, sometimes through a moment of inspiration.
Kathryn Ipson's son, James, was doing research on Jacob Hamblin, best known in LDS church history as a liaison to the Native Americans when the pioneers settled in the West.
A Google search yielded a solitary photo of Hamblin: His mouth pulls down at one corner, his chin is nestled in a thick goatee, and his hair is smoothed back from a broad, square forehead.
James shared the photo with his mother. Something about it made Ipson, 74, take pause.
"Let me show you an old daguerreotype I have," she told James.
She pulled a photo from a box and the two huddled over it. The image of a striking man with a thick goatee, his hair smoothed back from a broad, square forehead, stared up at them … and they stared back in amazement.
"We suddenly realized it could be an earlier photo of Jacob Hamblin," Ipson said.
The real research, and a real mystery, began for Ipson and her family.
More than 20 years ago, Ipson's sister, Carol Dodds, 77, had given her the photo. Neither sister was familiar with it — Dodd merely knew that Ipson liked old trinkets.
Ipson tucked the photo safely away, attaching a note to it that read: "I have no idea who this is a picture of." She promptly forgot about it.
Upon its rediscovery, Ipson found out the photo is actually an ambrotype — an early type of photograph made by imaging a negative on glass backed by a dark surface. The technique became popular in America in the 1850s. One of Ipson's first questions was, "Did they even have ambrotypes in Utah that early?"
She was able to talk to Nelson B. Wadsworth, author of "History of the Mormons: In Photographs and Text, 1830 to the Present," who confirmed that the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers have ambrotypes from the late 1850s and early 1860s.
Ipson showed the ambrotype to Brent Ashworth, document expert and owner of B. Ashworth's bookstore, which is dedicated to rare books, manuscripts and other collectibles.
"To me, it looks just like Jacob Hamblin," Brent Ashworth wrote via e-mail. "I believe it is a wonderful new view of this great pioneer (and) 'apostle to the Lamanites.' "
"I took (the photo) to the Jacob Hamblin home in St. George and showed it to them," Ipson said. "I also took it to the BYU Library, the Church History Library … Most people believe this is of Jacob Hamblin."
Ipson and Dodd have stewed over the ambrotype's origin. Their family is from Panguitch, where Hamblin had relatives settle. Dodd is also related by marriage to Ira Sterns Hatch, one of Hamblin's mission companions.
Dodd wonders if she acquired the photo years ago when a friend was cleaning out an abandoned storage shed in St. George. He left a box full of papers and old photos on Dodd's doorstep since he knew of her enthusiasm for family history.
Thanks to such enthusiasm, Ipson and Dodd have at the very least enjoyed the research. Ipson has even compiled possible dates the photo could have been taken, based on reading various books on Hamblin.
"For me, the best thing that has come from this is getting to know (Jacob Hamblin)," Ipson said. "What a peacemaker and dedicated man he was. I hope that more people will visit his home in Santa Clara and read some of the books available about him."
Ipson also hopes others will be inspired to start combing through their old papers or photos. You never know what — or who — you might find.