Message 1 of 7 (812263) 06-15-2017 4:29 PM

Anybody see last year's movie, "Lion"? In it, a very young India boy is accidentally separated far, far from his home town. He doesn't know the name of his town, he can only remember one small, seemingly insignificant building. Using only this incomplete information, he spends the next 20+ years trying to find his home town. Based on a true story.

Well, here's my version, but with much less critical importance . . .

I was an executor for my uncle's estate when I found an enlarged, faded/discoloured photo in a frame (see below). For the past few years, I've tried to find the site/location. Alas, without success.

My uncle didn't travel extensively. I'm pretty sure he didn't travel beyond North/Central America. I'm pretty sure. I know a few times he vacationed in Mexico, so that might be a clue.

I tried TinEye and Google image search (thanks for the tip Adminnemooseus). But no luck.

Heres the image, can anybody offer any more assistance?:

Message 2 of 7 (812339) 06-16-2017 4:29 AM

They look very similar at least.

Message 3 of 7 (812686) 06-19-2017 1:22 PM

Reply to: Message 2 by Son Goku 06-16-2017 4:29 AM

A million thanks, you nailed it:

quote:

---

A small adobe church was under construction here in 1695, but was burned three years later in the first of a series of Apache attacks that finally led to the village being abandoned around 1845
http://parentseyes.arizona.edu/missions/Cocospera.html

---

quote:

---

The Spanish missions in the Sonoran Desert are a series of Jesuit Catholic religious outposts established by the Spanish Catholic Jesuits
https://en.wikipedia.org/...h_missions_in_the_Sonoran_Desert

---

Very interesting history and I would love to visit and photograph these ruins and similar sites in the area. Santiago y Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Cocóspera is a little over the Mexican border in the Sonoran Desert. It doesn't seem like a difficult or time-consuming trip, so I can easily imagine my uncle visiting there. I wonder if he also visited some of the other religious outposts in the area. He had a massive photo slide collection. I might have been able to piece together his trip there, unfortunately he threw his slide collection away before he died. Grrr!

Son Goku, very curious, did you already know about this site, or did you use a different search application to find it?

thanks again.

Message 4 of 7 (812713) 06-19-2017 5:04 PM

Reply to: Message 3 by dronestar 06-19-2017 1:22 PM

It's not incredible, but basically I knew it was a Catholic church from its appearance, then I just went with your knowledge of your uncle and assumed it might be Mexican. I first tried "Mexican ruined church", but saw nothing, then I thought it's more abandoned looking (just a vague random impression) so then:
"Mexican abandoned church"
on google image search and it's in the 10th row of results.

I've had to find a million sites like this for relatives (after they've been on holidays or from old photos) and I'd always recommend trying different word orders and switching nouns to adjectives if you can, i.e.

abandoned Mexican church
Mexican church abandoned

don't get the church as easily, at least using google.ie, same with using "Mexico".

I'm glad to help, it's always nice to figure out these old pictures. Part of someone's life.

Edited by Son Goku, : Expansion

Message 6 of 7 (812837) 06-20-2017 1:44 PM

Reply to: Message 4 by Son Goku 06-19-2017 5:04 PM

I also seem to be my family's unofficial biographer and keeper of family history. Thank goodness for the internet, without its sleuthing capability, I am afraid most information would be lost forever.

Funny, . . . regarding my photo, I didn't see "catholic church." Although I was mostly certain my uncle was never in the middle east, I kept seeing the photo as an antiquated building in the desert, near Jordon's Petra site, like this (boy, was I off the mark):

Anyways, now I can re-frame my uncle's photo and hang it. It'll be a nice reminder.

Thanks again.