A Photo, a Name, a Story

Sometimes, all it takes is a single image to set you on a path of discovery.

For me, that image was of my 2x great-grandfather, Alexander Dakers. Unlike many photographs of the mid-1800s, where people sat stiffly posed and unsmiling. This picture stood out. Alexander is relaxed, his expression full of ease and confidence. It felt as though he might step out of the frame and start a conversation.

That photograph made me want to know more. Who was this man? What life did he live?

Alexander Dakers

From a Face to a Life Story

The search began with just a name and a date: Alexander Dakers, born in 1845 in Brechin, Angus, Scotland. From there, the picture slowly sharpened into a story.

Alexander worked as a plasterer in Edinburgh. not a miner like most of the relations I had researched. This was a skilled trade. He would have made his own plaster with lime and hair or flax. He built not only walls and ceilings, but also the foundation for a large family. Together with Mary Martin, he had nine children.

Curiously, though, Alexander and Mary never married. That choice, or more likely circumstance, remains one of the family mysteries to be unravelled.

The Power of a Photograph

None of this research would have started without that one image. Photographs do more than capture likenesses; they capture personality, mood, and sometimes even the questions we don’t yet know to ask.

Alexander’s relaxed pose spoke across generations, whispering: “Look closer. There’s more to me than a name on a page.”

And indeed there was.

Your Turn

Do you have a photograph tucked away in an album, a drawer, or a digital file that catches your attention? Maybe it’s the way someone stands, a half-smile, or an object they hold in their hand. Sometimes that little spark is all you need to begin uncovering an entire life story.

At TimeTwine, we believe that every family story starts with a thread—a name, a memory, a photograph. Follow that thread, and you may just discover the people and lives that helped shape your own.