The search is on for a Scottish family after pen pal letters were discovered following the passing of American Billie Connell Jordan.
Watermans Director of Property Sales, Tzana Webster, flew back to her birthplace of Austin, Texas, to say her goodbyes to her beloved grandmother Billie this week, who passed away at age 99.
While spending time with her family in Texas, Tzana’s uncle mentioned that they had found letters that Billie had saved from her Scottish pen pal dating back to 1938 – and now Tzana is hoping to connect with the family of the woman that her grandmother was friends with some 86 years ago.
Tzana, who moved to Edinburgh in 2008, was stunned to discover an Edinburgh address, 78 Pilton Drive, noted on the handwritten letters, and is now on a mission to find the family of her grandmother’s pen pal Margaret Lawson. Having posted about her hunt on social media, Tzana has been inundated with messages from people trying to help her track down the family and has now managed to identify some of Margaret’s relatives.
When Tzana was asked about the search, she said
“It’s been quite the journey! Someone has reached out saying that they think they might know Margaret’s daughter, and I’ve managed to find the names of two of her sons.”
“Margaret met her husband in Aberdeen during World War II, which would have been just a couple of years after my grandmother and Margaret were writing to each other.”
The letters, sent in 1938, included sketches done by Margaret of gas masks and air raid shelters, and mentioned her worry about the impending world war. Tzana, who is a self-proclaimed history nerd, thinks the letters are a great insight into life in Scotland in the 1930s, and is hoping to connect with Margaret’s family and share stories of both Margaret and Billie and their amazing history.