The Whitehall Ledger - Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana

“What can you tell us about the handsome young man in this old photograph?”

As a professional researcher, Robert Lawton had gotten used to being accosted by random passersby with questions such as this. Robert would usually ask them to leave the photograph, their name, and number with him.

“I’ll get back to you within a week; two at the very most,” he would say. Under normal circumstances, the new client would receive a call within a week, give or take, upon which they would often be introduced to a long lost relative or acquaintance. On this particular day though, Mr. Lawton wa...