Monday 28 February 2011

Family History Writing Challenge - Day 23

Genealogy is like travelling along a country road, following the twists and turns of the road, with those taking the journey unsure of just where they will end up. There can be some real surprises, some curiosities and as always more questions. Genealogy is also like doing a jigsaw puzzle, with some of the pieces in the box and the rest rolling around on the floor, so that you must seek to find the bits or they will be lost for ever.

We all have a catalyst that prompts us to research our ancestry. I am not too sure what mine was. I was always curious of the life lead by my Grandfather and his siblings. I have mentioned before the visits to my Great Aunts and listening to them talk about the past, the people and places of their earlier lives. I also knew that my Grandfather was born in the parish of Wanborough, in the small hamlet of a wonderful place called Christmas Pie. Great name isn't it? I had this burning desire to bring the family back to life and really flesh out the bones of my ancestry. So that I could really understand who I was and from where I came.

The day I saw on the 1881 Census the name of my Great Grandmother, Annie Prudence Butcher, nee Harris I was truly overwhelmed. This was the old lady who had let her Great Grand daughter sit on the bed and tickle her toes, and who loved pineapple and we always took one when we went to visit. I recall a really jolly old lady with her white hair tied behind in a bun full of smiles. At the time I was only about 2 or 3 years old, yet the life she had led, the hardships she had suffered and the sights she had seen.

Born in 1879 in Puttenham Surrey, she married Charles Harris in 1898 aged just 19 years. Together they had 12 children with 9 living to adulthood. Charles died in 1943 aged 74 and Annie died in 1972 aged 92 years. I have only just realised that Charles was in fact 10 years older than Annie, something that I had not realised, not in 24 years of researching my ancestry. Which, just confirms that it is always worth re visiting the data held on a given person.

I think that sometimes, we simply focus on the common criteria of our ancestors lives; their dates. I read somewhere recently that everyone has a set of dates (1879 - 1972) and to leave the bracket open is a loose end. Thinking about it, whoever said it was right. Imagine the questions if I didn't know Annie died in 1972. Would I be compelled to find the dates? Probably as I hate loose ends! but, in doing so would I loose focus on the other bits of her life? An obvious one is that Annie lived through the Boer War, The Great War and The Second World War. Was she frightened? Did she feel worried, sad, concerned that her son, my Grandfather had joined the Army? Did she feel proud of him for doing the right thing? or, cross that he had not returned to the farm where he would have been in a reserved occupation with his brothers? That is just a few questions involving one of her 9 children, what about the other 8?

So, when we hear the statement "Going back to our roots" perhaps we really should revisit the data we hold about our ancestors and ask what don't we know rather than what we know, ask what we would like to know and can we find out? There are always more questions than answers, and I rather think there are more questions that even we could comprehend.

Word count 638

In My Mailbox - Week 4

Another trip to the library. Firstly I had to return two books before I incurred fines and secondly I collected the books for me to distribute for World Book Night on 5th March. I could not resist though, just having a little look to see if anything caught my eye:
  1. The Christmas Cookie Club by Ann Pearlman
  2. That Christmas Feeling - a collection of two stories by authors - Catherine Palmer & Gail Gaymer Martin
  3. One Perfect Gift by Kathleen Morgan
  4. The Matchmaker by Marita Conlon-McKenna
  5. Brown Owl's Guide to life by Kate Harrison
  6. Trace your Roots with DNA by Megan Smolenyak Smolyenak & Ann Turner
I have also purchased a rather special book from eBay, but more about that when it arrives....

NaBloPoMo - Introduction

I spotted the details for NaBloPoMo recently on someone's blog and though what a good idea. I will try to fulfil the challenge by writing every day, although I do often write in advance and then forget to post!

NaBloPoMo is National Blog Posting Month. The Goal is for participants to write a post each day for a month. To help inspire bloggers, NaBloPoMo allocates a theme for each month.

The theme for March 2011 is "In a Word".

Below is the words that I have chosen to use and each day I will update the list.

Ist March - Spring
2nd March - Temperature
3rd March - Birthday
4th March - Weekend
5th March - Association
6th March - Books
7th March - Friendship
8th March - Blog
9th March - Letters
10th March - Photographs
11th March - Death
12th March -
13th March -
14th March -
15th March -
16th March -
17th March -
18th March -
19th March -
20th March -
21st March -
22nd March -
23rd March -
24th March -
25th March -
26th March -
27th March -
28th March -
29th March -
30th March -
31st March -

Sunday 27 February 2011

Weekend Cooking - The Highwayman's Haunt

To find out about the Weekend Cooking feature hosted by Beth Fish Reads click HERE

We came back a little earlier from a delightful meal at a country pub recommended to us by a former work colleague. The food was delicious.

The venue was an coaching house called The Highwayman's Haunt, in the Devon rural village of Chudleigh. The atmosphere was low key and very pleasant and the menu full of choice. The venue has an impressive history,and dates from 1239.

My selection was a lovely dish called Drunk Mutton which is a leg of lamb served in a red current, rosemary and madeira sauce served with the most delicious roast potatoes and seasonal vegetables. Tonight's selection was mash suede, carrots and broccoli.

I don't usually have a desert, but could not resist the dark chocolate liqueur mouse followed by coffee.

A lovely evening and the food highly recommended.

Thyroid Literary Challenge

This is an edited version of an earlier posting. This submitted for the Dear Thyroid contest - Thyroid Literary Challenge.

It was in the early 1990s when I noticed that I had a lump in my throat. I was still in Australia and only had a few weeks before I flew home, via Singapore and The Tioman Islands. I resolved that I would see my GP when I returned home.

Once back home I made the appointment and went along to the Doctor. He examined my throat and suggested that I might have a slight swelling, probably caused by over excitement after my year of traveling. Twit!

Another few months past and by this point I was back to work and feeling exhausted. I had numerous symptoms of Hyperthyroidism and demanded a referral to the Endocrinology department of the local hospital. The Doctor agreed and in due course I was given an appointment. The consultant was a nice fellow, who felt around then without me knowing what he was proposing to do, undertook a needle biopsy. It hurt like mad and I waited for the results. The verdict was I had a goitre, and therefore was suffering from Hyperthyroidism, but the cells could not be ruled out as cancerous and therefore surgery and the removal of the affected lobe was required.

After the surgery I was on Thyroxine and remained fairly stable for about 8 years, then started to notice that I had another swelling in the throat again. By this point I was no longer in Surrey, and was referred to my local hospital. The same process happened - a needle biopsy followed by the same diagnosis - another goitre and once again the cells could not be ruled out as cancerous and so more surgery ensued. Surgery always comes with a risk, after all the medics are not infallible, but surgery in the same spot comes with an increased risk.

Well that was two risks, but it needed to be done, and so I was admitted. The main risk, which would be to my vocal cords turned out fine.

Having had now the remaining lobe removed I was completely without any Thyroid. As it happens it is not possible to remove 100% of the gland, or in my case 2 x 50%, because of the location of the gland to the vocal cords & Parathyroid glands, but what is left is non producing.

So, now the problems started. With half a thyroid lobe I had been on 100mcg of Thyroxine, and remained on that dose for 8 years, with the remaining lobe removed I was to remain on Thyroxine at a dose of 100mcg. Logically it is not enough. I stated my case to the Doctor, who by now had passed from the surgical team to the medical team, who was less than supportive and I was discharged.

For the next 4 months or so the levels remained constant, and therefore I remained on 100mcg of Thyroxine. Then suddenly my levels became unstable, as did my general health. My pulse was so low I was almost readmitted to hospital. I was referred to the hospital. The Consultant, Dr P. Is truly a wonderful man. Firstly, he listened to me, discussed my treatment with me and after numerous tests, discovered that my absorption of the T4, Thyroxine was very poor. He prescribed T3 a drug called Liothyroline, which is not that commonly prescribed here in the UK. He was working as part of a drug trial based at a one of the UK teaching hospitals and did I mind being part of it. I actually could not feel any worse so I agreed. Within 3 hours, yes, 3 hours I felt so much better. My levels started to adjust and my symptoms changed.

I remained on the Liothyroline for 10 years, only stopping the drug in 2008. Since then I have continued to be, on the whole in good health.

The reason for my stopping the drug was the affects of the T3 could lead to other problems, and after 10 years I stood a good chance of suffering from them.

I should point out that during the 10 year time frame I had always had always had the odd day when I didn't feel "quite right" and really I can not be more specific than that. Unless you suffer from the condition the feeling can not be explained. I still have the other symptoms, but they are nothing that I can not cope with. I have my bloods checked every 6 months and since 2008 have had my Thyroxine reduced to 100mcg from 150mcg. When this happened I noticed that I did not seem to have a lot of colds. Readers of this blog may have noticed that since November I have had 4 such colds, but this I have put down to the effects of stress from my last day job,as my blood levels taken recently show that I am on the lower side of normal!

The big question for me was understanding if Thyroid Disease was inherited? There is some evidence that it is. It can not be caught like a cold, but the auto-immune condition linked into Thyroid Disease can be passed down through family members. I am the only one in my immediate family with the condition. None of my extended family have the condition.

I have an obsession for my family history. During the course of my research, I have researched a family with the name of Butcher, from a rural village in Surrey England. My 3 x Great Grandfather John Butcher born 1795 had a family of 9 children born between 1823 and 1844.

During the course of the last 24 years I have met two people who descend from John Butcher. I descend from the eldest child Charles born 1823, I have met a contact whose wife descends from John's son James born 1835 and another contact whose line descends from John's son William born 1826. Our common ancestors are John Butcher and his wife Mary, who were both born during the time frame of 1795-1800. That is approximately 215 years ago. Is it possible that a condition can be carried through the genes over that time period?

Consider though, if the condition is passed down and I suspect that it would come through the female line as statistically it occurs more in females. I have had pharmaceutical treatment, two lots of surgery and numerous blood tests. None of which would have been available with the same levels of success to our early ancestors. We are the recipients of medical and pharmaceutical science, something that our ancestors could only have dreamed of. Even if it had of existed could my ancestors have afforded it? I know how ill I felt, so how would my ancestors have felt with the condition. There was no welfare state, to support them if they were too ill to work. They would have continued to work and live their lives with an undiagnosed condition. Food for thought isn't it?

Silent Sunday - Tioman Island

Tioman July 1991

Looking out to sea from Tioman, a beautiful Malaysian Island. Taken July 1991
This was taken with my trusty Pentax camera, long before digital, and scanned in to the PC and uploaded!

Family History Writing Challenge - Day 22

I can't quite remember how I got onto the next trail; I may at some point remember and I may not! John Butcher's wife stated that she was born in Artington. Now, I went back to the 1851 Census for Wonersh as that was the original source and noticed that whilst the census did say Artington it did not say Surrey. How could I have missed that? I turned to my trusty friend Google and did a search for Artington just to see what the results yielded. The result was Arlington in Sussex as a distinct possibility. So, Mary had probably come from Sussex. I turned to FamilySearch to see if that yielded any suitable marriages for a John Butcher to a Mary and bingo! Mary Baverstock married John Butcher in Wisborough Green Sussex 26 May 1823. Certainly Wisborough Green is what I would call the right bit of Sussex, close to the Surrey border. My John and Mary had their eldest child baptised in November 1823, so whilst not nine months between marriage and birth, It would not be unheard of for the bride to be pregnant at the point of the wedding. So the big question was, was this John and Mary the same as my John and Mary?

I had always felt that the Butcher's had originated from across the border in Sussex. I didn't have anything to substantiate that, just a hunch. Before I embarked upon parish records and census records I undertook another Google search for "Baverstock"+ Wisborough Green. I was surprised, it did show some results, and some that looked promising. Most importantly, it gave me the website and email address of a fellow researcher. Did we have a connection? Actually we did. The researcher had worked at the research line from the Baverstock name rather than, as I had from the Butcher line. Their website confirmed that they had also looked at the same census material as I had, so I felt confident that we indeed were researching the same family and more importantly that this family connected to mine. The clinching factor was the will of Charles Baverstock in 1846 when mention is made to Mary Butcher living in The Street, Wonersh.

What is intriguing is the name change from Bavister to Baverstock circa 1813.....but that is another story.

Word count 387

The Sunday Salon - Home is ........

I saw on either a tweet or an email tag this morning the following quote:

"Home is not where you live, but where they understand you"
C Morgenstern

When I read that I thought exactly! It is such a nice quote, and when you look beneath what is actually written it is quite thought provoking. I know that whilst I live in the South West of England I do not feel at home here. Just after we first moved here my neighbour said to me " of course to be Devonian you have to live here 25 years" my reply was "Who said I wanted to be Devonian?" The look on his face was a picture and he does still talk to me!

The subject of home reminds me of the devastation in New Zealand this week. Any family & friends I have in New Zealand were not affected by the quake, but one friend's father in law lives in Christchurch, a frail elderly man who thankfully survived, with little more than the clothes he was wearing. My heart goes out to them. As I type this post I give thanks that my nearest and dearest are safe and whilst it is the people who count in our lives, the belongings, bits and bobs we accumulate along the way mean something to us, otherwise we would not gather them! The task of rebuilding your life and home is going to be tremendous and I send sympathies to those affected.

A posting yesterday to The Sunday Salon mentioned a Charity raffle and fund raising events for the recent tragedy in New Zealand. Here is the link. You can click on the New Zealand flag to donate, although it seems relevant to banks in the Southern Hemisphere, I will see if any banks this side of the pond are collecting funds.

It somehow, does not seem quite right to post about the good bits and readings of this last week, and as such I think I will do a rain check and post more fully later in the week.

Sorting Saturday - Twitter - February 2011

At the of January I wrote about Sorting Saturday with a focus on Twitter. This followed on from a Tuesday Tip that I had posted sometime early January. Anyway, the crux of that post is that I read my Tweets via an iphone and often want to look further at a web page mentioned, or simply see the article on a bigger screen. As a result of this I mark any such Tweets as favourites. At the end of January I had 33 such favourites and I predicted that with February being a short month I would have less favourites. Wrong. At this point a week ago I had 48 favourites and today 66! So that theory went straight out the window. So, I will therefore set myself the task that the last Saturday in the month with be dedicated to Sorting Saturday - Twitter style!

I am still debating if I really can justify an ipad. Stuart has offered to buy me one and I keep saying I am debating if I really should get one. If I get one, it should be the top of the range, as if I am spending that much money I should just go for it, but something holds me back. Perhaps I'll do a post on the ipad alternatives......
  1. Climbing My Family Tree was a blog I wanted to explore further, it was mentioned in a One Place Studies tweet for a post on Spain.
  2. AnceStories hosts a monthly Scanfest - if I can get the timing right I may stop by!
  3. Genealogy Webinars & Genealogy Podcasts - both sound interesting - must have a look & Listen!
  4. Foodie Blogroll - I can easily spend an hour or two wandering about here!
  5. Book Chatter
  6. Thyroid Literary Challenge - I have written a post for this, but not published it as yet. It just needs proof reading. For further reading on the challenge click HERE. The whole of the Dear Thyroid site is good to explore.
  7. The new website from the Families in British India Society and a link to the Embarkation Lists from WO25/3503
  8. Catching up on a post from Australian Genealogy Journey for the Waitangi Day challenge
  9. In from the Cold is a website aiming to commemorate those lost in war whose sacrifice is not recorded on a memorial.
  10. Geneabloggers Radio
  11. #savelibraries or email to stories@voicesforthelibrary.org.uk for the important work of saving libraries here in the UK.
  12. A rather informative article from Dick Eastman about Inheriting illness from our ancestors and a look at some tests available.
  13. Back on 11th Feb BBC Surrey had a phone in (I didn't hear it) about the uglier buildings than Guildford Cathedral - Future journal prompt! as the cathedral is 50 years old this year.
  14. One Place Studies mentioned an article on copyright and an interesting fact about 31st December 2039. Hope I've not missed the article
  15. Another great book blog Cozy Reader's corner
  16. @CaroleRiley mentioned SpringPad
  17. @GuildOneName mentioned Open Library which does look interesting.
  18. Time for a Virtual Genealogy Society?
  19. A new site, which at first glance looks very interesting and thought provoking - Social Media and Genealogy & a free webinar on 5th March - Sign Up
  20. A blog post - Land Girls - needs a further read of this blog and a future blog prompt.
  21. Carnival of Genealogy - issue 103 - Women's History. Deadline is 1st March 2011. Have you submitted your post? DONE!
  22. An interesting post on creating an iphone Application. Might be useful......
  23. Walking with Ancestors - Is researching what will be an interesting post about illegal marriages and marriages between cousins.
  24. Tomorrows Pharmacist Bloggers hosted by PJ Online - a hint of the day job
  25. CPD requirements - PJ Online - another hint on the day job
  26. A disturbing post of a Cemetery in Chicago - CBS Chicago
  27. Another disturbing post about a British Cemetery in India - The Times of India
  28. A fascinating article of an American lady who sets about to meet all her Face Book friends. Click HERE to see the blog of the journey. Interesting concept!
  29. The Meteorological Office (Met Office) are setting up a Weather Observation Website - an another interesting concept that will in the future have a historical slant.
  30. Italian Bloggers
  31. The Graveyard Rabbit of Alberta - a new site, but looks like it is going to be good!
  32. Dick Eastman's report of Who Do You Think You Are Live - London style!
  33. TpstryWeb posted recently that it has been "National Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day" - never heard of it, but might be a good blogging prompt as we have a few genealogical pet stories!
  34. A really interesting and informative post about copyright on blogs posted as part of the Sunday Salon by literatehousewife.com and Krishna's Books There is a link to the two individual blogs from the link posted here.
  35. Article on Post Polio Syndrome - blog prompt and a link into the day job.
  36. A sad and emotional post about the US book store Borders going out of business.
  37. Posted as part of Sunday Salon a post from Confessions of a Mystery Writer - post called Lets all do the write thing about a charity raffle & fund raising events for the recent disaster in New Zealand.

Saturday 26 February 2011

Ancestor of the week - William Arthur West - Part One

This is the belated post from 19th February.

William Arthur West was born in 1863 in Guildford. I became aware of him through the his marriage to my Grandfather's Aunt - Emma Jane Ellis (Harris). They married in 1897 and raised two children. A son called William James born 1898 in Aldershot Hampshire and a daughter, Clara Edith born 1901 in Aldershot.

I knew from my Grandfather's cousin that William Arthur had been a military man and made an earlier assumption, at this point I had not researched his military life, that he had been in the Boer War. I was then presented with some photos:

Medical Corp during Boer War

William Arthur is the second from the right in the back row.

Boy Solider & William Arthur West

Here he is again, this time with an unnamed boy soldier, look how young this lad is?

By chance I did a Google search on William Arthur. I have never come across anyone researching this family outside of my immediate family so what happened to William and Clara. William James is the subject of another Ancestor of the week post. I also wanted to know more of William Senior. I did know that after leaving the military he owned a sweet shop in Stony Stratford Buckinghamshire.

The Google search revealed an interesting website article, although a recent search does not show the article, which is a great shame. Anyway, the article looked at my William Arthur West from the perspective of the community in which he lived, Stony Stratford. The article provided a few clues which I had not been aware of, and I used this as a springboard for further research and to fill in a few gaps into William's earlier life.

Josephine West Death Certificate

I had already been in contact with the author of the article. I had a reply and was delighted to hear that they had quite an archive of material relating to my ancestor. I was invited to come and look at the article. I replied that given the distance it would not be until our next trip north of here and I was really surprised when I was offered the opportunity to receive the archive in the post for my perusal and copying. In due course the file arrived and I managed to copy the entire archive and return with some extra material by tracked post. That is one of the things that I love about genealogy, it is the genuineness of fellow researchers.

Friday 25 February 2011

Family History Writing Challenge - Day 21

It was in the early 1990s when I noticed that I had a lump in my throat. I was still in Australia and only had a few weeks before I flew home, via Singapore and The Tioman Islands. I resolved that I would see my GP when I returned home.

Once back home I made the appointment and went along to the Doctor. He examined my throat and suggested that I might have a slight swelling, probably caused by over excitement after my year of traveling. Twit! Another few months past and by this point I was back to work and feeling exhausted. I had numerous symptoms of Hyperthyroidism and demanded a referral to the Endocrinology department of the local hospital. The Doctor agreed and in due course I was given an appointment. The consultant was a nice fellow, who felt around then without me knowing what he was proposing to do, undertook a needle biopsy. It hurt like mad and I waited for the results. The verdict was I had a goitre, and therefore was suffering from Hyperthyroidism, but the cells could not be ruled out as cancerous and therefore surgery and the removal of the affected lobe was required.

After the surgery I was on Thyroxine and remained fairly stable for about 8 years, then started to notice that I had another swelling in the throat again. By this point I was no longer in Surrey, and was referred to my local hospital. The same process happened - a needle biopsy followed by the same diagnosis - another goitre and once again the cells could not be ruled out as cancerous and so more surgery ensued. Surgery always comes with a risk, after all the medics are not infallible, but surgery in the same spot comes with an increased risk. Well that was two risks, but it needed to be done, and so I was admitted. The main risk, which would be to my vocal cords turned out fine.

Having had now the remaining lobe removed I was completely without any Thyroid. As it happens it is not possible to remove 100% of the gland, or in my case 2 x 50%, because of the location of the gland to the vocal cords & Parathyroid glands, but what is left is non producing. So, now the problems started. With half a thyroid lobe I had been on 100mcg of Thyroxine, and remained on that dose for 8 years, with the remaining lobe removed I was to remain on Thyroxine at a dose of 100mcg. Logically it is not enough. I stated my case to the Doctor, who my now had passed from the surgical team to the medical team, who was less than supportive and I was discharged.

For the next 4 months or so the levels remained constant, and therefore I remained on 100mcg of Thyroxine. Then suddenly my levels became unstable, as did my general health. My pulse was so low I was almost readmitted to hospital. I was referred to the hospital. The Consultant, Dr P. Is truly a wonderful man. Firstly, he listened to me, discussed my treatment with me and after numerous tests, discovered that my absorption of the T4, Thyroxine was very poor. He prescribed T3 a drug called Liothyroline, which is not that commonly prescribed here in the UK. He was working as part of a drug trial based at a one of the UK teaching hospitals and did I mind being part of it. I actually could not feel any worse so I agreed. Within 3 hours, yes, 3 hours I felt so much better. My levels started to adjust and my symptoms changed.

I remained on the Liothyroline for 10 years, only stopping the drug in 2008. Since then I have continued to be, on the whole in good health. The reason for my stopping the drug was the affects of the T3 could lead to other problems, and after 10 years I stood a good chance of suffering from them.

I should point out that during the 10 year time frame I had always had always had the odd day when I didn't feel "quite right" and really I can not be more specific than that. Unless you suffer from the condition the feeling can not be explained. I still have the other symptoms, but they are nothing that I can not cope with. I have my bloods checked every 6 months and since 2008 have had my Thyroxine reduced to 100mcg from 150mcg. When this happened I noticed that I did not seem to have a lot of colds. Readers of this blog may have noticed that since November I have had 4 such colds, but this I have put down to the effects of stress from my last day job,as my blood levels taken recently show that I am on the lower side of normal!

My post of a few days ago asked the question was Thyroid Disease inherited? There is some evidence that it is. It can not be caught like a cold, but the auto-immune condition linked into Thyroid Disease can be passed down through family members. As I said, I am the only one in my immediate family with the condition. None of my extended family have the condition apart from the members I mentioned in the earlier post. Our common ancestors are John Butcher (Woolgar) and his wife Mary, who were both born during the time frame of 1795-1800. That is approximately 215 years ago. Is it possible that a condition can be carried through the genes over that time period?

Consider though, if the condition is passed down and I suspect that it would come through the female line as statistically it occurs more in females. I have had pharmaceutical treatment, two lots of surgery and numerous blood tests. None of which would have been available with the same levels of success to our early ancestors. We are the recipients of medical and pharmaceutical science, something that our ancestors could only have dreamed of. Even if it had of existed could my ancestors have afforded it? I know how ill I felt, so how would my ancestors have felt with the condition. There was no welfare state, to support them if they were too ill to work. They would have continued to work and live their lives with an undiagnosed condition. Food for thought isn't it?

Word count 1,073

Book Blogger Hop - Naming of Blog

Book Blogger Hop
From the Crazy-For-Books web page "the Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love of the written word! This weekly BOOK PARTY is an awesome opportunity for book bloggers to connect with other book lovers, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books! It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs to read! So, grab the logo, post about the Hop on your blog, and start HOPPING through the list of blogs that are posted in the Linky list below!!

The Hop lasts Friday-Monday every week, so if you don't have time to Hop today, come back later and join the fun! This is a weekly event! And stop back throughout the weekend to see all the new blogs that are added!"

There are a few rules!
1. Enter your blog address at the linky list on the Crazy-For-Books website
2. Post about the hop on your blog & answer the question on the Crazy-For-Books website
3. Visit other blogs in the linky list

This weeks question is:

"Do you ever wish you would have named your blog something different?"

No, I don't think so. My blog is called Anglers Rest, which the name of our house. My husband is a very keen fisherman! I have used the name for at least ten years, perhaps longer. Lots of people think it is the name of a pub or hotel, and we routinely get at least a booking online a week!

Wednesday 23 February 2011

Family History Writing Challenge - Day 20

I was able to work forward on the Butcher family with relative ease. I still did not know the surname of his wife, a fact which frustrated me no end. I knew an approximate year, based upon the birth of their first son Charles in 1823. I descend from Charles. I searched every parish in Surrey for the marriage of John Butcher to a Mary born circa 1799. I had started with Guildford because on the 1851 census Mary had said she had been born in Artington Guildford. I could not find a marriage in Guildford, or Godalming the two main parishes either side of Artington, then I went into rural Surrey. Nothing. I searched for a marriage of a John Woolgar to a Mary for the same period. There was one, in Hascombe, Could this be it, given that just a generation or two before John there was links to Hascombe? No, The John and Mary in Hascombe were having their family in Hascombe while my John and Mary was having theirs in Wonersh. I double checked and crossed checked in case the children were baptised in both parishes, but no. They were two separate families. I wasn't even contemplating at this point if the two John's were connected. Frustration was an understatement. In disgust, I focused on their children.

Charles was the eldest of 9 children, born between 1823 and 1844, all but the last child born in Wonersh.
  • Charles born 1823 *
  • William born 1826 *
  • Mary Anne born 1828
  • Thomas born 1830
  • Alfred born 1832
  • James born 1835 *
  • Henry born 1837
  • Ellen Jane born 1841 died 1844
  • John born 1844 died 1855 born in Shalford
Using the marriage sources I traced all the children. In keeping with the family tradition and the complications with marrying cousins and spouses with the same surnames Thomas married a Sarah Woolgar in 1861, and James married a Denyer in 1868.

Over the course of the last 24 years I have met just two other people who descend from the children of John and Mary, which I do find interesting. The line of Alfred moved to London, as does a later part of the family descended from William.

* What I find particularly fascinating is that I descend from Charles, I have met a contact whose wife descends from James and a contact whose line descends from William. A member of each of those lines of descent has a Thyroid condition which I find interesting.

As far as I know no one else in my family has this condition so is this coincidence, or is this something that is in the genetics?

Word count 445

Family History Writing Challenge - Day 19

My several times Great Grandparents were John Butcher born 1795 and Mary his wife born circa 1799. What has always fascinated me is that for a very long time I could not find John's birth record, all I had was an approximate year based upon the census details. Then I could not find his marriage. One thing I knew with certainty was that John and Mary had existed, had they not I would not be here!

I turned again to the rural parish of Wonersh, about 5 miles or so from Guildford and went systematically through the parish records. I started going through the census details, the 1841 census purely told me that John was born in Surrey, the 1851 gave more details, although not about his family. I then started extracting all the Butcher references to the parish. Eventually I wondered had John been illegitimate and baptised under his mother's name?

The clue to John's parentage was actually in a will. John was baptised as a Woolgar, and the base born to Sarah Woolgar. His father's will (James Butcher) admits that he is the illegitimate son of James Butcher and Sarah Woolgar, even though his parents marry in 1801. So John was born a Woolgar and yet lived his life as a Butcher. I wonder how he felt when he was 6 years old and his parents married? James Butcher and his wife Sarah also had another son born in 1802 who inherits the bulk of the Butcher estate, which was detailed in the will of James Butcher.

The strands of the family came together very slowly and without actual planning. As I said I had extracted all the Butcher references, and by doing this I came across James and then researched each of those individuals until I found a link with John. It was slow and took several years.

I then went to the records office. In those days Surrey Records Office was split into two, the Kingston office and that at Guildford known as the Muniment Room. It was a great place, attached to the museum and I often visited weekly. I called for some documents, I can't recall what now, but it would have been probably Butcher related. Whilst I waited I inspected the name card index, and just to kill the time whilst waiting for my documents to be delivered to the table I flicked immediately to the name of Butcher and when to John. Never for one moment inspecting to find anything. On the card index was the details of John and a reference to a taxation form for 1864.

I called for the document, which came in a miscellaneous file with some other documents relating to the same surname. Once at the table I started reading them. I then spotted his will. I knew it was my John from the death records and the omission from the 1881 Census. Had I not gone through the card index I would not have found the will. There are no records of the will at the probate office. Also in the pile was the envelope the will had been in along with a note saying that the documents had been handed into Wonersh Village post office and then donated to the records office.

From his father James, John had inherited a cottage in Wonersh Street. The cottage is still standing although the son of John that inherited it upon his father's death in 1877 sold the cottage. Likewise, there are some photographs in the archives, which were housed in the local studies library at Guildford and are now at the Surrey Records Office in Woking that showed a photograph of the house and details of whom had donated the photos, which were initially to Croydon library. They were donated by someone with the Butcher surname, unknown to my branch of the family.

Another loose end, just one of many connected with this crucial part of my ancestry.

Word count 660

Tuesday 22 February 2011

The Sunday Salon - A week of books

My post this week is a little late, the weekend seemed to fly by. I have been caught up this last week with various genealogy & blogging tasks, writing furiously for the Family History Writing Challenge. I am rather pleased that I have written every day, although I have the last 3 days to still post to my blog.

I acquired two books over the weekend as a reward for going to the dreaded supermarket!
  1. A perfect Proposal by Katie Fforde
  2. The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith
On the way home yesterday I nipped into the local library, taking advantage of one of the two late nights.I didn't really need any reading material, but didn't manage to make it and left with
  1. The Step-mothers support group by Sam Baker
  2. 9th Judgement by James Patterson - how could I resist?
I have also finished the second of the four library books I borrowed two weeks ago, the fourth in the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear - Messenger of Truth. I am in the middle of Trade Winds by Christina Courtney, but will start the next book in the Maisie Dobbs series - In Complete Revenge as this follows on nicely, and quite by chance I spotted a Maisie Dobbs readalong, which I note I have just finished book four in time to contribute to the readalong. Then I shall head back to Trade Winds!

Messenger in Truth (Maisie Dobbs) by Jacqueline Winspear


ISBN - 0719567391
Publisher - John Murray 2006
Paperback Edition.

This is the fourth book in the Maisie Dobbs series. This series gets better and better and as the character develops and takes further shape, we as readers are drawn in all the more to a great series.

The central character is Maisie Dobbs, a former nurse during the Great War. Now, though Maisie is a private investigator working in London and owns her own business, car and home. A rarity for the 1930s, this book is set during 1931. During this page turner Maisie is asked by Georgina Bassington-Hope to investigate the death of her brother, a former soldier and artist who died tragically whilst he is setting up an art exhibition. Nick has experienced war. His way of coping with the events he witnessed, first as a front line soldier and then as a war artist, is to paint what he sees and this does not always bode well with those around him. As Maisie investigates she encounters secrets, war stories, smuggling and does eventually seek out the truth.

Meanwhile, her associate Billy encounters a tragedy of his own and Maisie breaks off her relationship with her latest suitor.

The author has captured the essence of a "modern woman", perhaps Maisie was a woman before her time as she sets out on the road to independence and maintaining that independence. Very well researched and despite being a fictional book based upon tragic life events and the aftermath.

Cross posted to Book Reviews

Monday 21 February 2011

In My Mailbox - Week 3

"In my Mailbox" is a weekly meme I spotted on The Story Siren Blog. Read all about the fine details to take part.

This last week has been fairly quiet as I've not been very well. I have had another cold which developed into a chest infection and a very painful ear which lead to more antibiotics. I therefore spent some time reading and blogging, and did not go out until Saturday and did not make my planned visit to the library.

Last Friday in the post a book arrived for my Mum, which was a present as part of her birthday present. Family Ties by Danielle Steele. So, whilst not strictly my book, it did arrive through my letterbox!

As a reward for going to the dreaded supermarket I selected two books
  1. A perfect Proposal by Katie Fforde
  2. The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith
On the way home I nipped into the local library, taking advantage of one of the two late nights.I didn't really need any reading material, but didn't manage to make it and left with
  1. The Step-mothers support group by Sam Baker
  2. 9th Judgement by James Patterson - how could I resist?

Family History Writing Challenge - Day 18

There is so much we inherit from our ancestors. One thing I find curious is just what we develop as being part of a family group compared to what is genetically passed down. I recently wrote to someone about age and there is a history of longevity in my family. My Great Great Grandmother, Caroline Ellis died aged 91 in 1935. Her daughter, my Great Grandmother, Annie Prudence Butcher nee Harris died in 1972 aged 92. Then three of my Great Aunts, the daughters of Annie died aged 94,98 and 95 respectively and the daughter of Annie's sister died aged 95 years. Whilst it is not usual to died at a grand old age now, I suspect it was in 1935, and perhaps even in 1972. Is that trend inherited or just luck? The men of the family died fairly young. The sons of my Great Grandmother all died before she did. We can explain men's early deaths - the unknown effects of smoking and the huge toll of manual labour, but women, certainly in the late Victorian period would have had just a hard time, especially if they kept house and worked in the fields....many hands make light work.

Physical similarities are really expected to be passed down. I for example look very like one of my second cousin, not too surprising as we are second cousins through a brother and sister marrying a brother and sister. Other similarities are height, eye colour and alike. I may have mentioned through the course of this blog that I am half Italian. I always feel very Anglo when I am with a group of Italians, yet can feel very Italian when I say or do something when in the company of non Italians. Curious.

So, when I look in the mirror and see my reflection just what else do I see? I see probably the resemblance of a few generations of family history.

Word count 321

Sunday 20 February 2011

Family History Writing Challenge - Day 17

In my kitchen breakfast room we have a triple display unit. The photograph shown here shows the centre section of it. This display unit is the home to an assortment of things. Things we have gathered together as a result of wanders around antique centres, or from a well known auction site. It also houses lots of china and things that I inherited from my Grandmother. The water set on the top shelf, the beautiful tea set that sits on the second and third shelf which were wedding presents given to my Grandparents in 1939 and on the bottom shelf sits a few plates and serving dishes inherited from my Grandmother.

My favourite bits are the tea set. It seems ironic that we have all this china, which lived in a cupboard, out of sight when my Grandmother was alive, yet we don't have a single photograph of the wedding. Sad, but true.

About 10 years ago we were in Honiton having a wander around one of the then many antique shops when I saw some bits that complimented and matched this set. I pondered; should I get them and add to the set or leave the set as it stands as a true reflection of my Grandparents wedding? I asked Stuart who said, unhelpfully, its up to you. I wandered back and forth, picking up bits and then replacing them. In the end I decided not to buy of any of it. Do I regret it? just a little. It is a lovely set. I have never used it and I suspect that neither did my Grandmother. As to who bought if for them I have no idea.

The bottom of all the items it reads:
X L Ware
Flying Pheasant
British Made

There are no other details and apart from that one day in the antique shop I have never seen any other pieces.

That tea set is really as much a part of my family history as any written word or picture of an individual. Most of us inherit bits from family members and we of course treasure them, as gifts from a known individual. Do we though look beyond that? To explore the how did they get the item and why? All those thoughts and questions build further information into the life of the person from whom we inherited it from.

Word count 395

Silent Sunday - Quilt

I spotted an interesting theme over on Twitter called Silent Silent - here are details. It is a bit like Wordless Wednesday hosted at Geneabloggers.

I don't think I'll participate every week, but we'll see.

Here is my offering for today.




Saturday 19 February 2011

Book Blogger Hop - Books turned into Movies

Book Blogger Hop
From the Crazy-For-Books web page "the Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love of the written word! This weekly BOOK PARTY is an awesome opportunity for book bloggers to connect with other book lovers, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books! It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs to read! So, grab the logo, post about the Hop on your blog, and start HOPPING through the list of blogs that are posted in the Linky list below!!

The Hop lasts Friday-Monday every week, so if you don't have time to Hop today, come back later and join the fun! This is a weekly event! And stop back throughout the weekend to see all the new blogs that are added!"

There are a few rules!
1. Enter your blog address at the linky list on the Crazy-For-Books website
2. Post about the hop on your blog & answer the question on the Crazy-For-Books website
3. Visit other blogs in the linky list

This weeks question is:

"What book(s) would you like to see turned into a movie?"

I am going to say three series of books. Both very different from each other, but nonetheless, great books and I am always eager to see the next book in the series. Here they are, not in any particular order.
  1. The Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear
  2. The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon
  3. The Elm Creek Series by Jennifer Chiaverini
As I said, each series of books is very different and I get lots of pleasure from reading books by these authors.

Friday 18 February 2011

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History - Wk 8 - Technology


Week #8 – Technology.What are some of the technological advances that happened during your childhood? What types of technology to you enjoy using today, and which do you avoid?
Week 8: This challenge runs from Saturday, February 19 through to Friday, February 25 2011

I love technology. I love the versatility of it all and how what would have seemed impossible or perhaps only would have appeared in science fiction books now actually happens.

I remember the first time Stuart wanted to buy a mobile phone. I simply thought why? What on earth was the point?, it would just be something extra to carry around and eventually I would end up with it in my handbag....I was right! That was certainly during the lifetime of living in this house, so the last 15 years. Now we both have iphones and I love it.

I love the versatility of an iphone, although I initially could not see the point until I visited the O2 shop locally with Stuart who was looking to upgrade to a Sony.......the salesman said why not the iphone? He showed all its capabilities and the applications page and getting emails, photos and I thought I want one of those. So last June we went ahead and got them.

I remember at the secondary school I went to there were no computers, there was word processors. I even still have one in the loft and the discs that I now can not access. I love computers and the facility to be able to do whatever I want to do using the keyboard. I love the Internet,and email. It allows me through email and Facebook to keep up to date with my cousin and her children, to share the incidental fragments of their lives. A real contrast who some my ancestors who left a rural village called Hascombe Surrey in 1823 and migrated to Australia. They would have said goodbye to their family knowing they could possibly write and it might takes weeks to arrive, they would in all probability not be able to see their families again. Yet, I managed to whilst doing my grocery shopping answer a question for my cousin's son who wanted to know something for a school project. His answer would have been received almost instantaneously. That is truly remarkable.

Then on top of all the pleasure technology there is - computers, xbox, mobile phones the size of match boxes there are the important things in life. The facility to conduct keyhole surgery, ventilators, various medical test and diagnostics. Cooking equipment, microwaves, although I still can not use mine!, cookers, and a whole host of other gadgets to cook and prepare meals. Fridges and freezers. I can still remember my Grandmother getting her first fridge. She kept opening the door to check it was working!, washing machines and dishwashers. The facility to get in an aeroplane and fly to any destination, safety allowing, that we want.

Given that, as a race, we only use 10% of our brain, just think what is still achieve able. We are limited by our imaginations and we owe a great deal of thanks to our ancestors who set the ball rolling with the Industrial Revolution.

Thursday 17 February 2011

Family History Writing Challenge - Day 16

Following on from the Ellis post, was it yesterday? I was inspired because of two things. I dusted the photo of Caroline Ellis in the lounge and thought that I should look at the Ellis family for day 16 and then I picked up my email and there was an email via Genes Reunited from someone who connected with the Ellis family. Not just the Ellis family of Elstead, but my particular branch of the Ellis family. Horray!

I then ploughed my way through oddles and oddles of papers, all on the Ellis family. Reading everything as I went. I emailed back to the enquirer delighted that contact had been made. I then received another message via Genes Reunited from someone who was a known cousin to the first email researcher. Excellent, I zapped off an quick email and thought were there any more? Well, there was one more researcher who recorded their interested ancestor as George Ellis born 1775 in Guildford that I had not been in touch with. I email them and opened my tree for viewing.

I was delighted and exhausted after reading all those Ellis papers, to see that the last correspondent also connects to my particular branch and he is descended from the brother of my Great Great Grandmother Caroline, Frederick Ellis.

Genealogy has the last laugh because Frederick Ellis born 1846 and brother to Caroline only went and married a Harris. I am no longer wondering if there is a connection, I am wondering when I shall find it or will the last laugh be on me?

Word count 263

Blogging about Books and Writing Group Ball - 17-20 February 2011

She Writes
Blogging about Books and Writing Group Ball
Thursday 17 - Sunday 20 February 2011

Over at She Writes, Meg who hosts the 1st Books blog thought it would be great to host an online Ball as a get to know you event - great idea! So here's the deal:
  • Add your own blog using the Linky, leaving a description of your blog
  • Add a post on your own blog sharing a blogging tip
  • Visit the other blogs and leave comments!

Welcome to Anglers Rest, where I describe my blog as The Rambling Obsessions of a Fisherman's wife! ~ a real assortment, with snippets of genealogy,books, cross stitching, scrap booking, web pages and general ramblings. Really the blog reflects the two big obsessions in my world, reading and books and genealogy, and if I can merge my two obsessions so much the better! Stop by and have a browse!

What tip can I pass on? Well, write from the heart. I know perhaps lots of people will read it and you might not want that, but there is something very curious about committing finger to keyboard something that might be personal, that perhaps you would not say face to face, or write down and show to someone, that you can do over the Internet via a blog. Somehow, being "out there" is anonymous. Think about it, it is curious isn't it?

Here is the link to others taking part.

Wednesday 16 February 2011

Graveyard Rabbit Carnival - The Oldest Stone - January 2011


The topic for the January 2011 edition of the Graveyard Rabbits Carnival was
The oldest stone.

"This topic was submitted by the Association. Post a photograph of the oldest tombstone in your family collection, your local cemetery, or one you just happened to bump into in your Rabbit travels. That would be the oldest burial date!"

I am always amazed that for some reason some headstones stand the test of time, yet others don't.
I submitted for this Carnival, the stones we found whilst on the Isle of Bute in July 2009.

Here is one of my favourite photos from this collection, which shows the mix of Graves stones.

Bute July 2009 101

Family History Writing Challenge - Day 15

I have always thought that my Ellis families from Puttenham and Elstead were connected. When I initially embarked upon trying to untangle the Ellis I shared my thoughts with Ivy Sheffield, who was my Grandfather's first cousin. Ivy was then in her late 70s, but like most of the Grandchildren of Caroline Harris, nee Ellis, Ivy had an amazing memory and as I explained my hypothesis to her, she simply nodded and said I suspect your right. Not perhaps the most helpful of statements, but I felt that there was perhaps some truth in my thought process.

Then in 1990 I met a contact, I can't even remember how we met, but someone who shared a connection to one of the Ellis families in Elstead. She didn't live too far from Elstead and I was invited to tea and to see the documents and photos she had. They were delightful. With hindsight I wish I had photographed them, but I didn't, although I did transcribe and described the documents. The transcripts of those documents is online. Following that meeting I was even more confused and I elected to go back to basics and start again with a clear head.

The bottom line was there were too many families in the same 4 mile radius each having children and calling them all the same names. See the problem?, but there was a glimmer of light on the horizon and I remember telling myself at the time that I must not get swept away and caught up in the details that I was about to unravel.

The first thing was to head back to Ivy. Her son in law, (DW), was the Grandson of a man, from Elstead called Job Ellis. DW presented me with a birthday book that had come down through his family, and was understood to have originally belonged to Adelaide Underwood. I copied the details and like the other Ellis material it is online. It was the least of my problems to know where Adelaide Underwood slotted into the general mix. So my big question was to DW what is the connection between your Grandfather Job and your wife's Grandmother Caroline? The answer was a smile and then "that is what your to find out!" I could have cried. I didn't of course. DW reached into a photograph album and very kindly lent me some photographs that I shall load to the Ellis' of Elstead blog.

So, now I had four sets of Ellis families in the parishes of Elstead, Puttenham, Godalming and Guildford, and in 1992 I met a fifth connection to the Ellis families.
  1. My Great Great Grandmother Caroline Ellis born 1844 the daughter of George and Prudence nee Budd in Puttenham.
  2. Job Ellis born in Elstead in 1848 and the Grandfather of DW
  3. The family of John Ellis born 1817 in Elstead whose family had migrated to Geelong Australia in 1854. I had already made connections with at least three other researchers in Australia and met them during their time in England, or mine in Australia
  4. The family of my contact OS whose family came from Elstead.
  5. The family of my contact BE whose husband's family came from Elstead.
The early families, were easy to work on.
  • John Ellis born 1817 was the nephew to Job Ellis through the marriage of George Ellis and Sarah Hall in 1801 and subsequent lineage to James Ellis
  • Caroline Ellis born 1844 was the Second Cousin to John Ellis leading to James Ellis
  • Caroline Ellis born 1844 was the third Cousin to Job Ellis leading to James Ellis
Initial research has shown that James Ellis, who is the key to this entire family was one of three sons who were the children of James Ellis born circa 1690 and Jane Edwards who married in Peperharrow in 1710. As to what happened to the other two children of James and Jane I have no idea, and I am almost to frighted to find out!

The members who connect to the families of OS and BE are related and eventually join up and connect to Job Ellis.

So I was right when I sat and said to Ivy I think they all connect, I simply hadn't thought that they connected back in 1710!

Word count 720

Tuesday 15 February 2011

World Book Night

Around Christmas time I saw details of World Book Night and wanted to be involved. I heard about three weeks ago that I had been accepted as one of 20,000 book givers, to distribute 48 copies of my chosen book, which happens to be Toast by Nigel Slater.

I read Toast back in June 2007, here is that review

"This was one of the Times reads for 99p reads back in 2007. A delightful book, written as a series of small re-collectings of past times. Funny in places with some sad bits and lots of descriptive bits about food, and his childhood.

I enjoyed this, as I read it I also took a trip down memory lane, school milk, which has a very similiar effect on me to that of the author, having suffered a similiar fate as a child at junior school. The ponderings of an artic roll, we had one for desert about three days after I read this, the first time in probably 25 years! not to mention the walnut whips I purchased and consumed as a result of memory lane!"

You can follow the events and updates of World Book Night via

Book Lists & Cataloguing Books........


Following on from an earlier post I made to the Sunday Salon on 29th January and then further inspired by a post at The Blue Bookcase.

How do you keep track of books you've read?
How do you keep track of books you want to read?

The internet is a wonderful tool, but has the capacity to make a really easy decision difficult by giving us too many options.

I have a Library Thing account and a Good Reads account. Do I really need both? I found that I needed to make a definitive decision and stick to it. At the moment as I read books I tend to review them and post them to my blog. I tend to keep my wish list on, hanging my head in shame, on scraps of paper by my desk, on my iphone, a note book and a wish list on Amazon. Where I record does tend to be reflected on where I am and what I am doing at the time.

I have an iphone. I came across an application that used the camera facility to scan books held into the application thus building a catalogue of books own. I then came across another application and pondered on that.

Home Library
I was reasonably impressed with Home Library when I tried the lite version, which is restrictive to 10 books. The books can be added to the library via the camera facility on your iphone by scanning the bar code or manually, which is especially helpful for those older books without bar codes. Home Library also allows for books that have been loaned to be marked as such, as well as the facility to scan computer games, DVDs and music discs in the same way as the books making this a comprehensive facility for cataloguing. The application does give a price for replacing the item should it be damaged. This is of course a price guide as there is no way the application could confirm the condition of a particular item, but is useful as a guide for replacing items. There is the facility to register the application and upload to the net an entire collection.
Lite version is free to download and the full package is 59p. Latest update February 2011.

MyBookLibrary
I liked the interface with this application. The write up for MyBookLibrary at the ITunes stores implied I could use the camera scanner. I could not see how to. It appeared that in order to add books I needed to add all of them manually. Lite version is free to download and the full package is 59p. Latest update December 2010.


I now have three points:
  1. How to record books I've read
  2. How to record books I want to read
  3. How to record books that I own - my own catalogue
In a perfect world I would like to be able to use my iphone to scan the contents of my books with bar codes, and be able to manually add those that were published pre bar code days. I would then like to import my personal library into Library Thing.

I have over the space of the last few years recorded books that I have read but I don't necessarily own on the Book Crossing site. I had hoped they could be added into the Good Reads site, using the import facility, alas no. Each book needs to be entered individually. I also need to reduce the books I want to read into one place - a note book and use that in tandem with my wish list on Amazon. I have two wish lists - one for the Amazon.com site and another for Amazon.co.uk site. Perhaps this could be incorporated into Good Reads?

I read a book a couple of years ago called "So Many Books, So Little Time" that is a perfect title not just for books but also recording them!

Family History Writing Challenge - Day 14

When the majority of our ancestors married did they do so for love? Divorce was time consuming and expensive and restricted to those who could afford it. We all like to think that our ancestors married for love.Think all the hardships they endured to raise their families, those families who, if they had not existed, then neither would we.

I was given this picture by one of my Grandfather's first cousin's and I recall showing it to my Great Aunt. Her sight wasn't particularly good, but I wondered if she had ever seen the photo, so I asked her.

I was surprised and delighted with the answer, which was, I don't just recall the photograph she said, I took the photograph she said really proudly. Well that was two of us who were proud.

The photograph is of my Maternal Great Great Grandparents, Henry Harris (1843 - 1929) and Caroline Harris nee Ellis (1844 -1935). The couple had married on 3rd December 1864 at Puttenham Surrey. This photograph was taken on the occasion of their 60th Wedding Anniversary in 1924 and was taken at Manor Farm at Wanborough Surrey.

I am delighted that:
  1. I had a relative that recalled taking the photo
  2. The photograph had survived
  3. My Great Great Grandparents had lived long enough to have celebrated their 60th Wedding Anniversary. At the point of the celebration Henry was aged 81 and Caroline aged 80 years.
Henry and Caroline raised a family of 10 children born between 1864 and 1885, their eldest child, born just a few weeks after their wedding.

Was this true love? I do hope so.

Word count 273

Treasure of the Month - January 2011

I have wanted to write this post for several weeks. My dilemma was what Treasure should I start this monthly thread with. I knew that if I waited I would eventually make the decision and today it wasn't so much a decision, it was more that the Treasure was obvious and I can not believe that it has taken me two weeks to realise it.

The treasure is Memories. There is nothing to see, apart from a set of rather basic looking note books in which I jot down some memories in addition to the family history information passed to me by family members. There is no monetary value on those memories, they can not be insured against for loss, just simply shared with those who are interested and perhaps recorded for the future, some are posted within the confines of this blog and shared with a wider scope of reader. There are of course some memories which are confined only to my mind and will not be shared with anyone, and when the time comes they will pass along with me.

How do you record your memories and do we really understand the value of them?

Linkwithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...