Happy 75th Anniversary to my Grandparents

Today marks the 75th wedding anniversary of my late Grandparents.

They married at Guildford Registry Office and the witnesses were friends. The marriage certificate does not indicate that any family were present, but I know they were.

At the time of their marriage my Grandmother, Lilian Edith Matthews was 26 years old, both her parents were deceased and she was living with her sister and brother in law in Guildford. My Grandmother also had another sister and six brothers. At least one of the brothers was at the wedding because he was married to my Grandfather's sister.

My Grandfather was 31 years old and both of his parents were alive and as were his eight siblings. I know that at least two sisters were at the wedding, Marge who was married to my Gran's brother and Dorothy who was my Grandfather's younger sister. I suspect others were there, because my Grandmother naturaly gravetated towards my Grandfather's family.

The photograph shown here was taken at Shoeburyness in Essex when my Grandparents were visiting my Grandfather's older sister Gladys. This dates to about 1949 and is one of the earliest photographs of my Grandparents with my Mum who was born in 1947. There were no photographs of the wedding. Not surprising as my Grandmother hated having her photo taken. Of course England had been at war two months by the time of their happy and special day.

My Grandfather died in July 1974 just four months before they were to celebrate their 35th wedding anniversary. How sad my Grandmother must have been, for them to not have reached their special milestone. I know she missed him for the rest of her life; she lived another 21 years passing away in April 1995.

Virtual Advent Tour - Kiva - Genealogists for Families Project

I am delighted to take part in the Virtual Advent Tour hosted by Marg & Kelly. This is the third time of taking part. It is a wonderful way to meet other bloggers and spread festive cheer! When I decided to take part I selected two special dates - this is the first of those two dates.

The 18th of December always signifies two things in our family, exactly one week to Christmas and my late beloved Grandmother's birthday. Today she would have been 101 years old and I so wish she was here, more so this year than any other.

Back in 2011 I made my first loan of $25 to the Genealogists for Families Project at Kiva. The basic principle is that you loan $25 through the scheme to individuals who do not have access to traditional banks. When the loan is repaid you can either withdrawal your money or loan again. You can make many loans or just one or two. The choice is up to you. I should point out, that you don't need to be a genealogist to join the genealogist team, who have made loans of a staggering $82,250 at the time of writing this post. To demonstrate how successful the project is, when I wrote a similar post in 2011 the team had loaned $5,350. In fact for the last two years I have made regular loans and I always make a loan commemorate my Grandmother's birthday.

My Grandmother was a true inspiration to me. We spend many, many hours together, shared shopping trips, hospital visits, conversations, jokes, hugs, cuddles and laughter. When she passed away she left a void that was very big and I knew that I would never fill that void. That has indeed been the case and today, I feel a real sadness, not just that she is not here, but that Mum is in hospital and I so wish that my Grandmother was here, so that I could share my worries and concerns and tap into the wisdom font that my Grandmother was.

So, in memory of an outstanding lady, who gave me so much I have made another loan with Kiva.

Christmas is the time for giving and I want to commemorate the lady who was my Grandmother. Acknowledge her achievements and values and to assist others in her memory.

The photograph here is of my Grandmother, Lilian Edith Butcher nee Matthews (1912 - 1995) on the occasion of her 21st Birthday.

If you would like to join the team, then please click HERE

Remembrance Day Photo Collage - Day Five

My grandmother, Lillian Edith MATTHEWS inherited her middle name from her Aunt, the sister of her father, Edith Annie Matthews born 1877 in Rugby Warwickshire. Despite this my Grandmother knew very little about Edith other than she was a "nurse". My Grandmother never remembers seeing her. Research shows that the miles between my Grandmother's family and that of Edith were not great, yet there appears to have been little communication between Edith and her brother.

What brought the family from the Midlands down to Guildford, where they lived in Merrow parish is unclear, but Edith did share one thing with her mother, they both died young.

I had inherited a few photographs of Edith, this photograph of her in a type of military uniform, and another two photos of Edith with her children, the first with an older boy and girl and the second photo of the same two children with a young baby. That confirmed that Edith did indeed marry and have a family.

I turned at first to the military style photograph. Edith would have been too old to have been especially active during the Great War 1914-1918, so I pondered on the Boer War. Family history indicated that Edith was a nurse, so I researched the various avenues available. Edith Matthews had never been a nurse, but perhaps was a Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD)?

I put the nurse aspect on the backburner for a while and instead sought Edith’s marriage certificate.

I eventually found it at Holy Trinity Guildford in 1902 where Edith married a Charles JELLEY. I was delighted, what a fun surname! It was not going to be too difficult to research Edith’s new family….or was it?

As soon as the 1911 Census was available to search I did. The search revealed that she was, in Redhill Surrey with her husband, two children Charles and a daughter Edith Mabel and her father, John Matthews who was recorded as a boarder.

1911 Census

I did a search of a death certificate for John Matthews. I found him in the Redhill registration district for 1927 residing at St Johns, Redhill although his place of residence was at 114 Walnut Tree Close, in Guildford. This was an address I was very familiar with as my Grandmother had been born there in 1912. The informant was a G. A. Read, occupier. Why was the death not recorded by Edith?

Death certificate of John Matthews December Quarter of 1927 Reigate Surrey

So, it would appear that Edith and my Grandmother's father, also called John must have had some communication in regard to their father. John senior did according to my Grandmother live with them in Guildford, and like many families my Great Grandmother had in law problems and referred to her father in law as a dirty old man. I guess that he suffered from various conditions that affect elderly gentlemen!

While searching the Great War Service Records on Ancestry for another relative I did an off the wall search for Charles Jelley. I did not really expect to find that he would have been active. Much to my surprise he was, aged 41 years, called up as a reservist for the duration of the war. Having served during the Boer War with the 6th Dragoon Guards, he was discharged medically unfit in 1916. As I read through the record I spotted that another child had been born to the family, a baby girl Olive Kathleen in 1916. She sadly died aged 7 months and a copy of the death certificate was in the Great War Service Record for Charles Jelley. That confirmed the photographs of the children with Edith.

The photograph here is of Edith Jelley (nee Matthews) with children identified as Charles, Edith Mabel, Olive Kathleen.

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There is still no picture of Charles Jelley. The Service Record revealed something else of interest, and that I had been unaware of. The family had moved to Paddington London. As always, as one question is answered so another few arise.

I searched the online facility of FreeBMD to see if there had been other children born to Edith and Charles. None were found, but I found a death for Edith Jelley in the June Quarter of 1921 just aged 40 years. I felt such a wave of emotion. Here was Edith's death. I sent off for the certificate hoping that I had found another Edith Jelley, alas no, the certificate arrived. Edith Annie Jelley aged 40 years, wife of Charles Jelley a restaurant manager of 13 Malbern Road Kilburn. The death recorded by E. HARRISON sister in law who had been present at her death.

I knew that the surname of Harrison did not appear on the Matthews side of the family, therefore I assumed that E Harrison must be the sister of Charles Jelley. Using the search facility on FreeBMD I searched for the marriage of a Jelley to a Harrison. My luck was in and it revealed the marriage of Eliza Jelley to George Ernest Harrison in the December quarter of 1895. Then I spotted when I had another look at the marriage certificate that the marriage Charles to Edith had in fact been witnessed by Eliza Harrison. Which just shows that you should often look back at previously located information, sometimes we forget what we already know!

I may never know anymore about Edith, although there are lots more questions about their time in London, what happened to their children, although I have managed to trace the grand daughter of Edith's son. How did Charles become a restaurant manager, just to name a few.

I suspect that Edith was a VAD and helped to nurse Charles back to health. They lived next door to one another, a fact gleaned from their wedding certificate and were friendly faces to each other and I would like to think that potentially a romance blossomed as they married in April 1902 and Charles was discharged in June of the same year.

Whilst I can not at this time establish anymore about Edith and her time "nursing", she does deserve to be recognised for the contribution she and others like her made during the Boer War and the First World War.

Sources

• FreeBMD
• FindmyPast - Census 1911
• Ancestry  - Service record of Charles Jelley
• GRO for the various Certificates
• Family members who provided the photographs

Genealogy - Where Ever the Road Leads

I am not a great lover of the Daily Mail, a tabloid newspaper published here in the UK, but I do have a email that plops into my inbox most mornings. Today, there was this article which was giving a little background to the book shown here. It does sound fascinating and yet I do not seem to think this will be on my reading list just yet.

So, over my first cup of tea I read the article and my thoughts turned to my Aunt. She was German and married my Grandmother's brother following the second world war. I didn't know her very well although I have mentioned my Aunt before, as my Grandmother always said, her brother bought her back as a souvenir. The sentence was always said with a smile and even though the War was, and perhaps still is emotive, there was never any malice. It was a familiar repeated comment over the years and always my Aunt smiled.

I had tried before to locate a marriage for Emmy to my Uncle, but have never succeeded, that was, until today. My Uncle had served in the British Army during the second world war, and I had always assumed that he had returned to England soon after the war ended. This was not the case.

In the GRO (General Register Office) Indexes for Army Marriages I located their marriage in 1952. The index gave only the full name of the bride and where the marriage took place. I can now see that Emmy was not my Aunt's actual name, her first name was Helma with the surname of MANG, which I am assuming at this point was the name of her first husband and the marriage took place in Austria. Hopefully when the marriage certificate arrives it will tell me a little more.

My Uncle returned to England with his bride and her daughter from her first marriage. The daughter would have been about 10 or so years old and married in England under the surname of my Uncle. A further search this morning resulted in my locating the marriage for the daughter and the birth of her two children. How exciting is that?

My thoughts then returned to Austria and it's position within the War years and I feel a sudden thought towards caution. What will I uncover?

I came across the site of www.gen-evolu.de which enables me to search by name for a listing within phone empire in 1942.

There are just 47 listings for the surname all of which appear to be situated around the area of Sankt Polten.

I don't know the geography but as I have to start somewhere this seems as good a place as any. It is worth mentioning at this point the whole region would have been in a state of turmoil, with many many displaced people so this method is not in anyway conclusive.

Meanwhile, my attentions turned back to the UK as I wondered if my Aunt had to register within the United Kingdom. Up until 1974, those born outside of the UK or it's territories had to register at the police station and pay a fee under the Aliens Act. The question was did my Aunt, or did the fact that she was married to a British citizen exempt her? Surrey History Center were, frankly unhelpful. The chap I spoke to was not as obliging as some of his colleagues. Surrey Police headquarters were unsure. The National Archives at Kew has some Registration cards online for this time period, as long as the individual would be at least 100 years old. As my Uncle was born in 1909, the chances are Aunt was born around the same time and a search of the site drew a blank.

I then moved to other archives and am busy working my way through the various sites, including those dealing with the Holocaust. Whatever happened during those war years, perhaps should be left to history, but I feel that my Aunt's history should be told, there are so many thing things I wish I had asked. I sense where-ever this research leads it will be interesting, emotional and surprising.

Family Connections - A Reflection

I suddenly became aware, following my telephone conversation on Friday that I had with Edith's Grandchild, that on this particular line the descendant path stops here. For some strange reason I felt a degree of sadness and to be honest I have thought and reflected quite a bit on the conversation.

I offered to share the details,documents and photos but this was politely declined because quite simply no emotional connection was felt to Edith as a Grandmother, who was deceased before this Grandchild was born. Truly I am saddened.

I looked again at my Jelley family research and even though it is believed there are further descendants through the other child of Edith's,  I suspect that there will be little interest, even if I successfully manage to locate them,

This conversation had been my first major breakthrough on this line in many years and this conversation is certainly the first between descendants of Edith and descendants of Edith's brother John in around 100 years.

As I sat and wrote up my journal for Friday making notes of the conversation and recording the information gleaned, I decided that I shall share the details with the Jelley one name study, but the feeling of sadness remains. Illogical it might be, but fact it is.

Wonderful News - Family Connections!

Regular readers of this blog may recall my research into the life of my Great Great Aunt Edith Jelley nee Matthews. You can read the details on the webpage HERE.

Well research showed that the little boy in this photo did indeed marry and have a descendant. I spent some time yesterday pondering on whether I should make contact.

I located a road name,but not the number. Directory Services could give me a phone number but not a house number so it was either phone and potentially sound like and excited mad woman or write a letter and hope that the post man (or woman) knew their customers.

I pondered and pondered. Watched the news over lunch and pondered a bit more. In the end I decided that I would probably sound a bit enthusiastic, perhaps a bit excitable, like Alfie does when he knows or senses it's WALKIES time.

I rang, and after a few rings the phone was answered. I explained who I was and what I thought I knew and after a few moments, I was greeted with the voice of my several times removed cousin. This is the first contact this side of the family had spoken to my branch of the family. How wonderful is that?

I shared what information I knew, offered  copies of the photographs I had and in exchange I was given the small snippets of information that really I think define the issues that arose once Edith had passed away, aged 40 in 1921. I left my phone number, so we might keep in touch.

As I shared the information with Stuart during our time walking Alfie, I felt a strange sense that perhaps somewhere, looking down was Edith, knowing that perhaps that despite it being over 90 years later, someone, somewhere still cared enough. I can now look at this picture and see things in a different light, and know that whilst some would perhaps not have telephoned, I am glad I did.

Mystery Monday - Rugby School

My late Grandmother always said that her father, John Matthews (1875 - 1931) was educated at Rugby School.

Now Rugby School is quite a well known establishment. My Grandmother whilst she has not been 100% accurate on her family information there has always been a grain of truth in the stories or "facts" she relayed to me.

I was at an antiques fair about 15 years ago and saw a postcard of Rugby School so I bought it.

Then I bought another one...

I also bought a set of school lists, four of them infact - Winter 1904, Summer 1905, Summer & Winter 1908

Upon reading the inside of the books there is details of the Foundation of the school and the process for admitting a child

"Persons who were residing in or within a five mile of Rugby on 31st July 1868 shall be entitled to send their sons, if of good character, and be able to read English and capable of being taught the first elements of Grammar, to enter the school as Foundationers and to receive the instruction of the school free of charge"

So, from reading this there is a real chance that John was admitted to the school, based upon the facts

• John could read and write
• John's father had his own business in Rugby as a coke dealer
• John lived with his parents John & Elizabeth (nee Spencer) and his sisters Mary Anne and Edith (born 1877) in Rugby well within the 5 mile stipulation.

I wrote to Rugby School who advised that they had no record of John Matthews attending the school and suggested that I contact Lawrence Sheriffs School. This I did and sadly it looks as though I may be at a dead end, as the Lawrence Sheriffs School suffered a fire at the beginning of the 20th Century and many of the archives were lost.

I guess sometimes the questions are left unanswered.

Sepia Saturday 179 - Fairgrounds

Whenever my Grandmother was being a bit awkward or contrary my Grandfather would say, "oh, its the gypsy in you Lil"

I often wondered if there was perhaps any truth in the statement and my Grandmother's skin, certainly on her forearms was always rather tanned. When I started my genealogical research I established that my four times Great Grandmother was Bethsheba Drakeley.

Bethsheba had been born in Nuneaton in 1797 and married William Matthews in 1818 in Nuneaton. Together they raised 9 children. Bethsheba died in 1878 in Newbold on Avon in Warwickshire.

Old Arm Canal near Rugby  circa 1915

The name of Drakeley is fairly well known for involvement in fairgrounds and canal work, and this week's prompt gave the inspiration I perhaps needed to seek some images of Drakeley fairgrounds. There are quite a few images on the website for the National Fairground Archive.

If there is any truth in the story it will be interesting to explore the Gypsy culture and history. At the moment I can not see any evidence of my branch of the Drakeley's being involved, but who knows what I might discover.

Taking part in Sepia Saturday

Who was Emmi?

I was recently reading a post by Sally at Books and Musings from Down Under when I was prompted to ponder on the background of my late Great Aunt.

The link was quite simply the name of a central character in a book that had been reviewed HERE. The name, which was Emmi reminded me that was the name of my Aunt, she was according to my Grandmother German and had married my Uncle following the Second World War. The only other details I had was that Emmi already had a daughter from presumably her first marriage or relationship.

No other details were shared with me and to be honest I had not really thought of it for a few years. So having read the review I pondered on 

1. Whether Emmi was German or Austrian. In the book, which incidentally I have not read, Emmi was Austrian.
2. How did they meet?
3. When did they meet? - (during the Second World War is the only time line I have)
4. Emmi's surname  - birth and following her first marriage (making a slight assumption here!) - No record of a marriage is recorded in England.
5. How was Emmi received in the family? -  At this I can only guess as there is no one left to ask. 

My Grandmother was always fairly jovial and she simply said things as she thought them.  I recall once when she was in hospital the Doctor came to do his rounds. He had an obvious accent and of course the question had to be asked by Grandmother where, was he from? The response was Germany. At which point there was a humph, and a pause before the response of, I have a German sister in law, she is a souvenir from the war you know.

At which point I wanted to simply vanish into the ground. The doctor sat on the edge of the bed and asked where in Germany. At which point my Grandmother said, she had no idea. No one had ever asked, as everyone didn't want to rake up old upsetting feelings from the war years. The conversation continued a while and my Grandmother said that she would see if Emmi visited and if she did she would ask, but the important thing was they (meaning my Aunt and Uncle) seemed happy and that was the important thing.

As luck would have it a few days later during another visit, my Aunt arrived, she had heard via my other Aunt, who lived down the road that Gran was in hospital and so came to visit. She had just sat down, asked all the usual hospital questions when the same doctor arrived. My Grandmother introduced them to each other and then they were off, talking in German. They chatted for a while then he asked us to leave while he spoke to my Grandmother. He probably asked where she was from and how long she lived in England. Aunt never mentioned the conversation and I never saw the doctor again. As I can not understand German I shall never know the contents of the conversation.

So the question still remains, Who was Emmi?

Virtual Advent Tour - A 100th Birthday!

I am delighted to once again take part in the Virtual Advent Tour hosted by Marg & Kelly.

Last year I wrote THIS post about my late Grandmother and how I was giving to Kiva, via being part of the Genealogists for Families Team as a way of commemorating her birthday.

Likewise, I shall make a further loan as part of the team as today would have been my Grandmother's 100th Birthday.

She was, at least to me a very special individual. We spent lots of time together and her last Christmas was spent with myself and my husband, her visit last 6 weeks and we loved every minute of it.

My husband recorded some of our conversations as she reminisced about past Christmas', She recalled events from her own childhood, her parents, her siblings and her time spent as a newly wed during the early years of the Second World War. She remembered being so cross with my Grandfather for volunteering, when he could have worked at the farm where his brother's worked. Those video tapes are still here and have been transferred to DVD, yet I still can not watch them 17 years later.

She was a huge influence in my life and I dreadfully miss those conversations we had, the laughs, jokes and advise she gave.

I was incredibly lucky to have had her as my Grandmother and to have had such a wonderful relationship with her.


Here she is, in what is my favourite photograph of her. This was taken on her 21st birthday, so it does somehow seem rather fitting to share it here.

Incidentally, her present for her 21st birthday was a 24 carat gold bangle. I never saw her wear it, but she obviously treasured it as I am now the proud owner of it.

Lilian Edith Butcher nee Matthews
18th Dec 1912 - 21st April 1995




If you wish to join the Genealogists for Families Team, whose motto is  "We care about families, Past, Present & Future" please click HERE

In Memory of Lillian Edith Butcher nee Matthews 1912- 1995

17 years ago today, my beloved Grandmother passed away. I thought that I would share a few of my favourite photos of her.

• Top left - aged 12 years
• Top right - aged 21 years
• Bottom left - taken circa 1940
• Bottom right - taken circa 1948 with my Grandfather and their daughter, my Mum.

Beyond the Internet: Week 8 - Certificates

Continuing the weekly theme, inspired by Family History Across the Seas.

The early marriage certificate featured below, is the marriage of Richard BUD, who is my 4 x Great Grandfather.  Richard married Sarah Kemp in Stoke Next Guildford on 21st July 1796. This record was copied from the early church records which have been filmed by the Church of Latter Day Saints.

What is truly wonderful is that I can see the writing of Richard and his sister Elizabeth. Guildford was only about 5 miles from Guildford and was a bigger market town than nearby Godalming. It was also Sarah Kemp's parish. After the wedding Richard and Sarah returned to Puttenham where they raised their family.

Once Civil Registration came into force in 1837, the amount of data a certificate increases as you can see here, from the Marriage certificate of my Great Aunt in 1902, Edith Matthews to Charles Jelley.




Whilst the Certificates can provide details on the name of the father, perhaps the witnesses give a clue to family members, or the address. Even the occupation, nothing can be assumed to be 100% correct. In this case, it does not reflect that Edith and Charles had met whilst he recovered from an injury in the Boer War. So, whilst he perhaps was a labourer, he should have put soldier, as he was not discharged from the Army until June 1902.

Across the border into Scotland and the certificates provide much, much more information. In 2010, I accompanied my husband to register the death of his father. The registrar asked for details of my late father in law's occupation and that of his wife and any previous wife's. Had my sister in law registered the death she would not have provided accurate details and my mother in law would have had a an absolute fit at being asked for details of his first wife, whether she was deceased or not.  I should mention that clearly on the certificate it states that failure to provide correct information is subject to a £1,000 fine. Having registered the death we were issued with a small certificate, free of charge, which gives next to nothing in regard to genealogical data (this is the same in England). We paid for a full certificate.

Family History Writing Challenge 2012 - Day 3

I kept thinking of John Matthews and is death caused by "senile decay". Death certificates often indicate senile decay where death occurs as a result of old age. Do I really believe that?

My Grandmother said many times that her Grandfather was a "dirty old man" -  he would often forget to wash and would wet himself. She recalled this from her early childhood, when he would have been late 60s or perhaps early 70s. I wanted to explore the potential options that perhaps he had what we now know be Alzheimers or dementia.

Both are known to occur in families - driven by the essential facts of Chromosomes which are inherited. We each generally have 23 pairs inheriting half from our mother and half from our father.

My Great Aunt, John's Grand daughter developed Alzheimers. She died in the early 1980s and had always been very much like my Grandmother. Fun loving and very affectionate. When she was in her mid 70s she started to forget things, the usual sorts of things - after all she was elderly! She then started forgetting more serious things, such as forgetting to turn the gas off and would leave the front door open. Eventually she forgot who she was and every one else. It was truly soul destroying. I was an teenager at the time and didn't really notice an awful lot. Reflecting now I realise just how dreadfully sad things were.

In the mid 1990s my Grandmother developed something similar. Whilst her family history made her more likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimers, she had in fact a brain tumour, which is fairly common in patients that have had a primary cancer. It would though have been quite easy to have made an assumption, based upon the family history. The doctor in this case explored all options open to them at the time, which would have been a lot more than in 1927!

Whilst the death certificate is absolute, sometimes we need to look at the history surrounding the cause of death. Establishing what it means and try to understand it. After all, we seek to explore all the data of our ancestors and their death is the final fact.

Word count - 369

Family History Writing Challenge 2012 - Day 2

As I wrote the post for Day 1 of this challenge I created a very basic mind map. I usually create these types of things in my journal, but this one started life on a piece of paper and is pinned to my study notice board, and has been transferred to my journal.

The reason I created it is two fold. I wanted to have a spring board for other thoughts and research, which encompasses the additional research I am going to undertake to bring John Matthew's existence to life. Starting with these -

1. Coke manufacture & distribution in the late Victorian period
2. "Senile decay" - definition at the time, definition now and links to now known conditions.

I wondered about the man he was. The heartache he felt, widowed twice, firstly in 1880 and then again in 1896. He also endured, like so many parents of the time, burying one of his children. His eldest daughter Mary Anne (1872 - 1898). I wrote about Mary Anne for last year's Writing Challenge, but again have considered some further facts upon re-reading that post (you can read it HERE). How did John cope with all that life threw at him? 

As you will see from that post Mary Anne had a son. Although I have traced his existence to some degree in the parish and found a headstone in the cemetery, what happened to that son?  Who looked after him and raised him and taught him the basics - brushing his teeth, writing and reading, where did he go to school? So many, many questions and mysteries and all of them in "recent times" which really sounds out how many missed opportunities there have been. Did this child know his Grandfather John Matthews? Did he know his Aunt Edith and Uncle John (my Great Grandfather). Research shows that he did not live with either of Mary Anne's siblings. Edith herself died young and there is no mention of him in my Grandmother's immediate family. 

Word count - 335

Family History Writing Challenge 2012 - Day 1

I do not believe that I have ever read a genealogical document, even those I have read before or those that I knew existed, and thought "Okay!" I have always finished reading and pretty much immediately thought of a question that perhaps I need to ask or explore. Then the mind starts to race and we are off on another journey of discovery.

Sometimes, the road to discovery is simply a path of research and we follow one document or fact after another and it perhaps leads us to where we thought it would. Perhaps, no, not perhaps, it probably leads us to another question or thought. Sometimes that path makes unexpected twists and turns and we find ourselves completely out of our research comfort zone, or perhaps somewhere we we did not expect to; maybe migration to a Country not yet explored. Maybe an occupation that is mind blowing, in terms of skill or process. Not just how something was done, but how that something was done in say the 18th Century.

The journey we each make with our ancestors is full of the paper trail - names, dates and places. births, marriage and death records, census returns. These are the back bone of our research, but what about the other bits of research. How was something done, where was it done? Perhaps why was it done? Even, who was it done with.

My Great Great Grandfather, my Grandmother's Grandfather, was called John Matthews. He was a coke dealer. Yup, that black stuff that is mined. Not the illegal drug we know of today. He had a business in Rugby Warwickshire, was married and raised a family of three children. A small family for the 1870s; small because his wife died. He did remarry, but there were no children to that marriage. He also moved from Warwickshire to Surrey. Immediately I want to know why did he relocate, what happened to his business. Where did the coke come from and where did he sell it too? Did he employ men and they knock on doors and deliver coke?

My Grandmother told me that her Grandfather lived with her when she was a child, but he died when she was small. So, based upon that fact I searched for the death record from 1912 when my Grandmother was born. John in fact died in 1927. What made my Grandmother think he had died when she was a child?  From information that was also shared was that he was a "dirty man" - what did that mean? He would not wash, and would wet himself. He could not longer remain living with his son, daughter in law and 11 Grandchildren. Where did he go? Looking at the death certificate revealed the perhaps the reason. He died of senile decay.  - in 1927 conditions such as Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia were not known to have existed.

Is that so very different to some 80 year old individuals now? The address where he passed away is not known to the family. There was a brief mention of Redhill, but no family member lived at that address. More research is needed on that point. The address in Guildford is known. It is where my Grandmother lived as a child. The person who registered the death is not known to the family. Did he then die alone?

There were lots of questions to start with, but seeing the original document, so many more come to mind.

Word count - 584

Virtual Advent Tour - Kiva - Genealogists for Families Project

I am delighted to take part in the Virtual Advent Tour hosted by Marg & Kelly. This is my first time of taking part and I am hoping that it won't be the last. It is a wonderful way to meet other bloggers and spread festive cheer! When I decided to take part I selected two special dates - this is the first of those two dates.

The 18th December would have been my beloved Grandmother's birthday, her 99th one in fact. As I wandered up to my study to write this post I was suddenly aware that my Grandparents feature in pretty much every room in the house, despite the fact that we purchased the house a year after my Grandmother passed away. I have inherited lots of their belongings and photos.

Regular readers of this blog will have read various posts about my Grandparents and the families they descended from. I am very proud of them and the achievements they accomplished. I have been suddenly aware that apart from being my Grandmother, she was also a wife, a mother, a friend, sister and much, much more. In writing this post, I remember her, upon her birthday. The reality is, that I think of her every day and miss her the same. She was a huge influence in my life and her passing left quite a void

In the Spring after we moved here, I purchased a beautiful peach coloured rose. My husband planted it in her memory and every time I look out of the breakfast room window I ponder on what she would think of my zero gardening ability. The rose is lovely, and despite some fairly harsh Winters in recent years, it continues to flourish, with much assistance from my beloved. Usually on her birthday I purchase a bunch of vibrant coloured flowers, as that is how I recall her, bright, happy and always joking, and place the vase in a location where I can enjoy the flowers. This year I have opted for something very different.

About 6 weeks ago, perhaps longer, a fellow genealogist alerted me to a project called Genealogists for Families Project. The moto is "We care about families, Past, Present & Future" I joined the Genealogists team and logged in. I had a good read of the project and had a look at all the individuals listed who would benefit from a loan through the Kiva Organisation. I discussed it with my husband and shared my plans with him and pondered on how I could utilise the scheme with a genealogical link.

The basic principle is that you loan $25 through the scheme to individuals who do not have access to traditional banks. When the loan is repaid you can either withdrawal your money or loan again. You can make many loans or just one or two. The choice is up to you. I should point out, that you don't need to be a genealogist to join the genealogist team, who have made loans of a staggering $5,350 at the time of writing this post.

So, in memory of an outstanding lady, who gave me so much I have kicked off my involvement with Kiva and made my first loan. I have picked an individual who lives in Sierra Leone, because he is supporting several family members, purely because they are his family, and also my Grandfather was stationed in Sierra Leone during the Second World War.

Christmas is the time for giving and I want to commemorate the lady who was my Grandmother. Acknowledge her achievements and values and to assist others in her memory.

The photograph here is of my Grandmother, Lilian Edith Butcher nee Matthews (1912 - 1995) on the occasion of her 21st Birthday.

If you would like to join the team, then please click HERE

Carnival Of Genealogy 111 - Autumn Weddings

The 4th November represents the 72nd anniversary of my beloved Grandparents, Lilian Edith Matthews to George Butcher.

I would love to be able to illustrate this post with a photograph of the happy couple, but sadly I can not, as no photographs of the event were either taken or have survived. I do not believe that any were taken, based upon several factors. My Grandmother hated having her photograph taken and all those family members who were present at the time have been asked if they have any photographs of the event. No one had, and in the majority of cases no one even remembers a photograph or having a camera. How I long to see a photograph of this event.

My Grandfather, George Butcher was born in 1908 in Wanborough Surrey to Charles Butcher and Annie Prudence nee Harris. At the time of his marriage he was 31 years old and both his parents were still living. My Grandmother, Lillian Edith Matthews was born in 1912 in Guildford Surrey to John Matthews and Mary Elizabeth nee Elstone and at the time of her marriage neither of her parents were alive and she was aged 26 years.

The marriage took place at the Registry Office at Guildford and I wish I had asked my Grandmother about her wedding preparations, what was the weather like, did she have names of all the guests. Why did they choose a registry office wedding? So many questions. By the time of the marriage the United Kingdom had been at war with Germany for a little of over two months. Did the war have any impact on their wedding plans?

My Grandfather's family worked on the land, originally at Wanborough where he was born and by 1930 had moved across to Manor Farm at Onslow Village Guildford. The cottages occupied by the farm hands were lived in by my Grandfather's older brothers Arthur and Harry and their families and his older sister Rose and her husband Ernest Marshall. At some point my Grandfather went to live with another sister Ellen and her husband Edward Ayling in Shackleford, a village only a few miles away. At the time of his marriage my Grandfather was living at Manor Farm, but was working at the diary in Guildford on the bottling machines.

My Grandmother was living at Paynters Close in Guildford with her sister Elsie and her husband Bill Downes. The witnesses were Ellen and Jack Pummell, who were friends and who were to be future neighbours in Walnut Tree Close where my Grandparents lived from 1940.

Initially after their marriage my Grandparents rented a house at Bright Hill Guildford. In 1940 they moved to Walnut Tree Close where my family remained until 1996. Walnut Tree Close featured heavily in my Grandmother's life, as she was born at number 114 and spent the majority of her life at number 17, with only about a year or two away from the road.

My Grandfather joined the Army in 1940 and my Grandmother, in doing her bit for the war effort worked at the laundry in Guildford where they washed and ironed various bits of military clothes and linens. My Grandfather spent time in Africa and Europe and during the War years spent very little time with his new bride. My Grandmother also took in evacuees during this period and in one particular case this formed a friendship between families which remains to this day.

My Grandfather was demobbed in 1946 and settled back into civilian life and returned to his job at the diary. My Grandmother, like many women of the time returned to domesticity and they had eventually had my Mum in February 1947. My Grandfather passed away in July 1974 aged just 66 years and my Grandmother in 1995 aged 82 years. They enjoyed 35 years together.

Taken circa 1950 Southend Essex

Taking part in the Carnival of Genealogy, hosted by Jasia

Genealogy Photo Challenge - The Past is Present

The following is submitted to the Genealogy Photo Challenge for World Photograph Day on 19th August 2011. The theme is The Past is Present.

My contribution to this challenge is the graves of my Great Grandparents, John Matthews (1875 - 1931) and Mary Elizabeth Matthews nee Elstone (1880 - 1937).

The plot was purchased by my Great Grandmother in 1931 when her husband John passed away. In 1937 the grave was reopened following the death of my Great Grandmother Mary. My Grandmother always maintained that her mother's coffin was very heavy, it was lead lined and her mother had died from stomach cancer and there was concerns about toxins and alike. You can read more of how I became the owner of this grave HERE

The Grave located at the Mount Cemetery Guildford Surrey in 1937

The same Grave in 2007.

To take part, simply post your photograph and descriptive caption to your blog and send the link to The Family Curator by 15th August 2011.

NaBloPoMo - August - Fiction

The NaBloPoMo word for August if Fiction and whilst, I don't always take part my thoughts turned to the fiction of my family history.

We have all inherited stories of our ancestry and very often by the time we research the facts of the story, the storyteller has passed away and all we are left with is a story which may or may not be true, or perhaps there is a grain of truth and much fiction. The details and stories we are told can be used as springboards for the truth of our ancestry and I don't believe we can ask for more.

Frequent readers of this blog will have seen that I have posted about our recent holiday to Jersey of which I am currently about half way through. Jersey is rich in history, and much focus is given to the "recent" history of the German Occupation during the Second World War. There are monuments and the Occupational Tapestry, the Underground Hospital and a whole host of other things that makes the Island history rich in terms of this part of its history.

As we wondered and explored the island my thoughts turned to my Grandparents during the Second World War, were they fearful, how did the emotions of it all affect their lives? Why did my Grandfather join up?, he could easily have found work on the farm that my family worked on. What of my Grandfather's time in Africa? Did he see, like many others the dreadfulness of Europe? Some of these questions will never be answered, as there is no one left to ask, and his service record does not give instant answers.

What I do know is that my Grandmother had evacuees during the War and worked at the Laundry in Guildford, which washed and dealt with the clothes of the military. There is very little documentation of the formed laundry at Guildford, although the derelict building wasn't demolished until the late 1980s I think, and now the Crown Court sit on the same site. If only the walls of that old building could have talked, what stories would they have shared?

This photo is one of the ones that I have inherited, given to me by a cousin after my Grandmother passed away.  The cousin that had this photo was the daughter of my Grandmother's sister, so why did she have it? What did my Aunt do in the War? The photo shows my Grandmother in the middle, and two work colleagues from the laundry or two evacuees? There is no one left to ask, but I do know, because the photograph tells me on the back that one is called Eadie Greenaway, but which one?

For me, this is a combination of fact and fiction, and I believe that most of our ancestries can be like that. The stories we inherit are fiction, until we can prove them with evidence and then they become fact. Of course if we can't locate any evidence then we are always left wondering.......

Fearless Females - Day 9

March 9 — Take a family document (baptismal certificate, passenger list, naturalization petition, etc.) and write a brief narrative using the information.

The document I have chosen has formed part of an earlier posting for my Ancestor of the Week theme.

I eventually found the marriage of Edith Matthews, my Grandmother's Aunt at Holy Trinity Guildford in 1902 where Edith married a Charles Jelley. I was delighted, what a fun surname! It was not going to be too difficult to research Edith’s new family….or was it?

Marriage Certificate for Edith Matthews to Charles Jelly 8th April 1902

From the day I obtained the marriage certificate I was able to trace further the family from the 1911 Census which showed the family living in Redhill Surrey, I also located the birth of two children, which I had already knew existed by the photographic evidence I had. When the First World War military records were made available via Ancestry I did a search, not really believing that I would find anything about Charles, but I did!. It showed that he had been called for service and as part of this service record was the birth certificate for a third child, again I have a photograph which revealed two older children and a baby, which had sadly died in 1916.

I may never know anymore about Edith, although there are lots more questions about their time in London, what happened to their children, How did Charles become a restaurant manager, just to name a few. I suspect that Edith was a VAD and helped to nurse Charles back to health. They lived next door to one another, a fact gleaned from their wedding certificate and were friendly faces to each other and I would like to think that potentially a romance blossomed as they married in April 1902 and Charles was discharged in June of the same year.