Carnival Of Genealogy 121 - Great Discoveries

Over the years there have been so many wonderful discoveries. We can I am sure, all identify with those moments when it seems that time has stood completely still as we see in front of us a document or record that details OUR ancestor.  It is at that exact moment that the individual stops being a name and a few dates and becomes a "real" person. One that you wish you could ask questions of.

I had planned to write of an occasion which I know I have mentioned before, then just at the weekend I received an email from someone with an attachment of a photograph. All the email said, was had I seen the attachment and was the family mine?

I almost deleted the email, thinking I might see a dubious picture or have something rather dodgy happen to my laptop then I spotted the typed link in the email. I then followed the thread and typed the link into my browser and I had one of those moments.

Everything stopped. Regular thinking, dinner planning and contemplations of domestic chores. All that mattered was the details on my laptop, my files and notebook. Dinner was for that evening a takeaway. Poor hubby spent the evening with me muttering oh my every time I spotted something. I was irritating him, I could tell as the volume on the television got a bit louder! It did not disturb me, a herd of buffalo or an explosion could have happened, my complete focus was on the documents I saw before me as I contemplated the archives that we perhaps under estimate in our research.

In many rural locations vicars and curates kept meticulous notes and information relating to their parishioners. Apart from showing an interest in their parishioners, it also passed the time away in 19th Century England. So, I sat in my 21st Century lounge using a laptop reading a photograph of a document that had been written in about 1870. Isn't that amazing.

I had known of the existence of the actual notes made by the vicar concerned. The originals are in Surrey and were in fact on my next to do list. The email that I had received alerted me to the hard work of the local history society who with the aid of volunteers transcribed and photographed the notes. Transcribing is tiring work and takes time before being checked and published. I was therefore most fortunate to see the document relating to my own family and spot a further connection between two branches of my ancestry that I had not established.

Isn't that a great discovery?

Taking part in the Carnival Of Genealogy, hosted by CreativeGene

Carnival Of Genealogy 120 - Business and Commerce

My Grandmother always said "Uncle Joe had a shop and he went to Canada, but they didn't like it so they came back"  - It is not much to go on, but I did establish who Uncle Joe was and just where he slotted in to the family history.

My Grandmother's Aunt was Eliza Elstone, born in 1862 in Bramshott Hampshire to James Elstone and his wife Mary Denyer. In 1887 Eliza married Joseph Parslow in Kingston Upon Thames and together they raised a family of four children.

• Lilian Sophie born 1890 in Ontario Canada
• Emma Mary born 1893 in Ontario Canada
• Richard Henry born 1895 in Ontario Canada and died 1897 in Kingston Surrey
• Dorothy Edith born 1898 in Kingston Upon Thames Surrey

The Census reveals that Joseph was originally from Waltham Abbey in Essex where he had been born in 1863. At some point the Parslow's moved to Kingston as there is a well known population of the family there. Kingston is a Royal Borough and sits on the Thames and is technically in Surrey, and was originally in part of Greater London. 

So where was the shop and what sort of shop was it? Uncle Joe  had a second hand and antiques shop in in Woking and the family can be traced at an address in Monument Road Woking during the 1921 - 1923 period.  The 1901 Census shows the family living at Chertsey Street Woking, which is parallel to the work address, so that was a fairly easy commute to work!

There is so much work still to do with this family line. There was all sorts of stories from my Grandmother, a daughter, was killed by a Doddlebug during the war, twin boys called Pip and Squeak. All stands of mystery, some of which have been unravelled, although not fully. The daughter "killed by a Doddlebug" was in fact not killed and research has shown that she married and raised her family not more than 50 miles from where I am now sitting!

Taking part in the Carnival Of Genealogy, hosted by CreativeGene

Carnival Of Genealogy 118:Reading

As I sit and write this post I am in my study surrounded by books and genealogical papers. There are other things too of course, but books and genealogy are my main passions.

I can't remember my first book. I ponder that I might have had one of those cloth books that children get, but I can not be sure and when I asked my Mum if she could remember she didn't give me an answer, just that look, the one that says "don't be ridiculous!"

I have fond memories of sitting on my Grandmothers knee as she read my various Enid Blyton books again and again - Noddy books written before Political Correctness appeared. Books with Noddy, Big Ears and the Golly. I still have those Noddy books, with the 12p price ticket on and I can see them from where I am sitting, writing this. I remember those wonder Mr Twiddle books and Famous Five and lots of others by Enid Blyton and I was also a proud owner of a set of Rupert Bear books with their bright yellow covers.

I recall reading and sharing the various Mr Men books, when the series was just Mr Men, before the series expanded in view of equality and created Little Miss books! I had a small collection of Ladybird books and the small Observer series of books and I seem to recall that I had the book on stamp collecting.

I was not much of a comic fan, but as part of my pocket money treat from my Grandmother I was a reader of  several comics. Lamb Chop, Little Star and Twinkle. As I approached my teenage years I seem to think I read another, but can not recall its name. I do remember reading Smash Hits magazine when I was about 14. There was also Christmas Annuals produced to accompany the comics.

Into adulthood, and my reading is very varied, much like this blog. My personal book collection comprises of mainly historical texts - general history, or history relating to specific areas, times, people and includes historical fiction. I also have collated quite a few novels over the years and like to read sets in order.

The Alphabet Series written by Sue Grafton a favourite and in complete contrast novels by Jennifer Chiaverini featuring Elm Creek, a fictional quilting community.  I also have lots of genealogical books and various autobiographies. Upon the shelves there are books relating to the day job, pharmacy, education and management.

I love reading, and of course books in general. I love bookshops and can not walk past one. If I wander pass a charity shop or selection of stalls I always head to the book stalls and shelves. A few years ago we had a wonderful weekend break in the Welsh border town of Hay on Wye. Home to at least 30 bookshops. It was wonderful!  You can see a selection of photos HERE.

It was those early days of sitting with a book on my Grandmother's knee that created my real love of reading and books. My Mum is a reader too and even now we trade books and chats about our current reads. So as I sit in my study, surrounded by all the books, papers and what my beloved husband would call chaos I can, for lots of those books remember the where and when and how much!

We are in a digital age and as such even books are not exempt! - now the owner of a Kindle and iPad and various applications for reading books upon I can add to my book library in a virtual sense. That said, there are simply some books which have to be bought, held and enjoyed.

Over the last 4 or 5 years I have parted with some, either given them away to charity shops or sold via eBay and Amazon. The books I have now are like old friends and I am busy cataloguing them via LibraryThing.

Taking part in Carnival of Genealogy hosted by Jasia at CreativeGene

Carnival Of Genealogy 117 - 1940!

Like many researchers, I was quite excited when the 1940 Federal US Census was released. After all, we only had one known family who would have been recorded in the Census and that was my husband's Great Grandmother, her second husband and their son. I had successfully managed to build a profile of their life from 1905 when Annie arrived in the US up until the late 1940s, so locating the family in the Census was going to be easy, right?

Wrong! It has been anything but!

Annie & Harry Hindle, both born in Yorkshire migrated in 1905. At that time Annie was married to Charles Worship, and her divorce didn't become final until 1921 and she married Harry in 1922. I have written fairly extensively over the last couple of years about Annie and Harry Hindle and you can read an earlier post HERE.

Annie Hindle, Nee Rhodes and Formerly Worship
Taken circa 1921 Passport

I used the Census tracker aligning the address from the 1930 Census but that didn't reveal the Hindle's. I searched again using the same method in case I had missed it, but no. I returned to the original material I had and followed the address trail. Passenger lists for 1946 and the burial record of Henry and Annie in 1952 and 1953, respectively revealed the same address so that would be my starting point.

The address in question was 14 North Belfield Ave, Havertown Pennsylvania. The Census locator on The National Archives site uses the streets that intersect as a research guide. This is quite useful, if you know the area, so a search of a map was made. Just as I was about to head to Google Maps, I simply put the address into Google on the off chance it revealed any data. I was surprised to see this page which is really aimed at those buying and selling property, but does give some information. The year the house built is wrong, because we have the passenger lists for 1946, but the site is very useful. There are current review of the area, a detailed description of the house and a close up map with the property pin pointed.

Despite all the hours searching, I still can not find the family in the 1940 Census. There are several possibilities  as to why -

1. My lack of familiarity with US Counties within the States
2. My lack of understanding the framing & recording of the Census route
3. The family were in the UK at the point of the Census

A disappointing state of events, but it does confirm the worth of indexes that are being created by those reading and researching with the Census. I wrote about this HERE.

The Carnival of Genealogy is hosted by Jasia at CreativeGene

Carnival Of Genealogy 116 - Picture/Story for Women's History Month.

This pretty young woman is my Great Great Aunt, Emma Jane Harris, although she was born to her parents just before they married!

Emma Jane was born on the 1st November 1864 in Puttenham Surrey the daughter of Henry Harris and Caroline Ellis who were to marry on 3rd December 1864 and raise together a family of 10 children.

Emma married her cousin, William Arthur West in 1897. William was a soldier who had seen service in the Zulu Wars in which he had lost his first wife and young babe.
So I can imagine the emotions felt by both Emma and William as they married.

They were blessed with two children, a son, William James born in the military town of Aldershot in 1898 and Clara in 1901.

By the time of the First World War, William Arthur had left the services and had set up a newsagents business in Stony Stratford on the Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Borders. His son William James though, followed in his father's footsteps and joined the Army. I am sure that both his parents were proud of their son and the contribution he was to make. We know that prior to his departure to France he had his portrait taken and his mother treasured it. As it appears as a pendent in the following photograph.

Sad to say that amongst that proud parental feeling was deep sadness, as their only son paid the ultimate sacrifice. This is such a sad photograph, and Emma has such a haunted look. I simply wish I could move into the photograph and give her such a hug, but alas that is not to be.

It seems completely correct that I end this post with a photograph of Emma's only son, who died, aged just 20 years, only two months before the end of the First World War.

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Carnival Of Genealogy 115 - Flash Family History

Write 300 words per family line . I am focusing on my 8 maternal  Grandparents.

Charles Butcher & Sarah Ockley

 - Charles Butcher was born in the parish of Wonersh Surrey in 1823. He was the son of John Butcher and Mary Baverstock. Charles married Sarah Ockley on Christmas Day 1858 in Wonersh, when he was aged 35. It has just occurred to me that this does seem rather old for a first marriage, so was there a previous one?Together, Charles and Sarah raised a family of  8 children. Sarah died in 1877 and Charles remarried to Frances Pain in London in 1881 and they had six children.

- Sarah Ockley was born in Wonersh in 1835, the daughter of Peter Ockley and Maria Bolton. Sarah died in December 1877, some three weeks after the birth of her youngest daughter.  How did Charles cope with such a young baby and family? He was probably assisted by his eldest daughter MaryAnne who was 17 years old when her mother died. Charles worked as a labourer within the parish, just as his father had done before him.

Henry Harris & Caroline Ellis

- Henry Harris was born in Headley Hampshire in 1844 to George Harris and Harriet EARLE. Henry was one of not only 10 children born to George and Harriet, but also one of set of triplets.  George and Harriet had previously had twin boys, George and John in 1837, John though, died aged 1 year. In 1844 when Henry was born, his mother also gave birth to Emma and Thomas. Henry and Emma both lived into adulthood, although Emma died in her late 30s and sadly, Thomas died aged just one year. Henry lived until 1929 when he passed away aged 86 years. Was multiple, multiple births common in the 19th Century?  Henry worked as a labourer and around 1864 married Caroline Ellis in Puttenham Surrey.

- Caroline Ellis was born in Puttenham Surrey in 1844 the daughter of George Ellis, a former military man and Prudence Budd. The Budd family had been established in the parish of Puttenham since 1723, and lack of surviving records has prevented a firm conclusion of the Budd's originally living in nearby Shackleford. Together, Caroline and Henry raised a family of  ten children, all born in Puttenham.  Caroline and Henry spent 65 years together, with Henry passing away in 1929 and Caroline in 1935. We have a photograph, taken by their Grand daughter, my Great Aunt on the occasion of their 60th Wedding Anniversary.

John Matthews & Elizabeth Spencer

- John Matthews was born 1848 in the parish of Long Lawford Warwickshire. The son of William Matthews and Jane nee PETTIFER. John was one of 9 children born between 1846 and 1865. In 1871 John married spinster Elizabeth Spencer at Rugby Registry Office and they had three children, Mary Anne born 1872, John born 1875 and Edith born 1877. Not a huge amount is known of William's life other than upon the death of Elizabeth in 1880, he remarried in 1882 to Maria Flick at Rugby. John is known to have owned a coke business in Rugby, a thriving Midlands town. He moved to the South East of England around 1891 with his second wife and his three children. John died, probably alone in a hostel of some kind in Reigate Surrey in 1927. Very little has to date been established about Maria Flick. According to their marriage certificate she is a widow, but that appears not be the case!

- Elizabeth Spencer was born in 1836, just before Civil Registration began in England in 1837, in the parish of Brinklow in Warwickshire. At the time of her marriage she adjusted the ages to reflect a shorter gap between her year of birth and that of her husband's. In reality, she was 12 years older than he was. Elizabeth was the daughter of Joseph Spencer and Mary Lennett who married in Coventry in 1834. There is so much more to establish about this side of my family, so many, many questions....

James Elstone & Mary Denyer

- James Elstone was born in 1835 in Bramshott Hampshire, not a huge distance from where Henry Harris (above)  was born. James was 4th child of a family of 8, the children of William Elstone and Eliza BRIDGER. It is this stem of my Grandmother's family that connects to my Grandfather's through the marriage of the William to Eliza, which does complicate things. It was this discovery that identified that my Grandparents were actually 6th Cousins, although they had not known it in their lifetimes. James married Mary Denyer in 1857 in Bramshott and together they raised a family of 9 children. The Elstone's had been a fairly well established family in the Bramshott area. William Elstone had been a paper maker, an occupation he developed through the inheritance of the paper mill at Bramshott which had come into the Elstone's estate through his Grandmother Ann PIM. There are various branches of this line, that migrate to both Canada and Australia and are very involved with paper making. At some point James and Mary move from Bramshott across the border into Surrey and take up residence in the area known as Merrow. James died in 1901 and is buried in the Churchyard at the small church. He was joined by his wife, Mary in 1913.

- Mary Denyer was born in 1837 in apparently Liphook, the parish adjacent to Bramshott. After many years of searching every parish in this part of Hampshire and the neighbouring parishes in Surrey I finally found Mary's birth in Lurgershall Sussex. Mary was the youngest daughter of a family of ten children born to Edward Denyer and EmalineLurgershall in 1815. Very little research has been done further into the Denyer and Luff lines, but the boundaries of this part of Sussex, Hampshire and Surrey and the constant appearance of the same surnames within various family lines and the movement amongst the parishes is problematic.

Conclusion

What I have established in writing this post is actually how little I know the details of my Great Great Grandparents. My Grandmother's ancestry  MATTHEWS & SPENCER from Warwickshire was, in the early years inhibited by two things - distance and the amount of data passed down to my Grandmother. The ELSTONE and DENYER lines are similar. Very little details passed down to my Grandmother who met as a young child John Matthews and was only a baby when Mary Elstone passed away. In contrast to My Grandfather's family, where there are links via photographs and my the memories of my late Aunt who took the photograph here. Whilst this is the end of this post, it is not the end of the research into these family lines.


Carnival of Genealogy is hosted by Jasia at CreativeGene

Carnival Of Genealogy 114: Creative Gene's iGene Awards for 2011!

This is the first year I have taken part in the iGene awards. I hope you enjoy revisiting these posts, which are a selection from 2011.

Best Comedy 

There is not especially lots of humour at Anglers Rest blog. Hopefully, not because I am grumpy, but just because that is the way it is. It might seem odd to select a post about Disasters, which appeared as the post for week 10 of 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy. There is a wonderful story which is about my Grandmother - completely oblivious to the potential chaos! Read that post HERE

Best Biography 

The nomination for this is probably the lengthy post I wrote about Henry Rhodes Hindle, who is a relative of my husband's. Henry was born in England in 1904 and  migrated as a baby in 1905. A fascinating history and I really enjoyed piecing together Henry and his parent's life. You can read the full post HERE

Best Documentary

This is awarded to the post I submitted to commemorate Australia Day 2011. It reflects the trials and tribulations of George Bridges Bellasis and his wife Esther, nee King. Esther was truly a remarkable women. She made her mark in history. You can read that post HERE

Best Screen Play

Now, this is not cheating, but for this I am also going to nominate the post I submitted for Australia Day 2011. Where Esther was a remarkable women, her husband was a bit of a scamp! and I think his story would make a fabulous screen play! That post is HERE

Best Picture

The award for this goes to one of my favourite family photographs.

The photograph shows my Great Great Grandmother, Caroline Harris nee Ellis and four of her daughters, My Great Grandmother is the lady on the far left. You can read the post that I submitted to Fearless Females HERE

Carnival of Genealogy is hosted by Jasia at CreativeGene

Carnival Of Genealogy 112 - An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving

Here in the UK we don't celebrate Thanksgiving. We do, or we did when I was at school take part in Harvest Festivals.  For this Carnival of Genealogy are am going to do some imaging, based up the facts surrounding the amazing life of my husband's Great Grandmother.

Annie Rhodes was born in Bradford Yorkshire in 1869. In 1889 in Bradford she married Charles Worship and together they had three daughters, Emily, Florence and Lilian, my husband's Grandmother. Over the course of the last 5 years or so I have researched the Rhodes and Worship family and you can read about it in an earlier post HERE. In 1905, Annie Worship, although recorded as Wurship, boarded a ship to the United States; with her was a new baby, a son, that had been born in Bradford.

Passenger List from Ancestry.com 1905

When Annie got off the boat, in Philadelphia she became known as Annie Hindle as did the baby. Her divorce from Charles Worship did not take place until 1921 and her eventual marriage to Harry Hindle in New York in 1922. From what I can understand, Annie had a relationship with Harry in England and then became pregnant. She left her husband and migrated to America following her new love. Upon arrival she took Harry's name, but it would be 16 years before they could marry. 

As the ship from England had arrived a year earlier just after Thanksgiving, it would not be until 1906 when Annie & Harry with their son Henry would celebrate Thanksgiving.  It appears that Annie and Harry embraced their new life in a new Country. I am imagining that they sat down to dinner together, perhaps with new friends and celebrated the weekend. While the turkey or duck was in the oven did Annie quickly whisk up some batter and make Yorkshire Puddings to accompany their dinner? And as she did so, did her thoughts turn to her children left behind in Yorkshire? 

After dinner, was there some board games, or perhaps laughing and jokes?  Did Annie, in the midst of those celebrations turn her thoughts to England to her three daughters that she had left behind? Did she feel a little bit of regret? Would any of us make a different decision? Remembering that this is the early 20th Century. Views of living as a married couple when married to another would have been severely frowned upon. Abandoning her children likewise. It is so easy for us to view things through modern eyes. Annie made a huge and very difficult decision. 

These are questions that we will never know the answer too. My late father in law had a series of photos and we videoed them in the mid 1990s. I have since transferred those images to DVD, but very little of their life in America has passed to us. What has happened is that I made contact with someone who was the step son Annie and Harry's son. He very kindly provided me with some details and the very special image below, the only photograph that we have of Annie & Harry Hindle and their son Henry Rhodes Hindle.

Taking part in the Carnival of Genealogy, hosted by Jasia.

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

Carnival Of Genealogy 110 - What Tree Are You?.....

'What tree best represents your family's history? Is your family most like a towering redwood, weeping willow, or a stately oak?  Maybe you think of your family more like a brightly lit Christmas tree or a tropical palm'

What a fascinating pondering, this months Carnival of Genealogy is. 

My ancestry is diverse, spanning across continents, from my marriage in Kenya in 1994 to my several times Great Uncle, John Hunt Butcher's migration to Tasmania Australia in the early 1800s. To a cousin, Louisa Butcher migrating to Canada In 1903. To my Ellis ancestors migrating to Geelong Victoria Australia on board the James Baines in 1854. To my Elstone ancestors who established their papermaking business in Ontario, having migrated from Hampshire & Sussex borders in 1854.

To my King ancestors making the journey  to India in search of future husbands in the Honourable East India Company during  the 18th Century.

Three of the King sisters 

To the Bellasis & Bowring families, who both spent time in  India; and John Bowring who spent time in Hong Kong. To my Cousin who embarked upon a new life in Australia in 1946 and never made the journey home to see his parents.

William James West 1898 - 1918

To my relatives who served in various areas of the military. William West who served during the Zulu Wars and whom lost his first wife in Africa in 1896. To William James West who died in the battlefields of France during the Great War, and my several times Great Grandfather, George Ellis who served for 20 years in the Army & who following receiving wounds was discharged and survived until he was in his 80s.

To my Grandfather who was stationed in Sierra Leone  during the Second World War. 

George Butcher during World War II

There are many other ancestors & relatives whose time, both in & outside of the UK is still being researched. The adventures, some of which were quite a surprise when they were discovered, and those that are still to be discovered & researched. Some were simply visits & adventures, such as Alfred Elstone to New York in the early 1920s, to my own year long adventures to Australia in the early 1990s. It is those visits, I am sure, that made those who travelled the people they & I became.

Furthermore, my Sicilian ancestry is a huge unknown chapter, which needs & deserves much more research and understanding.

So which tree reflects my ancestry? I don't think a sole tree can reflect it. My ancestry, which I am immensely proud of is reflected in a fictional plantation of trees.

The Butcher family who were wealthy can be described as a solid oak tree whose roots were firmly established in Surrey initially for 300 years. My links to Africa, through my beloved grandfather & our wedding is reflected in the Baobab tree. My Australian lines, are reflected by the Eucalyptus tree, situated in a bed of wattle. My Sicilian heritage reflected in a gathering of olive trees.

The reality is, that these trees, because of the variations in climate would never grow side by side. Yet, I find that this is further reflective of the different lines of my ancestry, across the Centuries & Continents, as these ancestors would never have physically met & walked side by side.

Many of the surnames in my ancestry appear more than once, many lines intermarry & intermingle and this can be perfectly reflected by a weeping willow.

A Christmas tree with sparkling twinkle lights reflects each one of my ancestors, their lives reflected in a beautiful iridescent light, twinkling reminding me of the contribution they each made to my ancestry.

I thank every one  of them.

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Carnival Of Genealogy 109 - Our Ancestors' Place of Worship!

St Nicholas Church in Guildford Surrey was the venue of my Christening in the late 1960s, that of my Mum in the mid 1940s and my Grandmother in 1913. It was also the venue where my Grandfather's sisters married during the 1930s.

This is the photograph of my late Great Aunt, Dorothy Lilian Butcher upon her wedding to Richard Dick in 1936.

I have a Christening Certificate which was presented to my Mum at my Christening, alas it has the wrong middle name for me and is written as Julie Joyce. Joyce was in fact my Mum's middle name! So either the vicar looked at the register or it was the same vicar!

My Grandfather was Christened at the parish Church in Wanborough in 1908 and prior to that we have almost 250 years of ancestry on my Grandfather's maternal line connected to the beautiful rural Surrey parish of Puttenham, which is the subject of the two photographs below and that of my One Place Study

This is a great photograph, showing the font at Puttenham. How many of my ancestors have been baptised here?  There is rather an amusing story which concerns one of my Ellis ancestors at Puttenham and features this very church.

George Ellis was a blacksmith in Puttenham. He was busy working and a spark caught and set alight a building next door and suddenly Puttenham was in the midst of a fire. The locals rushed to form a human chain between the fire and one of the village wells which was situated in the front ground of the church. The fire was put out and over time the well was covered. It remained covered until Easter Sunday 1972 when during the service a huge noise was heard. Upon leaving the church, it was visible that  a tree that had previously taken root over the spot of the well had completely disappeared into the spot thus locating the hidden well. The well is now visible for all to see and the spot marked with a plaque celebrating its rediscovery after 222 years.

Now, having read the information in the archives for the village I was curious as to how the well had been covered and why no one remembered the spot where it had been situated? So many questions..... and this little story demonstrates how the church was interwoven into the lives of our ancestors.

The Carnival of Genealogy is hosted by CreativeGene

Carnival Of Genealogy 108 - Foods & their links to the past

This posting is doubling up as my weekly contribution to Weekend Cooking and my monthly contribution to the Carnival of Genealogy.

General Pondering

There is something rather comforting about food and I wonder what it is? Is it that historically, generations before us our ancestor and relatives went to bed hungry, so that when we feel the need for something to perk us up we eat? Then, what foods do we eat? Women often find solace in chocolate, a fact that is hormone driven, but has that always been the case? As children many of us have happy memories of being off from school, cocooned on the settee with a special blanket and being given a food, such as soup for lunch. Even now, I like a particular brand of Vegetable or Tomato soup if I am poorly.

Links to the Past

Recipes and food often hold special places in our hearts and are reminders for past & happier times or of those special people in our lives.

There is nothing particular special about the recipe above. It was written by my Great Grandmother, Annie Prudence Butcher nee Harris (1879 - 1972) in about 1965 to my Grandfather, her son and my Grandmother and mother. It is a simple jotting of a recipe, which presumably, my Grandfather had asked for in a previous letter; a letter which sadly has not survived. This is the Great Grandmother, who to was a very elderly lady, that allowed me to sit on her bed and tickle her toes when I was about three and is probably one of my earliest memories.

Wine making did play a part in life of my Grandfather. My Mum remembers a bottle of wine, which was about 10 years old at the time being taken to the reception of his Nephew and being shared round. Mum commented that the wine was very strong, enough to knock your head off!

I inherited from my Grandmother a Victory in Europe cookery book from July 1945, which I wrote about HERE. There is just something very special about this little recipe book and I don't know if my Gran ever used it. Perhaps, the specialness, is because, after 15 years I still miss my beloved Grandmother dreadfully and since my holiday and whilst away on Jersey, seeing elements of the Second World War there, it made me wonder what my Grandmother had experienced. 

Casting my mind back to the summers of my childhood, there was the delicious home made lemonade, which sat in the larder in a large heavy 1930s china jug decorated with summer flowers. The jug has long since gone but the recipe lingers on and will be made today I think, a lovely summers day in England. 

The recipe is simple.

Add sugar to a jug, to taste

Cut 1 or 2 lemons 

Add boiling water to the jug and stir

Place in the fridge until cold

More casting my mind back was for Saturday evening tea, was a large potato baked in the oven, forked pricked and then served with strong grated cheese and a smell that I still love and every time I smell it, it evokes happy memories of my childhood, and the people who greatly influenced me to become the person that I am.

Carnival Of Genealogy 107 - The Seasons of My Genealogy Research

If I were to align the seasons of the year to my genealogical activities I would say that:

• Spring would be the season of reflection. What material do I have? What do I know? and What do I need to find out? 
• Summer would be Season for undertaking the research, visiting the archives, relatives and cemeteries.
• Autumn would be the season for evaluation. Assembling the research and the material and knowledge already gleaned. What still needs to be discovered. 
• Winter would be the season to write up the material into a knowledgeable and workable archive, fit for the future. Winter would also build into the reflections of what I need to do in the following Spring.

Researching our ancestry isn't like that though is it? Of course I tend to visit Cemeteries more so in the Spring and Summer and perhaps Autumn and rarely in the Winter, but that is not a certainty. 

I have spent hours sorting through two large filing cabinets in my study over the last year, yes, I did say year. I have shredded so much material, all domestic sensitive waste that I filled our cardboard bin twice over! The plan was to go back through my genealogical files and folders and streamline the material ensuring the data appeared in my computer programme. Not a quick job by any means. 

I also streamlined all the material that relates to my two one name studies, one place study, a collection of material of a particular road that features in my ancestry and a collection of papers that relate to two locations, both out of the UK to see if the material is substantial enough to be called a one place study and if it isn't do I want to build into the data so that it is.

I have decided that for the remainder of this year I am going to refile and establish my next path of research. Catalogue photographs of graves and cemeteries and generally evaluate what research I have and what I need to still locate. 

I guess that all these activities put me somewhere between  Spring and Autumn and as I establish what data I have about specific individuals I shall head into Winter with a Ancestor of the Week post.

Carnival Of Genealogy 105:Favorite Current Technology

I resisted the urge to upgrade to an iphone and made a huge generalisation that they were completely unnecessary. Then about a year ago hubby was looking to upgrade and we were shown the versatility of an iphone and I knew I HAD to have one!

The arrival of an iphone or two in this household has made the internet come alive further with the never ending opportunity to tap into the virtual world. The internet has made lots of things accessible to us, particularly in the genealogical world, but being able to access that on the go is wonderful. With the touch of a button or two I can check emails, log in to Facebook, Twitter, read a book, take a photo, and perhaps load to Flickr, check my bank balance, listen to music, the list is endless. The never ending list of applications makes the world of an iphone a very adventurous place.

Have I gone a step further and purchased an iPad? No, but that is driven around the cost issue. I have a good laptop, so why do I want one? Well, I could tap into all the things that I use my phone for and have the bigger screen, but is that enough? Perhaps readers can give me some pointers and put me out of my misery of making a decision. 

I have looked at the cheaper options of other tablets, and in some cases they are almost as expensive as the iPad. The memory that each has seems to be small than the pad, but the alternatives have the facility for USB connection which is very handy. Equally, we have online storage facilities such as Dropbox which does make accessing files in a multitude of places easier. 

In some ways, the whole concept of the internet is remarkable. We live in an online world. Many of us have access to Facebook and Twitter where we can catch up with old friends via Facebook and make new ones via Twitter. We, in the genealogical world use, to all intent and purposes, a new facility in order to research an historical way of life. 

What would our Grandparents, Great Grandparents think? Would they be as in awe of what we have achieved as a race as I am? Just a 157 years ago an ancestor or mine boarded a boat for Australia as a free settler. They were at sea for around 3 months, lived in harsh conditions and would have knowingly boarded that vessel understanding that they were leaving behind everything and everyone they knew for something that was completely unknown. That was just 157 years ago, almost the blink of an eye. 

Further consideration. Here I am debating whether or not to purchase an iPad, my ancestors would have debated how they could pay the next lot of rent, afford the new infant that was on the way and where the next meal was coming from.

Haven't times change?

Carnival Of Genealogy 104: When is a car not a car!

The following post is not about a car, but it is a mode of transport and one that has a link to my husband's ancestry.

The photograph shows my late father in law, Derek Goucher 1926 - 2010, on his BSA motorcycle, when he was stationed at Blandford Camp in Dorset in June 1958. He bought the motorcycle for £250.00.

We know nothing about the motorcycle other than what has been mentioned here. Stuart wanted to try and either locate the bike or at least find out a bit about it and perhaps purchase a similiar model.

I posted the photograph to our site on Flickr and also to the BSA photo group and after a period of four years, someone posted that the model was a BSA C12G.

Carnival Of Genealogy 103: Female Genealogy

As modern women I believe we truly under estimate the hardship, suffering and resilience of our female ancestors. Let us consider what we have that they often did not.

• Electricity and Gas, forms of heating and light
• A benefit system that could be used if the need arose, without fear of stigma
• Running water that was safe to drink
• Accessibility to medicines that worked
• Security from unscrupulous employers, landlords and retailers
• A World where child mortality is low
• Being able to wash ourselves,clothes and dishes without have to visit the well first.
• Women's rights - we are able to vote, to own property and to be our own person
• ......the list is endless.

How would we cope if we had to work 15 hours a day for a meagre wage? Yet our ancestors did and they, in some form or other survived otherwise we would not be here today. Women are often the backbone of the family, not from necessarily a financial aspect, although, in rural 18th and 19th Century England women would have worked in the fields too, and the children. Women tended to the men folk, looked after elderly relatives in a domestic sense, looked after the children and tended to the homes and organised the food requirements, making the money goes as far as it could. I believe that we underestimate the female ancestors we each have and perhaps judge them in comparison to modern standards.

What though, if you had been born into the middle and upper classes? You grew up being unable to provide for yourself in a domestic and financial manner. If we want a cup of tea we switch the kettle on and make it. In the 18th Century, depending on your financial standing you either rang a bell and someone made you the drink of your choice or you went to the well and obtained the water, perhaps carrying it and any young babes several miles, poured water into a pan of some kind and boiled it over a fire. Could you even afford tea?

As I have researched my own ancestry, I have developed an attachment to some of my ancestors, their contribution to my ancestry is, in some cases overwhelming. The first is Esther Bellasis, who has been the resent subject of an earlier post, and I will not reiterate that here in its entirety, except to say that Esther made a contribution to history that she herself probably never even considered.

Esther was born Ester King in 1770, the daughter of John King and Mary nee Budd. The whole story resembles that of Pride and Prejudice as John and Mary had a family of 10 children, 9 of whom were girls,and nearly all of them involved with the Honourable East India Company in some way. Esther married George Bridges Bellasis in 1796 in Calcutta India. George was known as the most "Handsome man in India" a fact gleaned from the book written about the Bellasis family called "An Honourable Company" by Margaret Bellasis published in 1952.

What has been established is that the girls went out to India in installments, as they became of age and they were dispatched to parts of the "Empire" in the care of the elder sisters. The story is that one of Esther's sisters was proposed to. The proposal was later retracted and a dual between the proposer and George Bridges Bellasis ensued. As a result George Bridges Bellasis was sent to Botany Bay for life for killing the proposer, having been transported on board the ship called "The Fly" in 1802. When he arrived in Sydney, George was immediately given a conditional pardon by Governor King and on 24 June 1803 received a Royal pardon as an "act of commiseration towards a gallant, but unfortunate officer and an afflicted dying wife".

I wondered about Ester. Just what had her life been like? Married to a well to do member of the HEIC, was she shamed because of the dual and subsequent outcome of that?, then transported like a common criminal? I wish I knew just what she thought and felt. I wondered just what research material had been left behind of the Bellasis time in Australia. George it is well documented as a military man in Australia and India, there is evidence that he was involved in the Freemason movement in the early days of the colony.

I did a search online for "Mrs Bellasis"+Australia and for variations of - Botany Bay, Ester Bellasis and was very surprised to find this painting.

I sent off to the archive, The Mitchell Library, State Library for New South Wales, for a electronic copy and it is one of my genealogical treasures. What is especially wonderful is that the painting by Ester Bellasis is the earliest known piece of artwork by a woman in Australia, so it looks like Ester made her mark after all, which I find delightful, and this is what I meant when I said her contribution to history.

George and Ester returned to England in the early 1800s and Ester is commemorated at Puttenham Church having died in 1805 in Berkshire, at the Bellasis home. George returned to India and later remarried, to his deceased wife's sister, Elizabeth Kent nee King, herself a widow. George died in India in 1825 and the sister Elizabeth in Kent in 1837.

There is just something about that picture that I find soothing. Perhaps it is the fact that Esther was in some small way a women in her own right, in a small way an artist, a contribution to history that she would probably have never realised at the time. Did she get on the boat back to England and realise that the painting had been left behind, or did she intend to leave it far from home? We shall never know.

Do though, some of the characteristics and skills of our ancestors live on in us, two, three or even ten generations later?

This is a photograph of one of my Maternal Great Grandmothers, Caroline Ellis nee Harris 1844 - 1935 with four of her daughters. My Great Grandmother, Annie Prudence Butcher nee Harris is the lady on the far left. Caroline was in her early 90s when she died, as was my Great Grandmother, and that tradition was followed by three of Annie's five daughters. Yes, people are living longer, but is that the only reason for longevity? Isn't there a chance that genetics, passed from one generation to another simply continue, as do expressions, gestures and a hosts of other things that we inherit from our relatives.

When I look at this photograph, which I was given, from the daughter of the lady second on the left, who also died in her mid 90s, I am struck by the time line of history. When Caroline was born Queen Victoria had been on the throne for 7 years, and when she died we were just 4 years away from the Second World War. For me that is a perspective. The changes that Caroline had experienced are remarkable and I can't help but wonder just what she would make of the 21st Century, with our lives of internet shopping and communication via the internet and telephone, What would she make of an iphone or an ipad for example. So much development in what is historically speaking a short space of time.

I hope, that my ancestors would be as proud of me, as I am of them and the contribution they made to my ancestry.