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

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

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

C Morgenstern

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

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

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

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

Waitangi Day Blog Challenge

Waitangi Day Blog Challenge : Your earliest known ancestor

From the Facebook page of Auckland Research Centre

Recently our Australian cousins have all been encouraged to blog about their earliest piece of research about an Australian ancestor in celebration of Australia Day (see Shelley's blog at Twigs of Yore). We think this is a terrific idea and have noticed that it has provoked participation from loads of people. Waitangi Day, on February 6, is our national day. Its intent is to celebrate a bringing together of the peoples of New Zealand and it is usually a family day.

Post your contribution here

My connection to New Zealand is a modern one. My Grandfather's brother Harry Butcher married Ann Lasseter in Guildford in 1942. All that is known about Anne was that she was a Land Girl during the war and I guess that is how she met my Uncle Harry who worked on a farm and was therefore in a reserved occupation. Together, Harry and Anne had two children. After Harry died in 1958 Anne remarried to My Grandmother's brother Ernest Matthews. What is especially interesting is that prior to marrying Anne, Ernest had been married to Harry's sister Margery. See how complicated genealogy can get? And that is just the start of it!

Ernest and Anne had one son and at some point Anne's daughter by Harry migrated to New Zealand. Now Ernest died in 1975 so I guess this is the time frame for the migration, see I did say it was modern! Once the daughter and her family were in New Zealand that strengthened the case for Anne to go which she did.

At some point Anne remarried in New Zealand and remained so until she was widowed in 1992. Anne passed away during the last few years in New Zealand having left her son by my Uncle Harry here in the UK with his family. Her daughter and her family are in New Zealand and her son by my Uncle Ernest is also in New Zealand. Certainly my particular branch of the family has not had any contact with Anne and her family since the late 1950s, which is such a shame. So if you are reading this and this rings any bells, please get in touch.