Fearless Females - 31 Blogging Prompts to Celebrate Women's History Month - Introduction

In March 2010, The Accidental Genealogist launched a series of blogging prompts to celebrate Women's history Month. I missed it last year, but this is running again this year and although I am a little late, I am taking part.

The prompts are provided by, and copyrighted to The Accidental Genealogist and are listed one for each day in March. They are listed here purely as an introductory post to assist me as I follow the challenge.

Blogging Prompts.

March 1 — Do you have a favorite female ancestor? One you are drawn to or want to learn more about? Write down some key facts you have already learned or what you would like to learn and outline your goals and potential sources you plan to check.

March 2 — Post a photo of one of your female ancestors. Who is in the photo? When was it taken? Why did you select this photo?

March 3 — Do you share a first name with one of your female ancestors? Perhaps you were named for your great-grandmother, or your name follows a particular naming pattern. If not, then list the most unique or unusual female first name you’ve come across in your family tree.

March 4 — Do you have marriage records for your grandparents or great-grandparents? Write a post about where they were married and when. Any family stories about the wedding day? Post a photo too if you have one.

March 5 — How did they meet? You’ve documented marriages, now, go back a bit. Do you know the story of how your parents met? Your grandparents?

March 6 — Describe an heirloom you may have inherited from a female ancestor (wedding ring or other jewelry, china, clothing, etc.) If you don’t have any, then write about a specific object you remember from your mother or grandmother, or aunt (a scarf, a hat, cooking utensil, furniture, etc.)

March 7 — Share a favorite recipe from your mother or grandmother’s kitchen. Why is this dish your favorite? If you don’t have one that’s been passed down, describe a favorite holiday or other meal you shared with your family.

March 8 — Did one of your female ancestors leave a diary, journal, or collection of letters? Share an entry or excerpt.

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

March 10 — What role did religion play in your family? How did your female ancestors practice their faith? If they did not, why didn’t they? Did you have any female ancestors who served their churches in some capacity?

March 11 — Did you have any female ancestors who died young or from tragic or unexpected circumstances? Describe and how did this affect the family?

March 12 — Working girl: Did your mother or grandmother work outside the home? What did she do? Describe her occupation.

March 13 — Moment of Strength: share a story where a female ancestor showed courage or strength in a difficult situation.

March 14 — Newsmakers? Did you have a female ancestor who made the news? Why? Was she famous or notorious? Did she appear in the social column?

March 15 — Write a six-word memoir tribute to one of your female ancestors.

March 16 — If you could have lunch with any female family member (living or dead) or any famous female who would it be and why? Where would you go? What would you eat?

March 17 — Social Butterfly? What social organizations or groups did your mother or grandmother belong to? Sewing circle, church group, fraternal benefit society or lodge? Describe her role in the group.

March 18 — Shining star: Did you have a female ancestor who had a special talent? Artist, singer, actress, athlete, seamstress, or other? Describe.

March 19 — Have you discovered a surprising fact about one of your female ancestors? What was it and how did you learn it? How did you feel when you found out?

March 20 — Is there a female ancestor who is your brick wall? Why? List possible sources for finding more information.

March 21 — Describe a tender moment one of your female ancestors shared with you or another family member.

March 22 — If a famous director wanted to make a movie about one of your female ancestors who would it be? What actress would you cast in the role and why?

March 23 — Create a timeline for a female ancestor using your favorite software program or an online timeline generator such as OurTimelines.Post an image of it or link.

March 24 — Do you share any physical resemblance or personality trait with one of your female ancestors? Who? What is it?

March 25 — Tell how a female ancestor interacted with her children. Was she loving or supportive? A disciplinarian? A bit of both?

March 26 — What education did your mother receive? Your grandmothers? Great-grandmothers? Note any advanced degrees or special achievements.

March 27 — Do you know the immigration story of one or more female ancestors? Do you have any passenger lists, passports, or other documentation? Interesting family stories?

March 28 — Do you remember your mother’s best friend? Your grandmother’s? How and where did they meet? How long were they friends? What activities did they share?

March 29 — Create a free Footnote Page or a Genealogy Trading Card at Big Huge Labs for a female ancestor. Some of you may have created your own card back in September 2009 following Sheri Fenley’s post over at The Educated Genealogist. This time, the card is for your female ancestor. Tell us about who you've selected and why and then post a link to what you've created.

March 30 — Did you receive any advice or words of wisdom from your mother or another female ancestor?

March 31 — Pick one female ancestor and write a mini-profile (500 words or less).

BONUS: Take all of your postings and turn them into a memory or tribute booklet for future generations.

Thanks to The Accidental Genealogist for the prompts

9th Judgement by James Patterson

The latest instalment of the Lindsay Boxer series. As with all of the books in the series, there is always two or three events carrying on simultaneously, and through the craft writing of these storylines, the conclusion always arrives at a nice neat package which ties the events all together.

Hello Kitty is a burglar who breaks in and steals the jewellery of well to do members of society whilst the owner is entertaining. Then there is a school teacher who has a close relationship with a fellow teacher, both are married to brutes! and finally there is a murderer who slaughters women and their children in public places. The strands of these three sets of people merges in a rather complex way. Coupled with the relationships with other members of the Women's Murder Club - a lawyer, a reporter and a pathologist Lindsay keeps it all together and brings the storyline to a conclusion. To find out who committed what crime, you'll have to read the book!

NaBloPoMo - Day 2 - Temperature

I hate the cold, although if I am completely honest I would prefer it cold to wet. I also don't like excessive temperatures. I recall once, when visiting family in Australia we visited Dubbo Zoo and the temperature was 42 degrees centigrade. I almost melted!

What I do like is, balmy sunny days, where I am able to sit under a parasol and enjoy the good weather, and not feel like I am overheating! I put it down to a lack of Thyroid, which controls our bodies thermostat!

Family History Writing Challenge - Day 24

Even though I am not sure what the catalyst was for my starting to research my family history, the catalyst for my undertaking a One Place Study was seeing my Great Grandmother's name on the 1881 Census. I remember being so overwhelmed with emotion, here she was, just aged 2. I simply had to know all I could about the village which was embedded into my ancestry.

In the early stages I did like many of us, work back from known to unknown with fairly rapid speed. By the time I was back another two generations from Annie Harris I was firmly addicted and attached to both the parish of Puttenham and to the name of Budd, which I just love! There was even a Rose Budd in the family!

The Budd family were poor, the family featured consistently in the Poor Law Records for their illegitimate children! but regardless, they were part of my family and I felt something for their plight when I read it in the various documents. I wonder what they would make of the world now? These were women who were ridiculed for their "morals" and illegitimacy, yet look at the world today, where it is quite common for women to raise a family whilst unmarried or perhaps have offspring with more than one father. It is a complete turnaround, in what is a relative short space of time, given the history of mankind!

The village itself is a rural one; steeped in history and part of that history was the world occupied by the Curate Charles Kerry. Kerry originated from Derbyshire, yet he spent considerable time in the parish and kept a series of manuscript on the inhabitants of the village. These manuscripts were written at the time and often contained snippets of local history, hearsay & incidentals of village life, there are some parish records details for not just Puttenham but also neighbouring Compton parish and there are a series of pedigrees written at the time by Kerry with the help of those in the relevant family.

Here is the pedigree for the Budd & Strudwick family:



The pedigree contains such incidentals of life for example. There is a reference to William Budd putting his hand down a rabbit hole and being bitten by an Adder snake. The note also says that William put his finger in his mouth and then became a cripple for the rest of his life. I would not have known that from official records - William was born in 1731 in Puttenham, and is not recorded on the census records. There is also a note that Richard Budd who married Sarah Collins and is my direct line of descent had a fine tenor voice and sung in the choir. Another fact that I would have not know. These manuscripts have enabled me to see behind the dates that our ancestors create, and it is these facts that bring them alive and make them people rather than the written word. It is remarkable that the manuscripts survived. The originals were returned the Derbyshire Records Office where Kerry lived. How many more of these manuscripts are in the various parishes across the land, not just here in the UK, but also overseas? These documents were written when there was surely more important things to worry about, perhaps the next meal or the health of a parishioner, yet they were written and I am forever grateful for Charles Kerry.

Word count 576

NaBloPoWo - Day 1 - Spring

I always associate the March 1st, with Spring. Daffodils blowing in a gentle spring breeze. Has that happened? No! It is cold again here, with a nasty wind chill and I am back again into jumpers and wearing gloves. I like the bright sunny mornings and it always cheers people up and puts a spring in their step!

1st March is known here as St David's Day, The National Day for Wales celebrating the Feast of St David's. To celebrate the day people either wear a symbol of a leek or a daffodil.

Family History Writing Challenge - Day 23

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

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

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

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

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

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

Word count 638

In My Mailbox - Week 4

Another trip to the library. Firstly I had to return two books before I incurred fines and secondly I collected the books for me to distribute for World Book Night on 5th March. I could not resist though, just having a little look to see if anything caught my eye:

1. The Christmas Cookie Club by Ann Pearlman
2. That Christmas Feeling - a collection of two stories by authors - Catherine Palmer & Gail Gaymer Martin
3. One Perfect Gift by Kathleen Morgan
4. The Matchmaker by Marita Conlon-McKenna
5. Brown Owl's Guide to life by Kate Harrison
6. Trace your Roots with DNA by Megan Smolenyak Smolyenak & Ann Turner

I have also purchased a rather special book from eBay, but more about that when it arrives....

NaBloPoMo - Introduction

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

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

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

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

Ist March - Spring

2nd March - Temperature

3rd March - Birthday

4th March - Weekend

5th March - Association

6th March - Books

7th March - Friendship

8th March - Blog

9th March - Letters

10th March - Photographs

11th March - Death

12th March -

13th March -

14th March -

15th March -

16th March -

17th March -

18th March -

19th March -

20th March -

21st March -

22nd March -

23rd March -

24th March -

25th March -

26th March -

27th March -

28th March -

29th March -

30th March -

31st March -

Weekend Cooking - The Highwayman's Haunt

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

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

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

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

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

A lovely evening and the food highly recommended.

Thyroid Literary Challenge

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Silent Sunday - Tioman Island

Looking out to sea from Tioman, a beautiful Malaysian Island. Taken July 1991

This was taken with my trusty Pentax camera, long before digital, and scanned in to the PC and uploaded!

Family History Writing Challenge - Day 22

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

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

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

Word count 387

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

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

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

C Morgenstern

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

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

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

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

Sorting Saturday - Twitter - February 2011

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

I am still debating if I really can justify an ipad. Stuart has offered to buy me one and I keep saying I am debating if I really should get one. If I get one, it should be the top of the range, as if I am spending that much money I should just go for it, but something holds me back. Perhaps I'll do a post on the ipad alternatives......

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

Ancestor of the week - William Arthur West - Part One

This is the belated post from 19th February.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Family History Writing Challenge - Day 21

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Word count 1,073

Book Blogger Hop - Naming of Blog

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

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

There are a few rules!

1. Enter your blog address at the linky list on the Crazy-For-Books website

2. Post about the hop on your blog & answer the question on the Crazy-For-Books website

3. Visit other blogs in the linky list

This weeks question is:

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

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

Family History Writing Challenge - Day 20

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

Charles was the eldest of 9 children, born between 1823 and 1844, all but the last child born in Wonersh.

• Charles born 1823 *
• William born 1826 *
• Mary Anne born 1828
• Thomas born 1830
• Alfred born 1832
• James born 1835 *
• Henry born 1837
• Ellen Jane born 1841 died 1844
• John born 1844 died 1855 born in Shalford

Using the marriage sources I traced all the children. In keeping with the family tradition and the complications with marrying cousins and spouses with the same surnames Thomas married a Sarah Woolgar in 1861, and James married a Denyer in 1868.

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

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

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

Word count 445

Family History Writing Challenge - Day 19

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Word count 660

The Sunday Salon - A week of books

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

I acquired two books over the weekend as a reward for going to the dreaded supermarket!

1. A perfect Proposal by Katie Fforde
2. The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith

On the way home yesterday I nipped into the local library, taking advantage of one of the two late nights.I didn't really need any reading material, but didn't manage to make it and left with

1. The Step-mothers support group by Sam Baker
2. 9th Judgement by James Patterson - how could I resist?

I have also finished the second of the four library books I borrowed two weeks ago, the fourth in the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear - Messenger of Truth. I am in the middle of Trade Winds by Christina Courtney, but will start the next book in the Maisie Dobbs series - In Complete Revenge as this follows on nicely, and quite by chance I spotted a Maisie Dobbs readalong, which I note I have just finished book four in time to contribute to the readalong. Then I shall head back to Trade Winds!

Messenger in Truth (Maisie Dobbs) by Jacqueline Winspear

ISBN - 0719567391

Publisher - John Murray 2006

Paperback Edition.

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

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

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

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

Cross posted to Book Reviews

In My Mailbox - Week 3

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

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

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

As a reward for going to the dreaded supermarket I selected two books

1. A perfect Proposal by Katie Fforde
2. The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith

On the way home I nipped into the local library, taking advantage of one of the two late nights.I didn't really need any reading material, but didn't manage to make it and left with

1. The Step-mothers support group by Sam Baker
2. 9th Judgement by James Patterson - how could I resist?

Family History Writing Challenge - Day 18

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

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

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

Word count 321

Family History Writing Challenge - Day 17

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

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

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

The bottom of all the items it reads:

X L Ware

Flying Pheasant

British Made

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

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

Word count 395

Silent Sunday - Quilt

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

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

Here is my offering for today.

Book Blogger Hop - Books turned into Movies

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

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

There are a few rules!

1. Enter your blog address at the linky list on the Crazy-For-Books website

2. Post about the hop on your blog & answer the question on the Crazy-For-Books website

3. Visit other blogs in the linky list

This weeks question is:

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

I am going to say three series of books. Both very different from each other, but nonetheless, great books and I am always eager to see the next book in the series. Here they are, not in any particular order.

1. The Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear
2. The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon
3. The Elm Creek Series by Jennifer Chiaverini

As I said, each series of books is very different and I get lots of pleasure from reading books by these authors.