The Ancestors' Geneameme

Things I have already done or found: bold face type
Things I would like to do or find: italicize (colour optional)
Things I haven’t done or found and don’t care to: plain type
 

1.     Can name my 16 great-great-grandparents

Whilst I’m marking this as done I can only actually name 14 of them, my grandfather never knew his father and this is not a line I will ever be able to follow backwards. It is done as much as it can ever be.

2.     Can name over 50 direct ancestors

3.     Have photographs or portraits of my 8 great-grandparents

7 out of 8 for the same reasons as above.

4.     Have an ancestor who was married more than three times

5.     Have an ancestor who was a bigamist

6.     Met all four of my grandparents

7.     Met one or more of my great-grandparents  

I was lucky enough to know 3 of my 4 great-grandmothers, not so lucky with the men in the family.

8.     Named a child after an ancestor

Don’t have any yet but it’s always something to keep in mind.  

9.     Bear an ancestor's given name/s

As far as I know I’m the first Carole in our family.  

10.  Have an ancestor from Great Britain or Ireland 

11.  Have an ancestor from Africa

  

12.  Have an ancestor from Asia 

13.  Have an ancestor from Continental Europe

14.  Have an ancestor who was an agricultural labourer

15.  Have an ancestor who had large land holdings  

16.  Have an ancestor who was a holy man - minister, priest, rabbi 

17.  Have an ancestor who was a midwife  

18.  Have an ancestor who was an author

19.  Have an ancestor with the surname Smith, Murphy or Jones  

20.  Have an ancestor with the surname Wong, Kim, Suzuki or Ng 

21.  Have an ancestor with a surname beginning with X   

22.  Have an ancestor with a forename beginning with Z  

23.  Have an ancestor born on 25th December  

24.  Have an ancestor born on New Year's Day 

25.  Have blue blood in your family lines  

My 4x Gt Grandmother, Mary PULESTON (1813-1887) was descended from the DE PYVELESDON’s whose family was linked by marriage to Owain Glyn Dwr, the Last Prince of Wales and all that there Royal blood in the English Court. This line doesn’t really interest me though as it’s all been documented and done.  

26.  Have a parent who was born in a country different from my country of birth

27.  Have a grandparent who was born in a country different from my country of birth

My great grandfather, Franklin ELLIS was born in Chester, England.

28.  Can trace a direct family line back to the eighteenth century 

William DUCKWORTH, born approximately 1799 in Hawarden, Flintshire and my 5x Gt Grandfather.

29.  Can trace a direct family line back to the seventeenth century or earlier 

Hamo DE PYVELESDON, born approximately 1155 in Puleston, Shropshire and my 23x Gt Grandfather. 

30.  Have seen copies of the signatures of some of my great-grandparents

31.  Have ancestors who signed their marriage certificate with an X

    

32.  Have a grandparent or earlier ancestor who went to university

33.  Have an ancestor who was convicted of a criminal offence 

34.  Have an ancestor who was a victim of crime  

35.  Have shared an ancestor's story online or in a magazine (Tell us where)  

I’ve shared part-stories here, on my blog but not a ‘from the cradle to the grave’ feature.

36.  Have published a family history online or in print (Details please)

37.  Have visited an ancestor's home from the 19th or earlier centuries  

38.  Still have an ancestor's home from the 19th or earlier centuries in the family 

39.  Have a family bible from the 19th Century

My grandfather has his WRIGHT family bible in his home, I’ve accessed it a couple of times. There is also a ROBERTS family bible in the possession of my cousins across the pond.

40.  Have a pre-19th century family bible 

The Ancestors' Geneameme was developed by Geniaus. 

Sunday's Obituary - Father and Son

I don't know which newspaper the following notice came from, it was contained within a box of "stuff" that my nan let me look through. She'd been given it by her mam. Even though it is more likely to be a memorial notice than a true obituary, when I first obtained this tit-bit I classed it as an obituary.

IN MEMORY

In sad but loving memory of our dear Son

and Brother, John Roberts, 18 Cecil St.,

London Road, Holyhead, second son of

William and Jane Roberts, 5 Prior Street,

Ruthin, who died November 18th, 1918;

and also our dear Grandson and Ne-

phew, Albert Lloyd, son of the former,

who died November 16th 1918.

Wedi dianc uwch gelynion,

Croseau a gofidiau fyrdd,

Maent hwy’n awr yn gwisgo’r goron,

Ac un cario’r palmwydd gwyrdd

(Diane has a higher enemies,

Crosses, and the myriad concerns.

They are now wearing the crown,

And carrying the palm green.)

Father & Mother, Brothers & Sisters

John ROBERTS was my Great Grand Uncle. He was born in Denbigh on 12 June 1888 and moved to Holyhead, he worked on the railway for L&NW Railway. John was only 30 when he died.

Albert was born in 1917, and as you can see from the above died two days before his father. He was 17 months old.

John and Albert were both victims of the "Black Flu", this was better known as "Spanish Flu" and I did not know anything about it until the "Bird Flu" outbreak last year. It seems that Black Flu spread quickly from the trenches on the Front Lines back home as soliders were returning from the War. As John worked the railways this is where he most likely contracted the disease.

John's wife Jane was widowed at the age of 28 and had two surviving children to raise, William aged 4 and Elizabeth aged 3.

I also came across the below whilst sorting through some documents

FUNERAL OF MR. J. ROBERTS,

HOLYHEAD

AND HIS LITTLE CHILD.

The funeral of Mr John Roberts, Cecil street,

London road, Holyhead, and also of his 17

months' old child, Albert Lloyd, whose death we

reported last week, took place on Friday at

Rhewl cemetery, Ruthin, the bodies being con-

vayed by rail from Holyhead. The Rev T

Hughes Preswylfa C.M. Chapel, Holywead,

officiated in the house, and the bearers to the

station were inspectors of L & N W Railway

Company, and there were also in attendance a

large number of the railway staff who had been

workmates of the deceased for many years at

Holyhead station. Through being ill the widow

and children were unable to be present.

 

At Rhewl cemetery the Revs R Ernest Jones,

Ruthin; J D Jones, Gellifor; and R R Parry,

Ruthin, officiated at the gravesside. The chief

mourners were :- Mr and Mrs Roberts, Ruthin

31 Weeks of Genealogy - Week 2

Tonia Kendrick, over at Tonia’s Roots has started of a blogging series entitled ‘31 Weeks of Better Genealogy Blogging’. It’s Week 2 and the challenge is to write a 'List Posts' blog. 


I've decided to share with you 'My Top 5 Most Wanted Birth Certificates' and the reason's why.

1.       Isaac DAVIES; 1874 Q3 Holywell,11b 269

Isaac is my great great grand uncle. I want his birth certificate so I can further confirm the maiden name of his mother.  My great great grandfather is John DAVIES. John was born in about 1867; there are three possible GRO entries for John DAVIES in 1867 alone. I have already ordered and received one of his other brother’s birth certicates but the mother’s maiden name isn’t very clear. It is most likely to be OLDFIELD but I want to make sure.

2.       William WRIGHT; 1874 Q1 Holywell,11b 271

William is my great great grandfather on my maternal side. I believe that his parents were George WRIGHT and Elizabeth SHONE but would like the certificate to prove this link.

3.       Grace Mildon WYATT; 1851 Q2 G Boughton,19 65

Grace is my great great great grandmother on my maternal side. I have her birth date from her baptism record; 12 March 1851. The baptism records at St. Deiniol’s, Hawarden give the mother’s maiden name as CHALINOR, however it is spelt a variety of ways so I would like some greater clarification from the certificate.

4.       Anne ROBERTS; 1900 Q1 Ruthin,11b 288

Anne is my great grandmother, she was born on 20 January 1900 and I knew her. Unbelievably I do not have her birth certificate. Her parents were William ROBERTS and Jane Elizabeth DAVIES but I would like confirmation of this.

5.       William ROBERTS; 1859 Q3 St. Asaph,11b 366

William is my great great grandfather (Anne’s father). I have the birthdate of 25 September 1859 but this was found when I first started my research and I’ve not noted down where it’s come from. I can only assume that it was in the papers my grandmother let me look through.

This is the Face of Geneaology

Anne ROBERTS & Elizabeth ELLIS

More information about "This is the Face of Genealogy"

Wordless Wednesday: My Family

Tombstone Tuesday - Iorwerth ROBERTS & Siblings

When I first started looking at my ROBERTS ancestors my dad told me that one of his Grand Uncles was re-interred at St. Margarets Rhewl Mostyn Cemetery, Denbighshire so on a nice afternoon we took a drive.


We found the grave of his Grand Uncle but we also came across this hand made gravestone

In Memory

Four Children

who died at birth

Also

Iorwerth

Who died aged 1 day old

 Dear Children

 Edward and Louisa Roberts

6 Prior Street Ruthin

Neither my dad or I are fluent Welsh speakers so we had to get some help deciphering it and the translation is above.


Much later on I found a cousin via Ancestry. Her side of the family had kept in touch with Edward and she gave me the following information:

"During the 1920's they lost five infants. All were stillborn with the exception of Iowerth who lived for one day. Edwards sister, Lizzie recalled that Edward carried the bodies of his babies across the fields from Ruthin to Rhewl chapel graveyard where he buried them. He went to Blaenau Festiniog - the paternal home of Louise and carried a small slab of slate on which he carved the memorial to his lost children. The stone became their tombstone and was placed in Rhewl Chapel cemetery. They had no other children."


It is indeed a very sad tale, but thanks to my cousin this story has been told to a new generation and so the children are remembered. It is my hope that by including their story here, they will always be remembered.

New Year, New Goals

I've been inspired by some of the bloggers who I follow to record what my goals for 2011 are, this way I might actually achieve some of them!! So here we go:

• Blog at least once a week.
• Take part in more of geneabloggers daily prompts.
• Take part in at least 12 "52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy" Challenge.

Ideally the blog will be different to the daily prompt or the 52 weeks challenge but realistically I know this will be difficult to maintain.

• Complete my free genealogy course - Introduction to Genealogy

I only have one module left before the exam so this should be achievable.

• Keep up to date with the blogs I follow that do not have RSS feeds

I find the ability to RSS blogs brilliant, it helps me keep on top of them and allows me to read them at work (where blog sites are normally blocked).

• Make sure that my DAVIES, PARRY, WRIGHT, DARLINGTON, ELLIS and ROBERTS pedigree's are fully sourced

This is going to be the most time-consuming aspect, however it is also the most important. I started this about a year and a half ago, its taking a lot longer than I anticipated because I made mistakes when I started out. Its annoying but at the same time its the reason I went back to the beginning.

• To get to the LDS Centre at Hyde Park on a more regular basis and continue to do look-ups.

I really enjoy going to the LDS and being able to give back to those that have helped me with look-ups in the past. Feel free to request look-ups via the comments section or head over to www.rootschat.com where you can PM me, my handle is LazyLover. You can also get a lot of help from the other members if you're looking for UK ancestors.

• Organise my hard copy records and back them up digitally where possible.
• Ensure my data is backed up at least once a month.

For this I use a programme called BackUp4All Lite. It came free with Your Family Tree Magazine. Its a nice little programme but a little chunky. I will be looking for something a bit more user friendly.

• Keep in touch with newly discovered and discovered cousins and, where possible, meet up with them to share information.
• Put more ancestors on Lost Cousins.com

This is a brilliant website, if you get chance head over there. You never know who you may find.

• Get to the Flintshire, Denbighshire and Cheshire Record Offices.

This is difficult for me to do as I don't come back up North all that often and when I do I have to make sure I spend time with my living relatives! However I did make it to Flintshire twice last year. Before I attempt Denbighshire and Cheshire I have to get my lists in order so I know what I'm looking for!

• Attend Who Do You Think You Are Live 2011

I already have the Friday booked off work, I just need to purchase my ticket. This year I'd like to go to some of the talks, but I'll have to have a look at the schedule. 

and a non-genealogical one, but an important one for me:

• Not to get frustrated with things that I cannot control or change.

What Happens When I'm Allowed to Think; Reflections on Grandparents

It’s been 23 years since my Great Grandmother Evelyn Grace DAVIES (nee DARLINGTON) died. She was 87 years old and I was 5 when she passed away but I'm lucky I remember her. I remember going round to her house that was just a two minute walk away. She couldn't walk very far and was often in bed. I remember her always being in purple that must have been her favourite colour because most pictures I have of her she's wearing purple too. She always had grapes in the house no matter what time of year it was and she loved walnut whips. I'd always be fed grapes when went round to see her, think she's the one that instilled a love of them in me. Like I said she couldn't walk much so she had a "grabber"; it looked like the things used to pick rubbish up with but she used it to grab things around her bed (like grapes!). She also had a Kermit the frog puppet thing, it wasn't a real Kermit, just looked like him and I can remember her playing with us and that. My brother would only have been 3, so I'm not sure how much he remembers of "Nanna under the Entry"....aptly named because you had to go under an entry passage to get into her house in Beech Drive.



My Great Grandmother Anne ELLIS (nee ROBERTS) died in 1992, she was 92 years old. At this point I was 10 and Ian was 8. We used to go to see her, taken by my nanna every Saturday at her flat in Milford Lane, Mold. Jim'll Fix It was always on the telly, whilst Nana would tidy around the flat for her mum, Anne would tell us about her brothers who died in the war (Albert and David Roberts) and show us pictures of them, which were hung up on the wall. She also told us about her husband Frederick and how he died because he had a bad chest, due to working in the mines. We called Anne "Little Nanna" because she was very small; she had stooped in her old age. Both Ian and I have good memories of our 'Little Nana' and watching Jim'll Fix It in her living room.


My Great Grandmother Mary Ellen THOMAS (nee DAVIES, nee PARRY) died in 2004, two weeks short of her 100th birthday. Mary Ellen was known as Nellie to those around her and as "Nanna Dreflan" to my brother and I; yes she lived in Dreflan, Mold. I've written previously about visits to Nana Dreflan's home. We would usually go on a Sunday and Song's of Praise would be on the TV. Ian and I would watch in silence as the grown ups talked. My Tiad would get himself a Fisherman's Friend from the dresser behind the sofa and we'd sometime be given a drink. If it was really nice out we'd be allowed out into the back garden to play. She had a typical long garden and there was rhubarb growing although I don't remember ever eating any from there. There was also a functioning toilet outside in an outhouse and this is the one we would use (checking first for spiders obviously). If it wasn't nice we would stay indoors, sometimes we played in the kitchen at the back of the house. I was always scared that my Nan would shout at me as she looked a very formidable lady. She walked up to church every Sunday and was active in the WI. When we got to her house and we'd all taken our seats she'd start by asking "What do you know?" and she would always say "God Bless" as we were leaving. Nana Dreflan's funeral was the first one that Ian and I attended.

My Grandmother Eleanor Betty WRIGHT (nee DAVIES) died most recently, in 2006. She was 75 years old. Ian and I used to stay with my Nan ("Nana Shop" because she lived near the shops) when my mum went to work. We used to play in the garden, make a mess in the living room playing with blocks and the chalk board. We used to go looking for nuts; we'd collect a load of them then smash them open with a hammer and gobble up the insides. Nan also used to grow strawberries, blackberries, gooseberries, raspberries and tomatoes in the garden so we'd help pick them (eating loads in the process). I'd often mix the raspberries up with ice cream then eat it all up. My nan had a wicked sense of humour too; Ian used to love rabbits, he still does to some extent. We went round for dinner one day and Nan pulled me into the kitchen and showed me a rabbit we were having for said dinner but told me not to say anything to Ian; she told him it was chicken. Anyways after we'd all finished eating Thumper she said I could tell him it was rabbit - his face was a picture!! Nan also used to let us put our fingers into the sugar bowl; she used to have two sugars in her tea. Nan loved to do puzzles too, before she was confined to an oxygen tank and wheelchair (because of emphysema) there was always a jigsaw puzzle being done in the front room that we could help with. She also loved to read, she had so many books..... the first book she gave me that I could tell people about was Swallows and Amazons. I've still got that book. The first book she told me would be a good read was about a giant locust that ate people but was controlled by one man who wanted to rule the world! She loved Steven King too; as a result I do too! For Christmas she always got Ian something "odd", one year it was a giant jar of pickled onions, another year it was tinned carrots! She said that she could have a laugh with Ian but knew that I was "more delicate" because when I was younger she told me that I was beautiful and apparently I cried!!

I miss her. It still hurts when I think about her and I still cry over her. It’s been four years. I got some pictures of her when she was younger and I can see myself in her. It’s quite odd but nice at the same time. This is her:




Eleanor Betty Davies 1931 - 2006