The Old Homestead is the Week 13 Challenge for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. I could only think of one place to talk about. By the time I was 13 I had lived in two countries and three states of Australia and a total of 13 homes. There was no real homestead in my life. I had often heard the…
The 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge this week is Misfortune. There are many stories of tragedy in any family, however, the story that has always made me sad is the events that unfolded in my grandma’s family in 1944. . Week 12 – Misfortune . The year was 1944 and World War II had been raging for 5 years.…
For this week’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge, Lucky, I decided to take a bit of a different route. Instead of finding a lucky ancestor, I decided to talk about my luck in finding relatives. Week 11 – Lucky An Australian connection A number of years ago I received a phone call out of the blue from a…
The 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge this week is Strong Woman. Probably the strongest woman I have ever known was my grandmother. However, due to people still alive who may be impacted if I told her full story I have opted to find another woman in my tree. Someone I never knew and who just from the records I…
Coming up with something for the Week 9 – Where There’s a Will, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge was hard. Do I do a will left by the deceased, someone with will and determination, or someone named Will? I finally decided on the latter, although he certainly had will and determination as well. Week 9 – Where There’s…
Finding something to write about for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks in Week 8 – Heirloom has been incredibly hard. My maternal grandmother died on 23 May 2016 and we were left with all her belongings. Some of them had names on the back to be given to a specific person. There were so many items to choose from for…
Today I am writing about family surname history for Stokes. I am doing more in-depth research of all the surnames in my tree so have decided to share this as I work my way back through my tree. There are many great websites on the internet about family surname history and origins so join me on my family surname history…
Moving right along to catch up on the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge. The week 7 challenge is Valentine. I really struggled to come up with a topic for this challenge. Do I find the longest marriage? The tragic early death of a spouse? There are no “love” letters in my genealogy documents and I don’t recall ever seeing…
The 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge in week 6 is favourite name. I have some interesting names in my tree – both first and last names. Interesting first names that you certainly don’t hear today are Dorcas, Fanny, and Hilton. The surnames that fascinate me most and I want to find their origins are Washbrook, Crittal / Criddle, and…
Moving right along in the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge – In the Census. Censuses are a great genealogy tool for the family historian. They provide snapshots in time of your ancestors. You can find out ages, place of birth, occupation, address, relationships between residents at an address. Sometimes, though they leave you scratching your head. . Week 5…