Tuesday, 16 February 2010
Fruitful tree
The family tree has been particularly active in recent days.A couple of weeks ago I got in touch with Joy Chant on 'Genes Reunited'. Joy thought her family came from Stoke-sub-Hamdon as that had been family tradition. In my records all the people she named as near kin were Odcombe Chants so I have contacted Christine Ellis who is OPC for both Odcombe and Montacute. It is very interesting that Joy's family memories included Laura Ormiston Chant née Dibben, the suffragette. I have that Laura's husband was from a Stoke line ... are we to find a link at last?
Joy wrote several books in the past, one of which I read in the 1970s. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joy_Chant
My own fault for being inquisitive but I am being snowed under with questions prompted by responses to queries which I originated. I am also getting trees from other people which need to have the information checked against my own files. This can be very time consuming if the two do not match in every respect.
I have been working on a line for some distant Pattison kin. I had got a lot of my speculation wrong but now I am in touch with cousin Erin whose 8xG grandfather was my 5xG grandfather! She is putting some family photos on 'Facebook'. Erin has more pluck than I have as one of her recent activities has involved sky diving.
When I need to contact a family member who has disappeared over the course of time I carry out a simple search. If that does not bear fruit I leave messages on web sites where I think the person will go as and when they start their own tree. One such message which I put on the 'Curious Fox' web site quite a while ago brought me a response yesterday. I have not been in contact with my cousin Michael Loving for over forty years. Now I have high hopes as I have sent him an e-mail with my telephone number. The picture is of Michael's and my great uncle Joseph Stanton.
Cousin Diana phoned yesterday as she wants to see the standing stone circle on Ham Hill that was put there for the millennium. We swapped some local family gossip about a couple of kinfolk who have been very unwell recently; and, also, that Diana has not heard from one of her family correspondents in Canada. Since Diana does not use the Internet I have written to cousin Troy Chant to see if there are ill tidings about his gran.
This morning the post brought a package from Australia: it was posted on the 9th! This was from cousin Ken Chant and his wife Alison and contained a copy of a book produced by the family based upon the reminiscences of Ken's dad, James Oswald Chant. I shall really enjoy reading them.
Cousin Jenni Hall might have come today but has car trouble which will not be fixed until later in the week. That means I shall have a visitor for the weekend.
Labels: Family, Genealogy, Somerset
Sunday, 2 August 2009
The Nightingale Family
I wonder how many people who live at Nightingale Corner know where it got its name?Robert Nightingale was a local painter who gained great renown in his day for animal portraiture in particular. Indeed Edward Vll had Robert paint a life sized portrait of a favourite horse.
Robert was born in Eltham, Kent in 1817 and married a Maldon girl. They had ten children and one of the girls, the surname being Nightingale, of course, had to be named Florence to reflect the honour of that lady.
Robert died in Maldon in 1894 but his tradition of painting was carried on by his son Basil who had, indeed, assisted his father with Edward's horse portrait. Nightingale Corner is at roughly the point where Robert had his studio.
Florence 1862-1945 married Joseph Stanton. They went to live in Lyme Regis where Joseph ran a shop and Florence a boarding house. Family tradition has it that the railway came to Lyme and brought day trippers and the like. This did not please Florence so she and Joseph sold up and emigrated to Sydney, New South Wales.
Joseph Stanton was my great uncle. He and Florence had no family and are now together in an unmarked grave. One of these days I shall visit. One of these days .....
Labels: Family
Saturday, 25 July 2009
R.I.P.
The news today was that Harry Patch, the last survivor of WW1 trench warfare had died.
Some time ago one of the Patch members of the family asked if he was related to us. Now I have looked the answer appears to be 'no'. I have gone back to the start of the 1800s and it looks as if the family was established in Wedmore. I can not see a Wedmore connection for us although there may be one earlier that I have not discovered.
Henry John PATCH 17 June 1898 to 25 July 2009
son of
William John PATCH born in 1863 in Norton St Philip
son of
Frederick PATCH born in 1842 in Wedmore
son of
John PATCH born in 1816 in Wedmore.
Some time ago one of the Patch members of the family asked if he was related to us. Now I have looked the answer appears to be 'no'. I have gone back to the start of the 1800s and it looks as if the family was established in Wedmore. I can not see a Wedmore connection for us although there may be one earlier that I have not discovered.
Henry John PATCH 17 June 1898 to 25 July 2009
son of
William John PATCH born in 1863 in Norton St Philip
son of
Frederick PATCH born in 1842 in Wedmore
son of
John PATCH born in 1816 in Wedmore.
Labels: Family
Friday, 24 July 2009
Over the A303
I get queries from time to time about possible family connections. Indeed I initiate a great number myself. I can do this quite easily on the Internet as a rule.
Sometimes the lead I am following needs a snail mail follow up to another party and it can require a little caution to send something that the recipient will be getting out of the blue. How do I introduce myself and phrase my query so that I get a reply? On the Internet a percentage of approaches is ignored and this can hold true for written post as well.
Some months ago I received a query from a young lady in the next village who wanted to know if we were related. She did not tell me that much about her family and I do not blame that caution in these days when youngsters tell the world about themselves and their families thus facilitating fraud. Gradually I discovered details about her kin and wrote to her to get confirmation I was on the right track.
Finally I identified her grandfather and sent my snail mail letter to him. He telephoned today and I found he was in my files already. Trouble was that he uses his second given name. That happens so often and makes identification so difficult. Once we got talking I could give him a run down of what I had deduced from computer research and get his confirmation about his parents and siblings.
Now I have updated my files and printed a copy to post to him so he may discuss the family with his granddaughter. Pity but we are not cousins as I have too many missing links because of records that have gone astray over the past five centuries. Something may crop up in the future, though. There is always hope in genealogy as the past wants you to make your discoveries and give them an airing.
Labels: Family
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