George Appleton 1873-1934 Habitual Criminal of Hadleigh, Essex and Cleveland, Ohio, and my half fourth great uncle Since I have spent so much time researching my mysterious bigamous disappearing ancestory, Angelina/Leanor Appleton/Collins/Moxon, her siblings were a natural point of interest. I knew two of her younger full siblings had emigrated to California and two of … Continue reading George Appleton: A Bad Apple
Seaman Cooke Beale, 1742-1789. Wharfinger of London, and my 4th great grandfather. It's the ancestors closest to home that get neglected. After all, I've lived in London all my life. I am very familiar with London Bridge - I used to live a short walk away. I've walked past Southwark Cathedral a million times. There … Continue reading Seaman Cooke Beale: A London Wharfinger
George Pillcher Hill, 1869-1943 Hairdresser of Bletchley and Southend and the husband of my third great aunt. A common peril for genealogists is falling down a rabbit hole. Not just the literal rabbit holes at Sutton Road cemetery in Southend, where I nearly broke an ankle, but the distraction of a rather interesting individual who … Continue reading George Pillcher Hill: The Disappearing Husband
Leonard Norman Brent, 1892-1966, Jam Factory Manager and my grandfather. Ada Jane Beale, 1895-1973, his wife and my grandmother. I never knew my paternal grandparents. Leonard died eleven years before I was born and Ada four. In fact, I didn't even know their names, and the realisation of this fact was what prompted me to … Continue reading Leonard and Ada Brent: The Grandparents I Never Knew
Eleanor Hope, 1767-1838 Single Mum and Garden Digger, Frittenden, Kent, and my 5th great grandmother I wrote a little about Eleanor Hope when I told you about her son, Thomas Sharp Hope, the ancestor who took my genes to New York, Kalamazoo and beyond. Last week I visited the Kent Archives in Maidstone in the … Continue reading Eleanor Hope: An 18th Century Single Mum
Annie Catherine Downing 1877-1899 Domestic Servant of Southend, Essex, and my great great grandmother. My mother actually started tracing the family tree before I did. The person who sparked her interest was her grandfather's mother. She knew her grandfather, Frederick, had been brought up by his uncle, because his mother had died. She did not … Continue reading Annie Catherine Downing: Found Mutilated on the Line
Or rather, lack of update, as I seem to have hit another wall! In my last post about my mysterious third-cousin-or-closer, I talked about how "Ronan" and I most likely shared a set of great-great grandparents, or a singular great grandparent, and based on the matches we had in common, I knew that the connection … Continue reading Ronan Quick Update
Harry William Downing 1876-1915 Painter and Sailor of Southend-on-Sea and Bristol, and my third great uncle Harry was the third child of Henry and Harriet Downing, brother to Emily, Joseph and my great great grandmother Annie. He was born in Steeple, Essex, in 1876. I am pleased to say that Harry was not a bigamist … Continue reading Harry William Downing: Lost at Sea
While we are on the subject of the Whibley family (no, I still haven't heard from Ronan Quick), I thought I'd tell you a little bit about my great great grandfather, Richard Whibley, a school gardener.
For the last four months, one name has sat at the top of my AncestryDNA messages. Ronan Quick. Out of the 10,000+ AncestryDNA members who share some DNA with me, Ronan is my top match. But how am I related to Ronan, who lives in a tiny town on the other side of the world?
Family Mystery 