In search of the family

  ALICE ESTHER EMMA PITTS 1903-1978   Permission required to reuse photograph. . I have started to write this blog post many times but given up on each occasion. My immediate family’s relationship with my grandmother was not the easiest. She was not the happiest of ladies and had become increasingly bitter as the years past. But there are many circumstances within her life that could have contributed to this, my own memories of her are not the happiest. But to counterbalance this when speaking with my cousins that met her have fonder memories. Alice was the 2 nd child and eldest daughter of William Richard Pitts and Eliza nee Deaney born on the 29 th Jun 1903. Until I began researching my family tree, I was unaware that ‘Granny’ was 1 of 7 children, being aware, only of a younger brother Bill, who I remember visiting in his grocery shop in Rickmansworth. My mother, however, vaguely recalled Granny mentioning a sis...

PERRY FAMILY PHOTO Having completed the 52 Ancestors challenge in 2021, many of the stories within those themes show how I identified many of my ancestors and those I have yet to authenticate the identity. So for this weeks theme I thought I would talk about the first photograph I received of my paternal family taken around 1931/2. As the photograph has been passed amongst the family so names have been  agreed and suggested. Looking at other family photo's, some other names can be guessed at and through knowledge of family deaths and relationships other may be attributed but not necessarily correctly. So working from left to right, on the back row, of 5 men, I can identify:- ?Percival David Perry ?Ernest Perry My Grandfather Maurice Frederick Perry Hubert Jay Leslie Mark Perry not visible on this copy of the photo but on another there is possibly Edward Perry and why Percy and Ernest may also be in this photo. The middle row of women and children:- Dorothy Jay nee Perry My Grandmot...

This is not the story I would have chosen to write. But I am mindful of the subject and that this man's behaviour was such that it affected members of a generation that are still living. The man in question is long dead, but he is not here to defend himself and therefore I am using personal experiences and comments from others. So there is no named person in this story and I am writing from a personal perspective, with minimal detail and information. The gentleman is question was bought up by his grandparents as their own, when their unmarried daughter gave birth to him whilst unmarried. His adoptive siblings, therefore his blood Aunt's and Uncle's were unaware of his parentage and that he was not in fact their brother. There is a story that he too was unaware of his place in the family until he was called up to serve in the 2nd World War. But this is not the reason that I would consider him as an 'outcast'. His adoptive mother was said to have described him as ...

CONSEQUENCES OF  SUNSTROKE!    I have written about this within a biography of my Great Grandfather, but amongst many of his great Grandchildren, this story still brings a wry smile and amongst those not so interested in the family history this is a story that sticks in the memory. When I asked my cousin if I could refer to her story in the 'Out of Place' theme her immediate response was 'don't forget the relative who got married (again) whilst suffering from sunstroke.' Well, on that occassion, I felt her story took preference, but when I saw this weeks theme, OOPS, I just couldn't resist retelling this story as a stand alone. My Great Grandfather, George Arthur Perry 1855-1935 married Jessie Pope, his (as I believe at this time) 2nd wife on 3rd January 1881 at the John Knox Presbytarian Church, Newcastle upon Tyne. Meanwhile on a trip to the London area, to find accommadation for his new wife and himself, George found himself marrying again, bigamously, under ...

  JOAN EDITH PERRY  1932-1999 Joan Edith Perry was the middle daughter, of three, born to Percival David Perry and Milly (Millicent Lillian) nee Daines, on the 4th Dec 1932. She is the niece of my Grandfather. Joan is one of those spinster women, who's story intrigues me, whilst I have found some documented evidence of her story, I know, from family stories, she was a lady that was much travelled. I believe she was part of the Girl Guide movement during the 1940's/50's and trained as a primary school teacher in countries such as India and Afghanistan. The first evidence of Joan's travel adventures is when she appears on the ship manifest of the Empress of France (Canadian Pacific line), on the 8th Jun 1956 sailing from Liverpool to Montreal, Canada. At this time her occupation was a laboratory assistant.   www.liverpoolships.org Her cabin would have been similar to this:   www.liverpoolships.org Tourist class 2 berth cabin. The next documented evidence is not until 1...

OUT OF PLACE Having completed the 52 Ancestors challenge in 2021, I have already written several stories of Ancestors who were found in some unexpected places within their own stories. Examples include: How and why did my 2x Great Grandparents go to live in Chile in the 1840's? 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Mothers Day (mypynthdev.blogspot.com) What was my Grandfather doing in Sierra Leone just before the war? 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 27. Free. Another family mystery! (mypynthdev.blogspot.com) When I saw this weeks theme I wondered who to write about. Yes, there are some ancestors who would fit the criteria, but I wasn't motivated, at this time, to write about them. Then at 3 o'clock in the morning (I agree there is no hope,) I had a lightbulb moment and thought about some of the interesting stories that my generation of descendants have, my second cousins, so the family relationship charts identify. I am fortunate in finding many interesting stories within my wider ances...

I have already written about my favourite photograph, whilst taking part in the 52 Ancestors in 52 weeks in 2021. This was a photograph of 3 generations of my adoptive Grandad's family, His 2 sisters, his mother and one of her sisters and his Grandmother. 52 Ancestors, 52 weeks Week 4 Favourite photo (mypynthdev.blogspot.com) So for this years theme, I thought I would share this photo from my adoptive Grandmother's family. I really like this photo as it is so much a photograph of it's time. 2023: Favourite Photo:            HOLIDAYS IN MARGATE (1930's) Margate- Chas and Dave 1983 chorus:-  Down to Margate Don't forget your buckets and spades and cossys and all Down to Margate We'll have our fill of jellied eels at the cockle stall Down to Margate We'll go on the pier, and we'll have a beer aside of the sea Down to Margate You can keep the Costa Brava, I'm telling ya, mate, I'd rather Have a day down Margate with all me family. written by Chas Hod...

  ODDS & ENDS THE COST OF A FUNERAL IN 1958 Sorting through some old documents of my grandmothers, we found a receipt for the cost of the funeral of Charles William Howe, her father. CHARLES WILLIAM HOWE 1876-1958 Charles (Charlie) died at home, 1 Strathmore Villas, Faggs Rd, Bedfont, aged 81. One of  11 children, he had spent his life working as a labourer, when younger, a navvy on the roads and later in life on the land. During WW2, he grew vegetables on the allotment, whilst keeping the 'odd rabbit for the pot'. He was proud to be able to read and write and was a big fan of paperback westerns. Charlie had been a widower since his wife died in 1918, a victim of the pandemic of the time, 'Spanish flu.' Leaving him to bring up 4 children, his step daughter working in service shortly after her mothers death. A member of his wife's family bought up Charlie and Ruth's youngest son, Alf, who was only 5 at the time, and by my grandmother's account, 'a bit...

BRANCHING OUT. This week/month I am writing about how branching out, helped me obtain an image of 2x Great Grandfather. My father was an only child and his parents seperated early in his life, leaving his mother embittered throughout her life.  I am sorry to repeat myself here, if you have read my other blog posts where I have mentioned this, but my father really didn't talk about his family and childhood very much. I can hear him now, brushing away any queries, describing them as 'a rum lot.' Talking and meeting with various cousins over the years has helped me understand more about the dynamics within the family. Discovering these cousins, I had obtained images of my grandfather, his parents and of course the wider family. Amongst family photo's I discovered pictures of my father as a child with his mother, his grandmother (my 2x Great Grandmother) on the occassion of her second marriage,but there was a gap - my 2x Great Grandfather:  WILLIAM RICHARD PITTS. I have pre...

  CURIOSITY On reading this weeks theme, my initial thought was that 'curiosity' was a fundamental part of my 'family history,' journey. The stories I have uncovered all stem from personal curiosity, or in my case, 'dog with a bone-itis' to find out more. A list of dates for births, deaths and marriages are all very well, but my interest is trying to establish how these people lived. So which of my ancestors or their wider families is the subject of this weeks post. Well, so many of those 'interesting' ancestors have already been written about, but a few days ago I thought, I wonder if anything has been added on-line about..... ? So this is her story. STELLA CECILIA RUST 1874-1908 Stella was the youngest child of Thomas Parker Rust, a General Medical Practitioner (G.P), and his wife Mary Muir Rust nee Randolph. Whilst she and her siblings were born in London, where her father was working as a surgeon, in later years in partnership with his father in law,...