In search of the family

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...

  RUTH SHAW 1884-1918. Although my intention is to follow the 12 Ancestors in 12 Months version of these themes, I intend to dip in and out of the weekly prompts, when a suitable theme matches an ancestor I have a story for. In 2021, I chose a photograph of my adoptive Grandad's  mother, grandmother, aunt and 2 sisters, 3 generations of women. 52 Ancestors, 52 weeks Week 4 Favourite photo (mypynthdev.blogspot.com) However whilst sorting through my Mum's wardrobe, we found a photograph of her adoptive Grandmother, Ruth Howe, nee Shaw, whilst I would still consider the May women as my favourite photo, this was indeed genealogy treasure. Ruth was one of nine children born to William Shaw, a coal miner and his wife Rosannah nee Heathcock, both of Netherton nr Dudley in the West Midlands. She was born on 2nd April 1885 (National School Admission Register). In 1895, her mother died and Ruth left school education in May of that year, aged 11. by the 1901 census, a 16 year old Ruth is...

  MUM'S CHRISTMAS MEMORIES. For this weeks post, I thought I would share a couple of my Mum's childhood memories of Christmas, just after the war. One of those memories was the Christmas she awoke to find one of her presents was a cabinet her father had made for her. Her father was a carpenter by trade, at the time working for the Bank of Egypt in London. She was delighted with this, alongside the other gifts she had received. But when her parents joined her in they pointed out that there was another present on the shelf of the cabinet. When she opened this it was her first watch. Christmas was an extended family affair and on Christmas Day, Mum, her parents and her Grandfather, Charles William Howe (1876-1957) were joined by her mother's sister and husband, Alice and Joe Scott (Alice Howe and Joseph Scott) and their 2 children Robert Anthony (b.1937), known as Tony and Lavinia Ruth(b.1939) known as Lyn or Vinia. Her father's friend Herbert Alexander Gray known as Dick ...

3 GENERATIONS OF WOMEN I am most fortunate to have had a wealth of paternal family photo's shared with me over the past 12 years. Each has been a joy to receive and certainly has offered colour to my research. Images of my half Great Uncle with his 12 children and their offspring, Vaudeville style pictures of my Great Aunt, images of my Grandfather as a boy, who so resembled my father at much the same age. Too many to choose from, so I have steered away from selecting one single image from these and instead chosen a photo from my mothers side of the family. You may already have read that my mother was adopted, but whilst my father distanced himself from his family, I grew up with this 'adopted' family. Whilst not an ounce of their DNA flows through my veins, I like to believe that their beliefs, love and values have helped to establish the individual writing this blog. Perhaps a case of 'Nurture over Nature,' even though I only met one of the ladies in the photo, El...