In search of the family

TOMBSTONE TOURIST OR TAPHOPHILE? My fascination for a cemetery and the beauty of it's monuments. I think my interest in cemeteries started after visiting The Jewish Cemetery in Prague in the late 1970's. The first burials were from the 15th cemetery and burials continued for approx 3 centuries. Space was limited, resulting in burials being placed on top of burials in layers. It is said there are approx 12,000 tombstones within the cemetery. Whilst the Jewish Cemetery started my interest in memorials, traditions of various religions and philosophies related to death, I perhaps have a deeper rememberance and empathy for the beautiful country of Czechoslovakia and it's people, increasingly discontent with Soviet rule.   Years later I began photographing local churchyards and cemeteries, transcribed and sent the images to www.gravestonephotos.com. much like www.findagrave.com. This was in the very early days of the project, but I caught the bug and over time I had photographed ...

COUSIN BAIT I had never heard the expression  'Cousin Bait' so I thought to myself this would be the ideal time to write about a marriage between 2 cousins. I had ideal candidates and was looking forward to writing up their story. So I was somewhat disconcerted when I read the true meaning of the expression. Nonetheless I do still intend to write the original cousins story in a seperate blog. So 'cousin bait,' well no I have not utilised any of the techniques indicated within the definition consciously. I write my blog posts as an easy way to share information with my wider family or anyone who may find these people's lives interesting. I check Ancestry trees and DNA matches, never realising that what I was doing was  fishing for cousins. However, it was through a request on Ancestry message boards, that I first made contact with a cousin in Australia. John sent me a wealth of information and photographs of  his family. Our genealogical link is our Great Grandfather...

 SARAH ANN PITTS 1883-1952 I am related to Sarah in two ways. She was the sister of my Great Grandfather William Richard Pitts but she also married Charles Deaney, the brother of my Great Grandmother Eliza Deaney. Sarah was born on the 2nd February 1883, the eldest daughter of Thomas and Esther Pitts nee Jackson. She was baptised at St Johns, Coln St Aldwyns Gloucestershire on 4th March 1883, the family were living at Swyre Farm Cottages, as an Agricultural Labourer, it would be reasonable to assert that Thomas was working at Swyre farm at this time. As Thomas and Esther moved around the Cotswolds as work took him, so Sarah moved too. By the 1891 census, Thomas and family were living in Aston Blank also known as Cold Aston, living and working at Aston Blank farm.  The next documentation for Sarah is in 1901, but not the census, I have been unable to identify her there, but on 22nd June 1901, Sarah married Charles Deaney in Brentford Middx. Whilst I have been unable to find Sar...