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Wednesday 25 August 2010

Struck by Family Coincidences?

Have you been struck by family coincidences in the course of your research? 

Early on,  I was looking for the birth date of my great grandmother Maria Rawcliffe, who according to census returns was born c.1859.  I contacted the local registrar for a certificate, and was over the moon to discover she shared her birthday - 15th January - with my own daughter - Maria's great great granddaughter.  This had to mean something special!

On my husband's side, the Donaldson family of South Shields, there was a story that the family had Edinburgh connections, but the detail was vague.  So I was delighted in tracing back through South Shields census returns to discover that Robert Donaldson was born in Leith, Midlothian, Scotland.  This entry was a huge bonus  as many entries just say "Scotland" under place of birth, without specifying the parish. Even better there was the coincidence that our daughter, Robert's 4-times great granddaughter,  was then working in Leith. 

It is these little facts that make family history so fascinating.  Can you add to this? 

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