A-Z of Family History Sources & Stories
Join
me on this A-Z journey to explore the fascinating records
that can enhance your family history research and writing.
TRIBUTES - I perhaps was slow to realise this, but I have discovered that blogging gives me a marvellous opportunity to pay Tribute
to my ancestors through profiles of my great grandmother Maria Danson,
nee Rawcliffe, to my great uncle George Danson who was killed in the
First World War, to my grandfather
William Danson who won the Military Medal, to
my feisty Great Aunt Jennie, to the war time experiences of my father
John Weston, to my uncle Harry Danson who was evacuated
at Dunkirk, and to the talents of my mother and aunt - Kathleen and Edith
Danson. I am proud to have done this. |
| A Painting by my Aunt Edith |
Earlston Parish Church Outing, 1907 -
one wonders how they managed going up and down the Scottish Borders hills!
My brother on the ancestral trail in front of the famous Ironbridge, in Shropshire built in 1779. Our father grew up here, sang in the local church choir from the age of seven and was vice-captain of the school football team. His father Albert Weston walked 35 minute each way across the bridge each day to get to work.
TIMELINES
to me are an important feature of a family history narrative. Our ancestors did not live in a vacuum. I am a
firm believer in setting their lives in a wider context of life
around them - what was happening at a local, national and international
leveL? I usually present this in the form of a text box in each chapter.
My father was always called a Titanic baby - a bit of a misnomer, but it related to the fact he was born 15th April 1912, the night the Titanic sank. For major events, date reference books can help, but local newspapers and local histories are invaluable sources of information. Some ideas here:
- Was your ancestor alive when there was the threat of a Napoleonic invasion with towns and villages were ready to light beacons to warn of the French attack?
- Might your ancestors have seen the Jacobite army marching through Scotland and the north of England in 1745, as Prince Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) attempted to take the Hanoverian throne.
- The coming of the railway to a community must have been a thrilling event to witness, with local newspapers giving extensive coverage of the excitement generated.
- What about the impact of the invention of the sewing machine on the task of making a family's clothes?
- Might your female ancestors have seen suffragettes campaigning locally?
- When was your local cottage hospital built, or the local football club formed?
- How did your ancestral town or village mark the death of Queen Victoria in 1901?
The possibilities are endless.for adding colour to a family story................*********Copyright © 2015 · Susan Donaldson. All Rights ReservedOn to U for Unusual, Unforgettable,
Unlucky & Uniform
Placing my ancestors in the world at the time really makes them come alive for me..
ReplyDeleteI agree blogging is a great way to pay tribute :) It is sometimes tricky to know which events they noticed and which passed them by but I agree they are useful to give context
ReplyDeleteThank you both for taking the time to comment.
ReplyDelete