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Saturday 21 March 2020

A-Z April Blogging Challenge - My Theme Revealed

Theme Reveal #AtoZChallenge 2020 badge

It is some years since I last took part in the  April Blogging Challenge, because we started going away on holiday with family in April.  However here I am in enforced isolation, and it seemed a good time to give myself a new activity.   

My Theme:  
Family History Meets Local History - 
Sources & Stories from England & Scotland   

Family History is so much more that the collection of names and dates.  But what do you do when you hit the proverbial brick wall?    I am a great believer in discovering the background to our ancestors' lives - and much of this  can be found in local history resources. For example
  • Where  did your ancestor live and what kind of community was it?  Rural, industrial,, coastal, mountainous, isolated?
  •  Who were their neighbours?  Were they all in the same occuaption e.g. miners, millworkers?  Were other family members close by?
  • What work did they do? 
  • Where did they go to school?
  • How did they travel?  e.g. they might have witnessed  the exciting innovation of the railway reaching their town.
  • How might they have spent their limited leisure time?
  • What key events took place locally in their lifetime? e.g. Bonnie Prince Charlie's army marching through the Scottish Borders on the way to England.
  • Where did your ancestors worship?

Just some of the directions I shall be exploring in this challenge.   You might not find specific references in the resource   to your ancestors,  but you  will gather a wealth of background information  to enhance your blogging. 


 Some time ago,  I came across a reference to  Women Writing On Family: Tips on Writing, Teaching and Publishing. It’s edited by Carol Smallwood and Suzann Holland and published by The Key Publishing House, Inc. of Toronto, Canada (www.thekeypublish.com).  

                                A  key quote in the book struck a chord with me.
                                          "The best family histories are rich in detail" 


     Researching local history along with family history can help provide this detail.
                                        So do join me in this A-Z Challenge.  

                                                              
 #AtoZChallenge 2020 badge

4 comments:

  1. So glad to see you have joined the AtoZ Challenge. I'm in, too...much for the same reason as you. Although I'm not in total isolation...yet...I will have more time for AtoZ than I expected a month or so ago. Look forward to your Family History Theme. Mine will be 'Off the Top of My Head' and will probably have a few Family Ties tied to a few ABC's.
    Sue at CollectInTexas Gal

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  2. Day by day our isolation increases so I think it may be a good year for A to Z (if nothing else). I love your theme and look forward to reading it.

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  3. Susan this will keep you usefully occupied during the lock down phase. Looking forward to April and the treasures you'll uncover...

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  4. Look forward to following along, regards Anne

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