It Started with a Shoebox - My 15 Year Genealogy Journey

This week marks 15 years of 

my blogging journey. 

How Did it All Begin?    

It started with a shoebox of old photographs and memorabilia  in a cupboard at my grandfather''s house. It was a grand treat to be allowed to look through them.  I especially loved the embroidered postcards that Grandad has sent back from Flanders Field in the First World War.  Grandad (William Danson of Poulton le Fylde, Lancashire)  was one of eight brothers, five of whom had served in the army and whose photographs featured among the collection.  Grandad, like many men, would never talk about the war, but my aunt related tales of her uncles.

From primary school days, history was my favourie subject, and I was keen to find out more about my ancestors. I started with drawing  up a basic Danson family tree back to my great grandparents

 

     Cards sent to my mother  and aunt  in  1917 and 1918

My interest though was most inspired by this photogaph of my great grandmother Maria Danson, nee Rawcliffe, here with her eldest granddaughter Annie Maria Danson, my mother's cousin.

Maria looked a formidable figure  and her Christian  name had echoes of a Spanish flavour, whilst her surname Rawcliffe reflected typical Lancashifre grit. There was also an apocryphal story that "Granny's dark looks" came from Spanish sailors who settled in the fear after their  ship wrecked off he coast.  

Early Research  in Pre-Internet Days

Many years later I began the ancestral trail, but money was short to buy certificates  and I had only limited time in Lancashire when visiting my Danson relations. Blackpool Public Library gave me access to census returns - a laborious search trawling through microfilms or getting eyestrain from the  IGI mirofiches.  I joined Lancashire Family History and Heraldry Society whose members were  helpful , particularly in finding records for me in Lancashire Record Office - including copies of two Danson wills of 1821 and 1833.

 We got a Computer!

I wrote on Word my first family history narrative on Maria  and had it spiral bound at a local printers,  A few years later  I became a silversurfer  as we went online.  I was in my element searching census returns, and old parish records, joining ancestry.co.uk  and posting queries on message boards. 

I became a Blogger in 2010    

 I was first  introduced  to the blogging world through my work  and an article in the magazine  "Women in Home" about starting a blog if you enjoyed writing, had time to write regularly and were passionate about a subject - well  I ticked all  the boxes and Family History Fun was born - and I have never looked back. 

 When I set up my blog, why did I  choose the user name “ScotSue”, when I was unaware of any Scottish ancestry?

The reason -  I have now lived in Scotland for 64 years, studied here and worked here in tourism, including ancestral tourism,   in local studies and archives where family history inquiries  were a key responsibility.  I was keen to get across on my blog that I was knowledgeable on Scotland -  its  history, geography and genealogical sources. The “Scotsue”  name has served me well!  "Family History Fun" was meant to convey my enthusiasm for my hobby, but looking back is a tad  inappropriate for much of the events on the ancestral trail.  

I think of my blog as my personal family history magazine and enjoy learning from other bloggers  as I developed my style  of writing and presentation.  My Danson/Rawcliffe research, together with the photo collection provided me with plenty of stores to share. The support and comments from fellow bloggers and "online" friends has been invaluable - I would not want to be without my blog!

I never expected to last this long,  when I  tentatively wrote my first post back in August 2010.    My main concern then was "Is anyone finding this and more importantly actually reading it?" A few arms were twisted with  friends and relations to sign up as my first followers.  Writing  comments on other blog posts soon widened my group of followers - very few from Britain, mainly Australia, Canada and the USA. Let's  face it, although. we enjoy writing,  recognition from others is a great motivator. 

I thought I would soon run out of material, but the online  prompts  and inspiration from other bloggers have been so stimulating.   Two unknown third cousins, one from my birth town, and one in the USA,  gave  me a big shot in the arm, in providing me with  with fresh stories and photographs. 

 

Reconnecting with Relatives 

Four cousins of my mother were still alive, though I had had no contact with them since childhood.  A family funeral was an occasion to meet one such cousin, A.   and exchange contact details.  

I phoned P. and introduced myself as "A voice from the past -  I am Kathleen Danson's daughter" .

 What a wonderful reception I got  - P. outlined the family memorabilia she had up in the loft  and offered to come up to Scotland to visit us,  and my husband and I made a return visit the next year. The result of making contact, I received:

• Memories of my grandparents William and Alice Danson - my grandmother died when I was a baby.  It was somehow funny in the nicest possible way to hear my grandparents referred to as  Uncle Billy and Auntie Alice. Also memories of my great grandmother Maria, her daughter Jennie and Maria's  eight sons. 

• I touched personal possessions of Maria including her favourite teaset,  and jewellery sent back to her from Malta, where son Frank was hospitalized during the First World War.
   
• Family  photographs of Maria and her daughter Jenny  that I had not seen before. and the only photograph I have  of my great grandfather James Danson (1852-1906), the bearded  figure,  sitting merry in Poulton old stocks. Plus two poignant letters written by my youngest great uncle George, just weeks before he was killed on the  Somme in 1916, aged just 22. 

 

• Overall  I could not have asked for a better boost to my blogging activity and a more rounded view of my ancestors, beyond the purely names and dates in my family tree - exactly what family history is all about. 
  

So the message here is do not dither and delay in reconnecting with relatives - you never know what might result. 

Joining Facebook 

Many bloggers said I was missing out by not using social media. So  I set up a link for my blog with Facebook and have attracted new readers,  But I have also loved accessing the wealth of genealogical sites on Facebook, learning and sharing my own knowledge.  Pinterest has done nothing for me in terms of my family history. 

Joining the World of Modern Genealogy - DNA

I must admit that my knowledge of DNA was rather sketchy and I was always under the impression that I needed a relation to test with me – and I come from a small family that includes three of my mother’s cousins even older than myself and not online. However a friend convinced me otherwise, and that  I would understand the results.  So I took the plunge with Ancestry and have enjoyed following up my matches - with some good results in discovering unknown 2nd and 3rd cousins and sharing information and photographs.  Some disappointments as it has done nothing to break down my major brick wall and frustrating the people who do not reply to queries or have no family trees online, but overall well worthwhile . And nothing showed up to prove I had a Spanish background from my great grandmother Maria! 

 Last Year Saw  My Long  Patience Rewarded 

My major brick wall  over many years was the lack of information on my maternal grandmother Alice English (below)  who married William Danson.  My mother and aunt were very cagey on her early life  and I sensed not to ask questions.  I put numerous queries on message boards and Facebook pages without success.  I was always told we shared the same birthday 23rd September and census returns gave her birthplace as Bolton, Lancashire  but no certificate could be traced.  Bolton turned out to be a fabrication.   

                             

Then a message came though from contributor on the Find My Past Forum - an Alice English was born illegitimately in Liverpool Workhouse  23rd September 1883.  This was my grandmother!   I was able to trace her background, though not her father - she was one of five sisters.  Her early life was sad;  she was in domestic service from an early age and  and did not appear to have lived with her mother.   So my patience was eventually  rewarded!  

Family History never comes to an end and  

my Genealogy Journey is still ongoing -

 I am definitely not ready to stop yet!   

*************

The Pleasure of Discovering Family Photographs: Sepia Saturday

I am marking Sepia Saturday’s 750th blog challenge by looking back at photographs  that I have received over the years.  They enhanced my family history and contribute to my enjoyment of 14 years of blogging, much of it on Sepia Saturday.

Reconnecting with Relatives

My initial blog posts were based on the shoebox collection of memorabilia at my grandfather  Danson's house which we visited weekly in Poulton le Fylde, Lancashire. 

 

  My aunt Edith Danson and my mother Kathleen Danson  are the two little girls at the front of this parade c.1912.

The cards my grandfather  sent home  from his time serving in the First World War  are among my top favourites. 

**************

Funerals can be a time when families  come  together and such was the cas,   when I chatted to my mother's cousin A.  who I had not seen since I was a child. I told her of my family history hobby.  She later kindly supplied me with memories of her father - my great uncle Bob, a postman  in Blackpool,  a 1928 press cutting of another cousin's wedding, and importantly contact details for other cousins, including P. now living in the English Midlands.

I decided to phone P. - given I was not aware of any sensitive family issue, I was happy to do this and introduced myself as "A voice from the past - I'm Kathleen Danson's daughter." 

 
What a wonderful reception I got  - P. outlined the family memorabilia she had up in the loft   and wondered what to do with it, offered to come up to Scotland to visit us,  and my husband I made a return visit the next year. The result of making contact, I received:

•  Memories of my grandparents William and Alice Danson - my grandmother died when I was a baby.  It was somehow funny in the nicest possible way to hear my grandparents referred to as  Uncle Billy and Aunt Alice.

• Memories of my great grandmother Maria Danson (1859-1919), nee Rawcliffe    passed down through her daughter, Jennie to Jennie's  two daughters.  I had not seen this photograph before and have found it quite difficult to date. 
   

• The only photograph I have  of my great grandfather James Danson (1852-1906), sitting merrily  in Poulton old stocks.

• 
  
  
• Memorabilia of the youngest Dansonson  George including a two letters written by him, just weeks before he was killed on the Somme in 1916 aged just 22. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
•  I touched and photographed  - Maria's tea-set, bought from collecting coupons in a "Daily Mail" offer;  and her jewellery including items brought back from Malta by her son Frank, who was hospitalized there in the First  World War.
  
  
   
   
   
  
  
  
  
  
• I was given a collection of some 50 postcard photographs  of Jennie's friends and their families, with many of the men in World War One uniform, so dated from c.1916.   It must have been the practice to exchange such cards between friends,  (the Facebook of the day!) and Jennie had thoughtfully  written their names on the  reverse.  
  
  
  
  
    Gerty Roskell - a popular surname in the Fylde area of Lancashire and one with connections to my Danson family
  
  
  
• Other  encounters with my  mother's cousins were less successful.  
  
  
  With one I received a friendly  chat, a memory of me as a child in pigtails,  a request to do research into  a sideline of the family, but nothing more in terms of memorabilia. Sadly the contact with Australian relatives petered out after initial e-mails. 
   
   Nevertheless a wonderful contribution to my Family Archive!  So the message here is do not dither and delay in reconnecting with relatives - you never know what might result to enhance your collection.
   
  ************
  
   
  Other family photographs arrived on my computeras a  result of my blogging activity, with two unknown third cousins discovering it. 
   
   I found out about my first emigrant ancestor,  Alice  Mason nee Rawcliffe (1853-1930) - sister of Maria above. Alice emigrated to the USA with her husband John   and had a large family of 11 children - 3 dying in infancy.   The granddaughter of Alice's youngest child Florence got in touch  and we exchanged information and photographs. 
  

   

   

   

  John Mason (Alice's husband)  

  with his youngest daughter, Florence

  
  It was special to receive a later photograph of the Mason family (below)  with all eight surviving children. A number of descendants are listed as my DNA matches, /
  
  

   

   

  ******
  
   
  My other big success was much nearer to home. Like me   Stuart was born in Blackpool, Lancashire and in fact we went to the  same junior school,   though not knowing one another.  We shared the same great great grandparents - Henry Danson and Elizabeth Calvert - Stuart from their eldest daughter Elizabeth (1831-1885) - me from their youngest son James (1852-1906) .
  

   

   Even better Stuart lived only 50 miles away  so we could  easily meet and spent afternoons,  sharing research, old photographs and memorabilia.  As a result I was given  a wonderful boost to my blogging activities in terms of family stories and images, just when I felt I was coming to a halt with my own material.  
   
  Stuart had done considerable research on many branches of his family.    His father's Smith family cane frin  the Scottish island of Unst  - the most northerly spot in the British Isles, 120 miles north of the Scottish mainland.  His grandmother married into the Oldham family  of Blackpool carters and coal merchants in Blackpool in a house with a large yard, hay loft, tack room. and stabling for around 7 horses.;   and his great grandfather was William Dower, a minister in the Presbytrian Church who became a missionary in South Africa. So rich material for blog posts. 
   
  
  
  

   Stuart's father  Arthur  Smith not looking too happy, as he perches on the chair, clad in a dress, as was the custom  for very young boys.  The tartan reflects the family's pride  in their Scottish links.    
  
   
  
  
   
   Stuart's Grandfather  - Edward Stewart Ingram Smith.  His early life was full of promise, but the impact of serving in the First World War at the age of 44 took its toll on him.  

   t

   

  Edward with his young family c.1916,  with son Arthur shorn of his curly locks.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  An elegant portrait of Sarah Alice Oldham on her wedding to George Butler in Blackpool, Lancashire  and what a showy outfit, magnificently decorated large hat, and a large posy set off by  long broad ribbons.  She was one of three daughters in the Oldham family of carters and coal merchants,
  

   

  Oldham grandaughter ~Elsie  Oldham   was my mother's second cousin. On the death of her  father in 1939  Elsie (left) took the helm with her husband Arthur Stuart Smith. She also ran her hairdressing concern her  as "Bobbing,   Shingling and Marcel Waves." This lovely evocative advertising blotter below is in the family memorabilia.

 ***********

Family history can take us in all kinds of directions and Stuart's family connections, although not my direct ancestors,  added a new dimension to my blog posts.  

•  How many people can claim to have a published poet amongst their ancestors? That was the case of my third cousin Stuart whose great great uncle was John Critchley Prince (1808-1866).  He became well known in his time as a writer of poetry in the Lancashire dialect. 
  
  
  
  
• A pioneering South African Missionary, a politician, a  test cricketer   - and one of the leading scientists of the  20th century - you can stumble across some amazing stories when you start to delve into sidelines of your family history. 
  
  
  Such was the experience of my cousin, Stuart who was researching the family of his Scottish great grandmother Isabel Edward from Banchory, Aberdeenshire. Isabel's  sister Jessie married William Dower  and in 1865 they set sail to South Africa  for William to take up an appointment as a Wesleyan  missionary.

 William and Jesse Dower

 

Their  children  and grandchildren made their mark in the world in a variety of key positions, amongst them

• Alan  Blumlein (1902-1942)  has been described as "the greatest electronic engineer of the 20th century", notable for his many inventions in  telecommunications, sound recordings, television and radar.  He died at the young age of 38 during a secret trial of an airborne radar system.
  
  

  

The commorative plaque in London.

 

Stuart's contact with me was my lucky day  - and I haven't even mentioned the war-time tales, the business bankruptcies,   the wealth of wedding photographs down the decades or the charming children's photographs that have found their way into my blog posts.  

 

So to finish - thank you to Sepia Saturday  for your 750 weeks of blogging challenges and the opportunity to feature so many photographs that have come my way from family connections.   

 

 ****************

 

Sepia Saturday gives bloggers an opportunity to share
their family history and memories through photographs. 

 

 

 

  Click HERE to see posts  from other Sepia Saturday bloggers

 

 

It Started with a Shoebox - My Genealogy Journey

Family historian Daniel Loftus has invited us to share our genealogy story.

How I Began   

It started with a shoebox of old photographs and memorabilia  in a cupboard at my grandfather''s house. It was a grand treat to be allowed to look through them.  I especially loved the embroidered postcards that Grandad has sent back from Flanders Field in the First World War.  Grandad (William Danson of Poulton le Fylde, Lancashire)  was one of eight brothers, five of whom had served in the army and whose photographs featured among the collection.  Grandad, like many men, would never talk about the war, but my aunt related tales of her uncles.

From primary school days, history was my favourie subject, and I was keen to find out more about my ancestors. I started with drawing  up a basic Danson family tree back to my great grandparents

 

                                Cards sent to my mother  and aunt  in  1917 and 1918

My interest though was most inspired by this photogaph of my great grandmother Maria Danson, nee Rawcliffe, here with her eldest granddaughter Annie Maria Danson, my mother's cousin.

Maria looked a formidable figure  and her Christian  name had echoes of a Spanish flavour, whilst her surname Rawcliffe reflected typical Lancashifre grit. There was also an apocryphal story that "Granny's dark looks" came from Spanish sailors who settled in the fear after their  ship wrecked off he coast.  

Early Research  in Pre- Internet Days

Many years later I began the ancestral trail, but money was short to buy certificates  and I had only limited time in Lancashire when visiting my Danson relations. Blackpool Public Library gave me access to census returns - a laborious search trawling through microfilms or getting eyestrain from the  IGI mirofiches.  I joined Lancashire Family History and Heraldry Society whose members were  helpful , particularly in finding records for me in Lancashire Record Office - including copies of two Danson wills of 1821 and 1833.

 We got a Computer!

I wrote on Word my first family history narrative on Maria  and had it spiral bound at a local printers,  A few years later  I became a silversurfer  as we went online.  I was in my element searching census returns, and old parish records, joining ancestry.co.uk  and posting queries on message boards. 

I became a Blogger in 2010

I was first  introduced  to the blogging world through my work  and an article in the magazine  "Women in Home" about starting a blog if you enjoyed writing, had time to write regularly and were passionate about a subject - well  I ticked all  the boxes and Family History Fun was born - and I have never looked back. 

I think of it as my personal family history magazine and enjoy learning from other bloggers  as I developed my style  of writing and presentation.  My Danson/Rawcliffe research, together with the photo collection provided me with plenty of stores to share. The support and comments from fellow bloggers and "online" friends has been invaluable - I would not want to be without my blog!

I never expected to last this long,  when I  tentatively wrote my first post back in August 2010.    My main concern then was "Is anyone finding this and more importantly actually reading it?" A few arms were twisted with  friends and relations to sign up as my first followers.  Writing  comments on other blog posts soon widened my group of followers - very few from Britain, mainly Australia, Canada and the USA. Let's  face it, although. we enjoy writing,  recognition from others is a great motivator. 

I thought I would soon run out of material, but the online  prompts  and inspiration from other bloggers have been so stimulating.   Two unknown third cousins, one from my birth town, and one in the USA,  gave  me a big shot in the arm, in providing me with  with fresh stories and photographs.

Reconnecting with Relatives 

Four cousins of my mother were still alive, though I had had no contact with them since childhood.  A family funeral was an occasion to meet one such cousin, A.   and exchange contact details.  

I phoned P. and introduced myself as "A voice from the past -  I am Kathleen Danson's daughter" .

 What a wonderful reception I got  - P. outlined the family memorabilia she had up in the loft  and offered to come up to Scotland to visit us,  and my husband and I made a return visit the next year. The result of making contact, I received:

• Memories of my grandparents William and Alice Danson - my grandmother died when I was a baby.  It was somehow funny in the nicest possible way to hear my grandparents referred to as  Uncle Billy and Auntie Alice. Also memories of my great grandmother Maria, her daughter Jennie and Maria's  eight sons. 

• I touched personal possessions of Maria including her favourite teaset,  and jewellery sent back to her from Malta, where son Frank was hospitalized during the First World War.
   
• Family  photographs of Maria and her daughter Jenny  that I had not seen before. and the only photograph I have  of my great grandfather James Danson (1852-1906), the bearded  figure,  sitting merry in Poulton old stocks. Plus two poignant letters written by my youngest great uncle George, just weeks before he was killed on the  Somme in 1916, aged just 22. 

 

• Overall  I could not have asked for a better boost to my blogging activity and a more rounded view of my ancestors, beyond the purely names and dates in my family tree - exactly what family history is all about. 
  

So the message here is do not dither and delay in reconnecting with relatives - you never know what might result. 

Joining Facebook 

Many bloggers said I was missing out by not using social media. So  I set up a link for my blog with Facebook and have attracted new readers,  But I have also loved accessing the wealth of genealogical sites on Facebook, learning and sharing my own knowledge.  Pinterest has done nothing for me in terms of my family history. 

Joining the World of Modern Genealogy - DNA

I must admit that my knowledge of DNA was rather sketchy and I was always under the impression that I needed a relation to test with me – and I come from a small family that includes three of my mother’s cousins even older than myself and not online. However a friend convinced me otherwise, and that  I would understand the results.  So I took the plunge with Ancestry and have enjoyed following up my matches - with some good results in discovering unknown 2nd and 3rd cousins and sharing information and photographs.  Some disappointments as it has done nothing to break down my major brick wall and frustrating the people who do not reply to queries or have no family trees online, but overall well worthwhile .

Life in Lockdown 

With my many community activities in abeyance now for nearly two years of mainly Lockdown, I turned to my family history and it has saved me from boredom - and much worse - as I turned to the projects that had been on my "to so" list for rather a long time. 

I finished the profile on my mother's life;  worked on my husband's ancestry;  and my main research  has been on my father's Weston/Matthews  family where I had little beyond names and dates, no anecdotes, and very very few photographs, but much help from some excellent local history society Facebook pages. 

The prompt  "Through Her Eyes Thursday" encouraged me to look more closely at  almost forgotten  female ancestors and to bring  them out of the shadow in my blog posts. 

Much time recently has been spent following up on DNA contacts, with satisfying results.

So my Genealogy Journey is still ongoing -

 I am definitely not ready to stop yet!   

*****************

 

Accentuate The Positive 2021 - A Family HIstory Review

Jill Ball of GeniAus has again asked us to "Accentuate the Positive" in our review of our family history activities this past year. 

Few people I am sure would say the period of positivity in 2021 was all too short as we experienced a long spell of Lockdown, some relaxation in the summe,  followed by a slow spiral downwards - what with Covid again dominating the news.   Yet there were positives - not least with my family history, simply because I had so much more time spent at home. The fact I had such an absorbing hobby was a major godsend.  

So what have I done this past year in response to the  Geniaus prompts?

I got the most joy from……Where to start?

• A great sense of satisfaction in completing the narrative on my mother’s life.

 

 

 

• On completing the A-Z Blogging challenge. I had had a family history orientated theme in my head for a long time.  Then I had a sudden change of heart - go topical with “Scottish Borders  in Lockdowns”, building on the fact I was already writing a journal (offline) on the Covid pandemic. I enjoyed the  challenge to my brain of coming up with topics  for each letter, ranging from the highhearted to the serious – for once the letter Q was no problem with Queues Quarantine and Queries obvious headings! The supportive comments   from fellow bloggers were a key aspect of my enjoyment.

 

• 
   
  

• ·The delight in finding completely new information on my gg grandfather (more of that later); 

• On exploring more of my father’s ancestry - for long enough the poor relation of my research to date.
  
   
  My paternal great grandfather John Matthews (1843-1917)
  
  

The Covid situation gave me an opportunity to……  Spend more time on my family history, as I was so restricted to home rather than out on other activities.  

I managed to attend a face to face event at….No - not a chance!

My main focus this year was on….. Completing tasks that had been on my “to do” list for a very long time.

A new piece of technology or skill I mastered was…….Not exactly new, but I managed to adapt to a new printer/scanner. As I do not regard myself as particularly IT savvy, this was an achievement.

A geneasurprise I received was …… Discovering  on The British Newspaper Archive new informationon about my great great grandfather Henry Danson of Poulton le Fylde, Lancashire (1806-1881). I thought I knew all about his occupations, homes and family.  Yet I found through an inquest report and an obituary that he was regarded locally as “an expert in horse flesh” and had died, ironically, in a horse & cart accident.   Lesson here – it is always worth   going back to newspaper websites to check on new titles coming on line.

A Facebook Group that helped me was……Genealogy Addicts Research Group  was,  as ever,  so helpful, whether it was with brick walls, source suggestions or deciphering handwriting on documents.

My 2021 social media post that I was particularly proud of was,,,,,, Posting photographs from my family collection oto place name Facebook pages connected with my family history - and the pleasure in the responses I received. 
                                     

My first class photograph at Devonshire Road Junior School, Blackpool   1950

A new genealogy/history book I enjoyed was…. "Great Britain's Great War" by Jeremy Paxman, BBC journalist and presenter.   Six of my great uncles fought in the First World War, three of whom died, So this book had immediate interest to me.  It proved to be a readable account of the  war abroad and the impact at home.  The opening chapter immediately caught my attention as Paxman relates how after the death of his mother,  he came across a battered  cigar box containing documents on his great uncle Charlie, a member of the Royal Army Medical Corps, killed at   Gallipoli.  Using first hand source material, Paxman  brings to  life the day to day experiences of the British people. I liked the fact the emphasis was not on the detail of the military operations but focussed on the human stories. I learnt so much from this book, impressive and highly recommended.

I got the most value from this subscription…     I could already access newspaper articles through my Find My Past subscription, but I was aware people speaking highly of the British Newspaper Archive website, so joined on a discounted offer.  It took me time to suss out the different searching techniques, but I valued in particular that the website gives a transcription of the item found – which saves so much time and angst in trying to decipher  the text where the image is of poor quality.  

I progressed my DNA research with….. contacting my Common Ancestors on the results for both my husband and myself. Some frustrations but also some good results where contacts were happy to share information and photographs, particularly on my father’s ancestry,

I taught a genimate how to find out more….By sharing my knowledge of Scottish Border records available at the local archive centre.  We are nowadays so hung up on resources online, we are apt to forget that Archive Centres are worth contacting, as   they hold valuable material not online  e.g. poor law, school, police,  militia, and in this specific case Town Burgh Minute Books,  where  plenty of entries  were found naming an ancestor who was a local councillor,  giving his views on local issues.

Another positive I would like to share is.......three  instances here. 

• Continuing to write regularly on the blog Sepia Saturday  that encourages bloggers to share their family history though photographs.
  

• Continuing to manage the blog of my local history group Auld Earlston.  I was particularly proud  of the post   “An Earlston Suffragette Makes the Headlines”  - a great fun post to research (mainly through press reports) and write  for revealing  press attitudes in 1908,  with descriptions of "the dreaded suffragettes,   “pernicious feminine politicians”,  “militant political women”   “displaying their usual offensive manners”, and "mischievously disposed females."  So suffragette activity went far beyond the  cities to reach a village in the Scottish Borders.   Worth following up for your own community. 
  
  
  
• Setting up a new blog Photo Ramblings, showcasing photographs taken by my husband, daughter and myself.  Not strictly family history, but I was a bit bored and looking for a new interest.   My first post featured Autumn in the Scottish Borders.

*************

So 2021 held lots of positives in terms of my family history activities.

Onto 2022 for a happy, healthy and positive year!