Megan John Williams and Susannah Jones were married on 3 October, 1837 in the Parish Church (St Giles) in Wrexham, North Wales. During their entire marriage they lived in Brook Street, Wrexham (I am not sure if they went to live in Brook Street directly after they were married, but they are listed as living there … Read more John Williams and the Missing 1861 Census
I have always wondered about Sarah Mather’s birth. Her parents, James MATHER (1821-1881) and Fanny CROSS (1822-1867), were unmarried when she was born and her father wasn’t even listed on her birth certificate. However, both parents were listed on her baptism and they did get married later on. Over the past couple of weeks I … Read more The Circumstance of Sarah Mather’s Birth
Imagine being a teenager in Russia during the 1860’s. Not exactly the normal life for a middle-class girl of the period. But Sarah Mather’s life had not been normal from the start. When Sarah was born on 13th June 1852 her parents were not married. In fact, her father’s name was not included on her … Read more Sarah Mather – a well traveled girl
During the 1870’s Edwin Williams worked on several construction projects in and around the Manchester area. An entry in the Cyclopedia of New South Wales 1907 for Edwin states as follows: “and for several years did some good work in the northern counties, superintending, amongst other buildings, the erection of the John Barnes Convalescent Hospital, … Read more Edwin Williams meets Sarah Mather
Who would have guessed that my great grandfather, Edwin Williams, was ever in the army? Thanks to a document and letter in the possession of my cousin, and graciously shared with me, I was able to find out about Edwin’s short army career. The document below is a pass for Acting Corporal E Williams (army … Read more Edwin Williams was in the Army?
My uncle, John Edwin Ashley Williams DFC, was one of the 76 escapees who tunneled their way out of the German Stalag Luft III prisoner of war camp on the night of March 24, 1944. This event has been dubbed the Great Escape and was the subject of a blockbuster movie starring Steve McQueen. The … Read more The True Story of the Great Escape
I was recently asked by a Scottish cousin if I could find out what happened to his uncle Roddy McKenzie who went to Australia and lost touch with his Scottish family. Roddy or Roderick MCKENZIE was the middle of five children born to Angus McKENZIE and Margaret GIBBONS. He was born on 2nd February, 1910 … Read more Finding Roddy
My gggrandparents, Alexander GIBBONS (1853-1910) and Margaret McGREGOR (1853-1896) were married in Tibbermore Church on 24th March 1876. Margaret’s family had lived and worked in the parish since the late 1860’s. In fact there is a large headstone in the old graveyard that was initially erected for Margaret’s father, Peter McGREGOR (1824-1891) who died in … Read more Tibbermore Church, Perthshire, Scotland
When I was just 23 years old, I booked my one way ticket from Australia to Europe. Granted it was back in the days before email, but I could keep in touch with my family through mail and, if necessary, very expensive phone calls. There was also the thought that I would eventually return home … Read more One Way Ticket
Scottish children were often named according to a specific naming pattern or convention. There are many examples of this in my family tree. Children were named by following a simple set of rules: 1st son named after father’s father 2nd son named after mother’s father 3rd son named after father 1st daughter named after mother’s … Read more Scottish Naming Patterns/Conventions