Happy New Year - Happy Hogmanay 2020

Happy New Year to all my followers and fellow relatives. May 2020 give us plenty of vision into our pasts!

A fellow Blogger encourages us to recap on our year by answering a bunch of questions.

I actually had quite a fruitful year. I must write about my finds more often.

So here goes….

 
1.  An elusive ancestor I found was Bob Roberts and his mother. I was all over the shop with this one until the penny dropped, and I found them in a Pennsylvanian census document.

Funny the discovery came from a cousin of my Mother- in- law's who mistook us for another family (unrelated) of her cousins but was delighted to find an out of the blue Aussie second cousin.  And further couple of days of obsession and a bit more research led to the unravelling of the mystery of the Roberts children’s parents, deletion of the wrong family in England and the migration and lives of the huge family in America.

2.  A great article I found was when I said I’d do a newspaper search of the Claytons up popped a research paper revealing much about the Robies, Claytons and the Strelleys. It’s entitled MARRIAGE, MORALS AND MONEY by Anne Tarver.  The descriptive title gives clues to their scandalous behaviour and its aftermath

ALICE ROBEY, wife, contra et ad versus THOMAS ROBEY, husband. A

matrimonial cause for separation ‘a mensa a thoro’ in the Lichfield consistory

court in 1716, and the aftermath in the Chancery Court.

3.  A geneajourney I took was visiting Edinburgh to discover the Johnstons who lived in the Old Town and then to the Border country to visit Fernihurst (Kerr) castle.
This was in addition to the visit to the Somme while in France. I gained great perspective.  

A drink for Robert Johnston at Shakespeare Square

Ferniehurst Castle

Kerr tartans and plaids

Meeting at Ferniehurst with a "Kerr" Cousin

4.  In the mid-year, I located an interesting family photo on the Thurlow Family tree. The Thurlow’s had been a bit elusive when I tried to organise our 2012 reunion. They had married into my Gadsby family and one by one all the brothers and widowed mother came to Sydney with their families. Even the Thurlow family hadn’t realised this until I researched them further.  Lots of pennies fell into place and things made sense. The Gadsbys Meet the Thurlowsof West Ham

5.  A newly found family member shared information but still waiting on the promised photos. Coincidentally she was in Sydney from USA when I ancestry messaged a relative of hers who put her in touch- we couldn’t get together quick enough to explore our common Vaudeville relatives.

Margaret's mother led a very interesting life in Vaudeville and stage in  Scotland, France, USA and England

6.  A geneasurprise I received .....

was that two second cousins took the DNA test just before Christmas without me badgering them. Can’t wait to get my teeth into their shared matches. You know who you are.

7.   My 2019 social media post that I was particularly proud of was one where I posted a few old photos of my early family life in Carlingford.  Several old friends who I’ve known since I was 5 recognised themselves, their siblings and neighbours. 

8.   I made a new geni mate who lives in Canada. His daughter has tested also and he matches to others in our Irish line. Gradually bashing away at the Irish brick wall.

9.  A new piece of technology or skill I mastered was using the iPad speaker icon on the key pad to dictate my writing for the blog.

10. I joined The Royal Automobile Club in Sydney’s Macquarie St for a day in order gain access with other relatives to see a portrait of David Allan (1779-1852) Deputy Commissariat of the Sydney Colony. A great chance to meet up with fellow researchers and have a fabulous lunch on the Harbour.
see end of blog
11. A genealogy education session or event from which I learnt something new was definitely going on a day trip to the Somme, Villiers Bretonneux and other surrounding war sites.

13. A DNA discovery I made was…. there were many but they either don’t have trees or they don’t reply.  Sometimes just knowing their shared matches is enough.

14. I taught a geni mate whose husband was adopted how they fitted into the family and how they connected back to France pre 1066.

15. A brick wall I demolished was…...   I connected the Clayton family to the Strelley family by working on Family Tree Maker from documented Claytons c1066 and working forward until prompted to connect to one of my 1700 Clayton relatives.  See my Blog

16. A great site I visited was Shakespeare Square in Edinburgh a site where my 4x ggg grandfather and other relatives carried on an oyster tavern around 1800-1820. Very special having a Gin on the site to celebrate his notoriety.
 
17. A new genealogy/history book I enjoyed was The Kerrs of Ferniehurst 1205-1692 by Bob Lawson- it seems our Kerrs might have been loveable rouges.

18. It was exciting to finally meet a relative from NZ living in England who met up with us to travel to the Fernihurst Castle. We compared notes, postulated a few theories and have gone away to research a bit more.

19. I am excited for 2020 because I’ve got quite a few blog stories in draft and some DNA cousins to follow up on.

20. Another positive I would like to share is ... I’m a member of a lot of lovely Genealogy Facebook pages including photo restoration pages and self help for Family Tree Maker. The Administrators and members of these groups are dedicated, fun and above all helpful. Thanks for all you do.

David Allan's fan club.  David  is 2nd right on top