New Year - New Opportunity?

The New Year is always full of optimism and a chance for a change. For those of you who journal it has for me that same fuzzy feeling when you start a new journal. Always in the clearest and nicest of handwriting only to become a mess within a few days.


There has been much debate and excitement in the blogging world of the Genealogy Do Over planned by Thomas McEntee.

I have spent time reflecting on will I start from scratch or simply tweak the opportunity to suit me?

I turned to my journals. My very first note about my family history was made in July 1986. Yes, almost 30 years ago. I started early, what can I say!

Do I want to really start again? I therefore spent the Christmas period reflecting and re-evaluating what material I already had. My system is not perfect, but then neither am I! but Genealogy Do-Over is an opportunity to assess your genealogical state of play.

Three out of four of my maternal Great Grandparents were born in Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire. In particular that small area where the three Counties meet. So it was probably no surprise that I eventually discovered that my maternal Grandparents were sixth cousins. My family history in these three Counties spans the best part of 300 years, with some surnames appearing twice.

My genealogical program of choice is Roots Magic, although suitably inspired by +Tessa Keough I have started to dabble with Legacy and in particular hone in on the knowledge of the Legacy Virtual Users Group on Google+. My Genealogy file is called Main File and as you might expect it starts with me, expands to include my husband and his family which is more problematic than mine for several reasons. The file then goes back through my maternal line and includes collateral lines because that can give information that on it's own appears unconnected, yet when pieced together provides other clues and angles for research. I also have a set of folders called Main File. In those folders are copies of the documents, that relate to the details in the electronic version and I have a set of electronic folders containing the same.

My Genealogy Do-Over is going to be a chance to reassess what information I have, starting with me. Checking everything is referenced and cited.  As I leave no descendants could a descendant of a collateral line take my research and follow my documentation? As I explore what I already have I will of course identify what I do not have. That is an opportunity to explore my family peers, my late Mum's Cousins and so forth. Building my Genealogical to do list.

Over the course of the last year or so I have added biographical information on various ancestors to my website and I plan to wove that into the 52 Ancestors in 52 weeks program.

This blog continues to go from strength to strength. We see a slight change in the structure with the writer's & author's from 2014 in the main moving to every other month. We say cheerio to several writer's who want to get on with various domestic things, but who may join us in the future and some of our writer's are in for the long haul and writing every month. We also have some really great writer's joining.

Would you though like to join us? The only stipulations are

1. You write on your scheduled day (or make arrangements to swap!)
2. The post must be related in some way to local or family history or history in general.

To see the available slots and current authors please CLICK HERE and if you are interested then please do leave a comment.

That's it from me until next month.

Happy New Year!
Julie

Worldwide Genealogy - One Lovely Blog!

In the last month I have been awarded over at Anglers Rest, and then here, twice along with my fellow writers the One Lovely Blog Award.

Some other blogging buddies know that I feel about awards, and I wrote about it HERE back in January 2013 when I stated that I would accept gratefully in the spirit they were given, but would not pass along. Instead I would contribute to the Kiva Project via the Genealogists for Families Team. I still do support the Kiva Project and will be making a loan via the site today.

The One Lovely Blog Award is quite an honour for this blog. It represents the knowledge, friendship, expertise and collaboration of a group of like minded people separated by various expanses of water, land masses and time zones. As I type this on Wednesday afternoon it is already Thursday for several collaborators and the middle of the night for others. 

What was a random suggestion about a year ago was taken and supported by a group of genealogists and historians. Overall, we deliver each day of the month, a different view or aspect of history. We share an abundance of knowledge that is different to each other. That knowledge is respected and welcomed. 

As we head into 2015 the current writers are going to shuffle backwards, writing every two months. That means we now have twelve spaces for new writers to join us. There are no rules, well not many. Simply write on your given day and deliver a blog post that represents the historical, genealogical or local history arena. That is pretty simple eh?

There is no financial reward, what there is though, that will yield more than money is the spirit of friendship, cast across the globe ignoring all the prejudices that there are in the world. So, if you are in the market to spread your writing wings, to deliver a blog post every other month, just six a year, and want to make some new friends or perhaps join some existing ones then this lovely blog, the Worldwide Genealogy Blog is the place to be! 

Please leave a comment ensuring I can email you back, or feel free to email me using the subject line of Worldwide Genealogy Blog.

History is all around....

Is it me, or does the time seem to fly past? My Grandmother always said that was a sign of ageing and perhaps she was right.

At the start of this blog I had planned to share an galaxy of historical information with you all each month. Sadly, my domestics and the loosing my Mum stopped my organic flow of writing. I became somewhat absorbed in a variety of things linked in some way to Mum. We all have our own way of dealing with death and the aftermath of something that is inevitable and yet has the power to know you so out of kilter.

A few months ago I was talking to +Tessa Keough who used the expression of "tooting your own horn".The UK equivalent is blowing your own trumpet and I much prefer the US version. Anyway, I am not one to blow my own trumpet, that involved too much breath and tooting my own horn is well, simply not done, or at least I don't feel comfortable with that. BUT, I am going to, just this month and hopefully you will see why in a paragraph or so.

Then earlier this week, I wrote the phrase, "Yesterday is already history" and indeed it is. The hardest thing I have ever done was to add my Mum's death date to my genealogy program. I can not even express how hard that was. The realisation that Mum, my Mum, had passed from being a loving living soul to an ancestor in the blink of an eye. The good genealogist in me, wrote the obituary with all the genealogical loveliness I could manage.

I then was thinking that so much of what we each do, demonstrates our character, our interests. All those little bits of randomness that take an individual with their dates, in various stages - what I call hatched, matched and dispatched (I read that somewhere, can't recall where), and turn a name and dates into an individual. A person who does all the things that we do, that unless captured are simply cast aside with the test of time.

So having set the scene, I am ready to toot my own horn.  I do hope you all ready to read, share and toot that horn with me and for yourself.

One of two quilts made by Christine Butcher
in the ownership of Julie Goucher

Anyone who has read my blog posts of late, or seen my Google+ stream will already have seen mention of this. Mum was a very keen seamstress. It took me heading into adulthood to realise just what a skill it was for Mum to make some of my dresses, knit some of my woollen clothing and create a quilt that I had on my childhood bed. I didn't see the wonder, didn't express the gratitude and didn't appreciate it for the skill and love Mum exhibited. Mum on her demise left more fabric, sewing equipment and knitting than I can shake a stick at. If you are not familiar with that saying, it means way to much!

I absolutely could not give it away. That was out of the question. It felt disloyal. So I had to keep it all. I thought I could make a quilt. Mum is I hope, looking down on me, smiling and I am sure saying you will never in a million years get those two sewing machines to work. (Mum had two, why was only known to Mum). I cast my mind back to the support, love and friendship I received whilst Mum was unwell and in the days following. Social media is phenomenal.

I thought further and realised that if we take one of life's certainties and the fact that we have all lost someone, we can each commemorate that individual. To create something that brings "alive" the wonder and love we felt for someone in a here and now concept whilst sharing an historical moment, some details of their life and contribution.

So in the spirit of "tooting my own horn" I am sharing this, that I launched last week, on the 19th anniversary of my Grandmother's death.

The In Memory of .....Quilt

All the details are on the page, the background, the idea, the how to take part and the Facebook page.
I even wrote a small presentation for those that like video's!


Please share and consider taking part. Help us to create a piece of history.

A little earlier this week, I read a post on a genealogical friend's Facebook wall about the demise of letter writing. Her late Mum was a prolific letter writer and therefore she has launched a project which is called Snail Mail Day. Then a day later I came across another project, commemorating another lost and fragile life, The Primrose Project.

These projects, enable us to give comfort to friends that are dealing with loss, they enable a legacy of a loved one to go forth into the future and most of all they commemorate an individual who meant so much to their families.

As I said, History is all around.

Until next times folks!

The A - Z Blogging Challenge

Those of us that have been around the blogging world for a while will be familiar to the A-Z April Blogging Challenge.

It really is quite simple - in order to take part you simply blog from 1st April until the 30th April each day apart from Sundays and each day is covered by a letter from the alphabet. Today, 1st April is A, 2nd April is B and so forth.

I have entered by Anglers Rest blog in again, I think this is my fourth year. I do rather enjoy it and find I do stumble across some interesting blogs that otherwise I would never have come across.

The sign up list is available HERE and by the time you read this there will be about 12 hours in which add your name to the list of participants. There are several genealogical and history blogs taking part and they are represented by the suffix of (HI).

Image courtesy of the Society for
One-Place Studies

This year the Society of One-Place Studies is taking part, giving a whistle stop tour of the studies registered with the Society for each corresponding letter. As always there is a degree of creativity for letters that are not covered by a study. The Society blog is located HERE.

This is a pretty short and sweet post from me this month.
The domestics have caught up with me a bit and I need a little bit of ME time, to adapt, adjust and come to terms with a few things. Needless to say I am very much my Mother's daughter and thus there is work to be done, which will eventually be attended to in the next few weeks. I shall be back reinvigorated (I hope) next month with an interesting post!

Until next time,
Julie

Becoming an Ancestor - Understanding Social & Historical Context.

The year for me so far has been dismal on the private and domestic front. My husband and I have had a series of emotional upheavals that we expected one day, but not just yet. As February drew to a close the post that I had decided to write for Worldwide Genealogy was bumped to next month because today's post was created on the back of something that I did yesterday.

Yesterday I did several things. Firstly I entered my Mum's death details into my family history program along with a copy of her death certificate. I then spent several hours writing a presentation made up of several readings and the music that will be delivered and heard at her funeral. The presentation will be shared with members of my family and friends who can not attend. It will also be a lasting tribute to my Mum.

I became acutely aware that in the space of a few moments the transition from life to death happened, and in a longer time frame the existence of my Mum within my genealogical material from a living individual to an ancestor occurred. I can not tell you the series of emotions that I felt as I sat at my desk yesterday. Sadly, I know that some of you will know exactly how I felt because you have done something similar.

The point of this post is not be weepy and depressed. Far from it. I am absolutely my Mother's daughter. Things I write, say and do. We all exhibit things from our parents and those we interact with on a daily basis. Those things are what keeps our relatives alive in our memories.

How did though our ancestors deal with bereavement, death, dying and grief? They would have felt the absolute emotions that I have felt over recent weeks, but we are not the only people who have lost a loved one. Sadly death is a fact of life and yet over hundreds of years how we deal with the emotions and the physical process has changed, probably I suspect beyond recognition.

The Victorians dealt with death with a great deal of pomp and ceremony. Sometime ago I came across this video, which is from a lecture held at Gresham College in 2010. You can view the Power Point presentation with other details at the Gresham College website. This lecture forms part of the The Victorians: Culture and Experience in Britain, Europe and the World 1815-1914



Therefore, from the saddest of events we can learn and reflect on the past and truly understand how our ancestors dealt with the natural order of things.

Bravery, Curious or Necessity?

Many thanks to Jill for swapping days with me. The post you are about to read is not in fact the post I had planned and written. The reasons for writing this one will become apparent as you read on!

When I first started being curious about my heritage I was in my early teens and my curiosity was about my paternal side of my family history. I know marginally more now than I knew then, more than thirty years on. I recall asking a few questions, getting nowhere. According to my journal this is what I thought

"12th October It appears there is a mystery here, although I do not understand why. Mum and Gran are saying nothing and neither are the Aunts. Curious and one day I will find out. Whatever it is, it surely can not be that bad. Frustrated. Signed for the hockey team and managed to break my glasses."

That curiosity never went away. It bubbled under the surface until I was in my late teens when I began visiting my Great Aunts (referred to as the Aunts above) on my own. Back then though I wrote up the notes after the visits, so it was as I recalled the details. In the mid 1980's I started being more obvious about my note taking and the Aunts loved it.You can read more about that at my Where it all started post. I would arrive with notebook, a few pens, a treat for us to consume and a treat or request from the Aunt I was visiting.

Rose Marshall (nee Butcher) 1900 - 1994

The best visit was in 1993 when I managed to get two of my Great Aunts in the same room; my Grandfather's oldest sister Rose and his youngest sister Doll. I also invited along their first cousin Ivy. We had a brilliant time. I loved it, they joked, laughed and turned the afternoon into a journey of their early years. Rose teasing Doll, all that sisterly affection of yesteryear flooding back.

It was a magical afternoon and we all had a great time. Now, none of them are here. They are missed daily and are often in my thoughts as they spent many hours with me telling me information and listening to my hypothesis and my discoveries. Nothing was more frustrating when I told the eldest of the sisters, Rose a major discovery to me, for her to respond, " yes that is right." When I asked why she had never said, she responded with the wise retort of "you would have not discovered it for yourself and that is the point of your journey is it not?"

Do you ever wish you could have bottled the wise, support and knowledge of your relatives? I do. Yesterday I sat with my Mum in hospital. She is fairly poorly but on the long, windy and uphill path to recovery. I looked at her hands. Aged with the trace of arthritis and commented that she had Aunt Rose's hands. Mum looked down and said yes and then we started thinking about the family members, those we knew and know and who looks like and has the traits of others. It was a fascinating conversation and one that exhausted Mum.

I came home and wrote eight pages in my journal, the comments I could recall and the comparisons we made. So many of the family genes are repeated because I have a rather large amount of safe intermarrying. On researching, my Grandparents were sixth cousins although they did not know that in their lifetimes.

I then reflected on the travelling my early ancestors did. How did they feel when a member of the family decided to move on? It is no doubt that I have that traveling bug, (I am acutely aware that I should be in warmer climes right now.) What was the catalyst for that move? Was it curiosity? Were they brave? Necessity even or perhaps a bit of all three.

I firmly believe we need to understand the social, political and economic standing of the Country and community that our ancestors lived in.

A branch of my Ellis family migrated from Elstead Surrey to Geelong Victoria Australia in 1854. I have, over the years traced various descendants. We have corresponded, stayed with each other and bridged those gaps that separated our ages and locations in order to share the facts of our common ancestors. That is such a marvellous feeling. I wonder what John Ellis who migrated in 1854 would have thought of that? The reality is that the actual concept of returning home was financially out of the grasp of the family. The fact that over time we have invented planes to enable us to reach those destinations in about a day rather than the months it took them by boat in cramped conditions is a testament to the curiosity of mankind.

Wall of John Ellis' farm building
Copyright J Goucher October 2012

When I was in Geelong in October 2012, I stood by this old wall. To the average person it means nothing. It is quite simply an old wall.

To me and the Ellis family descendants it is the last remaining evidence of the farm and house that was lived in by my ancestor John Ellis and his family.

The wall represents John's desire to provide for his family. His bravery, curiosity and a lifetime of hard work.

Until next time.

Happy New Year!

Image from Globe Photo

One of the things that I love about social media is that sheer fact that it shrinks the world to the size of a matchbox.

I love the options it gives us, to embrace our hobbies, obsessions from where ever we are in the world using whatever social media tools that appeal to us as individuals.

By embracing the different forms of social media we can integrate with others, sharing ideas, knowledge and friendship with people that we have never met.

Social media, in whatever form it takes has revolutionised the way we interact with others, the way we conduct our genealogical and historical research and more importantly it has revolutionised Society in general, in pretty much all areas - banking, learning and shopping to name a few.  Is this how our ancestors felt when the concept of rail travel was first introduced I wonder?

I like various social media tools for different reasons. I can typically be found either by my own name or Anglers Rest

Twitter is always a challenge. I struggle to share details in 140 characters or less, but I can be found at @juliegoucher

Facebook - I like the fact that I share share the incidentals of peoples lives, especially my family who live down under. I have a personal page and I have a page that is linked to my blog and Twitter and I plan to share more general genealogical material to that page. I rarely share genealogy to my personal page.

Google+ - This was a big learning curve for 2013 and I love it! Once I got my head around the point of circles and the interaction is by topic rather than individual I was hooked and I love the way that Google+ enables hangouts and links to YouTube

• Do you have a favourite social media tool or tip you can share? 
• Does your Society use social media really well, spreading the word to the genealogy community and members far and wide?
• Do you want to learn to use a social media tool that you perhaps do not use, or want to expand your use of particular one?

If you want to respond and share please get interactive and leave a comment!