Motivation Monday: Grandparents

Julie Boucher of the Angler's Rest blog, has started a 15-month set of weekly prompts to create The Book of Me, Written by You.  She describes it as "...not just about genealogy or family history. It is about a personal journey; a journey of rediscovery of yourself and perhaps your loved ones through your eyes."

This week's Prompt is for you to write about your grandparents.

• What were their names? Edmund George HAYWOOD, Elsie Beatrice BLAGDON (my paternal grandparents), William Hubert BALL, and Minda Mary EDGCOMBE (my maternal grandparents).  Yes, they were married, but as a genealogist I have grown so accustomed to noting ladies down with their maiden names...

• Where were they from?  Edmund George and Elsie Beatrice were from Millbrook, Cornwall, UK; William Hubert was from Kingsbridge, Devon and Minda Mary was from Ringmore, also Devon.

I wrote about them in my post on 3 February here.  I was in the middle of another year's "Family History Writing Challenge" (which happens every February), writing "Faith and Silk" and stumbling AGAIN.  So writing about my grandparents was a fresh start.

"The Family History Writing Challenge is an opportunity for all genealogists, to set some valuable time aside for the next 2[8] days and commit to writing their family history stories. No more excuses. There are so many benefits to writing your family history."
http://familyhistorywritingchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/welcome.html

I like challenges.  Perhaps I should like motivations first...

Sympathy Saturday: William EDGCOMBE and Mary Ann FOSTER

My genealogy program (Legacy) spat out this rather tortuous relationship: that I am William's nephew's wife's 2nd great-greatniece.  That doesn't mean I can't feel sympathy for this couple.

William and Mary Ann married in 1845 in Plymouth, Devon, England.  The first child I can find is a girl, Emma Jane, who was born in 1850.  I can find no further record of her, though, so she may have died young.  If she survived - she was the only child to do so.

Then came Charles, who died when he was three 1854).
He was followed by Eveline Maria, who died when she was one (1854).
Then came Henry Charles, who died when he was four (1859).
Edward Alfred didn't live for an entire year, and died in 1857.
Edwin Henry Charles lived for two years until his death in 1861.
Another Eveline Maria didn't survive a year (1863).

Poor William and Mary Ann!

On This Day: 21 August

John Samuel EDGCOMBE, 1870-1949

On this day in 1949, my great-grandfather died in Australia.  No - I'm not from 'Down Under' myself; in fact, 99.9% of our family tree comes from England.  My great-grandfather, John Samuel EDGCOMBE, and my great-grandmother, Annie Marian BUCKINGHAM (who also died in Australia, in 1961) went out there in 1926 with some of their teenage children.  I think I need to delve more into 'why'.  I've got the passenger lists as to 'how' and 'when'.  But 'why'? 

Twenty years ago, I found that they had more than 600 descendants living in Australia.  But 'why' in the first place?

Fearless Females 2013: Day 27: Off to Australia

Do you have any passenger lists or other documentation?

Once again: Annie Marian Buckingham EDGCOMBE.  Born 11 September 1873 in Plymouth, Devon, Annie married John Samuel EDGCOMBE on 22 February 1894.  John Samuel was a coastguard, and so they lived in Co. Mayo, Ireland for a while, then his farming father called and back they went to South Milton, Devon.  Between the two World Wars, John and Annie decided to leave for Australia.  The two oldest boys, Harry and Ted, went in 1924 on the SS Berrima.  Two years later, on 3 August 1926, John, Annie, and the younger children went to Australia on the SS Hobsons Bay:

Once again, in honour of National Women’s History Month, Lisa Alzo of The Accidental Genealogist blog presents Fearless Females: 31 Blogging Prompts to Celebrate Women’s History Month.  I know this is really US-centric - but that's not going to stop me honouring my own Fearless Females...

Fearless Females 2013: Day 15: Annie Marian Buckingham

Write a six-word memoir tribute to one of your female ancestors.

Annie Marian Buckingham EDGCOMBE

Plymouth - County Mayo - South Milton - Australia

Once again, in honour of National Women’s History Month, Lisa Alzo of The Accidental Genealogist blog presents Fearless Females: 31 Blogging Prompts to Celebrate Women’s History Month.  I know this is really US-centric - but that's not going to stop me honouring my own Fearless Females...

Fearless Females 2013: Day 13: Moment of Strength

I like to think that Mary Ann Edgcombe EDGCOMBE (my maternal great great grandmother) showed strength during the years 1860 to 1865.

Mary Ann was christened on 19 June 1836 in the small parish of South Milton, Devon, UK.  She married her cousin, George EDGCOMBE, on 24 September 1859, and their first child was born a year later.  But this baby, James Henry, lived only seven months, and that was only the beginning of the tragedies which Mary Ann suffered.

Noah George, her third child, died of 'convulsions' on 21 January 1865, less than a year old.  Her second child (and first daughter), Bertha Ellen, died 3 August 1865 on her fourth birthday from scarlet fever.  Mary Ann was seven months pregnant with twins, so she was not allowed to be 'present at the death'.

Poor Mary Ann!

The twins, followed by another James Henry and my ancestor, John Samuel, all lived into old age.  But Mary Ann's last daughter, Amelia Agnes, died aged only a week.  No wonder Mary Ann died in 1912 from 'exhaustion'!

Once again, in honour of National Women’s History Month, Lisa Alzo of The Accidental Genealogist blog presents Fearless Females: 31 Blogging Prompts to Celebrate Women’s History Month.  I know this is really US-centric - but that's not going to stop me honouring my own Fearless Females...

Family History Writing Challenge: Day 3: A Fresh Start

Day 3 of this Challenge, and a reply to my forum query has produced startling results.  There were plenty of helpful suggestions on writing about ancestors who existed in living memory, such as your grandparents etc.  But I was frustrated! because the earliest of 'my' ancestors I would be writing about was born in 1687, and the 'youngest' or latest was born in 1844 - and I certainly didn't remember them, nor could I interview relatives who knew them.

So once again, my dreams of finishing 'Faith and Silk' seemed more like obstacles.  Until at last somebody suggested that I might not like to write something so full of guesswork and speculation at first.  That somebody was Lynn Palermo, the Armchair Genealogist who has initiated this Challenge.  Why didn't I think of that before? why did I beat myself up year after year for not having finished a project which was too difficult for me?  'Faith and Silk' will still happen - just not yet.  Let me get a little more comfortable writing family histories first.

William Hubert Ball

Edmund George Haywood

So I have started a new project.  'The Big Four' is going to be about my four grandparents: William Hubert BALL, Minda Mary EDGCOMBE, Edmund George HAYWOOD, and Elsie Beatrice BLAGDON.  Some of them I knew better than others - but I knew them all.  Although they are all deceased, they lived in recent enough times that there are photos of them, and events they lived through (like World War One) which have a plethora of things written about them which I can research, if I can't remember.

Minda Mary Edgcombe

 

 

Elsie Beatrice Blagdon

Already I feel much more relaxed about this Challenge.  More keen and eager to get started, more enthused about trying, more likely to progress.

Scrivener, here I come!

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy Week 43: Memorable Genealogy Moment

Think back to when you first started researching your family history. Is there a memorable early genealogy moment that stands out in your mind? Describe this event or discovery and how it impacted your research going forward.

The memorable genealogy moment I recall is the one which gave me the greatest sense of "I can do this!"

Everyone in my family had told me that I would never be able to find my great-grandfather (John Samuel EDGCOMBE)'s birthdate, as he had changed his age and run away to sea.  Annoyingly, the date written in the family bible was obscured by a large crack between the spine and the page. 

But I found it! And how did I do it?  Well, the polite way of describing it would be by "thinking laterally", but actually it was just a dogged determination not to be foiled.  In fact, one of the best ways of getting me to do anything is to say "you won't be able to"; I work best when reverse psychology is involved!  And I am sure I was helped by John Samuel, long since beyond the veil.

I felt so infused with success, I could have solved any genealogical brickwalls there on the spot! *embarrassed cough*

From this I learned two things:
a) I can do this (however long it takes to solve a problem)
b) If it looks impossible to find, think laterally and refuse to give up

Fearless Females 10: Minda EDGCOMBE's Religion

Once again, in honour of National Women’s History Month, Lisa Alzo of  The Accidental Genealogist blog presents Fearless Females: 31 Blogging Prompts to Celebrate Women’s History Month.

March 10 — What role did religion play in your family? How did your female ancestors practice their faith? If they did not, why didn’t they? Did you have any female ancestors who served their churches in some capacity?

 

Minda Mary Edgcombe BALL (yes, she whose corset hurt her so much in the photograph below!) seems to hint at nonconformism in some of the documents I have and information which I have received over the years.

On the 1901 census, where she was 6 years old in County Mayo, Ireland and living with her coastguard father, they are described as Wesleyans.  In the early 1920s when she married, it was in the Ebenezer Chapel, Kingsbridge, Devon, which I thought to be Wesleyan (Methodist).  Until I looked at her marriage certificate more closely, when I realised that she had been married "according to the rites of the Congregationalist Church".  I looked up the Ebenezer Chapel, but to my dismay found it listed twice: once as a Wesleyan Methodist chapel, and once as belonging to the Presbyterians/Independents/Congregationalists (according to the GenUKI site, which is very knowledgeable about everything.)

So now I am more confused than ever.  Can anyone enlighten me?

Fearless Females 9: Minda's Baptismal Certificate

Once again, in honour of National Women’s History Month, Lisa Alzo of The Accidental Genealogist blog presents Fearless Females: 31 Blogging Prompts to Celebrate Women’s History Month. 

March 9 — Take a family document (baptismal certificate, passenger list, naturalization petition, etc.) and write a brief narrative using the information.

My maternal grandmother, Minda Mary Edgcombe BALL, was born 7 July 1894 in Ringmore, Devon, and christened on 11 November 1894 in South Milton (also Devon).  Below is her baptismal certificate:

Baptismal Certificate of Minda Mary EDGCOMBE: price one penny in 1915

She was born in 1894, she was baptised in 1894 - so why was the certificate issued in 1915?  Could this have been her 21st birthday present - the key to her own identity and a sign that she was now a 'real person'?  Certainly, there were no incidents - that I know of - like a marriage which would require it.  And this is one of those times when a genealogist groans "I wish I'd asked her when she was still alive!"

Fearless Females 2: May and Ena Edgcombe

Once again, in honour of National Women’s History Month, Lisa Alzo of The Accidental Genealogist blog presents Fearless Females: 31 Blogging Prompts to Celebrate Women’s History Month.

March 2 — Post a photo of one of your female ancestors. Who is in the photo? When was it taken? Why did you select this photo?

Post one, get one free: this is a photo of May (Gertrude May) on the left - I think and Ena (Mary Georgina) EDGCOMBE who is on the right - I think; two of my greataunts.  This picture strikes me as special for two reasons: one is that Ena looks SO cheerful, and another is that she looks exactly like her older sister, Minda (my maternal grandmother).  The elder of the two, May, was born in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, and Ena was born in Devon, England, but they both travelled to Sydney, Australia on the SS Hobsons Bay on 3 August 1926, married there, and raised families there.

As to when the photo was taken, and where - this is one of those mystery photos we all have where they come from somebody else and now nobody knows what's going on...

On this Day: 18 January

Several of my ancestors had this day as their special day:


John Henry BLAGDON, born 18 January 1902 in Millbrook, Cornwall.  I remember "Uncle John" (although in reality he was my great-uncle).  No child was ever allowed to go into "Uncle John"'s room, and always had to do the seen-and-not-heard thing around him.  Apparently, he was my Nan's older brother and it was his house; she had been promised it after his death.  He was the son of John BLAGDON and Susan Emma FARLEY.

George EDGCOMBE, my great-great-grandfather, was born on 18 January 1838 in South Milton, Devon.  He married his cousin, Mary Ann EDGCOMBE - their fathers were brothers.

Richard HARLEY, christened on 18 January 1794 in South Pool, Devon, was my 1st cousin 5 times removed.  He was the son of James HARLEY and Deborah GOODYEAR.

Honor ELLIOT was my 7th great-great-aunt, and was christened on 18 January 1678 in Modbury, Devon.  Her parents were William ELLYOTT and Margery BEERE.

On This Day: 3 January

Grace DOWNE, christened 3 January 1605 in Winkleigh, Devon.  Her parents were Richardi DOWN and Johan BRIGHT, and she is my 8 x great-aunt.

Robert DAMARELL, christened 3 January 1802 in Dodbrooke, Kingsbridge, Devon.  His parents were another Robert DAMARELL and Elizabeth JEFFRIES, making him my first cousin five times removed.

Betsy SHERIFF, christened 3 January 1808 in Thurlestone, Devon.  Her parents were Richard SHERIFF and Ann EDGCOMBE - and I know she fits into my EDGCOMBE line somewhere!

Sarah EDWARDS, christened 3 January 1830 in East Portlemouth, Devon.  Her parents were Richard EDWARDS and Mary Ann MARCH; Sarah's older sister Jane married into my BALL line.

On This Day: 23 December

Two events to celebrate today: a christening in 1865 and a wedding in 1722.

The wedding first: Michael DAMAREL and Elizabeth Jane got married in East Allington on 23 December 1722 (they are my 6 x great grandparents).  The surname is one of those which gets spelt differently as each generation moves on - and even gets spelt differently within each generation, so I have to check for DAMAREL, DAMARELL, DAMERELL, DAMERALL and any variation thereof.

The christening is of twins: Lewis Albert and Augusta Ann EDGCOMBE (another surname with all sorts of spellings!).  This christening is marked with a special set of emotions, when I looked at the dates of the other children.  Parents George and Mary Ann married in 1859, followed in 1860 with the birth of baby James Henry - who only lived some four months.  Bertha Ellen was born in 1861 - but she died of scarlet fever aged only 4.  Noah George was born in 1864, but lived for less than a year.  And the saddest thing? Little Bertha Ellen's death was registered by her grandmother, because her mother Mary Ann was seven months pregnant with the twins, and was probably not allowed to go near Bertha.

So there must have been mixed emotions at the christening of Lewis and Augusta.  Grief at the death of Bertha only three months before, hope that these two babies would live (they did, growing up to get married and have families of their own).

Here they are (they are my great-great-uncle and aunt) aged about four:

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History - Nicknames

My nickname when I was small was Posy - from Rosy-Posy, I suppose (my proper name is Rosamund).  But the very best nickname in my family was my Uncle Erks.  When I searched for him as part of my genealogical quest, boy! did I have trouble.  I looked for Eric and many more variations of the name, only to find he was called George Henry Hubert BALL.  Where does 'Erks' fit into that?  Nowhere - but I found its source.

Uncle Erks was so weedy and thin when he was a child at school, that his schoolfriends (?friends?) called him 'Hercules'.  'Hercules' got shortened to 'Erks', and his family adopted the nickname.  He was in his 40s when I knew him, and he was still called 'Erks'.

His brother was called 'Wigs'.  At least I knew he was called Walter Eli.  But where did 'Wigs' come from? In other parts of my family tree, Beatrice HAYWOOD is recognisable in 'Beattie', Henry HAYWOOD is recognisable as 'Harry', and Edward (EDGCOMBE) becomes 'Ted'.  Mary Georgina EDGCOMBE becomes 'Ena', but Ernest Harry BALL became 'Cockney' (because he lived in London, unlike the rest of the family).

I have found (from bitter experience) that you have to be careful, especially in the censuses, to look for nicknames when using search engines.  My great grandfather, Samuel Murch HAYWOOD, was known as 'Murch' on the 1881 census...

Matrilineal Monday: Mary Ann EDGCOMBE (1836-1912)

My great great grandmother, Mary Ann Edgcombe EDGCOMBE (yes, she married her first cousin) was christened in the small village of South Milton on 19 June 1836, the same day as her sister, Elizabeth.  Elizabeth and Mary Ann might even have been twins!

Fitting her life dates into a timeline shows that she was alive during many many inventions and discoveries - but what fascinated me most (because it gave a window into what must have been a very emotional time) was the birth and early deaths of four of her children.  Her first child, James Henry, was christened on 4 February 1860, probably in the same church as Mary Ann (and his father, George).  But he is recorded as buried on 12 August of the same year.  What happened?  I have found that this often happened in rural families.  The wife goes back to her mother for the first baby's birth, but the baby only lives a few months.  Then the dead infant's name is 'handed down' to a later child of the same gender.  Thus, James Henry was born in February and buried in August, and another child is christened James Henry on 21 March 1869.  Rather a large gap?  Read on...

A year after the first James Henry's burial, Mary Ann gave birth to Bertha Ellen, who was christened in South Milton church on 3 August 1861, then Noah George was christened on 20 February 1864.  However, Noah died on 21 January 1865, and Bertha Ellen died of scarlet fever on her fourth birthday: later that same year; her mother, Mary Ann, was not even allowed to be present at the death, because she was seven months pregnant with twins.  I wonder if little Noah also died of scarlet fever?

c. 1869: Mary Ann (mother) with Lewis, baby James, and Augusta

On 21 November 1865, Augusta Ann and Lewis Albert were born - and they both lived to adulthood, got married, and had children of their own.

Another James Henry followed in 1869, then John Samuel in 1870 (my great grandfather), followed by Amelia Agnes in 1874 - who lived for less than a week.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons for the photograph - Mary Ann wanted to record the tiny lives entrusted to her before they were taken away....

Annie Marian Buckingham EDGCOMBE and Transport

Annie Marian Buckingham EDGCOMBE was my great grandmother (1873-1961).  The first horse-drawn tram in Plymouth, Devon, UK, appeared the year before she was born, she went to County Mayo in Ireland in the 1890s with her coastguard husband and small children, and she travelled to Australia in 1926, where she lived in Sydney, New South Wales until she was 88 years old.

Other transport events of note:
In 1869 (four years before she was born) the Suez Canal was opened.
When she was 12, Karl Benz invented the first practical automobile to be powered by an internal-combustion engine, then Gottlieb Daimler built the world's first four-wheeled motor vehicle.
In 1894, the same year that she got married, the Manchester Ship Canal was opened.
By the time she was in Ireland (1900), the zeppelin had been invented by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin
When she was aged 30 and had 5 small children (1903), the Wright Brothers invented the first gas motored and manned airplane
Only 4 years later in 1907, the very first piloted helicopter was invented by Paul Cornu
And of course in 1912 - the Titanic sank...

Annie Marian Buckingham EDGCOMBE

Since the small child on her knee is probably Frederick Charles, the photo was probably taken just after World War I, which ended in 1918 - she was still in the UK at this stage!

Matrilineal Monday: What's she been up to?

I remember a story my grandma used to tell about my mother when she was small.  My mother had a beautiful "best dress"; my grandmother had a flatiron.  Can you see where this is going?

One day, as my grandmother (Minda Mary Edgcombe BALL) stood chatting with her neightbour at her kitchen window, she saw my mother (Audrey Ball HAYWOOD) rocketing past.  Immediately, my grandmother's suspicions were roused: "What's she been up to?" she wondered.  She soon found out.  My mother had seen my grandmother using the flatiron, and obviously thought there was nothing to it - so she decided to iron her "best dress" - except the iron was very hot, and she left a perfect iron-shaped print on the dress...

Fearless Females: Minda Mary Edgcombe BALL

I am participating in the Fearless Females theme for National Women's History Month.

Minda Mary Edgcombe Ball (1894-1985)

  Isn't she beautiful?  this is my maternal grandmother.  The photo was taken in (I think) the 1930s, when she was a young married woman with seven children.  She taught me (by example) the meaning of femininity and grace, and I have many fond memories of hearing her rich Devon accent as she remembered things of long ago.  Yet she had a great sense of humour; she wasn't in the least bit prim.  She was loved by all her children, grandchildren and the rest of her family.  I can remember the surprise party we had for her 85th birthday, and how the whole hall buzzed with the enjoyment we felt.

Minda 1979

Surname Saturday: Edgcombe

EDGCOMBE has probably the highest number of variants in my family tree.  I never discount any EDGCOMBE I find, since the spelling varied so hugely. The family legend was that we were descended from the Earls of Mount Edgcumbe.  I have never dare tell my family that that was wishful thinking, and we are in fact descended from the peasants who worked the land belonging to the Earl... although, if you go far enough back, I suppose we might well interlink somehow...

The closest EDGCOMBE to me was my maternal grandma, Minda Mary Edgcombe BALL, born in 1894 and christened in Ringmore, Devon.

Here she is as a young married woman.  I can see my mother in her (my mother, Audrey BALL, was the youngest of seven).  In a photo I have of Minda before she changed from EDGCOMBE to BALL, I can see myself in her.  I have already posted this photo on this blog, but I have yet to learn how to link from one post to another.  If I find out, I will come back here and do the linking.  Minda lived until 1985, and to me she was the epitome of what it means to be 'a lady'.

Minda's mother was Annie Marian BUCKINGHAM (1873-1961).  Both Minda's parents (Annie Marian and John Samuel EDGCOMBE) died in Australia; several of her brothers and sisters emigrated from the UK to Australia, and several years ago I was sent details of over 600 EDGCOMBEs of our family who live there.  Some of the older generation still liked to be sent traditional Christmas cards with snow and robins, because they remembered them from childhood, and Australia seems rather devoid of snow and robins.  I wonder if the EDGCOMBEs in Australia think of themselves as Australian through-and-through?