Despite the fact that I have now been researching my family history for almost 25 years, there are always new documents to be found and ancestral haunts to visit, so in this final post of the 52 Weeks challenge I’m going to reflect on the discoveries that stood out as particularly memorable during the past… Continue reading Memorable
Tag: Clark
Multiple
Given the high mortality rates of the time, it is not surprising that multiple marriages feature in the earlier branches of my family tree. In most cases, these were due to a widower remarrying since childbirth remained risky well into the 20th century, and it is sobering to reflect on the fact that I owe… Continue reading Multiple
Urban
During the 19th century, there was a well-documented shift of the British population from rural to urban areas driven by the many challenges and opportunities offered by the agricultural and industrial revolutions. By 1851, for the first time, at least half of the population was living in an urban area but, with the exception of the… Continue reading Urban
Cemetery
It would be a rare genealogist who does not enjoy exploring a cemetery, and I have visited many over the years. There is always the hope that the inscription on a headstone will reveal some missing detail of an ancestor’s life, but mostly I just enjoy the feeling of being in a place that would… Continue reading Cemetery
Disappeared
Finding out what became of my paternal grandmother’s 11 siblings was the catalyst for my interest in family history and, after the best part of 20 years spent searching, I have been able to establish a timeline for most of them and to make contact with many of their descendants. The exception is the brother… Continue reading Disappeared
Playtime
In addition to the master tree that records my direct ancestors and their descendants, I have a number of research trees which I use to explore the unlinked family clusters of DNA matches that every genealogist will eventually end up with. These clusters are formed of numerous DNA matches who all descend from the same… Continue reading Playtime
Wide Open Spaces
I’ve already told the stories of three family members who were amongst the many thousands emigrating from Scotland to Canada [see Reunion , Brick Wall and Migration] and now it is the turn of my great grandfather’s younger brother, William Clark, who left for Ontario in 1871. William was born at Longhill, Lonmay in Aberdeenshire… Continue reading Wide Open Spaces
Legal Troubles
My grandmother’s sister, Christina Clark, was born on 27 March 1865 in Peterhead. She was still living in the town with her mother and siblings at the time of the 1871 census, but by 1881 appears to have left home as she is recorded as an unemployed domestic servant in Aberdeen. On 5 October 1886,… Continue reading Legal Troubles
FAN Club
FAN stands for Friends, Associates and Neighbours, and the principle of this technique is that researching the people who surrounded an ancestor may yield clues to their identity when direct documentary evidence is lacking. I recently had a go at applying it to my elusive great great grandfather, William Clark [see Brick Wall] to see if… Continue reading FAN Club
Reunion
My paternal grandmother’s sister, Mary Hay Clark, was born in Peterhead on 25 July 1878 and was just 12 years old when their mother, Barbara McDonald, died in 1891. In an earlier post [see Migration] I hinted that a cousin, Christina Hardy, had an important role to play in the life of one of my… Continue reading Reunion
Sleuthing Notes 