Theme: Conflicting Clues. After over 20 years of occasional searching, my GGGUncle Reuben Hunt remains undiscovered. Born on February 6, 1824 to Thomas Hunt and Ann (Nancy) Welding, he was baptised on October 25 in St. Lawrence, Reading. He is in the 1841 Census (name misspelled) with his parents and siblings. His father is described… Read more

Theme: A Big Decision. Of all my immigrant ancestors who came to Australia from Ireland, Scotland and England in the nineteenth century, surely the biggest decision was made by the biggest family – school Headmaster Edwin Hunt (Brother of Emma in the previous 52 Ancestors theme) and his wife Margaret Morgan, and eight of their… Read more

Theme: What the Census Suggests. My Great Great Aunt Emma Hunt, born 1829 in Reading, Berkshire, was the fourth child and only daughter who stayed in England – three of her siblings emigrated to Australia and one brother is thought to have gone to America. The 1851 England & Wales Census shows Emma, aged just… Read more

Topic: Favourite Photo. This is the only photo I have of my Grandfather Alex Johnston (1868-1952), indeed the only known photo of him at all. A very private man, he reluctantly succumbed to the pleas of his granddaughter when I was about 10 and armed with my first camera, a Baby Brownie box camera with… Read more

Topic: A Breakthrough Moment. I wasn’t getting very far with my wider Glasgow-based Johnston famiiy. Census entries were useful but not always to be trusted, with multiple common names like Charles, George, Peter and Mary. I had established that my GGGF Charles Johnston was born in 1797 and died in 1848, and that he married… Read more

Theme: A Theory in Progress. As another participant in 52 Ancestors has written, “There are times when you aren’t quite sure what is right in your research. This is a good week to explore a theory that you have about someone in your family tree”. My Paternal Grandmother Bertha Wade was born in Invercargill, New… Read more