Here are all my previous blogs, mostly covering our caravanning around New Zealand and Australia and some post-caravanning adventures. The first 3 have been transferred to a new Blog heading. So have some family history stories. If I can work out how to delete these I will do so!
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52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – Week 1, 2025
Theme: In the Beginning. I have decided to take up the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge again – I completed almost every week in 2023 but only the first few months in 2024. 2025 presents a whole new list of topics. From as early as I can remember there was a huge old bible… Read more
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52 Ancestors ….. Week 22.
Topic: Creativity My mother “Vada” (d’Archy) Johnston was always very clever with her hands. A stay-at-home mother like most of her contemporaries, she was always knitting, crocheting or sewing something. She used to make all her own and my dresses. When my brother and I were young she went to a number of evening classes… Read more
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52 Ancestors …. Week 21.
Topic: Nickname Like most other late 19th Century families in England and Australia at least, my Darchy family delighted in never using a person’s full first name. It was usually just shortened – William became “Bill”, Frances became “Frank” etc, or the middle name was used – Edith Lillian was always “Lily” and her daughters… Read more
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52 Ancestors …. Week 20.
Topic: Taking Care of Business. My GG Uncle Charles Johnston 1854-1933 was born in Airth, Stirlingshire. He was just two years old when he emigrated to Tasmania with his parents on the ‘Storm Cloud’. He grew up in Launceston, Tasmania but must have moved to Sydney about six years before marrying Charlotte Jane Newsom, daughter… Read more
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52 Ancestors … Weeks 18 and 19.
Topic for Week 18: Love and Marriage. Topic for Week 19: Preserve. I have now missed two deadlines, but looking back I did cover the Week 18 topic last year in Week 34, writing about English schoolteachers Syd Attrill from Plumstead, Kent and Flo Brown, a miner’s daughter from Wingate, County Durham. The Week 19… Read more
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52 Ancestors …. Week 17.
Topic: War. My Great Great Grand Uncle John Lyle, eldest son of Scottish weaver and/or farmer Robert Lyle (1768-1793) and Mary Cochrane (1765-1797) was born in Paisley on Feb 24 1789. He was to die of yellow fever in Uppark Military Camp, Jamaica on June 16, 1822, aged 33 and at that time a Colour… Read more
Nancy's Families 