Hey Humble Readers...
I mentions quite some time ago that I have been working on my geneology. I know, given my relationship with my bio family, it's odd that I want to do this, but I have my reasons.
First and foremost, I want Ginny to know where she comes from. When she's old enough, I will tell her about my bio-fam, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it, after all.
Secondly, and probably the most driving force for me at the moment, is the violin. An heirloom violin that has been passed down on my bio-mom's side of the family since 1893. It was made by one of my ancestors, and I would love to know more about him and how the violin made it's way to me.
I know that the violin was made by Frederick Barnes of Accrington, England. My great-grandfather, also named Frederick, is either Frederick Barnes' grandson or grand-nephew. I have been using a very well known geneology website, but I am good and thoroughly stumped.
I can find Frederick Barnes in Accrington, in the right time frame, but I can't find anything about his siblings, or about his children past 1891. When did they emmigrate to North America? Did they come straight to Canada or did they come in through the US? And I can't find anything about my great-grandfather at all. Part of the problem is that he used a nickname for most of his life, and that makes finding any records of him challenging. I keep coming up against brick wall after brick wall.
And the ultimate kicker is, I know that my bio-mom knows some stuff that might point me in the right direction.
Irony.
I keep meaning to gather together all the genealogy research different family members have done. It's important that it get done soon because my grandpa's last name was spelled differently (on accident) than anyone else in his family.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your research.
Ugh how frustrating! I guess you probably don't want to ask her? Good luck with the research :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous violin! Good luck finding out more information about your family. Oh, and I just noticed the Jeopardy countdown on the side. That is SO awesome! Wish him luck for me!
ReplyDeleteI love doing geneology, too! If you want to send me the info that you have, I can take it to the Family History Library in Salt Lake for you. It's amazing what they have there. I could spend DAYS in there! =)
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your research; what a cool project! The whole violin bit sounds so romantic.....
ReplyDeleteAlmost as ironic as me having to go on birth control huh??? LOL! I think the genealogy search is very cool and I hope you stumble on some answers soon. :)
ReplyDeleteI find geneology such an interesting subject! There has been some done on both sides of my family but I haven't gotten any of the records yet. Really must look into that. Good luck with your research and I hope you're able to get over that stumbling block!
ReplyDeleteBtw, thank you very much for your comment on my blog. I'm glad I've been able to find such supportive people who understand the road we travel with IF.
Thanks for commenting on my blog!
ReplyDeleteGeneology is a national obsession in the UK, so what you're doing is really interesting. Keep updating if you find out more.
Keep up the search! Go team go!
ReplyDeleteSomeone in my family has an old newspaper clipping from when my great-great-grandfather on my dad's side had his last name changed by the Swedish government for doing SOMETHING in the army. I don't know what they changed it FROM, but my maiden name was Rorberg which means "To Move A Mountain". I've always wanted to have the news clipping translated so I could know exactly what he did...
Genealogy is really interesting. I've done a fair bit of research on both my family and my husband's (he comes from authentic convict stock - yay!). Very cool about the violin too - what a fantastic heirloom to have and how exciting to be seeking out the story behind it.
ReplyDeleteHave you dug around at ellisisland.org? It's a little tedious if you don't have specifics but I've had some good luck finding info that way and got some great stories & extra family members out of that one.
Good luck!
Glad that everything comes together soon enough...and that you have success with that genealogy building.
ReplyDeleteMuch love to your little one. I just scrolled down and saw the lovely pics.
Genealogy can be a hugely rewarding project! Or a hugely frustrating one!
ReplyDeleteA third cousin located me last week and informed me that the man who I thought was my great-great-great grandfather actually isn't. That complicates things!