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ancestry
Oh, it feels good to be clean.
Today we had one of our family get-togethers. My Dad's youngest brother and his family live up north, in Warrington, so it was decided that we would all meet up halfway between here and there, as many of the family as we could get together. We ended up at a country park on the outskirts of Birmingham, Lickey Hills. Lovely place, on a sunny day, I'm sure. Alas today was not a sunny day. It was cold and wet. We all got very muddy. Very. But it was good to see everyone, and the kids had a blast: in the end we managed to get together sixteen out of however many of us there are, six of them aged 12 and under.
One day we will manage to arrange one of these things for a day when it is actually possible to see the sun!
Thinking about it, I'm not sure I've ever been to Birmingham when it hasn't been raining. Maybe it exists in a damp little micro-climate all of its own. Or maybe my visits have just been really badly timed.
Yesterday was another family-oriented outing. My Mum has done a lot of family tree research - originally she set out to look back through her own ancestry, but kept hitting dead ends with those who came over from Norway and Ireland in the 19th century. My Dad's family have been rather easier to trace back through a good two or three centuries, however. Yesterday we went on a mini-pilgrimage to the town of Thornbury in Gloucester, where the one branch of the family to ever possess money came from. Way back in the 18th century, John Salmon was Mayor of Thornbury. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, his family made their fortune on the sugar plantations of Jamaica - apparently, Salmon is still a common name in Jamaica today. I've no idea what happened to that family fortune - it certainly never found its way down to us! But it was the family memorial in St Mary's Church, Thornbury, that we visited yesterday.
Turns out, Thornbury is a really pretty little medieval town - it's mentioned in Domesday Book, so the settlement goes back a fair way. Bits of the town have been modernised, but other parts still look much as they would have done three or four hundred years ago. The high street has some gorgeous old Tudor pubs and shops along it.
I couldn't help but wonder what those wealthy forebears of ours would say if they could see their descendants sitting on a bench on the high street, dirt poor, eating fish and chips wrapped in newspaper!
St Mary's Church dates back to the 14th century, and is absolutely stunning.
See how sunny it was. What a difference a day makes!
On the front wall is a sun dial dated 1764 - restored in the mid 20th century.
Inside, the church is chock-a-block with beautiful stonemasonry and stained glass windows.
Plus, of course, there's that Salmon family memorial, which was the reason for our being there in the first place. It is the biggest in the church, which says something about the Salmons. A little too high up to get a good picture, though.
And behind the church, tucked up right against the wall, is the family burial plot. Very ostentatious.
Behind the church is this fabulous old wall, crumbling and overgrown, separating church land from Thornbury Castle, which is immediately behind it. Alas, the Castle is now a hotel and private property, so I couldn't get a good look.
We found a little museum, tucked away in a side street. One of the displays focused around service and servants, and there was a picture of one of those Salmon forebears of ours, with a servant who had come over from Jamaica.
And that was that! Voyage of discovery over and done with. We found the family memorial, their burial plot, an old photo, and learned that Thornbury is a really pretty little town.
Also today, my sister was feeding baby elephants in South Africa. Her holiday-of-a-lifetime is almost over now. I hope they've had a wonderful time!
Today we had one of our family get-togethers. My Dad's youngest brother and his family live up north, in Warrington, so it was decided that we would all meet up halfway between here and there, as many of the family as we could get together. We ended up at a country park on the outskirts of Birmingham, Lickey Hills. Lovely place, on a sunny day, I'm sure. Alas today was not a sunny day. It was cold and wet. We all got very muddy. Very. But it was good to see everyone, and the kids had a blast: in the end we managed to get together sixteen out of however many of us there are, six of them aged 12 and under.
One day we will manage to arrange one of these things for a day when it is actually possible to see the sun!
Thinking about it, I'm not sure I've ever been to Birmingham when it hasn't been raining. Maybe it exists in a damp little micro-climate all of its own. Or maybe my visits have just been really badly timed.
Yesterday was another family-oriented outing. My Mum has done a lot of family tree research - originally she set out to look back through her own ancestry, but kept hitting dead ends with those who came over from Norway and Ireland in the 19th century. My Dad's family have been rather easier to trace back through a good two or three centuries, however. Yesterday we went on a mini-pilgrimage to the town of Thornbury in Gloucester, where the one branch of the family to ever possess money came from. Way back in the 18th century, John Salmon was Mayor of Thornbury. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, his family made their fortune on the sugar plantations of Jamaica - apparently, Salmon is still a common name in Jamaica today. I've no idea what happened to that family fortune - it certainly never found its way down to us! But it was the family memorial in St Mary's Church, Thornbury, that we visited yesterday.
Turns out, Thornbury is a really pretty little medieval town - it's mentioned in Domesday Book, so the settlement goes back a fair way. Bits of the town have been modernised, but other parts still look much as they would have done three or four hundred years ago. The high street has some gorgeous old Tudor pubs and shops along it.
I couldn't help but wonder what those wealthy forebears of ours would say if they could see their descendants sitting on a bench on the high street, dirt poor, eating fish and chips wrapped in newspaper!
St Mary's Church dates back to the 14th century, and is absolutely stunning.
See how sunny it was. What a difference a day makes!
On the front wall is a sun dial dated 1764 - restored in the mid 20th century.
Inside, the church is chock-a-block with beautiful stonemasonry and stained glass windows.
Plus, of course, there's that Salmon family memorial, which was the reason for our being there in the first place. It is the biggest in the church, which says something about the Salmons. A little too high up to get a good picture, though.
And behind the church, tucked up right against the wall, is the family burial plot. Very ostentatious.
Behind the church is this fabulous old wall, crumbling and overgrown, separating church land from Thornbury Castle, which is immediately behind it. Alas, the Castle is now a hotel and private property, so I couldn't get a good look.
We found a little museum, tucked away in a side street. One of the displays focused around service and servants, and there was a picture of one of those Salmon forebears of ours, with a servant who had come over from Jamaica.
And that was that! Voyage of discovery over and done with. We found the family memorial, their burial plot, an old photo, and learned that Thornbury is a really pretty little town.
Also today, my sister was feeding baby elephants in South Africa. Her holiday-of-a-lifetime is almost over now. I hope they've had a wonderful time!
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That church in Thornbury is beautiful! I was very impressed by it.
It's really funny how Mum has been able to trace Dad's family back to the early 1700s, but can't get her own much further than the 1840s. Such is life (and genealogy) I suppose. It feels strange to think that anyone in our family ever had money! Shame the wealth didn't survive the generations, but then again, if the fortune was made off the slave trade, would we really want it?
You know, if you are interested in learning more about your own genealogy, you'll probably find that there are ways and means of finding out. Just get someone else (a mother, or sister - either would do) interested in family tree research and let them do all the work! Really, all you need to begin with are a few names and dates, and the rest is detective work.
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Anyway, there is nothing unremarkable about you, family history or no. *hug*
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LOL I doubt I could ever sow that seed in my mother's mind. Firstly, we probably talk twice a year for like 5 minutes total and secondly she's not really the type to get invested in something. ;)
So, I just live this stuff through you! *g*
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Of course, I can't get there at the moment, because I can't drive but if you're ever coming over again, do shout and perhaps we could have a coffee or something!
I go to Tewkesbury for similar reasons - my g-g-grandfather was born there, I even know which house and I like to visit and stroll round and see where he was born. Family history can be a very addictive hobby!
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This was kind of a flying visit, spur of the moment. If I'm in that neck of the woods again with more time, though, I'll definitely let you know. When you are healed, obviously.
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Yep, I'm vaguely connected to the Salmons of Thornbury by marriage. The Salmon family intermarried with the Bush family of Bitton, who were cousins of the Bush branch I belong to. Weird! If you want to know more, email me. Is your mum on genesreunited? I'm in contact with someone who's also connected to the Salmon family, and gave me loads of info. I've still got a link to his family tree if that will help at all! :)
And yeah, Thornbury's pretty (but Bitton's better. No, I'm not biased....)
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Mum was doing all her research via ancestry.com, but has allowed her membership to lapse just recently, not having the time to devote to it at the moment, so it wasn't worth paying the membership fee. She'd probably be interested in finding out more, though.
*goes away in search of email*
Thanks!
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Thornbury looks gorgeous. Hark at you having posh relations with memorials in the parish church! :)
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The stain glassed windows are so pretty. Just a shame the sun was not out so we could see the sun dial at work :)
Thanks for sharing.
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Hey, don't knock it - it was sunnier in Thornbury on Friday than in Lickey Hills yesterday! *G*
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Talking of ancestry, my brother found a few things about our father's family, whose surname is Lucy. A check on the Internet found that a Sir Thomas Lucy built Charlecote House in the 1550's although all we can find is that it is near Stratford-on-Avon. The name Thomas has come down through the generations - my grandfather was a Thomas Lucy, and I have noticed in the credits of some TV shows that a Tom Lucy is the Stunts Co-ordinator. I'm sure I saw it on Doctor Who.
Of course, the old boy had many, many children, so who knows if we are related at all to the Charlecote Park ones. But it is interesting.
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I must do some more research on that sometime! I've not been able to make a definite connection yet - family traditions should be treated with caution but never ignored! But when I last visited Stratford, it was interesting to walk around Anne Hathaway's house and think that some of my ancestors may have lived there!
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I had a great-aunt who got me very interested in genealogy when I was growing up. I haven't done anything with it in years, but I remember having great fun back then! Trips to various cemetaries and musty halls of records in county courthouses and such. :D I felt like such a detective!
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Genealogy can be really intriguing, when all the pieces of the puzzle start to come together, and the final clue falls into place and you find that your detective work has paid off,hypotheses confirmed, and whatnot. Of course, it can also be tremendously frustrating - tracing my mother's Norfolk relatives back further than the mid 19th century proved impossible, because it turns out half of Norfolk was called George or William Ward in the 19th century! No way of telling which ones are ours and which are their cousins, second-cousins, completely unrelated etc. But the successes tend to outweigh the frustrations.
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I wish I would able to visit some day... *hopeful eyes*
I always love when people post pics of place where they live or they visit, as it is a way to "know! them, too.
Thanks for sharing all of these with us =D