Ancestral location

Miss W. General info , , , ,

 

My answer:

So far, I haven’t found any ancestral castles I could visit. I did visit Samoa when I thought Captain William Smith was my great great grandfather but DNA has disproved this.

Back in 1990, I visited Devon where my Davey ancestors lived. Without knowing it, I actually stayed in the village where they lived.

In 2015, I visited Ireland and the area around Garshooey and Carrigans in Donegal where my Jackson ancestors lived before being transported to Tasmania as convicts.

Since my big trip in 1990, I have found more ancestors from Scotland so maybe I would plan a trip there to find out more about Dad’s ancestors in the South Sutherland area. Mum also has ancestors from North Riding of Yorkshire so could check them out too.

Social media from the ancestors

Miss W. Wikitree , ,

My answer:

Here in Australia we are so lucky to have lots of digitized newspapers where we can actually see what our ancestors posted on their social media of the day. My parents always used to check the hatch, match and dispatch as they called the births, marriages and deaths columns of the local paper. But nowadays less and less of these records are now found in the papers.

But my ancestors also had their divorces reported in the paper. If they were caught up in a court appearance, what they said was reported word for word. If they bought or sold land, it would often appear in the papers. Of course, after an ancestor passed there could also be an obituary telling their life story, often as they had told their children so not necessarily accurate especially if they had been a convict in the early years of our country.

Readers: What exciting news might your ancestors have posted on their social media?

Time Travelling

Miss W. Bryant, Chandler, Wikitree , ,

 

My answer

I would head to Enfield in London in the early 1850’s to chat with my great great grandfather William Chandler. I would ask him about his parents and where they lived, any siblings he had and why he decided to become a gardener.

I would also ask him whether he already knew his future wife Caroline Bryant before he came to Van Diemen’s Land in 1855.

Readers: Where and when would you go?