A to Z Book of Me Challenge Y is for YOU

Y is for you... your research starts with YOU

Some points of my life...

:  I was born in Dundee, Scotland..

: I moved to Greenock and then Port Glasgow, Scotland with my Dad,
brother and sister when I was around 5 years old

: I attended Belville Street Primary School for a short time

: My dad got remarried when I was around 8 years old

: I then went to  Clune Park Primary

:  My High School was Port Glasgow High

: Finished school at age 16 and went to work at Wovenair

: When I was 17 years old I went with my friend Jean to look for the church we were interested in,
best decision ever...

: Age 18 moved to Edgeware in England and worked there as Nanny

: Also worked at Butlins holiday camp in Minehead, England for a short time

: Age 20 got a Nanny job in Toronto, Canada

: Met my husband, got engaged and married that same year

: Moved to Calgary a year after we got married

: Had our first son almost 2 years after we were married

: Adopted our daughter a year and a half after our son was born ( she was almost 12 years old )

:  7 months after that, we had out second son

:Two and a half years after that we had our third son ( lost 5 babies in between having all our boys )

: Moved back East in 1986

: Moved back out West in 1988

Wont go into anymore except to say that, we have 10 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren
Next year is our Ruby anniversary

" Its a Wonderful Life "

A to Z Book of Me Challenge X ( Marks the spot )

X marks the spot...

Did any of our ancestors not know how to write, and therefore instead of
their name, they would put an x there instead.?
Or...
due to an injury or maybe an illness they were unable to write their name,
so put an x

So far with the documents that I have , my ancestors have actually
written their name... but I don't really have anything that goes really, really far back.

I think that before the early 20th century, it would be quite common for most
people to not know how to write.
If we do come across that with our own ancestors, to know if they could write
at all, we could search other documents, eg: wills, birth certificate etc and see
if they wrote their name on that, or just put an x instead.

A to Z Book of Me Challenge W is for Who, What, Where, When, Why and Who am I ?

We need to understand all these things in relation to our Ancestors.
Who they are...
What they did..
Where they lived
When they lived there..
Why they did something..

My Ancestors are McGowans, Newmans, McCullochs, O,Neills..Menzies
and O'Briens I have other names, but these are the main lines.

In doing my research, my McGowans and O'Neill's they originated in Northern Ireland,
 and then moved to Scotland ( Greenock ).. I only have my Great Grandparents
 there, as I can't get back further. ( so far )  They were married in a place called Ahoghill.
The year was 1880 that they were married.

The furthest back I have my Newmans is 1790.. Benjamin Newman was
married to Ann Law.
He married her August of 1810...
His son Andrew Newman  ( My Great Great Grandfather ) was a
salmon fisher.... He drowned.  I wonder , even though he
was a fisherman, that maybe he couldn't swim.. They lived in Arbroath.
My Newmans always lived in Arbroath, Scotland, but my Grandfather
David Scott Newman came to Greenock... I'm not sure the reason why.
He would have met my Grandmother Agnes McGowan there...

Most of my Menzies were also from Arbroath... although my earliest
was Thomas Menzies, born in 1744 in Strachan, Kincardineshire, Scotland/

My McCullochs and O'Brien's also originally came from Ireland.. I heard
from my Uncle Ally, that it was County Mayo and County Cavan, but \I
haven't been able to get them there yet.
They did both end up in Dundee, Scotland
I dont know why they left Ireland and came to Scotland.
This is my Great Grandparents

George Walsh McCulloch  1876 to 1936

Helen Edwards ( McCulloch ) 1880 to 1939


Who am I ?

I am a Wife,  Mother, daughter, aunt, cousin, sister.... friend
I am a lover of purple and blue
I am a lover of all things pasta
I am a thinker ( sometimes too much )
I am a Homestay mom
I am a childcare giver
I am an animal lover
Sensitive ( too much so )
Lover of Autumn
Music lover
Child of God
Scottish
Canadian
shy
Introvert
picture taker
Christmas Lover
Family Historian
Dreamer

A to Z Book of Me Challenge V is for Validation

Is it important to validate the research and photo's etc that we have ? ... it is..
I had never seen a photo of my grandmother ( Agnes McGowan ), I tried asking
several family members at that time, but no-one seemed to have one.

When my Aunt Helen died, it was awhile after, when I recieved a package in the mail
and inside was this photo...

I cried....

it was from my cousin and his wife..

If I had seen this picture, I would not have known that this was my grandmother

but it was validated for me from my cousin.

I'm sure that my Aunt Helen had probably shown  this photo

to  her sons... they would know who this was...

I'm just excited to have it.

A to Z Book of Me Challenge U is for Understanding and Umbrella

Do we understand the situations that our ancestors lived, .. they would have had
to make tough choices, and sometimes those choices were not choices at all... they would
have been a matter of survival... do we understand that dilema or do we pass
judgement on them ?

Honestly.. I try not to pass judgement on anyone, but I know at times
..... maybe I do...
I don't really know all the situations that my ancestors lived..
We have all at some point had to make a tough choice.. just this morning
I was talking to a friend about a tough choice that I had to make recently, and
honestly, I know the reasons I made it, but I would hate to be judged by someone
who " thought " they knew the situation, when actually they did'nt, and so
judged me on what they think they knew.
We all want understanding, don't we ?

Umbrella... think of it open.... your going to hold the umbrella so that
it is on the ground , and the pivotal point is on the ground.. who in your family
is that pivotal point , and who are the spokes coming off from that point ?

I would have to say my Gran was the pivotal point.. the spokes coming
off would be myself, dad and brother, and my Aunts, Uncles and cousins..

When I was a wee girl, my Gran would take me to visit my Aunt Helen
and Uncle Jimmy, and I would therefore see cousins as well.. they were all
quite a bit older than I was.  I would also visit with my Aunt Lily... also
other Aunts, Uncles, cousins etc would come to my Gran's home, so I would
get to see them ... my Gran was the pivotal point in me see other family members.
When my Gran died, the umbrella folded slightly... not all the way, but slightly.
We didn't have that connection anymore.  I was here in Canada when she died
and other family members were also living far away as well.
I'm glad that the umbrella didn't close all the way.. I am now in touch with
family members again, and so glad that I am... closer with some than
with others... love my family  x

A to Z Book of Me Challenge T is for Trust

Trust.... do I trust the research I've done, do I trust the evidence ?
Do I trust the notes I've took ?
Do I trust the information I was given ?

I know mistakes can be made accidently, but I know that I mostly trust
the information I have been given, and will probably continue to do
so unless it has been proven otherwise.
If I ever find something wrong in the information or work that I have,
I'll just correct it and move on...  :)

Who is the absolute person that I trust the most, and why ?

Well that would have to be my husband... I can tell him, and talk to
him about anything, and I know it wont go anywhere else.
I also have a friend that I can do that with as well... its really important
to have someone like that... sometimes we just need a sounding board,
and need someone there to listen, while we get it off our chest.

I dont really trust easily, and hope that if I do open up to someone, I hope
that I dont regret it... especially if it was a sensitive subject..

A to Z Book of Me Challenge... S is for Secondary Sources and Sports

What is Secondary Sources in Genealogy....it is documents or records that were not created
at the time the event occurred . It could be someone who is telling about the event
in the past, and it may not be completely accurate.
It could be from letters or books that a relative may have.
For example... some of what I've written, is just from memory and may not
be completely accurate...
Some sources can be Primary or Secondary... have I confused you yet??
I think I've confused myself... haha

Sports : This isnt a hard one... I really don't like sports much at all..
I only watch Hockey when its the play offs ..and I root for the
Calgary Flames to win... my husband is the same... we just are'nt Sports fanatics.

My dad loved football ( here its called soccer )
He was a Morton and a Rangers fan

My dad also loved the wrestling... I remember him watching it

on TV... I even remember one of the names of a wrestler... it was

Mick McManus...

My Uncle George loved the Football as well, he liked the Greenock JR

and he also liked Boxing

My Uncle David loved Golf..... I don't know about other family members..

A to Z Book of Me Challenge R is for Reasoning and Right or Left

Reasoning....   When we look at our ancestors, what are some of the
reasons they did things.
My Great grandparents David McGowan and Elizabeth O'Neill were from
Ireland.  They were married in a place called Ahoghill in Northern Ireland..
I think they had their first couple of kids there... they then moved to
Greenock in Scotland... why ?
I would imagine that times were hard for them... maybe there was no work
in Ireland, and there was in Greenock.
I myself moved from Scotland to England, and then to Canada.. and yes there were
reasons... I also believe that that was my life path... I was where I was supposed
to be... I was on the road I was supposed to take.
It would be nice if we knew the reasoning behind the things that have
happened in our families lives... maybe we do know some... it makes
their life journey seem more interesting to us.

Right or Left :

I myself am right handed... I can't do anything with my left hand.
Out of my four children, three are right handed and one is a lefty...
My dad I'm sure was also right handed, but I don't know about anyone else...

A to Z Book of Me Challenge Q is for Questions

It is so important to ask questions... ask our parents or our grandparents as many
questions as we can... we dont want to regret it after they are no longer
with us.  I personally wish I had asked more questions.  There are so many things
I wonder about, and that I would love to know, but when my dad was alive, I either
was'nt interested or didn't think about it.
I regret it now.
Some things I wish I had asked are...

What were some of the Fads when they were young and did they follow them ?
How did they meet ?
What did they do for fun ?
What was school like.. what was their best or worst subject ?
What is their earliest childhood memory ?
How did they celebrate birhdays, christmas etc ?
What did they enjoy doing together as a family ?
What was life like for them growing up ?

There's oodles more.....  anyway,  ask, ask, ask !!
and listen to what they have to say....

A to Z Book of Me Challenge P is for Primary Sources and Pets

Primary Sources when it comes to Genealogy.....

A Primary source can be a document or a record of a birth, marriage or death.
It can be a Family Bible, or someone with complete knowledge of the
event, such as a Mother or Father etc.
It can also be Military records , census records etc.
Its important to document the Primary source when working on our family tree.

Pets :  Our family have had many different pets, from dogs, cats, hamsters and gerbils,
fish etc.
Of course, there are some who are more special.

We lost our wee Besse last year.. she was such a gentle soul

A couple of years before that, we lost Kernal.

 They were lovely  family members.. we still miss them.

I dont know about many ancestors having pets.. but I do know

my Grandad and Gran Newman had a dog called Laddie

and my Gran always had a budgie as well

A to Z Book of Me Challenge O is for Organsational and Occasions

Organisational :

I know its important to be organised, especially in Genealogy.
I feel in my life, that I am a somewhat organised person, but not
in every area in my life.
It stresses me out somewhat when I feel disorganised.. it makes me cranky.
It doesn't bother me if someone else isn't, but it definitely bothers me
if I'm not.
I have three clear containers that I have mine and my husbands Genealogy in.
There are newspaper clippings, certificates, photo's etc.
These are my containers.... actually, I'm showing just one..

Its good that I'm organised to have it all in containers, but......

its not good that it actually looks like this...

It makes me crazy to even see this... and a bit embarassed  :)

I know how important it is to have an organised Family History... hopefully
one day I can get around to getting it done.

Occasions :
There are so many occasions of happenings in our lives..we should
be documenting them all.
 Weddings, the birth of a child, a sweet 16 birthday.. you get the picture.
How important for future generations to see a picture of any of  these.
I take pictures of EVERYTHING...
Yesterday was my husbands birthday...
I decorated the ceiling in our living room with balloons.

Why ?  Because I like to surprise him but I also want him to know
he is special... he loves it :)

Its important to document these different occasions in our lives somehow..
even if its just pictures.
Now If I could just get them organised, I would be set :)

A to Z Book of Me Challenge N is for Notes and Nemesis

Notes :  I do write notes.. in fact I usually write lists, and then write a list for my list.

When it comes to Genealogy, and I find something say on Ancestry,
I will grab whatever is handy, be it a scrap piece of paper, or an envelope from
a bill and write on it.  I have so many of these, and some were written years ago,
I have them with my other family history things.
There is no rhyme or reason to it all, and some I have the same information
written down a couple of times.
Some of it, I don't understand anymore, which isn't good, because when my children
go through all of this, when I am no longer here, I am sure it will just get thrown
out.... even though I have thought about this before, I still haven't done anything
about it...
I'm thinking that this will be a good summer project to get started on :)

Nemesis :I kind of knew what this meant, but not really when it came to
Family History.. so here is my take on it...not sure if it is what it really
means or not.
My Nemesis is time.... I am trying to find time every day to write..
I'm trying to find time to organise my family history..
I would like to have my Family History written down for my children or grandchildren
to maybe read one day.
I am also trying to find time for ME... does that sound selfish ?
I find that in the rut of every day life.. I have no time for myself , to do
things like just going for a walk.
One of the reasons I am giving up working, is because I am feeling more
and more that I need that time... so in the Summer I am hoping to do some
" me " things... selfish or not.
Does that make sense that my Nemesis is time ?
I hope so...

A to Z Challenge M for Methodology

Do I have a method to doing my Genealogy ?
If not, it can be chaotic....
OH DEAR !!!
I am always looking for ideas, so I don't feel like this... so I can learn some good
methods to doing it, and storing it etc.

I do have my own webpage for my family tree, and do try to keep it up to date.
I do a lot of my research on Ancestry, Family Search, and have also gone on
Scotlands People to try and gather as much information as possible.

If any of my family went through some of my things.. quite honestly they
wouldn't know what to do with it all.  I have notes here and there, with dates
and names etc.

I have a tree on Ancestry and Family Search, but both are not as up to date
as they should be... something that I need to work on...

I'm full of good intentions...

A to Z Book of Me Challenge L is for Learning and Love

Learning...
Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember , involve me and I learn.. Benjamin Franklin

There is so much to learn in doing our Family History...
First, we have to learn where to start / how to start.
We have to learn how to keep it and save the information that we have.
We can learn things about our ancestors that we never knew before.
For example... I had a couple of uncles and also a great uncle who told me
about my Grandmother ( Norah McCulloch ).
Because I didn't know her growing up, every bit of information I could
get was wonderful to me.
I learned that she loved to sing, and when the family went on a bus trip
somewhere, she would be the life of the bus, with her singing  etc.
Of course everyone could join in, and a good time was had by all.

I heard from my Aunt Helen, that her mum,  my grandmother ( Agnes McGowan )
was a tall, well made woman. So I could kind of picture in my mind, what she
could look like... and also.. maybe that's where I get my height from.  :)

Love : So many kinds of love.
There's the love we have for our parents, for our children / grandchildren, our spouse,
our friends.
We can have a love for reading, or for exercise ( I wish ), or for the mountains
or the ocean.
Love is a warm feeling that can reach the tip of our toes, to the top
of our head.
Love can be, infatuation, unconditional,  romantic, we can have tough love
or puppy love.

When it comes to my family history, I have felt a deep love or connection
with my ancestors... I can say that I love them and mean it.
I love my family.. my extended family.. its my nature to love... I dont know
who I inheritated it from, but I'm glad that I did.

Love is ... what gives you a smile from ear to ear..
Love is... far away people, you call friends

A to Z Book of Me Challenge K is for Keepsakes and Kiss

Keepsakes...  I already mentioned about how close I was to my Gran...oh
how I loved her.  When my Gran died, my dad sent me her bible... it is something that I
still cherish now.
I also have the last card that my dad sent me for my birthday.

I love to see his writing and remember him.

This past Christmas, my son and his wife gave us a framed picture..In it
were our grandchildren's hands.  There hands will never be that size again.. it
has their ages on it, and it says : From Firm Roots Grow Beautiful Leaves.
The PERFECT gift to have given me  :) and a real keepsake..

Kiss..... My first kiss would have been from my parents.. and maybe even

my Grandparents as well.  :)

I remember when I was a wee girl... my dad would kiss my forehead,

even now, if someone kisses my forehead, it makes me feel

warm and safe.

I remeber my Gran would kiss my cheek as she gave me a hug.

My first :" real " kiss would have been from... well

that would be telling.. hehe

Was it romantic ?

I would have to say it was.

Was it from someone special?

It absolutely was...

A to Z Book of Me Challenge J is for Judgement and Jewellery

Judgement... Its human nature to judge someone, but we shouldn't be doing that
at all...  Who are we to judge another ?
I know I have been guilty of this very thing, but as I have got older, I am
really trying hard to not do that.  When I walk imperfectly !

There was a time when I questioned why my Mum would just leave.. to leave her
children, because I knew I could never do that... never !
There are times when I sit and think, and still sometimes do this again.
This is bringing up feelings in me as I write.. I feel like like that wee girl
again.. I remember her leaving.. I remember my dad crying and begging her
to stay... but she didn't.
It was hard growing up knowing this, and not judge her

I do want everyone to know that I love her, I
have always loved her ... I forgive her, and I am
still human, and I'm trying hard to not judge.

There are things when we are doing our family history, that we find out things
about our ancestors.... but it is not our job to judge them... it is our job to
accept them.. they are ours.. we are entwined with them.. we are theirs,
they are ours.

Jewellery... I inherited a ring from Ken's Aunt, that I have since passed on
to another family member.
I have a purple brooch that belonged to my Grandmother ( Norah McCulloch ), that
was given to me by an aunt.
I will try and take a picture of it and put it on here....

A to Z Book of Me Challenge I is for Informants and Individual

Informants :  I wouldn't be as far as I am now in my Family History, if
it was'nt for the fact I have had people tell me information that they knew.
Of course, I also have to follow up, and still look up and find more information myself,
bur how important it was to get the information in the first place, to get me started.
Having someone share their information or knowledge with you is so, so important
for a number of reasons... the number one reason being, that maybe they were
there, so know first hand that the info they are giving you is right / true.

We are all INDIVIDUALS... we are all in our own way unique....
Just in our own families, we can all be so different.
Mt three boys are all completely different.. alike in some ways, but
very different in others.
My oldest son was always outgoing as a child, and very hyper, whereas
my middle son was quieter, shy in some respects.  My youngest son, he
had some of each of his older brothers in him... he is also the most stubborn.
A couple of my boys walk like my brother Andrew, but they never met him..

Its the same with our ancestors, they are each individual and unique
in their own way.
We have each of our ancestors running through our veins, but we are
also an individual.... we may have Grandpa's eyes, or our Mum's smile,
but we are our own unique person... be proud of us.. be proud of you  x

A to Z Book of Me Challenge H is for How and Holidays

How ?

How are things different now from when my ancestors were growing up.. well, they
were born before Television, video games, Penicillin, Washer and Dryers, computers,
frozen foods,  you name it :)

When I think about how they lived, I envy them in some respects... life was
simpler, but in many ways, life was also harder.
Can you imagine washing everything by hand... I have done that... soooo much easier
to just  throw everything in the washing machine.

When I first started working on my family tree, I relied on getting information
from my family, or I had to go to a family history centre to look things up.
I know that I dont appreciate the fact that I can sit in the comfort of my home
and work on my family history... the magic of computers !!


Holidays :  I don't know what kind of things my ancestors did .. I would imagine
they would go to the seaside, or something similar.

As a child,I can remember going to the Isle of Man with my family for a holiday,
We also went to Blackpool, or on a weekend we went across the water to Dunoon
or to Millport, or even just down to Largs.

I cant remember all the details of the trip... but what I remember is the feeling...
I know I loved that family time together..

A to Z Book of Me Challenge G is for Goals and Gifts

Goals...

Everyone has a goal of some sort... I also have a bucket list of things I would
like to see or do... things like :  Going to Disneyland ( doing that this year ) Go to Alaska,
see whales ( Next year will do those ), I also have some things on there like  Write a letter to myself, and open it in 10 years, Dance under the stars, Go on a zipline , send a message in a bottle etc... they are'nt for everyone, but they are things I want to accomplish.

Genealogy wise... I would like to get further back in my Newman line, I would love to find out more information on each of my ancestors... finding things about them, makes them feel more real to me.
and I would love to see the places they lived.

Gifts.....

When I look around, I can see gifts that I have recieved from family, and things I recieved
from some of my previous students..
Things like these...

For Genealogy.. I have these..

 My Dad gave this to me... I think it was my Grandfather's

This I recieved from Ken's work.. it was when we were first married.. its
over 38 years old..

I also have the gift of Family.. laughter.. fun !!

A to Z Book of Me Challenge F is for Family

Family...  Parents, children, grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, sisters...
We have family that feel like strangers,..... and friends who feel more like family.
We have family that we wish we were close too, that we tried to be close to, but its obvious
its not going to happen... and others that it takes no effort at all to feel close with.
Regrdless... we love them all...

When I was thinking of this prompt... it got me thinking...
I am incredibly lucky to have the family I have ...

I remember living with my Gran with my dad... sure it must have been hard
on her having a 5 year old underfoot all the time... but oh how she loved me.
I knew she did.... I could feel it...

Cant you see the kindness in her eyes... this is how I remember her.
Her dark her, never did get many grey hairs ( lucky her )
She was just lovely...
 She died close to my birthday... I remember my dad calling me to let me know.. I cried.
And then on my birthday I recieved a birthday card from her... I felt like I got a hug
from Heaven.
I could honour so many family members writing this, but have decided to honour
my Gran at this time.

 Catherine Brown Greves was born 02 Aug 1901 in 2 Murdieston Street, Greenock, Scotland and died 10 Dec 1981 in Inverclyde Royal Hospital,Greenock, Scotland. She married David Scott Newman 06 Dec 1940 in Foursquare Gospel Church, Greenock
She was 39 years old...

My Grandad had a big family.. my dad was the youngest... he would have turned 10 years old a few months after they got married.
My Gran automatically took on the challenge of raising a boy.
She was a religous lady, went to church every Sunday.

I remember her always putting a ribbon in my hair... but I would ALWAYS lose them.
She had a blue budgie... seems like she always had budgies.
When my Grandad was alive, I remember them having a dog called Laddie.

I always loved going to visit her... I didn't appreciate her as much as I 
should until I got older... always loved her though
Funny how that works... time has a way of making us realise what is important.

" F " is for family... I love all of mine

A to Z Book of Me Challenge E is for Evidence

When working on our family tree its important to have evidence, the more we have
the better.

Here I have the marriage certificate of my Great Grandparents
William Newman and Helen Menzies.

Here is the marriage certificate of my Grandparents
David Scott Newman and Agnes McGowan


When my brother and his daughter died.. I have the clipping from
the newspaper.

My Great Grandfather William Newman bought a buriel plot

in Arbroath for one pound ten shillings.. I have

family members buried here

This is the marriage of my Great, Great Grandparents

Andrew Newman and Jean Anderson

When my Aunt Helen Henderson ( Newman )

died, I was sent the programme from it

And here's the programme from my mum

I have more, but wont post anymore right now.

I know I'm lucky to have what I have..

Its so important to have evidence... I dont have

for everyone, but am working on it.

I feel so blessed to have the family I have..

the Newman and McCulloch sides

A to Z Book of Me Challenge D is for Development

Development.... as a person... in my Genealogy...

As a person , I hope that as I get older I can develop more love, more
compassion, we all need more of those.
As I've got older and look back, I can see how I've changed... some for good, and
others.... well....lets just say, there's still some work to be done.  :)
A work in progress...

In Genealogy... although I don't know it all, I can see that I've come a long way.
When I first started , I had my name and my dad's... I had my mum's name
on my birth certificate, but knew nothing about her, and nothing about that
side of the family.

When I found my mum and learned about that side of my family, I think
that's when my interest really grew.
I was already very interested in Genealogy, but finding that part of
my family, made me feel in a way... complete.

The more I found out... the hungrier I felt for more information.

On my dad's side, I found something out about my Great Grandfather
( David McGowan ).  I knew when he died, but I didn't know how..
Then The Greenock Telegraph ( the local newspaper ) did an article on the
Grandfather of someone, who worked at the Mill . Someone had fallen into
the machine, and they needed someone to go in and retrieve the body.  The young
man who did it was the Grandfather of  the man in the article.... the man who fell
in the machine, was my Great Grandfather.... it was 1908.

It saddened my heart to know how he died...

It was another part of my development in my Family History... gathering as much information as I can... I'm still developing in my research, but I've come a long way from when I
first started...

A to Z Book of Me Challenge E is for Collaboration and Collateral

Well I think Collaboration means to Cooperate , so when it comes to Family History
I feel  it means to be forth coming with the information I have, in other words... to share it.
I am so thankful for the people in my life who have shared things with me.
My brother Billy sent me a picture of the house my grandparents ( Thomas and Norah McCulloch ) lived... made it feel real to me.. seeing their  home made me feel closer to them.

Their's is the side with the red door.

The more I delved into Family History, and the more people I contacted, it was nice to be able
to share with each other.
My cousin Agnes sent me many photograph's  ( Thank you Agnes ), and someone on ancestry contacted me,... my Great Grandfather ( David McGowan) is also her Great Grandfather.  Her Grandmother and my Grandmother were sisters... she sent me pictures from that line.

My cousin Ally sent me a photo of my Uncle Tom McCulloch... I was so excited.,
because I finally had a face to a name.

Sharing is important, I have also done the same, with information, photo's. etc.

Collaterol..... I talked about the family member, where we have the same Grandfather.

We are descended from the same stock, but just different lines.

Its good to work on our collaterol lines... to gather as much information

as we can on each of our ancestors.

When we can't go back... branch out  :)

A to Z Book of Me Challenge A is for Analysis

Analysis... what does it mean ?  Especially when it comes to Family History...
I looked it up, and this is what it says :
Detailed examination of the elements or structure of something typically as a basis for discussion or interpretation....

Okay.. so we (  I  ) should be analysing the things I find out for my Family History.
I'm a thinker by nature anyway, in fact I tend to overthink things  :)
 I do think that we should analyse the information that we get... we want to get the most accurate
information written down as possible.... since I'm the one in my family that is trying to get the family 
history together, I should try to get the RIGHT information down.



While researching my Newman side, I thought that I had all the children's names, I was confident that I did.
Just recently, I noticed on another family tree that were 2 other names... but not only that, the last names for the whole family were different ( but with the Newman name underneath )
My first thought was that we were'nt actually Newmans, that it was changed to that later.
I was wrong... PHEW !!
I also found the 2 extra children on a census, and was able to put their names on my tree.

I feel such a sense of .... I was going to say accomplishment, but that wouldn't be the word I 
should use....  I feel good, happy, relieved that I found the children....
You see.... this is my family.
Its important to me that I get everyone...
Hakuna Matata
Means.. FAMILY.... means no-one gets left behind

A to Z Book of Me Challenge B is for Bonding

Bonding... is it possible to feel a bond with our ancestors?
We don't know them... can there be a genealogical pull there?

For me, I would have to say a big YES...
I'm not sure if its like that for everyone, but it definately is for me.

The more I find out, the bigger my heart feels.
I love them all so much... I am part of them...

My Dad was born March 11, 1931, he had a twin sister , but she died shortly after she
was born.  I think my dad was like 5 days old, when his mother also passed away.
My grandfather married my Gran on December 6 1940, so my dad would have been 9 coming up for 10 years old.  He loved my gran like she was his real mum, but she is the only mum he ever knew... the only grandmother I really knew.
I am also working on her tree... its important to me.
What was also important to me was , I always felt prompted to find out about my dad's real mum.
Her name was Agnes McGowan... I have a cousin who is named after her.
I found out as much as I could, but I could really feel that bond there... I wanted more.

I asked around about pictures, I so desperatly wanted to know what she looks like... did I resemble her?  Am I like her in any way ?
I could never find anything.
I was even able to get in touch with my Uncle Andrew's wife ( my Aunt Margaret )  in Edinburgh... but still nothing ( Although I did get pictures and info on their family... wow.. do the Newman boys all resemble each other )  :)

My Aunt Helen ( my dad's sister ) died 24 July 2008.
I dont remember how much longer after, but I received a brown envelope in the mail form my cousin Arthur and his wife ( Liz ).. ( My Aunt Helen's son ) inside there were some pictures... one of the pictures was my grandmother Agnes McGowan... I cried !!
It was the BEST gift I could have got....
And my cousin Agnes, who was named after her, actually resembles her a lot.

I believe there can be a strong bond to our ancestors... I have had other experiences with other names on my family tree.
I'm so thankful to have the family that I have... I'm so thankful that they are mine....