In Deep With The Book if Me..... May Prompt 2015

Dream Trip :

You are going to plan your dream trip. Where do you want to go and why ?
Genealogical connections, revisit because of happy memories, or perhaps you just
feel a connection to somewhere else ? What do you want to do when you get there?

The trip  can be as long or as short as you would like it to be. Forget about the
constraints that you might feel and be aware of.  This is an opportunity to dream and
perhaps sow the seed for a future adventure.


If money was no option, and time didn't matter.. the first place I would go is
Ireland ...
I would want to visit Ahoghill in Northern Ireland.. I would want to visit
the church my Great Grandparents David McGowan and Elizabeth O'Neill
were married, and hopefully while there, I could find more information
on them.
I know David McGowan's Father was Robert McGowan, he was born
in Antrim, Northern Ireland, but I would love to get further back.

The two photo's above are Ahoghill

Also in Ireland , I would visit Drumsnatt, Monaghan and County Cavan in
Southern Ireland... my McCulloch and O'Neill lines came from there.
My Great Great Grandfather came from Cavan, Ireland,
his name was Francis McCulloch, he married Emily Tomlinson
who is from Scotland...
My O'Brien side goes back to Drumsnatt .
I would like to find out more on that side..
I have back to Edward O;Brien, who was born in 1777, he was married to
Catherine McConnan, they were my Great Great Great Great Grandparents
I would want to walk the streets they walked....


... but the place I really
want to see, and I think about the most, is

 SCOTLAND :

you see its the land of my birth. and is also home to my ancestors also.
I would visit Dundee, I would like to see if I could find the streets they lived on,
it would be awesome if the houses were still there.
Also Arbroath... my Newman ancestors are there
The earliest I have found is Benjamin Newman, his wife is Ann Law
they are my Great, Great ,Great Grandparents.
My Menzies are also from around that area as well.
My cousin took me to Arbroath when I was there for a visit, but I would go there
for maybe a month to explore, and to look for streets my ancestors would
have walked..

Arbroath Harbour


just for fun, and not for Genealogy purposes, I also really want to see Oban, but I also want
to see the Fairy Pools in the Isle of Skye.

This is Oban...

I would love to go, just to walk around, or to sit and watch the water.
I would love it if I had no time schedule, and money wasn't an option, so I could
stay as long  as I wanted to.
I would love to explore the area, and to just relax... think.... enjoy

The Fairy Pools in the Isle of Skye

I've heard the water is freezing, even in summer, but you can go in if you want.
I don't want to go in... I just want to experience the beauty of it all.
I would love to stay nearby, and just go every day to experience it all.

Doing all of this would take a lot of time and money... but since this would be my
dream trip, it doesn't matter :)

A to Z Book of Me Challenge Z is for Zealous

What am I zealous about in life and Genealogy / Family History

I'm definitely zealous about finding another ancestor, or finding information
on one... soooo exciting for me.
Genealogy and Family History are definitely my passion for sure.
When I was trying to find information on my Mum's side of the family, it
was so hard at first, because I didn't have much to go on.
When I finally was able to meet or be in contact with some of my family,
it was like the flood doors opened... I found out that I had 2 great uncles who
were spitfire pilots ( Fred McCulloch and George McCulloch )

I found out that my Gran loved to sing and was the life of a party.

My Grandad used to be a boxer when he was young

Tom McCulloch
The Royal Navy Reserves Boxing Team... age 24 years

My Great Uncle Fred was a big wig in the Boy Scouts

He is on the right.... with the big smile  :)

Finding out things about my family gives me the zeal and the hunger to find out
more, and makes me feel so excited...

I'm thankful to have found out that I am part of a big family...
my heart feels so full...I love them all so much..
I feel how the grinch felt, when his heart grew two sizes that day...
my heart just keeps growing...

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