White...

...for flower Friday...

Interesting day...very...I took up genealogy just 'cos I wanted to find out my Grandma's parents (on my Dad's side) and background 'cos she would tell me nothing, despite my mithering her because I wanted to do a family tree. I was always at the farm, my mother left me there often for months on end and I roamed free over the countryside with Sandy my dog. Often out at the crack of dawn, and I was first down for breakfast. Always a big cooked breakfast even for me a small child. Grandma cooked everyone's breakfast including the farm hands before anyone stirred out of bed and they were all put out on their plates either side of the black leaded range. And I would return home for high tea at 4 pm. I never had a watch, I just knew the time. I was only five years old when I first began my all day wanders...It was the place where I was happiest

Neither my mother's, nor my father's side of the family would tell me anything about any family history. This was in the 1950's.

I wasn't even allowed to ask my mother's parents...you had to keep your mouth shut...I didn't like there...very strict...very Victorian...I refused point blank to go there.

It was only Grandma on my fathers side I wanted to research because I wanted to know what made her tick. Why she was the way she was. I wanted to know why the rest of the family was dysfunctional. It wasn't a normal set up. With being deaf I did a lot of watching and observing because I couldn't hear conversations. I could only lip read on one to one and barely that then. But I knew enough to observe body language because that was my way of understanding the world, and I could tell they were uncomfortable with each other, and they put on an act with each other, and they kept up appearances. Anyway to cut a long story short, I was intrigued by the people around me as I grew up and always wanted to know more. My Grandma on the farm was okay with me and so was Grandad. But there were secrets and stuff unsaid and stuff simmering under the surface. I thought I would never find an answer because Grandma and everyone else steadfastness refused to talk to me about the past.

All Grandma said in the end was that she had no time for her father saying he was a drunkard...they had to flee Ireland...she mentioned fire...her father travelled long distances...and then made it very clear she never wanted me to bring up the subject again.

Anyway every one died, as you do, and there is now just me and one cousin left. I have only seen her a few times over the years once I grew up and left home to wander, meeting at funerals as you tend to do.

I did speak with her a year ago. She has no info either. She is much older than me. She asked me before Xmas about the family tree. I had been researching on a couple of sites and apart from censuses, which gave me more than I knew before, I still only had some of the bones, not the meat and flesh of it all.

I was expecting too much wasn't I? Anyway a genealogist helped me over Xmas. Without that I would never have unraveled this. He gave me the start. And it was complicated both sides of the family. But the Irish lot, well, too many dead ends. But my mum's side got very intriguing with aliases and other stuff so I researched that more in depth. It was a tangled web of deception.

Anyway back to my Grandma on the farm. I have been searching more this last week or so and started making lots of little break throughs. I turned up stuff I hadn't found before. I had paid for some English certificates but at £10 a time, that soon mounts up. So when Ireland wanted €40 for each certificate, that was definitely way out of my reach, and I needed about ten certificates.

But then a few days ago I found a form online that says you can have just photocopies of the certificates for €4 each. So I thought I'll do it! Anyway you cannot do it by email or the web, you have to do it by a printed form by snail mail, but you can have the photocopy back by email if you wish so I ticked that box! But the mail takes five days to hop over the Irish Sea!!!

So yesterday I found some newspaper articles and some other stuff and with English census details and Irish census lack of detail but still correlating dates and places. Then a picture starts to emerge on my Great Grandfather, my Grandma's dad. Because of his job on the English census I knew I had the right person when he returned back to Ireland. So now I have newspaper articles on horseback riding and him being set up on by two villains and guns and a gunshot whistling through his cloak (very flowery writing they did in those days!). And him riding away safely. More stuff, and he owned land, he was a landowner when he returned to Ireland, but stuff went wrong. His first wife died leaving him with 3 children. Then he married again a year later to my Grandma's mum, who was half his age. And the adventure just continues. He was ostracised because he was called upon to help the authorities 'cos of his job in England, hence broken windows and the inn refusing to keep his horse on the premises, and more stuff. By the way I have already read through over 100 old newspapers at this point, each one with with him in so I am getting a very vivid picture of what life was with him. And I have another 67 to go through (that I know of). I was just at the point where he was a ruined landowner. He has his wife and six kids at this point. He is now back in England in the district where he worked before he retired and he is selling his land in Ireland, but by means of ..."To be drawn for (on the Art Union Principle), the above farm in King's County...homestead, outbuildings, and 650 acres of arable, pasture and mountain grazing...(and he mentions his prestigious job in this area)...the lands are held under a lease forever, subject to a head rent of £44 0s. 4d and to a rent charge of £15.....the whole is in the owner's possession and will be handed over to the winner within two months of the date of drawing....."
It goes on to mention cattle and sheep and a river on the farm with good trout fishing...the land is well stocked with game...grouse and stuff...the winner will have the rights of shooting...plenty of turbary and timber and lots more...
Then it goes on to say the draw will take place in King's County, Ireland... And where the tickets can be bought for 10s 6d each, and not to exceed 2,000 tickets.

And that is as far as I got. Oh this is 1882, so if you win the draw, you can be a landowner for this piece of paradise just for 10s 6d (yes it does say that) and it also says this is a quiet piece of Ireland with no troubles...(erm what about the earlier newspaper articles which said he had been ruined and ostracised?) So 50p in modern day money buys you a ticket for a chance to win 650 acres of paradise...

I don't know what happened, but I am now getting to the drunkard bad language articles where he is called before the Session courts in England...and the railway tried to sue him over bad language...I just got to a really exciting bit when my computer battery went flat...I am waiting for it to start up again - it doesn't like going totally flat...

I am understanding more now about Grandma and the farm. I am understanding what made them...and also me.

Sorry I haven't responded to comments yesterday yet but I am totally absorbed in this...Not in a million years would I have thought it possible to get info like this, but he did have a high profile.

There is mystery over Grandma which I can't fathom, and there is a mystery over the farm.... But I have to finish her father first. The newspapers are giving me other names. I have so much to explore here...oh...we have lift off, the computer is back....bye...catch up with you later...have a good weekend...