Old photos in boxes.

This is my paternal great-grandfather John Opie with his family when they lived in Hastings for a time. It was taken in 1871. (Photo of him in extras c1890)
My grandmother, Caroline Opie, (Carrie), is dressed in white and standing next to her sister Beatrice Opie, (Beattie,, sitting on her mother’s knee.
John Opie was originally a tin miner, born in Redruth Cornwall, and worked at Wendron mine, not far from Helston.
His wife Ellen (née Milford,) was born at Constantine, near Gweek, in Cornwall.
They met each other whilst living there in Cornwall. Several of their older children were born there.
At some point John went into the Church Army and moved his family round the country.
My grandmother and her sister were born in Hastings.
I always felt she had a posher accent somehow!
They eventually arrived in Rawtenstall, Rossendale, Lancashire, where he was a Lay Reader working out of St Mary’s Parish Church.
He died aged 52, having caught pneumonia whilst being caught in a rainstorm whilst visiting an outlying hill farm.
His wife was then left looking after the family.
My father knew nothing of all this family history, until I decided to research his roots after we had taken him on holiday with us after mum died.
We all went to the Lizard in Cornwall, as he said mum loved it there.
Of course we all fell in love with it!
And have been going there ever since.
On our passing through Redruth on the way, he said “This is where my grandad was born and lived”.
He never knew either of his Opie grandparents as they had both died before he was born.
We uncovered a fascinating remarkable history of the Opie family.
The reason I got the photos out yesterday was a friend of mine up in Lancashire had discovered a connection to ours, through the Milford family in Cornwall.
It was fascinating to have all their research posted to me.
Such interconnecting links from the past.
I am sorting out some old photos to copy for them of the Opie family, and Ellen Milford.
I have most of our old photos sorted through now. So it’s good to be able to lay my hands on the relevant ones.