‘Ten green bottles hanging on the wall…’ You know the song, numbers go down to nine, then eight, seven and finally none. Families and surnames may experience a similar decline; some survive, others die out. Someone asked me recently about the Orkney surname Fea which I knew of from history but could not recall anyone | more…
An American ‘Labor Day’ theme this week for #52Ancestors: work. The vast majority of my ancestors were crofters and farmers, combined in varying proportions with fishing or, less frequently, a trade. This time I’m focusing on James Nic(h)olson, my paternal granny’s father, so one of my great grandfathers. (The ‘h’ creeps into the family name | more…
As I’ve already written about my granny, my longest-lived relative so far, and the ages of my x2 great grandparents, this week’s #52ancestors theme “Oldest” is more of a challenge. For reasons that will become clear next week, I’ve decided to write about a great aunt. Mary Ann Ross (1887-1946) Mary Ann was the oldest | more…
