Roots, shoots and stories

 As well as researching my own family, one of the other trees I have spent a lot of time on is that of my daughter-in-law, Lucy. Whereas my heritage is Scots and Irish, Lucy's is English and therefore some of the names I came across were quite different to those found in my own tree. One of my first favourites was a Francis Badger who appeared in the 1851 census for England! He wasn't actually a relative, but an apprentice to Lucy's 3 x great grandfather and who also lodged with the family.  I did wonder how that  surname came about - did the original Badger have  a funnily shaped face? or perhaps a white streak through his hair?? Or was he just an annoying person?? I'll never know, but it was fun to find him! Francis Badger's entry at the bottom in the 1851 census for England. Source: Ancestry.co.uk However, my all time favourite name - and character - from Lucy's tree is a man named Golden Bridge ! He is Lucy's 5x great grandfather and he was born in Essex...

 I was not familiar with the term 'FAN Club' as used in a genealogical sense when I first came across it, so I had to resort to googling the term. I discovered that FAN can stand for 'Friends, Associates and Neighbours' and is yet another 'tool' that can be used in traditional family tree research to learn more about people and the lives that they led. Was this something I had previously used but just been ignorant of the term? Or was this something I could use to further my traditional research? The answer to both of these is yes! Traditional genealogy relies on building out a family tree using information from credible sources/documentation. For example, amongst other things,  a Scottish birth record will list the names of both parents  (if known) and possibly even their date of marriage, a marriage certificate will give the names of the bride and groom's parents and their occupations and whether or not they are still alive, a death certificate will give t...

 My mum, Helen Young Anderson, and dad, John McAra, got married on the 17th of October 1940 at 17 Netherton Road, Wishaw, Helen's parents' house and her home at that time. This was, of course, during World War 2. John, being a civil engineer, was in a 'reserved occupation' and as such was exempt from military service. However, at the time of their marriage, John was working away from his hometown of Cleland, Lanarkshire and living in 'digs' in Hayes, Middlesex. Helen joined him there after their marriage. After the war ended they returned to Wishaw. Marriage certificate of John and Helen The photo below shows the wedding party - bride and groom, best man and bridesmaid. The best man was John's brother, George McAra and the bridesmaid was Helen's younger sister Ann Anderson. When you think of weddings taking place in wartime, you don't imagine the wedding party being dressed up. But as you can see, they all were very smartly dressed. Note the men even...

 My grandfather John Anderson had a variety of jobs throughout his lifetime as had his father, David. David had started off his working life as a miner and ended it as a fish merchant, but along the way he had been a pony driver and a carting contractor. It is the latter profession that he ended up having in common with his son John, though John had started out as a tinsmith and ended up as a tinsmith! In both the 1891 and 1901 censuses, John is described as a tinsmith apprentice. However by the time of his first child's birth in 1909, he is a carting contractor, like his father before him. A carting contractor seems to have been a delivery man, using a horse and cart to deliver or move goods about the town. Unfortunately I have no idea what sorts of goods he moved.  Early local 'motor'   Source: https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/pictures-people-places-wishaw-during-4923110 However by 1911 he has moved up  and 'modernised'. John now describes hi...

 John Bradfute was born in 1763 at Dunsyre in South Lanarkshire, the second son of the Church of Scotland minister, the Rev. James Bradfute, and grandson of my 5 x great grandfather, also Rev. James Bradfute (1680-1758). As a second son, it is unlikely that John was going to follow his father, grandfather and great grandfather before him into the ministry. His elder brother, James, indeed did so, becoming an ordained priest in the Church of England in 1786. James had been a Deacon at Rose Castle in Cumbria before becoming a priest at Auckland Castle in County Durham. John, however, chose a different path.  At the age of 18, John became apprenticed to Edinburgh printer, Alexander Kincaid. Nine years later, he was taken as a partner into the printing and bookseller business by his mother's brother, John Bell (also son of a minister). John Bell had himself once been at apprentice to Kincaid, but had started up in business by himself in 1771. So it was in 1789 that John Bradfute b...

 I can't remember exactly when I first had my DNA tested. Initially it was with Ancestry and later with 23andme. I did it out of curiosity - not for my ethnicity results, which frankly turn out to be so boring - nor to find an unknown close relative - but mainly to find out what 'cousins' are out there and if the DNA matches I get help corroborate the genealogical research I have done. I thought I would find the results interesting. What I didn't realise was analysing my DNA matches and the DNA we shared from a common set of ancestors would turn into an obsession! :) I was lucky to be in at almost the start of DNA analysis and was able to pick up new techniques and make use of new developments provided by the testing companies and others as I went along. I also studied a few courses on genetic genealogy with the University of Strathclyde. So what have I been doing with all this 'knowledge' over the years? Personally, I have managed to confirm the ancestors I hav...

 To be Swedes or not to be? That is the question! My husband Martin grew up with the family story, that the Stepeks, although for centuries living in Poland, originated in Sweden. The name Stepek is an uncommon one, even in Poland, until the 20th century being confined to the far south-east, predominantly in the small town of Haczow. The meaning of the name could be one of a couple of possibilities. Historically people had moved into what is Poland from the east from the Steppes - the name could be derived from that. Or the -ek suffix means 'little' or even 'son of', so could be something like 'Little Steve or Steph' or son of Steve/Steph. Our research has the Stepek line going back to the mid 1700s, all in the same town of Haczow, but were they always there or did they come from elsewhere? So is there any evidence for the family story that the Stepeks came from Sweden??  Martin's Aunt Danka (Danuta Stepek) said that her father had told her that most of the ...