No, this is not an actual photograph of my ancestor. This picture was created by Gencraft, the AI gizmo. But it is rather nice, and I thought it would be a good illustration of today’s topic. To wit: genealogy.
Several years ago I began to dig around in my mother’s family. She never spoke about them and I was rather curious. I had concentrated on her father’s family, mainly because that seems to be the dune thing in genealogy. My sister also worked on it, and she was more conscientious than I was, finding out so much more. But I’ve decided to switch to puzzling out mum’s female family line. It’s a lot more difficult, and so far I’ve only gone back a few generations. Helped by someone else who seems to share some family members.
I have found out that my mother, Margaret Jane nee Briggs was the daughter of Margaret Jane nee Pickering. I remember that one of my mum’s cousins lived in the same street as I did, years ago. That MJ was the daughter of Sarah Jane nee Walker, who was the daughter of Margaret Jane Minnikin. And there we stop for now. They all lived, married, and died around the same part of the north east of England. So that was my Great-Great Grandmother. She was born in 1848 and died in 1883, at the age of 35. Very young, when you think that my own daughter is 37. Quite sobering really. Her daughter Sarah Jane was one of a pair of twins.
When I was born, mum decided that I was not to be yet another Margaret Jane, especially as the name was popular in my father’s family as well. I’m slowly buying copies of the certificates of birth, marriage and death, as I can find them. I’ve also taken out a sub to Ancestory.co.uk. Who knows, maybe a DNA test will be next!