More Memories on Granny's Tales

I have recently started running a 'Biography Club' for members of the Society of Genealogists, helping other people to write their life stories. As always when I run classes like this, I have intentions of keeping up with the class to finish my own life story but I never quite manage it. Two sessions in and I am doing quite well, so perhaps the Memories section of Granny's Tales will get completed; although of course there are always new memories to create.

Today then, I have added two lots of memories associated with my previous homes. One is about the year I spent living in rented accommodation in Bembridge, Isle of Wight. The second is my memories of my long-term 'forever home', also on the Isle of Wight.

Latest Granny's Tales

This month I have added the story of my search for the parents of my great great grandmother, Mary Cardell. This fruitless search has taken me nearly fifty years and although I am fairly certain who Mary's parents were, I am looking for additional evidence before I 'ink them in'. You can read my account here. Do get in touch if you can help; it is quite a challenge!

I am also working with a new group to help members write their own biographies. This is giving me the motivation to complete the parts of my own biography that haven't yet been completed. This month, I have added my memories of 2020, the year we locked down; you can read this here.

Meet Thomas and Fanny

I have managed to upload two stories to the Granny's Tales website this month. The first is the story of my great great aunt, Fanny Amelia Ellington née Woolgar. No one spoke of Fanny, although much was said about her siblings. She was born in Highgate, grew up in Dulwich, married in Hastings and then returned to south London. During her life, she spent time in three different asylums. She leaves no living descendants. The second story is that of Thomas Baker. I discovered Thomas recently, when I was trying to identify how I was connected to a DNA match. Thomas was my 3x great grandmother's brother and they grew up in rural Sussex during the agricultural depression of the early nineteenth century. Thomas was transported to Tasmania for life in 1830 and so far, is the only transportee that I have found on my family tree.

You can read their stories here.