Family History treasure for Christmas 2012!

When she was 20!

When he was 3!

     Well Christmas 2012 was definitely different! It was the first Christmas we, as parents had woken up on Christmas morning with no children!  For many years our children woke us up, as most kids do, at some ridiculous time in the morning wanting to open presents, (although they’ll say that for more years Daddy was the one who woke them up on Christmas morning!!)  But with children all grown up and living far away, it was just the two of us - for a while!

     Apart from the Cereal-Bar-Christmas Lunch, my family history hobby brought a few gifts as well! 

There is a ‘French Lady’ in the Kelland family’s past (1824-1886) and other researchers also appear to have struggled to find out her past; all we knew was what was recorded on her marriage certificate - that her father was ‘a French Army officer’. 

     When I by chance found a forum message mentioning the French surname, I was given a most surprising gift as a fellow researcher shared his information on our common ancestor. 

     It revealed a story of fleeing from the French Revolution, then abandoning children in Devon and returning across the channel; 

orphaned children under five years old put in a workhouse; and cross-continental family feuds. Someone was remembered in a letter for their music & painting lessons. I heard of a great great uncle, a sea captain, who sailed emigrants to Australia and decided to stayed there; and another great great uncle who was shipwrecked, when no-one survived and no evidence of the ship was ever found. I discovered a 2^nd wife for great great grandfather when he remarried at 70 years old! Relatives of a great uncle, living in South Africa with information on grandfather Kelland shared the stories that had been passed down to them. On the Crossley family side via another forum message, another far-back cousin’s story came my way with some of his trials and tribulations when he settled in America and helped some of his family settle too.

     All in all, some surprising and interesting treasures which add colour to names and dates!

(Pics 3,4,5 from google!)

The day before the day before Christmas

It was the day before the day before Christmas (or the day before Christmas Eve) (or the 23^rd December). The Christmas tree was ablaze with twinkling lights – when someone pressed the right button to get them flashing and not static; the Christmas cake was iced – that is, the packet of marzipan had been rolled and jam-glued to what we all hope is a moist rooibos-tea boiled fruit cake, and the packet of instant icing had been rolled and strawberry jam-glued to the marzipan with the off cuts biscuit-cutter-pressed into a snowman and a star, and the snowman had been ‘painted’ a little pink in strategic places with the strawberry jam – all because Asda had not had any Christmas cake decorations for sale a couple of weeks ago;  boxes of a mince pies were stashed in the cupboard - it is a well-known fact that shop bought mince pies are always better tasting than home-made ones, somehow they seem to be so perfect and melt-in-the-mouthilicious, the Christmas puddings were still in their plastic covering, and the cooking instructions carefully re-stuck to the lids and ready to be ‘steamed’ in the saucepan ……. once the Christmas lunch brussels had finished cooking and the saucepan washed of course; ‘Aunt Bessies’ instant Yorkshire puddings and roast potatoes were in good supply in the freezer and the packet of fresh carrots were waiting to be washed, scrubbed or peeled and cut neatly ready for cooking; there was enough gravy granule mixture to make a tasty lumpless gravy to go with the chicken which was to be delivered in the next few days as a Christmas gift – hopefully without the feathers and gizzards; and odd shaped items wrapped in glitzy Christmassy paper with star shaped tags bearing the recipients name, were arranged in between the tall, short, long, and square Christmas cards on the bay-window sill.

So on this day before the day before Christmas with all things ready for the annual celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. and Grandma was comfortably sleeping on the sofa in the lounge, Daughter was cuddled under the Grandma patchwork quilt fast asleep, Father was snoring under the duvet, and the dog, with her head tucked into her belly, hugging the curve of her bed, eyes closed and breathing heavily, was blissfully content on her sheepskin bed in the warm kitchen .....  I made some mince pies – with shop bought fruit mince, of course!

(Photos to follow when phone has recharged and downloaded the sleep pics, and if I remember to take a photo of the one or two home-made mince pies left.) (I wanted to get this posted before the day before the day before Christmas actually ended!)

Happy Christmas everyone!!

(pictures a little blurred to protect the identity of innocent people involved!!)