Day 331 – My Ancestor Wrote This!

As some of you will realise from my earlier posts here, I am very much interested in genealogy, particularly my family history and have been seriously researching for well over twenty years or so now.

Because of all that was going on over Christmas I did not have the chance to take a photograph of this until a few days after I received it on Christmas Eve.

I don’t know who sent it!!  There is only a “Shipping Manifest” which does not give me any idea as to who bought this book and then wanted it sent to me!  I know it was “processed” on 19th December and it arrived on Christmas Eve.

Original photograph taken by me - copyright 2011/2012

This is Good Neighbours written by my ancestor Walter Rose.  I see the book is published in 1942.  He was born in 1871.

I’ve just managed to start reading it and so far it is a wonderful insight to the life of my ancestors and I know I will enjoy reading the rest of it.

I have a little idea who might have sent it, one of my cousins who I found by chance several years ago.  I will be sending a “Did You Send This To Me” message to him very soon.  Whoever sent it, thank you so much.  I am thrilled and delighted to receive it. 

Day 233 – A Dusty Old Book!

Aaaah, I sooooooooo love dusty old books, the older the better!

This is a book in my collection that I use for my family history research.  I was going through it on the day I took this photo so thought that that was what I should photographically record for that day!

It is “A History of the Municipal Church of St. Lawrence, Reading” written in 1883 by the Rev. Charles Kerry, curate.

Original photograph taken by me - copyright 2011/2012

Old books like this are so wonderful with regard to family history research.  There are details of burials, graves, Wills etc., of those of my ancestors that lived in that area.  Since that time some of the records are now missing or damaged and unreadable, so to find something that was written at the time or not too long afterwards is a real treasure.  And of course there are usually illustrations of what the church was like then, and any monuments dotted in and around the church.

There are also details in the book where various parishioners have contributed to some of the furnishings for the church (some of which are still used these days) and sometimes there is something about an ancestor that won’t be found in other records.  Just wonderful.  Dusty old books are great. 

Day 118 – A Most Interesting …

A most interesting … what, you ask!!

Well, we were out and about on our travels on the day I took this photograph.  This is something I have passed many times, but as was usual before I started Project 365 it was something that I just did not “see” as such.  Now, thanks to the Project and doing this Photo Journal, I am taking much more notice of things I really did not look at much before.

So, a most interesting …

Original photograph taken by me - copyright 2011

… gate!!   This gate stands in front of the Passmore Edwards Free Library in Camborne.  There was a gentleman sitting on a bench to the left of this gate as we drove by and I started taking photos.  I think he thought I was taking pics of him and maybe is still wondering why would I take pics of him!!

To save you looking sideways on to read the gate, the text is of titles of books which I assume must all be linked to Cornwall in some way.  They are, reading from right to left:  Poldark; A Story of Carn Brea; The Cornish Giant; Frenchman’s Creek; The Wheels Went Around; The Cornish in America; Wreck of the Zanzibar; The Mousehole Cat; Why The Whales Came; The Shell Seekers and The Way To Minack.

And for anyone interested, Passmore Edwards was actually John Passmore Edwards (1823 – 1911) who was responsible for many buildings in this area.  You can find out more at John Passmore Edwards.

Day 117 – Horizontal Lines

For today’s photograph, I decided to go with whatever assignment was at The Daily Shoot  (I rather like some of these assignments although I’m not so sure my photos for them are that interesting or good though).

Today they said:  Make a photograph dominated by horizontal lines today.

Like for the assignment needing something yellow, I hunted about the house for horizontal lines.  These assignments aren’t as easy as you would think!!  We have horizontal lines inside the fridge and on a small heater, but I really don’t think they are that attractive or interesting.

After much hunting I decided to take a photograph of this:-

Original photograph taken by me - copyright 2011

Well, I think these books are more interesting and more colourful than any horizontal lines in our fridge.      We have had these books for many many years and as you can see by the title, they were to help us learn about computers.  They served their purpose many years ago and have lived on that shelf in that position for a very long time.  So, they are horizontal and because they are a series of books, they are like horizontal lines.  I hope they are ok for this assignment.

Just as an aside from this, the little fluffy bear on the top of them is sort of special!  My man Paul and I used to be managers of a club many many many years ago and after one of the Sunday lunches we used to do for members, this little fluffy bear was left behind by it’s young owner.  We put it on show for a very long time in the hopes that the young owner or his/her parents would claim it, but no-one came.  Aaaaaah!   So one day, I took him home with us.  He lived on my desk and was called Desk Teddy.  We have moved a couple of times since then and he always now sits somewhere quite prominently and surveys all around him.  And now he is in this photo!!  I think that’s a first for him.