And Who Is Your Favourite Ancestor..?

[Penelope]

Redacted

[HeatherD]

One of my favourites is my OH's g-g-grandad. he was born in 1827, married twice, witnessed many marriages, had his own business, left a will and signed nothing! I know that it wasn't unusual at that time that he didn't write so was very surprised to find that his brothers and two sisters could at least sign their marriage certificates. Joseph didn't move far from home and seems to have been attached to his wider family, a cousin's son was living with him at the time of his death. When his son died in 1914, Joseph had a will drawn up leaving his estate to his grandchildren and died two months later after falling and breaking his leg at the age of 87.

I'm not sure why I've chosen Joseph, perhaps because he stayed in the area where he was born.

[Little Nell]

The donkey!

[Jill on the A272]

It has to be the new man in my life, my 3x great uncle who has leapt to life from the little booklet he made for his family on the history of his town in about 1915. He has a lively sense of humour and puts funny incidents in as well including a few anecdotes about the family -how else would I know that gggg grandfather took snuff and once caught a 20 inch eel?

[Merry Monty Montgomery]

I like my 3xg-grandfather, David Maynard (1748-1821), mainly because he wrote a short memoir of his life, so I know a bit more about him than others from the same time.

I can also see where he has deliberately mislead the reader - not mentioning that he had a child with my 3xg-grandmother whilst his first wife was still alive and they were all living in the same house together

I found it fascinating to think that he wanted to emigrate to America but his first wife wouldn't go - if they had then so many people, including me, wouldn't exist, but possibly a whole lot of other people would. Very wierd!

[Lindsay]

My 4xGGrandfather who not only had an unusual name, but was also an active businessman so left lots of records behind. When I started to research him he seemed to appear on every website I looked at. TNA - check. Old Bailey (as a witness!) - check. London Gazette - check...

In fact I have a soft spot for all that branch - they all seem to have been quite dynamic. Mind you, it would have been practically impossible to find out so much if their name had been Smith

[Janet]

My Great Grandfather on my mother's side who left me a photograph, letters found in another archive, an ag lab, carpenter, soldier who has laid a blazing trail back to the late 1500's in Northamptonshire, meeting many interesting ancestors on the way. I have enough material to write a book on him and his family and have just started to write some of his life story.

Janet

[Wilf]

My favourite has got to be my GGGrandfather Edward Howell.
He was born poor and died poor but tried so hard inbetween to make a life for himself and his family.

He was a railway platelayer for most of his adult life and moved his family around from town to town wherever the work took him.
In 1841 he was a policeman, one of the first in the Shropshire constabulary. I even know his warrant and collar number, he resigned after 18 mths. Why, I'd love to know!
I feel that there is still lots to discover.

Like you Penelope, I also walk in my ancestors footsteps on a daily basis

Allie

[dicole]

My favourite at the moment is Robert Martin, ggggrandfather.

Born in Brighton Sussex, about 1840, lost his father before 1851, became a gilder, and I would love to know WHAT he gilded, besides the lily. Ran away to London at 20 to marry 18yearold Susan Eliza Louisa BISHOP, just a week before their son, Robert Harry, was born ! By 1871, left Susan and children with her mother to sail the seas (Susan listed as Ship Stewards Wife on census).

Brought family to New South Wales in 1874.

By 1881 had been bankrupted by the Mason Brothers and Millburn Creek Copper Mine, and his wife had died (1878). In 1883 youngest child died. In 1888, two remaining children married a brother and sister, and Robert died in September 1888, in far away Captains Flat NSW, as a publican.

A short and sad, but fascinating life.