I have inherited a box full of photos, memorabilia, half-complete family trees and notes from an aunt, an aunt who was very much part of my family and was fascinated by our ancestry – before the internet made it possible to explore our heritage extensively.
There is lots of interest in her box of papers, but there is a single typed sheet with a list of names, no surnames and some biographical detail about the people. I guess it is her husband’s family, not ours, as none of the names ring any bells… really I should just throw it away, but I can’t help being fascinated… and i will do a little research to see if i can find who these people are.
The family seems to have had a lot of misfortune, a child who contracted spinal meningitis when fourteen, pas paralysed and died in her early twenties; a woman who committed suicide, a schoolboy killed in a bike accident; a whole family who disappeared overnight; another suicide, a teenager this time; a young mum who died from a heart attack…
There are happier notes, marriages and children, ministers and dressmakers, white smiths rates officers…
But who were they? There are unusual names, Yirrel, Abbs, Firmin, and the amazing Frity Papworth… what an amazing name, not just unusual but amazing!
I only have a single sheet, but there must have been more because it seems to be the middle of a list, the last sentence is half-finished sentence “She had connections with…”
It may have nothing to do with my direct family, but I’m interested all the same!
Lois Elsden 