The 7th in a Series on my Family Tree … Volume II Prompt: Outcast ~*~ What happens when people withdraw from the family? Could they be considered outcasts by choice? My maternal grandmother, Alice (Gordon) McDonall (1916-1994), comes up quite often in these family tree posts, as well she might. Granny Alice was an extraordinary … More The Need for Self-Preservation
The 3rd in a Series ~ Volume II Prompt: Out of Place ~*~ The challenge with focusing on one side of the family tree is that the same names keep coming up. This is due in part to the many broken branches we’re continuously working to repair. The Scottish/northern England ancestors are proving most elusive, … More Laundry Day on the GNRP
The 52nd in a 52 Week Series Prompt: Looking Ahead ~*~ While contemplating what’s next on the genealogical journey I was reminded of how I started clambering up this ancestral tree in the first place. A chance conversation with a neighbour in September 2021. That was it. I mentioned that I’d just finished re-reading an … More Shedding Light on the Family Tree: One Branch at a Time
The 49th in a series Prompt: New Horizons ~*~ Every time we chase a dream or pursue new personal frontiers we make a choice to embrace a new way of being that challenges what we already know of ourselves. Many of our ancestors dreamed of something better for themselves, their children, and future generations, and … More Shedding Light on the Family Tree: Out with the Old; in with the New
The 46th in a series on my family tree Prompt: Tombstone It’s been a long time since I was able to do any graveyard exploration, so for this challenge I leaned on FamilySearch to help me identify ancestors whose tombstones are readily accessed, and findagrave.com for extra help or information, as available. The tombstone that … More Shedding Light on the Family Tree: Gone Home
The 44th in a series on my family tree Prompt: Ghost Story ~*~ Some family stories are just too strange to be believed. This particular tale first came to light earlier this year during an email exchange with my cousin Kelly who is working on the McDonall family tree with me. In the sharing of … More Shedding Light on the Family Tree: The Ghost and Mrs. Cox
The 40th in a series on my family tree Prompt: Preservation ~*~ Somehow over 35 years of holding the family archive and several moves I haven’t managed to lose anything. Then when a cousin on my maternal grandfather’s side started taking an interest in researching our shared ancestral roots I gave her some relevant records … More Shedding Light on the Family Tree: Saving it for Later
The 39th in a series on my family tree Prompt: Road Trip ~*~ Researching family history offers a great excuse for a road trip. Armed with a road map, an understanding of or, perhaps more importantly, a keen interest in our origins we can travel to an area known to be associated with our ancestral … More Shedding Light on the Family Tree: Home and Away
The 38th in a series about my family tree Prompt: New to You ~*~ Time to admit to my ignorance. In recent posts I have written some about my United Empire Loyalist (UEL) ancestors, feeling proud at being a descendent of these resilient defenders of the Crown who gave everything, if not their lives, for … More Shedding Light on the Family Tree: Uncovering a Blindspot
The 37th in a series on my family tree Prompt: High and Low Life, by its very nature, is filled with highs and lows. It is the vessel that holds the contrast between our heartfelt dreams and the harsh reality of attaining them. We dream the dreams (the highs) and then get schooled in what’s … More Shedding Light on the Family Tree: Sweet Dreams
Shedding Light on the Family Tree 