SUCCESS STORIES




I live in (City / County): Perth, Australia, AUS
Name: Wendy Graham nwgraham@wantree.com.au
Date: 2000-05-20
My Favorite RootsWeb Tool: Mailing Lists
Please contact me: yes
My Success Story:
I only had an old photo with only christian names on the back of the people. The children in the photo were my second cousins. My grandmother was the link to England and when she died the link was lost because she didnt leave the address of our relations behind and when the relations from England wrote to the nursing home she was in when she died they sent the letter back. This was 30 years ago. With the help of a lovely man and his wife in England I have now found these cousins and I have found out that my Grandfather was one of 12 children so there are relations everywhere. I have now tapped into the line and it is a new world for me. I am thrilled. Hope this inspires someone to keep on going with research because you just never know when the door just opens. Regards Wendy Graham

 



I live in (City / County): Sydney, NSW, AUS
Name: Barry Oliver Barry_Oliver69@hotmail.com
Date: 2000-05-24
My Favorite RootsWeb Tool: Surname Helper
Please contact me: yes
My Success Story:
For over 2 years I had been searching for the christening record of my g/g/grandfather John Oliver. Census records showed that he was from Mayfield Sussex and born in 1809. He and his family were listed on the IGI, but searches of the church records for Mayfield and surrounding Parishes were fruitless. Then one Saturday at the local Family History Centre; I had hired a film with a very small Parish record on it; and the film also included records from Parishes that I'd searched many months before. One was Frant, Sussex, 2 Parishes north of Mayfield. Since I'd seen the Frant Parish Register before, I fast-forwarded through the film. After quite a bit of fast-forwarding, I stopped to see where I was with the film, and my eyes focussed on the name John Oliver. It was a Bastardy Warrant and named the father of the child as John Oliver Sergeant in the Artillery. Not only did I find the Christening record, but the father's name and occupation. A close relative in England went to the Public Records Office and established the identity of our Sergeant ancestor. He was from the small village of Flash, Staffordshire, something I could never have found from Australia. What's more, his record showed him as a Battle of Waterloo veteran. He'd served in Capt Sandham's Battery under Maj Gen Cooke, in the front line at Hougoumont and lived to tell the tale. He was awarded the Waterloo Medal. How I'd love to find it. Barry Oliver Sydney, Australia Barry_Oliver69@hotmail.com