Sunday 27 June 2010

Meeting up with Terry, George and Brian

Today I met up with Terry, George and Brian to show them my first attempt at a family history project. At this stage I don't have much to show, but I do have the skeleton of family site with a landing page and one branch of the family mostly plotted out (that of George Jackson - my great grandfather) and I have found some nice software that will run a lovely slide show.

The first story I wrote was inspired by a picture of my grandfather, Walter, (amongst others) dressed in a cancan costume which my grandmother, Nancy, told me the tale of with a nice little twist! I showed George and Terry (Brian had not yet arrived) this first story, and this inspired further cancan tales. We all laughed as I told them that looking through some photos at Nancy's I'd found a picture of my Uncle, Dudley (Nancy and Walter's son) modelling his dad's cancan costume the morning after.

George had brought his old photographs and he had also borrowed some photos from Christine. George and Terry showed me lots of the photos that had been taken at Ivy Cottage, my great-grandparents home for many years. Among these George found one of my great-grandfather, Walter's father, Edgar Robshaw. And guess what he was wearing a cancan costume, of course!


Wednesday 5 May 2010

The Family Reunion

"I'm fed up of only meeting up at funerals"
Harold Jackson

I am sure Harold Jackson is not the only person to feel this way or utter these words. But unlike most of us, Harold did something about it. He arranged a party for everyone who was descended from his grandparents, William George Jackson and Sarah Ann Cartwright.

With the help of some other family members, particularly Terry Jackson, George Panther and Katrina Robshaw, we were treated to an evening of entertainment, the highlight of which was a variety show.

That was in 1993.

Sixteen years on we had a whole new generation of Jackson descendants but we were still only meeting up at funerals. Time for another family reunion and another show.

In October, 2009 another family party was arranged, thanks to Terry Jackson, Brian Jones and George Panther. Well over a hundred people came along to share photographs, memories and wonderful stories. And in keeping with what appears to be a Jackson family tradition the party featured live entertainment with a mix of traditional music hall numbers that would have been performed in our (great or maybe great, great) grandparents era, peppered with song and dance from the present day.

It was while looking at the wonderful collection of photos and listening to the stories people told about them that I first had the idea of finding a way to preserve this wealth of family history for the benefit of the younger family members and for the next generation.

The Jackson Family History Site is the result.






Friday 30 April 2010

The Family Reunion

"I'm fed up of only meeting up at funerals"
Harold Jackson

I am sure Harold Jackson is not the only person to feel this way or utter these words. But unlike most of us, Harold did something about it. He arranged a party for everyone who was descended from his grandparents, William George Jackson and Sarah Ann Cartwright.

With the help of some other family members, particularly Terry Jackson, George Panther and Katrina Robshaw, we were treated to an evening of entertainment, the highlight of which was a variety show.

That was in 1993.

Sixteen years on we had a whole new generation of Jackson descendants but we were still only meeting up at funerals. Time for another family reunion and another show.

In October, 2009 another family party was arranged, thanks to Terry Jackson, Brian Jones and George Panther. Well over a hundred people came along to share photographs, memories and wonderful stories. And in keeping with what appears to be a Jackson family tradition the party featured live entertainment with a mix of traditional music hall numbers that would have been performed in our (great or maybe great, great) grandparents era, peppered with song and dance from the present day.

It was while looking at the wonderful collection of photos and listening to the stories people told about them that I first had the idea of finding a way to preserve this wealth of family history for the benefit of the younger family members and for the next generation.

The Jackson Family History Site is the result.