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A final walk home
By Christine Swan I thought long and hard about what to do with my parents’ ashes. My dad died four years ago and my mum last year. In 2015, my parents moved into a…
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Life is nothing without friendship
By Christine Swan Walking with friends is good for the soul I am finding that I am becoming increasingly reflective as I age. The recent loss of my daughter has tested the strength and…
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David Deighton Taylor – a family consumed
By Christine Swan The early 1900s seem to have been the best years for David Deighton Taylor. After the loss of their first child in 1893, David and Julia went on to have seven…
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David Deighton Taylor – cats’ meat vendor
By Christine Swan My great grandfather died before my father was born so there was little known family history. “He used to sell horse flesh for cats”, my Dad told ,me. One of my…
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Why isn’t everybody Kung Fu fighting?
By Christine Swan For those of you that know me in real life, you will be aware of my unusual activity regime which includes Wing Chun Kung Fu. I first started learning the Chinese…
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Solvitur ambulando
by Christine Swan Life has been very challenging recently. There is no loss like the untimely passing of your child. I felt a desperate need to escape the crushing sense of grief but also…
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Mary Ann Dighton – fancy trimming maker
By Christine Swan It has taken rather a lot of research to find out as much as I have about my great, great grandmother Mary Ann Dighton. She was born in about 1842 before…
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The life of Ann Dighton, silk weaver 1815 – 1885
By Christine Swan Ann is my great, great, great grandmother. She was born on 4th August 1815 in Hare St, Bethnal Green. Her father, William, was a silk weaver who employed apprentices and was…
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Daniel Crudgington – final years
By Christine Swan Dear reader, the delay in posting this final episode will be explained in another post however, to recap, Daniel Crudgington, returned convict, was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to just one…
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Daniel Crudgington – Back in Bethnal Green
By Christine Swan Daniel Crudgington is possibly my 3x great grandfather. Born in 1815 in Spitalfields, he was transported to New South Wales in 1834. In this post, I will explore his return to…
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Daniel Crudgington – Early life and transportation
by Christine Swan When we embark upon the journey to discover our family history, it is natural to hope to uncover heroes, riches, fame and noteworthy achievements. Daniel Crudgington was an unusual name so…
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The family grave
Before the days of internet search engines and websites devoted to discovering one’s roots, my father gave me a scrap of paper with details of who was buried in our family grave at the…
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