By Elin de Ruyter My great grandfather Helgi Julius Jónsson was a man of the ocean, just as his father and countless generations before him were. He was an Icelander and they were bred tough, especially in the region where he was born – the Westfjörds, one of the most remote and rugged regions of Iceland. Helgi was a born and bred fisherman. He knew that the ocean was something to respect and gives thanks for. It gave life with … Continue reading
The sixth child of William Jennings White and his wife Mary made his appearance on the last day of January, 1823. The couple baptised this baby Henry in the Bletchingley Parish church on 2 March 1823. William Snr was a cordwainer and the family lived in one of the Stychens Cottages in Stychens Lane on the left as you enter the village from Redhill direction. These cottages were built by by John Perkins, the local land-owner, in Henry’s words ‘so … Continue reading
You may be wondering why there’s another post from me in August. Well, this is a fifth Monday and usually we have a guest blogger. The need to confirm a guest blogger for August fell off my “To Do” list in the catching-up phase after a month overseas. So, I decided to tell you about a conference being held here in Brisbane on 3-4 October which is Queensland’s first local, family, and social history conference. In Time and Place, … Continue reading
