Well the best laid plans of mice and men and all that.... the world is in pandemic, and my trip is not to be. Hopefully, in a few years when I retire I can do this...
I've been having a stay-cation these hols as I save for my trip over to Europe. Quite a few of the things I'll be doing have a family history reason behind them, and I have organised some 'paperwork' to take with me.
For a few places that my family came from, I can find the family address quite precisely. But for most others, it is just a 'general area' that I'll be visiting. But either way, I am really looking forward to this exploration, and recording some of it for others in the family.
Here is a bit of a (vaguely) chronological outline of where I hope this genealogical journey will take me.
-Italy- Florence- to visit the WW2 grave of Robert Clarence Fleming, my maternal first cousin once removed.
-Switzerland- Ticino- to explore Corippo, Val Verzasca, the place of my Scettrini forebears.
- France- to visit the war graves and battle places of two great-uncles who died in WW1- James Riordan and John Francis Payn.
-Jersey, St Martin- where my Payn-Mourant ancestors come from.
-Scotland, Perth and Fifeshire. Perth is where my Burke/Flynn family came to when they left behind the Famine in Ireland. Fifeshire is where the Philp family came from, particularly from Strathmiglo, though they moved around. I wonder what will be at 134 High St in Perth now. I am sure it would have been a tenement then, with dozens of children playing in the street nearby.
And then I finally reach Ireland in late June, home of the bulk of my ancestry. There are many places to go...
Strabane, Co Tyrone- for my Arbuckle family, many of whom ended up making their home in Australia.
Ballyporeen, Co Tipperary, for my Heneberry origins. (Again many other descendants are in Australia.)
Kilkenny- not sure exactly which area, but possibly near the northern end of the City of Kilkenny, for the family of James Lalor.
Cullane South, Ballylanders Parish, Co Limerick. This is where my Riordans hail from. I have found maps from Griffiths which I think pinpoint their farm, and I am looking forward to visiting the area.
Ballinadrideen, south of Charleville, where my Malone grandmother came from.
Co Mayo- Derrycraff, Aghagower- the origin of my Burke/Flinn ancestors.
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| Jeremiah Malone, Ballinadrideen, my great-grandfather |
So, that's the plan!
