Family Jewells

SMS. 8.41. I do I do! Got the xmas tree, the lights, up & I am off shopping! Yahoo – Rachel

Morning Christian

What is Perry and the "most admired comment"?

Well, rats for you going to Bolago.

Ma and Pa have just informed me they are off to the casino today, and I would have got them to drop me off and pick me up.

Oh well :)

Tom

Oh... after a night and a morning on the juice, Perry sidled up to me and told me that I was the most admired member of our group of friends.

Good E, hey Perry? I replied with a smile.

Speaking of going to Bolago, it starts at 1pm and goes past midnight. Quietly, I've had a wee joint and...

Oh well :)

Christian

FLETCHER Family History

Raymond

I decided that I would type the information from the letters. I’ve only ever had it recorded on hard copy. I will scan the letters still and send them to you, if you like, if for no other reason, but to double check that I haven’t miss-typed anything.

It is interesting that you say that my grandparent’s marriage was 22nd December 1933 – from my father’s birth certificate it is stated as 05th May 1929, which I would, actually, accept as more correct, as F and Al were born 1931 & 1932 respectively. But then, you have the wedding certificate, so I’m not sure how that works.

I’ve attached files for the various branches of the family tree. This information was all given to me by H, the only person from that side of the family who I had contact with, initially through my grandmother M, back when I had more time for this stuff. Unfortunately, university and living got in the way and I didn’t keep in contact with H, so I’m not sure now if she is still alive. I would presume not.

One other point that H mentioned was that her mother, Elizabeth, believed that Thomas Fletcher left Sarah, with the 10 children and came to Australia, disappearing to Queensland never to be seen again. But, since you seem to know his date of death, I can presume that this isn’t correct. Maybe, Elizabeth was talking about her brother Thomas? Anyway, I guess, I had better make a corresponding note in my recording of events.

There was a jewellery shop in Melbourne called Fletchers. H said that her mother always wondered if they were related to our family. I guess, maybe, they were somehow. (I note that there were jewellers in the family) Of course, that has now been taken over by another jewellery shop and is no longer called Fletchers. I must admit, I have never investigated that connection. I had never really thought about it seriously until I read your research. I should get onto that.

I’ve just looked up the new jewellers name on the net and their webpage is currently being updated, wouldn’t you know it.

I’ve included a scan of my grandfather’s passport, just for interest, showing his birth date. If you have his birth certificate, I’m quite happy to accept 1894, don’t get me wrong. (And would he have been 17 when he married Selina?) I just find it fascinating why someone would accept a passport with the wrong date. Of course, there could be a number of reasons for this… the simplest being that he may not have cared, I guess… or whatever the reason, I guess, we may never know.

My grandfather died on a Pacific Island. I always thought it was sudden, but mum now tells me that he had something seriously wrong, possibly with his bowels and was in hospital. I do hope I’m not uncovering a history of cancer in the family, although, it does make me think seriously about giving up the cigarettes. (my only dalliance with stupidity)

I’ve found, with my mother’s side of the family, that quite a few of them have had different birth dates on different documents. When I trace it back my conclusions normally are that the original child was conceived out of wedlock, so other birth dates were altered accordingly.

My mother’s side of the family all came from England, Gloucestershire. Tetbury cemeteries and Minchenhampton cemeteries are ones I must come to England one day to investigate. But, as I’m sure you find, time is the most precious commodity that I don’t seem to have enough of. One day. (It’s such a shame, as I lived in London, some years back, but this was, clearly, a period when my interest in the family had waned. Pity, I kick myself for it now)

I studied business, which never really interested me, at uni and then I studied writing, which is my great passion, so, for now, I’ll just keep writing up the snippets of their lives to record them for history.

I don’t know if you are interested in the less date driven history, but the reason I got interested in this, in the first place, was because one day, for a school project – so that’s how long ago it was – I asked my dad the names of his grandparents and he didn’t know. It struck me as sad that in a short time these people had been forgotten. That thought has always stayed with me and has been the driving force in me ever since. So from that point, I decided if I just recorded what I knew – in a sense, that’s all we have to do – if everyone records even just the bit that relates to them, then the family tree would take care of itself. So, over the years, when time permitted, I’ve been slowly just recording the bits I could uncover. It is all so eminently fascinating, I find.

I still remember, a relatively short time ago (20 years maybe) (Ed note – 30 years ago), when Uncle Al or Auntie Mary (we used to all go away on family holidays every year – 12 cousins, with Auntie Mary’s brother’s family included) talked about your mother Connie and my mother was very surprised as she didn’t know anything about her. My dad didn’t seem to know about her either. So I’m not sure how Uncle Al knew and my dad didn’t, but I guess, Uncle Al has filled in those details anyway.

Anyway, I hope you will find the information attached interesting. I thought I was so organised with all this stuff, but now that I come to pull it together for you, I realise that I’m not. I have bits of paper everywhere. So, when I have some more time, I will go through it all to see what other information I can glean.

I’m just snatching a couple of hours to do this. I’m due in the country in a few hours to work for the rest of the day. As well as working full time in the city, in my spare time, I help run a business with two partners and they have sprung a function on me that I didn’t know that I had to do. But at least, I have finished studying, for now. Oh, to give up work, I’d just be able to fit so many more interesting things in.

Anyway…

Christian

At 1 pm I headed to Bolago. I figure Mark was telling me an earlier time than was necessary, as I’m always late. So, I factored my leaving time to be later, rather than having to be there at 1pm.

The fiftieth actually started at 5pm.