I’d like to introduce…

Edward George "Ted" Turner

Edward George Turner, known affectionately to his family and friends as Ted, was a kind hearted, gregarious, right jolly English gent, loved by all who knew him. He was born on the 27th of June 1911 at Blake Cottage, Horn Street in Winslow, Buckinghamshire, where his father was employed as head groom to Mr Gosling of Blake House.

And His Lovely Wife…

phyllis

Miss Phyllis Mary Collins, daughter of William Collins, publican of the George Inn in Winslow, which is where Ted met her one fateful day in the 1930s

Sentimental Sunday: Why Everyone Should Keep a Journal

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I’m taking a Journaling Your Life e-course, which has been all kinds of wonderful even though it only started a week ago. In preparation, I spent a few days digging through boxes, dusty bookshelves, and dark closets, on a quest to find every begun-then-abandoned journal I own, and there are a LOT….. but, back to the point,

tucked inside an old, cast-off (about 75% abandoned ) journal, was a folded bit of teal paper covered in my handwriting. It was dated June 22, 1996 and began with:

“stories from Aunty Helen and Aunty Jeannette…”

I have to say, I have absolutely no memory of this particular conversation with two of my Great Aunts (siblings in my Grandfather’s family of 14 children), and no recollection of having ever heard these stories. And for that, I’m grateful beyond belief that June 1996 was among the few, brief periods when I was (…more)

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Where I'm From

bronzebust cropped

Randy Seaver posted a new challange Saturday. I love the idea!!!! Here’s mine

I am from an old dog-eared book of poetry; a vintage crystal necklace; A cup of English Breakfast Tea brewed in my grandmother’s Brown Betty. No milk. I am from the house my father built on Tiffany Street and the path through the woods. I’m from the tune without the words, and where the twilight lives after the dark; That cardinal tapping at his reflection in the window…. I am from Ayn Rand, Edwin Muir, Enid Blyton, and James T. Kirk. From a handwritten letter. Turkey dinner At noon. Sandwiches at five o’clock. White bread. Butter. Mayonnaise. Always. From if the wind blows you’ll stay that way and don’t swallow grape seeds —they might get stuck in your appendix. I am from “Why?” “How?” And, “Who is ‘they’?” I’m from across the pond, shepherd’s pie, (…more)

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Sentimental Sunday - Miss Phyllis Mary Collins

Miss Phyllis Mary Collins (1915-2002)

Miss Phyllis Mary Collins (1915-2002)

Phyllis Mary COLLINS, my maternal grandmother was born in Northampton, Northants, England on 23 Mar 1915. She was the only child of William Collins and Violet Mabel Moyses and as such was doted on by parents who provided her with everything she could want that was within their means. William and Violet ran The George Hotel, a pub situated in Market Square in Winslow, Bucks, and that is where Phyllis grew up. Bell’s Garage was just across the way, and Phyllis caught the eye of Ted Turner, a charming chap employed there as a mechanic. Ted quickly fell under the spell of the vivacious, red-headed, daughter of the George’s publican, and the two were married at the parish church in Winslow on the 26th of January, 1938. Ted by that time had left his job at Bell’s and taken a position as chauffeur (…more)

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Thankful Thursday: The True Heroine of My Family

mum highschool

(This post was part of the 103rd Carnival of Genealogy, hosted by Jasia at CreativeGene)

This blog is all about looking to the past. Lately I’ve been consumed by it: Chasing faint trails across a sea of distance and an ocean of lost memories. I’m thankful that I have the time and resources to pursue this passion, and I’m thankful that technology has bounded forward in immeasurably large steps during my lifetime, giving us unprecedented access to original records and making possible the kind of research that could once be done only at a snail’s pace with pen and paper.

Today though, I’ve been hanging around in the present where, more than just about anything, I’m thankful for the presence of my Mother, who isn’t as close in distance as I’d like her to be, but close in spirit and always just a phone call away.

(…more)

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Mystery Monday and the Curious Tale of the Handkerchief Box

handkerchief box

A few years ago, on a sultry Tuesday morning in what may have been Maine’s hottest August on record, I was strolling down Water Street in Hallowell, doing a little antiquing with my Mother-in-Law. It wasn’t turning out to be a fruitful hunt, and we were withering in the heat and about to call it a day when I stepped into Love Joy Antiques and happened upon a small Flemish Art box with “Handkerchiefs” carved into the lid. I’d been collecting old boxes for some time and knew this would be an interesting addition. The wood and the hinges were in good shape, but the inside lining was torn and shabby. I set it aside, and we headed to Hattie’s to cool off and have some lunch. Afterwards we stopped in one more shop where I found a lovely collection of vintage hankies. This seemed like Providence. I purchased (…more)

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52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History: Home

Dad and Uncle Richard in front of Grampie's house in the 1940s

I’ve just become a GeneaBlogger!!!! and I’m really excited because it’s opened up a whole new world of blogging inspiration for me. 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History by Amy Coffin is a series of weekly blogging prompts (one for each week of 2011) designed as an opportunity to record memories and insights from our lifetimes and share them with our future descendants.

I think it’s a really interesting concept, so I’m starting this week with the topic of Home.

I grew up in the house my father built. And my parents still live there today. It was a smallish sort of house situated on a large, beautiful piece of land on a winding, country road in a small New England town. (It’s bustling suburbia now, but when I was young it seemed like the country.)

The property had apples trees, a babbling brook, and acres of woodland (…more)

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The Thing About Family Lore....

frederick turner ruptured spleen

Family tradition holds that Frederick Turner, my British Great-Grandfather Leonard’s only brother, was killed in action in India during World War I. Adding charm to the story that I heard frequently as a child was the idea that Leonard, distraught over his brother’s death and wishing to honor his memory, decided to drop his own given name and assume his dead brother’s, both in day to day living as well as on legal documents. Although my Grandfather and his sisters never knew their Uncle, they did know the story of his heroic death and grew up thinking of their father as “Frederick” L. Turner.

The notes from my earliest attempts at recording my British genealogy reflect this family lore, however as my own research began to reveal more of the details of the Turner brothers’ lives, the accuracy of the story came into question.

I knew from my grandfather’s (…more)

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