I have three little stories that I hope will at least cause a chuckle or two: I can just remember that amongst the relatives my dad spoke of there was his aunt Amy and uncle Edgar. Way back in the late 50's/early 60's I met great-uncle Edgar at a family gathering which I now believe was probably great-aunt Amy's funeral. Other than the fact that everyone at the gathering was family, I didn't understand what relationship any of them were. All I can remember was that they all seemed to be very old. My research into the family revealed that great-aunt Amy never married so was a spinster when she died. I recorded that detail into my genealogy package and thought no more of it. Anyway, I've recently learned from my dad's only remaining cousin who is now well into her 80's, that it wasn't quite as straightforward as that. She tells me that Amy was a "live-in general help" at Gardeners thriving Fish & Chip shop in Broad Street, Banbury. Uncle Edgar was in fact Edward Gardener, the owner of the Fish & Chip shop! As my dad's cousin put it in her letter, Amy and Edgar were "very fond of eachother". The reason she tells me why they never married is that Edgar had promised his mother he would never get married. Instead, he would spend his life looking after his sister. That is what he did. Now I know the details, Edgar is added into my family tree which would be incomplete without reference to him. I'm now trying to understand what was wrong with his sister and why he was expected to look after her. Another one, which I'd forgotten about until I read the one from Pat which reminded me, relates to me when I was a child. We lived in Basingstoke in Hampshire, and for a treat, I'd been sent to stay with my Aunt in Portsmouth during the school holidays. That was a great treat as she lived very close to the sea. I don't remember the discussion, but I imagine that in talking to my aunt and uncle I gave the impression that things were very bad for me at home - as kids do - nobody loved me!. My aunt put pen to paper and wrote to my parents saying that as they obviously didn't want me, not to bother collecting me as she would be happy to keep me. My dad apparently hit the roof when he received the letter and collected me that day. I was invited to stay again the next year so it obviously all blew over very quickly. The final story was told to me by my mother when I was in my early teens. My paternal gran was illegitimate and worked as a domestic servant for my grandfather's parents. My grandfather fell in love with her and married her, and as a result, he was excommunicated from the family and disinherited, firstly because of my gran's illegitimacy and secondly, her status as a domestic servant. He left home with his new bride and moved to Basingstoke where they lived happily everafter. I had no reason to doubt the story was true, but my research had put serious doubt into my mind. Would my great-grandfather, as an Agricultural Labourer with 10 children, be in a position to afford a domestic servant? My dad's cousin has recently told me what is more likely to be the true story. Her mother and my gran were domestic servants together in Warwickshire. One weekend, she took my gran home with her and that was how she met my grandfather. Whilst this is more likely to be true, I much prefer the first version! Don

Don, Great stories, and such good fun that you poke at yourself. The stories that I have about this family haven't been so cheerful. I think I 'll hold them a little longer. Cathy ----- and that was how > she met my grandfather. Whilst this is more likely to be true, I much prefer > the first version! > > Don > > > > > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 >