I’m procrastinating today.
I’m lucky enough to have the luxury of a day at home and of course, if I want to fritter such precious free time away doing not very much, I guess I can. Even so, I feel as though I ought really to be sorting out one or two of the piles which have gathered in my studio over the last few days.
It’s Albert Sidney’s fault. I know he looks as though he’s sitting on the beach there in his flat cap, causing no bother, with Auntie Vi looking restless and Phyllis maybe wishing she were elsewhere. However, my Great Grandad is actually proving to be quite a distraction around here right now.
I can’t really lay the blame on my Great Grandmother Alice, who sadly died when Phyllis was born. I really don’t know a great deal about her, because the variations in spelling her name (Furniss, Furnes, Furness) and large number of people with that name in the area of Warwickshire/Northamptonshire where she was born meant that I couldn’t see the wood for the trees.
Until I received an email whilst I was on holiday, that is.
This email led to a conversation with another Ancestry user who had come across my Great Grandparents’ names as witnesses at Alice’s sister’s wedding. There was more, too, because another sister had married the groom’s brother. Suddenly, my family tree has grown another little branch and when I added details, someone else noticed a link with their family…
Suddenly, I have a whole new raft of rellies and a couple more family trees to work out. Not only that, but there is a possible link elsewhere in the trees, because I spotted another family name in there, too. It’s not easy, though, and I realise that I need to take my time, take it slowly, don’t get too excited and rush at it and make mistakes. I’ve discovered the hard way that with Ancestry, there is no “undo” button when I accidentally save information to the wrong person.
So, Albert Sidney, if only you could just put down your pipe and step out from that photograph to tell me a few details about your lovely wife and her family, you could save me a little trouble and let me get on with tidying my studio.
You know that’s what I’d really rather be doing ;-)
