Family history

There’s a story to my Blip today, hence this collage. This week, through Ancestry.com, I was contacted by a Canadian relative I hadn’t heard of previously, David, about a discovery he’d made.

Basically, his mum, Betty Taylor, was a Canadian Olympian hurdler who won a Bronze medal at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Last week a schoolgirl in Toronto had been tasked with a school project on Betty and she contacted David along with the Ontario Athletics Association. The student reminded them that they had a box of small artefacts of Betty’s that they wanted to give to David. In this box was a letter from my Grandmother to Betty - they were related - along with two photos of my mum and her parents - my grandparents. 

When David received the letter and photos, he wanted to let me know - he’d found me on the family tree - and we had an hour-long Skype call, him in Canada and me in Scotland.

It was a lovely chat, a super find and the first time I had seen my grandmother’s handwriting - she died aged 53 in 1959, before I was born. 

Anyway, the photos are: the found letter; a picture of my grandmother, grandpa and my mum in Girvan; a photo of Betty; my grandparents’ house where the letter was written in 1948 (photographed today); and one of my grandmother and mum.

So, when I was over at mum’s today, doing the essentials stuff, I was able to update her and show her the letter and photos.

Doing family history is really fun, especially during lockdown.

Anyway, I hope you have had a good Saturday.