52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 10 – Siblings

The Stuart Family Siblings My granny was youngest of six children with four brothers (Sandy, Peter, Donald and Robert) and a sister (Nell). Back Row L-R: Isabella Garden, Nell, Bella Stuart; Middle Row L-R: Donald, Moira, Robert; Front Row L-R: Peter and Sandy (August 1933) All the siblings lived close by each other in Dufftown, …

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52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 9 – Family Secret

James Stephen’s Secret Daughter My great grandparents James STEPHEN (1893-1982) and Jemima MITCHELL (1892-1978) were married for 65 years, and had fourteen children together. They also brought up one of their grandsons alongside their youngest children. Some of the other grandchildren didn’t realise he was a cousin and thought he was an uncle. The biggest …

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52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 8 – Migration

Margaret Elizabeth Taylor Garden – From Scotland to Australia This one was a tough pick as there have been quite a few family members who have migrated, myself included. But I decided to write about my great grand-aunt Meg. Margaret, known as Meg, was the middle daughter born to Elizabeth Garden. She was born at …

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52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 7 – Letters and Diaries

A letter from home The theme this time is letters and diaries.  My family has a collection of letters that were written to my 3 x grand uncle Charles Stuart. And I thought I would share one of my favourites. A little bit about Charles.  He was born in 1819 in Abernethy and Kincardine, Scotland. …

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52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 6 – Surprise

The Surprise Relative I like many other people have done a DNA test with Ancestry. I am fully aware that some people only do the test to see what the ethnicity result is. But even with that in mind, it didn’t stop me messaging my closest matches. Some replied, and quite a few did not. …

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52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 5 – Challenge

Overcoming Adversity: Hubert Karol Susek The theme this time is Challenge.  I decided to write about my paternal grandfather Hubert Karol SUSEK (1926-2003). He overcame a few challenges early in his life. For example, he lived in Nazi-occupied Germany. He also faced the death of his father and forced labour. He left Poland behind and …

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52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 4 – Overlooked

The Overlooked Polish Side of my Family Tree This weeks theme is overlooked, which person have I overlooked? Well it's not so much of a person than a side of my tree. My grandfather Hubert Karol SUSEK (1926-2003) was born in Poland. I do not know much about this branch of my family. I have …

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52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 3 – Nickname

Moria Elizabeth Stuart – Madam/The Witch This weeks theme is “Nickname”.  There aren’t very many nicknames in our family. There are plenty of variations of names, i.e. Bert, Rob or Robbie for Robert, Alex or Sandy for Alexander, Nell or Nellie for Helen etc. The one nickname I came across was for my maternal Granny …

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52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025: Week 2 – Favourite Photo

This week is favourite photograph. This was a hard decision to make, there are a few photographs I could say were my favourite. However, I had to pick one, so here it is (kindly copied from my late great Aunt Nell’s photograph collection): The Garden Family This is a photograph of my 3 x great …

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52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025: Week 1 – In The Beginning

This is my first time attempting 52 Ancestors in 52 weeks. I wasn’t sure how I was going to tackle the first one. I decided to start with how I got started with my family history journey. I was first bitten by the genealogy bug in high school. We were given a project where we …

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