RootsChat.Com

Unfortunately there's nothing you can do to make someone respond. I found my mums half-family and although I tried to contact them they weren't interested. You just have to cross your fingers that your topic of questioning isn't a sore point and that they'll respond at all..

Hi again, I've sent ypu a private message but I'll repeat the gist of it here!
I'm interested in all todo with James and Margaret (Margaret is my Great Great Great Aunt), as I am the current keeper of what we refer to as The Grellier Letters.
This is a manuscript written by James containing all the letters that passed between him.and Margaret during their courtship.
I've copied them out and I'm on thd road to publishing them, as theyre a fascinating read in general.
They speak of portraits they had painted, and as a helpful identifier they discuss Margaret's yellow scarf,and I'd dearly love to have faces to put to the voices.
Anything you have written by them I'd be fascinated.to read/see as we have a few other things of James', and have become very fond of him!
Naturally Margaret being of blood relation it'd be simply wonderful to 'meet' her at last. She and her sister Sarah (my great great great Granfmother) we're seemingly very close, in tastes and appearances, as well as being what I can only describe as tough cookies!

Kerry

Wotcha chaps :)
I live on a historic wooden narrowboat, and have done all my life, (indeed this year my family celebrate owning her for 40 years!), I also make a living working a coal carrying narrowboat (also historic) and painting any of them that stay still for more then 5 minutes :-P
I'd be happy to help with the more mundane side of inland waterways history stuff, the boats themselves, how they were worked and thing like that.

Though id point out now that the men and women who worked the boats of all kinds would have been dreadfully insulted to be called either "water gypsy" or "bargee".. The few remaining boatmen still alive get terribly upset if theyre called these names! They were, and are,"boatmen" or "boaters". Even those on barges were not "bargees", its just a term that came 'off the bank' (the waterway term for people in houses') through lack of understanding about the boats; they thought, and many still do, that the boats in the many forms are all "barges"..

Anyway, I'd be happy to help with a waterways board if I can! It'd be an honour to speak on behalf of the boaters who have gone before me, and help people understand our way of life :)

I don't know, though I would imagine they held on to them. All I know is that they had them in 1893, as the 'Visitations' was very accurate about that sort of thing.. I know Harley Mair seemed to gather up a lot of the Grellier family treasure, accounts and diaries, that sort of thing

There's some, ahem, evidence to suggest that he wasn't.
Just in case any relatives do read this, I shan't say too much - the whole break up of that marriage seems to be a wound that's still sore, one of the main reasons my husband wants me to find out what actually happened so his own dad can stop feeling guilty about what Sidney may or may not have done.

If he was still in Gloucester with his family, surely he'd turn up in a directory or electoral roll though? We've thought perhaps he signed up come 1939, but I can't find any records or mention of him with that either.

Any ideas of where to look are greatly appreciated