This page is under construction, but for now check out the latest blog post for my Paternal line
Agricultural Labourer John Godfrey
John Godfrey (1844 – 1917) Introduction Another of my 2 times great grandfathers from Leicestershire is the topic of this blog. This time from my paternal line and an Agricultural Labourer. Some of his descendants have moved far and wide across the globe. He originates from the village of Appleby Magna on the Leicestershire/Derbyshire border.…
Victorian Police Constable Thomas Challoner
Thomas Challoner (1833 – 1881) Finding out about the career of my police officer ancestor during the Victorian period has been fascinating to say the least. I already knew from my dad’s research that my Great Great Grandfather was a county policeman. My research journey has taken me a few years, from searching police records…
Fanny and Susan
Fanny Broadhurst (1866 – 1923) and Susan Broadhurst (1883 – 1964) This is the first blog featuring the Broadhurst family and features the names Fanny and Susan (if one searches google) which can be found in the Jane Austin novel Mansfield Park. However this is the story of my 2xgreat grandmother (Fanny) and my great…
Stanley Bowmar (1881-1965)
Having researched his parents and his inventor brother, I came across many links to records and the newspapers which mentioned my cousin Stanley Bowmar (first cousin to my great grandfather Francis Thomas Challoner). It was very interesting to discover all about his travels and his working life, when he moved from his homeland of New…
Gershon Bowmar (1866-1937)
Having discovered much about his parents that I documented in another blog, it lead nicely into the very intriguing research of one of their sons, an inventor, who lived in four different countries. He would be my double cousin – second cousin 3 times removed, due to his parents being first cousins via the Hill…
Elizabeth Challoner (1840-1817) and Charles Rhodes Bowmar (1838-1816)
Researching my three times great aunt Elizabeth Challoner and her husband Charles Rhodes Bowmar led me to make some fascinating and rather startling discoveries. Reasons for blogging about them together will become apparent. I knew from my Dad’s research from the 1960s, that Elizabeth ended up overseas and whom she had married but my research…
William Challoner (1861-1936)
The first ancestor I did any major research on was my half 2xgreat uncle William, so it makes sense to blog about him first. He has been fascinating to research and unusual compared with the rest of the family. I also chose him because the family story that had been handed down to my Dad…
Introducing my paternal line
I have traced most of my Dad’s line starting from North West Leicestershire and continued it to the neighbouring counties of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. Most of them have either been Agricultural labourers or Coal miners. None of them have strayed that far, apart from the odd ancestor migrating to Australia, New Zealand and the USA.…
Debbie's Discoveries blog 