My name is David Holford. I am married to Maria and we have three children, all teenagers now. When I started this blog we lived in Sweden, in a town with the annoying name of Örebro, annoying because is it so hard for English speakers to pronounce. The first syllable is pronounced ur as in fur (or fir) and the last syllable is pronounced oo as in zoo. Urebroo. Why Sweden? Because Maria is Swedish and this land is an important part of who we are. My ancestors are not from Scandinavia, but our children’s ancestors are. Such is the fascination of family.
But for various reasons we moved “back” to Australia in 2016, after 10 years in our other “home.” Now we live in a place called Speers Point, in a “city” called Lake Macquarie. It is a strange “city” because the city centre is the largest coastal lake in Australia, and the suburbs lie all around it on its shores. At the northern end Lake Macquari’s suburbs merge into the city of Newcastle. At the southern end they merge into another city called “central Coast.” The eastern side of the lake is formed by a narrow strip of land separating it from the Pacific Ocean. The western side is the most “rural” consisting of scattered communities nestled between the lake and the mountains of the Great Dividing Range.
This blog will focus mainly on my ancestry, since I am the one writing it, but perhaps I will also find things to write about Maria’s family. When we lived in Sweden we had access not just to the records, but to the sights and sounds that Maria’s forbears experienced, sights and sounds that are somewhat foreign to many on “my side of the family” and which are for me fascinating. Now we are in Australia we have much closer links with family who have settled on this side of the globe.
How would I describe myself? I am a Christian, not just nominally, but actively, by which I mean that I go to church, read the Bible, and try to follow the teachings and example of Jesus. I am a husband and a father, a brother and a son, and a friend. Relationships are the essence of life, and so these relationships are at the core of who I am.
I am also a doctor, a GP, or general practitioner. General practice is one of the medical specialties which focusses its attentions on the person rather than the disease. Perhaps that is why I ended up a GP, because people have always been more fascinating to me than disease, as interesting as that is in itself. I love listening to people’s stories, not just their symptoms. But of course their experience of ill health profoundly affects their stories, and that is what I like to work with.
It is a little scary to be public on the internet. There is too much of this publicness nowadays. But it is hard to write a blog about family history and remain anonymous. These are real people I write about.
So that’s a little of who I am, but the focus of these pages is not so much me, but my ancestry, though I cannot help but see these people through the lens of my own life and experience. So there must be, I suppose, much of me in what I write.
Forgotten tales 
I think I am distantly related to you. I am Paul Jones and I am descended from William Butler, the founder of the tar and resin distiller in Victorian Bristol. I have done quite a lot of research on the Butlers and have this on your great grandmother, Mabel Butler:
“EL’s (Euart Lovell) notes – Joan Eastwood’s notes in parentheses:
Mabel, who was about three years old when her father brought her home with him, probably lived with her uncle Isaac for a while, but was living at Clifton Grove in 1899, and upon her grandfather’s death went to Summerhill House. After a few years there she went to live with her sister Jane, where she is said to have borne a child. She then went to London as a lady’s maid since when nothing further has been heard of her. (1881 census – Mabel, 5, living with Wm Henry & Esther Elizabeth at Summerhill House therefore did not stay with Isaac long. Isaac lived in Stapleton Road.)
1901 census of The South Eastern Hospital, Deptford St Paul, London
Mabel Butler Patient 25 Cape Colony, South Africa Hospital Nurse
1891 census of Staple Hill, Mangotsfield, Bristol
Albert E W May Head M 27 Bristol Traveller
Sarah J May Wife M 26 Bristol Draper
Mabel M Butler Sister-in-law S 15 Port Elizabeth, SA Draper’s Assistant
1881 census of Summerhill House, Bristol St George, Gloucester, England:
William Heny Butler Head M 30 St George, Gloucs Chemical Manufacturer
Esther Elizth. Butler Wife M 29 Manchester, Lancs
Mary Isabille Butler Daur – 10 St George, Gloucs Scholar
William Butler Son – 5 St George, Gloucs Scholar
Joseph Henry Butler Son – 3 St George, Gloucs
Joseph Beaumont Butler Brother U 23 St George, Gloucs Manager Of Chemical Wks
Mabel May Butler Cousin U 5 Cape Colony
Florence Eva Withers Govrnss U 19 Warminster, Wilts Governess (Priv)
Mary Jefferies Servant U 22 North Stoke, Somerset Cook (Dom)
Angelina Gallaway Servant U 16 Old Sodbury, Gloucs House Maid”
I would love to her from you over in Sweden,
Best wishes,
Paul
Good to hear from you Paul. Mabel Butler has fascinated me for years, ever since I first discovered that my grandfather, George Simmonds, was born George Butler, in Redhill, Surrrey, to his unwed mother, Mabel Butler. You can read what I have pieced together of Mabel’s life in various blog entries. There are still a whole lot of things that puzzle me, but the main question that I would love answered is why Mabel’s parents were in South Africa. Had they migrated there or were they there on business? When did they go and what happened to Mabel’s mother? I have a death certificate for Mabel’s father Ephraim, registered in Plymouth. What was he doing there? Your suggestion that Mabel had a child when she was still quite young makes her even more interesting. She remains a mysterious person. I have a few letters she wrote to her son, my grandfather, in Australia. They were written just before she died. For sll the mystery of her early life she seemed to have been fairly happy and settled for the 20 odd years she was together with her husband, my great grandfather. He died however almost 20 years before her and it would seem she was fairly lonely in her later years, though her second son, Frederick, remained with her until she died just after WW2.
How are you related to the Butler family? And where are you living now?
I live in London. My great great grandmother was Emma Butler who was the daughter of William Butler, Ephraim Butler’s bother, and Mabel Butler’s first cousin. I think that makes us 4th cousins once removed.
What I have on Mabel’s father, Ephraim Butler (b 1837, Sandiacre, Derbyshire; m 1863, Bristol; d. 1879 at sea on S.S. Arab):
“EL’s (Euart Lovell) notes – Joan Eastwood’s notes in parentheses:
Ephraim Butler and his Children
In the Bristol Directories for 1867 and later there is an Ephraim Butler, an umbrella and parasol maker in West Street. Whether this was Wm. Butler’s brother or no is not clear, but our Ephraim’s wife, Sarah Jane Coombs, is said to have been the daughter of an umbrella maker who had a shop in West Street.
Ephraim went to South Africa – to the gold-diggings there and he served in the Cape Mounted Rifles. He had his home in Port Elizabeth where his wife died in giving birth to their third child. Throughout his wanderings he kept in touch with home and it is remembered that W.H.B. had a pet monkey which his uncle had sent him.
In the Summer of 1879 Ephraim set sail for England in the S.S. “Arab”. Feeling death at hand he wrote a letter to his brother Isaac commending his children to his care and then died before he could land. His body was brought to Bristol and buried in the grave-yard of Hanham Tabernacle. (See death certificate – died in Plymouth.)”
I also have a photo of Joseph Frearson Butler, who was Ephraim and William’s father. He has a story as well (of course).
Wow, thanks for the information about Ephraim. Do you have any idea when he and his wife went to South Africa? His death certificate says he died on the 23 August 1879, so I suppose that was the day the ship arrived and he was presumably transported to the hospital which is listed as the place of death. I have a copy of the death certificate.
Of course I would love to get any stories and pictures you have for Joseph Butler too. Was Mabel Ephraim and Sarah’s third child? I know Mabel had a sister called Sarah, but who was the other child?
So your great great grandmother (Emma Butler) and my great grandmother (Mabel Butler) were cousins. That makes you a generation younger than me and we may well be fourth cousins once removed. I get confused with these things.
Mabel was indeed Ephraim and Sarah’s youngest.
The other two children were:
1. Sarah Jane was born 1864 in Bristol; married 16 Dec 1890 in Downend to Albert E W May; I know of only one child named Margaret
2. Martha Ann married William John Milner in about 1888 and had at least 6 children: William, Leslie, James, Elizabeth, Annie and Doris.
I have these notes for Martha Ann:
“EL’s (Euart Lovell) notes – Joan Eastwood’s notes in parentheses:
Martha was educated in ‘Boarding Schools at Uten Hague and Humansdorp. Upon coming to England she continued her education in Bath and then lived with her uncle Isaac a while (Stapleton Rd or, if later, L. Ashley Rd). He was kind enough, but the Aunt was jealous and the children calling her a workhouse brat one day made her resolve to leave, and she got herself apprenticed.
About 1888 she was married and has since had a family of three sons and three daughters. (Must have been living in Bristol – was it the Horfield area?)
During the first Great War she collected considerable sums for the Bristol Coliseum Volunteers and also took a great interest in the welfare of wounded soldiers. She established a workshop where they could be trained, and through her efforts the authorities were induced to make a road across the fields from Horfield to Southmead so that wounded men could get to the cars, and also to put seats on the Common for their benefit. In 1920, Lt. Gen. Harper wrote an appreciation of her work in behalf of the wounded men, saying that there was no doubt that her services had been of great value, both locally and nationally.
In 1921 she became an honorary member of the women’ section of’ the British Legion and was later elected President of the Bedminster District and Bishopston and Horfield Branches.
During the second Great War she became an enthusiastic supporter of the Bristol’s Own Fund and has been working for the Red Cross volunteering also to work daily at Southmead.
In 1941 she presented a purse in behalf of the “loyal women of Bristol” to the Queen who is President of the Women’s Section of the British Legion.
——————————————-
Joan Eastwood has more details on Wm & Martha Milner”
Euart Lovell was a contemporary of William Butler, the tar distiller, and wrote a book in which he mentions many other Butlers. I don’t know if the book was ever published – I suspect it may have been William’s vanity project. Joan Eastwwod was writing a book on William Butler about 15 years ago and also did a lot of work on the Butlers. I have lost touch with her now. Neither Euart Lovell nor Joan Eastwood is related to the Butlers.
I shall need your email to send photos – I can’t paste images here.
Best wishes,
Paul
My email is jones.paul@btconnect.com
Best wishes,
Paul
I must be wrong about Euart Lovell – he can’t have been a contemporary of Wm Butler if he was writing about event in 1941!
Hi Paul,
I’ve just been searching for my great great uncles name Euart Lovell on Google and found your post. Do you know anything about him?
Many thanks,
Jade
Hi Jade, your comment came to me, but your question is best addressed to Paul. There is an email address in one of his comments. Write to him directly. Hope you get hold of him. I cannot answer your questions. Sorry, David
Hello, I’m Tracey Read, born in London to Barbara Walmsley, daughter of Margaret (Reddy) Walmsley. I live in British Columbia, Canada, having immigrated to Canada when I was two years old. I’m now 68. When my mother died in 2010 she left me a number of Wm Butler’s memorabilia including a photo of a gorgeous house in Bristol that she described as being her grandfather’s but which had since been torn down, some items of engraved silver and a history of the Butler family industry. For reasons that are not at all clear to me now, Mama and I never discussed the family and don’t I wish I had pushed the point! I just recently sat down to read the book, went on line to search for more info and found you. I would appreciate being in touch to see how I might be connected to all of this fascinating history. The timing seems serendipitous as you were posting just a week ago. I’ll fill in my email address in hopes I hear from you. Thanks!
Hi Tracey,
I have sent you an email. Good to hear from another of the Butler clans widely spread descendants.
Regards
David
Hello David
I have been researching my wife’s family tree and have just discovered she is a descendant of John Holdorf. He is her 3rd great grandfather. The information you have provided is fantastic. There was always a family story that her ancestors “owned the main street of Goulburn” however no family member had any specific details, such as names, and you assume there is an element of extreme exaggeration. Judging by newspaper reports the Holdorfs were a prominent family held in high esteem by the community in Goulburn. “Owning the main street” is certainly an exaggeration. I would like to exchange information if possible?
Best Regards
Nigel Johns
Sydney
Hi Nigel
I would be happy to exchange any information with you that might be of interest to us both. Always interesting to hear the old family stories – like “owned the main street of Goulburn”! John Holdorf was certainly quite successful, considering the fact that he came to Australia with nothing. I suspect that his wife Caroline was also a pretty amazing person. She was a good deal younger than him (18 years I think) and outlived him by a good 20 years. Her family – the Fishers – came from Bavaria and actually arrived before John. Both the Holdorfs and the Fishers probably have hundreds of descendants around NSW these days. It would be amazing to have a reunion some day of all of them.
Anyway, thanks for making contact. Look forward to hearing from you again sometime. You can also contact me by email. I will send a message to you with my email address.
Regards
David
Hi David!
Remember Faith and remember me from Tamworth? Our mutual ancestor lived in and ran a school in Summerhill House, Bristol from 1804 till at least 1808. I found your site when I googled the house. Would be glad to hear from you and send a bit I found.
Hi Jan! Funny to hear from you after all these years. Interested to hear that we have a mutual ancestor. Would love to hear more. Send it over. I will reply to your email withy email address. What I would love to get is a picture of Summerhill House, which does not exist anymore. My ancestor (Mum’s grandmother) lived at Summerhill House briefly when she was a child, in the 1870s, after both her parents had died. She was taken in by her cousin, William Butler, who was a lot older than her, married, with children the same age as Mabel. As far as I know the Butler family had no connection with Summerhill House, or indeed Bristol at all, before around 1850.
Hi David
What a fascinating website! All the more so because Joseph Frearson BUTLER is my 2C5R (second cousin five times removed), his mother being descended from my KERRY family of Ockbrook, Derbyshire.
Thanks Joy. Nice to hear from you. Its always fun when we find some of our own story in someone else’s. One of the joys of the internet. The Butler family was big and there must be thousands of descendants. It has been fun for me to have had feedback from people not just in the UK but in Canada and Australia. There’s still a lot to find out about my little branch of the family, one of the less glorious. Its a consuming pastime. Do you have any stories to share about the Butlers?
Hi David,
I spent my early years in Summerhill House and can provide a lot of information on the Butler connection.
I am a retired Rheumatologist living in Warwickshire and would be pleased to hear from you.
with kind regards
George Struthers
Hi George,
Wow that’s exciting for me. Thanks so much for making contact. I would love to hear more about your experiences and memories. I suppose my first question is, what happened to Summerhill House, and when did it disappear? I believe my great grandmother, Mabel Butler, lived there as a child when she first arrived from South Africa, newly orphaned after the death of her father at sea. I am unsure how long she stayed there with family, or why she left. If she had stayed her life may have been very different. If you have any photos I would of course love to see them. You can write to me at my email address, holfies@gmail.com.
Kind regards
David Holford
PS we are now living in Australia
Hi David,
I am a member of Friends of Troopers Hill, which is a nature reserve between the site of Butler’s Tar Works in Crews Hole and Summerhill House. We have been researching information about the area around the Hill and adding this to our website – http://www.troopers-hill.org.uk/history.htm
I’ve recently written a piece about Summerhill House – and linked back to your blog page about Ephraim Butler – http://www.troopers-hill.org.uk/history/SummerhillHse.pdf – trust this is OK? I recently visited the grave of Ephraim & Joseph, which is not far away, with Brian Vincent who has written a book about the Tar Works and the Butlers.
If there is anything you can add to what I have about the history of the house or anything you think is wrong please let me know. Likewise if you have any questions about the area that you think I might be able to help with do get in touch.
best wishes,
Rob
Hi Rob
Thanks for getting in touch. Sorry I’ve been slow to respond. I was excited to read your article about Summerhill House, which has filled in a lot of blanks for me. I certainly do not have enough knowledge of the times or places to think that anything you have said is inaccurate. I was especially glad to finally see a photo of Summerhill house at the end of your article. It was also interesting to read about The Priory, at Westbury-on-Trym. I had an email some years back from Tracey Read, who lives in Canada though she was born in London. She mentioned that her maternal great grandmother was Isabelle Butler, daughter of William Henry of Summerhill house. The line from Isabelle goes like this: Isabelle Butler (m. Reddy) -> Margaret Reddy (m.Walmsely) -> Barbara Walmsley (m. Read) -> Tracey Read (now 75 years old). Tracey sent me some photos of The Priory which her mother gave her. If you are interested I could send you copies. Perhaps you already have photos of The Priory. Let me know your email address if you want copies. I have puzzled over the various different Summer Hill houses that pop up on the internet. Your article has helped me to understand what’s what. I’ve also ordered a copy of the book by Brian Vincent. Of course, my great grandmother Mabel ended up very poor. Her son, my grandfather, who migrated to Australia, died before I was born. My mother, Mabel’s granddaughter, used to write to her when she was a child. Mabel was to have come to Australia after WW2 to join her children who had all, except one, migrated. But she got breast cancer and died before she had a chance. So my mother (b1937) never met her. Frederick, the son who had remained with Mabel in England, came to Australia soon after her death. My mother died in 1999 (aged 62), before I ever did any of my family history research. Her knowledge of the family was very vague. She loved family history but the resources for research were limited during her lifetime. Anyway, I’m rambling. Thankyou so much for all that you have added to my understanding of the Butlers and their houses and industry. Kind regards, David
Hello David,
I have come across your Blog a few times as part of some research for a book I am writing about my GG-uncle, Alexander Ross, who was born in Braefindon (same parish as Ferintosh) in 1838 and who died as a missionary in Old Calabar in 1884. Looking at your family tree I can’t see a direct connection between the families but it is almost certain that our respective ancestors would have known each other. My own family tree is available on Ancestry.com and I can send you a link if you are interested
It all started with a photograph in a beautiful old family album – I had a name, Alexander Ross, who I knew had died in Africa. After some research, I also discovered that he had been the first white person to explore into the Cameroons and who had also ended up at the centre of a political and diplomatic storm involving the British government and UP Church. At that point I had enough information to publish a Wiki article (see link below) after which I was encouraged to write a short book about his life based on his own original journals and articles.
Suffice to say that I am now almost finished the book and just tidying up a few references and citations. That was when I came across your own Blog again and thought you might be interested in the story so far.
Happy to pass on any further information accordingly.
Katie
Wiki article: Alexander Ross (Missionary): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Ross_(missionary)#:~:text=Alexander%20Ross%20(31%20October%201838,Hugh%20Goldie%2C%20and%20Mary%20Slessor.
Hi Katie, nice to hear from you, another Ross descendant. I read your wiki article on Alexander Ross, which is fascinating. I have long had an interest in the history of missions, so it was great to read your short biography, and I would love to read the book too when it is complete. There was, as you might have seen, an Alexander Ross (1836-1902) in my ancestors’ family too. He was the younger brother of James Ross, who was my grandmother’s grandfather (therefore he was my GG uncle). My “Sandy Ross” became a teacher and according to the census records was in Argyleshire in 1861 and Berwickshire in 1871. I can’t find a record for 1881 but by 1891 he was the schoolmaster at Ferintosh. He died in Conon Bridge at age 66 but is buried in the Kincardine churchyard near Gledfield where he grew up. He married but I have not found any record of children. I imagine he and his wife would have known of your GG uncle, since he was surely well known, being a missionary in West Africa. But it would seem that they grew up in different places even if they were much the same age, and were both impacted by the same revival in the Highlands under the preaching of John MacDonald. There were so many Rosses in that area of Scotland. Do send me the link to your family tree. That would be interesting. Thanks for making contact, and sharing your story. Kind regards, David
Hi David,
Lovely to hear from you and I will certainly keep in touch once my book is finished. I couldn’t agree more about the impact of the revival in the Highland under the preaching of John MacDonald and I mention this in my book as one of the, probable, great influences on the decision of Alex Ross to become a missionary – apparently his ambition from boyhood.
I have sent a link to my (Gardner) tree in Ancestry.com and hope the email is correct: holfies@gmail.com. My parents were Emily Gardner and Gavin McConnell to help you locate where I fit in.
Hope you find it of some interest and look forward to staying in touch
Katie
Hi David,
Interesting story and background. I am connected via John Ross (1826), James’ brother. John married my GG Grandaunt, Isabella (Bell) McLeod on 5 Feb 1847 Kincardine, R&C, Scotland. They had seven children that I know of.
Isabella 1826-1895 was the daughter of Alexander McLeod and Margaret Mackenzie. She was sister to nine siblings (3 boys and 6 sisters).
I descend from Christina (Christy) 1831-1910 who emigrated to Australia along with Donald, Georgina and Helen/Ellen (Nelly) in 1848 on the ship ‘Blonde’, landing at Port Phillip, Melbourne, Victoria.
Christina married James Robert Walker on 1 Dec 1856 at Scots Church, Melbourne. James (1834-1891) was a Miner/Farmer. They were at Coonooer bridge before moving to St Arnaud, Victoria where they are both buried. They had 10 children, the second, Alexander (1859-1932) is my G Grandfather. Alexander married Margaret Gunn (1862-1931) in 1890 Gowar East, Victoria and had 10 children as well (6 boys, 4 girls). Their third child was William Gunn Walker (1894-1978), my Grandfather. William married Olive May McIntyre (1901-2000) in 1926 St Arnaud, Victoria. They had twin boys, Allan Gordon and William Keith on 8 May 1929. Allan was my father (1929-1995). He married hazel Dawn Scott (1929-2018) in 1951 Stawell, Victoria. They had two boys, myself in 1954 and my brother, Peter in 1957 in Stawell.
I am a Graphic Designer and Teacher prior to that. I would be interested to know more of your connection with James and Mary, their family and descendants in Australia if you know them. I have been working on my family tree and extended families since 1980.
I live in Cowes, Phillip Island, Victoria.
Regards, Greg
Hi Greg, thanks for making contact. So if I understand correctly, you are descended from Christina McLeod, whose sister, Isabella, you believe married John Ross, brother of James Ross. However, in my records, I have recorded that John, the older brother of James, married a certain Elizabeth (Betsy) Gray, though the documentary evidence of this is not strong (I have a census record from 1861 from Birkenhead in England which I have taken to be of his family). It is hard when there are so many Rosses and so many Johns. In fact there is a John Ross living with James and Catherine Ross (the parents of my James) in the 1851 census, but his age (44 when James was 53 and Catherine 51) indicates that he is too old to be one of their children, so he must have been another relative, perhaps a brother to James. My ancestor James Urquhart Ross b.1827, was one year younger than his brother John b.1826. James, as you know from my blog, married Mary Marston, who was Welsh (though born in England). They migrated with their children to Australia. His older brother John, however, died in England, though he is buried in Scotland. So perhaps your GG grandaunt married a different John Ross, of which there appear to have been many, even from the area around Kincardine. Thanks for sending through all the details of your ancestry in Scotland and Australia. Very interesting. Always a challenge to put the pieces together. Kind regards, David
Thanks David,
I will remove the connection from my tree. My information was built around the marriage details between Isabella McLeod and John Ross on 5 feb 1847 Kincardine, R&C, Scotland. Obviously a different John Ross to yours.
Regards, Greg
It’s a challenge to sort out all these different branches (and twigs). Once things are on somebody’s tree on Ancestry.com it is very tempting to take them as proven connections, but I have found myself going down various rabbit holes in search of a rabbit that turns out to not be there. And records can be conflicting. Only yesterday I got a copy of the marriage and death certificates of another relative and his middle name is different in each, though I am certain they are the same person. Makes life interesting. Happy searching!
Hi, I have stumbled upon this fascinating thread whilst undertaking personal research on my 5 times great grandmother Sarah Smith who arrived in Hobart Tasmania at the end of 1822 with Dr James Ross who was her son-in-law having married Susannah. So, Dr James Ross is my 5 times great uncle. I am trying to find out where James Ross lived after he left The Hermitage in Bothwell Tasmania and acquired a very substantial package of land in Hobart.
I have read the following: In 1832, he was granted 312 acres (126 ha), Paraclete, on Knocklofty, making him one of the earliest settlers in the Mount Stuart area. He built a homestead in the vicinity of Summerhill Road (now West Hobart) and a substantial stone pigeon house on Knocklofty. It is believed he had ambitions to lay out botanical gardens but it never came to fruition. Parclete is thought to have covered 430 acres comprising Knocklofty and the top of today’s Mount Stuart, extending from the Female prison to Kangaroo Bottom (now Lenah Valley).
If anyone knows anything about his homestead on the Paraclete property, I would love to know.
I live in Ballarat and am a semi-retired English teacher who travels to Hobart quite frequently.
Louise Permezel.
Hi Louise, good to hear about your adventures in family history. Sounds like you have some fascinating riddles to solve, and some great stories to discover. It is an intoxicating pastime. Sadly I have hardly written in the last year – even if the research goes on in fits and starts. In the northern summer my wife and I spent a few days in the Scottish Highlands, and met some distant Ross relatives, and saw some of the places that feature in my family story. Back in Australia I have found myself exploring the Ross family more and I am determined to write some stuff about what I have discovered. So hopefully the blog will be revived. Have you written any of your discovered stories in a place accessible to the public?
Hello, David. I’m hoping that you are the David Holford who was in my Latin class all those years ago at Farrer.
Reading what you have written in your earliest piece about yourself, I was pleasantly surprised to see that you had lived in Orebro, which is home to a very dear friend, who, with her late husband was a priest in the Church of Sweden there, and grew up there. I visited them there a couple of times with my late partner.
If you are the David Holford I hope that you are, I’d love to hear from you as I’m living nearby in the Hunter Valley.
Yes that’s me. You must be speaking of John Parton- I think that was his name. I was sad to hear of his passing. I first met him at a Christmas morning service when the snow was deep outside and the stars were still shining in the sky.
https://splash.ie/kerrydreamtime/
https://splash.ie/churchofthesloes/
https://splash.ie/centenary/
helo david
thomas o sullivan here
some links re e books iv written re killorglin etc/esp centenary !!!
slan go foill
087 9807122
kerryonwalking@gmail.com
Thanks for the info, I will enjoy reading through it all. Kind regards, David
Hi David,
I have just stumbled across your page and my eyes are popping out of my head to read that we are distantly related. My paternal grandmother (Lorna Gwen Holdorf) is Lewis Holdorf’s daughter (well, one of many!)
I will dig out my family tree as Dad has done a LOT of work on and I recognise Caroline Fischer’s name and Goulburn . I will show Dad your page and see if he can add anything.
Amazing work!
I live in Castle Hill in Sydney with my husband and two adult ‘children’. I am an Assistant Principal.
Hi Deborah, great to hear from you. I have had so little contact with anyone from the Holdorf family, so it’s lovely that you have made contact. I am very interested in anything about Lewis. He was my great grandfather’s brother and they were both in France in WW1. Charles was so traumatised he changed his name after returning. Bu Lewis didn’t and I have wondered what his experience was. Tell me his story!
Hi David
Would you happen to know if James Ross (born Edderton 1792) had any siblings. Specifically one called John born 1787). I’m working my way up one leg of my mother’s family tree and tracked down who I believe to be my GGG Grandfather as John Ross, born Edderton in 1787. Still trying to find out any siblings and his parents
Hi Craig, my ancestor James Ross was born as far as I know in 1795 in Edderton. I have no knowledge of his siblings. His parents, as far as I have been able to deduce, were Donald Ross and Ann Fraser. The problem with Ross-shire is that there are so many people with the same name, especially the surname. So it is quite possible that my James Ross was a sibling of your wife’s ancestor but I cannot be sure at this stage. What I do know is that James and Ann had a son called John, born in 1826.
Thanks David. I’ll keep looking. You are right about the name Ross. My Aunt told me the graveyard in Dornoch is full of headstones with the name Ross. Hoping to pop up to the area this summer when touring around on motorbike. Would like to see Where my ancestors came from.
Biking around Ross and Cromarty sounds lovely. The Strathcarron is beautiful. The Black Isle is wonderful. Though it all gets a bit dreary when the rain descends (which it does often). The area of Australia where three of the Ross siblings from my ancestral family settled is equally beautiful, but it doesn’t rain as much! Also very popular with the bikers.