A Year in the Life – Day 95

Day 95
Prompt: Would you prefer to live by the ocean or near the mountains?

Hi Nigel

‘Hiya! And that is unfair as I love both’

Absolutely

‘Is there any way to have the best of both?’

Live in Wales

‘Really?’

Yes, Snowdonia isn’t exactly far from the beach

‘No wonder you love Wales’

Cymru am beth! It goes without saying really

‘And then there is the ancestry, of course’

Keeping up with Joneses is not that easy and takes us some way from both mountains and beach, but there is a family line to Betws-y-Coed which is in Snowdonia but guess what

‘That’s where it gets complicated’

Yeahp. Dai and Jones were very common names during the mid-19th, so working out which is our man is not going to be easy

‘No wonder you didn’t choose it for your Welshie middle name’

No that comes from another family line in Gower which has a beach

‘And easier to confirm?’

No, it’s not a Jones though it may as well be in the 19th century.

‘Griffiths then’

Well, it could have been Davies but yes, it is Griffiths

To be fair they are easier than great-granny Sarah, she just comes to a grinding halt no matter how many times I trawl the Irish archives

‘Why?’

It is probable, but can’t be confirmed she was born out of wedlock and put into a home as would have been the thing back then, and raised by nuns

‘Without records?’

Certainly without records of her natal parentage, that was all too common

‘How do you know she existed?’

I have photos of her with dad, and a copy of her death certificate. And she is named Sarah on Nan’s and her siblings’ birth certificates

‘How weird’

Families are weird, ancestral families even more so

‘No wonder you enjoy it’

Haha! It gets interesting sometimes. See you tomorrow, Nige

©JezzieG2024