The Feminine in Family History - Part Six
Ancestors Within
by Via
2y ago
Which women have been influential in your life, and why? Which women have you most admired at various times in your life, and why? What have you been discovering about the matrilineal aspects of your family history? What, if anything, have you discovered about matriarchal power in your ancestry? How do you reflect upon different points of view about family relationships?  How do you compare anatomically modern humans with behavioural modernity?  You may be interested in continuing an exploration of the chronology of Ancestors Within. Here is an overview of last year: Real English ..read more
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All Aboard
Ancestors Within
by Via
2y ago
If you are yet to catch up with this journey, please make your way onto an electric tram, or any other electric vehicle, at your earliest opportunity, even vicariously. There is still much to learn about working families and genealogical studies. Please have your ticket ready or the means to pay for one.  The conductor of this journey will greet you shortly. We are about to go back in time to 1885.  Do you have your Booth Map handy? You may be aware that Mr Booth's famous survey began in the following year. We are about to explore the area around Wardour Street in Soho in London. D ..read more
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The Feminine in Family History - Part Five
Ancestors Within
by Via
2y ago
Hello and welcome to part five in this series. Here is a picture of a wonderful lady associated with my family history, namely my London great grandmother, Annie Gyseman, formerly Annie Ginn.  I have quite a few pictures of Annie. I also have a couple of photos of my entirely Salopian great grandmother, Edith, who was known as Lily.  But Edith/Lily never met me, unlike cockney Annie. Edith/Lily died a few years before I was born though my mother remembers her very warmly indeed. I have no photographs of my Belfast great grandmother or my Shropshire-Staffordshire great grandmother.&n ..read more
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The Feminine in Family History - Part Four
Ancestors Within
by Via
3y ago
As far as I am aware, there were no ladies of the night in my ancestry.   Nor were there perhaps, apart from within the family, any icons of womanhood. How do you compare the claimed ideal with the recorded reality? I doubt there were ever any bluestockings in my ancestry. What do you prefer to discuss during afternoon tea? Perhaps you rarely have a free afternoon in which to experience discussions of your own choosing, with or without sandwiches, scones and cakes. What have you already discovered about 19th century British gender ideology and the separate sphere? How have you explor ..read more
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Ancestors as Influencers
Ancestors Within
by Via
3y ago
You may have heard something about influencer marketing but what do you know about ancestors as influencers? You may be aware that I decline all offers to collaborate with 'brands' and businesses through my blogging and other online activities.  And I doubt anyone would regard me as a fashion influencer. Perhaps you have been developing a personal brand, or even several. Perhaps you, or someone else, has developed one or more of your ancestors into a brand. Perhaps you have developed parasocial relationships with at least a few of your ancestors. How have your ancestors persuaded you to s ..read more
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Attempting to Cope with Difficult Emotions
Ancestors Within
by Via
3y ago
Do you ever associate adventures, and even quite ordinary holiday/vacation experiences, with escaping from difficult emotions? Do you usually associate entertainment with escapism? How we each respond to the circumstances we face in life often depends on how we personally addressed emotional difficulties in the past, and how our family members, and other people in our lives, also addressed emotional difficulties. More recent experiences of suffering are likely to be influenced by our earlier experiences of distress, particularly in terms of emotions, values and decisions. Perhaps you do not va ..read more
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Uncomfortable Feelings
Ancestors Within
by Via
3y ago
Over the years, since beginning blogging as Via in early 2009, I have received quite a few comments containing sensitive information, here at Ancestors Within.  That is why I moderate all comments before publishing the most appropriate ones. As far as I am aware, there is no way to redact parts of blog comments in order to edit out the more sensitive details.  That is why I invite readers to contact me by email if they have quite personal messages. You may already know that I recently deleted all the old comments on my Via blogs, after archiving them offline.  Over the years, wh ..read more
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The Feminine in Family History - Part Three
Ancestors Within
by Via
3y ago
If you have been exploring parts one and two in this series, which aspects did you find most interesting, and why? If you found any aspects distressing, why was that the case? And why have you arrived here for part three? Are you seeking information about upper class ladies, ladies of the night, tea ladies, middle class ladies, ladies who take tea or women unlikely to be called ladies by any stretch of the imagination? What were, and are, the characteristics of a lady, from your point of view? What is lady-like behaviour? What  were the qualities of a gentlewoman? Who had the qualities of ..read more
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The Feminine in Family History - Part Two
Ancestors Within
by Via
3y ago
I hope part one in this series provided you with plenty to think about over the last month. In which directions did your mind, and your research, go as a consequence? Do you know much about the ongoing prejudices faced by migrants and minorities, and by women, transgender individuals and non-heterosexual men? What have you inherited biologically? What have you inherited legally? What have you inherited emotionally? Which progenitors in your family history have most acquired your affection, and why? How do you usually examine the gender issues in your family tree?   Have you compiled a ..read more
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Vera and the Doodlebugs
Ancestors Within
by Via
3y ago
You may think the title of this blog post refers to a pop music act but it does, in fact, refer to my paternal grandmother's experiences in the Second World War. When I think about the history of older people, I usually think of the lives of my grandparents and not myself. What have you written in memory of generations past? V for Vera may be familiar to you if you know anything about my red-headed bombshell of a grandmother.   V for Victory may also be familiar to you.  I have written about how Vera experienced VE day in 1945, but how did she manage to survive 1944 and the ear ..read more
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