On this special day... I am remembering my Irish/Celtic Ancestors... their lives, loves, hopes, dreams and stories... with love and gratitude.
Does this day have special meaning
for you and your family?
for you and your family?
Like so many Australians, my Ancestors before me arrived in this wild and beautiful country in another century and so very far away from their homelands, family and friends... I can't begin to imagine what that separation and journey would have been like for them, nor the many challenges they faced in creating their new lives here.
Although grateful to have some treasured family photographs and basic information, sadly I know very little about these pioneers and their lives. Now they are gone and there is no one left to ask or share their stories...
However, my determined curiosity to remember and discover more about these people by searching, finding and gathering pieces of my family jigsaw puzzle is a constant source of joy and satisfaction in my life.
Even better are the occasional exciting and heart-warming new finds such as a couple of wonderful photo gems from long ago which I discovered by accident via a local history page on Facebook last night just before heading to bed!
I had originally been looking on the internet at some beautiful scenic photos of a small town in British Columbia called Enderby because I have always known that my Maternal Grandmother's Scottish Aunty had married and bravely gone to live and raise her family in this wild frontier in the late 1800's and early 1900's.
As I have always been the "keeper of the family photos" there are a few precious images I inherited of this family and I have always wondered about their lives back then and how life would have been way over on the other side of the world in the land of mountains, snow and bears!
As I sleepily clicked from one photo to the next of this Museum's fascinating historical collection in the hopes of possibly finding a scrap of information or even a mention of our family name, I never imagined that I would actually not only see one of the photos in my own collection, let alone some brand new ones. However it was when I found myself gazing into the living room at the children and their brightly lit Christmas tree that I swear my heart actually stopped and then skipped a few beats! There they were! Isobel, Barbara wee Richard "Dickie"- partly appearing at the far right of the photo. This is the image that delighted me so... (unedited or touched-up)
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| The Grahame-Moore Family Xmas Tree, ca 1913 - photo from Enderby & District Museum & Archives |
So my message to you, my fellow travellers and Ancestor Seekers is this...
Firstly, please take every opportunity to talk to your family ~ especially your elders ~ about their lives and stories. Write things down and collect copies of photos and memories!
Do this while they are still available to ask! I know that it seems like our beloved family will be with us forever... and if only they could be... but sadly, the hands of time are always turning and one day they will be gone from our worlds and any un-asked questions shall remain forever unanswered mysteries.
From my experience, photos and historical details are very interesting and essential for our collections however in all honesty, nothing can compare with the magic and power of their own lives and personal stories.
So then, allow your curiosity and love of family to take you on an unknown voyage of discovery and inspiration into the past of those who paved the way before us. I think you will find this journey to be enriching and empowering as you grow an even deeper sense of belonging, I know I most certainly do! Plus you just never know what unexpected treasures you may find in your travels!
Thanks to my Nan (uncannily who, like my son today, was also an avid photographer) this photo below is from my inherited collection and which I also excitedly found in the Historical Archives online. Here in the centre of the photo holding the lambs, you can see the same girls as were in the Christmas photo taken above, except a few years older.
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| Photo taken at Enderby Farm - "Woodcliffe" - Left to Right: Agnes "Margaret" Louise Moore, Lilias Edith "Isobel" Grahame Moore, "Barbara" Helen Grahame Moore and Richard "Dickie" John Archibald Moore. |
I will leave you for now with the other wonderful new surprise family photo which I found last night in the Enderby BC Historical Museum Archive and also a beautiful Irish Blessing to carry with you....
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| Washing J.F. Moore's first Ford - ca 1920 I shall share more of my treasured photos and family history stories in the blogs to follow! So please come back and visit often! |
If light is in your heart you will find your way home.
~ Rumi
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| Níl aon tinteáin mar do thinteáin féin (There's no hearth like your own hearth) |
“Beannacht / Blessing
On the day when
the weight deadens
on your shoulders
and you stumble,
may the clay dance
to balance you.
And when your eyes
freeze behind
the grey window
and the ghost of loss
gets in to you,
may a flock of colours,
indigo, red, green,
and azure blue
come to awaken in you
a meadow of delight.
When the canvas frays
in the currach of thought
and a stain of ocean
blackens beneath you,
may there come across the waters
a path of yellow moonlight
to bring you safely home.
May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
may the clarity of light be yours,
may the fluency of the ocean be yours,
may the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
wind work these words
of love around you,
an invisible cloak
to mind your life.”
~ John O'Donohue from Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom
Oh and if you live in the Southern Hemisphere as I do,
St Patrick's Day is also the time to plant your Sweetpeas!
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| Quw'utsun' Made © Be A Good Ancestor |
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