User talk:VelmaDinkley-299

Hi, I'm one the editors for Family Tree Forum's online magazine.

The magazine team is always on the look out for interesting stories from your family history research, so if you have one I'll be pleased to hear from you!

I was born and brought up in Eastbourne Sussex and now live in Berkshire.

I was inspired to start researching my family history after watching the first series of WDYTYA? in the Autumn of 2004. I always was curious, but didn't know where to start.

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This my great grandmother, Maud Guilford, the mother of my maternal grandmother. She died of breast cancer in 1946. Out of all of my ancestors, she is the one I feel closest too.

Before I started my research all I knew of her was that she originated from London and by the time of my grandmother's birth in 1907 she was living in Fletching Sussex. I now know that her father's family originated from Brighton and were involved in the railways, and her mother's were from London, although originally from Suffolk and were hat makers.

Here's a photo of Maud's father, Charles Guilford

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And her mother, Hannah Cousins, with Charles' mother Eliza Simmons

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These photos were taken on Brighton seafront c1880.

I'm particularly interested in tracing my female line into Suffolk. So far I've traced it back to the village of Kettleburgh.

As for Maud's husband, my great grandfather, Abraham Packham, all I knew about him was that he was a blacksmith in Fletching Sussex. I have not only been able to trace his family back several generations, but have also been able to contact a cousin of my grandmother's, who has provided to me so much information which I wouldn't have obtained elsewhere.

The main names on my mum's side of the family are GUILFORD, PACKHAM, STAPLEHURST and PRATT from Sussex. COUSINS from London, and HOLBROW & AIREY from Suffolk.

My father died suddenly in 2003, here he is with my paternal grandmother in 1950 -

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Dad's first cousin, Chalky, has been researching the family for 30 years and has been a great help to me.

The main families on my dad's side are WHITE & GUY from Sussex and DENNETT from Dorset.

In 2006 we discovered that the actor, David Jason, is related through our White family.

I'm also researching my husband's ANDERSON line from Bisham, Berkshire. Always suspecting that we would find a Scottish connection at some point, we have been told by a Genesreunited contact, who has a family bible, that the family came down to Gloucester from Scotland in 1732. We have yet to find whereabouts in Scotland they came from though.

My cousin has asked me to assist with her paternal line. I'm am researching for her, DODT from Koblenz in Germany, HOLMAN from Norwood London, MERRETT & MESSENGER from Kensington, London and COOMBES from Dorset.

Please pm me if you think that we may have a connection.