#52Ancestors, Same Name

Okay, I am going to tempt fate. Last year I took a break from #52Ancestor blogging, but I saved all the prompts just in case. This year I am doing the same. Telling myself that I need to focus on getting employed before I do too much fun stuff.

But what the heck !

I will probably post out of order until I catch up – and I might even squeeze in some of last years as well. Hopefully life won't get too crazy busy and I won't end up being like the White Rabbit always running late. 

Here we are in week 6, almost week 7, and here is my first blog in forever.

SAME NAME

This topic has come up before so to be sure I don’t just repeat myself I have been back to check what I wrote. So this time, instead of people…PLACES.

When the English colonised the world they bundled all their place names up and gave them to the pilgrims, convicts and early settlers to use. So they did. They arrived in their new countries and gave their old familiar names to the places which already had names bestowed on them by the indigenous peoples in each land.

Those intrepid souls named their towns, farms and houses for the places they had left behind. Even those who had not left by choice seemed to do this. We see them everywhere on modern day maps. The same names, everywhere. Repeated in each state, province, city – do you know how many small towns are named Gladstone in New Zealand; how many Wellingtons there are around the globe ?

I always smile to myself though when I discover coincidences; families separated by time and distance, living in towns or cities bearing the same names.

I lived in Wellington, New Zealand most of my life and branches of both sides of my family lived in Wellington too. One in Somerset, England and one in Shropshire, England. While I haven’t lived anywhere named Milverton, different branches of my families have lived in Milverton, Somerset, England and Milverton, Warwickshire, England.

Uriah Cooper, a brother of my great-great-great-grandfather left Montacute, Somerset, England in 1839, travelled across the world to Australia and settled initially in Montacute, South Australia along with some of his old neighbours.

Henry Davys, elder brother of my great grandfather, was a builder in Cambridge, New Zealand. His son later joined him in the business. Their home on Victoria Street was named Treborough for the village where Henry’s wife was born in Somerset, England. They also ran a successful boarding house in Cambridge, which was named Kingston for the farm which had been in the Davys family for many generations in Somerset, England.

My Nana came from Leamington, Warwickshire; my cousin lives in Leamington, New Zealand. My great-great-great-grandfather was from Hampshire, England; my great-great-grandmother’s sister emigrated to USA and spent her final years in New Hampshire.

There is even a place called New Zealand in England.

#52Stories, Week 17, Where are your roots ? Do you feel strong ties to a particular place, either because of your own personal experiences or your ancestry ?

Where are my roots ? 

Definitely not in Auckland.

There is some thing about the "Tron" (Hamilton) but I think really it is just it's familiarity; growing up there and returning for holidays to visit people after we moved. Then moving back for a couple of years as a young Mum after returning from Australia.

Welly ? It is probably some of the same. When I came back from overseas, flying in to land in Wellington always felt like coming home. But actually ? Although I probably have spent the majority of my life living there, and I have some great friends (who I don't see nearly as much of as I would like) it doesn't have the same pull that it used to anymore.

Christchurch ? I LOVE this city, I really enjoyed my brief time living there and I love visiting. It has family connections too (grandparents, great grandparents, great great grandparents...) Great drives north to Blenheim along the coast (before the earthquake), and south to Dunedin, inland to Tekapo or over to the West Coast. It doesn't quite have the pull to make me want to return and stay - just yet. Maybe one day.

There are plenty of other places that I like to visit in New Zealand; Matamata, Thames, Cambridge, Blenheim, Motueka, Kaikoura, Dunedin... But I'm a city girl and I think the idea of an idyllic life in a small town or city would wear thin pretty fast for me. New Zealand doesn't do provincial towns well compared to what I have seen in other countries.

Sydney is always exciting to visit and it still has that pull drawing me back. I love it's familiarity, the ease of getting from place to place by ferry, bus or train. It does still have a bit of a feeling of coming home, and it is always hard to say goodbye.

Brisbane, not so much. It has some great points, don't get me wrong, but it never really had that "home" feeling for me. I don't know why.

Adelaide is a bit the same. I liked living there, the architecture and the ease of getting around. Maybe that has something to do with why I like Christchurch too - they were designed by the same person (Colonel Light) with squares and parklands and an easy to navigate grid like layout. Streets inside the parklands, roads and long avenues outside of them. The weather was a bit extreme 40+ in the summer and snow on the hills in winter. For me though, at the time, it felt a l-o-n-g way from home. I've been back once and found the quiet pace a bit too slow for me.

Melbourne, not a city I have lived in, but definitely a city I COULD live in, or try to live in. Something about the vibe, and all the green in the inner city. The walks along the river and the public transport.

Canberra, a new city I have recently discovered and one which holds a certain amount of interest for me. I could live there, there is a lot of artsy stuff going on and they have proper weather. I could fly back to Wellington without having to drive, train or fly to Sydney first. I'm just not so sure there are enough work opportunities.

Other places in Oz ? Bendigo, Tamworth, Port Macquarie, Forster, Wollongong, Kiama, Goulburn...I've only lived (briefly) in Forster and in even smaller Werris Creek (near Tamworth) but these are all towns I have enjoyed visiting, so who knows.

Utah, the friendliest and most surprising state from last year's whirlwind tour. All of the states which were part of the holiday were unexpected surprises. But the friendliness and welcoming nature of people encountered in Utah was a stand-out. The landscape offers plains and prairies and enormous mountains with ski resorts. Anyone up for a timeshare ? I think I could be. The only negatives are the getting a green card palaver...and the current administration. 3 years 265 days to go (at most).


England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Europe. It is almost ten years since I first travelled to the UK and arriving there just felt like I belonged. Returning three years ago with big plans (which faltered and failed) that feeling was still there. Like my bones and my soul know. From a distance I still yearn for it, Somerset, London, East Anglia, West Midlands, the Marches, Wales, Scotland. In fact every inch of it. The villages, the cities, the people, the scenery, the history. I don't think there was anywhere that I didn't really like. Circumstance made some places seem a bit unappealing, but not enough to not go and try again, sometime. Ireland is one country I haven't been to yet, along with most of Europe - but one day I am sure they will draw me back - and hopefully let me stay.

So, where are my roots ? I don't think there is any one place yet, I just don't think I have found that exact place just yet. 

But I do know, it ain't here. Auckland, you're on notice. Your time is nearly up.