C - Cyclopedia

C is for cookie and cookie is for me…

So much choice, Christchurch, Castles, Cars, Christmas, Climate…Claire.

Here is a bit about me then.

Eldest child, sister, mother, daughter, cousin, aunt, friend, collector of family history, storyteller, name nerd, puzzle solver, cross-stitcher, card maker, baker, maker, reader, traveller…

It was names that got me interested in genealogy – so many James’ and Johns, Marys and Anns. I remembered tallying them all up once when I was still at college to see how many of each there were. Lots. Some names were definitely overused. Not like today's parents – our ancestors stuck with the tried and true, over and over again. How did they even tell them apart or get the right person to respond ? Even now it is refreshing to see something new – an Arabella, Kerenhappuch, Roxillianna, LaFayette, Aeneas, Balthasar.

Along with names there were the stories people would share, offering a peek into their childhood memories and places they had been. The idea of large families fascinated me. Being one of two and my parents one of two and one of three, the idea of having a whole bunch of siblings seemed so foreign – but fun all the same. I imagined it would be like being one of “The Waltons”, or the Bradfords on “Eight is Enough”.

I think I have always liked history, miniseries such as “The Pallisers”, “Family at War”, “Poldark” and early soaps like “The Sullivans” captured my attention. I loved history at school even though the Third Reich , the Potato Famine & Rise of Sinn Feinn seemed quite disconnected to life in New Zealand and where my roots were.

Over time though, that love of society, people and history has influenced my reading choices and captivated me. Historical fiction is a great way to learn about history and how people of the times experienced the events around them. This led to me trying to learn more and more, and to imagine my ancestors in those times. How did world events, or local events affect them personally. Which events were catalysts for them to change the way they lived ? Who were they ? How did they feel ? What did they believe ? What did they like ? What drove them to make a change in the direction their lives took ? So many of them were from Ag Lab stock. What was it that inspired them to take the leap, leave the village where their families had lived for generations and make a new life in a new town or to find employment with the railways or in large industrial mills ?

I love family history, it consumes a lot of my spare time. Studying DNA matches looking for links, reconnecting with cousins all across the globe, planning where to visit next (when we are ever allowed to do that again). Remembering those who have passed, telling their stories so that their memory will live on for others. Celebrating them and the sacrifices they made – if not for their actions in the face of adversity and their planning in the good times none of us would be here.

Always thinking and wondering, sometimes it is hard to make my mind just stop and reflect. It's a bit like a cyclopedia that I always have with me.

And just as I am sitting here another thought occurred to me.

C is for Coromandel. I read just the other night that gold had been discovered there in 1862. I wonder if that news influenced the decision to not go to Albertland since it was only a few short years after their arrival that the Davys family left Auckland and set up home north of Thames on the peninsular felling trees, saw-milling and gold mining. What resilience and determination they had.