This is my space to share my quest to collect as many broken branches as I can in my fractured family tree which resembles a bramble bush more then a proper tree. As I go forward in this blogging journey I hope to share how I have searched far & wide for family - with no regard for where they come from or if I should really want them.
You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!

Showing posts with label week 24. Show all posts
Showing posts with label week 24. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 11, 2025

Childhood Treasures ~ A Painted Rock

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025: Week 24 (ARTISTIC)


This is week 5 of my blogging style switch

For the next several weeks I will post a photo and a brief description. 

This new style of posting is due to CMC Arthroplasty surgery on my left thumb. 

I will continue with this style until my thumb has sufficiently recovered.

~

This rock was painted by our youngest son when he was small.


It has lived outside in the garden for many years, and makes me smile every time I look at it.



Precious memories!!! 



This is why I search - 


Cause ... 





You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!







***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***



Photos:

Personal


Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/



If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please
include a link to the specific blog and
credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/
My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.
All rights reserved.
Please & Thank you!

______________________________________________________________

Friday, June 14, 2024

Brave, Hardy, Strong ~ 12th great grandmother Margaret (nee Gerard) Lyman

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2024: Week 24 (HARD TIMES)


I decided I didn't want to focus on hard times this week. 

To be honest I like to look on the sunnier side of life, and rarely focus on difficult/challenging things. 

Over the year I have heard folks say I view the world through rose coloured glasses. 


I'd like to believe I am resilient, and prefer focusing on the positive with an attitude of gratitude ... BUT there is a good chance that I am just not very aware of what is happening around me. 

I believe this is a trait I inherited from my mother. 


Mom was known to be sitting right in the middle of a family conflict, and have absolutely no idea what had happened as folks stormed off and left her sitting there completely bewildered.

It's not a bad trait to focus on the positive, and ignore things that don't fit. It makes living in my head a whole lot easier!

With that in mind I decided to research names that mean resilient or hardy who would be great to have around in HARD TIMES.

I discovered the name Gerard means

"English (chiefly Lancashire) and French (Gérard) : from the personal name Gerard, Gérard, introduced to Britain from France by the Normans; it is composed of the Germanic elements gār, gēr ‘spear’, ‘lance’ + hard ‘hardy’, ‘brave’, ‘strong’."   1

My maternal 12th great grandmother was
Margaret Gerard
BIRTH 1518 • Beauchamp Roding, Essex, England
DEATH 20 AUG 1580 • Navestock, Essex, England

She married X12 great grandfather
John Lyman
BIRTH ABT. 1516 • Navestock, Essex, England
DEATH 1587 • Navestock, Essex, England


Margaret's parents (X13 great grandparents) were:
William Gerard
BIRTH 1502 • Trent, Somerset, England
DEATH 1562 • Beauchamp, Essex, England
&
Dorothy Paige
BIRTH 1490 • Sudbury Court, Beauchamp, Essex, England
DEATH 1560


I would like to believe the family name Gerard evolved due to the brave/hardy/strong ways of my ancestors.

"...Some surnames derive from personal traits..."  2



When your family descends from a long line of HARDY resilient folks!!! 



This is why I search - 


Cause ... 





You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!







***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***



Footnotes:

1  Gerard. Family name origins & meanings. Baby Names. Family Education. Retrieved June 14th 2024 from
https://www.familyeducation.com/baby-names/name-meaning/gerard

2  History of Surnames. Historic UK. Retrieved June 14th 2024 from
https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Surnames/#:~:text=Some%20surnames%20derive%20from%20personal,York%2C%20Lancaster%2C%20London%20etc.



Photos:

Personal



Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/



If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please
include a link to the specific blog and
credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/
My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.
All rights reserved.
Please & Thank you!

______________________________________________________________

Sunday, June 11, 2023

Last One Standing ~ OR What Should Have Been A Weekend

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2023: Week 24 (LAST ONE STANDING)

Today is our anniversary. 

As I was thinking about what to write for this week's prompt I realized that 31 years together is an achievement in the world we live in. 

Our marriage isn't the only one that has lasted this long, but it is true that we are part of a small group of folks still standing with each other. 

I think our marriage fits for last one standing. 

With the way our relationship started no one thought it would last. 

There is no one more surprised than I, that it did.

Going back to the beginning ... 

31 years ago my day began like every other day. 

I had no idea that in the evening there would be a PLOT TWIST that turned everything I thought I knew upside down. 

31 years ago I met a boy, and everything changed 💗

31 years ago this evening I met a boy who wanted a tricycle race partner, and I agreed. 

He was an out of town construction worker staying in the hotel. 

We came in last because that boy couldn't guzzle beer, but it turned out to be an untapped talent of mine 🤣  

He was funny, he could dance, and he was interesting to talk to. 

I walked out without saying goodbye or giving him my last name or number. 

I had plans that a boyfriend didn't fit into, and was not the least bit interested. 

A week or two later he found me at my place of work. 

He imploded my plans as only Bucky could. 

We moved in together almost right away, and didn't plan to ever get married. 

That changed when he was almost electrocuted at work, and I realized that it would be easier to get the widow's pension from CPP if we were married. 









































































We got married on the second anniversary of our tricycle race meeting just a few weeks after that near-miss at work. 

After 31 years together (29 married) he still makes me laugh ... usually with him, but sometimes at him. 

31 years into 'what should have been a weekend' 

“One day, in your search for happiness, you discover a partner by your side, and you realize that your happiness has come to help you search.”                                                                                             
 ― Robert Brault



Where this Bramble Bush first began!!! 



This is why I search - 


Cause ... 





You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!







***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***

Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/



If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please
include a link to the specific blog and
credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/
My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.
All rights reserved.
Please & Thank you!

______________________________________________________________