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My Mother-in-Law asked about her Grandmother

Discussion in 'How I got started in Family History' started by AndrewB, May 26, 2020.

  1. AndrewB

    AndrewB LostCousins Member

    Back in about 1992 my Mother-in-Law said she was interested in the background of her grandmother, Eleanor Neeton Vince, who married in Scotland (near Inverness) but according to family lore was born within the sound of Bow Bells. As I regularly did trips to London at that time I volunteered to go and look up the registers at St Catherine's House and find her birth - with such an unusual name I did not think it would be difficult. I finally cracked what I think happened to Eleanor Neeton Vince in about 2012! For those interested I think she was born Eleanor Neeton Glover but brought up by her Aunt and Uncle using the name of her mother but have no idea what happened to the mother and father.

    In the meantime I thought a way to solve the riddle was to find out more about other relatives. That got me hooked to research both my and my wife's family. With work and other commitments did not manage to do a lot but now I am retired (and with coronavirus lockdown) am spending much more time on the research.

    A challenge on my Father's side is that 6 out of his 8 GG Grandparents were born in Ireland in the mid 1800s and I've found very few records except for one branch. And, unfortunately for Lost Cousin's matching either they did not arrive in Scotland until after 1881 so there is no record in the census or they are hard to find as they are not with family so I cannot tell which 'Edward Brown' is the right one!

    My Mother's family are mainly from Essex, London and Hampshire with some lines going to MidLothian, Gloucestershire etc.

    On my wife's side all the family are from Scotland except for Eleanor Neeton Vince who's mother came from Norfolk.

    This has been an interesting journey and have established connections with various 3rd or 4th cousins in the UK and New Zealand. I hope to meet some of them when the this lockdown is over!
     
    • Thanks! Thanks! x 1
  2. Susan48

    Susan48 LostCousins Superstar

    Welcome to the forum, AndrewB, and thank you for telling us how you got started researching your family. 'Neeton' is an unusual name - I wonder where that came from?
     
  3. AndrewB

    AndrewB LostCousins Member

    I don't know the origin of the name but I suspect it came from Necton (which is pronounced Neeton) which is a place close to Dereham in Norfolk where Eleanor's mother was born.
     
  4. Susan48

    Susan48 LostCousins Superstar

    Thank you. Norfolk has several place names with unexpected pronunciations - some of my husband's ancestors were from Happisburgh, pronounced Haysburgh - a trap for the unwary.
     
  5. jorghes

    jorghes LostCousins Superstar

    Welcome Andrew! I feel your pain, I have a branch of my family that I'm fairly sure were Ulster Scots, born in Ireland, but unfortunately back in Scotland by 1825... not easy to trace!
     

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