- My Family History: Introduction An introduction to my research into my family history.
- The Anderson Family My father's ancestors. Includes details of the Anderson, Veitch, Williams and Tricker families
- The McCauley Family My mother's ancestors. Includes details of the McCauley, Donaldson, Ford and Gadd families
- The Britton Family An investigation into the "mystery" of my family; why was my paternal grandmother, Florence Britton, abandoned as a baby on the doorstep of gamekeeper George Freestone and his wife Annie (formerly Heaton)? Includes details of the family of Florence's mother, Eliza Thomas (including the McCauslands) and Florence's recorded father, Joseph Ridgway Britton (including the Boodles)
My Family History: Introduction
The family history section of the site is organised by the different parts of my family to make it, as far as possible, straightforward to navigate. Detailed descriptions of my key discoveries are presented as MS Word documents to print out and browse at your leisure. Family trees and photographs for each branch of my family are also provided. A highlight of the website is film footage from a carnival held in Eltham, New Zealand, in 1911, featuring my grandfather, George Thomas McCauley, winning the 2 foot chopping world championship. A gold medal awarded for this feat was stolen from my home in Burton-on-Trent during a burglary in 1985 and I would obviously be extremely pleased to hear from anyone who may have acquired this medal or knows of its whereabouts.
If you feel that your family and ancestors may be connected in some way with
mine, please contact me.
I would be particularly interested to hear from any descendants of those members
of my family living in the 19th and early 20th centuries who decided to stay
on in Northern Ireland, England or Scotland rather than emigrate to New Zealand.
It is possible, of course, that some may have emigrated to other parts of
the world and I do know, for example, that one great-uncle, Ernest Anderson,
settled in the U.S.A. in 1905.
My research has already enabled me to make contact with and meet living relatives
that I did not previously know about and there must be more of you out there.
I would also like to hear from anyone who knew or served with my uncle, Flying
Officer John Glen McCauley, who was lost over the Bay of Biscay on 19th December
1942 during the Second World War.
One final plea. I know I may be clutching at straws, when all those directly
involved are long since dead, but if any person with the surname Britton,
Thomas or Freestone believes that he or she has ancestors linked in some way
with my grandmother, Florence Britton, and can perhaps shed even a glimmer
of light on the circumstances leading to her abandonment in 1881, do please
make contact.
It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the large amounts of data and interesting photographs provided by numerous other members of the various branches of my family. This has helped to fill many of the gaps in my knowledge of my family history
An Overview - The Robert John Anderson Pedigree Chart
The pedigree chart below gives an overview of my family history, and is a good place to start when reviewing my research. For detail on the individual branches of the family, use the links in the menu on the right.
- Robert John Anderson Pedigree Chart (Rich Text File - 85kB)