This is my place to share stories and discoveries made about my ancestors. When I began researching the lives of the people of my past I realised many, particularly women, had had little or no voice. Their stories while filled with strength and resilience were difficult to discover, historically invisible. 

My aim is to bring those stories to life, to give voice to the women (and men) who came before me. To learn more of their history, and the history of their time. Exploring and writing their lives through my own lens.

Ruth and Adeline

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This story is based on facts discovered about the lives…

The Tiny Lock

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Allen Wilson bound as apprentice to Frances Barron Locksmiths 1839…

Great Aunt Ada

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Ada Constance Atkins Comptometer operator, independent woman, daughter of James…

Aunt Lay

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Naomi (Laomi) Clark born in 1867 living most of her…

The Mourning Brooch

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50-word story about ancestral mourning brooch for Elizabeth Ward in…

The Summer of ’66

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Recollections of Radion Hauraki and teenage years in Aotearoa New…

Pearl and Ruby

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Two lines in my mother’s family history record drew me…

Julia

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Streaming sunlight illuminates the likeness of a young woman, the…

The Canary

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‘Grinding poverty, ‘Working poor’, ‘A life of hardship’ – cliches…