It is with great sadness that I pass on news of the loss of my Aunt Nita May Jamison, wife of my uncle Kenneth (Ken) Jamison. Nita was born on the 03/05/1946 and passed away on the 28/01/2017.
Our thoughts are with Debbie, Darren and their families at this very sad time.
Margaret
I’ve written this up quite a while after we actually visited, as family things got in the way, but it was a very useful visit and might be of help if you’re considering researching your own Belfast family history.
We took the car and went by ferry, straight into Belfast harbour. We splashed out, staying two nights at the famous Europa Hotel in town, recommended!
Apart from catching up and taking trips out to Portrush and other spots along the coast, I had some specific research in mind that took me to the Belfast Central Library Newspaper archive.
This research was for two reasons; firstly to fill in some gaps around family events in Belfast during the Troubles, and also as primary research for the novel I’m (still) writing, And The Buntings Flew. The novel is based in 1970s Belfast and those of you who have read my blog posts will know that it’s at least partly autobiographical.
My research at the newspaper archive bore some fruit, and was a blast from the past, as the records are nearly all stored on microfiche, which I haven’t used since the early 1990s. There’s a modest fee to print out pages (10p a sheet I think) and it was incredibly useful, and the staff very helpful.
This success was tinged with sadness and uncertainty; the Troubles left very few families untouched, and I now have to contemplate and investigate the new information I uncovered.
Despite any unease I felt while reading through the microfiches from 1975 and 76, they did offer, for a writer, a wonderful window on the past. I was particularly interested in the world news, and closer to home, the adverts; in 1975 the Northern Ireland government had members warning that if the UK voted to join the EEC (Common Market, and we did), that it would grow from a trade agreement to a federation of European states with a loss of UK sovereignty, which was a very topical read!
I’ll be posting some more about some of the information I found in the archive library, but for now, I just wanted to post some pictures from our trip of the wonderful places to visit in Belfast and the rest of County Antrim.
I’m also pleased to relate that I brought back lots of Thompsons Tea and vegetable roll, both Northern Irish treasures that I wrote about in my article lauding the Foods of Ulster!
I had some very exciting news yesterday courtesy of Nevin over at NALIL; Nevin put me and my cousin Barbara in touch with Jennifer, who is a great, great grand-daughter of William McDowell Jamison, the earliest Jamison I’ve managed to trace in our family tree.
Jennifer and Nevin have provided loads of information for my descendent chart, and I hope we gave some to Jennifer in return about our line! (Jennifer’s great-grandfather William and my grandfather Charles (Fred) were brothers, although there was quite an age gap between them, hence I suppose an extra generation slipping in!)
I have updated the Descendant chart; additions were under the family of William Jamison Jnr (son of Old William and Annie) his wife Mary Elizabeth (Betty) Cousins
Children of William Jnr and Betty Cousins:
Christina (Nan) Cousin’s children (unsure of father’s names)
I have more information such as spouse names to add to the chart; this is a wonderful revelation as we only really had information relating to the family of my grandfather Charles Frederick Jamison – Fred was one of four siblings, but one died as a teenager (Oswald Huer), one as a young woman (Harriet Anne), so its great to have such detailed information for William Jnr’s family.I also learnt that William Jnr’s back complaints were as a result of a World War 1 injury sustained when a horse kicked him during his time in the Royal Irish Rifles.
Many thanks to Jennifer and Nevin, and to Barbs for staying up while we pieced it all together!
Margaret
I’ve received a copy of Eliza’s death certificate today, and not only does it confirm her age at the time of her death (54), and the date (4/12/1962), there is also a bonus of her last registered address: Hillview Avenue, Newtonabbey, Belfast BT36. Below is a googlemap of the street (I think it’s the house with cream walls and dark brown windows and door).
It’s great to have these details, which I will now check with Uncle Harold, and possibly Uncle Donald,who hopefully can verify them.
Eliza Purcell’s beautiful picture has been added to the front page. More pictures would be wonderful, so if you have, or know someone who has any pictures of Eliza or Fred, please please get in touch!
Information, anecdotes and pictures are always welcome please!
Margaret x
