Carnival of Genealogy: Scrapbooking Your Family History! My first COG!! I hope I do it right!!

This is the first time I am taking part in a Carnival of Genealogy.  I have seen them mentioned before and they usually cover various themes and I have felt I would like to have a go, but was never sure what to do!

As mentioned on an earlier post today, I was at the Scanfest last night and “met” Jasia from the Creative Gene blog and she mentioned the latest COG which is on the theme of Scrapbooking Your Family History!

Although the hobby of Genealogy preoccupies my thoughts mostly, I do like to dabble about in my Paint Shop Pro graphics programme and do some digital scrapbooking.  Some of you will have seen examples of it in my Photographs of Ancestors pages already!

So, combining two of my favourite interests, it seems this Carnival of Genealogy is just the right one to get me started!  I’m not entirely sure that my contributions in this post meet the correct criteria for this Carnival, but I shall at least give it a go and try to add photos that are not in my Photographs of Ancestors Pages, although one or two that are there might find their way into this post!!  😉

Alexander Sutherland Sinclair – my Great Grandfather

original photograph in my private collection and this image digitally scrapped by me - copyright 2010

Alexander is my Mum’s grandfather who she never knew.  He was born in Lybster, Caithness, Scotland and moved to London when he was in his twenties.  He was a Master Carpenter and I have a cabinet he made when he was a young man.  He used it during his two marriages.  It was passed to his son when Frederick married (my grandparents).  My Gran had it for many many years and gave it to my Mum and now I have it.  I also have some of his carpentry tools which are going to be passed on to one of my stepsons.  The cabinet is going to be passed on to my stepdaughter.  I know they will treasure them as I do.

George Saunders  –  my Great Uncle

original photograph in my private collection and this image digitally scrapped by me - copyright 2010

 Although this image is entitled Uncle George, he was really my Great Uncle.  George married my grandmother’s sister and when my brothers and I were very small, we just adored going to visit Auntie and Uncle.  It wasn’t until many years later that I learned they were actually Great Auntie and Great Uncle.

It was always such fun to see them, they were always smiling and happy.  So, I have very very fond memories of both of them.  My Auntie Annie’s digitally scrapped image is in the Photographs of Ancestors page already.

Now for some Weddings!

Photograph in my private collection and this image digitally scrapped by me - copyright 2010

My “new” cousin Derek gave me this photograph.  He is descended from a family of Lower Winchendon Reads who suddenly all moved to Sussex, possibly for work.  So this wedding group which is dated about the late 1800s is for a Read wedding and most of them are relatives of the Lower Winchendon Reads!  I called it Lots of Cousins simply because I don’t know who is who … yet!!

Another Sussex branch of Reads

photograph in my private collection and this image digitally scrapped by me - copyright 2010

This is the marriage in 1905 of Ernest Read to Lily Jane.  I am told that most in the group are the Read family and they are actually outside the home of one of the Reads who was in business.  The sign on the wall says T. Read and Son.

Back to my Great Auntie Annie and Great Uncle George!

photograph in my private collection and this image digitally scrapped by me - copyright 2010

This was Auntie Annie and Uncle George’s Wedding Day in 1907 and shows all George’s side of the family.  I think in that case there must have been a photo taken showing all Annie’s Dartnell family, but where is it?  Many of the people in this particular photo are identified, so it is great for me to know who is who, but I certainly would have liked to have seen a photo with all Annie’s family too.  Maybe one day it will turn up!!

I may not have done the digital scrapbooking to suit the theme of the actual photos, but because they are all sepia, and therefore not a lot of colour, I thought it best to scrap them with subdued colour backgrounds just hopefully to show them off better and give some colour to the pages.