Hi everyone!
It's time to meet another one of our wonderful WikiTreers. This week's member is Maureen Fearn.
Maureen became a Wiki Genealogist in June of 2020. She is one of our friendly Greeters and Team Leader for Shropshire in the England Project.
What are some of the surnames you are researching?
In my own family, Fearn, Longhurst, Hague, Williams, Cloud and in my husband's family Wilkins, Barton, Cornish, Bryen
What are some of the locations you are researching?
My own family are almost entirely from England. My mother's family from the South of England, e.g. Kent, Sussex and Dorset and my father's family from Sheffield and nearby villages in the North of England. My husband's family are also mainly from England e.g. London, the Isle of Sheppey in Kent and various coastal towns in the South and venturing into Wales.
When and how did you get interested in genealogy and family history?
My first encounter with genealogy was in 1997. As I had what I thought was a very unusual surname, I purchased a copy of "The Burke's Peerage World Book of Fearns". I still have this book on my bookshelves. For me, it proved to be an expensive waste of time and only confirmed that the majority of people with the Fearn name in 1997 were living in Derbyshire, and neighbouring counties of England. However, the value of the book is that it was the starting point of my own family history research journey from which I get immense enjoyment.
Who's your favorite ancestor and why?
This is a difficult question as there are several possibilities. At the moment, my favourite ancestor is Susannah/Susan (Cloud) Williams, my maternal great-grandmother 1840-1916). It took me many years to find Susan's year of birth as in the censuses and other records she had consistently given her age as much younger than she actually was – sometimes by as much as 15 years' difference. I like to think that I have inherited my youthful looks from her! I am a great fan of Victorian literature, especially the works of Thomas Hardy and Susan's birth-year and Dorset location are very similar to those of Susan Henchard, the wife of Hardy's Mayor of Casterbridge. I have a photograph, which is possibly Susan, taken in about 1913/1914 with my mother (her granddaughter). I would dearly love to be able to confirm this photograph as either Susan or my mother's other grandmother Emily Emma (Reeves) Longhurst (1853-1939).
Tell us about a brick wall you hope to bust through.
I have one missing segment on my 4-generations fan chart, as one of my maternal great-grandmothers Emily Emma (Reeves) Longhurst was illegitimate. It's possible that one day, DNA will enable me to put a name to the missing father. There can't be too many candidates as Emily was born in a small village in Kent. I am hoping to find out that the father was a member of the aristocratic Culpepper family who owned Duke's Place in West Peckham, the historic house where Emily was born. However, it wouldn't surprise me if her father was the stable-boy!
(interview continues in comments)
