BIFHSGO January meeting

The feature presentation on Saturday, January 12, 2013 starting at 10am is:

A Sense of Place: Following the A272 to my Sussex Ancestors

 

By Christine Jackson

 

The term ‘sense of place’ can relate to the outstanding geographic characteristics of a place. But it can also describe the feelings or perceptions we have about a landscape, arising from childhood experiences which in turn help form our personal identity. My favourite British road is a particular stretch of the A272 traversing the lush countryside of Sussex and climbing up and over the bare chalk downs of Eastern Hampshire to Winchester. That countryside exudes very positive vibes to me–as though I have always known that is where my deepest roots lie. When I recently discovered a book on the A272 (only in Britain!), I realized that, for centuries, my Sussex ancestors had all lived within a few miles of it. This talk will place ancestors of three of my four grandparents in the context of significant locations and historical events in the Sussex landscape.

 

About the Speaker

 

Christine Jackson is a retired federal public servant (Elections Canada) and former freelance editor and writer who is now footloose, if not fancy-free. Born and raised in Brighton, in the English county of Sussex, she studied geography and geology at the University of London. Christine returns every year to the U.K. where she has strong and very long roots in the Sussex countryside. She began researching her family history after arriving in Canada in 1968, long before the Internet, and is currently trying to link one of her Sussex lines to a 16/17C family of immigrant French iron workers. A long-term dream is to eventually find a common ancestral link between two of her grandparents who shared the same family name.

 

Brian Glenn interviews Christine here.

 

Come early, 9am, for a "before BIFHSGO" Educational Talk

 

What's New in Genetic Genealogy

 

By John D Reid

 

and to explore resources on DNA with Bill Arthurs, Library Selections with Marlene Lascelle, meet with experts and colleagues in a friendly atmosphere.

 

Location: Library and Archives Canada, 395 Wellington Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.