Inspired
by a battered old case of photos and documents belonging to my
grandmother (long dead) I took out a year's subscription to
Ancestry.co.uk and discovered more about her amazing family -
composers, musicians, artists, singers and dancers, theatre managers,
actors and circus trapeze artists.
I
had an inkling before I investigated and the search proved so
exciting that it kept me obsessed for the full twelve months (and
since).
My
biggest regret is that I was barely out of my teens when my
grandmother died and I was far more focussed on the opposite sex than
on mouldy old family history. If only I'd talked to her! She knew
these people.
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| My first sketch |
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| Getting there but still a long way to go! |
Her
grandfather, my great-great-grandfather Joseph Bryan Geoghegan, who
sang, played, managed theatres, wrote pantomimes and composed songs
that are still sung and recorded worldwide today.
Her
father, Sydney Bird, a burlesque performer and trapeze artist (who
performed in the same theatres and at the same time as Liverpool
comedian John Bishop's great grandfather).
Her
brother, Sydney, trapeze artist and star of the show until he fell to
his death at the age of 16, a tragic event that was recorded in
newspapers throughout the UK.
Her
sister Bessie, music hall and circus singer and dancer, who died of
tuberculosis at the age of 21.
And
all the others.
I've
got a lot of information through Ancestry.co.uk but facts, sepia
photos and b.m.d. certificates aren't enough to flesh out these long
gone people. That can only come via someone who knew them, who can
tell you about their personalities, what they enjoyed or hated, the
day to day intimate details that you have to be there to know about,
even their colouring, which we can only guess at now from the black
and white or sepia photographs of the time.
My
grandmother could have told me whether she knew about her
grandfather's second secret family (between the legitimate and the
secret families, JBG fathered enough children for a couple of
football teams - plus referees! A rogue and a villain, but successful
with it!)
I
could go on about the genes that give us clues as they pass down
through the generations to the present time. Facial and other
physical features, talents - I have identical eyes to two uncles, a
great uncle and my great grandfather. I'm an artist and writer, my
two daughters are musicians. But it would be wonderful to know more.
I'm
currently working on a large (30" x 30") painting of my
great aunt Bessie Bird with her father Sydney Bird and one of his
partners, whose name I don't know). I'm using two photographs, Bessie
from around 1900, and Sydney from an old daguerrotype which must have
been taken sometime in the 1860s. They could never have performed
together like this, but I'm employing a bit of artist's licence - and
also showing them in full colour. Of course I can only guess at the
colour of their costumes, or even Bessie's hair, and it's quite a
spooky feeling as I try to bring them back to life in this way.
When
I've finished, I plan to run another MEMOIRS WORKSHOP for writers and
non-writers - a chance to record their own and their family's lives
before it's too late. More news later.
