Here is an interesting story about our most favourite relative and “how” things don’t always appear the way they seem! READ ON
“Cousin Connie”-The Mysterious Life of Constance Mary Greenwood
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Category Archives: Medlicott Family History
The First Australian Medlicott
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History and Genealogy often intersect with interesting results One of the most interesting facts, which I discovered in researching the Medlicott family history, which is particularly relevant for those family members who were born in Australia, is that the family … Continue reading
The First American Medlicott
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–Genealogy and history often intersect with some interesting results. One of the most interesting facts, which I discovered in researching the Medlicott family history, which is particularly relevant for those family members who were born in North America, is that … Continue reading
How Many Black Sheep Are In Your Family?
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The Story of Thomas Medlicott Part of the fascination with genealogy and creating a family tree is discovering various family relationships, which you didn’t know you had. Even more interesting is discovering a distant relationship with a famous person or … Continue reading
A Distinguished Victoria Cross Recipient and a Medlicott Family Connection
I have always enjoyed reading about history and more recently, I became fascinated with the history of WWI. This was prompted by the discovery of pictures of my wife’s grandfather and great uncle, Thomas and Edward Medlicott, who were members of the Canadian Expeditionary Force and who served gallantly overseas in the Great War. Most recently, I had occasion to travel to France and Belgium and visited the Vimy Ridge Canadian War Memorial and famous WWI landmarks and cemeteries including familiar places or names like Ypres, Passchendaele and the infamous Hill 60 among many others. This evoked an even greater interest and passion in this remarkable chapter of our world history.
A recent discovery while conducting some genealogical research of a distant relative that was awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery and gallantry is worth being documented and a story which you might find of interest. READ ON
“Cousin Connie”-The Mysterious Life of Constance Mary Greenwood
Constance Mary Greenwood was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada on the 16th day of April 1920 and was the only daughter of Robert and Hannah Greenwood. “Aunt Hannah’s” maiden name was Williams. “Connie” was the cousin of my wife’s father, Norman Medlicott of Medicine Hat, Alberta and throughout our marriage she was an integral part of our family. Having never married, she was a regular guest at our home at the many family celebrations we had, whether it was Christmas or Thanksgiving or any other family get together. My fondest memories, with all the excitement surrounding Christmas, was to arrange to meet the Greyhound bus in Medicine Hat and to pickup “Cousin Connie” as she travelled from Calgary to Medicine Hat and either take her to our home or to my wife’s parents home for the Christmas holidays. This was a ritual, which occurred for many, many years. She was very well read and extremely bright and everyone wanted her on his or her team for the annual after Christmas dinner “Trivial Pursuit” tournament.
Connie was a member of the Canadian Women’s Army Corp during WWII [CWAC] and we often joked about her role during the war as a “resistance fighter” having parachuted into France behind enemy lines in the months before D-Day and working with the French Resistance fighting the Nazis prior to the invasion. Her role during the war was always a mystery to us, as she seldom talked about her “wartime” experience but when pressed when she would say that she simply had “worked” in the laundry in England! This was met with some amusement and much skepticism!READ ON
The Shropshire Star
The Shropshire Star is a newspaper that serves the various towns and communities in the County of Shropshire, England, UK including the hamlet of Medlicott. It is from here that my wife Joan’s ancestors (Medlicott) originated.
On a whim I sent my “Medlicott articles” to the editor. Much to my surprise, a piece was put in the local newspaper. Here is the result:
https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/nostalgia/2017/10/24/shropshire-family-link-to-princess-di/
Who’s in Your Family Tree?
Establishing a Family Relationship between Two Family Members and a Common Ancestor-Who is in Your Family Tree?
Part of the fascination with genealogy and creating a family tree is discovering various family relationships, which you didn’t know you had. Even more fascinating is discovering a distant relationship with a famous person or perhaps, if you are lucky even royalty! Establishing and identifying these relationships can be confusing, especially when it comes to cousins and more distant relations. People typically have confused ideas about what constitutes a second or third cousin, and when somebody throws in the phrase, “times removed,” the task becomes even more overwhelming leading to much frustration.
“A Dream Come True”-Joan Elaine Medlicott and her relationship with Lady Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales
Lady Diana is the daughter of John Spencer, 8th Earl of Spencer and Frances Ruth Roche and the mother of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry of Wales. She was born July 1st, 1961 in Park House Sandringham, Norfolk, England, United Kingdom. Often referred to as “Lady Di”, “Princess Di” or simply “Diana” her popularity has given rise to intense scrutiny of her life and her ancestry has become subject matter of close examination by genealogists around the world. The Internet has numerous sites endeavouring to document her royal heritage and great effort has been made in documenting her distant relationship with famous people.
A Canadian Connection to the Medlicotts of Shropshire
One of the most interesting facts, which I discovered in researching the Medlicott family history, which is particularly relevant for those family members who were born in North America, is that the family origins can clearly be traced to a certain place. A place where the surname was derived from those who lived on or owned the lands and more importantly, which place can still be identified today. Few families in England can lay claim to such a distinction. Having owned lands at the place from which they took their name, which name has been perpetuated through multiple generations and which can be found throughout the world, including Australia, the United States and Canada and which place continues to exist, is quite remarkable. READ ON
