Post by familyman on Mar 5, 2023 13:21:53 GMT
When Covid struck, I decided to do something positive with spending my time writing about my ancestors.
With Nigel Peacock of the Tharston, Norfolk, we started what has been a collaborative project in my writing and Nigel uploading and tweaking the stories of my ancestors on the internet
The first story was of William Hunt. He passed himself off as schoolmaster from the "mother country" (England) in his new country of abode Australia, or more precisely, the Swan River Colony of Great Britain. With extensive research I found he was born in the village of Tharston, Norfolk, the son of a agricultual labourer. As he grew up he became a petty thief and on his third conviction (stealing three geese and a gander) he was sentenced, in 1853, to 7 years transportation to the colonies.
That's when I contacted Nigel and we started putting together the jigsaw pieces into a coherent story about William Hunt. We followed that up with a story that had to be told. The story was of my grandfather, Millar Buzzard, who went to the trenches of France and Belgium, from Australia in WW1, was gassed but did return to wife and children. They then purchased a Soldier Settler farm only for him to to die in a shooting accident, 4 months later, in 1920. He left behind his pregnant wife, who was dispossessed of the farm and was left to bring up 4 young children.
When, some 60 years later, I visited my grandfathers grave, I was astounded to see he was buried with a man called William Slade Vincent, and on the gravestone was an inscription that said Wiliam Slade was his half-brother. But who was this man?. That lead to a story of "The Life and Times of William Slade Vincent".
And yet another story is being written about someone very close to me.
If you are already reading this post, please also read the story of the Buzzard/Sheridan/Millar/Vincent families and make a comment. As William Hunt was our first attempt in the series of stories it is not without it's faults and will be re-written in the future.
Phil Buzzard
With Nigel Peacock of the Tharston, Norfolk, we started what has been a collaborative project in my writing and Nigel uploading and tweaking the stories of my ancestors on the internet
The first story was of William Hunt. He passed himself off as schoolmaster from the "mother country" (England) in his new country of abode Australia, or more precisely, the Swan River Colony of Great Britain. With extensive research I found he was born in the village of Tharston, Norfolk, the son of a agricultual labourer. As he grew up he became a petty thief and on his third conviction (stealing three geese and a gander) he was sentenced, in 1853, to 7 years transportation to the colonies.
That's when I contacted Nigel and we started putting together the jigsaw pieces into a coherent story about William Hunt. We followed that up with a story that had to be told. The story was of my grandfather, Millar Buzzard, who went to the trenches of France and Belgium, from Australia in WW1, was gassed but did return to wife and children. They then purchased a Soldier Settler farm only for him to to die in a shooting accident, 4 months later, in 1920. He left behind his pregnant wife, who was dispossessed of the farm and was left to bring up 4 young children.
When, some 60 years later, I visited my grandfathers grave, I was astounded to see he was buried with a man called William Slade Vincent, and on the gravestone was an inscription that said Wiliam Slade was his half-brother. But who was this man?. That lead to a story of "The Life and Times of William Slade Vincent".
And yet another story is being written about someone very close to me.
If you are already reading this post, please also read the story of the Buzzard/Sheridan/Millar/Vincent families and make a comment. As William Hunt was our first attempt in the series of stories it is not without it's faults and will be re-written in the future.
Phil Buzzard