I'm back home and raring to go, but I must be sensible and get back to things gradually. Thanks for all your messages and well-wishing. I'm happy to say that no further surgical treatment is necessary, having been stabilised - just a tightening up of the sensible measures we all know about - diet, exercise, low cholesterol level and taking the medication. I will write at more length soon.
And no, Lucy, I didn't write the previous message myself, I dictated it to a good friend over the phone and he posted it for me. I think two weeks' break from the computer has probably done me good!
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Sunday, February 17, 2008
On Sick Leave
Sorry not to be posting folks. I've taken time off to have a mild heart attack. The crisis is over, but I'm still in hospital waiting to have an Angiogram to find out what further treatment is necessary.
The worst I'm suffering from now is boredom. Back soon I hope.
The worst I'm suffering from now is boredom. Back soon I hope.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Family tragedy?
I discovered something so very sad yesterday. Although it happened more than 100 years ago, it has left me grieving.
I was browsing through the genealogical websites, looking for more details to flesh out my knowledge of my husband's forbears. I have been focussing recently on a branch of the family which was in the brush manufacturing business, as I have been trying to complete a history of the business which had been partly written by another family member in the 1950s.
The original brush maker had been christened Davis, which was his mother's maiden name, and he gave his name to the firm when his two youngest sons joined him to learn the business. Family pride led succeeding generations to name their sons Davis too, and the business remained in family hands from its foundation in 1861 until it was finally sold to a larger company in 1999.
As I browsed, I suddenly saw an entry for a Davis I had not come across before, born in 1879. I checked him out and found that he was the first-born son of Davis the second, grandson of the founder. I also quickly saw that he had died in 1889. The website was offering access to images of the actual pages of the Register of Deaths Index, so I decided to have a look.
There was the entry for Davis, aged 9; and there, right next to him, was an entry for his father Davis, aged 43........ I had not previously realised that the elder Davis had died so young, and the impact of these two entries side by side was chilling. What could have happened? The early history of the business recorded only that in 1889 "the happy partnership of the brothers was rudely shattered by the death of Davis II".
I need to know. I have sent off for copies of the two death certificates, and in a couple of weeks' time I should have the answer. Can there possibly be an explanation that is not tragic, or at the very least most miserably coincidental?
I was browsing through the genealogical websites, looking for more details to flesh out my knowledge of my husband's forbears. I have been focussing recently on a branch of the family which was in the brush manufacturing business, as I have been trying to complete a history of the business which had been partly written by another family member in the 1950s.
The original brush maker had been christened Davis, which was his mother's maiden name, and he gave his name to the firm when his two youngest sons joined him to learn the business. Family pride led succeeding generations to name their sons Davis too, and the business remained in family hands from its foundation in 1861 until it was finally sold to a larger company in 1999.
As I browsed, I suddenly saw an entry for a Davis I had not come across before, born in 1879. I checked him out and found that he was the first-born son of Davis the second, grandson of the founder. I also quickly saw that he had died in 1889. The website was offering access to images of the actual pages of the Register of Deaths Index, so I decided to have a look.
There was the entry for Davis, aged 9; and there, right next to him, was an entry for his father Davis, aged 43........ I had not previously realised that the elder Davis had died so young, and the impact of these two entries side by side was chilling. What could have happened? The early history of the business recorded only that in 1889 "the happy partnership of the brothers was rudely shattered by the death of Davis II".
I need to know. I have sent off for copies of the two death certificates, and in a couple of weeks' time I should have the answer. Can there possibly be an explanation that is not tragic, or at the very least most miserably coincidental?
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