Welcome to ‘Regalia, South to Tasmania’, not at all the definitive name. We’re trying to come up with something more suitable and all suggestions are welcome. It’s a test site for publication of the history of my family, the forebears of my parents Kenneth Albert Hutton 1916-1984 and Elizabeth Fielding Cannell 1930-1985, more usually known as Pat and Betty.
The site starts with the stories of my ancestors who migrated from the United Kingdom and Ireland in the first half of the nineteenth century to an island at the bottom of the world – Tasmania. They obviously liked the place. My siblings and I are sixth generation Tasmanians on our mother’s side and we are on to the seventh. The stories of later generations, nearly all born in Tasmania, will be added progressively.
My first dabblings in family history were prompted by the idea that it would be interesting to visit the places my forebears had lived in the UK and Ireland. Unfortunately there was virtually no family folklore on the subject, apart from some vague claims of Norfolk and Irish heritage. The search would have to start from scratch.
After the ‘where’ question I got interested in the ‘why’. Nineteenth century emigration was a largely irreversible process. What could have motivated these apparently ordinary people to take such an extraordinary step? It turned out that some of them had no say in the matter but others chose quite deliberately to leave everything behind them and set sail for the unknown.
To find out who was in which category you will have to keep reading ...
Lisa Hutton