9th March 2004.
I continue to spend a great deal of time away from home, flying to the four corners of the world in the name of British Airways. My wife and I did, however, manage to snatch a holiday (vacation) in February. We flew to Houston, Texas, and went on a week-long cruise to Cozumel (Mexico), Roatan (Honduras), Belize and Cancun (Mexico). It was fantastic! Work on the BURGUM FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY website continues whenever I get the time, but following up all your e-mails would be a full-time job. Suffice to say I read them all and note any information contained within them. Answering particular enquiries is not always possible where the research would prove time-consuming. I will get to it one day! One exciting development is the addition of the BURGUM 1901 Census Index and the BURGHAM 1901 Census Index. I have been working on these indexes for some time now (it's a very time-consuming process!). Wherever possible, I try and cross-reference names on the list (it takes hours and hours) and identify who is who. As a result of this process, I have been able to confirm a link between the "EE" family tree and my very own "AA" family tree. It has always been my conviction that most, if not all the family trees are related, but proving it is not always easy. Finding such a link is, therefore, extremely rewarding! As a consequence, the "EE" family tree will cease to exist and the "AA" family tree has grown larger! Details of this link will, no doubt, feature in the next edition of the BURGUM FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY Journal.
2nd January 2004.
Life continues at 100 miles per hour. As another year vanishes into the ether, the demands on my time seem be getting greater and greater. This, at a time when I feel I should be slowing down and enjoying life! My job, flying Jumbo jets around the world, keeps me away from home far to often, and is proving challenging in the current climate. When I am at home, the mountain of jobs to do gets bigger and bigger, whether it be decorating the extension, writing the next edition of the BURGUM FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY Journal, or updating the website. I continue to receive hundreds of e-mails and I do try and follow them up when I can. My eldest son left school with 5 A-levels in the summer and then embarked on a back-packing trip to Australia and Thailand. He kept busy by jumping out of an aeroplane (from 14,500 feet), scuba diving on a dangerous wreck, four-wheel driving on a sand island, sailing through the the islands of the Great Barrier Reef, treking in the jungles of Thailand seeking remote indian tribes and going on an elephant safari. He plan to become a pilot, too!
4th June 2003.
I'm in my forties, but looking forward to retirement! Then, do you think, I might get a little more time for the things a really like doing? I feel physically and mentally exhausted! Work (flying) is as demanding as ever, taking me away from my beautiful house and family for up to ten days at a time; (although usually 3 to 5 days). At home, we have had the builders in for coming up six months, loads to do around the house and garden if I could find the time. I still teach in the Air Training Corps and I am still a Trustee for the Dean Heritage Museum Trust. (We have just had a three-quarters of a million redevelopment of the museum partly through a Heritage Lottery Grant). Little surprise then that I have not been able to dedicate as much time as I would like to the BURGUM FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY. I make a note of the hundreds of e-mails I receive and try to extract the important information. I also lost some e-mails a while back, so if I have not written back to you, then please try again. I'm sorry I cannot carry out all the family history research for all of you, but that would take one person several lifetimes! I will, of course, do my best. While my life flashes before me, my children are growing rapidly into young men and I am proud of both of them. Enough! Back to work......
18th September 2002.
Wow, its been a while! I've been very, very busy with work and family and, sometimes (just sometimes) the family history takes a back seat. We've had a great summer but things went down hill towards the end. I took Vicky to Arizona - the first proper holiday we've had together (and alone) since the boys were born 17 years ago. We had a great time. As a family we've had a canal boat holiday (on the Trent and Mersey Canal), then in July I took Vicky with me on a trip to Madras, India (I was working; I flew the plane!) Jason went on a "French Exchange" trip to Annecy, while Ashley has had a quiet summer by his standards (NOT!). He has completed a pilot navigation course, been on holiday (with his girlfriend to Cornwall), been on an RAF camp to Gibraltar, received a promotion to Flight Sergeant in the Air Training Corps and has been made the Lord Lieutenant's Cadet for Gloucestershire. This is a supreme honour, where he is expected to accompany the Lord-Lieutenant, Her Majesty's ceremonial representative for Gloucestershire, on various public duties throughout the year. I have completed volumes 50 and 51 (Summer 2002 and Autumn/Fall 2002) of the BURGUM FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY Journal and these are being published as I write. The delay was called by a nasty virus, which attacked my computer and disabled it for nearly a month! Loads of other aggravations have occurred recently, but I better not tell you about those!
12th April 2002.
I was rather late getting out volume 48 (Winter 2000/2001) of the BURGUM FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY Journal. I had hoped to publish information about the 1901 Census from the Internet, which lanched in a blaze of publicity but the Public Records Office site collapsed under the strain! Instead I wrote about Thorvald P. L. Weitemeyer who was related to the "RR" family tree in Australia. This article will also be published here on the website. In other news, my son Ashley completed his gliding scholarship and flew solo; he's 16 years old. I have bought a digital camera (at great expense!) and hope to place loads of pictures on this site in due course. Finally, I have just been informed that I am to be appointed a Route-Check Captain with my airline. This is effectively the pinnacle of my career and I am rather proud about it! (I still have to pass the course, though!).
2nd February 2002.
I am still working incredibly hard, with little spare time. My industry continues to suffer after "9/11". Meanwhile, I have purchased a faster, smarter (?), bigger computer so that I can do justice to the website, the BURGUM FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY, and the research I carry out on the internet and elsewhere. I have continued to develop the site, which now has a picture section with a whole load of new information and new "navigation" routes. Most of the pictures are historical, as is the information. However, I would like to hear from YOU to confirm that it is OK to publish pictures and information about you and your family on the website, so that others can read all about you. If you write to me, please tell me if I can publish pictures of you and your family.
17th November 2001.
Its a paradox that while my industry faces a down turn, I am working harder than ever. Spare time is a rarity, but I continue to add to the BURGUM FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY website whenever I can. There are now over 270 pages on the site and the most recent addition is the birth, marriage and death certificates in the "Burgum References" section. Not only does this list contain hundreds of registered names, it also contains copies of over a hundred birth, marriage and death certificates giving full details! I have spent hundreds of pounds collecting these over many, many years and I am now making them fully available on the web. If you have any certificates you would like to add to the list, please send them to me. (The address is in the "BURGUM NEWS" contents page - just click at the bottom of this page).
8th October 2001.
Volumes 45 and 46 (Spring 2001 and Summer 2001) of the BURGUM FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY JOURNAL have now been sent out to members. (Better late, than never!) Volume 45 contains information from Alan Tubman (Virginia Beach, USA) and I have written a short article about Ellis Island. Volume 46 contains a number of articles; the first comments on the horrors of September 11th. Others are about anybirthday.com, more about Ellis Island, and the news of my promotion. Please note it is time to renew your subscriptions - please remember these barely cover the cost of postage and printing. (The BURGUM FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY makes a loss, not a profit!)
12th July 2001.
I have been neglecting the BURGUM FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY recently and the latest two editions of the Journal are well behind schedule. The reason for this is that I have been on a course, which has taken up a great deal of my time over a period of about ten months now (on and off). Well, the course is now over and I passed! I now hold the rank of Captain, flying the 747-400 (Jumbo jet).
18th March 2001.
I am writing from the beleaguered Forest of Dean, which is virtually closed because of the Foot and Mouth outbreak. The latest edition of the BURGUM FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY Journal has just been sent out (Winter 2000/2001). It contains news about this website. What it does not tell you is that this web-site has been awarded the prestigious StudyWeb Academic Excellence Award! (The award logo appears on the home page). I try and update this site whenever I can, but pressure of work means that time is at a premium. I am still jet-lagged from my last trip, but tomorrow I am off again (this time to Singapore and Sydney, Australia). I have just received an e-mail from someone related to John Burgum, the artist and I am, of course, following that up. Please do write to me or e-mail me - stay in touch!
7th January 2001.
At the beginning of December, Bob and Liz Gwynn called to see us. The Gwynns live at Aston Mill, near Lea, just north of the Forest of Dean. Bob brought a pile of papers with him and asked me to help with his family tree. I was able to establish that he is linked to the "FF" family tree (A.T. Burgum, etc), his family having farmed in the Aston Ingham area. I have continued to work on the website and I have received a number of favourable comments. Thank you, for those! December proved to be a difficult month as I was on standby - I got called out to Cairo, San Francisco and then Mexico City for Christmas. I was given a few days notice of the Mexico trip and was able to take my family with me. We had a great time. I now have to buckle down and think about the next edition of the BURGUM FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY Journal. So much to do; so little time!
1st November 2000.
Last week my family and I spent a week in the Dordogne, in France. We flew to Bordeaux, hired a car and visited lots of lovely towns and villages. A little red wine was also consumed! I have just completed volume 43 of the BURGUM FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY Journal and that will be sent to the printers in the next few days. I continue to receive e-mail enquiries relating to family history and I respond to these when I can. If you have e-mailed me with a query, then please be patient. I am always pleased to receive them, but often research is involved, which can be rather time consuming. I have recently received an e-mail from Susannah Simone, from Tampa, Florida. She said - "I must tell you, your wesite is incredible! You have done an outstanding job, as usual." It's always nice to get a pat-on-the-back and e-mails and letters like that keep me going. Thanks!
4th October 2000.
Having flown back from Singapore, I am now trying to catch up on all the e-mails I have received over the past couple of weeks. (Not so easy when you are tired and jet-lagged! Had a very nice e-mail from Adam Burgum, in Neath, South Wales. He is 15 years old and has recently got a computer. He says he has visited this web site and loves it. (Those are the sort of e-mails I really like!). Several people also asked to be invited to the BFHS private web-site at MyFamily.com where I have placed some of the family trees. (If you are a member of the BURGUM FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY and want to view the family trees, pictures, etc, please e-mail me). I have also heard from a couple in Bristol who belong to the Pewter Society. They are seeking information on Henry Burgum, the Bristol Pewterer. Brian Burgham has contributed something for the next BFHS Journal, which will come out later in the Autumn/Fall.
19th September 2000.
Today I had a telephone call, out of the blue, from Neil Parkhouse, owner of the Archive Shop in Lydney. Two customers were asking about family history in the Forest of Dean - the name they were searching was Burgham. Allen and Sue were from near Sydney, Australia. Allen had been a Burgham, but was adopted at an early age. (Perhaps one day he will tell us the whole story). Allen's family were from Sunderland, but originally from the Forest of Dean. Allen and Sue have been researching their family history for several years and were spending time in the Forest of Dean area camping. Much of their time was spent in the Gloucester Records Office. I told them something about the BURGUM FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY and gave them a lead which may take them back another generation or two in their search for their roots.
Return to "BURGUM NEWS Contents Page"
|
Send us an |  |
