Capt. Mondo's World o' Mondo-ness

More Progress on the Family History Front
I managed to make some progress in tracking down more info about the family history yesterday (and today).

Yesterday I found (and joined) an online genealogical forum devoted to researching and sharing info on Lancashire genealogy. I posted an intro email, asking whom I should contact in order to found out where my relatives (paternal Grandfather, Grandmother, a Great Aunt and Uncle) are buried within Allerton cemetery. I got a reply within an hour or so with all of the contact info I needed, and this morning wrote up a quick letter to the contact person at the cemetery. So, if I am lucky, I'll get a reply before month's end!

I also made a point during breaks in work to go through some of my Father's dairies. From a rather sparsely annotated diary book for 1955 I ran across mentions of the deaths of my paternal Grandmother and Grandfather, who both apparently died within a few months of each other during that year. So, in my letter to the contact at Allerton I was also able to provide their dates of death as well. This would seem to clear up a long-time mystery as to when these events happened -- my (now Late-) Father had forgotten when I asked him about this last, and my Aunt was unsure of the dates (though she got the year right in the case of her Mother).

Earlier in the week I sent an email to my cousin Howard C. referencing a couple of copies of the birth notices I have for my paternal Grandmother and Grandfather. He had a look at them, and he realized that they were "short form" notices, and that the "long form" would have more information. What's more, he also knows where to get these "long forms" from, and I gather they are situated not far from where he works in London. He has promised to get them, and I have pledged to help defray his costs in obtaining them (the "short forms" are free; the "long forms" apparently are not).

Interesting stuff! ;-)