Tag Archives: Family history

January 30, 2025 · 11:02 am

What’s in a Title : Janus ~ Gateway to Heaven on Earth

Janus ~ Gateway to Heaven on Earth by Patricia and Arthur Jackson, was released last week.

MY PARENT’S RESEARCH INTO OUR FAMILY HISTORY

My parents began to write their novella at the same time as I was writing my debut novel Riduna. Having done a great deal of research into our family tree, they chose two main characters, who intrigued them. Harriet is Dad’s grandmother:

  1. Harriet’s step-grandfather John Taylor is their main character, because they wanted to find out why a Scotsman ended up living on the island of Alderney in the guest house where my Dad’s grandmother was brought up.
  2. Harry, Harriet’s father was born in London and so what journey brought him to the island too?
Victorian Alderney

Thus, this story is part truth, part fiction, as my parents unravelled our family history, visiting London, Liverpool, Alderney, Guernsey and Southampton in their quest.

While my parents gathered their lengthy research I was researching my great grandmother Harrriet’s story. I was fascinated by all I discovered about the island of Alderney back in the Victorian era, at the time when the many forts were built around the island.

Great Grandmother Harriet

1 Comment

Filed under Alderney, Channel Islands, Family History, Historical Fiction, History of Alderney, Riduna

Tagged as , , ,

May 16, 2024 · 7:48 pm

Part 1: Forward to Janus ~ Gateway to Heaven on Earth

This summer I am releasing my parents’ novella, originally called ‘Heaven on Earth’ Since it is the prequel to my first novel Riduna, I have returned to the romantic mythological title, calling it Janus, who was the Roman gateway to heaven on Earth.

Here is my parents’ Forward, which explains the original inspiration for their story:

“THE ISLAND OF Alderney, the third largest in the Channel Island group, was our family’s favourite holiday destination.

This is a story of life in Alderney, during the latter part of the 19th Century. It is about the members of our family who lived there. Our grandmother Harriet Hopkins was born on the island in 1871 and we now believe her family had lived there since 1600.

During our research we found a fairly extensive maritime record of Harriet’s father, Captain John Hopkins and that Harriet’s step-grandfather John Taylor, was a Scotsman who had been in the army. We decided to focus our tale on these two characters, although we changed the captain’s name to Harry to save confusion.

During the period covered in this story the island seems to have been a very happy place. Travel to the outside world was not easy and few of the Islanders ventured beyond the island shores. In contrast between that of the poor in London for example.

As for our grandmother’s life on Alderney we had very few facts. We discovered that Harriet’s grandparents were publicans from various census records and that they lived in ‘The Reading Rooms’ in Braye Road. Also, that John Taylor eventually married our great grandmother and farmed four acres.

With so little to go on this story is essentially fiction, constructed around available genealogical information. We have also adapted island customs, practices and folklore contained in island literature.“

Part 2: Why have I decided to publish my parents’ novella? to follow next week.

Leave a comment

Filed under Alderney, Channel Islands, Family History, Historical Fiction, History of Alderney

Tagged as , ,

May 17, 2023 · 10:14 am

Exciting New Evidence (1844 to 1943) re Harriet Jackson and Thomas Jackson

I have just received an email from my cousin Lyn with some exciting new documents which she has uncovered in her loft.

The first is the confirmation certificate of Harriet Jane Hopkins (she was often called Jane) on Alderney on 10th August 1884:

The second is the actual marriage certificate of Harriet and Thomas Jackson. Up until now we only had a copy of the church records (note Harriet is Jane Harriet here):

For me these are quite poignant, when Thomas returned to Guernsey in WW2 and the family were concerned that they had not heard from him:

… and finally the news the family dreaded that Thomas Jackson’s had passed away on 26th August 1943 :

It looks like the family had to wait 8 months to hear this news.

The missing piece of the puzzle is still verification of Harriet Jane’s mother, but, since many records were lost or destroyed on Alderney during the evacuation of WW2, it is very unlikely anything will come to light now. Common sense is that her mother’s name was Jane, but we have no proof of that.

Harriet is the protagonist of my first novel Riduna.

1 Comment

Filed under Alderney, Channel Islands, Family History, Memoirs, Riduna

Tagged as , ,