Welcome

Welcome to the D'Egville family history research blog. I've been researching my D'Egville ancestors for the past decade. The trail has both challenged and tormented me but it has always been interesting and frequently surprising.

The purpose of this blog is to allow you to share memories, anecdotes, documents, images and perhaps to answer some of your questions. Anybody with a passionate interest in our family history is welcome to become an editor and post for themselves.

My writing style for this project is still evolving. I want my words to be accessible while still retaining the authority of painstaking research. The blog isn't an academic publication so the material won't be presented as if it were being peer reviewed by historians. Sometimes I will probably post articles that are 'in progress' just to see what they look like and if anyone reads and comments on them then they will be contributing to their development.

A lot of people who are interested in genealogy obviously devote much of the efforts to their family trees. For me, genealogy is only a part of family history. My approach is to invite my ancestors to their places around my dining table - metaphorically. I want to listen to their stories and pass them on.

What we read about our ancestors is only one perspective and may be some distance from the truth. I treat these accounts like memories that are going through a continual process of modification. Afterall, what I remember of the events of last week is already removed from their reality; if I've devoted any thought to them at all they will have been sifted through the riddle of subjectivity and reordered so that they fit into my agenda. Despite the 'spin' of people who are concerned with their celebrity I've found some individuals to be entertaining guests whom I continue to welcome.

The D'Egvilles have made a significant contribution to the arts during the past three centuries and sometimes my postings may appear to have more to do with dance history than with people who - although they have vanished - are our family. I hope that I can balance this by revealing something of their personalities and both the trials and pleasures of their everyday lives.