If the steam engine hadn’t been invented I wouldn’t have been born in Wales. Maybe I’d be a native of Ireland instead. Or perhaps American or Australian. But as a result of one of those significant turning points in history, … Continue reading →
Late in October 1882, officials gathered around the grave of Francis Heenan in Ararat Cemetery, in rural Victoria. He’d been dead three years, but questions had recently been raised about the manner of his death. Had he really died as … Continue reading →
This is a photograph of my paternal great grandfather William Heenan. It was taken on a rare holiday at a seaside resort called Weston-super-Mare in South West England. He’s one of 73 William Heenans I have in my database. This … Continue reading →
Source: https://unsplash.com/ Free Licence Usage No-one warned me when I embarked on my study of the Heenan surname that I would very quickly be drowning in documents and notes. When I first started researching my own family line more than … Continue reading →
When he went to sea as a teenager, Joseph Alfred Heenan could barely have imagined he would chase German enemy ships in the Indian ocean, serve in two world wars and be honoured by his King . According to his … Continue reading →
The mass murder of five members of the Donnelly family from Ontario is one of the most notorious events In the history of Canada. Two adults, two of their sons and a niece were beaten to death in a late … Continue reading →