There are now many stories of family members on here, I do hope you enjoy them.  The latest one is of our soccer champ Gabriel Sloane-Rodrigues, he has a great future. Good luck to you Gab.

This is a work in progress and involves the families of mainly Gurney, Pennell, Hisshion/Hishion, Wright, Kiddie, Varty and even Smith! The Gurney family originated in Winwick, Northamptonshire then moved to Birmingham, Warwickshire where a branch migrated to New Zealand in the 1880's.  The Pennell family came from Acton, Cheshire to New Zealand as one of the first settlers to that country in 1841, settling in the Auckland area.  The Hisshion/Hishion family migrated from Cork,Ireland to Australia in early 1838 settling in Sydney, John Wright migrated from Cumberland, England to Australia in 1854 settling in Melbourne, Victoria where he met and married Ellen Magill Roy who had arrived in Australia with her sister Mary in 1857 from Hurtletoot, Antrim, Northern Ireland. There are quite a few stories to be told, and they will be added to this tree as time goes on.  Feel free to advise of any errors or ommissions.   All living persons details have been hidden.  Thank you to my awesome cousins for setting me straight on some details.   Hopefully they have now been corrected but I'm sure you will let me know if they are not :)

Most of my BDM information has been gleaned from websites such as FreeBMD, Find My Past, amongst others; plus information from new found cousins for which I thank you, and also includes the odd certificate here and there.  On this journey, I have found myself being sidetracked and researching branches of the family tree which have led to some interesting finds.   i.e. Finding my mother's great grandfather Jacques Bettelheim's English naturalization papers was a bonus.  He was born in Hungary although I have yet to find his birth record.    The Bettelheim story is yet to be written here so stay tuned.

 Many thanks to cousins I have met while undertaking this project for the help and support, and especially to cousin Barry.  If it wasn't for him, I would not have got as far as I have. I do value the support and encouragement I am receiving for this website.  Any errors or ommissions please let me know.

Addendum:  My lovely mentor Barry has gone from us now but will never be forgotten.  It was so lovely to meet family I did not know about, and I learnt alot from you cuz.   Rest In Peace now with your Marie, no more pain. 
(Feb 2022)