In Australia, when someone hears an accent their first question is "Where do you come from?" If  you answer "England" then the second question invariably follows:  "What part?" A desire to  find a way to answer this second question was one of the reasons for my interest in family  history research. If I could say "Well I moved around a lot as a child but my ancestors came  from Durham, or Sussex or …" then I would have a place to call 'home' and a history that  belonged to me.

Among the twigs on the branches of my family tree you will discover coal miners and gamekeepers  from County Durham; manufacturers, merchants and traders from Berkshire, Dorset, Sussex and  London; a public servant; and a man who was first teacher, then superintendent of a home for  outcast boys, a barrister's clerk and finally the proprietor of a local newspaper. Their  stories cut across generations and classes and if they prove anything at all it is that  strength of character is more important than birth.

When I started this project, I was unprepared for the diversity of background of my ancestors  but I was also unprepared, on my first trip back to England in 2004, for the feeling of  belonging that came over me when I visited the cities, towns and villages that they came from.  I still cannot easily answer that second question but I have many places that I can return to  in my mind and I feel a real connection to each and every one.

I wish to thank my aunt Muriel who spoke to me of my mother's war-time experiences and shared  the story of her own family; my cousins Mary, Ann, Margaret, Robin, Sheila and Michael whom I  had not seen since childhood but who welcomed me back to England and found photographs and  documents to assist in my research; and my sisters Valerie, Jennifer and Janet for jogging my  memory of childhood events that I had long forgotten.

Most excitingly, this journey into the past has led me to reconnect with my father’s family. I  did not expect to make much headway with my research into his side of the family because of our  common surname but also because I knew so little of Dad’s background. We did not meet any of  his relatives while growing up in England and he spoke very little about his childhood. I have  been lucky however, in recent years I have made contact with three second cousins, my half  brother and sister, George and Mary, a granddaughter of Dad’s sister Ann, and more recently,  with a first cousin, George Ernest Smith, sadly the only one of  his brother, William’s three  sons still living. I would like to welcome these new family members to the Smith-Griffin family  and look forward to meeting you soon. In the meantime, I hope you and your families will enjoy  browsing this website - one half of it is your family too.

Gillian
 Updated April 2016


The main branches of my father's family tree contain the CLEMENT, OVINGTON, SMITH, and 
SUMMERBELL families and the main branches of my mother's family tree the COBDEN, 
DRIVER, GRIFFIN and WOOD families. 

See below for a full list of included names.