52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 6 - Out of Place

When searching for an elusive ancestor, it can be surprising just where people turn up.  When whole generations of a family have lived in the same area, suddenly that elusive missing ancestor turns up somewhere completely out of place.  During my research it has happened again and again - for one reason or another someone departs from the mainstream, heads out on their own, doesn't follow the predicted pattern and ends up somewhere completely unexpected.

From a mystery great great aunt who vanished in Melbourne and suddenly reappeared to marry in New Zealand to a family of forebears who were reported to immigrate to Melbourne from Bristol only to appear in Tasmania for 8 years in between to a great uncle who vanished from his family home in Essex, England only to turn up in Canada - sometimes people just end up out of place.

Tracking down those displaced family members can be tricky, especially when they turn up unannounced in a completely different country than the one you expected them to be in.  When did they move there?  WHY did they move?  Why did no one else in the family seem to know where they had gone?  I cannot say how many times I have heard people suggest looking further afield for a missing family member.  Back in a time when so many people were born, grew up, lived and died in one small area, it is surprising how far afield some people traveled, often in search of a better life.

It may not even be an individual turning up in another state or country.  Sometimes a missing ancestor is to be found in a prison or asylum, something many families tried to keep quiet about.  In times past the 'taint' of having a family member imprisoned or committed to an asylum was a considerable social embarrassment, and many families avoided mention of such a relative for fear of attracting social stigma.

While it is true that many of our ancestors followed fairly predictable patterns, there were still the trailblazers, the brave individuals and families who struck out into the unknown.  Seeking a better future, an escape from poverty or persecution, they uprooted themselves from all they knew and headed out into the unknown.  And turned up out of place.