In the late 1990s, I wanted to discover whether I had Jewish
blood or not, so I did family history research. I now have a
family tree with 650 names on them. Surnames include
Pearson, Pennant, Rogers, Rhys Margetson,
Cecil, Oldroyd, Mallam
Spearing Randall (see below) and
Bessant, and the so-called Clapham sect. Click here for further information. This Bessant
is the only Jewish name I could find, and she is way back on my
mother's side, so sadly I am about as non-Jewish as possible, but
never mind, I am very much a Jew at heart.
My most notorious ancestor was Anne Catley. Dear oh dear! Click here for photos of her which turned up in
one of my aunt's old books. Sir John
Stainer, my Great Grandfather on my mother's side, wrote the
Crucifixion and other choral works, but was principally involved
in education. He was organist at St Pauls, and Professor of Music
at Oxford.
Although my Aunt married David Milford, the brother of the composer Robin Milford, he is not a blood relative of mine. Nevertheless I have ended up as a trustee of the Robin Milford Trust.
The portrait on the right is of Thomas Randall, my mother's father's mother's father. Alice Liddell used to walk his dog, and since he made hats, there are grounds for believing that he was the inspiration for the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland. See here. As I have been explaining to my piano pupils, "you always knew I was nuts but now it's official."
The picture on the left is my Great grandfather, Philip Pennant Pennant.
Please contact me if you have information or would like the results of my enquiries. Thank you, David Pennant, Woking, Surrey, UK