I was born Florence Belle Burks in Tabora Tanganyika; my parents both grew up 
in Great Harwood, Lancashire. I have three Great Grandparents with the surname 
BARON, so that is the main name of interest to me there - though as anyone from 
Harwood will tell you, everyone is related somehow!

The main names I have connections with are:
ASTLEY, BARON, BARTLETT, BRADSHAW, BURKS, HARGREAVES, HOLKER, HUGHES, LOYND, 
MERCER, PICKUP, SMITH, WHALLEY, WHITAKER, WHITTAKER.

When I started researching my family`s history I thought I knew where I was 
going - well that turned out to be wrong. Almost everything I assumed in 
advance has been proved wrong and been whittled away. But I have come to know a 
host of wonderful humorous and hard-working characters who I am proud to call 
my ancestors. Some of them died a long time ago, others are distant cousins 
alive today and communicating via email and letter from Australia, Canada, the 
USA, New Zealand and of course from today`s Lancashire.

Great Harwood is close to the Yorkshire borders, and on the edge of the 
Pennines and I like to believe that the geography has something to do with the 
way people evolved. There are plenty of inventors and engineers but also 
artists, poets and writers in the Harwood area. One thing they all seem to have 
in common is a sense of identity and quite some originality, especially in the 
humour!

One branch of my family seems to have been into brewing and running pubs, which 
didn`t seem to stop them having a strong bent towards evangelical religion. 
Plenty others were Roman Catholic, many were tenant farmers or gardeners and 
nearly all of them knew how to weave, that`s for sure!

Thankyou to those of you who have helped me so much by email and letter, you 
know who you are, thanks for sharing.

Welcome to my world, leave your comments in the guest book if you have time, or 
send me an email.
Flo