• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
GO TO EXPAT LIVING SINGAPORE
GET OUR NEWSLETTER

Expat Living Hong Kong HomepageExpat Living Hong Kong

Moving to Hong Kong and not sure where to start? Expat Living is the essential lifestyle guide to living in Hong Kong.

Menu
  • Living In Hong Kong
      • Living Here
      • Where To Live
      • Schools
      • For Guys
        • Bupa10 ways to be kind to yourself
        • Your Horoscopes for March!
        • Driving in Hong KongBuying a car in Hong Kong
        • HKIL - mandarin courses for kidsGive Your Kids a Language Lift
      • View all
    Close
  • Things To Do
      • Things To Do
      • What’s On/Calendar
      • Competitions & Offers
        • Your Horoscopes for March!
        • Hikes5 things to take on every hike
        • Earth spinning for trivia quiz questions on geography20 Quiz Questions on Geography
        • Waterfall BayWaterfalls in Hong Kong: 5 of our faves!
      • View all
    Close
  • Kids
      • Activities & Things To Do
      • Education & Enrichment
      • Health & Wellness
      • Mums & Babies
      • Podcasts
      • Kids Offers
        • Teen skincareTeen skin care tips and treatments
        • where to buy kids' furniture in Hong Kong - Indigo KidsKids’ bedroom inspo: Beds, rugs, & more!
        • HKIL - mandarin courses for kidsGive Your Kids a Language Lift
        • Family with money for web article on how to teach kids about money5 ways to teach kids about money
      • View all
    Close
  • Homes
      • Home Décor
      • Readers Homes
        • living room furniture hong kongWhere to buy living room furniture
        • Revamping a Hong Kong village house
        • where to buy kids' furniture in Hong Kong - Indigo KidsKids’ bedroom inspo: Beds, rugs, & more!
        • Time to spruce up your space?
      • View all
    Close
  • Travel
      • Short Breaks
      • Further Afield
      • Travel News & Offers
        • Climbing Kilimanjaro pictureClimbing Kilimanjaro: An inspiring story!
        • Earth spinning for trivia quiz questions on geography20 Quiz Questions on Geography
        • Son Doong CaveJourney into the world’s largest cave
        • Hong Kong outlying islands, adventure guide to Cheung Chau, Lantau, Peng Chau, Lamma island, Hong KongAdventure guide to HK’s outlying islands
      • View all
    Close
  • Wine & Dine
      • Recipes & Groceries
      • Bars & Restaurants
        • Easy Lemon Meringue PieEasy Lemon Meringue Pie Recipe
        • Coffee - for web article on coffee shops that open early in Hong KongCoffee shops that open early in HK
        • There are several supermarket chains in Hong Kong which stock imported brandsWhere to find your fave grocery brands
        • Indian-Restarants-New-Punjab-ClubTop Indian restaurants to try
      • View all
    Close
  • Style & Beauty
      • Fashion
      • Hair & Beauty
        • Teen skincareTeen skin care tips and treatments
        • glow spa eye treatmentsTips and treatments for beautiful eyes
        • womens tailor Hong KongOur top picks for men’s tailors
        • Shopping in Hong Kong - K11 MuseaThe ultimate guide to shopping in HK
      • View all
    Close
  • Health & Fitness
      • Medical & Dental
      • Fitness
      • Wellness
        • Bupa10 ways to be kind to yourself
        • Arm exercises: Up fitness - exercise 43 easy exercises to tone up your arms
        • Divorce: estranged coupleDivorce: how to break up with dignity
        • Dr Lauren Bramley and Partners, kids' health, Hong Kong children's health, medical, Hong Kong Health, paediatrics5 questions you should ask about your kids’ health
      • View all
    Close
  • Shop
      • Magazine
      • Advertise With Us
        • December – February 2021
        • DEC-FEB 2020 – $36 (USUAL PRICE $48)
        • City Guide 2020-2021
        • City Guide 2020-2021 – $28
      • View all
    Close
Home » Travel » Tracing family roots: Melinda’s story

Tracing family roots: Melinda’s story

18 March, 2020 by Juliet Keys 6 Min Read

https://expatliving.hk/family-tree-tracing-family-roots-to-an-ancestral-home-travel-story/

Tracing your family roots to an ancestral home is not your usual family holiday, but our own MELINDA MURPHY found out that a journey down memory lane can be one of the most special vacations of all.

“So this is it. This is the home my ancestor built.” That’s a powerful statement. To know that my 11th great-grandfather built a proper English manor home in 1608 and that more than 400 years later I was walking through the hallways was pretty darn cool. It gave me chills, actually.

English manor home family

Starting the research

Our unusual family vacation to England all started with a cryptic message from my cousin Dana.

“We did it again!”

“Did what?”

“We bought each other the same gift!”

Dana and I have a history of buying each other exactly the same thing – a piece of jewellery or Christmas decorations perhaps. It’s odd, as we live on the other side of the planet now and don’t actually check in with each other nearly often enough.

Dana is almost exactly a year younger and our birthdays are three days apart. We grew up a block away from one another back in Midland, Texas. And all these years later we still have a special connection.

This year’s identical pair of gifts was special though. We bought each other genetic tracking through the genealogy website ancestry.com. My guess is we were both prompted by the death of her father, the last of his generation. I think we were both had a strong need to reconnect to our heritage.

So, when we next saw each other later that month at Christmas, we took the little plastic vials that had been supplied by the website, added our saliva samples and mailed them off to the lab. A few weeks later, we got our results. As a Murphy, I knew I was Irish, and I suspected I was also a bit Scottish. Surprisingly, I’m mostly English. And I don’t have a drop of Native American blood, which would have disappointed my grandmother. The poor woman went through life with the name Pocahontas all because of some erroneous family lore that we were related to the great Native American princess.

English manor home guest house

 

Digging deeper

Of course, I got a little carried away (obsessed really) and started digging through my ancestral chart online. The information available is truly amazing. You can see photos of family graves, death certificates, birth certificates and so much more. The website connects you to other relatives, and provides hints that make tracing ancestry really easy. I was able to trace all four of my grandparents and what I found simply shocked me.

All four sides of my family go back to the early 1700s in America, which is pretty unusual these days in the States. That means all sides had members who fought in the Revolutionary War. And get this: one relative on my dad’s side was a settler; the manifest document of her journey from England to America in 1653 is available to read online. Wow! I’m related to a Pilgrim. No wonder I love Thanksgiving so much. I truly had no idea.

I’d always known about Robert Harbin, my mother’s relative who, in the early 1600s, built Newton Surmavilla, a property in Yeovil in the English county of Somerset that’s so big it has its own Wikipedia page. To get directions to it, you only have to type the name into Google Maps, rather than the address.

The house was considered the family legend in some ways. I was handed down a badly-typed family tree that showed how we were connected to the manor, which included awful, faded black-and-white photos of the home. And, when I was a teenager, my mother wrote to the owner and we visited her at the house, which at the time was very run down. She only let us into the first dark and dank parlour. But even then, I could tell it was once a great estate, the kind of home you’d see in Downton Abbey – a true manor.

English manor home with Masie

Truth or legend?

Still, I was a bit worried that this part of our family lore mightn’t really be true. Remember Pocahontas? So, I was determined to find out if I really was related to that house. I was able to learn so much more as an adult with access to the internet, which of course wasn’t available when my grandfather originally looked into our heritage.

It turns out, my family settled in Texas before it was a state. One family member took a boat from the East Coast of the US through Panama to get to California so he could make his fortune in gold (he didn’t). One poor fella in my family had his cause of death listed as “death by dragging” – wonder what that means exactly?  Several were killed in America’s Civil War, all fighting for the South. In fact, it seems I’m the only person on one side of my family (besides Dana) to ever move north of the Mason-Dixon line, much less overseas.

Maybe my favourite uncovered fact was that Robert Harbin’s great-great-grandson moved from England to the US and bought a piece of land for 45 pounds sterling. Today, that land would be worth a billion dollars. Why? Because it’s where the US White House and Capitol building now stand.

Return to the manor

This year, my husband had to work in London during our children’s spring break. Since I was all fired up about teaching my children our roots, we decided to visit the manor once again. The house left my family for the first time in 2007 when it was sold to Robin and Jane Cannon, who have set about restoring it. There’s a little B&B on the property, but it only accommodates two people. I emailed and asked if they might make an exception for us as my ancestors built the house. Jane replied: “Unfortunately, there isn’t enough room, but I’d be very happy to show you the home.”

So, on Good Friday, we knocked on the door and got the eye-popping tour, which was like walking not only through my family history, but the history of England. Jane was a fountain of information. She and her husband really have saved the home for generations to come and, even though my own line is a long way removed from the house, I’m still thankful that “my family home” has been rescued.

English manor home dining room

The amount of work it’s taken to restore the property is mind-boggling. They’ve done seemingly simple things such as fix the roof and clean up the sprawling 60- acre garden to much more complicated renovations such as adding all the modern conveniences it was lacking.

“When we bought the house, there was no heat and no bathrooms,” Jane told us. “The owners had always been bed-bathed by their servants. The kitchen was just an open hearth. Everything was painted black because when Queen Victoria died, everybody was expected to paint everything black as a sign of mourning. That’s why the railings in London subway stations are black even now.”

Passing from room to room, she pointed out beds that were original to the home, my family crest carved into the walls and little things they’d found on the grounds that have the family name on them.

Now, the 15,000-square-foot house is a showcase for the Cannons’ massive art collection. The stables have been turned into garages to house their antique roadsters. One of the outbuildings is a gin mill and bar where they host gin-and-jazz nights. My daughter was enthralled to learn how gin was made (though I’m not sure she even knows what it is…).

Truth is, I was a bit afraid my kids would be bored or that my husband wouldn’t be thrilled about exploring my history. On the contrary, they all absolutely loved it. Sure, the house was cool and the grounds are like something out of a novel, but it wasn’t that. I think we all felt a connection to old roots. There aren’t any other big manors in my family that I know of (no, the White House is not ours), but I think I might want to explore some others ancestral areas or places special to my husband’s family.

I recommend you do the same thing. Getting to know your past really does somehow connect you to your future.

Want to find out about your family? Start with a visit to ancestry.com.


Like this? Read more in our
Travel section.

Top travel tips for visiting India
Where to go in London and Liverpool
Top places to visit in Hong Kong

Subscribe to Expat Living so you never miss an issue!

Categories: Further Afield Travel Tags: England Travel UK

You May Also Like

Top skiing destinations - Whistler, Canada

Stunning ski stays in Europe and beyond

Where to stay and what to do in Thailand - Merdeka

Quick getaways: Where to go in Thailand

Best places to go shopping in Singapore

Primary Sidebar

Expat Living Hong Kong 🇭🇰

expatlivinghk

Open
When it comes to hiking - Hong Kong has it all! 

From easy family-friendly walks and circuits to longer walks and some challenging hikes for the super fit! 

Check out our great guide - link in the bio.
Open
In the mood for a sweet treat? These chewy salted caramel and chocolate cookies are delicious with a cuppa or warmed and crumbled over ice cream.

This recipe makes about 25 cookies.

Ingredients

5 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened (or as an alternative, substitute half of the butter with natural peanut butter)
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup plain flour
6 tablespoons cocoa or cacao
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon sea salt flakes
1 cup chocolate chips
1 Mars Bar, chopped

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add the egg and vanilla, then beat well.
4. Combine flour, cocoa (or cacao), baking soda and half of the salt; gradually blend into the creamed mixture.  5.Stir in the chocolate chips and Mars Bar pieces.
6. Drop tablespoon-sized amounts of the mixture onto a lined cookie sheet.
7. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes. Tip: do not over-bake! The cookies should be soft, they’ll puff up while baking and flatten while cooling.
8. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet onto wire rack.
9. Sprinkle with remaining sea salt flakes.
Enjoy!
Open
If you're looking for a fascinating (albeit a touch morbid) read this weekend - then look no further.

'Women, Crime and The Courts' charts a hundred years of Hong Kong's women who find themselves on the wrong side of the law.  

Gripping stuff!
Open
Pui O Beach - just lovely 📷 @lailasophiashah
Open
Expat Living's Leanda shares a delicious Dukkah-roasted Cauliflower recipe: “A tasty and substantial dish that will keep you full and satisfied without any guilt!"

Ingredients

1 large head of cauliflower, cut into florets
2 cans of 400g chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Olive oil
1 tablespoon dukkah spice
A pinch of salt
1 /3 cup pine nuts
1 /2 cup pomegranate seeds
Large handful of fresh mint, roughly chopped
1 avocado (1/2 for dressing & 1/2 for garnish)
1 /2 cup Greek yoghurt
Handful of fresh mint, roughly chopped
Zest and juice of 1 lime. 

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius.

2. Place the cauliflower and chickpeas onto two large baking trays, and drizzle with the oil.

3. Top with dukkah, salt, and toss to combine. Roast for 18 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

4. For the dressing, place the avocado, yoghurt, mint, lemon zest and juice, and salt and pepper in a bowl. Using a hand-held blender or a food processor, blend until smooth and creamy.

5. On the stove, heat the pine nuts in a pan at medium heat until slightly browned.

6. Top the cauliflower and chickpeas with the mint, pomegranate seeds and remaining avocado. Drizzle with the avocado dressing, sprinkle pine nuts and serve!
Open
Happy Valentine’s Day from the Expat Living Team ❤️
Open
🏮 Gong Hei Fat Choy to all our friends celebrating Chinese New Year!
Open
In celebration of Chinese New Year, we are giving ten lucky readers the chance to win a $250 voucher to spend at PizzaExpress!
Open
📷 @colsimphoto
Open
🏮Begin the Year of the Ox the right way by sharing a meal to welcome the new lunar year together – be it at home our out and about! Check out the full listing on our website - link in bio 🏮
Open
Our CNY Sale starts today! Grab a year's subscription for just $68 (usually $192). Visit 👉 expatliving.hk/sale/IG

🎁 If you'd like to buy this as a gift, go to expatliving.hk/sale/gift/IG

You'll get free access to the digital edition on the Magzter app too!

.
#expatlivinghk #ighk #hkexpats #hongkong #hksales
Open
If you're an experienced hiker looking for a new challenge this weekend – how about The Twins.... at night?

📷 @lailasophiashah
Open
Ever wondered what it is like to live in Hung Hom? EL reader Veronica Valdivieso gives us the lowdown. For the full story and Veronica's recommendations see our DEC-FEB issue✨📖
Open
🎉 We're so pleased to announce the winners of our Readers' Choice Awards! Congrats to all the companies who were voted among the best in Hong Kong, and to the voters who won the amazing prizes. See the full results online now at 👉 expatliving.hk/readerschoice

.
#expatlivinghk #hkbusiness #hongkongbusiness #elhkreaderschoice #hkexpats
Open
Pieces for your dining room mood board!🪑We are feeling these tones 🤎
Open
Thanks Julianna for this delicious 
Easy Blueberry Oreo Cheesecake to start the weekend!
Serves 4, or 2 if you're hungry😉

Preparation time: 15 mins Ingredients:
• 6 digestive biscuits
• 50g butter 
• 250g cream cheese (1 brick) 
• 6 Oreo biscuits
• 125g blueberries (1 box)
• 100g milk or whipped cream 
• 5 tablespoons sugar

Instructions:
For crust:
1. Crush digestive biscuits in a big bowl and add melted butter.
2. Press together at the base of the cake mould.
3. Set aside to cool.

For filling: 
1. Beat cream cheese, sugar and milk or whipped cream on medium speed in a bowl until it is smooth and creamy. 
2. Add crushed Oreos and beat until they mix evenly. 
3. Pour the filling over the cooled crust.
4. Freeze for two hours and top with blueberries!🫐
Open
If you’re looking for a place to live in Hong Kong - particularly if you’re moving here and want an easy landing pad - a serviced apartment can be a godsend! @hongkongparkview is like a mini town with everything you need from a Clubhouse with full facilities to a toy shop, clothes and food shop! 🏞🛍
Open
Read our Winter issue on any device for free 👉 expatliving.hk/digital/ig.
Inside: Two inspiring home reno stories, great dining room furniture ideas, insider's guide to Hung Hom Bay and plenty of other great reads, including easy dessert recipes!
Open
How cool is this - Hong Kong-based @ovolohotels is the first hotel group to go entirely vegetarian across its restaurants, bars and food services for a year! 🌱This move is the latest in the group’s series of eco-friendly initiatives, and doesn’t this look delicious!👏🏻
Open
If we’ve learnt anything this last year it’s how much a magical view can do for your mind🌿These are just some of the properties showcased by @knightfrank 🙌🏼 Head to knightfrank.com.hk to see what’s currently available! 🏞
  • COMPETITIONS & OFFERS
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Subscribe

© 2021 Expat Living Hong Kong, All Rights Reserved.