This website is the result of wanting to know "Where did I come from?".

I knew (or thought I did) about my Mother's side ... but precious little about 
my Father's background...

And so the journey began and still continues .. now it seems to have developed 
a life of it's own.

In the simplest of terms, my Father comes from a long line of 'Umbrella 
Makers' starting with Giles O'Handlen (b.1796) and maybe earlier, but 
certainly continuing for some 3-4 generations. My Father's family forms the 
London/Bristol end of my family.

My Mother is from an Agricultural background at least before 1900 - from there 
it gets more varied with Steel Mills and Pubs and who knows what else! My 
Mother's family forms the 'North Country' end of the family.

Which is how I understood it ... until I found that the Heap and Pickup 
families have a close tie with Lancashire ... and maybe that's where it all 
began....