As I have recently rekindled my interest in our family history, I thought a quilt showing our family would fit the challenge topic of “Connected” very well.   To fill in the gaps with family, I delved into various records, and contacted family members to find out all I could.   I have only included the actual family members in our direct lines.  The earlier families had many children – three families had as many as 14.  My Great Grandfather, John Oliver, was convicted of stealing a fishing line in Edinburgh at the age of 14 and was sentenced to 7 years.  At the age of 18 he was transported to Williamstown (Melbourne) Australia on the convict ship Marion, where he became a free man.  He married and moved to the goldfield of Bendigo and later sailed to New Zealand and became a gold miner in Central Otago.

I used hand dyed fabric for the background and for Australia and New Zealand.  Australia and New Zealand are not in true proportion and this is deliberate for the purpose of showing the various areas where the family settled.   The family details were printed onto Jacquard fabric sheets.  The family lines are indicated by different colours.  The families came from Ireland, England and Scotland, but perhaps with more research I may find some ancestors from Wales.