As mentioned in the previous entry, the search for my ancestors concentrated on the Dacre name. Having had a number of discussions with my Aunt Ruby in Saskatchewan, it dawned on me that I should not put off searching for my grandmother's side of the family, the Hatchards. I had always assumed that this search would be somewhat easier as, unlike my grandfather, Harry Dacre, there had been some correspondence with her family while my grandmother was still alive. In addition, I knew that my grandmother's father had been a policeman in the UK and assumed that there would be attainable records.

I once again went to Internet and did a search on the Hatchard name. In that initial search, I found a Hatchard family site at http://www.homestead.com/Hatchard/index.html. This looked interesting, and I contacted the site owner, Peter Hatchard, and received a prompt reply. Peter indicated that he might be able to help.

I immediately phoned my Aunt Ruby and obtained as much information as I could, e.g., the fact that my grandmother had came to Canada in March of 1907; she married Harry Dacre in Winnipeg, Manitoba that Easter; she had three brothers, Archie, Percy, and Henry; Archie (Archibald) had had two children Ronald and Gwendolene; that my grandmother was born in Sussex in 1881 (20 May); and that her father's name was Henry. Once again, not a great deal to go on but more information than I had about my grandfather.

Shortly after passing the above information to Peter, he sent me a copy of the "Descendants of

William Hatchard" who clearly was my great, great grandfather. Peter, who is a member of the Royal Navy, had been conducting research on the Hatchard family for many years; and I am very grateful for his assistance.

I have just now completed a mail-out to the Hatchard families in the Sussex area where my grandmother, Emily Kate Hatchard was born.

Once again, Internet technology, has provided this information in less than one week as opposed to the five years I spent researching the Dacre name. Cec Dacre, April 4, 2000.

April 11, 2000 – Received the first response to my above-mentioned mail-out, a welcome phone call from what I believe to be a 4^th cousin. I’m more than a little confused trying to figure out these relationships, Terry’s great grandfather and my grandmother were siblings—did I get it right, 4^th cousin? Ironically, Terry had been on my mail listing but had not been included in the chart.

April 11, 2000 – Within hours of the above phone contact, I received an E-mail from another cousin, Gary Hatchard, and his family. Gary indicated that he will be getting together with his parents and will provide additional information on the family. Another exciting (for me) development!

April 30, 2000 – Thanks to Peter Hatchard the originator of the Hatchard Family Genealogy Site, I heard from another Hatchard family relative. This time, a 2^nd cousin, Ruth Mackie (nee Hatchard) who lives in New Zealand. I have amended the adjacent family tree with this most recent information. In so doing, I have started to corrupt the format by adding descendants with other surnames including my own. My apologies to Peter. So be it.

May 1, 2000 – This past week, I received four more letters from Hatchards, two of which are direct descendants of William Hatchard. Michael and Rita Hatchard (Michael is William (Ginger) Hatchard’s (b: 1903) son), and Gregory Hatchard and his family. Gregory is Michael and Rita’s son. I have updated the Hatchard Family Tree with this latest information.

May 15, 2000 – Today, I received a letter from another branch of the Hatchard family, Gwendolene, Archibald (Archie’s) daughter. This is the one branch of the "Descendants of William Hatchard" that I had not heard from. I will immediately pass this information to my Aunt Ruby, as she and Gwendolene corresponded but lost track of one another in the 1970s.

May 28, 2000 – Received a telephone call from Julia (?) Hatchard who is interested in the Hatchard name. Julia’s father’s name is Frederick. I am not sure about a relationship, but I am mailing a copy of the information I have to date. We’ll see.