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The Macey and McInnes family histories

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Welcome to my family history site

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My name is Betty Macey and I am married to Keith Macey. I started to take an active interest in family history research when my husband’s first grandchildren were born. While we both had long memories, we realised that there was a lot we didn’t know about our ancestors, so I wanted to capture as much information as I could before they faded into obscurity. It has been a voyage of discovery: facts we never knew; stories we thought myth turned out to be true; a rich cast of characters coming to life; and mysteries yet to be solved. I have also undertaken research into my own family, hence this site covers both the Macey and McInnes family trees. This home page is only the tip of the iceberg; there are many more stories attached to individuals within the tree and I shall be adding to these in due course.

The families

The Macey family

My husband Keith's parents were Joe and Ivy Macey, who married on 25 December 1941. We always knew that Joe’s father had come from Deal in Kent, and that was the starting point for my research. There is a strong Kentish connection, but there is also a long-standing association with Bermondsey in London. Both Joe’s mother’s family, the Joyners, and Ivy’s family, the Bates and the Donovans, go back a long way in their London histories.

The McInnes family

My family is Scottish: I was born in Glasgow, to Neil and Muriel McInnes, who married on 23 September 1949. Researching Scottish ancestry has proved a different challenge, but I had a lot of assistance in so far as one of my Canadian cousins had done a lot of the groundwork on my father's side; while one of my mothers cousins had done the same for her side of the family. On my father's side were highlanders, from Islay, with a bit of Irish in the mix; while my mother's side came from lowland Scotland, mainly Ayrshire and Lanarkshire.

Some individual stories

Seafarer and Tug Master

Grandad John Edward Lawrence Macey went to sea as a young man, and later settled in London, becoming a Thames Waterman and master of the tug Cricket.

Canadian connections

For reasons unknown to the rest of the family, Great Granny Sarah McInnes decided to up sticks and relocate to Canada in 1916, taking most of her family with her.

The Walmer Lifeboat

The branch of the Macey family that stems from Joseph Dawson Macey (or Mercer, as he became known) had a long and distinguished association with the Walmer Lifeboat.

In Memoriam

Seven members of our family lost their lives when the house at 31 Gosterwood St, Deptford, took a direct hit from a V1 rocket on 25 June 1944. They are buried together in Hither Green Cemetery, in South London. One of my reasons for starting to research the family history was so that they should not be forgotten.

One man's war

My father, Neil Dunn McInnes, on leave with friends in India during the Second World War.

Do you have information to share?

I’d never have got this far without help and support from many other researchers who have shared their own research or knowledge; or who have taken the time to look up information on my behalf. If you can add anything to the sum of my knowledge, I’d love to hear from you. Or indeed if you have any questions or comments, please get in touch.

More ...

The Macey Mercer conundrum

What’s in a name? In the early part of the nineteenth century, various spellings of the name Macey were in use, until eventually the family living in Deal settled on the form we now know and love. However, the branch living along the road in Walmer came to be known as Mercer. Read on for more about the divergent names.

More ...

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