Are you, were you, have you any connection with or any information on, a BREADMORE, BREDMORE, BRADMORE, BREADMAN or BREDMAN?

All references sought - worldwide - any-time.

Margaret Young

1945 - 2011

Margaret Young died on 7 August 2011 after a short and unexpected illness with cancer.

She first started on the family history trail in 1988 when her seven year old son, Andrew, used his Christmas book tokens to buy My Family Tree Book by Eileen Totten. They were in the London Street branch of Blackwells bookshop in Reading, UK, and the year was 1988.

Margaret took delight in pulling out the family papers, deeds and certificates to help Andrew fill in his new book. The pages began to fill up.

She realised she should look into the family history more and over the next 23 years became deeply involved. The computer software, Reunion, was bought. Databases were created. Files formed. Record offices were visited; letters written; graveyards and family homes visited; photographs taken; and, in due course, the Internet was scoured.

But Margaret remained fascinated by her beloved grandfather's surname: Breadmore. Where did it come from? Why? There can't be many Breadmores can there?

The Breadmore One-Name Study was born 21 years ago in 1990 and, after initial apprehension, Margaret joined the Guild of One-Name Studies five years later. In time she would become the Guild's Berkshire Regional Representative and attend annual conferences.

By the end of 1996 the first Breadmore Christmas Letter had been published and these soon became eagerly awaited by her dozens of correspondents in genealogy around the world. By Christmas 2010, copies were going as far afield as America, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and Japan. In March every year she would begin hunting for material to illustrate the cover with each issue becoming a bigger challenge.

Over the years she also came to the attention of Berkshire Family History Society. By 2010 she had risen to Projects Coordinator and sat on the Board of Trustees and Executive Committee. She sadly, but very responsibly, resigned all posts shortly before her death to allow them to find successors.

Besides genealogy, Margaret was a primary school teacher for 30 years, a Brownie and Rainbow leader for 40 years, latterly sitting on two committees for the local Berkshire camp and activity site, helped run a local schools and arts festival for over 25 years and loved travelling on holiday in Britain.

Upon learning that the future was not bright, Margaret wrote an open letter to everyone she knew. In line with her instructions it was distributed on the day of her death and can be read here.

Margaret leaves her husband, Brian, and her son, Andrew.

Andrew has immediately taken over the Breadmore One-Name Study and, although nowhere near as experienced or knowledgeable as his mother, will see it into the future. E-mail: andrew@breadmore.org

Want to know more?
If you are descended from a BREADMORE (or variant) would you like to know more about your branch of the family? I hold a large database relating to over 2,000 individuals including Census details, Birth, Marriage and Death registrations, Wills, WW1 documents and many other miscellaneous items from around the world.

Can you help?
If you have any information on BREADMOREs, BREADMANs or variants; certificates / newspaper cuttings / birth, marriage or death announcements or indeed anything - however small, wherever in the world, whenever in time - it will be gratefully received.

E-mail Andrew Young at andrew@breadmore.org

Andrew Young - andrew@breadmore.org - © Margaret and Andrew Young
Breadmore One-Name Study - Contact Details - http://www.breadmore.org/