WHEN Down-Under ancestor hunter Norman Bury's grandfather packed in his job as a tackler at the mill and emigrated to Australia in 1920, it was a move that was to pull up many of the family's roots in Darwen.

For, from their home in Barley Bank Street, not only did grandad John William Bury take along his wife, Mary Emily (ne Amber), and 16-year-old son, Jack - Norman's father - but his daughter, Agnes, and her husband, George Carter, and their children, and his son, Will, and his wife, Alice, were later to follow.

"This meant that no direct family members were left in England apart from the brothers and sisters of my grandparents," Norman explains.

Now, he hopes that 'Looking Back' may turn up descendants of those stay-at-homes - John William's brothers, Esau and James, and sister Alice Ann, who may have lived at 9 Pitville Street, Darwen, in 1930s.

Still not properly accounted for in his quest is another great aunt - Mary Emily's sister, Agnes Amber, who is believed to have married Richmond Bennett.

So far, Norman has discovered that his great-grandfather, William Bury, lived with his wife, Margaret (ne Haworth) and their five children at Dean Street, Lower Darwen, at the time of the 1881 census, while his great-grandmother, Mary Amber, her husband, John, and their two daughters were living at Lower Eccleshill. He hopes especially to hear from descendants of these families who eventually married into the families of Ted Baron and Richmond Bennett in the Darwen area between 1900 and 1910.

"I hope that one or two of them may recall family conversations or possess photographs or memorabilia which could lead to our connecting for continuing family research, as I hope to find a missing link to my family and at the same time, perhaps, help someone else," says Norman.

Any clues? Write to him at 8 Saunders Street, Clayton South, 3169 Victoria, Australia or e-mail: njbury@mpx.com.au

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.