The parish record for Reuben Joynes’ baptism, at St Mary Magdalene, Newark, Nottinghamshire, on 7 November 1812. Image used with permission of Ancestry
In 2001, my middle daughter, Eleanor, flew off to America for a gap year in Minnesota. There she met Mike, and after returning home a year later, they pursued a transatlantic relationship for a few years, before marrying in London in 2006. The following year, I waved her off to start her new life with Mike in the Midwest, believing that she was the first of my immediate family to strike out for a life in the New World, and looking forward to adding some American grandchildren to my ever-expanding family tree (duly provided – thanks Eleanor and Mike!).