The Finnigan family has it's roots in County Armagh, Ireland. John Finnigan was born in Portadown about 1818. He joined the Royal Artillery in Belfast, Ireland on 6th July 1836 and served for over 20 years. Obtaining his discharge on 24th November 1856 he 'retired' to Brighton, Sussex, England.

John had five children with Elizabeth White. George, born in 1856, and his descendants is the line of particular interest. On 19th November 1879, George married Elizabeth Wymer (daughter of Elizabeth & William Wymer of Norwich, Norfolk). They had six children - Stanley born in 1892 being the relevant son for this line. During this period the family had moved from Brighton to Camberwell (in Surrey just south of London).

On 2nd January 1915 Stanley married Mabel Maeers and they then moved to north London where five children were born. My father, Norman, was born in 1920. He married Pauline Sturge in 1948 and settled in Southgate - close to both sets of parents. In 1962 our family (Mum, Dad, me & my brother) moved to Sydney, Australia where we have been ever since. In recent years my son, Ken, has married Erin Walsh (an American from Boston, Massachusetts) and they have had a son, Lorcán. They have now completed the migratory cycle by moving back to London to live.

In 1914 my mother's Grandparents - Lewis & Amelia Sturge - and four of their five children emigrated to Melbourne, Australia. Only my Grandfather - Archibald - remained in England and fought in the Gloucestershire Regiment in WWI. There are a number of Sturge families still living in the Melbourne area.

Whilst the outline provided above relates purely to my ancestors, there are equally (and possibly more) important ancestors that need to be detailed in my wife's family and also those of Ken's wife's family. I will endeavour to include details of these families as time permits.

As the first step in documenting the family tree of Lorcán's ancestors, I have created his pedigree. This pedigree currently goes back fourteen generations to Nicholas Gullofer who died in Dorset, England in 1693. As time permits I hope to extend this pedigree with details of collateral lines and further details of their lives.