Teensy weensy bit of blue blood
My maternal Granma used to say that “a teensy weensy bit of blue blood” coursed through her veins. Previously I had successfully traced all but two of her ancestors back to England and found no trace of royalty. I ran into many brick walls trying to find her paternal great grandparents who settled in South Australia. This year I found they died in Victoria - the death certificates stated that James Barnes was born in Lincolnshire, England and Martha Johnson in Dublin Ireland. My goal was to find out who was James Barnes and was he the missing link to royalty? James Barnes was baptised on 22 April 1823 in Holbeach, Lincolnshire and his parents were William Barnes, a farmer, and Hannah Nicols. With a rare genetic colour combination of striking red hair and piercing blue eyes James was possibly teased as a youngster. He was still a boy when he drifted away from his small rural hometown and roamed the streets of industrial Birmingham. Not long after his 16 th birthday James faced the Bi
