“YOU DON’T KNOW WHO YOU ARE UNTIL YOU KNOW WHERE YOU CAME FROM.”

It’s a very old saying but true.

My name is William Purcell. There are many TV programs about famous people and their ancestry.

This story is not so much about the ancestry, amazing as some of that is, but more about the actual search and the tools I used to unravel the many mysteries in my family. Tools like the Birth Death and Marriages register, Electoral Rolls, Census, MacKillop Family Services, Trove Newspaper articles, Public Records Office of Victoria, verbal conversations and even Facebook and then, technology like DNA. Throughout my search, assistance from people who have an interest in genealogy has been, without their help I could not have achieved so much and I am eternally grateful for their help. They all played a major role in discovering this story.

I never expected my search to throw up so many curved balls. It’s a story that will have you scratching your head and re-reading parts to understand the complexities of the many different sagas. I have chosen to write this story in this way to show the tedious work that was involved in discovering the mystery, and I warn you it is a pretty drawn out affair.

I have finally discovered the TRUTH and my IDENTITY. Hence the name for this book.

The very thing I set out to do, but never in my wildest dreams did I think I would achieve it.

This is a legacy that I can now leave to our “Purcell Family” for the future.

It’s amazing how things play out in life. I can’t help but think, “what if” Thomas Pattinson had chosen the other women, my Grandmother Mary Ann, who was carrying his child also, none of this would ever have happened, and I would not be here writing this story.

For anyone wanting to visit the graves of our ancestors, most can be found in the Bacchus Marsh and Greendale cemeteries.

If you do, at some time, get to read my book, and you enjoy it’s intriguing tale, I wish those contemplating researching their own families trials, GOOD LUCK .

If you wish to purchase a copy of William’s book, please contact me through this site.