I'm a Newbie - have only been doing family research for about a month. This is my first time on a forum. I live in Southern California. I love to scrapbook which is why I decided to start some genealogy searches. I am working on a heritage family. I am researching my maternal grandmother's parents and family but have come to a standstill and happened upon this forum. I am really hoping someone might have some information for me or be able to point me in the right direction. My paternal side of the family are Downings, McGannons and Blackwell's but I have lots of information on this side if anyone is researching those surnames. I would be happy to share. This is what I know and I hope I am not giving too much information. Please let me know if there is another way to share this info.

my grandmother: Ethel Maud Mitchell, was born 11/17/1907 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Her parents migrated to Canada before 1907.

Ethel's parents: John Mitchell born in Carlisle, Cumberland, UK and Nellie Watson born in Patterdale, Westmoreland, UK near Penrith, Ullswater

I don't have any birth or death dates for my ggrandparents. I do have a confirmation certificate for Nellie Watson at St. Patrick's Church in Patterdale in 1898. I don't know if Nellie is short for anything but my mother's middle name is Eleanor, of which Nellie is a shortened form so her name may have been Eleanor Watson.

Nellie Watson's parents were Henry Watson and Mary Patterson. Her siblings were John Watson, Mary Watson Doolan and Mary 'Mollie' Watson.

John Mitchell's parents were Stewart Mitchell and Mary Forster. There children were John, Joseph, Mary 'Sally', Annie Mitchell McFarland and Elizabeth Mitchell Warick. That is all the information I have on that side of my family.