Editor: I am currently compiling my family tree and my research shows that I may have relatives in B.C.
I am trying to trace a woman called Ethel Diel (nee Handsaker) who, I understand, lives or has lived in Langley. She is a descendant of James Howard Handsaker, who was born in England in approximately 1831, and died in Australia in 1921.
James was my great-great-grandfather and his daughter Sarah was my great-grandmother.
Sarah had a sister Elizabeth, and I believe Ethel Diel is a descendant of Elizabeth, although I am unsure in what context.
I also know that Ethel wrote a book about the Handsaker family, and I would really like to obtain a copy.
Sarah had another sister, Maria Handsaker (also known as Mary Maria), who left England and settled in Victoria, B.C., where she died around 1944.
If anyone has information about Ethel Diel or Maria Handsaker, I would love to hear from you. Similarly, if anyone can advise me how I can obtain a copy of Ethel’s book, I would be grateful.
I would love to hear from anyone who may be related through James in any way, with a view to keeping in touch. My address is 72 Cumberland Road, Stapenhill, Burton Upon Trent, Staffordshire, England, DE1S 9JS.
Karen Coates