Lilian's Tree

 Jill Ball invites us to do this every year and it is a great way to reflect on what you have done. Remember to  Accentuate the Positive   1. On revisiting some old research I found ...That I had mixed birth and death dates up, so I fixed that.   2. In 2023 I hooked up with a new (to me) living cousin ... Several DNA cousins but we haven’t actually meet, yet.   3. I'm pleased I replaced a tool I had been using with… replaced and upgraded my laptop. The old one was out of date. The iPad will be next in January, for my birthday.   4. My sledge hammer did great work on this brick wall ... nope, it didn’t work, might need a jack-hammer!   5. I was pleased that I finally read ... Elizabeth MacArthur's  Letters, edited by Kate Grenville. It was an interesting glimpse into Sydney from 1789 to 1849.   6. I enjoyed my geneajourney to ...nothing this year, next year during our road trip there will be one.   7. In 2023 I finally met ... Rachel Frank, author of

 This year my research has been hap hazard, a best. While things have been found and research done, I felt that I could have achieved more, if I had been organised and to that end I've started planning for 2024. I've set-up a folder, containing 12  coloured dividers and each section is for one ancestral family. I've made a document, for the questions I am asking, so I know where the research is heading. Each one is in the same colour as the divider. I've also have the same set-up on the computer, for when I'm in a repository, researching.  Time will tell, if I stick to the plan but, at least I'm organised.

 Back in 2021 I wrote a post about Henry Nicolls, you can read it here  Henry   This lead me to wonder about Elizabeth his first wife, but not enough to do anything then. In the past couple of weeks I've done some research on Elizabeth and while I still haven't found out what happened to her, what I found has been very interesting. Searching for any information about Elizabeth, I find her birth/baptism recorded twice on the New South Wales, (1) 6576 Vol 1B and 2) 439 Vol 10). The first one has missing information and the second one includes them and reads; Christian Name: Elizabeth When born: 2 September 1823 Date of ceremony: 9 May 1824 Where ceremony performed: Parish of Post Macquarie Where registered: St. Thomas, Port Macquarie Father: John WHITEHEAD Mother: Esther Abode: Port Macquarie Quality or profession: Prisoner Very interesting. A search of records has shown that both John and Esther were convicts. John arrived on the Elizabeth (1) in 1820 and Esther on the Mary Ann(

In my two previous post about Adelaide Ironside,  (read them both through these links,  Adelaide   and Famous ) I said that I would do another post and well here it is, somewhat late. In 1987 Jill Poulson wrote a book about Adelaide titled Adelaide Ironside, The Pilgrim of Art. The book is a beautiful account of Adelaide's life and her art. Adelaide was born in Sydney in 1831 and died in Rome in 1867. She was Australia's first woman artist to study overseas and defied the time to become a professional artist. After her death, Adelaide's body was taken to London and buried with her mother, in West Norwood Cemetery, London. In 1985 a headstone was placed on the grave. A search of Find-a-Grave doesn't show any memorial photo. Today her painting, The marriage at Cana of Galilee hangs in the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Here is a link to her entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography,  Adelaide Ironside  

It seems, of late that there  are  people, both here and overseas that want to re-write, whitewash or even obliterate history because it isn't 'correct' in this day and age. BUT WHY? I acknowledge that there have been things in the collective past of this country, Australia, that if they happened today would have us all demanding justice, and rightly so. We shouldn't 'gloss over them', as if it was insignificant, nor should we forget the past.  We can't go back and change anything. In the October edition of the UK magazine Family Tree,  www.family-tree.co.uk  columnist, Diane Lindsay discusses the television program, Who Do You Think You Are?   She mentions that the people were shocked by their ancestors past. Diane then goes on and makes this statement, that I think is very relevant. " We might and should individually regret and collectively apologise for the shameful parts of the past, but it wasn't our fault or our shame and we can't mend or,

  My good friend  Jill Ball  posted this on her blog and has challenged us to do likewise, so here goes. When you have read my answers, why not cut and paste and play along! 1. Read the first chapter of a book in a bookstore Yes, how else can you know if a book is good.. 2. Bought a book in a bookstore What is a bookshop for is not to buy a book or several. 3. Stayed up all night to finish a book Yep! Still do if it's a good book. 4. Bought a book you already owned Yes, but I now check before hand. 5. Keep track of the books you've read Goodreads  6. Read more than 20 hours per week Yes,  and often have two books on the go at once. 7. Used a receipt as a bookmark   Tickets, ribbon, piece of paper, and I have a good collection of bookmarks, as well. 8. Follow more than ten authors on social media Three, Fiona McArthur, Louise Allan and Catherine Hein. All are Australian authors. 9. A dog-eared book page makes you cringe Yes, such a bad thing to do. 10. Own more than 300 books I

 In July, this year, I had several days away in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, in the town of Bowral and like all good genealogists, I went for a wander in the cemetery and found this grave. Interesting!  I searched  Trove and found five articles about George's death. Ancestry was next and I found his enlistment details. George Johnston Fairweather was born 1838 in New Brunswick, Canada  and enlisted on the Union side, 15 June 1861 in Maine, as a Private. His unit was Company A,  4th Infantry. After nearly three years, George Musters Out, he deserted! Reading where he fought, I can understand why he deserted, they weren't little battles. Searching several online databases, yield few results and add nothing to my research. George's death is covered in several paper, like the;   Mudgee Guardian and North-Western Representative (NSW : 1890 - 1954)  Thursday 20 August 1908 -  Page 25. Two of the papers give a detailed account of the Coroner's Inquiry.  ( https:/

Narrandera was our next stop. This water tower is on the top of a hill and the view was beautiful. Painted right around the tower, here are three of the scenes. Lockhart was a very brief stop on our way to Wagga Wagga, and it was freezing. It didn't reach 10c all day, add in the wind and rain, it wasn't pleasant. This is another water tower, painted right around. It depicts the local wildlife. Murrumburrah was a lunch stop and a look at the silo art. This one is on private property and it was hard to get a good photo.  Grenfell was another quick stop our our way, well it was a detour but the silo art was worth it, (so was morning tea).  Cowra has the most amazing water tower art, that was only finished this year. Situated on a hill, overlooking the historic POW camp site, it showcases indigenous and white children.   

 The 29th April saw us leaving a Melbourne family, after a week with them and starting our Road Trip, we arrived back home, 13th May, we covered 3,149kms! Our aim was to explore as far west as Mildura, then travel back across the Hay Plains, head up to Bathurst and cross the Great Dividing Range and head home. Silo Art, Water Tower Art, Big Things, Street Art were on the agenda and added fun to the trip. I admire those that can paint and those that can paint on cylindrical things, while up in the air, are amazing. Below are some of my photos, show casing this wonderful art. Nuhawill, with an iconic cattle dog. Sea Lake, with this enchanting scene. Mildura has Street Art. Hay was our next stop, with the art work depicting local people, who served in World War 2. These are just three of the people.

Kiama, a costal town 120km from Sydney, home to famous Blowhole is the choice for this post. The black and white postcard, below is in my collection and shows the main street of Kiama, Terralong Street. Taken, looking EAST, towards the sea, sometime after 1897, when the Norfolk Island pines were planted, you can just see the railway bridge in the distance.    Fast forward to 2022 and this Google Street View shows the same street, from much the same spot. The pine trees are still there and in the distance, the railway line, obscured by a car and truck, still crosses the road.  The name Kiama comes from the Aboriginal word, kiarama,   meaning, "Place where the sea makes a noise,"  and if you have ever been at the blowhole, with an onshore breeze, yes the sea does make a noise.

 Where has 2023 gone??? It's nearly the end of April and I'm only just updating my blog. My One-Place Study is slowly coming along, with research done at the NSW State Archives. This gave me some useful information on several of the families, connected to the cemetery. I also sent some time at the National Library of Australia, in Canberra looking at very old maps. Unfortunately while they were interesting, they didn't have land owner's names on them, so I was unable to see where they lived.   I still have to do some research at the NSW State Library and the Royal Australian Historical Society, to see what their collections might hold. While we were in Canberra we did a chocolate tasting at the Murrumbateman Chocolate Factory. It was so lovely just to sit and watch the birdlife as we tasted the chocolate. We also saw the new water tower art, stunning. Easter saw us have the younger two grandchildren for three nights and it was wonderful, they are such a delight to have.

  When my in-laws passed away I inherited a collection of old postcards, over the next few weeks, I'm going to share some of them with you and the information I found. Vessels in Distress, Ulladulla, 1912.   This photo made me curious as to when this had happened. Using Trove, I searched for 'vessels in distress, Ulladulla' and was (pardon the pun), swamped with results. Narrow the search was a good idea and I found several articles about what I think are these two vessels. If my research is correct they are, closest to shore the Seagull and further out the Bellbownie/Behborrie Bellbownie/Behborrie was a steamer and the Seagull was a small tender. This small article describes what happened. Hobart Daily Post (1908-1918), Friday 26 July 1912, p5. I then turned my attention to who had taken the photo. On the back was, 'Issued by H.C. Blackburn, Storekeeper, Milton.' I found that Henry C Blackburn died Friday 27 July 1923 at the home of his daughter Mrs D Briggs. He wa

 The Society of One-Place Studies gives blogging prompts for each month. This month's prompt is #OnePlaceArchives. Today I ventured into the city and went to the Society of Australian Genealogists to view records that they hold on both the cemetery I'm researching and the people buried there. I ordered the records I wanted to look at and they were waiting on a table for me and then the fun began. Like all good repositories of records they records I viewed gave me more questions than answers. I found two more bodies! BUT I did confirm that the one I thought was buried elsewhere is actually in Mummell cemetery, hence a question answered. A bit about the society. Last year it celebrated it's 90th birthday, being the first society of its kind in Australia. Aside from the records they hold, there are a wide range of talks, classes and chats available . The staff and volunteers are very knowledgeable, friendly and helpful, making a visit worthwhile. This link will take you to the