Lilian's Tree

 Last Sunday I mentioned that I had found the Monumental Inscription for Samuel Galbraith, my 2x great-grandfather. Below is a transcript of part of that;   "In memory of AGNES McNISH GALBRAITH b8 Nov 1812 d 17 Nov 1867 Yst day of SAMUEL GALBRAITH Merchant, Ayr The above SAMUEL GALBRAITH d 24 Jul 1877 aged 62yr. Also his wife MARGARET NICOL d 2 May 1893 aged 79. (left side) - Also JOHN and ALFRED GALBRAITH d inf  also his g- son GEORGE GALBRAITH"*   (My emphasis) George is the mystery and I have spent time this week looking for him and he is proving to be as elusive as some other ancestors.  Now you might ask, Why look for him, he isn't a direct ancestor?  Well, he is a mystery and I love a good mystery. So here is what I've done, so far.   Samuel Galbraith b 1815, d 1877 married 1836,  Margaret Nicol b ? d 1893. Their children; 1)      John b 6 March 1837 – 1837/1840. 2)      Janet b 7 Oct...

Thirty days out and I'm away, visiting family in Melbourne. Our granddaughter was in the school musical and we promised that we would attend. This time we flew down and back, rather than take two days, each way,  to drive.  The musical was wonderful and the school has a bunch of very talented kids. In the past 10 days I have made contact with a taxi company, in Galway and arranged my tours. One to Ballynakill, where my ancestors came from and one to Connemara, just for sight seeing. I've also been checking out how to get from Glasgow to Ayr and train is the best option. This has lead me to down-loading maps of the locations I need. I've also been checking out places to go, whilst I'm in Glasgow. I've registered at Smart Traveler, got spare passport photos and ordered garden soil, for the vegetable patch!  Yes, I'm going to plant my bulbs and some vegetables, before I go, so I will have a Spring crop, this year. I've also been shopping for non-perishabl...

Born 11 August 1852, [1] his birth details state that he is ‘lawful son of Samuel Galbraith Merchant in Ayr and Margaret Kidstone Nicol his spouse.’ Arthur is baptised on 12 September 1852.  He is their second son, to be named Arthur, with the first one being born in January 1850 and dying, sometime before August 1852. This using of the same name was a common practice. I next find Arthur, aged eight on the 1861 Scottish Census [2] , living with his parents and six siblings at 15 Hillock Place Ayr. He is a scholar. The family also has a servant. How Arthur came to the Colony of Victoria, I do not know and this is something I hope to discover, one day. On 14 August 1883 [3] he marries Mary Ann Grant. Arthur is 30 and a Storeman, living a 3 Neill Street, Carlton, whilst Mary Ann is 23 and living at Douglas Terrace, Albert Park. A small announcement in The Age, (Melbourne, Vic 1854-1954) Monday 27 August 1881, Page 1, Family Notices, tells of this happy event. ...

Ancestral Places Geneameme Elsie Minnie Ironside and Frederick Charles Sigrist. My husband's side. Alona Tester from http://www.lonetester.com/2017 started this idea, that we look at where our ancestors places of birth or where they worked. “It doesn’t have to be where your ancestors were born, but it does have to be a place that they were associated with. For instance they lived or worked in that place.” says Alona, in her blog. This got me thinking and using my Brother’s Keep family tree program, I did a list of places, with events attached to them. Some were vague, like Sydney or Ireland, some were precise, like Denison Street, Woollahra. So below is a list of some of the places, associated with both the Abberton, my side and the Magill, husband’s side of our family tree and the names that go with them. I didn't get the full A-Z. A – Ayr, Scotland, (Galbraith). Arncliffe, Sydney NSW, Aus, (Abberton.) B – Ballinaykill, Co Galway, Ireland...

Cheryl Hudson Passey , does this each week. Picks a different surname from her tree and blogs about it.  I though what a great idea, so here goes. Which one to pick??? GALBRAITH Looking at Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clan_Galbraith    I discover that the Clan Galbraith is an armigerous clan, that is one with out a chief. I know it has a tartan, as I have a scarf of the same. There is a Facebook page for Clan Galbraith, I'm waiting to join that. Now, these bits and pieces are all well and good but what does the surname Galbraith have to do with my tree. Back in the 1800's, in Ayr, Scotland, Samuel Galbraith  married Margaret Nicol and they are my 2xgreat-grandparents.  Samuel and Margaret had four children, that I have found, two named Arthur. The first Arthur was born in 1850 and was dead by they time the next child, another son was born, in 1852. As was a custom, in some places, this new son was given the deceased child's name, Arthur....

For those Genealogists, reading this, you will know the excitement of having a brick wall finally fall and the other questions that this event brings. Nearly 30 years ago I started researching my family tree. Things were very different then, microfiche, microfilm, waiting for weeks for certificates or replies letters and endless questions waiting for answers. I knew my Mum's Dad, Grand pop, and with a bit of detective  work was able to find his birth and then his parents marriage, both in Victoria and his brother's birth, here in New South Wales. Mum's birth and her parent's marriage date were known, good, things were falling into place. Now all I had to do was find the deaths of Arthur and Maryanne Galbraith. How hard could that be there aren't that many Galbraith's on the microfiche, I should have this 'done' in a couple of weeks!  1560 weeks latter and I finally have the answers for both Arthur and Maryanne! Arthur Galbraith was born in Ayr, Sco...