Lilian's Tree

Born 19 November 1920, Died 4 November 1994. Joan was the second daughter of Frederick Sigrist and Elsie Ironside. As a young child, she suffered the loss of her father, when she was six months old and her mother, when she was three. Her and Edna were ‘fostered’ by family members.                                            Joan, as a toddler. She travelled to England, where she worked for a while. Joan was a draughtswoman and she drew the maps for the book, The Sleeping City. The Story of the Rookwood Necropolis.  Joan was also involved with the ‘Friends of Rookwood’, giving tours and taking photos. Taking photos, opera and ballet were her hobbies. She loved the Joan Sutherland. She also painted and one of her works hangs on our lounge room wall. When Joan died in 1994, she was cremated and her ashes are in a special rose garden at Rookwood. (Joan was ...

                                                Clara, Lone Pine Sanctuary, Brisbane, January 1957 Born 22 July 1894 [1] , to Thomas Abberton and his wife Louisa Nichols, she was their third child and only daughter. As Thomas moved the family around, frequently she would see many different places, in New South Wales. Marianne would also be known as Clara or Claire. I knew her as Auntie Claire, from New Zealand. On 13 October 1913 she married Frederick William Smith at the Parsonage, May Street, Newtown, New South Wales [2] . Frederick was 26 and Clara was 22. On her marriage certificate, there is yet another name change, this time as Clara Marion. Two children were born to Clara and Fred a boy, James, in 1913 and a girl, Eileen in 1915. Sometime after the end of World War 1, Clara moved the children to New Zealand and this is where she lived, until her ...

Last Thursday, 30 June, I was at Rookwood Cemetery, hunting ancestors graves, as one does. Trying to find a marker, I came across this; The grave is large and very over grown. Back home and I knew I had to find out what happened, so I searched TROVE and the article, below is very detailed. Amazingly one man survived the accident.  'Australasian (Melbourne, Vic: 1864-1946), Saturday 24 March 1900, page 41.'

Great-Grandma, I find your re-marriage and it is through this marriage that I make you mine. You marry Frederick August Conrad Jasper, from Detmold, Germany on 23 August 1884 * , at the Congregational Church, Glebe. Apart from you both living in Christie Street, Glebe, there is scant information on this marriage certificate, too. Frederick and yours first and only surviving child, a girl, Eveline Maud arrives 23 April 1885 * . She will become my Grandmother. Sadly I never knew her but her picture sits on my dressing table. It is on Eveline’s birth certificate that Frederick states; 2 males and 3 females, living per previous marriage on wife’s side. Why didn’t he name them, for me??? After Eveline, you have three more children; 1887, Lilly May, known as Lydia, she dies, aged 15 months, on 11 November 1888 * ; 1889, Violet Louisa, you too watch her die on 19 March 1891 * , she is just 16 months old;   1891, Walter Frederick, he makes it to 18 months but dies on...

                                                    Henry Edward Vaughan. (Since I'm doing this in the hope of finding 'cousins', I haven't any documents for Henry. I have used Trove and the New South Wales, BDM's.) Henry, Henry, Henry, what a merry dance your have lead me on!  I thought I had you neatly packaged up, born, married, had children and died. But no! I know you are the eldest son of Henry and Charlotte, born in 1842, most likely in Sydney. Then I find you, in 1862 getting married to Mary Ann Brown. Seven children follow; 1863 Henry Neatby; 1865 James G; 1867 Alfred E; 1870 Charlotte Alice, died 1871; 1872 Lydia C; 1875 Walter Oliver; 1877 George Atherden.  Finally your death in 1901. But it is what lies betw...

THE LATE FATAL FIRE. While searching through the CD compiled by the Society of Australian Genealogists on Rookwood Cemetery, I found an interesting inscription. “Died on his 23 rd Birthday from injuries received while assisting at the fire of the Prince of Wales Theatre.”   VAUGHAN Henry Fred, 08 Jan 1872.     This really piqued my interest and diverted me from my Vaughans.   A search of TROVE for Henry Vaughan soon had me trolling through several articles relating to both Henry’s death and the fire that caused it. The Empire (Sydney, NSW 1850-1875), Tuesday 9 January 1872, page 3, give a very detailed description of the fire, the death of Henry Vaughan, the theatre itself and the funeral of Mr Coats, another fireman, injured when the wall fell. The Freeman’s Journal (Sydney 1850-1932), Saturday 13 January 1872, page 7, recounts the inquest held into the fire and the deaths of the two firemen.   There is also a wonderful article on, “ TOTAL...

I think that the Garden of Remembrance at Rookwood is a hidden gem. Why?, because it honours those who have died since the end of the conflict they served in. The veteran's death has to be accepted as being caused by war service.  It is run by the Office Of Australian War Graves, part of the Department of Veteran's Affairs. While it looks like a crematorium wall, there are only plaques, not ashes there. There is an office that is open Monday to Friday to help in finding the correct wall and panel . On the weekend there are books that list the veteran's name, service number and date of death and they show the wall and panel numbers. Below are some of the photos I took.