Lilian's Tree

 On the 21 November 2010 I wrote my first post, it was very short. Now it's the 21 November 2024 and this is my 812 post. I've just had a very quick scroll through what I've written about, here is a list; Books, Trips, Life in general, Conferences, RootsTech, Congress, Study, Classes I took. I've done three A-Z Blogging Challenges. They are every April and you pick your own theme. I did 2016 and 2021 in the April but in 2018 did it in June as I was busy in April. 12 Ancestors in 12 months was another challenge, I based it on the 52 Ancestors in 52 weeks. There have been Trove Tuesday posts, different themes on different days. National Family History Month, in August, has seen posts. Jill Ball has us looking back each year as to what we have done.  I also used the blog as a way of recording what we did during the Covid-19 pandemic. Interesting to look back on. I also finished the study I wrote about. Had my book published but the second one is still a work in progress. A...

 Back in January 2021, as we were settling into another year of Covid 19, I did a post on the confusion between two sets of Henry and Ann Nicolls/Nicholls. You can read about that here, as it will help with what is to come,  Soring out Henrys and Ann(e)s Fast forward to February 2024 and RootsTech, or more specifically Relatives at RootsTech.This is a fun thing that FamilySearch does, using your family tree and others, to find connections. You do have to have a FamilySearch account and have some form of a tree as well. Over the years that Relatives at RootsTech has been going I've always   had all   of my matches on my maternal side. Imagine my delight when I discovered that of my 96 ancestors, 95 were maternal and one was paternal.   Now I will say that my top matches on  maternal side are known to me, so they don't  have me rushing to do more research. The suggested match was a 2nd cousin twice removed, okay close but not  real cl...

Week 2, Travel. Well travel has been a bit light on since Covid-19 'travelled' the world, stopping us from travelling, so I've selected different photos, each with a story themselves. Callan Park. While this looks like a beautiful building, it was once a lunatic asylum. Here for several years, before being sent to Newcastle, my great-grandmother, Mary Ann GALBRAITH, nee GRANT resided. Suffering from what we would now call depression, caused by the sudden death, (overseas) of her husband, leaving her with a shop to run and two boys to look after. It became to much for her. A birthday treat, in 2017 of a 4-WD drive wilderness trip in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, saw me asking the driver if we could stop at Hartley Cemetery and search for several graves. He thought it was fun and so we stopped at two cemeteries and found Hubby's ancestors graves. Berrara, just out of Sussex Inlet on the NSW South Coast, a place that we would holiday at, most years when the children ...

 Jill Ball started this years ago and as 2020 has been a challenging year, I though I'd have a look back on what has happened. While Covid-19 curtailed face-to-face meetings, technology has enabled us to stay in touch, attend meetings or just catch up, so enjoy my Accentuate the Positive for 2020. 1)  An elusive ancestor I found was,  none this year. I mostly added new information, to the ones I have, as I’ve spent a large amount of time researching.      2)     A great newspaper article I found was, I’ve explored more of the wonders of Trove, whilst looking for information for clients and my own blogs. You find the most interesting things just by turning the pages.       3)  A geneajourney I took  was to Salt Lake City and RootsTech. There I did research in the Family History Library, attended informative lectures, caught up with friends, made new ones and won four  DNA kits from the major companies. ...

 Life has happened in an interesting way and I haven't really felt like blogging but I would like to share my RootsTech 2020 journey. After the fantastic Sunday exploring Antelope Island, I thought that I'd crash. Nope! Sleep eluded me until the wee small hours of Monday, which then caused me to sleep in and not start my day how I planned it. I had wanted to be a the Family History Library, when it opened but while that didn't happen I did get there by 9.15am. Tried to research but gave up and went to find friends.  There was a large group of us waiting to see Dear Myrtle and have a chat. Jennie Fairs and I were in the first group and it was great to catch-up.  Then we all went to lunch in the John Smith building. Being interviewed by Dear Myrtle. After lunch Pat Richely-Erickson, Roberta Estes, Jennie Fairs and I went to Quilt Etc. a lovely quilt shop and did some shopping. The view from the shop was lovely. Back in the city Roberta, Jennie and I cont...

Arriving late on the evening of the 22nd, dinner and bed were my only two options and both were very welcome. Sunday dawned cool and blue skied and Kristy Gray and her navigator James Green took several of us on an amazing sight seeing tour. First stop was on the causeway leading to Antelope Island. Why, you may ask? Well look at the photos. The reflections were stunning.                        Stopping next at Ladyfinger Point, we walked to the viewing area. From there we could see across the lake and the water was so very calm. I spotted a coyote. We spent several hours exploring the island, gazing is awe at the mountains and the reflections. Bison and antelope were view, including one bison who crossed the road in front of us and then did a bit of a dance. The antelope are called Pronghorn and are the fastest land animal in North America. There are over 500 Bison on the island and they ...

Way back in October 2013, I took my first DNA test, with FamilyTree DNA and wasn't surprised by the results. In fact I was disappointed, until friends explained that it confirmed my paper trail. Ethnicity Estimate, British Isles    87% Scandinavia    10% Trace                 3% Nothing happened until RootsTech 2017 and a new testing company, LivingDNA, came on the scene. So in May 2017, I again scraped my cheek and sent it of for testing.  Again I wasn't really that surprised with the results. Ethnicity Estimate, Europe             98.8% Central Asia       1.2% February 2018, saw me take a test with MyHeritage, only to find that both FamilyTree DNA and MyHeritage use the same testing company. Something I wish I had known before I tested. My results weren't that different. Ethnicity Estimate, Europe      100%    Thi...

I'm going to break these post up because yesterday I had a technical glitch and lost 2/3's of the post. Not Happy! So Day 3, 3 March, here in Sydney, 21C and 6.00am. I've just watched Myko Clelland, give a great presentation on FindMyPast's British and Irish Hidden Gems. It was going really well, then Myko got a blank screen, thankfully not the blue screen of death. A tech guy was called in but Myko continued on witht he presentation, first without his notes but then with then. (They had been handed to an official). He really knows his stuff and the audience were enjoying themselves. It was great to see a full house.  Even with the handout, I still took four pages of notes and learnt new ways of using FindMyPast. Yesterday I mentioned the cost is a factor in going to Rootstech but one of the main reason, if not the BIGGEST reason in attending RootsTech, is the friends you meet and make. My first trip, in 2016 was amazing. I only had to open my mouth and I ...

My collection of goodies started on the Monday before RootsTech started, with a gift of a CD,  containing a Webinar on Dropbox. Dropbox isn't something I've used, so I'm looking forward to 'playing' with it. Presented by Thomas MacEntee, I know it will be good.   Then there were business cards, ( I ended up with a bundle) and the start of the ribbon collection. Blogger beads were also received, on Monday and by the time RootsTech got underway on the Wednesday, I had 11 ribbons, to hang from my name tag. I ended up with 38 and during RootsTech I split them into three, so I wouldn't trip! Badges were also collected.     My RootsTech bag and Syllabus, were part of my goodies. I've now marked what topics I did and what I want to follow up on. These were freebies. The magnets have a pop-out centre, where you can put a photo. The pens are the ones with the soft tip, so you can use them on iPads. After doing Devon's ...

Writing is something that I'm going to send time doing, this year. I had some good advice about writing and the amount of words, to write. A good friend suggested that I set a word target for the month. This can include, my blog, family history writing, assignments, anything and then I won't become overwhelmed.   Will see how I go. Found these two books, in Dymocks, Little Collins Street, Melbourne, when shopping with the granddaughters. The grammar and punctuation one is self explanatory and will be useful. Writing the story of your life, is a practical book. Divided into four parts;   Where have you been all this time?; The practical matters of writing.; You, the night, the music.; What happens when you write? Each part is then divided into chapters, which have sub-sections like  discipline.  They contain exercises to work through and I should become more proficient with my writing. Looking at the different s...

    With  Christmas and New Year over, my thoughts are turning towards my trip to Salt Lake City, Utah, For RootsTech. I hope that there will be snow, like last year. It was my first experience of snow and I loved it! I'm really looking forward to catching up with friends I made and also making new ones. This year there will be a large Australian contingent and it will be great to catch-up with them and enjoy the Commonwealth Dinner. There are so many interesting and wonderful sessions, that picking just one for each slot it becoming very hard. Several of the ones on Scotland have caught my eye and there is a new one on Ireland as well. Decisions, decisions, decisions.   I know from last year that some are just promoting a product but that others, with vague titles were fantastic! I'm also working out what I need to research.   It is always good to go to any research facility with a plan and going so far, this is a must. I will be bloggi...

Hi, You would think that having been to RootsTech, I'd want a break from genealogy seminars, never! Unlock the Past run genealogy cruises and when they are in port, they run seminars. Yesterday was Sydney's turn, with Judy G Russell and Paul Blake presenting some of their talks. Judy is wonderful, with her knowledge of both the law and DNA. I've 'done' my DNA but haven't done anything, much, with my results. Judy explained the ethics of genealogical DNA, privacy issues, permission to share DNA information, both us and the company we may use. Read the terms and conditions, they make very interesting reading.  Also a discussion on what happens to the DNA test, once we die. Leave very clear guidelines as the various companies have different storage lengths. Judy also mentioned family secrets and the persons right to privacy, even if the information is in the public domain. Apply the Golden Rule, threat others the way you would like to be treated. After mo...