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...

 July's research was going really well and then I decided to expand the branches I was researching.  I originally started the month looking for more information on the family of Mary Ann Abberton and John McLaughlin. They had six children, Sarah, Elizabeth, John, Eveline, Stanley and Francis.  Francis caused the first problem, when several trees had him as a her! Francis is the masculine form and Frances is the female form. Francis is very much a male. His marriage also gave me some confusion as there were two Francis McLaughlin's married between 1923 and 1925. Much digging and the purchase of a death certificate gave me the correct marriage, 1925. Sarah was next to cause problems, she married a SMITH and according to some people died in 1906. Well thankfully for me Sarah married Oswald Smith and I was able to trace them. The death was for a different Sarah Smith, I'm still looking for my one. The other children were easy to research and I've been able to add more lines...

  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 w...

I've been playing around on Ancestry and looking at different hints, on side branches to find connections etc.  Well today I was looking for Jessie James, no not the outlaw but my great aunt. Jessie was born Jessie  Elizabeth Grant on 18 Febuary 1868 at Ballarat, Victoria. In 1891, in Sydney she married Charles Frederick James and they had three children, Beatrice, 1893, Victoria May, 1896 and Frederick, 1898. It is the near marriage of Victoria May, that I found. It would appear that on 13 June 1916, John Laver, son of William Robert Laver(s)(dec) and Alice Miller(dec)  and May Victoria James, were to be married. They were both listed as living at 44 Bucknell Street, Newtown. He was said to be 25 and May, 21. What Happened???? The image I have shows CANCELLED written right across both pages, with nothing else written, either on the certificate or in the margins. Just the details, required for the paperwork. Discovering this has sent me off, searching bot...

I spent time playing around on the Ryerson Index, today and that led me to  a notice in Trove. The Forbes Advocate (NSW 1911-1954), dated Friday 17 March 1944. on page 1 had this lovely tribute to my Uncle Tommy. Uncle Tommy, in more care free times.

For those of us here in Australia, Trove is a wonderful, magical place that we can get side-tracked in, very easily. So I hear you ask, what is Trove? Trove is the National Library of Australia’s digitised newspapers. Covering all states and territories, but not every newspaper, up to 1953, this website is a treasure Trove for family historians. Everything from births, marriages and deaths, to divorces, gossip and so much more. Have a look, you want be disappointed.   The website also has useful guides, explaingin how to get the best out of your search.  https://trove.nla.gov.au/

Newspapers are a wonderful source of information for genealogists. From Trove, in Australia, New Zealand’s Past Papers and the British Newspaper Archive, we can read about our ancestors lives, find out the weather and scan the advertisements, of the day. Here are links to these three, have a ‘play’ and see what you can find.   New Zealand's Past Papers, digitised newspapers and periodicals from 1839 to 1945,   https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz British Newspapaer Archive,  https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/    This site has newspapers dating from the 1700's but is a subscription site. These two little books might help with exploring newspapers.

 This handsome gentleman is Paul's great-grandfather, Ralph MILLAR and I don't really know that much about him. I suppose what we know is the bare-bones of his life; Born c1842 in Maitland, New South Wales. Married 5 August 1879, Gowrie New South Wales. Died 18 August 1911, Tamworth New South Wales. Bee Keeper. Not much is it? So let me expand this. Ralph married Amelia Jane Hughes at Gowrie. This is not very far from Singleton. Ralph gave scant details for the marriage certificate, just his conjugal status, Bachelor, usual occupation, Settler, usual place of residence, Corinda.  Amelia did likewise, with Spinster for her conjugal status, Gentlewoman for her occupation and Branxton for her usual place of residence. No ages, no parents, no birthplace. Her brother and sister, William Hughes and Sophia Hughes were the witnesses. And it was by the rites of the Presbyterian Church of New South Wales. Locating Corinda was interesting, it seems that Corinda was the n...

Judy G. Russell   from The Legal Genealogists posted an interesting blog  about going back to your childhood home, see the link below and it got me thinking about two of my childhood homes. One I know is demolished and villas are built on it the other, well I 'explored'. http://www.legalgenealogist.com/2017/08/05/the-house-of-childhood/ I spent the first nine and a bit years growing up in Earle Street, Arncliffe. I remember it as a good place to live, in the small street there were at least 10 kids, of varying ages, not counting the teenagers. I felt safe, was able to go and play and my mum would know where I was. I think life was simpler then. I'm not going to say safer, just that as kids we simply didn't know about the 'bad'  stuff. I remember that the two teenage boys, across the road, would race their billycarts down the street, turning at the bottom, just before the main road. The street runs between two very busy roads and they were busy back then t...

This is a puzzling question and I'd like to know your thoughts. Several years ago I found my Mum and Dad on someone's family tree and was surprised/annoyed/angry that this person had them there. The person was not related to me, or if they were it was very distant. As both Mum and Dad had passed and their death notices are indexed on Ryerson or can be found on Trove, I suppose that in order to keep his tree up to date he added them. I contacted him and asked if he would remove them, he did but was surprised by my reaction. So here are the questions;  As they were my parents, do I 'own' them? Can I suggest to non family members that they either ask me , to add them to their tree or not put them there, in the first place? While Mum has been gone 11 years, Dad has been gone 59 years, so anyone could get his death certificate, now.  Thoughts please. Bye for now, Lilian.

  Why 21 November? Well that is my the date I started my blog and I have 390 posts now. Will I make it? Don’t know, watch this space.   Today I’m taking it easy as I’ve had a very sore ankle for ages and am finding it hard to walk on it. Annoyed because I prefer to walk, even though I have a car. We aren’t far from the shops, parking is difficult, so it makes sense to walk. Didn’t today.  Been searching Ancestry, FindMyPast, FamilySearch, Trove and the Ryerson Index for any interesting additions or new records. I've had a few interesting bits pop-up and they will give me some fun searching further. Might even become blog posts. So what have I been doing, since we arrived home from Adelaide? Last weekend was a genealogy weekend, (see the blog for what I did), this week we had James overnight and had a delightful time. He is  growing so quickly and his speech is developing, into very complex sentences. Wow! He loves playing Lego, with Granddad and also ...

Following on from my October post about looking for court records, I thought I'd tell you what has been going on. On out last Monday in Adelaide, I filled in the court forms, purchased both an envelope and money order and posted them off, to Courts Administration Authority and sat back to wait. They have to respond, within 30 days.  A thick letter was waiting for me, on 25th October, from them, with my money order attached. They didn't have any records and were returning my money, maybe I could try the Elizabeth Magistrates Court. Well I emailed them on 29th October and by the 31st  had my reply. Nothing!  That is a shame but these things happen. While this was going on I emailed the Clare Historical Society, explaining what I had done and could they find anything else. I had a lovely email back saying, 'as I had done so much, they had nothing left to do and couldn't help me.'  Another dead-end. I haven't given up hope of finding another Trove article, fin...

                                       Damage at Cronulla. Searching TROVE, for a family death notice I came across this small piece about a storm at Cronulla, in 1930. It seems that this is a frequent occurrence, given the bad storm, in June 2016. Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Tuesday 3 June 1930, page 12

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.'

Louisa Vaughan. Louisa, Louisa, Louisa, you prove to be as elusive as your big brother, Henry Edward. Why? I don’t have your birth certificate but I do know that you are the fifth child and second living daughter of Henry and Charlotte, born in 1850. You are included as one of the three females, living, on Henry’s death certificate but not mentioned, at all on your mothers. Why? What I have about you has been gleaned from the marriage certificates of Isabella in 1866 and William in 1867, where you stand as a witness, for both. Then you seem to disappear. I searched for your marriage, in both New South Wales and Victoria, nothing. Searched for your death, in both New South Wales and Victoria, nothing. I spent time searching through TROVE and found three death notices that lead me to discover more about you. “Sydney Morning Herald, Monday 23 January 1922, page 7.” Funerals. "ROGERS. The Relatives and Friends of Mr and Mrs ARCHIBALD CRUM and FAMILY are kindly i...

For TROVE Tuesday, I thought I'd see what was going on in the Melbourne Age, newspaper. I selected today's date and on page 9 found this 'wonderful' treatment for wrinkles. Yes, wrinkles and it is aimed at us ladies. I really don't know if I'd like to have used raw egg, that is recommended. If anyone tries this, please let me know how you go. Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954), Wednesday 28 June 1916, page 9

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...

While in Turkey, in August 2015, I placed poppies on two Australian soldiers' graves, below is my story about one of the Diggers. 488 Private G PARNABY. 24 th BN Australian INF. 15 September 1915 George PARNABY was born in Minyip, Vic in c1896. His enlistment form gives us a description of this young man; Age 19yrs, Height 5'10", Weight 130 pounds, Complexion Fair, Eyes Blue, Hair Brown, Religion Church of England, Occupation Farm Labourer. His Next of Kin is his Grandmother, Mrs Sarah Annie JOHNSON, parents deceased. He has a brother Herbert and a sister Nellie.  George enlisted 7th March 1915 at Sea Lake, Vic. His Casualty Form - Active Service has three stark entries;      30.8.15 Proceeded to join M.E.F.                          26.9.15 KILLED IN ACTION.             ...

The second Thursday of each month is writing group, in at the Society of Australian Genealogists, (SAG) and this is usually followed by lunch at a local cafe. Today was different, as there was another seminar on, in the afternoon. Writing Group was great with 14 members presenting a short talk on a chosen topic. The group is very talented and we were treated to a wonderful selection of topics. The group went for lunch but two of us had booked the afternoon session. Crime and Punishment presented by John Cann, from NSW Archives. Taking us on a journey from 1788 to today, John gave us an overview of what types of records, we could access. While he mentioned two paid sites, most of his talk centred around TROVE and the NSW Archives. Showing us copies of actual documents, he explained what was NOT online and how a visit to the Archives would be useful. If you think you might have a person, with a 'shady' past, have a look at these two sites. www.records.nsw.go...

Using TROVE, I have been able to find out more information on my two soldiers. In the Sydney Morning Herald, Thursday 4 November 1915, is a notice relating to the death of Private Jack Harvey. It mentions that he enlisted at the start of the war and was employed on Round Hill Station. I faired a bit better for Private George Parnaby. The Argus, Melbourne, Monday 1 November 1915, gives details of when he enlisted, his 18th birthday, that his mother died when he was 2 years old  and that he was shot in the head. The Sea Lake Times & Berriwillock Advertiser, Saturday October 9, 1915, has a lovey detailed piece about George's memorial service. Not much to sum up the lives of two servicemen. Bye for now, Lilian.