The Tree of Me

Recently, I was in Canberra for a meeting and a conference so I took the opportunity to visit Cooma in an attempt to locate the burial place of my ggg grandparents James and Ellen Agnew. James died on 14 th July 1864 at Countegany and his death certificate states he was buried at  Cooma.   Ellen died on 13 th May 1891 and was buried in the Roman Catholic Cemetery Cooma. Unlike his brother Henry who died in 1884 and has a headstone at Mittagang Cemetery, there is no headstone for James or Ellen there. The only real clue I had came from Monumental Inscriptions Monaro.   1. Christ Church is an Anglican Church just out of Cooma on Church Road and was an early burial place for the Cooma district. Christ Church Maneroo 1845   Christ Church Although Anglican, early Catholic burials took place there. Thanks to transcribers in 1977 I had two clues. Graves 106 and 107 were for a Patrick Agnew and James Agnew. The remainder of the h...

This week my Trove Tuesday post revolves around James Agnew - son of James and Ellen (Alicia) Agnew of Cooma. The first mention of James Agnew in Trove occurs in a list of emigrants arriving by the ship Waverley from Dublin in 1847. He is one of the 2 sons of Alicia (who was know as Ellen in Australia) Agnew. Alicia and her family joined her husband James Snr in Australia in 1847. Her sister-in-law Catherine who is also mentioned below did not arrive on the Waverley but came the following year on the Success . Sydney Morning Herald, 9 November 1847, p. 3 Some time between 1847 (when he was about 13) and 1885 James Agnew left Cooma and headed south to Sandhurst in Victoria. His family lost track of him there and the following advertisement was placed in The Argus in 1885 by his younger sister Matilda who was anxious to contact him. The Argus, 24 Aug 1885, p. 1 Reading this now, I would have loved more detail. When did he leave the Monaro and when did the family last h...

I am currently in England visiting my daughter who is working in London. Naturally I decided I would have to spend some time on genealogical pursuits. The problem was where would I choose for a few day's retreat from London? In the end I decided to go to Northampton to visit the grave of Caroline Chisholm. Caroline is known as the immigrant's friend. She was a well known social reformer of her day. Why is Caroline significant to me and my family? You may recall that Caroline Chisholm was on the original $5 note in Australia. As well as her image there was a picture of a ship. That ship was the Waverley . Caroline agitated at the Home Office to reunite the wives and families of convicts with their husbands and fathers. On 22 June 1847 she wrote that she ‘had just left the Home Office and had obtained a passage per Waverley for forty-nine souls.’ SMH 9 August 1847, extract from letter 30 March 1847. My great great grandmother Matilda Agnew, her older siblings James, Joh...

Thanks to Geniaus for finding this challenge from Bill West . 1. Find a poem by a local poet, famous or obscure, from the region one of your ancestors lived in. It can be about an historical event, a legend, a person, or even about some place (like a river)or a local animal. It can even be a poem you or one of your ancestors have written! Or if you prefer, post the lyrics of a song or a link to a video of someone performing the song. 2. Post the poem or song to your blog (remembering to cite the source where you found it.) 3.Tell us how the subject of the poem or song relates to your ancestor's home or life. I can immediately think of 2 possible posts. I grew up in Tenterfield so Peter Allan's, Tenterfield Saddler could be a good choice. However, last year I went to Northern Ireland and was very fortunate to be shown around the Castledawson, Bellaghy area by Eugene Kielt from Laurel Villa in Magherafelt. Laurel Villa Guesthouse in Magherafelt is often the...

Where are you Marion? or Why haven't I checked message boards for years? At the moment I am kicking myself. Years ago (and I mean many years ago) I would often post on or search message boards. I now wish I hadn't stopped the habit. Last week I came across this message from Marion dated 2004. I am searching for my great grandfather James Agnew born derry ireland. abt 1827 died in Australia 1907. He married Elizabeth Jane Bone in 1888 in Melbourne Australia. He also married Bridget Cahill in 1854, Ann McCartney in 1858, and Harriett Meadows in 1859. I have this James Agnew as a possible but highly probable member of my family. Ellen (Alice) Agnew arrived in Australia from Castledawson, Londonderry aboard the Waverley in 1847 with her four children to join her husband James in Cooma, NSW. Much research which can be found on the internet, only mentions 3 Agnew children, John, Rosanna and Matilda. James, the eldest seems to have moved from Cooma very early on. Research my au...

I was alerted a couple of months ago by Trevor McClaughlin from Macquarie University in Sydney and author of From Shamrock to Wattle about an book Murder Trials in Ireland 1836 - 1914 that had been published in 2009 by an Irish colleague, W.E. Vaughan. Trevor thought I would be very interested in the book as my ancestor James Agnew and his brother Henry had been convicted in Londonderry in July 1836 for having employed Patrick Toghill to take away the life of Henry McWilliam. I immediately ordered the fairly expensive book from The Book Depository and eagerly awaited its arrival. I have not been disappointed. Although I haven’t read all the book yet, it is littered with post it notes and markings throughout the book (I never used to write in books!). It has really helped me to gain a better image of Ireland at the time and how the legal system worked. Vaughan’s chapters include: an introduction discussing the scope of the study, apprehending a suspect, committal, indictment and arra...