The Tree of Me

I recently attended an online genealogy lecture that introduced the concept of using mindmaps for family history research. As a teacher, I’ve often used mindmaps with my students, but it hadn’t occurred to me to apply this technique to my own research. Inspired by the lecture, I purchased  Mind Mapping Made Easy for Family Historians  by Linda Hammond. Yesterday, I explored various mindmapping tools and ultimately chose  MindNode Next . I was looking for a platform that was user-friendly, visually appealing, and offered features like the ability to add images, collapse nodes, include links, and export to PDF. MindNode Next checked all the boxes. After looking at several I've decided to use MindNode Next. I have a 2 week trial and then there is an annual subscription fee that is quite reasonable. I currently have timelines for many of my ancestors so I plan to see if using mindmaps can enhance and organsie my research further Knox Moore - Timeline I've started to use this ...

Over many years of research I have been unable to find the registration of the birth of Knox Moore, my great grandfather. What information do I have? I have located the births of the following children to John Moore and his wife Margaret Jane Henry. John Moore            28 December 1872         Ballycregagh, Antrim, Ireland Rosetta Moore       18 February 1875            Ballynagashel, Antrim, Ireland James Moore         25 September 1881         Greenock, Renfrewshire, Scotland John Moore            25 September 1881        Greenock, Renfrewshre, Scotland Elizabeth Ann        14 July 1884                      Glencoe, New South Wales, Australia James               ...

This morning I was listening to the radio and a woman was being interviewed about and was playing a button accordion. It made me think of the accordion in my cupboard. Accordion belonging to either Knox or John Moore, Wallangarra Internet research leads me to believe that it is a Vienna model Hohner diatonic accordion made in Germany. The melody is played on the row of buttons on the right. There are two buttons on the left for bass and chord accompaniment. Only one of the three draw stops at the top remains. One day when I was probably about 10, my uncle Matthew Moore (1907-1981) gave me the accordion which had belonged to someone in the family. Now of course I can't remember who owned it. It was either his father Knox Moore or his grandfather John. Did it come with the family when they emigrated from Ireland or did they have it when they lived and worked in the sugar mills in Greenock, Scotland? Perhaps it was purchased after they came to live in Australia. I may hav...

I have been researching my family for over 40 years but thanks to Trove I have a new branch to add to my family. I searched for Knox Moore (my g grandfather and a ggg uncle had the same name) in Trove as I have done many times before. I was rewarded with a funeral notice for Isabella Taylor, his sister. This was big news to me. The Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld. : 1872 - 1947), 19 Aug 1911, p. 6 . I purchased her death certificate and yes, she was the daughter of John Moore and Margaret Glen, the sister of John and Knox Moore. Which leaves me to wonder, how many more Moores are there?

When my great great grandmother Margaret Jane Moore (Henry) died on 1st August 1923 her death certificate stated that she had two deceased sons. Margaret Henry had  married John Moore on 21 September 1871 at Ballymoney, Antrim, Ireland. Upon her death she had 5 surviving children. Knox            b     c1873     Ireland Rosetta         b       18 February 1875     Ballymoney, Ireland Elizabeth      b       1884     Glencoe, NSW, Australia James            b      1887     Queensland Margaret       b       1889    Brisbane, Queensland My previous research had discovered two sons not mentioned on her death certificate. John             b       28 December 1872  Dervock, Ballymoney, Antrim James...

This week is week 11 of   Shauna Hicks  challenge for 2014.  Shauna said that t his blog challenge is to stimulate my own genealogy blogging efforts in 2014 by focusing on a different kind of genealogical record each week. I wanted a challenge that reflected my own archival background as well as my own genealogy interests and there are probably lots of other records that I could have included. The challenge has an Australian focus but most of these records will be found just about anywhere in the genealogy world. In the past I have made many trips to Canberra, Brisbane and Armidale to search microfilms of newspapers. I have searched through original newspapers at the Tenterfield library. I have even transported these bound papers in the boot of my car to Armidale so they could be microfilmed after I informed the university of their existence.  However, these excursions are now more infrequent due to the advent of Trove in Australia. Genealogical research ...

Thanks once again to Geniaus for coming up with theAccentuate the Positive 2012  geneameme .  At this time of year many geneabloggers take stock of what they have achieved or not achieved in the previous twelve months and set themselves goals for the coming year. I have been reading several of these posts this week. I feel that a lot of my geneablogging friends are too hard on themselves; several have reported on their successes this year but quite a number have lamented that they haven't achieved as much as they set out to do or that they haven't blogged with the frequency they envisaged. You are a bunch of highly motivated people who have made great strides in the genealogy sphere. Let's share the good news. My response Perhaps I had been one of those who lamented about the lack of progress this year. So for the last hour (or more) I have sat here contemplating my efforts and I have to admit they are not so poor. I just wish I had more time to devote to this ex...

When my daughter suggested that we catch a train from London to Glasgow, hire a car and drive to Edinburgh via Loch Ness I couldn't have been more delighted. Little did she know that although my great grandfather had been born in Antrim, Northern Ireland he and his family lived in Greenock (not far from Glasgow) before they emigrated to Australia. Our TomTom, which we called Lorraine led us straight to 52 Wellington Street, Greenock, West Renfrewshire. At the time of the 1881 Scottish census this was the home of John Moore, his wife Margaret and their two children Knox and Rosetta. John's brother Knox and his wife Jane and their sons John and James lived next door at number 54. Both John and Knox were sugar house employees. Wellington Street, Greenock Outside the house where my great great grandfather Knox Moore lived with his parents John and Margaret in 1881. Research of course always leads to more questions which necessitate further research. 1. Has the ...

Although my children have purchased many an item from ebay in the past, until about 2 weeks ago I had never placed a bid. However, something tweaked my interest. I have a google alert set up for Wallangarra, the small country town in Queensland where I lived until I was almost 13. Most of the alerts I receive are for house sales and the Riding and Pony Club with occasional football results.  But last week there was an alert for a postcard of the Wallangarra Railway station for sale on ebay. I just had to have it! I was the only bidder for the Wallangarra Station - Border of N.S.W. and Queensland postcard so it was mine. It had never been posted. It has a squiggly line on the back which is definitely not writing. This is a shame as it would have been great to have identified the card with a specific family. Unfortunately, I also don't know when the photograph was taken. The only thing I can positively say is that my family lived there when the photo was taken. The only fam...

Years ago I asked my father how his grandfather Knox Moore had lost a finger. Of course, he was astounded that I knew his grandfather was missing a digit and asked how I knew. The photos below show exactly how I made the discovery. It's there in his wedding photo in 1907 but by 1913 he was missing part of the first finger on his left hand. Knox Moore and his wife Mary (Polly) McColm - 1907 Knox and Mary Moore with their children Matthew, Rosetta, Knox (baby) and James (in front) - 1913 My father then said that Knox had lost his finger on a circular saw. Many years later someone asked him how he had done it and as he told them how it happened he did it again. Part of another finger was gone. For years I thought no more of the story. A couple of months ago I was randomly searching the digitised newspapers on Trove . Here was the story verifying that Knox Moore had had 2 accidents involving a circular saw. The Brisbane Courier (Qld.: 1864 - 1993), Friday 18 November 1...