The Tree of Me

I grew up in the small border town of Wallangarra and members of my family lived there from the very early days of settlement. Recently I was alerted to a postcard on eBay of James McCook's Royal Hotel. When I saw the postcard I knew I had to have it. Jas McCook, Royal Hotel, Wallangarra, c. 1914-1915? Reverse of postcard Starting with the reverse of the postcard I wanted to identify the 3 people mentioned. Polly was easy. She was my great-grandmother Mary Moore (McColm) (1885-1939). Mary is readily identified with the McCooks and the Royal Hotel. My grandfather, her second son, was born there in January 1909 and Mary's husband Knox was the nephew of Rosetta McCook, wife of the proprietor. The Moores lived and worked at the hotel. A search on electoral rolls has identified Elizabeth and Christopher Noye living in Warwick with their daughter Alice Elizabeth. Alice was born in 1889, so she, rather than her mother, was probably Polly's friend. ( Ancest...

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...

Recently I came across the blog 5000 poppies . Lynn Berry and Margaret Knight have a vision to plant 5000 poppies in Federation square in Melbourne as part of the 2015 Anzac Commemorations The 5000 Poppies project will be “planting” a field of more than 5000 poppies in Fed Square Melbourne as a stunning visual tribute to Australian servicemen and women for more than a century of service in all wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations. People are asked to make poppies (instructions can be found on the site) to be part of this display. Already they have more than 10 000 poppies. I have decided to contribute to this project. My idea is to make a poppy for each of my extended family who fought in World War 1. As I started to make my list of soldiers I became disappointed with myself as I have neglected to tag these men with a military flag in Reunion. I am now trying to amend this. These are the soldiers for whom I will dedicate my poppies. Ernest Lee Dawson Bertram Da...

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 ...

Today's Trove Tuesday post is one begging for information. My great, great grandmother, Margaret Jane Moore died in Wallangarra, Queensland on 1st August 1923. The following year two In Memoriam notices appeared in The Brisbane Courier. The Brisbane Courier, 1st August 1924, p. 6 The first is from her loving son, daughter and grandchildren. This could have been either of her two sons, Knox and James and either of her daughters Rose, Elizabeth or Margaret. I believe it was from Knox and Rose who both still lived in Wallangarra. However, it is the second notice that interests me the most. If is from her daughter Maggie and granddaughter Ivy. I would love to contact any descendants of Ivy, the daughter of Maggie (Margaret). If anyone comes across this post and has information please contact me via the Email link on the View my complete profile link. I believe that if Ivy is still alive she would be about 97 years old in 2012.

I purchased a copy of Ballymoney Old Church Graveyard by Dorothy Arthur when I was in Ireland two years ago. For anyone with family from Ballymoney or the surrounding area, this book is a must. Dorothy Arthur has photographed and transcribed each of the headstones, and provided some information about the families. My families from this area are Moore, Knox, Glen(n), Henry and Hanna(h). There are representatives from each of these families buried at Ballymoney. However, at this stage I can't fit any of these people into my families. One day perhaps! If anyone has family who may be buried at Ballymoney I am more than happy to look them up in this book for you.

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 ...

As a genealogist it is important to place your family in a location and a time period. Families, place and time are crucial to make your family history live. Through research I have discovered that in the past members of our family were in significant places at significant times or were part of significant events. Without research, I would not have known the following: Gustav Baumgarten (gg uncle) is mentioned in Ned Kelly's J erilderie Letter . William Lee Dawson (gg grandfather) was a Member of the Royal College of Surgeons in London. Willi Scheef (very distant relative) was killed on the Hindenberg. Family just out of Dublin could hear the gun shots during the 1916 Easter Rising but didn't know what was happening. The list goes on. But what about the families that didn't seem to leave any information other than what can be gleaned from births, deaths and marriages? What was happening in the town or area in the time period they lived there? Check for images on Pic...

Happy father's day to all my "fathers" who have lived in Australia. Father Ronald Leslie Moore (1932 - 2001) Grandfathers James Malcolm Moore (1909 - 1989) Donovan Franklin Dawson (1899 - 1972) Great grandfathers Knox Moore (1873 - 1942) Phillip Richard Merchant (1883 - 1951) William Henry Dawson (1859 - 1916) Michael Patrick Ryan (1866 - 1940) Great great grandfathers John Moore (1846 - 1929) Malcolm McColm (1851 - 1924) Thomas Hugh Merchant (1843 - 1902) William Henry Allsop (1847 - 1921) William Lee Dawson (1819 - 1871) John Mylan (1833 - 1918) John Charles Ryan (c1837 - 1910) Peter Ogden (1838 - 1911) Great great great grandfathers James Henry Merchant (1818 - 1865) Joseph R Hooton (1827 - 1902) Samuel Allsop (1818 - 1877) John McInerney (c1829 - 1868 Henry William Seabrook (1806 - 1883) Thomas Moylan (1795 - 1838) James Agnew (c1796 - 1864) Great great great great grandfather Patrick Flynn (c1791 - 1862) My oldest "f...

Deserted area and dirt road in front of Royal Hotel and other buildings at Wallangarra,  c1909. I love looking at the images on the State Library of Queensland website and those on Picture Australia . The photograph above is one of my favourites as it is of the small country town in Queensland that I grew up in. The dirt road is now the New England Highway which passes through Wallangarra. I grew up just around the corner. However, the main reason I love this image is that my grandfather was born in Wallangarra. So this photograph shows me what Wallangarra looked like in 1909 when he was born. Even better, my grandfather was born at the Royal Hotel. So this photograph shows me exactly where James Malcolm Moore was born. My grandfather always said he was born on the billiard table. I never knew if he was joking or not! Have you looked at Picture Australia to see what images there are for the town you or your ancestors grew up in? You never know what treasures you m...

From Randy Seaver Genea-Musings . Ah, Genea-folks, it’s Saturday Night again – are you ready for more Genealogy Fun? Your mission tonight, should you decide to accept it, is to: 1)  List your 16 great-great-grandparents with their birth, death and marriage data (dates and places).  [Hint - you might use an Ancestral Name List from your software for this.] 2)  Determine the countries (or states) that these ancestors lived in at their birth and at their death. 3)  For extra credit, go make a “Heritage Pie” chart for the country of origin (birth place) for these 16 ancestors. [Hint: you could use the  chart generator from Kid Zone  for this.] [Note: Thank you to Sheri Fenley for the " Heritage Pie" chart idea. ] Tell us about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this post, or in a post on Facebook or google+. Well it is Sunday here in Australia but here are my great great grandparents. John Moore, son of John Moore and Elizabeth Glenn, was born ...

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...