The Tree of Me

 I haven't posted a Trove Tuesday post in a long time. However, I came across this very interesting article while I was scanning earlier research. Uralla Times 7 June 1919 A couple of things of note - people may still have been wearing masks after the Spanish flu epidemic and more importantly I wonder who they were? Perhaps someone somewhere knows this story!

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?

I haven't blogged much this year as I seem to be spending all my out of work hours finishing more work. However, I managed to spend some time searching Trove over Easter and found this gem from The Glen Innes Examiner on Thursday 8th February 1923. The Glen Innes Examiner  Thursday 8th February 1923, p. 4 The Early Days First Child on Clarevaulx Drew First Wheat Mr Spatch's Recollections With a surprisingly clear memory and a particularly active body for his seventy years of life, Mr William Spatch sen - father of Mr W. Spatch of Bald Nob - is a very interesting human link with the early days of this district. Mr Spatch was born on Clarevaulx Station, Captain Philip Ditman, stood as his godfather - a distinction he might well have prized, since the baby Spatch was the first white child born on the station. The parents were employed on the property, and so were themselves amongst the very earliest pioneers of t...

I love it when Trove allows you to find events that would not be easily discovered without a random search. This post concerns my great grandfather, Philip Richard Merchant of Tenterfield. His story made both the Brisbane and Sydney papers. Sydney Morning Herald, 12 March 1931, p. 10 DRAGGED BY A HORSE TENTERFIELD, Wednesday Late yesterday afternoon Philip Merchant, a married man with 11 children, a resident  of the Tenterfield district, suffered severe in- juries when he was dragged several hundred yards by a horse. He was riding on a cart- load of wood, and, when he attempted to jump off, his foot became caught in the reins, tearing the winkers off the horse and causing it to bolt. Merchant was dashed against three telegraph poles. His condition is critical. Philip survived this accident. He died 20 years later in Tenterfield aged 68.

Once again, Trove has provided me with useful family details and another search to clarify information found in these Death and In Memoriam notices. The Argus, Monday 5th February, 1894, p. 1 SEABROOK - On the 3rd inst., at Tough-street, Hawthorn,  Charles Stephen, second son of W.J. Seabrook, aged 19 years. The following year two In Memoriam notices were published. The Argus, Monday 4th February, 1895, p. 1 IN MEMORIAM SEABROOK - In loving remembrance of Charles Stephen, second eldest son of William John and Mary Seabrook, who died at Ravenswood, Tough- street, Hawthorn, on 3rd February, 1894 SEABROOK - In loving memory of my dearly-beloved brother, Charles Stephen Seabrook, who died on February 3rd, 1894. Charlie's gone from his home below' sad it was to hear the blow; But now he's in the realms above, Trusting in our Savour's love. (Harry Seabrook) My first thought was to look up where Tough Street was in H...

My great great grandmother Jane McColm had only lived in Australia for 9 years before she died a few weeks after the birth of her seventh child Ethel. Her husband Malcolm McColm placed this notice in The Warwick Argus. The Warwick Argus, 28th January 1888, p. 2 Here is a link to a previous post about Jane McColm .

As I have written a book about my Seabrook ancestors, Crossing the seas to build a future , I have to admit to not continuing my research with the family. However, since I'm on holidays I have time to spend on Trove and have decided to see what other things I can discover about the Seabrooks and Whites in Tasmania. Previous research involved manual searching of newspapers. Henry William Seabrook and his brother-in-law Thomas White were at one stage in a building partnership in Hobart. These posts that I discovered relate to Mark Smith, an assigned servant or prisoner on loan. Hobart Town Police Report, Colonial Times 9 June 1840, p. 7 Mark Smith, a prisoner on loan, to Messrs.  Seabrook and White, was charged by Mr. White with felony, in having on Saturday night last, picked up a £5 note, his property, which he had lost, and appropriated the same to his own use. He was remanded. The man acknowledged to Mr. White, in the presence of witnesses, that he had ...

What started to be a simple search on Trove has ended with possibly more questions than answers. For many years I have known (or at least thought and was led to believe) that a member of our family, Samuel Mainwaring was aboard the Yongala when it sank of the Queensland coast during a cyclone in April 1911. Yongala There are many news stories detailing the disappearance of the Yongala and all on board. With the benefits of searching via Trove I decided to see what else I could find out about Samuel Mainwaring and his voyage on the Yongala . However, my research has left me a little confused. My first find was a mention in The Zeehan and Dundas Herald.  The Zeehan and Dundas Herald 1st April 1911 My second find was a story told by a Mr Owen Thomas who had boarded the Yongala with Mainwaring in Sydney but decided not to continue past Brisbane. Kalgoorlie Western Argus 4 April 1911 He stated that the run from Sydney to Brisbane was one of the most enjo...

This is a Trove Tuesday post. Although the Tenterfield Star or the Stanthorpe Border Post have not been digitised yet for Trove , I am amazed at how much I can find about my family from Wallangarra in the Brisbane Courier. Another browse last night found this. The lesson about snake bite must have been a popular one at the time. I have a school exercise book belonging to my great uncle and in it he writes a composition about a boy getting bitten by a snake and treating it himself. McCall's sister Jane who was in fact 2 years older than William, was bitten by a death adder on 26th August 1893 and died on the way to a doctor. She was buried on her parent's property, just north of Wallangarra. William McCall later married Catherine McCaul who was my great great grandmother's niece. 

This week I had to go to Lismore for a couple of days for work. This morning I took the opportunity for an early swim at the local pool. Later in the morning I remembered that I had a photograph of my grandfather Don Dawson taken in what I had been told was Lismore. From memory there was a war memorial and some sort of large army vehicle and I thought I had been told it was somewhere near the pool. All I had to do was find the specific location. I decided that I wanted a then and now photograph. I'd get my photo taken in the same place as my grandfather. Now where was the photo taken? There is a memorial at the pool and a large army gun. However, when I searched through the images on my computer and found the photograph there was no similarity as you can see by the images at this site. Don Dawson A search of Trove has uncovered an article in The Argus about the unveiling of the War Memorial in Lismore. Unfortunately it doesn't mention its exact location in Lismore. ...

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...

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.

Trove Tuesday was begun by Amy Houston on her blog Branches Leaves & Pollen . She asked us to blog about what we've discovered and to share it with others. I think it's a great idea. I have found so many great stories on Trove so I'm attempting to blog each Tuesday. I certainly have enough material to keep me going for several months. Last week my Trove Tuesday post told of the murder of Ellen Sullivan . Today I have another murder to share with you. I apologise if this posts upsets anyone as it happened in 1940. Eileen Brennan was the 3rd daughter of seven children born to Thomas Vincent Brennan and his wife Kathleen Egan. She was 22 years old when she was murdered by her employer Leo Grant. He committed suicide at the murder site. Sydney Morning Herald 16 October 1940, p. 12 The report in The Armidale Express was more detailed and stated that Leo Grant had recently purchased the Silver Bell cake shop in Beardy Street after moving from Sydney. He also had a b...

While reading the obituary of Mary Anne Sullivan Ryan, wife of John Ryan of Uralla, NSW, I read that her mother had been murdered when she was twelve. Her lot in this her adopted country was marked by a very grim tragedy, for she had the extremely shocking experiences of a young mother cruelly murdered by the blacks. This tragedy occurred in the Aberfoyle district. Mrs Ryan was then only 12 years old, being the second eldest in a family of four sons and three daughters, the youngest a baby in arms. For several years before the advent of Trove I had searched for documented evidence of the murder of Ellen Sullivan. She died before 1856 so I had difficulty deciding which Ellen Sullivan she was and without a specific year it was too overwhelming to search several years of The Armidale Express . However, once I knew about Trove this search was one of the first I performed. Although The Armidale Express is not on Trove (can't wait for this one) I knew the news would have been publis...

This is my first Trove Tuesday post. I have been so busy at work that my genealogical pursuits are being pushed further and further behind. As you can imagine this is something that I am not happy about. However, as I am on holidays for two weeks I hope to have a few posts ready to post during the coming weeks. I have discovered many great finds from Trove but today I decided I needed to find something new. One of my families lived at 21 Cambridge street, Rozelle and/or its semi-detached neighbour for over 100 years. In fact they rented from the same family for all that time. I must remember to blog about this story. I decided to see if Cambridge Street, Rozelle ever featured in one of the Sydney papers. So today here is my first find. Sydney Morning Herald, 22 January, 1904, p. 3 My great, great grandfather John Charles Ryan lived at 21 Cambridge Street. Depending on the street numbering it is quite possible that Walter Jones would have lived in the next semi-detached hous...