The Tree of Me

The second book I have chosen to read this year for my National Year of Reading challenge is Pure Cork by Michael Lenihan. I saw this book advertised and immediately ordered it as I have ancestors who came from Cork. I didn't stop to think that the book might be about the city Cork and not the County. My ancestors Patrick and Hanora Flynn and their daughter Ann and her husband Thomas Moylan came from County Cork. Pure Cork is a pictorial history of the city of Cork. Chapters include: Entertainment Transport Industry People Shawlies Buildings Churches I was hoping to discover what life was like in Cork when my family lived there. As they left in 1821, 1824 and 1826, I needed fairly early references.  Although living in County Cork, I don't know if any of my ancestors actually went to the city of Cork. Who knows, perhaps they did? So what did I discover? Cork's oldest hotel, Victoria Hotel was established in 1810. The Imperial Hotel was established in 1816....

Amongst the treasures at my nanna's house is a renewal of a Dray Proprietor's License dated 28th January 1892 belonging to my great, great grandfather John Ryan who lived at 23 Cambridge Street in Balmain. A simple google search for "dray proprietor's license" Sydney came up with the 1854 Act for the Licensing and Regulation of Carters plying for hire with in the City of Sydney. It is a 9 page document which sets out the terms and conditions that were expected to be met by license holders. Section 4 stated that the license would only be granted if the proprietor or driver was of good name fame and character. The vehicle could not be unsafe or in bad repair or unfit for the conveyance of goods or merchandise. The vehicle also had to have its number painted on a plate or plates and affixed to wherever the Commissioners saw fit. I assume 184 must have been John Ryan's number. Unless the charges had been increased he would have paid £2 annually for his licens...

Today is the first anniversary of my genealogy blog although I have to admit this wasn't my first genealogy blog. I had started one a couple of years previously but it only lasted a short time. I wasn't happy with what I had done, nor its name so I deleted it. Why did I take so long to start again? The answer was to be found by reading Amy Coffin's The Big Genealogy Blog Book two weeks ago.  "The hardest part of starting a blog is coming up with a name. Once you've made that decision, the rest is easy."  I agonised for over a year about what to call my blog. However, I was spurred into action by the Australia Day Challenge by Shelley from Twigs of Yore . I knew what I was going to write in this challenge so I had to come up with a name for my blog quick smart. It was unintentional, but I think now that I subconsciously borrowed the name from an article,  The Tree of Me  published in The New Yorker on 26 March 2001. I was initially drawn to the article a...

Last year Shelly from Twigs of Yore challenged geneabloggers to blog about the oldest documentation we had about an Australian ancestor. This challenge actually prompted me to begin my blogging journey. My initial Australia Day challenge was about Dr William Lee Dawson . This year's challenge is described below. Australia Day 2012: Wealth for Toil To participate, choose someone who lived in Australia (preferably one of your ancestors) and tell us how they toiled. Your post should include: What was their occupation?  What information do you have about the individual’s work, or about the occupation in general? The story of the person, focussing on their occupation; or The story of the occupation, using the person as an example.  Dr William Lee Dawson I am again going to use my great great grandfather, Dr William Lee Dawson (1819-1871) as my chosen ancestor. William Lee Dawson began his medical studies on 1st November 1845 at the Apothecaries' Hall and St Vincent's...

Week 4 – Free  Offline  Genealogy Tools : For which free offline genealogy tool are you most grateful? How did you find this tool and how has it benefitted your genealogy? Describe to others how to access this tool and spread the genealogy love. My favourite free offline genealogy tool is Dixson Library at the University of New England in Armidale, NSW, Australia. I have been using this library since 1978 when I began university. If you have ancestors who lived in the New England area, the New England Room may be just the thing for you. The New England Collection exists to ensure the preservation of works related to the New England region...It covers a collecting area from the Queensland border in the north to the Gloucester Shire in the south and from the coast to the Bourke Shire in the west. Check out what is in this collection via the online catalogue . I have been able to access many books and ephemera about the towns where my ancestors lived and worked.  Dixson...

Week 3 – Free Online Genealogy Tools : Free online genealogy tools are like gifts from above. Which one are you most thankful for? How has it helped your family history experience? Where does one start? There are so many fantastic free online sites so I don't think I'll be able to stop at one. I love The Ryerson Index  which is an index to death notices in current Australian newspapers. It is a fantastic resource and thanks must go to those who freely give their time to work on this project. I'm only sorry that the newspaper from where I grew up is not one of those indexed. I'd index it if I had regular access to the paper. Unfortunately, I read the paper fourth hand in bulk about three times a year and I can't guarantee that issues aren't missing. Recently I've been spending a lot of time on the Public Record Office of Victoria  website, particularly looking at their Wills, Probate and Administration Records 1841-1925 . I have been able to ac...

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...