The Tree of Me

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.

For this week's Trove Tuesday post I was lucky enough to find mention of a family member in The Australian Women's Weekly. The Australian Women's Weekly, 19 December 1956, p. 46 Royal Melbourne Championship Show 1956 McWilliam's Awarded T.C. Seabrook Trophy for  Most Successful Exhibitor In all still table wine classes Thomas Claudius Seabrook was a wine merchant and judge. You can read his biography in The Australian Dictionary of Biography here . An advertisement taken out by McWilliams in The Argus of 5th November 1956 states that this was the first year this award was presented.

My inspiration for today's post came from my Facebook feed via Gould Genealogy . This post alerted me to the UK National Archive Flickr launch of an Australian collection of images titled Australasia Through a Lens . My first thought was of course to wonder if there were any images I could assist to identify. This is not as silly as it seems as my great, great, great grandfather Henry William Seabrook and his sons were responsible for building many prominent buildings in Hobart. Sure enough in the Tasmanian folder I found a copy of a photo of the Royal Society's Museum on the corner of Argyle and Macquarie Streets, Hobart. Henry William Seabrook and his son, Henry William Jnr, built the Royal Society Museum on the corner of Argyle and Macquarie Streets, Hobart between 1861 and 1862 at a cost of £3772. A prominent architect of the time, Henry Hunter was responsible for the design of the building. The Royal Society's Museum, Hobart Our family is very fortun...

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...

It's back to work for me tomorrow after the summer break but hopefully I will still be able to allocate time to my passion. I will just have to be more disciplined. Over the last few days I've been reading Will Richardson's Why School? How Education must change when Learning and Information are Everywhere. In it he shared several unlearning/relearning ideas for educators. As I read them I could see the point he was making not only for educators but for the genealogy world as well. Share everything (or at least something)  To those who share best genealogical practices and thinking. Thank you. You are sharing some of your knowledge with those who are seeking it. Often I have found tips quite useful and file that new knowledge away for a time when it is needed. Other times I can relate to the post. Sometimes I just love to read the stories you have written. I hope I too have shared information that has been of use to others. There are so many ways we can share ou...

Today is my second blogiversary. Two weeks ago, on one of the hottest days this summer, I asked my husband to look in our storage space between the ceiling and the roof in our garage to look for something that I hoped might be up there. He obliged before it got too hot and found the box. Fortunately it contained what I was looking for - my old birthday cards. Rummaging through them, I found the card that my grandparents sent me for my second birthday in 1962 and thought this would be the image for my blogiversary. 2 years old already? Well that's exciting news! It's plain no other 2-year-old Could ever fill your shoes - Hope your birthday is a lot of fun With frosted cake and candy Games to play and things to do -  Mmm! Aren't birthdays dandy! Yes it is exciting that my blog is two years old. I'm looking forward to the year and will try to post regularly. I wonder if anyone has made me a frosted cake and candy? ...

Helen Smith at Helen V Smith's Keyboard has set this year's Australia Day Challenge. Australia Day, 26th January is a day we celebrate what makes us Australian. Regardless of whether your ancestor came 40 000 years ago or yesterday and regardless of where they were from, together their descendants are Australian. Your challenge (should you choose to accept it) is to tell the story of your first Australian ancestor. To make it fair to both the male and female sides of your heritage why not make it two stories. One each on the earliest ancestor on each side? Patrick Flynn (1791-1862) Patrick Flynn was my first ancestor to arrive in Australia. He was born c1791 in County Limerick, Ireland. In 1811 he married Hanora Connor and they had three children Ann, Mary and Thomas. Patrick was convicted in County Wexford, Ireland for being a whiteboy in March 1821 and was transported to Australia for life.  He sailed from Ireland on 18th November 1821 aboard the s...