The Tree of Me

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 ...

This week is week 10 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. It seems that each week (or when I get organised) I start to think about what to write for my post, I come up with something that I've already blogged about. This week is no exception. I thought I could share some of the certificates I have from when my great great grandfather William Lee Dawson studied medicine in Ireland and England in the 1840s and 1850s. This was my post for the 2012 Australia Day blogging challenge - Wealth for Toil by Shelly from Twi...

This week is week 9 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. For me this challenge is an attempt to blog regularly. I'm not sure how well this will proceed as I am a few weeks behind already. As I don't live in a capital city it is sometimes difficult to access some records. Yes, many are available online but others still require a visit to an archive or paying a researcher to do the work for me. Personally I prefer to discover things for myself. However, perhaps I should out source some work if it's somethin...

What excites a genealogist? Last week it was a colleague asking me if I might be interested in a book. It was called The Making of Women - a history of Mac.Robertson Girls' High School by Pauline F Parker. I feel he may have been shocked by my exuberant reply. Of course I was interested. I think he was even more surprised when I told him I knew all about the Victorian high school. I quickly flicked to the index and there was the entry I hoped would be there -  Seabrook Norman. Norman Seabrook, the architect who won the opportunity to draw up the plans for the school in a nationwide state government sponsored competition in 1933, presented the Duke with a gold key to mark the occasion. (p. 60) One sentence in the book, and of course I was interested. Norman Seabrook (1906-1978), an architect, worked in the construction industry (as an architect) like many of his family including his grandfather Daniel, several of his great uncles and great grandfather Henry William who were...

This week is week 8 of Shauna Hicks genealogical blogging challenge for 2014. Shauna has said that  this blog challenge is to stimulate my own genealogical blogging efforts in 2014 by focusing on a different kind of genealogical record each week. I wanted a challenge that reflected by 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. I am hoping that this challenge will provide a focus for my blogging efforts this year. This post could have an alternate title - Why I'm thankful for this challenge. Just before starting this post I was holding one of my most valued possessions. It is compact, measures 11cm x 16cm x 2.5cm. The outside is a reddish, browny leather. There was once a clasp (possibly brass - naming metals is not one of my strengths) holding the ends together, ...

This week is week 7 of  Shauna Hicks  genealogical blogging challenge for 2014. Shauna has said that  this blog challenge is to stimulate my own genealogical blogging efforts in 2014 by focusing on a different kind of genealogical record each week. I wanted a challenge that reflected by 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.  I am hoping that this challenge will provide a focus for my blogging efforts this year. For many members of my family I have been fortunate to gather detailed information which has allowed me to know these people much better. However, for others the only records that seem to have been left behind are simply dates of birth, marriage and death, where they came from, where they lived in Australia and how many children they had....