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...

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?

Congress 2018 Finally I have time to sit and reflect on a fantastic four days last week. I am very pleased with my decision to take two days LSL and attend Bridging the Past , the 15 th Australasian Congress on Genealogy and Heraldry. I was always going to wait until I retired to do something like this. My takeaways and homework include: Avoid being sucked into the never-ending hole - only when you start writing do you see the gaps in your research Don't forget about the Government Gazettes and Journals on Trove If we don't tell the stories of those who came before, the history will be lost in just three generations Don't forget to revisit the Historical Land Records Viewer Phase my DNA to work out maternal and paternal lines Check our Scotland's Places in more detail Download Phillamore's Atlas from archive.org Learn more about clandestine marriages Check out Dusty Docs Add more of my family images to Flickr ...

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...

My last Trove Tuesday post told about an accident my grandfather Jim Moore of Wallangarra had with a horse. The previous year his father-in-law Philip Merchant had a more serious accident involving a horse which according to the Sydney Morning Herald left him in a critical condition. The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842-1954), Thursday 12 March 1931, page 10 Unfortunately, The Tenterfield Star is not yet on Trove but I also have the story from that publication. The Tenterfield Star, 12 March 1931. I wonder which newspaper is correct - critical condition or severely injured?

The Week 4 prompt for Amy Johnson Crow's  "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks"  blogging challenge is “Invite to Dinner”. Who to invite to dinner? As usual there are so many choices but I have decided that I would like to invite one of my gggg grandmothers - Hanora Flynn (Connor). I have managed to discover many things about Hanora but there are still so many unanswered questions. What do I know? I know that Hanora married Patrick Flynn on 26th February 1811 at Shandrum, Cork, Ireland. 1. At least three children were born in Ireland, Ann, Mary and Thomas. In March 1821 Patrick was arrested in Wexford County and sentenced to transportation for life.  I know that her husband Patrick applied for Hanora and their three children to be sent out to the colony at the expense of the crown. The Rev. J.J. Therry recommended the application. Hanora lived in the parish of Liscarroll and was known to the Rev Malachy Sheehan, Parish Priest and William Purcell Esq. J.P. of t...

The Week 2 prompt for Amy Johnson Crow's  "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks"  blogging challenge is longevity. Going through Reunion , the genealogy program I use I decided to check out the longevity of my family. The following are the top 10 in my extended family. There may be others but these are the family members for which I have verified data. I have included the most common recent ancestor I have with them. 1.  105 years        Mary Selina FORD (1C3R)                           24 Apr 1880 – 15 Aug 1985                    James MERCHANT and Sarah NEAL 2.  102 years         Maud Eileen SEABROOK (2C2R)                19 Feb 1901 – 28 Sep 2003                     Henry SEABROOK and Sarah WHITE 3. ...