The Tree of Me

This is week 17 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. This week's topic is Court Records. In my research my main contact with court records that I have is via a secondary source -  what is reported in local newspapers. Since the advent of Trove this has become a relatively easy task.  The Maitland Mercury & Hunter River General Advertiser, Saturday 18th April 1874, p. 4 Ludwig Glock found himself the victim of a robbery. George Parker was convicted of stealing £2, two boxes of matches, a ...

This is week 16 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. This week's topic is Naturalisation & Citizenship Records. In all my research of direct line ancestors there are only two families who were not from England, Ireland or Scotland. Members of the Glock family do no appear to have become naturalised. However, naturalisation papers are available for Jacob Frederick Scheef. It would be more than twenty years since I first discovered Jacob's naturalisation papers. They provided a significant breakth...

This is week 15 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. The challenge for this week is civil registration and certificates. My post is going to be a repeat of an earlier post as it's easily the best story I have about certificates. My great, great grandmother Jane Smith McColm has 2 death certificates. When she died on 22nd January 1888 just 3 weeks after giving birth to her 7th child, Ethel Peel McColm, her husband Malcolm obviously didn't know where to register her death. Sound strange to you? Jane died at the...

This is my post for week 14 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. My husband's direct ancestors in Australia are buried from Glen Innes to Uralla - a mere 1.5 hours driving time. My direct ancestors however, are buried in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia. This means, that  wherever I go there just happens to be an ancestor buried there. My daughter once asked if a visitor wanted to see our holiday photos - yes they were headstones. There is now a proliferation of Websites suc...

This is my post for week 13 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. My story this week is about a man I never met but with whom I corresponded for many years. It is about how his personal name allowed me to know I was going to make a connection to my family. William Lee Dawson had moved from Kilronan in Ireland to Franklin in Tasmania in 1854. After his death in 1871, his wife Emma moved to Melbourne to be closer to her siblings. Her four children Catherine, Harry, Louisa and Robert ended up living in Victoria, norther...

This week is week 12 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. A gazetteer   is a dictionary of place-names. Gazetteers describe towns and villages; parishes and counties; and rivers, mountains, and other geographical features. Gazetteers generally list place-names in alphabetical order.  Gazetteers may also be called topographical dictionaries. ( Family Search ) The Family Search website give beneficial information about Gazetteers in Ireland . One of the most useful is Samuel Lewis' typographical D...

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...

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....

This week is week 6 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. Sometimes it can be difficult in a challenge like this to actually narrow the focus of the individual blog post. I could talk about the difficulties encountered because I grew up 50 metres from the Queensland and New South Wales border and spent a long time looking for a family property at the Queensland State Archives only to find that it was in New South Wales. However, I won't discuss that here today. Instead I want to discuss two consecutive records from N...

I'm doing well.  I'm still here for week 5  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. Where does one start with this topic? There are so many family stories I could share starting with those my nanna told me when I was a very young girl. Space was at a premium so I slept in her double bed with her and she kept me up most of the night telling me stories and laughing. How I wish they had been recorded because I'm sure I have forgotten more than I can remember! However, the story I wish to share is one that came f...

Week 4 of   Shauna Hicks  challenge for 2014.  This 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. This weeks challenge is Memorial Cards. I am fortunate to have three memorial cards and the original photographs which were used in these cards in my possession, each coming from my husband's family.  Jacob Frederick Scheef 1835-1904 Christina Jacobina Scheef nee Glock 1842-1912 Margaret Waters 1879-1905 Shauna's post  set her off in the direction of finding out how the little boy died. However, as I know the life stories of these three people I have decided...