The Tree of Me

In 2012 I blogged about the family home of the Baumgarten family at Moolan Downs in Queensland.   The Baumgartens moved to Moolan Downs 1908 following the sale of their Victorian property Pleasant Bank Estate near Barnawatha. Yesterday a comment on the post gave me a link to the sale of Pleasant Bank Estate. Albury Banner and Wodonga Express 14 February 1908, p.  6. What a wonderful find which gives specific details of the property and its stock.  I've previously blogged about the Bumgartens here .

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...

My previous Family Home post showed the childhood home of Catherine Ellen Dawson . After leaving Tasmania Catherine moved to Melbourne with her mother and siblings after the death of her father Dr William Lee Dawson. Catherine married Gustav Baumgarten in Melbourne on 30th November 1876. They lived at Pleasant Bank Vineyard at Barnawatha.  According to the Cyclopedia of Victoria they had 180 acres of vines, 465 acres of agricultural and grazing land and a further 300 acres under cultivation.   During 1908 the Baumgarten family moved from Barnawatha to Moolan Downs, near Meandarra west of Dalby. They left a thriving business with an established homestead and moved to western Queensland. One of their first tasks when they arrived was to build the dwelling shown below. Original dwelling at Moolan Downs - c1908 The second house at Moolan Downs The final homestead at Moolan Downs One can only admire our early pioneering families. Gustav died at Moolan Downs...