The Tree of Me

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...

The second book I have chosen to read this year for my National Year of Reading challenge is Pure Cork by Michael Lenihan. I saw this book advertised and immediately ordered it as I have ancestors who came from Cork. I didn't stop to think that the book might be about the city Cork and not the County. My ancestors Patrick and Hanora Flynn and their daughter Ann and her husband Thomas Moylan came from County Cork. Pure Cork is a pictorial history of the city of Cork. Chapters include: Entertainment Transport Industry People Shawlies Buildings Churches I was hoping to discover what life was like in Cork when my family lived there. As they left in 1821, 1824 and 1826, I needed fairly early references.  Although living in County Cork, I don't know if any of my ancestors actually went to the city of Cork. Who knows, perhaps they did? So what did I discover? Cork's oldest hotel, Victoria Hotel was established in 1810. The Imperial Hotel was established in 1816....