Friday's Family History Through the Alphabet Challenge" - H is for "Homes"

Oh, it is soooo long since I have posted an Alphabet Challenge Story!!!

The Letter "H" is the next in line and today's post is "H is for Homes".  How do we find out about our families "Homes".  I think "Homes" means much more than an address, or the house that our family lived in. " Home" conjures up memories of the people in the house, social customs, social conditions, neighbourhood and neighbours and the events that took place in that house. Our search for our family stories would be so much easier "if only the walls (of their home) could talk". However since the "walls" do not talk, we much look to other means to find out more about how our ancestors lived.

Census- provides a lot of information about a home

1. Accessing the census records of your family will assist with learning a little about their home.  A census record will provide you with details of the address, how many people were living in the home, their occupations, who their neighbours were and their occupations. Once you have located the address, you are able to delve deeper into the history of their "Home".

 2.  A visit to the local court house or Lands Titles Office may provide you with the official records of the house, change of ownership and changes of street names, numbers etc.You may be able to access, Building Permits, that will provide information on additions to the building, Utility Reports will provide information on water, gas and sewerage installation (or if older house if these utilities were not installed).  Insurance records may also provide interesting information,  most notably fire insurance claim forms. These can contain information about the nature of an insured building, its contents, value and  possibly floor plans and details of claims made in the case of a home/house fire.

3. The local Historical Society will be able to assist with background to events, social conditions, employment for the people who lived in and around your ancestor's home.  Check out your local library collection for publications on the historical development of your area. Published histories of the area, often compiled by a local historian or heritage group, will provide valuable background information on building development, social conditions and often include pictures of houses in the area.

My Nanna's Home in Milton, NSW

4. Searching local newspapers can provide records of the home being sold, family events such as births, deaths and marriages. Newspapers can also be good sources for information and town histories. Searching the name of the street that your family lived in can provide stories of events and incidents that would have occured while your family lived there. These stories can add a lot of colour to your understanding of the home life  of your family.

5. Check family letters, scrapbooks, diaries, and photo albums for more possible clues. Photos of the family home can tell us so much, if they were affluent or working class, if they had a garden, laundry, out-house etc.  Did they have a fire place? What kind of building material was used?

6. Family and Neighbours can provide insight and a deeper understanding of the history of a home. Contact your older relatives, their friends and neighbours.  Their memories will be invaluable, take time with them, over a cup of tea to hear their recollections. Show them some old photos/newspaper articles, if you have any, these will help trigger memories and help the stories to flow.

Cassell's New Universal Cookery Book

7.  Finally, another resource which can provide an understanding of life in your ancestors home are recipe books.  If you are lucky enough to have inherited a family recipe book, it will provide information on the foods that were available, how they prepared cooked their food, how resourceful were they when there was a shortage of food and who was responsible for the preparation of the food.

Cook books such as the one seen in this picture (Cassell's New Universal Cookery Book), provide a lot of information on the social background and conditions of the family. This book is aimed at middle class Victorian families, and not only includes recipies, but house hold tips, budgets, descriptions of cooking utensils, and details on the roles of the different members of the house hold domestic staff.  

There are a number of useful resouces that assist you in finding details on your ancesters house, however, in this blog I have attempted to take this search a little further, with resources that will help you to understand more about your ancestors "HOME".

Sharing Memories - Aunty Tilly Holman Part 2

Matilda (Tilly) Taylor

In my last Sharing Memories post I wrote about one of my fondest memories of my husband’s Aunty Tilly( Holman nee Taylor)  and promised to share a few more of her stories.  Don't you just love this picture of her as a young girl!

In 1988 our family moved from Queanbeyan, to Port Macquarie, on the North Coast of New South Wales so we were not able to visit Aunty Tilly as often.  However, whenever we drove down to Queanbeyan to visit relatives, we always tried to drop in to visit Aunty Tilly overnight. She always welcomed us with open arms, making up beds and providing us with dinner.  One of my favourite times was when we all sat in her cosy little lounge room, which displayed an extensive collection of royal memorabilia including mugs and plates which featured events such as the royal wedding, coronation and  royal visits to Australia.

Aunty Tilly would settle into her chair with her knitting and with a little encouragement relate a multitude of stories about the times she spend in the bush as a young trainee teacher, or when she went to the opening of the parliament house in Canberra in 1927. She could remember clearly the famous Cowra Outbreak in 1944 when at least 545 Japanese prisoners of war escaped from the prison camp which was not all that far from her home, on the outskirts of the town.

As Aunty Tilly grew older, she would drop off for little micro naps.  My children would giggle in delight as

Family Picnic with Aunty Tilly

they watched her knitting in front of the TV, nod off and snore softly for about 10 minutes (knitting in hand), then wake up and keep on knitting without missing a stitch.

The prospect of travelling large distances was never daunting for Aunty Tilly.  Every year, until she was into her mid 90’s she always joined the annual bus trip down to the Melbourne Cup.  If there was an upcoming family christening, wedding or party she was the first to organise her travel arrangements.  These travel arrangements were not straight forward and usually, included a bus trip, and a couple of train trips. 

In 1996, at the age of 96 the Country Women’s Association (CWA) was holding their annual conference in Port Macquarie.  What a great opportunity! Aunty Tilly called to tell us she was coming up for the conference and could she stay with us for a few days.  Her trip entailed, a taxi ride from her house to catch a 5.30am bus from Cowra to Bathurst (100 kms), where she caught the train to Sydney (200kms), then changing trains in Sydney to travel Port Macquarie (about another 400 kms).

I would pick her up from the train station amazed at how sprightly she still was.  The Conference was over three days, and on the first day, quite a fuss was made as she was by far, the oldest member of the CWA attending.  On the second day I dropped her off in the morning and promised to pick her up around 4.00pm.   At about 3.30 that afternoon, I received a call, it was Aunty Tilly asking if I could pick her up from the Marina instead of where the CWA meeting was being held.  Why I wondered?

To cut a long story short, she had found the second day of the meeting a little boring, so she had walked into town (over a kilometre) to the Marina, and booked herself onto a lunch time cruise of the Hastings River.  “It was such a nice day”, she said, “why should I waste it sitting around in a boring old meeting”.  She had paid her money, hopped on board and enjoyed the hour trip upstream, then when the other passengers got off for a stroll around while the crew prepared the lunch, she had a little nap on one of the seats, arranging for the “Captain” to wake her when lunch was ready.  Yes that was our Aunty Tilly.  Then she was ready for the singing and frivolity on the way back. 

Life was never dull when she was around.

Wordless Wednesday - Thelma Linda Vida Palin



Thelma Palin (in solders uniform) and friend

 In keeping with the ANZAC celebrations of this week, here is a picture of my great Aunt Thelma Palin and a friend. Thelma was born in Solomon Town, South Australia on the 11 August 1900, and her parents were Charles Palin and Eliza Golding.  Thelma would have been about 15-16 years of age and living in Broken Hill, NSW, Australia.  The inscription at the bottom of the picture shows that the picture was taken in a Studio in Broken Hill.  I wonder whose uniform she has borrowed for the photo?

Thankful Thursday - Blogging Reflection

I was reading Geneabloggers over the weekend and clicked on to some of the blogs Anniversaries. Oh! I must have started my blog Family Stories: Photographs and Memories about a year ago, I thought.  Let’s check the date!!  OMG, I missed my anniversary! My first blog was on the 4^th April 2012, Gathering Information for Your Family Tree.

When I look back, I don’t think I was at all sure where my blogging would take me.  I just knew that I enjoyed my family tree research and wanted to share some of the stories and photos that I had gathered along the way.  I first became interested in blogging when I was studying an undergraduate degree in Adult Education. One of the subjects I studied was e-learning, which fascinated me. Part of our assessment in this course was to do an online course and write about the experience in a blog.   I was hooked!

My first two attempts at writing blogs, were just travel blogs.  The first was when I went to Nepal, Nepal- Climbing High.  However, for a number of reasons I only managed to blog for part of the trip.  I always intended to finish the story when I got home, but it didn’t happen.  My second blog was when I went to Mexico for six months to complete a Masters in International Studies.  This blog, Six Months in Mexico,  was just aimed at keeping family and friends up-to-date with my adventures, and the ups and downs of studying in a foreign country.  It is great to occasionally look back on this blog, to observe my growth through that quite intensive undertaking.

These experiences led me to start blogging about my genealogical experiences.  What an interesting year! I think the part I enjoy the most is the opportunity it has provided  me with to connect with other bloggers and family tree researchers.  I have a lot to thank GeneaBloggers for.  The day I discovered this site and joined up was quite a turning point.  The sharing of information, ideas for blogs and connections with other bloggers has been very rewarding.

Some of the highlights for me have been finding some focus for the many stories that are swarming around in my head, for example,  Sharing Memories” and the "Alphabet Challenge".  I have also found the  Follow Friday - an accumulation of my weekly research lists, a great way to record my research discoveries on the subject area that I have most recently been delving into.  It is great to be able to share these lists with others, and to be able to refer to them at a later date. The story that I have enjoyed writing the most has been my recent blog on my great uncle Alexander Joseph McDonald who was killed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915, ANZAC day.

My favourite project for the year has been the starting of a new blog “The other half of my family tree- stories of my female ancestors" .  Family history often ignores the women in family trees, not so much by intention, but because of the lack of information on our female ancestors.  So I decided to take up the challenge of  delving into the stories of the women in my family tree.  This project has been very rewarding, though I have found it takes me a lot longer to put these stories together.

Regrets:  I have a few regrets, mainly that I don’t have the time to write and research more stories.  Also, I would like to be able to spend a little more time reading other peoples blogs and to comment on them.  I know when someone comments on one of my blogs it gives me a buzz, to think that someone has taken the time to read something I have written.

Future:  A New Blog!!   Yes here I am complaining about the lack of time and then I announce a New Blog!  For me this is exciting.  I am in the lucky position that my 10 years long service is due this year.  I am going to use some of this leave to travel to Lancashire, UK and spend a month researching the Taylor/Rushworth Family, in particular Elizabeth Taylor (nee Rushworth) (1841-1927).  My new blog, "Visiting Family Links - a genealogical journey" will be a combination of Travel/Family Tree discovery journal, that shares my experiences, research and hopefully leads to some further connections/advice for my research.   

Amanuensis Monday - Letter from Major McCall to Dennis McDonald re death of Alexander McDonald-Anzac Landing WWI

 I have just completed my first blog in the  2013 Trans Tasman ANZAC Day Blog Challenge on my Great Uncle Alexander Joseph McDonald and thought I should also share with you the letter that was sent to his brothr Dennis McDonald from his commander Major J.F. McCall, 1st Field Company, Australian Engineers.

Received 27/12/15

Mr D. McDonald
Randwick

Dear Sir,

Your letter dated May 21st, has only just reached me now, November 7th, I don't know where the fault is at any rate, here it is though, really until the last few weeks it was quite out of the question to sit down and write letters.  I will try and tell you now all I know of your brothers death.

I left with the first party before dawn, your brother was to follow with the second party directly after we landed.  He was on the T.B.Destroyer and was in the act of stepping off her deck on to the ladder leading to the store boat, when he was hit.  At first it was thought he would pull around, but I think though of this, I am not certain that peritonitis set in and he died as far as I could ascertain about ten days after being hit.  All this was not made known to me till weeks later.  In fact it was not then authenticated until June 6th.  When the roo called on the evening of the 25th, of April.  Prior to the company moving up to General Walkers position and your brothers name was called the reply 'wounded on landing" was given four days later when we came down to the beach again, at Anzac I made the most diligent inquiries and then found that the poor chap had been hit on the Torpedo Boat whilst actually supervising the disembarking of his men and watching that they did not expose themselves when stepping from the deck on to the ladder. 

The enemy was pouring in a heavy shrapnel and machine gun fire on to the boats, they had to get ashore, and someone with a big heart had to superintend, a man with a cool head and a brave heart only was of any use and Corporal A.J. McDonald was the man.  It was almost certain death for the man doing the job yet he took it on, stepped onto the breach and calmly and cooly directed operations until he received his wound. Even while lying on the deck of the Destroyer waiting medical attention he gave some directions just as cool as ever.  

 He was a big loss to the Company and personally I regarded his loss as I would the loss of one nearer to me.  I have proved his worth and his sterling good qualities over and over again in Egypt and Lemmos.  In the strenuous time Lemmos, prior to moving up to the Dardanelles he was one of my right hand men, he personally supervised the making of the rafts that were of such unmeasurable value later on at Anzac.  Then he was always so genial quiet but one of those men that impress people by very nature of their quietness.  And I am sure it will comfort you to know that as regards his religious duties he was most consistent.  He made his Easter Communion on the Transport Suffolk with about 1,000 of us so he went to his Maker prepared. 

 If I can get further particulars of his death, where he is buried I shall send them to you.  Some of our poor boys are on their way to Australia.  Maybe one or more of them were with your brother when he was hit and could tell you everything about it.  I hope to be spared to return to Sydney when I may be permitted to call on you and fill in some blanks that are missing.  Meanwhile if there are any further inquiries your desire made, let me know and I'll do my best concerning them.

Remaining,
Very sincerely yours,

J.F. McCall Major,
1st Field Cop., Aus. Engrs.

Military Monday - 2013 Trans Tasman ANZAC Day Blog Challenge - Alexander Joseph McDonald

"I turned around to get the second tow ready, when a man just in front of me dropped, hit in the head. This was the first casulty and very soon there were several other's hit.  There was some difficulty in getting the second tow ready but eventually when a naval cutter came alongside, we got in and started for the beach; three men were hit before the boat struck the shore.  When she hit the beach, I gave the word to get out the men got at once, in water up to their necks in some cases, men actually had to swim several strokes before they got their footing.  It was almost impossible to walk with full marching order, absolutely drenched to the skin and I fell twice before I got to the beach where I scrambled up under cover of a sand ridge.  I ordered the men to dump their packs off, load their rifles, and waited a few seconds for the men to get their breath.

It was just breaking dawn and, as we looked towards the sound of the firing, we were faced by almost perpendicular cliffs about 200 feet above sea level, and as we were of (the) opinion that most of the fire was coming from this quarter, it was evident that this was the direction of our attack.  Therefore, after a minute or two, having regained our breath, we started to climb."

The 11th Battalion & 1st Field Company, Australian Engineers, 24th April 1915AWM A02468

This powerful description of the landing of the 11th Battalion and 1st Field Company of Australian Engineers at Gallipoli, by Captain I.S. Margetts in his diary entry on the 25th April 1915*, sets the scene for my blog today. My great uncle Alexander Joseph McDonald was among these troops as they attempted to land on the beach of Gallipoli.

Today I  would like to to tell his story as part of the challenge set by Auckland Libraries' Kintalk Whānau Kōrero: family history blog, which invites  bloggers to share their family military stories, on the 2013 Trans Tasman ANZAC Day Blog Challenge.

This is a great opportunity to tell some our family's military stories.  My attention was caught recently when reading the obituary of my great grandmother Annie Shepherd (nee McDonald). Mentioned in the obituary, was the death of her brother Alexander on the 25th April 1915 at Gallipoli. With ANZAC day approaching, this is an obvious choice for my first story in the 2013 Trans Tasman ANZAC story.

Alexander Joseph McDonald was born in Braidwood in 1882, the last son of Donald McDonald and Margaret Hanlon.  I started my research on the Australian War Memorial Site, and found the details his service number, Unit, Rank, and date of death. Corporal Alexander Joseph McDonald (Service Number 132) was a member of the 1st Field Company Australian Engineers. A picture of his grave in (Row 3, Grave 8) Schrapnel Valley (about 400 yards SE of Anzac Cove) can be found on the Australian War Memorial web site.Using Alexander's service number I looked up his military record on the National Archives of Australia Service Records web site. 

His service records provided a mine of information.  He is described as a 30 year old, natural born Australian, from the small town of Braidwood, NSW. He was employed as a plaster and painter and had served his apprenticeship under the guidance of his father Donald McDonald.  His brother Dennis McDonald, a policeman based at Randwick Sydney, is listed as his next of kin.  At the time of his enlistment, he was single, however, before leaving Australia he married to Ms Eileen Abrams**.  His sense of duty to defend his nation must be noted as his enlistment date is 19th August, 1914, just a few days after Britain declared war on Germany on the 4th August 1914.

Looking through Alexander's record I noted an entry under previous service "18 months in the NSW Mounted Rifles and was discharged at the completion of service".  What did this mean??? With a quick google of the NSW Mounted Riles, I found that Alexander, along with his brother Dennis and Donald, had served in the The Boer War as members of the 2nd NSW Mounted Rifles This regiment was established in early 1900 and was composed of men from New South Wales.
  

"Preference was given to trained men who were good shots and good riders, subject to tests as ordered. The age limit was 20 to 40 years; standard height, 5 feet 6 inches and upwards; minimum chest measurement, 34 inches. Applicants were also required to be single men and to pass a military medical examination.  Rates of pay as for Citizen's Bushmen".*** 

You can only imagine how Donald and Margaret McDonald would have felt when three of their sons all left at the same to fight in a war on the other side of the globe.  Fortunately, Alexander, Dennis and Donald returned from South Africa, and it seems that the town of Mogo, on the South Coast of NSW celebrated accordinging.  The Tilba Times, reported their return:

Mogo - "we have much pleasure in chronicling Sergeant Denis McDONALD's safe arrival after 12 months soldiering in South Africa. Denis was invalided home owing to bronchial catarrh contracted after the enteric fever. Pte. Alex McDONALD, his brother, is returning at the end of this month [c5.1902] and still another brother, Donald (otherwise 'Yank'), has volunteered and sets out at the end of this week".****

The small town opened its arms at their return and a function was organised at the local hall to welcome the McDonald brothers home.

"Mr. LJ Hurley in a few words also welcomed 'the boys'. Mr. D McDONALD on behalf of his brother and comrades, heartily thanked those present for the manner in which they had been welcomed home. The school children, instructed by Miss O’Connell, then sang "The Sons of New Britannia" in stirring style, and the chairman called on those present to join in singing "For they are jolly good fellows". The hall, which is a credit to the town of Mogo, although somewhat far removed, was decorated, and above the stage were the words "Welcome, Home, Sweet Home"."****

The politics of the world was unsettled and volatile over the coming years, with war finally being declared on the 4th August 1914.  Alexander was quick to answer the call to arm, enlisting into the 1st Field Company of Australian Engineer.  In just over a month his leadership skills were recognised and he was promoted to Corporal. He and the rest of the battalion soon left for duty overseas, his new bride farewelling a husband not knowing that she would never see him again.
 

Soldiers disembarking into the boats, AWM A01829

25th April 1915.  It was just before dawn when the 1st Field Company and the 11th Battalion climbed into the boats that were take them to shore.  The first wave was led out by Major J.F. McCall,  Corporal Alexander McDonald was to lead the second wave once the first wave landed.  However, he was hit as he stepped off the deck of the Torpedo Boat onto the ladder leading to the boat. Corporal McDonald was supervising the disembarking of his men, watching that they did not expose themselves when stepping from the deck of the Torpedo Boat onto the ladder. Major McCall describes his bravery,

"The enemy was pouring in a heavy shrapnel and machine gun fire onto the boats, they had to get ashore, and someone with a big heart had to superintend, a man with cool head and brave heart only was of any use and Corporal A.J. McDonald was the man. It was almost certain death for the man doing the job yet he took it on, stepped onto the breach and calmly and cooly directed operations until he received his wound. Even while lying on the deck of the Destroyer waiting medical attention he gave some directions just as cool as ever."*****

Alexander was taken to the hospital ship "Clan McGillivray" but died later that day from the wounds he had received. The medical war diary for that day reports describes the chaos of the day and the difficulty in dealing with the numbers of wounded.

 Medical Diary,  25 April, Gallipoli Peninsula

“Unit land with main body of attacking force in three rows from 10.00am to 12 noon. On reaching beach were allotted position for establishing casualty clearing station.  The number of casualties and wounded to be treated was great.  They came in so quickly that nothing more than first aid could be done.  Cases evacuated to Hospital ship “Gascon” which carried 250 seriously wounded to transport Glen McGilloway which our  to take highly wounded. Cases were load into boats for transport to ship by navy.  The whole charing staff worked splendidly throughout the day and most of the following night.  Owing to pressure of work and the necessity of keeping the beach clear of casualties.it was impossible to keep record of all cases treated."

Corporal Alexander McDonald was among the serious wounded who was transported to the Glen McGilloway.

What is really poignant, his records show that a small brown parcel was returned to his wife and family on the 4th February 1916.  This parcel contained a prayer book, letters, cards and handkerchief.  Such small mementos for a family and wife who mourned the loss of this brave soldier.

RIP Corporal Alexander Joseph MacDonald

_____________
 *  Extract from Captain I S Margetts, Diary, 25 April 1915, AWM 1 DRL/0478, viewed on Gallopili and the ANZACS, http://www.anzacsite.gov.au/1landing/nbeach1.html, viewed 9/4/13.
** NSW Birth Deaths and Marriages, registration 16617/1914
*** The Light Horse Studies Centre, http://alh-research.tripod.com/Light_Horse/index.blog/2131101/2nd-new-south-wales-mounted-rifles-outline/ , viewed 9/4/2013.
****Australians in the Boer War - Oz-Boer Data Base Project, http://members.pcug.org.au/~croe/ozb/oz_boer_more.cgi?record=12720, viewed on 15/4/13.

***** Letter to Donald MacDonald, from Major J.F. McCall , received 27/12/15.

Family Recipe Friday - Mum's Golden Syrup Dumplings

Steaming, light fluffy golden balls, covered with a thick golden caramely sauce!!!!  With a dollop of cream or ice cream!!  YUM   Golden Syrup Dumplings have been a family favourite through many generations of Australian families.  This simple economic recipe provided a tasty dessert for many families.  I have found copies of the recipe Australian newspapers dating back as far as the late 1890’s. 

Golden Syrup which is a by-product of sugar has been a favourite in the Australian Kitchen for many years. With a little research on Trove, I found recipes dating back to the end of the 1800's.  In a previous Friday Recipe blog, I wrote about Anzac Biscuits, and the importance of golden syrup for this recipe.  Again, the sticky sweetness of Golden syrup is the vital ingredient of our golden syrup dumplings.

Launceston Examiner 13 November 1893

Golden Syrup Dumplings were a favourite winter dessert in our household when I was young, and I in turn made it for my children.  This is recipe is from my mother’s book, and she informs me that it the same recipe that her mother used.  It may not be the best for your waist line but every now and then, on a cold winter night, it is sure to be a hit with whoever you serve it to.

 Here is Mum's Golden Syrup Dumpling Recipe.  I am sure it will continue to be passed on through the generations of my family.