Follow Friday - An accumulation of my weekly research - 7

It is quite a while since I have published a Follow Friday- An accumulation of My weekly Research post, I shall put this down to annual holidays, Christmas and the shock of having to go back to work in the new year.

Over the past few weeks I have been researching sisters  Emma Jane and Mary Anne Weston who came to Australia at Christmas time in 1856.  Emma Jane was my great great Grandmother.  It is an interesting story of two young girls travelling to the other side of the world to find employment in Australia.

Both sisters have an interesting story, Emma married Thomas Lee in 1858* and settled into the Braidwood and then Nelligen Districts of New South Wales and Mary Anne married the same year to William Pronger  and moved to Gympie in Queensland. I believe William and Mary Pronger moved from the mining gold town of Majors Creek/Araluen district (near Braidwood) to Gympie in the early 1860’s when Gold was discovered there. I have found some very interesting resources on both of these areas which have assisted me in gathering a little of their story.  If you are researching the early gold mining days in NSW and Queensland you might find some of these links useful.

Braidwood/Araluen and Nelligen, South Eastern, New South Wales

1. The Glenville Post Office Directory for 1871, http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~hcastle/grevilles/grevilles.html.

This is  a great resource and list names of people, and their occupations, living in the NSW settlements in 1871.
2.  A brief history of Nelligen, Batemans Bay and the Clyde River,  http://www.clyderiverhouseboats.com.au/south-coast-history.html
3. The Forgotten Mines of Nelligen, http://www.southcoast.com.au/batemansbay/nelligengold/index.html
4. Araluen, a brief History, http://www.argylecounty.com.au/towns/araluen.html.
5. Braidwood settlers, http://www.visitbraidwood.com.au/bwd.
This has a short history on the settlers in Braidwood and some great photos of times past. 
6. Majors Creek, http://www.visitbraidwood.com.au/majorscreek. 

7. Araluen, http://www.visitbraidwood.com.au/araluen.
8. NSW Cemeteries List, http://www.australiancemeteries.com/nsw/index.htm. 
On this page it is possible to link through to cemeteries in Araluen, Majors Creek, Braidwood and Araluen.
9.  Images of Braidwood in the National Archives: http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an11030053-17  
10. Braidwood Historical Society, http://www.braidwoodmuseum.org.au/links.html

Gympie, Queensland

1.   State Library of Queensland: http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/about-us/corporate/information-collections

(You can join this library online, and then have access to quite a large collection of e-resources).

2. John Oxley Library Blog: http://blogs.slq.qld.gov.au/jol/. 
This can be found on the State Library site and has some great articles on the history and people of Queensland.

3.  Gympie Now and Then, http://www.gympie.qld.gov.au/library/thenandnow/. 
This site provides you with pictures from the past compared with photos of the same place as they are now). Very interesting.

4. Gympie Cemetry Trust: http://www.gympiecemeterytrust.com.au/

5.  Gympie Regional Council site: http://www.gympie.qld.gov.au/loadframe.asp?PageID=15&ID=154.
On this page there is a link to a PDF copy of “Cooloola Shire… a golden past”, which tells the story of the pioneers of Gympie.
 6.  Historical Index's for BDM in Queensland.  https://www.bdm.qld.gov.au/IndexSearch/BirIndexQry.m..
 The BDM Indexes are of course invaluable for checking vital dates.

Sharing Memories - Early School Days in the Bush - School of the Air

As promised it is time to start fulfilling one of my new year resolutions, which was to join Olive Tree Genealogy’s Blog’s idea of Sharing Memories.  All family tree researchers wish our ancestors had put more down on paper or had passed on more of their family records and photos.  With this in mind I plan over the next twelve months (there has to be a starting point) to record some of my memories.  Maybe someone will be interested in years to come.

I don’t know that I will be able to be as diligent as Olive Tree Genealogy with a post each week, however I will endeavour to post as many stories as I can.  Here is my first:

Early School Days in the Bush – School of the Air

In the early 1950’s my father took up the position of “overseer” on a station in the far western corner of NSW, Australia.  Nuntherungie Station, a property of 175,000 acres was about 120 miles from Broken Hill and about 45 miles from the small opal mining town of White Cliffs.  The Wool Industry was Australia’s main industry at this time and Nuntherungie’s main produce was the fine merino wool from its flock of sheep.

I was the eldest child so when I turned 5 it was time for my parents to look at the options for my schooling.  Actually, considering the distances to the nearest school there weren’t many options.  I was enrolled into Blackfriars Correspondence School and School of the Air.  Blackfriars was based in Sydney and each week I would receive brown A4 envelope with my lessons for the week.  With the assistance of my Mum, I would work my way through the lessons and send them back the following week (on the weekly mail truck), for marking. 



Mrs Gibbs and children at School of the Air



School of the Air was in addition to the correspondence lessons and provided me with interaction with other isolated students and our teachers who were based in Broken Hill.  I can remember my excitement when the small two way radio arrived and was set up in our family room.  Each day, at 9.00am and at 2.00pm School of the Air Broken Hill would be on line.  Children from miles around would sit up in front of the Radio and wait for the morning broadcast and the teachers Good morning everyone, then there would be a clamour of children calling in with their call signs and a good morning to everyone.  My call sign was 8NEK Nuntherungie, and I would join the throng of calls with “ 8NEK Nuntherungie, Good Morning Miss Gibbs”.  The morning program would include singing “God Save our Gracious Queen” and the School of the Air song “Parted but United”, followed by news.  It would be very exciting if you were called on to tell everyone listening your news for the day.  The time slots would be taken up with lessons, reading, stories, music, all those wonderful interactive activities that children in “normal” schools took for granted.



Mrs Phyliss Gibbs

 When we were visiting Broken Hill we were able to to to the school and sit in on the lessons as they were broadcast out to all the children in the outback.  I loved the opportunity to visit the school, and to be able to borrow books from their library and talk to the teachers in person.  At the time I was a student, the principle was Mrs Gibbs, whose name was synonymous with the development of Distance Education in Broken Hill.

One of my most vivid memories of school of the air was playing the part of a chicken in a play.  All the children selected to be in the play were sent copies of the script and we had to practice reading and learning the lines before the big day when we  read our parts in the play over the two radio.  My mother put together my costume of a cardboard beak, a bonnet with a red comb stitched to the top and a hessian bag with holes cut in the side so that when I put it on the back corner stuck out like a hens tail.  Such an innovative mother!!  The big day arrived and I sat all dressed up in my costume, with my script, in front of the two way radio!!  The teacher announced the play and then asked each member of the caste to describe their costume to everyone.  Then we  waited excitedly for the spot in the script where we had to push the button on our microphone and read our lines.

My family dressed ready for the School of the Air Picnic Day

The staff of School of the Air organised two annual events in Broken Hill where all the children and their families would gather in Broken Hill.  The first was the annual School Picnic which was held mid-year, all the students would go to the school on the day before and be issued with our sports uniform (dark blue jacket, white shorts and white shirts with the big blue logo of School of the Air, on the pocket).  Then the next day, we would assemble in front of the school in our white uniforms, and newly whitened sandshoes ready to catch the buses out to the school picnic.  Our parents and younger family members would follow in the cars to join in the fun.  The day was full of running races, sack and egg and spoon races for all the children, followed by a big picnic lunch.  In the afternoons there were more novelty races and the parents were invited to join in.  Then the highlight of the day for all the children was the “Lolly man”.  One of the parents would don a plastic raincoat which had bags of lollies stapled to it.  He would then run around the oval with all the children running after him, trying to pull off the bags of lollies.  Just thinking about it makes me smile!

The second event for the year was the Christmas Party, which was held in the park next to the School of the Air building in Broken Hill.  Again, families would travel miles into Broken Hill to attend.  The party would start mid-afternoon and everyone  dressed in their best party clothes, would join in the games, receive a present from Santa Clause  and eat lots of party food. For children (and parents as well) who didn’t have the opportunity to socialise and mix with others because of their isolated environments these occasions were very important social events. I can remember myself and my three sisters being bundled along to the shoe shop in Broken Hill so that our parents could purchase some “good” shoes for the occasion.  (As we had always grown out of the shoes we had worn the previous year).

Our family moved away from this district when I was about 10 years old.  One of the driving forces for this move was for our family to be in a place where there were better education opportunities for myself and my sisters.  The burden on my mother of overseeing the education of four girls was considerable, and my parents thought was time that we were exposed to “main stream” education. 

In reflection I would not have changed those few years of my early education.  I believe that School of the Air and Blackfriars provided me with some skills that the mainstream education system would not have, i.e. the ability to be open to different forms of education, to be able to work independently and of course all those wonderful memories.  

Friday's Family History Through the Alphabet Challenge" - C is for Census

Friday is here again and it is time for my next post in Friday's Family History through the Alphabet Challenge which is my attempt to complete the Family History Through the Alphabet Challenge.

"C" is the letter of the moment, and I am going with something very obvious!  "C" is for Census!  You may say "not very original", however, my justification is that I believe copies of the census play a very important part of family tree research.

As I am based in Australia I will, in this blog, refer mainly to the Australian Census.  However, a lot of this information is relevant for census records in other countries.

What is a Census?  It is the collection and recording of information on the population of a country. It collects information on occupation, number of people living in a dwelling, the type of dwelling and occupations of those living in that dwelling on Census night.  In Australia, the census is conducted every 5 years under the Census and Statistics Act of 1905.

The first national census in Australia was held in 1901, prior to this date the most common way to record information about the population was a muster or state census. Data on the population of Australia was collected from as early as 1788.  Up until the census in 1901 each of the states and colonies held regular musters or census that collected a variety of information, e.g. occupation, age, number of family members, gender and marital status. The state libraries provide access to these records  Victorian State Library, NSW State Library, and the State Library of Western Australia for example.

The collection of information on the Australia population in the early days of settlement wasn't easy, as is pointed out in the article written on the collection of the 1841 census for South Australia by Jaunay (2004). As Jaunay points out, the colony of South Australia was only 5 years old, the distances were vaste, tallies were incorrect, spellings were incorrect and there is a lack of detail. However, these musters if not entirely accurate,  provide us with a snapshot of the times. As the collection of information became more efficient over the years,  these systematic collections of population information have become a great source of information for social researchers, historians and genealogists.

If you are interested in an overall picture or snap shot of what it was like in Australia at a particular census time the Australian Census Web site provides summaries or "snapshots" of the data collected at the time of the census.  An interesting snapshot on the 1901 Census can be found on this site at "A Snap Shot of Australia 1901.

Now you may ask, how does the census help me with my family tree research?  Here is a brief summary of the information that can be gleaned from your ancestors census record:  It will provide some of if not all of the information on: their address, occupation, names of those in the house on census night, ages, where they were born, the relationship and gender of the people living in the dwelling and their neighbours. 

Looking at the census over a number of years will help you trace the movement of your ancestors, when the children left home, if the grandparents have moved in to be looked after in their old age and if they absent it may give you a clue as to when they may have passed away.  If a young child appears on one census report and then not on the next there is a fair chance that they may have died in infancy. 

A census record can also be very useful in locating other members of the family, once you have located one member of the family it is a good idea to go through the pages before and after on the census record as you can often find other members of the family who live near by. 

I would be interested to hear from others on their tips for gathering and analysing information re their family tree from census records!!


-------------
*Jaunay, G. (2004), "1841 South Australian Census, What you will and won't find", http://www.slwa.wa.gov.au/find/guides/family_history/australia/new_south_wales/census, viewed 4 January 2013.

Wedding Wednesday - Tilly (Matilda) Taylor and Harold Vincent Holman

Matilda Taylor and Harold Holman 1923

This wedding picture is my husband's Great Aunt Matilda (Tilly) Taylor and Great Uncle Harold Holman and was taken in 1923 on the day of their wedding in Marrickville, a suburb of Sydney, NSW, Australia.  Tilly was the daughter of Richard Taylor (1862-1935) and Marion Millar McNair (1864-1952) and she was the great granddaughter of Elizabeth Rushworth and William Taylor from Colne, Lancashire, UK.  I have recently completed a series of blogs on her grandmother,  Elizabeth Rushworth in my blog, "The Other Half of My Tree - stories of my female ancestors".

Matilda completed her teacher training in Sydney in 1920 and her first posting was in country NSW at the small bush town of Brewarrina.  At this time Harold was working in Gunnedah as a town clerk.  Harold was a WWI veteran, having joined the army when he was only 16 years old.  He served in France and was wounded three times and had suffered gas poisoning.  Despite the distance between their country postings Tilly and Harold met and were married in Marrickville, Sydney in 1923.*  After their marriage they moved to Geurie, a small village out side of the NSW country town of Dubbo.  There three children Vincent, Harold and Joan were born here.  Shortly after Joan's birth Harold accepted a posting as Town Clerk for the Cowra Council, where they lived for the rest of their lives.** 

Marriage of Harold Holman and Mathilda Taylor- 1923 Marrickville 1923

____________

 * New South Wales Births Deaths and Marriages, 6119/1923
** Matilda Holman's Obituary from Cowra Guardian 26 January 2001

Welcoming in the New Year and Sharing Memories Project

New Years Eve - Sydney

It is New Years Eve and I am enjoying a quiet moment checking out Geneabloggers before we head into the centre of Sydney with some friends to see the Fireworks!!  Today there is a post advising that
Each Sunday, Olive Tree Genealogy offers a new blogging prompt under the heading Sharing Memories – Genealogy Journal Writing.  As this blog points out we spend ages researching, collecting bits and pieces and writing down stories of our great great grandparents, forgetting that we have stories of our own to share as well. 

When researching my family tree, I often sigh and wish my ancestors had recorded more of their life, kept a diary and or kept letters and newspaper cuttings.  As the Olive Tree Genealogy Blog points out, we should think of coming generations and how exciting it will be to find a record of our memories and experiences that will give them a better understanding of the time we lived in.

This project reminded me of a book that our family put together for my mother at Christmas time about ten years ago.  I wrote to all family members, sisters, grandchildren etc. a couple of months before Christmas and asked everyone to write down a couple of short stories that they could remember about our mother/grandmother.  It took a little bit of nagging and quite a few reminders but finally I was able to put together a book with everyone's stories and photos.  My mother loved the book and still reads in when she has a quiet moment.  Also, it was interesting, that on that Christmas day everyone in the family took turns for a quiet moment to read the stories that everyone had contributed.

With this in mind, my New Years resolution is to start writing down some of my memories.  What better way to start than to join in Olive Tree Genealogy's  Sharing Memories – Genealogy Journal Writing project. 

Friday's Family History Through the Alphabet Challenge" - B is for Blogs

It is almost two week since I posted my first blog in the Family History Through the Alphabet Challenge,  "A is for Apps".  I have made the commitment to post a new blog each week as part of this challenge, and guess what already I have to apologise for being tardy with my second post.  I shall blame this tardiness on the fact that I have been on holidays and our Internet access was very dodgy.  Excuses over, it is time to move on to my "B for" blog.

As I lazed around the pool on Daydream Island, North Queensland, reading and sipping on icy cocktails I pondered on the letter "B". What shall I write about, Birth Certificates, Baptism, Birth notices, Banns?  I am sure these have all been done, so finally decided to dedicate my "B" post to "Blogs".

As I mentioned earlier, I have just been on three weeks annual leave. What a luxury, time to actually, read some of the many Genealogy Blogs that I have tagged, saved in Evernote with a note, for reading!!! Hence I thought it would be an opportunity to share with you some of the blogs that I have found amusing, informative and pretty!!!

Here is the list of Blogs that I have enjoyed reading over the past couple of weeks in no particular order.

1. Jana's Genealogy and Family History Blog, http://janasgenealogyandfamilyhistory.blogspot.com.au/.
2. Lonetester HQ,  http://www.lonetester.com/ 
3. Geniaus, http://geniaus.blogspot.com.au/ 
4. Ancestry.com/Blog, http://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/
5. Australian Genealogy Journeys, http://ausgenjourneys.blogspot.com.au/
6. Lost Family Treasures, http://lostmementos.blogspot.com.au/
7. A Rebel Hand: Nicholas Delaney of 1798, http://rebelhand.wordpress.com/
8. Dance Skeletons,Tracing our family history to Australia, one skeleton at a time, http://danceskeletons.blogspot.com.au/

9. Backtracking, http://boobookbacktracks.blogspot.com.au/
10. Geneabloggers, http://geneabloggers.com/
11. Diary of an Australian Genealogist, http://diaryofanaustraliangenealogist.blogspot.com.au/
12. Jax Trax, http://jackievanbergen.blogspot.com.au/
13. Ku-ring-gai Historical Society, http://kuringgaihs.blogspot.com.au/
14. Sepia Saturday, http://sepiasaturday.blogspot.com.au/
15.  A Family Tapestry. http://afamilytapestry.blogspot.com.au/

This is a short summary of some of the blogs I have enjoyed reading over the past couple of weeks.  I hope I am able to keep up with these great blogs this year and not have to wait until my holidays to catch up with them all.  

Friday's Family History Through the Alphabet Challenge" - A is for Apps

A is  for Apps

It is the start of the festive season and my husband I are lucky enough to be taking some annual leave prior to Christmas. Due to weight limits on our flight, I made the decision to not pack my lap top and only bring my IPad. So today, I am writing my blog from my IPad for the first time.

My week of musing for my first post in the alphabet challenge is over! A is for?  Then the obvious hit me! Of course!

There are a plethora of family tree apps for genealogy and family research! And more and more are appearing each day! I thought I would write about a couple that I have found interesting.  I would also like to invite others to tell us about the Apps they have found useful. 



1. Wolfram Genealogy & History Research Tool.

If you are interested in finding out more about the times of your ancestors, this App is well worth the small cost of $4.99. This tool helps you explore the world that your ancestors lived in.

Not only does it assist you to map family relationships but also can give you information on what the towns were like at the time your ancestors were alive. You can look up what the weather was like on the day your great grand parents were married!

Another fascinating feature of this app is its ability to tell you about the historical events relative to the important events in your family's life. e.g. What was happening in the world when your mother was born or when your great aunt was married. The list goes on and on. I have found this tool to be really useful in putting together an overall picture of the times of my past family members.

2.  Ancestry App.

Keeping with my "A is for" theme the other app I would have to mention is the Ancestry App. This app lets me take my family tree where ever I go. (Now, my family think this is a bit tragic!), however it has come in very handy at many family gatherings when someone asks "when did Uncle Tom get married?" Or  "where did grandma live when she was a child?".  These questions are generally fired in my direction as the family has unofficially appointed me the "family tree geek".

For me however, the Ancestry app allows me to have more time for research. Like most of us work and family commitments prevent us from having the time we would like to have to "play" with our family tree.  Now, using the Ancestry App I am able to use the time I travel to and from work on the train for researching and connecting with Ancestry resources and other family trees.

Also, when on long trips I can entertain my self with family tree "play" while my husband is driving.

There are many new apps available for Family Tree research which I am yet to familiarise myself with. I would love to hear any recommendations from other family tree researchers.