Wordless Wednesday- Sharing Memories

Shearing time

In on of my recent posts, Sharing Memories - Early days in the Bush - Day out with Dad, I wrote about my memories of spending a day out with my father when we lived on, Nuntherungie, a sheep station in the far north west of New South Wales.  I am taking the opportunity of Wordless Wednesday to share with you an old slide of my father and I, outside the shearing shed getting the sheep ready for shearing.  You will have to excuse the quality of the photo.

Follow Friday - An accumulation of my weekly research - 8

This week I have been busy researching how my ancestors were employed and the different resources that assist in finding how and where they were employed for my post "Friday's Family History Through the Alphabet Challenge - E for Employment".

 I was struck by the number of great resources that look at how our ancestors were employed and definitions of the unusual occupations of yesteryear. Boy, there are so many unusual occupations!!

So  in this weeks (or should I say month's) summary of my research, I would like to share with you some of the links, books and blogs that look at the employment and occupations of older generations. These links provide some fascinating reading on the unusual employment and occupations that were part of every day life for our ancestors.

Books

 

Colin Waters, Dictionary of Old Trades, Titles and Occupations, 1999,MRM Associates Ltd, Reading, kindle version http://www.amazon.com/Dictionary-Trades-Titles-Occupations-ebook/dp/B005K009WO/ref=tmm_kin_title_0

Jane Hewitt and Paul Jack Hewitt,(2011)  Dictionary of Old Occupations, Kindle edition, http://www.amazon.com/Dictionary-of-Old-Occupations-ebook/dp/B004WG347O

Cora Num, Occupational Records in Australia, http://www.coraweb.com.au/occupdetails.htm

Helpful Links 

GlobalGenealogy.com, Unusual Occupations in Canadian Census Records,  http://globalgenealogy.com/globalgazette/gazrr/gazrr323.htm.  

Roots List of Occupations: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~usgwkidz/oldjobs.htm. 

Old Occupations in Scotland: http://scotsfamily.com/occupations.htm.

Hall Genealogy Web Site, Old Occupations: http://rmhh.co.uk/occup/index.html. 

The Black Sheep Index, http://web.archive.org/web/20101005021948/http://www.blacksheepindex.co.uk/ .

Tripod Genealogy, http://genealogyfix.tripod.com/jobdesc.html.

Genealogy Quest, http://www.genealogy-quest.com/glossaries/occupations1.html.

Occupations and Education, Ancestry.  http://www.ancestry.co.uk/cs/uk/occupations.

Old Obscure Occupations:http://www.worldthroughthelens.com/family-history/old-occupations.php.

 NSW Archives, Professions and Occupations: http://www.records.nsw.gov.au/state-archives/guides-and-finding-aids/short-guide-10/short-guide-10.

The 1891 "London Census" Transcription, Victorian Occupations. http://www.census1891.com/occupations-a.htm.

 United Kingdom and Ireland Occupations, Genuki, http://www.genuki.org.uk/bigOccupations.html.

  
Blogs

Old Job Descriptions: http://www.familyhistoryquickstart.com/old-job-descriptions/
Family History Finder: Old occupations, http://familyhistoryfinder.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/old-occupations.html
Family Research by Jody, Old occupations, http://familyhistoryresearchbyjody.blogspot.com.au/2011/06/old-occupations.html.
The Olive Tree Genealogy, Obsolete Occupations in Genealogy, http://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/misc/occupations.shtml.
Genealogy Insider, Our Ancestor's Odd Jobs in Genealogy Records, http://blog.familytreemagazine.com/insider/2012/08/28/OurAncestorsOddJobsInGenealogyRecords.aspx .

Friday's Family History Through the Alphabet Challenge - E for Employment

It is pouring rain outside today, so what better opportunity than to finish of my next blog in Friday's Family History through the Alphabet Challenge as part of my attempt to complete the Family History Through the Alphabet Challenge.

Today's challenge is "E" and this post was inspired my recent blog on sisters Mary Ann and Emma Jane Weston. As I put their stories together, part of my research involved looking how they, their husbands and other family members were employed.  The "Employment" of our ancestors helps us develop a more colourful picture of the circumstances of their lives.  So my Alphabet Challenge for today is "E for Employment".

There a number of different resources that can assist you with discovering how your family members were employed.  Here is a brief summary of some resources that are useful.

MC for Thomas Lee and Emma Jane Weston

1.  Birth, Death and Marriage Certificates:
Birth certificates generally list the occupation of the child's father, for example on Emma Jane Weston's Birth Certificate , her father is listed as a house painter.  Marriage certificates can give details of how the bride, groom and parents of couple are employed.  On Emma Jane Weston's certificate her husband Thomas Lee is described as a gold digger. (I believe this is literal, and not that Emma Jane was wealthy, he he.)

1851 Census Barnoldswick, George Rushworth and family

2.  Census: Census records provide us with a mine of information on how families were employed often listing the occupations of all family members and their neighbours. The census page from the Barnoldswick, 1851 Census  on the left shows how all of George Rushworth's family is employed.  It is obvious from their occupations that the main industries for this district were related to weaving and the textiles.

Military Record for Malcolm Michael Shepherd

3. Telephone, Post Office and Trade Directories:  These are another useful resource, which provide in alphabetical order, details of where family members lived and sometimes their occupations.  An example of a directory that is very useful for Australian Research is the Greville's Post Office Directory. I was able to find Emma Jane Weston's Uncle, Alfred Weston on the 1871 Greville's Directory abd confirm that he had moved to this district and was employed as a miner in Araluen, a mining community, in the Braidwood district of southern New South Wales.

4. Military Records: My recent blog "D is for Dog tags" outlines some of the wonderful information you can find when you access your ancestors military records. The front page of a soldiers record will give you details of their employment prior to their enlisting. An example of this can be seen from the front page of my grandfather Malcolm Michael Shepherd's military record.  His occupation is listed as a carrier in the Braidwood district.

Immigration: Mary Anne and Emma Jane Weston 1856

5. Immigration Records/Ship Logs: Emigration/Immigration and Shipping Lists are another useful resource.  When researching Mary Anne and Emma Jane Weston I was able to find out that they were employed as housemaids in London prior to travelling Australia on the "Kate".  These details were shown on the New South Wales, Australia, Assisted Immigrant Passenger Lists, 1828-1896 .

6. Letters, Obituaries and Newspaper Articles:  Finally,  the careful examination of the documents related to your family history that you have collected can be rewarding.  Often, when you reread a letter, obituary or newspaper article you are able to find clues to how your forefathers were employed. Old receipts or accounts from a family business will also provide you with clues. If you do not have newspaper clips or obituaries, Trove is a useful site for accessing these.  If you are new to Trove, a post from last year, TROVE, outlines how to register and the wonderful benefits it provides for family tree researchers. By searching the Trove you are able find feature articles, business advertisements, obituaries and death notices etc. These articles provide great clues to how your ancestors were employed.

I hope that you find these few hints helpful when looking for how your ancestors were employed.  Family tree research is more than names and dates, lets find out a little more more about how they felt, who their neighbours were and what was their life like!! 
 

Family Recipe Friday - ANZAC Biscuits



Anzac Biscuits



Yesterday in my post on "Sharing Memories"  I mentioned a family favourite, the Anzac Biscuit, so as it has been quite a while  I  since I have posted a “Family Recipe”  I thought I would share this recipe. The recipe for Anzac Biscuits has been passed through our family for at least four generations.   Besides being a family recipe this is a very traditional Australia recipe that has been baked in Australia Homes since the First World War.  

First let me tell you a little about the history of the ANZAC Biscuit!!  ANZAC refers to the Australian and New Zealand Army Corp of WWI, and ANZAC Day, 25 April, is a public holiday day when Australia and New Zealand remember the soldiers who participated in all international conflicts.

The Anzac Biscuit or bikkie and my grandchildren call it!! Originated from the need to send troops a nutritional, tasty treat that would last the 2-3 months in transit to the battlefront.  The story goes, that a group of women came up with the recipe, based on a Scottish biscuit recipe that used rolled oats.  Using a combination of ingredients that didn’t spoil over time (golden syrup or treacle, rolled oats, coconut, sugar, plain flour, butter, water and bicarbonate of soda) they developed the recipe known as “soldiers biscuits” that were baked, packed into tins, and sent to the soldiers on the front.  After the landing of the Australian and New Zealand troops at Gallipoli the biscuits were renamed “ANZAC Biscuits).

As has happened in our family, this recipe has become an iconic tradition for families in Australia, with various forms of the recipe passed down from one generation to the other.  There is nothing better than Anzac biscuits dunked in your tea or coffee.  Not having any daughters, I taught my sons to make the biscuits, and now my eldest son is passing down the tradition to his sons.

Now for the recipe:

recipe notes

Ingredients: 

1 cup plain flour

1 cup of sugar (this can be white, brown or a mix of both)

1 cup of rolled oats

1 cup of coconut

125 gms butter

1 tablespoon water

2 tablespoons golden syrup

½ teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda

Sift flour into a bowl, add sugar, rolled oats, and coconut to the bowl and mix together.  Melt butter, and golden syrup in a saucepan (or microwave), mix bicarbonate of soda with water and add to the melted butter and golden syrup, mix together and add to the dry ingredient.  Mix together thoroughly, then roll the mixture into small balls (size of a walnut), place on a greased tray, flattening slightly and bake in a moderate oven (170 degrees ) for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

When cooled and they will be nice and crisp. 

Foot note:  I have made different versions of this recipe where I have used honey instead of golden syrup, or substituted the rolled oats with muesli. 

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Sources

1. http://www.emubottombiscuits.com.au/the-history-of-the-anzac.html

2. http://www.anzacday.org.au/miscellaneous/bikkies.html

3. http://www.anzacsite.gov.au/

Sharing Memories - Early days in the Bush - Day out with Dad



Map  Showing Nuntherungie Station



Here is my second post for Sharing Memories.  Thank you to  Olive Tree Genealogy’s Blog’s for providing me with the idea and motivation to write a little about my family history as I remember it. 

I was pleasantly pleased with the interest shown in my first  Sharing Memories blog , Early School Days in the Bush - School of the Air so I thought for today’s post I would relate another tale from my life in the far west of New South Wales and write a little about everyday life in the outback.

At the time life on a sheep station in the far north west of NSW seemed to be very normal, but when I look back on it I guess we did enjoy quite a different environment to families who lived a little closer to larger communities.  There was no pressure to fit in with timetables and set hours.  Life on  Nuntherungie Station fitted around shearing, lamb marking, drenching sheep and the weather. If I was able to complete the weekly school work sent to me from Blackfriars Correspondence School in 3 or 4 days it would leave me with the freedom to spend a day with my father while he worked on the property.  I relished these outings, and I am sure my mother enjoyed the freedom of having one less child to watch over. 

Sheep on Nuntherungie Station

Mum always packed my father a large lunch of sandwiches, biscuits and fruit for the day and if I was joining him, there would be a couple of sandwiches for me as well. We would always leave early before the heat of the day set in.  I would clamber into the passenger seat of my dad’s Jeep. The two working dogs, Mac and Spot (such original names) would jump in the back, dodging from side with eager anticipation and excitement of going out for the day.  Off we would go, leaving a cloud of dust behind us as we traversed the tracks through the property.  It would be my job to jump out and open the large gates between paddocks while Dad drove through and then close them after us.  A rule that was drummed into my from an early age, you NEVER went through a gate without closing it.

The work for the day could be varied anything from checking sheep with young lambs, checking for flyblown sheep (a serious problem for sheep in outback Australia), mending fences that had been knocked down by stock or recent rains, assessing water supplies and checking windmills that pumped underground water (from the artesian basin) into water troughs for the sheep.

Spot and Mac - Dad's working dogs.

Then at about 10.00am it would be “smoko time” or as we would call it “morning tea” time.  We would find a nice shady spot; Dad would light a small fire. After giving both the dogs a drink of water from the hessian water bag that hung on the side of the jeep, he would fill his billy with water and put it on the fire to boil.  As soon as the water had boiled he would put a handful of tea leaves into the billy, a quick stir with a stick or small twig of the gum tree and the tea would be made.  I would sit with Dad on a nearby log with my pannikin of steaming hot sweet tea, and dunk the homemade Anzac biscuits that Mum had packed, until they became soft and gooey and melted in my mouth!!  Mac and Spot would rest in the shade with one eye open to see if I was going to drop some crumps or share one of my biscuits with them.

Smoko finished, we would cover the fire with sand and tip the remaining tea on top, making sure it was completely out. Off we would go again to check the next problem.  It would be even more exciting if Dad’s work meant we had to go off road!!  I loved it when we had to drive in and out of creeks, over bumps and around logs.

 Dad always took the time to point out the different types of plants and animals as we went and if he had seen come across an interesting plant or rock formation, he would take the time to show me if it was nearby. He would point out the quondong trees and we would check if they had any fruit on them and he would show me the clay pans where you could find lots of quartz and on the odd occasion small artifacts from the indigenous tribes who had lived in this area.

Dad's Jeep

These excursions were even more exciting if it had been after rain.  Rain was a very big event in this district, as the average annual rainfall was only 224 mm (or about 9 inches in old measurements). The Jeep would splash through the mud and puddles, spraying it all over us.  Of course there was always the risk of getting bogged, personally, I thought this added to the drama of the day.  I am not sure if my father was of the same frame of mind.

Around Midday, it was time to repeat the Smoko ritual of boiling the billy, giving the dogs water, and munching on our sandwiches and fruit as we sipped that sweet black tea.  As the weather was often quite hot in the afternoon, it was time to head back to the homestead to wash of the dust.  I am sure there was a number of occasions when Dad had to lift a sleepy girl out of the jeep when we arrived home.

Hope you have enjoyed this tale.

Mystery Monday- The Mysterious Disappearance of Christina McGregor

Wallance Street Braidwood, http://www.visitbraidwood.com.au/bwdtown

Not long ago I came across an article that caught my attention. I was as I call it "playing" on Trove.  This means, I randomly put in names and places connected with my family tree and see what comes up.  Lots of fun if you have time.  This evening, I was searching for family names that lived in the Braidwood, Major's Creek and Araluen area of New South Wales.  In the late 1850-1860's this district was a thriving mining community and many of my ancestors gravitated here to try and make their fortune in the new colony. One branch of my family tree is the McGregors.  Peter McGregor and his second wife Christina Miller/Muller came to Australia from Scotland with their family.  Imagine my surprise when I came across this article.
 

Queanbeyan Age and General Advertiser (NSW : 1864 - 1867), Thursday 22 October 1863, page 2

MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE -On Thursday evening last, Mrs. McGregor of Berlang, left Toney's public-house at the top of Araluen Mountain to return home. The sun-was down at the time, and the night anything but favourable for a female to ride through a wild country alone. In the morning, as Mrs. McGregor had not returned home, search was made, and her horse with saddle and bridle on was found. Her husband, Mr. Peter McGregor, with some friends and neighbours,has been out ever since, but up to the date of the latest intelligence from Major's Creek, no clue can be found. It is much to be feared that Mrs. McGregor was thrown from her horse, and in the darkness of the night has fallen into some of the deep gullies and ravines which abound in this part of the country, in endeavouring to reach home. If such should turn out to be the case, but little hope remains that she will be found, for if dead her body would in all probability be devoured by native dogs, as was supposed to be the case with a lad who was lost in the same part of the bush some years since.

The article caught my attention, could this Mrs McGregor be related to me!!  I knew that my great,great,great Grandfather Peter McGregor had come to Australia and had settled into the Braidwood district, however, I had not heard any family stories about his wife Christina's untimely death!!

I searched  on Trove  little more, using the date of death to see if I could find any more information on Mrs McGregor's mysterious disappearance.  It took a while, finally I found another article that answered the question as to what happened to Mrs McGregor.

Empire (Sydney, NSW : 1850 - 1875), Saturday 24 October 1863, page 4

The late mysterious disappearance.  In our last issue we stated that Mrs. McGregor, wife of Mr Peter McGregor of Berlang had been missing since the previous Tuesday evening.  Her body was found on Friday Morning, and a magisterial inquiry held on the following day, at Toney's Public House, Majors Creek before J.H. Griffin, Esq. J.P., cleared up the mystery. It appeared from the evidence that the last time Mrs McGregor was seen alive was on Tuesday evening at about five o'clock, when she called at Toney's public house, which is a distant about four miles from her house, and remarked, on leaving, that she had plenty of time to get home before dark. The people who saw her last say that she had a glass, but was sober at the time she started for home. On the following (Wednesday) morning her horse was found about half a mile on the road between the public house and Berlang, tied to a sapling and inquiries to the fact that she had not yet reached her home, induced a further search, which was continued until Friday morning, when her cold body was found in an old shaft full of water about 300 yards at the rear of Toney's premises by her stepson. 

A post mortem examination by Dr Beer proved that she had been alive when falling into the shaft, and she had died from asphyxia.  The night upon which Mrs McGregor was missing was intensely dark, wet and stormy and the probability is that she had missed her way, and got off the road, and in making back for the public house lamp, had fallen into the shaft.  Her remains were interned on Sunday in the presence of a large concourse of friends and neighbours.  Braidwood Dispatch October 21 

Death Certificate - Christina McGregor

Oh what a sad story!!!  I still had not confirmed that she was  Christina McGregor, the wife of my Peter McGregor.  Time to look for some concrete evidence.  I did a search on the NSW Birth, Deaths and Marriages site, and found a Christina McGregor who had died in the Braidwood District in 1863.  I sent off my money and request for a copy of the death certificate.  I had to solve this mystery!!

 For the next week, I checked my mail box with eager anticipation!! 

The certificatee finally arrived and confirmed my suspicions. The death certificate for Peter McGregor's wife Christina stated that she had died from  asphyxia, after falling into a mine shaft.

My mystery solved!  Poor Christina who had travelled all the way from Scotland with her husband Peter McGregor and her stepchildren twelve years prior had met with such an unfortunate accident at the age of 44.  

Once again, thank you Trove!! for helping me find another fascinating story about my family tree. 
  


 

Friday's Family History Through the Alphabet Challenge" - D is for "Dog Tags"

Well it is the end of the week and as promised here my next post in Friday's Family History through the Alphabet Challenge which is my attempt to complete the Gouldgenealogy Challenge,  Family History Through the Alphabet Challenge.

With the first three letters,"A","B", and "C" ticked off, it is time to tackle "D".  Again I wracked my brain for something that I had used to assist in the research of my family tree that started with D.  Then it came to me "Dog Tag" or as it was originally called in Australia "Identification Tag".

"Dog Tags" is the informal name for identification tags that are worn by armed service personnel.  The primary use for the tag through history has been for the identification of the dead and wounded, and advice of essential basic medical information such as blood type and inoculation history and relevant religion.  The term "Dog Tag" is an American term and wasn't used in Australia until around the time of the Vietnam War.*

The first conflict that records the use of "dog tags" or identification tags was the Boer War of (1899-1902).  The Australian and British forces were issued with a strip of tape that was to be carried in the pocket of their tunic to assist with identification if they were wounded or killed during battle. It was found that this tag was not always carried and from 1906 the troops were issued with tin disks that had their details stamped into them.  This practice was continued for the troops in WWI, with soldiers issued with two fibreboard discs, one to remain with the body, the other to go with the soldiers belongings when they were sent home.*

Identification Tags - Malcolm Michael Shepherd WWI

 It was found that the fibre board discs tended to rot in wet conditions so by the time of WWII the discs were made of metal and the cotton tape which hung around the neck was replaced by leather thong, or metal chain that wouldn't disintegrate in the extreme weather conditions of jungle warfare.*

Now, you may ask how do these tags assist you with your family research?  If like me you are lucky enough to inherit or have access to your father, grandfather, uncle, or great uncle's identification tags you can use the information on them to trace all the details of their involvement in the relevant military conflict.

 The tags of my grandfather Malcolm Michael Shepherd, provide me with the following details: his fathers name, religion, the town he came from and his service number and battalion.  From this information I am able to access the complete digital copy of his military record.   This information can be found on the Search Page of the Australian War Memorial Web Page.

Inserting your ancestors service number and name into the search boxes will enable to access to a digital copy of their complete military record which can be downloaded or if you prefer you can for a fee order a copy to be sent to you.

These records hold a mine of information, which can include: height, hair colour, next of kin, your ancestors signature when he signed up, the name of the ship they embarked on, a complete record of where he was stationed during the war, if he was wounded, if they went AWOL, the medals they received, the name of the ship they returned to Australia on and any correspondence that was written to family or from family after the war.

 I have accessed a number of  our family's members military records and have to say, besides being extremely interesting, they have helped me solve a number of family history puzzles.  One of my husbands family members had met and married a lady he met in England at the end of the war.  In his ditigal record I found: was record of the marriage, and a letter from his commander giving him permission to marry. Another record that amused me was for one of my great uncles who was a bit of a larrikin. His report showed he was up on charges for stealing a crate of beer and that he received the penalty of being confined to barracks for a month for this crime.

So if you are lucky enough to have or can access your ancestors identity tags or "dog tags" make use of them and they will allow you to uncover the story of their military involvement and give you a better understanding of some of the hardships they endured.

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*  Australian War Memorial Encyclopedia,  http://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/dog_tags.asp, viewed 12/1/13.