Writing on this month's theme, 'Family Research...the gift that keeps on giving", Bev described drawing upon her research recently to present an informal eulogy when her aunt's ashes were placed in the memorial wall at Moorngag cemetery.​

Also this month, Val reported on being 'almost there' with the publication of a family history book for her family anticipated in March. Robyn displayed her almost completed family tree chart of direct line relatives, noting '... I might go into my DNA after a break'.  Hardly a beginner, new member Hans a family secret to resolve and has developed a strong hypothesis to guide the next stage of his research. 
​
While Family Research courses for intermediate and advanced family researchers aren't being offered in 2025, one to one problem solving appointments will be available for people who have already developed a family tree in 2025.

Bev Lee

At our October Drop In, we welcomed Hans as a 'taster' member, intrigued by his discovery of a 'family secret' - a grandfather who may have been an English soldier stationed in Europe during WWI.  Val proudly brought along the completed 'final draft' of the family history her family has been eager for her to complete, while Robyn described pruning down her family history chart to feature only the direct line ancestors, making it more manageable.  Deb returned to present on 'Find Penguins' while Helen, accompanied by Chris, returned to hear Deb's presentation, bringing along the now framed embroidered samplers from 1811 and 1831 shared with us last year.

Deb used the Find Penguins online travel blog she created while travelling in Scotland and Ireland recently to show us photographs of 'ancestral sites' discovered while researching her family tree. These included where her ancestor Adam Glenn may have worked as a teacher; where her ancestor Robert Bruce lived, and a wall of the workhouse in which her orphaned Irish ancestor, Bridget Cain, had lived in Nenagh before sailing to Port Phillip as part of the Earl Grey Scheme.  Deb concluded that it was so wonderful to have visited historic family locations, to have walked the same roads and footpaths and immersed herself in the lives of her ancestors. ​

Deb showed the Find Penguins books of her trip to the group, who described them as beautiful, of high quality, and excellent value for money overall. ​

Triggered by the recent escalation of hostilities and bombing in the Middle East, Bev shared a family story drawing upon photos relating to her father's experiences of bombing raids in Beirut, Lebanon during World War II.  

Overall, a delightful session featuring much 'tying off of loose ends'--with Val's family history in its final draft; Deb having visited family history sites discovered during her research; Deb and Helen comparing notes on visits to Nenagh in Ireland; Helen and Chris showing us their now framed historic embroidered samplers; and Robyn happy with the streamlined family tree chart she has been working on. 

During our 'Show and Tell and Story Sharing' segment between 2 - 3 on Thursday 21st November we will be reflecting on 'Family Research, the gift that keeps on giving!'  'Gifts' include opportunities to meet family tree connections to exchange information, documents, photographs, visits. What is the most recent experience-based ‘gift’ your family research has offered to you.   All welcome.

​Bev Lee

Another congenial session in which progress and stories were shared. 

​Val has almost completed her family history, a process begun over 30 years ago with the Benalla Family Research Group, then taken up again with a view to publishing for her family when Val joined our Family Research classes a few years ago.

​Robyn brought in a family tree she has been compiling on paper large enough to include the generations she has been researching. 

A Find Penguins online travel blog began our 'Show and Tell, Pains and Gains' segment from 2 to 3 pm in August - Bev's sister is currently in Scotland staying at Scottish Castles and large estates while on a visit to see her grandson playing in international pipe band competitions. Find Penguins is a wonderful way of recording family research related travel.  We are looking forward to Deb Saunders coming along to our October session from 2 to 3 pm to show us the books based on her Find Penguins travel blog of a recent visit to England and Scotland.  All welcome

Interacting with historical society pages on Facebook can lead to results.  We took a look at Facebook sites featuring Summerhill Estate at Wollert, where Val's ancestor John Hernan worked as an agricultural labourer on arrival in Australia; and the Ercildoune Estate. where Robyn's ancestors from both her maternal and paternal lines worked as farmers.  Robyn showed us comments relating to photos she had contributed of her ancestor's cottage  appeared on the Ercildoune Facebook site. 

Bev reported recently using Graham Jensen's method of working from the sequence of arrivals in Australia, using an excel spreadsheet, to record first and second fleeters, convict ancestors, gypsy forebears, strong links to Cornish miners and more in the process. 

Val continues to work towards the publication of her family history, and described with amusement a recent family reunion at which there were frequent reminders and encouragement for her to complete it.  The index has been prepared, the conclusion written and final photographs are now being added. 

Our 'People and Places' story topic 'Disasters and Tragedies' evoked stories of the Great Depression, the Irish Famine and Scottish Clearances impacting on our families . Bev described the Gretna Train disaster, which led to the death of 226 members of the Royal Scots heading to war in 1915, and its impact on her family,  Viewing a video of the accident, caused by signalling errors, triggered Val's memories of the Violet Town train disaster and its impact on the communities of Violet Town and Benalla.  

​A very rich session overall!

September's topics for our optional ‘story’ segment (Oral or written, 150 to 400 words suggested) relate to 'The Family Research Process': 

‘The role of Letters in my research’ Share two or three interesting letters or emails about a shared ancestor which provided information and supported problem solving during your research. Set the context first, include the letter (or in the case of long letters, the relevant part), then comment on the aftermath.
OR
‘The role of books and other resources in my research’ Tell us about books (from historical novels to memoirs, autobiographies, academic essays, edited papers, research papers., etc) read during your research which have solved problems or otherwise strengthened your research. As we are living in the online environment, which resources available on the internet have given you leads, provided information, solved mysteries and more? 

​Beverley Lee

As mentioned last month, the Family Research ‘4th Thursday’ class is being spelled during Semester II to be reviewed and redesigned when members of our ‘Getting Started’ group are ready to move on from the beginner level. 

The Family Research – Drop In on the ‘3rd Thursday’ is an alternative for family researchers who wish to connect up with other researchers, particularly the ‘Open Mic’ style segment between 2 and 3pm which features ‘Show and Tell’, sharing of ‘Pains, Gains,Tips and Tricks’, story-telling and shared problem solving.  All welcome.
  
In July, Barry and Robyn ‘dropped in’ between 2 and 3 o’clock, Robyn sharing news of going back a further generation in her family tree; Barry sharing a resource list. Bev's story on the July topic ‘Travellers Tales’ described receiving a bemused welcome from a relative in London during a visit in 1976. While Bev had a vague understanding that he had been in the colonial services in Hong Kong, she now has a deeper understanding of this and has discovered he was interned in a Japanese prison camp in Hong Kong from 1942–1945.  The group agreed with Bev’s reflection that it is wise to have a reasonable understanding of the relevant branch of the family tree and lots of family stories to share before visiting relatives overseas. 

During our sessions members often shed light on the work others have been doing.  This month Barry’s childhood memories of living near Summerhill Homestead and farm near Wollert and his first-hand knowledge of its location, buildings and more resonated with Val. Pioneering medical doctor and agriculturalist Dr.Thomas Wilson recruited immigrant farmers to work on the Summerhill Estate during the 1850's, disseminating progressive farming practices in the process. Val's Irish great grandfather John Hernan was one of those farmers, and Val considers it is very likely that he brought his knowledge of progressive farming practices from the Summerhill Estate with him when he settled at Winton in the 1860's. 

The monthly Family Research Drop-In session also offers mentoring support to members using their devices between 1 and 2pm, and 3 to 4 pm.  This month Val worked on the index of her Family History which is nearing publication.

The next Family Research Drop-In session is on Thursday 15.of August in Classroom 2 - Mentoring support 1 - 2pm; Show and Tell/Pains and Gains/Stories - 2 - 3pm; Mentoring Support 3 - 4pm..

Bev Lee

Due to the low attendances for the advanced class in Semester 1, we have decided to ‘spell’ the Family Research ‘4th Thursday’ class during Semester II and review/redesign it when members of our ‘Getting Started’ group are ready to move on from the beginner level.  While the numbers in the advanced group have been disappointing, looked at positively, the people who attend spasmodically were beginners some years ago now, can work independently on their research and may have achieved their family research goals for the moment.  

I have invited members of who have been attending Family Research classes to join the Family Research Drop-in between 2 and 3pm to share pains and gains and/or stories if they would like to do so. This still allows time for Drop In regulars to work 'hands on on their devices' from 1 to 2, and continue working on from 3 to 4pm if they wish to do so.  

For those in story writing or telling mode (up to about 400 words a guide), the theme for July is 'Travel' related - either 

‘Overseas Adventures’ As we research we sometimes discover, to our surprise, that we have a relative/relatives overseas who experienced life changing events while in other countries - for example, a relative who was a govt official in Hong Kong in 1942 who was interned in a Japanese prison camp in HK during the war; a great-uncle and his young family living in Illinois during the Civil War.  Don't worry if the ancestor/s are a little distant, tell us how you became aware of and came to understand the overseas adventures/experiences of those concerned.  or

‘Travel Tales’  A number of our class members have been able to travel to places in which their forebears lived, visit local historical societies there, even meet distant, and sometimes not-so-distant relatives, all as a result of their passion for family research.  Photographs are taken, journals/blogs written, relationships formed which continue through emails and phone calls.  Share your most memorable family research ‘travel tale’.  
​
Feel free to share other writing you have been doing instead.  

The next Drop-In session is on Thursday 18th of July in Classroom 2. 


Bev Lee

David Hall ‘dropped in’ to our May session, using the YouTube video ‘A Quick Tour of Family Historian (tutorial version), to draw out the features of the ‘Family Historian’ program. 

We all agreed it could, with the time available and the web skills necessary to use it comfortably, lead to a very rich family research experience. 

​It also has the capacity to create customised websites and provides an alternative to using ancestry.com and my heritage. 

We chatted about the recent ‘Who Do You Think You Are’, which revealed a life-shattering truth about Miranda Otto’s father, fellow actor Barry Otto. 

​Broadford-raised Val spoke about time spent on the Isle of Sky, where Broadford and Kilmore are both towns, and highly recommended spending time at the Clan Donald Museum if visiting the Isle of Sky.  Val is reaching the final stages of pulling together material for the publication she would like to give to her family and has a clearer sense of the ‘Table of Contents’ she would like to organise her files/photos around and the family tree diagrams she would like to include.

Mentor Bev spoke about being thrilled to receive a message from a young teacher in his twenties living in Edinburgh who shares a direct line to her great great ‘Lee side’ grandparents and is keen to know more about his ancestors.   

A slow month for Robyn this month as other priorities have needed her attention.  If it’s hard to find time to work on family history, dropping in to the session can sometimes provide an oasis in a storm, a chance to get at least something done.

Family researchers who have established their family tree and would like support as they negotiate programs and resources on the internet are welcome to drop in, ask for support and share their pains and gains with other drop in members.  Third Thursday, 1 – 4pm in Classroom 2.

Bev Lee

​Information and Photos on Melbourne’s Northern Suburbs Facebook Page in Photo/s ‘Summer Hill’ Album

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.421937574631230&type=3
​
Summerhill Homestead
585 Summerhill Road, Wollert, Whittlesea City, Victoria, Australia

Craigieburn, 3064 3.1km
Donnybrook, 3064 4.6km
Kalkallo, 3064 6.3km
Roxburgh Park, 3064 7.0km
Epping, 3076 7.9km

What is significant?

The Summerhill farm complex was built in the 1850s by Thomas Wilson, an Irish doctor who had arrived in Victoria in 1841 with his wife Margaret, practised medicine for some years, and in 1848 took up land on the Merri Creek, north of Melbourne. In 1853 he moved to his property, where he ran a dairy, pig and sheep farm, raised a large family, and became Chairman of the local Road Board and later Shire President. He moved to Kew in 1878, selling the property in 1886. It was regarded as one of the finest farming properties in Victoria at the time, and was described in several contemporary Melbourne newspaper articles, but no architect has been found for the buildings. Wilson's farm was close enough to Melbourne to make dairying profitable, but the housing of his milch cows under cover during the winter was considered unusual in Victoria at the time, and was done to ensure the year-round production of milk. He produced milk, butter and cheese, with the waste used to produce pork, and also ran about two thousand sheep in paddocks divided by stone walls. During the 1940s much of the original property was acquired by the Soldier Settlement Commission, which divided it into smaller sheep farms. It is now owned by Austral Bricks which operates a large quarry and brickworks nearby.

Summerhill is a farm complex sited on a rise east of Merri Creek. It consists of a bluestone homestead and several bluestone outbuildings, arranged around a farmyard at the rear of the house and connected by bluestone pathways. The homestead is a symmetrical two storey Colonial Georgian building with a single storey verandah, and a central porch supported by unusual Egyptian-influenced columns. Of the original two cow sheds, one is a long low bluestone building with arched openings along the west side, now incorporated into a larger corrugated iron woolshed; the other has collapsed. The two bluestone dairy buildings, the milk house and the dairy/cheese room, had two storeys, with unusual external bluestone staircases leading to the first floor and enclosing below this sheltered entrance porches on the ground floor. One of these dairy buildings is now derelict, with only the front wall and stone staircase standing, while the roof, of corrugated iron over shingles, and the walls at the rear have collapsed. The walls of the other dairy building are in place, but part of the slate roof has collapsed as have the timber floors inside. There is also a bluestone cow byre, and a below ground bluestone water tank, now filled in with rubble. Although the farm complex is now surrounded on three sides by a quarry, there is still sufficient land surrounding it to allow an understanding of its original rural context.

How is it significant?

The Summerhill farm complex is of historical and architectural significance to the state of Victoria.

Why is it significant?

Summerhill is architecturally significant as an outstanding example of an 1850s dairy farm complex. The homestead is of architectural significance as a fine and intact example of a bluestone Colonial Georgian style homestead of the 1850s. The farm is significant for its collection of bluestone outbuildings associated with its primary function as a dairy farm, an industry made possible by its location close to the Melbourne market. The cow shed, later used as a wool shed, is of significance as a rare example of this building type in Victoria. The former milk house and dairy buildings are significant as unusual examples of commercial dairy buildings of the 1850s, and for their external bluestone staircases. The outbuildings are rare surviving examples of the structures built by the pioneers using local materials and demonstrate early construction techniques.

Summerhill is historically significant as one of the earliest surviving substantial farming complexes built close to Melbourne, and for its association with the early dairy industry in Victoria, illustrating former dairying practices and the development of rural industry in Victoria in the mid nineteenth century. It is significant for its association with the pioneer Dr Thomas Wilson, an early settler in Victoria who played an active role in local affairs. 
 
 
Comment re photo of House from Front:
FB – Warren Swinbourne ….“This is a really magnificent example of mid-19th century domestic homestead architecture. The Georgian and Victorian influences fighting for your attention, both working beautifully in their blended composition. Incredibly intact farm complex also. Heartbreaking what the Austral quarry has done to the landscape around the property, it'll never be home to kids running around the verandas again.”

Follow ups - Follow up on Ancestry.com Pay As You Go 'work around' (Robyn) - searching for ancestry.com Pay Per View came up with support.ancestry.co.uk/s/article/Pay-per-view-Subscriptions-1460088590777. Following the suggested link to 
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/offers/subscribe I scrolled down the page and about midway found the link on the right to 'Alternatively-Pay As You Go'.If you have your ancestry account open in the background, it seems to link better to your family tree.

Bev - two things to report

How do people find our stories?  Two recent contacts via my blog - last week a short, friendly and informative message from the 'granddaughter of my grand aunt's widower' who had discovered the ''Matthew Donovan - Quintishill (Gretna) Rail Disaster" post on my blog which helped me to understand what happened to him in the final years of his life My question - how did she find my post?  I googled a fairly specific question and it came up 'Matthew Donovan - Quintishill (Gretna) Rail Disaster', and there it was.  
I've now updated ancestry.com, and my blog, and added the link to the blog to the websites area of Matthew Donovan's profile.

Then just this morning another email "Hi, I have recently come across the 'James 'Tancy' Lee' blog and trying to find out more. My Grandad was related to him but I cannot place exactly how and I would love to speak to someone who knows more than me about Tancy. I recognise this is a long shot but I would be grateful for any info."  I think I can help and have sent him an email asking for the names of his grandfather and grandfather. I've begun linking information received from Ryan to the Lee side of my family tree.  More news next time!"  (NB a Google Search again came up with the article in my blog)

Sometimes it's worth opening up documents which seem at first sight offputting or likely to be irrelevant - Helping Mary - write about what happened at Family Research; then how I kept following up, found a record, sent it to Mary, but it was one she didn't have!

The Family Research ‘Drop In’ is, by nature, a casual affair.  We gather in the small classroom at 1pm to begin working on our devices; share stories and discoveries from 2 to 3 pm, then return to work on our devices, solving problems and following up issues with the support of others until 4pm.  Well, that’s the plan! 

Robyn was keen to follow up records from India this month, but we discovered ancestry.com.au is no longer offering the relatively inexpensive ’10 world records for $10.99’ subscription. Fortunately, we’ve since discovered a work around – go into the ancestry.com.uk subscription page; scroll down, then click on Access ‘Pay Per View’ Records. 

Bev’s ‘Too Hard Basket’ story described difficulties in finding information about the early life and parents of a great aunt-in-law who was born in India in 1888, married Bev’s great uncle in South Africa in 1906, migrated to Australia in 1910, and as a 25-year-old mother of three children under 5 was admitted to the Victorian psychiatric institutional system in 1914.
​
Malcolm dropped in with encouragement to go beyond on-line resources, bringing along a local history publication and aerial photographs and maps of the Greta Lurg area.  The maps were of great interest to Robyn, who farmed at Hansonville for 28 years before retiring to Benalla.  

The Family Research Drop In is a small group session for Family Research Group members which provides encouragement and support in a hands-on setting. Members can drop in from 1 to 4 pm, receive mentoring support and, between 2 and 3 pm, share news of their progress, discuss the problems they have brought in, 10 explore common themes and recent developments. This month, for example, Robyn shared family photographs sent to her by a 2nd cousin recently discovered through a DNA match. We also looked at a cousin calculator highlighting cousins – from regular ‘first cousins’ to ‘tenth cousins ten times removed’! 

Bev Lee

Family Research 'Drop In' - New Format

1 pm 'Drop in Open' - Class Room 2 will be open for group members to settle in with devices and start working on the area/s they have focused on for the day.  

1.30pm .  Convenor/Mentor./s will begin working with participants.

2pm.  Group discussion - pains and gains, stories to be shared, what participants are working on, what they would like help with.

2.30   Review and support for any jointly occurring issues in the group

2.45 ish.  Coffee break  

3pm.  'Back to work' on devices with help from mentors/other group members.

3.50 to 4 pm   Winding up, including arrangements for one to one appointment times to complete any learning needs worked on during the session if requested.

4 pm  See you next time! 

Note - 
*Coffee will be available throughout the afternoon.  
*There are naturally occurring 'Drop In' points eg. at the start; for the discussion, and 'Drop Out' points eg. after the discussion, or when goals for the day have been achieved.

In addition to working on tasks, we talked about many things!  Here are some resources which came up in our discussion:

Cousin's Calculator and Chart

Cousin's Calculator and Chart - Family Tree Magazine  https://www.familysearch.org/en/blog/cousin-chart
Cousin Calculator - Hand out (distribute)

Homesteads in Family History

The link between Winton's Margaret Sophia Lindsay nee Weston from Judy Borthwick's Nurses' project and the 1850's Somerton farm project which Val's ancestors were involved in, appears to confirm Val's hypothesis that a number of families moved from Dr Wilson's Summerhill farm project at Somerton/Wollert to settle in the Mokoan/Winton area during the 1860's. 

The Age, Monday 2 Feb 1857 p1 "HERNON, MARY. — Ship Phoebe Dunbar. Write to John Hernon, care Dr. Wilson, Summerhill, Post-office, Somerton."

Article - A visit to Dr Wilson's farm at Somerton ... https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/179479980/19220278​

Dry Stone Walls Study - Mentions Dr Wilson https://dswaa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Dry-Stone-Walls-Study-2022-1.pdf

Photograph of Summer Hill at Craigieburn (c Wollert)

The relevant historical society is not obvious on the web, but there are some possibilities:  
​Thomastown - Lalor - Epping Memories on Facebook mention Somerton Railway Station, which opened in the 1880's - 
www.facebook.com/groups/31885330970/posts/10158217295025971/

Melton and District Historical Society  - contact researcher?
10 Pyke Place, Kurunjang 3337 VIC Australia
0409 306 640
[email protected]

Whittlesea Historical Society?  Craigieburn Historical Society?

Follow up to Judy's Post-Cards Blog Post 

We received notification that comments had been added to Judy's Post-cards blog post. Judy has followed up through responding to the comments.  An example of a comments chain... u3abenalla.weebly.com/family-research---getting-started/serendipity-judy-finds-old-postcards-to-fish-creek-ancestors-at-an-antiques-bric-a-brac-store-in-warracknabeal

The information in the comments provides a good example of a family tree which is available on the broader internet rather than through ancestry - the Wooster family tree project.  https://woosterfamily.co.uk/TNG/getperson.php?personID=I02709&tree=GWTpublic
​

​Bev Lee

Four family researchers dropped in for our first session in February.  We welcomed passionate family researchers Janet (who came along to talk through ways of keeping focussed when there are so many paths to go along)  and Maureen (keen to resolve an issue about whether and how to publish her work to meet the demands of family members).  Returning members Val and Robyn generously shared their experiences and 'family research wisdom' with Janet and Maureen, who also had lots of family research experiences and wisdom to share..

We talked about the fact that there is no 'right' way of keeping records or writing up family history, with a wide range of methods used.  Quite often members will have done a lot of work before coming to the Drop In and it is wonderful to see the variety of approaches used.   A particular focus of the Drop In is to support family researchers who lack confidence with computer applications and processes needed to achieve their goals.

We mentioned the monthly family story writing activity during Covid.  This is an optional project now for members who enjoy writing stories.  There is a Topic List for 2024 largely featuring topics remaining on our list at the end of 2023.  We also have a list of all the Family Story Topics from 2021 to 2024 if anyone enjoys writing stories and would like to draw story topics from it.  

Our goal for Drop In sessions is that each person leaves the group having at least partly, if not fully, completed what they came to the Drop In hoping to do.  

After reflecting on our first session, and chatting through some ideas with Robyn, there's a new format for the Drop In. What do you think?

Family Research 'Drop In'

1 pm 'Drop in Open' - Class Room 2 will be open for group members to settle in with devices and start working on the area/s they have focused on for the day.  
1.30pm .  Convenor/Mentor./s will begin working with participants.
2pm.  Group discussion - pains and gains, stories to be shared, what participants are working on, what they would like help with.
2.30   Review and support for any jointly occurring issues in the group
2.45 ish.  Coffee break  
3pm.  'Back to work' on devices with help from mentors/other group members.
3.50 to 4 pm   Winding up, including arrangements for one to one appointment times to complete any learning needs worked on during the session if requested.
4 pm  See you next time! 

Note - 
*Coffee will be available throughout the afternoon.  
*There are naturally occurring 'Drop In' points eg. at the start; for the discussion, and 'Drop Out' points eg. after the discussion, or when goals for the day have been achieved.

Bev Lee
​

November’s 'Third Thursday' session featured Helen’s ‘Show and Tell’ of family history resources collected on her recent trip to England, Ireland and Scotland.  There were old letters and photographs; documents in which family members had listed members of their family, past and present, complete with birth and death dates; poems; favourite quotations, cartes de visites, a fascinating 'Ancestral Tablet ... arranged so that eight sets of ancestors may be recorded in a simple and connected form' dated 1885, and more. 

The piece(s) de resistance – two cross stitch samplers created by Helen’s husband Chris’s great grant aunt in 1811, and another by her daughter, in 1831.  One 212 years old, and the other 192 years old!  The samplers were also of interest to the Patchwork and Craft group in the adjacent classroom. ​

We spent some time chatting about the role of samplers in a girls’ education*, and the introduction and use of ‘cartes de visite’**.

Members and mentors who have attended sessions of the Intermediate Group will next meet on Thursday 7th December at 2pm at Stella Stella (Rambling Rose) for coffee and cake to finish the year.

Finally, we would like to send our condolences to treasured group member Val Harris, whose husband Barry passed away this month.  We have been thinking of you, Val.

Bev Lee

*  Samplers - some resources (to be added)


​** Cartes de Visite - some resources (to be added)

The Drop in on Thursday 2nd November saw Robyn finally having time to work with mentor Judy on researching further into the history of the property she had farmed with her husband in the Greta area for over 25 years.   Margaret arrived determined to find more time for family research, with today's attendance a victory in doing so!  Her maternal family tree, in particular her maternal grandmother's siblings, is her current focus, with a trip to Goorambat cemetery for a memorial stone photography session planned for the near future.

During the session we spent some time loading and then reading through Judy's beautiful collection of postcards featuring her great aunts who lived in Fish Creek, miraculously found a few months ago when browsing through an antiques and bric-a-brac store in, of all places, Warracknabeal, on the other side of the state.  You can view these postcards at u3abenalla.weebly.com/family-stories/category/judy-barry.

The possible use of ChatGPT/AI (https://chat.openai.com) in family research drew upon Bev's report that ​Jane Rushworth, inspired by Dawn, has been exploring the ChatGPT app to discover how artificial intelligence can assist family researchers. Jane was pleased to find that ChatGTP takes a very ethical stance if it is asked questions about particular people.  It can generate lists of pertinent historical information, however will flag if it can't and more focused research is required by the person asking the question.  

Example: 

What do you know about the Devitt family in Ireland during the Potato Famine?

ChatGPT

"I'm sorry, but I don't have specific information about the Devitt family in Ireland during the Potato Famine as there were many families affected by the famine, and individual family records from that time can be challenging to access. The Great Irish Famine, also known as the Potato Famine, occurred between 1845 and 1852 and was a period of severe food shortage and mass starvation in Ireland, resulting from the failure of the potato crop due to a potato blight.

During this time, many families in Ireland faced extreme hardship, poverty, and death. The Devitt family, like countless others, would have likely struggled to find food and resources to survive. Some may have emigrated to other countries, such as the United States, Canada, and Australia, in search of a better life.

If you have specific information about the Devitt family or are looking for genealogical records, you might consider researching historical records, local archives, or genealogical resources to learn more about their experiences during the Potato Famine. Additionally, family stories and oral history can be valuable sources of information about ancestors who lived during this challenging period in Irish history.'"

We need to keep in mind that we may get more specific information by starting with Google Search or Wikipedia than Chat GPT.  Also that ChatGPT doesn't list its sources.    It was interesting that our test using a local question 'When was the Black Swan Hotel built in Benalla?' was more productive using a Google search than ChatGPT.  

​Planning for 2024 was previewed, with the 4th Thursday 'Advanced' course reverting to a more general course and moving away from the sharing of stories on monthly topics introduced during the pandemic.  Deb is teaching the beginner's course - which has a new title, 'Family Research - Getting Started on Your Family Tree'.  With a few people still keen to write stories, the likelihood is that we will continue to have a Drop In on the first Monday for 'Intermediate' students, and that this will provide a venue for people who would like to write and share stories with others.  

Bev Lee

Our September session began with an invitation to attend next week's FR Advanced session when family historian Alan Henderson will speak about his publication 'Boots, Gold and Wool'. Alan will draw upon outline of some key people in the Henderson Family and their lives as background to his research methods, sources, and journeys in Scotland and around the Victorian goldfields. Alan's session - from 2 to around 3.30 pm will also include information about surprises and luck in his research journey.

Today's focus on 'craft-y ideas for family historians', began with a 'Show and Tell' by Bev of a framed crocheted lace doyly made by her milliner Great Aunt Victoria (b 1887) surrounded by ribbon lace roses made by her aunt's daughter.  Guest speaker Jan Brown then shared her chosen method of presenting her family story - Scrapbooking.  A keen scrapbooker for many years, Jan's album of thoughtfully and creatively presented photographs, documents, newspaper clippings was most engaging. ​

We also checked out an article from Family Tree magazine on crafty 'do-it-yourself' ideas for family historians - familytreemagazine.com/projects/crafts/family-history-diy-projects

Robyn reported finding property details to follow up with Judy at the next Drop In and presented the draft of her next story.  We also followed up Robyn's query about adding a number of family photos in a row in a word document, with the suggestion to use 'insert table', then 'insert picture', then remove the table grid lines. 

Robyn's story on 'Correspondence' is now with her story collection on the website.  We also had a look at Jacquie Lawson e-cards, which Bev has found to be a delightful way of connecting with family members met as a result of family research.

At the end of the session we watched a September 2023 Ancestry Update which included  the recent introduction of a fan chart.  Interested?  Watch below or click on this link https://youtu.be/no-uyOkSVLw?si=t0cpBMDBjIdwWwoR   

Theme - an ethically challenging topic in Family Research - 'We hope our ancestors were good people'.  

There was a powerful case study of this in a recent 'Every Family Has a Secret' program on SBS program (Season 4: Episode 3). This dilemma was mentioned by our guest speaker Alan Henderson recently; was in the media recently following the publication of a highly regarded book by David Marr; comes up as an issue on Penny Bristol Jones' Digby Family Stories website; features in a television documentary by journalist Ellen Fanning's on her family, as well as coming up from time to time in our own stories.

​Two thought provoking case studies:

1.  David Marr – 'Killing for Country'
Interview with David Marr by Laura Tingle on 7.30 report on ABC:
https://youtu.be/ARMR5rNBocY?si=aiSDChAmrAFVJuQ1
Excellent article in PDF format  'Killing for Country--another plank in truth telling’'  source https://johnmenadue.com/killing-for-country-another-plank-in-truth-telling

2.  Ellen Fanning--'An Australian Family's Reckoning' 
Story with links:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-06/an-australian-familys-reckoning/13124732   
You Tube clip - https://youtu.be/-ocBZE6PPXo?si=1Cn1ssOpMf4OG8v0

A 'small is beautiful' session with Helen, who is just about to go overseas, and Mary, who has just returned from travelling north.  Helen brought along a timeline on her mother's working life with the WAAF in England she recently typed up from a hand written timeline her mother wrote for her before she died. Helen is planning to 'pad this out' with other things she knew or has found out about her mother's life.  Helen also found a photo of a church in which her ancestor had been warden, with a name and place  in Wiltshire, reminding us of 'Midsummer Murders' country.  Helen's resource collection has developed from the colour coded paper clip collection brought along last session to thoughtfully organised display folders for each of her grandparent's 'lines', resources she has prepared duplicates of for family members.

Mary reported beginning to get back into her family history after time away, describing success in finding documents about her Great Great Grandfather in the National Library of Ireland website.   Mary has been researching for decades, has so much information,  has prepared a detailed family tree chart for family members.  What to do next? We talked about how over time, as our research becomes 'grounded', themes, personalities begin to stand out, providing a fertile basis for story telling based on facts, often verifying stories passed through generations.  Mary identified stories relating to the themes of 'Religion', 'Class', 'Occupation' for which she had stories which would provide a wonderful place to start.  

Mary and Helen shared many common 'learnings' over time including the distraction of the use of different spelling of names being common; having had meetings with sometimes quite distant relatives via ancestry and noting remarkable likenesses across generations and families; and stories of half-siblings having been quietly adopted out, not being 'included' by the grandparents of subsequent children.. 

The destruction of many records in the Irish collection and the fact that some ship's captains recorded the number of, not the names of, passengers in steerage has made Mary's research frustrating at times, however she is hopeful that original source materials were also kept in parishes etc that may have been burnt in the fire, may appear as hints over time, and shipping records may in fact be available, even when the ancestors were in steerage.  Mary is also keen to find out more about the house in which her grandparents lived in at 184 & 186 Elgin Street Carlton from the early 1900's to 1941.  Did they own it, or was it rented to them by relatives?  We had a look at Judy's notes on this topic and will seek out Judy's support at the next First Thursday session. 

We finished the session by going back to Helen's original research quest - of finding out information about her mother's father, Bertram L, whose name Helen's mother had told her.  Helen has discovered and carefully pieced together a lot of information about him over the past year; this month we took a next step working together from the large screen. We looked through 'Thrulines' from Helen's DNA test to find him, finding no shared results from any direct descendants, however tried another tack and found there was a direct descendant on his brother's line who shared DNA with Helen, establishing the biological connection.  Going in to this person's tree we found the person had knowledge of her grandfather's later children and was descended from one of them, but no mention of his illegitimate daughter, Helen's mother.  "It's a long story" But the shared DNA has given Helen food for thought - it doesn't appear that the person is aware the existence Helen's mother, so Helen is pausing before taking the next step of making contact!  This is a good example of how 'cluster research', in which note is taken of siblings as a way of accessing information, can be helpful!

​A fascinating and productive small group session!

Bev Lee

'Pains and Gains' shared by the intermediate group in July included Helen using family photographs to demonstrate the way in which DNA from Indian ancestors has carried down in at least one member of her husband's family.  Val described working solidly on writing up the Abley side of her family history, gleefully reporting she can begin to see completing 'both sides' in the foreseeable future. 

Robyn shared the research and photographs for a story which we decided related to the topic 'Family Traits'.  Discovering  that one of her 'Rigby' forebears was a famous dairy farmer in the UK, Robyn linked this to her lifetime dream, and the eventual reality, of becoming a farmer. The story also led to a rich discussion on how milk may have been kept cold in the early decades of the 1900's in England; possibly in cellars with marble shelves in which ice blocks cut from the snow in winter.  Robyn aso shared a book sent to her by a relative in England, a precursor to the online apps eliciting stories in response to a series of questions.  

Our theme for the day was Recipes (an upcoming topic on the family stories topic list).  We reminisced about recipes passed down through our families.  Robyn and Helen, whose husbands had forebears who lived in India for a time, reminisced about how they had been taught  the traditional way of making hot curries in the manner of their husbands' ancestors. Memories were also shared of meals with strong links to England, just search for 'Traditional recipes from England' - there are lots of lists on the internet.  Strongly remembered from travelling or living in England, fish and chips with mushy peas!  Bev demonstrated how searching for 'Recipes from County Roscommon in Ireland' resulted in a recipe for Roscommon Rhubarb Pie; 'Recipes from Bath in the UK', the 'Bath Bun' often associated with Jane Austen, and more.  Some links if interested...
How to Collect and Share Recipes plus Troubleshooting Tips (Family Tree Magazine)
How to Make a Recipe Book with your collection of family recipes (Family Tree Magazine

Time allocated for 'hands on' work saw Val working on formatting her written family history, reviewing how to cut and paste; also learning to delete 'headers' not needed any more; Robyn used our My Heritage account to search for information on ancestors which may not have been in Ancestry; while Helen successfully followed up a '10 Hint' list in ancestry.com for an grand uncle who had died in World War I.

​Bev Lee

'Pains and Gains' reported in June included Helen learning how to photograph old photos, load them from her camera to PC, crop, filter, rename and post to a person’s gallery and profile in ancestry.com.  Helen’s pains included the disappearance of ‘Thrulines’ in the DNA page of her tree, although fortunately notifications of cousins sharing DNA links are still appearing. 

Robyn reported continuing to enjoy working on her tree and shared her story ‘Out of My Usual Comfort Zone – Indian Records’ in which she explains using 'Pay as You Go' credits in ancestry.com to find records of family who spent time in India.  A ‘pain’ for Robyn this month was calling in an IT specialist only to find out she probably needs to replace her laptop. 

A highlight for avid reader of history Julie was finding a book she was looking for about the Highland Clearances in a rare boxed-set on E-Bay.  Julie also described drawing on Trove's digitised newspaper collection to research her great grandfather, a Buckland Valley pioneer's son, finding him frequently mentioned in the Ovens/Valley newspaper in roles including rate collector and Police Magistrate. 

Val spoke of valiantly writing up her family history and of her concerns about formatting the final document. Val also reported with glee that two younger family are keen to know more about their ancestors, saying it is such a delight to be asked ‘Gran, can you show me…?”

Apps introduced by Bev this month included ancestry.com's ‘create a keepsake’ link to https://www.mycanvas.com/ to create books, family tree posters and calendars drawing from ancestry.com data and the findpenguins.com online travel blog which is a wonderful way of recording visits to family sites while travelling.

​
Bev Lee

This month our main session moved to the Third Thursday. Our group has been relabelled the Intermediate Group, with a web page separated out from the Beginners Group's page..

​During the session we began by following up and developing the issues covered at the First Thursday Session described in the previous post..

'Pains and Gains, Tips and Tricks' for May included Judy's miraculous discovery of postcards from ancestors in a collectables/opp shop; Julie's gains and recommendations regarding Robert Kee's 'Ireland - A History', the book and the 12 part televised series available through You Tube; and Robyn's work and developing confidence in using ancestry.com 'Pay as You Go' credits ($10.99 for 10 records) in tracking ancestors who worked with the English police force in India and their families.   Robyn also read her story 'Anzac Day', added to her Family Stories collection, to the class.  Robyn finds writing the stories from the 'Fourth Thursday' topic list provides the opportunity to focus on a particular person or family in her tree and add depth to her understanding of their lives. 

In the last hour of the session, guest speaker Deb Saunders gave a fascinating presentation on 'The Earl Grey Scheme'.  Deb set the scene by exploring the context in which the scheme was set, then drew upon records documenting the nature of the Scheme and the processes involved to highlight the possible experiences of her ancestor, Bridget Cain, an Irish orphan, who sailed from Plymouth on December 31st 1849 on the Eliza Caroline, arriving in Port Phillip on March 31st 1850.

Deb, thank you so much for the thought and effort you put into your presentation and the engaging manner in which you presented it.  Hopefully you will get other opportunities to present it in future.  

Items/ideas arising during the session to be carried over to our June session include:

• Helen taking us through the way in which she has been working with her ancestry.com tree now that DNA has been linked to it; particularly to show us why she enjoys using 'Throughlines'.
• Judy sharing her progress in using about timeline producing apps, the result of John's trialling them, a recommendation from John, and will also demonstrate working on a timeline she is constructing using one of the apps.
• Robyn highlighting the ancestors in her tree/s for whom she has been able to find records from India and demonstrating the way in which she has been using 'Pay as You Go' credits in the process of  finding Indian records.

We had a very full session and so did not have time for hands on problem solving or hands on.  Bev is happy to be contacted for support and a possible one to one session if class members have something they are trying to resolve proves difficult. Mentor Judy has a number of queries to follow up, including helping Mary to resolve a problem - were there two James Shortis's with different wives, or was there one James Shortis with two wives?  As you can imagine, with quite a number of children involved, there is scope for much duplication and confusion if this is not resolved.   We'll also have a problem solving, hands on focus at our next 'Third Thursday' session.

​Bev Lee

With no new beginners and two intermediate group members, plus mentors, Judy Barry, and Deb, participating at the beginners/intermediate session on the First Monday in May, the session became an intermediate session! 

Resources used or mentioned during this session included - 

Old Postcards - Judy said that when she travels around she visits op shops and looks through their postcard collection/s.  This month she had a joyous experience, finding postcards from forebears which revealed much about their stories; she was able to purchase 11 of them for $40, however they were really priceless!  

Judy's story prompted Val to report on another wonderful discovery since she has been able to work with a researcher who contacted her via our website - it is likely that other families who settled at Winton also lived and worked on with John Hernan at Somerton

Timelines - a report back on John Barry's session 'Finding Gold' at the recent Family History Festival, led to Bev showing us timelines developed early in her research to help to make sense of all the records she was finding.  Working 'tables' initially; they were then refined.  Timelines can be developed on spreadsheets and tables, however they can also be handwritten, working docs on note pads kept handy for when the need arises..  Bev's examples, using table format, from Devitt/Miller and Hooper/Taylor Combined to Devitt/Miller focus, and to meet a current need John Louis Carl
​
Video Resources on Understanding DNA Results - three video resources suggested by Deb Saunders on helping to understand DNA results, were discussed and recommended as helpful by Helen.  You can find the videos through this link - 'An Introduction to DNA Results' on this website.  

When problem solving about being able to transfer someone else's DNA results from another tree into their profile on your tree, Deb suggested the following video - which while superceded in design, did help to work on the problem -  .

While we came up with a brick wall in terms of the original goal, we developed a 'work around' at a follow up meeting with Helen and Chris which we hope to hear has been a 'Gain', not a 'Pain".

Military Records -  Highly recommended article from State Library of Victoria - 
https://blogs.slv.vic.gov.au/family-matters/mentioned-in-dispatches-ways-to-research-your-military-ancestors/ 
Brief look at military records and Trove for Sister Hilda Knox, Benalla
Personal Service Records
Embarkation Documents
Other awards
Trove - search term 'Sister Hilda Knox, Benalla' 

School Records - Deb hasn't been able to find birth registrations for some members of her family and has been advised school records might be of help.  
Recommended article from State Library of Victoria - to be added
Searching State Library of Victoria also comes up with other articles; resource suggestions relating to school records
Something for the future - video presentation - Finding Teacher Records at PROV https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/view-discuss/jack-martin-finding-teacher-records-prov​

Cemetery Records 

An interesting case study involving a transcription error - Deb shared a interesting 'case study' of a fortuitous encounter with a very helpful staff member of Box Hill Cemetery.  When Deb couldn't locate the name, the staff member took the time to suggest a possible transcription, and voila, problem solved!  In terms of 'resources', a story about the advisability of asking questions of staff, just in case!

A sad story about cemeteries - Sister Gertrude Froggatt (nee Chandler of Winton), one of the nurses in Judith Borthwick's project on nurses, is in an unmarked grave at the Benalla Cemetery.  There is a magnificent headstone with her father and two brother's named, with a space left underneath. It was probably for Gertrude,  possibly when organising the other names.  Havng outlived them, there was possibly no one who knew that she could have been be buried in the family grave and included on the headstone.  

Here is the link to Judith's project - 'Benalla Hospitals and Nurses in the early 1900's'.

Printfriendly.com A useful resource was previewed  during the session - Printfriendly.com - which enables the print out a pdf of a website page without all the additional advertising, side menu detail etc - just a focus on the content.  

Much was covered - and there's probably more!

Bev​

The ‘continuing beginners’ group came in for a hands-on session on the second Thursday after meeting with Judy at Rambling Rose on the frst Thursday.  All members described making progress in journeys typified by individual approaches to documenting their family trees.

With Anzac Day approaching we had a look at the war records of Benalla nurse Sister Hilda Knox, who died of meningitis in France in 1917 and is listed on the Roll of Honour in Canberra.  We also completed a search for ‘Sister Hilda Knox, Benalla’, using Trove, previewing articles developing some of the events we had noted in the records, with knowledge about her also shared by group members.

With DNA results featuring more regularly in discussions, the group showed interest in three videos recommended by Deb Saunders on understanding DNA results.  Records from India where English ancestors did military service and had families featured in both DNA results for Helen’s family (5% Indian) and in Robyn’s current search for ancestors.  Robyn learned to use Pay as You Go credits to open records from India in ancestry, then Judy helped her to locate similar records using our new My Heritage account.   Val worked on adding photos and images from Trove to a family story she is writing in Word, and Mary made first steps in to learning how to use Trove. 

From May, this group will have a new name 'Family Research - Intermediate' and meet at changed time slot - the 3rd Thursday from 1 to 4 pm - for it's main session.  The session will have a problem solving/hands on element, as well as a ‘pains and gains’ catch up and theme for the day. Intermediate group members can also attend the beginners’ session on the first Monday if topics are relevant to their learning needs and the guest speaker component of the advanced group on the 4th Thursday if it is of interest..

A special thanks to mentor Judy Barry, who is creatively supporting group members to make breakthroughs when they seem to have reached brick walls!

Bev Lee

​Report back on recent DNA Presentation by Jim Burnell 
Review, reactions and next steps
Some other resources on understanding DNA results suggested by Deb Saunders:  - see this link:  u3abenalla.weebly.com/family-stories/members-choice-an-introduction-to-dna-results-in-ancestry

An overview of Military Records - 'Her Story' Case Study - Sister Hilda Knox, Benalla

Australian War Memorial - War Service Records (in memory of Anzac Day / WWI)
Benalla Nurses - Sister Hilda Knox - Benalla  
Nominal Roll re Death - ​www.awm.gov.au/collection/R2453650
Embarkation Details Search- 
https://www.awm.gov.au/advanced-search/people?people_preferred_name=Hilda+Knox&people_service_number=&people_roll_title=&people_embarkation_date=&roll=First+World+War+Embarkation+Roll
1916/17  https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1987255
1914 https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1853846
​AIF Project  https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=167859​
Personnel Service Record 
​recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ListingReports/ItemsListing.aspx
​
'Trove' Sister Hilda Knox, Benalla

Hands On!!
​
New Timetable Arrangements - In May we move to a slightly revised timetable.  One to one sessions have, or are coming, to an end for most new students, who move to a ‘hands on session’ on the 2nd Thursday.. 
1st Thursday – new beginners (and ‘intermediate’ class members who would like to attend to review topics), a session focusing on learning new skills and developing a deeper understanding of the possibilities of family research.
2nd Thursday—'new beginners’ – hands on (bring your laptops/other devices used)
3rd Thursday—‘intermediate’ group – a hands on focus, but with a ‘pains and gains’ catch up and theme for the day in terms of theory/practice
4th Thursday—‘advanced’ group – this group is pretty competent ‘hands on’ but meets to review progress over the past month through sharing of ‘pains and gains’, shares family stories on topics selected to encourage a deeper look at their family history; guest speakers (intermediate students also invited to hear guest speakers).

Next 'Intermediate' Session will be in May on the 3rd Thursday afternoon - the third Thursday will be your special theme/hands on session from now on timetabled as Intermediate Group:  The continuing theme of Her Story will apply for carry over during session - 'Earl Grey Scheme' - guest presenter Deb Saunders will come in at 3.30pm to tell us the story of her ancestor, Bridget, who was orphaned during the Irish Famine as part of the Earl Grey Scheme. 

​
Bev Lee