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September - 'A Press Missionary', 'Occupations' and 'Ethics'

22/9/2022

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This month we welcomed guest speaker Margaret Jenkins for our opening segment ‘Writing and Sharing Our Family Story’.  Margaret’s story of the writing and publication of ‘A Press Missionary’, the life of her great grandfather, Thomas Allard Pettit, was fascinating.  

A diary, written by Thomas during his journey to Australia by ship in 1884 and found in a ‘rarely if ever opened trunk in a rarely if ever used room’ after her father’s death, became the catalyst for a post retirement family history journey. Margaret chose the title ‘A Press Missionary’, to reflect Thomas’s life as a journalist, skilled businessman and civic leader with a penchant for reviving old newspapers and starting new ones across Victoria.   Thank you for sharing your story and experiences with us, Margaret!

In 'Pains and Gains’, Barry described how, frustrated with the usual research avenues, he had tried a simple Google search for the names of his GG Grandparents. Up came both names on the same page, unfortunately the dates were three decades out. He also investigated each name and found that there were fifteen women with the same name as his GGGM, but none of the dates matched the era. He also discovered that a lot of his GGGM’s family migrated to Canada. 

David described working on his wife’s family history and correcting some errors in preparation for a cousin’s reunion in March 2023. He had a further gain when he located a photograph showing three generations of the family, complete with names, which is such a bonus! His pain for the month, the Virtual Irish Treasury is not really working for him. 

Margaret, still to hear France about her enquiry, brought along promotion material for the sale of her impressive childhood home, Annamult House in Kilkenny, Ireland.  

Bev, after listening to Graham’s story last week, had found herself speculating – “was there no marriage certificate for her great grand-parents because her great grandfather’s first wife was in a psychiatric institution?"
”.
This month’s topic, ‘Occupations’, encouraged us to look into the occupations of our forebears and to reflect on whether there were patterns which have been passed down. David’s reflections on the topic led him to look at the bigger picture, of what might be happening and changing in society over time. Both David and Marg reflected on the opportunities that have opened up for later generations, given the start that many of our ancestors had.  We are hoping that members who didn’t make it to the session are able to share Occupations stories next time. 

Jane’s presentation “Some ethical issues which can arise during family research” was thought provoking, but a little rushed as we were already over time.  We agreed that Jane should begin our October session, taking us through the slide show again to allow time for discussion.
  ­­­­
October’s Topic – ‘From the Bookshelves’ A book/books which has/have historical significance in terms of your family/family research...
  • Do you have any books on your bookshelves which belong to, or remind you of your ancestors; can you remember the books on your parents and grandparents’ bookshelves? Browse through your bookshelves, or through memories of bookshelves in days gone by, selecting a number of books to write a little about which are related in some way to the lives of your forebears.
OR
  • Have you read any historical fiction or non-fiction books which are relevant to your family story? (If not, perhaps you could Google to discover some). Who wrote them, and how did they relate to your family history, and what impact did they have on you?
 
Bev Lee, Barry O’Connor and Jane Rushworth

Agenda for Class on September 22
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    Family Stories

    Family Research

    ​Family Research is a guided self-help group for members who are already working on their family tree.  Sessions commence with report backs on ‘pains and gains’ during research over the previous month accompanied by shared problem solving,  encourage-ment and ideas for next steps.  Presentations by group members and guest speakers provide inspiration and suggestions of different approaches and resources.  Stories are also shared each month on topics designed to encourage deeper reflection on our research.  

    Convenor/s Contact Details

    Bev Lee
    ​0478 607 838

    Barry O'Connor
    ​0407 266 688

    Jane Rushworth
    ​0437 621 575

    Meeting Times

    4th Thursday 1 to 4 pm
    Family Research Course Information 2022

    ​List of Topics - 2022

    List of Topics - 2021

    Finding the Alphabetical List of Names on Ancestry.com (Barry O'Connor)
    Graeme's Glossary - idea under construction 

    Links

    Benalla Family Research Group 
    Trove
    'More on Trove'
    Everyone Loves Trove (Podcast)
    'Lee Devitt Family History Blog' Bev Lee
    Digby Family Stories - Penny Bristol Jones
    DNA Detectives and the End of Family Secrets

    Hands on...

    Program to convert PDF files to Word –https://www.pdf2go.com/pdf-to-word

    Photo restoration - simple projects - 
    https://hotpot.ai/restore-picture

    ​HEREDIS 

    ancestry.com.au

    myheritage.com

    ​Scotland's People 

    findpenguins.com
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