Bev Lee
It was so pleasant to be made a fuss of at the Family Research 'tech savvy' group's end of year morning tea at the Northo. Not only did we have a warming fire to start, but a table spread with a delicious lemon cake to accompany our coffees. Thank you to Mel, Wayne and staff - we had such a relaxing and enjoyable time!
Bev Lee
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Everyone had such a great story to tell … yet again! November’s topic was ‘Heroes and Villains’. Sometimes finding a “hero” was straight forward. Bev’s family boxer Tancy Lee, with his unusual name, was a physical talent with amazing 1920’s celluloid records, a lifelong community commitment, and tragic early death as a result of an accident. Dawn’s character was introduced to us in a sepia photo showing her uniformed grandfather sitting proudly and confidently upon his horse as he prepared to lead an Anzac Day March in Melbourne. A member of the light horseman of WW1, he was seriously wounded in battle, then given 6 weeks to heal before being sent back to the war zone. An incredible, sadly not uncommon experience, and one which he carried with him on his return to “normal” life with his family and friends.
Some enigmatic characters earned both monikers of “hero” and “villain”. David’s relative earned his vast wealth through some eyebrow raising means, while also becoming noted for his extremely generous distribution of his wealth as a philanthropist. The joy of infinite possibilities emerged with both Graham M and Graham J’s stories of heroes in plain sight. Graham J’s story was predicated on a reported conversation between Barack and Michele Obama at a restaurant owned by an ex-boyfriend of Michele’s. Barack asked her "So if you had married him, you would now be the owner of this lovely restaurant," to which Michelle responded, "No. If I had married him, he would now be the President." This incited Graham to review an “ordinary” relative, and to re-discover her, not simply as a woman of her era, with all that went with that, but also as a woman with extensive, successful and influential business skills. Marg’s hero, her great, great aunt Helene, established a successful wholesale clothing business in Flinders Lane in the mid 1880’s, also evidence of highly developed business skills. Not all heroes were long gone. In a very poignant and rich story-telling, Malcom described a living tribute to his talented, respected, and much loved cousin who, in the 50's through to the 70's, had designed an amazing national transport legacy through central and eastern Australia. Storytelling at any age can be a rich, insightful and inspiring experience. We love stories in our childhood and then we become family historians. Our “Hero or Villain” discussion was just so. In our Pains and Gains segment, Graham reported listing his family research on a UK website and receiving feed-back from a distant relative, also the pleasure experienced on learning a grandson had drawn upon the knowledge of family history he’d shared with him during a school excursion in Sydney. Graeme, pleased with himself last month for completing the paternal family tree, now realises he still has the maternal family tree to complete! Andi used photographs to report on her discovery of the unmarked graves of relatives in the Coburg, Old Melbourne and Fawkner cemeteries in Melbourne. She is now considering the possible marking of some of these. David Hall received a link from My Heritage containing possible details of the location of a family grave in Kilmore, while Bev found the location and family sites of her Irish Lee family via a tiny, hand-written mention on her great grandfather’s baptism of ‘Greaghnagloch’, a townland confirmed later by a Griffith Valuation entry for Michael Lee. Location was also on Jane’s mind, as she spoke of developments in the Family Research Group’s quest for a new home. ‘In Search Of…' is the first topic for 2023 - ’Have you found yourself needing to search extensively for someone who holds a fairly central place in your family tree? Begin by describing the details you had at the beginning of your search. How did you apply yourself to get a better sense of their lives and their relationship with other people? What did you find out? Choose someone you haven't written about before.’ ‘Time Travelling!’ is the alternative topic - 'Have you ever felt that you have been time travelling into the lives or your ancestors, or that you have grown very close to a particular person or family in your family tree? Share this experience with the group.' Our end of year break will be celebrated by 'Coffee and Cake' at the Northo on Wednesday 14th December at 10.30 am. Jane Rushworth, Barry O’Connor and Bev Lee This month's session began with stories of 'a person of some fame or infamy in our family tree'. The stories told were fascinating, both in terms of the personality, but also the wide ranging historical periods and places they took us through, If you would like to read these stories, go to 'Heroes and Villains'. In 'Pains and Gains', Andi took us through photos of recent trips to Melbourne's Coburg, Old Melbourne and Fawkckner cemeteries and efforts to find the unmarked graves of her ancestors. Being contacted by a relative who was visiting Ireland and keen to visit family sites, Bev reported drawing upon Elizabeth's 'Irish Free Records' session to find the name of the Townland her Irish forebears came from, finding it was Greaghnalogh, then finding her great, great grandfather Michael Lee listed as a tenant in Griffith Valuations, with the McDermottroe family the Landlords Reflective practice involves raising a thoughtful eye on the families we are researching to gain self-awareness and deepening insight into them. We include reflective practice each month in Pains and Gains and through our writing and sharing of themed family story topics. Our plans for next year will continue to incorporate these segments, guest speakers and member presentations included on the menu in most classes, with the addition of external activities from time to time. 'In Search of....' is the topic for new and continuing members in 2023 – "Have you found yourself needing to search extensively for someone who holds a fairly central place in your family tree? Begin by describing the details you had at the beginning of your search. How did you apply yourself to get a better sense of their lives and their relationship with other people? What did you find out? Choose someone you haven't written about before."’ ‘Time Travelling!’ is an alternative - "Have you ever felt that you have been time travelling into the lives or your ancestors, or that you have grown very close to a particular person or family in your family tree? Share this experience with the group." Our end of year break will be celebrated by 'Coffee and Cake' at the Northo on Wednesday 14th December at 10.30 am. Bev, Jane and Barry
We began the session with October’s ‘Family Stories’ topic – ‘From the Bookshelves’. Margaret shared delightful reflections on the poetry of John O’Brien, alias of Catholic priest Patrick Joseph Hartigan, writer of ‘Around the Boree Log’, ‘Said Hanrahan’ and ‘The Trimmin’s on the Rosary’, highly valuing the way in which he incorporated “the everyday lives of his parishioners many Irish phrases with an Australian bush setting”. On reading ‘The Ballad of Abdul Wade’, purchased recently, David found that it included a famous, or perhaps infamous family connection. As well as recounting this, David shared the contribution the book made to his understanding of the role of Afghan cameleers in the development of Australia, also showing us a photograph of pioneering family members with a camel train near Coolgardie, WA in 1898. Bev spoke about memorable books on her grandparents’ and parents’ bookshelves, from her great grandfather’s three volume set of Shakespeare and her parents’ ‘Rubayait of Omar Khayam’ , to her siblings ‘Famous Five’, ‘Secret Seven’ and ‘Biggles’ books. Barry described four books ‘Time,Tide and the Tyrell’, ‘A Land Worth Saving’, ‘A history of the Shire of Swan Hill’ and ’Lalor: the Peter Lalor Hume Building Cooperative 1946-2012’, which have added value to his family research. Jane described being fascinated by poetry book of her fathers, one of few belongings from his English boyhood, titled ‘There’s a Famous Seaside Place Called Blackpool’. We all encouraged her to search it out on the internet! New member Dawn Stephens reflected on the way in which family bookshelves often included books with beautifully illustrated plates; books received as presents and as awards by Sunday Schools and schools. Sharing stories on a theme nearly always results in moments of shared memories. ‘From the Bookshelves’ was no exception! A member story about ethical issues faced when working on records involving a murder and mental health issues set the scene for Jane’s presentation “Some ethical issues which can arise during family research”. A deepening discussion of a range of ethical issues ensued, with class members adding the dilemmas faced when venereal disease-based hospitalization is revealed in war records or when it appears possible that forebears have been slave traders; culpable landlords during the Irish famine, or have treated indigenous workers badly. (We always hope our ancestors are good people!)
Gains described this month included Graeme’s “I’ve finally completed my family tree! 8,600 people and I’ve finished!” He explained that he’s been totally absorbed, for hours at a time, for over six months, on researching and writing up his family tree. Another highpoint - received with spontaneous applause – Marg has finally received her grandfather Percy Watkinson’s death certificate from France! We were fascinated by this document, which was written in beautifully handwritten French. Next month’s topic ‘Heroes, Villains, Leaders, Visionaries, Eccentrics, Victims, Survivors’* The brief: “Somewhere in our family tree is a person of some fame or infamy! They are the person often first identifiable in discussions with people also working on your family tree. Choose such a person from your family tree and share their story with the group. (*Used in the modern gender-neutral sense, as in ‘Actor’, for both males and female protagonists.”) Graeme’s October story, ‘Shades of Altruism’ led the way, describing a ‘visionary’ relative, Sarah Daniels, who showed foresight and fortitude in bequeathing her property in Merrylands, Sydney to Holroyd Municipal Council to be used as an open space for the elderly. Now a functional rest area in the middle of a shopping precinct, it is known as Sarah Daniels Court. Beverley Lee and Jane Rushworth ![]() 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...
Bev Lee, Barry O’Connor and Jane Rushworth Graham began this month’s segment on ‘Writing and Sharing Family Stories’. In recording the histories of his fifteen original ancestors’ arrivals in Australia in 'Leaving the Shore', Graham has given each person context, placed himself in their shoes and produced enjoyable and engaging stories. Graham brought a beautifully crafted model sailing ship as a ‘prop’, along with family research books from his library to share. Barry O’Connor, whose recent contact with a cousin resulted in considerably more family information, provided suggestions on organizing new information. During the circulation of the family history book Barry has shared with his family, David recognised Barry’s cousin, Frank O’Connor. David and Frank worked together some years ago but had recently lost contact. Email addresses have been exchanged! Andi Stevenson described how she has used her family data, including photos, to create a fascinating family tree. Copies have been printed and framed to be gifts for extended family members. While keen to share information, Andi is mindful that not all family members share her level of interest. Using photographs in the framed family tree has stimulated interesting talking points with other family members, for example, the noting of similar facial features and the development of photography over time. In our ‘Pains and Gains, Tips and Tricks' segment, Andi described locating the property in Belfast Street, Brunswick where her ancestors once lived (though sadly the original house is not there). David attended the Wodonga Family History open day; Graeme discovered a relative with a connection to the East India Company and Marg reported that, despite going to a great deal of trouble to send a stamped self-addressed envelope to Paris for information on her relatives, she has still not received a response. Perhaps Jane’s friends, soon to be in Paris, will be able to assist! Malcolm described an enjoyable lunch recently at the Mitchelton winery where he presented his cousins with the family history he had written for them. He also brought along a 1900 half sovereign in a small container handed down from father to son, through four generations so far. The story attached to this coin, is that when the current holder is ‘broke’, they can use the half sovereign, which remains quite valuable, to get themselves out of trouble. During the break we celebrated National Family History Month with afternoon tea - lots of slices, muffins and chocolates brought along by class members to share! Stories on this month’s topic, ‘Correction’, were shared after the break. David P reported having written a letter to correct information in a recent article in the Guardian. The article referred to his great grand uncle, Thomas Austin, then of Winchelsea, having imported 24 wild rabbits in 1859, influencing the spread and DNA profile of rabbits in Australia. Keen to set the record straight, David explained that, according to his mother and other family historians, the imported rabbits were a mixture of 17 wild and 7 domesticated rabbits.
Bev described making corrections after discovering that ‘her’ Ellen Frances was not the proprietor of the Ellen Frances Hotel, but the proprietor of the Farmers Arms Hotel in Violet Town, while Marg described finding several errors in a handwritten copy of her paternal side’s family tree going back to her great great grandfather James Ryan. Malcolm provided a text-book example of how a mistake made in one tree can be perpetuated in others, warning of the need to be vigilant if an unexpected person turns up in a family tree; while Barry discovered information causing him to correct and reassess his GGF’s wealth at the time of his death. Graham’s story described realizing that the reason a marriage certificate wasn’t available for a marriage was almost certainly that a first wife had experienced mental illness, which meant that remarriage wasn’t possible. Andi worked us through a sequence of BMD registrations in which she had found an error, while Jane spoke about research by PHD historians on Churchill Island which has uncovered contradictory information, with subsequent corrections not being accepted well by local people. For August’s alternate Topic - ‘Member’s Choice’ – David H shared valuable information on the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland - a project to recreate the Irish Public Records Office records. The website includes David’s slide show presentation and the post below details David's suggestions of links about the Virtual Record Treasury to follow up, along with Graham, Barry and Andi’s suggestions for creating, writing and sharing family histories. As Jane commented in her notes, “it was a lovely session, and fun to catch up with likeminded sleuths”. Next month’s topic is ‘Occupations’… Looking at occupations of your forebears, are there any patterns? Describe them and try to find out about the circumstances surrounding them. Do you see any links in terms of yourself and your generation? Next month’s session includes Margaret Jenkin’s approach to writing her family history and a presentation by Jane on ethical issues which can arise during family research. Bev, Jane and Barry During today's session Jane took notes (refer below) of suggestions made by Graham, Barry and Andi on writing and sharing family history, while David compiled a list of the references he'd drawn upon for his presentation on Virtual Irish Records. Thank you Graham, Barry, Andi and David! Graham Jensen In recording the histories of his fifteen original ancestors arrivals in Australia in his book 'Leaving the Shore', Graeme has given each person context, placed himself in their shoes and produced enjoyable and engaging stories. He shared his experiences with the group and offered these hints:
Barry O'Connor Barry is constantly updating his family history .. as are we all. He recently had contact with a cousin which resulted in considerably more family information. So it was interesting to hear Barry's hints on organising new information, as well as other broader suggestions.
Andi Stevenson Andi has used her family data, including photos, to create a fascinating family tree. Copies have been printed and framed to be gifts for extended family members. While keen to share the information she has, Andi is also mindful that not all family members share her level of interest. So, for anyone thinking about creating and gifting family trees, here are Andi's hints:
David Hall spoke on the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland - a project to recreate the Irish Public Records Office records. David's slideshow presentation is available here. David has suggested the following of links to the group:
Jane began this month’s ‘Pains and Gains, Tips and Tricks’ segment with news of National Family History Month in August. Jane also reported on the recent Benalla History, Research and Archival Network meeting at FCJ. FCJ’s recorded history dates to its foundation in 1900. The display of original dormitory furniture in the archive office brought back a flood of memories of Jane’s days at boarding school! Bev described revisiting a website (192.com) to find current addresses of people in the UK, then demonstrated a free site for correcting damaged photos. Go to Hotpot.ai (hotpot.ai) and follow the prompts. Andi has had the family tree she designed framed, ready to circulate to family members. We are keen to see the framed result! Andi is also working on discovering the origins of a family brooch. Malcolm has adapted his 400-page family tree to produce a 46-page report in preparation for a family reunion on 9th August. He distributed copies, explaining that he had edited a My Heritage book report to focus on his father’s family. Benalla Printers printed the booklets for him at a very reasonable rate. Graham J described touring NSW and speaking with helpful local historians while writing his family history, sharing his elation when he discovered that a piano used in a local hall was donated by his forebears. Graham will present his approach to writing and sharing his family story next month. Keen to take next steps after classmate Graeme Morris sent her a burial list from Paris in which her elusive relative Percy Watkinson appears, Marg found providing a stamped addressed envelope to the relevant Government Department in Paris almost impossible. In frustration, Marg contacted Australia Post in Benalla, to discover that she could purchase Euro postage equivalent stamps at Benalla post office! The application has been sent off and she is now awaiting a response. Barry reported that his ‘almost complete family history’ of both the maternal and paternal families has been circulated and well received by the family. Written in a format that allows individual families to add their specific content to the history for their descendants, Barry will bring a sample to the August meeting. Graeme M described a gain this month when he loaded DNA onto the web, receiving responses from Europe. He is seeking the 1921 English census, which Bev explained is available at a small cost from Find My Past (findmypast.com). Graeme finds the Geneanet website very useful. For July's topic 'There's No Place Like Home'. Marg and Barry described homes remembered from childhood - Marg a castle in Ireland, Barry a post war triple fronted brick veneer in Lalor. Malcolm brought along aerial maps and photographs to show us his connection to land and home in the Greta area, particularly to Greta South. Graham J ‘time travelled’ back to Svendborg in Denmark, looking back using images of buildings from the past, then looking forward to a time when he may be able to visit Svendborg and perhaps locate a family home. Andi asked the question, did her forebear Thomas Thomas ever achieve his goal of owning a house? Andi found that after many years as an occupier of miners’ cottages in the Talbot area, he did eventually own a house at 3 Belfast Road, Brunswick. Bev focused on the home of her Irish Catholic ‘Lee side’ great-grandparents from 1882 to 1915, ‘33 Cables Wynd, Leith, Scotland’, concluding “I would love to speak to local historians in Leith who could tell me more about housing conditions when my great grandparents lived there”. August's topic is ‘Correction’ - Write about a need for editing, or completed correction, which has arisen in your research. Who has it involved, why is the correction needed, what is your chief concern about it remaining uncorrected? How have you, or do you plan, to deal with it. What problems came up/may come up in doing so. If completed, how do you rate the success of your efforts? An alternative – ‘Member’s Choice – A chance to develop your own topic and share the results with others!' At our next session we plan to celebrate National Family History Month with afternoon tea - please bring along ‘a small plate' or some chocolates to share! PS: A reminder - To celebrate National Family History Month, Benalla Library is presenting a session on 'Raising Australian Children Across Time' on August 12, 2 to 3 pm, Benalla Library, Bookings Essential. Bev Lee and Barry O’Connor This month, guest speaker Dawn Stephens spoke about using the My Heritage ‘Book’ feature to produce a book for her husband, Frank Stephens, their children and grandchildren. Dawn described the processes involved, including changing the My Heritage report from pdf to word; the online printing firm she chose, features selected, the cost involved and more. Dawn used a crease marked photograph of herself as a child to demonstrate My Heritage’s Photo Restoration feature. We had such a laugh when Dawn also applied the ‘animation’ feature to her photo! Thank you for an engaging and informative presentation, Dawn!
In our Pains and Gains, Tips and Tricks segment,
Marg shared an obituary for another of her great grandmothers, Josephine Moore, who experienced the tragic loss of two young children, then an adult son, William Leopold Moore. William disappeared in 1906 after going to the races. His body was never found, with implictions for family Wills and unresolved family grief. July's family story topic is 'There's No Place Like Home'. The brief? 'Describe a family tree related home you remember from your childhood or that you have located in your research – where was it, who lived in it, what were your childhood impressions of it if you knew it/as you look at it through a ‘family history lens? What has become of it?' We are thrilled that a new Australian season of 'Who do you think you are?' is underway - Tuesdays 7.30 pm SBS/SBS on Demand. Highly recommended viewing! Bev Lee "Accessing British and Irish Newspapers through the State Library of Victoria Catalogue".
Use the State Library of Victoria membership to access British and Irish Records Register to use the State Library Catalogue, sign in, and then search for 'British Newspapers' to independently information using find the Gale Library Resources On registering you will be allocated a sign in number for the catalogue eg 10017512; and use this and a password (your family name) to open up the catalogue. Practice example: Advanced Search "Westmore Stephens" and "ice". Dawn Stephens has been able to access British Newspapers after registering with the State Library Catalogue', confirming confirm a family myth that her husband's forebear really did fall into (and freeze to death in) an ice pit. The paper--the Royal Cornwall Gazette of Friday 11 September 1840. See if you can find the Berkshire paper entry which goes into extra detail! At our May meeting we welcomed Malcolm, who came along to observe the advanced class and is still working on his rapidly expanding family tree.
Robyn commenced our Pains and Gains segment, reporting that contact via Ancestry.com on great great ancestors had resulted in her locating an informative book, 'Hell Ship'. Robyn also received some valuable assistance from the Hamilton Historical Society from their local newspaper articles. Graeme also described 'gains' through reading, in his case a book written by a family member in America which gave details of a family member in childhood days. Marg, Barry and Jane all said they had nothing to report, however they have all been busy over the past two months! Marg reported that her work on her Father's history is proving a bit of a challenge'! Barry has been busy distributing family history information to family members and has presented his story on 'Benalla's Fourth Son' Arthur Baird at the Family History Festival and to Probus; while Jane was heavily involved in the organisation of the Festival and is also coordinatinng the new Network group. Jane was happy with the attendance numbers at the recent festival and noted that the Network Group is progressing with the project to create a common resource bank. Wendy attended Barry's Arthur Baird presentation at the Festival and reported that she now has a copy of the book to take with her when she visits the Qantas Founders Museum later in the year. Finally, Bev shared a 'tip' mentor Judy Barry had shared with the Beginners' group on how to access British and Irish Newspapers by registering as a member with the State Library of Victoria's Catalogue. Fascinating 'They were there when...' stories were shared of Marg's father being in the last plane lifted from the roof of the US embassy at the Fall of Saigon; Graeme's ancestor being at Napoleon Bonaparte's Battle of Waterloo; David's presentation relating to his maternal grandfather bearing witness to the riots before, and possible also, the Eureka rebellion; Bev's story of her great grand-uncle's adventurous life as a pilot guiding ships through the treacherous Heads of Port Phillip Bay during the gold rush years and Wende's tragic story about family members losing their lives in a Wangaratta flood in 1881. The topic 'Eulogy or Obituary' elicited thoughtfully crafted, engaging stories about people we have often shared facts and stories about during class. Stories shared about James O'Connor, Silvester Bowers, Donald Campbell and Henry Taylor drew on a range of resource sources, ancestry.com profiles; Trove reports; family stories; online geneological records and more. Interestingly, many of the stories shared across the topics harked back to the 1850's. Books, published or unpublished, also featured during the session, including Robyn's mention of 'Hell Ship'; Jane's discussion of themes in the book 'The Floating Brothel'; and more. At the end of the class members were busily writing book titles down as possible avenues of research. We had a number of apologies from members this month and look forward to hearing their stories on their return. Next month's story topic is 'Myth Busting'. The brief? "It is wonderful when a family story handed down over time and assumed to be a possible myth turns out to be grounded in 'evidence based' fact. Choose and describe such a family story, highlighting how you were able to confirm it and what this meant to you and your family." If this topic proves elusive, perhaps take a look at 'They were there when...' or 'Eulogy/Obituary' through another ancestor's eyes; or the back-up topic 'Now where did I come from?', possibly relating your story to your DNA quest as suggested in the topic listing. Bev Lee, Barry O'Connor, Wende Sturgess "Pains and Gains, Tips and Tricks"
Bev: 1 Using the State Library of Victoria membership to access British and Irish Records
Shared Stories: We agreed to present stories for both April and May’s topics today, "ideally both, but one would be fine." ‘They were there when’….(April) “Did someone in your family tree experience a significant news, historical or cultural event first-hand? Share your understanding of what may have been their experience” ‘Eulogy/Obituary’ (May) Write a eulogy for an imagined funeral (or an obituary for a newspaper) for someone in your family tree you never, or barely met (preferably at great grandparent level or earlier), based on your research and any family stories passed down about them. Coming up next month: ‘Myth Busting’ The brief? "It is wonderful when a family story handed down over time and assumed to be a possible myth turns out to be grounded in 'evidence based' fact. Choose and describe such a family story, highlighting how you were able to confirm it and what this meant to you and your family." (10017512) The group decided to forego our April 28th session to provide members with the opportunity to attend Benalla Family Research Group’s Australian Heritage Festival ‘Lone Graves and Other Curiosities’ sessions being held from the 26th to 29th April. Members agreed to present stories for both April and May’s topics ‘They were there when….’(April) and ‘Obituary’(May) at our meeting on 26th May – ideally both, but one would be fine.
‘They were there when’…. “Did someone in your family tree experience a significant news, historical or cultural event first-hand? Share your understanding of what may have been their experience” ‘Eulogy/Obituary’ Write a eulogy for an imagined funeral (or an obituary for a newspaper) for someone in your family tree you never, or barely met (preferably at great grandparent level or earlier), based on your research and any family stories passed down about them. Bev Lee, Barry McDonald, Wendy Sturgess David began our ‘Pains and Gains, Tips and Tricks’ reports, describing finding out more about a Great Uncle who was a saddler in Wangaratta. It is believed that when the Kelly gang was captured, they had some of his Great Uncle’s saddles, however he had not sold them any!
Asha described finding details of her grandmother; while Bev displayed a photo of St Carthage’s Church in Lismore NSW taken during the recent devastating floods, explaining that her father had married his first wife there in 1924. Bev also spoke of genealogists’ deep concern about the loss of photographs, documents, and memorabilia during the floods. Wendy described visiting the bush nursing home in Pyramid Hill where she was born and the grave of a baby brother who died there. Robyn described finding mention of relatives who eventually came to Australia from Skye when reading the ‘Low Road’, a family history book she had borrowed from Wendy. Marg’s gain - re-joining Ancestry. Pain - she has not used it yet! Barry’s gain? The photo of his parents’ wedding, previously thought lost, has been found and should be in Benalla by the weekend so he can scan it and finish two family histories, after almost three years of research. Elly described a family history full of passion and pain, intriguing us all. Her gain – finding a lot of documents related to her mother, her pain, continuing mystery surrounding her father. Graeme shared details of a Great Grandfather who fought in many theatres of war. He is buried in a lone grave which is now on Aboriginal designated land. His GGF has a musket ball still in his body which could be of historic significance. Graeme is not sure what to do next, however will contact local Aboriginal elders to see what can be done. Graeme also shared symbols he is using to assist him to track and follow up people and events in the family records he is creating. Jane’s role as the Secretary of the Benalla Family Research Group is already proving to be of great value to the class. Jane shared news of Benalla History Week events from the 26 – 29 April (keep an eye on the website for details) and news of a free Zoom webinar this week ‘Discovering Trove’. Our Family Story topic for sharing after the coffee break was ‘Hunch’. Following a hunch to try a different variation of a person’s name – ‘Jas’ instead of ‘James’; ‘Annabella’ instead of ‘Annie’; ‘…1st Duke of Kingston upon Hull’ instead of ‘General Hull’ – resolved what had been frustrating problems for three class members. Following a hunch based on our session on DNA last year by Jim Burnell proved worthwhile, as did pursuing a hunch gleaned from reading an article about German citizens interned in Australia during WWI. Inserting an advertisement in The Belfast Telegraph newspaper proved to be another successful hunch, unearthing Irish relatives and leading to treasured outcomes. Finally, a hunch related to a mystery surrounding the paternity of a family member was found in a very small newspaper report of a 1906 trial. This named a possible candidate whose history has proven easy to find. Next step–the trial transcript! Our April 28th session has been cancelled to provide members with the opportunity to attend Benalla Family Research Group’s Australian Heritage Festival workshops. April’s topic, ‘They were there when….’ “Did someone in your family tree experience a significant news, historical or cultural event first-hand? Share your understanding of what may have been their experience” will be shared along with May’s topic ‘Obituary’ at our May meeting. Bev Lee, Wendy Sturgess, Barry O’Connor Thank you all for the range of ideas, dates for our diaries, links, tips and other matters shared at our March session on Thursday! Here's a list of 'follow ups' as promised -
Benalla Family Heritage Group and the National Trust's Australia Heritage Festival Benalla Family Research Group is once again participating in the National Trust's Annual Heritage Festival, providing a program of workshops and events over four days from Tuesday 26 to Friday 29th April. Details are being fine tuned and will be forwarded when available We are aware that the session at our usual 'fourth Thursday' time slot includes a presentation by class member Barry O'Connor. It was decided to cancel our April session that afternoon to provide the opportunity for class members to attend if they would like to. Each session costs $5. Members are encouraged to select at least one session across the four days and perhaps report on learnings from that session in 'Pains and Gains, Tips and Tricks' in May! TROVE (1) Our New, Shared 'Practice' Account Trove https://trove.nla.gov.au/ - we now have a shared 'practice' account for our classes. If you weren't in class - let me know and I'll give you the log in and password. Hints -
If you would like to take part in a one to one or small group session on this, let me know and we'll set a date. TROVE (2) 'Discover Trove' Zoom Webinar on 30 March From Jane - "This is the link to register for the 'Discover TROVE' session on Zoom on Wednesday 30th March from 1 to 2pm: https://fb.me/e/1nrmoxoZD" Jane has invited class members to join her group at Benalla Family Research Group to watch the session. Church Street opposite the Faithfull Street T intersection. After finding out more details at https://www.nla.gov.au/whats-on/events/webinar-discover-trove it seems worthwhile to provide the opportunity for U3A members to view the webinar at U3A on our large screen. I've registered for the session and will screen the webinar on the large screen in the U3A Meeting Room from 1 to 2 pm, followed by review of the session and practice. It's a 'fifth' Wednesday, so there's no other booking for the room. All welcome. Risks Associated with Introduction of .au Domain Name Change Wendy shared a notice she had received about possible risks associated with the new domain name change to .au endings. Here's the link if you would like to follow this up - https://www.cyber.gov.au/acsc/view-all-content/alerts/new-domain-name-changes-could-leave-your-business-or-organisation-risk Bev Bev Lee... 'a sense of place' ... father's first marriage ... St Carthages, Lismore... Wendy Sturgess... 'a sense of place' ... revisiting Pyramid Hill
At our first session in late February, we welcomed four new members and Jane’s return. There was much to share in the ‘Pains and Gains’ reports which commence our sessions. Margaret Boyle began by updating us on finding news of her mother, who had left her family during the war when Marg was a toddler. Marg kept us spellbound describing her joy at being able to share stories about her mother with a surviving half-sister discovered following a DNA test. Other reports also featured ‘connections’ – whether with others working on the same families; with family historians when visiting local historical societies; or with Facebook user group members discussing issues of interest. Barry O’Connor finally got to look at the rate records at Swan Hill and discovered the facts about the actual land holdings of his Great Grandfather and Great Grandmother O’Connor. He also managed to track down some possible information on where his parents first met. Our Family Story topic for sharing after the coffee break was ‘A sense of place’. Members shared stories of places important in the lives of their forebears, including Deniliquin, Echuca, Kilmore, Scotland, including the Isle of Skye, the beautiful highland valley of Glenesk, Portree and more; the #3 and #69 tram routes in Melbourne, even ships traversing the high seas. Stories featured included the lives of farmers, crofters, sheep stud owners, blacksmiths, ships doctors, hotel keepers, stone masons, mariners, those in the Flinders Lane rag trade and more. The list of Topics for 2022 was distributed . The topic for our next class on March 24 is ‘Hunch’. The brief – ‘Sometimes when researching we find ‘a black hole’, however have a fairly strong hunch about a possible resolution of the problem. Our dilemma - we don’t want to record it if the evidence isn’t strong enough. Describe a fairly strong hunch you continue to have during your research. Who does it involve, why do you think it might apply; what is stopping you from including it in your family tree. (If you have resolved a hunch, you could describe this instead.)’ Bev, Wendy and Barry
Following a three-month break, there will be lots to share on Thursday 24 February in the ‘Pains and Gains’ reports which commence our sessions.
Our Family Story topic for sharing after the coffee break is ‘A sense of place’. The brief – ‘Write about a place which was important to a number of your forebears. Why did you choose this place? How did it feature in their story, why was it important to them? Share your reflections in 150 to 400 words (no penalties for exceeding), accompanied by a photograph/s, hopefully captured close to the time in which the place featured in one or more of your ancestors lives’. Oral presentations fine too! Bev Lee Family Story topics to begin the year, remembering of course the preface – “from 150 to 400 words or thereabouts (no penalties for exceeding), oral presentations fine too!”
February - ‘A sense of place’ Write about a place which was important to a number of your forebears. Why did you choose this place? How did it feature in their story, why was it important to them? Share your reflections in 150 to 400 words, accompanied by a photograph/s, hopefully captured close to the time in which it featured in one or more of their lives. March - ‘Hunch’ Sometimes when researching we find ‘a black hole’, however have a fairly strong hunch about a possible resolution of the problem. Our dilemma - we don’t want to record it if the evidence isn’t strong enough. Describe a fairly strong hunch you continue to have during your research. Who does it involve, why do you think it might apply; what is stopping you from including it in your family tree. (If you have resolved one, you could describe this instead) April - ‘They were there when….’ Did someone in your family tree experience a significant news, historical or cultural even first-hand? Share your understanding of what may have been their experience. Universal ‘Back Up’ topic – if a topic doesn’t inspire you or you have writers’ block! ‘A Ha Moments’ and/or ‘Disappointments’ What stand out among the memorable ‘a ha moments’ and/or memorable ‘disappointments’ you have experienced while doing family research? Pick one (or two) and write about it, explaining when it happened, who in your family tree was involved, what effect it had on you. It may be an ‘a ha moment’ or ‘disappointment’ you have felt for the person involved, or for you as you negotiated your family research journey. Bev Lee The 1921 Census of England and Wales is being released on January 6, 2022 through Find My Past! The first video introduces the release, while second video is recommended for people who draw extensively on the English census, It is quite detailed, but could be most helpful. Sadly it seems that the 1921 Census of Scotland may not be released until later in 2022. Commencing our November session with ‘Pains and Gains’ again led to shared problem solving and lots of encouragement and ideas for next steps. Bev reported on using the Ryerson Index, an index of death notices in Australian newspapers, for more recent death notices details. Robyn described having trouble locating traces of the family name ‘Delargy’, however reported locating some new evidence on Wikitree which she is validating. Barry has been using the Irish search information supplied by Elizabeth at the last session. While unable to trace his GG Grandfather’s records, he has been able to confirm some information about his GG Grandmother. His search continues. Jan continues searching for evidence of the Keon family from the Irish websites but has had no luck to date. Andi went to Wunghnu Cemetery searching for family graves, finding a ‘Mills’ grave-stone, but no other family members. It has been found that three family members drowned in the same boating accident, however Andi found nothing in the cemetery records of their resting place. David became immersed in shipping passenger lists while researching and locating the passenger list for William Hinds. He shared fascinating findings based on his research into the ‘Thomas Arbuthnot’; noting that the lists were segregated into male and female; highlighting financial details such as the passage cost was £19 and sharing his conclusion that the income earned by the ship’s owner/s was significant. Marg went to Malmsbury on the day lockdown ended as planned, meeting a helpful and informed local historian who had located extensive family history for her. Marg also located a possible contact in Ireland for information on the Ryan family and sent an email. There has been no response to date. Wendy gave the group a new search site called Ancestorian, which is free. The site has information from various regional groups and appears to be a valuable research tool. After the break we shared stories on the November topic ‘Census’, using Census results, or records which would enable us to form a census-like view, to describe what might be happening for a family in our tree across the decades. Robyn was able to track her maternal great great Grandfather Norman McIntyre family across 70 years using largely Scottish census results; while Barry had by necessity to use Electoral Rolls which are the closest thing to a census list of names in Australia during the 1900’s. Bev’s search took her from Lincolnshire to Indiana, with the US Census records from 1860 to 1880 helping her develop a picture of her great grand uncle’s life in America. You can read these and other ‘Census’ stories on the website. At the end of the session, we firmed up our ‘course description’ and plans for next year. Our current group will continue to be offered for members who already working on their family tree. Social distancing regulations permitting, we are adding a hands-on segment to some of our sessions and offering a new ‘Beginners’ course in 2022. Comprising up to three one-to-one sessions in Term 1 transitioning to small group sessions in Term 2, Family Research – Beginners is designed for members who would like to start an online tree or gain confidence in using an online tree they started years ago. Wendy Sturgess, Barry O’Connor and Bev Lee Footnote - as discussed during today's session.... I had a good reason to follow up a matter raised last time - can we still access 'Pay as You Go' world records from Ancestry? The answer is yes. The catalyst for me was deciding to follow the trail of my great, great grandfather's son and brother who had emigrated to America and wanting to check out some Census records which had appeared but needed a 'World' subscription, or hopefully Pay as You Go credits. When I searched, results and also some hints, came up for them which required me to splash out on accessing records without joining the World subscription. $10.99 AU for 10 records!
Using these credits (in the end I paid for two sets of ten), I was able to track census finding that his son, my great uncle Charles Taylor, lived in Illinois; my grandfather's younger brother David in the adjoining state of Indiana, and flesh out further details of their growing families after they emigrated from England. I was telling my sister, the keeper of old family albums, who responded eagerly, "Do you know, there are two very old photos photos (cartes de visites from New Albany, Indiana, in our great grandmother's photo album from New Albany in Indiana?" We were so excited! We've decided they are of our grandmother's half brother, Charles Taylor, and his first wife, Ann, and his second wife, Eliza Jane. We know his first wife Ann died in childbirth 1864 (towards the end of the Civil War). The dating of the photographs and the evidence of two marriages gained from finding a reference which helped us to understand that the photograph of Charles taken with his second wife uses a later photographic process. Charles died in 1880, so the photo would have been taken somewhere between 1869, when he married Eliza Jane, and 1880. What a wonderful source to add to his profile and the profile of his two wives! The UK census results tell the story of their time in England with a young daughter, supplemented by a migration report; and later US censuses which show them having settled in New Albany, ;Floyd County' Indiana. It is truly wonderful when a family story, which has assumed that of a possible myth, turns out to be grounded in 'evidence based' fact. For our family, this is one of those stories, a story which owes a lot to the careful family research of Keith Taylor, of Lincolnshire, his use of flags to reflect migration.of our ancestors in his family tree, and the use of Census results to establish the presence of my great great grandfather's younger brother and son in the United States! Bev Lee November 2021 Following on from last month's presentation on Free Irish Records, Elizabeth has sent us the handout she promised on websites which we may find useful - I've attached this below.
Elizabeth also provided a USB containing the Word document of her talk and the images of the documents handed out in class. I've incorporated the images of the records into the text and worked with Elizabeth's feedback to prepare a second document which reflects the effort she put into preparing her presentation and the case studies she developed drawing on her own family records. I hope you find it useful as a review of the session and that Elizabeth is able to draw on it in future if asked to do a similar presentation. Bev Lee Irish Geneology drawing upon Free Irish Records - presentation by Elizabeth Kearns to the Family Research group, U3A Benalla, on October 28, 2021 (large file) 'Free Irish Records' - handout of useful websites, Elizabeth Kearns 29 October 2021 November's topic may come to you easily, but could leave you feeling perplexed and 'stumped'. This being the case, it seemed worthwhile to tease it out a little for you. The topic has been designed to help you to flesh out the story of your family a little more - their family structure, whereabouts, etc. Here's a reminder: ‘Census’ Find one of your favourite families in your family tree. Pick a year for a census in which you describe what you know about where they were living, who was likely to be living there, what their occupations were, what else was happening in the country, world at the time… in fact anything else you know about them then. Create your own census, or draw upon a census document you have found during your research to develop your ‘census report’ around. In some cases, following a set of census records eg. England or Scotland from 1841 to 1911 (and in a few months to 1921) could produce a fairly rational and full story of a family's life. However, even then, children can be born and die between censuses so never appear on a census. This could happen to more than one child in a family across a decade. Families can suddenly appear - if they migrated from Ireland to England or Scotland, for example, and disappear as they migrate overseas. However a number of our families are beset by a lack of published census results. As we learnt from Elizabeth last week, only the 1901 and 1911 Irish Census records are available in full. In Australia, although there were musters in the early days, there are few dedicated census results with names listed at addresses available. Australian censuses appear to have been (and still be) used more to collect aggregate information to provide a basis for social, economic and cultural policy formation than to provide details of who is living in families. The following link explores this dilemma - https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Australia_Census 'Thinking outside the square', we are likely to need to draw on other records to see who may have been living in the households of our forebears at a particular time. Electoral rolls can be useful, as Barry found, however remember that they won't include family members under 21 years. Another problem, people may be living in the same household, but for some reason have different surnames, so they are unlikely to appear on the same page of the electoral roll. Considering these (and other problems) underpins the purpose behind this month's topic, which is really to try to enhance the story of your forebears' lives by 'hypothesizing' possible census results for decades commencing in eg. '01', '11',...'81', if they weren't published. I could, for example, hypothesize my Lee family's 'census results' in Ireland in 1861 based on knowledge gleaned from 1871 Scottish Census and Catholic Baptismal Records from Ireland in the 1850's and 60's, and then follow up with what was on the 1881 Scottish census to explore a little more about what happened with the family a decade after the arrival, when perhaps some of the children had married and had children of their own. Australian records provide a particular challenge. It will be the work you have done in finding BMD records which will provide much of your evidence, supplementing information from Electoral Rolls when they began to be published. I'd suggest that you stick with the '01' '11' etc decades for the imagined census dates for story telling purposes. Of course, some of you will be able to do a broad sweep across 70 years of UK or Scottish published census results if that takes your fancy. If you have time and the interest to understand more about censuses, you might like to watch the video which follows. I hope this is helpful. Do feel free to respond to the topic in your own way; however if you want to chat about it, give me a call. See you on the 25th November at 1pm!
Bev Lee Our 'Pains and Gains' reports to the group this month were wide ranging. Barry reported finding his maternal great grandmother's death certificate listing senile decay (or old age) as a cause of death, while David visited the Family History Research Group where he was able to locate the birth certificate of an uncle he was searching for. Marg said that most of her work during the month related to researching the topic for today, however asked the question 'How do you find people who came in via New Zealand?'. This led to lots of discussion and sharing of ideas. Robyn expressed frustration that a lot of people who are DNA matches don't have family trees online, while others have private trees. We talked about the advantages of public trees, particularly for the sharing of photographs and documents, some of which can be quite rare. Andi described sharing photographs helpful, recently finding some photos and documents of a grandfather she knew little about. Andi is currently accessing a lot of BDM certificates and described taking a sharing approach to them. A useful suggestion which all agreed on - to make your tree private while working on it, moving it to public view at other times. Our focus area this month was Irish Records. Irish born U3A member and keen family researcher Elizabeth Kearns gave a most informative presentation on Free Irish Records, using a case study and other resources relating to her family to demonstrate the process of discovering a range of documents. Elizabeth answered questions from the group during her presentation and stayed to contribute ideas to people with Irish ancestry who wrote about 'black holes' in their research later in the session. We would really like to thank Elizabeth for the effort she took in preparing the presentation, for the handouts and list of resources prepared as a follow up to her presentation. Having missed last month’s topic ‘Family Treasure Chest’, Wendy brought in a handmade scarecrow doll and her grandmother's treasured doyley's... Margaret brought in the treasured items which had featured as photographs last month. Some interesting tips emerged when the seed pearl necklace was handed around – ‘wearing pearls helps to retain their lustre’, and 'don't put perfume near pearls'.
Stories discussed in the second half of the session related to 'black holes' class members remain perplexed about in their research. The stories shared were most engaging, with lots of hypotheses or hunches for the group to consider, some of which resulted in suggestions which might assist in making a breakthrough. You can read our 'A Black Hole' stories at https://u3abenalla.weebly.com/family-stories/category/a-black-hole. At the end of the session, we discussed planning for 2022. The group would like to continue and were positive about the suggestion of developing a cooperative team approach. Both Wendy and Bev mentioned needing to step back a little next year, Wendy to travel, Bev to 'downsize' and sell her home. Barry has already put his hand up. With almost all class members 'intermediate' to 'advanced' family researchers this year, the 'story telling approach' adopted during Covid was very well received and will almost certainly continue to be a component of the course. The small classroom is now available, so it may be possible to offer small group, hands on sessions for beginners as well next year. Watch this space for further developments. Next Month's Topic - ‘Census’ Find one of your favourite families in your family tree. Pick a year for a census in which you describe what you know about where they were living, who was likely to be living there, what their occupations were, what else was happening in the country, world at the time… in fact anything else you know about them then. Create your own census, or draw upon a census document you have found during your research to develop your ‘census report’ around. Wendy Sturgess and Bev Lee |
Family ResearchFamily Research is a guided self-help group for members who are already working on their family tree who enjoy, learn and gain confidence from group interaction. The course includes two sessions a month -
1. A group session which commences with reports on ‘pains and gains’ over the previous month accompanied by shared problem solving and lots of encourage-ment and ideas for next steps. Presentations by group members, guest speakers and excursions will increase your awareness of different approaches and resources and will also expand your understanding of local and other family research initiatives. You will be encouraged to set project goals such as working on a particular family line; preparing stories for a collection; publishing and giving family history related gifts to families, and more. 2. A drop in session with a hands-on component which will support you to build further confidence in using online geneology programs; to resolve problems you are in danger of putting in the too hard basket, and to complete your project goals. Experienced members of the group will be available as mentors at the drop-in session and for one to one consultations or appointments if required. . Convenor/s Contact DetailsBarry O'Connor
0407 266 688 Meeting TimesMain Session - 4th Thursday 1:30 to 4 pm
Drop In 'Hands On' session - 3rd Thursday 1:30 to 4 pm Research LinksHands on help...Program to convert PDF files to Word –https://www.pdf2go.com/pdf-to-word
Photo restoration - simple projects - https://hotpot.ai/restore-picture On-line geneology platformsancestry.com.au
myheritage.com Scotland's People findpenguins.com (if you travel to family history sites) HEREDIS (recom.by John Barry) Categories
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