In 'pains and gains', Andi described finding that her grandfather had lost his appeal against 'a maintenance order' - leaving her wondering exactly what that was about! Barry found an uncle who had abandoned his family; continued his research on Hansard re land titles in the Shire of Swan Hill; and in an ongoing search, found Lewis Ignatious O'Connor listed as a butcher. Robyn was delighted at finding photographs of the Antique Mart her grandfather owned in Hamilton and accessing other photographs of the building following contact with the Hamilton Historical Society; also at finding in the electoral rolls that he was a wheelwright.
David shared a solution to an ongoing problem with Ancestry.com freezing – a change from Firefox to Google Chrome. He continues to be perplexed about a photo taken in Glasgow which he thought was of his grandfather's sister but decided it couldn't be as it was taken between 1880 and 1884. On comparing it with a photo of his grandfather's sister taken when she was older, he noticed the two women had similar features.
Marg described enjoying phone contacts with relatives as she writes stories to share in class. Bev reported back on writing a 'vale' for her 103 yr old aunt and godmother, who had been a milliner in Flinders Lane during the early 1930's. Bev had been able to draw upon an interview with her aunt during a visit to see her in Sydney in 2010, when her aunt was 94 and still living in her home. We talked about the importance of talking to our older family members if we have the opportunity.
We were waiting with bated breath to hear from Margaret, as we'd heard there had been important developments in her search to find her mother. Margaret's mother left Margaret and her brother and sister with their grandparents while her husband was at war in 1941-2. We sat spellbound listening as Margaret described her disappointment after receiving DNA results a couple of months ago, then her joy at being contacted by a half sister who had completed a DNA test after Margaret had received her results. A joyous, serendipitous result! We all decided that Margaret's story surpassed the case studies in the handout - 'Unlocking Family Secrets - the emotional impact of geneological research in trove' - Ashley Barnwell, University of Melbourne, Trove.
David brought in two old cardboard boxes – a box of his mother’s containing an eclectic selection of ephemera, from a hospital tag from David's birth to a cutting from the Kilmore Free Press regarding his involvement in a motorcycle crash in 1969, along with assorted receipts 'of no particular significance'. His father's box was more ordered, containing memorabilia related to a lifelong passion for shooting. | |
Bev Lee and Marg McCrohan