16th February 2023
On this day I received a phone call from my eldest Grandson to alert me to the fact that I was to become a Great Grandfather in August. As predicted, Loui Timothy Laffan, arrived on 17th August at 9.09 am, weighing 2.49 kg. and 46 cm tall. Since his birth he has developed to be a very healthy and placid young man.
Given that he is our first Grandson, he may come in for some special attention in future years, however we need to take care, as we have eight other Grandchildren who may add to the number of Great Grandchildren that we may be able to enjoy.
It is great to see the family expanding; however the O’Connor name will vanish from history within a generation. Whilst there is only my brother and myself remaining in our branch of the family, my brother has three daughters and I have two daughters and a son. My one son has two daughters, thus the male branch of the family, and the name, will eventually pass into history.
__________________________
I did have a previous contribution prepared; however it was far too long and was a further development in the search for the history of my Great Uncle, Lewis O’Connor.
20th October 2023
On the 20th October 2023, I received an email with an attachment from my relative, Pamela Dexter. She had found a note that had been written at the time of Lewis’s death and gave some insight into his whereabouts, during the fifteen years that he had vanished from the Electoral Rolls. The information from this email did supply some validated information about Lewis, who appeared to have been operating as a bookmaker at various horse and greyhound racetracks around the state. It also confirmed that he did in fact still live with his wife, and was involved in a number of financial ventures with family members. The email also included two images of Lewis, one as a younger man (about 40) and one taken on the day of his 80th birthday. I did some research based on some information in the document and located Lewis’s ledger book and a blank betting ticket, which are held in the MCG Racing Hall of Fame!! Did the information provide the missing evidence? No, it simply added to the mystery.
The expanded and updated history on my Great Uncle will be presented at the Family Research session on 23rd November.
Barry O’Connor,
November 2023
On this day I received a phone call from my eldest Grandson to alert me to the fact that I was to become a Great Grandfather in August. As predicted, Loui Timothy Laffan, arrived on 17th August at 9.09 am, weighing 2.49 kg. and 46 cm tall. Since his birth he has developed to be a very healthy and placid young man.
Given that he is our first Grandson, he may come in for some special attention in future years, however we need to take care, as we have eight other Grandchildren who may add to the number of Great Grandchildren that we may be able to enjoy.
It is great to see the family expanding; however the O’Connor name will vanish from history within a generation. Whilst there is only my brother and myself remaining in our branch of the family, my brother has three daughters and I have two daughters and a son. My one son has two daughters, thus the male branch of the family, and the name, will eventually pass into history.
__________________________
I did have a previous contribution prepared; however it was far too long and was a further development in the search for the history of my Great Uncle, Lewis O’Connor.
20th October 2023
On the 20th October 2023, I received an email with an attachment from my relative, Pamela Dexter. She had found a note that had been written at the time of Lewis’s death and gave some insight into his whereabouts, during the fifteen years that he had vanished from the Electoral Rolls. The information from this email did supply some validated information about Lewis, who appeared to have been operating as a bookmaker at various horse and greyhound racetracks around the state. It also confirmed that he did in fact still live with his wife, and was involved in a number of financial ventures with family members. The email also included two images of Lewis, one as a younger man (about 40) and one taken on the day of his 80th birthday. I did some research based on some information in the document and located Lewis’s ledger book and a blank betting ticket, which are held in the MCG Racing Hall of Fame!! Did the information provide the missing evidence? No, it simply added to the mystery.
The expanded and updated history on my Great Uncle will be presented at the Family Research session on 23rd November.
Barry O’Connor,
November 2023