Anyone else out there combining genealogy with travelling?
We often head for a location linked to our family history. Spent a week not so long back in central Victoria, checking our where one branch lived and where they are buried. Have wandered around the Hunter valley and New England regions in NSW doing the same.
Local libraries and history groups hold information never found on the internet!
I heard on one bloke who set about photographing war memorials and putting them onto the internet, and there are groups and invididuals who are photographing Australia's cemeteries for the online Australian Cemeteries Index.
Attached pic of the old (now abandoned) pub in Murrurundi NSW once run by a Branch of the family.
I can't do that of course not being from here, but I do love the photo of the old pub Rip and Rosie. Can imagine it being restored to its former glory, beautiful.
Travel Bug said
10:19 AM Jul 29, 2011
What a great pic Rosie!
Genealogy is so very addictive.... I have been doing it for a few years now. I also intend to follow up on it while I am travelling.
No doubt about it...the internet sure makes it easier to find info. Often, in my case anyway, it has been previously unknown.
Looking forward to meeting up on the road somewhere.
Cheers. Pam.
Bent Axle Bob said
10:21 AM Jul 29, 2011
Yes, family research is one of the things on the list to do, once I get around to Victoria. Grandfather was a blacksmith in Bendigo , where he was born. His father was a butcher there during the "rush". However, many hours searching the internet has not revealed very much at all, so I'm looking at spending 2 or 3 weeks there at the libraries, council offices and historical societies
ozi2 said
10:34 AM Jul 29, 2011
G'day B A B,I'm born and bred Bendigonian, and just starting the family history trace on my fathers side (he was born 1896) my mothers family dates back to Ireland 1630 with ties to Sweden and France ( my French isnt suitable for this forum)...its a very interesting topic .........what period was your grandfather blacksmithing?
cheers
ozi2
Ma said
11:02 AM Jul 29, 2011
I have been trying to trace my paternal grandmother's side of the family but have come to a "dead" end. The records only seem to go back for three generations. I am going to go to Bredalbane and Colorin - south of Goulburn - and see if I can come up with anything. That's supposed to be where they spent some time. Anyone know anything about the EBSWORTH family not necessarily from the area mentioned, from anywhere at all please
Travel Bug said
11:27 AM Jul 29, 2011
Hi Ma
Have you tried Googling? You may be pleasantly surprised at what you find by simply typing in Ebsworth family...or Ebsworth family history etc;
I did that for a previously "untraceable" Uncle and was amazed by the info that I found.
Hope it helps you too.
Rip and Rosie said
11:33 AM Jul 29, 2011
There is a John Ebsworth on the convicts index-
Name:
John Ebsworth
Age:
24
Year:
1840
Birth Place:
Birkshire
State:
Nsw
Ship:
Eden
Occupation:
Labourer
He married Susan Fitzpatrick in Braidwood in 1844.
sounds like the right area.
-- Edited by Rip and Rosie on Friday 29th of July 2011 11:47:13 AM
Bent Axle Bob said
12:11 PM Jul 29, 2011
Hi Ozi2, bit of a mystery really, but he was born in Bendigo 1876 and went to NZ around1918 and married there in1919. His age was recorded as 43 years. We believe he had been in a relationship/marriage ,although the marriage certificate states he was a widower, his "died" 6th January 1913, but.......???? May also have been a child or children by that relationship. Also when he arrived in NZ he had a bank account of over 1000 pounds, a large amount of money in those days, especially considering his occupation. To the best of our knowledge he was never a miner. So , it could be raatthher interesting, lol. His name was James Clarence Owen,
-- Edited by Bent Axle Bob on Friday 29th of July 2011 12:14:16 PM
-- Edited by Bent Axle Bob on Friday 29th of July 2011 12:17:50 PM
Ma said
12:52 PM Jul 29, 2011
Have PM's you R & R. Thanks for the info.
Ma said
12:53 PM Jul 29, 2011
Never entered my mind to just put that into Google without going through an ancestry site Pam. Thanks will try it out.
gordon_adl said
04:02 PM Jul 29, 2011
Absolutely!
We've even gone into the middle of nowhere to take a picture of William Coulthards grave.
My partner is very much into it and we often make a stop over somewhere to take a picture of a grave or just to see things.
Rip and Rosie wrote:
Anyone else out there combining genealogy with travelling?
Rosie
Beth54 said
04:10 PM Jul 29, 2011
Various members of my large extended family have been doing Geneaology for years.
My sister and I in particular, were looking for our Dad's paternal line. We became very confused as Dad said he remembered sitting on his Norwegian grandfathers knee as a child, and that he had an accent. Turned out his grandfather had died before he was born. It was his great-grandfather of the same name who'd lived to a very old age.
This branch is also mainly in the Bendigo area. Dad was born in Swan Hill, but spent most of his adult life in Qld, having married a Qld girl.
A few years before Dad passed, I took him on a trip down memory lane at Nyah West, where he spent his young years. He'd worked in the old butcher shop there. When we went in the owner was fascinated with all Dad's knowledge of the shop etc. We also visited the Lingalong Cafe. Everywhere we went, people were interested in his memories.
Helena said
04:16 PM Jul 29, 2011
I've been tracing the family history now for about 30 years obviously can't trace anywhere in Aussie (mores the pity) but on Bill's family back in England I have managed to get back to the 1110 they all came from the Isle of Wight which was great only a small place to trace them through. Helena.
jonathan said
04:26 PM Jul 29, 2011
.. Pretty lucky here .. My dear Mum helped another to put together a family book .. so have the details of my Prussian ancestry through to and including my 2 sons ..
I spent extra time checking out whether I came under any particular "coat-of-Arms" .. just in case I was due any financial benefit .. but .. woe is me !
sob .. sniffle ! boo-hoo .. Waaaaargh!
Travel Bug said
04:28 PM Jul 29, 2011
@ jonathon.
Beth54 said
04:38 PM Jul 29, 2011
jonathan wrote:
.. Pretty lucky here .. My dear Mum helped another to put together a family book .. so have the details of my Prussian ancestry through to and including my 2 sons ..
I spent extra time checking out whether I came under any particular "coat-of-Arms" .. just in case I was due any financial benefit .. but .. woe is me !
sob .. sniffle ! boo-hoo .. Waaaaargh!
My Mum's paternal side has a coat of arms, but that's it! No money! No landed gentry!
Travel Bug said
04:44 PM Jul 29, 2011
My husband's paternal side has a Coat of Arms.... and a Motto that says "By Industry We Prosper".
That nicely sums it up
p.s. I never give up hope of winning Lotto though!!!!!
Rip and Rosie said
05:13 PM Jul 29, 2011
We have a clan badge- being scottish.
years back one of the children asked what the latin words meant, and I remember he thought is was cool when some one told him it meant "Up Yours" ................ not true of course.
We arent on the road full time yet but on some short trips I have been following my family history for some time and have visited a couple of places, the most notable being Molesworth near Hobart to find out how it got its name and also in Victoria which was named in honour of my Gr Gr Grandfather who was Chief Justice of the Victorian Supreme Court. I attended the launch of the book on the history of the town. Most of our history is in Ireland, England and Scotland. I run a web site for the family at www.molesworth.id.au We visited the home that my maternal grandfather was born in at Canada Valley Eaglehawk a few years ago and got some good pictures of the old stone house that is still standing. (see photo) It can be quite exciting when you find little gems like that. He was born in a mining village that was called Oatsvill at the time and left home at 12 to become a drover about 1910. He worked around the south western corner of NSW until the First World War when he joined the 8th light horse. I would like to visit that area sometime. I also went to Nullawil in Victoria where my Maternal Gr grandfather and grandmother were selectors and had the privilege to visit the property he carved from the scrub and the house he built where my grandmother and her three sisters grew up. He also built the local church which is now gone but I did get a photo from their museum. I have also visited the birthplace of my paternal grandmother which was called Belfast then but is now Port Fairy in Victoria
-- Edited by Drifters on Friday 29th of July 2011 05:59:46 PM
I love the "political" stuff you find by accident,
i.e. when Grandad was buried the funeral notice said "Church of England Section, Minmi Cemetery". ..... well he was from a protestant family, so I expected that. When Grandma was buried 20 years or so later, her notice said "Catholic Section, Minmi Cemetery" ...... well, I expected that as she was from a catholic family.
Minmi cemetery, is a little place, and has no "sections", and Grandma is buried in the same grave, on top of Grandad.
I think I was lucky, or unlucky, depends how you look at it. I did most of my genealogy while still living in Tasmania. Some very good records have been kept there. So good I found i am a direct desendant of five convicts. I also found a few relations I didn't even know. One interesting thing was Aunty Ida a well know Tasmanian Lands Rights activist was really Aunty Ida. Anyway ........................
Smokeydk said
07:36 PM Jul 29, 2011
Have you done a search on trove newspapers....I found lot on my Uncle in ww2
An interesting topic, especially when you have no idea of the biological background. I'm the first of the biological line. I could have blood rellies I'll never meet. Ah, the mystery of life.
BarbandDaz said
10:19 PM Jul 29, 2011
We have been doing some research whilst in SA. Following the MENZ family from the 1850's.. Found some good info to go into the tree.
Will do more in Adelaide this week.
Barb
Bent Axle Bob said
11:24 PM Jul 29, 2011
CG, 3 1/2 years ago my cousin's niece did a search of the family name to fill in time. Result was we met a cousin we did not know existed. Granddad and Grandma divorced way back in the 1930's and the other halfs names were never spoken again. The old fella went south and re-married(again, 4th time we believe) and had another family. A large family reunion was held in Brisbane, with a resulting large number of relatives all over Australia and NZ we never knew about
Cruising Granny said
11:38 PM Jul 29, 2011
Oo, that could open a can of family worms. The family was very hush hush about my beginnings and my mother's end when I was 4 and she was 25. My maternal grandmother was very good at keeping up appearances, just like Mrs. Bucket, not bouquet. I've learned all sorts since, but never able to substantiate it. I have enough trouble holding my own immediate family together, without much luck. I'm from the German/Prussian genetic Lutheran lines. Starting in the Adelaide Hills, on the maternal side, at least. The real paternal side is a total mystery. I'm really not game to dig too deep.
Rip and Rosie said
05:37 AM Jul 30, 2011
Hi CG That's a big issue with family research- you have to be prepared to accept what you find, regardless. Sometimes there is nothing to find, and sometimes its the stuff they all tried to hide. The thing is, they were all human, with the same faults and failings we all have. Unless we could go back and actually walk in their shoes, I don't think we can criticise harshly. I enjoy finding the stories of the women in families- mostly strong and gutsy with few resources. I'm well past being scandalise at the single mothers, illicit loves and quick re-marriages. A friend of mine found an ancestor whose birth was registered 3 times with 3 different names ..... same birthdate, same mother, same birthplace, but 1. the married name of his mother (but her husband had died 3 year before) 2. the maiden name of his mother 3. a surname no one in the family had heard of. The boy was raised using the surname of his brothers and sisters, and 3 or 4 generations later no one questioned it.
Recently I did some work for a friend who had problems getting started- and no wonder- turned out her aunt was actually her father's mother, not his sister. Despite having no father listed on the birth certificate, she did find her grandfather. Eventually she went back to the small town they were from, and asked an old relative straight up- and, yes, "everyone" knew it was the boy next door. it was covered up for years.
Good luck if you ever get game enough to go digging. Rosie.
Travel Bug said
10:08 AM Jul 30, 2011
Rip and Rosie wrote:
The thing is, they were all human, with the same faults and failings we all have. Unless we could go back and actually walk in their shoes, I don't think we can criticise harshly. ______________________________________________________________________
That is so true!!!
I have known a few people tracing their family history to make judgement calls by using today's standards and conditions. Big mistake!!!
As I search, I never fail to be amazed at the strength of some of the women. Wow! Talk about showing strength in times of adversity......
I also find that the more I look and the more I find, the more I want to know.
I haven't found a convict yet....but I'll keep looking
Ma said
11:37 AM Jul 30, 2011
I found a convict (thanks Rosie) much to my Aunty's horror. Highway robbery no less......he must have given some of the pollies lessons...........
Anyone else out there combining genealogy with travelling?
We often head for a location linked to our family history. Spent a week not so long back in central Victoria, checking our where one branch lived and where they are buried. Have wandered around the Hunter valley and New England regions in NSW doing the same.
Local libraries and history groups hold information never found on the internet!
I heard on one bloke who set about photographing war memorials and putting them onto the internet, and there are groups and invididuals who are photographing Australia's cemeteries for the online Australian Cemeteries Index.
Attached pic of the old (now abandoned) pub in Murrurundi NSW once run by a Branch of the family.
Rosie
What a great pic Rosie!
Genealogy is so very addictive....
I have been doing it for a few years now.
I also intend to follow up on it while I am travelling.
No doubt about it...the internet sure makes it easier to find info.
Often, in my case anyway, it has been previously unknown.
Looking forward to meeting up on the road somewhere.
Cheers. Pam.
G'day B A B,I'm born and bred Bendigonian, and just starting the family history trace on my fathers side (he was born 1896) my mothers family dates back to Ireland 1630 with ties to Sweden and France ( my French isnt suitable for this forum)...its a very interesting topic .........what period was your grandfather blacksmithing?
cheers
ozi2
I have been trying to trace my paternal grandmother's side of the family but have come to a "dead" end. The records only seem to go back for three generations. I am going to go to Bredalbane and Colorin - south of Goulburn - and see if I can come up with anything. That's supposed to be where they spent some time. Anyone know anything about the EBSWORTH family not necessarily from the area mentioned, from anywhere at all please
Hi Ma
Have you tried Googling?
You may be pleasantly surprised at what you find by simply typing in
Ebsworth family...or Ebsworth family history etc;
I did that for a previously "untraceable" Uncle and was amazed by the info that I found.
Hope it helps you too.
There is a John Ebsworth on the convicts index-
He married Susan Fitzpatrick in Braidwood in 1844.
sounds like the right area.
-- Edited by Rip and Rosie on Friday 29th of July 2011 11:47:13 AM
Hi Ozi2, bit of a mystery really, but he was born in Bendigo 1876 and went to NZ around1918 and married there in1919. His age was recorded as 43 years. We believe he had been in a relationship/marriage ,although the marriage certificate states he was a widower, his "died" 6th January 1913, but.......???? May also have been a child or children by that relationship. Also when he arrived in NZ he had a bank account of over 1000 pounds, a large amount of money in those days, especially considering his occupation. To the best of our knowledge he was never a miner. So , it could be raatthher interesting, lol. His name was James Clarence Owen,
-- Edited by Bent Axle Bob on Friday 29th of July 2011 12:14:16 PM
-- Edited by Bent Axle Bob on Friday 29th of July 2011 12:17:50 PM
Have PM's you R & R. Thanks for the info.
Never entered my mind to just put that into Google without going through an ancestry site Pam. Thanks will try it out.
Various members of my large extended family have been doing Geneaology for years.
My sister and I in particular, were looking for our Dad's paternal line. We became very confused as Dad said he remembered sitting on his Norwegian grandfathers knee as a child, and that he had an accent. Turned out his grandfather had died before he was born. It was his great-grandfather of the same name who'd lived to a very old age.
This branch is also mainly in the Bendigo area. Dad was born in Swan Hill, but spent most of his adult life in Qld, having married a Qld girl.
A few years before Dad passed, I took him on a trip down memory lane at Nyah West, where he spent his young years. He'd worked in the old butcher shop there. When we went in the owner was fascinated with all Dad's knowledge of the shop etc. We also visited the Lingalong Cafe. Everywhere we went, people were interested in his memories.
.. Pretty lucky here .. My dear Mum helped another to put together a family book .. so have the details of my Prussian ancestry through to and including my 2 sons ..
I spent extra time checking out whether I came under any particular "coat-of-Arms" .. just in case I was due any financial benefit .. but .. woe is me !
sob .. sniffle ! boo-hoo .. Waaaaargh!
My Mum's paternal side has a coat of arms, but that's it!
No money! No landed gentry!
My husband's paternal side has a Coat of Arms....
and a Motto that says "By Industry We Prosper".
That nicely sums it up
p.s. I never give up hope of winning Lotto though!!!!!
We have a clan badge- being scottish.
years back one of the children asked what the latin words meant, and I remember he thought is was cool when some one told him it meant "Up Yours" ................ not true of course.
Rosie
We arent on the road full time yet but on some short trips I have been following my family history for some time and have visited a couple of places, the most notable being Molesworth near Hobart to find out how it got its name and also in Victoria which was named in honour of my Gr Gr Grandfather who was Chief Justice of the Victorian Supreme Court. I attended the launch of the book on the history of the town. Most of our history is in Ireland, England and Scotland. I run a web site for the family at www.molesworth.id.au We visited the home that my maternal grandfather was born in at Canada Valley Eaglehawk a few years ago and got some good pictures of the old stone house that is still standing. (see photo) It can be quite exciting when you find little gems like that. He was born in a mining village that was called Oatsvill at the time and left home at 12 to become a drover about 1910. He worked around the south western corner of NSW until the First World War when he joined the 8th light horse. I would like to visit that area sometime. I also went to Nullawil in Victoria where my Maternal Gr grandfather and grandmother were selectors and had the privilege to visit the property he carved from the scrub and the house he built where my grandmother and her three sisters grew up. He also built the local church which is now gone but I did get a photo from their museum. I have also visited the birthplace of my paternal grandmother which was called Belfast then but is now Port Fairy in Victoria
-- Edited by Drifters on Friday 29th of July 2011 05:59:46 PM
I love the "political" stuff you find by accident,
i.e. when Grandad was buried the funeral notice said "Church of England Section, Minmi Cemetery". ..... well he was from a protestant family, so I expected that. When Grandma was buried 20 years or so later, her notice said "Catholic Section, Minmi Cemetery" ...... well, I expected that as she was from a catholic family.
Minmi cemetery, is a little place, and has no "sections", and Grandma is buried in the same grave, on top of Grandad.
Rosie
I did most of my genealogy while still living in Tasmania. Some very good records have been kept there.
So good I found i am a direct desendant of five convicts.
I also found a few relations I didn't even know.
One interesting thing was Aunty Ida a well know Tasmanian Lands Rights activist was really Aunty Ida.
Anyway ........................
Have you done a search on trove newspapers....I found lot on my Uncle in ww2
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper
I could have blood rellies I'll never meet. Ah, the mystery of life.
We have been doing some research whilst in SA. Following the MENZ family from the 1850's.. Found some good info to go into the tree.
Will do more in Adelaide this week.
Barb
My maternal grandmother was very good at keeping up appearances, just like Mrs. Bucket, not bouquet.
I've learned all sorts since, but never able to substantiate it.
I have enough trouble holding my own immediate family together, without much luck.
I'm from the German/Prussian genetic Lutheran lines. Starting in the Adelaide Hills, on the maternal side, at least.
The real paternal side is a total mystery.
I'm really not game to dig too deep.
That's a big issue with family research- you have to be prepared to accept what you find, regardless. Sometimes there is nothing to find, and sometimes its the stuff they all tried to hide.
The thing is, they were all human, with the same faults and failings we all have. Unless we could go back and actually walk in their shoes, I don't think we can criticise harshly.
I enjoy finding the stories of the women in families- mostly strong and gutsy with few resources. I'm well past being scandalise at the single mothers, illicit loves and quick re-marriages.
A friend of mine found an ancestor whose birth was registered 3 times with 3 different names ..... same birthdate, same mother, same birthplace, but
1. the married name of his mother (but her husband had died 3 year before)
2. the maiden name of his mother
3. a surname no one in the family had heard of.
The boy was raised using the surname of his brothers and sisters, and 3 or 4 generations later no one questioned it.
Recently I did some work for a friend who had problems getting started- and no wonder- turned out her aunt was actually her father's mother, not his sister. Despite having no father listed on the birth certificate, she did find her grandfather. Eventually she went back to the small town they were from, and asked an old relative straight up- and, yes, "everyone" knew it was the boy next door. it was covered up for years.
Good luck if you ever get game enough to go digging.
Rosie.
Rip and Rosie wrote:
The thing is, they were all human, with the same faults and failings we all have. Unless we could go back and actually walk in their shoes, I don't think we can criticise harshly.
______________________________________________________________________
That is so true!!!
I have known a few people tracing their family history to make judgement calls by using today's standards and conditions. Big mistake!!!
As I search, I never fail to be amazed at the strength of some of the women. Wow! Talk about showing strength in times of adversity......
I also find that the more I look and the more I find, the more I want to know.
I haven't found a convict yet....but I'll keep looking
I found a convict (thanks Rosie) much to my Aunty's horror. Highway robbery no less......he must have given some of the pollies lessons...........