Saturday 4 October 2014

Collection of Wedding Invitations

I found some old wedding invitations earlier this week that my Great Grandparents Elizabeth Croal & William Gow had received in the early 1900s. They are still in quite good condition which is wonderful as they are over 100 years old. I think I would like to do some research on the families to see if there are any descendants. It might be interesting for them to know that we still have an invitation to their ancestors wedding.

Wedding of Mary Walder & David Croal,
my Great Grandmother's cousin.
19th August 1911
I believe the next three brides were all sisters...

Wedding of Mabel Jessie Rogers & Harold Brain
23rd December 1908
Wedding of Clarice Rogers & Norman Sharp
23rd November 1910
Wedding of Ethel Rogers & Charles Wiley
1st September 1909
The next two brides as well...

Wedding of Jessie Douglas Lindsay & William Evans
10th January 1906
Wedding of Roberta Agnes Lindsay & Henry Johnson
15th March 1911
Wedding of Ada Lawrence Pepper & A. B. Jung
5th June 1907
An invitation for the Lindsay family requesting their presence at the wedding of my Great Grandparents on December 14th, 1904.


Just beautiful!

Monday 22 September 2014

One Lovely Blog Award

The One Lovely Blog Award has been going around the blogosphere in recent weeks. This morning to my surprise, I discovered that I had received this oh so lovely award from Shauna Hicks of SHHE Genie Rambles & Diary of an Australian Genealogist. Shauna is the sole co-ordinator of National Family History Month in Australia and New Zealand, and she does this voluntarily. I am always eager to read her blog posts and articles in Inside History magazine. I love all that she does for genealogy in Australia, plus she’s a wonderful person too! I was very lucky to meet her at the launch of National Family History Month last year. 

Here are the Rules for the “One Lovely Blog Award”:
1.     Thank the person who nominated you and link to that blog
2.     Share Seven things about yourself – refer below
3.     Nominate 15 bloggers you admire (or as many as you can think of!) – also listed  below
4.    Contact your bloggers to let them know that you’ve tagged them for the One Lovely  Blog Award

Seven Things about Myself
  1. I have lived in the same suburb my entire life thus far, except for one year when I lived in Virginia when I was a baby.
  2. I am double jointed. I betcha didn't know that did ya? I get a lot of requests from the kids at work to show my double jointed fingers.
  3. I have always loved cemeteries. Even before I knew genealogy existed.
  4. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a teacher. I studied Education for the first 2 years at Uni. It was towards the end of the second year, and just after I caught the genealogy bug that I realized I was not enjoying it and wanted to do something else. That something else turned into Criminology and it was one of the best decisions of my life.
  5. I have always been a shy and quiet person, so making YouTube videos and participating in Google Hangouts is a very big step for me.
  6. I am 23 and still don't have my drivers license. I got my Learners at the end of 2007 for ID purposes, but never actually wanted to drive until last year. Currently I have done 75 hours of driving out of the required 100.
  7. I absolutely love reading. I fall in love with books and stories so easily. I can stay up reading for hours. I buy books a lot quicker than I can read them. My To Read shelf is overflowing and I'm now making stacks on the floor. I don't even have room for books that I have read anymore.
Reading with my Poppa!
Nominate 15 Bloggers You Admire (or as many as you can think of)

I have decided to nominate 7. I know quite a few people have been nominated already, so I’d like to spread the love to some others and hope you check out their blogs too. Please do not feel offended if your blog is not on the list – this was just off the top of my head. I love the genea-blogging community! 
  1. Of Trees & Ink by Heather Collins. Heather is another young genealogist under the age of 30. I was super excited when I discovered her last year! Heather & I co-run Young &Savvy Genealogists together which is awesome. She also does very informative and creative YouTube videos and has an epic love for gifs like I do.
  2. Elyses Genealogy Blog by Elyse Doerflinger. Elyse is a young genealogist who introduced me to the world of the NextGen Genealogy Network. I love reading her blog – her recent post on collaborative genealogy was really neat! Elyse speaks at a lot of genealogy seminars and events and is a big supporter of engaging the next generation.
  3. A. Warde & Co. by Ameya Warde. Ameya and I kind of stumbled upon each other late last year. She’s only been blogging for a year, but I’m always intrigued by anything that she has to say. She’s also done a YouTube video too! I’d love to do a genealogy collaboration video one day with Ameya, Heather & Elyse. Now wouldn’t that be hella awesome?!
  4.  Ruths Ancestors by Ruth Hogan, another young genealogist. Can you sense a theme here? Ruth is an avid blogger who is also following The Book of Me, Written by You prompts.
  5. Ancestral Breezes by Jen Baldwin. She runs #genchat and Conference Keeper and she is awesome. Need I say more?
  6. Confuse The Dead by Laurie Desmarais. Laurie has recently been blogging about her Mastering Genealogical Proof Class. Plus she is a rad chick!
  7. Your Roots Are Showing Dearie by Liam Hobbes. He’s the barkeep during #genchat and his blog makes me giggle with delight! You just need to read it okay.
A little something for everyone! ^_^

Amanuensis Monday: The Will of Alexander Mackay

Earlier this month, Find My Past released New South Wales Will Books 1800-1952 (currently offline for improvements). Seeing as my Australian side of the family is from New South Wales (NSW), I had to take a look. Of the 10 I have found so far, I definitely think the most interesting (and most detailed) one belongs to my Great Great Grandfather Alexander Mackay.

Alexander was born in 1856 at Dungog, NSW to parents Donald Mackay and Jane Gilliban Walker. In 1885, he married Elizabeth Lucilla Gill at Nambucca, NSW. After they married, the family relocated to Bowraville where Alexander was a farmer.

Elizabeth Gill & Alexander Mackay
[Source: Personal Collection]
Alexander & Elizabeth had 6 children -
  1. Alice Jane Mackay (1886 - 1979, married Charles Churchill)
  2. Eva Florence Mackay (1888 - 1976, married James Albert Dyer)
  3. Ethel M Mackay (1890 - 1892)
  4. Lottie Mabel Mackay (1894 - 1990, married David Glyde)
  5. Archie Burton Mackay (1901 - 1993, married Sylvia Kelsey)
  6. Elizabeth Lucilla Mackay (1905 - 1996, married Clarance Lumsden)
Elizabeth died during the birth of their youngest child who was named after her. Because of this, I was curious to see what Alexander's Will would entail and what he would leave to his children. I transcribed it as is and have not added any punctuation to it, other than what was already there. With or without punctuation, it is quite straightforward and easy to understand. Here is the transcription in italics:

[Source: Find My Past]
Mackay, Alexander (sometimes called Alexander McKay)/Late of Bowraville, Farmer.

THIS IS THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT of me ALEXANDER MACKAY (sometimes called Alexander McKay) of Bowraville in the State of New South Wales Farmer I HEREBY REVOKE all former Wills heretofore made by me AND I DECLARE this to be my last Will I APPOINT my son ARCHIE BURTON MCKAY and JAMES ALBERT DYER (hereinafter called my Trustees which expression shall be deemed to include the Trustees or trustee for the time being of this my Will) to be Executors and Trustees of this my Will AND I DECLARE that all trusts power authorities and discretions hereinafter vested in my Trustees be exercised by the survivor of them or other the Trustee or Trustees of this my will I GIVE DEVISE AND BEQUEATH to my daughters EVA DYER LOTTIE MADEL GLYDE ALICE JANE CHURCHILL and ELIZABETH LUSCELLA LUMSDEN share and share alike as tenants in common the proceeds of my life insurance policy or policies and also any money standing at my credit in the Commonwealth Savings Bank I GIVE AND DEVISE to my Trustees two allotments of land in Bowraville and the house standing on one of the said allotments IN TRUST to sell the same and to divide the proceeds between my said four daughters share and share alike I GIVE AND DEVISE to my son ARCHIE BURTON MCKAY all my other property including my other real property upon condition that the said Archie Burton McKay pay each of my four said daughters the sum of Two hundred pounds (£200) each within twelve months after my death and I charge the said real property hereinbefore devised to the said Archie Burton McKay with the payment of the said legacies I GIVE AND BEQUEATH to the said Archie Burton McKay my shares in the Bowraville Co-Operative Society Limited and in the Coastal Farmers Society AND I DECLARE that the share of the said Archie Burton McKay shall bear the costs of my funeral and testamentary expenses duties and fees and the payment of my debts including the mortgage debt on any property devised to the said Archie Burton McKay to the intent that the bequests that I have made to my said daughters shall be exonerated from payment of any part of the said expenses duties fees debts and mortgage debts AND I DECLARE that if any child or children of mine predecease me leaving a child or children surviving them such last mentioned child or children shall take (and if more than one then equally between them) the share which his or her or their parent would have taken under this my will had such child of mine survived me IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand this Ninth day of July One thousand nine hundred and thirty-six.
ALEXANDER MACKAY.
SIGNED by the Testator as and for his last will and testament in the presence of us both present at the same time and we at this request in his presence and in the presence of each other have hereunto subscribed our names as witnesses. M. Richardson, Law Clerk Bowraville. L. O’Neal, Solicitor, Bowraville.

23rd February, 1938. PROBATE of the Will was granted to ARCHIE BURTON MCKAY and JAMES ALBERT DYER the Executors named therein. Testator died 1st November, 1937. Estate sworn at £1814.19.7. Nett.
It seems that Alexander really cared for his children, particularly after his wife died and he was left with a newborn and young children. Before my Nanna died, she told me many times that she remembered her Grandfather Alexander Mackay and the Mackay's in general as people who worked hard for their money. She said that Alexander hoped he taught his children that, and Nanna believed that he had.
  
Alexander Mackay & his children, 1930s
L-R: Elizabeth, Alice, Alexander, Eva, Lottie & Archie
[Source: Personal Collection]

Wednesday 13 August 2014

The Gow Siblings: Isabella Gow

Isabella Gow, my Great Great Aunt, was born on April 9, 1859 in Cairn Farm, Muthill, Perthshire, Scotland. She was the third child of William Gow and Jean Drummond (her older siblings being John & Robert). Isabella lived on the family farm until she was 18 and married John Reddoch on January 22, 1878.

Isabella Gow, 1869, Scotland
[Source: Personal Collection]

Isabella & John lived in Kinross at a house called Tullibardine. I forget if John built it for her or if he bought it. I think that information is written down in a letter my Aunt has. I have often searched for information on Tullibardine House such as where it was in Kinross, but have not been able to find anything solid.

Isabella & John had 9 children together -

  1. Jean Drummond Reddoch, born 1879, Govan
  2. John Drummond Gow Reddoch, born 1880, Muthill
  3. William Gow Reddoch, born 1881, Dalginross
  4. Robert William Reddoch, born 1883, Ardoch
  5. Isabella Gow Reddoch, born 1885, Ardoch
  6. Helen Christie Reddoch, born 1887, Ardoch
  7. Charles Gow Reddoch, born 1889, Ardoch
  8. Jessie Gow Reddoch, born 1892, Orwell
  9. James Gow Reddoch, born 1895, Kinross
As you can see, most of the children were given either Gow or Drummond for their middle name. There were two more children, however both were stillborn. 

Isabella died on October 13, 1897 at Tullibardine House at the very young age of 38, as a result of complications during childbirth in which the child was stillborn - the second of the two. I do not know where she is buried, but in some family history information that a distant cousin wrote, apparently the two stillborn children she had are mentioned on her gravestone.

Siblings John & Isabella Gow with Mrs Lawson, 1862.
I have no idea who Mrs Lawson is.
[Source: Personal Collection]

Sunday 27 July 2014

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Ahnentafel Roulette

It's time for another round of Saturday Night Genealogy Fun, well Sunday morning for me! This week's challenge from Randy at Genea-Musings is Ahnentafel Roulette.

Here's the challenge:

1. What year was one of your great-grandfathers born? Divide this number by 80 and round to a whole number. This is your "roulette number."

2. Use your pedigree charts or your family tree genealogy software program to find the person with that number in your ancestral name list (some people call it an "ahnentafel" - your software will create this - use the "Ahnentafel List" option, or similar). Who is that person, and what are his/her vital information?

3. Tell us three facts about that person in your ancestral name list with the "roulette number."

4. Write about it in a blog post on your own blog, in a Facebook status or a Google Stream post, or as a comment on this blog post.

5. NOTE:  If you do not have a person's name for your "roulette number" then "spin" the wheel again - pick a great-grandmother, a grandfather, a parent, a favorite aunt or cousin, yourself, or even your children!  Or pick an ancestor!

Here's mine:

1. Dividing each of my Great Grandfather's birth years by 80 gave me either 23 or 24.

2. This led me to a couple of unnamed people. Instead, I picked my Great Great Great Grandmother Matilda 'Tillie' Gowan (1840 - 1908) who married John Young (1836 - 1888) in 1860 in Mississippi, USA.

Matilda 'Tillie' Gowan Young
Approx 1880's
[Source: Personal Collection]
3. Three facts about Matilda 'Tillie' Gowan Young

a) She was born on December 18, 1840 in Mississippi, USA to Richard Gowan & Susan Peacock. She had 9 siblings.

b) She and John Young had 7 children - Emma Rosalie Young (1861 - 1868), Matthew Garret Young (1864 - 1933), Mary Gowan Young (1867 - 1927), Susie Fannie Young (1870 - 1928), Matilda May Young (1873 - 1936), Terri Pearl Young (1875 - 1959), & Frank Richard Young (1878 - 1958).

c) She is buried in White Church Cemetery, Blooming Grove, Texas. Her grave says she died on August 20, 1908, but her death certificate says she died on August 21, 1908.

Grave of Matilda 'Tillie' Gowan Young
White Church Cemetery, Blooming Grove, TX.
[Source: Personal Collection]

Tuesday 15 July 2014

Look out Rootstech! I'm coming!

Last year, I made it my goal to attend Rootstech in 2015, and now it's happening! I'm going to Rootstech! Two weeks ago my Aunty & I booked our hotel room at the Salt Lake Plaza Hotel. Currently, my Aunty is coming with me to Salt Lake City and she will do her own thing while I am conferencing it up. 

I am so excited y'all!!! Booking the hotel room has made it all so real. This is actually happening. I am going to be at Rootstech! You can expect many blog posts and videos about my preparation for Rootstech. I am also going to be needing lots of advice from you all too.

I want to meet as many of you as possible! I know it's going to be a blast and I want to soak up the experience as much as possible. DearMyrtle mentioned in her latest Mondays with Myrt that she is excited to meet me and will have to do another open house like she did this year. Woo! :D  


Here's my video that I did right after the hotel room was booked. I'd only woken up about 45 minutes prior, but I was like, I need to tell you all right NOW.


I am just so excited. And to see my family in Texas too of course! 

Thursday 26 June 2014

I'm going to Canberra!

I am on holidays for a month y’all! I am getting back into my much loved genealogy and figuring out which ancestors I would like to spend more time with over the next few weeks.


This Saturday I am off to Sydney for two weeks to hang out with my Aunty. During my schooling years, we went to Sydney 3 – 4 times a year. Now, it is usually one or two. I really love Sydney and know my way around the CBD better than my Dad & Aunt sometimes! My Aunty has all the family heirlooms so I imagine I will be taking some photos, recording details, and scanning while I am there.

One exciting part of my holiday is that my Aunty & I are going to Canberra for a couple of days. For my overseas genea-friends, Canberra is the capital of Australia and is where the Federal Parliament sits. The last time I went to Canberra I was 12 or 13, so I wasn’t really into history or politics then. But now I am, and I’m very excited to check it all out. The initial reason for going to Canberra is that I am going to a Criminology conference at the Australian Institute of Criminology on Friday, July 4th. As I was going to be in Sydney anyway, I was originally planning to fly to Canberra on Thursday night and fly back to Sydney after the conference or early Saturday morning. However, my Aunty suggested that we make it a road trip of sorts and spend a couple of days there exploring. We are arriving on the 3rd and leaving on the 6th. I am so keen and spent some time procrastinating before my exams by researching the places we must go. So, here is our current to-do list…


When I began my adventures in genealogy, I discovered that my Great Grandmother’s 1st Cousin’s name, Alexander Croal, is inscribed in the Roll of Honour. It is the #1 thing on our list.  


I am really keen to check out the NAA. It is where Shauna Hicks is having the launch of National Family History Month this year. After reading a recent post of hers about her visit to Canberra and the NAA, I am keen to check it out and see their current exhibition, A Place to Call Home: MigrantHostel Memories.


Shauna also recommended a bookstore called Paperchain. I love books and reading and cute little bookstores! 

and genealogy! :D


If we have time, I’d like to see the NLA and have a sticky beak at their Treasures Gallery & Canberra: Then & Now exhibition.

5. Cockington Green Gardens

A distant cousin recommended that my Aunt & I visit the Cockington Green Gardens. I had never heard of it before, but after some googling and browsing their website for a good while, we definitely have to go! It looks so cute! Their website states that it is a 'delightful and fascinating display of meticulously crafted miniature buildings set within beautifully landscape gardens.' 

Cockington Green  Gardens
[Source: Google Images]
If anyone has any other suggestions please let me know, particularly food places too as I am sure we will be eating out a lot!

Monday 16 June 2014

A Milestone: My First Business Cards!

I have just reached a very significant milestone in my life. I am now a super-ridiculously-excited-owner of business cards!

So excited I feel like I'm dancing
on top of the world!
What prompted me to make this decision now?

I had been thinking of getting business cards for a while. Alona tweeted me last year about getting them for my genealogy. So many of you hand them out at conferences and other events, and I have always thought that was really rad. I guess life just got busy and I pushed it to the back of my mental to-do list.

Fast forward to Week 2 of University in March. One of my subjects this semester was Developing Professionally. Essentially, the course was about what happens after we leave Uni, how to find a job and all that scary stuff. Anyway, we had a guest lecturer from the Careers & Employment Service. She was talking about marketing strategies when she said...BUSINESS CARDS! My eyes shot up in an instant. She mentioned how they are a great networking and marketing strategy, and also suggested that we use them as a mini resume so to speak.

At the beginning of this month I started to seriously consider it. My question was though, do I get separate criminology and genealogy business cards or have all the information on the same card? Last week, after discovering that VistaPrint was having a 50% off sale, I ordered them. I was playing around with designs for a couple of hours before I settled on two that I love. Yep, I decided to stick with keeping the two separate. They look much neater, and besides, I highly doubt that that Criminology Professionals would be interested in my genealogy business card (although they should be!).

They arrived tonight and I am so excited! They are very cute! Let me know what you think :)

Ooo yeah! I love them so much!

Genealogy Business Card

Criminology Business Card

Monday 12 May 2014

Cousins Galore!

Last week, Randy from Genea-Musings posted this Saturday Night Genealogy Fun Challenge:

1)  Take both sets of your grandparents and figure out how many first cousins you have, and how many first cousins removed (a child or grandchild of a first cousin) you have.

2)  Extra Credit:  Take all four sets of your great-grandparents and figure out how many second cousins you have, and how many second cousins removed you have.
HINT:  Make a Descendants Chart with your genealogy software program!

3)  Tell us the grandparents and great-grandparents names, but don't give the name of living cousins unless you want to. 

4)  Are there any of those lines that you don't know all of the cousins names?  Do you care? 

5)  Tell us about them in your own blog post, in a comment to this blog post, or in a Facebook or Google+ post of your own.  Be sure to drop a comment to this post to link to your work. 

I love my cousins. However, I have no first cousins on my Dad’s side. They’re all on my Mum’s side and live in Texas, so the time that I get to spend with them is rare and extra special for me. The last time I saw my cousins was in June/July 2012, the last time I was in Texas.

Grandparents

1A. William D. D. Gow & Eunice Hazel Dyer had 2 children – my Dad & Aunt. My Aunt has never married nor had children. Hence, no first cousins on this side.

First Cousins & First Cousins 1x Removed
2nd Jan 2011, Texas, USA.
Grandad's 80th.
1B. Nancy Robinson & Herbert K. Renfrow had 3 children – my Aunt, Mum & Uncle.
Aunt Molly has 2 daughters, and my Uncle David has 4 daughters. That’s right, no male first cousins! My brother is the only grandson. Both Molly’s daughters have children. One has 3 boys, and the other has 2 boys. David’s eldest daughter has 2 children – a girl & boy.

1C. My Step Grandmother, Vivian Young, had 2 children – my Step Aunt & Step Uncle.
My Step Aunt has 1 daughter while my Step Uncle has no children.

Total
First Cousins: 7
First Cousins 1x Removed: 7

Great-Grandparents

2A. William Gow & Elizabeth Croal had 2 children – William (my Poppa) & Adam. Adam only lived for 24 hours, so no cousins there.

2B. James Albert Dyer & Eva Florence Mackay had 6 children – Claude, Eunice (Nanna), Earle, Vera, Noel & Enid.

Claude never married nor had children.

Earle had 1 daughter, Lorraine. I met her for the first time at his funeral in 2011. Lorraine has 3 children who I also met at the funeral.

Vera had 5 children – Noela, Shirley, Terry, Peter & Brian.
Brian died when he was 24. I am not sure if he had a child before he died or not.
Noela does have children but I have no idea how many.
Shirley has 2 daughters who both have children and a son who died in his 20’s.
Terry has 2 children, who between them have at least 6 children that I know of.
Peter, well, he has a son that I know of. That son might have children. I think Peter has been married a couple of times so he probably does have more children.

Aunty Vera’s family is huge itself and I have never been able to keep up. I still need to get her to write down a list of all of her descendants for me.

Noel had 3 children – Dawn, Rodney & Stephen.
Dawn passed away a couple of years ago. I am not 100% sure if she had children. I think she did, but not sure. Rodney & Stephen both have children but I do not know how many.

Enid had 4 children – Debbie, Gregory, Kerry & Leonie.
Leonie died when she was a baby.
I think Gregory might have children, but again, not sure.
Debbie has 3 children that I know of.
Kerry has 2 children, one of which has 4 children, and the other I’m not sure about.

Thus far,
Second Cousins (definite): 14
Second Cousins 1x Removed (definite): 10

Who knows what the actual numbers are though!

2C. Wiley Durwood Robinson & Maud Ella Sharp only had one child, my Grandmother, Nancy.

2D. Roscoe Eugene Renfrow & Ethel Eva Thompson had 4 children – Flora Nell, Roscoe Eugene Jr, James Calvin & my Grandad.

The Female Cousins.
Mum is the adorable little girl front right.
Flora Nell had 3 children – Becky, Betsy & Peggy.
Becky has 2 daughters. Between them, they have 5 children.
Betsy has 2 sons. One has 2 children.
Peggy has a daughter and son. The daughter has 1 son.

Roscoe Eugene Jr had 2 children – Terri & Larry.
Larry does not have any children.
Terri has a son and daughter. The son had his own son born in January this year.

James Calvin had 2 children – James Calvin Jr & Michael.
James Calvin Jr. has 3 daughters. One daughter has 2 children, one has 3 and the other has 1.
Michael has 1 son.

Thus far,
Second Cousins: 12
Second Cousins 1x Removed: 15

Total
Second Cousins: 26
Second Cousins 1x Removed: 25

The actual numbers are going to be much higher.

I seem to be more clued up with cousins on my Mum’s side of the family even though I rarely see them! While I was doing this, I updated my tree on Ancestry.com by adding second cousins once removed who I had not listed. I definitely have some homework to do on my Aussie side though.  

Monday 21 April 2014

Amanuensis Monday: William Gow.

For today's Amanuensis Monday, I have transcribed the Testament of my Great Great Grandfather William Gow. William was born in 1808 in Scotland and died in 1874 in Muthill, Perthshire. In 1855 he married Jean/Jane Drummond and they had 5 children - John, Robert, Isabella, Jeannie & William.

There was no punctuation in it, however, I have attempted to insert punctuation where I think appropriate. Words in red are those that I was unsure about.

William Gow, Great Great Grandfather.
[Source: Personal Collection]

Inventory of the Personal Estate of William Gow, 1874

At Perth the twenty eighth day of December, Eighteen hundred and seventy four, In presence of James Adam Esquire Advocate Commissary of the County of Perth, Compeared Alexander George Read Solicitor in Auchterarder as Procurator for the Executor.

Executor after named and designed and gave in the Inventory of the Personal Estate of William Gow Farmer in Cairn in the Parish of Muthill (duly stamped with Twenty two pounds Sterling of duty), and oath thereon after-written desiring the same to be recorded in the Commissary Court Books of Perthshire, conform to act of Parliament which desire the said Commissary found reasonable and ordained the same to be done accordingly the tenor whereof follows:

Inventory of the Personal Estate of umqulul William Gow farmer in Cairn in the Parish of Muthill who died at Cairn on or about the twenty third day of May Eighteen hundred and seventy four.

Farm Stocking growing crop household furniture and other effects
                                                                        Forward £ 

Effects which belonged to the deceased at the time of his death conform to Inventory and Appraisement by John Sinclair Licensed Appraiser
                                                                        £ 743, 7, 6
Cash in house                                                 £ 2
Total amount of Personal Estate                   £ 745, 7, 6

Signed Jane Gow
           Jas Smitton J.P.

At Auchterarder the twenty sixth day of December Eighteen hundred and seventy four years, In presence of James Smitton Esquire, One of Her Majestys Justices of the Peace for the County of Perth, appeared Jane Drummond or Gow residing at Cairn in the Parish of Muthill Executor of the deceased William Gow farmer in Cairn foresaid who being solemnly sworn and examined Depones that the said William Gow died at Cairn on or about the twenty third day of May Eighteen Hundred and seventy four, and the Deponent has entered upon the  possession and management of the deceased's Estate as Executor qua relict:

That the Deponent knows of no Testamentary Settlement or Writing left by the deceased relative to the disposal of his personal Estate or Effects or any part thereof. 

That the foregoing Inventory signed by the Deponent and the said Justice of the Pace as relative hereto as a full and complete Inventory of the Personal Estate and Effects of the said deceased William Gow – wheresoever situated and belonging or due to him beneficially at the time of his death in so far as the same has come to the Deponents Knowledge that the Deponent does not know of any money or property belonging to the deceased liable to the duty imposed by the Acts 23 Victoria Chapter 15 and 23 & 24 Victoria Chapter 80.

That the value at this date of the said Personal Estate and Effects in the United Kingdom is Six hundred pounds Sterling and under Eight hundred pounds Sterling. All which is truth as the Deponent shall answer to God.

Signed  Jane Gow
           Jas Smitton J.P. 

[Source: ScotlandsPeople, Wills & Testaments 1513 - 1925] 

Sunday 20 April 2014

Happy Easter.

I hope all my genea-friends have a wonderful Easter! 



Here's a little snippet I found on Trove about Easter in Brisbane in 1933. 

The Central Queensland Herald
Thursday 27 April 1933, page 48
[Source: Trove]


Friday 18 April 2014

Trove made me speechless.

I was fiddling around on Trove this arvo and found this...

The Sunday Mail (Brisbane), Sunday 28 April 1929, page 3.
[Source: Trove]
 Don't worry, I know it's hard to read. Here's the transcription -

"Fifty country police stations in Victoria are being equipped with motor cycles, which will replace horses. The Chief Commissioner remarked, that horses were too slow in most cases, and the building of good roads had changed the whole idea of things.


Another link with the picturesque past is to be severed."

Something about it just caught my attention. I think it was the statement at the end, but I'm having trouble coming up with the words to explain why.

Saturday 12 April 2014

The Gow Siblings: Robert William Gow

Robert William Gow was born on September 14, 1857 in Cairn Farm, Muthill, Perthshire, Scotland. He was the second eldest child of William Gow and Jean Drummond. He lived on his family's farm until the late 1870's. According to the 1881 Scotland Census, he was working as a gardener. Robert left Scotland and arrived in Sydney on May 23, 1884 via the ship Potosi. He was the first person in his family to leave Scotland.

Robert Gow, 1879, Scotland.
[Source: Personal Collection]

On August 4, 1886, Robert married Mary Agnes Ryan in Sydney. Robert was Presbyterian, however Mary was Catholic. Apparently it was looked down upon if Catholics married Presbyterians. Robert and Mary married in the Catholic Church. There might have been an increased risk of Mary being ostracized from her family if she did not marry in the Catholic Church. I wonder if this risk wasn't relevant for Robert?

Robert and Mary lived in Willoughby, Sydney where they had eight children together -

  1. Myrtle, born 1887, Sydney
  2. Allen Drummond, born 1889, Sydney
  3. Mary, born 1891, Sydney
  4. Nellie, born 1893, Sydney
  5. William Drummond, born 1895, Sydney
  6. Ronald Drummond, born 1897, Sydney
  7. Millicent, born 1900, Sydney
  8. Eric Drummond, born 1902, Sydney

All four boys were given the middle name Drummond - Robert's mother's maiden name.





Robert passed away on December 8, 1927, four years after Mary died. Robert and Mary are both buried in Macquarie Cemetery in Sydney. They are not buried together because of their different religions - Robert is buried in the Presbyterian section and Mary in the Catholic section. When they got married, I wonder if they knew they weren't going to be buried together? Robert is buried with their eldest daughter Myrtle.

Grave of Robert William Gow & his daughter Myrtle
Macquarie Cemetery, Sydney.
[Source: Personal Collection]

Sunday 23 March 2014

A Timeline for William Gow.

Over at Young & Savvy Genealogists, my blogging partner Heather, recently posted about a new timeline tool she discovered. I've just had my first go at making one and I love it! I chose to make it for my Great Grandfather, William Gow. I knew I had a lot of information I could add to it. It was slightly time consuming, but fun and I definitely want to create more. If you'd like to have a go at making one, check it out here. It's definitely worth it!


Sunday 9 March 2014

Irish Census Records

Tonight I found two Irish Census Records for my Great Great Uncle John Gow and his family. I've never had any luck with Irish records because I find them utterly confusing. That and the names I'm looking for are quite common, so I was very happy to stumble across these tonight.

1901 Census Record for John Gow, wife Annie & children Betsy, William & Alexander.
[Source: The National Archives of Ireland]

1911 Census Record for John Gow, wife Annie & children Betsy, William, Alexander & Anna.
[Source: The National Archives of Ireland]

The Gow Siblings: John Gow

John Gow, my Great Great Uncle, was born on December 9, 1855 in Cairn Farm, Muthill, Perthshire, Scotland. He was the eldest of five children born to William Gow & Jean Drummond. He lived on the farm until the mid 1880's. His father had died in 1874, so being the eldest, he remained on the farm to help his mother and younger siblings.

In 1891, he married Betsy Ireland Syme in Logie, Perthshire. Together, they moved to Ireland. Their daughter, Betsy Ireland Syme Gow was born on August 28, 1892 in Ireland. Sadly, Betsy (Senior), died as a result of complications from childbirth on August 31st. After the loss of his wife, John & his baby daughter Betsy returned to Scotland.

John Gow & daughter Betsy I. S. Gow
Date Unknown. Most likely 1896 - 1898. 
John re-married a woman named Annie Wilson in Blackford, Perthsire in 1896. Their first child, William Alexander John Gow was born in Scotland in 1898. Sometime between 1898 and 1901, John moved back to Ireland with his family. John and Annie had two more children - Alexander and Anna. Alexander Charles Gow was born in Limerick, Ireland in 1901 and Anna Jane Gow was born in 1904 in Glenstal, Ireland.

John passed away on the 14th of January, 1929 in Glenstal, five years after Annie died. John's daughter Betsy immigrated to New Zealand, while William, Alexander and Anna all remained in Ireland.

John Gow & Family, approx 1902/1903, before the
birth of daughter Anna in 1904.
An hour ago, I literally just found my first Irish Census Record for John Gow & his family! YAY! 

Sunday 16 February 2014

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Childhood Memories.

Randy Seaver from Genea-Musings has provided us with a challenge as part of his weekly Saturday Night Genealogy Fun prompt. This week's challenge is to share some of your childhood memories. The six questions are from Judy Russell's keynote address at Rootstech which took place last weekend. Judy asked the audience if they knew particular stories about their parents, grandparents and even great-grandparents. By asking these questions, Judy was able to show that these stories can be lost through the generations if they are not passed down. Randy has challenged us to answer these questions about our life, not our ancestors.

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!
The questions are -

1. What was your first illness as a child?
2. What was the first funeral you attended?
3. What was your favorite book as a child?
4. What was your favorite class in elementary school?
5. What was your favorite toy as a child?
6. Did you learn how to swim, and where did you learn?

Answers -

1. I don't exactly remember what my first illness was. I do remember being in and out of hospital as a child with terrible asthma. I also remember being in hospital when I was 7 or 8 with a really bad stomach bug. I just asked my Mum when I had chicken pox. I thought it was when I was 3, but Mum thinks I had it when I was 5 or 6.

2. The first funeral I attended was for my paternal Grandfather, my Poppa. He died on August 31, 2003. He was 93 years old. He'd been in hospital and then in a nursing home for quite a few weeks. I was 12 years old and in Grade 8 at school. We traveled to Sydney a couple days later for the funeral. I think I missed about a week of school. I was really close to my Dad's parents and this was the first death in the family that I experienced so it was very hard for me.

3. I don't remember what my favorite book as a child was. I do remember reading a lot of the Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen books as a teenager though. Actually, now that I think about it, one of the books that Dad loved reading to me when I was little was Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. There is a mouse on every page and Dad would put his thumb over the mouse to hide it from me while I tried to find it. Eventually I caught on to what he was doing and would try and move his thumb straight away. When I have children, I would like him to read it to them too.

4. My favorite class was Grade Four with Mr Woods in 1999. That year was a lot of fun. My Mum was also in the prime of her baking of American Brownies. I looove those brownies. She hasn't made them for a few years now, but she would always give me some to take to class, and Mr Woods loved them too.

5. Barbies. Definitely Barbies. I had drawers over flowing with Barbie related stuff. I had a lot of Barbie furniture and a Barbie car too! I still have the car. It's the cutest thing and I don't plan on giving it away any time soon.  

6. You know what, I have no memory of where or when I learned to swim. We had a pool when I was a kid so it was just something I knew how to do. I have a feeling that in Grade One I could swim a little, but didn't really master the strokes or feel confident with swimming until Grade 3.


Monday 3 February 2014

Paton-MacEntee Down Under in Brisbane.

How do I even begin? Saturday, the 1st of February was a big day for little me! Last year, when I found out that Thomas MacEntee & Chris Paton were coming to Brisbane in conjunction with the 4th Unlock The Past Cruise (it begins tomorrow), I knew I had to go.

I pre-purchased my ticket for the full day online for an excellent price of $39.50. Even Mum was impressed with the price! Normally I work Saturday mornings, so I was very glad that the boss gave me the day off to attend (Thanks Mark! :-D).

The event was held at the Broncos Leagues Club in Red Hill. I don’t know my way around that part of Brisbane. Thankfully Dad & I did not get lost on the way, as he dropped me off right on the dot at 9am. I must say though, I never thought I’d set foot in the Broncos Leagues Club because I’m a Blues supporter. Upon arrival, I lined up with my ticket in hand. I was very excited, yet also quite nervous because it was my first major event with other geneabloggers present, and because I knew I was going to be the youngest there. My stomach felt like it was competing in the gymnastics at the Olympics! When I got to the registration table, I saw fellow geneablogger Helen Smith. She said something like “Finally! In person at last!”

Caitie & Helen
After entering the room, I had a look at a few of the stalls. There were people from organizations including History Queensland, Genealogical Society of Queensland, Queensland Family History Society, Queensland State Archives (QSA), State Library of Queensland, Findmypast, Guild of One Name Studies and Gould Genealogy & History. I spent some time talking to Susan who as at the QSA stall. I mentioned that I had been there recently with my Mum, and Janet Prowse (Executive Director of QSA) had taken us on a behind the scenes tour. Susan knew who I was immediately and told me that she had read my article on Scotlands People!

A few minutes later I was approached by another fellow geneablogger, Alex Daw. I didn’t know she was attending so it was a pleasant surprise to meet her. While I was chatting with Alex, another lady Michelle approached me and told me that she loves what I’m doing and really enjoyed my video on the Queensland State Archives. We also had a good chat for a few minutes. It was getting close to 10am when Thomas MacEntee’s first talk was due to begin so I found myself a seat. I was just checking the usual social media when the man Thomas MacEntee himself (the genius behind Geneabloggers and HackGenealogy), came up to me and asked if I was Caitlin. All I remember from the conversation is that he told me he had some things for me. Not even 5 minutes later, I heard an accent behind me. I turned around – Chris Paton was sitting right behind me! And guess what? He too asked if I was Caitlin! I’m still blown away by the fact that with Thomas and Chris I didn’t need to introduce myself. They both recognized me, and knew who I was.

Thomas’ first talk focused on Building a Genealogy Research Toolbox. This was about different ways of storing your research in some sort of a ‘container.’ A great idea that Thomas mentioned is to put an ‘If Found’ file on your USB. He said that at one library, 50 lost USB’s are found each day. That made me wonder how many USB’s are found at my University on a daily basis. I was also persuaded to give Evernote another try. I have it installed on my phone, but don’t use it that much. I also realized just how much I need to organize my bookmarks on Google Chrome. I’ve got university, genealogy and random things bookmarked in a much unorganized list.


Geneabloggers Goodies
I spoke to Thomas after his talk and he gave me a few Geneabloggers goodies – 3 badges and a ribbon. I’m so excited to have these. I will definitely be wearing them to University. My lecturers are going to love the ‘Keep Calm & Cite Your Sources.’

Chris’ first talk was about Irish Land Records. My Great Great Uncle’s wife Mary Ryan was from Ireland, however, her background is still a mystery to me. My Great Great Uncle John Gow also moved from Scotland to Ireland. I’ve always struggled with Irish Records, and noted down some ideas that will hopefully provide me with some new information about Mary & John.        

After that, Rosemary Kopittke gave us a brief overview of MyHeritage. I was recently given a 12 month subscription to MyHeritage but have not really used it yet. My interest in it was sparked when Rosemary mentioned the statistics and graphs it can generate about your family tree. Being a Math Tutor, and doing Statistics at University last year, I was very intrigued by this. I shall definitely be having a play around with it. Next was a brief demonstration of the Flip-Pal Scanner. Those who follow me on Facebook, Twitter & YouTube would know that I received one for my birthday last year. I took this opportunity to make an early escape for lunch with Alex and her colleague Pat. We enjoyed a nice meal at the 88 Restaurant & Bar and had a wonderful conversation about life, work, genealogy and the future.

After lunch, the prize draws occurred. There were over $1200 worth of prizes, and I believe there were about 15 won in Brisbane. Sadly, my raffle ticket number was not called. However, Alex did win the Queensland Family History Society prize – the Queensland Passports Index 1915 – 1925 CD.

Thomas’ second talk was You use WHAT for genealogy? Thomas taught us about many unusual tools that we either hadn’t heard of or didn’t think they would be useful for genealogy. One great tool I learned about was EasyBib, a source citation generator. If only I’d known about this years ago! Because I’m a University student, referencing and bibliographies are an everyday occurrence. I’m definitely going to give it a go this semester. I’m always looking for new ways to make source citations easier. Another website Thomas showed us was Wolfram Alpha, a computational search engine. I immediately thought my Dad would love this. As it turned out, he already knew about it.

I took the opportunity in the break to have some photos taken. I also purchased Chris’ booklet Discover Scottish civil registration records which he kindly signed for me, and picked up a few fact sheets from the State Library of Queensland stall.

Caitie & Chris Paton

Geneabloggers 

Caitie & Alex

Thomas MacEntee & Caitie take a selfie.
Chris’ second talk was on Scottish Inheritance Records. I listened intently as 80% of the ancestors of my Australian side came from Scotland. Gosh, Scottish inheritance records are confusing! I learned a lot though, and have got some new avenues to search such as the Calendars of Confirmation & Inventories 1877 – 1959.

I had another chat with Chris, Thomas & Helen each. Thomas and I talked about RootsTech in 2015 which is my goal to attend. I then had to have a bit of a de-brief sort of moment with Helen because my mind was going craaazy. And with that, the day came to a close.

Something that Chris noted about me in his blog post was “she seemed bemused at the interest in her from many of us.” It’s true! I know I put my adventures in genealogy out there on social media for the world to see, but I still have trouble understanding just how far it reaches. I never ever thought my passion and love for genealogy would become what it is now, and provide me with the opportunities I’ve had and continue to have. The support and friendship is truly amazing.

Thank you Unlock The Past for this wonderful day, and a special thank you to Thomas, Chris, Helen & Alex for making this young geneablogger very happy.

If I could put how I was feeling that day into one gif (and am still feeling), I think it would be this one. Seems appropriate, yes?