Letter to Grandma, 2015

Today, December 3rd, 2015, would have been my Grandma's 83rd birthday. She passed away in 1980, ten years before I was born. In 2013, I wrote her a little letter which I shared on my blog. I have decided to share it again. I have made some additions though, to make it more relevant to the current year.

Dear Grandma,

Happy 83rd Birthday in Heaven! <3

I wish I could have known you. You were taken away from us far too soon. 

I know you would be so happy that I caught the genealogy bug from you. I have started referring to you as the Genealogy Queen in the family. Does that make me the Genealogy Princess? Hehehe. You would be amazed at all the technology and the discoveries I have made about my ancestors. I think you would have loved being part of the online genealogy community, but you would still have used your traditional methods. :-) How I would have loved to go to court houses, churches, cemeteries and Civil War Battlegrounds with you. We would have had so much fun together, especially with all the genealogy happy dancing I’ve been doing lately! 

For most of my life I knew you through a small number of photographs and stories. Then came June of 2011. That was the first time I ever saw video footage of you. No words. Silence. It did not need words. I saw you moving, walking and smiling. I do not think anyone in my family really knows just how happy I was, seeing the videos of you.

In October 2013, Aunt Molly sent Mum some old letters that you had written to my Great Grandparents (Grandad's parents) in the 1960s. For the first time, I was reading things you had written. For the first time, I was reading what you were thinking. Your thoughts. That is something I never thought I’d get to discover.

You would be thrilled to know that in February this year, I went to Salt Lake City for the first time ever. I'm sure you would have known what's in Salt Lake City - The Family History Library! In one of your letters, you wrote about the Latter Day-Saints opening a Family History Library/Research Center in Anchorage while you were living there. That made me smile. While I was in Salt Lake City, I went to two of the biggest genealogy conferences in the world - RootsTech & the Federation of Genealogical Societies. Oh Grandma, I had THE. BEST. TIME. EVER. I wish you could have been there with me. I wish I could call you on the phone and tell you all about it. I met so many wonderful people, and made some amazing life-long friends. In a way though, it felt like you were with me. And guess what Grandma?! I met another young genealogist from Texas who has the name Swindell in his ancestry. We're not sure if we're cousins or not yet. Still checking. But how awesome is that?

I cannot wait to go back to Texas (soon, hopefully!) and hang out with Uncle David for a while. He is (fingers crossed) going to take me to all these places that are significant to our family history. Plus, we're going to go through all your genealogy stuff. I know I already said it, but I cannot wait!

Thank you for giving me this intense love that I have for genealogy. I never expected it.

I love you.

My Grandma, Nancy Robinson

Nancy Robinson

Born: 3 December 1932, Texas, USA.
Died: May 1980, New Mexico, USA.

A Poem for Dave & Eunice

While in Sydney this week visiting family, I found a box of stuff at my Aunt's house. It contained photos and documents belonging to my Nanna that I had not seen before. One item that I found, was a beautiful poem written by an unknown relative or friend, about my Grandparent's wedding. 

I cannot not share it with you all. I've transcribed it from the copy we have, however, please keep in mind that the punctuation is a bit iffy. It makes sense for the most part. I did not even know someone had written a poem about my Grandparent's wedding until I found it. Happy reading!

In the year 1944, Thursday Twelve the date.

October was the month for sure, of this event, I’ll state

A romance, between man and maid, is clearly brought to view,

And forever sealed, at little Church, between these lovers two.

West Pennant Hills was known quite well, to parents of the Bride.

As likely place, for friendly folk, whom, in various homes reside.

The Bridegrooms family, Mother, Aunt, though by count are only two,

Were also interested there, that nights event to view.

Fair, Eunice Dyer, and David Gow, both thought it just a shame,

Two people, with one single mind, should divided be by name.

So Pastor Hare, their problem solved, by tying nuptual knot,

And so pronounced them man and wife, in Church’s scared plot.

How early of solution, where people can agree,

May all lifes troubled problems, be as happily solved for thee.

For example, if the world, would take their troubles, as these two

And each side, take their share of blame, thus, friendship to renew.

Well, the Corner at West Pennant Hills, on crest of sloping ground,

As usual, with all friendly folk at western homes around.

By personal presence at the Church, then later, Koala Park,

Gave their approval, once again, as wedding cake shewed mark.  

And thus, true homes are founded, by affections, tie and meant,

To raise up loving children, by Gods divine consent.

And Churches sanction, thus be responsible and grave,

With true and loving comradeship, of Eunice and of Dave.

Now describing decorations, at the Church and at the Park,

Blended flowers and ferns, and greenry shewed forth, natures vivid mark.

For natural true embellishment, presents its varied thrills,

To the wedding guests assembled there, from Western Pennant Hills.

And the catering at the Breakfast, of that nuptual wedding. Time

Also gave no jar, or jangle. All went to perfect Rhyme.

For toasts were given freely, and all appetites seemed good,

By the relishing way of handling, all varietys of food.

There was song and pleasing music, contributed in turn,

By both voice and instrumental, good applause two lades earn.

To make a merry party, song and music give the thrills,

As it did this wedding party, gathered at West Pennant Hills.

Now concluding my description, of eventful wedding night.

I submit my own approval, by these few words I indite.

May love, and life, and laughter, may prosperity and peace,

In the home of Dave and Eunice, all their lifetime, never cease.

Wedding of David Gow & Eunice Dyer
12 Oct 1944, Sydney
[Source: Personal Collection]

Ancestor Hunting in Kempsey - Mission #2

Following on from Mission #1 of my Ancestor Hunting day in Kempsey with my Aunt in August, Mission #2 was to find the graves of my 4x Great Grandparents Silas Gill and Mercy Catt.

4x Great Grandmother Mercy Catt
[Source: Personal Collection]

4x Great Grandfather Silas Gill
[Source: Personal Collection]

Silas was born in 1806 and Mercy in 1808 - both in Beckley, Sussex, England. They married in 1826. Before arriving in New South Wales in 1837, via the Augusta Jessie, they had 5 children - Harriet, George, Mary Ann, James, and Dinah. However, only four of those children made the trip to Australia as Harriet passed away in 1830 when she was four. Silas and Mercy went on to have 7 more children in New South Wales - Sarah, Naomi, David (my ancestor), John, Miriam, Silas, and Thomas. The family eventually settled in Kempsey, although they did travel around due to Silas being a Methodist Preacher/Minister.

Silas passed away on the 10th of September, 1875, in Kempsey, New South Wales. Mercy lived for another 10 years and passed away in November, 1885 in Kempsey. They are buried in West Kempsey Cemetery. 

So, to West Kempsey Cemetery it was! 

West Kempsey Cemetery, 11 Aug 2015
[Taken by Caitie]

Kempsey Hospital in the background, 11 Aug 2015
[Taken by Caitie]

Visiting the resting place of Silas Gill and Mercy Catt for the first time, West Kempsey Cemetery, 11 Aug 2015
[Taken by Caitie]

Caitie at Mercy Catt Gill's grave

Caitie at Silas Gill's grave

Mission #2 accomplished! But we were not done yet. Stay tuned for Mission #3...

Raising Money for World Hunger

If you read my recent post about receiving a delightful family history package in the mail the other day, this is another gem that was part of it.

Before you jump to conclusions, although it is a wonderful cause, I am not raising money for world hunger...but someone else did.

Uncle Archie, 1930s.
[Source: Personal Collection]

My Great Great Uncle Archie Mackay was born in Bowraville, New South Wales on March 28th, 1901 to Alexander Mackay and Elizabeth Gill. He was their only son and grew up with four sisters - Alice, Eva, Lottie and Lizzie. His mother Elizabeth sadly passed away giving birth to Lizzie. Archie was four years old at the time.

On March 20th, 1929, he married Sylvia Grace Kelsey.

Let's pause for a moment, because while Great Great Uncle Archie is, well, exactly that, Sylvia is my 1st Cousin 2x Removed. Yep.

No, Archie and Sylvia are not related. But they are both related to me!

Archie's sister Eva was my Great Grandmother. She married James Albert Dyer. One of James' sisters was Sarah Matilda Dyer - my Great Great Aunt. Sarah married James Kelsey. Have you figured out what comes next? Bingo! Sarah and James Kelsey are Sylvia's parents.

Basically, Archie was my Nanna's Uncle on her mother Eva's side, while Sylvia was her first cousin on her father James' side. So her cousin became her Aunt. My Nanna was actually one of Sylvia's bridesmaids too.

You gotta love small towns. Everyone in Bowraville is connected somehow.

Anyway, back to the original story.

Archie and Sylvia celebrated their 60th Wedding Anniversary in 1989. Sadly, Sylvia passed away two months short of their 61st Anniversary, in January of 1990. Fast forward to March 28th, 1991. Uncle Archie's 90th Birthday! What did Uncle Archie want for his birthday? I'll let you read the article below. Please note - this is not the whole article. I am not publishing the full version as there are living people mentioned.

Published in the Nambucca Guardian News, June 5th, 1991
[Source: Cousin]

A marvellous gesture indeed! My Nanna often spoke fondly of Uncle Archie, and now I am starting to understand why. Uncle Archie passed away on August 11, 1993, and is buried in Bowraville Cemetery.

Uncle Archie cutting the cake at his 90th
Birthday Party!
Nambucca Guardian News, June 5th, 1991
[Source: Cousin]

In Time & Place

Queensland's first family history state conference, In Time & Place, was held this past weekend (October 3rd & 4th) at Riverglenn in Indooroopilly - and it was great! Before I give you a run down of the events, I need to commend the Genealogical Society of Queensland (GSQ), Queensland Family History Society (QFHS), and History Queensland for putting on an excellent conference. You should all be proud and I hope you receive lots of positive feedback.

Goody Bag!

Day 1: Saturday 3rd Oct

I arrived bright and early at 8:30 am to register and receive my goody bag. I walked in to the main area and noticed all the exhibition stands around the perimeter. I noticed stands for Ancestry, GSQ, Gould Genealogy and History, Guild of One Name Studies, Society of One Place Studies, Nepean Family History Group, QFHS, Queensland State Archives, Ryerson Index, Queensland State Library, and the Queensland Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages. There were a couple more, but I did not get a chance to visit them all.

Soon after arriving, I met up with fellow Geneabloggers Helen, Chris, and Alex. Photos were taken with Helen and Chris, and Alex and I went exploring to suss out room locations and bathrooms. A girl's gotta know these things! We found our seats in the conference room to await the official opening, where Pauleen soon made her entrance.

The conference was declared open by Dr Denver Beanland. Dr Beanland has been involved in local and state politics, and is currently Chair of the National Archives Advisory Council. (Side Note: I remember his name because Beanland was the pink house at my high school.) Then it was time for the talks to begin!

Keynote #1 Dave Obee

Dave's keynote address encompassed the importance of context. Family history isn't solely about births, deaths, and marriages. What was going on at the time? What was the social context of that time period? Were there outside influences on your ancestors lives? Sometimes it is easy to forget these things. Dave also highlighted links between British Columbia and Australia through maps, people and events.

Jan Richardson

Jan's talk focused on female convicts and ex-convicts who lived in Queensland. They may not have arrived in Queensland - they could have arrived elsewhere such as NSW and Tassie, but moved to Qld later on. This makes Jan's research interesting. How is she going to find convicts who moved to Qld? She found one through Who Do You Think You Are? which was pretty cool. One example of a female convict she mentioned was Caroline Haines. Caroline arrived in NSW on the ship Buffalo in 1833. She married Robert Schofield and moved to Qld in 1858. Guess what?! My convict ancestor Elizabeth Graham also arrived on the Buffalo in 1833! Same ship. How neat! A very powerful message from Jan's talk was "telling the stories of female convicts makes them visible in a society that was overwhelmingly male."

Morning Tea

I said hello to Shauna Hicks who I hadn't seen since 2013, and enjoyed a lovely assortment of cakes and cookies.

Official Program

Rowena Loo

Rowena is the Manager of Client Services at the Queensland State Archives. She talked about the importance of archiving, and went over the records available, including the online indexes. Rowena's talk reminded me that I need to look over land records for my 3x Great Grandfather David Gill. He was the only ancestor of mine to live in Queensland, albeit for the last 5 years of his life. I'm not sure if he owned land though. I also plan on checking if his daughter's (my ancestor's sister) husband owned land in Wondai and Brisbane. Rowena mentioned upcoming seminars and webinars. One that caught my interest is Wills & Intestacies on November 17.

Diana Hacker

Diana's talk was about the RMS Quetta that sunk in the Torres Strait on February 28, 1890. I had never heard of the RMS Quetta before, so it was interesting to learn about some of the people who sadly lost their lives and the locations of different memorials.

Lunch

Another wander of the stalls. I bought a book from the Nepean Family History Group about the history of The Hills District in Sydney where my Dad grew up. I also had a chat to another lady from State Archives about work experience and qualifications. Good career advice.

Keynote #2 Janis Wilton

Janis' keynote address focused on the importance of oral history. She talked about how memories can be things we are interested in, selective, and reconstructive. We tend to remember events, rehearsed memories, places, feelings, sights, sounds, routines, activities, people, attitudes, values and beliefs. We don't often remember facts, dates and statistics. However, it is important to keep in mind that everyone's memory works differently. Personally, I remember a lot of numbers (dates, phone numbers etc).

Janis suggested that if you're conducting family history interviews, structure your questions in a way that will trigger the persons memory. Another great idea that Janis gave is when someone passes away, take a photo of their house before things are packed up. I think this is a neat idea and something I wish had thought to do when my Dad's parents passed away.

Rosemary Kopittke

Rosemary's talk was about the suffrage movement - women gaining the right to vote. The suffrage movement was a big part of history at high school and it was good to go over the facts. An interesting fact I had not heard was that Victorian women were accidentally given the right to vote in 1864. This was revoked by an amendment to the Act in 1865. Why were Victorian women accidentally given the right to vote? The government granted rate payers the right to vote without realizing that some rate payers were women. Women were officially granted the right to vote in Victoria in 1908.

An interesting point to remember is that sometimes different addresses for married couples show up in the Electoral Rolls. The husband is listed at one address, while the wife is listed at a different address. This can confuse people and make people think that the couple had split up. Rosemary suggested that is not always the case. The husband might have updated his new address while the wife had not, which is why she is still listed at the old address.

Geoff Doherty

Geoff's talk was about his detailed world wide search for Joseph Dunn. He never did say if Joseph was an ancestor of his or not. However, it was very intriguing to hear how Joseph went from Australia to Mexico (he ran off with another woman) and the US. Sadly we ran out of time and could not hear the end of the story.

Evening & Buffet Dinner

That brought us to the end of Day 1. I had an hour to kill before the Buffet Dinner, so I hung out with Chris and Lynn, and chatted to Dave Obee for a bit too. The Buffet was wonderful and it was fun to chill and relax with my friends Helen, Pauleen, Alex, Chris and Lynn. We were the Geneabloggers table!

Buffet Dinner! L-R: Alex, Me, Pauleen, Chris & Lynn.
Photo taken by Helen

Day 2: Sunday 4th October

Upon arriving I had a lovely chat with Helen Connor from GSQ. I also had an interesting chat with another lady (whose name I've forgotten - sorry!), but I gave her my business card as I think she is interested in blogging. Alex - you might remember her name. She was the lady who you thought you knew.

Keynote #3 Shauna Hicks

Shauna gave us a most intriguing talk about her family and revealed things about her family she hadn't known til this year. I don't want to give anything away because she has put the slides on her website - you really must look at them. Shauna had us hooked from beginning til end. There was much giggling and laughter. Shauna mentioned that she was taking fellow Geneablogger Jill Ball's challenge for presenters to provide new ideas and make the audience think. Shauna successfully fulfilled that challenge. We all loved it! My favorite quote from Shauna's talk? "You can't have family history without sex!"

Dave Obee

Dave talked about some common myths in family history and why we shouldn't believe them. He also provided a handout fort his presentation which I shall have a read of soon.

Pauline Williams

Pauline's talk focused on the importance of providing citations and evidence. I learned a lot about referencing at high school and university, but it was good to refresh my memory. Pauline mentioned that as soon as information is put into the public domain, it is incumbent upon the researcher to document sources. Information needs to be appropriately referenced so others can follow your research trail if they wish and examine the sources you used to prove your point.

Helen Smith

For me, this was the final talk of the conference while others attended the concurrent session. Helen's talk was about government inquiries, something which I have not delved into before. Helen reminded us about the importance of language, and how the language used is relevant to the time period. Words and their usage can provide information on the social context, but it can also depend on education level and beliefs and opinions. One example is that today, it us unlikely for a child to be named 'Gay' or 'Gaye', while in the 1800s and 1900s the name is more common. Helen reminded us that government inquiries can include royal commissions, committees of parliament, boards of trade inquiries, and inquests. Helen provided us with lots of examples of each one which were really interesting. I am going to have to look more into government inquiries at some point.

Close of Conference

That brought the conference to a close. Raffles were drawn, thanks were given, and goodbyes were said. All in all, it was a wonderful conference and I am so glad I made the decision to attend. It was wonderful to catch up with friends, meet new people, and I definitely learned a lot. Oh, in case you're wondering, I was the youngest attendee!

I wonder which Queensland Society will take up the challenge of hosting the next state conference?

Family History Mail

Tonight, I started writing my post about the In Time & Place Conference I attended on the weekend. I was not even two sentences in, when Dad asked me to accompany him to the Thai restaurant to get dinner. We stopped by the PO Box on the way, where I was surprised to find a thick A4 yellow envelope waiting for me. As soon as I saw who it was from I could hardly contain my excitement. My cousin had sent me family history stuff! Stuff I knew I had not seen before because we talked on the phone about what documents each of us had a few weeks ago.

Me, literally. Agnes, not Edith. 

I knew as soon as I opened the package that I was not going to finish my planned blog post. Instead, I wanted to blog about one of the many things I received. There are 12 plastic sleeves, some with two pieces of paper, others with three. Basically, there is a lot for me to process!

TREASURE!

I have been going back and forth choosing what to post. I decided that as it is after 10 pm and I'm ready for sleep, to stick with something simple. Ladies and gentlemen, the first photo I have EVER seen of my 3x Great Grandfather David Gill.

L-R: Louisa Jenkins, Harriet Prince, my 3x Great Grandfather David Gill,
& baby Winifred Jenkins. Four generations. Photo taken April 1922.

I'm so happy to finally put a face with a name. David Gill and his wife Alice Wright have always intrigued me. I had seen a photo of Alice before, but not David. He was born in 1842 to Silas Gill and Mercy Catt in New South Wales. In 1864, he married Alice Wright near Kempsey. They had 11 children - Louisa, Elizabeth (my ancestor), Harriet, Caroline, William, Silas, Edith, Charlotte, Alice, Ernest and Edwin.

Then things get interesting. David passed away in Wondai, Queensland in October 1922 at the age of 80. Where did Alice pass away? Melbourne, Victoria in 1926. They went in opposite directions, literally. He went north, she went south. I have no idea if they separated or divorced. I have not been able to find any evidence supporting that. What I do have is David Gill listed in the 1919 Electoral Roll in Wondai and Alice in Melbourne. I also know that they each had other family members living near them. That might have influenced them to move. Will I ever know why David and Alice went in completely opposite directions? Who knows!

Well, I hope you enjoyed that little tangent.

A massive thank you to my cousin for sending me such wonderful documents. I'm going to have a lot of fun in the next few days.

What was the last family history document you received in the mail?

Conference Closer to Home

After crossing the Pacific Ocean in February to attend the Federation of Genealogical Societies and RootsTech Conferences in Salt Lake City, I'm off to another genealogy conference this weekend. This time, it is much closer to home. How close? No more than a ten minute drive!

I'm sure you can imagine my excitement when I found out there was going to be a genealogy conference in Brisbane. Then I discovered where it was being held - a place that I've driven past so many times to and from a friends house. Woohoo!

I'm attending the In Time and Place Conference, which is being run by History Queensland, the Genealogical Society of Queensland, and the Queensland Family History Society. Location? It is being held at the Riverglenn Conference Centre in Indooroopilly.

Map showing location of Riverglenn (bottom left) & The University of Queensland (top right). I think most
of you know that I live near UQ.
[Source: Google Maps]

You can see the list of speakers here, which includes two of my fellow Queensland genea-friends Shauna Hicks and Helen Smith.

As well as the keynote sessions by Dave Obee, Janis Wilton and Shauna Hicks, the sessions that I am attending are...

- Suffrage in Queensland: Who, When, Where by Rosemary Kopittke
- Finding Joseph Dunn: A World Search 1851 - 1915 by Geoff Doherty
- Hidden Lives by Jan Richardson
- Mythbusters: Challenging some Common Beliefs by Dave Obee
- The Words of the People: Treasures within Government Enquiries by Helen Smith
- Three Minutes between Time and Eternity: Recalling the wreck of HMS Quetta by Diana Hacker
- Proving your Point: Evidence and Citation Unlocked by Pauline Williams
- Looking Behind the Reading Room Wall by Rowena Loo

I am really looking forward to catching up with some of my wonderful genea-friends and meeting new ones too!

Catch ya on the flip side with my post-conference write up.

A Pair of Doctors.

I have been diving back into researching my American ancestors and thought I would introduce you to the two Doctors in the family. Both of them are my Great Great Great Grandfather's. From my understanding, they were both family doctors - general practitioners.

1. Dr William Simpson Robinson

He was born on November 6th, 1823, in Tennessee to parents James Robinson and Catherine Mann. In Navarro County, Texas, he married Mariah Adelaide Riggs on September 21st, 1852. They had 13 children. William passed away on January 4th, 1887 in Dresden, Texas. He is buried in Dresden Cemetery.

Dr William Simpson Robinson
Dresden, Texas, 1848
[Source: Family Collection]

Grave of Dr William Simpson Robinson, Dresden Cemetery
[Taken by Caitie on July 8th, 2009...the day I caught the genealogy bug!]

2. Dr George Washington Spencer

He was born on January 6th, 1832 in Alabama, to parents Peter Spencer and Mary Cooper. By 1840, the family had moved to Itawamba, Mississippi. On March 14th, 1855. he married Frances Elizabeth McWilliams in Mississippi. They had at least nine children - I'm still confirming if there were more. Come 1870, George, Frances and their children had moved to Texas. George passed away on May 24th, 1904, in Frost, Texas. He is buried in Frost Cemetery.

Dr George Washington Spencer
Frost, Texas, 1880s
[Source: Family Collection]

Grave of Dr George Washington Spencer, Frost Cemetery
[Taken by Caitie on July 8th, 2009]

I'm still learning about the lives of my American ancestors. I know the Australian side like the back of my hand. The American side, not so much. I find it much harder to research them when I'm not there among the physical records my family has. My Uncle is currently going through all of my Grandma's genealogy stuff. Oh how I wish I was there with him!

Were any of YOUR ancestors Doctors or Medical Specialists?

Mackay Family Portraits

I was recently sent this photo of my Great Great Grandparents Alexander Mackay (1856 - 1937) & Elizabeth Lucilla Gill (1867 - 1905) with four of their five children. It was taken at some point in 1901 in Bowraville, New South Wales. I had never seen this photo before, so I was thrilled to receive it!

Alexander Mackay with wife Elizabeth Lucilla Gill
Daughters L-R: Lottie Mabel, Eva Florence, & Alice Jane
The baby is Archie Burton
[Source: 3rd Cousin]

Eva Florence was my Great Grandmother. Until I saw this photo, I had never seen a picture of her that young. She is just beautiful.

Elizabeth Lucilla Gill died giving birth to her fifth child, her namesake, Elizabeth Lucilla Mackay, in 1905.

The photo below is one I have had for a while now. It is of Alexander Mackay with his five children, but much later in life.

Alexander Mackay with his children L-R: Elizabeth Lucilla, Alice Jane,
Eva Florence, Lottie Mabel, & Archie Burton.
Date Unknown
[Source: Personal Collection]

I'm so excited to put these two photos together!

Ancestor Hunting in Kempsey - Mission #1

Back in May, I posted the Will of my 4x Great Grandmother Elizabeth Wright nee Graham. Her Will was like treasure to me in that she was very detailed and provided street names of the land she owned in Kempsey, New South Wales. This was the first time I had come across any record of where exactly she lived and owned land in Kempsey. If you'd like to read the transcription, please do so. Elizabeth's Will is one of my favorites.

In my transcription of the Will, I inserted screenshots of the relevant streets from Google Maps. To refresh your memory, the locations Elizabeth mentioned were -

1. Allotment of land with cottage and outhouses having frontage to Sullivan Street & William Street, East Kempsey.

Sullivan Street & William Street, East Kempsey, New South Wales
[Source: Google Maps]

2. Half an acre having frontage to Lord Street and Innes Street, East Kempsey.

Lord Street & Innes Street, East Kempsey, New South Wales
[Source: Google Maps]

3. Eight acres of land having frontage to Washington Street, East Kempsey.

Washington Street, East Kempsey, New South Wales
[Source: Google Maps]

Earlier in August, while my Aunt and I were visiting family nearby in South West Rocks, we decided to have a day out in Kempsey ancestor hunting. Mission #1 was to find the streets mentioned in the Will. Funnily enough, we ended up taking the scenic route to Kempsey instead of the Pacific Highway. I did not have any phone reception either and could not get on Google Maps to follow our route or provide directions once we got to Kempsey. We simply followed the signs with no idea of which part of the town we would enter. When we saw a sign telling us that we had indeed arrived in Kempsey, my Aunt started calling out streets we were driving past in the hope that with my now working phone reception, I could get the directions to East Kempsey. 

A second later, my Aunt is saying "Washington Street, Sullivan Street..."

ME: "THIS IS IT! STOP THE CAR! THOSE ARE THE STREETS!"

We pulled over on Sullivan Street and took a few moments to confirm our location on Google Maps, and yes, we were exactly in the area we wanted to be in. It was really interesting wandering around and thinking that this was the area my ancestors lived in. I was walking the same streets they walked on. The numbers in the captions below corresponds to the number of the relevant map above. 

1. Sullivan Street, East Kempsey

Corner of 1) Sullivan Street & 3) Washington Street, East Kempsey

1. Corner of William Street & Sullivan Street

My Aunt wanted to knock on the door of the house at the corner of Sullivan and William Streets, but I am not a fan of knocking on random people's doors. I decided instead that I will write the residents a letter to see if they know anything about the history of the land. Is the house on the corner still owned by Wright's? Who knows! 

2. Lord Street, East Kempsey

2. Innes Street, East Kempsey

In my previous post, I had wondered if Wrights Lane that runs off Washington Street was named after my Wright ancestors. Another mystery to solve!

Wrights Lane, East Kempsey

Wrights Lane, East Kempsey

Caitie at Wrights Lane, East Kempsey

It was a very exciting day so far, but we still had more to do. Stay tuned for Mission #2 of our Ancestor Hunting day in Kempsey.

Ancestry DNA Results Are In!

My AncestryDNA results have arrived! Before you keep reading, if you haven't seen my video about my reasons for doing the DNA test, I suggest you watch it below.

Here are my DNA results -

DNA Results from Ancestry

DNA Ethnicity Map

I must say I am quite shocked and wasn't expecting most of that. I knew there would be Great Britain, but I thought that would have been the most. Ireland was very very surprising, because my Australian side does not have Irish in it, neither does my Mum's paternal side as far as I've researched. I can only assume that has come from my Mum's maternal side - the biological side I do not know as my Grandma was adopted. As I said in the video, I do know my Grandma's fathers side. I asked my Great Aunt on that side and she confirmed the family was originally from Ireland. I am yet to dive into that part of the family tree though. She e-mailed me the family history information she has and will go through that soon. I guess any other Irish stuff would come from my Grandma's maternal side that I know nothing about.
Europe West and Scandinavia? Where on earth did that come from? That could also potentially be my Grandma's side again? Other than that, so far in my family history research, it doesn't make sense. The European trace regions are surprising too.

My reaction pretty much

One question I do have is how come it doesn't show any US ethnicity? I take it then that this goes deeper to before my ancestors went to the US.
Stay tuned for more posts and videos as I begin to digest and understand this. Just another exciting step in my genealogy adventures :)

Casualty in The Blitz

Islet Miriam Mackay, my 2nd cousin 3x removed, was born in 1892 in Kempsey, New South Wales. She was the fifth of ten children born to Mercie Caroline Wright (1870 - 1945) and Hugh Adam Mackay (1854 - 1930). Her siblings were Alexander, Ivor, Edwin, Olive, Irwin, Garnett, Ruby, Arthur, and Howard.

In May 1922, it was made known that Islet had passed her fourth year examination as a nurse and was top of her class. In fact, she was the top of her class every year as described in this article from Trove.

Rollands Plains Lady's Success, Port Macquarie & Hastings River
Advocate, 20 May 1922, page 4.
[Source: Trove]

In 1926, Islet left Australia for Canada. However, she was not alone. She was travelling with a Miss Leila Small, also a nurse. After arriving in Canada, Islet & Leila made their way to New York where they spent six months doing post graduate work in nursing. They remained in the US for 18 months gaining further experience in the field. Islet & Leila then went over to the United Kingdom where they spent time traveling around England, Ireland, and Scotland for eight months. They then worked in a nursing home in London for a year. After this, it appears Islet and Leila went their separate ways for a few years as detailed in this article below. Leila went back to the US for a few years, while Islet remained in London. The article is more about Leila's career though. 

Nurses Abroad, Coffs Harbour Advocate, 14 Jan 1938, page 4
[Source: Trove]

When Leila returned to England, she and Islet stayed at the same hotel in Bath where they both continued to nurse. In August 1937, Islet & Leila went on a cruise around Portugal and Bermuda for a month.

UK Incoming Passenger Form, 10 Sep 1937
Arrows marking Islet Mackay & Leila Small
[Source: Ancestry, UK Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878 - 1960]

Islet & Leila returned to work in Bath, and as explained in Leila's article above, Leila returned home to Australia at the end of 1937. Islet remained in London nursing. However, in 1941, she became a patient. I was quite stunned to find that in early 1941 Islet was a victim in an air-raid.

Air Raid Victim, Macleay Chronicle, 12 Feb 1941, page 4
[Source: Trove] 

After reading, my reaction was something like - An air-raid?! A bombing?! What?! Wait a minute...1941. That's World War 2!

In school I learned about Australia's involvement in World War 2 and Nazi Germany, but I do not recollect learning about England's involvement in the war. I thought if London was bombed during World War 2, there is going to be something about it on the internet. I googled "air raids in London 1941" and struck gold. Between September 1940 and May 1941, Nazi Germany bombed and launched air-raids on England. It was this period that became known as The Blitz (BBC, n.d.). The raids were almost continuous in that they happened almost every day and/or night, with London being bombed about 70 times (History Channel, n.d.). Islet's father had died in 1930, but her mother Mercie was still alive. This would have been a very worrying time I'm sure.

“It was Hitler’s belief that the war from the air would terrorise London into defeat. He was wrong. The city’s inhabitants, on the contrary, took a perverse and particular pleasure from being the front line of the war. ‘We can take it’ became the catchphrase of the Blitz.” - Jon E Lewis, London: The Autobiography (History Channel, n.d.)

I also found an interesting website called Bomb Sight which has mapped where all the bombs fell in London during The Blitz. They have made it available online and is interactive in that you can type in a London address and see if it or the surrounding area was bombed. In the article above, Islet is working at Wellhouse Hospital and was living a mile away. Googling Wellhouse Hospital led me to Wellhouse Lane which is now the location of Barnet Hospital.

Map showing the location of Wellhouse Lane & Barnet Hospital
[Source: Google Maps]

I put Wellhouse Lane into Bomb Sight to see if there were any bombings in the area....and yes, there were.

Screenshot of Bomb Site showing locations that were bombed. I have labelled the location of Wellhouse Lane & Barnet Hospital.
[Source: Bomb Sight]

I wonder if it was any of those bombs that caused Islet's injuries? I do not know what happened during the rest of Islet's time in England or how long she remained there for, as by 1949 she had returned to Australia. I found her in the 1949 Electoral Roll living in Killara, Sydney.

1949 Electoral Roll for Subdistrict of Gordon, District of Bradfield, NSW.
[Source: Ancestry, Australia Electoral Rolls, 1903 - 1980]

After a definitely interesting life, Islet Miriam Mackay passed away in New South Wales in 1980 at the age of 88. She outlived eight of her siblings. 

References

BBC (n.d.). The Blitz. Retrieved from
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/events/the_blitz

History Channel (n.d.) WW2 - The Blitz Hits London. Retrieved from
http://www.history.co.uk/study-topics/history-of-london/ww2-the-blitz-hits-london

SNGF - Colouring Maps

The most recent Saturday Night Genealogy Fun from Randy Seaver is about what states in the USA and/or Canada you have been to.

The challenge is…

1)  What states in the USA and what provinces in Canada have you visited or lived in? 

2)  Either list, or make a map of them (at the http://www.defocus.net/visitedstates/us-canada.html website) and indicate the following:

*  red for states/provinces where you've not spent much time or seen very much.

*  amber for states/provinces  where you've at least slept and seen some sights.

*  blue for states/provinces  you've spent a lot of time in or seen a fair amount of.

*  green for states/provinces  you've spent a great deal of time in on multiple visits.

3)  For extra credit, you could make a map to show where your ancestors resided at any time (e.g., in 1900), or perhaps where your 16 great-great-grandparents or 32 3rd-great-grandparents married, or where your ancestors were born, all with an appropriate legend.

1) Map of where I have been

Being half American, I actually have not been to that many States, but I am pretty happy with where I've been so far. As my family is from Texas, I have been there many times. I have spent at least a week in  California, Utah, Louisiana, and Hawaii which is why they are marked amber. Colorado is marked red because I have only been to Denver airport. Does that even count? When I was a baby I lived in Virginia for a few months, so that one is blue as I have not been there since. Finally, Maryland is red because my parents say we went there whilst living in Virginia.

2) Map of where my Great Great Great Grandparents were born

The color code I used for this map was -

*  red for states/provinces where 1 or 2 were born.

*  amber for states/provinces where 3 or 4 were born.

*  blue for states/provinces where 5 to 8 were born.

* green for states/provinces where 9 or more were born.

Six were born in Tennessee, five in Alabama, three in Mississippi, one (Daniel Guyton Smith) in South Carolina, and one (Louisa Clementine Brister) in Virginia. The other 16 were born in Australia, Scotland and England. 

3) Map of where my Great Great Great Grandparents married

The color code I used for this map and the next was -

*  red for states/provinces where 1 or 2 resided at marriage.

*  amber for states/provinces where 3 or 4 resided at marriage.

*  blue for states/provinces where 5 or 6 resided at marriage.

* green for states/provinces where 7 or more resided at marriage.

Eight of my 3x Great Grandparents were living in Mississippi at the time of their marriage. Four married in Alabama and another four married in Texas.

4) Map of where my Great Great Grandparents married 

Two married in Mississippi, two married in Alabama, and four married in Texas. The rest married in Scotland and Australia.

That was fun! I think I might make more maps for my American ancestors. As my geography of the US is not that good, having a visual diagram like these maps make it a lot easier to understand! It really puts the states my ancestors came from in perspective for me, especially as to where these states are in relation to each other.