August 31

August 31, 1905

My Great Uncle Adam Gow was buried. He was born on August 28, 1905 in Sydney to my Great Grandparents William Gow and Elizabeth Croal. Adam passed away on August 29, 1905. He lived for 24 hours. He is buried at Rookwood Cemetery, Sydney. 

Death Certificate of Adam Gow
[Source: Personal Collection]

August 31, 1909

My Great Great Grandmother Christian Croal (nee Alves) passed away. She was Adam's Grandmother. Christian was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1842. In 1869 she married David Croal. They had 4 children - Alexander, Margaret, Elizabeth and David. The family arrived in Sydney in 1883 on the ship Iberia. Christian was buried on September 1st, 1909 and is buried in Rookwood Cemetery with Adam. 

Death Certificate of Christian Croal (Alves)
[Source: Personal Collection]

Grave of Christian Croal & Adam Gow, Rookwood
Cemetery, Sydney. There is no headstone. Taken July 2013.

August 31, 2003.

My Poppa, William David Drummond Gow passed away at the age of 93. He was Adam's brother. Poppa was born on February 2, 1910 in Sydney. He never got to know his grandmother Christian, nor his brother. My Poppa passed away when I was 12 - well before I was interested in genealogy. At the time, we did not know that he passed away on the same day as his Grandmother, and the day his only sibling was buried. It was only when I started researching the family history in 2009, that we discovered the significance of this date.   

My Poppa during World War 2.
[Source: Personal Collection]

Every year, every August 31, I think about the wonderful memories I have with Poppa. I think about Christian and her life that involved moving to a new country and losing a husband to suicide. I think about baby Adam, the brother and sibling my Poppa never got to have. 

They are forever loved.

Grandma's Wedding Scrapbook

My Mum returned from a month's holiday in Texas last week. She had a wonderful time visiting her family who she hadn't seen in a few years. There were two things I requested she bring back - Texas Trash, and stuff from Bath & Body Works (please open a store here!). However, there was one gift from my Uncle that I wasn't expecting - my Grandma's wedding scrapbook. I was over the moon! I still am.

If you have been following me for a while, you might remember that my Grandma passed away before I was born. My Grandma was also how I caught the genealogy bug. Genealogy has become my connection to her - if that makes sense? Until recently, I had only seen a handful of photos of her. I also have letters that she wrote to my Grandfather's parents in the 1960s, a gorgeous pink vase, and a ring. To add my Grandma's wedding scrapbook to the collection is amazing. All of these things I will treasure forever.

Grandma, Nancy Robinson
Born: 3 Dec 1932, Texas, USA
Died: May 1980, New Mexico, USA
[Source: Personal Collection]

Before I move on, here's a link to the letter I wrote her on her birthday last year.

My Grandparents married in Texas on September 14, 1950, so the scrapbook is quite old. My Mum and I need to figure out the best way to preserve it. I plan on doing all the usual things - photographing each page, transcribing all the articles and descriptions, and scanning it. I would love to hear any other suggestions out there.

Here are a few photos I took during my excitement the other day.

A napkin from the reception!

I cannot thank my Uncle enough for passing this down to me! 

Definitely true!