2015: The year in preview

This post was meant to come a few days after my review of 2014. Clearly it didn’t, so I will start with a review of the year so far and a preview of the rest.

January this year was much smoother sailing than January last year. While last year started with a very sick little daughter, this year kicked off with a family cruise to New Caledonia and Vanuatu. I’d put a genealogy spin on it by comparing and contrasting it with the voyages of my ancestors but to be quite honest, I really didn’t think about that at all while on board! The ocean really was as calm as in the picture below, and it really was that blue. No cooking, no cleaning, relaxing days at sea interspersed with tropical island adventures. I could get used to that.

Getting back on topic….

2015 will see me making my way through more courses with the National Institute for Genealogical Studies. I signed up for my first intermediate level course, Australian Newspapers, at the start of February. I have been able to whizz through that course already as I have been using newspapers as a resource for a long time, even before the Trove binge existed! I’ve only the exam left to do. I’m not sure I will manage a course per month all year, but I do expect to complete more of the courses this year and would like to mix in a few overseas topics with the Australian topics.

March brings the Australasian Federation of Family History Organisations Congress 2015. This year it’s in Canberra. I’ve bought tickets for three of the four days and am thinking about taking a day off work to go on the Monday as well. I’m looking forward to hearing the speakers and also looking forward to meeting in real life some of the people I have “met” online. Do say hello to me if you are there!

I would like to follow up on John Lee’s Merchant Seaman’s records by engaging a researcher with expertise in and access to mariners records.

I have two Family Tree DNA kits ready and waiting for whoever I can talk into taking them!

I’m still keen on the idea of an annual research trip to Melbourne. I haven’t made plans for my 2015 trip yet, but I will. I really must sort out the papers I obtained from my 2014 trip first! I want to write up more posts about those, and about the Allsop family papers I found at the National Library.

With work and family commitments that is all I can commit myself to for the coming year. I am sure more opportunities will present themselves during the year – they usually do!

Update on my genealogy world.

There are a few things happening in my personal genealogy world at the moment.

DNA – Around about New Year, my father agreed to genealogy DNA testing! I purchased him a kit on special from Family Tree DNA. His sample is now at the FTDNA lab with results due back at the end of March.  I’m looking forward to seeing the results. At the very minimum they will show which side (maternal or paternal) my matches come from.

More DNA – I’m also excited about the news that Family Tree DNA is accepting uploads of 23andMe data. This is, for now, at the bargain price of $50. I encourage any genealogist who has tested with 23andMe to submit their data to FTDNA as well. Note that FTDNA does not have an ongoing subscription fee. There’s more information on the Your Genetic Genealogist blog, which is where I first saw this news.

TNG – TNG (The Next Generation of Genealogy Sitebuilding) is the software that I use for my family tree site, www.twigsofyore.com. Version 9 has just been released. I have purchased the upgrade and am thinking of giving both the site and this blog a makeover at the same time.

See Jill Ball’s Geniaus blog for her interview with the developer Darrin Lythgoe at the recent Rootstech 2012 conference. Go Jill!

Desktop software – I have deliberately avoided customising my Family Historian software until I became more familiar with it. Now I think it’s time to start setting things up to suit myself. I’m starting with setting up a property tab for convenient entry of probate records. I have at least half a dozen probate records or letters of administration that need to be entered so I will be able to put my customisations to the test.

I have also been doing bits and pieces of research, but not in a very focussed way.

Two hours in the library

AMHERST HOSPITAL FETE, 1871. (1871, December 4). Illustrated Australian News for Home Readers (Melbourne, Vic. : 1867 - 1875), p. 219. Retrieved December 21, 2011, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article60448591

I had today off work and was without my children for most of the day. This close to Christmas there’s a lot I could or should have been doing…. but instead I made a flying visit to the National Library of Australia. I try to keep note of things I want to check or refer to at the library for when I have a chance to go there. I reviewed my notes and did a little preparation the night before. Although I only had two hours there I think I made good use of my limited time.

Last night I pre-ordered Amherst District Hospital 1859 to 1933 : the outcome of compassion by Bea. Brewster. It was waiting for me when I got to the library this morning. I wanted to find out more about conditions in the hospital where my ancestors had been treated. The sort of information I hoped to find was included in the book, although I haven’t had a chance to digest the material yet. 

One thing I did notice was that the publication included a drawing of the annual Amherst Hospital fete (1871) – a quick search of Trove turned up the cited article. The article claimed that the procession included almost 1,000 men, 300 of them mounted, dressed up in what sounds like a quite astonishing array of costumes. My great-grandfather (then aged 7) was treated in the hospital for an injury earlier that year – I wonder if he was at the fete?

I also checked my research plan* for finding James Bennett’s (1831-???) death. My last firm sighting of him was in 1883 – being checked out “cured” from Amherst Hospital, as it happens. I’ve also got a newspaper mention of him in 1896 when his wife died that I think indicates he was alive. She was referred to as “wife of” rather than “widow of”. I checked:

• Victorian probate indexes beyond 1925 (up to 1925 is available online)
• Victorian inquest indexes

No luck there, but at least now I know that I’ve looked. I was going to make my way through some local directories to see if I could find him and when he dropped out. I decided against attempting that this morning, as there was at least one other James Bennett living nearby and I wanted to collect more information to distinguish between them first.

I then turned my attention to two of my great-great grandparents whose burial place I knew from death records but I hadn’t ever checked for cemetery records. I found that the cemetery has a database online but I wondered if the microfiche at the library had more information. It didn’t, the information was exactly the same. Another case of well now I know.

The vast majority of my known relatives came to Victoria, but I was aware that early church records for New South Wales were available on microfilm at the library. Last night I checked my database for any early New South Wales birth deaths or marriages and found two that looked like good candidates. I’m not used to microfilm (on rolls). For some reason most of the records I’ve looked at have been on microfiche (flat sheets). I’m not sure if I could have kept going with genealogy if it was the other way around as the microfilm whizzing by made me feel quite nauseous! I worked out how the records were arranged and managed to find my target before I started feeling too woozy.

A little advance planning paid off. I think I got good value from my flying visit!

 

* “Research plan” is a bit glorified for a page with a few dot points but it did have the heading “Research plan” and (and this is important) I was able to find it when I wanted it.

Research update May 2011

“Sketch on the Cornish coast” oil on canvas - Arthur Carey Stannus

Slowly but surely, I’m making headway in my research. Last weekend I managed a quick research outing. I only had two item to look up, but the complication was that they were at different locations.

Bennett death
One of the annoying missing details in my tree is the death of my gg-grandfather James Bennett 1831-???. I recently confirmed that James Bennett was the son of Michael Job Bennett and Mary Ann Barnes but I still don’t know when or where he died.

The first item on my to-do list last weekend was to check The Avoca Mail newspaper to see if I could find a death notice for James’ wife, who died in 1896. Not all editions of the newspaper are filmed and the paper didn’t have birth, death and marriage columns with entries neatly listed by bolded surname. I was in luck - I found a mention of her death a few days after the event halfway down a dense column of text.

“Another old resident of the district passed away on Friday evening in the person of Mrs Bennett, wife of Mr Jas. Bennett, of Avoca. The deceased lady had been ailing for some time, so that her end was not altogether unexpected. The remains were interred in the Avoca cemetery on Saturday afternoon.”

The Avoca Mail [microform], 11 February 1896, evening edition, no page number, col 4.

This sounds to me as though James Bennett was still alive when his wife died. That being the case, it cuts 13 years off the time period I need to search for his death as I last have him alive in 1883. This gave me the confidence to later download a Victorian death certificate I’d had my eye on, but unfortunately it was not him. Goodbye $17.50. I’ll look for more clues before I try again.

Stannus marriage
The second item on my very short to-do list was to view the marriage certificate of my ggg-grandparents William Ephraim Stannus and Catherine Mack. I had previously seen their marriage information in an unpublished research manuscript that has circulated around the family. More recently, I had seen the information transcribed in the FamilySearch historical records. The film had been waiting for me for a few weeks so I had to get in to see it before it was sent back again.

I confirmed William and Catherine’s marriage details (Belfast, 22 August 1848) and also learned that Catherine’s father, Robert Mack, was a Merchant Taylor. I know very little about the Mack family – no doubt Robert’s occupation will be a big help when I decide to look for more.

I also learned that the witnesses to the marriage were Anthony Stannus and Eliza Mack. Anthony Stannus was most probably Anthony Carey Stannus, brother of the groom and a well-known artist. An example of his work is above. Eliza Mack was most probably Catherine’s sister Eliza.

All in all, a very satisfactory afternoon!

Research update: from the snail mail

I’ve been going through my tree and following up on documents that I know are there but haven’t ordered yet. If it relates to my ancestors, I will almost always shell out for a copy. As a result I’m waiting on or have recently received quite a few bits and pieces relating to the family through the mail.

Recently arrived

• Letter from John Allsop (c1820-1882) of Tissington, Derbyshire advising of his family’s safe arrival at Deptford en route to Australia, 1852.
  I came across a reference to this while browsing the internet and sent off for a copy. Although the letter itself doesn’t tell me much, it suggests that there’s a whole lot more information that I would love to see at the Derbyshire Record Office. This research will have to wait for another time but the copy of the letter is nice to have.
  
• Probate package for Michael Job Bennett  (c1805 – 1883)
  I sent off for the probate file over two months ago in the hope that it would confirm that his son James is the same person as my gg-grandfather James. It doesn’t, but that doesn’t matter. After sending off for the packet I found a different record that gave parent’s names for ‘my’ James and yes, his father was Michael Job Bennett. The probate package reveals that he left £600 to James. This makes it all the more puzzling as to where and when James died. If he had that much money you would think I’d be able to find a will or admin file. I have a few ideas of places to look so I’m not declaring his death a brickwall just yet.
  
• Book on CD: The Martin Family of Stithians in Cornwall by Edward A.Martin, 5th edition, 1996.
  This book includes my ancestor Timothy Martin and I gather it’s well respected. It will be a source of clues when I get around to this part of the family.

Coming soon

• GRO Death certificates
  With the strength of the Australian dollar at the moment, English GRO certificates cost me less than certificates for Victoria, Australia. I thought I’d better get in while I can and order those birth death and marriage certificates I’ve had my eye on but not actually ordered.
  Any day now I expect to see death certificates for:
  - Michael Job Bennett, 1883
  - Elizabeth Ann Bennett (nee Barnes), 1855
  - John Robotham, 1866
  - Hannah Robotham (nee Mee), 1864
  I don’t expect to learn a lot from them, but you never know.
  
• FHL microfilm – Irish marriage record for William Stannus and Catherine Mack, 22 Aug 1848.
  I plan on slowly making my way through all those IGI and now FamilySearch Historical Record references I’ve accumulated and seeing the microfilms.

Also coming soon should be hard copy genealogy course materials. I don’t intend to start another course until the course materials get here.
Finally, my FamilyTreeDNA results are due back on around 13 April arrived today. It should be is interesting to compare them with 23andMe. More on that later.