Mount Wellington standing sentinel over Hobart I took my first steps into family research about fifteen years ago when I inherited my father's papers. He had only made intermittent attempts to trace his family history so all I found was a small collection of letters and certificates along with a very basic family tree. I … Continue reading Can’t see the Woods for the … Woods – The search for one Henry Woods
Family history
Family History as it is Really Done – William George Bowden alias Watson
What irritates me most intensely about family history are things like Ancestry ads and programs like Who Do You Think You Are? that make it all look so quick and easy. As anyone who is serious about tracing their family’s history knows, genealogy is a long, long game. Over fifty years ago my mother started … Continue reading Family History as it is Really Done – William George Bowden alias Watson
Some Family History
I have ancestors from Ireland, England, Scotland and Canada, most of whom had arrived in Australia by the 1850s, with only a couple of Jenny/Johnny-come-latelys in the late 1860s. I have been obsessively researching them for fourteen years now, after inheriting my parents' papers in the early 2000s. My father attempted to research his forbears, … Continue reading Some Family History
Irish Heritage – Thomas McGrath of Finnahy
Upperchurch, Tipperary, Ireland The parents of my maternal grandfather, John Daniel ‘Jack’ McGrath (1887-1971), were both born in Ireland. Jack’s mother, Margaret Ryan, was born at Drumgoole, Kilkenny in 1851 and migrated to Australia around 1869. His father, Patrick McGrath, was five and a half when his family arrived in Melbourne, Victoria in 1854. Patrick … Continue reading Irish Heritage – Thomas McGrath of Finnahy
We Will Remember Them
We are now over two years into our commemoration of the centenary of the Great War. Overwhelmingly people have approached these commemorations with an attitude of solemnity. Whether for wreath laying ceremonies or visits to war memorials or to museums, thoughts are primarily on those who were lost. Going through newspapers over the 50 years … Continue reading We Will Remember Them
Irish Heritage – Patrick Connor of Killarney
The Lakes of Killarney I visited Kerry recently , a stunningly beautiful part of the world. One set of my maternal great great grandparents, Patrick Connor and Mary White were from Killarney. They arrived in South Australia in October 1840 on board the Mary Dugdale, as part of of an immigration scheme which selected sober … Continue reading Irish Heritage – Patrick Connor of Killarney
Over the Hills and Far Away
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOeYPpOblAw I first discovered this song when rounding out the information I had on my great great grandfather William Reader. Born at Staplehurst, Kent in 1822, he enlisted in the 96th Regiment of Foot in December 1842 and with in six months has been shipped out to Van Diemen's Land on garrison duty. The song … Continue reading Over the Hills and Far Away
Catherine Meyrick 