Week 18 (Apr. 30-May 6) Tradition - #52Ancestors

Many families have any number of cultural traditions they follow faithfully.  No matter where your family comes from, there will be traditions you will follow.  Some are specific to a particular area or nationality, some are religious, others are created within families and handed down.

Traditions govern much of our daily existence whether we’re aware of them or not. For example, we begin our mornings with some sort of ritual that gets us ready for the day, usually ending with (or involving) breakfast. Millions of people worldwide perform the sacred ritual of preparing coffee, without which, for me, life simply cannot exist. And many holidays are secretly devoted to surviving beloved family traditions so as not to disappoint 'the Family'.

I have previously blogged about Christmas, when my family always observed a traditional gathering.  For me today, Christmas means putting the tree up and decorating the house, cooking turkey and roasting veggies, mince pies and Christmas cake laid on.  Brightly wrapped presents are tucked under the Christmas tree to be opened (one by one with everyone present watching, to prolong the Christmas morning fun).  Some of my Christmas traditions have changed over time.  Tinsel does not feature in my decorations any more after the year my tinsel-obsessed cat caused a rather expensive Christmas day visit to the family vet.  The same cat has also resulted in the rule that my Christmas Tree is put up undecorated for a week until he has lost interest in it.

Halloween in Australia is a rapidly growing tradition, with a growing number of houses in my area decorating and being visited by neighborhood children.  Back when I was younger it was much less popular, and I never went 'trick or treating' as a child back then.

With no young children in my close family, the traditional Easter Egg Hunt no longer features in my life - although I will admit the odd chocolate egg still finds its way into my shopping trolley each year.  Watching the Royal Children's Hospital Good Friday Appeal remains a feature of my Easter holiday.

Why do we continue to observe these traditions?  Why do I still cook a hot Christmas dinner in the often 40 degree heat of an Australian summer?  But that’s the beauty of tradition. It doesn’t need to be logical or make sense. It just needs to be done. In an increasingly unpredictable world, tradition offers a sense of stability. Tradition.

New on Ancestry - Prerogative and Exchequer Court of York Wills, 1389-1858

This collection contains images of wills filed in Yorkshire, England, between 1389 and 1858.  It includes 2,462,539 records.

Records in this collection may include the following information:

Name

Place of residence

Relationship to head of household

Will date

Probate date

The indexed information may help you confirm important dates regarding your ancestor’s death and estate processing. You may find additional information by looking at your ancestor’s record image. Your ancestor’s will may include names of family members that you can add to your family tree, and they can help to sort out how your ancestors were related. A will may also include an inventory of an estate’s assets, which may provide some insights into your ancestor’s financial status and lifestyle.

The majority of the wills in this collection are written in Latin.  Probate records were processed by church courts until 1858. The local courts typically handled the records of farmers, tradesmen, and the lower gentry, while the wealthy and aristocratic class had their probate records processed in the Prerogative Court of York. However, if a person owned property in the northern and southern provinces, their probate records were processed in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury.

ANZAC Day

 
It is April 25^th again, and once more I find myself reflecting on the meaning of ANZAC Day.  While I stand and say the Ode today, I will be remembering not only my father and several uncles who served in WWII, and those of my family who went before them, but all of those men and women who have served, as well as those who serve today.  I will remember especially those who did not come home and all of those who came home forever changed, as well as those who did not see fighting, but served in different ways both at home and abroad.  

ANZAC has very much become a part of our national vocabulary.  The people who lived though that campaign were ordinary volunteers, just as Australia’s current veterans were ordinary volunteers.  They put their daily lives on hold to serve and protect us all, most with very little clear idea of just what they were volunteering for.

There are many resources available for those researching their family military history.  The Australian War Memorial has several databases available, including the Roll of Honour, Commemorative Roll, WW1 Embarkation Rolls and Nominal Roll, the Australian Red Cross Wounded and Missing Files, WW2 POWs and Missing Persons, and more.  The National Archives of Australia have the military records of many Australian military personnel from World War 1 and 2, and earlier digitised online.  The Commonwealth War Graves site commemorates the men and women of the Commonwealth forces who died in the First and Second World Wars, ensuring they will never be forgotten.  There are many other websites and resources available as well.

Around the world many towns and suburbs have plaques, cenotaphs and memorials commemorating local men and women who have served and paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country.  How often do we stop as we walk past them in our daily lives and spare a moment to remember these people?

I am forever grateful to all of those who have served and sacrificed on our behalf. It is a solemn undertaking to be ready to put your life on the line for your Country. One that is deserving of our gratitude.

Lest we forget.

Week 17 (Apr. 23-29) Working for a Living - #52Ancestors

Discovering an ancestor's occupation can give enormous insight into their life.  Did they work on the land, have a profession, learn a trade?  Were they educated for their job, or serve an apprenticeship?  Or were they less educated and learned their role as they worked?

Census records can tell you about your ancestor's profession, as can trade directories, apprenticeship records, newspaper reports and more.

For several of my ancestors, the newspapers have given me much information about their work. 

Due to my previous research I already knew Christopher Prentice worked as a Water Bailiff.  I hadn't known this was an elected position until I found the article above, which was placed in the Ipswich Journal on Saturday 12 September 1778 thanking those who had elected him to the position for their trust.

6 years later Christopher was standing for election to the Water Bailiff position again and took out another notice in the Ipswich Journal applying for re-election.

Family Tree UK May 2026

The latest issue of Family Tree UK magazine is now available free online for Campaspe Library members via our subscription to Libby eMagazines.

Inside this month's issue : 

• New funding for community archiving
• AI insights, data extraction and transcriptions with ScribeAI
• Better long-term preservation of adoption & children-in-care records
• Clues to a million wills
• New look website from photo expert Jayne Shrimpton
• Preparation for 2031 Census underway
• What’s for tea, Nan?
• One year on: new family histories from MyStories
• DNA Club news 
• Explore the world’s largest Y-DNA haplotree 
• The originals are the best 
• Life in Ireland in the era of the 1926 Census
• Staffordshire bound
• The Hidden Legacy of Titanic’s Crew
• Is it true, or are you barking up the wrong tree?
• And more 

Week 16 (Apr. 16-22) A Quiet Life - #52Ancestors

While it is ever so entertaining to discover amazing things our ancestors did that impacted their communities, made the news and created fascinating records, many of our ancestors lived a quiet life.

They were born, grew up, found jobs, raised their own families, and died peacefully.  They rarely, if ever, saw their names in the newspapers. They left few records behind them.  Their lives were unexceptional,

These ancestors can be challenging to trace.  Moving beyond the basic records - civil registration, censuses, church records - there can be little to find.

Context can be important.  Even if they left few records behind themselves, what events did they live through that would have impacted their lives?  Large events like wars, epidemics, major discoveries, economic and social changes.  Were they alive through industrialization, famines, women getting the right to vote?  What smaller local events would they have witnessed and possibly taken part in - agricultural fairs, church activities, local sports and committees.

Even a quiet life would have seen many events and changes - and researching them will help fill out your ancestor's life.

1926 Irish Census Release

The 1926 Census of Ireland will be released online for free by the National Archives of Ireland on April 18, 2026, marking 100 years since it was taken. This release will provide fully searchable, detailed records of over 700,000 households in the Irish Free State, filling a major gap in genealogical records between 1911 and modern times. 

• Access: The records will be free and fully searchable, featuring names, addresses, occupations, and Irish language proficiency.
• Scope: Covers the 26 counties of the Irish Free State; unfortunately, Northern Ireland records from 1926 did not survive.
• Significance: It is the first major census release since 1911, offering a detailed snapshot of Irish society shortly after independence.
• Context: The release is accompanied by a public program including a documentary, exhibitions, and a book examining the 1926 revealing a diverse population.