When is free space a negative? When it occurs on a ancestor's timeline or appears in your family history research. That's when I hate free space.
We all have those gaps in our research, when we have progressed as far as we can and are searching for those elusive facts that will allow us to progress further.
A notable free space in my tree starts with my great great grandparents David Mulholland and Eliza (McCrae), the first of my Irish ancestors to arrive in Australia.
David Mulholland died in Eurobin, Victoria, Australia on 10 April 1902 at the age of approximately 70. He left behind wife Eliza Jane (McCrae) - although I have never found a marriage record for the couple - and 7 surviving children. Death notices describe David as being 71 years of age and a colonist of 42 years, putting his birth at around 1831 and his arrival in Australia around 1860. David's death certificate states his parents names as David Mulholland and Margaret (McGee)
Eliza - or Elizabeth, survived her husband for 23 years, dying 28 October 1925 in Eurobin. Her obituary, published in the Albury Banner and Wodonga Express on 6 November 1925, describes Eliza as having "reached the advanced age of 85 years, 63 years of which were spent at Eurobin" and states that she was born in County Belfast, Ireland. This puts her birth at around 1840 and her arrival in Australia around 1862. Eliza's death certificate - under the name Eliza Mulholland - gives her parents names as James McCrae and Mary.
I have, thus far, found no records for either family in Ireland. Neither have I found a marriage record for David and Eliza in Australia or Ireland. I will keep looking, however, in the hopes of filling in this 'free space' in my family tree.
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