Week 19 (May 7-13) A Question the Records Can't Answer - #52Ancestors

While the records we find are vital to our family history research, there are many questions that the records cannot answer.

The records cannot tell us why our ancestors make many of the choices they made.  Why did they choose a particular profession?  Why did they marry their partners?  How did they choose the names of their children?  Why did they move, divorce, change their name, enlist in the armed forces.
Several of my ancestors made to momentous decision to emigrate to Australia.  While the records can tell us when they emigrated, and history might provide some hints as to why, the records cannot fill in the whole picture.

My great grandfather, James Nicholas Clark, was born in Bristol, England or possibly Launceston, Tasmania around 1856, just as the family emigrated to Australia.  James’s younger sister Annie Amelia Clark was born 31 March 1857 in Port Sorrell, Tasmania, where the family lived for at least 12 years before they crossed Bass Strait and settled in Victoria.  Why did they leave England and move to the other side of the world?

Then there is my German branch of the family tree.  Carl Friedrich Beseler, known in Australia as Frederick, was born around 1810 in Hanover, Germany.  He was a shoemaker in Germany and a farmer in Australia, arriving in Adelaide on 1 April 1848 on the ship Pauline from Bremen, Germany.  Passengers listed were Frederick Beseler, Shoemaker, Mrs Beseler and 5 children.  The family lived in South Australia for 7 years before travelling overland to Victoria, where they settled near Ercildown.  Several members of the family are buried in Learmonth Cemetery.  Why did they leave Germany for a country where they didn't even speak the language?

I would love to know what prompted these families, with young children in tow, to pack up and move halfway around the world, settle in one state of Australia, then pack up and move again several years later. For whatever their reasons, my original Australian immigrant ancestors made a huge leap of faith to leave their homelands and travel to a distant country, most with little chance of returning to their homeland if their new lives proved less than they hoped.  And the records can't answer why.

Irish Lives Remembered Magazine

The latest issue of the free online magazine Irish Lives Remembered is now available.

Articles in this issue include : 

Declan Byrne – Remembering William Deans and the History of the Dublin Docks

Fiona Fitzsimons – Taylor-Made: The Swift Family‘s Irish Immigrant Love Story

Brigit McCone – Lover: Letters from the Scandalous 19th-century Irish Diaspora

David Caron – Dublin’s Stained Glass: Highlights by Harry Clarke

Katharine Simms – Saints and Scholars: the Magrath Clan and other Erenagh Hereditary Church Families

Eamonn P. Kelly – Domhnach Mám Éan, the Connemara Harvest Festival

Donna Rutherford – Genealog-AI: How Artificial Intelligence Is Changing Family History

 

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.

Week 15 (Apr. 9-15) Unexpected - #52Ancestors

Finding a genealogical surprise, be it good or bad, I always find an exciting experience.  If I have learned anything in my research, it is to expect the unexpected.  Over the years of my research I have found many surprises in my research - unexpected records and breakthroughs, family stories proven (or disproved), surprising events, etc.

Many of my most unexpected discoveries have come through the newspapers.  Reports of family tragedies, court appearances, advertisements, activities and family notices, all provided unexpected family discoveries.

Some highlights include :

A 1909 report of my great grandfather Edward Beseler when he appeared in court on the charge of having insufficient means of support, was found to be insane and an order of commitment was made.

From the Ballarat Star, 4 February 1909

Edward was admitted to the Ararat Mental Asylum, where he was assessed, found to be suffering from senility, and committed to the wards.  In his asylum record he is described at the time of his admission as being in fair bodily health for his age, clean and tidy but difficult to communicate with as he was quite deaf, illiterate and described as suffering from delusions.

Then there was the divorce of another great grandfather James Nicholas Clark from his first wife Eliza (Hawley)

The marriage was clearly an unhappy one, and in 1891 Eliza had abandoned James and their two young children.  In the divorce proceedings it had been claimed that Eliza had been a habitual drunkard and had been living with two men after she abandoned her marriage, although the judge saw no direct evidence of adultery and granted the divorce on the grounds of desertion only.  The divorce was reported in the local newspapers amongst general reports of local court proceedings, including the article shown above from the 'Caulfield and Elsternwick Leader'.

When James Nicholas passed away in 1924 there were two death notices inserted in the newspaper - one from his family and one from the Masonic Lodge of which he was a member. 

Had it not been for this Masonic notice, I would never have known that James was a Mason.  It is also worth noting the spelling error - the heading of the Masonic notice has CLARG, not CLARK.  The family notice also gives me his occupation - Overseer at Brighton City Council, and both notices give his address and the cemetery in which his grave is located.

Estate and probate notices were common, either advertising to resolve claims and demands on the estate or giving details of the sale of assets.  Here Susannah, the widow of Mr John Noble, advertises in the Essex Standard on Friday 4 October 1850 to resolve her husband's estate.

 

These and many other newspaper surprises have helped 'flesh out' my family history research and fill in details of my ancestors unexpected lives.

Week 14 (Apr. 2-8) A Brick Wall Revisited - #52Ancestors

It is important to remember with our brick walls exactly what 'I couldn't find anything' actually means.  It doesn't mean 'there is nothing to find'.  What it really means is 'I didn't find the information I was looking for in the place I was looking for it, using the search parameters I was using'.  It is an important distinction to make.

Consider the source you’re using.  Was it a database or an index? Not finding someone in an index is different than not finding it in the records themselves.  Look at the source – is it complete, or are there gaps, missing years that could cover the time you are looking for?  Some records haven’t survived in complete form.  Is it transcribed?  Could there be spelling errors in the transcription – or in the original records themselves?  For those times when the record you’re looking for doesn’t exist — either your ancestor isn’t in the record or the record was destroyed — think about other records that could give you the same - or similar - information.

If you’re in an online database, will it search variations in spelling or do you need to do multiple searches to find both “Smith” and “Smythe”? What about Mc and Mac?  Play with your search terms – sometimes less is more.  You could also consider not searching - start browsing. You never know what you might find hidden by a spelling error or some other small difference.

New records are being released, digitised or transcribed all the time, and we are (hopefully) learning new search techniques and becoming more skilled researchers as well.  That's why it is important to revisit our brick walls.  There might be new information sources available.  There might be new search methods we have learned over time.  We may have new information on the individual or family that makes breaking down our brick wall possible.

Not finding anything isn’t necessarily the end.  Think about other sources, other search strategies, and other ways of using those records. Don’t let not finding something add a brick to that brick wall.

Who Do You Think You Are April 2026

The latest issue of Who Do You Think You Are magazine is now available free online for Campaspe Library members via our subscription to Libby eMagazines.

Inside this month's issue :  

• Countdown begins to 1926 Irish census release
• Irish GRO provides update on missing death records
• Refugee architects database now live
• Scots emigrants website goes online
• Medieval child marriage
• A footballer went to war 
• Three essential websites
• A Post Office under pressure
• Websites for WW1 research
• Illegitimacy Records from the 19th Century
• Edwin Chadwick 1800–1890 
• Unmissable websites
• Old maps online
• Irish Land Commission Records
• And more...

Week 13 (Mar. 26-Apr. 1) A Family Pattern - #52Ancestors

Every family has their popular names - names that appear generation after generation regardless of fashion, forming a family pattern.  There were, of course, always fads among names - copying that of the current Monarch and their family, for example, as well as using a traditional name common amongst ancestors.

Family naming patterns were frequent in many families, although they are by no means a reliable way of predicting the names of children.  Traditionally, the first son would be named for the paternal grandfather, the second son for the maternal grandfather and the third son for the father.  For females, the first daughter would be named for the maternal grandmother, the second daughter for the paternal grandmother and the third daughter for the mother.  Providing, of course, these names were not the same.  

Then, there are the families that seemed to delight in using unusual names for their children, and those who followed popular fads.  Horatio, for example, made a brief surge in popularity after Nelson's victory at Trafalgar.  Similarly, Adolf disappeared from German communities after World War 2.

In the 1700s the top five names for each gender were :
Boys - John, William, Thomas, Richard and James
Girls - Mary, Elizabeth, Ann, Sarah and Jane

In the 1800s the top five names for each gender were :
Boys - John, William, James, George and Charles
Girls - Mary, Anna, Emma, Elizabeth and Margaret

There was also the tendency, unusual as it may seem to us today, of reusing the name of a child who had died.  In the 1700's and 1800's this occurs frequently in my family tree, with the name of a child who has died in infancy being reused for the next child of the same gender born to the family.  

This can make research quite tricky, especially when a popular name has been used by several branches of a family.  In my Irish Mulholland family, for example, four brothers all named their first son James, after their father.  One child died at 2 days old and the name was reused 18 months later.  This meant there were five children named James Mulholland, born within five years and a few miles of each other.  Sorting out which records belong with which child is quite a challenge.

Then two of them married women named Mary.

Week 12 (Mar. 19-25) An Address with a Story - #52Ancestors

My father's family had strong ties to Fordham Hall (also called Manor Farm) in Essex, being tennants at the Hall for several generations.  Although they were not the owners, they were major local landholders and were the gentry of their small community.

Fordham Hall, Essex

The Green family of Fordham Hall farmed the land, kept a pack of foxhounds,and took part in many community events.  The article below, from the 'Essex Standard' on Friday 13 October 1837, mentions Isaac Green of Fordham as one of the judges at the annual meeting of the local Agricultural Society.

The wedding of Constance Green, daughter of Walter Proctor Green, in 1909 was a major event at Fordham Hall, with a large party attending and the event extensively reported in the local newspapers.  Below is a photograph of the wedding party, taken on the lawn at the rear of the Hall.

Fordham Hall eventually became part of the Woodland Trust, but for years it was 'home sweet home' to my father's family.  This address holds a number of stories that form part of my father's family history.

Family Tree UK April 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 : 

• TNA response to MOD service record request enquiries
• Map Explorer: now includes 25 inch & LiDAR mapping
• Vivid Pix wins Digital Health Award
• ‘A family history of…’: new podcast from Findmypast 
• Website charts Scots’ journey to New Jersey in the 1680s
• New video guide: Researching Ulster ancestors after 1800
• New-look SoG website
• DNA Club news 
• 1,000-year-old astrolabe
• Wrap-around family history publishing services 
• Some of our censuses are missing
• Elizabeth Hyett - shop-keeper, dealer in clothes, wet-nurse and mother
• Inside the Titanic's Lost Workforce
• The evolution of the Irish Free State
• Working with your DNA match list
• And more... 

Week 11 (Mar. 12-18) A Turning Point - #52Ancestors

Turning points come about in many ways as we research our family history.  Sometimes it is a breakthrough when new information comes to hand.  Sometimes it is when we revisit our research and uncover a mistake made long ago.  Sometimes it is when we learn new research tricks and methods.  Sometimes it is when fellow researchers reach out a hand to provide help or just a fresh set of eyes.

For some time I had been researching a family history mystery - the fate of my great aunt Alice May Pummeroy.

According to the Victorian Birth Index, Alice May Pummeroy was born in Carlton in 1897 to Alfred Henry Pummeroy and Eliza (Beseler).  Alice was only 3 years old when her father died of pneumonia, leaving his widow destitute with 4 young children -  Edith Margaret (who was a deaf-mute) 4, Alice May 3, Alfred Edward 2 and William Henry 4 months. 
 
After years of struggle Eliza remarried in 1911 to Edward Jennion, with whom she had two more boys, Edwin and Daniel.   All the other siblings can be traced through electoral rolls and other records, but Alice disappears, and for several years I searched for her in vain.

Then came the turning point.  In New Zealand, I found a record for a May Alice Pummeroy marrying David James Moorhead in 1918.  Looking in New Zealand for May Moorhead, I located several electoral roll listings before she disappeared again, reappearing in Australia as May Alice Moorhead in electoral rolls from 1950 to 1980.  David James Moorhead is recorded as dying in Victoria in 1951, age 77.  His death certificate lists him as being born in Christchurch, New Zealand.

The final turning point came with the help of a fellow genealogist who sent me another piece to the puzzle, with a death notice and cemetery record which shows May Alice Moorhead died 1st September 1989, age 92, in Salisbury North, South Australia.  She was cremated at Enfield Memorial Park, SA.

Why she chose to move from Melbourne, Victoria to South Australia I don't know - possibly she had children who settled there and she moved to be closer to them.  All her siblings lived and died in Victoria - she was the one who travelled away.  This just goes to show that people can change their names, move to places you don't expect, and you just need to keep looking and broaden your search if you don't find them where you expect them.  Eventually a turning point in your research will come.

Week 10 (Mar. 5-11) Changed My Thinking - #52Ancestors

So often the details of our family history that we discover change our thinking - about our family, about our lives, about history, about the world we live in.  So many events and details have changed my thinking along my family history journey.

From discovering the fate of orphaned children to witnessing the determination of a newly widowed mother, from discovering a family's immigration tale to reading the World War 1 dossier of a soldier, there is always something new to learn and consider.  I have uncovered tales of divorce, disaster and desperation.  There are also stories of happier times - of social gatherings and sporting achievements, of education and career success, of marriages and growing families.

Family History opened my eyes to how life was lived by my ancestors - where they lived, their occupations, what life was like for them, how hard life was for many.  It all changed my thinking and made history so much more 'real'.

RootTech 2026

RootsTech 2026 is about to begin!   From DNA to the power of family stories and advanced research techniques —RootsTech has sessions on nearly every topic.

The online event includes :

• 200+ new online sessions in over 26 languages
• Join keynote sessions live from the comfort of your own home
• Chat online with other attendees worldwide

Many of the online sessions are presented live, with recordings available for approximately 3 years afterwards.  You can even create your own playlists so you don't miss any of the sessions that interest you.

You can search the schedule and build your own playlist of the sessions you want to view, making sure you don't miss out on anything.  Remember, recordings of the online sessions remain available after the event, so you can view all you want at your leisure.  And it is all free!

Ancestry opens records for International Womens Day

Over four billion family history records, including census and military records, will be free to access on Ancestry to mark International Women’s Day.

In a statement Ancestry said: “International Women’s Day is a time to not only celebrate the achievements of women today but to reflect on the progress made by the women who came before us. Many of the incredible stories of women from history are hard to find because historical documents sometimes exclude women’s occupations, and newspapers often recorded women under their husbands’ names; but our research shows that people have a deep desire to learn about their women ancestors.”

Ancestry is offering free access to 59 record sets from 8 to 18 March.

Key free record sets include:

• The 1881, 1911 and 1921 English and Welsh census records
• The 1939 Register for England and Wales
• Over two million 1833-1956 UK rail employee records
• The 1737-1969 UK postal service appointment books
• The 1898-1968 UK and Ireland nursing registers
• The 1904-59 UK midwives roll
• The 1914-23 UK First World War pension ledgers and index cards
• The Second World War Women’s Land Army index cards
• The First World War Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps service records
• The First World War Women’s Royal Air Force service records
• The First World War Women’s Royal Naval Officers’ service records
• The England and Wales civil registration marriage indexes for 1837-1915 and 1916-2005
• The England and Wales civil birth indexes for 1837-1915 and 1916-2007
• The England and Wales civil death index for 1837-1915

Ancestry will also offer free access to its Newspapers.com historic newspaper website.