Who Do You Think You Are Magazine

The latest issue of Who Do You Think You Are Magazine is now available FREE online for Campaspe Library members via RB Digital eMagazines.

Inside this month's issue :

• Track down your family wills
  Wills have never been easier to find - Margaret McGregor explains why they are so useful for breaking down brick walls
• Start your family tree online
  
  
  Chris Paton continues his series for family history beginners by picking out the crucial websites to find your ancestors
• Scottish records
  Janet M Bishop reveals the key records you won't find on ScotlandsPeople
• Escaping the Blitz
  Janet Sacks tells the story of the forgotten organisation that helped thousands of children flee the country in the Second World War
• Local and village history
  Jonathan Scott picks the best websites for finding local groups, village histories and community archives
• Plus...
  Discover your ancestors for free with the Irish Registry of Deeds; how to create keep your photographs organised; the stories of women who worked as railway clerks, and much more...

Unlock the Past in Seattle Conference now to be live streamed

The uncoming Unlock the Past in Seattle conference will now also be livestreamed, for those of us (like me) who cannot attend in person at Seattle Public Library. Both streams – all 10 presentations – will be broadcast live and recorded for watching for a limited time after. So wherever you are, you can participate in this conference in the convenience of your own home. Watch up to five presentations live and/or all 10 (recorded as separate webinar presentations) at a later time convenient to you.

So if, like me, you love participating in genealogy conferences you cannot physically attend from the comfort of your own home, have a look at what's on offer at the conference and book yourself in for the livestream.  The conference takes place on Thursday 6th September.

Presenters include :

• BLAINE BETTINGER (USA) – Blaine is a professional genealogist specialising in DNA evidence. He is the author of the long-running blog The Genetic Genealogist and the books The family tree guide to DNA testing and Genetic genealogy.
• DR MAURICE GLEESON (UK) – Maurice was voted Genetic Genealogist of the Year 2015 (SurnameDNA Journal) and Rockstar Genealogist, Ireland 2016 (Anglo-Celtic Connections). He runs a variety of Y-DNA Surname projects and organises the DNA Lectures at Genetic Genealogy Ireland.
• CYNDI INGLE (USA) – Cyndi is the creator and owner of the award-winning web site Cyndi’s List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet cyndislist.com, a categorised index to more than 333,000 online resources. In its first three years, Cyndi’s List was voted the best genealogy site.
• WAYNE SHEPHEARD (Canada) – A retired geologist, Wayne now spends most of his time on family history research. This has resulted in the pioneering publication Surviving Mother Nature’s tests: The effects climate change and other natural phenomena have had on the lives of our ancestors.

 Book yourself in and enjoy!

Week 32 - Youngest - 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

The theme for Week 32 is youngest, and that would be - ME!  On my father's side of the family, at least, I am the youngest of the cousins, and my sister and I are almost a generation younger in age than our older cousins.

My father, Peter Jeffrey Green, was born 2 January 1926, the second youngest of the 10 Green siblings.  His eldest sibling, brother Frank, was born in 1908 and was almost 18 by the time my father was born.  Dad married rather later in life and was 42 and 44 years old when his children were born, so we are very much the youngest of the cousins.  We cover quite an age range, with our oldest cousins more then 35 years our senior, and several of them have children older than we are.  In fact, the first of the grandchildren are closer in age - it makes family gatherings rather interesting!

Les, Marj and Peter Green

The photo above is on the three youngest Green siblings, taken around 1935 or 36.  Les, Marj and my father Peter are returning home from Bambill North Primary school, a tiny, one teacher school near Mildura, Victoria.  The family farmed nearby, and Dad spent time trapping rabbits to sell and help support his family.

Week 31 - Oldest - 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

The theme for Week 31 is Oldest, and I have chosen the oldest of my father's siblings Phyllis, who lived to the fine old age of 102.  Dad's family were all quite long-lived, all 10 siblings living into their 70's at least and several passing 90, but Phyllis was the only one to reach the 100 years milestone.

Phyllis Holyoak (nee Green) at her 100th birthday

Phyllis was born 4th October 1913 and died 20 September 2015, just short of 102 years old.  She married Len Holyoak on 5 October 1934 and together they raised 7 children.  A huge family gathering of children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews and assorted other family celebrated her 100th birthday, including her only surviving sibling, younger sister Nancy.

Considering life expectancy and infant mortality, all of my father's family have lived fairly long lives, but Phyllis certainly qualified for the title of Oldest.

Week 30 - Colorful - 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

The prompt for Week 30 is 'Colorful', a work that describes several (many!) of my ancestors.

One colorful family member I can recall is my father's brother Ernie Green.  A larger than life character, Ernie, known as Squib, was the second of the 10 Green siblings.  Squib was born in 1910 and died in 1987.  He fought in the army in world war 2 before settling on a farm near Mildura, in northern Victoria.  Below is a copy of a postcard Squib sent to his sister Nancy during his service in WW2, with his photo superimposed above the pyramids.

Sent from Egypt, World War 2

I only have one photo of all 10 Green siblings, taken in 1965 with their father, Frank Walter Noble Green, seated front centre.  Squib is easy to identify - he is the one balancing a beer bottle on his head!  Colorful indeed!

All ten Green family siblings, taken in 1965

WDYTYA Magazine

The latest issue of Who Do You Think You Are Magazine is now available FREE online fro Campaspe Library members via RB Digital eMagazines.

Inside this month's issue

• 20th century kin
  Emma Jolly shares 20 useful tips to help you learn more about the lives of your recent relatives
• Start your family tree
  Chris Paton reveals everything you need to know to begin your research today
• Local BMD certificates
  Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine editor Sarah Williams explains why an alternative strategy can break down your brick walls
• Irish military records
  Nicola Morris, expert on Boy George's episode of Who Do You Think You Are?, shows you how to trace your ancestors during the Irish Revolutionary War
• Patents
  Intellectual property expert Maria Lampert reveals how family historians can use patent records to track down inventor ancestors
• Plus...
  The best websites for tracing Caribbean kin; how to create family memoirs; the lives of ancestors who were elected councillors, and much more...

Week 29 - Music - 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

The theme for Week 29 is Music, and music has always been an important part of my family life.  Listening to music, playing music, sharing music - 'tis quite a shame I cannot sing, (at least not in public) but as my grandmother once said I could not carry a tune if you gave it to me in a shopping bag with handles.
In primary school my specality was the recorder - in grade three I graduated from the standard recorder to the larger alto recorder, before moving on to the flute in high school.  I also learned to play the guitar, again at school, saving my pocket money for months to buy my first acoustic guitar.  It was only then, accepting that I was serious about learning and it wasn't a passing fad, that my mother produced her own instrument, a beautiful hand painted creamy colored Spanish guitar.

My mother Joy with her guitar, early 1957

It was only then that I learned my mother had played in a Federal Band in Melbourne during her youth.  She had stopped playing when marriage and children took up too much of her time to practice, but she still had the guitar, stored wrapped in blankets on top of a wardrobe.  Somehow it survived mouse plagues, moves and years of less than ideal storage.  After allowing me to play it for a while she put the guitar away again, and I continued to learn on my own.
After her death I re-discovered her guitar, and it moved with me to my new home last year.  Eventually I plan to have it restrung and display it, and hopefully hand it on to another generation.