The Family Recipe Book

I have commented a few times on cleaning out my family home after my parents passed.  I have also commented on preserving family memories in various ways, such as not only photographing family heirlooms but also recording the story of each item, and why it is special.

This brings me to the family recipe book, primarily created by my sister.  One of the more fun jobs while we were cleaning out the family home was emptying out Mum's recipe drawer.  While the drawer contained a few proper cooking books, and some complete magazines, it was primarily a combination of loose snippets torn or photocopied from old magazines and books, and hand-written recipes from who-knows-where.  Many had notes written on them - things like substitutions of ingredients and notes on who particularly liked the dish.  There were also a number of recipes written out by others and given to Mum - by several different friends and relatives, judging by the assorted handwriting.  She even had a little A5 folder with hand-written favourites stored inside.

Included in that recipe drawer were the details of so many dishes we remembered from our childhoods - some with fondness and some with a shudder!  My sister and I spent an entire afternoon sorting through these scraps of paper, reading them out to each other and sharing our memories.  Yes, there really WAS a recipe for Dixon Street Chicken!  Do you remember Mum's spaghetti and mince casserole?  We also covered a few memorable kitchen disasters, like the time I set fire to the kitchen cooking toast - the pop-up toaster didn't pop and I had stuck my nose in a book, and didn't notice the flames climbing up the kitchen wall.  I have since been forbidden to touch printed material while cooking.  Then there was the time Dad put some eggs on to boil and got distracted by an unfinished project in the garden.  By the time he came inside the pot had long boiled dry and almost burned through the bottom - who knew exploding eggs could travel so far?

Food, cooking and mealtimes are such an important part of our families, and so often discounted.  What was your favourite home-cooked meal as a child?  Do you have the recipe, and do you ever cook it for yourself as an adult??  Do you remember any cooking disasters - either your own or that of another family member?  Having them written down with all our memories and stories attached to each recipe is something I treasure, and such a simple thing to create.  If you a looking for a Family History project (and August IS Family History Month), maybe a family recipe book is something to consider.

What's New on Trove

In the last few months, the wonderful free website Trove has added almost 2 million more newspaper scans to their collection, taking the current total to a whopping 224,759,059 scanned pages online.  Did I mention it is all FREE!

WHAT’S NEW
NEW SOUTH WALES
Border Morning Mail (Albury, NSW: 1938-1943)
North Coast Times (Bellingen and Coffs Harbour, NSW: 1888-1889)
Nota (Hawks Nest and Tea Gardens, NSW: 1970-1983)
The Bananacoast Opinion (Coffs Harbour, NSW : 1973 – 1978)
QUEENSLAND
Torres News (Thursday Island, Qld.: 1957-2015)
VICTORIA
Chiltern Leader (Vic.: 1896-1898)
The Express, Melton (Vic.: 1943-1954)
Mountain District Free Press (Vic. : 1947-1954)
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
The Albany Observer (WA: 1890-1891)
Bonnie Rock-Lake Brown-Mukinbudin Leader (WA: 1934-1939)
Corrigin Broadcaster and Peoples Weekly (WA: 1930-1933)
Dampier Despatch (Broome, WA: 1904-1905)
Esperance Times (WA: 1896-1898)
Fremantle Advocate (WA : 1926-1942)
Gnowangerup Star (WA: 1941-1954)
Greenbushes Advocate and Donnybrook and Bridgetown Advertiser (WA: 1899-1902)
Nelson Advocate (WA: 1926-1938)
Northern Times (Carnarvon, WA: 1952-1954)
The Perenjori Pioneer (WA: 1930-1933)
INTERNATIONAL
A Voz de Timor (Dili, East Timor: 1973-1975)

COMING SOON
NEW SOUTH WALES
Albury Banner (1881-1896) [Albury & District Historical Society; NSW State Government Regional Cultural Fund]
Border Morning Mail (1938-1942) [Albury & District Historical Society; NSW State Government Regional Cultural Fund]
NOTA (1970-1983) [Tea Gardens Hawks Nest Family Research Group]
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
The Yellow Flag and Torrens Island Terror (1901) [Peter Collins]
VICTORIA
Arena Sun (1900-1904) [State Library Victoria]
Great Southern Advocate (1907-1913; 1919-1926) [Korumburra & District Historical Society]
The Moe Register and Narracan Shire Advocate (1888-1889) [Latrobe City Libraries]
Narracan Shire Advocate (1889-1891) [Latrobe City Libraries]
Richmond Guardian (1907-1909;1915-1916) [Rhett Bartlett]
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Bullfinch Budget (1910-1911) [State Library of WA]
Bullfinch Miner and Yilgarn Advocate (1910) [State Library of WA]
Central Districts Advertiser and Agriculture and Mining Journal (1893-1895) [State Library of WA]
Central Districts Advocate (1922-1924) [State Library of WA]
Collie Times (1935) [State Library of WA]
Daily Advertiser (Geraldton, WA: 1890-1893) [State Library of WA]
Democrat (Perth, WA: 1904-1905) [State Library of WA]
Dumbleyung-Lake Grace-Newdegate Cultivator and Kukerin and Moulyinning Producer (1930) [State Library of WA]
The Fremantle Advocate (Aug 1926-Jan 1942) [Fremantle Library]
Kalgoorlie and Boulder Standard (1897-1898) [State Library of WA]
Kanowna Democrat and North East Coolgardie Advertiser (1896-1897) [State Library of WA]
Kanowna Herald (1898) [State Library of WA]
Kondinin Wheatlander and Kulin and Karlgarin Gazette (1926-1927) [State Library of WA]
Kookynie Advocate and Northern Goldfields News (1903-1904) [State Library of WA]
Koorda Record (1934-1939) [State Library of WA]
Laverton Mercury (1899-1921); [State Library of WA]
Morning Post (Geraldton, WA: 1895-1896) [State Library of WA]
Mullewa Magnet and Perenjori-Morawa Advertiser (1927-1928) [State Library of WA]
Murchison Magnet and Mullewa Mercury (1926-1927) [State Library of WA]
Northern Public Opinion and Mining and Pastoral News (1894-1902) [State Library of WA]
Pingelly Express (1905-1906) [State Library of WA]
Southern Cross Herald (1894-1896) [State Library of WA]
Southern Cross Miner (1899-1902) [State Library of WA]
Wheatbelt Wheatsheaf and Dampier Advocate (1930-1939) [State Library of WA]
York Gazette and Quairading and Dangin Herald (1930-1931) [State Library of WA]

The Hearth Tax Digital Website

Hearth Tax Digital is the work of the Centre for Hearth Tax Research at the University of Roehampton, in collaboration with the University of Graz in Austria. The long-term objective of the project is to make all the surviving records of the Hearth Tax freely available online, both as digital images and as a fully searchable database. Other partners in the project include The British Academy, the British Record Society and the University of the Third Age (U3A).

The Hearth Tax was first levied in England and Wales by King Charles II shortly after the restoration of the monarchy in 1662 and continued to be collected in one form or another up until 1689. The surviving records list the names of those who were liable to pay the tax (charged at the rate of one shilling per hearth, twice yearly) and many also include the names of those who were exempt – people who didn’t pay the poor rate or who had limited personal assets were not required to pay the tax.

Most of the original records are held by The National Archives, but many are also to be found in local county record offices, often among records of the quarter sessions. While it is important to note that only the names of heads of households will appear on the lists, occupations are occasionally found in the records as well as titles such as ‘Sir’ and ‘Esquire’, which give us an idea of social status. The number of hearths (and stoves or ovens) listed next to the names also provides an indication of relative wealth while the word ‘Pauper’ or the letter ‘P’ next to a name on the exempt lists gives us clues about those at the other end of the social scale.

The database allows you to search by name and/or place and you have the option of using wildcards. You can quickly move from the results list to a transcript of the returns themselves and there is also an option to select individual records and add them to your ‘databasket’ so that you can sort and compare your own sub-set of records.

The website was officially launched at the British Academy on 2 July and the Hearth Tax Digital website currently provides access to returns from parts of Yorkshire, Durham, Middlesex, Westminster and the City of London. Returns for Essex, Sussex and Westmorland are in the pipeline and the team is looking at introducing mapping features – so watch out for updates.

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 our subscription to RB Digital eMagazines.

Inside this month's issue

• 
  Quick and easy tips
  Has Who Do You Think You Are? inspired you to research your own family history? Don't miss our guide to getting started
• Donny Osmond
  EXCLUSIVE: The singer and entertainer shares his love of family history
• Working together
  Why family and academic historians should help each other
• Peterloo remembered
  200 years on, we look back at Britain's most notorious political massacre
• Reader story
  How a family was broken up by child migration to Canada
• Plus...
  The best websites for tracing musician ancestors; researching Wellington's army; the lives of commercial travellers; and much more...

Price Cut For Ordering Wills

It is time to get online and order some wills of your British ancestors.  Why?  The cost of ordering post-1857 probate records via the British Government’s Find a Will service has been cut from £10 to just £1.50.  The price cut, which was introduced in a statutory instrument that became law on 22 July, will be in place for the next 12 months.  After that, the price cut is not guaranteed.

Find a Will allows you to search English and Welsh probate records from 1858 by surname and year of death.  Once you find your ancestor's record, you can then order a digital copy, which takes up to 10 working days to arrive.

I have always loved wills and probate records, some of which have included incredible detail about the people listed - their lives, relationships, belongings and values.  

Probate records confirm that the process of administering the bequests and instructions left in a will after a person died were carried out.  They list the names of the will’s executor/s, beneficiaries and witnesses – often the children, relatives or friends of the deceased.  They can even include comments and messages from the testator, illustrating the nature of their family relationships and they include a transcription of the will itself.  In addition, they include the address and occupation of the deceased and their date and place of death.
 Until 1857, probate was the responsibility of ecclesiastical courts run by the Church of England.
From 12 January 1858, a civil Court of Probate for England and Wales was established, with local registries across the country.  The current price cut is only for wills post-1857.

Australian Memory of the World Register

Founded in December 2000, and conducted under the auspices of the Australian National Commission for UNESCO, the Australian Memory of the World Program is one of more than 60 Memory of the World programs worldwide. The Australian program aims to:

• develop the Australian Memory of the World Register
• propose nominations to the Memory of the World International Register
• promote the Program through publications and presentations
• encourage and seek government and private sector sponsorship for specific projects and activities
• participate in selected heritage activities and be an advocate for the documentary heritage sector.

While the datasets themselves are not available for searching on the website, it provides details of what the collection contains and where it is located.  New datasets are being added to the database regularly.

Some of the resources currently listed include :

•  The Endeavour Journal of James Cook
• The Mabo Case Manuscripts
•  Australian Agricultural company Archives
• Australian Children’s Folklore Collection
• Ballarat Reform League Charter
• Lawrence Hargrave Papers
• Sorry Books
• Port Phillip Association Records
• Convict Records : Archives of Transportation and the Convict System
• High Court of Australia Records
• Women’s Suffrage Petitions 1891 & 1894
• 1862 Land Act Map
• First Fleet Journals
• World War 1 Diaries Collection
• 1828 Census

The Weird World of Taxation

Think your current tax return is complicated?  Here are some of the weird taxes that have been levied on our ancestors around the world .

Hearths

A hearth tax was a property tax in certain countries during the medieval and early modern period, levied on each hearth, thus by proxy on each family unit. It was calculated based on the number of hearths, or fireplaces, within a municipal area.

Hats

From 1784 to 1811, Britain levied a tax on men’s hats. Hat retailers had to buy a license, and each hat had to have a revenue stamp glued to the inside.

Windows

In 1696 in England, “An Act for Granting to His Majesty Several Rates or Duties Upon Houses for Making Good the Deficiency of the Clipped Money” created a property tax based on the number of windows in a house. This tax would have primarily been paid by the wealthy and was similar to the earlier Hearth Tax.  The tax was repealed in 1851.

Dice

The Stamp Act of 1765 taxed Britain’s American colonists on many things, including dice, playing cards and newspapers. Most of the colonies formally condemned the act, protests turned violent, and several colonies held a Stamp Act Congress. Parliament repealed the act the next year.

Wallpaper

In 1712, during the reign of Queen Anne, England imposed a 1 pence-per-square-yard tax on printed, patterned or painted wallpaper. Decorators would bypass the tax by hanging plain wallpaper, and then having it stencilled by hand. Britain abolished the tax in 1836.

Beards

Russian Emperor Peter the Great, hoping to modernize his country to compete with Western powers, introduced a tax on men’s beards in 1698. The facially hirsute had to carry around a token showing they’d paid. Police could forcibly shave those lacking their token. Wealthy bearded folk were taxed more heavily than average townsfolk. 

Salt

Salt was a valuable food preservative, making it a target for taxation. The Moscow Salt Riot of 1648 protested Russia’s universal salt tax which disproportionately affected the peasantry, whose diet was mainly salt-preserved fish.  In France, the hated salt tax contributed to the French Revolution. The National Assembly abolished this salt tax in 1790, but Napoleon reinstated it in 1806.  In India, Mahatma Gandhi staged a 24-day Salt March to protest British taxes on salt production, a heavy burden for coastal villages.

Tea

American colonists paid a tax on tea starting with the 1767 Townshend Revenue Act, which also taxed glass, lead, oil, paint and paper. Boycotts and protests led Parliament to repeal the Townshend Act taxes, except for tea, in 1770. But this isn’t what sparked the Boston Tea Party in 1773. That was the Tea Act, passed on May 10, 1773. It gave the British East India Co. a monopoly on tea sales in the American colonies, allowing it to undercut both smuggled-in tea and Colonial tea importers. Tea would be cheaper, but Colonists would still have to pay the tax.

Playing cards

We noted that the Stamp Act included playing cards among its taxed items. More recently, in 1935, the state of Alabama issued a 10-cent tax on packs of playing cards containing 54 or fewer cards. Each package had to have a revenue stamp affixed to it.  The tax ended in 2015, under legislation that suspends taxes when the cost of collecting them outweighs the revenue gained.