Family Tree US Magazine

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

Inside this month's issue :  

• NARA Launches New Catalog
• The Newspapers Issue
• Titans of Industry - digitized newspapers.
• Headlining Search Tips
• Extra, Extra! - smaller newspaper databases
• Find Your U.S. Ancestors
• Ladies-in-Waiting - Find long-lost female ancestors
• Nicknames: Not a Given
• The UK National Archives - Here’s what to expect.
• US Censuses
• Searching Land Patents from the Bureau of Land Management
• Preserving Coins and Paper Money
• Places to Connect with Genealogists
• Testing at Multiple Companies
• 4 Things You’ll Find in Old Newspapers
• And More
  

Irish Lives Remembered magazine

Issue 58 of the free online Irish family history magazine Irish Lives Remembered is now available.

Inside this issue : 

• We remember the original musical peace activist, Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore - a Galway man who emigrated to America and organized what were then the largest concerts in history, with the ambitious goal of musically achieving world peace.
• Mary Lou McDonald is the current leader of Sinn Féin; a party once regarded as controversial for its paramilitary connections. Fiona Fitzsimons takes a look at her family tree, to better understand how she got to where she is.
• Folklore expert Ned Kelly traces the ancient pagan roots of Irish traditions of the midsummer solstice, from the goddess Áine to St. John the Baptist.
• Brigit McCone researches the history of the Irish in the Far East and turns up some fascinating characters.
• Robert Flanagan Stieglitz returns with the story of uncovering and commemorating great-great-grandfather Patrick Branegan's service in the American Civil War.
• Genetic genealogy expert Dr. Maurice Gleeson lets you know how you can help to identify and commemorate Irish veterans of World War One using DNA testing and online family trees.
• Nathan Mannion remembers the fascinating life of Wicklow woman Elizabeth leBlond, pioneering female mountaineer and filmmaker.
• Dr. Katharine Simms, author of Medieval Gaelic sources, introduces us to the medieval bardic poetry of the Gaelic aristocracy as a genealogical source.
• Can photo detective Jayne Shrimpton's skills date our reader's Ayrshire ancestors?
• Our new Heritage Highlight feature spotlights local institutions and lesser-known attractions of Ireland and the potential interest their archives hold for family history researchers. This issue, we look at the Michael Davitt Museum in Straide, County Mayo.
• Jessie O’Hara reviews the latest Irish records on Findmypast, including a new TreeSearch feature that helps you to connect your family tree to millions of others!
• Two readers' dilemmas are answered in our Dear Genie column,
• An excerpt from a Genealogical Publishing Company resource that reveals the deep Derry roots of fiery feminist journalist Nell McCafferty.
• Our Four Courts Press excerpt delves into the history of St. James's Hospital, Ireland's largest teaching hospital, and its past as an overwhelmed workhouse weathering the crisis of Ireland's Great Famine.
  

Ethical Genealogy

All families have secrets, and it’s almost inevitable that when we undertake genealogical research, at least some of those family secrets will emerge. The truth will come out.  Discovering family secrets might be fascinating, but they can also be distressing, upsetting and even confusing, for those involved. There may be times when we find it helpful to stop our research and reflect on what we have discovered and even question ourselves over what we should do with this newfound information. 

There is no easy answer to this problem, but it is something that we should all be aware of before undertaking any research. Many of us will have ordered a certificate or uncovered a newspaper article and discovered something that we were not expecting.  When that’s the case, what happens next? To tell or not tell, that is the question! The decisions we make can have an impact on relatives still living, and cause family disputes and distress.

Ethical dilemmas don’t just stop there. Another big part of the ethical dilemma that you might face when researching your family history concerns how much information should you publish online, either in a public tree for example, or a blog like this one. While some may find stories of a criminal ancestor, or one with health issues, physical or mental, to be fascinating, others may find such news confronting, especially when it is published online.

The opposite side of this dilemma is whether it is right to conceal information just because it is negative.  Should we not reveal that great great grandad James had a criminal past?  Should we hide the fact that Great Uncle Peter died in a lunatic asylum?  Should we not include in our records that Great Aunt Mary was divorced?

We need to find a balance between being open about our family history and not causing distress.  There is no such thing as a perfect family and none of us are without the occasional black sheep in our family tree.  When we are researching our family history we need to be aware that inevitably we will uncover uncomfortable facts, and we need to find a balance between not concealing facts and not causing harm or distress.

Really Useful Podcast : Season 2 Episode 5

The Family History Federation has now launched Season 2, Episode 5 of its series of Really Useful Podcasts. 

 

This episode is titled 'Occupations : Work, Leisure and Health'.  The website describes it : 

"By learning about occupations, we gain a better understanding of the lives of our ancestors such as their health conditions and how they spent their spare time. Our guests share stories and offer advice in this special extended episode. 

Joe is joined by Margaret Roberts, sports historian and editor of the Playing Pasts online sports history magazine, Publicity Officer for the FHS of Cheshire and Society Liaison Officer for the Federation http://www.playingpasts.co.uk and https://www.fhsc.org.uk, Sophie Kay, professional genealogist at Khronicle https://www.khronicle.co.uk/ and Ian Waller, retired professional genealogist, Vice-Chairman and Education Officer of the Federation, Fellow of the Society of Genealogist and author of three books in the ‘My Ancestor Was…’ series."

RootsTech

The 2023 RootsTech conference is on again, and for those of us unable to visit the conference in person in Salt Lake City, virtual attendance is once again available FREE.

There is a range of keynote speakers, on-demand videos, even the Expo Hall has virtual exhibitions you can visit online.  Once you have signed in you can even use the sessions calendar to create your own playlist so you don't miss out on any of the talks you wanted to listen to.

As most of the keynotes and classes are available online for up to 3 years, you can work through your playlist at your leisure.

So have a look at what is available and take advantage of this wonderful FREE online conference from the comfort of home.

A Masonic Connection

In my last post I showed some of my newspaper finds amongst death, funeral and probate notices, and the details they could provide.  In the case of two of my ancestors, they also led me to the discovery of some Masonic connections I had previously been unaware of.

When my great great grandfather John Clark passed away on June 11th 1894, his family placed a notice in The Age inviting friends to attend his funeral.

Directly below this first notice was another, inserted by the Brighton Union Lodge, inviting members to also attend John's funeral.  Until I found this notice I had no idea he was a Mason.

When his son, my great grandfather James Nicholas Clark died in 1924, similar notices were placed.  Which is how I discovered James was also a Mason.

The above notices were published in The Age, Friday 8 February 1924, page 16.  Like his father, James was also a member of the Brighton Union Lodge, and the Lodge placed a funeral notice alongside that of his family.  Note that in the Lodge notice has his surname listed a Clarg - spelling errors can never be discounted.

Death and Funeral Notices

As I continue my current fixation on researching old newspapers, I have come to realise I have quite a number of death, funeral and probate notices amongst my finds.

While many of these notices contain the basic details only, others provide a number of interesting details which can be very useful in further research.  Take the notices regarding my ancestor William Pummeroy and the details they provide.

Above is his death notice, from the Leader, Saturday 12 October 1889, page 43.  This notice not only gives William's date of death but his full address, age at death, names of his children (including married names of his daughters), a count of his grandchildren and how long he had lived in the colony - which helps me find his immigration details.  So much information is such a short statement.

Next we have the notice of the application for probate from The Age, Wednesday 16 October 1889, page 8.  This gives me William's occupation and the names, occupation and addresses of his executors - two of his sons.

Finally, I have a report of the details of William's will, something I have rarely found reported in the newspapers.  This was published in Table Talk (part of the Government Gazette), Friday 29 November 1889, page 6 and gives some wonderful detail of his property, belongings and the value of the estate he left behind.