At the Cemetery

Headstones and cemetery records can be incredibly useful records to find.  The information found on headstones can be remarkably varied in content, with anything from a simple name to the details of parents, spouse, children and dates and places of birth and death.  Sometimes finding one relative in a cemetery leads to the discovery of several more, with whole generations of family all buried in the same location.  Over the years I have had some great finds in cemeteries that have helped me overcome brick walls and the loss of other records. 

 
As digitization of cemetery records and photographing of headstones becomes increasingly common, we are able to access from home even more records.  While nothing can replace actually visiting an ancestor’s grave in person, finding records I cannot visit myself available online is a definite bonus.  I have found online the cemetery records of a number of relatives who lived overseas, whose graves I am unlikely to be able to visit for some time, if ever.  Like so many other researchers, I owe a debt to those who have given their time to photograph headstones and transcribe cemetery records.

I have been lucky enough to acquire photographs of the headstones of many family members, some during personal visits and others sent by relatives or located online through sites like Find-A-Grave or BillionGraves.  The quality and amount of information on them varies a lot, as does the legibility and the state of preservation of the headstone.  It is worth noting that not all tombstones actually date from the time the gravesite was actually used - the stones themselves could be installed at a much later date by relatives, or be replacements for older stones which have been damaged or destroyed.

 
One particular headstone I have photographed was in extremely good condition, and commemorated several family members from a couple of generations.  The stone probably dates from the time of death of the last person included - was there an older tombstone in place at some time that has now been replaced, or is this a more 'general' tombstone that commemorates several family members buried in the area over time??  Who erected this stone, and where did they obtain the information they have included on it?  I need to delve into the cemetery records for this particular tombstone to find out more, and confirm the accuracy of the records, especially the older names and dates.

I'd Like to Meet...

There are so many ancestors I would just love to meet – preferably with a notebook and pencil, or recording device in hand!  I'd like the chance to chat with (read - interrogate) just about every ancestor, especially ones with blank spaces in their details in my tree, along with every one I've heard an interesting story about - mainly for some verification.   If I could choose just a couple of individuals, they would be the ones who I have found most elusive, the ones who disappeared from the family and turned up in unexpected places – or who didn’t turn up again at all.

I would start with my great grandfather, James Nicholas Clark, and his parents, John and Ann (nee McGoverin).   James Nicholas Clark was born in Bristol, England or possibly Launceston, Tasmania in 1856, just as the family emigrated to Australia.  James’s 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.  I would love to be able to question them about why they decided to leave England, why they chose Tasmania to settle, and then what prompted them to pack up and start all over again in Victoria.  Such moves would not have been undertaken lightly, and travel with a growing brood of young children back in the mid 1800’s would not have been easy.  I would have more questions for James’s mother Ann, whose marriage records indicate she was born in Scotland around 1830, as she have for several years been one of my brick walls.  Getting some dates, places and details from this family would be just so exciting.

Another ancestor I would like to meet, for fairly similar reasons, would be Carl Friedrich Beseler.  Known in Australia as Frederick, he 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.  Again, I would like to know what prompted this family, 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.

Finally, I would like a chance to talk to my paternal grandfather, Frank Walter Noble Green.  Frank died when I was just 4 years old, and I have few memories of him, but I would love to know more about his life in England before he and his wife Rosa May moved to Australia (there seems to be a theme here – why did you move across the globe?).  According to family stories Frank spent two years in America prior to emigrating to Australia – what did he do in the United States and why did he then move his family to Australia instead of returning to the States?

Trove News

The people at Trove have been busy adding newly digitised records to their database over the past few months.  Below are a selection of their new records.

Newspapers and Gazettes

SA

• Hills and Valley Messenger (1990-2012) [State Library of South Australia]
• Hills Gazette (1973-1984) [State Library of South Australia]
• Hills Messenger, Belair-Blackwood edition (1984-1990) [State Library of South Australia]
• Port Lincoln Times (1966-1969, 1970-1981) [State Library of South Australia]

VIC

• Benalla Standard (1932-1940) [State Library Victoria]
• Essendon and Flemington Chronicle (1882-1894) [Moonee Valley City Council]
• Essendon Gazette (1888-1913) [Moonee Valley City Council]
• Hampden Guardian (1871-1872, 1874-1877) [Camperdown and District Historical Society Inc]
• Healesville Guardian and Yarra Glen Guardian (1900) [State Library Victoria]
• Lawloit Times (1910-1929) [State Library Victoria]
• Skipton Standard (1910-1929) [State Library Victoria]
• Sunbury News (1911-1927) [State Library Victoria]
• Sunraysia Daily (1937) [Mildura Rural City Council Library Service]
• Tatura Guardian (1895-1903) [State Library Victoria]
• The Ouyen Mail and Central Mallee Advertiser (1911-1913) [Ouyen District History and Genealogy Centre]
• The Ouyen Mail (1919-1930) [Ouyen District History and Genealogy Centre]
• Western Press (1866-1867, 1870) [Camperdown and District Historical Society Inc]

Magazines and Newsletters

National

• Architecture journals project [National Library of Australia]
• Soil Conservation Service Urban Capability Study (1975-1984) [Soil Conservation Service]

Books and Libraries

ACT

• Books and pamphlets relating to Canberra Grammar School [National Library of Australia]

Diaries, Letters and Archives

National

• Migrant diaries project [National Library of Australia]
• 19th century handwritten manuscripts project [National Library of Australia]

 

The Family Histories Podcasts

In the fourth episode of Series Five of The Family Histories Podcasts  – The Glazier – host Andrew talks to genealogist and Family Tree Magazine columnist, Paul Chiddicks. He tells us how he got hooked on researching his family history, about his Old Palace School Bombing project, his ‘Dear Paul’ magazine column, and what a genealogy-themed range of Lego sets might look like.

Paul has chosen to tell the life story of his maternal Great Grandfather, William Tom Wootton, born 28th May 1863 in Kentish Town, London, England, whom he describes as an ‘entrepreneur’ although others may describe him as more of a ‘chancer’, living in the incredible poverty of the East End of London.

In his 'Brick Wall' segment of the podcast, Paul is looking for help in tracing a Samuel Chiddicks – a brick wall that has bugged Paul for almost 30 years.

So take a listen to this latest episode and catch up on the earlier segments of The Family Histories Podcast and find out about Paul and other genealogists.

New Records on Ancestry

It is always worthwhile checking to see what new records have been added to the database at Ancestry.  Below are some of the recent additions for Australia and the United Kingdom.

Don't forget that you can search the Ancestry database for free at any branch of Campaspe Libraries using our public access PCs or wifi through our subscription to Ancestry Library Edition.

Australia

Applications to Enlist in the AIF, 1915-1918  108,125 records

UK and Ireland

Medical Registers 1859-1943  2,991,949 records

UK

Criminal Records 1780-1871  454,826 records

Scotland

Red Books of Scotland 1600-1939  90,571 records

England

Hampshire Church of England Baptisms, Marriages & Burials 1536-1812  1,999,963 records

Hampshire Church of England Burials 1813-1921  304,643 records

Hampshire Church of England Marriages & Banns 1754-1921  794,719 records

West Sussex Wills and Probate 1521-1858  155,661 records

East Sussex Wills and Probate 1521-1858  183,021 records

Kensington & Chelsea Electoral Registers 1889-1970  9,747,012 records

Surrey World War II Home Guard Records 1940-1945  92,037 records

Wales

Gwent Electoral Registers 1832-1969  16,295,916 records

 

Family Tree UK Magazine

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 :  

• AGRA conference speaker line-up announced
• Remembrance ceremony for Flying Tiger passengers
• Countdown to 1931 Canada census release
• Legacy of railway stationmaster marked through new housing development
• Explore local history at the new Wales Broadcast Archive
• Add the power of audio to your family history photos
• From London to Scotland by steam
• Was your ancestor on a 'wanted' list?
• Wallace Clare Award 2023
• Free Birth, Marriage and Death Records
• Where there's a Will
• As a Family Line
• And more...

A House Through Time

Have you been watching the BBC Two series A House Through Time?  The series started in 2018 and follows historian David Olusoga as he traces the history of a single house, uncovering the lives of the people who lived there throughout centuries of British history. There have been four series of A House Through Time altogether, tracing the history of houses in Liverpool, Newcastle, Bristol and Leeds.

The BBC has just announced that A House Through Time will return again in 2023 - but there's a twist.  This new series will look at the history of two apartment blocks, one in London, the other in Berlin, over three decades, from the Roaring Twenties to the aftermath of the Second World War.

The BBC's press release says: "Using painstaking detective work, David hunts down records for the diverse residents of two buildings in two great cities. The cast of characters includes a soldier, an artist, a Nazi teacher, an African academic, a Jewish refugee, an Italian waiter, a poet, a prisoner of war, a woman spy, and an SS officer.

So keep an eye out for the new series, and if you haven't watched the earlier episodes, take a look.  They are a fascinating glimpse of the past and the lives our ancestors may have lived.