Irish Lives Remembered

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

In this issue : 

Articles: 

• Mike Feerick - Chuck Feeney: An Appreciation
• Fiona Fitzsimons – Remembering Chuck Feeney: the Entrepreneur Philanthropist’s Longford Lineage
• Cara Eiwanger – The Myth of Irish-American Acceptance in the Mid-nineteenth Century
• Donna Rutherford – A Deep Dive into Ethnicity Estimates
• Rob Flanagan Stieglitz – Case Study: Resolving the Mystery of My Ancestor Thomas Tighe’s Birthdate
• Eamonn P. Kelly – The mysterious Bishop Erc: Saint and Sun God, Part One
• Katharine Simms – Saints and Scholars: the Keenan/O’Keenan Clan and Other Hereditary Historians
• Brigit McCone – Doctoring Dynasties: The Legacy of Irish Medicine in Africa
• Deirdre Powell – The Irish Family Legacy of Mathematical Genius George Boole
• Elizabeth Cowan - “Send you kisses”: Sapphic Revolutionaries, part 2
• Timothy Murtagh – Henrietta Street: From Townhouse to Tenement

Regular columns: 

• Dear Genie - Our Genealogists help you with your research block
• Heritage Highlight - Strokestown Park’s National Famine Museum
• Emerald Roots Interview – Kayleigh Bealin, Research Manager, Eneclann 

Books and Films:

• Four Courts Press Book Excerpt – Medieval Dublin XIX edited by Seán Duffy (2023)
• Four Courts Press Book Excerpt – Marsden Haddock and the Androides by Neil Cronin (2023)
• Genealogical Publishing Company Book Excerpt – A Guide to Irish Parish Registers by Brian Mitchell (1988)

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 : 

• 5 Questions with: Crista Cowan, Corporate Genealogist, Ancestry
• Time Capsules
• Budget Booking - Save money while traveling to your ancestral hometown.
• Find Your U.S. Ancestors
• National Myths - Set the record straight by busting six National Archives research myths.
• Jolly Old England - Finding your English roots has never been easier.
• Pension Records
• Searching American Ancestors
• Saving Baby Blankets and Quilts
• Free Digital Libraries
• Color-Coding DNA Matches
• Research Trip Packing List - Grab the following when you head out on genealogy adventures.
• Elli Island Research

Week 19 (May 6-12): Preserve

The prompt of ‘Preserve’ has me thinking about how we, as family historians, can preserve the documents, photographs and other items we possess for future generations.

As technology evolves and changes, new storage methods are developed and older methods become obsolete.  Many of us have come across old videocassettes, floppy discs and other obsolete storage mediums that we can no longer easily access – or access at all – that may hold family memories that are otherwise lost.  Maybe cleaning out an older relative’s house, or tucked away in an archive or repository, or even in our own homes.  A crashed hard drive or broken smart phone can also result in instant loss of treasured memories. 

Moving such treasures onto new storage mediums before the old once a completely obsolete or deteriorate beyond saving is something we should constantly consider.  Recently I spent several weeks of my space time converting an old box of slides and negatives into digital photographs using a device I purchased from a local camera shop.  While I still have the slides and negatives – now stored in more appropriate archival containers – also having digital copies will help preserve these precious family memories.

Can you imagine losing your treasured family photos, videos and documents? In the digital age that we live in, it doesn't just take a natural disaster to wipe your records.   How safe are your photos and other treasures?  How prepared are you for a fire, flood or other catastrophe?  How often do you back up your digital photos - and how safe are your backups?  As we accumulate photos and documents and records as we research our family history, it is important that we consider how we will preserve these items, even if they are ‘only’ copies.  One day the originals may no longer exist, so even copies need to be preserved.

So take some time to consider the preservation of the various items you have, physical or digital, and how you will keep them safe and accessible for the future.

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 Libby eMagazines.

Inside this month's issue :

• Genealogy websites tested WDYTYA? readers give their verdicts on Ancestry, Findmypast, MyHeritage and TheGenealogist
• Online tree traps Why you shouldn't believe everything you read online
• Reader story Lucy Parker on how she traced her Norwegian ancestry
• The history of elections Think politics is turbulent these days? Discover the elections our ancestors lived through
• House history Where to find old photos of your house online
• Shropshire Our complete guide to tracing your ancestry in the county
• And more...
  

Week 18 (Apr. 29-May 5): Love and Marriage

This week’s theme of ‘Love and Marriage’ closely echoes, for me, the previous theme of ‘Step’.

Throughout history, love and marriage has never been straightforward.  Marriage was often a necessary transaction which had little to do with love, and more to do with economics, bloodlines and necessity.

Frequently the death of a spouse had life-changing consequences for the family left behind.  A woman, the death of her husband could mean the loss of his income and protection.  A widow could be left virtually destitute, with little or no inheritance of her own, struggling to raise children without means to find employment to support them.  Remarriage could be an economic necessity, especially if she did not have family nearby who were willing – and financially able – to support or take in her and her children.

For a man, the loss of a wife could also be difficult.  Becoming a widower could leave him with young children he would struggle to look after, especially if he had to keep working.  Perhaps a spinster or widowed sister or cousin might be available to step in and help, or he might have the funds to hire a housekeeper and nanny.  Again, a swift remarriage could be a necessity to provide someone to care for the house and children while he was working.

Such marriage and remarriage could result in very tangled family lines.  In last week’s Step I wrote about my 3xGreat Grandfather Thomas May, who married 4 times, with his final wife being the widowed mother-in-law of one of his daughters.  A complex relationship in my family tree.

Another complex relationship was that of my Aunt, Mavis Pummeroy, and Aunt Thelma Clark.  Mavis, born in 1924, married Ernest Horton on the 15^th of September 1947.  Her Aunt Thelma, born in 1914, had married Clarence Horton, Ernest’s brother, on the 6^th of April 1935.  Thus these two women were not only aunt and niece, but also sisters-in-law.  Love and marriage could create complex relationships indeed!

On the Record at the National Archives

Latest episode of On the Record just dropped! 

'Pauper Voices' brings together findings from a major research project into the lives of the poor, 1834 - 1900. Hear unique testimony from a group whose voices are often absent from history.

 
The podcasts is described by the site "It's often impossible to find direct accounts of poor people in the historical record, especially the further back you look. But an extraordinary collection containing thousands of letters written by people in poverty between 1834 and 1900 provides an insight into their lives.  In this episode, Chloe Lee speaks to specialist Paul Carter about letters held by The National Archives which were addressed to the Poor Law Board, the British central poor law authority. Together they use these accounts to glimpse into the factories, the workhouses and slums in which so many vulnerable people lived out their lives.  This podcast is based on the research In Their Own Write, a major AHRC-funded project, running from 2018 to 2021, which uses letters from paupers and other poor people, and associated manuscript material such as petitions, sworn statements and advocate letters (those written on behalf of paupers) to investigate the lives of the poor between 1834 and 1900. The Project was led by Professor Steve King (Nottingham Trent University) and Dr Paul Carter, (The National Archives).

This series of podcasts is brought to you by the National Archives UK.

Anzac Day