Thursday, July 4, 2024

Traces Magazine

Edition 27 of Australian history and genealogy magazine Traces is now available free online for Campaspe Library members via our subscription to Libby eMagazines.

Inside this month's issue: 

  • Heritage news
  • The Bush Inn, New Norfolk, Tasmania
  • Rescuing the past from the wreckage : the 50th anniversary of Cyclone Tracy
  • How the car changed Australia
  • Wakka Wakka resistance in the Burnett River Basin
  • Newsreels : a record of daily life
  • Do you have a story to share?
  • The name behind the frame
  • Murder or misadventure on the Moana?
  • A long-lost relative found
  • Speaking of Dulcie
  • The wild ways of Adelaide Ironside
  • The flapper
  • A labour of love
  • And more...

Tuesday, July 2, 2024

Week 27 (July 1-7): Planes

The #52Ancestors prompt of 'Planes' put me in mind of my uncle David Pummeroy, who served in World War 2 as a pilot.  While I had previously looked for his Air Force record on the Australian National Archives website, until recently they had not yet been digitised.  

To my joy, his record is now available.  It contains a total of 52 pages and I plan to examine it in more detail this weekend.

William David Russell Pummeroy was born in Brighton on 6 September 1925, the eldest son of Gladys Daisy (Clark) and William Henry Pummeroy.  He was always known as David, probably to distinguish himself from his father.  David enlisted in the RAAF on 8 October 1943 in Melbourne, just a month after his 18th birthday, having previously worked as an apprentice Gas Fitter.

David started his RAAF career as an Aircraftman Class 2 (Aircrew), rising to the rank of Sergeant (Airman Pilot) in 1944 and finally Flight Sergeant (Airman Pilot) in 1945.  He would be discharged from the RAAF on 28 March 1946.

As a civilian David would go on to work as a pilot for first TAA and then Qantas, flying planes all over the world, and eventually retiring as a Senior Flight Instructor.  

Interestingly, despite his long career as a civilian pilot, his parents were not great travellers.  His father William Henry Pummeroy never flew with his son, and his mother only flew with him once.  In the 1970s David's mother, my grandmother Gladys Daisy Pummeroy, flew from Melbourne to Townsville to visit her youngest son.  She was in her early 70s at the time, and it was the only time she ever boarded a plane.

Saturday, June 29, 2024

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: Elizabeth Shown Mills - Citations Expert
  • NARA Digitization Goal • Scanners & Affiliates to Add 500M Images
  • FamilySearch Library to Retire Microfilm, CDs
  • Listen Now : Podcasts on stories and DNA
  • Road Map to Your Roots
  • 101 Best Websites.
  • Ancestry 101 • Get back to the basics of searching genealogy records at Ancestry.com.
  • Find Your U.S. Ancestors
  • On Exhibit • Your heirloom displays
  • Come to your census : Pre-1850 US censuses
  • School Records
  • Preserving Cards and Board Games
  • Tools for Organizing and Analyzing Research
  • Y-DNA Tests
  • Italian Genealogy

Tuesday, June 25, 2024

Week 26 (June 24-30): Family Gathering

The theme for Week 26 is 'Family Gathering', and these can be a wonderful source of information, family stories and photographs for the family historian.  For whatever the reason, birthdays, weddings, funerals or other special occasions, organising a family gathering can be a huge undertaking, especially when the family is large and widespread.

I have been fortunate to have attended a few family gatherings over the years.  Given my early interest in family history, I arrived armed with notebook and pen, ready to jot down any interesting stories or unknown facts that came to light during the event.

I also have a number of photographs in my collection from various family gatherings, some of which took place before I was born.  I have commented before that my father was one of 10 children, and that I have only one (somewhat blurry) photograph of all 10 siblings together.

The above photo was taken c1965 and show my father and his brothers and sisters gathered around their father.  And yes, second eldest Ernest (Squib) is standing with a beer bottle balanced on his head.

On my mother's side of the family, among my treasured photos are a pair dating from 1947.

Divided into the male and female sides, my mother is 5 years old and standing at the front of the group, with my grandmother Gladys on her right and grandmother Pricilla on her left.

The male group, again featuring matriarch Pricilla, has my grandfather William standing directly behind.  For many of my aunts and uncles, these are the only images I have of them, so they are precious to me indeed. 

A wonderful legacy of a family gathering.

Saturday, June 22, 2024

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 : 

  • Baptisms : 10 tips on tracing these crucial records
  • Ruth Goodman : The historian and TV presenter on her new podcast
  • Reader story : Was David Hough visited by his grandfather's ghost?
  • Medieval ancestors : Take your family tree back hundreds of years
  • Beach huts : The history of these seaside icons
  • The Canadian prairies : Tracing ancestors who emigrated overseas
  • And more...

Thursday, June 20, 2024

Week 25 (June 17-23): Storyteller

While my first thought when I saw the prompt 'Storyteller' for this week's #52Ancestors challenge was of recording and verifying family stories, a recent discussion has sent my thoughts in a different direction.

Over the past few years we have seen many difficult times, and I recently had a discussion with several fellow Family Historians about how we should record our memories and reactions for the future, so that generations yet to come can see how their ancestors lived through several years of crisis.

In 2020 the world experienced a historic global pandemic, with many of us moving in and out of lockdowns and various restrictions on our daily lives.  The world struggled to limit the spread and impact of Covid-19.  Like many I was stood down from my job, saw businesses close and contacts restricted, and in the small community where I live, unforgettably saw armed police restricting travel across the state border.

While many of my memories of the pandemic restrictions, which flowed on into 2021, are stressful, there were also many positives.  So many people came together to keep each other going.  Online shopping boomed and the concept of 'click and collect' became (and remains) common.  In the genealogical community meetings and conferences went online and access to many digitised records were relaxed to make research from home easier.  The idea of working from home became much more common in many industries.

Hard on the heels of 2 years of Covid lockdowns, 2022 saw my home area suffer the worst floods in living memory.  While my home itself was not impacted, many friends saw their homes flood, roads and highways were cut, access to services cut, shops closed and like many I came under an evacuation order.  

We watched the Murray River flood parkland, the water creeping closer and closer, flooding homes and breeching levies like the one behind the library where I work - see the photo below.  As the water rose the community came together to frantically sandbag homes and businesses, another wonderful show of community spirit in the face of a crisis.

These are memories that need to be recorded as part of our family history.  We have all lived through a global pandemic and lived through or witnessed a number of historic times in recent years.  Recording our memories of such major events should be a part of our family history records, for the generations that come after us.

So please, get writing your memories. Become your own storyteller of the historic times you have just lived through.

Tuesday, June 18, 2024

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 : 

  • News : Helen Tovey reports on news from the world of genealogy
  • 10th annual Lifetime Achievement archives and history awards
  • Tips from the Family Tree Plus Club meetings
  • Surnames as false friends with Chris Paton
  • And So To France : Gill Shaw makes a foray into the French records
  • Uncover the clues and pass the stories on…
  • Dreaded Institution : a history of the Workhouse
  • ‘Proof’ or works of Fiction? : Vital Records
  • Reuben Joynes, Weaver & Activist
  • Shape up your Research Skills in 5 steps
  • Making DNA work for you
  • Your questions answered
  • Getting started & keeping organised with Family
  • Photo corner with Costume historian and photo dating expert Jayne Shrimpton
  • Join the Clubs