Week 32 (Aug. 5-11): Free Space

When is free space a negative?  When it occurs on a ancestor's timeline or appears in your family history research.  That's when I hate free space.

We all have those gaps in our research, when we have progressed as far as we can and are searching for those elusive facts that will allow us to progress further. 

A notable free space in my tree starts with my great great grandparents David Mulholland and Eliza (McCrae), the first of my Irish ancestors to arrive in Australia.

David Mulholland died in Eurobin, Victoria, Australia on 10 April 1902 at the age of approximately 70.  He left behind wife Eliza Jane (McCrae) - although I have never found a marriage record for the couple - and 7 surviving children.  Death notices describe David as being 71 years of age and a colonist of 42 years, putting his birth at around 1831 and his arrival in Australia around 1860.  David's death certificate states his parents names as David Mulholland and Margaret (McGee)

Eliza - or Elizabeth, survived her husband for 23 years, dying 28 October 1925 in Eurobin.  Her obituary, published in the Albury Banner and Wodonga Express on 6 November 1925, describes Eliza as having "reached the advanced age of 85 years, 63 years of which were spent at Eurobin" and states that she was born in County Belfast, Ireland.  This puts her birth at around 1840 and her arrival in Australia around 1862.  Eliza's death certificate - under the name Eliza Mulholland - gives her parents names as James McCrae and Mary.

I have, thus far, found no records for either family in Ireland.  Neither have I found a marriage record for David and Eliza in Australia or Ireland.  I will keep looking, however, in the hopes of filling in this 'free space' in my family tree.

Family Histories Podcast Bonus Episode

Season 7 of the Family Histories Podcast has ended with a bonus episode 'The Tower'.

Episode Credits include

• Andrew Martin – Host and Producer
• Morag Peers – Guest
• George Orchard – King Edward V
• George Mills – Richard, Duke of York

Watch the episode here, and check out the rest of the series if you haven't watched them already.

Week 31 (July 29-Aug. 4): End of the Line

Many things spring to mind with the prompt 'End of the Line'.  Do you have an "end of the line" ancestor - one who you're convinced won't go any further back? What about an ancestor who lived at the end of a street, or one who lived in a small town where the train station literally was the end of the line?

For me, the 'End of the Line' is myself, on my father's line at least.  

My great grandfather died young, with only one child, a son, to carry on the family name.  My grandfather, one of five children, was the only boy to carry the name on to his generation.  Although he fathered ten children, 4 of them sons to carry on the family name, the line stops with my generation.

Of the four boys in his family, one was a lifelong bachelor.  Two had only daughters.  Only one had a son who would carry the family name into my generation, and he had only a daughter.  So while my surname is extremely common, the actual paternal line, going back 5 generations, dies out in my generation.  While there are cousins in plenty, none of them will carry the paternal surname.

The end of the line indeed. 

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 :  

• The best free family history websites - How to research your family tree for free
• 48 hours in Dublin - Research your Irish ancestry in two days
• Olympics - The history of the Olympic Games
• Sporting ancestors - How to trace your sporting ancestors online
• Around Britain - South Yorkshire
• Family hero - Beth Freeman discovered her great grandmother's lifelong mourning for her first husband
• And more...
  

Week 30 (July 22-28): Boats

The prompt for #52Ancestors Week 30 is 'Boats" - and I do love boats.  Whether it is a cruise ship, harbor cruises or the small paddle steamers of my home town, I love boats and being on the water.

Over the past several years I have been lucky to have managed to combine my love of boats with genealogy, and attend a few of the wonderful Genealogy Cruises arranged by the lovely people at Gould Genealogy.  With a variety of talks held while the ship is at sea plus full access to all the shore trips at the various ports and all the ship's activities and amenities available, they have been wonderful holidays and my only regret is I was not able to go on more of their cruises.

Not only have these floating conferences offered a range of learning opportunities, they have also been a great way to meet fellow genealogists and share my favourite hobby with others.  The conference part of the cruise has always provided me with friendly faces to chat with and eat with and has been a bonus for a solo traveller.

Family History Month

We are rapidly approaching August, which is National Family History Month in Australia, and I am gearing up at the library for a series of Family History talks and 1 to 1 help sessions.

During the month I will be visiting each of our library branches to run sessions, focusing on Ancestry Library Edition, which is available free through our library service, and hints and tips for your family history research.

I will also be running a number of 1 to 1 help sessions, where people can book a time to sit with me and I will try to help with their research brick walls.  I love these sessions as they always raise some intriguing stories, and while I can't guarantee success it is always a thrill to locate a missing fact that helps someone further their research.

There are many other events taking place during August around the country, and quite a few are listed on the AFFHO (Australasian Federation of Family History Organisations) website.

So take a look around at what is happening during August for Family History Month.

Week 29 (July 15-21): Automobiles

 Following on from 'Planes' and 'Trains', this week's #52Ancestors prompt is 'Automobiles', which brings to mind stories of my parents' wedding in 1967, which featured my father's beloved Chev Biscayne.

The Biscayne was one of the few cars my father owned during his lifetime, and was definitely his favourite.  Driven mainly for trips from the sheep station on the Darling River when my parents lived into Mildura or down to Melbourne, it was also the wedding car when my parents married.

Proudly decorated for the event, by the end of the reception it had, to my father's dismay, been liberally 'decorated' with toilet paper and eggs and was driven away trailing streamers and tin cans.  It was a story I heard many times during my childhood.

The Biscayne was my father's pride and joy, and he owned it for many years.  I have fond memories of family outings in that car as a young child, before it was eventually replaced with a 1967 Chrysler Valiant, in which my sister and I both learned to drive.