Week 13 (Mar. 26-Apr. 1) Home Sweet Home

Throughout my family history, there have been a number of places that were 'Home Sweet Home' to my ancestors, and finding out about them is a big part of my research. 

My father's family had strong ties to Fordham Hall (also called Manor Farm) in Essex, being tennants at the Hall for several generations.  Although they were not the owners, they were major local landholders and were the gentry of their small community.

Fordham Hall, Essex

Fordham Hall eventually became part of the Woodland Trust, but for years it was 'home sweet home' to my father's family.

For my father, the second youngest of 10 children born in Australia after my grandparents emigrated, 'home sweet home' was a full house indeed.  Often the family lived in small farmhouses, with only a few rooms.  They moved several times during my father's childhood, but none of the homes the family occupied would be called spacious.

The Green family home in Mildura, Victoria

'Home sweet home' for my father was the sheep station called 'Para' on which I was born.  My father worked there as a stockman for approximately 20 years, and my mother became station cook after their marriage.  I have a number of family stories of Dad's time at the station, and it was his favourite of all the places he called home.

Para Homestead

My sister and I were both born during our parents last years at the station.  Just before we reached school age, our family moved to the small town of Moama, where we lived for the rest of my childhood.  I have blogged a few times about cleaning out this home after my parents died, before the home was sold and I moved to my current Home Sweet Home.

Website Wednesday - Old Occupations

Family historians often locate records that list ancestors with unusual and intriguing occupations. Many of these occupations may have originated as far back as the Middle Ages and by the 14th century it was common for people to take their occupation as a surname. i.e. Skinner - Flayer of animal hides for leather or Fletcher – maker of arrows.

One website that help offer explanations of what our ancestors occupations were is Hall Genealogy's Old Occupation Names.  While the site has not been updated recently, it still offers explanations of hundreds of old occupations, listed alphabetically. 

Each old occupation listed has a short explanation of what it involved, sometimes with multiple explanations or a timeline of when the occupation existed.

Imagine looking up a marriage certificate and finding your female ancestor had listed 'Hooker' as her occupation - and the relief of finding she was actually working in a textile mill!

23andMe Files for Bankruptcy

23andMe, one of the world’s largest DNA testing companies, has just announced that it is filing for bankruptcy protection.  The company said it has initiated voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings in the US Bankruptcy Court.  The company said that it would continue to operate its business and there would be no changes to the way it stores customer data.

Mark Jensen, chair and member of the Special Committee of the Board of Directors at 23andMe, said in a recent statement: “After a thorough evaluation of strategic alternatives, we have determined that a court-supervised sale process is the best path forward to maximize the value of the business.  We expect the court-supervised process will advance our efforts to address the operational and financial challenges we face, including further cost reductions and the resolution of legal and leasehold liabilities. We believe in the value of our people and our assets and hope that this process allows our mission of helping people access, understand and benefit from the human genome to live on for the benefit of customers and patients.”

“We want to thank our employees for their dedication to 23andMe’s mission. We are committed to supporting them as we move through the process. In addition, we are committed to continuing to safeguard customer data and being transparent about the management of user data going forward, and data privacy will be an important consideration in any potential transaction.”

Founded in 2006, 23andMe saw its share price plummet after the company suffered a major data breach in October 2023, when hackers breached about 14,000 customers’ accounts, gaining access to the data of 6.9 million people who were listed as those users’ relations.  In September 2024, 23andMe agreed to pay $30 million to settle a lawsuit by affected customers.

23andMe has an FAQ section about the ongoing situation on its website.

Who Do You Think You Are Magazine has published a guide on how to download and/or delete your data from 23andMe is you wish to do so.

Genealogy Webinar Marathon

The 6th Annual 24-Hour Genealogy Webinar Marathon hosted by FamilyTreeWebinars.com and MyHeritage begins Thursday, April 3 at 5pm eastern U.S. time (Friday, April 4 at 8am Sydney time) and ends on Friday, April 4 at 5pm eastern U.S. time (Saturday, April 5 at 8am Sydney time).

There are 24 free webinars listed covering a range of topics, with something for everyone.  If you cannot tune in live, the webinars are also available to view later via the Webinar Library. The library also lists a number of other webinars, many of which can be viewed for free as well.

Week 12 (Mar. 19-25) Historic Event

Over the past few years we have lived through several historic events, and I have had several discussions with 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 as 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.  I spent my 50th birthday in lockdown, isolated at home.

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 events 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.

Website Wednesday - The Early British Census Project

The Early British Census project (EBC) brings the numerous disparate pre-1841 census records into one searchable database. It is designed to help family historians discover their ancestors; offer training for students; and provide data for scholarly research, particularly for local and population studies. The project offers valuable insight into household and occupational structures of early industrial Britain. 

 
There are over 1400 surviving household or individual schedules from the 1801, 1811, 1821, and 1831 censuses. Because the household and individual schedules were never submitted to a central government entity, the original returns remain in dozens of local archives across the UK. These records have never been brought together into one database, most have never been indexed or published, and only occasional returns have been digitized.

EBC brings these various records into one searchable database. When the database is complete, it will likely contain information about approximately 500,000 households.

The first stage of the project is to extract data from, and where possible gather digital images of, the 1801-1831 English censuses. Later stages will capture records from other parts of the British Isles as well as earlier periods.

Student researchers, under faculty supervision, consult the originals, extract parish, household, and individual data, and where possible upload the digital image. The extractions are then verified by a second researcher.

All information was extracted from digital images of original census records. No extractions or transcriptions from other collections or publications were used.

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 : 

• Papal dispensations marriage database
• MI5: Official Secrets – exhibition & talks
• ‘Reframing roots’: can family history hold the key to a happier life?
• Rare Second World War trade directories go online
• Free online treasure trove of Scottish history
• DNA news
• RootsTech round-up: coming soon
• Beatrix Potter dollshouse restored & on display
• New FamilyTreeDNA Mitotree
• Illegitimacy on the record
• How to guide: perfect pictures for your Family History
• Mother's secret : The Tale of Abandoned Twins & a New Life
• And more...