Week 6 (Feb. 5-11) Surprise

Finding a genealogical surprise, be it good or bad, I always find an exciting experience.  Over the years of my research I have found many surprises in my research - unexpected records and breakthroughs, family stories proven (or disproved), surprising events, etc.

Many of my most surprising discoveries have come through the newspapers.  Reports of family tragedies, court appearances, advertisements, activities and family notices, all provided surprises.

Some highlights include :

A 1909 report of my great grandfather Edward Beseler when he appeared in court on the charge of having insufficient means of support, was found to be insane and an order of commitment was made.

From the Ballarat Star, 4 February 1909

Edward was admitted to the Ararat Mental Asylum, where he was assessed, found to be suffering from senility, and committed to the wards.  In his asylum record he is described at the time of his admission as being in fair bodily health for his age, clean and tidy but difficult to communicate with as he was quite deaf and illiterate, and described as suffering from delusions.

The divorce of another great grandfather James Nicholas Clark from his first wife Eliza (Hawley)

The marriage was clearly an unhappy one, and in 1891 Eliza had abandoned James and their two young children.  In the divorce proceedings it had been claimed that Eliza had been a habitual drunkard and had been living with two men after she abandoned her marriage, although the judge saw no direct evidence of adultery and granted the divorce on the grounds of desertion only.  The divorce was reported in the local newspapers amongst general reports of local court procedings, including the article shown here from the 'Caulfield and Elsternwick Leader'.

When James Nicholas passed away in 1924 there were two death notices inserted in the newspaper - one from his family and one from the Masonic Lodge of which he was a member. 

Had it not been for this Masonic notice, I would never have known that James was a Mason.  It is also worth noting the spelling error - the heading of the Masonic notice has CLARG, not CLARK.  The family notice also gives me his occupation - Overseer at Brighton City Council, and both notices give his address and the cemetery in which his grave is located.

Estate and probate notices were common, either advertising to resolve claims and demands on the estate or giving details of the sale of assets.  Here Susannah, the widow of Mr John Noble, advertises in the Essex Standard on Friday 4 October 1850 to resolve her husband's estate.

 

These and many other newspaper surprises have helped 'flesh out' my family history research and fill in details of my ancestors surprising lives.

RootsTech Update

A few updates for RootsTech 2025

RootsTech 2025 has revealed its first three keynote speakers:

• Tara Davis-Woodhall and Hunter Woodhall – This gold medal-winning couple, celebrated for their achievements in the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, will share their inspiring journey during an in-person keynote.
• Ndaba Mandela - Author and grandson of Nelson Mandela, Mandela will deliver a virtual keynote, sharing lessons from his famous grandfather and his efforts to preserve the family legacy.
• Dana Tanamachi - The renowned artist and designer, known for her work with Google, Nike, and Starbucks, will speak in person about how family stories have influenced her art.

The RootsTech 2025 schedule is now live. The three-day family history celebration is packed with:

• Inspiring keynote speakers
• Insightful classes
• The latest genealogy innovations

You can easily use the scheduling tool to create your own personalised RootsTech experience and highlight your preferred sessions using the "+ Schedule" button.

Trove Tuesday

What's new on Trove

The following newspapers are now available in Trove. The year range listed is an indication of what's currently available in Trove, and not always the full year range the newspaper was published.

NSW

• Hanho T'aimzŭ (Hanho Times) (1985-1995) [Korean Cultural Centre]
• Central Western Daily (1945-1954) [Central West Libraries]
• Windsor and Richmond Gazette (1966-1971) [Hawkesbury Library Service]

VIC

• Portland Mercury and Normanby Advertiser (1842-1843) [Ms Pamela Marriott]
• The Portland Mercury and Port Fairy Register (1843-1844) [Ms Pamela Marriott]
• Portland Gazette and Belfast Advertiser (1844-1849) [Ms Pamela Marriott]
• The Belfast Gazette and Portland and Warnambool Advertiser (1849-1876) [Ms Pamela Marriott]
• The Banner of Belfast (1855; 1857-1876) [Ms Pamela Marriott]
• The Warrnambool Examiner and Western District Advertiser (1854;1856) [Ms Pamela Marriott]
• Belfast Gazette (1876-1878) [Ms Pamela Marriott]
• Western Port Times and Phillip Island and Bass Valley Advertiser (1904-1910) [Phillip Island and District Genealogical Society]

SA

• Orroroo Enterprise and Great Northern Advertiser (1892-1904) [Orroroo Historical Society]
• South-East Kingston Leader (1977-1987) [National Trust of South Australia - Kingston Branch ]
• Port Lincoln Times (1987-1988) [Port Lincoln History Group]
• The Standard (1966-1967) [Prospect Local History Group]

The Wiener Holocaust Library

Based in London, The Wiener Holocaust Library is the world’s oldest and Britain’s largest collection of original archival material on pre-war Jewish life, the Nazi era and the Holocaust, making it a major resource for Jewish family history research.

The Wiener is home to hundreds of thousands of documents, letters, photographs, press cuttings, books, pamphlets, periodicals and unpublished manuscripts and memoirs, posters, artworks, and eyewitness testimonies.

Wiener Digital Collections enables online access to some of the library's most important collections, including documents used in evidence at the Nuremberg Trials, the family papers of Jewish refugees, photos taken at the Litzmannstadt Ghetto, JCIO reports, and responses to Nazism and fascism in Germany, Britain and beyond.  Over 150,000 historic documents and photographs recording the Holocaust and resistance to Nazism have been published online in this new collection.

The Library's founder, Dr Alfred Wiener recognised the Nazi threat early on and campaigned against Nazism in the 1920s and 1930s. After fleeing Germany for Amsterdam in 1933, he founded the Jewish Central Information Office (JCIO) at the request of the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Anglo-Jewish Association, collecting information about Nazi persecution. He brought his collection to Britain shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, where it became known as ‘Dr Wiener’s Library’.

Look History in the Eye - Episode 16

The Sandy Point Skeleton is Episode 16 of the podcast Look History in the Eye, presented by the Public Records Office of Victoria. 

 
In 2017 a near complete human skeleton was discovered on the seabed near Wilson’s Promontory, Victoria. The media called him the Sandy Point man, and to the police he was a complete mystery. Hear from the forensic team who worked on this ground-breaking case using a new technique called FIGG for the first time. Family history DNA databases, archival research and scientific analysis combined to give the Sandy Point man his name.

Length: 42.30

Episode 16 : The Case of the Sandy Point Skeleton

Presented by Kate Follington, and featuring Dr Dadna Hartman, Manager Molecular Biology, Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, Fiona Leahy, Manager Legal, Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine and Dr Runa Daniel, Research Fellow Affiliate, Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine.

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 :  

• Timelines How timelines can take your family history research further
• Irish ancestors Five essential records for tracing Irish heritage
• Fish and chips The history of Britain's most iconic dish
• Criminal ancestors How to trace their records
• Cemetery records How to find where your ancestors were buried
• Around Britain The East Riding of Yorkshire
• And more...
  

Week 5 (Jan. 29-Feb. 4) Challenge

The prompt for Week 5 is "Challenge", which pretty much describes most aspects of family history research at times.  How to pick just one area upon which to focus?

One aspect of research I find truly a challenge is the amount of misinformation and inaccurate research I find out there.  Incorrectly transcribed records, inaccurate original records, outright lies, and poor research skills can cause all sorts of problems for the unwary.

Online trees on any website I find can be full of errors, many of which are perpetuated by other researchers simply copying the incorrect information without  trying to verify it - even without noticing that the information is impossible!

Some of the impossibilities to keep in mind :

• Children cannot be born before their parents. 
• Children cannot be born to a mother who is 6 years old.  Or 94 years old. 
• Children are highly unlikely to be born to a father who is 89 years old.  While this MAY be biologically possible, it is unlikely and deserves a bit of fact checking.
• A child cannot be christened 4 months before they are born. 
• A woman cannot marry 3 years after she has died.
• A man cannot enlist in the army 5 years after he has died.
• Full siblings cannot be born 4 months apart.
• Travel takes time, especially before the age of the airplane.  In 1883 a child could not be born in England and christened in Australia 5 days later.
  

I have seen all of these, and more, in online family trees.  And trying to contact the tree owner to get their errors corrected?  Challenging indeed! 

A few years ago I discovered a transcribed record in an online database that illustrated the mistakes that can occur.  The record for the baptism of Hannah May below leapt out at me when I first located it.  Why??  Check the birth and baptism dates again.  According to this record Hannah was born 17 August 1796 but baptised 6 weeks earlier on 9 July 1796.

Something has been transcribed incorrectly in this record.  Possibly the dates are transposed and Hannah was born in July and baptised in August.  Possibly one of the months was transcribed incorrectly.  With no original image to check, I will need to dig further to find out.  It is clear, however, that a mistake has been made somewhere which makes my research that much more of a challenge.