Week 31 - Oldest - 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

The theme for Week 31 is Oldest, and I have chosen the oldest of my father's siblings Phyllis, who lived to the fine old age of 102.  Dad's family were all quite long-lived, all 10 siblings living into their 70's at least and several passing 90, but Phyllis was the only one to reach the 100 years milestone.

Phyllis Holyoak (nee Green) at her 100th birthday

Phyllis was born 4th October 1913 and died 20 September 2015, just short of 102 years old.  She married Len Holyoak on 5 October 1934 and together they raised 7 children.  A huge family gathering of children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews and assorted other family celebrated her 100th birthday, including her only surviving sibling, younger sister Nancy.

Considering life expectancy and infant mortality, all of my father's family have lived fairly long lives, but Phyllis certainly qualified for the title of Oldest.

Week 30 - Colorful - 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

The prompt for Week 30 is 'Colorful', a work that describes several (many!) of my ancestors.

One colorful family member I can recall is my father's brother Ernie Green.  A larger than life character, Ernie, known as Squib, was the second of the 10 Green siblings.  Squib was born in 1910 and died in 1987.  He fought in the army in world war 2 before settling on a farm near Mildura, in northern Victoria.  Below is a copy of a postcard Squib sent to his sister Nancy during his service in WW2, with his photo superimposed above the pyramids.

Sent from Egypt, World War 2

I only have one photo of all 10 Green siblings, taken in 1965 with their father, Frank Walter Noble Green, seated front centre.  Squib is easy to identify - he is the one balancing a beer bottle on his head!  Colorful indeed!

All ten Green family siblings, taken in 1965

WDYTYA Magazine

The latest issue of Who Do You Think You Are Magazine is now available FREE online fro Campaspe Library members via RB Digital eMagazines.

Inside this month's issue

• 20th century kin
  Emma Jolly shares 20 useful tips to help you learn more about the lives of your recent relatives
• Start your family tree
  Chris Paton reveals everything you need to know to begin your research today
• Local BMD certificates
  Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine editor Sarah Williams explains why an alternative strategy can break down your brick walls
• Irish military records
  Nicola Morris, expert on Boy George's episode of Who Do You Think You Are?, shows you how to trace your ancestors during the Irish Revolutionary War
• Patents
  Intellectual property expert Maria Lampert reveals how family historians can use patent records to track down inventor ancestors
• Plus...
  The best websites for tracing Caribbean kin; how to create family memoirs; the lives of ancestors who were elected councillors, and much more...

Week 29 - Music - 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

The theme for Week 29 is Music, and music has always been an important part of my family life.  Listening to music, playing music, sharing music - 'tis quite a shame I cannot sing, (at least not in public) but as my grandmother once said I could not carry a tune if you gave it to me in a shopping bag with handles.
In primary school my specality was the recorder - in grade three I graduated from the standard recorder to the larger alto recorder, before moving on to the flute in high school.  I also learned to play the guitar, again at school, saving my pocket money for months to buy my first acoustic guitar.  It was only then, accepting that I was serious about learning and it wasn't a passing fad, that my mother produced her own instrument, a beautiful hand painted creamy colored Spanish guitar.

My mother Joy with her guitar, early 1957

It was only then that I learned my mother had played in a Federal Band in Melbourne during her youth.  She had stopped playing when marriage and children took up too much of her time to practice, but she still had the guitar, stored wrapped in blankets on top of a wardrobe.  Somehow it survived mouse plagues, moves and years of less than ideal storage.  After allowing me to play it for a while she put the guitar away again, and I continued to learn on my own.
After her death I re-discovered her guitar, and it moved with me to my new home last year.  Eventually I plan to have it restrung and display it, and hopefully hand it on to another generation.

Records of London's Livery Companies (ROLLCO)

The Records of London's Livery Companies Online project is a partnership between the Centre for Metropolitan History, The Bowyers' Company, The Clothworkers' Company, The Drapers' Company, The Founders’ Company, The Girdlers' Company, The Goldsmiths' Company, The Mercers' Company, The Musicians' Company, The Salters' Company, The Stationers' Company and The Tallow Chandlers' Company.

The aim of ROLLCO is to provide a fully searchable database of Livery Company membership over time, including the records of Apprentices and Freemen in the City of London Livery Companies between 1400 and 1900.  Searches can be made for individuals within the Companies' membership, with results available to download and save.  Currently the database includes information about apprenticeship bindings and freedom admissions for ten of London's Livery Companies, with the records of further Companies to follow.

The Livery Companies of the City of London originate from the medieval trade guilds which were established to regulate particular crafts. Guilds supervised the training of apprentices, controlled standards of craftsmanship, and protected craftsmen from unfair competition. They also provided financial support to their members in old age and in times of poverty and bereavement.

ROLLCO is a not-for-profit project, and access is free to all.

Week 28 - Travel - 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 28 (I'm catching up) focuses on travel.  How much easier it is today for us to travel the globe, with airplanes and cruise ships, modern cars, trains and buses.  Journeys that took our ancestors days, weeks or even months, we can now accomplish in hours, and in a degree of comfort they would not have even dreamed of.

For many of my ancestors, travel for pleasure was simply not an option.  They didn't have the means or the leisure to travel far, and for many holidays were unheard of.  Most of them lived their entire lives within miles of their place of birth, and rarely ventured far from home.

For those of my ancestors who emigrated from England, Ireland and Germany, the move meant weeks or months of travel with the knowledge that there was little chance they would see the loved ones they left behind again.  200 years ago even exchanging letters with those in the old country could take weeks, and for those without great skill in reading and writing even letters could be problematic.  For some the move would have been very final indeed.

I have family scattered around Australia, and traveling to visit them is so easy today.  My sister lives 200km away - and I can hop on a train or bus, or drive my car on (fairly) good roads, and be at her house in just a few hours.  200 years ago it would be a journey of several days at least, and so visits would have been few and contact a great deal less regular.  We take travel fo much for granted.

Week 27 - Independence - 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

The theme for Week 27 of #52Ancestors is Independence, and for those on time with these posts it coincides with the 4th of July in the United States. 

Whether focusing on independence as a nation - Australia Day for those of us Down Under - or the independence of our ancestors, especially those who left their loved ones behind in search of adventure or a better life - we all have plenty of examples of independence.  We all find our own independence in our own way, but the journeys of many of my ancestors leaves me in awe of their spirit and drive, their determination to build independent lives.

My mother is one such example.  Born in 1942 in the Melbourne suburb of Brighton, she spent her first few working years in the city - at G. J. Coles Bourke Street store, at Allan's music shop in Collins Street and at Evan Evans in Elizabeth Street.  A city girl through and through, she then headed for the bush to work as a nursery governess around Mildura and Balranald.  Independence indeed, to leave behind the life she knew.

She learned to deal with snakes and dust storms, vast distances and poor roads, the pace of country life and the isolation.  Although she never held a drivers licence, she learned to drive farm vehicles around the paddocks.  When my sister and I were born, our parents were living on a sheep station on the Darling River, north of Mildura - a 1 hour drive from the nearest town.

An even bigger step into the unknown showed the independence of several of my ancestors who emigrated to Australia from England, Ireland and Germany.  Many of them knew nothing of Australia, but took the huge step of leaving behind all they know in the hope of a better life.  How strange this new country must have been to them, but they settled down, built new lives and made themselves a home in this new landscape.