My mother wanted to die at home. As a family we were able to fulfill this final wish. Before she died there were many opportunities to talk to her about her life. In her own words she described her journey as “a life well lived.” Her eulogy which I wrote and delivered (and Mum censored before her death) highlighted what Mum saw as the important aspects of this well lived life. Provided below are several excerpts from her eulogy which … Continue reading
LOOKING FOR THE “J” IN JAMES J. PICKUP? My research into the birth of James led me to the New South Wales Births Deaths and Marriages Family History Research page i.e. https://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/Pages/family-history-research/family-history-search.aspx Just hit the “start searching” button. Select what your looking for a birth, a death or a marriage. In this instance a “birth”. Type in what you do know and a ballpark date. I searched for : Name Fields>>James J. Pickup : Father>> John : Mother>> Mary : Date … Continue reading
Colourful, what does that mean? Does it say they wore bright clothes? Or, does it mean they were ‘colourful characters’? Sorting through my family file for the colourful characters and after sorting through and considering this one and that one I have decided on a 1st cousin twice removed – Joseph Emanuel Antoney AKA ‘Manny the Murderer’. Manny was born in Walkerston near Mackay, Queensland on the 2nd April 1900 to Manuel Silva (Emanuel) Antoney and his wife Annie Marie … Continue reading
Many years ago, my aunt told me a story in which she remembered sitting in a car in a car park while her father visited someone in an adjoining building. She wondered why she could not go with him, but her father made it clear he was going alone. She learnt later that she was outside the Goodna Mental Asylum where her father was visiting his older brother William Alexander Dorsey Bell. This story lingered in my mind so a … Continue reading
This is a slightly condensed version of a blog post I wrote for the Mackay Family History Society and has been reproduced with permission You can read the full post (and other blog posts) at: Boese-Coogan Postcards #3: The Frostrop-Vickers wedding invitation Wedding invitations have certainly changed over the last 111 years! This postcard was sent by the Mulherin family at Coningsby, a farming locality north of Mackay, to Rudolph and Alice Boese (my great great uncle and aunt) inviting … Continue reading
