…down Sydney way. You may ask “Who is this strange woman writing on our blog today?” My name is Jill Ball and, like many of your members, I am an amateur genealogist who has a bad dose of the genealogy bug. You can find out a little about me from this recent interview. I was delighted when your President, whom I have met at conferences and on geneacruises, emailed asking me to write a guest post for your fifth Monday … Continue reading
Sometimes interpreting a particular resource is not so much about the information that is provided, but what is not. Family Tree Chart #4 is a basic, handwritten diagram of the descendants of English couple John Johnson of Carlisle and Isabella Atkinson of Durham. While John’s birthdate is not recorded, the year 1842 is given for Isabella’s birth. No marriage details, ie date, location or religious institution, or particulars regarding death, are provided. Ten children are attributed to the marriage. Minimum … Continue reading
This time I wanted to share one of my poems that I think is fitting for this time of year, when we’re all thinking about loved ones, especially those we’ve lost. Photograph for Nana I would like to have known you before you served in the RAAF when your parents were alive before you married divorced had kids watched one die. I would like to have seen you smile like this more often and to hear you … Continue reading
It used to be that the Christmas season started in December, but now it seems to start anytime from September onwards. This is a shame really: our happy memories of Christmas past can potentially be lost in the marketing hype which seems to go on for ever. By the time we get to Christmas Day we’re exhausted and often ‘over it’. I’ve been thinking of Christmasses when I was young. I was born and grew up in England, so cold, … Continue reading
Their heads were close together and bowed low over the table in front of them, their eyes straining to read the tiny writing on the diagram unfolded before them. I had placed Family Tree Chart Number 3 on one of the tables in the Society’s library, been distracted by other tasks (classic genealogy!) and my position at the base of the chart had been thoroughly usurped! Chatting quietly, two of GSQ’s most experienced family historians scanned names, dates, locations and … Continue reading
