Yearly Archives: 2020

Christmas Stories & Traditions around the World.

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Much of the non-personal information in this blog is from a marvellous site I stumbled upon recently. It is by James Cooper, a Christmas loving web designer and titled: WhyChristmas?com  There are many additional countries on his website, so take a look. My thanks to James for giving me permission to use the below information. NORWAY – by James Cooper Christmas Eve is the time when presents are exchanged. The gifts are sometimes brought by Santa Claus (called ‘Julenissen’ in … Continue reading

Killyleagh Siblings – Alexander and Sarah Irvine.

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Alexander Irvine Alexander son of James & Sarah Irvine of Ballytrim was the couple’s 11th and final child born on 4 April 1859 according to the family bible. The two-week-old baby was baptised on 19th April 1859 at 1st Presbyterian Church, Killyleagh, Down and noted as being 14 days old.[1] Alexander travelled to Australia with his aged parents and older brother John Irvine, who had returned to Killyleagh to escort the party on the long journey to Australia in 1888. … Continue reading

Flight from Brisbane to London, May 1939: Alice Walsh.

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Most Australians cannot travel overseas at the moment and even when we can travel, we often complain about the 24 hours it takes to get to Europe. How would we feel about taking nine days to travel from Brisbane to London? I have been sorting through some of my cousins’s old photos and letters after she moved to a nursing home and I came across an eleven page, hand written report entitled Flight from Brisbane to London, May 1939 written … Continue reading

Indexing shortfalls.

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By Bob McAllister. The relationship between family history researchers and those who transcribe and/or index records is a complex one. When a previously unknown document is revealed, the selfless toilers who facilitated the discovery are lauded. On the other hand, when a cryptic squiggle has been misinterpreted, digits transposed, or entries from two records tangled; the oafs responsible are roundly condemned as being if not actually well meaning then barely competent for the task.[1] Yet, deep down we recognise that … Continue reading

Finding my grandmother Lizzie

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My previous post was about my dad, Joe Stirland. One of the images included in that post was my mum and dad’s wedding photo from August 1946 (see my post of 21 September 2020). I had copied this photo from my mother’s collection on one of my trips back to England. As is typical of group wedding photos, the groom’s parents are placed on ‘his’ side, whereas the bride’s parents are placed on ‘her’ side. When the post was being … Continue reading