Yearly Archives: 2025

Another mysterious death in Paris.

GSQ Blog Posted on by

I have already written about the sad life of Mary Isabella Bell and her death in Paris in 1866.  (https://gsq-blog.gsq.org.au/paris).  In that post I mentioned that her nephew, Marmaduke Charles Alexander Bell, had also died there almost a century later.  We know little about the circumstances of their deaths or why they were in Paris. Marmaduke Charles Alexander Bell was born in 1880 and was the only child of Marmaduke Alexander Bell (who I have written about before https://gsq-blog.gsq.org.au/the-marmadukes) and … Continue reading

Arrivals in Moreton Bay 1849-1850: a population boost with a difference

GSQ Blog Posted on by

1849-1850 was a distinctive stage in the free settlement of Moreton Bay which had begun in 1842. For the first time significant numbers of people arrived in Brisbane, most not government assisted immigrants. Different groups created vigorous conflict which determined the colony’s future. They also necessitate checking various records to track their arrival. When the government-assisted Artemisia, the first ship to bring immigrants direct to Moreton Bay came in December 1848, it brought news of the Fortitude’s imminent arrival, which … Continue reading

A Death by Drowning, an Inquest and the Brisbane Flood of 1890.

GSQ Blog Posted on by

Brisbane, a city built along a river, has documented flood events since colonial settlement. John Oxley in his exploratory journey up the Brisbane River in 1824, observed evidence of previous floods, but the Great Flood of February 1893 was considered the most destructive.[1] Three years before that event was the Flood of 1890, which occurred over a period of 3 days from the 11th to 13th March. At the time, a Mr Childs, an old Breakfast Creek and Newstead resident … Continue reading

Extending family history research

GSQ Blog Posted on by

I often broaden my family history research into extended branches of my family tree. This can add greater context to the environment and lives of direct family members. In October 2024 I wrote about a potential extended family member who had fallen foul of the law. At the time I commented that another potential ancestor – one of 9 called Herbert Stirland – had been in a similar situation, although probably not as dire as the one involving a Joseph … Continue reading

What’s in a name?

GSQ Blog Posted on by

Family history clues. Most family historians with Scottish heritage quickly become aware of traditional naming blueprints.  The one applied in most districts in both English and Gaelic linguistic traditions throughout the country, suggests that the eldest legitimate son be named for the father’s father, the second for the mother’s male parent and the third for the father, making allowances for possible duplications.  The same scheme is used for female children with the first named for the mother’s mother, the second … Continue reading