GSQ would like to wish all blog readers a wonderful Christmas and safe and happy new year. ON THIS DAY – 24 December 1818 – The Christmas carol Silent Night, composed by Franz Xaver Gruber, is first sung at St Nicholas parish church in Oberndorf, Austria. 1859 -The Order of Council for the separation of Queensland from New South Wales was proclaimed, two weeks after the arrival of Governor Bowen. 1877 – Thomas Edison filed a patent for the phonograph. … Continue reading
Most of us go through life hoping that, after our death, we will be remembered in some way, even if only by our children and grandchildren. Some of us may achieve celebrity status or notoriety and buildings, memorials, parks or streets may be named in our honour to acknowledge those achievements, in our lifetime or perhaps shortly after our death. For others, the recognition may take even longer and the form it takes may not be quite what you would … Continue reading
Between 1855 and 1872, six daughters were born to an impoverished Irish family. Five of these sisters left Ireland and made their way across the world with three emigrating to Australia (one returned home to Ireland after 13 years away), two to the United States of America while the sixth sister remained in Ireland. These young women were born in County Carlow (Irish: Ceatharlach, meaning place of cattle) which lies in the south-east of Ireland and is 84km from Dublin. … Continue reading
Taking the opportunity to attend a family history show when overseas is always a worthwhile activity. Not only do you get to view the latest and greatest in genealogy (you hope) but for me, it provides an opportunity to see what most people are interested in given the demographics of the attendees. This particular show is organised by the Discover Your Ancestors magazine and was held on the 21 September at Sandown Park racecourse at Esher, about 30km from London. … Continue reading
This blog post is being written from Belfast as I am here for the Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Conference run by the Ulster Historical Foundation. Prior to the start of the week long conference, I attended a 3 day Irish Genealogy Essentials course. There were about 40 attendees at this workshop/seminar, 5 of whom were Australians and the rest were a mix of Canadians and Americans. There were quite a few in the group who had taken the same course … Continue reading
