Category Archives: context in family history

Every picture tells a story

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They say that every picture tells a story. My picture, the only one I have of my grandfather and his sisters, and its associated story was one of those featured at the February Writing Group meeting. The simple caption ´Arthur Stirland, front centre, with sisters Edith and Emily, with their respective husbands Albert Hall and Joseph Evans – taken c. 1915-1919‘ does not do justice to the narrative that I wrote: My paternal grandfather, Arthur Stirland, sits front and centre … Continue reading

Newspaper and Directory Advertisements help to tell a story

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I have been using newspapers a lot recently. One of my current projects has prompted me to explore an extensive range of local and national newspapers in Australia and the UK. I’ve been searching primarily on Trove (trove.nla.gov.au) and on the British Newspaper Archive (http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/) and FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) to find relevant material. Else Churchill of the Society of Genealogists in London gave an interesting and timely talk on 19th century British newspapers, 18th century Journals, Local Directories and Poll Books … Continue reading

The Vickers-Frostrop wedding invitation

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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

Separation or Divorce?

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The genes (ancestors) and I are taking a break from each other. A trial separation. It’s not a sudden decision as I’ve been unhappy for some time. We’ve had a long relationship spanning many decades. For most of this time, the relationship casually bubbled along. Both parties in the relationship seemed satisfied with this. This all changed after I retired in 2014.  Since then the intensity of the relationship has hurtled along at speed. At first, I didn’t mind as … Continue reading

My coalmining ancestor Joseph Stirland (1816-1879)

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I have several ancestors named Joseph Stirland. This post concerns my 2 x great grandfather, son of William Stirland and Dinah Hofton. He was born into a coalmining family in June 1816 in Cotmanhay, Derbyshire and, like his father, became a coalminer. He was born at a time and place when men were transitioning from the increasingly mechanised industry of framework knitting to the rapidly developing coalmining industry. The Stirlands and related families were non-conformist and this perhaps explains why … Continue reading