Category Archives: family secrets

Finally finding a black sheep!

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I have several ancestors in my family who could be considered troublemakers or ne’er-do wells; the problem is deciding who would be the one to write about for this blog post. It must be William Nelson McCann, aka William McCann Neilson, he is fascinating, but I need to sort through the pile of newspaper clippings I have on William to write coherently. William Nelson McCann (my 2nd great-granduncle) was born on 27 September 1837 in Launceston, Tasmania, the son of … Continue reading

Correcting family myths: Great Uncle Ossie and Lulu

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I remember when I was young my father would often joke with my friend’s mother about some scandal that had involved both our families long ago (although as I was to find out it was not so long ago!).  I remembered these conversations when I noticed a small piece in a 2002 edition of the Runcorn Record, a now defunct publication put out by the Queensland State Archives. Unfortunately, my father had died by then, so as usual I was … Continue reading

Family secret #5

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I decided to share another of my poems this month. One of the things I love about writing my family history in poetry is that I’m not necessarily restricted to just the facts, which, let’s face it, are sometimes few and far between. But every single one of us likes to speculate about what those facts mean, or their effects on our ancestors. Poetry lets me do this. Family secret #5 He stole butter, sugar, a carton of eggs and … Continue reading