Category Archives: Co Kildare

Richard Hamilton of Newbridge.

GSQ Blog Posted on by

From Process Server to Petty Sessions Clerk, the story of Richard Hamilton of Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland When I started my family history, my g-g-grandfather, Richard Henry Hamilton, intrigued and challenge me. Growing up in a long established Catholic family in Brisbane in the 1950’s and 60’s, I was surprised to find that Richard was a practising member of the Established Church of Ireland and a very devoted one at that. Before Richard Hamilton’s appointment as a Petty Sessions clerk, … Continue reading

A letter home: Tracing my Thompson family.

GSQ Blog Posted on by

In 2013, I joined the family history website Ancestry.com and started my genealogy journey on the internet, adding names, scanning documents and photos, into my family tree. It was while working through this process that an American family tree showed as a hint. Out of curiosity I went into the tree to investigate. The names recorded did not match my records but to my surprise the tree included a photo that I had in my possession. It was a portrait … Continue reading

Arriving under protection.

GSQ Blog Posted on by

Four single women arrived in New South Wales on the barque, Theresa on 25 August 1842 as bounty immigrants. They had travelled under the protection of my 2x great-grandfather, Christopher Cooper, his wife Magdaline and their children. Two of the four were related to Christopher and Magdaline. My family group came from the northern Irish counties of Fermanagh and Tyrone, two counties which were strongly represented among the passengers on board Theresa with her Irish, English and Scottish immigrants. The … Continue reading

The Next Genealogy Journey – Finding a Jones in Wales.

GSQ Blog Posted on by

The next great grandfather of my late wife to explore has yet another common name, William Jones, and where might he come from? Wales, of course. I expected this might be like looking for a needle in a haystack and I wasn’t wrong. After a couple of months of searching the subscription sites for relevant documentary evidence, I failed to find a confirming birth date in Wales, given that his father was also a William Jones and I was uncertain … Continue reading

The Marmadukes.

GSQ Blog Posted on by

What’s in a name? In my quest to track down ancestors, I have always concentrated on using the last name as a searching term. I never thought the first name would be useful. However, because first names are often passed down through generation after generation, I have discovered that they may provide a clue to finding missing ancestors, particularly if you have come to a dead end. For years I have struggled to find any records of my Bell ancestors … Continue reading