Oct 132013
 

From Randy Seaver’s Saturday Night Genealogy Fun
1)  Do you know what a “Henry Number” is?  It is a descendant numbering system from a specific person.  The Wikipedia article for Genealogical Numbering Systems describes it as:
The Henry System is a descending system created by Reginald Buchanan Henry for a genealogy of the families of the presidents of the United States that he wrote in 1935.[3] It can be organized either by generation or not. The system begins with 1. The oldest child becomes 11, the next child is 12, and so on. The oldest child of 11 is 111, the next 112, and so on. The system allows one to derive an ancestor’s relationship based on their number. For example, 621 is the first child of 62, who is the second child of 6, who is the sixth child of his parents.  In the Henry System, when there are more than nine children, X is used for the 10th child, A is used for the 11th child, B is used for the 12th child, and so on. In the Modified Henry System, when there are more than nine children, numbers greater than nine are placed in parentheses.”
2)  Go to your first known ancestor with your birth surname and calculate your Henry Number from that person.  Show each generation of your line of ancestors with your birth surname with their Henry numbers.
3)  How did you calculate the Henry numbers?  What do these numbers tell you?
4)  Tell us in your own blog post, in a comment on this blog post, or in a Facebook or Google+ post.

2) So I decided to give Randy’s challenge a go as it sounded interesting, even though the Henry system is not used that much here in Australia.

1                            William Smith (c1781-1834) 53 years
14                          George Smith (1815-1870) 55 years (4th of 10 children)
144                        Alfred Smith (1840-1916) 76 years (4th of 7 children)
1445                      Herbert James Smith (1875-1941) 66 years (5th of 6 children)
14454                    Leslie Smith (1915-1944) 29 years killed in WW2 (4th of 4 children)
144541                  David Smith (1940-2003) 73 years (1 of 1 children)
1445412                Helen Violet Smith (1964 – living) (2 of 3 children)

The Henry system is a useful way of following your family line. I played a bit more and looked at age and total number of children. Longevity is not common on this line! Also interesting to see the change in family sizes over the years.


3) I followed my name back through my database in The Master Genealogist. 


Oct 092013
 

Crissouli from As They Were blog  asked for a few moments of our time to answer some questions she had posed and this is my response:
 
QUESTIONNAIRE
1. What is the most important detail you want to find about your  ancestors?
Knowing how they lived and what influenced them in the decisions they made.
2. Do you buy certificates?
Definitely yes! I buy all my direct line but not being made of money can’t afford to buy all certificates for siblings. Where possible in England I will try and get marriage certificates from the parish registers for the siblings.
3.  Do you belong to a paid subscription site, if so, which one/s?
Yes: Findmypast (worldwide), Ancestry (worldwide), The Genealogist, My Heritage plus data,  Origins (what can I say, I am not married and have no children and am working full-time, don’t smoke, don’t eat out often so can justify the subscriptions for the ability to research whenever I want).
4. What has been your ‘best’ find?
Everything!
5. Who is your favourite ancestor and why?
George Howard Busby, the reason why I started family history and he is a colourful character. Boer War, fireman, ambulance-driver (gets the sack from that), per him a policeman in New Guinea not that I have been able to prove that,  Soldier at Gallipoli, recruiting sergeant for the Lilley Electorate after he is discharged as no longer being fit enough after being wounded at Gallipoli, press photographer, engine driver, fisherman and who knows what else?
6. What are you looking for on a regular basis?
Any bit of information that fills out my families’ lives.
7. Do you belong to any genealogy group, or family history society?
Yes, again I am not married etc so am a member of Genealogical Society of Queensland, Southern Suburbs branch of the Genealogical Society of Queensland, Queensland Family History Society, Oxfordshire family History Society, Kent Family History Society the New Zealand Society of Genealogists, Southern California Genealogical Society, Guild of One Name Studies
 
8. Do you belong to any Facebook or other social media genealogy groups? Would you join if there was one available?
Yes, too many to mention them all. Technology for Genealogy, Australian Genealogy, The Organised Genealogist,  Genealogy Bloggers, County Monaghan Genealogy, Rootsweb Genealogist, Genealogy and Historical Databases are just some of them. I answer questions when I can.
9. Have you ever volunteered to transcribe, index etc.? Would you be interested in doing so?
Yes whenever I can’t sleep. I index for FamilySearch, Trove, Queensland State Library, Australian National Archives. I have also been a Ryerson Indexer but not currently indexing for them. All of these previous ones are able to be done online. I have also indexed for Kent Family History Society and a fair while ago for the Genealogical Society of Queensland. Indexing is my way of “paying it forward” in thanks for all the time people have spent indexing in the past that has helped me in my research.
 
10. What is your personal reason for being involved with genealogy/family history?
I initially started family history research as my Mother never knew her grandfather George Howard Busby. I found out some things, became hooked and will never now be cured! I enjoy the social history, the detective work in finding out, the research and the stories. I enjoy making them people rather than just names and dates.

Oct 082013
 

I was notified that I had been accepted to give three presentations at the 14th Australasian Congress on Genealogy and Heraldry 26-30 March 2015 being held in Canberra.

This is the three yearly major Australian and New Zealand Conference so I was very pleased for my topics to be chosen:

  • Friendly Societies and Family Historians
  • One Name Studies – what are they, how are they done and what use are they to you?
  • Distressed cotton weavers emigration scheme

Then I was accepted to be a speaker on the 5th Unlock the Past cruise. 19-29 July 2014.
This is the British Isles discovery tour and it has a great itinerary as apart from London and Dublin I have not been to any of the other ports.

  • day 1 – depart Tilbury, London – 6pm (boarding from 12.30pm)
  • day 2 – at sea
  • day 3 – Invergordon, Scotland – 7.30am-10pm
  • day 4 – Kirkwall, Orkney Islands – 7am-6pm
  • day 5 – Stornoway, Outer Hebrides – 7.30am-10pm (transfer to shore by tender)
  • day 6 – Tobermory, Isle of Mull – 7.30am-4pm (transfer to shore by tender)
  • day 7 – Dublin, Ireland – 8am-5.45pm
  • day 8 – St Mary’s, Isles of Scilly – 9am-6pm (transfer to shore by tender)
  • day 9 – St Peter Port, Guernsey – 7.30am-6pm (transfer to shore by tender)
  • day 10 – Honfleur, France –  9am-5pm
  • day 11 – arrive Tilbury, London – 9am

And there is a a great range of speakers Paul Blake (England), Jackie Depelle (England), Marie Dougan (Scotland), Jayne Shrimpton (England) (I’ll have to look out some of those photos I am trying to date!) and Lisa Louise Cooke of Genealogy Gems fame from the USA as well as Rosemary Kopittke, Mike Murray, Lesley Silvester and myself from Australia!

And to add the perfect cherry on top of an already fantastic chocolate cake…..

Chocolate-cake-slice-crop1

I had a proposal accepted to speak at  Who Do You Think You Are? Live in London 20-22 February 2014

Researching Australian World War 1 Military Personnel
Friday Feb 21 2014
SoG 4 /First World War Ancestors
12.15-13.00
 
So I have had a pretty amazing few days!

Sep 222013
 

The conference is being held at the Hellenic Club which has been an excellent venue with very helpful staff. Food and service have been good throughout the conference.

Well have been so busy at the conference (and posting to Facebook and Twitter) that have not really had much time to write many conference post except the one on the fantastic Trove presentation.

Fantastic Goody Bag included chocolate!

I have already mentioned the wide range of exhibitors present and yes I did buy a few books! The new Cora Num book on eRecords, a book on Florence Nightingales nurses in Sydney and “Morass to Municipality” a book on Toowoomba I didn’t have.

Friday was open free to the general public with a range of presentations and this is always a great way to get Family History out to the general population. I have been on the National Institute for Genealogical Studies stand and have been chatting to many people about the many courses available. I am currently studying the English Certificate in Genealogical Studies. The Institute “have just released a Professional Development Certificate.

The main speaking area is in the Exhibition Hall so I have also attended many sessions including “The Huguenots: the Almost Forgotten People” by Robert Nash of the Huguenot Society,  “How to Find New South Wales Court Records” by Gail Davis of the State Records Authority. Treasures in the State Library of NSW.

Karen Rogers the New South Wales regional rep for the Guild of One Name Studies gave a presentation on the Guild and how it can help family historians. I am the Queensland regional representative for the Guild and research the surname Quested anywhere, anytime.

It was lovely to meet Karen in person rather than just by email. This is a major plus of attending conferences in that you get to meet in person people you know from blogs, Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

A selection of GeneaBloggers at the Conference
Enthusiastic Genies listening

We didn’t get all the GeneaBloggers in the picture but didn’t do too bad.

Carole Riley gave her presentation on Land Records. I was able to hear this at the Queensland Family History Society seminar recently so didn’t attend and judging from the feedback received here Carole gave the same excellent presentation.

Hazel Edwards gave a workshop on “Writing a non-boring Family History” which excited many attendees.

And then we got together for the Meet and Greet which is always fun.

 Saturday was the official Opening ceremony followed by a presentation by Dr David Headon the History and heritage Advisor for the Centenary of Canberra. Yes our Capitol is having its 100th birthday this year. While the Australia colonies were in place from 1788, we became a Federation in 1901 and Canberra became established in 1913. A very interesting presentation of the machinations behind the establishment. A number of our historical figures while they may have done great things perhaps would not be the people you would want as a family member!

After a fun Family History Trivia session there was an excellent morning tea of scones, jam and cream. Then Chris Boyack gave a presentation on FamilySearch and what is happening there. One million indexed records being added each week due to the volunteer indexers around the world. I am one of those who doesn’t get to do as much indexing as I would like but I figure even if I only do 50 a week that is an extra 50 records that has been indexed.

Cora Num gave an excellent presentation on “Research Tools for the Digital Age” and this is where I have to show her closing image of multitasking!

It is always interesting to hear what tools other people use and how they make them work for them.

Cora always does a good presentation and has just released her new book on “eRecords for Family Historians” (yes that is the one I bought)

Then after lunch Martin Woods gave a presentation on “Where were they when?” which was on using maps and other geographical tools for family history research and publication. There is so much available now online at the National library of Australia who have a wonderful map collection that they have digitised. Anything that has been digitised and is available on the website is out of copyright and available to use. The National Library also has a huge map collection that is still in copyright and available at the Library for research.

There was also a Cobb and Co presentation by Barbara Hickson was in the other room.
The Land of Tomorrow: 20th Century migration records held at the National Archives of Australia was similar to one I had heard at the “Shake Your Family Tree” day held in April this year so I chose the Education Records at the State Record Office presentation. While I don’t have a  lot of research in new South Wales it was a very interesting presentation and there were some very useful tips given, many of which were put on Twitter (check out the #nswact13 feed on Twitter for many interesting Tweets from the conference).

Then the AGM and the Conference Dinner.

A great meal was had by all with early entertainment of a Harp and wooden flute playing background music.

Lots of conversations with some reports of people finding cousins. One person must have had a nudge from above as she was talking to someone and then something made her stop and look up and she suddenly saw a name tag (Thank you organisers for name-tags that were very easy to read!) that had an unusual surname that just happened to be one in her family so, of course being an avid family historian she leapt to intercept him and yes, indeed, he was related to her! (no, unfortunately this person was not me!)

It is these stories that convince us that some of our ancestors do indeed want to be found!

We were on Table 8. As you can see all the tables were beautifully decorated.

Tables of ten do make it difficult to talk across the table to all attendees but some conversation was managed.

Enough to determine for a couple of the “football nuts” on the table that one person there was an ex-Australian football coach, Terrance Fearnley which was pretty amazing!

Further entertainment was provided by four amazing singers and the gentleman on keyboard. Some slight problems with the sound system but they coped magnificently with the problems and gave us a musical evening.

Today is the last day.

Angela Phippen’s presentation  on “Royal Commissions and Legislative Council Select Committees” Government committees and enquiries may send a little boring but it amazing how many of our ancestors were called to give evidence. And you will generally read their exact words as given to the enquiry. Maybe a bit more formal language than your ancestor would use in day to day conversation but still great to read! 

A Royal Commission was held when something went wrong so you can get very detailed information on conditions in institutions, employment and things about which people were concerned such as living near the “noxious trades” such as tanneries, piggeries, wool-scours etc.

The Australian War Memorial gave a presentation on the joys in store for us with their digitisation program and bid to make their records more accessible for all. 

I have spent time at their research archives looking at a diary written by someone aboard the “Ceramic” the ship my great-grandfather went to World War One and Gallipoli!

Now it is morning tea and then “Working with Findmypast” and then “Women in Records”


The organisers are to be congratulated on a fantastic conference!Always a shame when a conference has to end but we all have so many ideas for further research so perhaps just as well.

Sep 202013
 

Thomas MacEntee poses this question as part of Open Thread Thursday

Are we any better people delving into and then documenting the minutiae of our ancestor’s lives than the nosy-parker next door neighbour who twitches the curtains when she/he sees you come home at 1am, who takes a prurient interest in counting the days between the wedding and the birth and then takes pleasure in spreading that information through the community?

Does it make it better or “more right” because the people we are investigating are deceased a generation or more ago?

Is it the difference of the matter of intent? Finding the truth versus the gossipy negativeness?

Is it a matter that we aim to have a personal set of ethics where we find the facts, look at what has occurred without applying filters and aim to do no harm to any living person?

Who determines what constitutes harm?


An action that you or I may perceive to not be a problem may seriously offend someone else.

I would imagine that many if not all of us have some information documented in our databases that is not for release at this current time because it may bring discomfort to someone we know.

Do I have definitive answers to this question? 

No I don’t.  

Thank you Thomas, for being willing to air this question. I do believe that the fact that people are willing to discuss this question is a positive thing as I believe it is the unwillingness to discuss things that may make you uncomfortable is what leads to many of societies issues . 

I do my best in life to “do no harm” to others, to believe that everyone has the right to live as they wish as long as they do no harm to anyone but themselves. 

Will I continue to research? Yes I will. 

Will I continue to restrict some information from publication at this time? Yes I will.

Is that the right answer for everyone? Probably not, but I don’t have the right to make an answer for everyone.

Sep 202013
 


Now I am not saying this in a bid to make you panic but as a gentle reminder that it is not too soon to start to plan your special genealogy Christmas gifts and the Genealogy Guerrilla action you are planning for this year.


There are many options for genealogy gifts and I gave some ideas in this post a couple of years ago. All of these are still great options for getting the family involved. If your family’s eyes glaze over with fear when they see you coming with that “Genealogical Fervor” in your eyes you will need to work out ways of sneaking Genealogy into your Christmas.

The family calendar of ancestral photographs, the lovely coffee table photo book of old photos with information about the photo, the Powerpoint show playing in the background, the family memento casually left on the table are all ways of getting the family hooked.

There are many more creative people than me around and I met with some at the New Zealand Family History Fair a month or so ago.The two creative lovely ladies, Fiona Brooker and Lauren Bavin from Memories in Time had some great ideas of what you could do such as this very tactile one.

A close-up of one of the Ancestor envelopes above

I really liked this because few people could resist pulling on the tag to see what the tag said. You could have an Ancestor Chain linked on your mantle or even as separate tags on the Christmas Tree. Maybe even have them as  gift tags on the presents?

Ancestral magnets on the fridge?  Ancestral Place-cards? To which ancestor do you bear the most resemblance?

What Genealogy Guerrilla actions have you planned for this Christmas?

Sep 202013
 

This was an excellent class.  Given by the Trove Team extraordinaire! 

Most of whom are in this picture2013-09-20 10.27.12. They gave a great presentation of the treasures available 
on Trove.

Take note of the lovely mugs displayed on the table in front of the amazing Trove Team. I really, really wanted one of these mugs!

(The mugs were given to audience members who had a hand-drawn cow on their feedback forms and I thought this was a great way of determining who would get the mug. I was even happier to find that I had a hand-drawn cow on my feedback form so am now the proud owner of a Trove Mug!)

But back to the great information  provided by the trove Team.

The range of small museum collections such as these:  Flinders Shire historical photos:  or the Tasmania Maritime Museum

Some of the  toolsmentioned:

One tool is QueryPic which provides a simple visualisation of a set of search results. Try it for yourself!

Another is Lists.  Lists are a great way of showcasing research items, such as Mr Mares, weatherman Lists in Trove are valuable resources and can be public of private.

Photos, newspaper articles & more from Trove can be put in lists and you can also put webpages into your lists

Want to create your own list? Watch this screencast made by Trove to find out more about making Lists. There are many public lists made by Trove users including believe it or not lists about mowers! 

2013-09-20 10.51.57
This Wordle image presented in the talk by the trove Team of the top terms in lists has as you would expect Family as one of the key words, also the ever popular names William, John and in the corner the term mower!

The Trove Team is continuing to work to improve the trove experience for all its users and there will be some changes happening soon, to in their words “de-clutter the screen”

There are so many things to explore on the Trove site so head on over to Trove and have fun researching!

Sep 192013
 

Banner

The 29th Annual Conference of the NSW & ACT Association of Family History Societies is in Canberra and the  Friday Family History Fair is open to all so tomorrow the Hellenic Club will be a mass of exhibitors waiting to help you with your family history.

It is being held at the Hellenic club from 10am until 4pm on Friday 20th September. It is free to all and there will be trade and information tables, free talks and help with your family history research.

There will be a  wide range of exhibitors available to help with your Research:
findmypast.com.au, FamilySearch.org, Inside History, Unlock the Past Cruises & Publications, Gould Genealogy & History, Finding Your Ancestors, Joy Murrin Family History Services, NSW Family History Transcriptions,

Family History Societies
The Heraldry & Genealogy Society of Canberra, Blue Mountains Family History Society Inc, Camden Area Family History Society Inc, Central Coast Family History Society, Coffs Harbour District Family History Society Inc., Friends of Mays Hill Cemetery, Guild of One Name Studies, Holroyd Local History Research, Huguenot Society 

I will be there at the National Institute of Genealogical Studies booth talking about the wide range of genealogy course available.
These are only a selection of the exhibitors who will  be there. For a full listing see this list
Lots of help available and also a range of prizes available, so hopefully we will see you there!

Sep 172013
 

William BusbyThis is the only photo I have of William Busby. The date is unknown but believed to be either in 1904 for the marriage of his son George Howard Busby or possibly in 1912 for the marriage of his daughter Kate Rosamund Busby as I also have one of his wife Ann with the same background.

We know he was born in Coombe Oxfordshire (also known as Long Combe) in 1851 and that he married Ann Howard in 1872 in Oxford. Their eldest child Ann was born May 1879 and died 13 months later.  

Their son William was born April 1881 and tragically died 22 Sept 1882 aboard the Mhari Bhan when the family emigrated to Brisbane. 

They had a further two children in Brisbane George Howard Busby  born 1884 and Kate Rosamund Busby in 1892.

William looks an elegant gentleman with a pretty decent beard and  moustache combination but you don’t get much of an idea about his personality.

This is where Trove and its fantastic range of digitised papers is invaluable.

I found that William had written a letter to the editor of the Brisbane Courier in 1884.

A transcript follows for easier reading:

Letter to Editor Nov 1884THE WOODEN PAVEMENTS.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE BRISBANE COURIER,
SIR,-Having read a letter in your issue of Friday last signed “Forward,” on the subject   of wooden pavements, I was very much surprised at the dastardly way in which your correspondent attacked the workmen employed in putting down the same. I admit Birmingham is a noted place for wood-paved streets, and it is also a noted place for people who are ashamed of their own names. This, perhaps, accounts for the way in which “Forward” attacks the workmen and then signs himself ” Forward ” Why does he condemn the way the work is done without pointing out the faults? Any simpleton can say a piece of work  is a “miserable specimen” and stop there, without proving anything except his forwardness, I think that “Forward” in saying the Queen street crossings are a ” wretched exhibition of bad workmanship,” and omitting to define the faults, gave a wretched exhibition of his conceit in thus rushing into print to condemn work that has been well and faithfully done.
Trusting you will favour me by inserting this,
I am, sir, &,c ,      
W. BUSBY,
Mason and Paver.
Lang Farm, Toowong, 15th November.

(I am not sure whether William is commenting as someone who was involved with the paving work in this instance and feels aggrieved or as an observer who was familiar with the work involved in paving.)

You don’t get that from a photo!

William does a talk in Toowong at a community meeting about drainage in that area. Later William obtains a job with the Metropolitan Council as an Inspector of Works and in 1887 there is a report in the paper about the men in the Works Department having an Athletics Day reported in the Brisbane Courier in 1887.

The test of which is of particular interest i have highlighted in bold:
MUNICIPAL CONTESTS.
The running contests, of the employees of the corporation, which came off at New Farm on Saturday last under the auspices of his worship the Mayor, were continued and brought to a satisfactory conclusion yesterday morning.
CM 1887 Works raceThe runners and the contractors of Saturday last, not feeling quite satisfied with their handicaps, met by mutual agreement at the Town Hall at 10 o’clock yesterday morning, and proceeded to the old racecourse, New Farm, to decide their pedestrian speeds, under milder or more reasonable handicaps than fixed for the Saturday’s programme. The following is the result :- 
100 Yards Handicap Flat Race between   Kirk, city engineer, and Price, overseer of works, the latter receiving 3 yards start, resulted, after a close contest, in Kirk winning by a yard and a-half.
The next event to decide was between Horan, contractor, and Busby, overseer of works, 150 yards flat race, both from scratch. A good race was the result, Busby winning by 8 yards. There was lively betting on this match.
The next match was between Hart, contractor, and Davies, city engineer’s staff, the latter (Davies) conceding 10 yards to Hurt in a 250-yards race. Considerable betting and interest was centered in this result, both men being old pedestrians and athletes of much fame, especially Davies, who is still an all- round athlete not timid to meet any of our young aspirants in all-round contests. The race was won by Davies easily, winning by 6 yards.
150 yards between Kirk, city engineer, and Donovan, contractor, both men to start, from scratch. Donovan failing or fearing to run, the race wits decided in favour of Kirk.
The next race was between Busby and Price, both corporation employees, a 150 yards match, Busby giving Price 20 yards start, and winning a closely-contested race by 1 and a 1/2 yards; won in the last 10 yards.
In the race, Contractors v, Manufacturers, Connor ran with Fencon, pipe and tile manufacturer, 100 yards, Connor receiving 7 yards start from Fencon. This was termed the mackintosh race, being run in mackintoshes, rain falling heavily, and bringing an abrupt termination to a most enjoyable morning’s sport. 
Considerable interest was manifested in the  result of all the above contests, and they may lead to similar competitions later on.


Now would you have thought the dignified gentleman in the photo would have been involved in foot-races and winning? (admittedly at the time of the race William would have been 36 years old rather than the probable 50 to 60 of the photo)

There have been a number of other reports of interest about William in the papers but that will be a post for another day…….