Dragon Genealogy Blog

New Newspapers on Trove

Nov 302015

Latest announcement from Trove.

Good to see so many and even some Queensland ones.

Trove’s latest newspapers

Trove is pleased to announce that the following newspapers, digitised by the National Library through the Australian Newspaper Plan program, have been recently added to Digitised newspapers and more on Trove. Many of these newspapers are currently being added to Trove and further issues will become available shortly.

New South Wales
The Australian Workman (Sydney, NSW : 1890 – 1897)
The Bird O’ Freedom (Sydney, NSW : 1891 – 1896)
The Dead Bird (Sydney, NSW : 1889 – 1891)
The Workers’ Weekly (Sydney, NSW : 1923 – 1939)

Queensland
Brisbane Telegraph (Qld. : 1948 – 1954)
The Daily Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1903 – 1926)
The Evening Advocate (Innisfail, Qld. : 1941 – 1954)
The Evening Telegraph (Charters Towers, Qld. : 1901 – 1921)
Johnstone River Advocate and Innisfail News (Qld. : 1928 – 1941)
The Toowoomba Chronicle and Queensland Advertiser (Qld. : 1861 – 1875)

South Australia
Border Chronicle (Bordertown, SA : 1908 – 1950)
Critic (Adelaide, SA : 1897-1924)
The Express (Adelaide, SA : 1922 – 1923)
The Pennant (Penola, SA : 1946 – 1954)
The Terowie Enterprise (SA : 1884 – 1891)

Tasmania
The Derwent Star and Van Diemen’s Land Intelligencer (Hobart, Tas. : 1810 – 1812)
King Island News (Currie, King Island : 1912 – 1954)
The North Coast Standard (Latrobe, Tas. : 1890 – 1894)

Victoria
The Colonial Mining Journal, Railway and Share Gazette (Vic. : 1858 – 1859)
The Colonial Mining Journal, Railway and Share Gazette and Illustrated Record (Melbourne, Vic. : 1859 – 1861)

Western Australia
The Avon Gazette and Kellerberrin News (WA : 1914 – 1916)
The Australian (Perth, WA : 1917 – 1923)
The Avon Gazette and York Times (WA : 1916 – 1930)
The Blackwood Times (Bunbury, WA : 1905 – 1920; 1945 – 1954)
The Leonora Miner (WA : 1910 – 1928)
Narrogin Observer (WA : 1952 – 1954)
The Northam Advertiser (WA : 1895 – 1918; 1948 – 1954)
The Pingelly Leader (WA : 1906 – 1925)
Pingelly-Brookton Leader (WA : 1925 – 1926)
The Southern Districts Advocate (Katanning, WA : 1913 – 1936)
The Sun (Kalgoorlie, WA : 1898 – 1919)
The W.A. Record (Perth, WA : 1888 – 1922)
Yilgarn Merredin Times (Southern Cross, WA : 1921 – 1923)

Guild of One Name Studies Seminar: Perth

Blogs, DNA, Guild of One Name Studies, Perth No Responses »

Nov 292015

WAGS rooms Perth

An excellent day was had by all at the Western Australian Genealogical Society rooms today for the Guild of One Name Studies seminar day.

It was ably organised by Ann Spiro who is the Guild’s Western Australian and Northern Territory regional representative. This is a territory that covers 3, 879, 004 square kilometres and is roughly 16 times the area of the United Kingdom!

Ann Spiro left and Helen Smith

The topics for the day after a slight change of plans from four talks to two two hour workshops, one on “Using DNA to solve Genealogical Puzzles” and the other on Fishing for Cousins:Using Blogs as Bait”

By making these lecture combined with a hands on demonstration gave a more thorough understanding of the topics.

There were even some blogs created during the presentation and I look forward to reading their posts. An informative day was had by all and I had great fun with an interested interactive audience.

The Introduction Letter: What Would You Write?

David Smith, Lilian Smith, Violet Busby No Responses »

Nov 202015

In the Internet age we take communication for granted. We use email, Facebook, the phone and even at times write a letter to communicate with each other.We share (some people rather too much information) online about what we are doing, put up photos so the concept of not knowing people is not an easy one to consider.

Imagine being in the past, in this case 53 years ago which doesn’t seem that long ago but phone calls were not something you made as a usual thing. People did not always travel much.

Imagine you are a parent whose son is marrying a girl in another state.

You have never met them, only know what your son has told you and the girl’s family also don’t know you.

They have had a short engagement of five months and the wedding is fast approaching. You are attending the wedding.

What would you write to introduce yourself to the girl’s parents?

Below is the letter written by Lillian Smith, my grandmother, introduce herself to her new soon to be in-laws. She did leave it a bit to the last minute as Violet and David married just ten days after this letter was written.

Lady Gowrie Legacy House
12 Jersey Road
Strathfield, NSW
1 March 1961

Dear Mr and Mrs Busby,

I have tried many times to sit down long enough to write to you but as you will realize it isn’t easy, in a position like this. Seeing that the children will soon be married and no longer our responsibilities we will have the chance of meeting and getting acquainted, at the wedding. I had hoped David would not think of marriage for a few years but as they are of age and have prayed about it, and feel it is the real thing, there is no more to be said. I guess you feel the same. It seems strange doesn’t it to think they are old enough, we watch them grow up and think of them as children , then all at once they are adults. I do trust that all will go well for them, and that god will spare them to have many happy years together.

When I come back from England I hope you will come and stay with me at Manly when you come to Sydney.

I don’t know if there is anything you would like to know about us, giving your daughter to a young man is not easy, I guess, especially when you don’t know his family. David’s father was a wonderful man. He broke his neck and back getting ready for the D-Day invasion. His father was a grand man also, he died 6 years before my Husband was killed.

My own Father was a Station Master on the British Railway and served 53 years unbroken service. His father was also on the Railway. We never had any money to spare but we had big home which was open to all, there were six boys and six girls in my family and we all took our friends home, my parents expected it. We had a very happy family life. I was very disappointed at having only one son, however I shall soon have a Daughter. The Lord always supplies our needs if we wait.

I ran a long splinter down my finger yesterday so my writing isn’t all it should be, please excuse it.

I do hope you are feeling better in health, Mr Busby and that you are not too anxious about the choice your girl has made. David has always been a very self-reliant boy, at 3 years old he would collect his teddy and be in the dugout in record time. As the years went by after my Husband’s death he gradually became the man of the house.

At 11 years when we moved into our first Australian home, he laid the lino with me and did repairs, helped with the garden and housework, more like a boy of 18. When he was 15 he started on the Railway and after just a few months asked for country relief, often he would be on level crossing gates 16 -20 miles from anywhere, in a small room out in the bush alone for 12 hour shifts sometimes where there were snakes and things he had never been used to. He did so well they transferred him to Metropolitan relief when I moved from Goulbourn to Manly. He made good progress there also and after getting five certificates and having to mark time for 18 months he decided to join the Military for 3 years.

In some ways this may have been good, but in other ways it wasn’t so good. However it was his life and in June he will finish his 3 years and as far as I know go back to the Railway. I think boys go through a silly stage, and have crazy ideas about cars and making money etc but I believe it happens to most boys. It certainly did with David but I think I can safely say that he will take great care of your girl. He is so like his father in many ways and if I can help them in any way I can , you can rest assured I will do my best, as David will be on the Railway they will travel cheaply or free, so you will not be separated from her altogether.

I had better close, if there is anything you would like to know about us please ask and very soon now we will meet, I trust you are both well and feel happy bout Violet’s future.

God Bless You
Yours Sincerely
Lillian M. Smith

World War One Portraits: Museum of Brisbane

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Oct 262015

The Museum of Brisbane have put out the call for images of soldiers or nurses in uniform from World War One.The individual can be from anywhere in Australia.

They need to be original photos. The Museum has had a scanning weekend but you are still able to send your photos for the planned exhibition:

Facing WW1: Stories of loyalty, loss and love

part of our upcoming exhibition, Facing WW1: Stories of loyalty, loss and love – See more at: http://www.museumofbrisbane.com.au/whats-on/ww1-portrait-hunt/#sthash.h7L6dfCE.dpuf

part of our upcoming exhibition, Facing WW1: Stories of loyalty, loss and love. – See more at: http://www.museumofbrisbane.com.au/whats-on/ww1-portrait-hunt/#sthash.h7L6dfCE.dpuf

Images must be scanned at a minimum 600 dpi and jpeg format. The deadline for emailing images is 30 November and should be emailed to facingWW1@museumofbrisbane.com.au
Please call Curator Phillip Manning on 07 3339 0827 if you have any queries.
For more information visit http://www.museumofbrisbane.com.au/whats-on/ww1-portrait-hunt/

Ernest William Weeks 5th Light Horse

Myrtle Doris Weeks

Myrtle Doris Weeks No Responses »

Oct 162015

Myrtle Doris Weeks abt 1935

Myrtle Doris Weeks was born on the 17th October 1917 at the Brisbane General Hospital to Violet (nee Rollason) and Rupert George Weeks. She was the second daughter, the first being Gladys Evelyn Weeks born 1913.

Rupert & Violet Weeks, Toowong Cemetery

Sadly 29 July 1921, her father Rupert died of tuberculosis, the scourge of society until the advent of the vaccine and treatments.

Myrtle and Gladys attended Kelvin Grove school the second generation of their family to do so.

Myrtle enjoyed writing, winning an encouragement award in the Brisbane Courier Children’s day essay competition in 1927 and another in the RSPCA Essay wards in 1930.

The three Weeks women were not well off but were better off than many as Rupert had taken advantage of a Government scheme to allow people on lower incomes to purchase homes.

Myrtle had met William George Busby in 1930 at the Church for Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints at Wooloongabba which she attended with her grandmother Lucy Rollason. Myrtle’s mother Violet did not want her younger daughter to marry as she felt it would be better if Myrtle would remain and look after her in her later life. Perhaps this fear of being alone was a result of being widowed so young.

It took a number of years, turning 21, pre-empting the wedding vows and having war declared but Myrtle did indeed manage to marry her Bill on the 11 September 1939. Bill went off to war.

Violet their only child was born in January 1940.


May 1946 Violet, Myrtle and Bill “Coming Home”

Today, if she were still with us would have been her 98th birthday. Lost too soon in 2001.

In Time and Place Conference

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Oct 122015

Last weekend (3 & 4th October) I attended the In Time and Place conference . It was ably organised by History Queensland, Genealogical Society of Queensland and Queensland Family History Society.

The State Library of Queensland had provided some free registrations for non-metropolitan people who wished to attend.

It had two streams: one local history and the other family history.

There were also a number of exhibitors and they were stationed around the eating area. Unlike the NSW-ACT State Conference they did not do an open day the day prior to the conference.

Guild of One Name Studies/Society for One Place Studies table

Exhibitors included Ancestry, Boolarong Press, Brisbane City Council Archives, Finders cafe, Findmypast, Genealogical Society of Queensland, Gould Genealogy and History, History Queensland, Guild of One Name Studies, Moreton chapter of the fellowship of First Fleeters, Nepean Family History Society, Oral History Queensland, Queensland Family History Society, Queensland State Archives, Queensland Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Royal Historical Society of Queensland, Ryerson Index, Sean Murphy Books Toowoomba, State Library of Queensland, Toowoomba and Darling Downs Family History Society and Unlock the Past.

So as you can see a lot of information providers and places to spend some genealogical dollars!

The Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages made an exciting announcement at the conference which I have already written about on the Genealogical Society of Queensland blog which was that they have been digitising the marriage source documents so we will be able to get copies of marriage documents that contains our ancestors signatures rather than the copy of a copy we currently are able to purchase. Six to eight weeks for the first release so hopefully a Christmas present for Queensland researchers.

The conference was held at the Riverglen conference centre at Indooroopilly. I got there early as I was also an exhibitor for the Society of One Name Studies and also the Society for One Place Studies. Janice Cooper was also on the stand for the Society of One Place Studies although her conference duties kept her very busy.

Geoff Doherty and his sash

There were a number of very helpful people to answer questions who could be distinguished by their sashes which made it easy to find them.

I am only going to talk about a few of the presentations as there have been a number of bloggers who have already posted. See Shauna Hick’s post where she lists a number of other posts.

Denver Beanland opened the conference for the180 or so attendees.Then time for the first keynote Dave Obee, a well known Canadian genealogist, editor and writer talking about A sense of time and place: putting ancestors in context and showing the closeness between Australia and Canada. Dave was an informed and entertaining speaker. He loves our Trove (as of course we all do too!) and talks often about in Canada as newspapers all over the world fill their paper with news. So he suggests to his Canadians they should check out Trove to see what Canadian news has been mentioned then check out the microfilms of the Canadian papers having an approximate idea of time frame.

Dave Obee

This is very true and in my own research I had found out about a grave robbing in Kent from a South Australian paper. It had not been reported in the Kent paper due to a very important person’s death taking prominence.

Then we had a dual session and I went to Duncan Richardson talking on “Beyond distinguished gentleman” which was on using letters, diaries and anything you could to hear the real people and not just the formal things written down for posterity. people say it is just letters or diaries so not important to keep for posterity but if we don’t keep these we never find out the emotions and thoughts behind what has been written for history.

Janis Wilton spoke on Connections: talking local and family history Oral history is a true marker as you are hearing people speak and remember in their own words what has happened, how they felt, their impressions and knowledge and reactions to events. Certainly memory of the past can be influenced by further knowledge gained after the event but oral histories add so much colour and knowledge. Literally colour in one example, as when Janis spoke to a relative about the photo of the house the person said the colour the house was painted when she was a child (which was the time frame of the photo) rather than the white it was painted when Janis knew the house.

Take the time to capture your family or local community while you still can.

Rosemary Kopittke spoke on Suffrage in Queensland and it is important to realise it is suffrage for men as well as women as women as there were requirements for men to have the right to vote. The knowledge of who has the right to vote at which time in which areas allows us to know in which records we can find our people.

Lots of food was available at the various meal breaks and a number of us met up at the buffet dinner. It was nice to get together in person rather than just online.

Sunday the first keynote was Shauna Hicks and if you ever get a chance to hear this presentation run don’t walk to it! Shauna kept us all enthralled!

It was a fantastic interweaving of time, place, history utilising a wide range of records and using context. You can’t work out why without the context.

Dave Obee gave a presentation on Mythbusters: challenging some common beliefs. A good presentation. You could hear the audience sighing and agreeing with each of the myths as they arose.

I was last on the day speaking on The Words of the People: treasures within government inquiries This fit in very well with a number of other talks as it was about hearing the words of the people from the past. These inquiries are in an inquisitorial format where a person is asked a question and they answer and the words are transcribed as spoken without being “interpreted” for posterity. Examples of the types of inquiries are Royal Commissions, inquests, some trials, etc.

One of the examples I used was from the 1842 Royal Commission on Employment in Mines in England. For those of you who have miners in your family you should read these accounts.

Then it was time for the closing session and the all important announcement who had won the many raffle prizes (I didn’t win any but many people I knew were lucky). The big gift basket prize was won by Janis Wilton who asked for it to be redrawn as taking it on the plane home wasn’t really possible

All in all an excellent conference and kudos to all the people involved in the organisation as I know how much work has gone on behind the scenes in the lead up to the conference.

Hopefully another society will take up the gauntlet and host the next conference in two years time.

Centenarian Day: Richard John Rollason

Distressed Cotton Operatives, Light Brigade, Richard John Rollason No Responses »

Sep 242015

In honour of Centenarian Day I present Richard John Rollason.

Richard was born 14 July 1845 Pudding Pitts, Foleshill Warwickshire, England.

He emigrated with his parents and siblings and his uncle and his family arriving in Brisbane Queensland 18 May 1863 aboard the Light Brigade. Their passage was paid by the Queensland Government as part of the Distressed Cotton Operatives Scheme (even though they were actually silk ribbon weavers! but that is another story). Their ship’s kit and supplies were paid for by the Poor Law commissioners.

Richard married Lucy Evans 4 December 1878 in Brisbane.


Richard John Rollason & Lucy nee Evans about 1900

The Telegraph 11 July 1945
WILL BE HUNDRED NEXT SATURDAY
Mr Richard Rollason, of Lintern Street, Red Hill, is celebrating his 100th birthday next Saturday.
A fresh complexioned old man with a thatch of white hair and a strong voice, Mr Rollason celebrated the occasion when a “Telegraph” reporter called at his home during the week by singing five verses of a hymn in a resonant baritone that could be heard all round the neighbourhood. When his daughter-in-law suggested at the end of the fourth verse that the old gentleman might be tiring himself, Mr Rollason scorned the idea, saw the hymn through to its finish, and even added a chorus. Mr Rollason was born in Coventry, England eight years after Queen Victoria came to the throne. When he was 18 he came to Queensland and got a job in a baker’s shop at Spring Hill at 4/ a week and keep. Neither the salary nor the conditions he says, with a twinkle, appealed to him, so one night he packed his bag and ran away to take a job in a butcher’s shop at a weekly increase of 3/6. A few years later saw him trying his luck on the Gympie gold- fields. “I never found any gold, except a few grains,” he says, “and soon came creeping back to my mother barefoot and hungry.” But it was all grand experience for a young man, and it stood to me.” Mr Rollason is the father of nine children, seven still living, and has 18 grandchildren— one of them serving in Bougainville — and eight great-grandchildren. He is rather deaf and almost blind, but his humour is keen, his memory good, and he has not seen a doctor in three years. His sight difficulties offer no serious obstacle to his activities. He finds his way about the house with uncanny confidence. He walked down 16 steps to have his photograph taken in the garden, brushing aside any offers of assistance. “I can manage fine,” he said, and counted the steps carefully under his breath as he made the long descent. Mr Rollason loves the wireless and says that now he is no longer able to read he would “go melancholy” without it. His remarkably long life occasions him no great surprise. If told, “You are a remarkable man, Mr. Rollason,” he gives a disbelieving nudge and says, “Get away with you. Nothing of the kind.”


Richard on his 101st birthday.

Richard was a teetotaler (and long term member of the Independent Order of Rechabites Pioneer Tent Brisbane) and non-smoker his entire life.

Richard died in the Royal Brisbane Hospital 6 November 1946 after a fall causing a broken hip. He is buried in Toowong Cemetery.

The Real Winner is You!

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Sep 142015

This year over 151 people were nominated and voting has now closed with results being announced very soon. It is an honour to be nominated by your fellow genealogists and I was honoured this year to be one of the nominees.

John D. Reid of Anglo-Celtic Connections blog runs a Rockstar Genealogist Award each year.

These nominees are people who in John D. Reid’s words are:

“Rockstar genealogists are those who give “must attend” presentations at family history conferences or as webinars. Who, when you see a new family history article or publication by that person, makes it a must buy. Who you hang on their every word on a blog, podcast or newsgroup, or follow avidly on Facebook or Twitter?”

Regardless of who wins the actual awards it is YOU the genealogists who actually win.

This list shows you 151 genealogists that share information that other genealogists consider worthy of nomination.

Now it is time for you to go and seek out these nominees.

Some are the powerhouses such as Judy G. Russell, the Legal Genealogist who is a must see anytime you have a chance who lectures and who also manages to blog pretty much every day. Her blog The Legal Genealogist should be on everyone’s reading list. Don’t think because Judy is in the US that the law information is not relevant to people in the UK, Australia, New Zealand or Canada because we all started with law systems based on English Law. Many of Judy’s posts show ways of evaluating evidence. Judy also writes on DNA.

Talking of DNA there were a number of Genetic Genealogists on this years list:

Judy G. Russell
Roberta Estes DNA Explained
Blaine Bettinger The Genetic Genealogist
Bennett Greenspan
CeCe Moore Your Genetic Genealogist to name but a few.

DNA is a research area with its own language and requirement for study to understand the “records” and results and these genealogists are there helping people enter this brave new world.

Others may have other specialist topics but all willingly share their knowledge.

Find their blogs, follow them on Twitter, see if they are lecturing at a conference near you, look online at the Legacy Webinars or other webinars and see if they are giving one, look at the new Ancestry Academy series of lectures.There are so many opportunities now is the time to take advantage.

The future of genealogy is looking good when so many are nominated.

Lost Too Soon: David Smith

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Sep 062015

Leslie & David abt 1943

Remembering today my father David Smith, who would have been 75 this year 16th February, but who was taken too soon, 26 November 2003.

He was born 16 February 1940, Dartford, Kent, England to Lilian and Leslie Smith. Both Lilian and Leslie were staunch Salvationists.

Lilian, Leslie and baby David 1940

Leslie was sadly killed in the Second World War and Lilian and David emigrated to Australia arriving aboard the Asturias 4 June 1949. Leslie’s brother Frank had emigrated to Australia arriving aboard the Largs Bay in 1934.It had been Leslie’s dream to visit his brother and Lilian decided to do so in search of a better life in Australia after the rigors of a post-war England. Life was still difficult in Australia and David was placed in the Salvation Army home in Goulburn while Lilian worked at the People’s Palace in Sydney. She was able to eventually find work in Goulburn.

Housing was difficult to find in the post-war period in Australia and it took quite a while as evidenced by the newspaper report in the Goulburn Evening Post May 1951 where she is making application for a home that had been left to the Salvation Army, a Returned Serviceman was also applying for the home. She had found work there but not a home where they could be reunited. Lilian was successful in her application to rent a home that had been deeded to the Salvation Army in Goulburn and they were able to be reunited.

They dug up the large back garden and planted vegetables and carnations plus had a productive hen house. When the crops were ready Lilian would take a string bag into work and sell the produce and eggs. Dad would talk sometimes about making the special warm mash for the chickens so they stayed laying through the cold Goulburn winters.

Originally they sold the flowers to the market until David decided to talk to the local restaurants and then he established a flower run along with his newspaper run.

He also earned money by collecting beer bottles and handing them into the bottle depot. The bakery behind their home still used horses at that time to deliver the bread daily and his other job after school each day was to muck out the stables, some of which went to fertilise their garden.

Unfortunately later some of the money he earned went to support the smoking habit which he started in 1953.

Christmas Day 1953 Lilian’s father Robert Henry Philpott died and in 1954 Lilian and David travelled back to England to visit with family.

David with his dog before they went back to England 1953

After the year with the family they returned to Australia. David joined the New South Railways as a porter and gradually worked his way up to shunter. He had wanted to be called up for National Service and when this didn’t happen he joined the Army instead in 1958 and gets transferred to Brisbane

David Smith 1960 3RAR Enoggera Qld

He met Violet Busby at a church picnic and spent some time with her on the drive home as she had gotten travel sick on the bus. He drove her home and they started dating and in March 1961 they married.


David Smith & Violet Noreen Busby March 1961

From there they would start their new life.

Today Father’s Day in Australia, remembering my father David Smith lost too soon.

The Church of our Saviour on the Spilled Blood, St Petersburg

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Jul 212015

The Church of our Saviour on the Spilled Blood, St Petersburg is a spectacular building and is a must see for anyone visiting the city. Both the interior and exterior of the church is decorated with incredibly detailed mosaics.

It has an interesting history as it was built by Alexander III to be dedicated as a memorial to his father Alexander II who was mortally wounded by a bomb on the spot where the Church was to be built. Construction was begun in 1883 and not concluded until 1907 and it was funded by the royal family and private donations. It was not used as a public place of worship but more of a place for memorial services.

It is very different to the other architecture seen in the city as it is in an earlier medieval Russian architecture style and was also meant to resemble the famous St Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow.

The church has suffered during the 1917 Revolution when it was looted and damaged. It was closed as a church in early 1930’s and used as a morgue during the Siege of Leningrad and was further damaged. In 1970 restoration began with proceeds from St Isaac’s Cathedral and the restoration was completed in 1997. The church has not been reconsecrated.

We did not get to go inside so no pictures from there. Further information can be found here and you can do a virtual tour of the inside here.