Name Change

My mother-in-law, Daphne Gillespie, used to tell the story of how her name was changed at baptism frrom Freda to Daphne; a notation on her birth certificate bears this out.

Whilst browsing through a notebook belonging to her mother, Eliza Ann Gowans,  that I have as the family bowerbird  I came across a newspaper clipping about this event pasted neatly on a page. As the other items in this book are from 1930 and 1931 I surmise it was from that time.  Unfortunately I cannot identify the newspaper.

It is one of a number of clippings of pars that Eliza under her nom-de-plume, Elms, had pasted in the notebook. Eliza earned three shillings and sixpence for sharing the story of baby Freda's name change.

Who reads all these genealogy blogs anyway?

James Tanner of Genealogy's Star posed this question in his blog post today: Who reads all these genealogy blogs anyway? 

James, I read genealogy blogs; lots of them.

James' question made me think of the (costly to produce and distribute) journal that I received this week from a genealogy society. It contained a few feature articles, some resource reviews, a list of recent library acquisitions, 29 pages devoted to annual president's and financial reports etc. I should imagine that the production of this journal on its shiny paper chews up a major portion of the Society's income.

At the recent Rootstech Conference there was a lot of discussion about falling membership in societies, rising membership fees and giving value for money. I wonder if production of a fat shiny journal a few times a year represents a wise  allocation of funds in the 21st century.

Blogs give me access each to day to many more articles on genealogy than I get in one edition of the journal that I just skim. Via my RSS feed I, not a journal editor, can scan a huge number of articles and select those that I want to read and digest. So I read genealogy blogs to get access to a wide range of pertinent articles written by many people internationally, to hear of events, keep up to date with the latest resources and to communicate and collaborate with like-minded people.

I'd love it if more readers embraced the collaborative nature of blogging and engaged in a conversation via the comments section in the blogs they read.

Genealogy and Children's Books

I will not be issuing a challenge to other genealogy bloggers to write about some books from their childhood on International Children's Book Day as my last challenge on World Poetry Day was a dismal failure.

Since 1967, on or around Hans Christian Andersen's birthday, 2 April, International Children's Book Day (ICBD) has been celebrated to inspire a love of reading and to call attention to children's books.

In a blog post last year  I wrote "The books one reads gives others a picture of one's interests and adds a bit more flavour to dry genealogical facts. If you are a reader and family historian have you recorded your reading for your descendants?" In that post I outlined the method I use to keep track of the books I have read."

I  will mark ICBD by listing ten of the children's books that I have particularly enjoyed not just from my childhood but from my days as a Children's Librarian, parent and Teacher Librarian.

1. One Dragon's dream - Peter Pavey - an exceptional Australian picture book
2. Ballet shoes - Noel Streatfeild (and all her other books) - Gave a ballet mad girl a chance to share another's dreams
3. The Boy in the striped pyjamas - John Boyne - A modern classic - Read it
4. The Very hungry caterpillar - Eric Carle  Enjoyed with children, students and grandchildren - a stunning work
5. Tomorrow when the war began - John Marsden - Suspense filled plot grasped the attention of many non-readers
6. Dancing Star - Gladys Malvern The tale of Anna Pavlova aslo fuelled a yung ballet fan's dreams
7. Sue Barton Student nurse - Helen Dore Boylston - Probably responsible for my first career in nursing
8. A Bridge to Terabithia - Katherine Paterson - Don't know anyone who hasn't enjoyed this one
9. Silly verse for kids - Spike Milligan - Made poetry lessons enjoyable for the whole claass
10. Zoom - Istvan Banyai - Amazing wordless masterpiece

These are not my top ten books but just ten that spring to mind this morning. On another day this list would be different but it represents a few of the many children's boks that have made an impression on me.

Follow Friday - GeneaBloggers Blogtalk Radio

For my Follow Friday post this week I am highlighting a radio show that assists in  breaking down the Tyranny of distance  for Australian genealogists. One of the disadvenatges of living in God's own country is that we are far away from a large number of genealogists who share our interest and perhaps even our ancestors.

Geneabloggers Blogtalk Radio gives Australians an opportunity, at a reasonable time on a Saturday afternoon, to connect with genealogists from other nations. Vibrant personality, Thomas MacEntee, is the host of this two-hour program that understandably has a North American bias. In spite of this there is a lot of discussion that has relevance to genealogists worldwide. Last week I think I was the only Australian tuned in but I had company from the southern hemisphere in a genealogist from New Zealand.

One can simply tune in and listen to the program online or onc can sign up for a free Blogtalk radio account that allows you to jparticipate in the online chat that runs concurrently with the show. There is no special software or equipment needed to listen to the show.  Past programs are archived and available on the program's webpage.


The theme for this weeks show is "Jewish Genealogy – How To Get Started Searching Your Roots".  AlthoughI have no Jewish Ancestry I will be joining in to hear about resources and events, to learn from the expert guests, to be entertained by Thomas and to enjoy the camaderie of my genealogy mates.

Thomas and his friends would be thrilled to have you join them on Geneabloggers Blogtalk Radio on Saturday in Sydney or on Friday 10pm EDT, 9pm CDT, 8pm MDT, and 7pm PDT in the United States.