Looks like this new fad from 1896 has endured!
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| 1896 'The Family Tree Fad.', The Western Champion and General Advertiser for the Central-Western Districts (Barcaldine, Qld. : 1892 - 1922), 4 February, p. 16. , viewed 29 Dec 2020, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article79763036 |
For most of us 2020 was very different from normal as we faced the challenges served up by Covid19. I am back again asking you to take some time to reflect on the past year and focus on the positives that you experienced in spite of or because of the Corona Virus.
I nearly forgot to post the challenge but was alerted when geneablogger Lilian Magill wrote a response before I sent out a reminder. Thanks Lilian.
Back in 2016 in a post titled Giggle and Scrape I related the story of a luncheon with two of my first cousins and the fun we had when I produced DNA kits from my handbag.
The cousins willingly agreed to take an FTDNA test for me. At the time Ancestry DNA was the new kid on the block and experts were suggesting FTDNA as the place to test. I also uploaded these results to Gedmatch. The number of matches we have received from these matches is rather disappointing.
Both Jane (Cousin Number 1 that tested for me in 2016) and me are only children whose parents and all our aunts and uncles are deceased. The good news is that we are double first cousins so all of Jane's matches will be related to me and vice versa. Jane's three daughters who have all tested recently with Ancestry have many shared matches with me. It was a no brainer that Jane needed to spit for Ancestry.
When Jane and the girls visited in October I produced an Ancestry kit and with lots of giggling and encouragement from her daughters Jane dutifully managed to find some saliva.
The results of Jane's test came in a few days before Christmas. Even though I have had limited time to examine Jane's results I am thrilled with what I have already found, I am so grateful to Jane for generously submitting to another test. |
| Jane's big spit |
Already Jane's matches have provided me with keys to identify and confirm more cousins. In time I hope they will help to bring more of our ancestors out of hiding.
There are many instances where matches are unique to Jane or me, the first of these occurs at the predicted 4th cousin level where Jane has a 75cm match to someone I have been able to identify on our maternal line.
There are also several instances where I have a very small match of 10-20cm but Jane has much higher matches with these persons. Confirmation that my small matches are valid is comforting.
Jane's percentage of Aboriginal and Torres Island ethnicity is higher than mine.
To avoid confusion I have used the same Ancestry dotting schema for Jane's test as for mine. As someone who isn't too deeply into DNA I use a spreadsheet to track my matches, I had already used this for Jane's FTDNA and Gedmatch results and will add the Ancestry matches there too.
I am so thrilled with Jane's results that I will produce an Ancestry kit next time I catch up with Cousin 2 (1st cousin - paternal line) from 2016. I saw her at a function prior to Christmas but didn't have a kit with me, I won't be caught short next event.
I'm hoping that January will provide me with some time to go through all of Jane's matches down to around 15centimorgans.
I posted this back in 2012. Some things have changed - my mother has passed away, the grandchild count has gone up and we have moved to a different location. I may need to revisit the meme.
If YOU have time how about copying the questions and sharing your responses on your blog?
This morning when going through my Facebook stream I saw an announcement decorated with Christmassy symbols from a local historical society giving details of their General Meeting this coming week.
When I read some of the text in the announcement I was flabbergasted and fuming. Members attending were exhorted to "Bring a share plate of Christmas cheer"! I could not believe I was reading this in the light of the new outbreak of Covid19 in our State. When planning events we need to ensure the safety of all who are attending. Perhaps the people at xxx Historical Society have a Covidsafe food handling plan in place, perhaps they don't. I'd like to know.
I thought long and hard and tried to be kind when I left this comment on their post "Sorry to be a party pooper but I just have to comment. Let's encourage our communities to embrace CovidSafe practices and discourage shared plates."
This advice comes from "Gathering Safely" on our NSW Health website:
"Think about how you share food. Rather than having common platters, give each person an individual portion." I notice that this is how the Newcastle Family History Society managed their afternoon teas responsibly last week.
We had a similar event at Lake Macquarie Family History Group which was our first face to face event since March. Prior to the event we circulated our CovidSafe plan to members and asked them to BYO food and drink.
I am aware that we are living in a pandemic and while knowing that we reside in a safe area away from Sydney I recognise that people in our area travel to Sydney and conversely people from our area travel to Sydney. There is no place for complacency. Those of us who hold positions of responsibility in community organisations must lead the way and provide a safe environment for any event we host.
I decided not to name and shame the local Group in the hope that they see my comment and amend their plans. I am hopeful that they will do so.
If I was asked to list my interests apart from genealogy and living family I would nominate reading, travel and photography. I love to share my enthusiasm for these pursuits in person, print and online.
I revel in those times when I can kill two or more birds with one stone and undertake activities that allow me to indulge in more than one of these interests.
During these Covid times I've had a regular date at 4pm on a Friday with a cup of coffee and members of The Society of Australian Genealogists. Each week members of this group from all over Australia hang out together online via Zoom to discuss a genealogy related topic. I have to admit that while some of the discussions are interesting I have relished the opportunity to put names to faces and communicate with fellow members of the Society. These events have added a human dimension to the Society's educational program and have given a platform for members to share some of their stories and associated brickwalls.
This afternoon I am thrilled that I will be hosting the final SAG Hang Out for 2020. The topic "Summer Reading" will give me an opportunity to have a bookish chat with fellow family historians. How great is that? It will be difficult to curb my enthusiasm and remember that, as I am wearing the host hat, my role is to encourage attendees to share their recommendations for must-read books both old and new.
If you are coming along please bring details of your fave books to share.
PS Apologies to the gentleman on an Hawaiian beach who was so absorbed in his reading that he didn't notice me taking his photo (I have quite a collection of snaps from all over the world of readers with their heads buried in books).
19 December 2020 Update: I will continue to add to this list as I read more books and remember more previously read.
The topic for ANZAncestryTime this week is Migration across the seas.
This theme prompted me to reflect on some of the books I had read about immigrants or refugees who travelled to make a new life in Australia, some came by sea and some by air. I went scurrying back to my reading log on Librarything to jog my memory for those titles.
Following is a list of some of the books I enjoyed.
Almost like home : living in Bradfield Park, Michael Hogan
The Arrival, Shaun Tan (Picture book - suggested by Carmel Galvin).
Benedictine pioneers in Australia, Henry Norbert Birt
The Boat by Nam Le (Suggested by Carmel Galvin)
Chinese whispers : in search of ivy : a gold rush story told by generations of an Australian-Chinese family, Alison Choy Flannigan
Convict women, Kay Daniels
Cop This Lot, Nino CulottaFair Game, Elizabeth Rushen
Farewell my children : Irish emigration to Australia 1848-1870, Richard Reid
Free Passage, Perry McIntyre
Freedom's land, Anna Jacobs
From Distress to Deliverance : the life and times of william gow, convict, schoolmaster and farmer, Stephen Gow
The Happiest Refugee, Anh Do
The glory garage : growing up Lebanese Muslim in Australia, Nadia JamalThe happiest man on Earth, Eddie Jaku
Hell ship, Michael Veitch (Suggested by Jennifer Jones)
I Kept on Dancing: A Life's Journey from Nazi Germany to the Lucky Country, Olga Geddes
Inheritance of secrets, Sonya Bates
Into the Suburbs : A Migrant's Story, Christopher Raja
The Italian girl, Rebecca Huntley
Joyful strains : making Australia home, Kent MacCarterA long way to Tipperary, Susan Gough (Children's Fiction)
Mao's last dancer, Li Cunxin
Michi's memories : the story of a Japanese war bride , Keiko Tamura
One Bright Moon, Andrew Kwong
Otherland: A Journey with My Daughter by Maria Tumarkin
Pierce Landers and Honorah Flood : Tipperary, Ire. [to] Dungog, NSW, Gwenyth Starr
Pirate boy of Sydney town by Jackie French