WikiTree Progress

Ensuring that our relations have a profile on WikiTree has eaten up most of my research time recently. Direct Ancestors have been my priority. 

Following are ancestor trees on RootsMagic. The yellow bars on left of names indicate that the person has a profile on WikiTree. The Orange dots on the right indicate that there is a hint on Ancestry, MyH, FMP or FamilySearch.

My Tree

My ancestors in the Emerald Isle have created some research challenges. I've had more success on the husband's lines.

My Husband's Tree

Looks like I have to do some more digging on Joseph Brooksbank - the red arrow suggests an issue. 

My Irish Roots

On St Patrick’s Day, I find myself reflecting on my Irish roots and the enduring legacy of the ancestors who came before me.

In recent years, DNA testing has added another dimension to my understanding of that heritage. Today, my Irish ancestry is estimated as:

• 23andMe: 70.9%

• Ancestry: 64%

• FTDNA: 49%

• MyHeritage: Results pending

Like many family historians, I’ve discovered that ethnicity estimates can vary between testing companies. When I compare these figures with my traditional genealogical research, I believe my Irish ancestry likely sits somewhere between the higher estimates from 23andMe and Ancestry.

But beyond the percentages and data, it’s the people and their stories that matter most.

Today, I remember the Irish men and women in my family who made the long and often arduous journey from Ireland to Australia in the 19th century. Their courage, resilience, and determination laid the foundations for the generations that followed.

These ancestors have profiles at WikiTree:

• Patrick Curry, who arrived aboard the Hooghley in 1825

• Ellen Moore, on the Mariner in 1825

• Dennis Tierney and Elizabeth D’Arcy, who travelled together on the China in 1839

• Margaret McKeon, who came on the Earl Grey in 1841

• Bridget Ryan, arriving on the British Empire in 1849

• Michael Molloy, came before 1852

• Catherine Connolly, who arrived before 1852

• Mary Cregan, who travelled on the Derwent in 1850

• Mary Kealy, arriving later on the Kapunda in 1877

Each of these names represents a story — of leaving home, crossing oceans, and building new lives in an unfamiliar land. Their journeys were not easy, but their legacy lives on in the lives of their descendants.

As I reflect this St Patrick’s Day, I’m reminded that family history is more than names and dates. It is about connection — to people, places, and the past.

It is also about preservation: ensuring that these stories are not lost, but carried forward for future generations. WikiTree provides an excellent platform to preserve those sstories

Today, I honour my Irish ancestors — and I remain grateful for the paths they forged.

Happy St Patrick’s Day. ☘️

Note: I used ChatGPT to tidy up my post and then defancified their flowery language and added links prior to posting.

Coffin Ship

Better late than never, I found this post in my drafts folder and thought I should post it.

11/9/2017 Thanks to Mr GeniAus for jumping out of our tour bus in the rain to photograph the Irish National Famine Memorial, a coffin ship, in Murrisk, Mayo.

"The National Famine Monument at the base of Croagh Patrick in Murrisk, County Mayo, Ireland depicts a coffin ship with skeletons and bones as rigging. Sculpted by John Behan, it is Ireland's largest bronze sculpture. The "Coffin Ship" was unveiled by then President of Ireland Mary Robinson in 1997 to mark the 150th anniversary of the Irish Famine." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffin_ship)

Some of my Irish ancestors left Ireland for New South Wales during the Great Famine. Visiting this site gave me an opportunity to reflect on the challenges they faced on their brave and arduous journeys.

Upclose to the sculpture

From Wikipedia:

"A coffin ship (Irish: long cónra) is a popular idiom used to describe the ships that carried Irish migrants escaping the Great Irish Famine and Highlanders displaced by the Highland Clearances.^[1]" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffin_ship

A Picnic with Patrick

Yesterday on a sensational spring day husband and I stopped for a picnic lunch at Curry Reserve near Camden, NSW. This park, which is on the edge of the historic town was gazetted as a reserve in 1976, is special to me. On the recommendation of the local Council it was named after my 3xGreat-Grandfather, Patrick Curry, an Irish convict who had been assigned to the Macarthur family of Merino fame. Patrick is one of my favourite ancestors.

It had been several years since our last visit; we were surprised to find a lovely updated park. As we sat and watched local children playing in the beautiful water park I reflected on Patrick's life 200 years ago. I wonder what Patrick would think of this lovely facility for local families close to the area where he farmed on the banks of the Nepean River. I recalled Paddy's words to Caroline Chisholm "I have reared a large family in comfort, want for nothing." 

I am sure Patrick would not have been able to imagine the 21st century facilities at Curry Reserve but he would have been honoured to be associated with the site. 

Lots of opportunities for cool fun

Barbeque area

Modern facilities building

Proud to visit this important family site 

Visiting Ann

Several months ago I was going over some old research and found a new reference on ancestry.co.uk. to my husband's 3xGreat-Grandmother, Ann Elms (nee Jones).

It was a record from the Register of Private Graves at The City of London and Tower Hamlets Cemetery. The record gave details of the grave's purchase by Ann's husband, Benjamin John Elms, and notes Ann's interment in the grave.

I then found a second reference from the Register of Burials in the year 1866 at The City of London and Tower Hamlets Cemetery. 

Once I knew that Ann was there I wanted to plan a visit to the cemetery. It so happened that we had a holiday to Europe planned later in the year so we included a stay in London and a visit to the cemetery on our itinerary.

I learnt about The Friends of Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park, an independent charity that looks after Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park (the current name for The City of London and Tower Hamlets Cemetery). I found a wealth of information  about the cemetery and its history plus an offer from The Friends to provide assistance in locating graves. 

Several weeks prior to our intended visit I wrote to The Friends and received a reply that I had been put on a list of enquiries to be dealt with by volunteers and that it may take some time to get help from them.

As we were driving up to London last week my husband asked if I had heard back from The Friends and I indicated that I hadn't. We resolved to visit the cemetery on our own and try to locate the grave by ourselves.  

Robert was anxious to honour his ancestor

After we settled in our hotel a few hours later  I received an email from the Heritage Officer at the cemetery who said "Do you have a copy of the burial record/s or at least a burial number for Ann? Happy to help but we need the grave number to assist. If you are visiting on Monday I may be able to meet you on site to help with the location."  I responded immediately. As it was after business hours we didn't expect an immediate response and resolved to visit the cemetery on Monday.

As we were heading out last Monday morning we heard from Claire Stack the Heritage Officer  "Thank you for those documents, that's all I need. I can do anytime from 10am today." We agreed to meet at 10am.

We received a warm welcome from Claire whose passion for her work and love of her workplace were evident. Claire had access to information not on Ancestry that enabled her to take us to the old area in the cemetery where the grave could be found. 

Ann's grave was somewhere among the ivy and brambles 

Claire and Robert started looking through the undergrowth and stinging nettles in the appropriate section and, after just a few minutes, Claire called that she had found it. There was a headstone but it was covered in ivy which obliterated the inscription.

Headstone covered in ivy

Mindful of the fragility of the headstone Claire asked Robert not to pull the ivy off but to remove the leaves and try to break off the ivy at the base of the headstone. This we did.

It appeared as though Ann's husband, Benjamin John Elms, had intended for this to be a grave for the whole family. The inscription at the top of the headstone is "The family grave of  Benjamin & Anne Elms of Poplar." I have not yet been able to locate Benjamin's final resting place in 1872. The Register of graves indicates that there is only interment.

The inscription revealed

Robert, a happy descendant

She is not lost but only gone before
I hope we meet her on a brighter shore
Where we shall never part again
Lord be it so - Amen Amen

Being able to honour an ancestor was a rewarding activity on the last day of our holiday.

Our thanks go Claire for her warm welcome and assistance in locating Ann's grave. We would never have found it without Claire's care and kindness. 

Phipps Connection

Wandering down Old Street in London yesterday we came across LSO St Lukes, the home of the London Symphony Orchestra, a deconsecrated church which is surrounded by a garden with seats. As I was footsore we stopped in to give my legs some R&R. 

I thought St Lukes, Old Street sounded familiar and then a penny dropped. It was the parish in which my Phipps ancestors resided in the late 18th and early 19th Centuries. Some 4x great relations were even baptised in the now deconsecrated Church.

St Lukes, Old Street

After our rest we continued walking towards the Covid Testing Centre to complete the requirements for our impending cruise.

18th May - A Birthday Remembered

When I looked at my calendar this morning I thought of my grandmother, Mary Tierney, who was born on this day 135 years ago. Mary was known to me as Nana Curry as she had taken my grandfather's name when they married in 1918.

Rather than reinventing the wheel I am reposting an excerpt from a post written in 2013. The full post can be read here http://geniaus.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-book-of-me-week-7-paternal.html

Mary Tierney 1887-1977

Mary Tierney was born in the town of Dungog to John D'Arcy Tierney, a carpenter, builder and sometime undertaker, and his Irish wife, Mary Kealy. Nana had two sisters, Jane and Eliza, and a brother, Patrick.

Nana was a gentle lady with snowy white hair that she wore in a bun and she seemed terribly old to me when she was about the age I am now. She was a devout Catholic who was proud of her Irish heritage, I remember kneeling beside her bed and reciting my prayers with her when I went to stay with her. We would always include this prayer:

There are four corners on my bed,
There are four angels at my head.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,
Bless the bed I lay upon.

Nana loved feeding me egg flips that she believed to be very healthy, these drinks were made from milk, a raw egg and vanilla essence and after a shake and stir of the ingredients nutmeg was sprinkled on top. I remember them as quite sweet and delicious. Nana used often give me sweets to take home, they were always the same caramels. I sometimes wished for a bit of variety.

Nana, who lived to the ripe old age of 89 spent the last few years of her life in a nursing home. She had an enormous impact on my life.

Nana and I on my wedding day 1970

My Green Roots Roll Call

It is appropriate on St Patrick's Day that I remember my Green Roots - ie those ancestors who came from the Emerald Isle.

May I introduce my direct Irish ancestors who all arrived in New South Wales prior to 1876. They include several convicts, an Earl Gray orphan, some assisted immigrants and a couple of mysteries :

Catherine Connolly
Patrick Curry/Corry
Mary Cregan/Crigan/Criggin/Cligan/Gregson
Elizabeth/Eliza D'arcy
Mary Kealy
Margaret McKeon/McEwan
Ellen/Eleanor Moore
Catherine Jane Maxwell
Michael Molloy
Dennis Tierney

Please follow the links above to visit these ancestors at my family website.

Trove Tuesday - Burns Night

It appears that Mr Geniaus'' Great-Grandfather, William Purves Gowans,  was a proud Scot and member of the Sydney Scottish Borderers' Association later the Sydney Scottish Association. I turned to Trove this morning to explore that relationship.

The first post I found mentioning William was in 1898 when he supported the founding of the group.

1898 'SCOTTISH BORDERERS.', The Australian Star (Sydney, NSW : 1887 - 1909), 11 February, p. 3. , viewed 25 Jan 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article228429483

At the April meeting of the group William was elected as Secretary.

1898 'SCOTTISH BORDERERS.', The Australian Star (Sydney, NSW : 1887 - 1909), 12 April, p. 2. , viewed 25 Jan 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article228442542

In March 1901 William became vice-president of the Association.

1901 'SCOTTISH BORDERERS' ASSOCIATION.', The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), 4 March, p. 3. , viewed 25 Jan 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article240130074

In 1902 William was elected as a trustee of the association. Although I have read through articles related to the association up to 1912 I can find no further mention of William.

Perhaps William's finest moment was on this day one hundred nd twenty one years ago when he sang Burns Birthday song at the associations Burns Night Celebration. 

1901 'BURNS' ANNIVERSARY.', The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), 29 January, p. 8. , viewed 25 Jan 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article14338852

Visiting the parents

We were in Sydney yesterday and in the vicinity of Botany Cemetery (now called Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park) so we popped into see Mum and Dad. 

It didn't take long for us to find their plot as I was able to access the details from my website on my phone. With the mausoleums on the opposite of the road off which the lawn plots and the clear sign of Section 41 we were able to find plot 51 with ease.

Although very spongy to walk on it was pleasing to see the lawn surrounding the graves mown and weed free. Because of Covid we haven't visited the cemetery since the new headstone I ordered  had been put in place so it was good to see that it met my expectations. 

These mausoleums are good placemarkers

Mum and Dad are along this row

The new headstone

It's a peaceful environment

Ball Bounty

Although Mr GeniAus (my husband Robert) is not particularly fond of research he loves making connections with distant cousins and sharing stories and photographs with them. He will and has travelled to the ends of the earth to meet up with them. We have travelled to Rochdale Lancs., the town of his Ball line on several occasions and visited local archives, churches, cemeteries and homes of the Balls. The British Newspaper Archive has recently enabled us to add to the Ball story.

In the early 1800s the Balls lived at Wolstenholme Fold near Rochdale

Way back, when DNA was the new research tool on the block Mr GeniAus took a Y-DNA test which hasn't really helped us make any connections. Then in 2015 we added an autosomal test from FTDNA followed by an Ancestry test. Through these we have identified several matches and connected with a few on his Ball line but to date haven't added to our knowledge of the family until this week. 

I recently received an Ancestry  message from Alli in the UK relating to three kits that I manage so I promptly messaged her back to confirm that the relationship she asked about was indeed correct. Alli who is Mr GeniAus' third cousin was as excited as Robert and I were to make this connection. It was easy to work out the connection because both Alli and Robert have trees attached to their DNA accounts.

Ancestry message from Alli

 

Alli kindly responded with a copy of a document recording notes on family members written by her grandmother whose grandparents James Ball and Betty Clegg are also Robert's 2xGreatGrandparents. 

James Ball and Betty Clegg's grave in Rochdale Cemetery 

The information in the document filled in many gaps for us and provided some clues for further research. The icing on the cake was being sent a copy of a photo of James Ball held by Alli's branch of the family. It was the first image we have ever seen of Robert's ancestor. 

I wrote to Alli "We have just sat and read through your grandmother's account. Even though I am not related to the Balls it brought tears to my eyes as I read James' story, having researched them for eons I am quite fond of them.

This is the best and most valuable geneasurprise I have had in years, thank you for taking a DNA test."

As we are visiting the UK in June 2022 we are making arrangements to meet up with Alli and her family. Alli has also agreed to upload her results to Gedmatch so I can examine her chromosome matches with Robert, James and Norma.

It's been an exciting geneaweek for two distant Ball families. Isn't DNA just grand!

30 Bob for Daphne

 Indulging in some Sunday afternoon newspaper browsing on Trove  I found this mention of my mother-in-law, Daphne Gillespie from 1931. I wonder how she disposed of her 30 bob?

1931 'Advertising', The Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 - 1954), 1 January, p. 6. (LAST RACE EDITION), viewed 18 Jul 2021, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article224659981

From the Archives - 28th June 1946

 As I had written about Mum's connection with the GPO in Sydney earlier this month I thought it pertinent to reshare this post I wrote ten years ago.

Trove Tuesday - Found

 I have posted this delightful photo of my mother dancing in Martin Place at the end of World War Two several times over the years and knew that it had originally appeared in a Sydney newspaper.

Mum is in the two-tone shoes.

 

Yesterday I had cause to find the original image and I noted that there was a typed caption pasted on it.

When I teach people how to use Trove I tell them that they can use Trove to date old newspaper clippings by pasting text into the search box. It was time to practice what I preach.

I fired up Trove, selected search in Newspapers & Gazettes category and typed these words from the caption in the search box "Typical of excited Sydney crowds were these crowds who celebrated" then narrowed the results to NSW and 1945.

SUCCESS! How easy was that!

I found the original article with a cropped image of my mother and the revellers with whom she was celebrating. 

1945 'Wild scenes as Australia celebrates surrender news; revellers throng streets', The Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 - 1954), 12 August, p. 3. , viewed 07 Jun 2021, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article230453563

Thankyou Trove for sharing and preserving my mother's story.

In Elsie's Footsteps

 Last week we ventured into the city to attend a function where Mr GeniAus was recognized for being a member of his professional body for fifty years. The compere described my husband as "a sprightly old chap"!

Mr GeniAus (centre) with his award

As the function was held in the Fullerton Hotel in Sydney we booked our overnight accommodation there. The Heritage wing of the hotel is the former Sydney GPO where my mother, Elsie Duncan, worked as a telephoniste during the 1940s. On booking in I noticed that the hotel was offering free 90 minute tours of the GPO building so I immediately signed up. 

The Heritage GPO wing is connected to the new tower block by walkways and an atrium

Friday at 10:00am saw us join Tour Guide Alex and three other couples for the tour. We commenced with a little history lesson before venturing out into George Street to look closely at the exterior of the GPO building. Alex asked us if we had ever looked up at the carvings and statuary decorating the building, we all agreed that we looked ahead not up when walking around the city. 

Stopping on George Street we raised our eyes and saw Coats of Arms and various other carvings.

Turning into Martin Place we admired the long colonnade and glanced up once more to admire the many carvings along the facade. Above the entrance door was an impressive sculpture of Queen Victoria. 

Before turning into Pitt Street we visited an art gallery in the former public telephone area of the GPO. The ceiling in in that room is decorated with gold leaf.

Along the Pitt Street facade we saw some ghost signs, more carvings and the former vehicular entrance.

On entering the hotel we stopped to look at the atrium that covers the former courtyard of the GPO. The magnificent replica grand staircase that takes one out of the building under Queen Victoria's sculpture  dominates the northern end of this area.

On the first floor of the old building we saw the rooms where the telephonistes worked. The males on the western wing and the females on the eastern wing. These rooms are now used as function rooms. Standing in the area where my mother spent her days was spine-tingling.

Did Mum have a good view from these windows as she fiddled with the cords and plugs on the switchboards?

Last stop on our tour was the basement of the old GPO building where the horses were stabled and where the Tank Stream was encased in a concrete pipe.

The old stables

The Tanks Stream flows through these pipes.

I hadn't thought much about the work Mum had done at the GPO until I saw some old photos of telephonistes at work in the basement audiovisual display.

The purpose of our trip to the city was for Mr GeniAus to reflect on his long and successful career, I am so proud of his achievments. The unexpected outcome of being able to walk in Mum's footsteps topped off  our excursion to the city.