Trove Tuesday - A lightbulb moment

This morning while listening to a webinar on Government Employees hosted by State Records NSW I had a lightbulb moment.

For several years I have been interested in my Great-Great Grandmother's brother, Rev. Michael Harrington Ryan. I have previously searched Trove and British and Irish newspapers for mention of this chap and have looked at resources in The National Library of Australia and the National Library in Dublin, Ireland. I have gathered quite a bit of information on his life but, as one day I want to tell his story, I want more.

When John Cann was talking about Government Records in the webinar I recalled that M H Ryan had some Government appointments to penal colonies under the jurisdiction of NSW and gaols in NSW. John mentioned that keyword searches in Trove will return results from the NSW Government Gazette. Now I haven't done any Trove searches on the good Reverend since the Gazettes became available. So what did I do? I ditched my task of editing and distributing minutes of a Family History Group and fired up Trove.

I have tagged several articles in Trove with M H Ryan's name but I prefer Lists because I find them easier to find through searches. As I didn't have a list I set up a new one for Michael Harrington Ryan which I have made Private for the moment. I was then ready to search.

Was the hunt successful?

It certainly was although I had to use a range of search terms to find articles. I had previously found reports of some of these events in Trove newspapers but many of the results I found today are news to me and will add more to the story of my great (x2) grand-uncle.

Below are just some of the snippets I found relating to Michael Harrington Ryan.

1872 'Index page', New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900), 31 December, p. xxvi. , viewed 27 Aug 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article225844670

1877 'Government Gazette Notices', New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900), 30 January, p. 451. , viewed 27 Aug 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article223127406

1877 'Government Gazette Appointments and Employment', New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900), 27 July, p. 2869. , viewed 27 Aug 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article223536564

1879 'Government Gazette Appointments and Employment', New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900), 4 February, p. 473. , viewed 27 Aug 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article223657987

1879 'Government Gazette Appointments and Employment', New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900), 7 February, p. 528. , viewed 27 Aug 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article223658141

Government Gazette Appointments and Employment (1883, July 20). New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900), p. 3903. Retrieved August 27, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article221655477

1887 'In the Supreme Court of New South Wales. ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION.', New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900), 15 November, p. 7682. , viewed 27 Aug 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article219929328

Capital Punishment Database

As I was scouting around searching for details to add to persons in my CurryAus surname project I came across a new to me database, The NSW Capital Convictions Database.

While it was not intended as a genealogical database it contains the sort of information that we  family historians love to find. The database contains searchable particulars on prisoner, victim, conviction, and execution. So if your ancestor was a perpetrator or victim of crime in NSW you may find some interesting facts to add to their stories.

Of the two Currys I found in the database one was executed while one was found to be Not guilty.

Trove Tuesday - Swimming Carnivals

Today I'm heading for Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre, SOPAC, to watch a Grandson represent his district in a swimming carnival.

I wondered if swimming carnivals were held in New South Wales 1916, if they were common place and where they were held. Trove, of course, came up trumps.

A carnival in Wagga Wagga was held at Viaduct beach on Murrumbidgee River. Tha carnival at Gundagai was also held in the Murrumbidgee River (1916 'SWIMMING CARNIVAL', The Gundagai Times and Tumut, Adelong and Murrumbidgee District Advertiser (NSW : 1868 - 1931), 18 February, p. 4. , viewed 21 Mar 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article123527856).

1916 'SWIMMING CARNIVAL.', Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW : 1911 - 1954), 16 February, p. 2. , viewed 21 Mar 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article141885335

In Bathurst there was a High School Carnival at the Bath.

1916 'Swimming Carnival.', National Advocate (Bathurst, NSW : 1889 - 1954), 11 March, p. 2. , viewed 21 Mar 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article158047948

In Grafton the High School held its carnival in the Grafton Baths (1916 'SWIMMING CARNIVAL.', Daily Examiner (Grafton, NSW : 1915 - 1954), 1 March, p. 2. , viewed 21 Mar 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article194988097). 

The Surf Swimming Carnival in Newcastle was held in the Ocean Baths (1916 'SWIMMING CARNIVAL.', Sydney Sportsman (Surry Hills, NSW : 1900 - 1954), 1 March, p. 2. , viewed 21 Mar 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article167266726).

I was fascinated at some of the events in the Parramatta High School Carnival at the Centennial Baths. I must find out about Chasing the duck and Chase the Bellman.

1916 'HIGH SCHOOL SWIMMING CARNIVAL', The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate (Parramatta, NSW : 1888 - 1950), 8 April, p. 6. , viewed 21 Mar 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article86079236

A number of things surprised me. There were carnivals in many rural regions quite a few of which had baths, schools were hosting carnivals way back then and the Carnival proceeds were distributed to charities. 

Trove has enlightenend me again. 

Speedy service

Last time I ordered some certificates from the NSW Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages I aired my frustrations on social media because they took about seven weeks to arrive.

I am pleased to report that the death certificate for my ancestor, Michael Harrington Ryan, that I ordered on 14 March arrived as a .pdf file in my inbox just four days later on 18 March. What a quick turnaround! 

What is especially pleasing is that this document contains an image from the original register entry. The certificates I have received over the past few years have contained  typed transcriptions from the original registers. Reverting to images of the original entries removes the likelihood of entries being mistyped from the sometimes poor handwriting in the registers. It is, of course, up to us now to correctly decode the sometimes illegible writing.

Congratulations NSW Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages on your speedy service and  new document format.

Lifelink

Instead of writing a blog post about Lifelink a new resource for New South Wales I decided to do a Google Hangout in which I demonstrated the product and made some comments about it.

When I viewed the video I discovered that the quality was not too good with the video cutting in and out and some parts of the audio being unclear. I am still posting it as it may be useful for someone and it may engender some conversation.

Trove Tuesday - October Bushfires

We are presently experiencing a dreadful round of bushfires in NSW. A perusal of Trove tells me that this is not unusual for October.

1928 'GALES AND BUSH FIRES.', Townsville Daily Bulletin (Qld. : 1885 - 1954), 9 October, p. 7, viewed 22 October, 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article61034436

1945 'BUSHFIRE WARNING.', The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), 24 October, p. 2, viewed 22 October, 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2648993

Add caption

1951 'FIRES IN N.S.W.', Townsville Daily Bulletin (Qld. : 1885 - 1954), 25 October, p. 1, viewed 22 October, 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article63385723

1954 'Fled From Bushfires.', Townsville Daily Bulletin (Qld. : 1885 - 1954), 5 October, p. 2, viewed 22 October, 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article62544833

What I find interesting is that these articles come from publications outside NSW.

A Place of Refuge...

Christine Yeats at Hawkesbury today

....is not what comes to mind when I think of an Asylum but after hearing Christine Yeat's illuminating talk, Tracing Ancestors in Asylums, at The Hawkesbury Family History Group meeting today I have changed my thinking.

Christine, who is recently retired from State Records NSW, focused her talk on accessing patient identifying records from mental health facilities and government asylums in NSW.

After giving a brief history of asylums (places of refuge) in NSW and indicating the classes of people who may have been admitted  Christine told us of some of the records available and showed images of some of  those records.  One particularly grisly case was that of Martha Elizabeth Rumpf; take a look on Trove to see how this poor soul made the headlines.

Christine gave us lots of tips and a handout with many sites to follow up. I know that I have someone who died in the Liverpool Asylum for the Destitute later known as The Liverpool State Hospital and Home so I am going to read this Archives in Brief document suggested by Christine to see what I can find.

Christine suggested that if in your research you come across

• Unexplained absences
• Gaps in employment
• Gaps in birth of children
• Links on family tree who disappear
• Silence when a name is mentioned

you should check Asylum records.

My main takeaway from this session was - If there is an index (any index of names) available check it for your family names.

Should you get a chance to hear Christine talk on this subject grab it.

Special on NSW BDM Transcriptions

Sydney Transcription Agent, Marilyn Rowan, has forwarded this notice announcing discounted BDM transcriptions tomorrow, 25th May.

May 2013

SUPER SATURDAY THIS WEEKEND!

CLICK HERE TO ORDER

Ancestors from Penrith, NSW?

You may be interested in Penrith in Pictures, an online searchable database of photographs from the area.

Australian Dress Register

Wondering what your ancestors wore? Have a few minutes to spare?

Then you might enjoy a virtual visit to The Australian Dress Register that is described on its website thus:

"The Australian Dress Register is a collaborative, online project about dress in New South Wales pre 1945. This includes men's, women's and children's clothing ranging from the special occasion to the everyday. Museums and private collectors are encouraged to research their garments and share the stories and photographs while the information is still available and within living memory. The Register encourages people to consider their collections very broadly and share what they know about members of their community, what they wore and life in the past. This provides access to a world wide audience while keeping their garments in their relevant location."

Take a look at http://www.australiandressregister.org/

NSW Historical BDM Indexes Offline

If you were going to look for NSW BDMs on the weekend you may have to change your mind.

This notice has been posted on The NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages website - www.bdm.nsw.gov.au

"Break in service :- Computer system maintenance is planned from midnight Friday 21:09:12 to 7:00am Monday 24:09:12 AEST. Please accept our apologies during this time for a break in service to the entire website, including Family History online."

Opportunities to hear about Ned

Earlier this year I heard Paul O'Keefe speak about his Ned Kelly research at Randwick Library  and I was blown away by his presentation. Here's my report :http://geniaus.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/spine-tingling-stuff.html.

It would be well worth a trip to Liverpool to hear Paul's presentation.

Paul just posted this announcement on Facebook:

Hi Everyone,
My next lecture is on at Liverpool Regional Museum (Sydney) on Saturday the 18th August at 11am. I'm Keynote speaker as part of their History Week celebrations - Its Free!...so come along!
Find below a story about my discovery and my lectures

http://www.smh.com.au/national/childhood-sweetheart-neds-secret-love-20120302-1u7yw.html

Michelle Nichols from Hawkesbury Library tells me that Paul will also be presenting there in History Week. Details should appear on the Library website shortly.

A Real Teacher

When one attends a genealogy conference in the United States the sessions are called "classes" and the presenters "teach" those classes. The use of these words from the field of education implies that the presenters have a set of skills beyond that of presenting a topic in a lecture. From my observations at the genealogy events I attend both in Australia and overseas only a small number of presenters demonstrate these skills at a high level. They may have great subject knowledge and be engaging and entertaining presenters who get their messages across but good teachers do a bit more than that. There are many great lecturers in the genealogy world but not so many great teachers.

Carol Liston at Hawkesbury

Good teachers are aware of the people in their classes; they are patient with those who do not catch on at first; they have a sort of sixth sense that allows them to adjust their lesson to suit the needs of the individuals in their classes; they are aware when someone in the class loses attention or cannot understand a concept; they respond to questions from the class as they go; they stop and emphasize or explain a point when necessary; they are willing to be interrupted: they will go off on a tangent and exploit any teachable moment that arises.

I do not expect all genealogy presenters to be good teachers but I am mightily impressed when I come across one who is as I did last week at The Hawkesbury Family History Group meeting.

Dr Carol Liston, an academic from the University of Western Sydney, spoke to our group about Accessing Land Titles records. This is a tricky subject that I have heard presented on a few occasions. Carol's presentation was excellent; she explained the topic well in simple language giving emphasis and further explanation when required. Having heard Carol's talk I think I finally get land records in NSW. The first thought I had after this event was that I had experienced good teaching at a genealogy event.


Carol is Associate Professor in History at the University of Western Sydney.  She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Sydney. Her research and teaching cover early colonial history in New South Wales, with interests in people (convict, colonial born and free immigrant), local history, heritage and the built environment. Her particular interest is the colonial development of the County of Cumberland and the use of land records to investigate its history.


Should you have a chance to hear Carol present (teach) I recommend that you make an effort to attend. I note that Carol will be presenting the John Crowe Memorial Address and speaking about how new technology has led to the digitisation of NSW Land Title Records at  the 28th Annual Conference of the NSW & ACT Association of Family History Societies in September - this could be your chance to hear her.


Have you encountered any Good Teachers at Genealogy events?

Register now for the 2012 NSW Family History Conference

Registrations Are Now Open

Register by 15 July and Save $25

Registration forms have been sent to Family History Societies, so drop into your local society to pick up a form today.

Alternatively, registration forms can be accessed from the Conference 2012 website:
http://www.conference2012.org.au/registration.html

Conference 2012 is now less than 4 months away, so don't delay in returning your registration form.

And if you are joining us from out of town, now is the time to plan your accommodation. Weekend bookings are very popular in the Shire, so book now to secure your place and avoid disappointment. For accommodation options, please visit:
http://www.conference2012.org.au/accommodation.html


Thanks to the Conference Committee for giving me permission to publish information from their newsletters.

Carol Liston

It seems that whenever Carol Liston gives a talk I have something else on. I am so pleased that I am free  and able to attend Carol's talk next week on Accessing Land Titles records at The Hawkesbury Family History Group.  If you are at a loose end and would like to come along you would be made welcome.

Michelle Nichols has shared this information on a Rootstech List :

" This will be a very informative session where researchers can find out how to gain access to fantastic resources about land in NSW. Meeting will be held Wednesday 13 June 10am-12noon at Hawkesbury Library Service 300 George Street Windsor and is FREE! Enquiries phone 4560 4466 or email history@hawkesbury.nsw.gov.au"

Do you know Keith McDean?

Taken at the same time and place, The Police Depot in Sydney in 1947, as the photo of my father in my In the Force post  is this snap of another young Police Officer, Keith McDean. Perhaps the photo is in Dad's collection because Keith joined the force at the same time as Dad in 1947.

I can only find mention of one Keith McDean in Australia on Ancestry. I wonder if this is Keith William McDean?

Hopefully one day this post will reach one of Keith's descendants.

Richmond Presbyterian Cemetery

Great news from Jonathan Auld on the Rootsweb aus-nsw-hills-hawkesbury-hunter-valley list. Thanks to the volunteers have produced this resource for those of us with Hawkesbury ancestors.

"Just a heads up for those listers interested in cemeteries located in the Hawkesbury. We have completed the Richmond Presbyterian Cemetery, with all of the headstone transcriptions and photographs now available online for you to view. Information can be viewed at the following url:

Richmond, Richmond Presbyterian Cemetery http://www.hawkesbury.net.au/cemetery/richmond_presbyterian/index.html "

OFHG BLOG: WWI Centenary Community Project Begins

Ancestors from Orange, NSW? Can you help?

OFHG BLOG: WWI Centenary Community Project Begins: "http://www.centralwesterndaily.com.au/news/local/news/general/battle-to-name-our-soldiers-begins/2420152.aspx#"

'via Blog this'

State Records NSW Open Day

If an organisation is only as good as the people that  work there then State Records NSW must be a mighty good organisation. I was so impressed with all of the staff members I came in contact with at their Open Day yesterday at the Western Sydney Records Centre. Their dispositions were as sunny as the weather that greeted us at Kingswood. Congratulations to all who contributed to the success of this day.

Registration area

Registration package

On arrival visitors were directed to a registration area in the grounds where we collected a folder containing our personalised program for the day, tickets for talks and tours and a a voucher for a free sausage sizzle.


Although there were tours, workshops and seminars I opted to attend the five seminars on offer. Christine Yeats,State Records NSW public access manager,was the MC in the seminar room ensured that all ran smoothly there.

Gail Davis and Fabian LoSchiavo

The first talk "Treasures of the Archives" by Gail Davis and Fabian LoSchiavo from the City Reading Rooms who were dressed in period costume gave an introduction to the archives' collection with reference to some of the treasures held there.Gail told us that "a treasure is something that:

• documents the history of the state,the country, your local area
• brings you closer to the lives, events and times of the past
• is unexpected or a surprise, particularly when you are doing research
• has value because it is collectable
• has to be protected and looked after (insured?)
• documents your own history"

Caroline Ford - Sydney Beaches

The second session was "a User's view of the Archives" in which two presenters related how they had used the archives to gain information for projects. I found the first talk by Caroline Ford more interesting because it was relevant to me, she spoke of Bronte and Maroubra  Beaches where I had lived, Bondi Pavilion where I had worked when it contained Waverley Library's workrooms and Coogee Beach where I spent many summer days as a teenager. Caroline will be publishing a book as a result of her work, that's another title to add to my Christmas list. The second speaker, Nicky, described how she had used archive material  to provide information for the Underbelly television program. The lady sitting near me and I agreed that wewould have liked to hear more about the Archives' materials and see less of the Underbelly film clips.

Directly after lunch the seminar topic was "Old records, new ways – Researching the digital era". In the first half of this session two gentleman discussed NSW historical land records available online from www.lpi.gov.au. Unfortunately due to time constraints they were not able to fully explore their topic.

Richard Lehane then shared the wonderful news that the clunky Archives Investigator at State Records is to be replaced by a new search tool http://api.records.nsw.gov.au/ that appears to be more intuitive and user-friendly then poor old investigator. This tool has a simple search interface into which one types a search term. A list of results appears in three columns the middle of which contains the results while he left and right columns show filters that one can apply to the results.. In a quick trial of the tool last night I found a number of references to family documents that I have not been able to find previously. Another trip to Kingswood is on the cards.

Martyn Killion

In "Family History - Online Resources" we met two lively and engaging speakers who both gave handouts (gold star). Christine Yeats gave an overview of the online resources available from State Records.  Martyn Killion then shared his "10 websites you can't live without" for Genealogy on the Internet. As it's hard to choose 10 Martin immediately added an 11th. I would probably have omitted one of his sites and replaced it with Familysearch. Both of these speakers gave information that would be very useful to the novice family historian.

Anthea Brown and Fiona Sullivan provided us with a ten page handout for which they get a gold star (but couldn't you have cut the white space,saved a few trees and condensed this girls?) for "Dating old photos". They will be providing a link to a .pdf version of this on the Archives Outside Blog. I enjoyed their presentation in which they showed a series of old photos  and showed us how to look for clues from number plates, signs and clothing to date them. I am most impressed on how State Records uses Social Media to connect with the world.

Mick Reid and Bill Oates

I was blown away by content of the talk by Mick Reid and Bill Oates from the University of New England because what they were discussing was news to me. Bill, the archivist at the University, and his mate Mick, an academic, have collaborated to date photos in the collection by studying shadows in the photos. It sounded like hocus-pocus to me but after seeing their demonstration I realised that there was a strong scientific basis to the work. The book which Mick uses contains software with a spreadsheet into one which one enters data about the photo under investigation. The book by physicist Colleen Fitzpatrick is The Dead Horse Investigation is available for purchase online.

I ran into a some Genimates at  the Open Day but missed out on catching up with others.. I was particularly pleased to catch up with Cassie Mercer from Inside History Magazine, Brad Argent from Ancestry and Martyn Killion from SAG but only managed to wave to Allan Murrin from the Botany Bay Family History Society.

Thanks once again to all of the people at State Records for a super day.

First Titleholders of Land in the Nineteen Counties of NSW

Geoff Cannon

Geoff Cannon reports that his wife says he always has either a map or beer in his hand.


At this morning's meeting of The Hawkesbury Family History Group Geoff Cannon from Maitland NSW spoke of his love affair with NSW maps and of the work that is a result of this liaison. 


Geoff kept the huge audience enthralled as he shared his knowledge of County and Parish maps in NSW. With his casual and down to earth approach he made a difficult topic enjoyable and easy to comprehend.


Geoff's work started many years ago with a plan map of Maitland in the Hunter region in NSW. He then procured all of the parish and town/village maps for that County. Geoff compiled on cards an index that listed the original titleholders of every land grant in the County.


Once he finished Geoff moved on to the neighbouring counties and Sydney, purchasing and indexing all of those maps. He plans to index 19 counties and anticipates publishing the last instalment of his work within five years. After attending a technology Conference of the Royal Australian Historical Society in Wollongong Geoff applied and was successful in gaining a grant to help him publish his work. 


His first work published 1997 was the result of 20 years research. He has since published further indexes on CD and in print. A listing of Geoff's publications and where they can be found in Australian libraries is on the Trove website.


After speaking about his work Geoff turned his attention to the Parish of St Matthew that includes Windsor, home of The Hawkesbury Family History Group and shared information about the first landholders in that area with the group. He indicated that before 1800 there had been 39 recorded grants in the Parish of St Matthew.


Geoff finished his talk with a poem by John Dunmore Laing about place names in NSW. I wish I would have asked for a copy of this, I will seek it out and share it via this blog when found.


I have only been to two meetings of this group so far and have thoroughly enjoyed the presentations by Geoff today and Karen Rogers last month. I am sorry that I will not be able to hear next month's presentation by Cassie Mercer from Inside History Magazine.