D is for...Ah, Dungog : a brief survey of its charming houses & historic buildings

 I've been researching my family history for over thirty years. Along this genealogy journey I have been supported by hundreds of books, many of which I have listed on my Librarything page. 

During the 2021 #AtoZChallenge I will be writing about two of my passions, books and family history. I'll be taking a trip down memory lane and revisiting some of those books that have enriched my genealogy experience.

My 3x Great-Grandparents Denis Tierney and Elizabeth D'arcy settled in Dungog NSW around 1840. As The Maitland Mercury newspaper ,which was first published in 1843, covered Dungog I have many stories about Denis and his family. Unfortunately I only have a couple of contemporaneous images from Dungog.

On a visit to The National Library of Australia back in 2015 I perused Ah, Dungog : a brief survey of its charming houses & historic buildings and enjoyed looking at the images within that gave me an idea of the environment in which my ancestors lived. 

My meanderings on the internet found a browsable copy of this book on the Living Histories site at the University of Newcastle.

Where do you buy a copy? 
https://ahdungog.pressbooks.com/front-matter/where-to-get-it/

A Reference from Macarthur

Read to the end of this article and you will know why I felt like dancing.

My ancestor Patrick "Paddy" Curry has been the subject of a number of my blog posts. The last time I told Paddy's story was here in 2016.

In a recent weekly members' Hang Out with SAG  on Zoom the theme was emigration so I decided to share Paddy's interview on "The Advantages of Emigration" with Caroline Chisholm. Prior to the Hangout I set up my browser with several websites so that I could share my screen and show the interview during the hangout. 

After I reread the interview in the Sydney Morning Herald I gave some thought to the original source of the article "Douglas Jerrold's Paper" and realised that I had never followed that up.

1848 'Advertising', The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), 8 June, p. 3. , viewed 17 Mar 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12902254

After a little bit of googling I discovered an article about Jerrold on the Victorian Web. He was "a boy with minimal schooling from a lower middle-class family raised in a dockyard town in Kent goes up to London, where, after an apprenticeship as a journalist, he emerges in the 1830s as one of the country's most popular writers."

Listed on the page of Jerrold's works on the site I found that Jerrold edited "Douglas Jerrold's Weekly Newspaper, 1846-1848" and that fitted the timeframe for the original article. I popped that title into Google and, hey presto, found a link to a record in the catalogue of the National Library of Australia.

NLA Catalogue Record

I was on a roll. I found my NLA Library Card and logged into their site from the link on the catalogue record which took me straight to the digitised paper in the Gale collection. I did a search for Caroline Chisholm and found three articles. One of these was the one I was seeking. In addition to the article that was published in the Sydney Morning Herald the original contained the following introduction written by Caroline Chisholm. 

Gale Document Number  

GALE|FRNYPS256237397

"I have a great respect for him, have always found him most trustworthy, honest and punctual."

Any tenant would love to hear a reference like that from his landlord! 

On reading that sentence from one of the McArthurs I was elated. This was my best geneafind of the year. Being able to share it with my genimates from SAG on the day I found it was a bonus.

Paddy was a convict but like so many fellow convicts he was a victim of his times. My great (x3) grandfather, Paddy,  was a good man

Library Love

This post isn't about how Mr GeniAus courted me when I was a young librarian - it's about another love of mine.

A friend of ours in Canberra has been experiencing some serious health issues so Mr GeniAus and I took a spin down the freeway to spend Sunday afternoon with him. Rather than doing the 600km round trip in the day we decided to stay the night in a hotel so on Monday I could visit another love of mine, The National Library of Australia.

Entrance to the library

It's over a year since I visited the Library and, at that time, I enthused about the facelift given to some of the areas. I discovered yet more changes on my visit yesterday. The cloakroom that was on the right hand side of the entrance to the Main Reading Room has disappeared so that the entrance now seems less cluttered. I didn't notice any other changes in the Reading Room.

By 1:00pm I was ready for a comfort break and sustenance. It was when I went down to the Lower Ground Floor to grab some lunch that I noticed more changes.

The Paperplate Cafe has had a makeover (shame that there was only one sandwich left)

The casual eating/chatting area has been expanded

There are lots of power outlets and a recharging station

There is a new free locker area.

with a new water bubbler and bottle filling station

When I went back upstairs to the Family History/Newspaper area I noticed that all of the microfilm storage drawers and newspaper racks had shmick new labelling. On my last visit, the day the area opened, there were some finishing touches needed.

Storage for current newspapers with schmick labelling

On my way out of the library I heard commentary of a cricket match. There was in an area near the Main Reading area some comfortable seating and a large screen TV playing the cricket.

Anyone for cricket?

After a productive six hours of ancestor chasing it was time to head home.

I wonder what changes I will find on my next visit.

Looking out into the foyer from the Reading Room entrance

Calling home

 28 November 2016

Currently researching in The National Library of Australia. 

I had to pinch myself - it feels like I am in Salt Lake City. I have counted 7 young LDS (Mormon) missionaries making use of free technology in the Reading Room here. Apparently today is the weekday on which the missionaries are allowed to contact their families. 

Out of the Dungeon

Today was the day that the new Newspaper and Family History Zone opened at The National Library of Australia. You can read all about it here on the library site.

Until last Thursday this area was on level LG1 (Lower Ground 1 = Dungeon) which while functional enjoyed no natural light.

On a good year I get down to Canberra a couple of times to visit the library, sometimes I only make it once. As luck would have it I was in the library at around 10:03 am today not long after the area opened. I was one of the first patrons in the area when I collected some files that I had ordered in. How cool is that! 

There may have been an opening party but I saw no evidence of any fanfare; I saw several staff members including Mr Trove, Tim Sharratt in his red sneakers, pop in to have a look. The new area is on the Ground Floor and is an extension of the Main Reading Room, it is light, bright and cavernous. There's plenty of room for growth.

Of course I had my camera in my bag so I took a few snaps of the new area that has natural light flooding into it from two sides.

The Enquiries Desk 

Microfilm Storage seems to go on and on

Plenty of whizz bang Microfilm Readers

Fiche Storage

Information Guides prominently displayed

Journals, Booklets from Unlock the Past and Reference Collection

A range of seating options

Lots of space

Seminar rooms with big screens and HDMI connections

Tables with power sockets built in

Power Sockets

A friendly staff member who went the extra mile and made this lady's day

Thanks to the people at our National Library for providing such stunning new facilities for Family Historians.

Red hearts at the NLA

A  friend's wedding in Canberra is giving me an opportunity to spend a couple of extra days to undertake some research in our nation's capital.

When I was preparing for my research days prior to Congress last month I didn't give myself enough time to order items from the National Archives of Australia. Why they need five days notice to collect files from their storage facility that is less than thirty minutes drive away I don't know. Surely they do at least a daily run between the Reading Room and the storage facility at Mitchell. The good news is that this time I have ordered the files I wish to see withe plenty of notice.

This morning I am on the National Library of Australia website and being thankful for the Add to Favourites red heart. This helpful tool ensures that my time at the library  is most productive.

See the Red Heart

I hadn't used this facility until my last trip to the library, this time as I read/examined books
 I added them to my favourites. What is even better is that when one adds a favourite a little text box appears into which one can put a text note.

Add to Favourites Text Box

So this morning as I search the NLA Catalogue for resources little red hearts are showing up in the catalogue for items I have already favourited. How nifty is that! I won't be ordering in books I have already read.

I do add the books I read to Librarything but it's so much better to be able to see the little red hearts on the catalogue.

If you want a few little red hearts in your life you will need a library card from the NLA and to be logged in to the library site while you search the catalogue.

Postscript After spending some time on the site and pulling up a list of my favourites I discovered that I had used this facility back in 2011 but had quite forgotten. I hadn't used it on my visits between 2011 and 2015. Hopefully I will remember to use it in future.

Trove Tuesday - More than just newspapers

Remembering the talk given at the NSW State Conference in Canberra last year by Martin Woods, the Curator of Maps from  The National Library of Australia, I thought I'd see what maps I could find on Trove for some of the country towns in which my ancestors lived. In framing my search I selected Maps from the menu and then ticked Online and Australian Content.

I didn't find anything of interest in my searches for Cobar and Canowindra but I struck gold with a search for Dungog the town where my grandmother, Mary Tierney, was born. I found two mapas of the town available online, one from 1928 and one from 1866.

On both of these maps I found the land on which the family lived on the corner of Mackay and Windeyer Streets marked with the name of my great-great-grandfather, Denis Tierney. Althougth I had other evidence to show that the property belonged to the family these maps provide another source for that fact. Although Denis died in 1894 the property is still labelled as belonging to him in 1928. Having read Denis' will and noting that probate wasn't granted until 1932 I know this is correct.

I checked the copyright status of these maps on their records in the Trove Catalogue. As they may be subject to copyright I have not pasted images of the maps into this post but I will certainly reference them in my family history database. My rule for copying images is "When in doubt don't".

When I checked the copyright status for these maps this is the message I got

We sometimes forget that the Treasure in Trove extends beyond its newspaper collection. 

Trove Tuesday - Thanks and Praise

Trove just has to be the favourite online resource for Australian genies including me. There are times when we must leave the geneacaves in our homes, abandon Trove and venture out to use other resources.

As I was in Canberra today I paid a visit to the home of Trove, The National Library of Australia, where I spent some time in The Newspaper and Microform room looking at newspapers on microfilm and in other online databases offered on site at the library.

Newspaper and Microform Room at NLA

Snazzy new microfilm reader

Although the library has installed snazzy new computer driven microfilm readers since my last visit the process of going through reels of papers on microfilm is a tedious job. This exercise today made me realise just how wonderful Trove is. 

So for Trove Tuesday this week I am showering the Trove Team with thanks and praise.

The Trove Team pictured at The Family History Fair last week #NSWACT13

NLA Surprise

I just love the header image on The National Library of Australia Facebook Page.

Although I follow the Library I hadn't looked at their page lately. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the image.

Farewell Picture Australia

I have noticed recently that a couple of genealogists have referred others to Picture Australia to search for images from the National Library of Australia's collection. In one seminar I attended the presenter told me that Picture Australia held different images from Trove. I didn't want to argue but put it on my list to check out later.

I was under the impression that all of Picture Australia's images were available through Trove. I just checked the Picture Australia site to find here that this has been the case since 2009. As a result I have been using Trove exclusively to locate images.

What I had missed was the April 18 2012 announcement, Picture Australia with a new lens, indicating that "Over the next two months, the Library will be integrating some essential Picture Australia discovery functions into Trove, and switching off its separate user interface at www.pictureaustralia.org." June 30th  2012 is the anticipated date for this change.

I also noticed on Flickr that the Picture Australia Group has been renamed Trove: Australia in Pictures. "

If you are using Picture Australia for image searches it is now time to move over to Trove.

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy – Free Online Genealogy Tools

Week 3 – Free Online Genealogy Tools: Free online genealogy tools are like gifts from above. Which one are you most thankful for? How has it helped your family history experience?

I am stepping up once more to take up the challenge posed by by Amy Coffin on Geneabloggers.


There's no such thing as a free lunch! When applied to online genealogy tools this is not true. Due to the generosity of individuals and institutions we have a number of online tools that enhance our genealogy research.


We often whinge about governments and ask where are our taxes going to so I am going to nominate some resources hosted and developed by government agencies. That governments at all levels are taking steps to preserve our history and heritage and make it available freely is commendable.


The National Archives of Australia has a search facilty that provides access to digitised and hardcopy resources. Many service records from the First World War have been digitised and are freely available here. I have found handwritten letters from my grandmother to the authorities, photos of great-uncles, details of family members going AWOL and medical reports. These records are pure gold. Some immigration records of later arrivals have also been documented. Here I have also found letters and photographs that add richness to the cold facts in my database.


Trove, the online collection hosted by The National Library of Australia is our nation's treasure. Just last week I put in a recently deceased relative's name and was rewarded with two photographs of him.  Trove  is best known for its newspaper digitisation project that is just amazing.


In New South Wales, the state in which I live, the State Records site hosts a number of online indexes that cover immigration, convicts, divorces, deceased estates adn other subjects. The best item I got from these records was a gaol photograph of my great-grandfather from the 1890's taken when he was arrested for a minor offence. This  very clear head and shoulders picture is the only photo I have of him. Trips to the archives after using this search facility has netted copies of land transfers, convict indents, vital records and details of juicy divorce cases. 


An advanced search of Hansard, the record of the New South Wales Parliament, is available online from 1973. Entering one of my unusual family surnames brought back two results. Searching Hansard for people and places mentioned in parliament may yield some surprising results.


On a local government level The City of Sydney Archives has a number of interesting collections. The Newtown Project provides historical information about the Municipality of Newtown. ArchivePix is The City of Sydney's Archives digital photograph bank. 


Other Local Authorities in New South Wales have similar local  projects that are of use to genealogists. Pictorial Canterbury is a photo collection from The City of Canterbury. The Historical Council Minutes Index from Woollahra Council provides information on properties and people in the area. The St George and Sutherland Shire Leader has been selectively indexed by the staff at Sutherland Library. The index can be used to search for articles in the Leader about topics of local interest.


When searching for ancestors we mustn't neglect the  free databases hosted by governments and government agencies. They may not have been designed with the genealogist in mind but they may yield some surprising results.

Lingering in the Library

New service desk in Main Reading Room

Accompanying my husband on a business trip to Canberra this week presented me with an opportunity to visit the National Library of Australia to do a little bit of genealogy research. I spent a wonderful two and a half days  using the resources of the library. During that time I looked at around 30 books, read a few of them and took lots of digital photos of pages to read and digest at my leisure. I only managed to look at one microfilm.

I had a fantastic time at the library and hope that I can return to Canberra soon to avail myself of its facilities. For genealogists in Australia there are many discoveries to be made within its walls

The objective of the National Library is stated as "Our objective is to ensure Australians have access to a national collection of library material to enhance learning, knowledge creation, enjoyment and understanding of Australian life and society." (http://www.nla.gov.au/corporate-documents/directions)

The Paper Plate

Here is my little PMI evaluation of my visit:

Plus
* It's free
* A beautiful well-maintained building in a prime location by Lake Burley Griffin
* A huge collection of resources relating to Australia
* Free wifi for user devices
* Finding the less expensive Paper Plate food outlet on my third visit

Main Reading Room at NLA

* Comfortable seating and work areas in well-lit Main Reading Room
* A pleasant environment in which to work
* Many computers for users to access
* Access to subscription databases from library computer terminals
* Being able to preorder up to 15 books from my hotel room prior to my visits
* Swift retrieval of material from stack
* Not related to my visit but must mention Trove - a resource that fulfils the library's objective


Minus
* The unlit carpark by the lake made me feel very nervous and unsafe when leaving the building at 7:00 pm (I could not get a spot in the main carpark at 10:00 am, Tuesday). Another savvy carpark user had a torch, I had to bumble may way back to the car through puddles and over an unsealed potholed path.
* The meagre collection of printed works on open access
* $8.50 for a (find the tiny bit of)  ham sandwich in the cafe (and they didn't even put it on a plate)
* The cafe closing way too early on Sunday.
* Long lag between returning books and having them returned in library system meant I could not order as many books as I would have liked. Books were still shoeing up in my name several hours after I had returned them to the trolley.
* That one has to collect resources from different areas of the building

National Library at Night

Interesting
* The issue of bags in the library. I chose a handbag that met the size requirements for entry so that I could take my camera, wallet, tiny scanner and netbook into the library. The attendant on Sunday let me take my bag in. On Monday the attendant wouldn't let me take my bag in because it was "too fat". On Tuesday another attendant wouldn't let me take my bag in because, although it was less than the dimensions shown on the perspex display model, the handle of my bag was in a different position! I saw a number of people in the library with large black computer bags. Why was my handbag that held a small netbook and scanner (ie it was a computer bag) refused entry when these big black monsters got in?

Macs at NLA

* The new bank of computers ar the NLA are Macs. Did the NLA get a good price?

* The decor in the newly decorated Main Reading Room is eighties style, purple and orange and will date quickly. Why wasn't a more classic style chosen?

Back to the eighties furniture at NLA

* I wondered about the use of library resources especially the computers. On Sunday on one side of me I had someone spending a lot of tme on
hotmail while on the other side the chap spent his time watching videos on Youtube. Does this use fit in with the objective of the Library? Do the people of Canberra use it as a de facto public library? Are the ordinary citizens of other areas in Australia disadvantaged because they can't rock up to the National Library to check their emails and watch videos.

* I noted the large number of high school and university students using the library as a study hall ( the same thing happens at The State Library in NSW). Does this use fit in with the objective of the Library?

* The morgue-like atmosphere in the library where one can hear a pin drop. Learning in the Twenty-first century is seen as a collaborative activity yet it appears as though there are few areas in the library that are suitable for collaborative work.

* I can't comment on the staff because I only had to seek assistance once to get my library card renewed. I am fairly self-sufficient in libraries.

* I wonder about the cost of security if patrons were let loose in the stacks versus the cost of staff  retrieving and returning material to stacks. When I am in an open access library I often find that by going to a certain Dewey number and browsing the books there I find some gems that I don't find via a catalogue search. I would imagine that in my 2 1/2 days that, if I had access to the stack, I would have been able to consult 300 rather then 30 books. On my recent visit to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City where books are on open access I was able to consult a huge number of books in just a few hours.