Blog post

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Congress 2015 eve

One more sleep until I go to Congress 2015!

I’ve got a good idea of the sessions I will attend tomorrow. Unfortunately, that won’t include the opening address. I’m going to be a late arrival, as I will be taking my kids to school before I head in.

When I get there, I’ll be sure to look out for the 30(!) people wearing blogger beads. Hopefully I’ll be able to find Jill from Geniaus, collect my beads, and join their ranks. I’m feeling quite nervous about it, actually.

See you in the morning!

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Counting down to Congress 2015

My contact cards (tee hee) arrived right on time.

Next time I think I will use slightly larger text, with more contrast to the background. Live and learn. Readability aside, I’m very happy with them.

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I’ve downloaded the Congress 2015 app (link leads to the Google play store).

I think I’m all ready for Congress 2015!

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Missing Friends–Trove Tuesday

It turns out that I’m not the only one searching for my Ancestor, Catherine Lucy Darcy (married James Bennett). Look what I found in the “Missing Friends” section of The Australasian.

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Advertising. (1894, June 9). The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), p. 1. Retrieved September 11, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article138594818

Unfortunately, I found this article 120 years too late. We could have helped each other. I could have told them where she was, and they could have told me more about where she came from.

In 1894 Catherine was still living in Avoca. She’d had three more children born after 1858. All six of her children survived to adulthood and had families of their own. By 1894 Catherine had a large number of grandchildren. She died in 1896.

I would love to pinpoint Catherine’s time and place of birth, and find out her mother’s name. Catherine’s mother is the most elusive of my 3 x great grandparents!

I have wondered what the trigger for this “Missing Friends” ad was. Did one of Catherine’s parents fall ill or die? It would have put her parents at a ripe old age, but it’s within possibility. Perhaps a sibling wanting to find her? Or perhaps really just a friend hoping to get in touch again.

I tried searching Trove for the post office box number given and found a few wanted listings, both before and after the date of the “Missing Friends” article. There’s a bit of a theme running through them…

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Advertising. (1892, September 3). Evening News (Sydney, NSW : 1869 - 1931), p. 3. Retrieved September 12, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article112595594

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Advertising. (1896, March 17). The Sydney Morning Herald(NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 1. Retrieved September 12, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article14041631

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Advertising. (1897, November 27). Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876 - 1954) , p. 3. Retrieved September 12, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article136275006

I get the impression it’s a personal post office box, not a business one. I think that maybe just maybe they might have liked boats. Messing about with pleasure skiffs sounds to me like a pursuit of the wealthy.

There’s a name – A.G.Wood. Is H.A.S. a person’s initials, or some sort of acronym? The dates are too early for the electoral rolls, and I don’t fancy digging through directories searching out all the A.G.Woods at this stage. They could well have posted the “Missing Friends” advertisement on behalf of someone else. Maybe one day I’ll look into it further, when I don’t have dozens of other more promising leads all over my family tree to follow!

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Getting ready for Congress 2015

The essentials are under control.

I’ve registered to attend the Australasian Congress on Genealogy and Heraldry being held here in Canberra at the end of this month. I’ve arranged for time off work. I’ve reviewed the list of presentations. I’ve warned my family that I won’t be around much!

Now I’m getting my “want” list under control.

I’ve asked Jill Ball (of Geniaus) to put me on her list for “blogger beads”. I’m excited about meeting other geneabloggers – particularly those I have known through their blogs or social media for some time but never actually met. Jill herself, for example! I’ll be looking out for people wearing those beads. I think they’ll be a great icebreaker. I would assume that anyone wearing the beads is happy to talk, and knowing the wearer has a blog provides a topic of conversation to start off with. Reading that Jill has 27 on her list for blogger beads has sent me on a blog reading and subscribing binge. Just as my blogging output reduced over the last few years, so did my exploration of new blogs. I’ve got a lot to catch up on!

I followed Judy Webster’s advice and ordered contact cards which list my blog address, contact details, and (some of the) surnames I’m tracing. I giggled as I clicked my way through the checkout. It seems funny to be ordering business cards for a hobby. I can’t imagine myself actually handing one to someone, but at any rate now I will have the option. The cards are supposed to arrive on 20 March so I have at least a little buffer zone for printing or postal delays before Congress. Going through the checkout process Vistaprint offered up suggestions for other custom items I might like to buy. I was very tempted by the matching custom pens. Perhaps next time I’ll plan to order a few!

Judy is also the mastermind behind the Genealogists for Families “Kiva” group. Kiva is a platform for making small loans to people around the world, particularly in countries with lower incomes. I’ve put my hand up to join in a get-together of group members after Congress closes.

I have not yet added any entries to the Congress Register of Interests. I will have to think about what to list.

I’m looking forward to Congress and am enjoying the sense of anticipation building around the aussiegeneablogosphere!