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Eric Bullock: My uncle
My childhood memories of Uncle Eric are of a tall, silver-haired older man, who was one of my Dad’s three brothers. He seemed quite reserved and was kind and generous. My mother and I had been discussing family history and endeavouring to get my father to write down snippets about his family life. I would…
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Passing family stories on
Jacarandas in bloom have featured as background to significant events in my life, part of my story to pass on to future generations. Like so many other family historians, I think about alternative ways to share our stories with younger generations. Writing my own life story is still in progress but I have spent many…
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Pop and his shadow
“Just sit there and do not move.” The fiery forge fascinated me. I was Pop’s shadow, exploring his shed, loving the garden and curious about all things Scottish. Living near our grandparents, John (Jock) and Edith Muirhead, we saw them frequently. After retiring from the Post Master Generals Department, Pop filled his days gardening. I…
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Edward Goldsmith, a well-travelled pioneer of South Australia
Edward Goldsmith (Francis Edward Goldsmith, 1825-1875) was the youngest brother of my 2x great grandmother. He and his seven siblings were orphaned when their father John died in 1825 (Edward was born two months after his death) and their mother passed away just four years later.[1] John had been a chemist whose father owned land…
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How do you build a successful history research group?
Notes from the creation of the St Helena Island Community Setting up a new organisation is a daunting prospect. We start with lofty ambitions and unending passion for the subject matter we have as our focus. But the journey is often fraught as we try to find like-minded people, resources, funds and an audience to…
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Girls, Curls, Pearls and Fleurs
“Watch out for that cyclist, Richard”, bellows Hyacinth Bouquet (Bucket) in several episodes of Keeping up Appearances. Richard’s driving prowess was always equal to any threatening situation but one of the most fascinating facets of this family was the flower names of Hyacinth and her sisters, man-adoring Rose, patient Daisy who had scored Onslow as…
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Wayback machine to the rescue: Preserving a place in our family history
Family history isn’t only about names and dates. Places and institutions can also play an important role in our family stories. Back in 2010, on my personal GeniAus blog, I wrote about an institution that has been very important in our family history — St Mary the Virgin Anglican Church at Waverley in Sydney’s eastern…
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The Land Nobody Remembered: Elenor McGuinn’s 44-Year Probate
Sometimes the most revealing genealogical records are not the ones created at the time of an event, but the ones that were forced into existence decades after the fact. That is the case with Elenor McGuinn, whose probate was granted some 44 years after her death, bringing her long-forgotten Dubbo land back into view. A…
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Author Archives
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What to make of AI in family history research
After researching both sides of my family for several years, I don’t mind admitting I have a few brick walls that, despite diving into deep rabbit holes and subscribing to various sites, remain firm and impenetrable. I was having a chat with my son about this, to which he replied, ‘Have you tried using AI?’…
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A voyage to remember
Of Scots-Irish origin, my mother’s family the Wilsons, had left their birthplace in Fermanagh in the late 1860s and moved to the Paisley area of Renfrewshire, just south-west of Glasgow. Their migration to Scotland was understandable, as within the area where they settled in Linwood, there was a cotton mill close by, where the girls…
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Integrating historical context into family stories
Meetings of GSQs Writing Group in 2026 have focussed on a theme of integrating a wide range of material in our stories to add context to a family narrative. My previous blog post discussed the integration of maps. We followed this up at our April meeting when we considered how best to add context by…
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Properties of George Evans late of James Street, Fortitude Valley
When the Evans family celebrated Proclamation Day on the 10 Dec 1859, “George Evans of Fortitude Valley in the said Colony” was a “freeholder”, having already purchased two blocks of land in 1857, located on the corner of James and Stratton Streets, now known as Arthur Street, Fortitude Valley, where his growing family had been…
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Mabel’s story
There were four girls and six boys in my grandfather’s family. They were the children of a Victorian vicar who had married into the landed gentry. It was unthinkable that these women had any role other than daughter or wife. Edith (Edith Emma Sale 1867-1963), the eldest girl, found a role as companion to her…
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My new genealogical buddy: ChatGPT
Recently I attended a GSQ seminar presented by Andrew Redfern on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in genealogy. I thought that I would try out ChatGPT and chose to ask it about the parents of my 3X great grandfather William Thorburn. Many Ancestry trees, including my own until recently, show William’s parents as James…
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Reading an Inquest with AI: The Death of Alfred Tinney
When I used AI to work through the handwritten inquest into the accidental death of my two-times-great-grandfather Alfred Tinney, it helped me draw together the details and reconstruct a likely sequence of events. I was pleased to find the inquest into the death of Alfred Thomas Tinney, my two-times-great-grandfather, because it promised to reveal more…
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George Evans of Brisbane, a Pioneer Ancestor
George Evans, a Welshman from Liverpool arrived in Brisbane in 1851, when Queensland was still known as the Colony of New South Wales. His obituary reported that he was “one of the oldest and most respected residents of Fortitude Valley. Landing in the colonies in the early days, he formed one of the ‘Overlanders,’ afterwards…
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The Case of the Mysterious Paintings
She sat in her comfortable arm chair, the perfect picture of the endearing aunt. The tea had been made, the table set and we settled in for a good chin wag. But suddenly her face darkened, ‘He knows I would like some of them. Why doesn’t he give them to me?’. Her grievance was that…
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A Chat with Friends: Part 2
I hope you enjoyed reading my first post last week, when I had you looking back at when you started your genealogical journey. This post is looking at advice for the younger you and advice for someone just starting as well as are your family interested Again, just initials for privacy and these are their…
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A Chat with Friends: Part 1
We welcome a new member to our GSQ Blogging Team. Lilian Magill is a long time blogger with her own site and is taking a rather novel approach when sharing her first two blogs with us. Welcome Lilian! A Chat with Friends. Part 1 I have decided to ask friends questions about their genealogical journey.…
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Some Pioneers of Brisbane, New South Wales
Elizabeth was a maternal great grandmother of my late wife, Helen Jean Barlow. She was born in Brisbane, Australia, in August 1854 and christened Elizabeth Marion BOWLES in October of that same year.[1] St John’s Church of England, then located on the corner of Queen and George Streets, was a former convict workshop, which was…
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Family history is not a finite study
Family history research is not a finite study. Don’t you just love it when, whilst doing your family research you make a new discovery but, after analysing this new data, you find that you have opened a can of worms! This new knowledge has resulted in an entire new set of questions! An answer to…
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Getting to know Catherine
My small collection of personal records about grandmother Catherine, who died several years before I was born, has allowed me to become more familiar with her. These records join with family oral history to add revealing details not included in public and official records. One of the most interesting of these is a post card…
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Ireland: a Q&A of understanding what lead to the Plantation
So many ‘Rabbit Holes!!!’, so little time… Question: Where to now? I wanted to know more about the term “Irish Landed Gentry” and just what exactly was meant by the term “Plantation” and its relevance in my family history so perhaps I would find more avenues of investigations into my Spunner family, which I have…
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What do headstones tell us?
I’ve been thinking a lot about headstones recently. This follows a trip to Victoria in early March 2026, after being invited to give two talks; one with the Mornington Peninsula Family History Society on Ann Simmons, a convict transported in 1823 to Van Diemen’s Land with her daughter. Ann features in a chapter in the…
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The Power of Full-Text Search
About a year and a half ago, we were given a present as family historians – have you unwrapped it yet? Full-Text Search on the FamilySearch website (https://www.familysearch.org/search/full-text) means a plenitude of unindexed record sets can now be interrogated to find mentions of our ancestors. So what exactly is ‘Full-Text Search’? FamilySearch is using Artificial…
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A Woman of Character
The little girl scrambled under the whirling machinery to retrieve the cotton bobbin, breathing air filled with micro threads that made her cough. The images in the restored cotton mill at New Lanark, Ayrshire, showed a smiling, happy child but, nonetheless, there was a dark lining to the narrative that made it ‘a lovely day…
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Susannah Armstrong Davern: A woman of resilience
Susannah Armstrong was not afraid of challenges. Her life was full of life-changing decisions that propelled her in various directions. Sometimes good and sometimes bad or sad. With that said, some things in her life offer up some mysteries. I cannot find a birth certificate or baptism for Susannah, so we cannot be certain of…
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Tell me a story of the olden days
These days much of my research concerns the first residents at the Moreton Bay penal settlement in addition to the work devoted to extending my own family’s origins. As many of these original settlers have become favourites, one of my endeavours has been to create unique descriptions of their Moreton Bay years encouraging them to…
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From gaol to ‘the smarter end of Queen Street’: the changing face of Brisbane
In 1825 the Moreton Bay convict settlement moved from Humpybong, Redcliffe to Brisbane and more permanent growth. Building centred around North Quay, George, and Queen Streets but it was not until the arrival of Commandant Patrick Logan in 1826 that substantial building began. The widest and highest, and most significant building in Brisbane, the convict…
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Betty’s Story
This year marks 180 years since the first recorded burial at Nundah Historic Cemetery in 1846.[1] To commemorate this milestone, the Friends of Nundah Historic Cemetery have published a book of 180 very short stories about individuals buried there. I volunteered to write a couple of stories, including one about Phillip Harley Baker (1945-1946), an…
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Bonshaw Tower: Home of our DNA Clan
My attendance last November at the Angie Bush GSQ DNA Interest Group seminar brought back memories of the multi speaker DNA event held in the Nazareth Lutheran Church, Woolloongabba in 2019. At that event I nervously presented a short PowerPoint of my brother’s Big Y-DNA results and heaved a sigh of relief when it…
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About GSQ Blogs
Do you know what a blog is? It’s a short web story, a “weblog” We’ve got lots of them. All explaining genealogy or family history tales! ~~~~~~~~ Our stories are added each Monday and each blog is a separate tale by one of our talented GSQ bloggers You are encouraged to comment on the GSQ Blog…
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Our new GSQ Blogs page is coming!
For some time now, Deb, our GSQ Archivist and I, Bobbie, have been working on developing a new blogs page, which will be linked to the main GSQ website as it currently is. The domain page is available, and for the last three weeks we have been setting it up alongside our other work. We…
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Bridget Connor: My Irish Orphan 2nd Great-Grandmother
Bridget Connare, survived the worst of the Great Irish Famine, as a ‘pauper’ in Loughrea Workhouse, County Galway. She was one of 4114 Irish Orphan Girls carefully selected by Lieutenant John Henry, the British Emigration Agent for the Colonial Land and Emigration Commission in Ireland, to come to Australia under the Earl Grey Scheme. Between…
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Accentuate the Positive: 2025
Each year GeniAus Jill Ball sets a challenge to fellow genealogists, this is the eighth year I have participated. I feel that no matter how many challenges a single year can throw at you, it is a good point to sit and think about the positive aspects of that year 1. I treasured time spent…
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Privacy Policy
Genealogical Society of Queensland Inc. (GSQ) – Blogs Website Privacy Policy GSQ Blogs (https://www.gsq-blogs.org.au) is dedicated to keeping your details private. Any information, we collect in relation to you, is kept strictly secured. We do not pass on/sell/swap any of your personal details with anyone. We use this information to identify your comments or…
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My White Christmas Memories
I’m Australian born so my experiences of Christmas were quite different to those I had during my time spent after marriage whilst living in England. Hubby was in the Royal Navy and at the time of our first winter there, we lived in the Navy ‘patch’ near his posting to HMS Royal Arthur in the…
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Christmas at Grannie Bell’s
My mother always enjoyed telling a story and as the year’s end approaches, I am reminded of one of my favourites from her childhood, “Christmas at Grannie Bell’s”. Grannie and Pop Bell were Mum’s maternal grandparents. Grannie’s parents, Gottfried and Augusta Kuhn were of German heritage, having come to the Colony of Queensland as young…
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The Hallams’ Pioneer Days in the Whitsundays
I’m planning to write a longer story about the Hallam family and their pioneering life in the Whitsundays. This blog shares some starting thoughts. My great-grandparents, William (Billy) Hallam and Mary Josephine Sheehy, raised nine children, all born in Bowen, North Queensland. What strikes me about Billy, a man of short and nuggety build, is…
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A Comedy of Errors or Just Bad Luck
As family history researchers or genealogists, we know that to find our ancestors in the records, we need to try all sorts of different spelling of their surname. One of my late wife’s paternal great grandmothers was born Alice Iland, though some records show that surname as ‘Ireland’, ‘Island’ or even ‘Ilund’ or ‘Hyland’. We…
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The Ground Beneath Their Feet: Discovering Family Stories through Land Records
Family history often begins with names, dates, and events of birth, marriage, and death, captured within certificates, registers, and electoral rolls. Yet sometimes the most revealing records are not about people at all, but about land. The soil our ancestors walked upon, purchased, and cleared, land long cared for by its Traditional Custodians, holds traces…
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Mary Ann’s Cottage
A few years ago, I came across a blog post titled, Musings, where Neil Ennis wrote about his cycling trips around the world. One post from 2010, ‘Along The Old North Road‘, caught my attention while I was searching for information about my Franz family.[1] I found details about a Bed and Breakfast cottage called…
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My Mum, the Nurse
“Tip it in! Tip it in!” This was the ditty that my mum, trainee nurse Rene Morris, sang with her fellow trainee nurse friend, Ella, as they emptied their patients’ pans as part of their nursing duties at Mount Morgan Hospital in central Queensland. Being a trainee nurse in the late 1930s and early 1940s…
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An Heirloom in our Family
This handsome Scottish clock known affectionately as “James the Clock” stands proudly in the foyer of our home. How and why did this old timepiece make its way across the seas? James Gowans (1806-1886), the clock’s maker is my husband’s 3rd great-grandfather. The son of John Gowans and Janet Sibbald he was born in North…
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William F Thompson of Newbridge in Co Kildare, Ireland
The very first record I found for William Thompson, my paternal great granduncle, listed him as a “car owner”. A google search enlightened me to the fact, that in the 1860’s cars were hackney carriages and jaunting cars pulled by horses and not the motor vehicles that we know today. William, born in Ticknevin, Kildare…
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Thomas Thompson: the Patriarch of the Family
Thomas Thompson, my 2nd great grandfather, was described by his children on their marriage and death records as a gentleman, a farmer and a man of independent means. However, a letter that he wrote to his daughter, Eliza, dated May 15th 1855 survived, cared for by 3 generations of her descendants, that reveals he was…
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‘Duels were now only fought by snobs’
Most of us would think that duelling was a barbaric and outdated way of settling an argument. Duels were originally fought not to kill the opponent (although many were killed) but to restore one’s honour by demonstrating a willingness to risk your life for it. This practice mostly fell out of favour in England by…
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Francis Theobald Heffernan c.1840-1908: A nineteenth century literate bushman
This sample of poetry, carefully copied into a school exercise book by his grandson, Philip, came from an original collection of twenty poems gathered by Francis Theobald Heffernan, my great-grandfather. His original book is held within one branch of his descendants. Australian poets, Andrew B (Banjo) Paterson and Will Ogilvie feature, having written a…
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Still walking in ancestral footsteps
A few weeks ago, I wrote a guest blog on my trip to Ireland in May looking for my Irish ancestors. This time I have followed it up with a trip around Northern and Central Queensland in July following in ancestral footsteps here. I was fortunate to have a paper accepted at the Australian Historical…
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My coalmining ancestors
GSQs Writing Group met in June 2025 and we considered the subject of writing family stories around a theme. The writing exercise for the meeting was to develop a plan for doing this. It is usually the case that members interpret the brief for the writing exercise differently and so the plans received from members…
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A Tough Lady – Continuing the Next Genealogy Journey
From my observations of family and friends, women who marry a serviceman need to be tough. They may be left alone for months at a time while their husbands are away or if they accompany their husband on his postings, they could rarely call one place ‘home’ for very long. Their children may be born…
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Why Addresses Matter in Family History
My late mother’s address book still lives in the top drawer of the kitchen in our family home. She always had it within easy reach. For her, it was practical and unpretentious: a small black book with Address Book stamped in gold on the front cover. The pages are a patchwork of entries in different…
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Looking for connections
A recent trip to Tasmania led me to discover a new chapter in the life of William Wall, an 18-year-old groomsman, who was transported to Van Diemen’s Land in 1835. After gaining his freedom in 1840, marrying Mary Long in 1841, William tried tenant farming for the Van Diemen’s Land Company in Emu Bay at…
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Knowing your grandparents
Randy Seaver is an American genealogist and prolific writer on his blog, Genea-Musings. Each week he poses a “Saturday Night Genealogy Fun” question. A while back I was inspired by his question which sent me down some rabbit holes. His question: Did your grandparents know their maternal and paternal grandparents? This is my response to…
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My childhood homes
I was born Dianne Fay Alley to Sydney Alley and Jean Wiltshire in 1948 in Brisbane but when I went home with my Mum, I was Dianne Fay Richardson and my parents were Bert and Fay Richardson. Yes, I was adopted, however I wasn’t told that until Bert (Dad) and Fay (Mum) had both died…
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Walking in ancestral footsteps
In May this year I went to Ireland to walk in my paternal ancestors’ footsteps. This was something I had wanted to do for years. With only four nights in Dublin and three nights in Belfast, it was a whirlwind trip. I am hoping to do it again but that depends on health and mobility…
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Carey Bay – My one place
At the recent Congress in Brisbane I spoke about leaving a large footprint for future generations. While my presentation concentrated on our personal histories I believe, that as generous genies, we should endeavour to record the history of places that are important to us. I am undertaking a one-place study in an attempt to meet…
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The Temperance Pledge of days gone and my Porter family
I am a very lucky family historian who inherited my paternal great-grandparent’s (Porter) family Bible. It lay in the bottom of my father’s wardrobe for many years, but then Dad passed it on to me. On the downside, very little was written in the Bible until my mother and I entered a small number of…
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A “Do Not Do” list for travelling to Ireland for family research
This is going to be a bit of a “Do as I say – not as I Did” story. A cautionary tale perhaps. So here we go. Early last year I was looking through our calendar of things to be done and spotted an April sized hole in 2025. “Do you want to go to…
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Mary Geary: The Market gardeners’ daughter
On my 15 July 2024 story I introduced my Neville line and the fascination it has held for me for many years.[1] Now I aim to write about the child of the last Neville in my direct line, that is my 2 x great-grandmother Mary Geary, who I briefly mentioned in my blog of 7…
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The Fever Ship Minerva
Mum was moving into a retirement unit, and we sat on her bed as she tipped out a box of old photos and cuttings. I picked up some yellowed pages, stapled together in the corner. I flipped through the pages until I came to a longer entry for “FRANZ, Frederick Leopold Theodore”. I read how…
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Where are you going, my pretty maid? Why go to conferences?
This blog dedicated to the memory of Marg Doherty, image of Marg below. “Ooh, look is that the American guest speaker over there? She was fabulous the last time I saw her! Must NOT miss her sessions or a chance to chat with her.” Conferences are such good fun. They are great places for learning;…
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The Cambus Wallace: tragedy and souvenirs from the sea
On 3 September 1894 the ship Cambus Wallace, buffeted by strong winds, was wrecked at Jumpin Pin on the ocean side of an isthmus connecting North and South Stradbroke Island, about 24 kilometres north of Southport. Thomas Welsby, who arrived on the scene soon after, described the result, ‘In less than twenty-four hours the…
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Researching women in early colonial NSW
This Court has duly considered the evidence, both for and against you, and judges that you are not guilty of maliciously killing the deceased, Robert Morrow, the basis for the crime of wilful murder. The Court does find you guilty of the aggravated and felonious killing and slaying of the deceased. ….. You, Eleanor Irwin,…
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Richard Hamilton of Newbridge
From Process Server to Petty Sessions Clerk, the story of Richard Hamilton of Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland When I started my family history, my g-g-grandfather, Richard Henry Hamilton, intrigued and challenge me. Growing up in a long established Catholic family in Brisbane in the 1950’s and 60’s, I was surprised to find that Richard was…
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More about Mary
Last month I wrote about Thomas Neville, the second child born to James and Elizabeth and baptised at St Lawrence, Reading in Berkshire. This was also the church where his elder sister Mary Neville was baptised on 24 October 1783, Mary is my 3rd Great Grandmother, and this story follows her life.[1] When about five…
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The Butlers of Benenden, Kent, England
Mary Pallet (Pellet), daughter of William and Mary, was baptised in Benenden, Kent, England on 11 March 1769. Alexander Butler and Mary were married on 16 July 1788 in Benenden.[1] I have identified only two children of Alexander and Mary. Alexander Junior was born in 1790 and another son, George was born on 5th October…
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Letters from Thomas: A Battle of Waterloo survivor
The emotional letter, written by a soldier in hospital following the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815, was ragged and well-worn from being passed down through generations. I have extracted the essential messages and adapted them to today’s spelling and writing style. ‘For Mrs Jacobs Near the Half Acre Old Brentford, England’ Written from…
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The Demise of a Gold Prospector
Do you have any family history links to ghost towns or lonely graves? Whenever I encounter a ghost town or a lone grave, my imagination kicks into over-drive. What are the stories behind these ghost towns? At some time in the past, these towns were bustling communities with shops, hotels, and people going about their…
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Echoes of War: The Franz Family’s Tragic Legacy
With seven children born to my maternal great grandparents between 1886 and 1901, you would expect many descendants today. However, my maternal grandfather, William Theodore Franz, was the only one who married and had children. His sister Edith died at seven years of age after being thrown from a horse. Sisters Dora and Lillian lived…
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Another mysterious death in Paris
I have already written about the sad life of Mary Isabella Bell and her death in Paris in 1866. (https://gsq-blog.gsq.org.au/paris). In that post I mentioned that her nephew, Marmaduke Charles Alexander Bell, had also died there almost a century later. We know little about the circumstances of their deaths or why they were in Paris.…
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A Death by Drowning, an Inquest and the Brisbane Flood of 1890
Brisbane, a city built along a river, has documented flood events since colonial settlement. John Oxley in his exploratory journey up the Brisbane River in 1824, observed evidence of previous floods, but the Great Flood of February 1893 was considered the most destructive.[1] Three years before that event was the Flood of 1890, which occurred…
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Extending family history research
I often broaden my family history research into extended branches of my family tree. This can add greater context to the environment and lives of direct family members. In October 2024 I wrote about a potential extended family member who had fallen foul of the law. At the time I commented that another potential ancestor…
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What’s in a name?
This blog dedicated to the memory of Marg Doherty Family history clues. Most family historians with Scottish heritage quickly become aware of traditional naming blueprints. The one applied in most districts in both English and Gaelic linguistic traditions throughout the country, suggests that the eldest legitimate son be named for the father’s father, the second…
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Accentuate the Positive 2024
Remember to Accentuate the Positive is GeniAus’ challenge for each January, this is my 6th year in a row tackling this challenge where authors need to look back on their previous year and appreciate the positive actions that have taken place in their life. As suggested I have not responded to some points which didn’t…
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18th Unlock the Past Cruise roundup
With the Connections 2025 Early Bird closing date behind us, my thoughts are now on another conference which I’m currently attending. This one is rather different to our big one next March which is at Eight Mile Plains in Brisbane, as we’re now at sea onboard Celebrity Edge, and the conference is run by Alan…
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An excursion to Ypres
On a recent European cruise, we stopped at Zeebrugge, and the ship offered an excursion to Ypres, Belgium, the site of three First World War battles. My husband and I booked the visit as I have a person in my family history, Andrew Petrie Porter, who remains missing after the Third Battle of Ypres, Belgium.…
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Top 5 Technology Skills for Family History
In the modern age of family history research, digital tools have become essential in uncovering the past. While traditional genealogical methods are still vital, the ability to navigate and use technology has transformed the way we research, record, and share our family histories. In an ever-increasing digital world, it is important that family historians develop…
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From Convict to Landowner: The Journey of an Irishman in Australia
Sydney Cove August 1837 I spent some time researching Owen Tunny and his family when I thought he was my great-great grandfather. I now know he is not, but his son raised my grandfather, and after all my research into him and his family, I’ve grown fond of him. He was the first convict I…
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Now What about the Women? – Enjoying the Next Genealogy Journey
In the days of our ancestors, (and maybe even our own parents?) it was a man’s world. Men could own property, obtain loans from a bank and drink in “public” bars. After marriage, men would retain their jobs – and their surname. A man’s history could thus be found, theoretically, by following records of his…
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Port Isaac: A charming village but I’m not sure I’d like to live there
Today everyone recognises Port Isaac in photographs because of its starring role as Port Wenn in the very popular television show, Doc Martin but to me it is much more than that, as my ancestor Elizabeth Couch married Isaac Hawker in Port Isaac on 3 May 1862. They migrated to Australia on the Accrington arriving…
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My connection to ‘The Valley’ from the late 1850s
I’ve become very interested in the early settlement of Fortitude Valley since discovering I have ancestors who lived there before and after Queensland separated from New South Wales in September 1859. Denis James Guerin, with his wife Margaret, and eight children, moved to Moreton Bay between 1856 and 1857 to take up a job as…
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Broaden your horizons
One of the topics I’ve presented to a few societies is “The marriage of family and local history”. By broadening our research focus to our family’s geographic context to the place(s) where they lived, we can learn so much more about their engagement with their local community and the successes and trials of that community.…
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A reformed ancestor – maybe. Will the real Joseph stand up
I was recently challenged with reviewing my family tree to identify any ‘naughty’ ancestors – what they did and the consequences of their actions. I knew that at least one of my Stirland ancestors had fallen foul of the law, so decided to focus on that line and searched for newspaper reports of any criminal…
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