Trove Tuesday: How Old is Elderly?

 

My great great grandfather Benjamin Alfred Smart LATTER (1834-1903) was mentioned in newspapers many times. This is the only time that I have seen him called “elderly”. The fact that he was lifting a wagon out of the mud when injured makes this description rather surprising.

No title. (1888, August 21). The Ballarat Star (Vic. : 1865 - 1924), p. 2. Retrieved October 25, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article209446656
No title. (1888, August 21). The Ballarat Star (Vic. : 1865 – 1924), p. 2. Retrieved October 25, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article209446656

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Accepting the Challenge

I have decided to take up the challenge of writing blog posts about “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” that was proposed by Amy Johnson Crow on her No Story Too Small blog a few days ago.

52ancestors

“The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.”

I will start with as many of my family ‘Boat People’ (ancestors who emigrated from England to Australia in the 19th Century) as I can find information about Continue reading “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Accepting the Challenge”

Accentuate the Positive 2013 Geneameme

Here are my responses to the end of year challenge posted by Jill Ball (GeniAus)

An elusive ancestor I found a snippet about was my great grandfather Arthur William ROBERTS. I never met him as he died before my mother was born. Details about his early life are undeniably hard to find/hard to pin down so he certainly fits the definition of ‘elusive’. Last year I managed to find his address in London just before he married Ellen Louisa BENNETT and they emigrated to Australia in 1889. This year I searched through land selection files at PROV and found many details about Arthur and Ellen and their family’s housing and farming activities as very early settlers in Monbulk, Victoria. Unfortunately there were no clues about his date and place of birth. Continue reading “Accentuate the Positive 2013 Geneameme”

Thankful Thursday – some new records

It is not often that I am pleased (thankful is probably a bit too strong a word!) to have a cold. But, because I stayed home from my usual session at the gym and watched Jill Ball’s Online Resources for Australian Research Hangout on Air, today has turned out to be one of those days.  Thanks to Jill and her guests, I have an extra record and a new lead! Continue reading “Thankful Thursday – some new records”