The Genealogical Society of Victoria helps people to trace their forebears. In doing so, people can find out who their ancestors were, details of their lives and why they decided to come to Australia. By learning more about our ancestors, we learn more about ourselves.

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THE CHRISTMAS DECORATION

- The decoration is typical of an English Christmas door wreath. Through a metaphorical door one can glimpse into the past.

- The tartan ribbon represents Scotland.

- The shamrock represents Ireland.

Immigrants (especially convicts) from these three countries made up most of Australia’s earliest arrivals.

- The Family Bible and lace represent the small treasures immigrants brought with them to Australia.

- The scroll is of an old British Census Record and instantly recognisable to genealogists.

- The gum leaves and nuts represent the new country, Australia.

- The gold nuggets represent the Victorian Gold Rush of the 1850s.

Created by R Thompson, GSV Member, 2017

At the last meeting for the year of the GSV Writers, we considered topics for next year's writing exercise. Members are invited to try writing about a particular topic such as a family object, a place or a journey. One suggestion, that we write about a particular research experience or archive, reminded some of us of Kath McKay's story of visiting the archives of St Patrick's Cathedral in Ballarat. Her memory of researching by an open fire warmed our hearts. Though this is a bit unseasonal, it might encourage your research over the holiday period ahead - if you can fit it in between more immediate family festivities.

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Beyond the web

Much as I love my computer and the internet, some of my most precious family history knowledge has come from being able to seek out original documents.

In spite of searching for decades, previous family historians had not been able to find the marriage certificate of our great grandparents: an Irish coach maker and a young maidservant from Wiltshire. We knew they had about ten children in the 1860s and 1870s in Ballarat, but didn’t have a clear record of the children’s names, births or even number. Online indexes didn’t help a lot.

Then I had a little brain-wave. I knew that branch of the family were all Catholic so I contacted St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Ballarat to enquire about records. They eventually replied saying they had all their original records but none were digitised or indexed. However, I was most welcome to come and look for myself.

So one freezing July day I took the train from Melbourne to Ballarat. In the cheery Parish office, warmed by a fire in the hearth, I pored over the huge leather bound tomes brought out of the archives by the Parish Secretary. These are daunting books indeed, nearly a metre by half a metre and several inches thick. They record the births, marriages and deaths of the parishioners, documented in careful copperplate with pen and ink on parchment. I had a fair knowledge that the first child was born about 1860 and the last, my long-dead grandmother, in 1877. So I started with 1860 but it revealed nothing, nor 1861, 1862 and on through the whole decade. The Secretary cheerily brought volume after volume and the piles grew around me. She also kindly made me several cups of tea.

By the time I got to the 1870s with nothing, I was beginning to doubt all I had believed about this branch of our extended family.

Then I found them! In the late summer of 1875, two little girls were baptised, one aged two, the other six. At last! I had found something! Then I turned the page and found the death record for the little six-year-old who had just been baptised days before. Most of the rest of the page and many after that, were taken up with deaths of little children – all from measles in an epidemic that must have swept Ballarat in those early days before immunisation.

Another few turns of the giant pages and there were the rest of them! Five children baptised together, boys and girls aged from 1 to 14 in one job lot! Another page turn and there was the death of the first baptised little girl, the two-year-old. This was followed quite quickly by the baptism of a new baby. Our poor great-grandmother was pregnant when she was nursing, then burying, two of her little daughters. Sad times indeed.

But I still had not found the object of my original search, the marriage of my great-grandparents. More volumes, more page turning. And, finally, in January 1877, after they have had ten children and lost three, this pioneer couple marry. We had been looking in the wrong decade!

A few months later, in April 1877, their new, and last, baby was baptised: a daughter, my grandmother.

Kath McKay

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This article was first published in 'Fifty Plus Magazine'.

There is a great opportunity to get the background to the Old Poor Laws pre 1834 and how they may have impacted your ancestors.

See the details of the talk on our website here https://staging.gsv.org.au/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=1014

Presenter: Stephen Hawke.

Before Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in 1536-9, the monasteries took care of the poor in England and Wales. With the monasteries gone, this responsibilty was shifted to each parish. An entire system of laws and documents grew up around caring for the poor. For the researcher, these documents can be invaluable in tracing migration of families, both poor and not poor, in England and Wales. Poor law documents can also reveal family relationships as well as giving insight into living conditions of ancestors. Poor law records are also known as parish chest records. This is because a chest kept in the church or the priest's house was used to store parish records.

Vires acquirit eundo

With another act of aggression lashing out against civility in our city yesterday, I thought of the city's motto - we gather strength as we go- and I believe we do, as we become a large, truly cosmopolitan city. I would not have known our city's motto except that the day before I looked in on the current exhibition at the City Gallery in the Melbourne Town Hall - 'Emblazon': Melbourne's coat of arms' (7 September - 30 January 2019).

Coats of arms and heraldry are a somewhat old-fashioned part of our genealogical wanderings. But this small exhibition telling the story of Melbourne's coat of arms is worth a visit. The City Gallery is easy to find and too easy to walk past - located on the main Town hall frontage sharing its entrance with HALF-TIX ... see CITY GALLERY WEBSITE.

'Emblazon' Exhibition. City Gallery window at Melbourne Town Hall, 8 Nov 2018

 

Sevres vase 1880. City of Melbourne Art and Heritage Collection (photo: W. Barlow, 2018)

 

The exhibition includes many examples of the 'arms' from street signs, street bollards, documents, a cast iron roundel from the old Eastern Markets, a Sèvres vase (1880) and three quirky takes on that vase commissioned by MCC in 2018. Our official 'arms' includes a fleece, a cow, a whale and a ship as 1840s symbols of the city. One of the 2018 vases, Yhonnie Scarce's memorial urn, contains 'symbols of lives lost since the British arrived'.

Our family histories are embedded in the social history of our cities and places. City of Melbourne can be congratulated for its City Gallery, and these quarterly exhibitions, which have been showcasing our shared heritage.

You should visit.

Gallery with 2018 vases by Brennan (L) and Wedd (R). (Photo: W. Barlow, 2018)

 

Bill Barlow

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'Emblazon: Melbourne's Coat of Arms', exhibition catalogue, 2018.

Exhibition Curator: Alisa Bunbury / MCC Art and Heritage Collection team.

Sevres vase, Sevres Porcelain Factory, 1880

'Urn with Nature Pot', vase, Angela Brennan, 2018

'She gathers Strength As She Goes', vase, Gerry Wedd, 2018

'For the Fallen', vase, Yhonnie Scarce, 2018. 

The GSV is regularly adding to its Cemeteries Index with its ongoing project of transcribing records. So you need to check this to see if recent additions can help you.

An almost illegible early 1850s gravestone in Cemetery Reef Gully Cemetery, Chewton, Vic. (Photo: W. Barlow, 2017)

 

This index contains nearly a million references from cemetery records mostly relating to Victoria. It includes memorial inscriptions or burial registers from our collection.

GSV has been transcribing cemetery records since the 1950s and although there are now online websites for cemeteries (with many including photographs), some of those early headstone have disappeared or become illegible or even destroyed by vandals.

So make sure you try this database. You can see a guide to this Index HERE ON OUR WEBSITE.

Recently added to Cemeteries Database:

Trafalgar cemetery transcriptions 1886 -1996. 2nd ed

Trafalgar cemetery headstones 1882-1979

Voters' roll for the... District of Epping, for the year ending July 1870

Steiglitz old & new cemetery register & headstone transcriptions 1854-1997

Mornington cemetery headstones 4/1/1861 to 18/2/1985

Orbost cemetery headstones 5.4.1882 to 12.8.1982

Winchelsea cemetery register and headstones 1858-1981

Yalca North cemetery headstones 1/10/1895 to 26/5/1977

Goroke cemetery register and headstones 14/3/1890 - 13/9/1982

Gormandale cemetery headstones 8/11/1895 to 13/7/1982

Guildford cemetery records 1871-1st Nov 1998

Ashens cemetery headstones 1890-1908; includes some Ebenzer Mission cemetery headstones

Flinders (Cerberus Naval Base) Boot Hill Naval cemetery records 7 June 1925 to 11 February 1980

Goroke private cemeteries: 'Pleasant Banks' station cemetery 1866-1893 & 'Mortat' private cemetery 1850-1877

Crib Point cemetery tombstones

Mulwala cemetery NSW: register and headstones 7/4/1853 - 22/5/1991

Bridgewater cemetery headstones 1863-1984

Coburg Pine Ridge cemetery register 1864-1996

Added to Genealogical Name Index & LINX Australia

Baptisms 1869 to 1900 at Bendigo St Paul's Church of England (part complete)

Voters' roll for the... Shire of Gisborne for the year ending October 1884: Borough Riding.

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This resource at the GSV is another very good reason to become a member to get full value from this work!

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As mentioned in our last post we have received the sad news of the death of Dr Joan Hunt, our intended speaker for this talk. The Ballarat resources to be outlined in this talk are a tribute to Dr Hunt's lifelong work in this area.

City Hall, Ballarat c.1907. (Courtesy SLV Pictures H96.200/1381)

 

We are grateful to Carmel Reynen who has agreed to present this talk. Carmel is a member of the Ballarat and District Genealogical Society Inc, produces "Link", their newsletter, and administers their Facebook page. She has been active in photographing the headstones of many cemeteries which appear in the Australian Cemeteries website as well as a CD produced by the Smythesdale Cemetery for their 150th anniversary. Carmel has given talks in Warrnambool, Maryborough and Ballarat on Using Trove, Facebook and Genealogy, DNA, and Military Records.

Note: This event is currently full. However you can register now and be added to a waiting list. Go to the GSV website. You will be notified if spaces become available.

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GSV had a very successful Family History Month in August and events were well attended.

The winner of the AncestryDNA kit was won by Rod Van Cooten, and GSV thanks all those who participated.

There are plenty of special interest groups and discussion circles for GSV members to join and get help with their particular lines of research. And they are all part of your membership. Each quarter, notices from the groups are published in Ancestor journal in a regular feature 'Around the Groups' and now a new page for 'Around the Circles' has been added (September issue). More frequent news from the groups will be posted on this blog and on the website to keep you up to date. Check the GSV website for all Events in the months ahead and plan your Springtime!

British India Discussion Circle – changes to meetings

Beginning in 2019 the British India Discussion Circle will meet each quarter rather than on a monthly basis. We will have set topics for discussion, also members will be welcome to make short presentations (no more than 10 minutes) on their research. These help to stimulate the discussion as many of us are following one area of research – military, as an example.

In August this group discussed BMD’s and where to access information if official records are unavailable including newspapers.

Our 18 September meeting will feature military research: how to use the FIBIS guides and where to access records.

There will NOT be a meeting in October, as the convenor will be attending the FIBIS 20^thAnniversary conference in Oxford, England.

This group is also considering setting up an email group which would allow members who are unable to attend meetings to post questions and receive advice.  [Mary-Anne Gourley, Convenor].

Classes and Talks 

October 5 - 'Starting Irish Family History'. Speakers : Maureen Doyle and Beryl O'Gorman.This class will cover basic information, where to start your research, church, civil and land records, Internet sites and question time. Register via https://staging.gsv.org.au/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=995

October 17,24,31 - Australian family history [course]

Presenter: John Bugg. Topics to be covered over three two-hour sessions on 17th, 24th and 31st October:

- Where do I start? How to gather and store information

- Getting here - immigration, convicts, naturalisation and wills

- State records - private lives and public records

- National records - finding families.

Register via https://staging.gsv.org.au/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=1000

NOTICE - 'Resources in Ballarat' - 27 September. This talk is fully booked, but GSV has received the sad news of the death of the intended speaker, Dr Joan Hunt.  Her full life of contribution to academia, to historical research and especially to communities was described in an earlier post about this talk and she will be well-remembered. We are at present contacting a potential new speaker.

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Want to be part of a study to find out?

In a  project entitled ‘Motives and profiles of family historians', social researchers Doreen Rosenthal (University of Melbourne) and Susan Moore (Swinburne University) are examining what drives amateur family historians. Their study will also explore the psychological processes of amateur genealogists as they chart their family trees. Is interest in this field associated with particular life experiences or family profiles?

A recent email from a GSV Member captures something of the collaborative satisfaction that comes from the family history quest.

Some months ago I read a member's query [in the GSV's journal Ancestor] and realised I could help.  A member wanted information on a family from Central Victoria, an area where I have a small property. So we began to search the local Historical Society records, with much help from their President and volunteers.  Soon information and photographs were found and with the GSV's assistance, we contacted the enquirer. Further searching took us to the local cemetery. On a sunny afternoon we photographed all the graves of interest and learned heaps more about this lovely country place and the forebears of the family whose property I now own. So this adventure had its own rich personal rewards too! All the information we gathered was passed on to the enquirer who was overjoyed and very grateful when we finally met face to face.

I want to thank the GSV staff and express our pleasure in helping someone find a "lost" family. This was just our way of returning help such as I had received when searching for my family in Ireland. I found a friend who came from the same town as my grandparents and who readily over several years found all my late father's family. It was a pleasure to think, "What goes around comes around".

What insights and experiences have you had as a family historian?

Australian adults (18 years and over) interested in genealogy, or who have researched their family history are invited to participate in this study. You can take part by completing an anonymous online surveythat will take about 30 minutes. Find out more (and start the survey if you wish) by clicking on this link: https://tinyurl.com/familyhistorystudy

The researchers explain the background and aims of their project:

'Family history has always been a popular pastime, whether it involves drawing up complicated family trees or recording stories from the past. In recent years, the availability of so many records online, and the possibility of finding DNA matches, has escalated this ‘hobby’ into a worldwide craze. One motivator for exploring family history, popularised by the ‘Who do you think you are?’ television programs, is the search for self-understanding – finding your identity through knowing more about where you come from. Genealogical studies can also assist in understanding your own family dynamics, and in a broader sense, the histories of ‘ordinary people’ (and thus nations) from times past. Some family historians see themselves as ‘kin keepers’- inspired by wanting to acknowledge their ancestors through passing on their stories to a new generation. Others are searching for a lost relative, or for clues about their medical history and biological risk factors. For some, the detective work of the research process becomes an end in itself, with genealogists often reporting elation and other strong emotions as they discover a new link or break down a ‘brick wall’.

 

In this research study we are interested in examining the motives that drive amateur family historians and in exploring whether strong commitment to this field (expressed, for example, in hours per week spent researching and number of years interest) is associated with particular personality, demographic and family profiles. We are also interested in the psychological processes of amateur genealogists as they chart their family trees. The survey concerns level of involvement, motivations for and outcomes of their genealogical research.What kinds of insights and experiences have they had?'

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The survey is being conducted by social researchers Emeritus Professor Susan Moore smoore@swin.edu.au from Swinburne University and Emeritus Professor Doreen Rosenthal d.rosenthal@unimelb.edu.au from the University of Melbourne. You can contact them by email if you would like further information.

For anyone with links to 19th C Victoria, Ballarat and other goldfields will be an important part of your story, if not directly, then in providing background to the growth of the new Colony. In the coming month the GSV hosts a talk by Dr Joan Hunt on the wealth of research sources that are available in Ballarat.

'Resources in Ballarat'

Thursday 27 September 12.00 pm - 1.00 pm at the GSV. See  HERE for details and to make a booking.

City Hall, Ballarat c.1907. (Courtesy SLV Pictures H96.200/1381)

 

Ballarat is rich in both history and historical research sources. Dr Hunt will share with us the many resources that can help with local and family history research, revealing both on-line and personal contact responses from the Ballarat and District Genealogical Society, the Ballarat Historical Society and other societies such as those at Sebastopol, Smythesdale, Linton, Creswick, Clunes and other surrounding areas, the Ballarat Mechanics’ Institute, the Australiana Room of Ballarat Library, the Ballarat Archives Centre of the Public Record Office Victoria, the Gold Museum, and other sites.

Dr Joan Hunt

 

This is a great opportunity to be guided by an historian with a deep knowledge of these local research materials. Dr Joan Hunt recently retired from her position as an Access Services Officer at Ballarat Archives Centre, Public Record Office Victoria. Dr Joan Hunt is a past president of Ballarat Historical Society, a founder and past president of the Woady Yaloak Historical Society, has served two terms chairing the Ballarat & District Genealogical Society, and is an active member of other local historical societies.  She is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria, where she served several terms on Council, partly as Vice-President, and partly as Convenor of the RHSV History Victoria Support Group.  Her work in community history spans thirty-seven years, from Dandenong Historical Society committee membership in 1974 to involvement in the Ballarat region since 1980.  She is a co-founder and inaugural secretary of the Central Highlands Historical Association.  In 1988 Joan was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to study how local and family history societies in the UK organise and administer themselves.  Joan has published a history of Ross Creek, a centenary history of Scarsdale Old Boys Reunion, a history of Smythesdale Cemetery, and many articles and papers. She is currently working on a history of the Springdallah goldfields.  

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August is  National Family History Month and we celebrate the finding and telling of our family histories.

Barbara Beaumont (left) accepting Nick Vine Hall Award 2018.

 

The GSV is particularly pleased to be awarded this year's Nick Vine Hall Award for Ancestor, our quarterly journal. This award and our previous wins in 2012 and 2015 show our continuing commitment to helping people tell their family stories. Our journal is produced wholly by a volunteer Editorial Team and special congratulations are due to our layout designer, Jay Wickham, and to our two articles sub-editors, Martin Playne and Barbara Beaumont, as well as all our contributing writers. Barbara accepted the Award on GSV's behalf at the launch of National Family History Month this week and her report of this successful event is this week's post. You can find out more about National Family History Month on AFFHO's website HERE.

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The Australian Federation of Family History Organisations (AFFHO) launched National Family History Month on Wednesday 1 August in Hobart. Vicki Montgomery, wearing her AFFHO hat, (she is Vice President of AFFHO as well as GSV Secretary), conducted the meeting. The building at 91 Murray St, Hobart is home to The National Archives of Australia and the State Library Archives Service. Short addresses by Celia Blake, Victorian and Tasmanian Director of the National Archives of Australia, and Caroline Homer, Manager of the State Library (Tasmania) Archives Service, emphasised the value of the co-location of these two organisations. Celia introduced us to some of the treasures available in the National Archives, then Caroline spoke about how Family History dovetails with the library’s aims and outlined some of the Archive Service’s current projects.

The winning issue of Ancestor, 33:7 September 2017

 

The Nick Vine Hall awards for the best family history journal/newsletter in Australia and New Zealand were then made. The GSV (yes us!) won the first prize in Category B, societies with a membership over five hundred. I was delighted to be able to go as a representative of our editorial team to accept the award. Look out for the beautiful plaque we were given when you next visit the Society.

The keynote address, ‘Why is Family History Important?’ was given by Dr. Dianne Snowden. Dianne’s entertaining talk drew on her own experiences of family history research and touched on several themes. Some that particularly appealed to me:

• In her childhood her grandmother’s exercise book of recipes and names and the big family bible sparked her interest in family history, and this led on to formal study of history and a passion for conserving heritage.
• Academic historians, once condescending about family history, were lately coming to see its value (when it is done correctly).
• Researching one’s family enables us to make connections with family both past and present, and helps to develop one’s own sense of identity.

The afternoon concluded with a lavish afternoon tea.

Barbara Beaumont