1946 Mt Helena, WA Deal Street Mum and Chickens

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – Week 39: On the Farm

The 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge for Week 39 is On the Farm.  Many of our ancestors would have been involved in farming in years gone past and my family were no different.  Even those who didn’t live on farms most likely had a few chickens and a veggie patch – I know my…

Rockmount Image Courtesy of realestate.com 28 May 2007

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – Week 38: Unusual Source

This weeks challenge in 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is Unusual Source.  There are so many resources out there for genealogists to explore.  The usual birth, death, marriage, census, immigration, and military records but there is so much left to find. Week 38 – Unusual Source For a long time I have wanted to know…

New South Wales Colonial Secretary's In Letters Index

Genealogical Society of Queensland Seminar

Over the weekend I was fortunate to have time to attend my first Genealogy Seminar.  It was run by the Genealogical Society of Queensland and offered a varied range of topics and speakers.  The seminar was titled Top Genealogical Sources: The Expert’s Guide with invited guests talking about their favourite genealogical source.  The topics were varied…

Convicts, Prison

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – Week 36: Work

I have gotten a bit behind on the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge with my UK trip and so now face the daunting task of catching up.  The Week 36 challenge is Work to coincide with Labour Day in the USA – in Australia ours is May.  I have chosen for this topic to…

The Study

Genealogy Do-Over: An Update

At the end of July I wrote a post about Thomas MacEntee’s Genealogy Do-Over and that I was going to start the process.  I have started but it is not going as fast as I would like.  Prior to going to the UK in early September I started putting boxes of stuff into the study which…

To Do List, Checklist, Overwhelmed

I’m Back

Well it has been a very long time between posts.  I have been so busy with sorting Dad’s estate out, helping mum sort their home, and preparing and then going on our Family History Holiday.  We left for the UK on 6 September and arrived home on 3 October.  I have so much to do…

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Blackboard Back to School History

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – Week 35: Back to School

The Week 35 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge is Back to School.  Many people will find ancestors who are teachers, sometimes women, as this was an acceptable occupation for them to enter.   Today I will talk about two women I know of in my ancestry who were teachers. Week 35 – Back to…

Unofficial Guide to Ancestry.com: How to Find Your Family History on the No.1 Genealogy Website

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – Week 34: Non-Population

The challenge for Week 34 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks series is Non-Population.  I really struggled with what to write about this week – how do I take non-population?  What does that even mean?  Apparently in the USA, the Census has two parts – the population schedule and the non-population schedule.  In Australia,…

Convict, Prison, Australian Convicts

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – Week 33: Family Legend

It isn’t unusual for a family to have some sort of legend. Maybe it’s a legend surrounding the family’s arrival in a country or that there’s an ancestral castle waiting to be claimed. Maybe it’s a story about how you’re supposedly related to someone famous. You could explore how you proved or disproved the story….