Hints and Tips for Family History Research

Hi all,

There are some great resources for finding your ancestors, and building your family tree.

There are websites that have transcripts for various historical records.  These are generally reliable, and I recommend the Archives Office of Tasmania's Convict records, and the Tasmanian Colonial Family Database, as good starting points for Tasmanian History.  Of course with these it is necessary to have a little bit of knowledge about what you're looking for.

I stress caution with websites where the information recorded is user-input.  These can contain mistakes, and those mistakes can be copied many times over, into 'merged' accounts and perpetuate the incorrect information.  It's really important to research some official records to back up your connections before you 'set them in stone'. 

A great resource for Australian research is the National Library of Australia's newspaper transcripts - called TROVE - these have been digitised using optical character recognition - that's a type of scanning where the scanned data is turned into editable text.  The OCR makes some interesting errors.  Registering to be able to edit, and making changes to the digital format, gives others a more searchable resource.  And it's fun.

Other do's and don'ts:

Be flexible about spelling - before the 20th century it wasn't as important as it is now. If you're searching for Stephens, be prepared to include Stevens, Stevenson, Stevins, etc.  Usually names were written down according to pronunciation and the best guess of the person writing them.  It would also be dependent on who reported the event to the registration body at the time.

Be careful listing living people on public websites - there are privacy issues, and some people may not want their personal information listed where others can access it.

Be equally cautious contacting people - we now have access to online telephone directories and it's possible to find people's phone numbers or addresses - this does not give you the right to contact a person you do not know.  They may not appreciate your enquiry.  They may not be interested in the family history, there may be a background of family conflict that you are not aware of, or some other reason why they don't wish to be involved. 

Check your sources - especially with sites like Ancestry.com - which is a wonderful resource for documents and records, but also has a user generated aspect which may, or may not be accurate.  Find collaborating evidence, if possible, before you put something in place in your tree.

Be willing to be shown to be wrong - maybe the person who found the information, and passed it on to you, was 'barking up the wrong tree' :)  This happened with my husband's family tree, that was published in a lovely magazine style book, but the person who did the research linked the wrong family to the arrivals in Australia, and got it all wrong from there back.

Bernadette.



  

The Rajah Quilt at the NMA

Hi everyone,

It seems so long ago now, and somewhat overshadowed by the surprise extra 3 nights in Melbourne, courtesy of a volcano in Chile!  I do apologise for taking this long to get this post organised.  The 170^th anniversary of the arrival of the Rajah has also just passed me by, I don’t know where the time goes!

On June 11^th Gary and I went to Canberra for the long weekend, specifically to see the Quilt, which is on display until today at the National Museum of Australia. The National Museum has done a wonderful job of displaying the Rajah quilt.  It is spread flat, but on an angle of about 45 degrees, so it's easier to see the whole quilt standing close to it, than it would be if it was hanging vertically.  Photographs weren't allowed inside the exhibit, and there was no photo of the quilt in the book they had published about the display :( 

The quilt is so beautiful, the colours are much more vibrant than the photos that are used on most websites, and in books and magazines, which are usually reproductions of the one NGA picture (the one that is usually printed the wrong way, with the inscription on the side).  Below is a good photo of the colours in the quilt (at the V&A with my lucky cousin Hazel who got to have a special photo taken with it.)

The inscription panel is so finely embroidered, it looks like pen work.  I wish I'd realised, before seeing the quilt in Canberra, that this embroidered panel is described in books as 'cross stitched' - I would have liked to take more notice, but it didn't strike me as cross stitched.  Does anyone else have first hand knowledge of this? 

They had some small souvenir items, I brought a selection back with me, but these also are based on the NGA photograph of the quilt.

This is what is written up on the National Museum of Australia's website, about the quilt:

"One small group of female convicts, who arrived in Hobart on the Rajah in 1841, has left an extraordinary testimony to their skill and perseverance — the  Rajah quilt, the only known surviving convict shipboard quilt. The names of the 37 women, their occupation and native county can be seen on the wall."

http://historywall.nma.gov.au/irish/object/1/

It was more than a little annoying that they only have 37 of the Rajah women's names listed, leaving 143 others not recognised, and there was no other information displayed with the quilt, so people don't know how it was made, or that there were many other women involved.  As well as the convict women, they could have told the stories of Elizabeth Fry or Kezia Hayter.  While we were standing at the display two other women were there discussing it and one was saying "they would have ripped up their petticoats..." I so wanted to talk to everyone about the quilt - it would have been nice to see the story explained a little better.  

I suppose it's connection to the Irish in Australia is really very tenuous and they can't say much about it that's Irish.  Honestly I don't think the NMA see the quilt as something that has living connections to real people - they see it as a piece of textile that 'belongs' to the NGA.

Naturally we did some other sightseeing in Canberra - and we were lucky to experience a recital at the Carillion, which only happens once a month. 

We also visited the new Parliament House which is very impressive.

We drove around the circuit of embassies and past Yarralumla, the Governor General's residence. 

The Market at the old Bus Depot:

Telstra Tower on Mt Black:

Hope to see you a little sooner next time,

Bernadette.

Rajah's Granddaughter: Campbell Town Convict Brick Trail

Rajah's Granddaughter: Campbell Town Convict Brick Trail: "Campbell Town is an historic town in central Tasmania. It was named by Governor Lachlan Macquarie in 1821, for his wife Elizabeth nee Campb..."

Campbell Town Convict Brick Trail

Campbell Town is an historic town in central Tasmania.  It was named by Governor Lachlan Macquarie in 1821, for his wife Elizabeth nee Campbell.  The river that flows through Campbell Town is named the Elizabeth River.  Campbell Town is situated between Hobart and Launceston, and was a garrison post on the route between the two major towns. 

Charles was living near Campbell Town when he was involved in the capture of the bushrangers that earned him his emancipation in 1834.  Charles Dewhurst and Elizabeth Banks were married on 7th May 1836 at Campbell Town, by Chaplain William Bedford Jr, in the school house.  Charles and Elizabeth had several properties in Campbell Town, before moving to the north west coast after their 5th child David was born.

Grace and Charles Blight were also married in Campbell Town, on 5th February 1844. 

The Campbell Town Convict Brick Trail was a project started for the Bicentenary of Tasmania, in 2003.  A commercial project, the idea was that the bricks were sponsored by descendants of the convicts, or if you did not have, or know of, a convict ancestor, you could adopt a convict who did not have any listed descendants.  Each brick cost $35 to sponsor, so not every convict is represented, and the information displayed depends on the sponsor's connection to the brick - so, as you can see below, Grace has a brick that was sponsored by someone with Dewhurst connections, not Blight connections.  There is no brick for Charles Blight, that I'm aware of.  Unfortunately the project never became as big as the originator envisaged.

Iron in the Blood!

As well as the quilting and sewing I do, I have a love of early sewing machines - perhaps Charles' blacksmithing has rubbed off on me too :)

This is a Charles Raymond machine sold by James G Weir of 2 Carlisle St, Soho Square, London. Serial number W5268 c. 1877.

The 'Improved Gresham' made by Gresham and Craven of Salford, UK (near Manchester).  Serial number 30221, c. 1870's.  This machine does reverse!

A Willcox and Gibbs - American made machine, s/n A373686. 1884.

The Jones Hand, (sometimes called 'Serpentine') Serial number 126331 dates to 1894.  Stamped 'As Supplied to the Princess of Wales' - this is Princess Alexandra, a Danish Princess, she was the wife of Prince Albert Edward, eldest son of Queen Victoria.  She became Queen Alexandra when her husband became King Edward VII on the death of Queen Victoria.  Dates for these machines, with great thanks and admiration, are courtesy of Alan Quinn, http://www.needlebar.org/.

A Wheeler and Wilson 8.  Wheeler and Wilson of Bridgeport, Connecticut USA  Serial number 267958 c. 1885.

This might look more familiar to everyone, a Singer 27, hand machine, Serial number J1523354 dates to the first half of 1905. 

This is just a small sample of my sewing machines, the older more interesting ones which are a different shape to the more modern styling.  I actually have about 30 hand machines, 9 treadles and a selection of vintage electric machines, about 60 altogether. 

I would love to know what Grace thought of the sewing machine when it became available - I suppose she could have been about 50 years of age when she saw one for the first time.  
Bernadette.

Archives Office of Tasmania - continued.

After you've discovered your convict records, the next place to look is the 'Convicts Applying for Permission to Marry'.

The information contained in the permission to marry will include the ship name if the spouse was a convict. 

Then you can look at the Colonial Tasmanian Family Links search.  These entries don't normally show first and second marriages like Grace's does, but if you contact the Archives Office they are very helpful.  They will add or correct any details if you can provide them with some evidence.

Next to each child's name is their number, and this link will take you to their marriage and children if applicable, up to 1899.

Colonial Tasmanian Family Links Detail

See bottom of this page for explanation of symbols.

STEVENS, GRACE
Gender:	Female
Birth	By 1825 -  CONVICT PER RAJAH   [AO]
Marriage/Relationship:	1844 - CAMPBELL TOWN, TASMANIA (1ST MARRIAGE)  (  BLIGHT, CHARLES  )  [AO]
Death:
Other Names:	GRACE BLIGHT   GRACE DEWHURST
FAMILY INFORMATION
Children:	41209 BLIGHT JOHN LOUCHLAN 1846 444493 BLIGHT ROBERT 1848 26453 BLIGHT MARTHA 1849 26452 BLIGHT SARAH ANN 1851 26451 BLIGHT EMMA AMELIA 1853

Colonial Tasmanian Family Links Detail

See bottom of this page for explanation of symbols.

BLIGHT, GRACE
Gender:	Female
Birth	By 1825 -  CONVICT PER RAJAH   [AO]
Marriage/Relationship:	1855 - PORT SORELL, TASMANIA (2ND MARRIAGE)  (  DEWHURST, CHARLES  )  [AO]
Death:
Other Names:	GRACE STEVENS   GRACE DEWHURST
FAMILY INFORMATION
Children:	92837 DEWHURST GRACE EMMA AMEL 1860 92839 DEWHURST ALICE HORTON 1863 105373 DEWHURST THOMAS 1864 92840 DEWHURST JOSHUA STEPHENS 1866 92838 DEWHURST WILLIAM 1870

We are so lucky to have this wonderful, searchable record in Tasmania.

Bernadette.

Tasmanian Archives - a wonderful resource.

Researching your family history in Tasmania can be easier if you have a convict, than without.  The Archives Office of Tasmania has an excellent record search online.  You do have to keep an open mind about spelling, the way a name was recorded on any day was basically up to the person who wrote it down.  You can see from Grace's convict arrival records:

Grace STEPHENS - from the Rajah arrivals document which is now available to view online.  The record shows that she gave her native place as Pensantz (sic), Cornwall.  Her occupation was 'Ho & Nurse Girl' - Ho meaning House.  Age on Arrival - 17.  5' tall, florid complexion, oval head, red hair. Oval visage, flat forehead, eyebrows lt. red and eyes lt blue.  Nose long, mouth medium, chin round.  Scar on thumb on left hand. 

From the Conduct Records:  STEVENS Grace -   Rajah, 24 July 1841. Transported for Stealing a Gown Print.  Gaol report convicted before a prostitute. Single. Stated this offence stealing a gown piece once for same 3 months. 2 months on the town. Single. Surgeons report Quiet.
Feby 17th 1843 Archer/misconduct in being with Isaac KITT for improper intercourse 6 mths hard labour in the factory, Launceston.  The next bit is very hard to read, and at the end says TL 4/11/45 (Ticket of Leave, 1845)

You could be accused of being a 'prostitute' at that time, if you were, say, in town without a chaperone.  As a servant girl from a poor mining family, Grace was possibly often placed in a position where she had no choice.

Improper intercourse was probably just 'talking to' - but was against the rules for house servants.

I believe the scar on the thumb is an indicator of a criminal record.

Bernadette.