#52 ANCESTORS WEEK 13 - THE OLD HOMESTEAD

This week's prompt for the 52 Week Ancestor Writing Challenge is "The Old Homestead". As usual the prompt can be interrupted in any way that we choose.

My Old Homestead is where I have lived for the last 40 years. My husband and I bought our very modest house in 1978 just three years into our marriage after living in two rental places only. 

I came from an upbringing of rental houses as my parents never owned a home of their own.  But they were  always very homely places. My mother was a homemaker, which is a phrase not heard much these days. But wherever we lived, I can always remember curtains on the windows and handmade furnishings, knickknacks on sideboards, pot plants at the door, the sound of the sewing machine humming, working on some project. 

We moved regularly. By the time I was twenty I had lived in six houses in six different towns. This is not much by today’s standards, but in my youth it was something I felt keenly as I did not have a “place to call home” once I married that I could go back to. This was felt keenly by me when we travelled back to my husband’s family home and town for visits. 

Our Family home welcomed four children over the years. It was here that our family grew and put down roots. 

Although I occasionally hankered after a more modern or bigger house, I found myself content with just providing a family home. 

I remember thinking as our children grew up in our little house sharing bedrooms and growing up with only one small living room and no entertainment area, that at least they would always have a place to come home to.

We have welcomed three daughters-in-law and seven grandchildren into our family and home. My husband and I are growing old together in our “Old Homestead”. We no longer have nowhere to entertain. We have opened up areas and we have what seems like sooooo much space. We have grown into our little home. 

But most importantly we have memories. I can hear laughter, singing, music, arguing, tears and much more as I walk into old bedrooms that are now sewing rooms and guest rooms. There is always a cot and beds made up for whenever someone comes home or a “Grandie” comes for a sleepover. 

There is still an abundance of toys at the ready (some that were our childrens). The bookcase still has many Golden Books on the shelf. There is still the same old sandpit in the backyard, although our cheeky dog gets the most pleasure from it these days! My sewing machine can be heard to hum on many occasions, just like the one I remember hearing in my childhood.

Most importantly this Old Homestead still buzzes at different times of the year, mainly Christmas time with the sound of family. It is here that belonging, acceptance, talking, laughter, tears and generally just being rowdy are the things that make a home. 

But although it probably isn’t classed as a typical “Old Homestead”, it is in my mind the only “old Homestead” that I have had the privilege to love and cherish.

#52 ANCESTORS WEEK 12 - MISFORTUNE

This week’s prompt is Misfortune.

There is no family tree that has not had some misfortune. This week, we have been encouraged to explore some of it. It doesn't have to be a heart-wrenching tragedy. It could be a set-back in business or a missed opportunity. We are asked to write about something that didn't go the way our ancestor would have wanted or had planned.

My writing this week is a Creative Non Fiction Story on my Paternal Great Grandfather Alfred Brandt.

ALFRED'S  MISFORTUNE

It is going to be a long night, those punters at the end of the bar look like they are settled in for the night. 

“Time gentlemen, please,” Alfred heard his wife Louisa call from the doorway. It’s all very well to call time my love, but when they are only just starting their pints, they aren’t about to get out of here anytime soon!

She looks tired, little Ethel must have given her a hard time again last night. I don’t remember her getting up to the babe, but then I don’t usually hear anything once I start snoring, smiling sheepishly wiping ale glasses, Alfred noticed that they were out of water again. 

“Alfred we are out of water, how am I supposed to keep up the hot water over the fire if the buckets aren’t kept full in the kitchen?”

Just as I thought, another trip out in the cold to the well. I wish it wasn’t so slippery out there. Grabbing a bucket and the lantern, Alfred headed outside in the bleak July winter, stopping to give his wife a quick peck on the cheek on the way. 

Once outside he noticed the punters from the end of the bar had followed him, deciding it was a good time to relieve themselves as well. It’s going to be hard getting them to go home now that their bladders are empty!

The ice had formed on the ground covering it with a thick layer of frost. Phew, it’s cold out here. Blast, there goes me light, where did that gust of wind come from?

“Where’d you go Bert… what happened to the lantern… how’s a man supposed to p..s in the dark?” he heard them carousing, while he gingerly picked his way over the crunchy ground underfoot. It was hard work in only the shadow of the early moonlight. 

He pulled his coat closer to ward off the bitter wind. Now where is that infernal rope? Ahh there it is, bending to retrieve the rope to pull up the bucket, he panicked realising his foot was slipping, much too close to the edge.

“Herregud!”⁠[1] he yelled with arms flaying as he tumbled down the inky dark hole for what seemed to last forever. He hit the bottom of the well with a force that shook every bone in his body, realising he had landed on one of the outcrops that stuck out of the wall of the well.

Herregud, am I to die here in this darkness and cold?

All too soon Alfred breathed a slow rasping sound, drifting into eternal unconsciousness, the cold and dark creeping into his soul…

“Louisa…”
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Back Story

Alfred Ludwig Brandt died falling down a well in 1883.⁠[2]

Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876 - 1954)

How does a man in 1883 fall down a well? I imagine that Occupational Health and Safety Practises weren’t in place at this time. 

Was it just an accident? Could he have been pushed? The coroner's report claims that it was an accident.⁠[3]

Falling down a well is certainly a misfortune. I have written about this event on other occasions, especially from the viewpoint of Louisa.

But this time I felt that Alfred deserved a story of his own!

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1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_profanity

2 GUNNEDAH. (1883, August 2). Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876 - 1954), p. 2. Retrieved March 21, 2018, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article135952127

3 State Archives NSW; Series: 2924; Item: 4/6618; Roll: 343, Ancestry.com. New South Wales, Australia, Registers of Coroners' Inquests, 1821-1937 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.

#52 ANCESTORS WEEK 11 - LUCKY

This week’s prompt is “lucky”. We were asked…

Do you have an ancestor who was lucky at something? Lucky to be alive? Lucky at cards? Lucky in love? Maybe you have an ancestor with a name that reminds you of luck or fortune. There's always "luck of the Irish." Maybe you have a story of how luck played a role in finding an ancestor. Write about that this week.


Once again I was struggling about what to write. I was trying to sort out all the things on one ancestor that I could pursue as lucky and I was having trouble with working out a story. 

Then it hit me! Just write about one thing!!!! Of course, now the words can flow without cluttering too much, into it. 

Bath Newspaper- Report of Elizabeth Selwyn's Trial 

Sentence to seven years transportation over the seas for stealing some apparel. 

Lucky? Maybe!

Elizabeth Selwyn was convicted of her crime in 14 December 1790 and promptly locked up.⁠[1] Her court case wasn’t until 3 May 1791.[⁠2] 

Where she was housed from the time of her conviction is yet to be conclusively established. But she would have probably spent this time in an over crowded English Prison, with little luxury or hope.

Elizabeth may have viewed the prospect of getting out of a stinking English prison as lucky. After nearly seven months she was probably keen to start a new life no matter what the conditions.

Elizabeth sailed on the Pitt in July 1791, arriving in Australia on 14 February 1792 and was assigned as a housekeeper to Lieutenant Thomas Rowley.⁠[3] 

Although this narrative may seem dismal, it was indeed a story of hope and opportunity. One which Elizabeth appears to have grabbed with both hands and turned her “Rags” story to a “Riches” story.


To read further posts on Elizabeth's story, please see sidebar to the right.
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1 Ancestry.com. Gloucestershire, England, Prison Records, 1728-1914 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. Gloucestershire Archives; Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England; Reference: Q/SG2/1789-1814

2 Ancestry.com. Gloucestershire, England, Prison Records, 1728-1914 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. Gloucestershire Archives; Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England; Reference: Q/SG2/1789-1814

3 STARR, MARION, Unhappy Exiles Convicts of the Pitt and Kitty 1792, Australia 2016

#52 ANCESTORS WEEK 9 - WHERE THERE'S A WILL

With the Prompt for this week's writing challenge being Where there's a Will.... the choice as usual was to use it however we were inspired to. Maybe we had come across an interesting Will. Explain it to a non-genealogist. What story does it reveal? We could write about an ancestor who was determined to do something. (Or maybe you have an ancestor named Will!)

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I knew from the moment I saw this prompt many weeks ago, what I would write about.

Captain Thomas Rowley died on 27th May 1806.⁠[1]  He left named in his Will, his pardoned convict partner Elizabeth Selwyn and five children.⁠[2]

Thomas arrived in Australia on 14 February 1792 after a perilous journey lasting just over 6 months. On the same ship convict Elizabeth Selwyn who had been transported for 7 years also disembarked. She is listed being assigned to Lieutenant Rowley as a housekeeper.⁠[3]

Nine months and five days later Elizabeth gave birth to their first child. Another four children were to be born to this pair in the next eleven years.

Thomas and Elizabeth never married. Elizabeth received an Absolute Pardon in 1794.[⁠4]

The Will is a very long hand written document and can be viewed on Ancestry in full.⁠[5]

The next two paragraphs below, transcribed from Thomas’ Will have always sparked my interest.

“There is special trust for the benefit of my five natural children begotten on the body of Elizabeth Selwyn namely Isabella Rowley, Thomas Rowley, John Rowley, Mary Rowley and Eliza Rowley and also for the benefit conjunctively and proportionally of the said Elizabeth Selwyn their mother upon these restrictions and conditions herein after mentioned and expressed. And it is my will that my said five natural children above named shall be entitled to and enjoy…”

In another section of the Will it states

“And it is my wish and desire that so long as this said Elizabeth Selwyn shall continue sole and unmarried and does not live in a state of cohabitation with any man that she be entitled to and receive one sixth share of the rents, produce and interest of my said Estates and Effects from year to year, the same being into six equal shares arranged and proportioned for her maintenance and support from any said executors in common with the survivors which will of course determine the number of shares or proportions to make them equal amongst all…”

There are so many questions that this Will invokes.

Does the fact that Thomas openly acknowledged his relationship with Elizabeth, show a deeper feeling for her?

I would like to think that it does. He died at his property and Elizabeth was still with him at his death.

Why did he never marry her?

Although there are reports of officers marrying convicts, it probably wasn’t widely acceptable. Whereas living in a de facto relationship doesn’t seem to have raised many eyebrows!

But the fact does remain that he didn’t marry her after her pardon either?

But she stayed with him.

Did she have a choice? I doubt it? It would not have been easy to bring up children as a single mother. There is also the possibility that she loved him or was just simply content with her lot.

Why did he put the stipulation that she not co-habitate with anyone? Was it because he was jealous of her living with anyone else? Or did he just not want another man having access to his wealth and property after his death?

What I do know is that Elizabeth was still unmarried at the time of her death in 1843.[⁠6]  She was living with her daughter and son-in-law in 1828 and listed herself on a census as Betsey Rowley and a widow.⁠[7]  Did she feel she had earned the title of Mrs Rowley after so many years?

I haven’t found any evidence of another partner for her, after Thomas died. Either way she remained unattached for 37 years before her death. But if she did indeed find another man, she was careful about acknowledging him!

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1 Ancestry.com. Australia and New Zealand, Find A Grave Index, 1800s-Current [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. 

2 Ancestry.com. London, England, Wills and Probate, 1507-1858 [database on-line].Provo,UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc 2011. www.ancestry.com.au/interactive/1704/31787 A037132-00202 

3 Ancestry.com. New South Wales and Tasmania, Australia Convict Musters, 1806- 1849 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. Original data: Home Office: Settlers and Convicts, New South Wales and Tasmania; (The National Archives Microfilm Publication HO10, Pieces 5, 19-20, 32-51); The National Archives of the UK (TNA), Kew, Surrey, England. Retrieved May 20 2016 

4 Ancestry.com. New South Wales, Australia, Convict Registers of Conditional and Absolute Pardons, 1788-1870 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Original data:

5 Ancestry.com. London, England, Wills and Probate, 1507-1858 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.Original data: London, England, Wills and Probate. London, England: London Metropolitan Archives and Guildhall Library Manuscripts. Images produced by permission of the City of London Corporation Libraries, Archives. Retrieved June 10 2016.

6 Ancestry.com. Australia, Death Index, 1787-1985 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Compiled from publicly available sources. Retrieved June 1 2016.

7 Ancestry.com. 1828 New South Wales, Australia Census (Australian Copy) [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. Original data: New South Wales Government. 1828 Census: Householders’ returns [Population and Statistics, Musters and Census Records, Census, Colonial Secretary] . Series 1273, Reels 2551-2552, 2506-2507. State Records Authority of New South Wales. Kingswood, New South Wales, Australia. Retrieved June 10 2016.

#52 ANCESTORS WEEK 10 - STRONG WOMAN

March is Women's History Month, so what better way to start than with the prompt of "Strong Woman." 

With this week's prompt we are asked...

What female in your family tree has shown remarkable strength (either physical or emotional)? Tell her story.

STRONG WOMAN

I have struggled with this prompt this week as I have been writing about two strong women on my blog for about a year now. I feel that I need to do more research on both of them and also on the social history of their times, before I write more. 

So I am going to write ad-lib on what I know from memory about just one, Louisa Brandt nee Barker. 

Louisa Barker was born circa 1850. She gave birth to her first son in 1870 in Launceston, Tasmania. 

Sometime after the birth she moved to Gulgong NSW,( a distance of approximately 1638kls) with her partner Alfred Brandt, where she had another three sons, in 1872, 1874 and 1876.

Records then show another two sons were born in Gunnedah NSW in 1878 and 1880. A daughter arrived in 1882 in Gunnedah.

If seven children in twelve years doesn’t rate a title of strong woman, I invite you to read further. 

After the birth of her seventh child, Louisa is then found in records as marrying her partner Alfred. Nothing of note there, I hear you say. 

Except the marriage took place back in Launceston Tasmania, in January 1883. This is a distance of approximately 1638 kilometres which equates to approximately 766 miles and 250 nautical miles, in those days. A trip through one and a half states in Australia and over the Bass Strait, which separates the mainland of Australia from the state of Tasmania. 

I have no idea why she agreed to this journey. But her strength must have been tested in many ways, both physically and emotionally. 

I have wondered many times as to her reason for travelling back to Tasmania for her wedding. But my wonderings are just assumptions after all, and as a Family Historian, I have been taught, I should not make assumptions! 

I often wonder as she had been living as a wife for nearly thirteen years did she make the decision to save face in her small community where she was known as Mrs? 

Was it easier to make the trip back where she could marry in relative obscurity, than acknowledged that she and Alfred were living in sin? I may never know! 

Anyway there is still more to read on my strong Louisa. After her marriage she is then found back in Gunnedah with her now husband Alfred, where they ran an Inn. 

In July 1883 just six months after her marriage, my Louisa’s strength was tested again, with the death of her husband by falling down a well at the back of their Inn. 

Now she was left a widow with seven children. But records show that she took on the Publican role and obtained her licence to run the Sugarloaf Inn after Alfred’s death. 

It was probably here that she met her second husband August Engstrom, whom she married in 1886. They then went on to have another daughter in 1887. 

But her strength was put to the test with the death of her husband August, in 1888. She seemed determined to live a difficult life! 

In 1890  tragedy was sent to test her again with the death of her fourteen year old son John in  a tragic accident.

Louisa continued to run the Public Houses and Inns until her death in 1915. 

She is in my mind a “Strong Woman”. 


For further readings on Louisa, I have written 28 creative non-fiction stories that you will find on the side bar to the right, under Louisa BARKER Circa 1849-1915 (Creative Non-Fiction)