#12 ANCESTORS IN 12 MONTHS - JUNE - MISTAKE

 

Mistake

Where does one start with writing about “Mistake”.  This prompt can take many forms and I know I have been guilty of making many of them over the years.

My top five “Mistake” list!

1. Don’t take what is in other people’s online trees as GOSPEL.  By all means use this information as a starting point for your own research.  If you can’t find records substantiating the information treat it as PROBABLE not GOSPEL!
2. Records can indeed be incorrect!  During one of my searches for my parents wedding records I could not get a hit on the usual websites, when I entered my father’s name.  But I knew they were married, I had wedding photos! After many attempts at all the usual places online I just entered my mother’s name. Voila ….. there they were with my father’s first name spelt incorrectly and a completely different middle name!  My father’s name was Garvice Galvin Brandt.  He was recorded in every place I looked as Gravice Joseph Brandt, so presumably a transcription error on the part of the government clerk when recording the wedding details for the first name and I suspect that my father who liked the name Joseph may have told a fib on the original document! So my data entry for Garvice Galvin Brandt just didn't show up on any searches.
3. Don’t fall into the mistake of assuming that you have found the right person, especially on the first record found.  My mother’s mother was Florence Briggs.  Her husband Stanley had a sister Florence who never married.  So when looking for records of my grandmother in her married name there was much confusion until I looked further one day in the collateral line and found my grandfather’s siblings!  There are of course many other occasions where I have found ancestors with the same name, it can be very confusing.
4. Not keeping a Research Log.  I know I should, but in saying that, I still find many of my searches are rambles down whatever Rabbit hole I come across.  Yes I find myself reading things and thinking “ I have seen this before’ but then again many times on one of these rambles I have stumbled on something wonderful.  I do try to set myself a goal when researching and I do try to stick to that said goal, well, most of the time at least!
5. Names, dates and places aren’t the “Be All and End All” of a Family Historian or a Family Tree.  Stopping to tell an Ancestor’s story can be just as rewarding.  Sometimes you may not know their actual story, but facts can be told in ways that can create a picture for future generations.  As long as you are clear when writing these Creative non-fiction stories that they are indeed creative but based on some facts.

#12 ANCESTORS IN 12 MONTHS - 2022 - MAY - TEXTILE

 

Textile

I often wonder about my love of Textiles.  I wonder if it is a deep seeded implant from Ancestors of long ago.  So for this challenge I am choosing to write for my descendants some memories that they can have from their ancestor.......Me!

My memories of growing up are filled with my Mum making clothes for us four girls. I especially remember her lovely overcoats, one of mine had a lovely faux fur collar and cuffs. 

I was also very fortunate to have very well dressed dolls in the height of fashion.  I still have some Barbie doll clothes that she sewed for me and when getting them out to play with my youngest granddaughter recently I was in awe of her talent. I also remember a Christmas morning receiving a two story doll’s house with 4 little dolls suitably dressed and a whole house full of handmade furniture with linen on the beds, lounge room, bathroom etc.

She was a keen Textile shopper and was very good at finding a bargain. 

My mother made all of her four daughter’s wedding dresses and the brides maid dresses for my three elder sister’s weddings.  

She didn’t make the bridesmaid dresses for mine though, my bridesmaids made these themselves.  But she was with us when we chose the fabric because of course it was a bargain and a saving.  It was a lovely light blue with sprays of darker blue flowers scattered on it. It caused many a laugh when on the dance floor at the wedding my three bridesmaid started finding gaps in the flower design on their dresses! None of them had noticed this flaw while sewing them or getting dressed on the day!  

One of my sisters remembers our Mum making her a formal dress in satin for a ball.  The next year for another ball she made an over dress for it of lace! Voila...... two different outfits and no-one the wiser!

This same sister also remembers her wedding and the fact that she didn’t get a say in the colour of her bridesmaid’s dresses, she was after a light blue. She got mustard!  Oh well in our day we didn’t financially contribute anything to the wedding and of course the lovely mustard crepe would probably have been on special! I thought the dresses were lovely( I was only 12yrs old at the time) but I am unsure if the rest of the wedding party shared the same opinion.

I remember for my major work for my School Certificate that I made a lined formal long skirt and blouse. You guessed it, Mum found a lovely remnant of curtain material with vertical lines of weaved inserts and guess what it also was a mustard colour with the inserts being brown.  It proved to be a good learning process as I had to line up the different patterns and it made placement of the pattern a real challenge, especially as it also had an inverted pleat on the front.

My Mum made numerous ball gowns for me as balls were a big thing in my early single working days.  I also remember being invited to a Pyjama Party around this time too. I was horrified at the thought of going to a party with boys in attendance, in my pyjamas! But Mum came to the rescue though and made me the most beautiful long flannelette nightie with lace and flounces, in a lovely floral orange.  I just loved it and it was so comfy and pretty that I wore it with pride to the party, with stockings and high heels of course!

Over the years( 60 plus)I have sewed many things for myself and my family and friends.  I have been blessed with the challenge of many formal dresses for my daughter and wedding dresses for daughters-in-law.  I have also sewn for grandchildren and have been blessed over the last fourteen years to see them at Christmas time in Christmas outfits by Nannie.  I am not sure if the grandchildren felt blessed though, but they all wore them!  Most of the fabrics for these outfits was purchased in January sales in readiness for the next Christmas.  Yes I have my mother’s traits passed down to me.

I now enjoy Patchwork and Quilting and just love the variety of fabrics in my sewing room. I love searching for that perfect colour for Quilts I am currently sewing.  I am not very good at putting all my Fat Quarters and pieces back in cupboards though. I have fabric that my Mum purchased in these cupboards and I get a real buzz when I find a use for something that she had in her stash. My Mum has been gone for over 25 years!  Some of this fabric would be over 40 years old.  But even though all of it would have been bought as a bargain, she had a good eye for quality textiles!  I use a lot of this fabric from my stash in another of my hobbies of Textile Art and I can usually remember where it came from and what it was originally used for.

One of my recent projects which was a Mystery Quilt, featured  as the backing, the fabric from the bedspread that my Mum made for my husband and I for a wedding present in 1975.  Another example that her eye for textiles usually proved that even though it may be on special doesn't mean that it is poor quality. This fabric is 47 years old!!

I am on a mission of making enough quilts to leave as heirlooms for my family.  But in the meantime my husband and I are enjoying using the quilts first and the family will get them when we are gone.  Yes a Textile present from their Ancestor, my legacy of love.

#12 ANCESTORS IN 12 MONTHS - 2022 -APRIL - DOCUMENTS

 

APRIL - DOCUMENT

I am slowly drowning in a sea of documents!  Does this sound familiar?

As most Family Historians know there needs to be well documented research for all our findings.  But what to save and where to save it can lead to the above “drowning” in the Family History documentation!

I haven’t been doing Family History for that long, probably only 15-20 years.  But I must admit that I am still to find the optimum system for saving my documentation. I shudder to think of the documents that some Family Historians of long standing must have, do they have a annex to their house? 

Sometimes the weirdest document may have a mention of an ancestor that it isn’t written about.  But you accidentally came across the mention of an ancestor SOOOO of course you have to save it, don’t you?  Well I do and then I usually forget where I have saved it or forget all about reading it!

But most of my finds are documented on the said ancestor”s page in my Family Tree Program or a printed copy is saved to a folder. Then a lot of things are also saved and scanned into my computer which is also saved to the “Cloud”.  I am not sure yet how to find them in the “Cloud” but if I ever need to I will find someone to help me with that then! For the moment I don’t need to retrieve anything.

It is truely mind boggling how much documentation is now available in this age of technology.

Most things are available at the touch of a button.  If someone had told me twenty years ago that I could be reading a newspaper from the 1800s from the comfort of my armchair, I would have laughed!  Does anyone else get that tingling feeling when they read an old newspaper article or is it just me?

But today we are blessed with Ancestry, Family Search, Find My Past. Trove, UK Newspapers, Google and many, many more options. 

We can read books online and scan the relevant information. Our Libraries are online and even if they haven’t a physical copy of a book you can usually get an inter-library loan to search for that elusive document. I have done this and was able to bring the book home and read and scan at my leisure, making references as to where I got the information from.

Of course Family History isn’t the only thing that is contributing to my drowning in documentation.  I am a crafter as well.  So I also have many online courses and patterns, that I download and file in folders and save on my computer.  I just can’t seem to go with just one method of documentation, I am afraid.  I like to read things in print on paper, but what if I had a fire?  I don’t want to lose anything so I save it on the computer as well.

Yes you guessed it I am just going to keep swimming strongly and keep these treasured documents in multiple places and hopefully keep my head above water!!

#12 ANCESTORS IN 12 MONTHS - 2022 - MARCH - FLOWERS

 

FLOWERS - MARCH

During the month of March I have chosen the prompt of Flowers for my  #12Ancestors in 12 months writing challenge. 

I can’t remember whether my mother Ruby Florence Brandt nee Briggs was a great flower lover or not.  But I do remember certain flowers that I always associate with her.

Mum would always tell me her favourite flower was the Australian Native Flannel flower. Mum never shared many memories, especially Family History memories.  But I do remember her telling me that Flannel flowers grew around her home in Collaroy.  This would have been in the late 1920s and 1930s era. I picture this flower growing abundantly in the wild in the fields surrounding her family home, Stanville, the Avenue, Collaroy.  It would have been very different from the highrise, well populated suburb that it is today.

The delicate flower would have been prone to swaying in the sea breeze as their home was within walking distance to the beach and they would probably have had sea views also.  I can imagine that the flannel flower was a family favourite with it’s woolly texture making it a tactile delight for the children.

I have tried my hand at growing flannel flowers but alas the climate of my area doesn’t lend itself to well drained sandy soils and a coastal climate!

Another firm memory for me is the tradition of my Dad presenting my Mum with a bunch of NSW Christmas Bush.  I am not sure when this tradition started but it is something that I definitely remember well when I was the last child living with my parents after my sisters had married and left home. I love the memory of a vase full of Christmas Bush during the festive season.

Once again I have tried to capture this memory by growing it in my garden.  But once again the climate doesn’t suit.  My horticulture son has bought me numerous plants for Christmas presents over the years to plant and although they survive for a little while, none of them have grown into a flourishing bush enabling me to pick a large bunch. 

It is interesting to note that as a teenager I lived for a time a couple of blocks away from my Mum's family home and never knew about it!  Would I have relished visiting it if I had known or even would their house still have been there.  Once again I will probably never know.

Flannel Flower 

NSW Christmas Bush

#12 ANCESTORS IN 12 MONTHS - 2022 - FEBRUARY - LANDED

LANDED - FEBRUARY

 

My ancestor Thomas Rowley after arriving in Port Jackson in February 1792 went on to become in my opinion one of the “Landed Gentry”. 

When Thomas arrived in the colony as a Lieutenant he obviously had plans of bettering himself. He was soon appointed to the role of Captain in June 1796.^⁠1 

From early on after arriving in the colony Thomas initially applied for a lease of 2 acres in May 1793. His thirst for acquiring land didn’t stop there.  

Over the next 11 years Thomas accumulated over 3000 acres of land through grants. Governors Grose, Hunter and King were instrumental in these grants^⁠2:

• 1793 - May 2 acres lease - between the Brickfields and corner of Church Street.
• 1793 - May 100 acres grant - Petersham Hill (Kingston Farm)
• 1794 - October 70 acres grant - Petersham Hill
• 1798 - August 85 acres grant - Banks Town
• 1799 - August 260 acres grant -Liberty Plains
• 1799 - October 150 acres grant - York Plains
• 1802 - March 190 acres grant - Liberty Plains
• 1803 - August 240 acres grant - Petersham
• 1803 - August 750 acres grant - Liberty Plains/Concord
• 1804 - July 700 acres grant - Banks Town

Thomas established his home on his initial couple of grants, which he named Kingston Farm, probably after his birthplace in Surrey, England.  It would have been here at Kingston Farm that his partner Elizabeth Selwyn raised their five children.  

Kingston Farm grew in size to over 700 acres with consecutive grants.  Much of the time Elizabeth would have been alone raising their children in a remote area in isolated bushland while Thomas attended to his Military duties.  Even with servants and convict labour to work the farm it would have been difficult without family support.

It is reported that soldiers were granted twenty-five acre lots and this indicates to me that Thomas Rowley’s standing in the Colony was of importance with the size of his landholdings over a relative short time.

I wonder how much he would have been capable of achieving had he lived longer.

_________________________

¹ B. H. Fletcher, 'Rowley, Thomas (1747–1806)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/rowley-thomas-2614/text3605, published first in hardcopy 1967, accessed online 12 February 2022.

² Ancestry.com. New South Wales, Australia, Registers of Land Grants and Leases, 1792-1867 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.,

2010.

#12 ANCESTORS IN 12 MONTHS -2022 - JANUARY - CURIOUS

CURIOUS - JANUARY

There are many of my Ancestors or incidents involving my Ancestors that I have found curious.  So the challenge for me is to choose just one!

As I am going to visit Norfolk Island in April for a week’s holiday, I am going to choose my first Ancestor on Australian soil, Thomas Rowley.   I have mentioned Thomas Rowley elsewhere on this blog in Uni Assignments and Creative Non-fiction stories about Elizabeth Selwyn, his partner. I will not rehash all the information that I have found on Thomas but keep my ramblings to just the “Curiouser” of them!  In the coming few months I will continue with other prompts that may lend themselves to more ramblings on Thomas Rowley.

Lieutenant Thomas Rowley arrived in Port Jackson on the 14 February 1792 after an arduous seven month voyage, on The Pitt.   Historian C.J.Smee lists ten soldier’s wives sailing on the Pitt, one of which is listed as Mrs Elizabeth Rowley.^⁠1  But there is no record of a Mrs Rowley disembarking.

First Curious Fact……..What happened to Mrs Elizabeth Rowley?

On arrival in the Colony, Lieutenant Rowley was assigned a convict Elizabeth Selwyn as his housekeeper.^⁠2   Elizabeth had been sentenced for transportation for seven years and she had also had arrived on the Pitt.^⁠3  In November of that same year Elizabeth Selwyn gave birth to her and Thomas’ first child.^⁠4

Second Curious Fact……. Elizabeth Selwyn gave birth to Isabella Rowley on 19 November 1792.  Was she pregnant when she arrived in the colony with Thomas’ child?

Elizabeth and Thomas went on to have a further four children, Thomas Rowley (1794), John Rowley (1797), Mary Rowley (1800 )and Eliza Rowley (1803) before Thomas died in 1806.  These five children were all named and provided for in Thomas’s WILL.^⁠5 It is reported by other researchers that another child was born after Thomas died when Elizabeth was six months pregnant. I have yet to substantiate this fact.

Third Curious Fact….. Why didn’t Thomas marry Elizabeth?

There are other curiosities with this Ancestor, but I may touch on more as the year unfolds, as I have said some of them lend themselves to other prompts.

As most Family Historians will attest to, there are many curious finds while researching, that will have researchers rolling their eyes and pulling their hair out. 

I look forward to reading other’s  #52 Ancestors and #12 Ancestors stories, as the year unfolds.

_____________________________________

¹ Smee, C. J.  1992,  Fourth fleet families of Australia containing genealogical details of two hundred & five fourth fleeters, their children & grandchildren / compiled & edited by C.J. Smee  Fourth Fleet Families of Australia Artarmon, NSW

² 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

³ STARR, MARION, Unhappy Exiles Convicts of the Pitt and Kitty 1792, Australia 1016, p141.

⁴ Ancestry.com. Australia, Birth Index, 1788-1922 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Compiled from publicly available sources. Retrieved April 15 2015.

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.

#12 ANCESTORS IN 12 MONTHS 2022 - INTRODUCTION UPDATE

 UPDATE

I have been floundering here with my thoughts on what to write for the first month’s prompt - FOUNDATIONS.  So I went back and looked at the Weekly prompts and have decided that I will do a weekly prompt on a monthly basis.  My aim is to write after all and if I spend more time in thinking what to write instead of putting words into a story then I am defeating my purpose.  So now I will have a choice of four prompts to choose from.

January – Foundations
Week 1 (Jan. 1-10): Foundations
Week 2 (Jan. 11-17): Favourite Find
Week 3 (Jan. 18-24): Favourite Photo
Week 4 (Jan. 25-31): Curious

February – Branching Out
Week 5 (Feb. 1-7): Branching Out
Week 6 (Feb. 8-14): Maps
Week 7 (Feb. 15-21): Landed
Week 8 (Feb. 22-28): Courting

March – Females
Week 9 (Mar. 1-7): Females
Week 10 (Mar. 8-14): Worship
Week 11 (Mar. 15-21): Flowers
Week 12 (Mar. 22-28): Joined Together
Week 13 (Mar. 29-Apr. 4): Sisters

April – Check It Out
Week 14 (Apr. 5-11): Check It Out
Week 15 (Apr. 12-18): How do you spell that?
Week 16 (Apr. 19-25): Negatives
Week 17 (Apr. 26-May 2): Document

May – Social
Week 18 (May 3-9): Social
Week 19 (May 10-16): Food & Drink
Week 20 (May 17-23): Textile
Week 21 (May 24-30): Yearbook

June – Conflict
Week 22 (May 31-June 6): Conflict
Week 23 (June 7-13): Mistake
Week 24 (June 14-20): Popular Name
Week 25 (June 21-27): Broken Branch

July – Identity
Week 26 (June 28-July 4): Identity
Week 27 (July 5-11): Extended Family
Week 28 (July 12-18): Characters
Week 29 (July 19-25): Fun Facts
Week 30 (July 26-Aug. 1): Teams

August – Help
Week 31 (Aug. 2-8): Help
Week 32 (Aug. 9-15): At the Library
Week 33 (Aug. 16-22): Service
Week 34 (Aug. 23-29): Timeline
Week 35 (Aug. 30-Sept. 5): Free Space

September – Exploration
Week 36 (Sept. 6-12): Exploration
Week 37 (Sept. 13-19): High and Low
Week 38 (Sept. 20-26): New to You
Week 39 (Sept. 27-Oct. 3): Road Trip

October – Preservation
Week 40 (Oct. 4-10): Preservation
Week 41 (Oct. 11-17): Passed Down
Week 42 (Oct. 18-24): Lost
Week 43 (Oct. 25-31): Organised

November – Shadows
Week 44 (Nov. 1-7): Shadows
Week 45 (Nov. 8-14): Ghost Story
Week 46 (Nov. 15-21): Tombstones
Week 47 (Nov. 22-28): Wrong Side of the Law
Week 48 (Nov. 29-Dec. 5): Overlooked

December – New Horizons
Week 49 (Dec. 6-12): New Horizons
Week 50 (Dec. 13-19): Traditions
Week 51 (Dec. 20-26): Perseverance
Week 52 (Dec. 27-Jan. 2): Looking Ahead

#12 ANCESTORS IN 12 MONTHS 2022 - INTRODUCTION

Over the years since first beginning this blog I have participated in a few writing challenges. I find these very helpful in keeping me focused on writing.  It is very easy to get waylaid with “bright shiny objects” and “rabbit holes” while researching Family History and forgetting to share stories of our ancestors and not just recording long lists of facts, that sometimes can see our reader’s eyes glaze over!  I enjoy “putting flesh  on the bones” of my ancestors (as I have said before) while trying to incorporate facts that I have found.

Over the years I have participated in

• 2017 - The 28 Day Family History Writing Challenge with Lynne Palermo and I was successful in managing to complete this 28 Day Challenge.
• 2018 - 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Writing Challenge with Amy Crow, of which I completed 24 weeks
• 2019 - The A to Z Writing Challenge where I completed 26 blogs on Family History subjects.
• 2020 - The 28 Day Family History Writing Challenge and I wrote for 7 weeks, before other things claimed my time.
• 2021 - I completed 5 weeks of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge.

So with that dubious track record to follow I have decided to set a more achievable goal (hopefully) and instead of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge I will undertake the 12 Ancestors in 12 months. If you are interested in joining this challenge the link is: https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks-themes-2022/

The suggested monthly prompts are listed below and it is completely up to each writer to interpret these prompts however they feel inclined. 

• January: Foundations
• February: Branching Out
• March:  Females
• April: Check it out
• May: Social
• June: Conflict
• July: Identity
• August: Help
• September: Exploration
• October: Preservation
• November: Shadows
• December: New Horizons

So hopefully the end of 2022 will see me with 12 blog posts for this Challenge and maybe along the way I will also manage a few extra!!  Who knows?  I have a couple of weeks to post my January - Foundations story.  Now what or who to write about?