Tracing Family Branches

This is another one of my husbands family photographs, this time his Great Grandparents and family taken in the 1920's.  The four older children are the same children from the earlier photograph in my blog. The family lived in the Dutch East Indies but travelled to Europe on more than one occasion. Mr. W.N.G. De Water and his wife H.J.C.(nee Kalangi) and family

One of the web sites that I have been using for many years is World War 2 Nominal Roll .  An official Australian government site, this one is easy to use and search. Source: World War 2 Nominal Roll. Retrieved from http://www.ww2roll.gov.au/

This is a very recent find for me about my first cousins two times removed Sylvester Gervase and Frances Eulalie Donnelly.  A day at the beach quickly turned into a traumatic experience for them all.   Source:  DANGERS OF THE SURF. (1910, March 1). Singleton Argus (NSW : 1880 - 1954) , p. 3. Retrieved May 28, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article76911473 Transcript: DANGERS OF THE SURF. Two Ladies in Difficulties. Shortly after five o'clock on Sunday afternoon a sudden commotion amongst the frequenters of the Newcastle beach drew attention to the fact that two lady bathers were placed in a dangerous position. Miss G. Buckley was bathing with her niece, Miss Frances Donnelly, in the breakers at the ladies' reserve.  The tide was almost to its ebb limit, and the girls were disporting themselves in the line of breakers close to the northern boundary of the reserve.  Suddenly Miss Buckley was startled by cries from her companion, and realis...

My Great Grand Uncle William Henry Lambert was born in 1881 near Orange, New South Wales to James Lambert and his wife Elizabeth (nee O'Brien). Starting out working in shearing sheds, he progressed through the ranks of the Australian Workers Union becoming Secretary of the Central Branch 1915-1921.  Active in the Anti-Conscription movement he progressed in Labor Party politics becoming NSW State President 1917-1921.  Elected as a Alderman for Denison Ward in the Sydney Municipal Council in 1918, he served as the Lord Mayor of Sydney in 1921.  He left the Sydney Municipal Council in 1924.  In 1921 he was elected to the House of Representatives in the safe Labor seat of Western Sydney and continued in that seat until 1928.  William married Bertha Anne McConnell in Dubbo, New South Wales in 1909, they had no children.   Source: OBITUARY. (1928, September 10). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 7. Retrieved May 26, 2013, from http://nla...

This one is from my husbands family. His Grandmother Josephine Eleanor De Water is the baby on the left. The De Water family in the Dutch East Indies c1918-1919.   Josephine Eleanor De Water b. 1918, Henrietta Cornelia Helena De Water b.1915, Bram De Water and Nico De Water.

James Harvey Murray is my husbands Great Grandfather and prior to my research we only had the barest of details and a few family stories about him.  We had heard that he was smuggled out of Ireland with the assistance of Catholic priests after shooting someone.  We were also informed that he was a very large violent man who had done very well for himself in business (something to do with cinemas) after his arrival in Asia, and that he lived with his part Japanese wife and daughters in a large house in Singapore. At some stage his business interests supposedly suffered a down turn but the family remained comfortable. It was not known when he died but it was supposed to be some time before the Second World War. He is proving to be quite an interesting character to research.  Definitely a family black sheep and not the nicest person to have ever lived, but people come in all shapes, sizes and character types and I am not interested in judging them.  I still have a lot ...

Photograph of my Nan on her Wedding day, June 1943 in Gundagai. Glennie 'Marie' Stevens (nee Battye)

One of the websites that I have been using for years is TheShipsList . It is a wonderful research asset covering shipping with passenger lists, ship descriptions, shipwreck information and more, has 3500 free access web pages and is constantly being updated with new information.  Source: TheShipsList. Retrieved from http://www.theshipslist.com/ My 4th Great Grand Aunt Mary Beaver (nee Rhall) and her husband Charles went to California in 1849 on the barque Louisa . Below is an example of the information found about this journey using this web site. barque Louisa, 307 tons, Captain Mailler from Sydney, cleared 23rd May sailed 26th May 1849, for California Mr. Blackenberg Mr. Suttor Mr. Bertleson Mr. J.S. Lloyd Mr. Freer Mr. Turner Mr. R. Orr Mr. J. Etheridge Mr. H. Atkinson Mr. P. Power ...

I came across this article on Trove from The Goulburn Herald dated 16th February, 1850 while researching my 4th Great Grand Aunt Mary Beaver (nee Rhall) who with her husband Charles Beaver went to California on board the ship   Louisa   in 1849. Although according to this article they were doing well in California, they soon returned to Australia due to the death of Charles father William who had an undertakers business in Sydney. Source: [No heading]. (1850, February 16). The Goulburn Herald and County of Argyle Advertiser (NSW : 1848 - 1859), p. 1. Retrieved May 21, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page9477401   The article contains a wealth of information for researchers but it is the story of the misfortune of Byrnes and Frazer that for me appealed the most. ' It is worthy of remark that at the Capital, notwithstanding the superfluity of wealth there were many persons in the most abject poverty, ashamed to beg, and ...

My Great Grand Aunts Laura and Clara Stevens/Stephens were the twin daughters of Thomas Stevens and his wife Jane (nee Henderson).  According to the 1998 published 'Stevens Family History' the girls were baptised on the 23rd November 1886 at Adjungbilly, in the Catholic Parish of Gundagai.  Apparently Laura was recorded as Stevens and Clara as Stephens (Thomas was known to use both)  Maybe on that day they couldn't decide which was more appropriate!   The official family history contained few other details about them, believing that Laura had died at a very early age and Clara had married and moved away from the family. Laura Stevens 1886-1906? The only records I can find for a Laura Stevens/Stephens born c.1886 are the following:    NSW BDM Death Indexes Registration Number  Last Name  Given Name(s)  Father's Given Name(s)  Mother's Given Name(s)  District  14566/1906 STEVENS ...