A genealogy road trip

On Monday my husband and I went on a genealogy road trip!  First I want to say how much I appreciate that I have a husband who not only loves and supports me but also supports my genealogy passion!  He is very limited physically these days due to injuries accumulated during his former long military career so him coming with me is rare, highly appreciated and leaves him in extreme pain and most often bed bound for days afterwards.  The main goal of the trip was to visit Wagragobilly cemetery to pay my respects to my family members there and to photograph the family graves; which I am very happy to say we achieved.  We would not have achieved it without the assistance of two very lovely local gentleman, who’s help on the day was and still is very greatly appreciated!  The cemetery is behind the former Catholic Church which is now a private home; that has been lovingly converted and looks amazing!  We were not sure how to get to the cemetery and drove past thinking that maybe it was private too now.  We drove the full length of Darbalara Road as I wanted to see the countryside that my ancestors had cleared, worked and lived their lives on, then turned around to investigate the cemetery situation more.  On going back to it we noticed the stock reserve to the left of the private property had a small cemetery signpost on it.  We ventured through the gate and drove along the road, we could see the cemetery and sign but were still unsure how to get to it.  It was then my more outgoing and bolder husband noticed another gate on the right that led up to it and off we went.  After spotting one of the aforementioned men, my husband went off to check if it was okay for us to be there, while I went to inspect the graves.  At this stage my fear of trespassing was eclipsed by my total focus and desire to explore the cemetery in front of me!  I found quite a few family members graves and memorials and took photographs while running through the facts I knew about each one of them in my head.  Not all family burials that I know are there have headstones but I was so happy to record the ones that are.  While the cemetery is run down, it is peaceful and serene and I was extremely grateful to experience it.  When I met up with Phil again (it was okay for us to be there thankfully) he wanted to see them too so we went over them again and I told him facts about them and took some more photographs.  We then met up with the two aforementioned gentlemen as they were interested in my connection with the cemetery; their help, generosity and hospitality helped to make the day such a wonderful experience for us.  We had an amazing day, that is now a treasured memory!

For more posts mentioning relatives whose graves are shown in the photographs below see here, here, here, here, here, here and here,  As a result of this day I am planning a series of blog posts involving this cemetery and these ancestors.

Drive along Darbalara road near ‘Shady Brook’

Driving along Darbalara Road near ‘Shady Brook’

Wagragobilly Cemetery

Wagragobilly Cemetery

Wagragobilly Cemetery

Grave of my 3rd Great Grandparents John Pierse and his wife Mary née Quirk

Memorial for a number of my ancestors in particular my 5th Great Grandmother Ann Costello/e née Hogan and my 4th Great Grandparents Michael Quirk and his wife Honorah née Costello/e

Quirk family memorial.  View of the memorial mentions for Mrs Thomas Quirk and her sister Elizabeth Cullen.

Grave of David, Jane and Stanley Pierse.

Grave of Michael Patrick Pierse

Graves of Harriett and James Pierse

Grave of Michael Quirk