AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND
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THE MILITARY ISSUE PTE ALAN MATHER A REMARKABLE STORY 93 YEARS IN THE MAKING THE BOER WAR LIFE AND LAW ON THE VELDT ONE GENEALOGIST’S FANTASTIC FINDS
A HIGH PRICE TO PAY DID WORK MAKE YOUR ANCESTOR ILL?
WHY MORE OF US ARE TREKKING KOKODA APPS TO HELP YOU WITH YOUR RESEARCH
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VINTAGE FAIRS
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our family
AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND
PO Box 406 Erskineville NSW 2043 Australia EDITOR Cassie Mercer cass@insidehistory.com.au
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Private Alan Mather. Courtesy the Mather family. Turn to page 34 to read more about his extraordinary journey.
DESIGNERS Rohana Archer Annie Nguyen EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS Melinda Farrell Barbara Hall Neil Hall Jane Harding Jo Hawkins Alice Johnson Helen Leggatt Helen Smith Neil Smith Kirsten Wade Mark Webster Garry Wotherspoon
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Inside History (ISSN 1838-5044) is published six times a year by Cassie Mercer (ABN 13 353 848 961) PO Box 406 Erskineville NSW 2043 Australia. Views expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of the publisher. Copyright 2011 by Cassie Mercer and Inside History. All rights reserved.
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Contents
ISSUE 6, SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2011
50
38
on the cover 26
Genealogy on the go The tools you need when you’re on a research trip; plus the best new apps on the market
30
The odd blemish Neil Smith looks at the impact of British law on Australian troops serving in the Boer War
34
A soldier no longer lost How a combination of archaeology, history and science solved a family’s 93-year mystery
38
Uncovering the lure of the Kokoda Trail Why more people are trekking the track made famous during World War II
42
How healthy was your ancestor? The worst occupations when it came to diseases in the workplace
50
Fair thee well… One family historian on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast proves that research breakthroughs can happen in the most unexpected of places!
60
A rich brew For many of us, coffee is an essential part of the morning. So when did it first hit our shores?
70
Win! An Ancestry.com.au membership Go into the draw to win a World Heritage membership valued at $299!
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Contents 64
74
your family 47
To catch a thief… …sometimes the only way is to go back (223 years) to the primary records!
54
In from the cold Did your ancestor serve in Korea? Join historians as they mark 60 years since landmark battles
your history 64
Chasing Sydney’s waves A new exhibition looks at how the surf culture 5o years ago represented more than a suntan
your heritage 57
A collective history How the Royal Australian Mint is paying homage to our convict ancestry
regulars
19
What’s on Events you won’t want to miss
24
Broadford’s broadsheets Our new section profiles history and family history societies. This issue, Broadford, Victoria
8
Ed’s letter
29
Which website? Three genealogy sites worth bookmarking
10
Postie’s here! Your thoughts, your say
67
The book shelf The latest and greatest to hit the shops
11
Bob’s your uncle Network with other descendants
74
One picture…1000 memories The story behind the image
13 Platform News from the history and genealogy world 16
Ask our experts Tracking the Doran family in Geelong; plus, do death certificates exist for soldiers?
offers 69
A little piece of history Win a stunning set of crystal glassware
71
Subscribe to Inside History And get 25% off books at Blurb!
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editor’s letter
There are many wonderful and fascinating stories that we come across here, or that people send in to us, and we’re always hard pressed choosing which ones to feature. But sometimes we hear about events that affect us more than usual. This was the case with the story of Private Alan Mather , a WWI soldier killed in action in Belgium. For more than 90 years his final resting place was not known, until an archaeological dig discovered his remains by chance. Through a combination of history and science he was able to be identified — read how it came about, and his family’s elation, on page 34. We’re continuing the military theme this issue, with features on soldier morale in the Boer War , why more people are journeying to Kokoda , and we highlight an upcoming conference that marks the 60th anniversary of landmark battles in the Korean War, and how you can learn more if your relative was there. Plus, starting on page 42, Helen Smith looks at the occupational diseases our ancestors suffered from, and Mark Webster runs through the technology you need when you’re researching away from home (see page 26). There’s our feature on vintage fairs , and what genealogist Jane Harding found by accident – her story on page 50 will amaze you! Our September-October issue is packed with advice on family history research, tips from our experts , the latest news and events , giveaways and book reviews . And starting with this issue, we’ll be featuring the terrific work being carried out in our history and family history societies around Australia and New Zealand. This issue, the Broadford and District Historical Society in Victoria talks about the relocation of the area’s first printing press from the 1840s. Whether it’s restoration work to an old building, the indexing of records or the notation of graves , we want to hear what your society is up to. Contact me at the details on page 4, so we can showcase your projects .
our family
This issue we asked our contributors… What’s one thing you hope to achieve in your family tree research before the end of 2011?
Helen Smith
How healthy was your ancestor? page 42 My English grandfather, Leslie Smith, was killed in WWII. My grandmother and father emigrated to Australia in 1949 and lost contact with his family. I am tracking forward so hope to contact a living descendent of his older brother, Herbert Edward.
Jane Harding
Fair thee well… page 50 I’m focused on identifying who inherited the estates of two spinster great-aunts who I believe were the “keepers” of the family memorabilia. I’d love to track down these collections (if they still exist) in the hope of unearthing photos of key family members.
Mark Webster
Genealogy on the go, page 26 I’d like to find out where “Emanuel Castellano, Gent” came from when he arrived in England in the mid 1700s. My grandmother, buried in Auckland, was born Castellano. Our branch thought Italian; Spanish and Portuguese are also possibilities.
Inside History
Sep-Oct 2011
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letters EXPLORE YOUR PAST, ENRICH YOUR FUTURE
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The secreTs To dAting old photogrAphs
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tes ebsiit h W h 46 w elp eArc s o h
Friendly socieTies: WhAt cAn they reveAl About your fAmily?
t re ur yo
Tips For Tracing chinese Ancestors living in Tilly devine’s neighbourhood
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A CHANCE DISCOVERY
Postie’s here!
Congratulations on a great magazine! I found Inside History by accident, while I was killing time in a shopping centre, waiting for my car to be serviced. Your magazine has all the hallmarks of a quality publication. Good all-round stories related to history and genealogy, and I love the feel and look of it, too. — N. Pamplin, Deception Bay, QLD
HOW LIFE WAS
I was so excited to receive my first home-delivered issue and have read it from cover to cover as usual. There is so much of interest in each issue and plenty of websites to check out. I loved the advice in issue 5’s “Ask our experts”, and I have just received my NLA library card so I can check out the Irish newspapers and possibly find out about my Irish convict ancestors from the 1790s. Thank you for a wonderful magazine. Not only have you given me many family history searching ideas, but my interest in Australian history has grown to where I enjoy finding out about the history of times when my ancestors lived. As the earliest of them came as convicts in 1793 and 1796 that means Australian history from the beginning of European settlement. — L. Story, Brassall, Qld
A WELL-EARNED CUPPA
In my experience the gloss goes off a magazine once the first few issues have gone out. This is certainly not the case with Inside History. Every issue has
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something different that increases my knowledge as I search my family tree. As a volunteer at State Records NSW, we often discuss the magazine over our tea break. Well done! — D. Jones, Cabramatta, NSW
OUR FAVOURITE TWEET
Finally got some time to read Inside History magazine today, going to check out Obituaries Australia online [mentioned in issue 4]. — @ASmithsonz via Twitter Congratulations to our competition winners from issue 4! ◆ E. Robinson, Lobethal, SA; N. Zollia, Malmsbury, VIC; M. Stork, Coombabah, QLD; V. Ryan, Bilbul, NSW; and C. Collins, Darwin, NT, each won a copy of History & Genealogy 2011: Australia & New Zealand, courtesy of Unlock the Past ◆ S. Shambrook, Kallangur, QLD; S. Blum, Shepparton, VIC; P. Allen, Allambie Heights, NSW; D. Woods, Wivenhoe, TAS; and J. Stockham, Ceduna, SA, each won a copy of Notorious Australian Women by Kay Saunders, courtesy of HarperCollins Each issue our star letter will receive a great prize for writing in. This month, N. Pamplin wins a copy of Darlinghurst Gaol Records 18501854, valued at $33, from Teapot Genealogy. For more details, visit www.teapotgenealogy.com
Join us on twitter.com/insidehistory
your family
Bob’s your uncle Are you looking to connect with other descendants or historians? Each issue we’ll feature who and what people are researching
Image Courtesy Douglas Stewart Fine Books, www.douglasstewart.com.au
CALLING ALL SKENNAR DESCENDANTS
I am organising a family reunion for descendants of John Frederick Skennar and Mary Ann Wheeler, who were married in Newcastle in 1852. John possibly arrived in Australia from Sweden around 1842. The couple settled in the Ballina area of New South Wales, where John became a cedar-cutter. Their children were dairy farmers and stayed in the area, except for one son who moved to North Queensland to also become a dairy farmer. The reunion will be on the Queen’s Birthday long weekend in June 2012 near Ballina. I would love to hear from anyone researching the family or interested in attending the celebrations. — A. Skennar, QLD skennarreunion@hotmail.com; 0422 670 317
THOMPSON, BURGESS AND ARUNDEL
I am seeking information on Thomas Thompson, who was born about 1816 in Leeds, England and also Sarah Chalmers, born in Mudgee, New South Wales, around 1828. They were married in 1851 in Wellington, New South Wales. I can’t confirm specific dates for them on the BDM records. I would love to hear from anyone also researching them. I am also looking for any details on William Burgess, who died June 17, 1911, in Kogarah, Sydney, and Gertrude Burgess (née Arundel), who died on April 16, 1942 in Bowraville, New South Wales.
Gertrude was my great aunt, and the daughter of Thomas Arundale [different spelling] and Agnes Caroline Croft. William and Gertrude were married in Kogarah in 1902. Their son Leo Arundel Burgess died on June 28, 1965 in Forest Hill, New South Wales. — N. Malone, QLD noreen.malone@bigpond.com
SEEKING THE CULLEN FAMILY FROM HOBART
I’m trying to find out what happened to Mary Ann Jane Cullen, who was born in Hobart, Tasmania, on June 24, 1853. Her birth registration gives her father as Alexander Cullen and her mother as Rosanna Bridget Murphy (the baptism has slightly different names). Her parents died in the 1850s and Mary Ann was admitted to the Queen’s Orphanage in 1864. She was apprenticed but absconded from her last master twice — and nothing is known of her after June 1868. I’m especially interested in getting in touch with anyone who might be descended from her. — C. Williams, New Zealand williamsmeister@gmail.com
To place an ad in Bob’s your uncle, email us at cass@insidehistory.com.au. Adverts are free!
Inside History
Sep-Oct 2011
11
platform
y a w a Get
to Norfolk Island
Explore the sites of Norfolk Island and trace your family history at the same time Images Page 14 Courtesy World of Norfolk. Page 15 Brochure for the soldiers’ memorial highway on the Great Ocean Road, Victoria, 1921. Courtesy National Archives of Australia. Bondi Beach, courtesy Waverley Library
airfares and transfers, seven nights accommodation, car hire, a special visit to the Public Research Centre, and much more. Wander through the world heritage listed precinct of Kingston and Arthur Vale, exploring buildings dating back to the 1830s in marvellous condition. There will be workshops and tours specifically for family historians as well as a walking tour of the fascinating cemetery. Prices for the package start from $1127 per person twin share from Brisbane. MORE www.australianhistory research.info
On March 6 each year, Norfolk Island’s residents celebrate Foundation Day, with historical re-enactments to mark the landing of Lieutenant Philip Gidley King in 1788 to form the first settlement. Why not join them in 2012 and have a fantastic holiday on a beautiful island that’s steeped in history! Australian-based researcher, Cathy Dunn, and genealogist Liz McCoy, who lives on Norfolk, have put together a Foundation Day holiday package. The weeklong experience includes return
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On the front line Next year marks the 70th anniversary of when Australia stood in the shadow of war. In 1942 victorious Japanese forces swept right up to Australian territory and the very lifeline of the Pacific supply route with the United States was directly threatened. To commemorate these historic events, Military History and Heritage Victoria is hosting In The Shadow Of War: Australia 1942, a conference to be held in Melbourne on April 21 and 22, 2012. Eminent speakers from Australia, Japan and the United States will discuss a number of themes affecting Australia in 1942: Allied and Japanese strategy, the Japanese plans for Australia, the air war including the home front, cooperation with the Americans and other allies, and political response to the threat, among others. Don’t miss the chance to hear so many expert speakers during this two-day event. MORE www.mhhv.org.au
During 1942, Bondi Beach’s famous sand was covered with barbed wire and iron stakes as it was thought to be a potential invasion point. Swimmers could still reach the shoreline to bathe by negotiating their way through the maze of fortifications. The locals nicknamed it the “rat run”.
NAA scholarships One of the big hurdles of postgraduate research will soon be overcome thanks to a new opportunity to access archives more easily. The National Archives of Australia has teamed up with the Australian Historical Association (AHA) to provide postgraduate scholars with much-needed archival research funds. Each year, four successful candidates will receive $500 worth of digital copies of records from the Archives’ collection. Assistance will also be provided for scholars who are struggling with the time and funds required for research-based travel. Scholarship recipients will be encouraged to share their archival research through new research articles. Applications for the first round open on October 1, 2011, with winners announced in November. MORE www.naa.gov.au/about-us/ research-grants
Inside History
Sep-Oct 2011
15
your family
Ask our experts Q
I’ve been researching for 20-odd years and still can’t find my great grandfather’s origins or parents. The information I have is that David Doran was supposedly born in 1842 in Geelong, Victoria. This information came from his marriage certificate, along with his parent’s names, Michael Doran and Mary (née Burke). I have never been able to find anything at all about David’s birth or baptism (if in Australia), or any sign of Michael and Mary arriving in Australia in time for him to be born here. The family was Roman Catholic but I was told many years ago that the Roman Catholic records were non-existent for Geelong. I have not been able to find any other children that fit the family either. I would dearly love to know if he actually was born in Australia and if so, what happened to his parents. Nothing on his marriage or death certificates, or his Probate indicate anything about his origins. I do know the family was Irish. I did find a marriage for a Michael Doran and Mary Burke in Castleisland,
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County Kerry in 1838 — coincidentally their marriage date of February 25 is the same as David and his wife Flora’s exactly 30 years later, and I wonder if that is a clue? I would dearly love to have my dad’s family history back further than his grandparents. Patsy McMillan Waikari, New Zealand
A
Shauna Hicks says My first thoughts were that perhaps there was a convict connection with Tasmania as many ex-convicts moved to Victoria when their sentences expired. However, a check of various name indexes online for the Archives Office of Tasmania didn’t return any likely matches with Michael Doran and Mary Burke. A search of BDM indexes for both Victoria and Tasmania for Doran and Burke and all possible spelling variations was without success. Searching for possible deaths for both Michael and Mary Doran without further clues could prove expensive as they are common names and numerous possibilities to work through, and there is no guarantee they died in Victoria.
Photography Edmond Archer
The elusive Doran family
I did notice that the Victorian BDMs index does include the Roman Catholic baptisms for St Mary’s Geelong 1842–1854, and a search revealed 36 baptisms to parents Michael and Mary, but nothing matching David Doran or similar. If he was baptised prior to 1842 he wouldn’t be in the index. I also searched the Genealogical Society of Victoria’s Genealogical Index of Names (GIN), which has over three million names, mostly relating to Victoria (a members-only database), and Victorian Police Gazettes but again without success. The only Michael Doran in the Public Record Office Victoria online index to wills was a bachelor who died intestate with no known family. You mention an ongoing family story that the family is Irish, but there is nothing to actually confirm that. David named his children Michael, John and Mary and this may have been after his parents — but maybe not. The Geelong Cemetery Trust records show that there were Dorans living in the Geelong area in the 1850s, but were they related to David and his parents? This brick wall is all about finding David Doran’s baptism (as it is before civil registration) with the only clues the names he gave on his marriage certificate. Or trying to find his parents Michael and Mary Doran née Burke. Searches of all the obvious places don’t reveal any information on this couple. One is left wondering if David was really who he said he was and unfortunately, that’s a question that can’t be answered. All I can suggest is that as new indexes and records are released to check them for the Doran family, and good luck. ✳ Shauna Hicks is director of Shauna Hicks History Enterprises and has more than 32 years experience in Australian, English, Scottish, Irish and Norwegian research. For more details, visit www.shaunahicks.com.au
Death certificates for soldiers
Q
I have a query that I would like help with. My family lost two sets of brothers in France in WWI. I have searched the Australian death records but can’t find any listings of their deaths. When a soldier dies in a war, where are the death certificates issued, if anywhere? All I have are their war records to go by. Thanks for your help. Vicky Kingdom, by email
“These certificates would… only be raised in response to a request for more formal, legally acceptable proof of death”
A
Neil Smith says It has never been the norm for the Australian or indeed British Army to issue a death certificate following the demise of a soldier on active service. I say the norm, because in the past the Central Army Records Office (see www.army.gov.au ) certainly did provide a form of Certificate of Death in some circumstances, but I stress that the certificates did not provide the sort of genealogical detail of interest to family historians. In fact, the rule was that these certificates would not be issued for such a purpose, rather they would only be raised in response to a request for more formal, legally acceptable proof of death to further matters related to estate finalisation such as insurance or superannuation. On occasions you may find the Army had provided a letter, which is not acceptable legally, to advise an interested person of the death of a serviceman or woman. Again, such is of little benefit to a researcher and nowadays, with the ready availability of internet resources on our fallen, would be quite unnecessary. ✳ Lieutenant Colonel Neil C Smith AM publishes on a range of Australian and British military history. Turn to page 31 for his article on Australians in the Boer War
Have you hit a research roadblock? Got a query about a historical record? Our experts are here to help. Email your queries to cass@insidehistory.com.au or write to us at the address on page 4
Inside History
Sep-Oct 2011 17
your history
Broadford’s broadsheets In this new column, we’ll be featuring local history and family history societies, showcasing the records they hold, and their projects on the go. First up, Broadford and District Historical Society in Victoria, where work is under way to preserve the original newspaper office What is the name of your society? Broadford and District Historical Society Inc.
When did it open its doors? The Society commenced on June 26, 1968.
Does the society have a website? www.broadfordhistorical.org.au
Where are you and what are your opening hours? Our address is 110 High St, Broadford, Victoria, about 90km north of Melbourne. We are open from 9am until 3.30pm Wednesdays (except between Christmas and New Year) and by appointment.
What areas of Australia does your society cover? Our society covers the Victorian
districts of Broadford, Strath Creek, Reedy Creek, Tyaak, Sunday Creek, Glenaroua, Flowerdale, Sugarloaf Creek, Clonbinane and Tallarook.
What is the cost to join? Full membership costs $15 per single and $20 for a family, and is due and payable at the AGM in August of each year. The cost of “subscription only” is $10. This covers the cost of the four quarterly newsletters we issue each year.
Tell us a bit more about your society. Broadford and District Historical Society includes the original newspaper office of the Broadford Courier and Reedy Creek Times. This was established in 1891 and ran continuously as a hand-type set printing office until it closed in 1978. The newspaper was a four-page, weekly broadsheet for all of this time. The original press,
Opposite Broadford residents, Russell Searle and John Brissett, inspect the original, c1840 Clymer Dixon printing press in anticipation of its move from Bendigo back to its first home in Broadford
believed to have been manufactured around 1840, was in constant use until 1960, when it was replaced with an improved model. The newer model has been found to be exceedingly rare in Australia, and the earlier model has only recently been discovered, off site. It is soon to be relocated into our museum when renovations to the building are complete.
What are the five most popular records that Broadford and District Historical Society hold? We have a lot of enquiries about our newspaper and government register collections. Our most popular records are the: 1 Index and transcriptions of the Courier newspaper 2 Broadford State School register 3 Broadford Shire rate records 4 Broadford Cemetery records 5 Courier newspaper collection
Do you have any major projects happening in the next 12 months? Each year the society has a major open day exhibition in Broadford, as part of the Mitchell Shire Australia Day celebrations. Special displays
Above, left The Broadford Shire Rates Book, 1914–15 Above, right The printing office in the Broadford Historical Precinct gets a long-awaited restoration
and demonstrations are on show, and members are in attendance to answer enquiries from the public. Details and photos from our 2011 Australia Day opening are on our website. Broadford’s celebrations each year start around 7.30am and run until about 2pm.
What record at your society is underutilised, but well worth a look? Our photograph collection — it’s quite extensive of the local area. People tend to forget about it, but it’s certainly worth a look.
What is your favourite website for family history research? The most useful online resources are the Public Record Office Victoria (see www.prov.vic.gov.au) and Trove (see www.trove.nla.gov.au).
Do you want to highlight the great work being done by your local society? Contact Inside History at cass@insidehistory.com.au
Inside History
Sept-Oct 2011
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Our specialities are:
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your family
To catch a thief…
in a Second art three-p series!
In the second instalment of a three-part series, family historian Dr Neil Hall highlights records that are often overlooked, but which helped him overcome research roadblocks. Here, he shows how he discovered details of a Third Fleet crime hidden in an archive box for 223 years
W
ILLIAM ALDRIDGE was a convict transported 1806 muster showed him as a landholder with 11 acres from England to New South Wales as part outside of Sydney. He gained his conditional pardon of the Third Fleet, and arrived on the Admiral in 1809 and his certificate of emancipation in 1811. Barrington in October 1791. He’d possibly been born Aldridge married 16-year-old Kesia Smith, born in Deptford, London, in 1770. in the colony to Irish convicts, “There are no original on May 30, 1814 at St Matthews He was tried on September 12, 1788 at Middlesex Sessions, documents in Australia Church, Windsor, north-west of London, and having been found Sydney. The 1814 muster showed and none has been cited he was a landholder of Windsor, guilty was gaoled immediately in Newgate Prison. Just over a in any book, website or “off stores” and self sufficient. The year later he was moved from muster showed the couple other source referring 1822 Newgate to the Justitia prison living on a partly purchased farm hulk on the River Thames at with residence and 18 acres. to his actual crime.” Woolwich, and was still there According to the muster data in early 1791. The convicts they had four cattle, 20 hogs and on the Justitia were put to work “when health and two horses, with wheat and maize in store. The 1828 weather permitted” in raising gravel from Barking census recorded them living at Richmond on 22 acres. or Woolwich Shoals for use in repairing the Thames Aldridge died in 1832 at North Richmond aged 62, Wall and for “other occasional works”. and was buried at St Peters, Richmond. The first record of Aldridge in Australia occurred in the muster taken from 1800-1802: his name was DOING TIME… IN THE ARCHIVES listed, but with no further information. His sevenWhile Aldridge’s life in the colony is traceable, year sentence expired in September 1795, and the identifying the crime for which he was transported
Inside History
Sep-Oct 2011
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Previous page Joseph Lycett, View of Windsor, upon the River Hawkesbury, New South Wales, 1824. Courtesy National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
has been problematic. There is very little information available on him that is held in Australia. The British convict transportation registers 1787-1867, available online through the State Library of Queensland (see www.slq.qld.gov.au), shows quite a few entries for William Aldridge, but none for the one transported on the Admiral Barrington. A search of The Proceedings of the Old Bailey London 1674 to 1913 (see www.oldbaileyonline. org) finds 461 Aldridges, but no William Aldridge who fits the dates. The list of convicts sent as part of the Third Fleet that arrived in Sydney in 1791 and available from the Convicts to Australia website (http://bit.ly/mRpXTr) has an entry for William Aldridge: “tried at Middlesex court and sentenced to seven years transportation”. Records held at the Mitchell Library in Sydney list his trial as being on September 12, 1788 at the Old Bailey. The website Convict Stockade (see http://bit.ly/naFgUQ) show a trial date exactly one year later at the Old Bailey. There are no original documents in Australia and none has been cited in any book, website or other source referring to his actual crime. So there is a name and a sentence, but everything else is contradictory: the date (September 12, but either 1788 or 1789) and two courts (either Middlesex Sessions or the Old Bailey), and no mention of why he was transported. This is made more complicated because there were no Old Bailey sessions on September 12, 1788 or 1789, and no William Aldridge listed in the Old Bailey online database. A subsequent visit to the The National Archives in Kew identified no additional records beyond their online material. The next logical place to visit was the London Metropolitan Archives, which I did in 2009.
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It was there that I found the breakthrough I had been hoping for. The archives has a hard-copy list of all dates of all courts in its reference collection that is not currently online. On the list was a court session for Middlesex court on September 12, 1788. All the records of the indictments heard that day were bound together with greased parchment and tied with string. They had to be brought from the basement storage area and had been placed in a modern-day cardboard box: the records were covered in thick black grime and had possibly never previously been opened. The record of trial number 220 stated that William Aldridge of Hackney stole “with force and arms” one linen sheet from Thomas Hooper. Aldridge’s crime had been a puzzle to his descendants for many years. Luckily, it’s now known because of this original record of trial held in the London Metropolitan Archives. ✳ While you can’t beat an actual visit to the archives to see what treasures it holds, you can access the London Metropolitan Archives (LMA) online catalogue. The LMA also offers a Family History Research Service for those who can’t get there in person. Prices are around $80 per hour. For more information, go to www.cityoflondon.gov.uk and enter search term “London Metropolitan Archives”. ✳ Neil Hall is the co-author of One Family History: 220 years in Australia (Irish Wattle, $50). He lives in London, UK, and Batlow, New South Wales.
NEXT ISSUE Discovering the early life of an elusive convict before transportation to Australia
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A lady ahead of her generation
Words Barbara Hall
For the very first time the writings of Elizabeth Macquarie, wife of New South Wales governor Lachlan Macquarie, are published in this exquisite new work In Her Own Words: The Writings Of Elizabeth Macquarie is a beautifully produced and illustrated work, with original source documents and modern photographs of places close to Mrs Macquarie’s life. The woman behind “the father of Australia”, Governor Lachlan Macquarie, Elizabeth was a woman of great passion and diverse abilities. In Her Own Words documents her life through numerous personal records; her diary, surviving letters, remembrances of her through the letters of friends and acquaintances, and official colonial records. Through these we gain intimate glimpses of who she was — her wilfulness and stubbornness, and health worries as she suffers through seven miscarriages. An advocate of women’s rights, Elizabeth challenged the male-dominated political structure, stood for better treatment of convicts and indigenous people, and instigated much of the landscape design of Sydney. She was vitally
interested in a large variety of spheres, including childrens’ welfare, orphans, gardening and agricultural practices, during this important period in the colony’s development. It’s interesting that the governor and his lady were actively involved in giving many areas names that had a connection to their home in Scotland, including Appin, Campbelltown, Ulva and Airds. And the book’s index is fascinating in itself, as it lists many convicts and settlers in the colony at the time, and offered me more insight into some of the people I am currently researching. In Her Own Words is a book to treasure and a pleasure to read. ✳ In Her Own Words: The Writings Of Elizabeth Macquarie (Exisle Publishing, A$60) is available from September. It’s also available as a limited edition with a leather cover and beautiful slip case, A$150
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Sep-Oct 2011 67
your family
One picture… …1000 memories This portrait is of my great grandparents, George and Amelia Hubbard, in my father’s line. George Hubbard was born February 24, 1855 on South Battery Street in Hobart, Tasmania. He was a boat builder in Hobart and later in Glebe, Sydney. He is the grandson of Thomas Hubbard, a lighterman who was transported in 1820 on the Shipley to Sydney and then on the Guildford to Van Diemen’s Land. Thomas married Elizabeth Read in Hobart on January 2, 1828. Elizabeth was transported to Van Diemen’s Land on the Persian and arrived in 1827. Amelia Hubbard, née Betts, was born in Hobart on April 12, 1853, the daughter of Francis Betts and Elizabeth Howell. Francis was transported in 1840 to Van Diemen’s Land on the Asia. Both Francis and Elizabeth died in 1864, leaving 12-year-old Amelia an orphan. My father’s mother died in 1911 when he was six, and George and Amelia (his grandparents) took him in and my father was still living with his grandparents in Glebe in 1936, when he was 31. This was during the Depression, so my father could have been supporting his grandparents, or vice versa. Although it seems ridiculous to say I met someone born in 1855, I did meet George when I was a little girl, because he lived until 1950, well into his 96th year. — Jan Koperberg, Winmalee, New South Wales
✳ Do you have a favourite family image you’d like to tell our readers about? We’d love to hear from you. Email a high-quality scan and the history behind the picture to cass@insidehistory.com.au and we’ll publish it here.
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a Preservation special: how to care for family heirlooms a Who’s buried in your backyard? We go searching for lost graves a Plus the best websites to help with your research, practical articles from family historians, book reviews, and lots more!
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