Letter N challenge

Today is ANZAC Day here in Australia and New Zealand so I thought I could combine three things in one post.

Wreaths in Hall of ValourThe letter N is for

New Course

I have enrolled as a student in a new course HAA007 (part of the Diploma of Family History) at the University of Tasmania titled “Convict Ancestors” run by Hamish Maxwell-Stewart and his team. I have previously been involved with “Founders and Survivors” also organized with Hamish and a different team. They were looking at descendants of convicts and how their improvements in health evolved over time eg height , weight of sons, grandsons  etc

So this leads to the second part of this post which is looking at the descendants of my convicts who may have served in WWI. I will need to carefully look at my database and check them out – so far I know of three in the COLGRAVE side of the tree.

Finally to the third thing in this post is a link I found on another facebook group which is about a special blog post for Military Monday and relating to ANZAC Day. For those searching for information on their soldiers in WWI, check out the great links in that blog post.

So now let’s start the true part of the post.  My convicts and their descendants who served in WWI:

Francis COL(E)GRAVE:

Great grandson – Private Roy Graham COLGRAVE who I have researched carefully and already written a post about his life in WWI. His records are in the National Archives of Australia SERN 5996 – 56 pages

Grandson –  William COLGRAVE – SERN 834 – 66 pages

Grandson –  Walter COLGRAVE – SERN Depot – 20 pages

Great grandson –  Walter William COLGRAVE – SERN T9050 – 15 pages

Great grandson –  Tasman Allan COLGRAVE – SERN 1060 – 33 pages

Great grandson – Angus Colin COLGRAVE – no digitised record yet

William TEDMAN

Grandson – Edward James TEDMAN – SERN 6096 – 37 pages

John ENGLAND

Grandson? – Edward ENGLAND – is this Vivian Edward ENGLAND? – SERN 2177 – 16 pages

I haven’t researched the BOYD side of the tree enough to know the grandsons and great grandsons who might be mentioned in the Discovering ANZACs website.

Readers: Please leave a comment about my post or something beginning with N that relates to your family history or your research.

 letter N

Letter D challenge

1558 Ainscough Origins

Boobelle via Compfight

Direct Line or Descendants

When you began your family history research, what did you start with? Did you begin with yourself and go back one generation at a time following your direct line only? Or did you also look at the descendants of those direct lines?

I know when I began I started just with names, dates and places and going back as far as I could – in fact I got back to 1604 with one line in Bedfordshire, England. I made connections with other researchers by using the Rootsweb emailing lists and also contacting others mentioned in the IGI (International Genealogical Index) and the IGRD (International Genealogical Research Directory). I exchanged information through RAOGK (Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness) where I would do some research in Tasmania for a person in another county of England and they would do research for me in their county.

But nowadays technology has really allowed me to do a lot more research with original records online. Less having to visit an actual archives, at least for the basics of BDM records. But it is fantastic to see so many Historical Societies having a presence online. This now allows me to connect with locals in the areas where my ancestors lived. My family history blog has also created connections with family members I knew nothing about.

By researching the descendants I have found out more about their life as a family and the community they lived in. Trove and other newspaper reports have put flesh on the bones of my family rather than just a list of names, dates and places.

Surnames in my direct line include:

  • WYATT – unknown where born
  • ENGLAND – Rotherham, York, ENG
  • SMITH – Recherche Bay, Tasmania AUS but originally Samoan and given surname Smith
  • DAVEY – Devon, ENG – free settler and down to 7 possible people
  • TEDMAN – London, ENG – waterman
  • CHANDLER – London, ENG – gardeners in Tasmania and at Government House in the 1860’s
  • COLGRAVE –  Thurleigh, Bedfordshire, ENG – back to 1604
  • SOMMERS – Portland, Tasmania, AUS
  • JACKSON – Donegal, Ireland
  • DIXON – London, ENG
  • BOYD – Maker, Cornwall, ENG
  • WATKINS – Hull, Yorkshire, ENG
  • HEARN – Edgeware, London, ENG
  • BRYANT – Rotherhithe, London, ENG
  • BULL – London, ENG
  • SWAIN – Maidstone, Kent, ENG

Readers: Please leave a comment about my post or something beginning with D that relates to your family history or your research.

letter D