daleleelife101.blog

Once upon a time there was a fair-haired young lass who yearned to explore the mysteries of family history and whose adventures took her to times of yore and whereabouts distant.

“Dead or alive, interesting people are interesting people.” ― Noel Riley Fitch

Let me clarify there is no doubt as to the G.O.’s parentage nor mine, and notwithstanding idle conjecture we’re not aware of any family history discrepancies so we don’t anticipate any tangible surprises. We’re [at times all too] clearly the offspring of our respective mothers and fathers, and they theirs’. Indeed, several generations of the main branches of our family trees have been established by professional genealogists and family historians -myself included in the latter- back to and preceding their arrival in Australia throughout the 1800’s.

In 1979 Sydney William Barwick published The Descendants of James and Mary Barwick which includes my paternal Newling and Bell family history along with Berman, Vine, Wood and Ashford such was the interconnectedness of these families who migrated from England in the 1800’s to the Upper Dartbrook district eight miles or so west of Scone, NSW. Informally referred to as The Red Book, updates continue to be compiled and circulated by Margaret Ashford-MacDougall and Lea Harris, together with a twice-yearly Barwick Banter newsletter and descendants’ picnic, and Facebook group The descendants of James and Mary Barwick.

In 1990 Nola Mackey published The Descendants of Robin and Mercy Bell which includes Cox, Poole, Cheesman, Wood, Ashford, Barwick, Saunders and Brecht families of which I’m part.

A couple of decades ago, my family were fortunate to have a cousin from Dad’s mother’s branch share with us the results of her research about our Button forebears who migrated from Sussex, England in 1858.

Before family history really went online, at not inconsiderable cost I conducted family history research via ordering hardcopy birth, death and marriage certificates; amassing a collection for Mum’s Steward-Voss-Davy-Danes family… in lieu of much acquaintance with family members or their histories.

The G.O.’s paternal Welsh side [surname not nationality] similarly has been documented in published local and family histories: Down Vanished Years, Jennifer Hume MacDougall; Valley of the Crooked River, Norma Townsend; Telling the Tale of Talarm, Carrolline Rhodes; and others unpublished.

We’re honoured to have been handed down a book containing the G.O.’s maternal grandmother’s handwritten particulars of his Mackaway-Miller lineage.

A few years back I discovered notable convict heritage midst the G.O.’s paternal grandmother’s Graham-Lock-Hodgetts line, later finding it chronicled in The Brave Old Pioneers – A History of the Hodgetts Family in Australia, Richard John Hodgetts and by Nola Mackey; mentioned in Tom Kenneally’s The Commonwealth of Thieves; and about which I’ve written a couple of blog posts.

An inclination to write more blog posts about family history sparked again with Ancestry DNA tests the G.O. and I did last year. I don’t tend to go on about it [too much] as genealogy isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and sometimes makes for the kind of conversation where people look at their non-existent watches and declare -oh I must go I need to…- in a manner designed to expedite escape.

Fueled in part by an affection for TV series such as Who Do You Think You Are, Every Family Has a Secret, DNA Family Secrets and Nazis, Treasures And The Quest For Celts a program which also discusses identity, race and DNA; we’ve [well, mainly me tbh] always wanted to know more about our more distant ancestors, and tossed around the idea of what Ancestry DNA tests might reveal for us until it crystalised into action -as so often happens- when a friend shared the results of her DNA ancestry via social media.

Having paid subscription fees enabling access to Ancestry family history records as part of the Ancestry DNA package, while we waited -weeks and weeks and weeks- for our results, I began assembling bygone branches of our family trees by entering into Ancestry’s database a few details of what we already knew, followed by utilising a quite addicting process of mouse clicks on algorithm generated Potential Fathers and Mothers, taking me through multiplicities of familial branches beyond 1700-1600-1500’s and known England, Scotland and Germany origins, offering up mindboggling amount of data; more names-dates-places-relationships than is possible to cogently process but not enough subjective detail for my liking about how they lived, and some remarkable discoveries.

I began making blog post notes last August but attempts to synopsise minutiae from our family trees invariably derail because it’s almost impossible to accomplish without succumbing to the impulse to go further down time-sucking genealogical rabbit holes exploring, verifying more notable stuff, setting aside the fanciful, and perusing information fascinating but not directly relevant… like this, When Scotland Was Jewish.

Forewarning… I’d long-time promised myself a [not inexpensive] full Ancestry subscription… when I had the time to devote to it… ‘cos knowing myself all too well I recognised the risk it would take over my life. And from time-to-time it does. If what you read inspires you to indulge in an Ancestry DNA test or exploration of family history, and it happens to you too, then I’m sorry not sorry.*

Although many years have passed the lass now a silvery-haired lady continues her quest, journeying further into the past searching for she doesn’t know what only that she hasn’t found it yet. However, along the way encounters a good deal which is noteworthy. There is more to explore, and more to tell.

“You are the fairy tale told by your ancestors.” ― Toba Beta, My Ancestor Was an Ancient Astronaut

*Disclaimer: daleleelife101.blog is a personal blog. Where I share products, books, resources, links or information I’m doing so subjectively, rather than as endorsement, and I receive no cash or kind benefits from doing so. Any material contained in this blog has been prepared without taking into account the reader’s objectives, situation or needs but with the best of intentions to entertain. Before acting on any material in this blog I recommend the reader consider whether it is appropriate for the reader’s particular circumstances. I do not accept liability for any errors, omissions or inclusions in the contents.