I’ve Got Nothing to Write About!

Let me guess … you had an idea that it’d be great to start a genealogy blog and write stories about your family history to make sure they get recorded. But you’re not doing a lot of research, and aren’t inspired, and now you’re finding that “I have nothing to write about” and it all seems too hard!

Am I right?

For those of you who are at this point of genealogy blogging (or even those who are yet to start), this one is for you. Here’s a bunch of suggestions to get you back blogging, without a whole lot of effort.

There’s  whole group of ‘day related’ theme posts (I’ll mention more of them later), but let me start with WORDLESS WEDNESDAY. Keep a post short and simple by starting with an old photo. Pop it on your blog, and caption it you choose, but you don’t need a whole blog post about it. That’s the whole idea of Wordless Wednesday. Short and sweet. And you’re recording a piece of history.

START SMALL
If you’re wanting to write about your family or ancestors, don’t aim to write entire life stories of them (well not in one post anyway). Break it down into stories. A place they used to visit, a job they did, pets they owned, when they bought a new car, a voyage they took, an heirloom of theirs you have – and what the story behind it is … and so on. So many ideas. So many great stories waiting to be told.

GENEAMEMES
You all know what a meme is?  Well a geneameme is a genealogy themed one, and there’s been a number that have done the rounds over the years, but anyone can pick up and do any anytime they wish! The meme consists of a set of questions, which you then answer, and pop it all on your blog. Again, another simple way to share some history, and have a great post. While you can simply Google “geneameme” and you’ll come up with 1000s, here are links to those on Jill Ball’s Geniaus blog, and those on my own blog as well.

SHARE YOUR PROGRESS AND THOUGHTS
Why not write the details about an ancestor you’re looking for, and share the process as you go? Or if you’re just getting started with a new genealogy program (online or offline), share what you like (or don’t like) about it. Bought a new book to help with your research? Why not write a little review about it … or a website you’ve found awesome. Or a new trick on how to do something, which brings up different results. What about a visit to a library or archive? All of these would make great posts.

INTERVIEWS
Do you have older family members still around? Parents, grandparents, aunts or uncles? Why not interview them and ask them questions about the past – either generally or on a particular topic. I was fortunate that someone interviewed my grandparents about their time in WW2. My grandpa went off to war in Egypt and elsewhere, while my grandma stayed home and helped run the farm with the other family members. But so many details came out of that, that I never knew and would never find in a history book. Of course with interviews you will need to ask their permission to record it (and publish it), if that’s what you wish to do.

ON THIS DAY
I’ve used “on this day” posts from time to time. And they add something a little different too. Sometimes I use a specific day, the date my grandparents were married, and write about their wedding. Or the date a ship arrived in Australia, with details of my immigrating ancestors, and a little about the voyage. Or the date someone died, and a little about them. Another tack for “on this day” posts is to write about something that happened “on this day in history”, and I find this site great for that, and they have LOTS of Australian history events as well. Or “Days of the Year” is an great one too … I keep meaning to share my grandma’s recipes on “Recipe Day”.

DAILY PROMPTS ON GENEABLOGGERS TRIBE
If you’re stuck for prompts, the Geneabloggers TRIBE site is THE place to look.

They have Daily Prompts such as those below, but be sure to go to their site for mode details on each of these:

Sunday Prompts: Black Sheep Sunday, Census Sunday, Church Record Sunday, Sentimental Sunday, Sunday’s Obituary
Monday Prompts: Amanuensis Monday, Madness Monday, Mappy Monday, Maritime Monday,
Matrilineal Monday, Military Monday, Motivation Monday, Mystery Monday
Tuesday Prompts: Talented Tuesday, Tombstone Tuesday, Travel Tuesday, Tuesday’s Tip
Wednesday Prompts: Wedding Wednesday, Wednesday’s Child, Wisdom Wednesday, Wishful Wednesday, Wordless Wednesday, Workday Wednesday
Thursday Prompts: Thankful Thursday, Those Places Thursday, Thrifty Thursday, Thriller Thursday, Treasure Chest Thursday
Friday Prompts: Family Friends Friday, Family Recipe Friday, Follow Friday, Friend of Friends Friday, Friday’s Faces from the Past, Friday Funny, Funeral Card Friday
Saturday Prompts: Shopping Saturday, Sibling Saturday, Society Saturday, Sorting Saturday, Sports Center Saturday, Surname Saturday, Sympathy Saturday

NOTE: One omission that I would like to add in to the above Daily Prompt, is “TROVE TUESDAY”. This is a popular one among Australian geneabloggers, as we simply go to Trove (the Australian historical newspapers site), find a cool article, (it can be about your family, or just something else in history) … and you share it on our blog.

CALENDAR OF IDEAS ON GENEABLOGGERS TRIBE
The Calendar of Ideas is rather like the “on this day” link above, in that it is a recording of things that happened ‘on this day in history’, but this one is more US-centric which is fair enough, since that’s where it’s created.

BLOG CHALLENGE
If you’re looking for some ‘regularity’ to your posts you might like to take up a blog challenge. There are numerous “52 Week” challenges, so choose one that looks good to you, and just one post a week. You can find a post to a bunch of these and the “Family History Through the Alphabet” blog challenge too here.

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So now you’ll never be stuck for ideas again. And in fact I reckon you’ll have SO MANY ideas that you’ll need more time to blog! Well that’s what I find anyway.

Happy geneablogging!

Get Ready for the Congress 2018 Experience

Ok, so who’s ready for Congress 2018?

– You’ve registered as a delegate
– booked your accommodation
– sorted our your travel to get there
– got your tree all up-to-date, and on appropriate devices (just in case you get time to research, or even better, find a ‘cousin’ there)
– you’ve got (and packed) your geniecards (I know you won’t forget those)
– and now you are eagerly counting down the days … (there’s 118 days for those who were wondering)

If you’ve done all of that, awesome! I love that you’re so organised, and so excited about it, but seriously you don’t need to read on, as this is really for those who haven’t booked and are still ‘thinking about it’.

Let me tell you that Congress is not “just an event”. Personally I would call it more of an experience. I have been to RootsTech in the US (the world’s biggest genie event), and that for sure is experience, not that Congress is on the same scale, but still.

There’s far more to it than just going to some talks. There’s the whole social aspect of it, either as organised ones or spontaneous catchups with a few people. Expect to meet a heap of new people, all who whole LOVE genealogy as much as you do. So trust me you’ll make a heap of new friends. And if you’ve been doing genealogy a while, you’ll catch up with others you’ve met before, or maybe just on social media. You can also check out what’s for sale from the bunch of vendors who will be there, and of course you’ll be learning from many of the world’s best speakers.

You will be on a high the whole time, and you’ll come away so enthused … totally ready and raring to get stuck into your research again.

Sounds good? It is. And what if I told you that you get FOUR WHOLE DAYS of it?

Don’t just take my word for it.

Check out the speakers here, here and here (yes, there are a LOT of speakers! So many wonderful speakers to learn from.)

And check out the program here. But just as a taster, there are talks on awesome apps that can use to help you with your search, 17th Century English sources. There also talks on German, Irish, Aboriginal, Australian research, Military, Freemasonry, DNA, ethics, digitising, organisation, blogging, writing, education records, archives and assisted emigration are also covered … and SO, MUCH. MORE!

And note the details: Friday 9-Monday 12 March 2018, International Convention Centre, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Any once you’ve done that I’m sure you’ll be booking, so I look forward to seeing you in March next year!

www.congress2018.org.au

To keep up with Congress news you can check out their website and follow them on social media …
– the official Congress Facebook page
– the Genimates at #Congress_2018 Facebook group
– the 15th Australasian Congress on Genealogy and Heraldry event on Facebook
– and on Twitter @Congress_2018

And one last note for the social media peeps here … the official hashtag for Congress is #Congress_2018.


Remembrance Day – Gumeracha’s Fallen Heroes

“On the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month
we will remember them”

After more than four years of continuous war, at 11am on 11 November 1918 the guns of the Western Front fell silent. From that moment the “11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month” has attained a special significance, and has became forever associated with the remembrance of those who had died in World War 1 and subsequent wars as well.

Remembrance Day (sometimes also referred to as Poppy Day) is a day that has been observed throughout the Commonwealth (Australia included) since the end of the First World War, to remember the members of the armed forces who have died in the line of duty.

There wouldn’t be any town in Australia that wasn’t affected by the Great War on one way or another. So many young men, more of often than not eagerly signed up to do their duty. And sadly not all came home.

Gumeracha hospital foundation stone was laid on the 25th October 1921

Gumeracha is a tiny town in the Adelaide Hills region of South Australia. A typical country town, with a population of few hundred (back then), and one where everyone knows everyone. And it was a town that saw its share of tragedy and despair with a number of men who went to fight for their country, and never returned.

Throughout Australia, in the cities and the country towns, the brave men and women were honoured on thousands of memorials and honour boards that were created, so as to “never forget those brave souls”.

Gumeracha certainly did just that. They have honour boards for both WW1 and WW2, and even a small one for the Korean War. But their ultimate memorial is the Gumeracha District Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital.

In the “Gumeracha District Soldiers Memorial Hospital Diamond Jubilee 1922-1982” book it quotes the following …

“Following the cessation of fighting in World War I the local community held a public meeting in the Gumeracha Town Hall to discuss the formation of a war memorial to commemorate the men who had given their lives in conflict … The meeting unanimously agreed that a memorial pavillion would be built and a Committee was formed to plan fund raising efforts for the building. Dr Rex Matters was through Gumeracha about this time as he spoke with both Mr W.J. Hannaford and Mr J.H. Hynes concerning the advantages to be gained if a larger hospital was built in Gumeracha. The two gentlemen agreed that this would have far greater benefits for the community than the planned pavillion. The site selected would bring the building into prominence and give the ailing persons recuperating at the hospital one of the most glorious views of the surrounding area. The hospital was to be built on top of the hill overlooking the town. Mr J.B. Randell, a local grazier and orchardist, was approached and asked if he would sell the piece of land on the top of the hill so that a hospital may be built thereon. To this he agreed, and £100 was paid for the site.”

Gumeracha District Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital – 1922

Gumeracha District Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital – 2015

The hospital was officially opened on 22 July 1922, and is still running to this day. When you enter the hospital one of the first things you see is the WWI Honour Roll, and alongside that is one for the fallen heroes from World War II and the Korean War.

Gumeracha WWI Honour Roll

Gumeracha WWI Honour Roll
(click for a larger image)

Our Fallen Heroes – WW1
Lieut. T.M. Pflaum
Corp. W.H. Green
Pte. C.C. Ahrens
Pte. L.G. Bennett
Pte. R. Blain
Pte. J. Bronha
Pte. W. Burton
Pte. T.F. Constable
Pte. W.J. Coombe
Pte. G.M. Crook
Pte. B.C. Crouch
Pte. V.P. Crowhurst
Pte. L.W. Fitzsimons
Pte. T.J. Hicks
Pte. W.J. Hodgson
Pte. E. Jeffery
Pte. M. McGough
Pte. J.A. Menz
Pte. R.R. Palmer
Pte. T.G.W. Palmer
Pte. R.H. Pflaum
Pte. V.L. Robinson
Pte. R. Turner
Pte. W.R. Wood

Gumeracha WWII Honour Roll
(click for a larger image)

Our Fallen Heroes – WW2
Navy
Colbey, R.S.

Army
Bleeze, C.C.
Bowen, P.H.
Cook, R.J.
Dempsey, N.L.
Dunn, A.
Gower, J.G.
Hardwicke, F.W.
Hannaford, R.
Kerber, A.C.
Kain, L.
Loechel, A.E.
Mewett, T.M.
Stott, L.G.
Stocker, H.R.
Schlein, D.A.

Air Force
Cornish, H.N.
Hannaford, H.R.
Hanna, C.L.
James, G.S.
Quinn, E.
Rollins, J.R.
Thiele, M.A.

Our Fallen Heroes – Korea
Sq/Ldr McGlinchey, L.T.

So while we take a moment in our busy lives to remember those who served, and the sacrifice they made for us and our country, we also think of those in the small town communities who made sacrifices to be able to honour their friends and family who never returned.

Gumeracha is a community town. The hospital was paid by the generosity of those in the community combined with the extraordinary efforts of the fund raising committee. So the Gum hospital was largely built by those in community, for the community – and stands as an incredible memorial to those who never returned.

“Lest We Forget”

 


History and Wine Part 2: 19 Crimes

Following on from my earlier post about convict wine, now we’re on to Part 2. And we have more history, more wine, and more convicts with “19 Crimes“.

This wine is what got me started me on the whole “convict wine” thing. And you know what … it was actually a Canadian friend who introduced me to it. Thankyou Ellen. I’ll admit I’m not a wine fanatic, but I am a history and family history buff … so anything with a convict on it is going to get my attention. So I’ve researching this wine to suss out the stories behind it all.

So it’s made in my home state of South Australia as a brand for Treasury Wine Estates, and 19 Crimes is sold locally in Australia, and overseas as well. And it was first made in 2012, so how did I not know about this until now?

So what’s so cool about 19 Crimes wine? 

The Corks = The Crimes
Did you know that there were 19 reasons for transportation? No, nor did I. And each of these reasons is written on a cork. So if you’re a collector like me you wan to get the whole set. But it can be a challenge as they are added randomly you never know what you’ll get. So if you buy 2 bottles of the same wine you may get different corks, or you may get the same … you’ll never know until you open it. As a collector I’ve found it fun collecting the whole set, although I did have to bend the rules a little, since the Australian version of the wine doesn’t come with corks, but rather screwtops … so I headed to ebay, and little-by-little got the whole 19.

As a historian, it’s interesting to see this list which was proclaimed on 1st May, 1787.

The following is the list of crimes that was punishable by transportation to Australia

19 Crimes proclamation

a copy of the official proclamation, dated 1 May 1787

1. All theft above the value of one shilling
2. Theft under the value one shilling
3. Receiving stolen goods, jewels or plate
4. Stealing lead, iron or copper
5. Stealing ore from black lead mines**
6. Stealing from furnished lodgings
7. Setting fire to underwood
8. Stealing letters
9. Assault with intent to rob
10. Stealing fish from a pond or river
11. Stealing roots, trees or plants
12. Bigamy
13. Assaulting, cutting or burning clothes
14. Counterfeiting the copper coin
15. Clandestine marriage
16. Stealing a shroud from a grave
17. Watermen carrying too many passengers on the Thames, if any drowned
18. Incorrigible rogues who broke out of prison and persons reprieved from capital punishment
19. Embeuling naval stores

**Note: the 19 Crimes version of Number 5 says Impersonating an Egyptian. I’m not sure where they got that from, but it’s an odd one.

19 Crimes corks

my full set of 19 Crimes corks

19 Crimes wine

the full range of 19 Crimes wine

The Labels = The Criminals
Secondly the labels. There’s currently 3 convict pictures on the Australian version of the 19 Crimes wine, with 7 different ones for the overseas market (6 with convict pictures on them). However I have just had notification from the manufacturers that they are currently in the process of changing the Australian bottles to match the US ones – and will be releasing them over the course of the next year.

Treasury Wine Estates writes ..

“The men featured on our wine labels are not those of fiction. They were flesh and blood. Criminals, artists and scholars. In history, they share a bond – receiving “punishment by transportation” for violation of one of 19 crimes and becoming the first settlers of a new nation.”

So the convicts that appear on the overseas bottles (and soon to be released updated Australian bottles) of 19 Crimes are:

John Boyle O’Reilly (Red Blend)
As a youth in Ireland, John Boyle O’Reilly was a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, or Fenians, for which he was transported to Western Australia. After escaping to the United States, he became a prominent spokesperson for the Irish community and culture, through his editorship of the Boston newspaper The Pilot, his prolific writing, and his lecture tours.

Michael Harrington (Cabernet Sauvignon)
Convicted for his part in the well documented escape (the Catalpa Rescue) of the Militant Fenian band of convicts from Fremantle Prison, Western Australia. There’s a great article about this on the Smithsonian magazine site.

Jane Castings (Hard Chard)
Married with 4 young children, and employed as a housemaid, in 1846 Jane was sentenced to 7 years transportation for “receiving cheese and bacon knowing the same to have been stolen”.

James Wilson (The Banished)
Born James McNally in Newry, County Down, Ireland in 1836, he joined the British Army at the age of 17 (enlisting under a false name), before returning to Ireland where he became a Fenian in 1864. On 10 February 1866, he was arrested by the police who discovered him hiding in a safe house in Dublin. Wilson, along with other military Fenians were tried, found guilty of desertion and mutinous conduct, and sentenced to death. However, this sentence was later commuted to penal servitude for life, and they were transported to Western Australia. In October 1867, Wilson and sixty one other Fenians began the long sea voyage on board the Hougoumont to Australia.

Cornelius Dwyer Kane (The Uprising)
Cornelius Dwyer Kane (aka Keane) (1839-1891) had been a law clerk and cener from Skibbereen, County Cork, Ireland.  Transported abroad the Hougoumont he was conditially pardoned in 1871, but was forbidden from returning to Ireland, So he never reunited with his wife and children there. He did however, settle in Queensland and became a civil servant.

James Kiely (Shiraz)
James also played a part in the “Catalpa  Rescue”, which obviously didn’t go to plan. He was convicted, sent to Western Australia “for life” imprisonment, however he was granted a pardon by the King in 1905. There’s a great article on Trove about this here.

19 Crimes Australian bottles

t the three 19 Crimes Australian bottles currently available

I don’t have official confirmation from Treasury Wine Estates of the names of the three convicts on the current Australian bottles. But going by the pictures I would say that Henry Singleton (alias Richard Pinches) is one of them (the one on the right in the above photo). He was transported per the ‘Lady Kennaway’. You can read more about him here.

So next time you’re out at your local bottle shop and you see 19 Crimes wine on the shelf, it’s more than just a great look and brand name, there really is a story behind each convict on the label.