One Obituary, So Many Clues...

Obituaries (aka obits) are fabulous if you can find them. While browsing around on Trove (aka Troving) recently I came across this obit for Private Charles Spurgeon McCullough. This gent is one of my great grandma’s (Dorothy McCullough) brothers – so that makes him my great grand uncle. It’s not a long one in comparison to some – but you really have the be in awe of the detail that this obit includes. While this is a great read for anyone (family or not), for this post I have decided to extract each detail one-by-one to highlight just how valuable an obituary really can be. And while newspapers may not be 100% accurate, they can be used as a guide. So let’s start … we know his name – the article names him as C.S. McCullough – no it doesn’t give his actual name, but it doesn’t just list him as Private McCullough or Mr C. McCullough either. It has both initials, so that’s a bonus. and says that he was in the Australian army and in which battalion – the article lists him as a Private in the army “who left with the 4th Reinforcements for the 6th Battalion of the A.I.F.” we learn his position in the army – “Private C.S. McCullough” this was in World War 1 – the newspaper date was in 1915 the date of his death – the article lists his date of death as 13 July no year of death given but it is inferred that it is the same year as the newspaper (1915) he has an older brother as he is listed as “the second son” his parents are listed as Rev. R. and Mrs McCullough his father’s title is...

The Women Who Made Me, Me! International Womens Day...

Today, March the 8th, is International Women’s Day. It is a day to celebrate and honour women both past and present. For my contribution to International Women’s Day, I want to share with you some photos the women who have helped make me, me! Obviously throughout everyone’s life there are many, many people who influence us. For this post I’m am sticking to the ancestral lines. Concentrating on those whose genes I have inherited at least some of. The ones who taught me things when you were young, and who embedded their values and ideals into me, and no doubt some of whose trait I have picked up. HERE’S ME …   MY MUM …   MY 2 GRANDMA’S …   MY 4 GREAT GRANDMA’S … MY 8 GREAT GREAT GRANDMA’S …  Although I do have photos for 6 of my 8 great great grandma’s I have opted to simply list them, to save this becoming so ridiculously long. Kezia Howard (Cecelia) ‘Sis’ BEECKEN (1867-1939) m. Samuel Thomas PHILLIPS Mary Ellen LUCAS (c.1856-1944) m. Denis John COSGROVE Hedvik (Karolina) VINBLAD (1856-1934) m. Otto Edvard WINTER Margaret Florence HAYHURST (1855-1935) m. John DALEY Martha Rosa KELLY (1864-1901) m. William John HANNAFORD Eva RICHARDSON (1860-1925) m. Robert McCULLOUGH Phebe ROBBINS (1838-1932) m. William Beavis RANDELL Lydia Amelia BAYS m. Ebenezer SINKINSON In case you were wondering who was who in the top picture … Top row L-R: Phebe Robbins, Alona Phillips, Dorothy McCullough, Evelyn Randell, Martha Rosa Kelly, Evelyn Randell & Cec Hannaford’s wedding. Bottom row L-R: Valda Winter, Winifred Lena Cosgrove, Anthea Phillips (nee Hannaford), Valda Winter’s wedding, Irene Daley. Every one of these women (and their husbands too), played a part in making me who I am. Some were...

Obituaries Really ARE Genealogy Gold!...

I recently read  Kenneth Marks’ 30 Reasons Why Searching for Obituaries is Like Finding Gold post, and I have to agree. If you are lucky enough to find an obit for your reli, they usually contain a whole host of information. Just check out this one that is on my great great grandpa Robert McCullough. When I saw “accident” written on his death certificate you could feel that there was a story to it. So off to Trove I went, and I found his obituary in The Advertiser, on 13 October 1931. This 19 line obituary, though short in comparison to many, still contains a wealth of information: – It names him as the Rev. R. McCullough, so tells you he was in the ministry – It says he was found on the road alongside his bike, so he was out bike riding – We know when and where the accident occurred, 18 September 1931 at Western-Flat Road – We know he wasn’t is a good way, so was taken to the Mount Barker Hospital unconscious – Then it tells us that he came to Australia from Ireland almost 52 years ago, so emigration would have been around 1879 – And he’d been a minister that whole time – As it mentions his wife and children, we know he was married and had a family – It tells us that his wife died in 1923 – It says that he had two sons, one of whom died in WW1 – And it lists his daughters with their married surname, and place of residence Can you believe you can get all of that from 19 lines! That’s what I call “Genealogy Gold”. While Robert McCullough’s obituary was good, I’ve never...

Finding Hidden Gems!

The fact that my family has always been hoarders (well, my mum’s side of the family anyway), is a good thing, as it means there are so many documents, artifacts, photographs and other memorabilia that has been preserved, so I’ve started documenting these over on my other blog at Memorabilia House. But this post isn’t here to tell you all about that … well not exactly. It’s about the “hidden gems” that I have been finding as I’ve been documenting the items. And in this case I’m referring to what been finding in old bibles. Our family has a LOT of old bibles around the place. But since my reli’s were a religious bunch, as some were ministers, and others founded churches, and donated land for churches I guess it’s not really surprising. What I have found surprising, and absolutely astonishing, not to mention super exciting is finding out who these bibles actually belonged to, who they came from, and the story behind them, as well as other bits and pieces in the middle of them. 1. Sarah Hannaford (nee Stanger) This bible was given to Sarah from her daughter Mary Eliza. Dated 1869. It contains an inscription of who it was to and from, with a date, as well as names and birth dates of other Hannaford relatives that have been written in, and a piece of well-used blotting paper. For more about this bible => http://www.memorabiliahouse.com/2013/08/in-memory-of-susannah/ 2.  Eva McCullough (nee Richardson) This bible was given to Eva by her husband Rev. Robert McCullough on their wedding day, and I know this thanks to the inscription. Dated 1881 For more about this bible => http://www.memorabiliahouse.com/2013/07/my-own-eva/ 3. Phebe Randell (nee Robbins) this bible belonged to Phebe Randell (nee Robbins). It is...

Trove Tuesday: The Saddest News of All...

While ‘Troving’ for one of my family surnames recently, I came across an article that was just heart-wrenching, and have decided to share it with you as a Trove Tuesday post. It is an article which advises that Charles Spurgeon McCullough, the son of my son of great great grandparents the Rev. Robert McCullough and his wife Eva (nee Richardson), had been killed in action in World War 1. Having never been exposed to the atrocities of war other than reading about it in history books, and seeing it on TV, I don’t pretend to have any real concept of the feelings of how my family (or any family for that matter) felt when their son left for war. Let alone getting the news that he’d been killed in action. And how the family dealt with this afterwards? But you can get a small sense of it from the article. As the text is somewhat blotchy, here is the transcript of what it says: PRIVATE C. S. McCULLOUGH. Private C. S. McCullough, who left with the 4th Reinforcements for the 6th Battalion of the A.I.F., was killed in action on July 13. He was the second son of the Rev. R. and Mrs. McCullough, who recently left the pastorate of the Mitcham Baptist Church for Burnie, Tasmania. Private McCullough was just over 20 years of age, and was educated at Queen’s School (Hobart) and Parkside School, and after leaving his first employment was with Messrs. Cowell Bros. and James Marshall & Co. Prior to offering his services to the army he had been with the Union Steamship Company. He left four sisters, Mrs. Ralph Hannaford, Narracoorte; Mrs. P. Willmott, Sydney; Nurse McCullough, “Walwa” Hospital, Fullarton; and Miss E. McCullough, Burnie;...