Unlocking family stories - Trove part 2

When preparing notes for a session in the library on Using Trove for Family History Research I checked Trove for references to George Mackillop / George Mckillop who was living in Australia in the 1830s.

A search for George Mackillop in a General Search, the name in inverted commas, provided the following results:

• two books - was an article written by George about Australia published in 1839 (NLA) while the other was a book - Pastoral Pioneers of Port Phillip - containing information about him (this book has been digitised and can be downloaded from the State Library of Victoria.
• correspondence - a series of letters between George Mackillop and John Clark which have been digitised and are available from University of Tasmania
• correspondence to Colonial Office in London including mention of George Mackillop (RHSV)
• map - sketch of Mr Mackillop's route in Australia - copies at NLA and SLV - also available online
• articles in newspapers

Copy of map held at NLA

Because names can be spelt in different ways a search for George Mckillop in a General Search, the name in inverted commas, provided the following results:

• three books with reference to George Mackillop (NLA, SLV & Sale Library) - one has been digitised
• a photo of a memorial cairn in Omeo in recognition of George Mackillop, James McFarlane and George Prendergast (Pendergast) - Monument Australia 
• archived websites - some mentioning George Mackillop
• journal articles about other George Mckillops
• newspaper articles

A search in Pictures, photos, objects section of Trove for "Mackillops bridge" or "Mckillops Bridge" produced a number of images of the bridge.

Part of Frank Hurley Collection NLA

A search in the digitised newspapers provided detailed description of the Mackillop home which was advertised for sale in 1836 and in 1840 a detailed list of furniture for sale. Details are listed in another section of this blog.

The searches showed the variety of material available on Trove collected from many institutions and resources as well as the need to check different spelling and forms of names to locate material. They also demonstrated the need to repeat searches from time to time as new material is constantly being added.

John of Gaunt's children

John of Gaunt (1340-1399) had fourteen children.

In 1359 John's mistress, Marie de Saint Hilaire of Hainaut gave birth to a daughter.

• Blanche (1359-c1388) married Sir Thomas Morieux (1355-1387).  Sir Thomas Morieux, constable of the Tower of London died during the Castilian campaign. Blanche and Thomas had no children.

On 19 May 1359 John married his third cousin, Blanche (1345-1369), daughter of the 1st Duke of Lancaster. John and Blanche had seven children.

• Philippa (1360-1415) married King John I of Portugal (1357-1433)
• John (1362-1365)
• Elizabeth (1364-1426) married in 1380 John Hastings, 3rd Earl of Pembroke (1372-1389) [marriage annulled in 1383]; in 1386 John Holland 1st Duke of Exeter (1350-1400); Sir John Cornwall 1st Baron of Fanhope (c1364-1423)
• Edward (born and died 1365)
• John (1366-1367)
• Henry of Bolingbroke (1367-1413) married (c1381) Mary de Bohun (1369-1394); in 1403 Joanna of Navarre (1368-1437). Henry became Henry IV of England in 1399
• Isabel (born and died 1368)

In 1371 John married Constance of Castile daughter of King Peter of Castile. John and Constance had two children

• Catherine (1372-1418) married in 1388 King Henry III of Castile (1379-1406)
• John (1374-1375)

In 1396 John married Katherine Swynford (Katherine de Roet) (1350-1403). Katherine had been John's mistress for many years and they had four children.

• John Beaufort (1373-1409) 1st Earl of Somerset in 1397 married Margaret Holland (1385-1439)
• Henry Beaufort (1375-1447) He became Bishop of Winchester
• Thomas Beaufort (1377-1427) Duke of Exeter married Margaret Neville 
• Joan Beaufort (1379-1440) married in 1391 Robert Ferrers, 5th Baron Boteler and Wem (1373-1396); in 1396 Ralph Neville 1st Earl of Westmoreland (1364-1425)

Further posts will look at the careers of some of these children and their families who were influential in England and other parts of Europe for many years.