#52Ancestors - Week 5 - Census

I have used the English and Scottish census data available from 1841 until 1911 to locate information about some of family members who didn't come to Australia until the mid to late nineteenth century, or remained in England. However, as my twelve convicts arrived in Australia prior to 1806, it is the convict musters that I have used to trace the movements of family members during early colonial settlement.

Being initially a convict settlement, the British government kept records of the convicts transported to the colonies. Ancestry has a collection of records entitled, New South Wales and Tasmania, Australia Convict Musters 1806 - 1849. The musters in the collection were conducted in 1806, 1811, 1822, 1823 - 1825, 1837 for NSW  and 1808-1849 for Tasmania. The information in the muster records varies but can provide information about the convict or former convict, their family, present occupation and where they are living at the time of the muster. The musters are only one of a series of records available for researching convicts in Ancestry.

Click on image for larger view

The above image tells us that Simeon Lord arrived on the ship, Boddington, in 1793 and that in 1825 he was a merchant in Sydney. His wife is listed as Mrs Lord though she had also been a convict. The names of eight children are also listed. Two of the daughters by this time were married and their husband's names are recorded.

Click on image for larger view

The 1806 muster concentrated on the land owned by convicts or former convicts and how the land was being farmed, including livestock owned. A section on the second page indicated numbers of family and workers associated with the person.

Click on image for larger view

As the colonies grew, regular data about the development of the colonies, especially, industries was collected but information about individuals was not recorded. Regular statistical information has been kept and made available via the Australian Bureau of Statistics since Federation. Recent census forms have provided those filling in the forms to indicate that they approve their individual information being made available in the future - one hundred years from the census date. Fortunately, in the meantime, family history researchers have access to directories and electoral rolls to assisit in filling in the gaps when researching family stories.

Early Australian census records - SLV guide

S S Somersetshire

Looking for a few clues about the SS Somersetshire, the screw steamship that brought George Hutton to Australia in 1869 I decided to have a look in Google and found a 'goldmine'.

Christchurch City Libraries in New Zealand have digitised the log book kept by one of the passengers - W C Walker. There is only a brief reference to George - Mr Hutton an inoffensive young fellow - but there is a wealth of information in Walkers's description of the voyage.

Log on board the S S Somersetshire from Plymouth to Melbourne

The second reference was a link to The Somersetshire News: a ship newspaper issued on board the S S Somersertshire on her voyage from Plymouth to Melbourne.

One of the passengers on board the ship was Dugald McDougall (of Sands and McDougall) who collected the weekly copies of the weekly newsletter read to passengers and had them printed in one publication when they arrived in Melbourne. Copies were then made available for any passengers who wanted a momento of the journey. The State Library of Victoria has a copy which has been digitised and made available online.

Somersetshire News: a ship newspaper

The National Library of Australia also has a digitised copy of another Somersetshire publication - The Somersetshire Sea Pie - April to July 1870.

I did find a web page specifically on the Somersetshire. Not only does it have a picture of the ship but it also includes information about when the ship was built, details of the ship plus a timeline of voyages including significant incidents that took place on voyages.

Somersetshire

A search in Trove provides an article published in the Australasian on the arrival of the Somersetshire in Melbourne.

ARRIVAL OF THE S.S. SOMERSETSHIRE

The magnificent screw steam clipper Somersetshire, of Messrs Money Wigram and Sons'  fleet, entered Port Phillip Heads early on Monday morning from London and arrived in the bay in the course of the forenoon. The present voyage of this fine ship is the most rapid and successful which she has ever yet accomplished, and it is highly gratifying that the prestige which she has acquired on her last run home from this port has been amply sustained by her present achievement. Notwithstanding the difficulties she had to contend with at the outset of her career, there were not wanting those who had faith in the good ship, and who fearlessly asserted that she would yet distinguish herself, and make for herself a name second to no vessel of her class trading to these colonies, and their confidence would appear to be by no means misplaced. But for the Royal Mail steamer putting in the appearance she did on Sunday, the Somersetshire, it may be stated, would have placed us in possession of at least a fortnight's later English papers. On her present trip she has brought out about fifty saloon passengers and 140 in the second and third cabins, and the opinion expressed by them relative to the ship and her commander, Captain Atwood, and his officers, was almost enthusiastically favourable. Previous to leaving the vessel, a very flattering address was presented by them to Captain Atwood. The Somersetshire left Plymouth at midnight of July 1, and had S. E. winds for two days after sailing. With but slight exception, variable westerly winds prevailed to the equator, which was crossed only July 19, and some steady running was made to the Cape of Good Hope, the meridian of which was passed on 4th August. From the Cape of Good Hope to Cape Otway, which was made on the 29th ult., the ship bowled along beautifully, and the distance from the Leuwin was accomplished in four days, the greatest day's work, as shown by the log, being 322 knots. Alter the bustle incidental to arrival is got over, the Somersetshire will be thrown open for public Inspection, and there is little doubt but that opportunity will be taken, as heretofore, by hundreds to inspect this splendid ship.

Australasian Saturday 4 September 1869 page 15

I also found another article about Herr Bandmann, an actor, who was a passenger on the Somersetshire plus an article mentioning some of the other passengers.

MELBOURNE.

 (FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT.)

Monday, August 30.

Herr Bandmann the great German actor, came out by the Somersetshire to-day. He was not received as great stars should be. The sudden arrival of the mail kept people so much occupied during the forenoon, that the Somersetshire was at the Heads and well up in the Bay before anybody was aware of it. Those who had seen his portraits, however, could not mistake him as he landed on the pier, and if I am any judge of faces and physique, I should say Mr Harwood has not made a bad selection.

Amongst the arrivals to-day, in the bay, was the steamship Somersetshire. This fine ship proves herself a formidable competitor to the Great Britain, in the swiftness of her passages, as on this trip from England she has come out in 58 days which is the quickest passage she has yet accomplished. Among her passengers are Mr Smythe of the Melbourne Press; Mr W.

C. Smith, of Ballarat: Colonel Thompson, of New Zealand: and Mrs G. C. Levey, wife of Mr G. C. Levey, formerly member for Normanby. Captain Atwood, under whose command she is this trip, deserves the greatest credit for the manner in which he has again brought this favourite ship into these waters.

Geelong Advertiser Tuesday 31 August 1869 page 3

With all this new information I have now changed the focus of my next assignment for Writing the Family Saga unit.
I now have to concentrate on doing some writing.

Rosemount 2017

Why have a family history blog?  It is amazing the contacts that can be made and additional information gained when people locate your blog posts in a Google search. 

Original Rosemount homestead

Yesterday I received a message from a Queensland real estate agent who is selling a property owned by my family in the 1950s and early 1960s. She had discovered my blog posts about Rosemount (from 2013) when searching online for information about the property and thought that I might be interested in seeing pictures of the property today. 

Out-buildings near the Homestead

Obviously there have been many changes to the property in the past 60 years. Some of the land has been sold, the old barn has gone to be replaced by a more modern building, the water tanks are much more substantial and do not look as if they will blow off the stand during a cyclone. However the original homestead, with alterations, still stands with newer accommodation built nearby.

Mount Archer

There are many images provided in the information about the property including some providing a 360 degree view.

Neurum Creek - where we used to swim

There is also a map of the land of the current property.
Looking at the images brought back many happy memories of a child spending family holidays on my grandparents' farm.

If Annette from Cloud Real Estate had not found the blog posts and contacted me I would possibly not have had the opportunity to see what the property looks like today. Needless to say I have shared the link with other family members who may remember time spent at Rosemount.The link to the real estate blog - http://cloudre.com.au/rosemount/

Looking after special items in collections

For Christmas my family provided the money for me to order, from Archival Survival, some polypropylene boxes, polyethelyne bags, acid free card, photo hinges, tissue and labels to begin storing some of the special items in my family history collection.

The first project was to safely house copies of the Argus newspaper from the early to middle 1950s, some copies of the Australian Women's Weekly published around the time of the Melbourne Olympic Games in 1956 plus a few copies of the new Smith's Weekly which made a short reappearance in the 1968. My father was a sports journalist on The Argus until its closure in January 1957 so the newspapers, especially the articles in the years leading up to the staging of the Olympic Games in Melbourne, are an important part of his story.

I already had a few large polypropylene map bags that I had acquired for another project - not enough for individual newspapers - but I was able to store similar newspapers in bags. The newspapers in the bags are now stored in a large A2 polypropylene newspaper box.

I purchased one A2 box for the newspapers but also purchased five A4 boxes for other collection items. A label holder is attached to the outside of the box indicating the main contents of the box. In time a contents list of items in the box will also be prepared.

The first project with the smaller boxes was to safely store items relating to my father and World War II. One of the objects was a wallet that I used for one of the projects in Image, Place, Object, one of the subjects in the University of Tasmania Family History course. A copy of the piece that I wrote about the wallet can be found in my Exploring Military History blog. This post describes some of the other items now stored in this box.

The wallet, dog tags and negative wallet were wrapped in acid free tissue paper. Ephemera such as tickets were housed separately in small polyethelyne bags from another project as were telegrams and correspondence. Fragile items were supported by acid free card.

My father helped write the book, White Over Green, the history of the 2/4th Battalion. A collection of photographs was sourced for this project and Dad kept a few of them which have now been attached to acid free card with acid free photo corners. When information about the image is known I have added this in pencil. The sheets of photos are stored in polyethelyne sleeves and then placed in the box.

Project 2 will be to store other material relating to my father including his involvement on the Publicity Committee for the Melbourne Olympic Games and the the 1956 Olympic Games in general. The other three boxes will be used for storing material relating to other major family history projects I have recently researched. I will then need to order additional boxes and supplies from Archival Survival - maybe the family can fund this project for my birthday.

NB: If you have problems assembling the polypropylene boxes leave them in the sun for a short time, which makes them more pliable, and then assemble them. Apparently a hairdryer on low can also help, though I have not tried this.

Social media for family history part 2

When I recently ran a social media for seniors session at the library we discussed a number of well known social media sites that people may be interested in. As the session progressed it was obvious that most of the social media sites have common features. Once you are aware of these it should be relatively easy to navigate a social media site. The examples below are from Facebook but the features can be located on most social media sites.
To use most of these features you will first need to sign up to the social media site.

Posts not only provide information but also provide readers the opportunity to comment often adding to discussion.
Readers can like a post
Comment on a post or
Share a post

 There is a box beneath the post where you can write a comment and / or add an image.

You will also find a box allowing you to write a new post and add a photo or video.

In Facebook, once you start writing a post additional features appear including the Post button to post the message.

There is also usually a search box so that you can search for pages or groups of interest.

Some pages or groups allow you to search for specific content. Some groups also allow you to search for topics of posts of group members.

Enjoy exploring some of the social media sites mentioned in the previous post and determine how they may assist with local and family history research.

Social media for family history

For work I am preparing a presentation introducing social media to seniors. Although the presentation will deal with social media in general, social media can be a useful aid for family history research. This blog post therefore provides a brief introduction to social media for family history research but the principles apply for using social media for any topic.

What is social media?
Social media can be defined as 'websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking [Oxford dictionaries]. Social media is about sharing and communicating. This includes communicating with friends, family, peers, or just people with the same interests with you. Social media is particularly useful for the sharing of information within an interest group.

 Examples of social media sites include Facebook,Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Pinterest, blogs, podcasts and communication sites such as Skype.

Social media for connecting with people and organisations.

Facebook
Facebook is the largest and possibly best known social media site. It can be used to keep track of friends and family. It allows family and friends to keep up to date with activities and it allows communication between people of similar interests.

In August last year I gave a presentation on using Facebook for Family History Research. This link will take you to a brief summary of that talk plus a selected list of Facebook pages that may be helpful when researching family history.

Twitter
Twitter is an online news and social networking service where users post and read short messages of not more than 140 characters. Twitter is a blend of instant messaging, blogging and texting but with brief content and a very broad audience. Many organisations, including libraries and archives, have Twitter accounts where they promote or comment on events, resources or news items. Twitter also allows users to follow people of interest using Twitter to communicate their views.

Twitter is also often used by participants and speakers at conferences to promote and comment on papers and events. Twitter users the # symbol (hashtag) at such events so that tweets concerning the conference or activity can be grouped and easily accessed. An example is the Roots Tech 2017 conference where  #rootstech is the official hashtag though #rootstech2017 is also used. @rootstechconf is the user name sign for the conference.

Sharing media

YouTube
YouTube is a free video sharing website that makes it easy to view and upload videos online. You will find a wide range of vidoes on almost any topic on YouTube.

Anyone can search for topics on YouTube. For example searching for terms such as 'genealogy' or genealogy and family history research' produces a list of 'how to' videos that may be useful, particularly for those starting out in their search for their family history. Of course you can also search for specific subjects such as 'First Fleet Australia' or 'Convicts Australia' or names of people and places. Have fun and investigate.

Flickr
Flickr is a photo sharing resource where you can view and share images. If you want to upload photos to Flickr you must open an account. Uploaded photos can be shared with the world or just to a selected group

If you upload an image additional information and comments can be added to the image.Selected images can be added to albums created by the owner of the images. Links to an album or an individual image can be sent in an email to those who may be interested.

Group boards can be set up on Flickr relating to a theme. You can search for and locate images on almost any topic on Flickr.

Pinterest
Pinterest describes itself as 'the world's catalogue of ideas'. Users of Pinterest create a 'board' and then 'pin' relevant items to the board. The boards on Pinterest are classified into broad subjects which can be a starting point for searching Pinterest. You can also search for specific subjects such as 'Trove Tuesday' or a place such as 'Bath Somerset' or a building 'Westminster Abbey London'.

PC Magazine article 'How to use Pinterest for beginners'

Blogs
The word blog is a truncation of web log. A blog consists of a series of articles called posts.In some cases it may act as a person's journal or diary. It can be used to express a person's thoughts or passiona in general or may be confined to one topic. Blogs are often used for publishing information about your family history. The use of labels is a useful way for connecting posts on a simialr theme.

Blogs are regularly updated and posts are arranged with the most recent post first. A person who writes a blog is called a blogger. Blogs can be set up so that more than one person can add posts to a blog. Blog posts can be made anywhere provided that there is an Internet connection. People can comment on blog posts and if there is a contact box they can contact the blogger directly.

The two main blogging sites are Blogger and Word Press.

There are many blogs useful for researching genealogy and family history and a list of selected sites is provided elsewhere in this blog. Typing a name in inverted commas followed by the word, blog, in a Google search can help locate information about people and places in blogs.

Podcasts
A podcast is a digital audio file made available on the Internet for downloading to a computer or mobile device. Typically podcasts are available as a series, new instalments of which can be received by subscribers automatically. Podcasts can often be downloaded via a subscription service such as itunes. In some cases they can be downloaded directly from a website. Podcasts are normally free. Search Google for free podcasts on any topic. A search for 'genealogy podcasts free' provided this list on Google.

Social Media for Communicating
Communicating with other people is an important feature of the Internet.
Email is now accepted as the accepted method of communication.
Text or Instant Messaging is another communication method used by a growing number of people.
The Internet also allows people to use Voice Chat and Video Chat to communicate with family, friends and for business. Voice Chat and Video Chat are sometimes used for providing information to a group, perhaps a lecture on a genealogy topic.

There are a number of ways voice chat and video chat sessions can be conducted via the Internet. Skype (owned by Microsoft) and Face Time (Apple) are two programs used by individuals to contact people from home.

Skype
To use instant messaging, voice and video chat you will need an Internet connection and a broadband account with an Internet Service Provider. To use Skype you will also need to download Skype from the Skype website and set up an account with Skype. People you wish to communicate with also need to set up Skype accounts. If the computer does not have an inbuilt  microphone or webcam these will be needed for voice and video chats.

The Help feature on the Skype website provides information for using Skype on different devices. When you search Help it automatically knows the type of device you are using.

It is important to remember that while Skype to Skype calls are free, there are charges if a call is made to normal phone.

For family history research, Skype and similar programs can be useful if you want to interview a family member or discuss a project with family members.

Another program for voice and video chats and instant messaging is Google Hangouts.No additional computer software is required to use Google Hangouts.

Other Social Media Sites that are often mentioned

Instagram
Instagram is an online mobile photo sharing site allowing users to share pictures and videos on the app as well as via Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Flickr. 
Link to a useful article on How to Use Instagram.

Google+
Google+ is a social networking site similar to Facebook. However it allows you to set up Circles of friends rather than one large group. It also has a section for Collections.

LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a social networking tool specifically for the business community. LinkedIn aims to help people build a professional identity online as well as discover professional opportunities.

Tumblr
Tumblr is a microblogging tool enabling you to publish short posts containing images, text, audio and video. Tumblr posts are much shorter than traditional blog posts.

Tech Savvy Seniors provides useful information on social media and how to use social networking tools.

Family History Research Plan

The major assignment for the Introduction to Family History course at the University of Tasmania was to create a Family History Resarch Plan. I took the opportunity to decide how I might locate a map showing where George Guest had land at Risdon Cove. The research plan proved a useful exercise leading me to locate the information I was seeking. I will write about this part of George's story in another post.

Genealogical problem:
(Introduce the key focus of your research plus a clearly stated research question)
 

Visiting Hobart last November I spent time exploring, on foot, the area where three of my ancestors had land in Hobart prior to 1840 including the area on Fosbrooks (later Macquarie) Point that originally belonged to George Guest. George Guest also owned the Seven Stars Inn on Campbell Street. Since then I have been looking for information about other holdings of land owned by George Guest in Tasmania.

George Guest (1765-1841) was my great (x4) grandfather. In 1783 he was arrested for stealing pigs and a horse. George Guest was a First Fleet convict who travelled to Norfolk Island in January 1790. In September 1805 George and his family relocated to Hobart Town. While on Norfolk Island George became a major land owner and farmer and understood that when he left Norfolk Island he would be compensated with grants of land on his arrival in Van Diemen’s Land. George received some land grants but was to dispute whether this was fair compensation for the rest of his life.

The initial settlement on the Derwent was at Risdon Cove in 1803 before being relocated to the present site of Hobart in 1804. Prior to the relocation some of the land at Risdon Cove had been cleared for farming and Lieutenant-Governor Collins later provided seed for the planting of crops. When the settlers decided to return to Sydney the land was intended to be used as a government farm. There was a need for a reliable supply of grain for the new settlement so land in the Risdon Cove area was made available for farming. In January 1806 George Guest was considering a grant of 300 acres of land in the Herdsman’s Cove area near Risdon Cove though later references show that the land grant was at Risdon Cove. By 1809 twenty acres of the land was farmed for wheat and George had 63 cattle and 49 sheep.

George Guest made many trips to New South Wales where he also had some land but his main landholdings were in Van Diemen’s Land. In 1813 a neighbour, Major Geils, attempted to add George Guest’s land to his property on the grounds that Guest was in New South Wales. In a letter to Geils, Governor Macquarie stressed that the 300 acres at Risdon Cove belonged to George Guest as part compensation for the land and house he had surrendered when leaving Norfolk Island. George Guest continued to own this land until at least 1827 when it was advertised for sale.

My research question is:

Where exactly was the location of George Guest’s three hundred acres of land at Risdon Cove? 

Known facts:

1. Lieutenant-Governor Collins provided seed for growing wheat and Barley at Risdon Cove in 1804.
2. In 1805 Lieutenant-Governor Collins proposed opening up the land in Risdon Cove area for settlers to farm.
3. Lieutenant-Governor Collins, in a letter to Governor King on 27 January 1806, wrote that George Guest had selected land ‘in one allotment in the neighbourhood of Herdsman’s Cove’.
4. In 1809 general muster, George Guest is listed as owning 300 acres at Risdon / Clarence Plains.
5. In 1827, land at Risdon Cove owned by George Guest described as ‘at the junction of a small chain of ponds and the Risdon Cove’.
6. George regularly travelled between Hobart Town and Port Jackson (a sample of some of the visits provided).
7. Neighbour, Major Geils, attempted to claim George Guest’s land and Governor Macquarie confirmed the 300 acres belonged to George Guest.
8. Advertisement for sale of land in 1827.

Records used:

1.  Historical Records of Australia (HRA) series III Despatches and Papers Relating to the States. Vol 1 p248-249.
2.   HRA vol 1 p317.
3. HRA vol 1 p355.
4. Irene Schaffer (ed). 1991. Land Musters, Stock Returns and Lists. Van Diemen’s Land 1803-1822. Hobart. p54.
5. Advertisement. The Hobart Town Courier 24 November 1827 p3.
6. Advertisement. The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser 21 January 1810 p1; 2 February 1811 p2; 18 July 1812 p1; 20 March 1813 p2; 16 October 1813 p1; 4 March 1815 p2; 14 December 1816 p2; 29 November 1817 p4; 18 April 1818 p1; 26 December 1818 p2.
7. HRA vol 2 p30-31.
8. Advertisement. The Hobart Town Courier 24 November 1827 p3

Widening your search:

(Where else might you find relevant information)

State Library of Victoria

The State Library of Victoria holds books relating to the history of the Risdon Cove area. These can be checked for references particularly to George Guest and neighbouring landholders including Andrew Geils.

1.  Glover, Margaret. History of the Site of Bowen’s Settlement, Risdon Cove. Hobart, National Parks and Wildlife Service Tasmania Occasional Paper No. 2. 1978. [SLTF 994.61 G51H]
2. McGowan, Angela.  Archaeological Investigations at Risdon Cove Site 1978-1980. Hobart, National Parks and Wildlife Service Tasmania Occasional Paper No. 10, 1985. [SLTF 994.61 M17A]
3. McPherson, Kaye. Risdon Cove from the Dreamtime and the First Hundred Years. Lindisfarme, Manuta Tunapea, Puggaluggia, 2001.  [SLTF 994.61 M24R]
4. Tardif, Philip John. John Bowen’s Hobart: the Beginning of European Settlement in Tasmania. Hobart, Tasmanian Historical Research Association, 2003. [LT 994.6102 T17J]

Tasmanian Historical Research Association

Tasmanian Historical Research Association Papers and proceedings have been published since 1951. These are available to view online via the State Library of Victoria website.

The library also holds paper indexes for this publication:

1. Tasmanian Historical Research Association. Index to the Papers and Proceedings. Vol 1 (1951-1983), Hobart, Tasmanian Historical Research Association, 1991.
2. Tasmanian Historical Research Association. Index to the Papers and Proceedings. Vol 2 (1984-1993), Hobart, Tasmanian Historical Research Association, 1998.
3. Tasmanian Historical Research Association. Index to the Papers and Proceedings. Vol 3 (1994-2003), Hobart, Tasmanian Historical Research Association, 2006. [G994.6 IN23R INDEX]

Trove

Continue to search online newspapers in Trove for references to George Guest and his land, particularly in the Herdsman Cove, Risdon Cove and Clarence area as well as land belonging to neighbours including Andrew Geils. Articles on the history / reminiscences of people living in these areas may appear in later newspapers.

LINC

A series of maps – AF316 County Maps (Lands and Surveys Department) – can be located on the LINC website. The maps and plans in this collection are arranged according to their County and Parish. Risdon Cove and surrounding area is in the Parish of Forbes in the County of Monmouth.

Likely outcomes:
(Include ethical considerations)

Locating a map showing the location of the 300 acres belonging to George Guest at Risdon Cove would be a great addition for my research; however any additional information as to where the land was located would help the search. Hopefully a search of the AF316 County Maps series will be useful.  

Books and / or articles about the early history of Risdon Cove or the wider Clarence area could provide useful background information particularly if they discuss how the land was farmed. They may also contain a map or sketch of the area around the original Risdon Cove settlement which may indicate further development of the land after the closure of the settlement. References and bibliographies may also be useful for providing additional leads for research.

This research requires looking for information relating to events that occurred two hundred years ago and therefore making information available in the findings is unlikely to be an issue for anyone, especially as material about the events at this time is available in the public record.

I will add any information located as part of the story of George Guest and his family in my blog. Using information ethically in blogs (and other publications) has been a discussion point in the Australian Local & Family History Bloggers Facebook page. The use of material from other sources without recording that the material is the work of, or belongs to, others should not occur. Much of the material available online is available as Creative Commons and can be freely used provided acknowledgement of the source is provided. However in some cases it is necessary to first obtain permission from the organisation or person making the material available before using it. Blogs make it easy to include a link back to the source page for images and other material used in a post. Apart from the ethics of this it is a courtesy to other researchers.

Exploring census data

As part of National Family History Month,  held in August, a challenge was issued to write a post on a selected topic each week. The topic for Week 1 was a Census Story.

Read more contributions here

Recently, as part of the Convict Ancestors course, I  reseached one of my convict ancestors, Mary Bateman, who arrived in New South Wales aboard the Lady Juliana in 1790 and was then sent to Norfolk Island where she lived until her family relocated to Hobart Town in 1805. On Norfolk Island Mary had married George Guest, a First Fleet convict. The New South Wales Convict Death Register shows that Mary died in April 1829 and was buried at St Luke's, Liverpool, NSW.

We know from newspaper reports and correspondence in Historical Records of Australia that Mary and her family travelled to Port Jackson in 1806 as opportunities for education for the children in Hobart Town were limited. It seems, however, that Mary did not return to Hobart Town with her family. There are a few reports mentioning Mary and her husband, who made frequent trips to Port Jackson, in Trove however I needed to rely on the muster and census records to try and piece together what happened to Mary.

Mary's name, sometimes under Bateman and sometimes under Guest, is recorded on the New South Wales population Muster for 1811,  the New South Wales Settler and Convict List for 1818 and the New South Wales Musters of 1822 and 1825. The last two records show that Mary was at the Lunatic Asylum in Parramatta. The New South Wales Census 1828 then shows that Mary had been transferred to the Lunatic Asylum at Liverpool. She died there the following year.

Tuesday 9 August 2016 is Census Night when once again the Australian Bureau of Statistics is asking householders to complete the Census of Population and Housing. From the early days of the settlement of the Colony of New South Wales, officials carried out and relied on census data to record information about the convicts, former convicts and free settlers in the colony. The initial surveys were known as musters but by 1828 the term census was being used.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics website has an article on Colonial Censuses and Musters while the State Library of Victoria has a useful guide on Early Australian Census Records.  The links at the top of the SLV guide page provide specific information for each state.

Fortunately much of the early collected data up to the 1841 New South Wales census is available for the use of historians, including family historians, via online databases such as Ancestry.com.au. Some census reports (not the data) is available on Historical Census and Colonial Data Archive. Some of this data can also be found on microfiche. The first Commonwealth Census was held in 1911. Initially the census was taken every ten years but since 1961 has been held every five years.

During the second half of the nineteenth century and throughout the twentieth century the census records were destroyed once the data had been collated into reports. This policy has changed since the 2001 census resulting in those filling in census forms being able to indicate if they want their information to be kept in secure storage for one hundred years when information may be released for general research. Those of us investigating the history of family members in the UK are likely to have used data from census records from 1841 until 1911 and are grateful that this information is now readily available.

Those of us using the available census information for family history research know that the data about family members varies. The later British census forms now available online provide quite detailed information about households. However even the limited information to be found on some of the early colonial muster and census forms can still provide a new, sometimes unexpected, piece of information leading to further research. Census information can be a really useful research tool.

NB: A useful link that has just  appeared - Australian Census 1828 and 2016
Also Census Musters Guide

Family history sites on Facebook

Examples of Types of Family History related sites on Facebook

There are many ways that Facebook can be useful for Family History research. In the following list are examples of just a few of the Facebook Pages and Groups that may be useful.

The type of pages and groups chosen will depend on the locality and interests that you are researching. For example in this list, many of the Facebook pages and groups are from the Hawkesbury area as members of my family settled there.
The general sites in my list are for organisations primarily in Australia (east coast) and England, Ireland and Scotland. There will be similar pages and groups for other countries and regions.

See previous post on Facebook for additional information.

Libraries and Archives

State Library of Victoria

Public Record Office Victoria

State Records of NSW

National Library of Australia

National Archives of Australia

National Archives (UK)

Hawkesbury Library Service

Historical Societies and Family History Research Groups

Royal Historical Society ofVictoria

Hawkesbury Family History Group

 Specific Location Groups

Lost Melbourne

Lost Country Victoria

Bayswater History

Hobart, Then and Now

Irish Genealogy

Scotlands Genealogy

Genealogy Assistance

Find My Past

Ancestry AUS

Scotlands People

University of Tasmania Family History

Inside History Magazine

GUM – Computers for FamilyHistory

31 Days to Better Genealogy

Genealogy Do-Over

Single Issue Research Groups

First Fleet 1788 Researchers

Second fleet 1790 Researchers

Third Fleet 1791 Researchers

Norfolk Island Researchers

Family Groups

William Roberts and Kezia Brown

Court Genealogy Family History

Organisations

Hawkesbury Cemetery Register

Rookwood Cemetery, NSW

Resources Groups

Australian Local and FamilyHistory Bloggers

Trove

Fund Trove

Useful Websites for Locating Genealogy Related Facebook Pages

Family Search Wiki - Facebook Genealogy

Cyndi's List - Social Networking - Facebook

Lonetester HQ - Facebook for Australian History and Genealogy

Katherine Wilson - Genealogy on Facebook list 

Guide to writing your own story

A post from one of the genealogical resources on my Facebook page today referred to the post - 52 Questions in 52 Weeks: Writing Your Life Story Has Never Been Easier published on the Family Search Blog in August 2013.

In the post Steve Anderson provides 52 questions that you should consider answering if you are preparing notes about yourself for future generations. You may not necessarily consider responses to all the suggested questions but if undertaking such a project it may be useful to use the majority of the questions as a guide to assist in telling your story. The questions, of course, may also be useful for compiling information when writing the story of other family members.

Birth, death and marriage records - Victoria

The index to Birth Death and Marriage records in Victoria is now available online with no charge to check the records. Up until recently a fee had to be paid to use the index. Births Deaths Marriages Victoria provides an online index to birth, death and marriage records in Victoria from 1836.

This new version of the index is easy to use.

Just fill in the details on the form and use the Search button to conduct the search.

Copies of certificates can be purchased online.

Other Australian online indexes to birth, death and marriage records include:

NSW birth death and marriages

Queensland birth death and marriages

LINC - Birth death marriages Tasmania

Unlocking family stories - preservation of materials

We spend a great deal of time collecting information and writing our family stories but it is also important to preserve the material and items that we collect. There are a number of websites providing information about the safe storage of material. A small selection of sites are listed below.

The Library of Congress has just produced these guidelines for preserving paper items, including books, photographs and digital files - http://www.loc.gov/preservation/resources/educational/BookPaperPhotoDigitalBookmarks.pdf

Australian War Memorial - Conservation of Documents - https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/conservation/documents/

National Archives of Australia has a section - Preserving your records for the future -
http://www.naa.gov.au/records-management/agency/preserve/index.aspx

National Archives (USA) has a section - How to preserve family papers and documents -
https://www.archives.gov/preservation/family-archives/

National Library of Australia has a guide - Preserving Australia's documentary heritage
http://www.nla.gov.au/sites/default/files/starterkitcommunity.pdf

State Library of Victoria has Conservation guides -
http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/help/conservation-guides

Department of Premier and Cabinet - Preserving war heritage and memorabilia -
http://www.dpc.vic.gov.au/index.php/veterans/victorian-veterans-virtual-museum/preserving-veterans-heritage/preserving-war-heritage-and-memorabilia

Undertaking an online search will produce other resources and articles on this topic

Using Facebook for Family History research

In a recent post on the Genealogy-Do-Over Facebook group, Thomas MacEntee mentioned the Legacy Family Tree webinair he had recently made - Facebook: a tool for Genealogy Research. This is a member only resource for those who subscribe to Legacy Family Tree webinairs but the GeneaBloggers site has a link to a preview of the webinair.

This led me to think about how I use Facebook for genealogy research.When I set up my Facebook page in 2013 it was primarily to communicate with family and friends. However I soon discovered genealogy, history and library or archive organisations with Facebook pages and selected a number that I now receive regular updates from.  These Facebook groups are usually open sites and once you click the Like button you will receive in your News Feed any subsequent posts made in these groups. This is a good way to keep up to date with what is happening in your area of interest. Some of the Facebook pages of organisations that I have Liked include:

• Scotlands Genealogy
• Scotlands People
• Irelands Genealogy Page
• National Archives of Australia
• National Archives (UK)
• Inside History Magazine
• VicGum
• Royal Historical Society of Victoria
• Facebook pages of a number of local historical societies
• Hawkesbury Family History Group
• Hawkesbury Library Service
• Ancestry
• Find My Past
• Lost Melbourne and Lost Sydney

To locate the Facebook page of an organisation go to the Find Friends box at the top of your News Feed page and start typing in the name of the organisation - the more letters you type the more likely you will find what you are looking for. If you find a Facebook site you want to investigate click the link to go to the Facebook page.

In this example I was looking for Public Record Office of Victoria (third on the list). The note at the bottom of the page (in blue bar) - See more results - will provide additional options if you cannot find what you want in the initial list.

If you want to receive updates from this Facebook page click the Like button. The name of the group that you have Liked will appear in the left column of your Timeline page.

You can use the same method to locate people who may also be interested in your area of interest.

One of the features of Facebook is that groups for people with similar interests can be created. Recently I joined two groups related to my Convict research. I no doubt will add others to my list. There are also groups relating to specific branches of a family.

• Norfolk Island History Lovers
• First Fleet 1788 Researchers

Already I have found other researchers investigating members on my family tree as well as relevant information mentioned in earlier posts. Private messages can be sent to members of the group arranging to share information.

In the Search this group box under the header of the group page type in the name of the person you are researching. Any posts mentioning this name will then be displayed. Sometimes the person may be mentioned in a comment relating to the post.

Facebook can therefore be a useful tool for locating fellow researchers plus information relating to your family history research.

Since first writing this post I have discovered another interesting way that Facebook can be used to promote history or tell a story.  Anzac Live recounts the involvement of individual Australians during World War I as if they were posting their thoughts on Facebook.