Trove Tuesday: Western Australian Newspapers, or Trove makes an appearance in my uni work

I have been rather remiss of late when it comes to Trove Tuesday and blog posting in general as my own research has been sidelined in favour of uni assignments and research tasks for others, but today's task has reminded me once again of the many ways in which I utilise Trove for things outside family history.

Today I am creating content and resources for a website that forms an assessable component of CSG4112. As part of a group I have been working on creating an e-learning website on the study Western Australian History (the website could have been on any e-learning type activity, our group just ended up being a bunch of history nerds and as the only non-Sandgroper I was outvoted when it came to the specific focus) so not only have I been learning a lot about Western Australian history, I have been researching and writing articles on available resources, and Trove cannot be overlooked.

I think when I am done with the article on Western Australian Newspapers available via Trove, I may have to write about the image search, there are some fabulous vintage travel posters.

You can find all the #TroveTuesday posts over at Branches, Leaves & Pollen or search the hashtag on twitter 

Or you know, if any of you has written anything on Western Australian history of any kind and wouldn't mind being a contributor (with full acknowledgements of course)...

The Charlemagne Factor

The common ancestor is an idea with a long history, and if you have been around the internet or genealogy circles anytime since the late 1990s, the concept that westerners are all descended from Charlemagne is probably something you have come across. This concept originates in Darwinian Evolutionary theory and is pretty well supported by mathematical models, genetics (well mitrochrondial DNA), computer modelling and all kinds of other neat science-y stuff. (Mark Humphrys gives the most complete overview, it's pretty fascinating)

As a scientific concept I totally get it. Go back far enough and everyone on the planet right now has a common ancestor - Every one (in theory) has 2 parents, 4 grandparents, 8 ggrandparents and so on until you have more potential ancestors than existed on the planet at that time.

I was still pretty skeptical when my grandmother showed me her family tree which included Robert the Bruce. Skeptical to the point where I found copies of Robert the Bruce's family tree and connected the dots myself. It goes like this.

1. Me,
2. My Mother, 
3. Her Mother, 
4. VM Tulloch, the daughter of
5. LW Tulloch, the son of
6. LT Tulloch, the son of
7. John Tulloch, son of
8. Ann Sutherland, daughter of
9. Andrina Jamieson, daughter of
10. Ann Fordyce, daughter of
11. Hugh Fordyce, son of
12. Andrew Fordyce, son of
13. Alexander Fordyce, son of 
14. Margaret Bruce, daughter of
15. Laurence Bruce, son of
16. John Bruce, son of
17. Hector Bruce, son of
18. Robert Bruce, son of
19. John Bruce, son of
20. Jean Steawrt, daughter of
21. Isabel De Ergardia, daughter of
22. Janet Isaac, daughter of
23. Maud Matilda Bruce, daughter of
24. King Robert I of Scotland. (Robert the Bruce)

now if you follow that, Alexander Fordyce [13], married his first cousin Elizabeth Bruce, whose father is Laurence Bruce's [15] son Andrew, brother of Margaret [14]. So Robert the Bruce is my great (x22) grandfather x 2. And as Robert the Bruce is himself descended from Charlemange...

There you have it. The Charlemagne Factor.

Trove Tuesday: The First Born, South Australian Male

I was rather amused to come across this series of correspondence within the Chronicle and The Advertiser  and even more amused to find two of my maternal grandmothers branches claiming ownership of this title, one on her mother's side and one on her father's. A nice little anecdote to share with the cousins.

THE FIRST BORN, SOUTH AUSTRALIAN MALE. (1901, June 12). The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931), p. 6. Retrieved February 12, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4842932

THE FIRSTBORN SOUTH AUSTRALIAN MALE. (1901, June 15). The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931), p. 11. Retrieved February 12, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4843307

 The second letter appeared also in in the June 22nd edition of the Chronicle.

You can find all the #TroveTuesday posts over at Branches, Leaves & Pollen or search the hashtag on twitter 

Trove Tuesday: Location, Location, Location

I mentioned yesterday my desire to map out my family history in some way and to this end, Trove has been a fabulous resource. I've previously used a family notice found in Trove to begin a search of electoral roles and confirm some names, and again the family notices of Trove'd newspapers have turned up some wonderful gems.

"Family Notices." The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931) 25 Oct 1902: 6. Web. 5 Feb 2013 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4891551>

According to this, at the turn of the century, my great (x3) grandparents, Charlotte and Edward Black were living on Pulsford Road in Prospect, South Australia. According to Google Street View, there are still some delightful houses with period features along Pulsford Road. I wonder which one was the Black's!

You can find all the #TroveTuesday posts over at Branches, Leaves & Pollen or search the hashtag on twitter.

Mapping Family History

I have a bit of a weakness for maps, and lately I have been contemplating how to plot some of the never ending list of place names that appear in the course of digging around in genealogy and family stories. I know there is software out there intended to do this but I'm thinking more of a DIY approach using Google Maps in a similar way to HistoryPin (If you haven't checked out HistoryPin before you really should). The problem now is, where to start!

Family Photos

I headed to my parents for the Australia day long weekend, as not only was it Australia Day but brother #2 turned 40 on the 25th and an appropriate bash had been organised to celebrate. I'll admit it, he is and always had been my favourite brother. Sorry brother's #1 & #3, it's not like you didn't know this anyway.

Brothers, #1, #2 with me on shoulders, and #3

In any case, 40 is a big birthday and sharing the love of history and family history that both Dad & I have, we (that should really be I, as I pretty much steam-rolled over Mum & Dad to get my way) I decided that it would be a nice thing to give my brother copies of the family photos. That is, all the family photos we could find. Dad and I spent the 25th pulling the house apart and spent the better part of the evening scanning as many as possible. The portraits of our grandfather and two of our great-uncles were printed and framed as the main present and an CD included of all the rest. Dad had wanted me to make a collage of photos of brother #2, however I know what special meaning those three portraits have to all us kids.

Those portraits hung on my parents bedroom wall when we were growing up, a constant presence. Our grandfather died when my father was 10 and one of the great-uncles was killed during the Fall of Singapore, the other died in 1986 and my only memory of him is, I am sorry to say, of the dress I wore to the funeral (I was 4). My brothers have slightly greater recollection. But they were always there, in those three photos, a part of our lives.

Walter Thomas Muffett (9 Apr 1916-13 Mar 1958)

Lindsay Donald Muffett (28 Sept 1918-Feb 1942)

Archibald James Muffett (5 Mar 1920-29 Apr 1986)

As a present it was a hit. I know my brother. 

The tearing the house apart looking for photos did leave us with some problems though. Firstly, Mum was very unimpressed with the chaos and secondly, we now had a massive box of photos and the realisation we should probably do something about proper storage. So in a round about way, I have now come to the point of this little ramble; how do you store your photos and can anyone suggest a good archival grade solution?

Trove Tuesday: Family Celebrities

I am of the general belief that every one has in their family tree a celebrity of some sort, in my case it is the husband of my great (x2) great-aunt, Monica Sinclair. They met on the ship to Australia, as the extract below shows. Can you work out who her husband was?

MMIGRANTS' CHILDREN. (1848, February 5). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 5. Retrieved December 11, 2012, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12899825

If you guessed William Arnott (yes THAT William Arnott, the one of Biscuit fame) you'd be spot on!

You can find all the #TroveTuesday posts over at Branches, Leaves & Pollen or search the hashtag on twitter.