May 2016

newsletter no. 158

What’s Happening Next for our Society:

17th May – May is Volunteers month: Members have been asked to contribute to the evening.

21st June – Brick Wall night: Bring along you brick wall question or give us the answer to your brick wall puzzle for other members to benefit from the resources that you used.

19th July – VANISH: Our guest speaker will be Charlotte Smith from Victorian Adoption Network for Information and Self Help [VANISH]

It is located in Melbourne with members in all parts of Australia. It is funded by the Victorian State Government through the Department of Health and Human Services.

SERVICESare currently available to:

·  people affected by adoption(domestic and intercountry) - mothers, fathers, adopted persons,adoptive parents and family members of all these people.

·  people affected by donor conception.

·  Forgotten Australians- former wards of state, defacto adoptees and/or those who were voluntarily placed in institutions or foster care in Victoria.

Disclaimer: The WFHS Inc. does not accept any responsibility for opinions or accuracy of information contained in this newsletter.

Information is reproduced in this publication for educational purposes.

Newsletter of the Wodonga Family History Society Inc.

PO Box 289 Wodonga Vic 3689 www.wodongafamilyhistory.org

Email:

Published in February, May,

August and November

ISSN 1327-3167

May 2016 Page 10 of 10

The Research Room is situated in the premises of the Upper Murray Regional Library in Hovell Street, Wodonga VIC. The opening hours for research are Tuesday & Wednesday from 11am to 3pm and Thursday from 1.30pm to 4.30pm.

Our meetings are held on the 3rd Tuesday of each month [except December] at 7.30pm at the Felltimber Community Centre, cnr Felltimber Creek Road and Melrose Drive, Wodonga. Entry is via Ritter Road.

May 2016 Page 10 of 10

May 2016 Page 10 of 10

Research enquiries: If you wish our Research Officer to do research for you, please include a business sized, stamped, self addressed envelope with your enquiry details. The initial research cost is $20.00.

Please include all the details you can: names, areas, dates, any births, deaths and marriage details you may have and what you want the Research Officer to find out. There is no point in paying for what you already know.

May 2016 Page 10 of 10

May 2016 Page 10 of 10

Membership Details

Membership of the Wodonga Family History Society Inc. includes the benefits of receiving a quarterly newsletter and allows access to all the resources of the Society’s library which is growing all the time. Your attendance at our monthly meetings will ensure that you have contact with our researchers who share your interest in family history.

Subscriptions: New Members Joining Fee $ 10.00

Annual Membership $25.00

Part Year Membership

[join between 1st April & 30th June] $10.00 + joining fee

Membership fees are due and payable in July of each year.

May 2016 Page 10 of 10

May 2016 Page 10 of 10

Committee members

President Norma Burrows phone: 02 6024 1591

Vice President Heather Lauritzen

Treasurer Sue Jarvis

Secretary Wendy Cooksey phone: 02 6056 3220

Barbara Baxter Doreen Gibbs Lyn Larkin Bob Cousins Lynda Cuper

Pat Hopkins Heather Lauritzen Dawn Newman Yvonne Wilson

Christine Young

We are updating our members' information andwould liketo include details of a person to contact in case of emergency. The information required is "Person to contact and contact number". Please forward these details to: , call Wendy on 02 6056 3220 or post to PO Box 289, Wodonga, 3689.

May 2016 Page 10 of 10

President’s Report

We have certainly experienced a hot summer. Autumn has now arrived and I am sure everyone is enjoying the warm days and cool nights. All we want is some rain. Our weather patterns are amazing – I read recently that in February 1853, when my great grandfather arrived in Australia, the weather in Melbourne was icy.

We have been busy publicising our club and raising money to support our research library. We were invited to participate in the Leneva Steam Rally. This was mainly for publicity. However, Warren came along with a truck load of plants and we raised over $300. Thanks again Warren.

Next we attended an Expo at the Albury Library Museum where we displayed our CDs and DVDs. This was held at the same time the library held a display of convict information.

Our next outing was the Sausage Sizzle at Bunnings. Once again it was a successful event – we raised over $600. Thank you to Yvonne for all her hard work in organising this day and to all the members who helped. It was great to see so many participating.

I would like to encourage you all to write an entry for our Bedella Writing Award. There are three sections – Novice 300-600 words, Intermediate 600-1200 and Open 1000-1500 words. Entries are due by 31st May. (As an example this report is just over 300 words)

Have you used the resources available at the library? There is so much information that is not available on the internet. As the advertisement for Ancestry says “come find me”. Library hours are changing from 1st June - Tuesdays and Wednesdays 11.00 am to 3.00 pm and Thursdays 1.30 pm to 4.30 pm.

Did you know there was a web site where the records of all those who served in World Wars 1 and 2 are available to view? The site is australiaremembers.net.au or just type in Anzac journals.

Once again we will be having a display in the windows on Coles wall in High Street in August. Our Publicity Officer has gone north for a few months so we are looking for some fresh ideas and helpers for this project. Contact Wendy if you can help.

I look forward to seeing you soon – at the library or at our next meeting.

Norma Burrows,

President

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Members’ stories

The WFHS committee are always trying to encourage you, the members, to write short pieces for the newsletter.

The aim is to give you the confidence to keep writing short or longer pieces for yourself and your family to preserve and pass on your family’s history.

It would be great if you wanted to share those stories with fellow members via this newsletter.

They can be as short as 300 words [half a page, depending on the font you use] up to a page and a half [approx. 900 words].

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This website “The Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust? may be useful for you and it is very easy to use: http://www.gmct.com.au/deceased-search.aspx

It’s time to write an article for the Bedella Writing Award

·  Entries should be submitted no later than the end of May

·  There are three categories:

o  Novice – 300 to 600 words

o  Intermediate – 600 to 1200 words

o  Open – 1000 to 1500 words

·  Further information is available from members in the Research Room of the Wodonga Library or from any Committee member

·  Take your entry to a Committee member in the Research Room of the Wodonga Library

·  The winners will be announced at the August meeting

Good luck

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Meeting Notes

19th January – Bob Cousins started his Square One program and details were covered in our February newsletter. We also asked members to tell us what sort of information they were looking for so we might provide speakers/programmes to cover their needs.

16th February – Our guest speaker was Tony Stewart who has a studio in Tallangatta. He showed us how he can bring old photos back to life using a computer programme.

15th March – Our guest speaker was Michael Rumpff from the International Settlers Group, Melbourne. Michael spoke about his family who came from Germany and gave us insights into his research. Bob continued his back to “Square One” program and gave us homework for the next meeting – we had to find someone in our family tree that we didn’t think belonged there and prove it.

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Welcome new members

Welcome to the following new members -

Pam Stewart

Lynn Oswald

Dorothy Schmidt

We look forward to seeing you at meetings. Great resources are available at the library in the Research Room and volunteers are there to help.

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To write on the back of a photo without causing damage and without smudging, use a ZIG photo signature pen which is made by Kuretake Japan and can be purchased at Photo Supplies in Albury.

Here is some information from Wendy Cooksey.

I found this on the Norfolk Rootsweb mailing list:

Hi, I had this reply from GRO which is very interesting and useful. So I will cut and paste it in its entirety.

All births, deaths and marriages should be recorded with the local register office were the event occurred, this record will then be stored with us here at the GRO.

If the deceased is unknown it is usually the coroner that will register the death with the local office stating whatever information about the deceased they have. However it has been known that if the coroner has insufficient information then the death would not be registered.

If the deceased is unknown it will be entered on the death certificate as unknown. The coroner may then give an approx. age, the address as to where the death occurred and the cause of death.

This might be useful to someone and could explain a 170 year old ancestor or two!

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Here is an article from Betty McGrath

“Border Morning Mail & Riverina Times” .Saturday, 12th October,1912. Page 5

THE BABY BONUS.

FOUR BIRTHS— £20 FOR ALBURY YESTERDAY.

The Baby Bonus, under the Maternity Allowances Act, which came into force throughout the Australian Commonwealth at midnight on Wednesday, is causing a great deal of interest in many family circles. Payments as stated in the 'Border Morning Mail' yesterday will be made in respect of births that occurred after midnight on Wednesday last (October 9), but claims will not be received until November 1, by which time the necessary forms and other machinery will be ready.

At Nurse Dempsey's private hospital yesterday there were four births, for which the Federal Government is liable to pay £20. On Thursday there was also a birth at the same hospital, bringing the total claims to £25. The five infants comprise three boys and two girls. The parents of two of the children reside in Albury, while the others reside in Walbundrie, Allan's Flat, and Wodonga.

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Here is some information from Sue Jarvis.

The Research Room has marine births recorded on the computer using Digger genealogy software which has copies of birth certificates that display the longitude and latitude of the exact place where a baby was born at sea. The previous records didn’t have this information.

Sue’s great great grandmother was supposed to have been born in Indonesia but data from Digger indicated that she was born, at sea, between South Africa and Australia.

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The Research Room has lots of information for overseas researchers in the International Settlers magazines.

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The following article is submitted by Pat Hopkins following on from Bob Cousins Square One session about checking all variations of family names.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” - Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Sc II

At the start of our recent meetings, Bob (Cousins) our Programme Officer, has encouraged us to look at the names of our ancestors, rather than just recording them. As many of our 17th and 18th Century family members had biblical names, Bob suggested that knowing what they mean may give us a better understanding of the family. For instance, male names in my family include Abiel (God is my father), Ebenezer (God is the rock of help), Hiram (exalted brother) and Ezekiel (strength of God). Girls were named Agnes (purity, chastity), Mahala (tenderness, barren), Rachel (innocent lamb), and Sarah (princess- wife of Abraham) but the ones I really like don’t need an explanation – Constance, Deliverance, Fortune, Mercy, Obedience, Patience, Peace, Relief and Submit …. but it does make you wonder why they were chosen.

It might be timely to look at the tradition of naming patterns. The Scots appear to follow a fairly rigid system and looking at the pattern may help break down a brick wall. Other parts of Britain, such as England, Wales and Ireland, followed a similar pattern but not as closely as Scotland. Other European countries, such as Greece and Sweden, have their own, but similar, systems.

The Scottish Tradition

Boys named:
1st Son after the father’s father
2nd Son after the mother’s father
3rd Son after the father
4th Son after the father’s eldest brother
5th Son after the mother’s eldest brother / Girls named:
1st Daughter after the mother’s mother
2nd Daughter after the father’s mother
3rd Daughter after the mother
4th Daughter after the mother’s eldest sister
5th Daughter after the father’s eldest sister

According to ScotlandsPeople although this pattern was not universally applied (some families adhered strictly, others “dabbled” and still others ignored it), it can still be helpful in determining the correct entry when confronting the relative lack of information in the OPRs. It can also give rise to great confusion when eight children of the same family in a small parish name their offspring according to convention! The use of traditional naming patterns gradually declined during the 19th century perhaps because the names available were rather limited.

Another naming custom in Scotland during the middle 19th century was to use family surnames as a second name, particularly the mother’s surname e.g. Agnes Hope Laidlaw (Hope being her mother’s surname).

The Scots also loved to shorten names or use nicknames. Ordinary ones, such as Tom for Thomas or Betsey for Elizabeth, are easily understood but some may be a challenge. Ina, for any girl’s name that has been made from a boy’s name e.g. Christina, Georgina; Polly for Mary; Tod/Dod for George; Sandy/Ecky for Alexander; Dolly for Dorothy; Daisy for Marguarite; Euphan or Effie for Euphemia; or Rab/Robbie for Robert.