Trove Tuesday

Two Today

/ Merron Riddiford / 19 Comments

It’s my blogiversary!

 

Considering I’ve had  plenty of other stuff going on in my life and limited time, it has sometimes been difficult to keep up with posts.   But remarkably I wrote 110 in the last 12 months and I really don’t know how I managed it.

It could have had something to do with  the genesis of Trove Tuesday thanks to Amy Houston of Branches, Leaves and Pollen.  I have prepared a post for every Trove Tuesday, a total of 33.  With so many quirky, cute and downright outrageous (thinking George Gladstone April 2  ) articles tagged at Trove, the weekly post has been reasonably easy to come up with.  Particularly so  in those weeks when I was totally lacking in inspiration.

Was it my biggest thrill for the year, having Western District Families named as one of Inside History Magazine’s Top 50 Genealogy Blogs?  This was a wonderful endorsement of the work I have put in and has inspired me to keep writing.  Thank you once again Jill Ball and Inside History Magazine.

Or maybe it was the simple fact that the history of the Western District of Victoria is full of interesting people, places and events.

I would have to say it was all the above.

TOP OF THE POPS – The Top 5 Most Viewed Posts:

Fastest Ship in the World – Holding the number place  two years running,  this post is about the clipper ship Marco Polo, often mistaken for Marco Polo the explorer.

Old Portland Cemetery – Part 1 – The interesting thing about this post is that it had over 250 more views than Old Portland Cemetery – Part 2, the forgotten chapter.

Alfred Winslow Harman – Stepping Out of the Shadows – The youngest son of Joseph and Sarah Harman not only stepped out of the shadows after his post, he stood in the spotlight.

Left Behind – Joseph and Sarah Harman left children in Cambridgshire, both living and dead, when they came to Australia.  Research for this post lead to one of my favourites for the year, Everybody Happy.

Passing of the Pioneers – It was pleasing to see one of the Passing of the Pioneers posts in the Top 5.  April 2012 Passing of the Pioneers contained obituaries of some prominent gentleman of the Western District.  There was James Dawson, the Protector of Aborigines in Victoria, pastoralist James Thomson of Monivae, near Hamilton and James Kirby of Mt Koroite station, near Casterton.  His obituary inspired me to write another of my favourite posts, A Western District Melbourne Cup.

MY FAVS:

Each of my favourite posts required more research than the rest, particularly at Trove.  There is something relaxing about Troving and a regular need to relax led to posts such as:

Everybody Happy – My 2nd cousin 3 x removed Rupert Hazell was a vaudeville and broadcasting star.  This was such an enjoyable post to write and I loved hearing from relatives of his wife Elsie Day and their memories of the couple.

On the ALG Trail – A tour of  landmarks in the South East of South Australia and Western Victoria frequented by Adam Lindsay Gordon.

Alice Hawthorne – The Western Mare– The small grey mare that won races for the Chirnsides in the 1870s and raced in a match race that would lead to the first running of the Melbourne Cup, had previously been a work horse at Mt. William station when my ggg grandfather James Mortimer worked there.

A Western District Melbourne Cup – The story of 1911 Melbourne Cup winner, The Parisian was a chance to indulge in my interest in the history of Victorian horse racing.

My regular need to Trove also resulted in seasonal fashion posts, Spring, Summer and Autumn.  Hasn’t it been fun to see what our female ancestors wore through the decades?  I look forward to the Winter post in June.

Passing of the Pioneers has grown and I have now shared over 300 Western District pioneer obituaries.  I just love the stories I find, especially of the ordinary people and those that time has forgotten.

A goal I set for myself when I started Western District Families was to post twice a week.  I have achieved that in the past year but in doing so I have often broken one of the rules I set for myself, to respond to comments promptly.  Sorry if you have posted a comment and I haven’t got back yet.   I have set today aside as “comment” day and I am going to get back to each of you.  Thank you so much for your comments, I do appreciate them.   Special thanks to Anne.  Your regular comments are encouraging, informative and fun.

Thank you to the 65 followers of Western District Families.  This time last year I couldn’t  have imagined  that the blog’s followers would more than double from 29.

The question I now ask myself is can I keep up the pace?  Despite being about to embark on a Diploma of Family Historical Studies, I can see some light at the end of the tunnel time wise.  So while I  continue to find stories about our Western District Families, I will give it my best shot.

A Busy Month Ahead

/ Merron Riddiford / Leave a comment

I have been busy searching Trove, more than usual if that is possible, preparing  December posts.  It will be a big month.

December 1 is the first day of Summer so keep an eye out for some Summer Fashions.  As I found from my Spring Fashion post, that it is interesting to track the changing fashions over the decades.  A “not to be missed” post especially if you would like to find out when women stopped wearing two petticoats in Summer!

Following on from a successful series of posts in December 2011, I will also bring you Christmas from the 1900s to the 1950s with a Western District slant.  The Pioneer Christmas posts have been very popular and, like fashions, there have been definite changes to Christmas celebrations over the decades.

Have you been following the great Trove Tuesday posts from various bloggers each week?  If you would like to see all the posts from the last 14 weeks (can’t believe it’s been that many) check out Amy Houston’s blog Branches, Leaves and Pollen.  Christmas Day will also be Trove Tuesday, so I will have to begin a search for a Trove treasure with a Christmas theme.

There will also be the 19th edition of Passing of the Pioneers.  Around 250 pioneers have now been remembered in these monthly posts and the stories of the early days of the Western District continue.

I also have some new links to add to the Western District Links Page.

In between all this maybe I’ll get a post or two in about my family members.  One of my fellow Western District researchers has, in the last few days, handed me a big hammer to smash down one of my brick walls, so I’ll have to share that.

Phew!  I better get going.

Trove Tuesday – A Little Chatter About a Magpie

/ Merron Riddiford / 4 Comments

As it is the time of year when the young research assistant is too scared to go into our paddock or walk up the road for fear of swooping magpies, I thought this little treasure from Trove was fitting.  It is from the Ballarat Star of September 21, 1861.

EASTERN POLICE COURT. (1861, September 21). The Star (Ballarat, Vic. : 1855 – 1864), p. 1 Supplement: SUPPLEMENT TO THE STAR. Retrieved October 14, 2012, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66342198

Trove Tuesday – Life Expectancy

/ Merron Riddiford / Leave a comment

North-west Victorian residents may have felt slightly uneasy after reading the following article from the Kerang Times and Swan Hill Gazette of July 3, 1883.  With 28 years being the average length of life and one person dying somewhere in the world every second, who could blame them.  We shall refrain from questioning the data collection methods used to calculate the guesstimates, sorry estimates

Average Duration of Human Life. (1883, July 3). Kerang Times and Swan Hill Gazette (Vic. : 1877 – 1889), p. 4. Retrieved September 10, 2012, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article65584044

Trove Tuesday

/ Merron Riddiford / 5 Comments

… a collection or store of valuable or delightful things

(Oxford Dictionary)

No better words could be used to describe the National Library of Australia’s Trove website.  If you have read a few of my posts, you would know I’m a big Trove fan.    A recent post by Jill Ball at her blog Geniaus, mentioned an initiative by Amy Houston which interested me.  Amy on her blog Branches, Leaves, and Pollen, told how she too is a fan of Trove and invited Australian bloggers to join her on Tuesdays each week to blog about the treasures we have found at Trove.

I have many Trove treasures and a lot of my blog posts are about those.  At first, I thought I would not take part merely because I didn’t think I could choose just one a week.    Where would I start?  That is much like asking me to name my favourite book or film of all time.  I just can’t do it.  But, as Amy suggests the treasure doesn’t always have to be about a family member it could be anything of interest.

I can do that.  How often have you found a newspaper article about a family member, only to find the article, above, below, or beside just as interesting?  I’m into advertisements too and I always read them.  There are some absolute gems, so expect to see some of those on Tuesdays.

Due to time constraints this week, I thought I would begin with a recap of some of my posts that highlight the benefits of Trove to family historians, particularly the digitised newspapers.   Without the newspapers, there is much that I wouldn’t know about my ancestors. Even hours of record searching couldn’t unearth what I have found.

In fact, the papers lead me to the records.  Whether it is records from courts or cemeteries, sporting clubs or churches, Trove has led me there.  Not only is it a time-saver, many of the leads I have found come from places I would never have thought of searching.

These are some of my treasures to date:

Witness for the Prosecution – The story of three of my relatives who were witnesses in murder trials.  I believe two of those stories, that of my ggg grandmother Margaret Diwell and my grandfather Percy Riddiford, would have remained hidden if it wasn’t for Trove.

Alfred Winslow Harman – Stepping out of the Shadows – I knew little about Alfred Harman before I starting an intensive search for him in the Trove digitized newspapers.  Now I know so much more.

Nina’s Royal Inspiration – The story of Nina Harman and her carpet really is delightful.  As Nina is not a close family member, I possibly would not have known this story without finding her direct descendants.  Instead, I found it in a Women’s Weekly at Trove!

To Catch a Thief – Ordinarily,  to find Jim Bishop’s brush with the law, I would have had to search the Branxholme Court Registers held at PROV‘s Ballarat Archives Centre.  Not too hard, but with so many people to research and so many towns on the Victorian court circuit, it may have been a long time before I found it.  Thanks to an article in the Border Watch, that time in Jim’s life is now known to me.

All Quiet By the Wannon – The Mortimer family of Cavendish kept to themselves.  Articles I found at Trove finally gave my ggg James Mortimer a voice.

Mr Mortimer’s Daughters – Another Mortimer puzzle solved thanks to Trove.  From Henry Mortimer’s death notice in the Portland Guardian, I was able to establish the married name of one daughter and the second marriage of another daughter.

There is a list of Western Victorian newspapers available at Trove on my Links page.

Don’t forget there are other great treasures that can be found while searching at Trove.  Look beyond the newspaper matches as you never know what might come up in the other categories.  I have found photos of family members and some great early photos of Western Victorian towns while searching.  Trove is also great for tracking down books.

I will try to post something each Tuesday.  Thank you to Amy for the idea and I hope other Australian geneabloggers get involved too.

Show us your treasure and celebrate Trove!