Experts In Genealogy

Who remembers Guy Fawkes Night?  Back in the 1950's and 60's it became commonplace with the development of the quarter acre blocks of homes being developed. Every 5th of November families would gather around for the spectacular effects of the fireworks. We used to have pinwheels shooting from the fence, roman wheels, penny bangers making lots of noise and smoke...it was fun. Regulations regarding fireworks is a state issue. It got banned by most states in Australia in the 1980's by the governments of the country because too many people were getting injured by the fireworks. Currently, the only states to allow fireworks are the Northern Territory and Tasmania. Fireworks in London 1952 But where did this all originate from and why did it remain such a tradition for families? It became known as the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 .  But in earlier centuries it was often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or even the Jesuit Treason.  It came about as a failed as...

How A Young Man From War-Torn Germany Found His Utopia On The Other Side Of The World. Continuing the story of Arno Josef Zapf born 3rd July 1932 in Staffelstein , Bavaria, Germany. See here for Part One , if you missed it or just want to refresh your memory. Arno applied to the Australian Government for the opportunity to emigrate.  To do so he had to commit to the Australian Government for two years work.  He freely admitted that he had never heard of Australia and didn't even know where it was...He thought he was going to America ... The fares of the migrants were paid for by the Australian and West German Governments with assistance from the inter-governmental committee of the immigration scheme from Europe.  This scheme was backed by 22 nations of the world, including Australia and it operated from its headquarters in Geneva. As part of the conditions, he undertook to  regularly attend the nearest free night class made available by the Australian Governm...

How a young man from war-torn Germany found his utopia on the other side of the world. It's nine years today since my father passed away. This is his story. Arno Josef Zapf was born on the 3rd July 1932 in Staffelstein , Bavaria, Germany. Town Hall, Staffelstein The fourth of seven children born to Lucia Hagenbarth and Hans Josef Zapf. He was a bright child, but world war two was about to change all of their lives. The family lived in the beautiful medieval town of Bamberg, with its gorgeous cobblestoned roads. Right in the middle of Bamberg, above the Bakery in Gruner Markt. ( Bamberg is a World Heritage Site, nominated by UNESCO in 1993. The city follows the early Medieval street plans, being laid out in the form of a cross with a church at each of the four points.) From L-R Gisela, Heinrich, Arno, Brigitte and Helmuth Zapf at the front c1936 It must have been extremely cramped. But, Arno never complained about that aspect of his childhood, except whe...

In August 2016 US bloggers James Tanner and Randy Seaver posted their top ten list for genealogy. Pauleen Cass and now Jill Ball have done their Aussie choices. Well, here are mine, taken from over twenty years of research using the internet.  Do you agree, or do you have your own favourites that you constantly refer back too? Note these are in no particular order. Also, this is by no means a conclusive list, as there are far too many to list here...for all the best sites to see, visit Cyndi's List . Ancestry.com - I've been a member since they started.  Since I use Family Tree Maker 2014 (and have done since FTM V2 1994), I now use the shakey leaves for clues, then go and prove the connections.  I am particularly enamoured with the DNA  service since I had mine done whilst I was attending RootsTech2014. This has opened many more possibilities and is an exciting tool, even if I don't fully understand it all - yet!!! I have loved genealogy.com (take...

PHOTO CHALLENGE ON SOCIAL MEDIA  TELL YOUR OWN STORY TOO...HAVE YOU DIGITISED YOUR OWN PHOTOS? Five days ago I was challenged through social media to share photos of myself.  They had to be more than 15 years old.  Well, that really was a challenge as ALL my physical photos are in storage and I haven't been able to scan them.  What little I have in digital form are not yet fifteen years old.  So it really was a challenge and one that I believed at the time couldn't be completed.  How wrong I was... As I searched through my computer, I realised that I really needed to get my digital images sorted. How many of us have images scattered all over the place? This happens easily and before you know where you are, you have lost (maybe, temporarily at least) the ability to locate these images, when you require them. If you don't know where to begin, here are some ideal tips that will assist you to get started:  Storing & Archiving Digital Photos...

Thomas Keith Tellesson (Dr) 8th July 1927 - 9th August 1986 Keith as he was known to all his friends and family, (except of course to his father, he was always addressed as Thomas) was born to George Robert Tellesson and Ethel May Speechley on the 8th of July 1927 in Ashfield, New South Wales.  He was the middle son, of the three boys born to George & Ethel.   His life was typical of the period, until the day his uncle Tom married in the front room of the modest house at 173 Avoca Street, Randwick, New South Wales.  At the same time, elsewhere in the house George Robert Tellesson, (Keith's father) died after suffering a cerebral haemorrhage [stroke] & arteriosclerosis [hardening of medium and large arteries]. Life was a bit of a struggle for the family after this, but the other family members stepped up and assisted Ethel with raising the three boys. Keith went on to study medicine at Sydney University and graduated in the early 1950's along with his...

WELCOME TO THE PARTY Elizabeth O'Neal has put forward this brilliant idea - it's a Genealogy Blog Party - here is her post -  Join the April 2016 Genealogy Blog Party!  (posted on 13th April 2016) on the  Little Bytes of Life   I've never viewed "Doctor Who"...but how could I knock back the invitation...I'm excited to join this party. Who is the ancestor you will meet? I would love to catch up with George TELLESSON an illiterate Norwegian Merchant Mariner who was born in Norway in 1837.  He is the 2xGGrandfather of my partner. What question(s) do you need him/her to answer? What are the names of your parents? Do you have a brother by the name of Thomas? Is there a problem you can help your ancestor solve? Where were you in the 1851 & 1861 UK Census? Will you reveal your true identity to your ancestor? If so, how will your visit impact the future? No...I don't want to change history... Will you bring y...

Major Hugh Quinn - The Man Behind Quinn's Post Gallipoli Turkey WW1 I first became aware of Quinn's Post whilst doing research on Samuel William HARRY whose life was detailed last year. You may read Samuel's story here . Samuel William Harry and Hugh Quinn were boyhood friends...pals in Charters Towers, Queensland. They had many common interests too. This is the story of Major Hugh Quinn - the man behind Quinn's Post Gallipoli . Major Hugh Quinn, eldest son of John Quinn and Mary Jane Irwin Early Life of Hugh Quinn He started out in his working life by taking up a position in Messrs. Cummins and Campbell's office and  worked  himself up to head clerk. He became a prominent athlete and proved himself one of  the best amateur  boxers in North Queensland. He was full of energy, perseverance and initiative, a manly man, and had a host of admirers among the Charters Towers youth.  He  followed up his profession of accoun...

GALLIPOLI HERO  CAPTAIN SAMUEL WILLIAM HARRY  100 YEARS ON Samuel William HARRY Every ANZAC Day there would be a ceremony held at the State School I attended. I would hear about Simpson and his Donkey and his gallant efforts to rescue the wounded soldiers fighting on the narrow peninsula, then known as the Dardanelles . (From, Wikipedia…The Dardanelles, formerly known as Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart, the Bosporus.) I always felt I had a connection…but to my knowledge, as a 7/8 yr old, I didn’t know of any family member, nor extended family member who had fought at Gallipoli. Then in my early 20’s a cousin printed up a family history of the HARRY family. In that, there was mention of a Samuel William Harry who had died in Gallipoli…I was hooked. I had to find out EVERYTHING about Samuel William HARRY, who was my first cousin...