Experts In Genealogy

DANIEL FRANK KELLY   1886 - 1916 'No Known Grave' Photo supplied by Maggie Goss     Daniel Frank Kelly   was born in November 1886 in Sebastian, Victoria, Australia .                 The eldest child and son of Michael Kelly and Margaret Mary Mulvahill, Daniel was a hard working lad and was working as a Butcher at A W Brown Butcher Marong, Victoria, Australia,  in 1913.  He was also involved in the Hibernian Australian Catholic Benefit Society (HACBS) a church based support network that had been established by Irish immigrants. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibernian_Australasian_Catholic_Benefit_Society )  By 1914 as the clouds of world war one were rumbling in Europe, Daniel was  living and working in Raywood, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia and  Daniel was still working as a butcher. War broke out on the 28 July 1914,when Archduke Franz Ferdinand of the Austro-H...

JOHN FRANCIS WALSH - GALLIPOLI 100 YEARS ON... I first became aware of the Three Young Men from Charters Towers, whilst doing research  (2002-2015) on Samuel William HARRY whose life was detailed in 2015. You may read Samuel's story  here . Hugh Quinn the second (who had Quinns Post named after him) had his story told here ...these two men were mates in Charters Towers, Queensland. They had many common interests too. But, there was also a third young man, whose name was John Francis Walsh. One of the main reasons for doing John's story last, was that I truly believed that it would be difficult to tell his story. But, I was so, so wrong. MAJOR JOHN FRANCIS WALSH John Francis Walsh was the third son of John Walsh and Ellen Buckley born 1 February 1890 in Charters Towers. He had three brothers, Edward Peter, Robert Joseph, William John and an elder sister Mary Catherine Walsh. John was educated at the Boys' Central State School, Charters Towers and ...

Goodbye 2016...Hello 2017 "Celebrate Your Genealogy Feats of 2016!" Thanks to an email I received late last year from Diane Haddad Editor, Family Tree Magazine ,  I’d like to finally bid goodbye to the year that was 2016…(better late, than never). It wasn’t one of my fav years, I had my biggest health challenge to date, a diagnosis of Leukaemia…but it is a battle that I’m currently winning. So whilst the year didn’t progress well for me initially, it ended up on a much happier note. So now I'm going to celebrate my genealogy feats of 2016... Genealogy was 'technically' put on ‘hold’ as I focused on getting well as quickly as possible. But I did manage a few wins… Completed the second blog about ‘Three Young Men From Charters Towers’ who went to Gallipoli and didn’t return home. This year will be about the third…it’s due for publication 25 April 2017 – Look out for it. The first one I did is here Cousin Michael & Fiona...

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...