May 2013
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Ancestry’s Brad has been working on...
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Brad Argent on Nightlife
Ancestry’s Brad Argent joined Tony Delroy on ABC’s Nightlife last week to talk about Great Gatsby family trees and the NSW Industrial School Registers, 1867-1925.
Listen to Brad’s interview with Tony Delroy on the ABC Nightlife podcast website here.
April 2013
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February 2013
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Thanks to everyone who submitted questions for our...
January 2013
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150 years of the London Underground
This week marks 150 years of the London Underground. The first underground journey took place between Paddington and Farringdon on the Metropolitan Railway on 9th January 1863.
We found this old postcard of Piccadilly Station in our UK and Ireland Historical Postcards collection which is free to search online.
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Elvis Presley
Happy birthday to Elvis Presley, born on this day, 8 January, in 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi. Here he is on the 1940 US Census with parents Vernon Elvis and Gladys Love, aged 5.
Elvis went on to become one of the most popular musicians of the 20th century.
He married Pricilla Ann Beaulieu in Nevada in 1967 and had daughter Lisa Marie in 1968.They divorced in 1972, shown below in the California...
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Louisa Collins
On this day, 8 January, in 1889, Louisa Collins was hanged in Darlinghurst Gaol, the last woman to be hanged in NSW. Dubbed as “Lucretia Borgia of Botany”, Lucia poisoned her two husbands and son with rat poison.
Here she is in the NSW, Gaol Description and Entrance Books, 1818-1930. Her height has been recorded as 5 foot 3 1/2 inches, with black hair and brown eyes.
Under the...
December 2012
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Mary Christmas
You may remember this time last year, we came across Santa Claus in the 1930 U.S. Census alongside his wife Mabel and 6 children.
This year, we have found Mary Christmas. A number of them in fact.
There is Mary Christmas, aged 39, on the NSW, Assisted Immigrant Passenger List, 1828-1896 with her husband Robert and 4 children including another Mary.
Then there is Mary Christmas, aged 59, from...
October 2012
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Real James Bond Uncovered
Sidney Reilly, the secret agent widely believed to be the inspiration for Ian Fleming’s legendary character James Bond, has been uncovered in one of our collections.
The record (shown above) was found in the British Army WWI Medal Rolls Index Cards, 1914-1920 collection, which details the medal entitlement of more than 4.8 million WWI soldiers. It reveals that Reilly’s Military Cross was...
September 2012
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Queen Victoria in the 1841 England Census
Census records are a wonderful resource for family historians and help you discover details like the names, ages, birthplaces, occupations and relationships of your ancestors.
Even Queen Victoria herself was included in the 1841 England Census along with Prince Albert at Buckingham Palace (record shown above). Also present in the Palace on the night of Sunday, June 6th 1841 are the Earl of...
August 2012
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Immigrant Ancestors
As a nation of immigrants, most of our families have come from somewhere else. How many nationalities make up who you are? We’re keen to find stories of members with mixed ancestry showing the rich tapestry of nationalities that make up Australia and New Zealand.
If you have an interesting mix of ancestry and would like to share your story, we want to hear from you! Simply Submit Your Story...
July 2012
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1940 Census Indexing at Ancestry.com Now 70%...
Last night Ancestry.com posted images from twelve more states, bringing the total to 37 states and the District of Columbia. With 70% of the images now indexed, you’re chances are better than ever for finding family. Newly added is Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Utah.
Take a look at some of the...
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Captain N.R. Howse
On this day, 24 July 1900, Sir Neville Reginald Howse (pictured above) became the first soldier in Australian services to be awarded a Victoria Cross medal - Britain’s highest award for valour “in the face of the enemy”.
Born in Somerset, England, in 1863, Howse studied medicine in London before migrating to Australia. He served in the Second Boer War with the NSW Army Medical...
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Happy Birthday Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was born on this day, 21 July in 1899 in Chicago, USA, to Clarence Edmond and Grace Hall Hemingway.
After high school, Hemingway left for the Italian front, enlisting with the World War 1 ambulance drivers. In 1918, he was seriously wounded and returned home. He is shown in the 1920 US Census above, with his occupation was listed as “none”.
Hemingway went on to marry 4...
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Matthew Flinders
Captain Matthew Flinders died on this day, 19th July, in 1814.
Born in England in 1774, Flinders was the first explorer to circumnavigate Australia and identify it as a continent.
He is shown above in the NSW, Colonial Secretary’s Papers in 1798 on a list of grants and leases of land registered in the Colonial Secretary’s Office.
On his return to England in 1803, Flinders was held captive...
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Two New Zealand V.C.s in One Day
The UK, Victoria Cross Medals, 1857-2007 collection lists the recipients of the Victoria Cross (VC), Britain’s highest award for valour “in the face of the enemy”.
On 15 July 1942, two New Zealanders distinguished themselves and were recognised with the Victoria Cross.
Sergeant Keith Elliot (pictured above) was awarded the Victoria Cross after he led a bayonet charge, despite...
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Ben Chifely
On this day, 13th July, in 1945, Ben Chifley became the 16th Australian Prime Minister.
Joseph Benedict Chifley was born on 22 September 1885 in Bathurst, NSW. He was an engine driver for many years before becoming Prime Minister after the death of John Curtin in 1945.
He is shown above in a 1930 Australian Electoral Roll with his wife Elizabeth.
Ben Chifley was Prime Minister until December...
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June 2012
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Historic Law Breakers and Mischief Makers Revealed
We recently added over 67,000 prisoner records and mug-shots of Victorian criminals with the Dorset, England Prison Admission and Discharge Registers 1782-1901 and Dorset, England, Calendar of Prisoners, 1854-1904.
These records provide a vivid glimpse into the world of Victorian crime with the prisoners included convicted for a variety of offences.
Those convicted of minor crimes such as...
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Love separated by 10,000 miles and The Great...
David Brown, along with his mother, brothers and sisters, decided to emigrate from Dundee in Scotland to Perth, Western Australia in 1929. They had been working in Dundee within the jute industry, but the industry was on the decline, and the Australian Government was encouraging migrants to settle in Australia by paying most of their fare.
David Brown was only 19 when he left Scotland, but he...
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Happy Birthday George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair, better known by his pen name George Orwell, was born on this day, 25 June in 1903 in India.
He moved to England at the age of one and is shown below on the 1911 England and Wales Census, aged 7, with his mother Ida, sister Avril and 2 servants.
Eric Blair went on to become a renowned author and journalist, best known for his novels Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm, which...
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Look who's in the 1940 US Census
We have recently added the 1940 US Federal Census to Ancestry.com.au with the states of New York, Washington DC, Delaware, Maine and Nevada currently searchable by name.
Here are just a handful of recognizable names we’ve discovered in Washington DC and New York.
Washington DC
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
President Franklin Roosevelt and wife Eleanor are in the White House, just where you’d...
May 2012
15 posts
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Tell us about your British ancestors
With the Queen about to celebrate her diamond jubilee, marking 60 years as Monarch, and her birthday long weekend next week, what better time to celebrate our British ancestors!
If you are one of the many Australian and New Zealanders who have British ancestors, we want to hear about them.
Do you have an interesting story about a British ancestor you discovered through Ancestry.com.au? Simply...
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Fitzy & Wippa’s Family History
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Happy 100th Birthday Patrick White
Patrick Victor Martindale White was born on this day, 28 May, in 1912 in Knightsbridge London. He can be found in the England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915 shown below.
His family moved to Australia 6 months later and Patrick White went on to become a renowned author, penning 12 novels and 8 plays.
White spent some time in England and returned to Australia after the War,...
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Fame and Fortunes
The England and Wales National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858–1966 records are particularly interesting as they show where and when your ancestors died and the value of the estate they left behind.
Now I don’t know about you, but none of my ancestors left too much money behind, but there are a few famous faces in these records who had larger estates than the...
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1911 England and Wales Census
The 1911 England & Wales Census contains over 36 million records and a wealth of information for family historians.
I was having a look through the records and found a Mr William Joylance Court. His occupation is listed as a Barrister at Law and he is shown with his wife Mary and 2 daughters, Evelyn and Dorothy. Also listed are his 10 staff members including a butler, valet, footman,...
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Tilly Devine in the 1911 England Census
Best known as a Sydney criminal, gang member and madam, Matilda “Tilly” Devine was born Tilly Twiss in the UK in 1900.
She can be found on the 1911 England and Wales Census with her parents Edward and Alice and 7 siblings, residing at 57 Hollington Street, Camberwell in London. A few years later in 1917 she married Aussie serviceman James Edward Devine. She arrived in Australia in 1920 and became...
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Little Nan
Having grown up with my great-grandparents who were fabulous story-tellers, I didn’t think I’d uncover anything in my family history that I didn’t already know. However, I came to uncover some remarkable stories about the women in my family and I thought it was no wonder that when women are seriously ill in my family the general reaction is “she’ll be right, we only...
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Finding Mum's Heritage
On retirement I decided to take up the hobby of finding where we came from, not an easy feat as Mum had very little information about her Mother who died at the age of 32 in child birth.
Mum being only very young was fostered out to a family friend with her stepbrother, who she had no idea at the time was her stepbrother. When Granddad remarried Mum was brought back to the family unit, however,...
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Mother's Day Stories
Mother’s Day is fast approaching and we’d like to hear about the mothers in your family.
How has Ancestry.com.au helped you discover more about the mothers in your family tree? Be it your own mother, a grandmother, great grandmother? Let us know!
Simply click on Submit Your Story and enter your anecdote. Remember to add photos of your ancestors in your story if you have them. Click on Submit a...
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Proposal by Post
My parents met when they worked for the same firm in Purfleet, Essex in post-war Britain. Their friendship developed when they both played sport for the firm’s sporting club, and subsequently started dating.
In 1952, Dad decided to immigrate to Australia, following his brother who had left England in 1949 with his young bride, to try life in “the lucky country”. Dad and Mum continued...
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Old Romantic
My father was never very demonstrative of his love for our mother and he always called her “Mum”. Three years ago our darling mother who will be 95 this coming September had to be placed in a Nursing Home for the extra care she needed as she can no longer stand or walk.
Whilst sorting through her belongings I found several beautiful love letters that our father had written to her before they were...
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Just like Clark Gable
It was during WW2 that women learnt what they were made of, and when men realized they needed women more than ever before.
Vi, a young woman of 16 years, went to work in an ammunition plant. She thought if she couldn’t shoot the enemy then she could make the bullets that did.
Every week a list of soldiers names would be put up on the notice board and all the women would gather around. The...
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The Prettiest Picture
It was 25th April 1950, and it was an overcast morning. My nan was heading to the ANZAC ceremony and coincidently so was my pop as he fought in the war. At the gathering they were seated next to each other and my nan being ever so shy and ladylike, kept to herself although she did notice the handsome man next to her.
My pop saw nan and thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen....
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Lucky Switch
It was 1967 in Sydney, Australia, and my 18 year old mother Kathleen had decided to sneak out to meet her friends. Though terrified of heights, her only choice was to climb out her second story terrace house window.
On her return, she had to climb back up to the window to get back inside the house without disturbing anyone… but it would not budge!
It was only then she saw the four inch...
April 2012
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A life of tragedy
My 3rd great grandfather, William Bennett Wood was born in Kent, England in 1813, by the time he was 21 he married Sarah Quelch. Together they had four children, one of which was my 2nd great grandfather, Walter Bennett Wood.
In 1948, William worked as a warden and lived at the Pentonville Prison cottages. At this time tragedy struck the family. In April 1848 Sarah died of TB, in that same...
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Peter Jackson link to J.R.R. Tolkien revealed
New research from Ancestry reveals that New Zealand film-maker Peter Jackson’s grandfather had a brush with the author of the Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien.
The story began in World War I with Peter’s grandfather, William John Jackson, who fought at the bloody Battle of the Somme with the South Wales Borderers’ second battalion.
On July 24, 1916, a young Tolkien arrived at the...
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An Aussie Hero - Saved by a stainless steel mirror
Thomas Ralph Tipton Brain was only 17 when he first enlisted to fight in WW1. He was dispatched to Egypt on board the HMAT A64 Demosthenes to prepare to embark for Gallipoli. Unfortunately, he suffered from dysentery and literally ‘missed the boat’ to Turkey.
Thomas was sent to France to serve and fight in the battles of ‘The Somme’ and Villers Bretonneux. It was in Villers Bretonneux that the...
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The ANZAC's Oldest Recruit
Like many brave Australians, during WW1 William Schmutter was eager to do his part for his country and lied about his age in order to be eligible to enlist. However, unlike many young Australians, William did not change his date of birth to make himself older, but rather the opposite.
Kate Mills, an Ancestry.com.au member, was not aware her family had any military history until she accidentally...
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Bram Stoker 100 Year Anniversary
Today marks 100 years since the death of Dracula author Abraham “Bram” Stoker. He died in 1912 aged 64 and can be found in our England & Wales National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills & Administrations) 1861 – 1941.
As you can see from the record above, he left effects of GBP4723 to his wife Florence – approximately AUD$670,000 in today’s money - a considerable amount compared to the...
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Great Great Grandfather David Croal
In August 2009 I began researching my family history after catching the “genealogy bug.” My paternal grandfather’s mother was Elizabeth Croal. She was born in Scotland in 1873, the youngest of 3 children (brother Alexander and sister Margaret), to parents David Croal and Christian/Christina Croal nee Alves. The family traveled to Australia and arrived in Sydney in August 1883...
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