Part of the worldwide genealogy/family history community
FamNet eNewsletter September 2022
ISSN 2253-4040
Quote: If your family members won’t talk about a particular
relative, a seasoned genealogist knows that they are keeping mum about
something very interesting – unknown
Contents
Do you want to
receive this newsletter every month?
DNA Testing for
Family History
Ceremonies in Auckland – Kuomintang
A Visit to My
Country of Birth
From our Libraries and Museums
Various Articles Worth Reading
The Public Record
Office of Ireland fire and the Beyond 2022 project
Finding Info in
Unindexed Records on FamilySearch.org
The Statistical
Accounts of Scotland
How to Find
Adoption Records in the UK
Where can I Find Workhouse Records?
Researching the
history of your house in Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland
The Lost Family: How DNA testing is upending who we are
To Unsubscribe, Change your Email Address, or Manage your
Personal Information
Editorial
Hello fellow hermits.
Greetings and welcome to another issue of the FamNet newsletter.
As you probably worked out, FAMNET hit technical problems and faded from the internet. We had no method of contacting the subscribers. It’s now been fixed and Robert will write an erudite column explaining his difficulties in this newsletter. That left me with no work for a few weeks and I wandered about aimlessly with nothing to do. My wife volunteered a list of jobs to fill in my time but that wasn’t a pleasant option.
I started writing for this newsletter in 2015. That means that I have written over 70 monthly columns of about 1000 words. No wonder I have problems thinking of something to write about because I must have covered most topics. Even my coffee mate, Allan, has run out of research problems or accidents of research that inspire me into a burst of written masterpieces. My U3A Group has contributed some inspiration. Some of my regular columnists have been contributing even longer than I. Therefore, it is no surprise that they have dried up of subject matter in their particular field. For instance, Gail Riddell must have written about everything in the rapidly developing field of DNA Testing and consequently has run out of words. Past contributors such as Jan Gow, Adele the Carterton area specialist, Anne Sherman (our English researcher) and others whose names I have forgotten in my present state of dementia have run dry. Robert and I thank them for their contributions and hope an irregular contribution arrives in the email. We need help. We need to fill the huge gaps that now appear. Please consider writing an article or two – no need to produce 77, leave that to this idiot.
Lastly I “fickled” for a day at the recent Genealogy Conference/meeting/public gathering at the Fickling Centre in Mt Roskill. Diane Wilson has given a brief review in her column. But I found the wearing of a mask was quite restrictive. My glasses were constantly fogged and sometimes I had very pleasant conversations with people I couldn’t identify. The sun did shine, the coffee was very pleasant and the lectures I attended were enjoyable. I look forward to the next edition which may not need face masks.
Anyway, back to reality. Once again, we have an interesting newsletter. The articles are varied. The jokes are funny although they are not the main reason for reading the newsletter.
I hope this month’s issue occupies some of your time and you find something valuable.
Peter Nash
Do you want to receive this
newsletter every month?
This newsletter is free. There are not many free newsletters of this length in New Zealand. I am biased but it should be an interesting read.
To subscribe is easy too. Go on - don't misspell it as I have, twice already. https://www.famnet.org.nz/
The front page is lovely, but click on [Newsletters]. A page opens showing you a list of all the past newsletters, you can click the link to read one that you’re interested in.
Like the front page, the newsletters page has a place where you can log on or register. It’s in the top right-hand corner. Put your email here and click [Continue]. If you aren’t already on our mailing list, there will be a message “Email not in database” and a button [New User] appears. Click this and follow the dialog to register. It’s free and easy. You should receive a copy every month until you unsubscribe.
Robert has assured me that he will not send begging letters to your email - apparently, he has enough money at the moment. You will not have to put in your credit card number. You will not be charged a subscription.
Tell other genealogists so they can enjoy the newsletters too.
Regards
Regular Contributors
From the Developer
FamNet is back Online!
FamNet has been running without problems for years,
especially since we switched to using AWS (Amazon Web Services) to host the web
page and the database. But suddenly, everything stopped for both FamNet and MANASYS
Jazz. My technical support (www.ifm.net.nz) quickly restoreed
Jazz to full functionality, but we had a difficult issue with FamNet due to the size of its database. And without
being able to access the database, we couldn’t send out a note to everybody to
tell them what was going on. All I could do was contact our
contributors, and also post on newzealand@groups.io. I hope that this reached most of
you.
After what’s been a stressful few weeks, I’m delighted to say that FamNet is back (since Monday 29th August), and everything important is working correctly. I’m still working through a few issues, please be tolerant and let me know of any problems that you find.
The problem was that we either had to pay an excessive license fee for SQL, or trim the database to under 10GB. We trimmed the database, removing features that were never used or didn’t work properly, and reducing the size of the genealogy database. The trimming was much more than I had initially expected, but we’ve got the gold – trees that are associated with known users who have taken the trouble to add scrapbook (pictures etc.), suggesting that these trees are unique to FamNet and have been kept up to date. I expect to transfer more data, as we check that it’s what we want.
What caused the problem?
The version of SQL Server that we’d been using was free, and had no size limits, but we had to update our AWS server with current software, and we found that the free version of SQL Server now limits the database size to 10GB. Our database was about 32GB, so it seemed that we would have to pay a license fee. At first, we thought that there was an option that would be affordable, it would cost an extra $240 a month, and FamilySearch agreed to increase their payments to cover this (thank you). Then we found that this SQL license wasn’t available to us, we would have to pay almost $10,000 per year. We can’t afford this! We had to find another solution.
We’d have a solution if I could reduce the database to 10GB or less. To make this possible, I’ve spent a couple of weeks creating a new database containing only the family trees that had valid users. Over half the trees had been uploaded in the early days from publicly-available sources, but had no owner that we could contact. I omitted these, plus a few others that had invalid username (like blank) and couldn’t have been accessed anyway.
I also dropped our general resource databases because The Wilson Collection has a much more useful database for this kind of data. I also dropped various features (Group Calendars, Identify Pictures, Help Wanted, Help Offered, …) that never worked properly and weren’t used. The result is that FamNet came down to 8850MB, under the 10GB limit, so we should be OK. The GDB contained about 6.3 million records. So with help from IFM (my technical support) we attempted to upload this trimmed database last Friday. Everything started uploading correctly, and the upload ticked up – 2%, 3%, 4%, … then nothing. Eventually a restart message appeared and I started again – 2%, … The highest I got to, in 3 hours of trying and multiple attempts, was 14%.
Saturday was spend trimming the new database further. Currently the database has only 750,000 names in the GDB, and now takes 1404MB, but we’ll have the most important records. My selection criteria: if any of your records had any “scrapbook” – pictures or documents – then all of your records will have been included. I reasoned that if all we had was a Gedcom, then you would have had a copy elsewhere and wouldn’t be depending on our copy.
750,000 instead of 15M – but we’ve kept the gold! These are the family trees that have been updated, so somebody cares, and takes responsibility for them. The other are just names and dates of dubious accuracy.
If we’ve sent out a newsletter then we’ve succeeded in setting up this new database. You’ll find that most of FamNet still works, and I believe that your data will be available. If not, please contact me, and I’ll get it back for you – I have a complete copy of the full database, before anything was trimmed from it, on my PC. Apparently, Microsoft only bothers about charging for SQL Server when it’s attached to a web site.
What’s the Same? What’s Different?
Expect the trimmed FamNet web site to be a bit different, and please be tolerant as I get things fixed up so that it works. Mostly.
Row 1 buttons (no logon needed).
These all work as before, except for [Newsletters]
Newsletters. This was the top priority: we need to be able to upload newsletters and send them out, and you must be able to see all the previous newsletters from the Newsletters page, including the one that we’ve just sent out. In Newsletter mode, this works as before. But none of the other buttons on the newsletters page will work: -
I’ll remove them, in the meantime expect problems if you click any of the buttons like [Ask an Expert] etc.
Row 2 Buttons (require a logon)
Genealogy Database(GDB). You’ll immediately see that it only contains about 750,000 records. The selection criteria was: if there was a scrapbook item with any of a user’s records, then all their records were included. This is the FamNet gold: we’ve got the most valuable family trees. However, I have a complete copy of the old database on my PC, so I can restore them. If your data is not currently in FamNet and you want it restored, just email me, and I can transfer your records from the full database that’s on my PC.
Everything seems to be working correctly with the GDB except for the TimeLine view, and I haven’t yet tested the Charts function. As time permits, and prioritizing what people ask for, I’ll fix problems as they’re reported to me or I find them myself. You’ll be able to look up records, as before. All of your records should be available. If not, please let me know: I have a complete copy of the previous database on my PC – all 15M records – so if I left anything out that you want, I will be able to find it and add it.
I haven’t yet tested a GED upload. You should be able to upload them, I will have to manage the processing into the GDB until I have verified that it works correctly.
General Resource Databases. The web page seems to work, but there’s nothing there and at best you’ll get messages saying “0 records found”. I plan to remove this button, The Wilson Collection does this much better than we ever did.
Documents. There is no data supporting this function, it will be probably be removed. However, if somebody wants this retained, I can easily re-build the database tables that supported it. So let me know.
Cenotaph Links. This has proven problematic, and will be removed.
Groups. This functions as before, allowing users to manage their family groups.
Telling your story: Index
1. Writing your story as notes, or with Word.
2. Embedding pictures in Word documents.
3. Saving Documents for Web Publication.
5. Sharing your Story: Managing your Family Group
6. On Line Editing: More Facts, Family, GDB Links
7. Comparing and Synchronising Records
9. Merging Trees. Part 1: Why Bother?
10. Merging Trees. Part 2: Adding Records On-Line
11. Merging Trees. Part3. Combining Existing Trees
12. Finding Your Way Around FamNet (Getting Help)
13. FamNet – a Resource for your Grandchildren
14. FamNet’s General Resource Databases
15. Updating
General Resource Databases
16. Privacy
18. Linking trees
20. Uploading Objects to your Database
21. Bulk-uploading Objects. FamNet resource: Useful Databases
22. Publishing Living Family on Family
Web Sites
23. Have YOU written your family story yet?
24. Editing and Re-arranging your Family Tree On-line.
25. It’s the Stories that Matter
26. Using QR Codes for your Family History
27. What happens to our Family History when we’re gone?
The Nash Rambler
Old Newspapers
In a previous occupation before this
present one of growing old disgracefully I was in the Labour Relations field. I
had much interaction with reporters who always seemed to get the wrong view of
the things I was involved in. They, the reporters, all had their own “slant on
life” which seemed to disagree with my own correct view. I learnt that what
appeared in the newspapers was not always right. In fact, the papers were
always wrong except for matters such as birth notices and, generally, all death
notices, were right i.e. the person no longer
breathed. And if you were the subject of an article in the Truth newspaper you
were not a person to be seen with.
But, with age, I have changed my feelings towards the press. Newspapers are now considered to be totally correct. The PapersPast website is one of the most important sources and I believe everything I read in that website.
Let me give an example or two. First, a lady in my U3A genealogy group mentioned that, for thirty odd years, she had struggled, unsuccessfully, to find the parents of her great grandfather who married in NZ (about 1875) and died here (about 1915). So I decided to use this as an example for the group. I immediately looked in PapersPast for the death notice and/or an obituary and found both. The obituary gave the name of the father. I then searched for any marriage notice or article and found quite a long article which gave the name of his father. Funnily enough the name was the same as in the obituary. I then went onto Ancestry.com and looked for a family tree for the great grandfather and couldn’t find one that had the required parents. So, in a moment of pure inspiration, I searched for a tree for the name mentioned in the obituary and marriage article and found quite a few with one having a lot of sources. This tree gave at least three generations back. A quick press of the button and I presented her with a copy of the tree (three generations) and told her to check every fact. Not a bad ten minutes work and the rest of the group were stunned by my success.
Some time ago my coffee mate Allan mentioned that he couldn’t find how his grandfather came to NZ in the early 1900s. We decided that he came by Air NZ because that was the only option left to explore. The next day I was idly exploring PapersPast and entered the surname of Allan’s grandfather. I got over 600 hits and I slowly scrolled through them. I saw a report of a divorce case and it was the said grandfather. The evidence presented included the fact that he and his then-pregnant girlfriend had “borrowed” his brother’s passport and travelled to NZ as husband and wife under his brother’s name. It even named the ship and its arrival date. That fluke cost Allan quite a few coffees.
Another of my U3A group was asking about his grandfather. As part of my “fiddling around” I searched PapersPast and came up with a coroner’s inquest into a death of a lady in Feilding. His grandfather was on the jury and one of the witnesses was the daughter of said deceased lady who subsequently became the grandfather’s second wife – the witness not the deceased.. The researcher was amazed and mentioned that he wondered where the second wife had come from and how they had met. Good old newspapers seemed to have solved that.
Now I’m a believer of everything I see in newspapers. How can they be wrong when they solve problems such as the above. What can possibly fit the scenario must be correct.
DNA Testing for Family History
From the editor: Gail has written quite a series on DNA Testing. You will see them all on the FAMNET website and they are a must-read, particularly if you are considering or have had a test done. They are easy to read and not too technical. Click Index so far to see these articles
Gail is having a break this month. She
deserves it. If there is a particular question (on DNA matters) you want
answered please communicate it to me & Gail may answer it
Chinese Corner
Ceremonies
in Auckland – Kuomintang
Afternoon tea, served at long tables, followed the speeches. Later a similar meeting was held in the rooms of the Kuomintang in Bledisloe Street. A service was held in the Chinese Church in Cook Street in the evening, the sermon being delivered by the Rev. Y. S. Chau. A feature was the singing of Chinese songs. Madame A. Milburn sang a sacred solo. Throughout yesterday the national flag of China was flown from the window of the association's rooms and also on. a number of Chinese shops. NEW ZEALAND HERALD, VOLUME 80, ISSUE 24711, 11 OCTOBER 1943 https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19431011.2.39?items_per_page=10&page=4&query=kuomintang+auckland&snippet=true
AUCKLAND DELEGATE KUOMINTANG CONFERENCE One of the three Australian and New Zealand representatives to attend the sixth conference of the Kuomintang, the Chinese National People's Party, in Chungking in May, will be Mr. Gum Leong Lowe, of Auckland, who will be the first man to go from New Zealand specifically to attend one of these conferences. Mr. Lowe is a Queen Street fruiterer. He has been chairman of the Auckland branch of the Kuomintang for many years, and is also a member of the Auckland committee of the New Zealand Chinese Association. He was chairman of the meeting organised by the Auckland committee of the association last year in celebration of the founding of the Chinese Republic, and has taken a prominent part in raising funds for China. AUCKLAND STAR, VOLUME LXXVI, ISSUE 63, 14 MARCH 1945 https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19450314.2.35?items_per_page=10&query=kuomintang+auckland&snippet=true
中國國民黨屋崙支部團體合照 Photo of KMT members from the
Auckland branch in front of the KMT building |
The
32nd anniversary of the founding of the Republic of China was celebrated
yesterday by members of the Chinese community at a reunion in the rooms of
the Auckland branch of the Chinese Association of New Zealand, in
Grey’s Avenue. There was an attendance of over 60, including members of the
executive of the association, the parent body of which is the Chung 
Diane Wilson
Marriages
Recently I attended the Auckland Family History Expo at the Fickling Centre for the Saturday. It was interesting to see just how many of the regular attendees were not there due to health and age issues. It was hard to identify folk with the mask wearing and indeed I had a long and pleasant conversation with this tall man for some time. In the end I had to admit I did not know who I was talking to only to discover that it was a long time (over 40 years) friend. Fortunately, I had not said anything out or order. The rooms were not overflowing as usual and indeed it had a different post-covid feeling. And even the genealogy issues seemed different. The enthusiasm was still there and the questions similar to other years but the answers were much more internet and DNA affiliated. We live in very changing times.
My own experience recently is a case in point.
On Aug 4th I posted on a Facebook interest group page a query about a wedding report from the Northern Advocate of 16th April 1925 for a W DOBBS and Ethel BROWN wedding at Whakapara. There were interesting suggestions and from these clues I decided that the closest possibility was a marriage of Ethel BROWN to William SINCLAIR. It did seem a huge leap of faith.
Believe it or not there were two Ethel Browns married in 1925. I managed to get the actual date of the two marriages from a process of elimination on the BDM site and one was immediately discarded. The other was near in date to the publication of the report so this became my focus. Back to the old and much used certificate answers.
I have a very generous supporter of the Wilson collection and she purchased the printout from Wellington. Sure enough, the mother was Elizabeth DOBBS nee SINCLAIR and JONES. William signed with his mark. I assume he was born before his mother remarried and then used the name of the second husband. All perfectly understandable when you see the paper before you. I currently have another marriage which is proving hard to pin down, but hopefully we will overcome. Anyone who has many hours and a bent for puzzles please get in touch.
This does take time to work out and somehow, I love the chase but resent the time as I could probably enter many more names while I do the search. Ah well if it was easy, I guess the task would have been done many years ago. I keep telling myself it is like climbing Mt Everest – one step at a time
The Wilson collection is progressing steadily, and I am so grateful to all those who have been generous and shared their New Zealand marriage certificates. Folk now, and in the future, will be grateful. My plea is to you all to add to the collection by scanning or photographing any marriage certificates and if possibly encourage any of your genealogy friends to do the same. I will not use the full transcription only the place of marriage.
Diane Wilson
Guest Contributors
Ken
Morris
A Visit to My Country of Birth
|
In July 2022 when COVID restrictions were eased I made a visit to my country of birth, the 1st for four years and 40+ years since I migrated to Australia with my family. The primary purpose of visit was to attend a reunion and to catch up with family, friends & former colleagues and see what was happening. My travels took me to Auckland bustling and full of cars, Tauranga, my hometown, much bigger and thriving, Rotorua, still smells the same, the Waikato and very green (a green we don’t see in Queensland). And a quick trip back from Cambridge to Auckland on a motorway where the last 5km took nearly as long as the first 140 km. My favourite beach Piha now has a single EV charging station with a P120 sign. Talking to those I met up with, mostly retired but some with businesses all had mixed thoughts as to how the country as going in both societal and economic areas, with more headwinds rather than tail winds likely. To further understand what has & is happening I purchased four books.
Of these I’ve only read ‘Blue Blood’ to date & hopefully the Editor will give me space for the review of others in later Newsletters. BLUE BLOOD – I’m not doing a review because of its political content, but suffice to say that even if it’s only partly true it records a collection of deplorable social behaviour by political figures. This certainly is not confined to NZ, we have similar behaviour in Australia with the added factor of both federal & state politicians spread over nine parliaments. THE BIG QUESTIONS – WHAT IS NEW ZEALAND’s FUTURE? Was published in 2018 so will be interesting to see what has been achieved in the intervening four years to resolve or improve on the topics raised. The fourteen questions are by individual and independent authors. THE PENGUIN HISTORY OF NEW ZEALAND. Published 2003 & this edition in 2012. One of many books on NZ by Michael King. May take some time to read and will be interesting to see where things I may have been taught in the 1940’s & 50’s may now be debunked or proven to be wrong. IMAGINING DECOLONISATION A serious of six essays on the subject Decolonisation. The blurb from the publishers BWB Texts says “Imagining Decolonisation presents a transformative vision of a country that is fairer for all” & “Decolonisation is a term that alarms some, and gives hope to others. It is uncomfortable and often bewildering concept for many New Zealanders” - infers a widely discussed concept? BWB Texts are described as ‘Short books on big subjects by great New Zealand writers’, will see how the term ’great’ stands up. Global warming, climate change & the reduction of CO2 gases in relation to NZ were topics that provided discussion during my visit, whilst not wanting or being allowed for an expansive coverage in a newsletter from FAMNET, I found the debate somewhat lacking in balance and many positions taken on basis of media reporting and comment without in some cases a rudimentary check on the facts. A review of articles and reports from a variety of sources show there some big issues to resolve in order to keep the NZ economy moving and to meet the emission targets the government and its related organisations have committed to. It’s going to take a lot of goodwill and likely expensive solutions to allow meaningful targets are met and ensure New Zealand doesn’t suffer an economic & societel collapse trying to meet the targets I will see if the subjects of the four books give me hope for positive outcomes. |
|
George
Warcup
A
Wellington Story
My mother’s father, George HAZLEWOOD’s father’s name was William. William did not die from old age or one of the numerous aliments that shortened the lives of many of our ancestors, but drowned aged fifty-two as result of a tragic accident in Wellington’s harbour. Worse for all concerned, William did not drown alone but with two young girls, the children of his friends, entrusted to his care
Often passed unnoticed, and not far from where we now live in Waikanae is a remnant of Wellington’s early industrial history. Carefully preserved, standing over three metres tall, and mounted between the footpath and an engineering workshop in Rimu Road Paraparaumu is a large, toothed gear wheel which is well over one hundred years old, and was originally part of the machinery used to draw ships onto dry land for painting and repairs. This enterprise was situated in Wellington’s Evans Bay, just south of Greta Point where NIWA, the Government Oceanographic Institute, is now located, and was known as the Patent Slip. It was in this small bay close to this slipway on New Year’s Day 1897 events unfolded that would set the course of their lives and those of their children
On that day in company of a large number of friends, William and some of his family attended a picnic in Evans Bay not far from Greta Point near the Patient Slip.
During the day William gave rides to the picnickers in his nineteen-foot sailing boat. The demand for places in the boat was high and William made several trips around the bay rowing out to Greta Point and then catching the northerly wind and sailing back to the beach.
A wharf ran out from the bay reaching nearly to the point and other objects called dolphins were set in the bay to assist in when slipping ships.
All went well until shortly before 4 p.m. when with a friend John Wilson and eight women and children set off for another trip. The boat was rowed out to the end of the wharf and the lug sail set but apparently did not catch the breeze. Drifting towards one of the mooring dolphins set in the bay the boat came close up to the wind and jibed. The sail passed rapidly from one side of the boat to the other catching the dolphin and overturning the boat. The occupants in full view of their horrified families ashore were left struggling in the water. Another rowboat was on the beach but had no oars. Some small children ran to tell their father, the foreman of the Patent Slip while the upturned boat steadily drifted further away from shore. A boat was launched and by the time it reached William’s boat only John Wilson and six of the other exhausted passengers were left clinging to the hull. Of William HAZLEWOOD and the others there was no trace. The body of William and that of a young woman were recovered from the water next day. The third body, a child, was recovered a day later.
Great-grandfather William HAZLEWOOD was born in Magdalen Laver, Essex on the 8th March 1845 the eldest of the eight children of William and Elizabeth HAZLEWOOD (nee CHURCH).
William’s parents were farmers; they employed household servants, and farmed 150 acres with the aid of some nine labourers. They lived near the village of Matching, not far from Epping which is now an outer suburb of greater London but in those times was a small market town some twelve miles northeast of the city. The HAZLEWOOD’s were a pious church-going family, and young William was a trained musician with a fine singing voice. For some reason he was not attracted to farming. At an early age William went to sea, making as many as two trips to New Zealand before deciding to settle here. No records have been found of William’s permanent arrival in this country.
It appears that William was what we would now call an illegal emigrant when he deserted the barque Adelaide Baker around 1863, then made his way to Wanganui to work for a farmer before later reverting to his trade of seaman on coastal shipping around New Zealand.
On the 8th February 1871 aged twenty-six William married Emily PICKERING in Wellington. Family lore has it that the young couple first lived in mud hut situated on Wellington’s Town Belt where some of their children were born, and later they settled in Owen St Newtown. Within one year of their marriage their first child Emily was born. She was followed by another nine children including my grandfather George HAZLEWOOD. William continued to make his living from the sea and was at times both a lighter man ferrying cargo to and from ships anchored in the harbour and a sail maker, at first in a partnership called Hazlewood and Knight then later again in another partnership known as Hazlewood and Williams.
Highly thought of by his friends, William, a non-drinker, was a member of both the Rechabites, and Oddfellows Lodges and an active member of the church where he was choirmaster and played the organ.
As sail gave way to steam, the sail making business was wound up and by 1897 at the time of his untimely death William was employed in the carpet department of Kirkcaldie and Stains.
Starting with the death of their father, 1897 was a very bad year for our HAZLEWOOD family. The two Emilys, mother and eldest daughter, were in poor health, both suffering from the debilitating effects of consumption (tuberculosis). In that same year as their father’s death their eldest sister Emily, aged twenty-six, died. The following year it was the turn of their mother Emily to die, again probably suffering from the same dreaded disease, her death certificate notes the cause of death as exhaustion, she was aged forty-six. Two years later their youngest sister Elizabeth seventeen died, another victim of tuberculosis.
In those times of rudimentary health care there was no social security system, but throughout their ordeal the remaining members of the family were supported by their close neighbours and friends the family of Samuel and Elizabeth FREE. The Free family numbered thirteen children, and the Hazlewood family ten. As a consequence of this close association many of the Hazlewood boys married the Free family girls and Hazlewood girls married the Free boys.
An
Invitation to Contribute:
I have a number of people that contribute occasional articles. These appear irregularly if and when the authors send them to me. I use them to bulk up each month's newsletter. The more we have the more "rests "I can give my much-appreciated regular columnists.
This is a way that a person can get some of their writing published. Of course, we are all writing up our research results, aren't we? I have always said that every genealogist is an expert in some small piece of history, resources or research methods.
We circulate this newsletter to about 7,000 subscribers worldwide but is read by many more as it is passed on to other readers and LDS research centres. Every month I get feedback on my poor attempts at writing and I have now made many "new friends", albeit digital ones, I have even had some very helpful assistance in my research.
Why don't you contribute an article?
My basic requirements:
1) The column must be in English
2) The column should be no longer than about 1,200 words
3) The article should be emailed to me in a Word document format
4) The subject should be genealogical or historical in nature
Do not be afraid about your "perceived" bad English. The article will be edited, in a friendly manner, by me and then Robert. Then all columnists and a few valuable proof-readers get to read the newsletter before it is emailed out. You’ll be paid $0 for your article, which is on the same scale that Robert and I pay ourselves for editing and publishing the newsletter.
From
our Libraries and Museums
We are offering a forum to our libraries and museums to publicise their events, and to contribute articles to this newsletter that may be of interest to our readers. Auckland Libraries makes good use of this free service, let’s see if other libraries and museums take up this offer.
For readers of this newsletter: please bring this to the attention of your local libraries etc, and encourage them to participate.
Auckland Libraries
Are you interested in family, local and social history, the stories of Aotearoa New Zealand, the Pacific, and beyond?
Then why not come along to one of our fortnightly HeritageTalks | Waha pū-taonga and hear more about both our personal and our shared heritage?
These talks are given by experts in their field and can provide valuable insight into our histories and our cultures.
When: Wednesdays, February to November, 12noon - 1pm
Where: Auckland
Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki Gallery,
Cnr of Kitchener & Wellesley Streets . Also online via
Zoom
Cost: Free
Bookings: https://www.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/Pages/family-and-local-history-events.aspx
For queries contact Research Central ph 09 890 2412.
September
Wednesday 14 September 12pm - 1pm
Three Tāmaki
Makaurau art libraries
Join librarians from The Angela Morton Room | Te Pātaka Toi Art Library, the E H McCormick Research Library at Auckland Art Gallery, and Special Collections at Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero | Central City Library to learn more about their collections and services through this visually engaging talk.
Discover what makes each of these collections unique, learn about the history of each repository, and find out how these libraries can help you with your art practice or research.
Friday 30 September 12pm-2pm
Light refreshments served from 12pm, discussion panel begins 12.30pm
Papers Past Turns 21: Panel Discussion
(Auckland)
2022 marks the 21st anniversary of the initial release of Papers
Past.
It is regarded as a go-to site for researchers, genealogists, students,
and all with an interest in our history. The range of uses and impact the
website has had on research in New Zealand is vast.
Join us in person or online for this event for a panel
discussion with speakers from a variety of careers and backgrounds, who each
has a unique perspective to share on using Papers Past.
Light refreshments will be served from 12pm and the discussion panel
will begin at 12.30pm.
This event is one of three discussion panels to celebrate the 21st
anniversary of Papers Past.
About
the speakers
Paul Diamond (Ngāti Hauā,
Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi) was appointed as Curator, Māori at the Alexander
Turnbull Library in 2011. He is the author of three books (A Fire in Your
Belly, Huia 2003; Makereti: taking Māori to the
World, Random House NZ 2007; and Savaged to Suit: Māori and Cartooning in
New Zealand, Fraser Books 2018), and has also worked as an oral historian and
broadcaster. In 2017 Paul was awarded Creative New Zealand's Berlin Writer's
Residency to complete a book about Charles Mackay, a mayor of Whanganui who was
killed in the 1929 May Day riots in Berlin. Downfall: the destruction of
Charles Mackay will be published in November by Massey University Press, and
made extensive use of Papers Past.
Caroline Daley is a Professor of New Zealand History and is the University of Auckland’s
Dean of Graduate Studies. Her historical work focuses on gender relations and
the history of the body in twentieth-century New Zealand. Her sole-authored,
prize-winning books include Girls & Women, Men & Boys: Gender in Taradale 1886–1930, and Leisure and Pleasure: Reshaping and
Revealing the New Zealand Body 1900–1960, and her co-authored books include
Suffrage and Beyond: International Feminist Perspectives and The Gendered Kiwi.
Caroline and the research postgraduate students she supervises
have been avid users of Papers Past since its inception.
Seonaid (Shona) Harvey (RLIANZA BA IL Dip RIM) has been senior research librarian,
family history specialist, for more than 12 years, and is based at Research
Central, Central Auckland Library. She looks after the international family
history collection, helps customers with the research which includes Book a
Librarian appointments, provides training for staff and customers, and organises
events like the Auckland Libraries HeritageTalks and
the Auckland Family History Expo. She has spoken at various libraries around
New Zealand, as well as for the NZ Society of Genealogists, Australasian Federation
of Family History Organisation, and Unlock the Past conferences.
Carmen Parahi is Pou
Tiāki Editor at Stuff.co.nz. She began her journalism
career in 2001. Since then she's reported for a range
of community and regional papers, online, and on television in Aotearoa New
Zealand.
David Reeves Director of Collections & Research at the Auckland Museum leads
the team of curators, collection managers, conservators, librarians, and other
specialists who contribute their expertise across the wide range of disciplines
and subjects represented in the Auckland Museum collections. David joined the
Auckland Museum in January 2011 after a time at the Alexander Turnbull Library
as Associate Chief Librarian, Research Access. David's career also includes
roles at the Auckland Art Gallery and at Te Papa
where he managed logistics, storage, and documentation of collections. He holds
a Bachelor of Building Science from Victoria University of Wellington and Diplomas
in Professional Photography and Museum Studies.
Booking essential
To attend in person, please book via Eventfinda
(any Covid19 restrictions in place at the time will apply):
https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2022/papers-past-turns-21-panel-discussion-auckland/auckland
Register to attend via Zoom for this event:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcsdO2hqjovGtz-iDHQj_A1_xaEVScwyJF3
(after registering, you will receive a confirmation
email containing information about joining the event)
October
Auckland Heritage
Festival
Saturday, 1 October to Sunday, 16 October
See www.heritagefestival.co.nz
for more
Sunday 2 October 11am - 12 noon
From Flour to Towers: Josiah
Clifton Firth of Auckland and Matamata with Lisa Truttman
For
over 40 years, Josiah Clifton Firth and his businesses were an integral part of
Auckland's developing economy in the second half of the 19th century. He was an
ultimate capitalist who rode the waves of opportunity to profit by both his businesses
and the Waikato War. He was also an obstinate defender of his own self-interests,
and a dreamer of dreams that saw the creation of at least two enduring features
on the landscape, testaments to his fancies. Join Lisa Truttman
as she discusses the life and times of this complex captain of Victorian
Auckland industry.
Wednesday 5 October 10am-11am
Ulumate Project: Sacredness of Human Hair Series with Daren
Kamali and Joana Monolagi
The
Ulumate Project has been a 25-year year journey to make
a contemporary ulu cavu wig and revive the ancient
practice of Fijian wig making. It began with the collection of Daren Kamali’s hair in 2007. “It was at Auckland War Memorial Museum
in 2013 that Ole Maiava (photographic documenter/
Artist) brought the ulu cavu wig to my attention” -
Daren Kamali. In 2021 heritage weaver Joana Monolagi completed the creation of an ulu cavu using magimagi (coconut coir)
and Vau (Hibiscus stem). Join Na Tolu – The Three in talanoa as they share the work and knowledge on the Ulumate practice.
Wednesday 5 October 12 noon-1pm
History in a Coffee Cup – better
than your latte fix with Tony Batistich
In
Greenwoods Corner there’s a café brimming with history: a special ‘sense of place’
for Tony Batistich that led him to tell its story and
its part in the web of its neighbourhood’s growth and change. Not in a book,
however, but by using a coaster, a QRCode and a StoryMap. Auckland Libraries’ collection of photographs is
integral to this, imparting graphic histories and prompting us to look more
deeply into what they depict, and by combining images, biographies, documents,
interactive maps the story breathes life.
Wednesday 12 October 12 noon-
1pm
A bird’s eye view - aerial
photographs
at Auckland Council Archives with Owen Gordon
Auckland
Council Archives holds the historic records of the legacy councils of the Auckland
region, including thousands of aerial photographs dating back to 1940. This
talk will include a brief history and explanation of aerial photography in New
Zealand, before focusing on Archives’ collections. We’ll look at the qualities
that make these photographs so valuable and show how they have been used by
local authorities for many different purposes over the years. We will also talk
about how these photographs can be accessed and show how they might be of
interest to local and family historians.
Wednesday 19 October 12 noon
– 1pm
The passing of the pioneers:
The obituaries of
the Old Colonists and a changing country
with Liam Appleton, Auckland Libraries
(Change of topic from previous)
Throughout
the late 19th and early-mid 20th-Centuries, New Zealand newspaper
readers could regularly find the stories of early settlers memorialised in
extended obituaries, a genre reserved for the commemoration of “Old Colonists”.
The columns recorded both the ordinary and remarkable individuals who
collectively comprised the foundational generation of settlers. Yet the category
of Old Colonist clearly designated a distinction between present generations
and the gradually fading frontier experiences of these foundational figures.
In this talk, Research Librarian Liam Appleton asks what these efforts to
remember the Old Colonists might tell us about Pakeha New Zealanders understanding
of themselves amidst an increasingly developing and urbanised country.
November
Wednesday 2 November 12 noon
-1pm
Settling the Waikato
with Marie Hickey, Auckland Libraries
In
the early 1860s the Government developed a scheme to bring large numbers of people
to settle in the North Island. The reality was that a vastly reduced number of
immigrants were brought out under what became known as the Waikato Immigration
Scheme (not to be confused with the military settlers of the four Waikato
Regiments). This talk looks at the range of records of this scheme from passenger
lists, land allocation, provision of seed, etc. What requirements did they have
to fulfil to be accepted? What incentive was offered? Who was sent where? Where
are records/information held?
Wednesday 16 November 12noon
– 1pm
My Mother and Other Secrets with Wendyl Nissen
When
Wendyl Nissen's mother was suffering with Alzheimer’s,
she told some extraordinary stories about her background that Wendyl had never heard before. Determined to get to the bottom
of these family secrets, Wendyl found some wild and
intriguing stories of loss, grief, and love. She uncovered new relatives,
deeply sad adoptions, harsh parenting, complex marriages, and a few rogues.
Additional talk for 2022
Wednesday 30 November 12noon
– 1pm
An
Italian in New Zealand with author Wilma Giordano Laryn
TITLE
OF THE BOOK: Tales from the Wood’s Edge – a memoir
A small Italian family of parents, daughter and dog, moved
to New Zealand in 1996. Here they met adventures and natural disasters,
observed animals and nature, while establishing a vineyard and winery, and
doing many more things. The book also tells of their life in Italy and Japan,
and holidays around the world. It is also a woman’s personal story of
emigrating to a new country and integrating with the local way of life. A large
and entertaining cast of characters, human and animals, intertwine their
stories, told with freshness, nuance, vivid imagery, introspection and a sense
of humour.
About the author
In Italy Wilma studied and taught Maths, and acted in a feminist theatre group. In New Zealand from 1996, she’s been Marketing Manager of the family wine business, president of Christchurch Dante Society and founder of its Language School, radio broadcaster and presenter and producer of a TV cooking series. She taught Italian for Musicians at the Christchurch University School of Music and cooking at evening classes. She received a civil honour from the Italian Government and a medal from the Dante Headquarters. Now she’s retired and lives in Auckland where, besides writing, she plays bridge and goes sailing.
Copies of the book will be available for sale for $30
cash
This ends 2022 HeritageTalks programme – thank
you all for your support
HeritageTalks for 2023 begin again on Wednesday 8
February 12pm
We are taking expressions of interest and/or suggestions for speakers
and topics for next year’s HeritageTalks programme
DEADLINE for expressions of interest submission
For the programme Feb-June 2023, deadline will be 17 October 2022 (programme distributed 1 Jan)
For the programme June-Nov 2023, deadline will be 27 March 2023 (programme distributed 1 June)
Please email seonaid.harvey@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
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https://soundcloud.com/auckland-libraries
And see more on our YouTube
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Nga mihi | Kind regards
SEONAID
Seonaid (Shona) Lewis RLIANZA | Family History Librarian
Central Auckland Research Centre, Central City Library
Heritage and Research
Auckland Libraries - Nga Whare Matauranga o Tamaki Makarau
Ph 09 890 2411| Extn (46) 2411 | Fax 09 307 7741
Auckland Libraries, Level 2, Central City Library, 44 - 46 Lorne Street, Auckland
Visit our website: www.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz
@Kintalk on Twitter / Auckland Research Centre on Facebook
Group
News
News and
Views
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Various Articles
Worth Reading
From the Editor: Because of space restrictions and copyright issues I cannot put the complete articles in this newsletter so here are some URLs that are worth looking at. Just click the heading.
The Public Record Office of Ireland fire and
the Beyond 2022 project
Finding Info in Unindexed Records on FamilySearch.org
The Statistical Accounts of Scotland
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How to Find Adoption Records in the UK
Where can I Find Workhouse
Records?
What are
Tithe Maps?
Researching the history of your house in Tāmaki
Makaurau / Auckland
In conclusion
Book Reviews
The Lost
Family: How DNA testing is upending who we are
By Libby Copeland ISBN 978-1-4197-4300-9, published 2020 by Abrams Press
The
Auckland Public Library has the following summary of the book:
You swab your cheek
or spit in a vial, then send it away to a lab somewhere. Weeks later you get a
report that might tell you where your ancestors came from or if you carry
certain genetic risks. Or the report
could reveal long-buried family secrets
and upend your entire sense of identity. Soon a lark becomes an obsession, a
relentless drive to find answers to questions at the core of your being, like "Who am
I?" and "Where did I come from?" Welcome to the age of home genetic
testing. In The Lost Family,
journalist Libby Copeland investigates what happens when we embark on a vast
social experiment with little understanding of the ramifications. She explores the culture of genealogy
buffs, the science
of DNA, and the business
of companies like Ancestry and 23andMe, all while tracing the story of one woman, her
unusual results, and a relentless methodical drive for answers that becomes a
thoroughly modern genetic detective story. Gripping and masterfully told, The Lost Family is a
spectacular book on a big, timely subject.
I have spoken to groups on a number of occasions on the subject of DNA testing. I am not against DNA testing but I warn my listeners to take careful consideration on what may happen as a result of a “wrong result” being achieved. I explain that their father may not be their genetic father and nobody in the family knows anything about that. They may be adopted or the result of incest, rape and other nasty incidents.
I warn them that their data is “not their data” and is owned by the testing company who can sell it, use it for a totally different purpose than supposed at the time of “spitting into a bottle” or that the person being tested can expose their relatives to police scrutiny without any permission. I warn that they are paying the testing company to do the test and thus add to the company’s ever-increasing database of genetic data.
I suggest that before submitting to the testing procedure they seriously think about what could be the result.
This book, which I found in the library, by accident, is a very readable version of my speech. I found that the book fully explained, with examples, of all the possible test results and the possible complete disruption to family stories, relationships and dynamics. I recommend it.
I have not had my DNA analysed and, at the moment, do not intend to do so. But it is probably a pointless decision because a few of my relatives have done so and, as the book explains, my DNA can be deduced from their test results.
Help wanted
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