Tracking Joseph and I found ...

While browsing in TROVE and discovering that Joseph Antoney was a winemaker of some renown in the Mackay District in the late 1800s, I thought what else was he up to? 

So on to TROVE to see what else I could find and I found an obituary for his wife, Elizabeth Hannah Antoney nee Young, my 2nd great grandmother. I had not previously found her obituary so as you can imagine I was thrilled. The image from the Daily Mercury on 2nd February 1921 is very faint, so I am unable to put a snapshot of it on this blog.

Not only were her children mentioned, and I knew about all of them, but her arrival in Queensland at Port Keppel (Rockhampton) on the Fiery Star in 1864 was new. I had not been able to find her arrival for certain on any passenger lists as you can imagine Elizabeth Young is not an uncommon name.  More interesting was the fact that Joseph was a quartermaster on the Fiery Star and left the ship in Brisbane. I wonder if the romance blossomed on board the ship or when they met in Bowen later did they reconnect? They married in Bowen in 1866.

Reading on further there was another surprise: "...A sister, Mrs. AIex. Walker, also resides in the district, and had of late been in attendance at the bedside of her sister". A sister? Why had I never heard about a sister? My grandmother, Dorothy May, was the keeper of all things family, both from her family and her husband's family, and had never spoken of an aunt that was her grandmother's sister. I sensed a family story.

So I started to research Mrs Alex Walker and found her death record in the Queensland BDM index and found her death:

1931 C3908  Mary Jane Walker  Henry Young  Anna Murry

Yes, this proved that Mrs Alex Walker was the sister of Elizabeth Hannah and had married Alexander Walker in Queensland in 1872:

1872 C324  Mary Jane Young   Alexander Walker

Why had my grandmother never mentioned an Aunt Mary or an Aunt Mary Jane? My grandmother, who was born in 1898, spent much of her childhood with her grandparents Joseph & Elizabeth Antoney in and around North Eton and according to other articles in TROVE, the Walker family resided in Walkerston some 16 km away.

So, the discovery of another 2nd great-great aunt is exciting and I now have another family to research and discover. Stay tuned.

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1921 'PERSONAL.', Daily Mercury (Mackay, Qld. : 1906 - 1954), 2 February, p. 2, viewed 19 February, 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article188692401
https://www.qld.gov.au/law/births-deaths-marriages-and-divorces/family-history-research/

TROVE Tuesday - Antoney's Wines cont'd

Following on from last Tuesday's post about the purity of Joseph Antoney's wines I came across further information extolling the benefits pf the wine as ascertained by doctors.  

Joseph advertised his wine in the 1920's as "recommended for invalids as well as a beverage" with a price of 8/6 per bottle or 18/- per gallon. In today's prices that amounts to $29.30 per bottle or $62.06 per gallon. You could purchase quite a good bottle of red today for $29.30, so I guess Joseph's wine was rather good. After all, he had won "highest prizes at Mackay Annual show last two years."

According to my grandmother, Joseph was proud of his winemaking and loved tending his vineyard. I certainly have a love of a good red and am sure that this appreciation has come down the generations from Joseph.

Joseph died on Christmas Eve,  24 December 1923 and had been tending his grapes until about a month before his death. I'm sure some of his wine was drunk in memory of Joseph at his funeral and wake.

1922 'Advertising.', Daily Mercury (Mackay, Qld. : 1906 - 1954), 16 October, p. 7,
viewed 3 February, 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article169201418

1920 'Advertising.', Daily Mercury (Mackay, Qld. : 1906 - 1954), 7 October, p. 8,
viewed 3 February 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article188695732

1922 'PURE GRAPE WINES.', Daily Mercury (Mackay, Qld. : 1906 - 1954), 30 August, p. 11,
viewed 3 February 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article168994045

TROVE Tuesday - Antoney's wines

My maternal grandmother had always told me that her grandfather, Joseph Antoney, grew grapes and made his own wine. So I was delighted to come across this snippet in TROVE.

1920 'ANTONEY'S WINES.', Daily Mercury (Mackay, Qld. : 1906 - 1954), 9 July, p. 6,
viewed 2 February, 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article173786352

The transcription of the article is as follows:

Recently an officer of the Health Department, in pursuance of his duties, visited amongst, other vineyards' where wine was being manufactured that of Mr Joseph Antoney at North Eton. After inspecting the vineyard, the wine cellar where the grapes are pressed, and all the apparatus connected therewith he went to a shop where the wine was being retailed and procured a bottle of it, which he sent to the Government Analyst. The report received showed that the wine was the pure juice of the grape without any objectionable features. Mr Antoney now advises supplies can be obtained.

As Joseph came from the Azores Islands in Portugal wine would have been a staple for him. Perhaps my love of wine has been handed down the generations from Great Great Grandfather Joseph.

DNA and all that jozz

DNA & my family tree

DNA and all that jazz - I was trying to think of that old song, All That Jazz, don't know why exactly, just that it seemed to encompass what I was wading through at the time.

After the very successful DNA Special Interest Group at GsQ the other week I should understand more I guess. But and it's a big but, the cousins marrying cousins in my family tree just seem to be there to confuse one. I like to imagine that some of my ancestors were sitting beside a blazing fire and decided that they would keep their family origins hidden. Just in case, you see that a descendant, me, should go poking around.

I think I have the three relevant types of DNA: Y-DNA, Mitochondrial DNA, and Autosomal DNA. Why do I ask didn't I get my mother's DNA before she passed away last March? Would have been a good move but on reflection, I don't believe Mum would have acquiesced. She would have said something like "don't be silly why would you want my DNA, you know I'm your mother". Ever a practical lady my Mum.

So my next chore is to work out which of my surviving cousins I can ask to take a DNA test. Particularly in the Connor and the McCann bloodlines. This will take a bit of working out as I have limited contacts in my generation. I will need to get out my cousins chart to decide who will be the most appropriate to approach with my request for their DNA. Fortunately some of the cousins are interested in family history so wish me good luck and stay tuned for updates.