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.
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/
Tuesday, 23 February 2016
Tuesday, 9 February 2016
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.
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.
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| 1922 'Advertising.', Daily Mercury (Mackay, Qld. : 1906 - 1954), 16 October, p. 7, viewed 3 February, 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article169201418 |
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| 1920 'Advertising.', Daily Mercury (Mackay, Qld. : 1906 - 1954), 7 October, p. 8, viewed 3 February 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article188695732 |
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| 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 |
Tuesday, 2 February 2016
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.
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.
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| 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
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| DNA & my family tree |
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.
Wednesday, 20 January 2016
Getting organised
Many thanks to DearMyrtle and her Getting Organised blog. I am attempting to get organised on two fronts; my family history files and resources and the Official Opening & Family History Fair at the Genealogical Society of Queensland (GSQ).
The opening and family history fair happens on Saturday 6 February and is a wonderful - and justifiable excuse - to procrastinate about the organisation of my family history. I promise I will get organised DearMyrtle, I do promise!
As the GSQ Secretary, I have a few things to help get ready for the Fair as you might well imagine. The fair will be in our carpark and as you can see it's open to the weather so I am quietly talking to the 'Weather Gods' about fine conditions for the day - perhaps you might add your requests for good weather? We have however organised marquees etc. so unless it is a complete downpour everything should work out.
A good excuse for procrastination about getting organised? Absolutely. So after the fair in February, I will have no more excuses and will start to sort my family history.
The opening and family history fair happens on Saturday 6 February and is a wonderful - and justifiable excuse - to procrastinate about the organisation of my family history. I promise I will get organised DearMyrtle, I do promise!
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| GSQ - 25 Stackpole Street, Wishart 4122 - Thanks to Geoff Doherty for the picture |
A good excuse for procrastination about getting organised? Absolutely. So after the fair in February, I will have no more excuses and will start to sort my family history.
Wednesday, 13 January 2016
Back in the land of the blogg - January 2016
Well in spite of good intentions to get back to my blog in October 2015 events conspired to prevent this - the old saying "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" certainly applies.
2015 was an interesting and at times difficult year. My mother passed away suddenly on 17 March, St Patrick's day - appropriate don't you think as her name was Patricia. Her passing caused me to stop and think about life in general. I mean, my mother had obviously been there all of my life. Most of this time we were close but as many mothers and daughters do drift apart at times, however, we were close for all of this century. I phoned Mum every day around 4:30 pm and we both looked forward to our chats - nothing earth shattering just day to day minutiae.
Then in June, I needed more surgery on my troublesome hip - another visit to my favourite hospital! Unfortunately, this was unsuccessful and to date, I have dislocated the hip five times since June. The last two events on the 12th December and New Year's Eve afternoon, so I started the 2016 year in the hospital. Does this auger well for 2016 you might ask? Well, I intend to have a wonderful 2016 and get things back on track - the power of positive thinking perhaps?
To end the year, my stepfather Raymond passed away at 3:00 am Christmas morning. He had been in care since the death of my mother in March and with his dementia growing ever more obvious he had lost the will to live. He is now buried next to my mother at the Allambe Memorial Park in Nerang.
So with the move to premises of the Genealogical Society of Queensland (GSQ) in November and the troublesome hip dislocations the last few months of 2015 need to disappear into the haze of time. The good news is that members are enjoying the new premises at Wishart and it certainly is a fresh start to 2016. GSQ is planning an official opening and family history fair on Saturday 6 February and any genie friends in Brisbane are invited - do come along and see for yourself the new premises and enjoy a sausage sizzle and secondhand book sale as well as interesting information tables and more.
I also started a One Name Study of my Proverbs family, starting in Barbados then moving to the United States, England, New Zealand and Australia. I am finding the study fascinating and am just starting to sort through data and fleshing out interesting tidbits. If anyone has info on the Proverbs family please get in touch.
So here we are at the start of 2016, I have looked at Dear Myrtle's organisation posts and will try and do some of them - I certainly do need to clear some space - both physically and in my head! I am going into hospital in late February for more surgery and hope to have my new laptop up and running by them so that I can continue my research from the hospital bed. My favourite hospital now has wifi so that makes it easier to keep connected.
Stay tuned in 2016.
2015 was an interesting and at times difficult year. My mother passed away suddenly on 17 March, St Patrick's day - appropriate don't you think as her name was Patricia. Her passing caused me to stop and think about life in general. I mean, my mother had obviously been there all of my life. Most of this time we were close but as many mothers and daughters do drift apart at times, however, we were close for all of this century. I phoned Mum every day around 4:30 pm and we both looked forward to our chats - nothing earth shattering just day to day minutiae.
Then in June, I needed more surgery on my troublesome hip - another visit to my favourite hospital! Unfortunately, this was unsuccessful and to date, I have dislocated the hip five times since June. The last two events on the 12th December and New Year's Eve afternoon, so I started the 2016 year in the hospital. Does this auger well for 2016 you might ask? Well, I intend to have a wonderful 2016 and get things back on track - the power of positive thinking perhaps?
To end the year, my stepfather Raymond passed away at 3:00 am Christmas morning. He had been in care since the death of my mother in March and with his dementia growing ever more obvious he had lost the will to live. He is now buried next to my mother at the Allambe Memorial Park in Nerang.
So with the move to premises of the Genealogical Society of Queensland (GSQ) in November and the troublesome hip dislocations the last few months of 2015 need to disappear into the haze of time. The good news is that members are enjoying the new premises at Wishart and it certainly is a fresh start to 2016. GSQ is planning an official opening and family history fair on Saturday 6 February and any genie friends in Brisbane are invited - do come along and see for yourself the new premises and enjoy a sausage sizzle and secondhand book sale as well as interesting information tables and more.
I also started a One Name Study of my Proverbs family, starting in Barbados then moving to the United States, England, New Zealand and Australia. I am finding the study fascinating and am just starting to sort through data and fleshing out interesting tidbits. If anyone has info on the Proverbs family please get in touch.
So here we are at the start of 2016, I have looked at Dear Myrtle's organisation posts and will try and do some of them - I certainly do need to clear some space - both physically and in my head! I am going into hospital in late February for more surgery and hope to have my new laptop up and running by them so that I can continue my research from the hospital bed. My favourite hospital now has wifi so that makes it easier to keep connected.
Stay tuned in 2016.
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