Scottish Valuation Rolls - What can they tell us about Ancestors?

Scottish Valuation Rolls - What They Tell Us About Ancestors

Scottish Valuation Roll 1915 - John McDade

Every document on which we discover the name of an ancestor is a significant asset to family history research. Each individual piece of information gathered, helps to piece together a more complete picture of our ancestors' lives. 

If you are a family historian who is interested only in collecting names and dates for your family tree, then Valuation Rolls will probably be of little concern to you. If, like myself, you seek to put 'flesh on the bones' of each and every ancestor, then the unique information that these records offer, will I warn, cajole you into many late nights of researching. Scottish Valuation Rolls are available online on the Scotlands People website for the years, 1895, 1905, 1915 and 1920. Valuation Rolls from 1856-7 and 1957-8 are fully digitalised and although not online, are available for searching in the reading room at the National Archives of Scotland (NAS). Valuation Rolls not yet digitalised, but which are indexed, can also be searched at the Archives. For the rolls not yet indexed, the search process is a time consuming one which involves looking through many volumes of records, and for this reason, the National Archives of Scotland does not undertake searches on behalf of applicants. The following websites offer excellent explanations of the Scottish Valuation Rolls:

http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk 

http://www.nas.gov.uk/guides/valuationRolls.asp

National Archives of Scotland in Edinburgh

A Short History of Scottish Tax and Valuation Rolls

Scottish Land Tax Rolls date from around 1645.  These inventories listed the owners of landed estates and recorded  the assessed  value of their land.  Compiled on an irregular basis, these rolls allowed for the established of tax collection on land ownership in Scotland from 1679 onward. Hearth Tax Rolls introduced in 1691, imposed a tax on anyone who owned a hearth, (this included kilns) . Owners of households and the amount of tax paid is listed on these rolls, although hospitals and the poor were exempted from Hearth Taxes. A fascinating list of taxes, arranged by county and burgh were introduced in Scotland from 1748 through to the end of the 18th century. These taxes provide a wealth of exceptional information about ancestors, the dwellings they lived in and their lifestyles. Such taxes and valuation rolls include, Window Tax Rolls(1748 which was a tax on the number of windows in a dwelling, Male Servant Tax Rolls 1777, Shop Tax Rolls (1785) , Horse Tax Rolls (1785), Female Servant Tax Rolls (1785), Carriage Tax Rolls (1785), Cart Tax Rolls (1785), Clock and Watch Tax Rolls (1797), Farm Horse Tax Rolls (1797) and Dog Tax Rolls (1797). Despite limited information on the actual records themselves, finding ancestors on tax rolls in itself can be quite informative. Discovering that an ancestor was wealthy enough to possess several watches or clocks or that a forebear could afford to pay 5 shillings per year in tax for each non working dog they owned, contributes substantial evidence of their social and economic circumstances. Many of these rolls have survived and are searchable online through the Scotlands Places website by means of a subscription.
www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/

In 1854, The Lands Valuation (Scotland) Act, introduced a means of systematic assessment of all property in Scotland. A Valuation Roll was produced each year and sent to Register House in Edinburgh. 

Horse and Carriage Tax Roll

Scottish Hearth Roll 1691-1695 for Denny showing my ancestor Robert Gilmour

What are Valuation Rolls? 

Prior to the Lands Valuation Act of 1854 in Scotland, land taxes contained only the names of land owners and little or no information concerning tenants or occupiers of properties. The Lands Valuation Act was significant in that it authorised assessors to gather information regarding every house, building and piece of land in every county and parliamentary burgh in Scotland. These rolls, compiled annually from 1854 to 1988, listed the name of the owner of the property, the property type, the occupier and the valued amount of rate paid. Other family members do not appear on valuation rolls, however there is a treasure of other information which can be found in these rolls for family historians researching Scottish ancestors.

What else can be found in Valuation Rolls?

If you have Scottish ancestors, the property valuation records can be an invaluable source of information which may not be found anywhere else. Unlike birth, death and marriage certificates, which often do not give a precise address, valuation rolls list not only a complete address, but also the type and description of the building a forebear inhabited, ( ie house, shop, church, factory), whether your ancestor owned or rented the property and the rateable value of the property based on the amount of rent paid per year. This information along with a comparison of rents paid and dwellings occupied by neighbours of ancestors, offers a considerable perspective of the social and economic situation of  the communities in which forebears lived and worked. Valuation Rolls also provide evidence of addresses for years between the census records.

Where census records state the occupation of an ancestor, the valuation rolls list not only occupations but most significantly, you may very well find the name of the company which employed your ancestor, or the name of a business owned by an ancestor, or the name of a farm on which they worked. If your Scottish ancestor happened to be a coal miner, like quite a few of mine were, knowing the name of the company and the mine in which they worked, is an extraordinary find. There are some extremely helpful websites which offer information about Scottish mines, work conditions, living conditions, details of accidents which occurred in particular mines as well as details concerning housing and living conditions for miners and mine employees. The Scottish Valuation Rolls provide a window into the past which offers a glimpse as to how ancestors really lived.  Two such websites well worth exploring if you have Scottish mining ancestors are:

www.scottishmining.co.uk/  
www.pdmhs.com/MinesIndex1896Scotland.asp 

The Scottish Mining Website

WARNING: Once you enter the above site... you may not leave for some time! It is extremely interesting. 

My Great Grandparents and what  the Scottish Valuation Rolls added to my Research

My Great Grandmother Elizabeth Gibson McDade 1915 and son John, a coal miner in Scotland

On my paternal McDade branch of the family tree, I come from at least five generations of Scottish miners, including my grandfather, who was a miner before he came to Australia in 1923. 

My grandfather, Colin Hamilton McDade was born in Cumbernauld, in the district of Dunbartonshire, Glasgow, Scotland in 1901. I have written in previous blogs about the significance of place and the way in which understanding the places from which our ancestors come, becomes an integral part of our heritage and our identity. 

The 1901 Scottish Census shows my great grandparents, John and Elizabeth McDade living in Roadside Street in Cumbernauld with the first three of their children, John (1894), Margaret (1896) and Andrew (1899). When I was a child and unwise to my grandfather's sense of humour, I loved his entertaining tale of being born 'roadside' in Cumbernauld. I spent my childhood years envisaging his birth on the side of a road. [ Mind you, this was not entirely implausible in my family. I have a maternal great aunt whose birth certificate states that she was indeed born, 'by the side of the road'  in 1910, Bauple, near Maryborough, in Queensland. My great grandfather, fearing his pregnant wife would not make it to the nearest doctor, left her by the roadside, on little more than a dirt track, and rushed away in his horse and buggy to find help. On his return with the doctor, he discovered that my great grandmother had given birth by herself. But that is another story entirely!] 

Colin Hamilton McDade after arriving in Australia

The most relevant information for family historians with regard to ancestors, (after collecting names and dates), is where they lived, what they did for a living and how they lived. 

Prior to searching the Scottish Valuation Rolls of 1895, 1905, 1915 and 1920, on the Scotlands people website, I had made use of census records as well as birth, marriage and death certificates to find information about my Scottish ancestors. Although one old window tax record had enlightened me as to how many windows a certain Campbell of Argyle ancestor possessed in his home, it was the Scottish Valuation Rolls which set me on a concrete journey of discovery about the types of homes and the living conditions in which my McDade great grandparents lived, as well as places in which they worked.  

The addresses and movements of ancestors can be traced by a number of means. Census data collected every 10 years provides reliable places of residence, however, census records do not account for moves within the decade between censuses. Marriage records, death records and birth records for children do not always afford dependable information, especially with regard to addresses, since births are often recorded in places other then the family home. 

John McDade, born in 1872, in New Kilpatrick, Dunbartonshire, was, as his father, grandfather and great grandfather before him had been, a coal miner.  He married Elizabeth Gibson in the Roman Catholic Church, Maryhill, Lanarkshire on the 4th of January, 1894. Between the year of their marriage 1894, and 1899, from birth records of children, I had several addresses for the family in Renfrewshire. From the 1901 census I knew the family then lived in Cumbernauld but the address was given vaguely as 'Roadside'. [To put your mind at ease, and before you despair that my great grandparents were entirely destitute, there is a street in Cumbernauld called Roadside Street.]

I had an address also for John and Elizabeth McDade from the 1911 Census Record which showed my great grandparents living at 7 Watson Street Uddingston, Bothwell, Lanarkshire. This corresponded with the address on the birth certificate of their 8th child, Robert born in 1911. The last known address for this family was listed on their immigration papers in 1922, as 3 Woodlands Terrace, Bothwell, Lanarkshire. 

Main Street Uddingston

So, although I had a number of addresses of places where my great grandparents had lived in 1894 when they married, in 1901 and  1911 from the census records and 1922 from immigration documents, I had little meaningful information about the way in which this family lived or the places in which they worked. 

A search of the Valuation Roll for 1895 found 35 men by the name of John McDade. Many could be eliminated as not being my great grandfather from their occupations. I knew that my great grandfather was a miner. My real complication for me in the 1895 valuation roll was the number of family members I had with the name John. I had a great and a great great grandfather both named John McDade as well as a number of uncles and cousins not only by the same name, but all miners.  On this particular roll it was impossible  for me to determine without doubt which one was my great grandfather, however,  I did find my two times great grandfather as the occupier of number 48 Double Rows, Thorniewoods, Uddingston, Bothwell. 

The rent which he paid per year for this house at the age of 53 years, was 4 pounds 6 shillings. The significant piece of information on this roll was the name of the mining company which employed my great great grandfather. John McDade worked for the Haughhead Mining Company Ltd. 

In the 1905 Valuation Roll I found 32 John McDades. Once again I eliminated those with the wrong occupation, however it was still difficult to determine which was my relative. The last known addresses I had for John were in Cumbernauld, Dunbartonshire in 1901 and 7 Watson Street, Uddingston, Bothwell, County Lanarkshire from the 1911 census.

Searching the 1915 Valuation Roll I discovered 41 men with the name John McDade, spread over a number of counties, and with a range of occupations. To my great delight I found my great grandfather living still at the same address as in the 1911 census,  7 Watson Street, Uddingston.  His occupation was given as a miner and he was recorded as paying 11 pounds 10 shillings per year to the owner of the house, one George Copeland, a joiner. The most significant piece of information on the valuation Roll for me, was the name of my great grandfather's employer. He was employed by The Haughhead Coal Company Ltd.  This was a crucial discovery since many records have survived which describe  details regarding the living, working and health conditions of miners in individual mines.

Uddingston today

In the 1920 Valuation Roll my McDade family were still dwelling at the same address in Watson Street but now the record showed that John McDade was employed by the Clydeside United Colliery Ltd, which operated under the management of Daniel Martin. The amount of rent paid for the house was now 6 Pounds Ten Shillings per year, which was less than in 1915, possibly due to economic difficulties after World War 1. Amongst my great grandfather's immigration documents I have since found a letter written by the above mentioned Daniel Martin, manager of the Clydside Colliery dated 18/12/1922.  He wrote of my great grandfather,

" It gives me great pleasure to testify that I have known Mr John McDade for the past five years during which time he has been employed underground at this Colliery. He is a steady sober and industrious workman and had been in every way an exemplary character signed Daniel Martin Colliery Manager"

From my searches of the Scottish Valuation Rolls I have established new lines of research which I have yet to pursue and  I have filled a number of gaps in information about places where my great grandfather and his family kived and worked. Although My grandfather, Colin Hamilton McDade was not named on the Valuation Roll, I havelearned something of his life also, since he worked in the same mines as his father and brothers until they left Scotland bound for Brisbane, Queensland, Australia on board the ship Largs Bay in 1923, when they left behind their life as coal miners forever. 

Stay tuned for my NEXT BLOG which will be entitled  Scottish Mining Ancestors - How they Lived.

The Bloggers' Geneameme

The Bloggers' Geneameme

Some of my fellow geneablogger friends....

Here is my post in response to Geniaus's 2013 geneabloggers' geneameme. Thank you Jill for once again creating an interesting compilation of questions designed to make 'we' bloggers think about our blogging and why we do it! And from me, a personal thankyou, for helping me to step out of 'essay' mode and back into blogging....


1. What are the titles and URL's of your genealogy blogs?
    I have four genealogy blogs.. one for my personal family history, another for exciting family history  'finds' and genealogy tips, a theme based blog (which sadly has been a little neglected of late) and my newest blog where I post my convict ancestor related jottings.
http://www.sharn-genealogyjottings.blogspot.com
http:/www.sharnsgenealogyhints.blogspot.com   Better known as FamilyHistory4u
http://www.geneathemeblogs4u.blogspot.com
http://www.familyconvictions.blogspot.com

2. Do you have a wonderful 'cousin bait' story?
    I have written quite a few blog posts which have resulted in my being contacted by relatives. One of the reasons I decided to blog my family history, apart from my pure love of writing itself, was to connect with people related to me who might have information to share. Many of my posts have attracted interesting responses, and if not from actual relatives, from informative folk with generous offers of assistance.  Since writing a post entitled 'Music in the Blood' about my Scottish McDade ancestors, I have been in contact with many descendants of  Agnes McDade, sister of my great great grandfather, John McDade . Although these cousins all live in America, we have become good friends and exchange family stories and we now chat on a daily basis on Facebook.  The photograph below of my great grandmother, Elizabeth (Gibson) McDade, which I included in another post about the same family, connected me with a second cousin who recognised it as a similar photograph to one she herself had. We have exchanged much information since and discovered that family anecdotal 'evidence' can vary in most fascinating ways.

Elizabeth Gibson McDade in Glasgow

Other stories written on my blogs have resulted in the exchange of information with relatives both here in Australia and overseas in England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany (my highschool and university study of the German language has proved to be useful), Switzerland, South America and New Zealand. One family history blog which I posted concerning MacDonalds of Skye, was read by an unrelated person in Ord on the Isle of Skye, who kindly described the family home (Ord House) to me and included a wonderful tale of two seeds of a particular palm tree which was sent as a gift to Ord House and to the Botanical Gardens in Kew from New Zealand. The palm tree did not survive in the gardens at Kew, however to my delight, my reader informed me that the large New Zealand palm still grows to this day in the walled garden at Ord House on Skye. It is fascinating snippets of our family history such as this which can be gleaned from responses to blog posts that makes blogging so rewarding.

Ord House - Ancestral Home of the Charles MacDonald of Ord

3. Why did you start blogging? Is there someone who inspired you to start blogging.

Until 2009, I had not heard of blogging.  I had been researching my family history for many years, and I had collected a great deal of information, but until that year, I had put few family stories in writing. In late 2009 I went to the cinema to see the movie Julie/ Julia. This movie is the true story of well known cook named Julia Childs  (brilliantly played by Meryl Streep) and an ordinary young woman named Julie Powell ( Amy Adams) who decided to blog her way through 365 days of Julia Child's  recipe book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

I found the movie to be an extraordinary story, and with my passion for writing ignited, I walked out of the theatre and announced that I was going to start a blog! That very night I googled 'blogging'. After a little research, I arrived at a choice between Wordpress or Blogger as mediums for my as yet ' undecided what to blog about'  blog.  Finding Blogger easier to use, I set up my blogger account and feeling very pleased with myself I sat back and thought, 'Now, what on earth will I blog about?"
I had never read a single blog. I had no idea what people even blogged about, apart from Julie Powell, and although I love to cook but I had no desire to repeat Julie's year long cooking exercise. Topics flew through my brain... art... books... a daily diary... Then suddenly I had one of those Eureka moments, much akin to breaking down a stubborn brick genealogical wall. I knew my blog had to be a Family History Blog and so was born my first blog.  
http://www.sharn-genealogyjottings. blogspot.com  

4. How did you decide on your blog's title?
    If I had my time over again, I would think up a much more creative name for my blog. I follow some other genealogy blogs with fabulous names. As a beginner blogger, in 2009,  I merely thought to connect the title with the topic. I now  have several non genealogy blogs (coming along slowly but surely) with more creative titles, such as Tales of Life and Teapots. I also have a new convict ancestry blog commenced this year with the title Family Convictions and another soon to be commenced genea blog entitled Traits and Traces which will display photographic likenesses between ancestors and modern family members.

5. Do you ever blog from mobile devices? What are they? 
   I find blogging from my home computer or my laptop much more Blogger friendly especially with regard to downloading photographs and having access to my huge store of scanned family documents. ( I do have back up copies on USBs but I rarely carry all my USBs around with me). Blogging as bloggers well know, is somewhat addictive ( which goes hand in hand exceedingly well with the addictive nature of family history research itself) so when I travel and invariably pick up an ancestral trail, (as family historians on holidays are wont to do) I need to be able to blog. When travelling, I blog using my Ipad and even my Iphone (though blogging on a smart phone should come with a warning that for one's eyesight,  blogging in small print is a health hazzard!).

6. How do you let others know when you have published a post?
    When I finish writing each blog post, I publish it easily via Blogger's 'share' facility. I publish all of my blogs on my Facebook wall, on Twitter and on Google Plus. I am also a member of a geneablogging Facebook Community so I can publish blog posts on that page as well as my own. I publish my blogs to share my family history and to connect with relatives as well as to share what I have learned with other family historians.

7. How long have you been blogging?
     I have been an avid blogger since 2009, although this year due to study in the  history and family history field, my blogging has had to take second place to essay writing.

8. What widgets or elements do you consider essential on a genealogy blog?
    I have a similar layout for all of my blogs with a relevant but not overpowering background. I like to keep the background for my actual writing, undecorated and uncluttered. In the sidebar of a genealogy blog it is important to have a clearly visible way for readers to Follow the blog. On my blogs I have widgets for readers to follow through Blogger, Google Plus, via Email and Twitter. One of the unfortunate things about Blogger is that readers need to have a Google account in order to follow blogs and to leave comments. I find that more people follow on other social media sites such as Twitter, Google Plus and Facebook rather than the blog itself for this reason. People are able to leave comments or connect with me in a number of ways through the sharing of my blog posts on various social media sites. I also enjoy displaying any awards I receive for my writing on the sidebar of my blogs. Awards are controversial in the field of family history, however, I believe that it is always rewarding to have one's hard work appreciated by others and I love to see awards proudly displayed on other people's blogs.

9. What is the purpose of your blogs? Who is your intended audience?
     My genealogy blogs have a number of purposes. Firstly, I am recording my family history for myself and for family. Through my blogs, I am privileged to be able to connect with family members, many distant and whom otherwise I would never meet. Through these connections, I am fortunate to exchange valuable information and family anecdotes. Many of my blog posts are intended to provide information about how to research family history. My blog posts in last year's ' Family History Through the Alphabet' challenge was an excellent opportunity for me to research a variety of subjects and to pass on through my blogs what I had learned. Through my own experiences in researching family history, I hope that through my blogs I can pass on some helpful tips to others. A slightly more unusual purpose for blogging family history for me, is to 'return' photographs and family documents which I come across, to families to whom they belong. I have found and returned to families, several diaries, as well as a number of photographs and family documents.

10. Which of your posts are you particularly proud of?
       Someone commented to me recently that she had read some of my early blog posts and that I 'have come a long way'. This was intended as a compliment, however, I suspect that in my early blogging days I had much to learn. I am proud of my early posts however, as  most of these were anecdotes about ancestors and tributes to parents and grandparents. Those early blog posts may not be written as well as later posts, but are dear to my heart. Perhaps one post I am most proud of is the one that I posted in March, 2013, entitled 'Escape from Barrenjoey - Customs House Boat Crew.'  This post can be found on my newest blog at the following URL -   http://www.familyconvictions.blogspot.com
This post related a story about my convict great great grandfather, Michael Frayne and his escape from the Customs Bay House at Barrenjoey Head. A great deal of research contributed to my discovering that my g g grandfather was one of the five convicts who built the stone steps which lead all the way up to what is now a lighthouse at Barrenjoey head, Broken Bay. The customs house was built to enforce law and order in 1842, amidst widespread smuggling operations in the area north of Sydney. It was more than the written post that I was proud of, though, since having not long recovered from a serious episode of pleurisy, I managed to climb the convict steps, a gruelling 45 minute climb to walk in my ancestor's footsteps.

Climbing in my convict ancestor's footsteps..

11. How do you keep up with your blog reading?
        I enjoy reading about history and collecting history books, so I have a large library of resources at my disposal. I usually research a topic which interests me and take notes with a blog in mind. I always make a note of sources and page numbers as I read to refer to when writing. At the moment I am studying the Advanced Diploma of Local, Applied and Family History through  the University of New England so reading history books is an essential part of every day and blogging is having, for the time being, to take a bit of a back seat. With each topic I study however, comes numerous ideas for future blogs!

12. What platform do you use for publishing your blogs?
       I use Blogger for all of my blogs although I have tried Wordpress as well. I find that Blogger permits me to be more creative in my layout, however, I haven't really spent much time with other blogging platforms. Blogger's mobile Apps need improving, but on the whole I have been happy with Blogger.

13. What features would you like to see in your blogging software?
       I'm not sure if Blogger can help me but I need a proof reader! I am a terrible typist...

14. Which of your posts has been most popular with readers?
       My posts about reuniting photographs and diaries with families have been quite popular with readers. I think that every family historian loves this kind of feel good story.  Posts on my new blog about my convict ancestors have proven interesting to readers with convict ancestors. Recently I was approached as a direct result of these convict ancestor posts, by a large genealogy company with regard to some media opportunities, which is a most exciting reward for my blogging.

15. Are you a sole blogger or do you contribute to a shared blog?
       To date I am sole blogger but as a sole blogger I find it exciting to be an integral part of a larger blogging community.

16. How do you compose your blogs?
       I usually spend time thinking and reading about the topic about which I intend to write before actually beginning to write. I write directly on Blogger, although if a great deal of research is required, I will take notes to refer to as I write. I usually rewrite a few times before I am satisfied with my blog posts. My biggest failing is proof reading.... I need an editor. (though I am grateful to my friend Chris Goopy for keeping me on my toes).

17. Do you have any blogs that are not genealogy related?
       I have a non genealogy blog in the making, entitled Tales of Life and Teapots which I intend to be an anecdotal creative writing blog.( Possibly a platform for launching several novels I have in progress....?)

18. Have you listed your blogs at Geneabloggers?
       Two are listed. Thanks for the reminder, Jill Ball to list the others.

19. What resources have helped you with your blogging?
       I use too many resources to list them all however they include books, local studies sections of libraries, local history centres, online resources such as digitalised newspapers and gazettes (Trove, PapersPast, London Times Archives) and Google Search. Google books and maps have proved very useful.  I have written several blog posts about different resources. I try to cite as many resources and sources as I can at the end of my blogs to help others in their research.

20. What advice would you give to a new Geneablogger?
       If you are contemplating blogging your family history, just start. Through blogging I have made many new and very special friends, with whom I share a love of family history and writing. I have met some of these online friends and I can recommend the blogging 'family' as being a fun, helpful and friendly community. I have learned so much more about my own family history through connecting with related people and through blogging, my research skills have improved tremendously. And best of all - bloggers wear beads! ( become a geneablogger and you will understand...)

Geneabloggers at a conference wearing identifying blogger beads...

21. The last word: an unexpected outcome of blogging.
        When I began blogging I did not have in mind making friends with other bloggers. One of the greatest joys I have discovered through blogging is the many friends I have made, both online and subsequently whom I have met in person. Some of those friends are pictured above in a group geneablogger photograph taken at a genealogy conference. I am most fortunate to be able to count Jill Ball, author of this interesting geneameme, as one of those good friends.

'Tis the Season for Blogging Awards....

Blog of The Year 2012 Award and Best Team Member Readership Award

Nominated by Aillin O'Brien, Merron Riddiford and Jill Ball

Nominated by Crissouli

Hot on the heels of being awarded Best Blog of 2012 Year Award for my newest blog 'Family Convictions - A Convict Ancestor'   which I must say, I was very excited to be nominated for by a blogger I much admire,  crissouli , I was more than surprised to find amongst the comments on my FamilyHistory4u blog, that I had been nominated for this award not just once but three times.  Fellow and greatly respected geneabloggers, Aillin O'Brien , Merron Riddiford   and Jill Ball all nominated my blog for this award which I accept with great pleasure.

Awards sometimes attract some negative attention, however, I believe that not only are they a way of showing appreciation for the hours of research that precedes the posts that bloggers write, especially in the area of history and family history, but they are also a wonderful way of networking. Nominating blogs for awards are a way of promoting the informative and often fascinating writings of others.  Each time someone nominates a blogger for an award, I discover yet another talented writer whose work I might otherwise not have read. So, a huge thankyou to all who follow and read my blogs. I'm sure you will all agree that we write from the passion for what we are interested in and in the hope that others might learn even just a little from our experiences.

The greatest critics of our own work are ourselves, and I believe that these awards are a great encouragement to continue doing what we love to do, for  as Judith Martin said, " When virtues are pointed out first, flaws seem less insurmountable." So, thank you once again for your words of appreciation and offers of encouragement. I will be posting a list of nominees who I also feel worthy of receiving these awards over the next few days.
With my return to my university course this year, my 2013 goal will be to keep writing about my genealogy journeys.

Accentuate the Positive 2012 Geneameme

Accentuate the Positive - 2012 Geneameme

Thankyou to fellow geneablogger and friend "Geniaus" aka Jill Ball, for creating her wonderful end of year geneameme.     http://geniaus.blogspot.com.au/2012/12/accentuate-positive-2012-geneameme.html?showComment=1356837606560     In a year which has been extremely busy, but as always, genealogically exciting, Jill's genememe provides geneabloggers with an opportunity to look back on the genea- year and to reflect on our 2012 unearthings, detections, locations, authentications, experimentations, calculations and if fortunate, our verifications.  2012 has been an exceptionally significant year for me as my eldest daughter and her husband extended the family tree by one tiny beautiful baby branch! So here is my 2012 POSITIVE Geneameme!

1. An elusive ancestor I found was Berthrum GAIR, also spelled Barthrum (which could have been a Latin spelling for his name). Berthrum was born in 1579, in Morpeth, Northumberland, England. My Gair line of ancestors had been resting with Roger Gair born in 1742 in Northumberland, for some years and it was only this year that I made a substantial breakthrough which led me on the trail of my 9 th great grandfather Berthrum, of whom I must say, I have become quite fond. In 1599, at the age of 20 years, Berthrum married Eliza LAWSONN. Berthrum was a Bailiff of Morpeth. He was a law enforcer similar to a sheriff and from records I have found through the National Archives, his duties would have included the enforcing of County Court judgements.

2. A precious family photo I found was a photograph of my great great grandfather, John Gottlieb NERGER. I discovered this photograph through a connection on Ancestry.com and this was a most exciting find because family anecdotes had reported that ALL photographs of my Swiss born g g grandmother Barbara Lena Häberling and her Australian born (from German parents) husband John NERGER were destroyed in a backyard bonfire after their deaths! NOT the kind of family tale one likes to hear. The surname NERGER was later changer to NARGAR to make it sound less German.

The photograph of John Gottlieb NERGER

3. An ancestor's grave I found was a very exciting find. Although not actually the grave of an ancestor, the grave pictured below is of a tombstone erected by my convict great great uncle, Laurence FRAYNE on Norfolk Island in memory of his good friend and fellow convict, William Storey. Laurence (also spelled Lawrence) Frayne was the only convict to leave a detailed and well written account of the harsh punishment received by the Norfolk Island convicts. This document is held in the Colonial Papers in the Mitchell Library in Sydney.  Laurence Frayne disappeared from the Maitland area in 1846 and it is unknown what became of him. I would like to think that this man who was sentenced to 7 years in Dublin, Ireland for stealing a piece of rope at the age of 17 years and who repeatedly attempted to escape the harsh treatment he received in the Penal System in the Australian colonies, finally did escape to make a new identity for himself and to live out the rest of his life in peace. This grave is a most tangible reminder of my g g uncle's existence.

The grave in the Kingston Cemetery, Norfolk Island erected by Laurence Frayne

4. An important vital record I found was a record which I discovered in November of 2012 in the Queensland State Archives. A basic search for the name John NERGER, resulted in a find in the 

Reformatory School for Boys Index, 1871-1906. To say I was surprised to find my two times great grandfather in a reformatory school record, would be an understatement, however, when I saw the actual document and performed further research, a story most distressing unfolded before my eyes. John Nerger, was sentenced to 5 years in the Brisbane 'reformatory school' for being 'Neglected'. He was 12 years old at the time of his sentence and the record stated that he had been in an orphanage. Since his mother had quickly remarried after the death of John's Prussian born father, Gottlieb Nerger, and had four more children, there seemed to be no explanation as to why my gentle great great grandfather, a breeder of prize canaries in his later life and a timber cutter, would have been placed in an orphanage. His full brother George, two years his junior was brought up with his mother, step father and half siblings. A much more distressing discovery awaited me as I researched the history of Westbrook Reformatory School and learned that at the time of young John's 'sentence', the school was an old convict hulk named the Prosperpine, which was moored in the Brisbane River. I found the heartbreaking to read the record which showed that John, spent a full 5 years on board this hulk. The positive side of this discovery is that I have a full description of my two times great grandfather as a 12 year old boy and now a great deal more fascinating research ahead of me as I endeavour to discover which orphanage he was placed in and at what age. 

5. A newly found member who shared my family history was a third cousin who lives in Chicago, Illinois, USA. This cousin who descends from the youngest sister of my great grandfather, John MCDADE, from Glasgow, Scotland, contacted me through my blog. We are now firm friends on Facebook and I have also come to know, her siblings and another cousin who lives in another part of Illinois. Agnes McDade, their Great Grandmother, immigrated to America and lost contact with her brother, my great grandfather, John. We have come full circle now, exchanging photographs and family stories and discovering that we share similar personality traits, especially our sense of humour!

6. A genea surprise I received was whilst in Toowoomba recently and visiting the Toowoomba and Darling Downs Family History Society, I discovered that several of the very kind ladies who volunteer there, had found a newspaper item from 1864, which led me, with the help of old maps, to find the land which my three times great grandfather, Gottlieb NERGER purchased in 1860 in Drayton, Toowoomba. I had not known that he had owned a farm so this was exciting news indeed and as I was in the city of Toowoomba, Qld, I went in search of the land and walked upon it.

Part of the land which was my g g g grandfather's farm in Jellicoe Street Toowoomba.
(now part of the land is a park) ©

One other particularly exciting genealogical surprise for me in 2012, was having my blog FamilyHistory4u  named as one of the 50 top Genealogy Blogs in Inside History Magazine. Appreciation of the hours of research and writing which contributes to each and every blog is always a great thrill for me.

7. My 2012 blog posts that I was particularly proud of were two of the posts I wrote for the 2012 Family History Through the Alphabet Challenge composed by Cassmob (Pauleen). Two posts, in particular, challenged me to commit myself to some considerable research on topics which both interested me and about which I wanted to gain some insight into. These posts were, 'N for Negative Evidence' and 'R for Relationships - Confusing Cousins. Hopefully, through my blog posts, I helped to clear up a few misunderstandings for others and as for myself, I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of the research and the writing. 

8. My blog post that received a large number of hits or comments was, a post which I published on Jine 3, 2012, entitled, "Brick Wall Blunder - Cognomen Erratum". This particular post related to understanding records and avoiding mistakes. The topic of the cursed brick wall enticed around 20,000 views, which for my little  blog is something of a record. It was this post which inspired me to set up my Brick Walls Facebook page (which I must admit I have not had as much time as I would like to administer... so here's to more time for Brick Walls in 2013)

9. A genealogical tool I enjoyed using was my Flip Pal scanner. Oh the joy of seemlessly scanning large maps and documents which once upon a pre Flip Pal time I would have sticky taped together. I could do an advertisement for Flip Pal....I'm THAT impressed!

10. A genealogy conference from which I learned something from was - I always learn something from every single conference I attend! In 2012, there was more than one genealogy conference from which I came away with considerable new knowledge. One excellent conference was the 13th Australasian Heraldry and Genealogy Congress, held in Adelaide in March 2012. Apart from the enormous amount of fascinating of information I received (especially regarding forensic DNA - fabulous!) , I enjoyed a wonderful time with a fantastic group of 'beaded' geneabloggers, who are always happily visible at conferences bedecked in bright plastic genea beads! (Thanks to geniaus for those wonderful New Orleans beads. Plastic they may be but I treasure them!) The single most valuable thing I have discovered at genealogy conferences.congresses/fairs, is that there are many wonderful friendships to be made amongst the generous and enthusiastic people who attend these events in a shared pursuit for knowledge.

11. I taught a friend how to research her house history. I have completed a number of local house histories which will be appearing on the website of my local historical society and in their second book. 

12.A genealogy book that taught me something new was ( there are too many to name here, but one stands out in my mind). Carole Riley published a book through Unlock the Past, the topic of which was Australian Land Records. I found her book to be an excellent source of information and extremely well illustrated and easy to understand.

13.It was exciting to finally meet and to put faces to many names I know so well online, ( please forgive me if I leave out your name as I met SO MANY of my online friends in 2012 that I am bound to leave someone out), Judy Webster, Helen V Smith, Kerry Farmer, Shauna Hicks, Alona Tester, Tanya Honey, Pauleen Cass, Kylie Willison, Chris Wright, Seonaid Theresa Harvey Lewis, Rosemary Koppitke,  Audrey Collins, Ben and Cassie Mercer, and many more. A very special day was spent in Adelaide with Judy Webster and Helen Smith when we journeyed together to the 'German' town of Hahndorf, near Adelaide, followed by an exceptional sunset coffee at Glenelg. Nothing to do with genealogy but a wonderful day to remember.

2012 was a very positive genealogy year for me. I made many exciting discoveries, I extended the branches of my family tree and that of my husband's. I visited the Ellis Island Immigration museum while I was in new York visiting my new grand daughter. I had the hair raising experience of  setting off from NY to Hyde Park on the wrong bus (a long story) ... in search of a large model of the yacht "Warrior" which sits in the Vanderbilt Mansion and which belonged to my great uncle in the 1930's AND I was rewarded with a private tour of the mansion AND a visit behind the scenes to actually see up close and photograph the model (not usually permitted). I found the land and graves of ancestors and visited these places and monuments. The most momentous 'find' for me in 2012, was the finding of third cousins ( I can work out the exact relationship now thanks to my blog!) who live in the state of Illinois in America. Despite that prior to 2012 none of us knew of each others' existence, we have now become firm friends on Facebook. We have shared family photographs and families stories. 

Model of the Warrior in Frederick Vanderbilt's bedroom ©

May I take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy new and genealogically prosperous year. Thank you for your friendship. I look forward to another year of journeying into the past and although I am returning to my studies in 2013, I am determined to keep blogging! 

My 2012 Christmas Geneameme

2012 Geneameme - We Wish you a Merry Christmas

Thankyou to Pauleen (cassmob) of the Family Across the Seas Blog for her kind effort in putting together a Christmas Geneameme. Christmas is a time of the year so much centred on family, so what better a time to think about the traditions and activities which were a part of your own life growing up as well as your own family now. So below is my personal Geneameme in answer to Pauleen's questions.

1. Do you have any special Christmas traditions in your family. 

Growing up in Queensland, Christmas time was often spent at the Sunshine coast where my maternal grandmother lived. Christmas lunch was cold meats and salads galore and my mother's home baked Christmas cake, pudding and fruit mince pies with a special brandy sauce. When we spent Christmas day with my Irish maternal grandmother who lived at Paddington Heights, in Brisbane, Christmas lunch was a hot traditional lunch and always followed by her unforgettable home made ice cream with a Christmas pudding made from a recipe which came with her family from Ireland when they arrived in Australia in 1912. 

Now that I have my own family, we have carried on the tradition of having a cold Christmas lunch which suits the hot Australian climate much better than a hot meal. We bake the ham and roast the meats on Christmas Eve to place sliced on platters on Christmas day which are accompanied by lots of different salads. Dessert has become quite a tradition since my daughters spent a Christmas in New York some years ago. They always make a traditional Pumpkin Pie. We have many allergies to foods in our family so we don't have a Christmas pudding made from mixed fruit. Along with the pumpkin pie we have a dessert called Plum Clafouti, ( our version of a plum pudding) always baked by Siobhan, Pavlova ( it IS an Australian tradition!) a big fruit platter with all the delicious Summer fruits and berries on it as well as a Gingerbread House which is demolished throughout the afternoon. When my children were younger, we were dragged out of bed before 5 am to 'see what Santa has brought'. (Hmm I never would have guessed!) 

We play Christmas carols as we bake and there is a lot of laughter in the kitchen!

One tradition that we have in my home is the decorating of the Christmas tree. We play Christmas carols while we decorate the tree. Each year we try to think of a theme for the tree.

An important tradition in my family is to give to someone less fortunate each Christmas. We buy gifts for children who will not receive anything for Christmas and each Christmas we think together of someone to help. At Christmas time we have sponsored children through World Vision. This Christmas, as we did last year we will all make a loan through an organisation called Kiva.    www.kiva.org 

2. Is Church attendance an important part of you Christmas celebrations and do you go the evening before or on Christmas day?

My children attended Catholic Schools so Church attendance was always an important part of our Christmas. I love Midnight Mass and then when arriving home having fruit mince pies and listening to Christmas carols. there was so much excitement in the air. It's a wonder anyone got to sleep at all. Going to Church on Christmas day at Mass was always a favourite with my children as all the children were invited up onto the alter to see the baby Jesus who had been placed in his crib in the manger. 

3. Did you or your children/grandchildren believe in Santa?

I believed in Santa as a child but when I had my own children, I decided that it was better not to lie to them. FORTUNATELY, my husband didn't agree and I am so glad that they grew up with Santa. My children were very creative and every single Christmas they ALL four of them left Santa a letter and a list of questions (usually very long). And every single year Santa kindly replied (in very scrawly writing co- incidentally in a very similar style to my own!) and answered EVERY question. I have all those letters and we often pull them out and have a good laugh. "What are the name of your children Santa?" "What is Mrs Clause's favourite colour?" "Which is your favourite reindeer?" "Do you wear socks Santa?" "What do you wear the rest of the year?"  I'm betting that none of YOU know what Santa's attire is when it's not Christmas.....My first grandchild is only 7 1/2 months old but I hope she will grow up believing in Santa as well.... and I will definitely be suggesting she write to him!!!!!!

4. Do you go carolling in your area? The suburb where I live has a Carols by Candlelight event every year and I have often attended, candle in hand,  but I have never been carolling in the street. My children and I have often gathered together on Christmas Eve with guitars, flutes, piano, banjos etc and played and sung Christmas carols. I have CD's of Christmas carols playing in my home for all of December. LOUDLY! I like to get into the Christmas spirit.

5.What's your favourite Christmas music? I come from a very musical family. I love Christmas carols in general. I have a CD playing right now...  "All I want for Christmas"  sung by Mariah Carey, which was a hit in one of my favourite Christmas movies, "Love Actually". 

6. What is your favourite Christmas Carol? I think my favourite carol would be "When a Child is Born", especially when sung by Il Divo. I also love a Christmas song called "This is Christmas" sung by Kate Ceberano and Ronan Keating. It is a beautiful song. 

7. Do you have a special Christmas movie/book you like to watch/ read?  I had a special Christmas story book as a child and so did my children. it was called "The Night before Christmas". "Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house, Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse..." 

8. Does your family give individual gifts, gifts for the littlies only, Secret Santa, (aka Kris Kringle)?

When my children were at primary school, it was a tradition for each class to give Kris Kringle gifts. That was a highlight in their year. At home they had Santa sacks with presents from Santa and a wrapped gift from us. Now we all give each other gifts. I found it hard to give up the Santa sack tradition, although I am pleased that they finally realised that really Santa didn't spend a lot more money on them that I did!

9. Is your main Christmas meal indoors or outdoors, at home or away?

For many years, as my children grew up we shared Christmas with a large extended family ( up to 60 people) and we never had Christmas lunch at our own home. For the past few years we have had a smaller Christmas in our home. We have our main meal in the middle of the day but have delicious nibbles put out all morning. We have bought a large table now which seats the whole family plus partners. 

10-13.

Answered in question 1.(Christmas Food.)

14. Do you give home-made food/craft for gifts at Christmas?

I used to give home made gifts but find I no longer have the time to bake, sew or make gifts. Sad really. One year I hand painted lovely jars and filled them with home made biscuits. Another Christmas I made hand made writing paper (I even made the paper!) and decorated it with each person's initials and flowers painted on it. When my children were younger we made calendars which they drew and painted on each month, although two years of that task and they rebelled! I used to do quite a lot of silk screening so I made gifts which I silk screened original pictures onto or T-shirts with silk screened artworks on. These days I buy all my gifts but at least one daughter has carried on my tradition (yes you guessed it - Siobhan - who made the gingerbread Christmas tree decorations). She bakes beautiful shortbread and gingerbread or cakes to give as gifts to her friends. I used to bake gingerbread decorations each year for the Christmas tree until one year my son, Hamish made himself very sick when he ate every decoration in one sitting!  

2012 gIngerbread cookie decorations

15. Do you return to your family for Christmas or vice versa?

Both of my parents passed away quite some years ago in Brisbane, Queensland, sadly. My children do not remember spending Christmas with them. We spent a few Christmas days with one of my sisters when she lived in Sydney at Hunter's Hill. Those were very special Christmas days. Each Christmas is spent with members of my husband's family. 

16. Is your Christmas celebrated differently from your childhood ones? If yes, how does it differ? 

My childhood Christmases were almost always spent away from home since my maternal grandmother lived at Maroochydore, a beach on the Queensland Sunshine Coast. My cousins and I always performed musical items for our parents and grandparents at a pre Christmas gathering. often my father who was a brilliant pianist would join in as well as my uncle who played the clarinet and saxophone.  My sisters and I practised harmonised songs to sing. Christmas was always very musical.

My children are convinced that it has been my dream to have them perform together playing musical instruments and singing. ( Well you can't say I didn't try!) The only time they do this is at Christmas and I love hearing them. it reminds me of my own Christmases as a child.

17. How do you celebrate Christmas with your friends?

The street where I live, until recently every year had a Christmas street party. Everyone took along something on a plate and drinks. It was a wonderful way to meet new people in the street. We tend to celebrate Christmas more with family than with friends, although there are usually a few Christmas 'drinks' or parties to attend. I try to meet up with friends for coffee before Christmas to catch up on 'news'.

18. Do you decorate the house with lights? A little or a lot?

I decorate the inside of the house and decorating the Christmas tree has been a special tradition involving Christmas carols and plenty of fun. 

19. Is your neighbourhood a 'Christmas Lights" tour venue?

My own neighbourhood is not one where many people put lights on their houses but  a neighbouring suburb attracts thousands of visitors to view the amazing streets of Christmas lights every Christmas. I love to drive by and have a look. Some of the homes have a 'wishing well' to donate money for charities. 

20. Does your family attend Carols by candlelight singalong/concerts?

When my children were younger we always went to Carols by candlelight events. My suburb has one every year held in The Village Green (a large park). A nearby Seventh Day Adventist Hospital conducts  carols by Candlelight evening each December which my youngest daughter Briallen, has sung at. 

21. Have any of your Christmases been spent camping?

Camping is a popular way to holiday in the great outdoors of Australia and although I have camped many times as  child I have never spent a Christmas camping.

22. Is Christmas spent at your home, with family or at a holiday venue?

At home or at the home of a family member.

23. Do you have snow for Christmas where you live?

In Australia, Christmas occurs in the Summer season so it is usually very hot weather. The backyard swimming pool is very popular on Christmas day! One of my daughters' favourite Christmases was spent in New Jersey, USA a few years ago when there was a heavy snowfall. They built a snowman in the front yard and ice skated in Central park. My daughter, Rhiannon now lives in new York so perhaps she will see snow for Christmas.

24.Do you have a Christmas tree every year?

Absolutely! We have made it a tradition in my family to think of a theme for the tree each year. That does mean that we have collected a lot of decorations but we do recycle and it is amazing how easily you can turn the simplest thing into a decoration. this year the theme is 'French Rustic'. We have used lots of hessian for bows on the tree and natural decorations, keeping the colour scheme simple - natural and white with a touch of silver. Last year our theme was 'birds' and the year before that it was 'a winter wonderland'. 

25. Is your tree a live tree or an imitation?

There is nothing more 'christmasy'  than the smell of a fresh pine tree at Christmas but unfortunately I and several of my children are allergic to pine trees so our tree has to be an imitation tree. I have tried to make sure it is as realistic as possible. As a child our tree was always real. (I sneezed a lot at Christmas!) and we used to drive to the Glasshouse Mountains and cut down a small tree from the pine plantations. I'm sure now, looking back that those trees were not meant to be taken by the public but that night time excursion was always a highlight of my growing up. I guess I'm a bona fide Christmas tree thief! Not surprising seeing I have 5 convicts in my past.......

26. Do you have special Christmas tree decorations? 

See question 25.

27. What is more important to your family, Christmas or Thanksgiving?

In Australia we don't celebrate Thanksgiving so Christmas is very important as a time for families to celebrate together. Since I have become good friends with new found cousins (third) in America, however, Thanksgiving has taken on a whole new meaning for me!