Maps

I find I am using maps continually while investigating family history. Where people married compared to where they were born. Adult children living in similar areas etc. 

However, many families traveled around the goldfields during the peak period. I have one of my family getting off the boat and heading to "The Ovens" where their first child was born. Other children were born in different places around Victoria. 

I have to wonder if they had had a horse and cart and a tent they were able to pop up and disassemble as they moved. Birth certificates show that the first child, my great grandmother, had been delivered without any assistance. While the second child had a possible midwife, just known as Mrs. Morcomb. Their address was the Goldmines, Waterloo. 

Each child was born in a different place and as a result I was able to map out where they followed the gold until they settled in Great Western then Stawell where they they had a business for a time. They are now buried in Stawell. 

The Walkedens travelled from Melbourne to Stanley then over to Beaufort area to Sulky Gully then back to Great Western and Stawell. 1858 to 1924. 

I believe James had already settled in Stanley before going to meet Mary Ann's ship in Melbourne. James' nephew, Thomas Glass was on the same ship as Mary Ann and went to Stanley with his uncle and aunt. He stayed there after they left. 

 Branching out

Many people have said over the years, “I am not interested in aunts/uncles, just my direct line.” I do not understand this, as there are many stories attached to people to whom our direct ancestors would be connected, therefore helping to make their story as well. 

I had a good tree related to a branch of my grandfather’s family. In recent years, through DNA, I found out who my great great great grandfather was. Interestingly, I was then sent a photo of my great-great-grandmother and found she and her half-brother were the image of each other, just to cement the theory. 

However, what came about was the mention of one of those families whose name sounded very familiar. On checking, I found he had married a cousin on my grandmother’s side of the family. Bringing the two lines together. 

My maternal grandmother had some interesting stories that did not make sense, but after finding a photograph of a man unrelated and looking to see why he seemed to be prominent in a few records with my family, it all tied in with her story and resolved the mystery. Her version was not so accurate, but as she was very young at the time, I could see where her story got its roots. 

Now, even today, I am finding that there was a family who seemed to be good friends, and their family married into our family on more than one occasion, making this family very close to ours. This has happened a number of times, including my first cousin, who married the stepdaughter of a distant cousin, and one of Mum’s cousins, who married into that family as well. 

Mum’s cousin married the daughter of a captain involved in bringing Batman to Victoria, and then I found one in Dad’s line that is also connected to this story. 

Of course, genealogy and Family History are two different things. Genealogy is the direct ancestors, and family history is the story relating to your genealogy. Branching out from those direct ancestors will give you many stories. 

If you have completed a DNA test, you will need to branch out. You will be surprised at how much information, photos, memorabilia, etc., you have that you have been searching for. We also need to remember those who did not have descendants; often, their story is important as well. 

I have found distant families who have family bibles, these had dates, etc, as well as proving my research was correct after many years of searching! There was also talk of a gold watch given to my 3x great-grandfather. This had to be purchased at auction by his daughter. I found one of her descendants who had this pocket watch but had no idea of the story behind it. I had newspaper cuttings telling the story.