Wellington
Branch
Newsletter - January 2014
Upcoming Meetings:
No meeting on Wednesday 22 January
Saturday 8 February, 10.00am to 12 noon - Graeme McKenzie,
Genealogist, Scottish Researcher and Author speaking on
Tracing your ancestors in Scotland, with special reference to the Highlands
Wednesday 26 February, 7.30pm To be advised
Convenor’s Corner
Hello there
Happy New year everybody! This year is a special
year for the Wellington region with the NZSG
Conference here on Queen’s Birthday weekend.
I already have out of town friends requesting
beds! It is also a special year as the centenary of
World War One starts with ongoing acknowledgements and memorial services.
I hope you all have had time to do some research
during the holiday break and in the longer
summer days. I have made use of the cheaper
downloads available at Irish Genealogy of the
Old Age Pension records and found a few of the
family, some with married names I did not have
as the name search includes parents’ names too.
I had a day in the Auckland Library going through
the 1943 and 1944 NZ Weekly News microfilms
looking for photos I had of Army motor bike
despatch riders which were not dated or named
except for a note written on the back stating
‘Sent to NZ Weekly News’. I had no luck finding
the pictures in print but I really enjoyed looking
through all the pictures of NZ at war and the
interesting social history of those times. We
also returned to the Navy Museum at its new
venue at Torpedo Bay, Devonport and learnt a
little bit more about my father and Scheme ‘B’
he was in. I now have the archivist’s email address and will send him a query.
On Saturday 8th February, at Connelly Hall,
there is a special speaker, Graham McKenzie, of
Clan McMillan. Lunch is included so please
bring a plate to share. There are more details in
the newsletter. Graham’s talk replaces our
normal January meeting. I hope to see you
there.
Ruth
“I am forwarding my marriage certificate
and three children, one of which is a mistake
as you can see.”
Noticeboard
Branch Meetings
No meeting on Wednesday 22 January
Saturday 8 February, 10am-12 noon - Graeme
McKenzie, a noted genealogist, Scottish
Researcher and Author is visiting New Zealand,
sponsored by the Clan McMillan. He is a very
experienced professional researcher and has a
wealth of knowledge on genealogy and researching the Highlands. He recently published a book
Genealogy in the Gaidhealtachd Clan and Family
History in the Highlands and will talk to us at Connolly Hall on tracing your ancestors in Scotland
with special reference to the Highlands. Please
provide a plate for a finger food lunch to follow
the talk. Door Charge may apply.
Wednesday 26 February 2014, 7.30pm - To be
advised
Hills, Harbours, Heritage
NZSG 2014 AGM and Conference
Hosted by Kilbirnie Branch
30 May to 2 June 2014
To be held at Wellington Girls College, Pipitea
Street. Mark this weekend on your calendar and
join in the very interesting programme arranged
by Kilbirnie Branch. Keynote speaker will be
Colleen Fitzpatrick from California who will speak
about cases she has been involved with in her
role as a forensic genealogy consultant.
Two of the guest speakers are Tony Simpson
speaking on Edward Gibbon Wakefield, Karl Marx
and the Settlement of Wellington and Jan Gow
presenting Sight, Site and Cite. More information
next month. Contact [email protected].
The Library will re-open on
3rd February 2013
Thanks to Christine and Erica
Christine Greenwood and Erica Newton receiving
flowers from the Committee in recognition of the
many valuable hours they have given to the
Branch over the last 3 years to keep our Library
operating. Thank you very much Christine and
Erica.
The Essentials of Oral History Research
This is a two day course. For anyone undertaking
an oral history project we recommend attending
both days.
Day One: Introduction to Oral History, Saturday
22 February 2014, 8.45am-4.30pm. An introduction to oral history methodology.
Day Two: Recording Seriously, Saturday 22
March 2014, 8.45am-4.30pm. Builds on Day One.
Completion of an earlier Essentials course or a
recent equivalent introductory course is required.
$300 for both days. For further information and
enrolment form, email [email protected]
or www.natlib.govt.nz/events
January 2014 — Page Two
Press Release
Thousands of Scottish records are available to
view on the web for the first time.
More than 120,000 births were recorded in 1913.
Family history website ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk
(Pay site) has uploaded a tranche of birth, marriage and death records from across the country,
dating from 1913, 1938 and 1963 respectively.
The documents – which consist of over 220,000
separate scans – were released on New Year’s
Day as embargoes on their public access were
lifted.
Although the documents date from three individual years, they join an existing collection of scans
dating back to 1855, when Scotland first began
systematically recording its citizens’ births, marriages and deaths – a process known as Statutory
Registration.
Users can search the records by details such as
name and date, revealing a range of crucial details about the individual. In the case of the 1913
births, the scans not only show the infant’s date
and place of birth, but additional clues about
their parents, including the father’s occupation.
“The new images represent a new chapter of
Scotland’s story now available to the public,” says
Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs,
Fiona Hyslop.
“I’d urge anyone who is interested in finding out
more about their history, or that of their family or
the place where they live, to have a look at the
wealth of records now available as part of our
wonderful online resources.”
The records can also be viewed in person by visiting the ScotlandsPeople Centre in Edinburgh, and
at local family history centres in Glasgow, Kilmarnock, Hawick and Inverness.
This month in History - 1859
NZ's first lighthouse, Pencarrow,
lit for the first time
The lighthouse on Pencarrow Head, near
Wellington, was lit for the first time amid great
celebration. The New Zealand Spectator and
Cook Strait Guardian reported
that New Year’s Day 1859
would ‘be a day not soon forgotten by the settlers of
Wellington’. After years of
inadequate solutions, Wellington finally had a
permanent lighthouse – a New Zealand first.
Q: I’m researching a Scottish family that belonged to a church other than the Church of Scotland (Presbyterian). But Church of Scotland records are all I can find online. How can I find
other church records?
A: Although the Church of Scotland was never
the official state church, other Scottish denominations are often referred to as “non-conformist”
churches. Those that weren’t breakaway Presbyterian groups (“seceders”) are categorized as
“dissenters”. These include Quakers, Methodists
and Catholics. Both types of nonconformists kept
their own religious records, separate from the
Church of Scotland records that are available
online at ScotlandsPeople www.scotlandspeople
.gov.uk (which also has Catholic parish registers, if
you believe your ancestors belonged to that
faith).
The National Archives of Scotland www.nas.gov.
uk keeps some nonconformist church records,
filed under classifications CH10-CH16. These records cover Quakers (CH10), Methodists (CH11),
the Scottish Episcopal Church (CH12), United Free
Church of Scotland (CH13), Congregational/
United Reformed Church (CH14), Unitarian
Church (CH15) and Free Church of Scotland
(CH16).
Keep in mind that prior to 1834, nonconformist
ministers in Scotland weren’t authorised to perform marriages. Then from 1834 to 1855, they
could perform marriages only if the banns had
first been read in the local parish church. So your
nonconformist ancestors still might have Church
of Scotland marriage records.
A small portion of the Family History Library’s index to Scotland, Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950,
online at Family Search www.familysearch.org,
covers nonconformist records.
Family Tree Magazine (USA) 2012
A working replica Grocery
Shop at Sovereign Hill,
Ballarat, Australia.
Sovereign Hill is a great
place to visit if you are
over that way. We spent
two days there as there
was so much to see. Ed.
January 2014 — Page Three
Australia, New Zealand Share Archive
CANBERRA, 11 November 2013-- Australians and
New Zealanders will be able to access a shared
archive of World War I records online to commemorate the Anzac centenary, Australia's
Attorney- General George Brandis and New
Zealand Minister for Internal Affairs, Chris
Tremain said in a press release on Monday.
The news was announced on Remembrance Day,
a day to mark the anniversary of the armistice
which ended the First World War.
The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
(ANZAC) was a First World War army corps which
comprised troops from the First Australian
Imperial Force and 1st New Zealand Expeditionary Force that was formed in Egypt in 1915 and
operated during the Battle of Gallipoli in Turkey.
The Discovering Anzacs website, developed by
the National Archives of Australia, went live on
Monday and Archives New Zealand will make
their World War I records available on the site
from April 2014. "We welcome this opportunity
to work with New Zealand to provide a deeper
view of our strong Anzac tradition and pay tribute to the ANZACs as we commemorate the centenary of World War I," Brandis said. "Anzac history is an aspect of our culture that has special
significance and the new website will enhance
our understanding of the individuals involved,
their communities and the era, revealing more of
the heritage of both nations," he said.
Tremain acknowledged the value of sharing service records online to strengthen the two countries' ties. "Our nations have so much in common, including the contribution of our World
War I service men and women," Tremain said. "It
is fitting to come together to help our citizens
understand more about those who served and
the challenges they faced. This will be an innovative and user-friendly website which can only
enhance the strong and proud tradition we
share."
As well as providing access to digitized Australian
and New Zealand service records from World
War I, the website will contain other records including files on internment, munitions workers
and the Boer War.
English news cn
Websites
http://discoveringanzacs.naa.gov.au/
Refer to article in column at left
www.doegen.ie
This archive of Irish dialect sound recordings made
during 1928-31 contains folktales, songs and other
material recited by native Irish speakers from 17
counties. Crucially, it includes examples of dialects
that are now extinct. The collection also includes a
speech in English by W.T. Cosgrave, who was head
of the Irish government that funded the recording
scheme.
www.scarletfinder.co.uk
This excellent website provides a large amount of
useful guidance about researching mainly British
Military Nurses from the earliest times up to the
modern period.
www.tauranga.govt.nz
Tauranga City Council have recently made all their
cemetery records available online. Go to the
above website and click on ‘Council Facilities’ on
the left hand side and then scroll down to
‘cemeteries’ and enter search details.
www.photoship.co.uk
This site, called Old Ship Picture Galleries, is that of
an enthusiastic collector of postcards, photos, etc
(black & white and colour depicting ships from
1860 to 1953). They are free to view and
download.
What’s on at your local branches?
Kilbirnie Branch - 10.00am, Wednesday 5
February - Mary Shadbolt will talk about a recent
family reunion. Venue: The Park Bowling Club,
Kilbirnie.
Hutt Valley Branch - 7.30pm, Thursday 13
February- TBA. Venue: Petone Community
Library, 7-11 Britannia Street, Petone.
Kapiti Branch - 7.30pm, Tuesday 25 February - Sue
Greene - Changes with computers at APFHC and
using NZ Gazette. Venue: Kapiti Community Centre, 15 Ngahina Street, Paraparaumu.
North Shore Branch Newsletter
The world is full of willing people: some willing
to work and some willing to let them
Porirua Branch - 7.25pm, Wednesday 12
February - TBA. Venue: Helen Smith Community
Meeting Room, Norrie Street, Porirua.
January 2014 — Page Four
A Day in the Life of
Victorian Carpenters
These masterful craftsmen were
held in high regard.
Because of his diverse skills, it’s fair to say that
the Victorian carpenter was one of the most
sought after and popular craftsmen in any
community.
His knowledge of various timbers, coupled with
his ability to make practically anything in wood,
meant he could easily build anything from a
rabbit hutch to a farmer’s wagon. He could also
just as easily replace a head on a child’s wooden
doll, build a wooden house or even measure you
up for a coffin.
Congratulations
The Bay of Plenty Branch of NZ Society of Authors
held their Memoir and Local History Competition
late in 2013. Wellington Branch member, Linette
Horne entered an item on the life of her Great
Grand mother, Julia Jean Irwin of Opotiki. Linette
has been notified that her story has been placed
in the Highly Commended Section of the Competition. The Society of Authors have reported that
all entries were of an exceptionally high standard
and all entries will be loaded to the National Kete.
Well done Linette.
Tradesmen in this profession prided themselves
on first-class workmanship and many later
specialised or diversified to become skilled
coachbuilders, wheelwrights, coopers and wood
turners. John Hallett, the village carpenter in
Kingston Magna, Dorset, in 1865, became well
known for his design and construction of church
organs. Despite the strict moral codes of Victorian times, it was common practice for carpenters
to manufacture risqué puppets or other ‘adult’
jointed wooden toys in their spare time!
Incomes varied considerably. Those working for
large employers would be paid much higher than,
say, a self employed carpenter whose lifestyle
would be directly related to the prices he decided
to charge.
The Victorian emigration boom led to higher
wages being paid in the colonies where carpenters were in great demand. Consequently, many
single men and families left for America, where
British carpenters made their mark designing
Gothic style houses made out of wood. Their
intricate work and fanciful detailed designs
became known as ‘Carpenter Gothic’, a style that
has now been officially classed as a ‘folk art’ in
the USA.
There’s been a change in Grandma, we’ve noticed
as of late, she’s always reading history, or jotting
down some date.
She’s tracing back the family, we all have
pedigrees, Grandma’s got a hobby, she’s climbing
family trees.
Poor Grandpa does the cooking, and now, or so he
states, he even has to wash the cups and the
dinner plates. Well, Grandma can’t be bothered,
she’s busy as a bee, compiling genealogy for the
family tree.
She has no time to baby-sit, the curtains are a
fright, no buttons left on Grandpa’s shirt, the
flower bed is a sight. She’s given up her club
work, the serials on TV, the only thing she does
nowadays is climb the family tree.
The mail is all for Grandma, it comes from near
and far. Last week she got more proof she needs,
received from afar.
A monumental project – to that we all agree, a
worthwhile avocation – to climb the family tree.
There were pioneers and patriots mixed with kith
and kin, who blazed the paths of wilderness and
fought through thick and thin.
But none more staunch than Grandma, whose
eyes light up with glee, each time she finds a
missing branch for the family tree.
At last she’s nearly finished, and we are each
exposed. Life will be the same again, this we all
suppose.
Grandma will cook and sew, serve scones with our
tea, we’ll have her back, just as before that
wretched family tree.
Your Family Tree Magazine
New BMD images on ScotlandsPeople
More BMD images were added to the
ScotlandsPeople website in the New Year. You
can now view the images of records for births in
1913, marriages in 1938 and deaths in 1963.
www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
GRANDMA CLIMBED THE FAMILY TREE
From Dunedin Family History Group Newsletter
January 2014 — Page Five
BookCase
A Viking in the Family
And Other Family Tree Tales
by Keith Gregson
Genealogist Keith Gregson takes the reader on a whistle-stop tour of
quirky family stories and strange ancestors rooted out by amateur and
professional family historians. The lively entries tell the story behind each
discovery and then offer a brief insight into how the researcher found
and followed up their leads. They reveal a range of chance
encounters and the detective qualities required of a family historian.
Readers will meet all kinds of interesting personalities and be
introduced to a range of fascinating source materials, stretching from an
eighteenth century shopping note, to a photograph of an event that
never happened, to a family grave with a missing body. They will travel
from a far-flung Shetland Isle down to the bottom of a Cornish copper
mine and across the vast margins of the former British colonies via the
USA to Australia and New Zealand. "A Viking in the Family" is full of
unexpected discoveries in the branches of family trees and encourages
budding genealogists to delve into the hidden corners of their family history.
Did You Know? To be on Tenter Hooks, why?
This famous expression came from the textile trade. Otterburn Mill in
Northumberland boasts the last set of Tenter frames in Europe.
Woollen cloth, when first woven, has a very open texture so its usefulness can be greatly enhanced by a process of controlled shrinking and
felting known as fulling. The cloth is immersed in a natural detergent solution, sometimes stale urine, sometimes a solution made from burned
bracken, animal fat and lime, and is pounded by hammers or stocks powered by a water wheel. As the wheel turns, a camshaft lifts the stocks and
releases them to fall into a specially shaped wooden butt containing the
cloth. The shape of the butt and stock are designed to cause the cloth to turn over in the detergent liquid. The
agitation and pounding result in shrinkage of up to one third of the width and length of the cloth. After rinsing,
the cloth is stretched out on hooks attached to a tenter frame, a rectangular wooden frame which gently tensions the fabric while it dries. This is the origin of the term “being on tenterhooks”. The area used for
tentering was known as a tenter close or field.
Midlands and Northern England News
Committee
Convenor: Ruth Ward 477 3829
Branch Library
St Giles Church House, corner Kilbirnie Crescent and
Secretary: Natalie Thornton 938 6286
Vallance Street, Kilbirnie
Treasurer: Prue Theobald 232 0241
Open 1st Sunday in the month
Membership: Allison Diem 476 9567
2-4pm February—November
Library Liaison: Barbara Mulligan 475 3295
Volunteer Librarians
Outside Committee
Speakers’ Programme: John Dods 471 3054
Evening Meetings
Schools Project: Tricia Ellis 478 4262
7.30pm, 4th Wednesday, Connolly Hall,
Newsletter Editor: Heather Conland 971 4071
Guildford Terrace, Thorndon
Postal Address
Committee Contact:
PO Box 2223, Wellington, 6140
[email protected]
January 2014 — Page Six