Unusual Way to Find a Maiden Surname

Image by Stuart Miles, freedigitalphotos.net

This is how I discovered the maiden surname of Bertha Gladys, wife of Ernest Tasman WOOLDRIDGE:

1. Libraries Tasmania's online collection: Tasmanian Archives item number HSD274/1/3, New Town Infirmary alphabetical admission register, says 'Bertha Gladys WOOLDRIDGE born Blayney NSW'.


2. Tasmanian Archives online catalogue entry: item number HSD186/1/5696, refers to Bertha Gladys WOOLDRIDGE born 21 Oct 1892 (but further research showed that this should be 1891).


3. Ernest Tasman WOOLDRIDGE's will (which is online) refers to 'May Alva GARLICK, the sister of my late wife Bertha Gladys WOOLDRIDGE'.


4. New South Wales Registar-General's births index has entries for Bertha G. GARLICK (born 21 Oct 1891) and her sister Mary A. GARLICK, parents John and Elizabeth, district Blayney.

Ernest's parents are William Tasman WOOLDRIDGE and Helen Rebeccca CAMPBELL, and I'd love to hear from their descendants. Helen is my great-great-grandmother's sister. Many of the WOOLDRIDGE family were in Tasmania, but Archibald Edward WOOLDRIDGE moved to Queensland.

Forty-five trees on Ancestry had the wrong information for Bertha. They said she wasn't married, and that she died in 1974 (she actually died in 1954). I guess one person's tree was wrong, and forty-four people copied it without checking the facts. Sigh.

Postscript, 2024: For more ideas, see (these open in new windows):

• 7 Little-Used Tricks For Finding That Missing Maiden Name
• Places for Finding a Woman's Maiden Name: A Checklist of 90 Sources

(This post first appeared on https://uk-australia.blogspot.com/2020/08/unusual-way-to-find-maiden-surname.html.)

How I Found Sarah Sheppard's Parents

Over the years I've worked long and hard to trace descendants of my direct ancestors' siblings, and my efforts have been richly rewarded. On five occasions those descendants had very old family documents that have smashed through 'brick walls' in my family history.

My most recent success was the result of a DNA test. Because I'd traced side branches of the family from about 1800 right down to the 1980s, I could see that one of my DNA matches is a third cousin once removed. I contacted John and offered to exchange information. (I'd written to his mother thirty-six years ago, but she didn't reply, and I'd lost track of that line.)

I knew that my ancestor Sarah SHEPPARD, born in 1762, married Richard GIBLETT in Frome, Somerset, England. Imagine my excitement when John sent me photos of a bible (published in 1736) in which are written SHEPPARD family names and dates, mainly from the 1700s! The bible entries show (among other things) that Sarah's father was Benjamin SHEPPARD, and that he was married on 1st October 1746.

In the magnificent London Metropolitan Archives collection, I found an image of a parish register that says Benjamin SHEPPARD married Elizabeth BEEX on 1st October 1746. [London Metropolitan Archives ref. P91/LEN/A/008/MS07498/001, Saint Leonard, Shoreditch, Middlesex.]

Ancestors whose surnames were used as middle names

I suspect that Elizabeth's surname may actually have been BECKS or BECK. My family has a document written in the late 1800s that says, 'Our maternal ancestor's maiden name was BECK.'

The family also had a habit of using ancestral surnames as middle names; and great-grandchildren of Benjamin SHEPPARD and Elizabeth BEEX include Elizabeth Beck WEBSTER, Elizabeth Sheppard WEBSTER, Richard Giblett WEBSTER, James Porter WEBSTER and George Harley WEBSTER. I had previously identified the origin of middle names Sheppard, Giblett, Porter and Harley. Perhaps this latest discovery explains Beck.

The family bible includes Benjamin's death date, and I found a burial register entry for him in Frome, Somerset.

Without the names and dates in the SHEPPARD family bible, I may never have identified the correct family. Tracing descendants of all of your direct ancestors' siblings, and contacting those descendants, is a research strategy that I highly recommend. It has worked well for me on many occasions. Give it a try!

(This post first appeared on https://uk-australia.blogspot.com/2019/07/how-i-found-sarah-sheppards-parents.html.)

Postems on FreeBMD (England and Wales)

This is an updated version of a post that I originally published here in August 2010. It is also one of my contributions to 'Worldwide Genealogy: a Genealogical Collaboration'.

---

FreeBMD is an ongoing project to transcribe civil registration indexes of births, marriages and deaths for England and Wales, and to provide free Internet access to those transcribed indexes. FreeBMD is an immensely useful site, and I like it even more since it produced the unexpected bonus of contact with new relatives via 'postems'.

An excellent feature of FreeBMD (but one that is overlooked by many genealogists) is the ability to add a postem (a short message, 250 characters maximum) to any entry in the FreeBMD database.

The postem can tell people how to contact you - or if you buy a certificate that turns out to be for the wrong person, you can help other researchers by putting details from the certificate in a postem.

Here is a step-by-step example of how I used a postem.

I searched FreeBMD for the birth registration of Bertha OAKLEY, who (according to census records) was apparently born in 1895 in County Durham. This is the search screen.

The search result looked like this.

I clicked the 'Info' icon and added a postem with my contact details.

When someone adds a postem, an envelope icon appears beside the entry, as shown below. You click the icon to read the postem.

To my delight, a distant relative contacted me as a result of my postem! She had information about Bertha OAKLEY's grandfather, Benjamin PEACOCK, who was a brother of my great-grandmother, Mary HUDSON nee PEACOCK.

This was just one of several similar successes that I've had with FreeBMD. I now always add a postem for each index entry that is (or could be) for my family... and I need to go back and add some that I didn't do originally.

I also use the 'search postems' feature to quickly check whether anyone else has added one that may be relevant to me. Here is an example of a search...

...and the search result, showing two postems that fit the criteria.

If you have used FreeBMD to find births, marriages and deaths for your family, I urge you to:

1. Go back and add postems to all of those entries.
2. Include an email address that will be valid long-term, such as a free Gmail address from Google.
3. Check the text carefully before you click 'create', because postems cannot be changed or deleted.
4. Before you start, read the Postems Help page.

~~~
I use and recommend...

Internal Migration (52 weeks of genealogical records: week 2)

Week 2 in the series '52 Weeks of Genealogical Records' is about internal migration (movement from place to place within one country). You may not realise it yet, but many of your ancestors probably did this (maybe only for a short time). In Australia it is especially important to be aware of such movement because each State and Territory has separate records for births, deaths, marriages, wills, electoral rolls etc.

Shauna Hicks recommends timelines to reveal gaps in your information, and certificates to find out about internal migration. Other sources that I use include:

• British censuses:  To quote an example from my own family tree... George WEBSTER married Sarah GIBLETT in 1829, and various sources indicated that they lived in the Greater London area until they died in 1881. I was surprised when I discovered (from census returns) that two of their eight children were born elsewhere in England (Leeds, Yorkshire, c.1833, and Manchester, Lancashire, c.1843).


• Hospital admission registers:  These are often better than death certificates; and they include biographical details for hundreds of people who went interstate (or overseas) during gold rushes and other mining booms. Many returned to their home State, and you may have no idea that they had moved temporarily. Some name indexes are online.


• Wallangarra quarantine registers:  These give details of people crossing the Queensland / NSW border during the 1918-1919 influenza epidemic. The index is online.


• Australian electoral rolls:  There are online indexes for at least two different series of 19th and 20th century rolls (and some rolls are more informative than others).


• Strays Collection Australasia:  A 'stray' is someone who married, lived or died away from his/her place of birth. This index, compiled from many different sources, has details of thousands of interstate and international strays with a connection to Australia or New Zealand.

Examples (abbreviated, without the source citations) from the Strays Index:

• ELLIOT Jeanie, widow of Max HEBDEN... late of Brisbane QLD, formerly of Rabaul PNG, Tenterfield NSW and Bangalow NSW...
• GUNN Ian Morriss, late of Clontarf QLD, formerly of Uganda and South Africa...
• JONES Gladys Ruebene (formerly HALLAM), born 1894 Texas QLD; married... Inverell NSW; died... Grafton NSW...

Tips on using the Strays Index:

1. In FindMyPast's records for Australia/NZ, narrow your search results to Category='Directories and Social History', and Record set='Strays Collection Australasia'. 
   
2. Enter a surname only; then click 'Search'.  In the results, ignore the event year/location. They have nothing to do with the person, and refer only to an index's publication date/place.
   
3. Click on the icon beside the entry to view the document (a typed page on which the surname appears, perhaps multiple times - as shown below). 
   
4. As you can see, beside the image of the page there is a section with details of the publication. Note the page number and dataset, which refer to one of several Strays Indexes published by the Queensland Family History Society. Those publications may perhaps give a better explanation of abbreviated source citations.

To find Strays Indexes for the United Kingdom (with references from census records, headstones, parish registers etc), go to GENUKI and search for the word 'strays'.

For more research tips, see my other posts in '52 Weeks of Genealogical Records':

• 10 Tips for Wills, Intestacies and Probate
• Military Medals

A full list of topics in this series is on www.shaunahicks.com.au.
~ ~ ~

Military Medals (52 weeks of genealogical records: week 1)

John Mustell WEBSTER's medals

This post is the first in a series called '52 Weeks of Genealogical Records'. Anyone is welcome to do all or part of this blogging challenge, and each week Shauna Hicks will add a new topic to this list.

The topic for week 1, military medals, is not particularly relevant to my own family, although a few of my direct ancestors' siblings served in WWI or WWII.

I have been told (but I have not confirmed) that my second cousin twice removed, John Mustell ('Jack') WEBSTER (son of Ernest Edward WEBSTER and Alice TEAGUE) was awarded the 1914 star, British war Medal 1914-20, Victory Medal and Military Medal. (This photograph was kindly provided by Nick Aldham and Elaine White.)

Lost Medals Australia, who do a great job of returning medals to family members, sought my help in tracing the next of kin of Terence Edward Downing WEBSTER (a cousin once removed, but a stranger to me). I was able to put them in contact with a descendant of Terence's sister.

Records available on Findmypast include:

• Distinguished Conduct Medal Citations 1914-1920 (this set of records is very important because it includes full citations, which are not always found in unit histories)


• index of nominal returns of Colonial Forces who made applications for the New Zealand War Medal.

There is a British Army Medals index.

For more research tips, see my other posts in the series '52 Weeks of Genealogical Records':

• 10 Tips for Wills, Intestacies and Probate


• Internal Migration

~ ~ ~

Getting cheaper copies of wills and certificates

I frequently find information about a direct ancestor in records of his/her siblings or other relatives. Genealogists always strive to use original records, but if I cannot afford to buy certificates and wills for all family members, I look for ways to obtain cheaper copies. For specific examples, plus links to articles about 'Free Certificates', 'Postems' and '10 tips', read on!

Record offices often hold copies of wills for people who died in other States or other countries.

Example 1:  Julia WEBSTER died in 1900 at Orange NSW, and her original will went through the Supreme Court in New South Wales - but a copy of her will can be downloaded (free) from the Public Record Office Victoria (PROV). Why is there a copy in Victoria? The explanation is in Julia's will, where she mentions (quote) 'my interest in the estate of my late brother Malcolm John CAMPBELL, late of Newry, Gippsland, in the Colony of Victoria.'

A transcription of Julia's will is also in the New South Wales will books 1800-1952.

Julia WEBSTER, incidentally, was my great-great-grandmother. Because I wanted to see her signature, I made a point of inspecting her original will in New South Wales, not just the transcriptions available in NSW and Victoria; but thanks to the PROV's free downloads, it cost me nothing to get wills and other probate documents for Julia's sister and brothers and many people from other branches of my family tree.

PROV entry re the will of Julia WEBSTER who died in NSW

Example 2: Queensland State Archives have a probate file for Ellis READ, who spent a lot of time in England but died in Mexico in 1890. Ten years later his widow applied for administration of his estate. He owned land at Burketown in Queensland, and when it was sold, a grant of probate was required so that a certificate of title could be issued. The file includes details from Ellis's death certificate from Mexico (his age, native place, occupation, wife's maiden name, father's name, mother's maiden name, and his cause of death and burial place).

Some early probate files for Queensland are available on microfilm through Church of Latter-Day Saints Family History centres - but a word of warning...

The old 'card index' listed in FamilySearch had a huge number of mistakes, so you should use the new (corrected) index to Supreme Court wills on the Queensland State Archives Web site. Note that it only covers the 'ecclesiastical files' series. Many other wills are in the 'Intestacies' series (Supreme Court Public Curator orders and elections). There is an explanation of this in Tips for Queensland Research.

See also:

• Free Certificates in Archives Files.
• 10 Tips for Wills, Intestacies and Probate (worldwide).
• Postems on FreeBMD (for England and Wales).

Have you succeeded in getting cheaper copies of wills or certificates by these or other methods?
~ ~ ~

Australia Day 2012: Wealth for Toil (William Donald Webster)

For this year's Australia Day (26 January) genealogy blogging challenge, Shelley of Twigs of Yore has chosen the theme 'Wealth for Toil' (words from the Australian National Anthem, Advance Australia Fair).

My favourite unit in the Local, Family and Applied History course was Oral History. For one of the assignments I interviewed my father. Here, in Dad's own words, is a description of the work done by his father (my grandfather, William Donald WEBSTER, son of James Campbell WEBSTER and Ellen BUTLER).
---

My father was born in New South Wales, but his family lived in the Cunnamulla area [Queensland] during the late 1880s and 1890s. At Stockyard Creek near Helidon, where the family lived for a while in the early 1900s, Dad worked for a man who used to break in horses, until he learnt how to do it himself. That was his first paid job.

Later he worked for Cobb and Co. That's when he came out west again, working at different Cobb and Co. mail changes. They used to have horses out on the runs, in the paddocks, so that they'd have a change of horses for the mail coaches. His job was to break the horses in, and to keep the supply of horses at every mail change - broken in to harness, and for saddle use. There was a mail change at Barringun, and one halfway to Cunnamulla (at old 'Woggonora', over the river from what's known now as Job's Gate Turnoff), and then Cunnamulla. He would handle about six young horses at the same time, until they were right through to the riding stage.

The mail changes were just a good set of horse yards and a tin hut. They had wells put down for a water supply. In that stretch of the Warrego River there were no permanent water holes, and it was before the artesian bores. They had to have some permanent water, so they had wells for stock and drinking water. There weren't any pumps at first. They had buckets and ropes and pulleys to bring the water up. I remember him saying how there was nearly always a water boy whose job it was to have the tanks filled with water. It's a slow process, filling the tanks one bucket of water at a time! They had the tanks filled so that when the coaches came in, the horses would be given a drink immediately they were unharnessed.

Later my father worked at 'Burrenbilla', which was owned by Rutherford and Company. They had other stations down in New South Wales, and he used to go down to those properties and break in their station horses. After he was married he was manager on various properties. A local stock and station agent lent him the money to enter the ballot for land, and he drew 'Plain View'. [These recollections are continued in Outback Story.]

---
For last year's Australia Day challenge I wrote about my earliest document for an ancestor in Australia. I look forward to seeing what theme Shelley chooses for 2013.

Campbell immigration 1839: my earliest Australian document

Graphic by Shelley

To celebrate Australia Day (26 January), Shelley at Twigs of Yore invited us to write about the earliest piece of documentation we have for an ancestor in Australia.

The earliest Australian document I have is an immigration record for my great-great-great-grandmother, Ellen (Helen) CAMPBELL. On 28 Feb 1839, Ellen and her thirteen children arrived at Sydney NSW on the British King. (NSW Immigration Department: Persons on Government Ships, 1839. State Records NSW: 4/4780, pages 230-231.)

The ship sailed from Tobermory in Scotland, but the family came from the Isle of Tiree. Ellen was a widow aged 49. Her children's ages ranged from 3 to 24. One daughter (Anne) was accompanied by her husband, Dr. Donald Rankin MACDONALD, and an infant who died on the voyage.

Helen CAMPBELL, in a letter dated July 1839 (NSW Colonial Secretary In Letters 39/7892 and enclosure; AONSW ref. 4/2454.3) says that her elder daughters obtained situations on arrival, but one was attacked with fever, which obliged one of her sisters to leave her situation to nurse her, and she being also attacked with the same disorder, another sister was also obliged to relinquish her situation to nurse her sick sisters. She 'arrived in this Colony without funds' and 'what little money she has been able to obtain by her own exertions and that of her other children, is now expended and she has no further means of assisting her child who is lying very dangerously ill, and in a state of wretched destitution'.

Ellen's three sons (John, Malcolm John and Archibald) became well known pioneers of Gippsland, Victoria. I have some information about most of Ellen's daughters, who married COCKBURN, COULSON, HOLMES, LAMONT, MACDONALD, McKENZIE, McNAUGHTON, WEBSTER, WELLS and WOOLDRIDGE.

Believe it or not, Ellen's youngest daughter was named Duncan (her late father's name). She remains a mystery. A Scottish baptism register, NSW shipping records and NSW Colonial Secretary's Office correspondence all say that Duncan was a girl. Her mother's death certificate, 26 Apr 1858, lists Duncan as 'living'. If you are related to a Miss Duncan CAMPBELL born about 1835, please contact me!

On This Day - HUDSON, PORTER and HARLEY

14 Nov 1831 (179 years ago) - John HUDSON was born at Barton-le-Willows, North Yorkshire, England. He was a son of William HUDSON and Christiana MATTHEW, and the husband of Hannah WRIGHTSON. [Great-granduncle]

18 Nov 1766 (244 years ago) - James PORTER and Catherine HARLEY were married at Battersea, Surrey, England. James was a son of George PORTER, shoemaker of Douglas in Scotland. I do not know his mother's name. [Great-great-great-great-great-grandparents, Webster line]

If you are researching these families, I will gladly provide full details of my sources, which include parish registers and private family papers. My thanks to Joe Hudson and Michael Flynn for their help.

On This Day - RIENECKER and MERCER

22 Oct 1891 (119 years ago) - William Albert RIENECKER was born at Ropeley, Queensland, Australia. He was a son of Carl Ludwig RIENECKER and Emilie Auguste Albertine HAHN, and the husband of Margaret Wilson RITCHIE. [Mother's uncle]

23 Oct 1823 (187 years ago) - Ralph MERCER was baptised (as MARCER) at Kirbymoorside, North Yorkshire, England. His parents were William MERCER and Ruth AGAR. The baptism register names both sets of grandparents. [1st cousin 4 times removed, Peacock line]

If you are researching these families, I will gladly provide full details of my sources, which include parish registers.

On This Day - CAMPBELL and HUDSON

15 Oct 1791 (219 years ago) - Helena CAMPBELL, daughter of Archibald CAMPBELL in Scarinish, was baptised on the Isle of Tiree, Argyllshire, Scotland. Her mother was probably Anne McCALL. Helena (elsewhere referred to as Helen or Ellen) married Duncan CAMPBELL in 1810. [Great-great-great-grandmother]

15 Oct 1838 (172 years ago) - Matthew HUDSON was baptised at Crambe, North Yorkshire, England. He was a son of William HUDSON and Christiana MATTHEW of Barton-le-Willows, and husband of Sarah (maiden surname unknown). Matthew was a joiner/builder in Leeds and Middlesbrough. [Great-granduncle]

If you are researching these families, I will gladly provide full details of my sources, which include parish registers, directories and census records.

On This Day - HUDSON, WEBSTER and SHERRING

4 Oct 1881 (129 years ago) - Florence HUDSON was born at Fairfield, Durham, England, the youngest child of George HUDSON and Mary PEACOCK. The family previously lived at Stockton-on-Tees. Florence spent her sixth birthday on board the ship Merkara bound for Queensland. She married William Donald WEBSTER and died at the age of 99. [Grandmother]

6 Oct 1890 (120 years ago) - Jessie Anne WEBSTER married George William SHERRING at Guildford NSW Australia. [Great-grandaunt]

If you are researching these families, I will gladly provide full details of my sources. My thanks to Warwick Sherring for his help.

On This Day - WEBSTER and GIBLETT

23 Sep 1829 (181 years ago) - George WEBSTER and Sarah GIBLETT were married at Finsbury St Luke, Middlesex, England. George's brother (James WEBSTER) had previously married Sarah's sister (Mary GIBLETT). [James and Mary were my great-great-great-grandparents]

25 Sep 1889 (121 years ago) - Thomas WEBSTER died at Petersham NSW Australia. He was a son of James WEBSTER and Mary GIBLETT, and the husband of Julia CAMPBELL. [Great-great-grandfather]

If you are researching these families, I will gladly provide full details of my sources, which include parish registers and a death certificate.

On This Day - BARBER, BIRKS, CAMPBELL and PORTER

13 Sep 1764 (246 years ago) - Edward BARBER and Mary BIRKS were married at Bolton upon Dearne, Yorkshire, England. Was the Elizabeth BARBER who married William HUDSON their daughter? [Maybe my great-great-great-grandparents?]

13 Sep 1810 (100 years ago) - Duncan CAMPBELL and Helen CAMPBELL were married on the Isle of Tiree, Argyllshire, Scotland. After Duncan died, his wife Helen (or Ellen) and her children emigrated to Sydney, NSW, Australia on the British King. Her sons were pioneers of Gippsland (Victoria). [Great-great-great-grandparents]

18 Sep 1768 (242 years ago) - Elizabeth Harley PORTER was baptised at Stockwell Chapel, Lambeth, Surrey, England. Elizabeth was a daughter of James PORTER and Catherine HARLEY, and the wife of William WEBSTER. I am still looking for a record of Elizabeth WEBSTER's death (maybe about 1851). [Great-great-great-great-grandmother]

If you are researching these families, I will gladly provide full details of my sources, which include parish registers. My thanks to Michael Flynn for his help.

Freedom certificate, James Webster (Treasure Chest Thursday)

One of my family treasures is the original Certificate of Freedom issued to my great-great-great-grandfather, James WEBSTER, on 1 July 1823. James had been apprenticed to John PORTER, a stationer of Pall Mall, London, whom we believe was his uncle. (Thanks to Michael FLYNN for his help with the PORTER research.)

This certificate was entrusted to me by Rodney CARR. It was handed down through his branch of the family (descendants of James WEBSTER's eldest daughter, Sarah HAZLEWOOD nee WEBSTER). The authenticity of this large document, only a portion of which is shown above, was confirmed by the Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers.

For information about this family (including James's parents, William WEBSTER and Elizabeth Harley PORTER), see the Webster family tree on my Web site.

('Treasure Chest Thursday' is a theme used by 'Geneabloggers'.)

On This Day - WEBSTER, TEAGUE, GIBLETT and SHEPPARD

6 Sep 1884 (126 years ago) - Ernest Edward WEBSTER married Alice TEAGUE at Camberwell, Surrey, England. [1st cousin 3 times removed]

11 Sep 1783 (227 years ago) - Richard GIBLETT and Sarah SHEPPARD were married at St Johns Church, Frome, Somerset, England. Richard was a tanner and currier. [Great-great-great-great-grandparents, Webster line]

If you are researching these families, I will gladly provide full details of my sources. My thanks to Anne Reece and Karen Cooper for their help.

On This Day - BUTLER and MUSTELL

30 Aug 1910 (100 years ago) - Mary Jane BUTLER (nee NICHOLSON) was buried at Rookwood Cemetery, Sydney NSW Australia. Mary Jane is something of a mystery. She was allegedly born at Enniskillen, Fermanagh, Ireland, c1828-1830, a daughter of Richard NICHOLSON, a soldier. I think she is probably the Sarah Jane NICHOLSON who married Robert BUTLER in NSW in 1856. [Great-great-grandmother, James Campbell Webster line]

31 Aug 1822 (188 years ago) - Anne MUSTELL was born in London, Middlesex, England. She was the daughter of Thomas MUSTELL and Anne VAUGHAN, and the wife of William James WEBSTER. Anne was buried in the Old Cemetery, Camberwell, Surrey, England, on 2 Sep 1891 (119 years ago this week). [Wife of my great-great-granduncle]

If you are researching these families, I will gladly provide full details of my sources, which include a family bible, a letter from Camberwell New Cemetery, and marriage and death certificates. My thanks to Anne Reece and Rhonda Newell for their help.

MUSTELL (Surname Saturday)

I don't know how accurate this is, but http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Muzzall says that MUSTELL is derived from a name of Old French origin, introduced into England after 1066. MUSTELL seems to be rather uncommon in the UK. I am researching Anne MUSTELL who married William James WEBSTER in 1845 at St. Peter's Church, Walworth, in the parish of St. Mary Newington, Surrey, England. Anne's parents were Thomas MUSTELL (gentleman, deceased by 1845) and Anne VAUGHAN. I would like to know whether Anne had any siblings, or whether there is any truth in the family legend that says 'Anne MUSTELL was a grand-daughter of Mrs FRY (celebrated Quakeress)'.

('Surname Saturday' is a theme used by 'Geneabloggers'.)

Patents and Trademarks (52 Weeks to Better Genealogy, no.28)

Better Genealogy Challenge no.28 was essentially 'Visit your national Patent and Trademark Office web site, and also try Google Patent Search.'

The Australian Government site https://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/ lets you select whether you want to search patents or trademarks. An unusual feature is the ability (in 'Customise columns/data') to drag and drop data labels to change their order in your results. You can also add or remove a label by dragging it into or out of the list of unused labels. I recommend including the label 'Agent Name', because in my search it revealed the inventor's address.

On the IPAustralia site I searched for 'Cunnamulla' (my home town) and found that in 1981 Stuart Charles BARKLA applied for a patent for a folding stock feeder.

In the Trademarks section I searched for two surnames from my mother's family, and the counts were RIENECKER=46, STEINKE=146.

In last week's challenge - using Google Scholar - I found a United States patent issued to William Stewart BENTLEY, Mooning, Cunnamulla, Queensland, Australia, for inventing an ornamental design for a bread bun.

('52 Weeks to Better Genealogy' is a series of tasks devised by Amy Coffin.)

Hudson children, Stockton-on-Tees, Durham, England

Hudson children's headstone, Oxbridge Lane cemetery, Stockton-on-Tees, Durham, England (© Judy Webster, 2005)

In just two weeks (22 Jan - 3 Feb 1881) George and Mary HUDSON lost three young sons: Joseph Ernest (age 6), Bertie (2) and Charles Edwin (8). Joseph's death certificate says he died from 'measles and laryngitis'.

George, Mary and all but one of their surviving children emigrated to the Helidon area in Queensland, Australia, in search of a healthier climate. Their doctor doubted whether my grandmother Florence (aged five at the time) would survive the voyage. She delighted in telling this story, because she lived to be 99!

('Tombstone Tuesday' is a theme used by genealogy bloggers. See also my other posts about HUDSON.)