About My Blog

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Throughout the many years that I have been researching my family history I have been fortunate to discover so many wonderful stories about my ancestors. 

Each of my ancestors who came to Australia, journeyed from far off countries. They left behind their families and friends, knowing that they may never meet again. However, in coming to a new land they each brought with them a wealth of history, of family memories and stories.

In my blog I hope to share what I have learnt about my family: their stories, their successes and their challenges. 

I hope that through this blog I will be able to connect with more of my family, share my discoveries and hopefully enthuse others to also develop an interest in learning more about our shared family history.

Popular posts from this blog

Anzac Day Remembrance 2022 Lest We Forget

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They Went With Songs To The Battle....          They Fell With Their Faces To The Foe... Many of my family on both my maternal and paternal sides made the decision to serve their country in times of war. It is difficult to know what it was that spurred each of them to serve- whether it was from a sense of duty, a desire to see the world, a fear of the threat of the enemy toward their families and way of life or simply that they were not given a choice but were of a certain age and so were drafted into battles unknown. Whatever the reason, there is little doubt that the experience of war would have changed the lives of each of these men and women in ways they may never have expected. For some, they paid the ultimate sacrifice and gave their life so others may have freedom. For many who returned, their lives were likely to be changed forever- for some it was from physical injuries received; for others it was from those injuries that remained invisible, and those...
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The homeland of my 2x great grandmother Esther Stratton nee Farrell (1839 - 1896)

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Interestingly I know very little about my 2x great grandmother Esther Stratton.  For me, her life has been nothing more than a few identifying marks on scarce family records. There are no photos. There are no stories. There are few memories. I know that Esther travelled to Australia with her siblings  departing Liverpool, England on 16 September 1852 aboard the ' John Brown '. Just four and a half months later they arrived in Port Henry, Geelong, Victoria. It was January 5, 1853. Esther was just 14 years of age and described as a domestic servant. Each of her siblings were sent to different places to work as domestic servants or agricultural labourers. Her youngest sister however, just seven years of age, was sent to stay with relatives in Melbourne. Assisted and Unassisted Passenger List, James Brown, Arrived Point Henry, Geelong 5 January 1853. Passenger Esther Farrell, 14, Domestic Servant, Disposed of to Mr George Coveney, Point Henry. One can only imagine the first impres...
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Is it my 'Hood' Family or my 'Dubois' Family?

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For many years now I have been researching my mother's Hood family.  When I began my research I was fortunate  that my mother was able to share  some stories about the Hood family that she had learnt from her grandfather, Andrew William Percival Hood. These stories were wonderful starting points for my research all of which I have been able to confirm with facts and records. I have managed to take the Hood family back 5 generations to my mother's 3x great grandparents' marriage in 1813. However, despite years of effort, I cannot take the tree any further back. 4 generations of the Hoods in Australia L-R: Andrew William 'Percy' Hood, Raymond Hood, Leslie Raymond Hood and Robert Hood. Taken in Perth, Western Australia about 1928. In 2018, I made contact with a DNA match, Gwynne who shared the same Hood family. Communications with Gwynne enabled me to hear many stories about the Hood family, including a very interesting story that perhaps explained why I was experienci...
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