McAlary Family History

Olive May Hood was born on November 21 1907, in Perth Western Australia, to Andrew William Percival Hood and Eliza Clace Cummings. 'Ollie' as she was always called, was the youngest child. She had a big  brother and sister, Leslie Raymond (born 1902) and Doris Muriel, 'Dorrie' (born 1904.)  Olive May Hood with her big sister Doris Muriel Hood ca 1919 By day, their father Percy was the chief accountant for Perth Gas and Electricity, but in every spare moment away from work, he spent time nurturing one of his greatest passions - gardening. He had a huge garden where many fruits and vegetables were grown, but his prized plantings were his dahlias which won him numerous state awards over many years. Eliza Clace was a dressmaker by trade and a great cook - the children would gather the freshly grown vegetables from their garden and their Mum Eliza would cook up a feast.   Apart from gardening and cooking, a very important part of the children's lives was music. L-R: Stan...

My oldest photograph is one of my most precious genealogical treasures. It is one that I discovered quite by chance while looking for something else in my mother's sideboard. It took me quite by surprise when I found a little parcel, wrapped in soft cloth, tucked away safely in the back of the sideboard drawer. Immediately, I had the sense that this small parcel must have contained something very precious to my mother.  I unwrapped it carefully to see that it contained a very old, well-worn and somewhat damaged small box, approximately 8cm x 9cm x 1.5cm.  It appeared to be covered in a very fine, deep red leather that was quite scratched and scarred - bearing the hallmarks of its age. On the side I noted two very small gold latches safely securing the contents of the little box. Opening the latches carefully I was surprised to see the darkened image of a man with a rather distinguished, aristocratic face peering at me from a gold frame surrounded with a gold rope-like trim and...

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...

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...