May 2018newsletter no. 166

What’s Happening Next for our Society:

A new segment has been introduced for each meeting titled: Did you know? It will run for approx 5-10mins and will be conducted at the beginning of each meeting.

15th May – Did you know subject: “What’s in the WFHS Library” will be conducted by our librarian Lyn Larkin. Guest speaker talk: Mandy Vaccaro from the Albury Library Museum will talk about relevant family history holdings library access cards.

17th May – this will be the 1st of the Winter morning meetings that will be conducted at the Wodonga Library, in the Meeting Room adjacent to the Research Room, commencing at 11am and finishing at 1pm. The meeting is to enable members who may not be able to attend the night meetings to be kept up to date with what happened at the night meeting. You are welcome to bring along a cuppa and your lunch if you wish.

19th June – Did you Know subject: “Google and the Net and a whole lot more.” Guest speaker talk: Denise Osborne will talk about Jindera’s 150 year anniversary.

21st June - this will be the 2nd of the Winter morning meetings that will be conducted at the Wodonga Library commencing at 11am and finishing at 1pm. The meeting is to enable members who may not be able to attend the night meetings to be kept up to date with what happened at the night meeting.

17th July – Did you Know subject: Roots Chat. The session will be conducted by Barbara Baxter.Guest speaker talk: Susie Zada will talk about Australian Wills and Probate Indexes

19th July - this will be the 3rd and final Winter morning meetings that will be conducted at the Wodonga Library commencing at 11am and finishing at 1pm. The meeting is to enable members who may not be able to attend the night meetings to be kept up to date with what happened at the night meeting.

Disclaimer: The WFHS Inc. does not accept any responsibility for opinions or accuracy

of information contained in this newsletter.Information is reproduced in this publication for educational purposes.

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Newsletter of the Wodonga Family History Society Inc.PO Box 289 Wodonga Vic 3689 www.wodongafamilyhistory.org

Email: secretary@wodongafamilyhistory.org

Published in February, May, August and November

ISSN 1327-3167

The Research Room is situated in the premises of the Wodonga Library in Hovell Street, Wodonga VIC. The opening hours for research are Tuesday & Wednesday from 11am to 3pm and Thursday from 1.30pm to 4.30pm.

Our meetings are held on the 3rd Tuesday of each month [except December] at 7.30pm at the Felltimber Community Centre, cnr Felltimber Creek Road and Melrose Drive, Wodonga. Entry is via Ritter Road.

Research enquiries: If you wish our Research Officer to do research for you, please include a business sized, stamped, self addressed envelope with your enquiry details. The initial research cost is $25.00.Please include all the details you can: names, areas, dates, any births, deaths and marriage details you may have and what you want the Research Officer to find out. There is no point in paying for what you already know.

Membership Details

Membership of the Wodonga Family History Society Inc. includes the benefits of receiving a quarterly newsletter and allows access to all the resources of the Society’s library which is growing all the time. Your attendance at our monthly meetings will ensure that you have contact with our researchers who share your interest in family history.

Subscriptions: New Members Joining Fee $ 10.00Annual Membership $25.00Part Year Membership[join between 1st April & 30th June] $10.00 + joining fee

Membership fees are due and payable in July of each year.

Committee members

President Norma Burrows phone: 02 6024 1591Vice President vacantTreasurer Sue Jarvis Secretary Wendy Cooksey phone: 02 6056 3220

Barbara Baxter Bob Cousins Lynda Cuper Janette Griggs Pat HopkinsLyn Larkin Heather Lauritzen Dawn Newman Christine Young

We are updating our members' information and would like to include details of a person to contact in case of emergency.  The information required is "Person to contact and contact number".  Please

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Researchers please note that you cannot access the Research Room records until you have signed the attendance book in the Research Room. Items cannot be returned through the Library after hour’s chute or to the Regional Library staff. They must be returned to the Research Rooms during the designated opening hours mentioned above.

forward these details to: secretary@wodongafamilyhistory.org, call Wendy on 02 6056 3220 or post to PO Box 289, Wodonga, 3689.President’s Report As mentioned in the February newsletter, our Programme Co-ordinator (Janette) has put together a comprehensive programme for this year.In February we learned about the Ryerson Index. In March we were brought up to date with what is happening at Family Search and at our April meeting Jillian Kohlhagen from CSU Archive Centre talked to us about the records which are being held by their organisation. Along with our guest speakers we are starting our meetings with a segment “Did you know…?” It doesn’t matter how long we have been putting our family history together there is always something new out there!This year we are trialling a get together at the Wodonga Library from 11.00 am to 1.00 pm (May, June and July) on the Thursday after our Tuesday night meeting. First date is 17th May. A committee member will be available to give you the information from the meeting. We look forward to seeing those of you who do not want to go out at night (especially in the Winter). We are trying to do all we can to keep all members informed. Wodonga Library staff have now installed the library edition of Ancestry on one of our computers and this is now available for your use. Don’t forget to put your entries in for the Bedella writing competition. Entries close on 31st May. You may leave your entries at our Research Room. There are 3 categories:- Novice - 300 to 600 words, Intermediate - 600 to 1200 words and Open 1000 to 1500 words. Please do not hesitate to contact me (02 6024 1591 or email norma.may@bigpond.com) if you have any questions. The guidelines are available on our website.We have a busy time ahead with Wodonga Volunteers Day, Sausage Sizzle at Bunnings (20th May) and a display in the Albury Library in July. When planning your research don’t forget the resources we have available at the library - many of which are not available online.I look forward to seeing you soon.

Norma Burrows,President

**************************************Meeting Notes

20th February – Janette presented our second “Did you know” segment.  She covered The Australia electoral rolls and how to access them and the limitations there are on accessing them.  She also detailed how they can assist researchers in their family history.Janette then followed on with a very interesting talk on the Ryerson Index, how it began as just death notices from the Sydney Morning Herald.  Members of the Dead Persons Society  were the brains behind the project which now covers numerous newspapers from throughout Australia, all done by volunteers.The meeting concluded with supper and members chatting about what they had just learned.

20th March – Bob presented the “Did you know” segment titled “What happened to Cyndi’s list?” https://www.cyndislist.com/australia/ There are so many choices on the website so Bob chose: Categories; then scroll down and click on the Australia hyperlink; click the How To hyperlink in the Category Index.On the How To page you can also click the Mailing List hyperlink. On the CindisList Mailing List page you can also click the Submit a New Link hyperlink if you want to add a link that you have not been able to find. At general meeting we asked members to let us know if there was any particular area of research they would like our Programmes to cover this year. Barry thought “Inheritance” might be a good subject. There weren’t any other ideas put forward. For our Show & Tell presentation Barbara showed a Christening gown; Barry a Pay As You Earn [PAYE] leaflet from 1949 and an American memorial coin; Heather a

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writing compendium from 1898; Howard a family will and Welsh love spoon; Norma a decorated vase from early 1900s.It was mentioned by a member that NSW State Library will do a limited amount of research for free.Yvonne showed a leaflet with details about places for research for Devon & Cornwall.Bob/Barbara presented us with a “rolling challenge” for 2018. They want members to come up with the following information:1. First in country – Ancestor who first arrived in Australia; 2. Oldest direct ancestor – male or female; 3. Best brick wall discovered in relation to categories 1 & 2. Members are asked to look into this and give a short presentation (up to 5 minutes) at a future meeting on what they find. There will be a prize.

17th April - Wendy presented the “Did you know” segment. She gave a brief overview of the Library Edition of Ancestry.  It is now available on Computer 3.  Members will not be able to print from this edition of Ancestry so will need to bring a USB if they wish to save a record.  Alternately they can email the record to themselves.Guest speaker Jillian  Kohlhagen, who is the Collection Management Archivist from Charles Sturt University Regional Archives [CSURA], gave a most informative presentation.CSURA is a designated regional repository for State Records NSW.  The records held cover a wide range of subjects, including those of genealogical interest. Anglican diocese records from the Riverina and Wangaratta have been deposited there.  Many records have been digitised and can be accessed on their website.  Others need to be accessed personally on site.Access is free, but it is advisable to ring to make sure they are open if you are travelling from a distance.  There is a travelling exhibition, “Captured. Portraits of Crime 1870 to 1930” showing photos and stories of prisoners.  It will be in Wagga Wagga from 14th May to 8th June 2018.There are flyers in our library detailing CSURA. Supper followed and members stayed around to chat.

Events in MaySunday 20th MayWe will be manning the BBQ at Bunnings in Wodonga between 8.30am and 4pm. Volunteers are always welcome. Contact Wendy, our Secretary, if you can help. It would be great if you could spare 2 hours however if you only have one hour to spare then that will be most appreciated.

Sunday 27th May:WFHS will set up an information stall from 10am to 2pm in the Nell Wilson Pavilion at the Wodonga Racecourse for NECANA.The NECANA Association Incorporated is a not for profit volunteer group whose sole objective is to support Australian Defence Force [ADF] families in the Albury Wodonga Military Area [AWMA].

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Thursday 31st May:Entries close for the Bedella writing competition.

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Members’ stories The WFHS committee are always trying to encourage you, the members, to write short pieces for the newsletter.The aim is to give you the confidence to keep writing short or longer pieces for yourself and your family to preserve and pass on your family’s history. It would be great if you wanted to share those stories with fellow members via this newsletter. They can be as short as 300 words [half a page, depending on the font you use] up to a page and a half [approx. 900 words].

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This article is submitted by Bernice Burgess.MY JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY

Once we decide to trace our family history we all embark on a journey of discovery, in fact, many journeys as we follow the histories of our parents, grandparents and even earlier family connections. Some of these journeys are relatively simple with records that are readily accessible while others take what seems to be a lifetime to trace. This has been the path I have taken to find my father’s family.About 25 years ago I started to look for John (Jack) Cullen, my father’s father. Jack died when Dad (Victor John) was just 6 years of age and his brother (Leslie William) was only 1 year old so neither child had any information or memories of him other than he worked on the NSW Railways. Grandma Cullen (Ada Ruth Gee (formerly Harmes) had died before I embarked on my search. However, I did have a copy of their Marriage Certificate, Death Certificate and I was able to obtain a copy of his Personnel Record from the NSW Railways.The marriage Certificate gave me the following information – No.133; Date: 29th

May 1907 at Hamilton; Name: John Cullen, Ada Gee; Usual Occupation: Labourer, Domestic; Usual Place of Residence: Mayfield, Wickham; Conjugal Status: Bachelor, Widow; Birthplace: Melbourne Victoria, Musswellbrook NSW; Age: 40, 34; Father’s name, mother’s name and maiden name: William Cullen deceased, Mary Ann Lockett; Edward Harmes deceased, Sarah Hopper; Father’s occupation: Stonemason, Butcher; Witnesses were James Ross and Linda Violet Everett and the marriage took place at the District Registrar’s Office, Hamilton (a suburb of Newcastle, NSW). Based on the information in this document I estimated Jack was probably born around 1867.The information on the death Certificate was provided by Patrick Flood of 29 Isaac Street, Wickham and carried a note saying Patrick was not a relative. Grandma Cullen had been crippled down her left side by poliomyelitis and, as the mother of two small boys, she would not have been able to visit the Registry Office on her own. Jack’s age was given as 45 while the cause of death was given as ‘fatty degeneration of the heart’. Charles Hibble, the Coroner of Newcastle, certified his death. He was buried in the Church of England section of the Sandgate Cemetery. Witnesses were Joseph Starker and Frederick Deahm. The Funeral Director was John Gilbert. I noted the variation in the age given and attempted to find records for the various people named in these documents but was not successful. The funeral records of John Gilbert had not survived.There are records on the Electoral Roll for Newcastle in 1908, 1909, 1912/13 for jack but I have never found a record before the date of his marriage. The only record that kept popping up was for William Jenkin and Mary Ann Lockett but for 20 years or more I could find no connection between the Jenkin and Cullen

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families. It was at this time I decided to research every John Cullen who had ever set foot on Australian soil in the time frame. After all, European settlement of Australia had only commenced in 1788 so there should not be too many names. Surprisingly, there were many John Cullens in all states.In the meantime, I was growing older and I was beginning to doubt if I would find my ancestors during my lifetime. Out of desperation, I decided to join Ancestry but was not surprised when NO records were found for Jack. I then checked records for orphans, abandoned babies, seamen, criminals and any other group I could think of – to no avail. A small glimmer of hope came from two guest speakers at one of the meetings of the Wodonga Family History Group. This message was that, when people changed their name, they rarely changed all their personal information – just some. In Jack’s case I wondered which records were false.Finally, I decided to have my DNA tested. My niece, Natalie had hers tested and we prevailed upon the son (Ernest Desmond) of my father’s brother to be tested. There were no Cullen males in my line still alive. This was important as he would carry the Y chromosome of his father and grandfather. We also transferred our Ancestry records to GEDMATCH. About this time, I received an email from a fourth cousin identified by Ancestry. We started to exchange information and I found this cousin was a descendant of the Jenkin/Lockett family I had identified 20 years earlier. As my computer skills had become out-dated during my long search, I transferred my information to Natalie who carefully ‘dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s’ with her research and up-to-date computer skills and eventually sorted the connection.My search for my ancestors is now complete. I am pleased to learn that I am a descendant of Wales and Cornwall. However, Natalie and I would like to know why John Jenkin (born 1861) found it necessary to change his name to John (Jack) Cullen. I have been searching but he has left a very limited paper trail. This discovery has been fulfilling for our Cullen Family but it has also meant the Jenkin Family finally has a death date for John Jenkin.

**************************************This is from the Wodonga Library newsletter.  Could be useful for those of us that need technical help.

**************************************The WFHS has been given the opportunity to use the Albury Library Museum’s display wall and two of their locked display cases for the month of July to display family history paraphernalia. The theme being considered is: “Get me to the Church on Time”

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We plan to have a photo gallery of churches and events that took place in them, such as baptisms, marriages, funerals that highlight family history.  Ideally we would like to have a photo of an event next to the relevant church.  Our initial focus will be on this area, so Beechworth, Albury, Rutherglen, Howlong, etc. as well as Wodonga would be good, but we are not ruling out churches of other areas, so if you have something you think would be suitable please let us know.If you can loan us any photos, or items that went with the event, we would greatly appreciate it.  We will copy all photos and return the originals to you before the display. 

Also, we are looking for frames to house the photos.  A variety of frame sizes would make the display more eye-catching.   We would need to attach D hooks/hook eyes to the back of the frame to accommodate the hangers used on the wall, so please take that into account.Some ideas of the photos or items that could be used in the display are listed below, these are ideas and some people could have all manner of appropriate items tucked away at home.

Wedding photo + church photo+ marriage certificate+ old bridal veil + newspaper announcement Baptism photo + church photo + baptismal certificate + old baptism booteesFuneral cortege photo + church photo + funeral card or return thanks card

We aim to include lots of the WFHS logos, brochures, etc  which will be great promotion for the society leading into August which is Family History month.So—any photos/items/or frames you think may help will be greatly appreciated.Please contact our Secretary, Wendy, if you can help.

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We made just over $320.00 at our plant sale at the Leneva Steam Rally. Warren Embury did all the hard yards with the propagating of the plants.Congratulations and thanks to Warren.

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There are times when you discover something new. Perhaps you would like to share that information with the other members of our club. Send your titbits to our Editor Christine, with WFHS Newsletter in the Subject, at chrisyou@bigpond.net.au

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PROJECTSWork continues on Mondays in the Library and I wish to thank those who have made an offer to help in the future. We have completed the Yackandandah Rates to 1950-51 and have decided to leave the rest for a later date. Walwa and Granya cemetery records and photo of their respective headstones are available at the Library.Julie from the Wodonga council offered early Shire books for us to transcribe. The Wodonga Waterworks Trust Registers give details of who had access to water (from 1907) their names and address which is actually a description of the property. A marvellous opportunity to discover who lived where at the time as there are no Census records available. For instance, Bernado Costa in 1907 was the owner of a shop and residence at allotment 10 of Section R as well as allotments 14, 15 and 16 of Section R, Wodonga. Of course to know exactly where that was it would be necessary to have a look at the early Shire sub-divisions which we also have in our Library. The books that really got us excited were the three “Shire of Wodonga in Account with Householders for the Cleaning and Removal of NIGHTSOIL, PANS, etc at Wodonga”. Of course most residents had the need for this type of service. From these books you can find the name of the resident, the name of the owner of the property, the name of the street and the number of pans required for the residence/business. These books start at 1898 and at that time, Bernado Costa was a boot maker in High street and needed one pan. The Bank of Victoria required 2 and Rebecca Sarah Carkeek , a hotel keeper in Sydney street, needed five. Interesting! Our guest speaker at the May meeting mentioned that the Anglican records for the Wangaratta diocese are housed at their Archives. Missing from the list were the Wodonga records. These are available at our Library as we were fortunate to have permission to digitise and transcribe them.

There was a great article in The Border Mail on Saturday 17th March regarding the WFHS. In part, it stated that the Research Room at Wodonga Library offers members a wealth of information from births, deaths and marriages to early election rolls and shipping records. Because the Census records get destroyed in Australia we have to rely on other lists, such as the Cleansing Register [a list of residents who lived in Wodonga in 1902] which provides occupations and addresses; we can access rates information and eligible voter registries to help with our research. Also, information that is published on the Internet is not always correct. We have to do our own research and follow the clues and then verify the information by obtaining certificates or reading books that have been researched therefore the information in them will be correct.Family history libraries and archives allow us to do this.

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There is a new book available in the Wodonga Library titled The Family Tree – Cemetery Field Guide by Joy Neighbors It is about how to find, record & preserve your ancestors’ graves. Whilst the author is from the USA it does give you an insight into planning a trip to a cemetery then searching and recording information.

RECORDS FOR SALE

CD and DVD RECORDS FOR SALEThese Records have been produced by the Wodonga Family History Society Inc. and may be purchased by contacting the Secretary at PO Box 289 Wodonga VIC 3690 or by email at secretary@wodongafamilyhistory.org

Please Note: a full list of all our Records can be found on our website.

Barnawartha Cemetery (DVD) contains copies of the original registers as well as photographs and transcriptions of the cemetery records and headstones.

$25.00 + p&p

Bethanga Cemetery (DVD) Includes Burial Register, Sextant’s Records, Headstone Inscriptions and Photographs of the Cemetery and Headstones

$25.00 + p&p

Bethanga Land Claims Records (DVD) contains a digitised copy of the original Register and transcriptions of the Register entries. Some loose certificates found in the Register have been included.

$25.00 + p&p

Courts of Petty Sessions (CD) Transcriptions of original records for convictions in the North East. (Bright 1890-1967; Milawa 1910-1915; Mitta Mitta 1928-1964; Rutherglen 1895-1948; Tallangatta 1892-1965; Walwa 1922-1965).

$20.00 + p&p

Mitta Mitta Cemetery (DVD) Cemetery photographs and headstone transcriptions to 2010.

$25 + p&p

‘Out of the Box’ (CD) A compilation of early residents from our local region obtained from records over many years. A valuable resource for family historians with a connection to the local area as it contains information relating to over 800 families.

$20 +p&p

Pupil Registers (CD) for some Schools in the Indigo shire close to Wodonga. (Baranduda 1903; Carlyle 1925-1952; Cornishtown 1865-1955;Dederang North 1914-1953; Lake Moodemere 1907-1952; Gundowring 1910-1952; Lockhart’s Creek 1906-1941; Prentice Freehold 1913-1950; Red Bluff 1910-1952; Tallandoon 1902-1971; Tangambalanga 1912-1952; Upper Gundowring 1910-1952; Kiewa Consolidated (1953-1983)

$20.00 + p&p

Talgarno Cemetery (CD) includes Headstone transcriptions, transcriptions of the Cemetery Register and photographs of the cemetery and headstones.

$20.00 + p&p

Tallangatta Cemetery (DVD) contains photographs of the cemetery and headstones and transcriptions of the burial register and headstones.

$25.00 + p&p

Wodonga Monumental Inscriptions up to and including 2007 (CD)Wodonga Burial Registers: 1 June 1861-Dec 1937 and 1938-2004.(Many internments were not recorded from 1861-1871). A Plan of the Cemetery is included.

$20.00 each + p&p

Wodonga Rates 1900-1948 (1938-1941 are not available) $35.00 + p&pYackandandah Cemetery Headstone Transcriptions (CD) $35.00 + p&p

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Yackandandah Shire Rates 1875-1878 and 1884-1891 (CD) $20.00 + p&pYabba Cemetery (CD) Headstone Transcriptions and Photographs $20.00 + p&pNote: Additional cost for p&p - $5.00 for 1 or 2 CDs and/or DVDs.$10.00 for 3 or 4 CDs and/or DVDs unless otherwise stated.All CDs and DVDs are Word and Excel compatible.

Wodonga Family History Society Inc., PO Box 289, Wodonga, VIC, 3689

The Wodonga Family History Society would like to thank Officeworks Wodonga for its support.

Officeworks is a great store with many services and products available for family historians.

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WODONGA FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY Inc.

PO Box 289, WODONGA 3689