So many untold stories -- So little time
WELCOME - to my family pages
I have been researching the family for over a decade. I migrated to Australia with my mother and step father from England in 1957 when I was 10. Some 50 years later, I think of myself as an Australian who was born in Britain.
The spark that ignited my quest to find the history of the family came from the debate in Australia about the value of migration. Naturally, being one of those migrants, I believe that Australia benefits from the newcomer, who in time become just another Australian, albeit a 'NEW' one.
The genes of people who have the determination and courage to leave the known for the unknown, in a search for a better life for their children if not for themselves, surely enrich future generations. Why are Australians brave, free thinkers, hard workers, hard players and why is there a healthy distrust of authority? Why is Australia a land where everyone is as good as the next person, and valued for what they put in and not for how much money and class they were born into? I believe it is because the breeding stock were those courageous enough to take the plunge. Some I know were sent, as opposed to went, but those who saw and took the opportunities to carve out a better life than they could ever have hoped for back in Britain, prospered. And multiplied.
I looked at my granddaughter, and I wondered just how many families had had to make the decision to chance everything on a new beginning in order for this one beautiful little Australian to be who she was. What were the stories of those who went, or were sent? And is our family's history one that shows that migration really does concentrate those traits into a population? I set out to resolve that question.
That was in the beginning. I still want to get to a point where I can almost answer that, but along the way I have found new avenues of research.
Some worked down the mines. What was that like, especially when you are only 12? Some had money that disappeared within a generation. Where did it come from and where did it go? Why is it that so many had babies a few short months after marrying, when I believed that 'promiscuousness' was a modern phenomenon?
Then I discovered the world of the herstory of the common (wo)man. What a wealth of information there is out there. We have stories of the lives of WW1 Diggers in the trenches along with those of the medal winners and those of the non-combatant decision makers, but I don't think we have enough from other sources. I set out to discover some of those stories for myself.
My first offerings on this web site were the direct ancestors of my granddaughter, my half sister, and my cousin. All those found so far anyway. I have now extended that to include the CHITTOCK, the BAYFIELD, the BEALES, and now as at Feb 2011 the CULLING and the EVERRETT lines. Think of them as our cousins and in-laws. You will see the options in the top menu bar. Over time I will be adding other branches.
I gratefully acknowledge all those who have assisted me in my research. I would not have known where to start if it had not been for Dorothy May CHUGG who compiled her family tree some time before 1950 on a clunky manual typewriter. Dorothy did not have the internet as we do neither, so I am certain it was a painstaking job. One can see she loved doing it as much as I do. My aunt Jean and cousin Shirley are ongoing collaborators in England. My sister in law has done invaluable work that she has let me share on the Tasmanian side of the family. A fellow researcher related to the WALPOLE/TUDOR families sent me copies of old family photos that are now exhibits on this site, adding some beautiful sepia colour to the stories. And many many more unnamed and in some ways unknown people who freely allow others access to all their hard work. My thanks to you all.
In Nov 2010 I was contacted by a cousin from my JACKSON line. He sent me some photo's. Where would any of us be without each other? He and I are now going to work together on resolving some of the JACKSON/JOHNSON queries.
In Feb I was lucky enough to have had contact from cousins who, as unlikely as this seems to us historians who are met with blank faces every time we mention any date earlier than last week, are also researching the same family. Paul CULLING is a genuine gene-connected relative who is an Australian like me. He came here via South Africa! A FLATMAN cousin has given me access to accumulated FLATMAN family research. Raymond GODDARD, who is researching the THOMPSON/POLLARD family, is sharing data and some memories of my immediate family with me.
The content of these pages is but the tip of the iceberg. There are more events for these ancestors of ours, and many thousands of ancestors, partners and descendants have found their way into my database. There are even a few complete strangers who happen to have the same name in the same place as ours. I am interested in furthering not only my research, but yours as well. If you have any corrections or comments, or if you think we have any twigs in common, please contact me.
Recent Updates -
August 2011 - changed site to show only 1 person per page, still checking for typos
Dec 2011 - Added the WATLING family
Jan 2012 - Added a Section "Brushes with the Law". Access via the Top Menu. There is more to come, as I have only completed A to D. Fixed an error in the ABBS family and added more information about ABBS marriages in Runton.
Feb 2012 - Added the ELRICK Family and completed "Brushes with the Law". Added a map to the CULLING EVERETT families front page. Upgraded The Master Genealogist to version 8, so I am hoping all goes well with this update!!
Later Feb 2012 - Added PATTERSON family pages
Mar 2012 - Total overhaul of the way census records are presented for the whole database. Completed in April
April 2012 - Making changes to the way I record the married names of women who are principals or witnesses in death and inheritance events. This makes it easier to follow who is who. I have decided NOT to change to the married names of women in other events, as this is often redundent. i.e. 'Isaac Culling was the head of the household and Eliza Hawkes was his wife' gives a lot more information than 'Isaac Culling was the head of the household and Eliza Culling was his wife'. It may take some time to change the whole database over.
May 2012 - Added a search facility - later in the month added new info to Archer BEALES and to Sarah DAVIES aka Sarah BOYD. She now has 2 brothers who were also convicts.