Transported to Norfolk Island

On 6 March 1788, my 5x great-grandparents Edward Garth and Susannah Gough, stepped ashore on Norfolk Island with Lieutenant Governor Philip Gidley King and 22 others with the purpose of farming and providing food for the new colony in Sydney Cove. Edward and Susannah were convicts transported on the First Fleet to Sydney Cove. AfterContinue reading “Transported to Norfolk Island”

Love letters from the front

Yesterday the Australian War Memorial announced a request for volunteers to assist them to transcribe thousands of love letters written between soldiers and their loved ones at home during the major conflicts. I signed up to the website and started to transcribe a letter from Dorothy Williams to her love Malcolm ‘Mac’ Keshan. The letterContinue reading “Love letters from the front”

Christmas Conversations

Christmas is a great time to have a conversation with family members about family history. Chatting about family stories with older family members while gathered is an important element to gathering clues to help piece together an ancestor’s life. My grandfather Frederick James Peeling was born in Shepherds Bush, London on 19 May 1908, toContinue reading “Christmas Conversations”