~14th September 2005 ~  

MEETING DATES 2005

INFORMATION

CHANGE OF SPEAKER

Note the change of speaker for today’s meeting. The talk on “Using the internet for family history research” has been rescheduled from November. The speaker for the 9th November is to be advised.

11TH AUSTRALASIAN CONGRESS ON GENEALOGY& HERALDRY DARWIN 2006

to be hosted by Genealogical Society of the Northern Territory 1 - 4 June 2006 in Darwin. Registration brochures now available & 4 day program or contact us by mail, phone or fax. 12 keynote papers – 31 sessions on a variety of subjects 5 workshops - 6 overseas & 18 Australian speakers. Register now so we can keep you up-to-date with information about this
congress. Genealogical Society of the Northern Territory Inc, PO Box 37212, WINNELLIE NT 0821 Email: congress11@austarnet.com.au Website: http://www.octa4.net.au/genient Ph 08 89817363 or Fax 08 89817383

REUNIONS

THORNTON REUNION

Descendants of George & Mary (nee Rice) Thornton are invited to a reunion to be held on Saturday 29 April 2006 at West Pennant Hills Community Centre, where part of George's original land grant will be renamed "George Thornton Reserve". George was a convict arr Guildford in 1816. His wife & family joined him from Ireland when his term was over. George & Mary had 3 children, James Charles m. Mary Thomas, Sarah Winnett, Bridget m. William BURKE, William CLUTTON & John PAUL & Mary Ann m. William CORK & William RUSSELL. Please contact Robyn Burke, 16 Carson Crescent, Callala Bay 2540, (02) 4446-6041 rgburke@bigpond.net.au

NEW LOCAL STUDIES ITEMS

New Local Studies items now available to consult in the Local Studies Collection at Hawkesbury Central Library. To check the Library catalogue online go to http://catalogue.hawkesbury.nsw.gov.au/amlibweb/

Following microfilm donated by the Hawkesbury Family History Group

• Australian 1824 – 1848
• Sydney Monitor 1838 – 1841
• Sydney Chronicle (Australasian Chronicle) 1846 - 1848

Reminder that the Library also hold Sydney Gazette 1803 - 1811 at RL079.944 SYD plus on MICROFILM Sydney Gazette 1803 - 1842 and Sydney Morning Herald 1831 - 1885, 1996+

ENQUIRIES

John Clark WIDDOWS b 1807 Norwich NFK ENG (s of Jonathon Widdows & Maria Clarke) d 16-11-1867 Windsor NSW bur St. Matthew’s CofE Cem Windsor m Richmond to Ann SHIELDS b 1824 Richmond NSW (d of George Shields & Jane(t) Holmes) d 1899 Windsor bur St. Matthew’s CofE Cem Windsor. Issue all b Windsor : John 1848-1929 Marrickville m 1871 Eliza IZZARD; Emma b 1852; Susannah b 1855 & Sophia b 1858. Joyce Widdows, Back Creek Road, Bentley via Lismore NSW 2480 email victorcw@optusnet.com.au Please contact researcher if connected or with additional information.

SURFING THE INTERNET……. SITES FOR FAMILY HISTORIANS

Members with internet access should check out the following interesting sites. The Library has free access to the internet, contact 4560 4460 for bookings at Windsor & 4578 2002 for Richmond bookings.

Geograph British Isles ~ project aims to collect a geographically representative photograph for every square kilometre of the British Isles ~ http://www.geograph.co.uk/

1901 Census for Britain/Wales ~ Search for FREE until the 30th September 2005. Normally this is a user pay site ~ http://www.1901-census.com/access/

~ Let us know of sites, that you have tried with (or without) success ~

GEOFF FORD - Upgraded member's profile

In our 20th Anniversary News three years ago we included a profile of Dr Geoff Ford geford@tpg.com.au. As a consequence of the news sheet available online, we have had many follow up contacts. So the old data can be improved with new information - and with improved reference terms suitable for internet searches. 

For example each personal (christening) name should be shown with its family (sur) name to form a string. Of the three people with that name on the internet, he's the Hawkesbury Ranges and Blue Mountains bushwalker! Geoff is still collecting data on his principal research project, and welcomes more stories about the contacts of first Hawkesbury River settler James Webb and his associate George Peat of Wilberforce. Before she married James, George's sister Nancy Peat (Anne Peat, or Ann Pete) had a baby in 1809, William Douglas of Pitt Town. 

After our help, Geoff can now summarise the Family History profiles of his parents' ancestral arrivals: 

• James Everingham arr. 1788 ship Scarborough; 
• Elizabeth Rymes arr. 1790 ship Neptune; 
• William Shaw arr. 1791 ship William and Ann; 
• Catherine Neal arr. 1796 ship Marquis Cornwallis; 
• Elizabeth Buffey arr. 1806 ship Alexander; 
• Joseph Bridge and Richard Woodbury arr. 1806 ship Fortune; 
• John Medhurst (John Meadows) arr. 1825 ship Phoenix, disembarking VDL before coming to the Hawkesbury region; 
• Edwin Dengate with wife Harriet Trench (Harriet Taylor) arr. 1838 ship Westminster settling upstream on the Nepean; 
• Joseph Wearne with wife Susannah Rogers arr. 1849 ship Harbinger - and that's just Geoff's mum! 

On his dad's Hawkesbury line are: 

• Sarah Smith arr. 1790 ship Neptune; 
• John Cobcroft arr. 1790 ship Scarborough; 
• Michael Ford, an Irish RC arr. 1817 ship Larkins; 
• John Wenban with his wife Mary Piper arr. 1838 ship Maitland; 

...leaving only the final link, George Payne (George Goodman Payne) with his wife Hannah Elliot who probably arrived soon after they were married in 1866. 

All stories and comments on these families will be gratefully received.