RootsChat.Com
Family History Documents and Artefacts => Unwanted Certificates & Artefacts => Topic started by: Cell on Wednesday 16 November 05 22:36 GMT (UK)
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I have an old Robert Burns book which was owned by Mr W.J.Harris.
It contains newspaper cuttings from various dates in the 1890 years stuck into the pages relating to Mr Harris's lectures here in Australia ( from au papers and Scottish papers) , original programme and ticket from the Railway military Band ( Sydney) , and lots of handwritten notes written by Mr W.J.Harris along side the articles
Mr Harris was Vice president of The Railway Institute of Sydney in the late 1800's and also a lecturer on Robert Burns .Is this anyone's relative? I have left some of his details out.
I am happy to give the book away free to it's rightful family - just for the cost of postage.
I rescued the book from a charity shop in Brisbane.
The actual book itself is falling apart - so it's of no monetary value to Robert Burns collectors if a collector is reading this and thinking of claiming Mr Harris as a relative - I would think it is invaluable to Mr Harris's family as it's full of press clippings about him and his handwritten notes with exact dates ,all which are in good condition.
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Hi,
I'm just bumping this post up - 7 years and a bit later. I still have the book,.. Do you think I should I contact NSw railway if they'd be interested in having the book? It's his personal copy with all his handwritten notes on the pages , also newspaper articles stuck in and the original tickets.
http://www.railinst.com.au/index.php?p=128 - I don't want to throw it out, I want to give it someone
I'm still no closer to finding his full name and any descendants
His photo is on the above link, the committee - second row down, second from left
edited to add one of the newspaper articles about him his lectures (30th sept 1893) and a sketch of him from Trove http://www.rootschat.com/links/0ul0/
I've only just found the above article in Trove - it mentions he was born near Swansea in 1851 and moved here in 1876 ( I've got a lead at last! ;D I'm off to look at all the Harris births now and passenger lists)
I have the original second lecture programme stuck in the book dated 15th Dec 1893, where he has written in ink on the programme "This is the second lecture on Burns"
How his book ended up here in Brisbane I don't know, I wonder if he moved up here, or maybe any children of his did.
Kind Regards
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Perhaps you could look for a family tree online to see if there is a match...it would be lovley to think it could be given to his descendants.
Carol
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Hi,
Bumping up yet again, maybe a family member googling for him will pick up his full name below. I haven't come across him in family trees;
A maybe (only one I can see with a J as a middle name in the births from late 40'd to mid 50's around Glam);
William Joseph Harris
Born 1850 oct/nov/dec reg district Bridgend
The below is a bit far out in date, but perhaps newspapers got year wrong.
1861 reg oct/nov/dec Swansea William John Harris born 1861
there are a few possibilities for him in the immigration/ship records here in Aus .
Kind regards
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Hi there Cell,
I have no idea if NSW Railway would be interested, but perhaps NSW State Records or NSW State Library may be.
NSW Railways archives are at NSW State Records.
http://www.records.nsw.gov.au/state-archives/guides-and-finding-aids/archives-in-brief/archives-in-brief-54
NSW State Library, includes The Mitchell Library ..... http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/about/collections/manuscripts.html
And of course, if you need to make room, I have been known to 'rescue' many similar treasures....
Agh ... treasures .... Trove .... http://www.nla.gov.au/collections
And National Archives ...... http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/managing-collection/index.aspx and they have a Brisbane presence (phone no. needs you to substitute zero for the letter O :)..... 16 Corporate Drive, Cannon Hill (O7) 3249 42OO )
Cheers, JM
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Rather than waiting around on the off chance that a relative will google and find you, have you tried making up a tree for Mr Harris and actively searching for living descendants? You might get some volunteer helpers. :)
I realise if you have any success, correspondence between yourself and 'helpers' will need to occur via PM to avoid mentioning the living. :)
PS. It's a very nice thing that you are doing in trying to unite this book with family.
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Hi all,
Thanks,
Good idea about the family tree, I could do a public one on ancestry, I'll have to get into it after the school holidays.
I'm not fully adept at searching Aus genealogy records and of course the privacy here makes it a bit more difficult.
Trouble with a Welsh name like Harris it is very common in S Wales. The only hope he uses his middle name, and he may say he was born near Swansea, but he could also be born in Carmarthenshire. .I was born only a stones throw to a certain town in Carmarthenshire than I was to Swansea, yet I say I was born in Swansea (taking the largest city) to people as I was born in Glam and not Carmarthenshire ( born on a border of Glamorganshire and much wider Swansea area) . I was born nowhere near to the city of Swansea itself.
Kind Regards :)
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Cell, it could be worth asking for this to be moved to the Australia board. :-\ If he has any descendants it might be the best place to start searching for descendants. If that doesn't bear fruit after all avenues have been explored, it might be worth widening the search to Wales. :-\
Just throwing ideas around....