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Topics - Eve45

Pages: [1] 2 3 4 ... 6
1
United States of America / Burial places, San Francisco, 1896
« on: Wednesday 23 March 22 04:53 GMT (UK)  »
Hello all. I have a mortuary record from Ancestry's "California, County Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1849-1980" for Walter Morris SIMON. Walter is recorded on the MI of his mother in Wales, where Walter was born in 1866. But he died on 13 June 1896 at the City & County Alms House in San Francisco. I have information about his life, gathered from the usual sources and family stories, but do not know where he is buried. The record mentioned has his burial place as "City". Would that refer to a specific cemetery? Or maybe "City" equates to a pauper's burial wherever they could find room? Other burial places appearing on the same page include Holy Cross, Masonic, Odd Fellows, Cooper College, Cypress Lawn, Hills of Eternity, Calvary and Laurel Hill. The physician was W. E. Conlan and the undertaker was McAvoy & Gallagher. "City" is the burial place for 10 of the people on this page, of about 45 entries. I'm in Australia and hope that someone with local San Francisco knowledge might know what "City" means in this context. Thanks.

2
Europe / Swedish Surnames
« on: Wednesday 10 February 21 08:01 GMT (UK)  »
Hi all,

I have recently found my Swedish great-grandmother after many years of searching but, as usual, it raises more questions. I'm familiar with the patronymic surname system, having traced both Dutch and Welsh family lines, but this family confuses me a little because I don't know much about Swedish naming traditions.

1. Maja Lisa Danielsdotter was born in 1833, daughter of Daniel Jonnson Spets and his wife Elin Jonsdotter. Daniel's father was Jon Persson, so Jonsson makes sense, but where would the 'Spets' part of his name come from?

Maja Lisa Danielsdotter had four known children but the father's name is not on any of the birth registrations - all have "oäkta" after their given names, which apparently means spurious, fake or bastard. The first of these children was fostered to Maja Lisa's sister and took the surname of that sister's husband, Borgstrom.

2. The last of Maja Lisa's children was my great-grandmother Emma (1869-1907). I have records for her in Germany, where she married and had children, and England, where she had children and died. All these records have her as Emma Johnsdotter or some version of it. Does this mean that her unnamed father could be John or Johan? Or is there a naming system that carries the Jons- part of her name from Maja Lisa's parents, who both had it in their names?

3. My last question relates to Maja Lisa's other two children: twin boys born in January 1865 and only lived a day. Like the others, they have no surname and no father's name. They were Frans and Victor - what surname should I give them in my FTM file? Would it be a version of Danielsdotter? It doesn't feel right to record them with just a given name.

Thank you, people of great and wondrous knowledge!

Eve


3
Australia / Tracing living relatives in Australia
« on: Sunday 12 January 20 07:06 GMT (UK)  »
Hi all,

My friend John has asked me to look for his sister, who he last saw in 2015. He wants to finalise his will and she is his only living direct relative. I know this is a sensitive area but I wonder if anyone has any suggestions? I have found her in electoral rolls, and she is recorded on John's birth certificate as previous issue of their parents. I have searched newspapers, both Trove and paid subscription services, and I have Googled all variations of her name.

I have also researched the family tree for three generations back (sometimes you need to reach backwards in order to go forward!) but this has not yielded anything helpful. Interesting, but not helpful. I have searched for a death or burial at all relevant cemeteries and again in newspapers and the Ryerson Index with no result, so we are assuming she is still around. I plan to search the current electoral roll in the next few days at the AEC office.

There is a person of her name on Facebook, living in the right city, but she has not posted anything since 2014 - I have sent a message but suspect she is no longer active there. I don't want to name names but would like to know if anyone has been in a similar situation and can offer other avenues to follow. She was not married when John last saw her - she was in her late 50s then and would be about 63 or 64 now. He doubts whether she would have married since, although the reason they have not been in touch was a disagreement about her then partner, so who knows.

Thank you, lovely and clever people...



4
Hi Rootschatters,

I have been using FTM since I first got a free copy with a computer magazine more than 20 years ago. I've been upgrading all that time and now use FTM 17. I've been given a new Android tablet and would like to be able to view my trees on that. I've tried a couple of apps but none are exactly what I want. I used to have Gedview on my iPod and Family Bee on an old tablet but neither of those seem to exist any more. Neither was perfect but at least I knew them!

* I'm happy to pay for an app that can do what I want, if such a thing exists.
* I don't need to be able to edit or sync files on the tablet, just view.
* Ideally, I'd like to be able to have the profile photos from my FTM file transfer across to the app.

There are a couple of apps available that have "Family Tree Maker GTG" in their names but they don't seem to be connected with FTM. I don't have my tree online anywhere so I don't want to use the Ancestry app or any of the other websites that demand you upload your tree before being able to get it onto your tablet or phone. I've tried GedStar, which involves using their converter on your laptop and then transferring the file to the tablet, but the photos don't come with the information.

Once again I bow to the collective vast knowledge of Rootschatters - thank you.

Eve


5
Other Countries / Ditmar & Nieuwenhuizen families in South Holland
« on: Wednesday 22 November 17 07:06 GMT (UK)  »
Looking for anyone who might be connected to a bunch of families who lived mostly in the Hague, Utrecht and other areas of Zuid-Holland.

The earliest ancestor on the Ditmar side that I've been able to find is Johan Coenraad DITMAR (c1747-1831) who was married to Jannetje VAN DEN DOLLER (no dates known).

On the NIEUWENHUIZEN side the earliest is Willem NIEUWENHUIZEN and his wife Johanna WAGENAAR - no dates known but their son Willem Johannes NIEUWENHUIZEN was born in about 1790 and died before 1870.

The research is  for a descendant of Simon Petrus DITMAR (1873-1954) and Wilhelmina Christina NIEUWENHUIZEN (1885-1986). Their daughter came to Australia in 1953 and her children (my cousins) have no contact with any of this side of their family. Some of them are visiting Holland next month and would like to re-connect.

Other connected names include PENNEKAMP, PEERDEMAN, NEERVOORT and REIJMAN.

Thanks for reading this far! Cheers.

6
Australia / Silverton Gaol prisoner records 1888-1892 (John Shiells born 1866)
« on: Sunday 30 October 16 08:15 GMT (UK)  »
Hi all,

In the past Rootschatters have come up with amazing knowledge and insights on subjects that seem to me to be brick walls, so I humbly ask for your help again  :)

I recently found a record in Ancestry's "NSW Gaol Description and Entrance Books, 1818-1930" collection that is a close match for my John Shiells (born 1866 in Lindenow, Vic., son of Thomas Shiells and Bridget Timmins. John, sometimes known as Jack, is mentioned on his parents' death certificates as "John, age 17 (1884) and "Jack, age 43" (1910). I've never been able to find a death record for him.

The John Shiells in the gaol record was 23, born in Victoria, and the physical description (although ambiguous) matches with the general family features - stocky build, fair complexion, brown hair, blue eyes. In December 1889, when he was admitted to Broken Hill Gaol, our John would have been 23 years and 10 months old. This is the closest match I've found to our John in 20 years of research, mostly because of the details.

The problem is I can't find any more information. I've been Googling and Troving and found that the Police Gaol at Broken Hill, known as Silverton Gaol, was established in 1888 and the first prisoner was admitted on 11 January, 1888. The last prisoner was received at the old prison on 27 October 1892, and prisoners were then transferred to newly built premises on 8 November, 1892.

I've searched death and cemetery records in all states with no conclusive results. I've searched all the available indexes at NSW State Archives but found nothing further about this man. I suspect one might have to personally view records not yet digitised. I live in Melbourne and am not going to Sydney any time soon.

There are trees at Ancestry that have our John dying in (variously) 1881 and 1910. His parents had twin children who were born and died in October 1881 (aged 2 days) but for some reason the owners of the trees have decided that a 2 day old child dying in 1881 is actually the death of a 15 year old boy who is mentioned on his parents' death certificates as still living in 1884 and 1910. The 1910 death belongs to a John Shiells who was born in 1834 in Ireland and lived at Loy Yang. Neither is our John.

Thanks for your patience if you've read this far!




7
Australia / Australian divorce records, Victoria and NSW
« on: Thursday 18 February 16 08:50 GMT (UK)  »
Hi all,

I don't know if there's any possibility of answers to this one because it's relatively recent history but hey, if anyone can help it will be a Rootschatter.

My relative, John, is in an awkward situation. His father recently died in the Philippines. John's parents married in Bendigo, Victoria, in 1955 and John was born later that year. Their divorce was finalised in 1961, exact date unknown, and his mother remarried in Victoria in December 1961.

John's father left his assets to be divided between John and his father's last wife, whom John has never met. John needs to prove his identity because the last wife doesn't believe John is his father's son. John has his birth certificate and passport, but his solicitor says he needs proof of his parents' divorce. John's mother does not have any documentation of the divorce (she was very young at the time of the marriage and it was not a happy one) and is not sure whether it was finalised in Victoria or NSW, where she was living when it was finalised. Divorce indexes only go as far as 1930 in NSW and 1932 in Victoria.

John's mother has her second marriage certificate, which gives her marital status as divorced, and is willing to sign a statement attesting to the details of her first marriage and divorce as far as she remembers them. We know the date of the marriage because John's father was an immigrant and there are NAA documents that show the marriage date, although John's mother's name is spelled incorrectly.

Does anyone know if there is any way to find divorce records from 1961? We don't have much to go on, I know. I have tried Trove with no success. Would the second marriage certificate and statement be enough to prove the divorce? I'm ignorant about this sort of stuff. John is going to the Philippines in a week to try and sort it out.

Thank you if you've  read this far!  :)


8
Australia / Boys home in Tasmania, possibly named Parkmore
« on: Monday 26 October 15 03:55 GMT (UK)  »
Hi all,

I'm trying to help a friend find out something about her father's early life. His name on her birth certificate looks like Ronnie Vernece (or Vernon?) Anderson. Apparently Ronnie ended up in a children's home in Tasmania. We found out that his mother was very ill for most of her life and probably didn't have much choice. She may also have been a single mother because there's no record of a marriage between Ronnie's parents (Helen McManus and supposedly Ronald Anderson). We think Ronnie was born in Tasmania too, about 1943, but he may have been slightly younger or older. The name of the home is believed to be something like Parkmore. Ronnie later changed his name, married and had children, but never said anything more about his early life. He died in 2004 without his wife or children knowing anything more. My friend is going to apply for a copy of his death certificate but I suspect it won't be much help considering that those left behind knew so little.

I've tried looking at Tasmanian Archives and Googling but have found no reference to any place called Parkmore in Tasmania. I'm hoping someone might have local or personal knowledge of a home or orphanage that fits the bill. It would have been active in the 1940s and 50s, I imagine. I don't even know what part of Tasmania it was in.

I know it's all a bit of a shot in the dark, but Rootschatters have shone a light in the darkest places before...

9
Australia / Property called 'Tillicoultry' in Goulburn, NSW
« on: Thursday 17 September 15 00:05 BST (UK)  »
Hi all,

I'm trying to find out who were the original occupants of a property which was/is called 'Tillicoultry'. I've searched Trove and found an ad which offered it for sale in 1987. This ad gives its address as Greenwich Park Road and says it was originally set up as an 80 acre goat farm. A Google search brings up recent listings saying the address is 41 Todkill Road, Greenwich Park, Goulburn, and it's an 83 acre property with all manner of amenities and spectacular views. I took a punt on Todkill as a surname (thinking the street may have been named after residents)  but, while they were a prominent family in the area, there are no obvious links to the town of Tillicoultry in Clackmannanshire.

Any ideas would be welcome! Thanks.

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