Bluestone Genealogy

This week's prompt caused me to stop and think for a moment - Valentine. February 14. The day where the universal language of love is celebrated world wide. Today's post will be told by my grandmother, who was married to my Pop for 53 years before he passed away in 2008. She wrote down the story of how they met a few years ago, and added to it again earlier this week, so I thought I would combine the two, to paint a complete picture.  Nan on her push bike in front of her house on Glance Street, c. 1950-1951 I just met Calcidon Cauchi (Charlie) when he came to live with the Maltese people next door to where I lived with my parents and my brother Jimmy. I never had much to say to them as I was only 17 years old and 'wogs' (as they were called then), people were a bit weary of them. Charlie used to live next door with the family and his brother Damien. We used to speak to Damien more than Dad as he was very shy, though he used to speak to my mum alot. Pop l...

Week 6 of Amy's #52Ancestors in 52 weeks challenge is Favourite Name. William Shakespeare tells us, in the immortal words of his tragic character Juliet " What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet."  However, L.M. Montgomery argues through her precocious character, Anne Shirley, who does not believe "...a rose would be as nice if it was called a thistle or a skunk-cabbage."    During my research, it became apparent that some families liked certain names, usually family names, so much and were so determined to use them, they would 'recycle' them if their first child didn't survive infancy. For example, my 3x great grandparents Michael and Margaret Quigley (nee Kiely) named their fifth child Thomas (after Michael's father), after their first son Thomas died 3 days after birth.  My 3x great grandparents Patrick and Elizabeth Maguire (nee Monaghan) had 12 children, with three of their sons s...

Larpent Diamond Jubliee Dinner 1909 / W. H. Watts. Source: State Library of Victoria Week 4 of Amy's #52ancestors in 52 weeks challenge is 'invite to dinner'. This is a difficult one for me as, if I had the option of inviting any of my ancestors for dinner, I would invite them all! I would invite my Poppy,  Calcidonio 'Charlie', who passed away ten years ago - I would listen to his stories with great interest instead of youthful arrogance; I would invite my maternal grandmother Mary, who passed away a month before I was born. I would love to speak to my 3x great grandfather Goymer, a convict and career criminal until a stint at Norfolk Island seemed to set him straight. I'd love to have my great-grandfather James over for dinner, who served in France in World War 1 and who, like hundreds of thousands of veterans, witnessed such atrocities that scarred them for life, both mentally and physically. I would like to have any and all of my female ancestor...

Boy enjoying the flood waters, c.1950s, Copyright Beard Family, sourced from pictureaustralia Melbourne is famous (or perhaps infamous?) for experiencing all four seasons in one day. As a born and bred Melburnian, it's something that I often joke about to tourists. We can go from a balmy 19 degrees one day, to a whopping 41 degrees Celsius the next (that's 105 Fahrenheit to you Northern folks!). In fact the highest temperature in Australia (ever recorded) was 50.7 degrees Celsius in Oodnadatta, South Australia in 1960. So for part 2 of my 'ancestors and adverse weather' series (which I write from my comfortably air conditioned house), I will explore another heat wave in South Australia, and the devastating effects it had on one family.  William Henry Shorten was the last child of Goymer and Jane Shorten (nee Duce). While his eight siblings were all born in the Longford / Launceston area of Tasmania, William was the first Shorten to be born in Victoria....

Boy enjoying the flood waters, c.1950s, Copyright Beard Family, sourced from pictureaustralia Today, as we battle the devastating effects of climate change and global warming (often cursing the weatherman for getting it wrong) it's difficult to imagine our ancestors living in the past, where they didn't have the benefit of satellite imagery or the Bureau of Meteorology. They were all constantly subject to the ebb and flow of the Seasons, and lived at the mercy of Mother Nature.  From river floods to epic heat waves, the next two blog posts will explore the catastrophic effects that extreme weather conditions has had on two families, ranging from a loss of property and livelihood, to the loss of life. On Wednesday 16 June 1875 at the Footscray Police Court, James Logan applied for a transfer of license for the Ship Inn - a hotel he and his family had operated for the past six years (1869 - 1875) to Patrick Stack. Ship Inn, c.1890. Operated by James Loga...