Bluestone Genealogy

Happy International Women's Day! Today's blog post continues to tell the story of my 3x great grandmother, Catherine Devitt who was raised during the Great Famine in Ireland. At age 20,  when she was 2 months pregnant, she began the arduous journey in search of a better life, which brought her to Melbourne, Australia. If you missed last weeks post, I suggest reading that prior to continuing. You can find that post here :  Week 9 - Where There's a Will... What became of Catherine and Ann Fitzgerald Devitt after they left the Immigration Depot is unknown however, on 2 March 1859 Catherine married widower James Logan, a sailor from Greenock, Scotland in John Knox Presbyterian Church on Swanston Street. The ceremony was conducted by William Miller, and witnessed by William Page, and Catherine’s younger sister Ann Lowrie (nee Devitt) who had arrived in Melbourne two years prior. While neither Catherine nor James list any children on their marriage certificate, they ha...

'Rosie the Riveter;'  J. Howard Miller  (1918–2004), artist employed by  Westinghouse , poster used by the War Production Coordinating Committee. Copyright creative commons  Week 9 of the #52ancestors challenge is 'Where There's a Will...' Like most people I originally interpreted this as a legal will, or as an ancestor named Will. However, Amy Johnson Crow (the person behind the 52 ancestors in 52 weeks challenge) mentioned possibly talking about a person who was strong willed; an ancestor that possessed a lot of character. So today I am writing about Catherine Devitt, my third great-grandmother. Martin Devitt, labourer and his wife Ann Campbell welcomed a daughter named Catherine in 1836. At the time, they were living in a small town called Milltown Malbay , located in the heart of Kilfarboy, in County Clare, Ireland. Location of Miltown Malbay in County Clare, Ireland. Source: Google Maps Miltown Malbay once had five mills, with the gro...

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...

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...