Bluestone Genealogy

First work locomotive reaching Hurstbridge during the extension of the railway line from Eltham to Hurstbridge. Source: Picture Victoria. Copyright Nillumbik Historical Society Last week, I told the story of John and Goymer Shorten and their illegal exploits in several counties in England, discussing their luck in narrowly avoiding a Capitol sentence after they were apprehended for horse stealing. Week 12 of #52ancestors gives us the prompt of "misfortune." Misfortune is defined as bad luck; an unfortunate condition or event. For John Maguire, that unfortunate event occurred on Thursday, 2nd October 1913. John Michael Maguire (sometimes Maguire, sometimes McGuire) was the first born of Patrick Maguire and Elizabeth Monaghan, and was my 2nd great-granduncle. He was born around 1857 in County Meath, Ireland and traveled with his parents and his younger brother Patrick Michael (my x2 great grandfather) from Liverpool, England to Melbourne, Australia aboard the Phoenix ...

Amy Johnson Crow challenges us this week with the theme 'Lucky' in #52ancestors. What does it mean to be lucky? Dictionary.com defines it as having or being marked by good luck or fortune. For some this means only knowing success and prosperity, and for others it means a once in a lifetime opportunity. For my 3x Great Grandfather, Goymer Shorten who was a career criminal in Suffolk, England; being lucky meant he didn't hang for his crimes of horse theft! It may seem ridiculous by modern standards, but the theft of domestic animals including sheep, cattle, horses, pigs and fowl, was quite common in the nineteenth century. Horse theft was judged to be the most serious of these offences, considering prior to the industrial revolution, horses were  the primary source of power for agriculture, trade, and transport. Given their importance for the successful continuation of industry and livelihood, it comes as no surprise that the penalty for horse theft was death. ...

'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...