News - November 2024
Tuesday 19 November - 7:30 pm General Meeting
VENUE: Old Sunday School, St Johns Park Precinct
GUEST SPEAKER: Rosie Severs
TOPIC: The Rajah Quilt
The Rajah Quilt is a large quilt that was created by women convicts in 1841 whilst travelling on the ship Rajah from Woolwich, England to Hobart. They used materials organised by Lydia Irving of the convict ship sub-committee of the British Ladies Society for Promoting the Reformation of Female Prisoners . The quilt was presented to Lady Jane Franklin and eventually sent back to Britain for Elizabeth Fry, the leader of the British Ladies Society .
The quilt's provenance was then unclear until it was rediscovered in 1989. It is now held by the National Gallery of Australia. It is both a work of great historical significance and an extraordinary work of art produced by the hands of many women.
Rosie has chosen this topic because the National Gallery recently put on a display of quilts featuring the Rajah Quilt. She thought that the topic allowed for an explanation about the quilt making itself, but also the characters who were involved in this project, particularly the Quakers, and that meant Elizabeth Fry.
Rosie Severs and her husband Mike have lived in Tasmania for 18 years, although for the first eight years they divided their time between Tasmania and Nova Scotia Canada.
She has been a volunteer tour guide at museums in Godalming, Surrey and Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, and the Cascades Female Factory. She has been a tour guide at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery for the last 5 years.
Wishing all peace and joy this Christmas,
and much
happiness and hope
for the New Year to come.
This meeting is the final one for 2024.
Please bring a
small plate of food to share
over a chat
and a cuppa afterwards.
Looking forward to seeing you all there.
Important - Closing Dates for the Library
The library will be closing for the summer break Saturday 14 December 2024 and re-opening Tuesday 14 January 2025.
A big thank you to our Librarian Judith and Pam who collate the Library roster and to all the Library Assistants who have given another wonderful year of service to our members and visitors.
More for Your Diary
Tue 21 Nov - 2pm Branch Committee
VENUE: Branch Library, Bellerive
Tue 21 Nov - 1:30pm DNA Group
VENUE: St Marks Church Hall, Scott Street, Bellerive
Thu 28 Nov - 2pm Library Committee
VENUE: Branch Library, Bellerive
Tue 18 Feb 2025 - 7:30pm General Meeting
VENUE: Old Sunday School, St Johns Park Precinct
SPEAKER: TBA
TOPIC: TBA
From Your Branch President
Tis the season for making family history
How good a family historian are you? I'm not talking about your record of your ancestors, but your record of your own life story. Chances are, it is not recorded and yet it will be gold when one of your extended family members is finally old enough to be interested in family history.
There are numerous books on the market to help you do this, and one that caught my attention recently was 'Mum, Share Your Life Story Book' by Sally Romano (also a similar book for Dad) being sold by Goulds at www.gould.com.au . It has 400+ life story questions to prompt you or it can be used by one of your children/grandchildren to facilitate a meaningful conversation and complete it together.
I had the foresight to videotape myself talking with my mother about her life over two thirty-minute sessions. She died in 1990, leaving scrappy but invaluable notes about her childhood, but nothing about her early adult life - the jobs she had before I was born, how she met my father, what his mother, who I never knew, thought of her ("Keith, marry that girl"). Gems, especially now I am finally attempting to write up her life.
When I was doing the Family History Diploma, I did an oral history unit and chose to interview a 2nd cousin who was in his 90s and in a nursing home on Victoria. The interview was over the phone and recorded, with permission. We talked mostly about his experience of the 1930s depression. He died not long afterwards, and I recently offered a copy of the recording to his grand-daughter, who was moved to tears - she had no idea I had it. And I have the story of his life that no-one else had every written down. Another piece of family history gold.
Whichever way you choose to do it, take advantage of family connections over the coming season to either record your own life story, and/or interview a family member. If not for yourself, for those who come after you.
I would love to hear from you if you take up this suggestion, and how it went.
Best wishes for the festive season and the coming year,
Ros Escott president@hobart.tasfhs.org
A Tribute to Maurice
The March 2025 Journal will include a tribute to Maurice Appleyard. You are invited, indeed encouraged, to contribute a short memory, story or tribute. Contributions should fall between a sentence and a paragraph in length and should reach the Secretary no later than the end of November. secretary@hobart.tasfhs.org
Help Needed
A request has been received from a member Lewis of Lindisfarne for assistance to assemble his family tree. He has all the information but would like guidance to sort out his family tree and transform it into some sort of order. Lewis has membership to Ancestry.com.
If you are able to assist this gentleman, please contact secretary@hobart.tasfhs.org
Maree's Mutterings
When searching for family in indexes, if they have an abbreviated given name, look for this too.
I got caught the other week looking for Helen and found her indexed under Ellen! Eleanor sometimes can be abbreviated to either. And within my husband's family Isobel married as Beryl, and then back to Isobel when she died! Another 'nickname' for Isobel/Isabelle can be Belle.
From Banjo Paterson's poem The Man Who Was Away:
'There's Min and Sis and little Chris, they stops at home with me,
'And Sal has married Greenhide Bill that breaks for Bidgeree.
'And Fred is drovin' Conroy's sheep along the Castlereagh
'And Charley's shearin' down the Bland, and Peter is away.'
The lawyer wrote the details down in ink of legal blue -
'There's Minnie, Susan, Christopher, they stop at home with you;
'There's Sarah, Frederick and Charles, I'll write to them today,"....
Wishing all a Happy Christmas, if that is what is celebrated with peace, health and happiness, and I hope you all find your brick wall(s) in the coming year.
Library Notes
Many of you will have ancestors who arrived in Tasmania vis Norfolk Island. Two recent books by historian Cathy Dunn may prove helpful.
Settlers and Landholders, Norfolk Island, 1793
Early grants were made without proper surveying and were often flawed - crossed other grants, went up sides of mountains and land usage was difficult. Irritation grew, and in 1793, Charles Grimes was sent to survey correctly. Most of this was completed in the first half of the year, and by the end of the year around 100 lots were accurately surveyed and mapped. The cover of the book features an accurate tinted map.
Norfolk Island Landholders 1794 - 1807
The second book follows through until the 1807 closure, listing grants, leases and land purchases. There are lists of those who stayed, those who gave up land holdings or exchanged for land elsewhere. Both books contain brief biographical details of all landholders, bibliographies and suggestions for further reading.
Secure and Safe premises
Earlier this year we upgraded the branch library security alarm system after the old system failed. After discussions with our landlord, the Clarence City Council, they have agreed to upgrade that system to a whole of building alarm system that fully meets our needs and includes our neighbour, SPAT. It will also include smoke detectors in case of fire and will be professionally monitored. Keyholders will be advised of any changes to procedures.
Did you know about CHAMP?
Amongst our branch library resources is a computer database of some 80,000 high quality images of headstones and memorials in our southern membership district. It excludes Cornelian Bay but captures close to every other memorial existing in our district around 20 years ago.
Why not pop into the library next time you are passing and see what CHAMP has for your southern family members. And don't forget to check our amazing Funeral Registers while you are there. See https://www.hobart.tasfhs.org/funeral_registers.php for more details.
TAMIOT
Finally, remember that TAMIOT can now be searched online on our members-only website. For TAMIOT records in the Hobart branch region, additional information may also be available through the online version from the original transcription forms.