In theory, it should have been a really easy move: install the WordPress software on the new hosting service, export the database from the old one, re-import it in the new one and off we go…. but the new hosting service uses MySQL 4.1 which partly adds support for the unicode character set and that’s where we think our troubles lay. All sorts of peculiar characters appeared in the post which we could live with but then we couldn’t edit old posts and couldn’t add new ones either.

All being well, we’ve enough of the problems sorted out now to restart on the blogs on the new hosting service though.

John Hamilton – born 1800 Dublin. Died 13th June 1884 St Andrews, Scotland. Married Mary Rose 1st May 1823 Calrossie, Scotland..

Mary Rose – born 1804 – Calrossie, Scotland. Died 1854 St Ernans House Co. Donegal.

Their children :

1 ) James Hamilton – born Brownhall Co. Donegal. Served in the military as Major James Hamilton. Married 1863 to Dorothea Elizabeth Stewart of Horn Head Co. Donegal. Inherited estate of Brownhall in 1884 on the death of his father John. Took guardianship of sister Mary’s four children on the death of her and her husband Frederick A. Courbarron in 1877. Major James Hamilton died 1915.

James and Dorothea had one son, John Stewart Hamilton 1864-1952. As Capt John Hamilton he served with the 5th Bn. Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. (Married Winifred Weston 1867-1950).

2) Mary – born 1825. Died 1877 Landulph England. Married 1862 Frederick Augustus Courbarron. Lived Jersey Channel islands. Four children – Augustus James (my GG Grandfather), Stanhope Frederick, Edward and Helen.

3 ) Isabella – born 1827 St Ernans House Co. Donegal. Died from ‘mysterious illness’ 1840 Karlsruhe, Germany. Buried there.

4) Arabella Rose – born 1829 at St Ernans. Married 1860 to Arthur Foster, a Judge. On the death of their father, John’s brother James inherited estate of Brownhall while Arabella inherited St Ernans house. She and and husband Arthur Foster were responsible for the sale of St Ernans House in 1904.

5) Helen – born 2nd March 1831 St Ernans House Co. Donegal. Married Abraham Gustav de Veer 20th August 1855 at Neuwied. They had one son, Gustav Hamilton de Veer born 18th August 1856, died 1872.

Mary Rose, first wife of John Hamilton. My 4th Great-Grandmother.

There were also two step-siblings. After the death of Mary Rose father John remarried in 1858 to Mary Simpson. Two children were born from this union – John Pakenham Hamilton and Catherine.

Mary was the second child of John and Mary, here is the list of children in order of their birth:

James – born 3rd June 1824 at Brownhall

Mary – born 1825 at Brownhall

Isabella – born 1827 at St Ernans (died at Karlsruhe Germany at age 13)

Arabella Rose – born 1829 at St Ernans

Helen – born 1831 at St Ernans

In 1857 the family lost their wife and mother, Mary, when she died at St Ernans. In 1858 John Hamilton married another Mary (Mary Simpson) and form this marriage two more children were born: John and Catherine.

Mary was born into a closeknit and very loving home. Her parents, John and Mary, were devoted to each other and to their children. At an early age Mary developed a love of writing and her talent resulted in a series of diaries that she began to keep from the age of ten.

In 1838 John Hamilton took the family on a series of travels that would take them away from Ireland, and across much of Europe, for just on five years. The family set out from Dublin and their first port of call was Londonderry in Northern Ireland. Here Mary recorded the family’s stay and how they walked around the famous old ramparts of the city. It was on this very long voyage that her writing and her series of journals took shape. She wrote vividly and with style recording in great detail every step of the family’s travels.

In 1839 whilst the family was in Dresden Mary sat for a studio portrait. This photograph of her aged 14 is said to be the first actual ‘portrait sitting’ in the new art of photography. Whereby the lithograph was the style of the time, Mary was the subject of the first studio portrait. This photograph still exists today, being lovingly kept by the present Hamilton family. The photograph was taken by Feich-Hanfstaengh Hofphotograph, Dresden.

In 1840, whilst in Karlsruhe, the family suffered a tragedy from which John and Mary never fully recovered. The family had rented a chalet-style home on the edge of the Black Forest and lived there for about a year. It was here that their 13 year old daughter, Isabella, became extremely ill. She developed a series of high fevers and despite being treated by a number of doctors the child died. It is thought that she was suffering from Brights Disease (a kidney condition) but to this day the exact condition that killed her remains a mystery. Isabella was buried in a nearby cemetery in a plot donated by a close family friend.

Mary Hamilton – aged 14 at Dresden, 1839.

Mary Hamilton aged 13. Photo taken Dresden, Germany.

The estate of Brownhall had been inherited by her father and had been owned by the Hamiltons since the late 17th century. The family seat of Brownhall, a substantial house, is actually located a few km’s away outside the village of Ballintra and hidden amongst the hills and valleys. The house was built by John Hamilton in 1697 when he moved the original family seat from the coastal area of Murvagh to Ballintra. No trace remains of the original Murvagh house today and is thought to have been constructed in the very late 1590′s.

Mary was born into one of the great landowning families of Ireland of the time. The Hamilton’s established themselves in Co Donegal in the late 16th century when John Hamilton, a grandson of the 1st Duke of Hamilton and descendent of Gilbert de Hamildone, was granted land by the Throne in gratitude for their loyal service. The Hamilton seat from which John came was in Lanarkshire Scotland and named ‘Broomhill’. The first residence was built at Murvagh near Ballintra until 1697 when his descendant, John Hamilton and his wife Jane Crichton (daughter of Col Abraham Crichton, ancestor of the Earls of Erne) built a new residence outside Ballintra. The location of Murvagh is a windswept coastal region in contrast to the area of Ballintra where the land and terrain is far more arable and given to farming. Possibly this was the reason for the move.

Mary’s father, John, inherited the estate on the death of his father James Hamilton in 1805. Mary’s grandparents were James Hamilton and Helen Pakenham, daughter of the 2nd Baron/Ist Earl of Longford Edward Micheal Pakenham. Sadly James and Helen died at relatively young ages - James in 1805 and Helen in 1807 - leaving three young children with Mary’s father, John, being the eldest at only seven years of age.

The three children, John (b-1800), Edward Micheal (b-1802) and Catherine (Kitty b-1804) were placed in the care and guardianship of their aunt and uncle Arthur and Catherine (Kitty) Wellesley; the Duke and Duchess of Wellington. John officially took control of the estate of Brownhall at the age of 21.

St Ernans House as it stands today. The house was sold in 1907 and was a Guest House until the present owners recently retired. St Ernans is privately owned.

Patrick was the fourth child born to Edward Hopkins, a labourer, and Margaret Owen. Edward Hopkins was born in 1858 in Sydney, Margaret Owen was born at Macleay River northern NSW in 1866 to William Owen and Ellen Bohen (married 1859 Sydney).

Patrick was born into what was to be quite a large family, which was common in those times. The family lived and worked around the region of northern NSW with the children being born in such towns as Bowraville, Bellingen, Macleay River, Missabotte, Macksville and Nambucca. This region of NSW at that time was primarily a timber cutting/logging industry and agricultural region. Given that Edward stated on his children’s birth certificates that he was a ‘labourer’ it is highly likely that he was employed in the logging industry and on farms. Work in that field was plentiful during that time and would have been a necessity for Edward to support his and wife and large family.

Edward and Margaret were married on the 7th June 1878 at Macleay River, at the time of their marriage they were very young with Edward being 20 and Margaret, incredibly, just 12 years old. On the birth certificate of her daughter, Ruby Agnes from 1901, Margaret’s age was listed as ’38′ which would place her year of birth as 1863 however Margaret’s birth is recorded as being at Macleay River in 1866. That much is certain. Obviously three years was added onto Margaret’s age in order for her to marry – it was relatively easy to do this back in those days before official proof of age was required; my guess is that there was a good chance she was pregnant pre-marriage with son Edward. However here are all the children listed in order of birth:

1) Edward -1879, 2) John James -1880, 3) Mary Ellen – 1882, 4) Patrick – 1883, 5) Peter H – 1887, 6) Francis – 1890, 7)James A – 1894 Macksville, Joseph – 1897 Bowraville, 9) Bertie P – 1899 Bowraville, 10) Ruby Agnes – 17th November 1901 at Missabotte. (It is from the information on her birth certificate that I have recorded this information on the family), 11) Pearlie I – 1904 at Bowraville.

Margaret also lost three babies at birth and early infancy; Francis – born/died Bowraville 1885, Margaret – born/died at Nambucca 1891, Pearlie E – born/died 1896.

Given the large number of births it is unusual that no twins were ever born.

Over the past few years I have been in contact with many fellow genealogists and the one thing we all have in common is that elusive ‘missing link’ that exists in just about every family. It pays to spend some idle time just browsing around at what others have written; I certainly do. Step outside of that comfort-zone of the family names you are researching too because there are always things to discover.

Another thing; share your information and be generous. Yes, I know that gathering data can be time consuming and, often expensive, but one thing that really works in this genealogy thing is linking-up. Don’t be the type of person who thinks…”I paid to do this so you go find your own info”. I have encountered this and I do not understand it. Also, if you have old family photos and mementoes…share them with the family, let others have a look and record them. I have a distant relation who is possession of a precious and priceless item in the form of a handwritten diary that my GGG Grandmother wrote in her teens way back in the 1830′s/40′s. Among other items. When I enquired with her about 15 years ago if I could visit her and see these ‘relics’ she refused. She offered to send photos of them but I was not allowed to actually visit and view them. Silly, and so selfish. And pointless. Yet quite a common attitude from what I have been told by others who have experienced the same thing. Some people just do not like to share what they have.

That diary will be the subject of a special post in the not too distant future…

I have shared whatever info I have with various researchers over the years and have found it pays rewards. Take a look at the site of Antony Maitland and you will find a very well detailed stash of info. He contacted me a while back asking for some info and I gave it to him. The result is he was able to extend his work and record it for everyone else researching the same areas as he is. We can all help each other out and it pays dividends.

If you are looking for info regarding Australia then Genealogy in New South Wales will provide a great source of research including convicts, electoral rolls and immigration.

There are many huge and excellent sites around right now such as Genforum and RootsWeb but please consider those smaller sites that are put together by people like you and me. You will find that people are always willing to help out and you never know what you will find!

I have been visiting the UK and Irish state registry websites this past week trying to get some info on my partners great grandparents and I was struck by the way these places charge a fee before you can have access to the most basic information. Information that actually belongs to the public. I find this an absolute rip off; fair enough, I expect to pay for the issuing of certificates but I am strongly opposed to members of the public not being able to do a quick and basic online search for a relative who lived a hundred years back or further, for free.

If the NSW indexes can be made available online, for no charge at all, then why not the English, Scottish, Irish and Northern Ireland indexes as well?. To name but a few. Back in he old pre-internet days I could understand a cost being incurred; staff had to search and locate for you and this all took time. But with the internet now more than well established this information should be online and free to access. Right across the board.

Of course, money is behind the reasoning for this. They want you to pay, they want the revenue.

He was 24 at the time of enlistment and returned to Australia on December 14th 1918. He married Agnes and had a son, John Courbarron who died 1996.

His brother, Frederick, enlisted at the age of 15 in the AIF in 1915. He served at the Gallipolli Landing on 25th April 1915. He was discharged due to to effects of gassing. He lived in Brunswick Heads and died in 1983. Freddies wife, Mary Ellen, died in 1963 at Brunswick Heads.

She was the daughter of : Micheal Hennessy – born 1807 in Tullow, Cork, Ireland; and Hannah Sherwood, born 18th January 1818 in North Richmond, NSW. The couple married at St Peter’s Catholic Church, Richmond NSW, on the 14th December 1836. I have no data at all on Hannah Sherwood and her family for now, other than what is listed here.

Micheal Hennessy was born in the small village of Tullow, Co. Cork Ireland. His mother Bridget, ran a boarding house, his father, Andrew, died when Micheal was a small child. When Micheal was 25 an incident occurred which was to change his life forever.

A guest at the boarding house reported a theft of his money and pointed the finger at Micheal and his mother Bridget. When police called to investigate Micheal was found to have been caught in a room of the house ‘in a compromising position with a woman of rather advanced years’. The case was well reported in the local paper.

Micheal was tried, found guilty (he professed his innocence throughout) and sentenced to transportation to the colony of Australia as a convict. His mother escaped with ‘a warning and bond’.

Micheal Hennessy is the first of my ancestors that I have found to be a convict. He was given his certificate of freedom in 1835 and chose to settle in the bushland region of Kurrajong in western Sydney. It was in this area that he met Hannah Sherwood, who had been born in nearby North Richmond. The couple married on the 14th December 1836 at Richmond. Both were Catholics.

Their children were:

Thomas – born 23rd December 1837; William – born 12th July 1840; Sarah – born 1841; Mary – born 18th May 1845; Hannah – born 1846; Johanna – born August 1847; Micheal – born 24th October 1849; Ellen – born 1st April 1852; Margaret (my gg grandmother) – born 15th August 1854; John – born 1856, and Ann – born 25th June 1859.

My GGG Grandfather Micheal Hennessy died on 11th April 1859, just prior to his youngest child’s birth. He is buried at St Gregory’s RC Cemetery Windsor, NSW.

Hannah Sherwood died 30th July 1884 at Orange, NSW.

My gg grandmother, Margaret, died 1934 at Willoughby, NSW.

Here is a photograph of one of the very last convicts transported to Australia, taken in the 1870′s. Just to give you an idea of how Micheal would have appeared during his time as one of Her Majesty’s Convicts.

William Butler was born 1862 at Windsor, NSW, Margaret was born 1858 at Kurrajong (near Windsor). The couple married at Petersham, Sydney, on the 24th February 1883.

I cannot write much about my Butler ancestors at the moment as Mum says her grandfather’s family were all quite old when she was a little girl. She has told me that they did live around Rookwood in Sydney and William’s brother Thomas was a gravedigger at the cemetery there.

William Butler, at the time of his marriage was working as a brickmaker and later served in the Bushmens Contingent with the newly formed Australian Regiment in the Boer War in South Africa in 1899-1901. He had a whistle that the infantrymen used and that is now in the possession of my cousin. William Butler’s army uniform and medals from his Boer War service were eventually donated by his family to the Australian War Memorial Museum in Canberra. He worked in his later years at a tannery in Chatswood.

The historic town of Windsor, NSW Australia.

The NSW Bushmens Contingent: served in the Transvaal Boer War.