tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545255455173688148.post8057249613469341803..comments2024-03-15T05:09:22.239+10:00Comments on Family Tree Frog: Sepia Saturday 240: 9th August 2014Alex Dawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05083753053051713061noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545255455173688148.post-5151413461969156822014-08-12T06:53:37.896+10:002014-08-12T06:53:37.896+10:00Yes Caminante - me too!Yes Caminante - me too!Alex Dawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05083753053051713061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545255455173688148.post-22484920057182382092014-08-12T00:06:52.874+10:002014-08-12T00:06:52.874+10:00Some people just seem to be ill-starred from birth...Some people just seem to be ill-starred from birth. I wonder how he viewed his life when looking back?Caminantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17646486944120926042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545255455173688148.post-87252103578723396342014-08-11T21:15:20.107+10:002014-08-11T21:15:20.107+10:00Thank you Little Nell. Yes I think I should do a ...Thank you Little Nell. Yes I think I should do a family tree chart or two to help people understand who is who in the zoo. Can you imagine being poor Mary Bray Ellis? That woman deserves to be sainted.Alex Dawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05083753053051713061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545255455173688148.post-82800497525181652122014-08-11T21:13:23.236+10:002014-08-11T21:13:23.236+10:00Thanks Jo. It's worthwhile coming back to the...Thanks Jo. It's worthwhile coming back to the same story and to keep chipping away at. Everytime I see something new and worth following up. On my side of the family I am pretty sure I have bigamy too. It is amazing what people will do isn't it?Alex Dawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05083753053051713061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545255455173688148.post-37502125784665558762014-08-11T21:11:25.207+10:002014-08-11T21:11:25.207+10:00Dear Mike - orphanage bands! Who would have thunk...Dear Mike - orphanage bands! Who would have thunk? You have reminded me that I first heard about this sort of depositing children in orphanages for the short term in that wonderful book Oranges and Sunshine. Some parents put their children in orphanages for a short time only to come back and find out that they were no longer there and had gone half way around the world. Hearbreaking stuff. Alex Dawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05083753053051713061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545255455173688148.post-35452450948614857782014-08-11T20:22:54.756+10:002014-08-11T20:22:54.756+10:00First Class research Alex. I had to keep re-readin...First Class research Alex. I had to keep re-reading bits as I kept getting mixed up with the names! How awful to be guilty of neglecting your children and for them to be placed in an orphanage. Even sadder was the first story - all those little lives lost.Little Nellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11862657943846727987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545255455173688148.post-17694237307560587902014-08-11T14:21:27.194+10:002014-08-11T14:21:27.194+10:00Great research! I chased down a brother of an ance...Great research! I chased down a brother of an ancestor who had deserted his wife and daughters in NZ, joined the army in Australia and remarried twice more, very probably bigamously, and the descendants of those daughters had no idea about their ancestor's whereabouts or activities after he left NZ.Jofeathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10290597697140624780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545255455173688148.post-71232856520535994942014-08-11T09:24:45.590+10:002014-08-11T09:24:45.590+10:00A sad but fascinating story of hard times. Robert&...A sad but fascinating story of hard times. Robert's photo looks like a pose for school graduation. Maybe only 17-18? I collect postcards of orphanage bands and have learned that in the past many children were not really orphans but placed there by parents (or parent) unable to care for them. For some it was only for a short term but for others, especially large families, it could be permanent. The shame and guilt of leaving a child in such a way might easily convince a parent to change their name and abandon the children. That makes a search at this distance of time very difficult.Mike Brubakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13065245846262417519noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545255455173688148.post-68764487886727116042014-08-10T13:03:06.995+10:002014-08-10T13:03:06.995+10:00I should provide a link shouldn't I to Queensl...I should provide a link shouldn't I to Queensland State Archives - here's a link to the guide http://archives.qld.gov.au/Researchers/CollectionsDownloads/Documents/BG28Orphanage.pdfAlex Dawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05083753053051713061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545255455173688148.post-32808753899811770002014-08-10T12:59:32.578+10:002014-08-10T12:59:32.578+10:00Hi Sherri - photos are thin on the ground which is...Hi Sherri - photos are thin on the ground which is really heartbreaking. I was glad to find so many through State Library of Queensland to support the story.Alex Dawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05083753053051713061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545255455173688148.post-75010145836649049972014-08-10T12:58:58.681+10:002014-08-10T12:58:58.681+10:00Thanks Boundforoz. Yes Queensland does have recor...Thanks Boundforoz. Yes Queensland does have records at State Archives. I managed to find a description of his physical features in his prison record. Department of Family Services gave us quite a bit of information about who the children were fostered out too and believe it or not one of the descendants of one of the foster families is a member of the library where I work! I think Robert James didn't want to go back to jail though and stayed hidden accordingly.Alex Dawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05083753053051713061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545255455173688148.post-90304502578257732012014-08-10T12:28:41.235+10:002014-08-10T12:28:41.235+10:00I love that you didn't included so many releva...I love that you didn't included so many relevant photos in your story, even though you only have one of Robert. He was very handsome! An interesting story, indeed.Sherrihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03991552526356988301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545255455173688148.post-81893302644473400312014-08-10T10:54:58.186+10:002014-08-10T10:54:58.186+10:00That is a brillliant piece of research. Just a th...That is a brillliant piece of research. Just a thought, following on from children placed in an orphanage. Does Queensland have Wards of State records such as Victoria does. Tne initial entry usually answers the Why question and also gives later placements of the children such as foster care which had become common with State Orphaages in Victoria. I have seen one case where it recorded a letter having been received from the father for a child.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545255455173688148.post-84531893405503055262014-08-10T10:43:16.367+10:002014-08-10T10:43:16.367+10:00Actually LaNightingail I must really thank you bec...Actually LaNightingail I must really thank you because you have made me think even more and I shall adjust my post accordingly!Alex Dawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05083753053051713061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545255455173688148.post-80337440604681023872014-08-10T09:22:45.686+10:002014-08-10T09:22:45.686+10:00Dear La Nightingail - I know that my husband's...Dear La Nightingail - I know that my husband's family is also at a loss to understand how the three boys could have been put in an orphanage too. Particularly given that Thomas Daw, their grandfather, seemed to be doing quite well for himself. As LP Hartley (author of The Go Between) is quoted to have said "The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there." Your observations have prompted me to do more research which is always a good thing :) When I look up the Queensland Births Deaths and Marriages Index, I see that Mrs Canning is probably Ellen, Jane's older sister. She married Robert George Canning and in 1901 they had eight children ranging in age from 14 to new born. Robert was a railway porter earning 5 shillings 6 pence per day according to this site http://fhr.slq.qld.gov.au/qldrail/names_c.htm. I'm not sure how many days a week he worked - maybe six? So say maybe 33 shillings a week. He was really no better off than poor Robert James. Robert George died in 1916 at the age of about 47. Maybe Ellen could see the writing on the wall - maybe her husband was starting to look run down and she knew her limits. The name of the street is also an indication that they weren't living in the most salubrious of circumstances. Two of the Daw boys were sickly - Cuthbert died of pulmonary phthisis in 1905. His older brother Thomas George did live to be an adult but died at the age of 35 from a lung related condition. They were tough times indeed and tough decisions had to be made. Our hearts go out to them all and I am very VERY grateful to have been born in these times with the aid of a education, contraception, social services, good medicine - the list goes on.Alex Dawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05083753053051713061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545255455173688148.post-31180881040079143672014-08-10T08:26:43.463+10:002014-08-10T08:26:43.463+10:00Dear Karen Thank you for your kind comments. Name...Dear Karen Thank you for your kind comments. Names of places are interesting aren't they? My husband thought maybe they called Tingalpa Tingalpa because they found tin there (I don't think they did find tin there by the way). When I looked it up it there are several theories as to where the name come from: the Dept of Natural Resources and Mines website suggests the following: probably comes from the Yuggera language, Yugarabul dialect, from tangul = plant for stupefying fish (Polygonum hydropiper) and ba/pa = place. Alex Dawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05083753053051713061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545255455173688148.post-17925509560305661022014-08-10T04:43:54.559+10:002014-08-10T04:43:54.559+10:00I'm assuming Robert's sister-in-law, Mrs. ...I'm assuming Robert's sister-in-law, Mrs. John Canning, with whom he placed his 3 children, was either his deceased wife's sister, or her husband was his wife's brother & I find it hard to imagine they would have turned the children over to an orphanage because the father couldn't or wouldn't pay for their 'maintenance'. Times may have been rough & money tight, but to turn young children - nephews - over to an orphanage? Perhaps the street on which Mrs. Canning lived was appropriate - Vulture Street. La Nightingailhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04769079547153094005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545255455173688148.post-11544618885777488092014-08-10T01:43:07.980+10:002014-08-10T01:43:07.980+10:00Wow, what fascinating information on your hubby...Wow, what fascinating information on your hubby's side. Robert was a handsome man, and he did appear very young there, as often was the case! I find the cemetery photo to be quite a capture, as well was your story here. So many interesting names as well, like Boggo Road and the stories behind how names of things came to be. Time for a quick Google stop!21 Witshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00071361755673253230noreply@blogger.com