Family Tree Frog

This photo is really me clutching at straws. My family tree software program - Family Tree Maker - has this neat thing where I can see what anniversaries family history wise are coming up or have just been. Friday was my grand-aunt's 120th birthday. I had quite a few grand aunts on both sides of the family but I really only knew one - my paternal grandmother' s sister Rene. But this grand aunt - still on my paternal side - was one of my grandfather 's sisters - Constance Nellie Morrison (nee Conner). I don't know much about my father's aunts and we don't seem to have any photos of them - that I can find at any rate.   The photo here is of their mother - Mrs Eleanor Conner with Mrs MacDougal (don't know who she was) and my grandparents, Ethel and Edwin Conner and John Morrison - Constance's son.   I don't have any certificates for Constance or her sister Lillian.  The information I have has been gleaned from websit...

What is precious, tattered, torn and handed down? To so many of us Sepians, the answer is photographs - family photographs passed on from generation to generation are the currency of Sepia Saturday. But occasionally other things are handed down - and in so many cases it is the family bible that becomes the linchpin of family history. So for Sepia Saturday 187 (post your posts on or around Saturday 27 July 2013) we focus our attention on family bibles. But in the best traditions of Sepia Saturday themes, you can interpret the theme in any way you want : books, lettering, printing, hand-me-downs  ...  they all fall within our theme this week. Mybush , 30 Valley Road, Springwood 1954 Welcome to this week's Sepia Saturday post.  I'm taking books as the theme rather than bibles.  We have beautiful family bibles but they are not very old.  I have already blogged about them here. I have so much that is precious, tattered, torn and handed down. I hav...

The theme for this week's Sepia Saturday is according to Alan:    ‘Boadecea or Mother England’ or possibly Britannia. You can choose; or go with armour, helmets, shields, fancy dress, pantomime, theatricals, warlike women or big sticks".  Ooh plenty to choose from here.  I've been a bit stumped in previous weeks. From an early age I have thoroughly enjoyed dressing up. You might even to get to win a prize - as I did - on board the Oriana  coming home from England at the age of I think 3. Any excuse for a dress up party and the one I remember most fondly was my Witches Party.  I think we were all aged about ten at the time.  Here we are in all our glory.  My parents used to go to such trouble over my birthday parties - decorations, forfeits, the whole shebang.  Unfortunately this photo is damaged but you get the idea. Dress ups continued on in many guises particularly during my illustrious (not) career ...

I'm being a tad cheeky here because I don't know if my grandfather did in fact go to PNG but.... I found these photos in his album so I'm having a bit of a think and an explore and an investigation to try and discover what on earth they could be about. I don't know when these photos were taken but I'm guessing in the 1930s.   On the back of this photo is the word " Medang ".   The other clue in the photo is of course the name of the boat which I am reading as Macdhu. When I look up Macdhu on Trove I find lots of references to a boat but particularly between 1930-1939 with many falling around 1933, 1937 and 1938. Here's another photo of the boat.  On the stern it says Macdhui Sydney. Here's another picture of Medang And another one of Kavieng from the deck And another Here are some of Finchhafen... And to finish off here are some from Samarai. .. It is so frustr...