week 10: Strong women

Strength can take on a myriad of facets.

 

My initial thought was immediately of my mother Edna Rose O'MALLEY (1935-2008). I have always said she was a woman before her time and I hold fast to that belief, after all the facts speak for themselves.
An only child of a mother who was often bedridden, inflicted with asthma and it would appear mental health issues; and a father who was pensioned off from the railways early due to ill health, she always spoke of her happy childhood. Her disappointment with life came with the harsh reality that not all men were as good as her father, her 3 failed marriages bore witness to that and the fact she would not accept 'a womans lot' as her own.  She always believed that with hard work she could achieve anything she set her sights on.
That attitude set her on a path of butting heads with officialdom for most of her life; from running away from an abusive marriage as a pregnant 20 year with a toddler to keep child welfare from taking one or the other of her babies, to working 3 jobs to solely support her three children and invalid widowed father, or fighting tooth and nail as a single mother for the right to raise a mortgage to buy her own home... my mother bucked the system continually before womans rights were even considered or womans liberation became a catchphrase.

 





My thoughts then turned to my paternal grandmother Phyllis Olive GREENFIELD (1904-1962), she endured a sad and lonely life. The seventh child whose mother died when she was only 13 months old, her father remarried and although happy family photos exist of her younger half-siblings, there doesn't appear to be any reference to Phyllis' childhood. Her unhappy marriage ended only upon the death of her abusive spouse. This woman displayed a strength of a different type to deal with her situation for her childrens sake. http://corrinne-kiwicolleen.blogspot.com.au/2014/12/phyllis-olive-greenfield-1904-1962.html



 



The strength of pioneer/victorian women is undeniable- they regularly faced and/or were confronted by gender specific issues. Childbirth and spousal abuse often left them in precarious and life-threatening situations. Colonising the antipodes further introduced mortality and livelihood issues.

I salute these women, my direct ancestors, responsibile for providing a better life for us, their descendants, at the cost of their own lives.



Mary Jane ANNETT (1835-1869) died at age 34 from tuberculosis in the new settlement of Oamaru, New Zealand. Her short life was colourful, and it would appear from known facts undertones, at times tragic. http://corrinne-kiwicolleen.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/mary-jane-annett-c1835-1869.html. She was quite possibly an illegitimate child who travel from Ireland to Canada before and returning to England to emmigrate to Australia and finally New Zealand to reside in primative conditions which surely exacerbated respiratory conditions.

Eliza FOARD (1831-1876) died young due to birth complications outlined in the inquest into her death http://corrinne-kiwicolleen.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/eliza-foard-1831-1876.html

Isabella MILES (1861-1906) the wife of Eliza's son also succoming to horrific post-partum issues- cause of death noted as i) deciduoma malignoma (an intrauterine mass of decidual tissue, probably the result of hyperplasia of decidual cells retained in the uterus after parturition, also called placentoma) and ii) Pyaemia  (a diseased state in which pyogenic bacteria are circulating in the blood, characterized by the development of abscesses in various organs.) 

 

Week 9: Where there’s a Will...

I have taken the ‘where there is a William’ stance ... and they abound in my tree!
I have decided on two avenues of documentation;

William ANNETT and Elizabeth MILLARD with children Fanny and Annie

             
 These are my direct ancestry and uncle/cousin Williams:
            William ANNETT         1806-1836      3x great-grandfather
                        born in 1806 in Sevenoaks, Kent, England. Son of Elizabeth and John.
                        married Mary ROGERS  ?1836 in Nova Scotia, Canada.
                        died  August 12, 1883, in Portland, Victoria, Australia.
            William TIPTON          1791-1815       3x great-grandfather
                        born in 17 Feb 1793 in Old Swinford, Worcestershire, England,
                        married Mary Hill on March 5, 1815, in Lye, Worcestershire, England.     
                        died in July 1867 in Stourbridge, Worcestershire, England.        
            William BOOTES         1761-1830       4x great-grandfather
                        born March 15, 1761 Ewhurst, Sussex, England
                        married Mary Tamsett pre1785 Northiam, Sussex, England
                        died April 03, 1830     Northiam, Sussex, England.
            William FOARD           unknown          5x great-grandfather

            William MILES            1854-               great grand uncle
            William SHERIDAN      1886-               great grand uncle
            William TIPTON          1844-1865       great grand uncle
            William ANNETT         1839-1916       2^nd great grand uncle
            William FOARD           1817-1884       2^nd great grand uncle
            William MANNING      1855-               2^nd great grand uncle
            William TIPTON          1826-               2^nd great grand uncle

            William ROSE              1898-?             1^st  cousin 2x removed
            William SHERIDAN      1910-1985       1^st  cousin  2x removed
            William TIPTON          1874-?             1^st  cousin 2x removed
            William FOARD           1849-1894       1^st  cousin  3x removed
            William MUSSON        1868-1913       1^st  cousin 3x removed
            William WALLACE       1875-               1^st  cousin 3x removed

These are my complicating same generation/same name/same area,   1^st cousins 3x removed
            William John ANNETT             1873-1876       child of Henry ANNETT  and Sarah JACKSON-MILLARD
            William Henry ANNETT          1874-1874       child of William ANNETT  and Elizabeth MILLARD
            William James ANNETT          1876- ?            child of John ANNETT  and Janet FAY
            William Henry ANNETT          1876-1954       child of Henry ANNETT and Sarah JACKSON-MILLARD
            William Henry ANNETT          1878- ?            child of William ANNETT  and Elizabeth MILLARD

week 8 Heirloom

 

Doris' gold locket brooch

 

This piece of jewellery was owned and worn by an ancestor Doris BIRD. Daughter of George BIRD and Sarah TIPTON, Doris was bornin 1898 at Derbyshire, England. Although nothing can be stated with confidence as to when or how the brooch was acquired by her, it is easy to follow its descent through the following four generations of one daughter families; Doris --> to her daughter Loraine --> to her neice Corrinne--> to her daughter Shannon.

The object is classed as a locket brooch. It measures 40mm long x22mm wide at extreme points and weighs 10 grams. It appears to be constructed from gold over an alloy with a nine carot gold centrepiece encasing a ruby and two seed pearls. On the front there is some decorative depth and relief work and a contrasting matt and shiny surface presentation. By removing the rear gold surround glass, two attachment screwsare visible. There is no visible manufacturers mark.     

 

 

           
Historically lockets have been worn for centuries. Originating in Europe in the 1500s they contained and/or concealed good luck charms, perfume soaked fabric to disguise and ward off  bad smalls, miniature portraits, at times poison[1].
 Elizabethans wore miniatures painted by the best artists of the times within their expensive lockets; only the well-to-do could afford them. Queen Elizabeth I wore a portrait of her mother Anne Boleyn and herself within a ring locket.
During the Victorian era Prince Albert presented Queen Victoria with an 8 locket bracelet, each containing an engraved name with date of birth, and lock of hair from one of their children. Upon Albert’s death, Victoria wore a photograph of him within a mourning locket. Thus a must-have fashion trend was set[2].                                                                                           

 

              
The industrial revolution played a large part in jewellery becoming affordable and available to more people. The development of electric gold-plating used metal alloy in place of gold and silver, the creation of imitation stones, and production-line manufacturing all lowered costs. However, towards the end of the 19^th century several other factors were coming into play regarding jewellery. William Morris was founder of a movement opposed to over mechanisation, and skilled artisans began rejecting machine-based factory systems. Focus returned to hand-crafted jewellery; imperfections were embraced as individual workmanship, the increased use of less precious metals and alloys, and gems chosen for colour as opposed to monetary value became fashionable[3] .                                       
                                                                                           

An interest in Egyptian and Greek jewellery styles was awoken aside the archaeological discoveries from these ancient civilizations. The grand period of 1860-1885 saw a revival of Greek and Etruscan techniques. Engraving[4] and chasing[5] were replaced with filigree[6] and granulation[7] to create depth and relief, with matt and glossy finishes[8].  The Late/Aesthetic Period, 1885-1901 also brought in a more subtle, unfussy style of jewellery better suited to the role women were taking up in society as they began participating in business, politics and sport[9].

 These photographs compare our example against two others of the late Victorian period.



Another reliable means to date brooch jewellery is to examine the catch, hinge and pin mechanism [10].

The ‘C’ catch, a simple bend in the fastener, was the earliest type in use from c1850-1910. Usually this fastening mechanism is handmade and without any safety features which were introduced c1890 onwards.

The pin can be dated by the diameter, thicker usually denotes an older mechanism, as the fabric it pinned to was generally a looser and heavier weave. More delicate synthetic fabrics of the 20^th century required a finer pin. Usually handmade, the earlier pins also extended further beyond the c-catch, mid-19th century by 1/8 - ¼ inches.

The tube hinge was most commonly used between 1850 and 1910. Also handmade, typically by the person making the brooch, it consisted of three tubes in a T-shape attached to the brooch at two points and the pin at the third. Later a single pieced pin, catch and ‘round hinge‘ became most common.  
From these brooch decoration and fastener comparisons one can safely conclude this item was produced in the late Victorian era.

 

On 02 April 1911, Doris was staying at Aunt Annie’s home[11]. In October the same year she immigrated to New Zealand with her mother and sister[12] and never returned to England.
Was Doris’ locket a farewell gift?  

[1] The secret life of Antiques: Lockets, http://www.theribboninmyjournal.com/the-secret-life-of-antiques-lockets/, Accessed 01 May 2017.Z[2] The secret life of Antiques: Lockets. [3] The History Jewellery Part 2: From 19th Century to the Modern Day, http://mallams.co.uk/news/history-jewellery-part-2-19th-century-modern-day/, Accessed 01 May 2017.[4] cut design[5] indenting[6] fine soldered wires[7] adherence of small gold beads using heat as opposed to solder[8] Grand Period 1860-1885, http://www.langantiques.com/university/Grand_Period_1860-1885, Accessed 01 May 2017.[9] Influence of the Victorian Era on Jewellery Makers, http://www.cooksongold.com/blog/trends-and-inspiration/cooksongold-blogger-jo-varney-looks-at-the-victoria-era, Accessed 01 May 2017.[10] Dating Brooch Fasteners 1850-1910, https://www.realorrepro.com/article/Dating-brooch-fasteners, Accessed 01 May 2017.[11] Ancestry, 1911 England Census for Doris Bird,   Ancestry.com., 1911 England Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA), 1911.[12] Find My Past, Travel and Migration for Doris Bird, Findmypast.com., Passenger Lists Leaving UK 1890-1960 Transcription [database on-line].[13]Cleaning and Caring for Vintage Pearl Jewellery, http://www.ebay.com.au/gds/Cleaning-and-Caring-for-Vintage-Pearl-Jewelry-/10000000177633040/g.html, Accessed 01 May 2017.

 

 

week 7: Valentine

At this point I have exhausted all possible avenues of thought to produce an article with this prompt.

Week 6: Favourite name

As the name of a country, IRELAND or EIRE is my favourite.

I never really understood why I felt my closest attachment to this country; the brogue, the music, the people, the history and the heritage, the cities and countryside... just everything... but from an early age it just felt right.

Paper-tracing my ethnic heritage back to the nationalities of the New Zealand settlers showed a majority of ancestors from the UK, 10/16 of my 2x great-grandparents. Twice as many as my 5/16 Irish ancestors, so why?

 



Mid last year I had my DNA tested by ancestry.com and by studying my ethnicity, it looks to have answered my question...

 

It shows 47% of my ethnicity originating in Ireland/Scotland/Wales, and only 3% from Great Britain (a low confidence region). I believe 2/16 of my 2x great-grandparents do come from Scotland (although this has still to be confirmed) which often shared ancestral heritage with Eire through migration. No known ancestry from Wales at this date.

 

Ireland consists of 4 provinces:

Munster is made up of, Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford. The main city is Cork.

Connaught - is made up of Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Roscommon, Sligo. The main city is Galway.

Leinster is made up of Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly,
              Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow. The main city is Dublin.
Ulster is mostly part of the UK.  



 

I have been able to attribute some of my ancestry to Munster (as per ancestry assessment) but Connaught appears to figure prominantly, and possibly Leinster.

Irish ancestry place of origin (left to right and top to bottom):
            Patrick O'MALLEY- Corofin, County Clare, MUNSTER
            Eileen SHERIDAN- some mystery. Oral history suggests Eileen was born at the Dublin Police Barracks. LEINSTER.
           Mary Jane ANNETT- some mystery. It is possible MJ was born in Dublin, LEINSTER prior to her mother meeting
                                            William  ANNETT (1841 census for MJ/1851 census for her mother Mary ).

           Michael MEALLY/O'MALLEY - Corofin, County Clare, MUNSTER.

           Margaret FLANAGAN - Kilfenora, County Clare, MUNSTER.
           Terence SHERIDAN - some mystery, maybe Old Castle, Meath, and Dublin, LEINSTER.
           Mary Anne MANNING - Achil Island, County Mayo, CONNAUGHT.
           MANNING and MULLENS links are ties to Kilronan, Aran Isles and Achil Is, CONNAUGHT.



So yes, questions answered but more questions to ask also... did my british ancetors originate in Ireland before settling in England pre1800? How does ancestry access and attribute its ethnicities? 

Week 5: In the Census

For over 30 years the BIRD flight from England to New Zealand was a mystery to me. All we knew was Beatrice was a minor, but I couldn’t for the life of me find when or on which ship  the family voyage took place.  It seemed ridiculous that it was so difficult to solve, after all it was my mother’s mother... such a close family link!

We knew it happened because George, Sarah and Doris were recorded in the 1901 UK census https://www.ancestry.com.au/sharing/12604691?h=2de17a&utm_campaign=bandido-webparts&utm_source=post-share-modal&utm_medium=share-url ... and then they were definitely here in New Zealand.

The breakthrough came when I found separate census entries  for Sarah & Beatrice (staying with Sarah’s sister Maria RILEY), and Doris (staying with George’s sister Annie BARTON). All 3 were noted as visitors....

 ...but where was George? And why were the daughters separated?

An aproximate  starting date, a bit of lateral thinking, a free weekend to view immigration indexes on Findmypast’, and 100 years since his departure to the day,  I located George. He had emigrated to New Zealand aboard the 'IONIC',  listed as a single man, departing  London, UK on  11 Nov 1910 and arriving in Wellington, NZ on 29 December 1910.
From there it was easy to locate Sarah and the girls. Eleven months later  they set sail for New Zealand aboard the 'SS TONGARIRO', departing London on 20 October 1911 and arriving in Wellington  09 December  2011.

Sadly they had to say goodbye to a a third daughter  left behind in England;
  https://corrinne-kiwicolleen.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/rose-elizabeth-bird-1892-1896.html

 



 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 



Week 4: Invitation to Dinner

How difficult the times for the peasants of Western Ireland in the 1880s.

Changes in the term of most Irish land tenancies had dropped from a typical 31 year lease to annual tenancies after 1850... families were frequently  forcefully evicted by (often absentee) landowners.
With stronger farm produce prices and earnings of  the 1850s and 1860s, Irish tenant farmers  agreed to pay higher rents.   Changes to world economics due to follow-on years of low world prices, bad local weather, and poor harvests after 1874 however  led to wheat being sourced from new countries, such as the United States, and with the introduction of refrigeration ships,  meat was imported into Europe from Australia, keeping  prices low for producers.

The final famine of the 1880s was largely localised to the West of Ireland.  Although it was of a far smaller scale to Great Famine, its appearance  no doubt caused widespread panic and brought refreshed memories of death and misery  to many who had witnessed the great  famine of 1845-1849.  

                       Pictures from:  1880 Famine and Distress in the West of Ireland. http://www.maggieblanck.com/Mayopages/1880s

Born to John FLANAGAN and Mary BURKE of Kilfenora, County Clare about 1826, Margaret  Flanagan was in her early 20s, she well remembered...

Margaret FLANAGAN and Michael O’MALLEY/MEALY married 23 Jan 1856 in the parish of Kilfenora, Barony of Corcomroe, Co Clare, Ireland.  Witnesses: Michael & Margaret McNamara. The priest was shown to charged $2 (pounds) to perform the ceremony. Unfortunately from a research point of veiw Church Marriage Registers did not commence until 1864. Parents and place of birth were not a requirement for documentation, however it was customary in Ireland at that time for the bride to be married in her native parish. It is reasonable then to assume Margaret was born in the Kilfenora parish (The Clare Heritage Centre).

Michael’s untimely death in December 1878, left her a widow with eight children.

 Yes, memories were painful and times were again really difficult.

Then it arrived... an invitation from her brother now living in South Canterbury, New Zealand, and a paid fare for her and four of her children. Records show the arrival of the "Ionic" which sailed from Southampton 23 April 1883, arriving Lyttleton 16 June 1883 with passengers O’MALLEY: Margaret aged 40, general servant, from Clare.

                                                                      Patrick aged 24, labourer, from Clare.

                                                                      Mary aged 23, general servant, from Clare.

                                                                      Bridget aged 22, general servant, from Clare.

                                                                      Charles aged 21, general servant, from Clare.

It is our experience from doing research that information the emigrants  gave with regard to their dates of birth were rarely accurate with discrepancies of up to 4-5 years being commonplace. This was done for a variety of reasons ie: to obtain cheaper passage, better employment opportunities, marriage prospects etc  (Clare Heritage Centre).

Margaret lived her remaining years in Christchurch, New Zealand, passing aged 86 at Nazareth House.

      
                                             Such a long, long, long way to travel to meet a dinner invitation...

 for more about Margaret http://corrinne-kiwicolleen.blogspot.com.au/2016/11/margaret-flanagan-1825-1912.html

week 3: Longivity

I had always believed longevity was not an attribute I possessed as all my close rellies ‘popped off’ by fifty.
This week’s challenge has prompted me to take a deeper and closer look at my familial life spans and  the outcome has been somewhat surprising. Using basic statistics to analyse the life-span of 46 direct line ancestors, I conclude it’s not as bad as I had first thought, but I would like to see the longer bars at the end of the scale...     

 

Closer analysis of my closest direct ancestors included parents through to great-grandparents however brings both good and not so good results; with analysis of the past 4 generations only, the mean average of life span dropped to  55.5 yrs (-6.5 yrs) on my father’s side and rose to 68 yrs (+2 years) on my mothers.

George Edward KING- father- 48yrs-heart disease
Edna Rose O’MALLEY – mother- 73yrs- chronic lung disease (emphysema-smoker)
George Henry KING- paternal grandfather- 55yrs- heart disease
Phyllis Olive GREENFIELD- paternal grandmother-57 yrs- breast cancer
Thomas Augustine O’MALLEY- maternal grandfather- 69yrs –myocardial degeneration and broncho-pneumonia
Beatrice BIRD-maternal grandmother-58yrs-heart disease and emphysemia (non-smoker)

Paternal  great-grandparents:
                        Thomas KING-79yrs- heart disease
                        Isabella MILES- 45yrs –deciduoma malignoma  (due to post-partum issues)
                        Henry GREENFIELD- 69yrs- unknown
                        Frances MOFFETT- 37 yrs –uterine cancer

Maternal great-grandparents:
                      Patrick O’MALLEY- 68yrs- carcinoma of larynx (smoker) and heart failure
                      Eileen Marianne SHERIDAN- 66 yrs- cerebral thrombosis and myocardial degeneration
                      George BIRD- 65yrs- Carcinoma of the rectum
                      Sarah TIPTON-78yrs –Myocardial degeneration

Once bringing the information together  I see heart disease is prevalent in the paternal side, whilst making itself known on the maternal side it would appear to be mostly degeneration probably due to other issues.
Lung weakness in one form or another prevails on my maternal side, and cancer in various forms from both lines.

An online test by My longevity considers 5 areas that effect longevity; surroundings, health, attitude, parental relevance, and eating...   http://www.mylongevity.com.au/Analyser.aspx?PageSection=IntroPage&Questions=9&Pool=n/a

It predicts I will live to 81ys..... that will mean I’m beaten by only  3 of my direct ancestors.