I decided that I would "file" a few of the hundreds of lazy research screenshots I have gathered over the years, which means refinding them all in Trove which is a most wonderful research provided by our National Library.
I maybe did a half dozen, but those rabbit holes keep poppin up!!
I won't go TOO far down the rabbit hole today, but some delightful moments of synchronicity discovered were my great-great-great grandfathers' ads for missing horses in 1862
18 April 1862 - North Australian, Ipswich and General Advertiser -STOLEN or strayed, one IRON GREY MARE,branded M/M on the near shoulder, and AS on the off shoulder. The above reward will be paid, if stolen, or conviction of the thief, or £3 if strayed, upon delivering the said Mare to JOHN RANKIN. Esq., Rose Hill; or to GEO. EVANS, Newtown, Ipswich.
The fourth son of John Rankin (my "farthest back in time" migrant to Australia) married the second daughter of George Evans nearly 18 years later.
A different great-great-grandfather's in 1865 (the going rate for getting a horse thief was apparently a tenner)
14 October 1864 - Sydney Morning Herald - Stolen, from the Lachlan Diggings, a Black HORSE branded W near shoulder, T off, star and snip, 5 white spots under saddle, collar marked, shod all round, £10 on conviction
This relative is very much a man of mystery in research - we know plenty of what happened HERE but the man was a master spinner of tales, and finding a paper trail of what went on BEFORE is elusive
And I did a big snip because the ads around it?! Tell me your thoughts on the fourth "lost" article!? (I am hoping that is about a dog);
His son-in-law landing in Brisbane almost exactly 11 years later:
and nearly another 20 years later, their union - through the marriage of one's daughter to the other in a business transaction brokered over brandy (allegedly)
27 March 1895 (the wedding took place 4th March) the NQ Register used exactly the same copy that the Mackay Mercury used nearly a fortnight earlier, including the lovely little take-away "Mr Edwards replied. He said that although he ad lost - no not lost - but given away a daughter, he had gained a son and now in these dull times when sugar was so low and cattle so cheap it was an advantage to gain even a son."
Exactly what duties is that lady going to take up again? Or is it about an animal soon to be ready again for breeding?? I have questions.
ReplyDeleteAs do I - but alas, they will never be answered.
DeleteI know very little about my ancestors, my mother's family is of Swedish ancestry and I have names and birthdates/death dates etc, but nothing at all about what they did or how they lived. On my father's side I know only names and birth/death dates of his parents and nothing else. Apparently no records of any sort were kept.
ReplyDeleteThat is so very hard River.
DeleteIt's also interesting to see that different great-great-grandfathers' had the same problem with their horse going missing.
ReplyDeleteI am curious how much money would be in today's money £10 from the 1860s. An online calculator on google said that it is about £400 in today's money, but that seems a bit low for the value of a horse. The price of a new horse in 1860s might also shed a light on how important these horses were for your ancestors. Fascinating stuff.
It was pretty much wild frontier in those days for them. The Iron Grey Mare would have been in the Ipswich area, which had only been founded 20 year prior. The Black Horse in 1865 was in a district still very much in the throes of gold rush fever, although from newspaper articles I have found there was more fever than gold in that area. In both instances having a horse was essential, as they were your main transport - and in both instances, bushrangers were still very much a thing and they generally had "horse-stealing" on their initial charge sheet - much like car-stealing these days, no doubt.
DeleteKelly - I am so sorry - I didn't even get to read your comment as I was dealing with spam and unfortunately my mouse slipped!!
ReplyDeleteI love this post, Jeanie. You are so lucky to find clips from so far back. I felt lucky to get a news clip from around 1900! I love genealogy and the interesting things they turn up -- and you turned up quite a bit of good, intriguing bits! (I think it's a dog, too!)
ReplyDelete