Topic: Heirlooms.

Not all heirlooms have monetary value, but can still be priceless, affording glimpses into a family life long gone.

My GGGF Dr. Thomas Lyle (1791-1859) although a qualified Scottish surgeon, was far more interested in Bryozoa – mosses and lichen. He lived in the tiny Stirlingshire town of Airth on the River Forth for some years, occasionally practising medicine, advising a neighbouring landowner on his garden, and collecting mosses and lichen in the nearby woods. Bannockburn of battle fame was about 7 miles distant.

He maintained a voluminous correspondence with Mr. William Wilson of Manchester, a world authority on mosses. I have in my possession two wonderful hand-bound books – one is a collection of letters from Mr. Wilson covering the period 1849 to 1854. The other is an exquisite book full of watercolours of mosses, meticulously catalogued.

Both Lyle and Wilson had very delicate spidery cursive handwriting which is not difficult to read if one has a magnifying glass! Although the correspondence was mostly professional,

Occasionally a personal snippet was included – for example on 18 October 1853 Wilson wrote: “If you must needs go to Glasgow, I sincerely hope that you will succeed in the attainment of your moderate wishes, and escape from the pestilence that you go to withstand – I shall rejoice if this revolutionary event of your life shall be productive of good to you and your wife…” (most likely he was referring to typhoid).

But alas, on 9 March 1854 Wilson again wrote: “My dear Sir, You have often been in my thoughts and I had fully intended to write to you on the day that I received yours informing me of your loss – it is a relief, I trust, both to yourself and to your departed wife (who must have suffered much under the protracted and hopeless illness) that she is gone to her rest. I trust also that you will have all the consolation which you need, in this your bereavement. The parting is a solemn event, and must have caused deep exercise of thought and feeling ….”

I also have a very old microscope which belonged to Dr. Lyle. A treasure indeed. And a number of other items which I may well write about later in the year.

Topic: Immigration.

As an Australian, all my more immediate ancestors were immigrants. Australia’s very first immigrants were indigenous Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders who arrived over 70,000 years ago. The first European immigrants arrived with the First Fleet in 1788. So our history is very different and more recent compared to America’s.

My earliest Australian immigrants were Irish Hugh Vesty Byrne (1772-1842) and his wife Sarah Dwyer (1774-1872) from Wicklow, who were ‘persuaded’ to emigrate in 1806. Hugh was a political prisoner given the choice of rotting in an Irish gaol or being transported to Australia and given his freedom on arrival. My GGG Grandmother Ann Byrne was born on board the “Tellicherry” in early 1806 on as it reached Australian waters.

Ann Byrne’s daughter Susan Byrne (1826-1892) married my second earliest immigrant, Thomas Darchy (1820-1877) who was born in Bavaria and spent his childhood in Switzerland. He arrived in Australia in 1840 on the “India” – which was wrecked on a subsequent voyage.

Next was another Irish family, the Macloskeys originally from County Antrim but lived in Greenock for some years before emigrating to newly-established Melbourne in early 1853. They were John Macloskey (1789-1854) and his wife Mary Ann Brooks (1805-1886) and their 12 living children … their second youngest, Adela Wade, married Dubliner Frederick Wentworth Wade (1838-1912) who had arrived in Melbourne around 1859 and subsequently shifted to New Zealand about 1863. They married in NZ in 1865. Most of the Macloskey descendants are now in Australia but there are a few in New Zealand.

Yet another Irish line were Henry Prendergast (1813-1867) and Mary Costello (abt 1812-1902) who arrived in Adelaide in 1854 on the “Pestonjee Bomanjee” with seven children. Henry was a shopkeeper who set up a store not too far from the huge d’Archy property in western NSW. Their daughter Margaret (1844-1915) married one of the d’Archy boys, against some opposition! I have a huge number of distant Prendergast cousins.

My Scottish GGG Father Alexander Johnston (1829-1906) and his wife Margaret Lyle (1827-1925) were close behind, also in 1854. They went to Launceston, Tasmania. Their second child was born within weeks after their arrival. One of their sons married a daughter of Frederick Wade.

And finally my English and Welsh GG Parents – Edwin Hunt (1837-1895) and his wife Margaret Morgan (1838-1920) and eight living childfren arrived in Sydney on the fast steamship “Aconcagua’ in 1879. Their youngest daughter Lily Hunt, aged 3 at the time of arrival, married a grandson of both Thomas Darchy and Henry Prendergast.

What a wealth of Immigration stories they could tell! One arrived in convict chains, some in the basic transport level of early immigrant sailing ships, some in comparative luxury. They went to different parts of Australia and New Zealand. I was born in Sydney – proud of my multinational heritage.

Topic: Earning A Living.

My Great Great Aunt Susan Darchy (1857-1922) was born to a wealthy pioneering family in western NSW, Australia. She had a privileged childhood growing up on an outback cattle station, with a private tutor and a succession of governesses.

Her parents took her to England in 1873 when she was 17, possibly so she could make her debut at court. She was only 20 when her father died. She visited Europe again with her mother and younger sister Rose Ann at least twice and in 1885 was at Aix-les-Bains in the South of France staying at the same place as Queen Victoria of England. Susan, Rose and her brother Louis were all presented to the Queen on more than one occasion.

A bad recession hit Australia in the 1890s together with a drought and rabbit plague. The English Banks, with little knowledge or understanding of Australian conditions, foreclosed on a huge number of pastoral properties. The Darchy children had to earn a living! Susan wrote some years later: “I found myself in Sydney with 20 pounds in my pocket and facing the necessity of doing something to earn money before that was exhausted.” She began writing to newspapers, including those overseas.

Through her own courage, determination and energy she soon became a well-known journalist, being in charge of the Social and Fashion columns of an Australian daily newspaper. According to an article on the Lady Journalists of NSW, “A great deal of tact and discretion is required in one who has the control of the social department of a large daily paper, and during the times that Miss Darchy has managed that portion of the Telegraph she has exhibited those qualifications to the fullest extent…..The lady who supplies the social and fashion news to a big daily journal in a large city like Sydney has abundant work to do; but Miss Darchy is active and industrious, and by economy of time manages to (also) contribute regularly to a daily paper in Paris and to send a colonial letter periodically to the Sketch, an illustrated journal published in London. She also writes for several country papers in New South Wales….”

In 1899 Susan delivered a public lecture in Sydney’s School of Arts on “The Power of Thought”. She…“treated the subject in a general way, emphasising the importance of right thinking and showing that it could be taught by scientific methods. For the results of scientific thinking she claimed perfect health and happiness to the individual.” There must have been many other such lectures given. A small entrance fee would have been charged.

In 1900 Susan went overseas and gave a series of lectures on Australia in San Francisco and London. The San Francisco Chronicle published a very long article about her entitled “What Australian Women Are Doing”. Her lectures on the Australian Bush were very well received in London and she was mentioned several times in the Court Circular of The Times.

Susan tried to obtain finance for her lecture tours from the Australian Government, but was unsuccessful. A letter to the Prime Minister written in 1901 says: “My object in writing to you is to ask you if the Commonwealth could not help me to make my work of greater value to Australia.I (have) managed in three months to give twenty five lectures in London and various parts of England. So far, I have had everything to face single handed, this work has been enormous and the expenses very great. Those in the know here are amazed at the measure of success I have secured, for independent lectures of anyone who has not poisoned a few husbands or who has not become distinguished in South Africa are considered suicidal.” It would seem she knew the Prime Minister personally!

She continued “I was fortunate in getting work to do under the auspices of the British Empire League, through the influence of Sir Andrew Clarke and Mrs Copeland, but although the work done by the League is important I am able to touch another class of people than they do.
There are few women lecturers here, and I am the only one representing Australia and I find that the womans’ point of view and the womans’ presence counts for much. The secretaries tell me that my audiences come next to Winston Churchill’s, and I suppose that means something today.” Unfortunately her application was unsuccessful. Barton wrote:
“You work has my full sympathy, however, and I trust that your efforts may be attended by the success which they merit.”

She also went to Canada, from where she wrote a very long entertaining letter to her old newspaper, mainly about her travels.

An Australian newspaper said in 1901 that Susan was “waking things up at Home” (ie England). (Sydney Stock and Station Journal, 26 Feb 1901 p.8)

Returning to Australia, Susan set up a high fashion dressmaking business known as “D’Archy et Cie” .(By that itme the spelling of the surname had changed slightly). A Melbourne newspaper reported in 1903: “Good work, fair prices and an admirable cut have brought D’Archy et Cie of Collins St. into prominence, so much so that another dressmaker has been engaged….. Susan was described as a clever designer, whose forte was evening and race gowns. By 1907 the competition for quality staff particularly apprentices, bodice hands and improvers, was increasing, as evidenced by the number of similar advertisements in the main Melbourne newspaper. The business was still going in 1909 but cannot be found after that.

It would appear that Susan returned to England again and did much work for the Australian War effort. The Sydney Morning Herald of October 6 1915 reported regarding a very patriotic song:

Indeed several of Susan’s brothers including my own GGGFather enlisted … (for American readers – Australia’s experiences in World War I were VERY different to that of your country.)

Topic: Influencer.

My 3rd cousin Dr. Patricia Ann Prendergast (“AnnieP”) did not come into my life until I was in my fifties, but I still consider her a major influencer in the rest of my life, particularly as regards my genealogical work.

In 1987 AnnieP published a study leave project “The Search for Thomas and Susan d’Archy” – it led to a PhD. As she explained in her background to the project, “I first came across the name d’Archy when I was putting together a history of my family who settled in what is now called the Western Riverina (of what became the state of NSW) in the early 1850s. My GGG Aunt Margaret married as her second husband Francis, son of Thomas d’Archy squatter of Oxley Station, Hay and his wife Susan nee Byrne. … The next step in my search for Thomas d’Archy was to try and trace his descendants …. I began by looking through phone directories and the only entries for what is a very unusual name were two in Sydney and one in Queensland. Miss Nancy Elizabeth d’Archy of Kings Cross is a GG Daughter of Thomas ….”.

Miss N E d’Archy was my Aunt Betty, my mother’s sister. When I was visiting her one day she told me about Annie P interviewing her and showed me what had been sent as a result. As a researcher myself, albeit in a different field, I was immediately interested and impressed by what she had discovered. Until then apart from my mother’s English family I had only a vague idea of my maternal grandfather’s origins and a single badly drawn tree in a bible was the only source of information about my paternal side.

Over the following years I came to know AnnieP well, corresponding often and staying with her on several occasions. I was always impressed by the depth of her research and knowledge, her organisational skills and her boundless enthusiasm, even when in her later years she developed various medical challenges. She organised a special weekend for descendants of the early Australian settlers and convicts who arrived on the same ship, the “Tellicherry”, as Susan Byrne d’Archy’s grandparents. That was where I met a number of d’Archy relatives who AnnieP had tracked down, for the first time.

AnnieP was very generous in sharing all her materials and indeed without her early research, particularly in locating some records in Neuchatel, Switzerland, the early history of the d’Archys would be a mystery indeed. It still is in some ways …

Topic: Witness to History.

In 1885 Queen Victoria of England and her daughter Princess Beatrice spent some time at Aix-Les-Bains, a thermal spa town on Lake Bourget in the Savoie, eastern France. On April 14 it was Princess Beatrice’s birthday; the town was gaily decorated with flags and the previous evening there was a display of fireworks on the hill.

In the morning, the band of the 4th Regiment of Dragoons played a selection of music and various people presented the Princess with bouquets. Among them were two of my Great Grandfather’s sisters – Miss Susan Darchy (1857-1922) and Miss Rose-Ann Darchy (1866-1930), representing the people of New South Wales, Australia. (The Times, 17 April 1885).

Four days later Susan and her brother Louis Darchy (1860-1910) were again presented to the Queen, according to The Times’ Court Circular of April 18th:

Louis was to have yet another meeting with Queen Victoria (The Penny Illustrated Paper and Illustrated Times, May 09, 1885):

This was reported again at a later date in the Riverine Grazier, a country NSW newspaper, on 12 January 1894, which gives the explanation:

Topic: Favorite Photo.

This photo is of my late mother in law, Joy Hoffmann, and our beloved cat Minou who lived to 19. Take on board our boat in Pittwater, NSW, Australia, about 1975. Although the following story is a sad one, I still love this photo for the peaceful happy time it represents.

Joy was visiting us from England. About 23 years earlier her husband Squadron leader Bill Hoffmann AFC was drowned when aged only 39, while trying to rescue a woman in difficulties. So his widow had every reason to hate the sea and anything to do with it. But her son Geoff, my first husband, wanted to show her his boat ….

Less than 20 years later Geoff himself died from melanoma and eight months later Joy herself died, her friends said of a “broken heart” – certainly it would have contributed. It is a lasting regret that I didn’t get to know her better.

And Minou? In cat years, she outlived everyone. She also outlived at least twice the normal number of cat lives (9 x 2) and had a string of adventures anyone would envy … lived in various houses all over two Australian states, caught a snake, got stuck in a chimney and had to be hauled out by her tail, was resident mouse catcher on a tomato farm, lived on a boat for some years and fell overboard several times, flew in a plane, went on long car trips and almost got lost in the bush, once spent an afternoon in a parrot cage at an airport ….

Theme: Origins. (“Genealogists often get the question, “Where is your family from?” With this week’s theme, you could explore an immigrant ancestor, but you could also think about the origin of other aspects of your family. Who was the first person in your family to settle in a particular town? If you have a long line of people with the same occupation, talent, etc, who was the first person you know who did it?”).

My GGrandfather Frederick Wentworth Wade (1838-1912), born in Dublin, was the first of his family to settle in New Zealand, and the first and as far as is known only person in the family to profess Law.

He was one of the first settlers in the southern NZ town of Invercargill, was on the Committee formed in 1869 to investigate formation of the first Borough Council, and served on the early Invercargill Council to 1878.

One of his obituaries described Frederick as having been associated with most of the enterprises which had made for the advancement of the town from the time it was in its embryo stage. “Not only was he actively associated with social, municipal and parliamentary activities, but in the realm of sport he was at one time a most prominent figure…” The list included turf interests, rowing, coursing, cricket and football. He was also Sergeant-Major in the first Volunteer company formed in Invercargill, ultimately becoming Captain.
Frederick was a founder, office bearer or early member of various prominent Invercargill institutions – the Invercargill Club, Irish Athletics Society, Fire Brigade, Bowls Club, Coursing Club, Turf Club, Southland Racing Club, the Athenaeum, the Hospital Trust, the Chamber of Commerce and the Southland Caledonian Society. He became a Trustee of the Savings Bank in 1872 together with his brother in law James Blacklock (NZ Gazette)
“… and up to his last illness had not missed a meeting…” according to an obituary in the Southland Daily News.

Disappointingly none of these institutions or their successors have a photograph of Frederick.

He was said by his fellow members of the Bar to be endowed with fine intellectual talents and was a particularly strong advocate who took a keen interest and part in public matters, with a genial manner which endeared him to many, and he always conducted his cases in a fair and honourable way. The Supreme Court adjourned for one afternoon to allow members of the profession to attend his funeral.

One obituary said he experienced to the full ups and downs “…such as seldom come to the lot of one man…” and predicted that Wade’s passing would prompt many old identities to let loose a flood of reminiscences “… which perhaps have never been unearthed previously”.

Topic: Me, Myself and I

I was christened Nancy Vada Johnston – Nancy for my mother’s sister Nancy Elizabeth d’Archy (always known as Betty) and Vada for my mother Lillian Vada d’Archy (always known as Vada).

Where did Auntie Bet as we all called her, get her names? Elizabeth for one of her own aunts, also a Great Aunt, but Nancy??

Where did my mother get her names? Lillian from her mother Edith Lillian Hunt (always known as Lily) and Vada from her mother’s great friend, the concert pianist Vada Jefferies.

It was not until I became fascinated by genealogy that I finally tracked down the Nancy – my great great grandmother Nancy Welding (also known as Ann) who was born in Upton-St-Leonard, Gloucestershire in 1789 and married Thomas Hunt. He signed his name with a cross; she wrote hers. Family legend had it that she was a governess or lady’s maid. Did my grandmother Lily Hunt actually know her mother’s name? Probably.…

So that dealt with one mystery – my name.

Where do my love of country life and horses come from?? I always said I ‘wanted to marry a farmer”. (But ended up marrying an engineer and living on a boat…). From my mother’s father’s family who were all “on the land” – early Australian pioneers who hit hard times during the 1890s depressions and were forced to give up their stock and huge land leases and go droving. Grandfather d’Archy was a successful station manager but never owned his own property, and never adapted to city life .. so my mother and aunt rarely saw him.

Enthusiasm for Sailing? My father and grandfather Johnston were experienced small-boat sailors. Great Uncle George Johnston was an ocean-going merchant seaman officer who drowned aged 29 after switching to a coastal steamer which ran aground .. (His mother was heavily pregnant when they arrived in Australia from Scotland in 1855).

Love of adventure: all the above.

Journalism? Granddad was a front page reporter for the Sydney Morning Herald; and a egular weekly contributor to the Sydney Mail .. he published two books.

Scientist? – Great Aunt Fanny Hunt was the first woman Science graduate from Sydney University in the late 1880s. I wore her academical hood at my own graduation.

Artist? Nooooo – I like design but did not inherit Granddad’s ability.

And finally I have one characteristic which I definitely did not inherit from anyone – I’m totally deaf – the result of meningitis when I was six years old.

Topic: Cousins!

Most people seem to have a number of first cousins and many seconds and thirds, but my father Warwick Johnston had a lone brother who died as a baby, and my mother Vada d’Archy had one sister who never married. Consequently I have no first cousins.

My maternal grandmother Lily Hunt 1876-1946 came from a family of ten and only five of them had children surviving childhood. Her mother Margaret Morgan 1838-1920 had 5 siblings yet no known nephews/nieces. The Hunts were my only known distant cousins for many years – mainly one family – mostly I only saw them at Christmas but our friendships have developed as adults and with the help of e-mail.

On the other hand My paternal grandmother Bertha Wade 1874-1947, born in New Zealand, had 6 siblings and 3 had children. Her mother was a Macloskey. My Paternal grandfather Alexander Johnston had 3 siblings; 2 had children.

Growing up I did not know of any Johnston, Macloskey or Wade cousins. Or any d’Archys.

This all changed gradually when my Aunt Betty d’Archy was approached by a family historian Dr. Ann Prendergast who was interested in the d’Archys even though only related to them through marriage – her great great Aunt Margaret Prendergast 1844-1915 married my great grandfather Francis d’Archy 1854-1925. She did tell my Aunt there were a few d’Archys around but my Aunt was not much interested (“I’m too old!”). But she DID tell me ….

This started my interested in genealogy but it was some years before I could find the time to do anything. When the internet and e-mail started suddenly records became far more accessible.

The d’Archy researcher was very forthcoming and became a good friend – I visited her whenever I could and she was very generous with sharing all her research. Through her I made contact with several d’Archy second and third cousins.

Then I decided to look for some Johnston second cousins. I did track down two, descendants of my granddad’s brother Charles – one of whom, it turned out, once worked at the same university as I did in an associated department. It was quite possible that our paths crossed more than once but I did not know his surname and never made the connection until years after his death. I do have several friends who were his students so know a little more about him that I would otherwise have discovered (!). His widow had a huge old Johnston family bible which went a long way to solving one family puzzle and to confirm the names of my GGG Grandmother Mary Cochrane’s siblings, often missnamed or missed in online trees.

Granddad Alexander and his brother Charles Johnston had another brother who was drowned and a sister Margaret who in 1886 married FJA Huxtable, who came from a HUGE family. Eventually I made contact with one of Margaret (Johnston) Huxtable’s sons and through him the descendants of a granddaughter. To say that that contact opened the Johnston family floodgates is an understatement! Best of all, one of the third cousins lives in my adopted country New Zealand and even in the same city (I am Australian and almost all other cousins are in that country). Myke and I see each other occasionally when his work allows and I have collaborated with one of his brothers to produce several family histories.

DNA opened still more doors. A small match with a Prendergast distant cousin developed into an on-line friendship and when I mentioned where I lived in NZ she said “Oh but my sister lives there!” So now I have another distant cousin living in the same city, who I see often. I have also discovered a couple of Macloskey third cousins, three of them living in New Zealand. I see them occasionally as they live in other parts of the country.

I made DNA-match contact with several distant Hunt cousins in England and through them the Hunt family tree has also expanded hugely. My great grandfather Edwin Hunt 1837-1895 and two of his sisters emigrated to Australia; one did not marry but the other has hundreds of descendants with whom I also find occasional DNA matches. Also with some distant Johnston cousins. the latter contact was invaluable as it ‘proved’ the identity of my GGG Grand Aunt Margaret Cochrane, who definitely married a Donald in 1780 and not someone else as a number of on-line trees assert.

So although I do not have any first cousins, I feel far from alone!!