Topic: Language I have traced my father’s Johnston line back to the Scottish borders in the mid-1700s. I understand that they spoke not Gaelic but a form of broad Lowland Scots called Lallans. Apparently it was also spoken in the Northern Isles and in the north of Ireland. Both Robbie Burns and RL Stevenson wrote… Read more

Topic: Changing Names My GGGF’s birth is shrouded in mystery. Baptised in 1820 as Thomas Darchy, son of Thomas Darchy and Amey Maude Philipse. But was that the original spelling? No record can be found of the earlier Thomas or his marriage. Statements about his father and also the witness to the baptism appear false… Read more

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… Read more

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… Read more

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,… Read more

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… Read more