With a love of genealogy and research, I started my blog Ancestor Detective. My passion for this field continues to grow and I am starting to pursue a part time career in delving into the lives of other peoples ancestors.
In the final days of Family History Month, Ancestor Detective, shares her thoughts on her journey through researching her family history.
I often get asked why I am so interested and somewhat obsessed in doing genealogy and why when my relationship with my immediate family has been so challenging why I want to research their ancestors at all. I often wonder this myself. As I contemplate this I wonder if it is because I want to find out how I am the person I am and so different to the family I was raised in or if I am researching to find out why my family is the way they are.
Mostly though what I have found is people who leave me proud of how they overcome the challenges of being in a new pioneering country, living in challenging conditions where income was insufficient or woman who raised many children and left to raise their children mostly alone while their husbands were sent down coal mines, were out with their sheep in the middle of nowhere for days if not weeks at a time or building lives for their family by farming and growing crops while living in just shanty’s in the harshest parts of the country.
They are who make me proud! Their dogged determination for life is maybe where I have got that part of me from, that never give up attitude!
My blog reflects the lives of my ancestors from England, Scotland and as far away as Italy, these people lived for their families and would do anything however hard to provide for them and to give their children and those to come after them a life better than their own.
From coal miners to bullock drivers to farmers and graziers these pioneers not only made me who I am today, but the contributed to shaping the country, Australia, to what it is today. The phrase “from dust to driving rain” is just some of the climatic conditions these hard workers experienced. The women in my family lived through not just these harsh conditions but raised large families while their husbands earnt an income, not a great income, but enough to put a roof over their head and food on their plate.
Then there are the sad stories I have come to learn that while they were hundreds of years ago they still bring a tear to my eye. Like a little girl who died from burns after her dress caught on fire while a servant for a family or my Downes family who saw such loss and grief but led to my Pop and his siblings leading amazing lives or my Nana’s family whose mother raised 16 children while her husband worked in the coal mines of Scotland with their sons once of age.
It is not until you start your own journey through your family history that you find these stories that shaped who your family is today. You too will learn of hard work, of grief and loss, of hardship and of new beginnings started on the other side of the world.
My Pop, Harold Downes, was born the third son of Daniel Downes (1854-1901) and Eliza Roe (1868-1904) on 20 December 1894 in Staffordshire, England. Pop died on 11 November 1963 in Dandenong, Australia long before I was bornand I didn’t really hear a lot about his life prior to coming to Australia in 1913. Its not until I started researching more of his family that I found a very sad story of great loss to him, his father, Daniel, his wives, both named Eliza and their children. In this blog, as part of Family History Month, I tell the story of their family and the tradgey that fell upon them.
Daniel Downes was born 11 July 1854 in Leek, Staffordshire, England to Abraham Downes (abt. 1825-1887), a cordwainer, and Mary Goodwin (abt. 1824-1910). Baptised on 13 August 1854 in Quarnford, Stafford, Daniel was the third child of Abraham and Mary, who went onto have six children between 1850 and 1865. Daniel was employed in 1871 as a farm laborer aged 17 years at Buck Bank Farm in Cheshire then moved to Higher House farm by 1874.
On 25 April 1877 in Prestbury, Cheshire, Daniel married Eliza Foukes (1854-1887) the daughter of Thomas Foukes, a blacksmith. Daniel and Eliza would go onto have three children; Ann (abt. 1876), Mary Jane (1877) and James William (1881). Sadly on 27 August 1887 in Macclesfield, Cheshire, Eliza would pass away aged 33 years of liver disease leaving behind three young children aged 11, 9 and 6 years.
Three years on, Daniel married Eliza Roe on 11 November 1889 in Yoxhall, Staffordshire and they would have five children; Frederick (1890), Herbert (1892), Harold (1894), Edith (1898) and Arthur (1901).
By 1901, Daniel and his family had moved to Austrey and living in Cork Hall where Daniel was now working as a Banksman [a Banksman works at the pit bank dispatching coal and organising the workforce] at a coal mine. Disaster would soon strike the family when Daniel would suddenly pass away on 23 December 1901 in Tamworth, Staffordshire from an intestinal obstruction and shock leaving behind five young children, the youngest, Arthur, not even one year old.
With a young family of five children, Eliza, chose to fight and on 7 June 1902 was in court claiming workmen’s compensation for her husband’s death. Eliza alleged that Daniel’s death was the result of injury by accident arising in the course of his employment on December 20, at the Tamworth Colliery Co. She sought compensation for £171/12/3 for three years of earnings, at £1/3/- per week, and £10 medical and funeral expenses.
Mr. Masser who appeared for Eliza explained that the doctor certified that death was due to intestinal obstruction and shock, and the real point was as to whether it was the result of an accident or disease. Two fellow workman gave evidence that Daniel in the days prior to his death had strained himself while pushing a truck, which the defence ruled was not an accident.
Eliza in her statement said her husband was 47 years of age, and a banksman at the colliery where he worked for nine years. She went onto say that she had five children, who, with herself were dependent on her husband.
After the Judge ruled Daniel’s death not an accident, Mr. Masser argued with the Judge on the ruling but in the end the Judge ruled the case could not continue as he could not see there was any accident. The case was dismissed without costs.
Tradegy would soon strike the family for the second time
Eliza was to find love again and on 15 November 1902 she married George Henry Chapman, aged 32 years, a widower and miner in Austrey, Warwick. On 24 November 1904, Eliza and George would welcome a son, James. However, tragically this happiness would not last and seven days after James’s birth, Eliza passed away on 1 December 1904 from puerperal thrombosis a critical postpartum illness that develops within a week of giving birth.
It is unclear where Eliza’s five young children went following her death but in 1911 they were either living with her step son, James William or boarding whilst working as laborer’s or miners. The four boys, including my Pop, Harold, would soon immigrate to Australia where they married, had children and lived good lives.
Genealogy is becoming more popular as technology advances and more records become available online, but there are still many who don’t know the stories of their ancestors. I knew nothing about Pop’s family in England and after extenive research I have been able to tell apart of his story and as sad as it was for his family, it was probably these tragedies that drove him and his brothers to look for a better life here in Australia. During August, Family History Month, take advantage of specials being offered by genealogy websites and start to trace your family, you never know what you might find that has made you who you are today.
References
General Register Office, Downes, Daniel Registration of Birth, 1854, GRO.UK (Possession on Author)
1871 England Census, Civil Parish, Henbury, County, Cheshire, Class RG10; Piece 3678; Folio 98; Page 4; GSU roll: 841869.
1874 Morris & Co’s Directory & Gazetteer of Cheshire, (2013), UK, City and County Directories, 1766-1946, Ancestry.com.
General Register Office, Presturby Marriages, Downes, Daniel and Eliza Foukes, 1877, GRO.UK (Possession on Author)
General Register Office, Downes, Eliza Registration of Death, 1887, GRO.UK (Possession on Author)
1901 England Census, Civil Parish, Austrey, County, Staffordshire, Class RG13; Piece 2650; Folio 100; Page 12.
General Register Office, Downes, Daniel Registration of Death, 1901, GRO.UK (Possession on Author)
The Herald, (1902), Workmen’s Compensation Act Case, Saturday, June 7, 1902, page 5.
General Register Office, Chapman, Eliza Registration of Death, 1904, GRO.UK (Possession on Author)
Every family has that person who has everything and all they traditionally get are jocks and socks, well maybe not, maybe just chocolate peanuts! I digress, if you have one of these people in your family or you have a parent, sibling, grandparent or other who is interested to learn who their ancestors are and where they may have come from…..then Ancestor Detective’s, “Names to a Page” is the perfect gift to start your family members journey through their family history……..
However, if you want more, keep a look out for our post about our “Generations to a Page” Special……and if you purchase either our “Names to a Page” or “Generations to a Page” product, your family member will receive a 25% discount on one of our other genealogy products…..
To discuss what gift is perfect for your family member, get in touch by messaging through this website or emailing deb.tiziani@gmail.com to arrange that perfect Christmas gift for that much loved family or friend this year……
Because who only wants jocks or socks or chocolate peanuts this Christmas!
As millions of people around the world get their DNA tested for a range of reasons, the Ancestry.com database is increasing expeditiously. With a rapidly growing database, Ancestry.com is able to add more regions around the world based on the origins of those who have been tested. Further, with a growing database new DNA ethnicity updates roll out and more recently, yesterday (14 April 2022), they rolled out their new function of ethnicity inheritance. Ethnicity inheritance basically takes your results and halves them between your parents, two halves making a whole (you!), even if your parents have not had their DNA tested.
First, a bit about my journey through my DNA since I received my DNA test results on 20 July 2020. At the time to say I may have panicked upon reading my ethnicity estimates is an understatement (you can read my initial post here). At the time, and still today, I do not profess to understand DNA in great detail. So when I saw my first estimates my brain immediately went to “I am not Italian”! Despite my Dad being 100% Italian, Northern Italian to be exact, in September 2020 I had ZERO Northern Italian in my DNA results!!
My DNA Ethnicity Estimate 20 July 2020
Instead of Northern Italian my results showed I was 26% French and 24% Germanic European! The second thought to enter my brain was “my dad is not my dad!” After freaking out and envisaging a French German European post man being my Dad I soon learnt that the trend of getting your DNA tested had not yet reached Northern Italy or those of that origin, as opposed to other parts of the world.
What this means is, that your estimates are collaborated using the closest regions of those who have been tested and in my case, these DNA matches could go back to over 500 – 5,000 years old, numerous generations, before I could determine which ancestors linked between me and my DNA matches. This is why my ethnicity showed a breakdown of French and Germanic European despite knowing that all my Dad’s ancestors were born in the Northern Italian town of San Donato di Lemon. Of course movement of ancestors many hundreds of years ago meant that relatives were not just from this small town but were likely from other regions surrounding and within Northern Italy.
My DNA Ethnicity Estimate 12 September 2020
Since receiving my first ethnicity estimates I have received further updates. The second update was on 12 September 2020 when obviously more people around the world had completed DNA tests. As such, more data allowed Ancestry.com to update ethnicity estimates for regions where my ancestors came from. This was the first time I saw the emergence of my Northern Italian ethnicity emerge. While estimates only showed 5% Northern Italian in my results, it was a start and I was definitely Italian! Additionally with this update my percentage of French and Germanic European had decreased.
By July 2021, I had received my third ethnicity update from Ancestry.com and I found that I now had 20% Northern Italy. The original 26% then 21% France estimate had now disappeared all together and Germanic Europe had reduced from 24% to now 15%. Go the Northern Italians testing around the world!!!
My DNA Ethnicity Estimate July 2021
So that is the background to my journey through my DNA to date, well as of yesterday when I got my fourth ethnicity update from Ancestry.com and like many around the world, could now see a further breakdown of my data, showing two halves (from each of my parents) to make a whole, ME!
This new evolution in how DNA data can be broken down by Ancestry.com is because so many millions of people around the world have had their DNA tested, allowing them to be more precise in breaking down your ethnicity and through your DNA matches group your DNA by the parent they came from. Without the need to convince your parents to spit in a vial!!
This new feature is called Ethnicity Inheritance, you can read more about this new feature herewhere Ancestry.com explain…..or you might want to visit one of my favorite genealogy bloggers, Michelle Patient (also known as the Patient Genie), who explains further here.
A map of my DNA Origins per Region – 14 April 2022
And the Good News!
So what did these blobs of color on a map tell me about how my ethnicity estimates have changed! Well on their own they are just that blobs of color on a map but when you go to the DNA ethnicity estimates you can see greater detail in the percentages of origins which you come from. First thing for me is, my Northern Italian ethnicity is zooming to the front in the race to show where in the world I had the strongest origins…..from originally having no Northern Italian and then to July 2021 when I had 20% Northern Italy, I now had a whopping 38% Northern Italian in my DNA! With this massive change, my Germanic European estimate had dropped to just 5% and while disappearing in the earlier estimate update, France was back at just 8%. I most definitely am Northern Italian and not the daughter of some French German European post man!
My DNA Ethnicity Estimate 14 April 2022
And now to Ethnicity Inheritance……
For those of us nerdy genealogists from around the world, our avid research into our family history would tell us where our ancestors were born and the origins of the ancestors that came before them. However, for those who do not know their biological parentage, the ethnicity inheritance feature now on Ancestry.com can start to tell more of the story of their origins and with greater precision tell you where your parents and their ancestors were born and the regions around the world that makes up their DNA and therefore your own! What an amazing evolution for so many people trying to find out who and where their biological parents originated!!
Having spent many hours researching my family history I knew where my family were from, mostly Italy, England, Scotland. So there weren’t any major surprises in my ethnicity inheritance breakdown of the origins for each of my parents.
My Ethnicity Inheritance Overview 14 April 2022
From my own knowledge and past ethnicity estimates I knew from this graph of my parents ethnicity that Parent 1 was my Mum and Parent 2 was my Dad. All that yellow is the emergence of my Northern Italian origins, now at 38%!
However, what I could now see, which was a little bit surprising was that somewhere along the way someone from Wales had given my Dad 3% ethnicity, which initially I assumed was from my Mum’s side of the family. The other surprise was that I had always assumed that the percentage of Germanic European, originally 24%, had come from my Dad’s origins, however, what this new feature shows is that in fact there was Germanic Europe ethnicity now linked at 5% to my Mum.
My Ethnicity Inheritance Detailed Comparison 14 April 2022
So that’s where I am up to in my journey through my DNA! What I would now love is for another family member, a generation older than me, to spit in a vial and give me more information on our family’s DNA! With extra DNA from a generation older than me I may be able to find links to finding out who my Nana Jean’s grandfather was, as her Dad’s birth registration shows he was illegitimate, his father unnamed, but that is all another story!
For now, that’s all from me…..hope you all enjoy learning about your ethnicity inheritance!
Like most people starting out building their family tree, my initial reaction to seeing other people’s trees with my ancestors attached was to go on a clicking frenzy and add them all. As a novice you just take what you see that other people have done and assume it to be correct and add away! Yeah no, not a good idea!!!!
This week, after reading Nathan Dylan Goodwin‘s newsletter that featured some work that he was doing on his Goodwin ancestors, I had a light bulb moment…..”I have Goodwin’s in my family tree”! Onto Ancestry.com I went and into my DNA matches, and there low and behold Nathan and his brother come up as DNA matches too me! *insert squealing with excitement here*
I sent a message off to Nathan, not really expecting to hear back, being the busy author (by the way check out his genealogy books here, they won’t disappoint!) and all things genealogy man that he is, but the next day a message appears in my inbox! Just a little bit excited to read that he confirmed we were matches and while it is only 5 – 8th cousins, it is still a match!
My first famous DNA match!!! *insert don’t want to work, need to do genealogy*
Nathan told me that he was at a brick wall on his Goodwin line and couldn’t find the baptism record of his Thomas Goodwin who married in 1800 and so he was stuck. At the time I knew that I had gone back a few generations in my Goodwin’s but it was some time back that I had done this part of my tree and I hadn’t gone into a lot of detail nor had it been one of my focuses.
Today, I started to review my Mary Goodwin and her ancestors, with a plan at the time to find out more about her father and his potential siblings and ancestors. After reviewing and writing up what I had so far, I found that my initial research was wrong and I had gone down a rabbit warren, adding people from other trees without looking into it, this was years ago when I didn’t really have a clue about what I was doing!
What I found was Mary’s life married to my 3rd great grandfather, Abraham Downes, but nothing prior to their marriage in 1848. It appeared that I had recorded an approximate year and place of birth from one of the census records (not that there is anything wrong with that) and it seems I got click happy adding people, including a wife and their children from other family trees that came up in my hints!
Today, I went back to what records I did have of Mary and the only clue to her parents was on her registration of marriage to Abraham that recorded her father as Abel Goodwin, a collier. That was all I had! I hit the search engine in Ancestry.com hoping to find a baptism record for about 1822, which was the consistent date based on all the census records for Mary. No baptism record to be found! Not anywhere, that I could see so far!
So now, like Nathan, I have a brick wall in my Goodwin line……
All is not lost, today while walking my frustration out at coming across this, I thought to myself that I have been in a genealogy rut since new year and I really didn’t know where to focus my research…..knowing that there are probably other errors in my family tree because of my initial click and add excitement, before I knew better, this is the opportunity to review, update and validate all my ancestors! This will be my main focus this year, plus some blog posts……
I have only ever used Ancestry.com as the location of my main family trees and I think with this new goal, it is probably the opportunity to look at some offline software with the ability to link into sites like Ancestry.
Back to my Goodwin line, I will keep looking for Mary’s baptism and hopefully at some point, Nathan and I will uncover who our common ancestor is!
Nen Ny, one of our followers, asked Ancestor Detective a question during the week …
Where is William George Clarke’s birth certificate?
This is what Nen could tell me……
Nen outlined that despite her searches she has been unable to locate her husband’s great grandfather’s birth certificate. She explained that despite being able to trace the great grandmother’s life Caroline May Penney and family for many generations, the same was not the case for William George Clarke. It is believed the William was born in about 1885 in Melbourne, however other records suggested he could have been born in 1883 or as early as 1881. William had married Caroline May Penney and on their marriage registration William has recorded his mother as unknown. Further, several records have shown variations to the spelling of William’s surname Clarke.
Here is what Ancestor Detective found…..
I have looked into William George Clarke and rather than finding records through Ancestry.com or another subscription sites I am going to show findings from public records.
I was able to locate the marriage registration of William George Clarke and Florence Caroline May Penny on 8 March 1911 at St. Paul’s Church in Milton, N.S.W on Births, Deaths, Marriages N.S.W (Ref 2131/1911). On this record it records William’s place of birth Victoria, place unknown and his father as William Clarke, a coach driver.
Searching the Find My Grave website I located the grave of William George Clarke and wife Florence Caroline in East Lismore, N.S.W. The grave shows William’s death as 11 August 1953, aged 70 years. The record of death (NSW BDM Ref 21838/1953) also confirms William’s father as William Clarke. If you haven’t already purchased William’s death registration, I suggest you do so, as this could reveal some other clues as to where William was born and it will also allow you to confirm his father’s name and occupation, if recorded, it may also have other details about his mother.
From these records we know that William died aged 70 years in 1953 indicating that his birth is likely 1883, however often people didn’t know their date of birth, so using a date range in your record searches is recommended. In regards to the spelling of Clarke, it is common for names during that time to be misspelt as people spelt phonetically, as a word sounded. I would suggest searching using a range of options, so Clarke with and without the letter ‘e’ or using a wildcard (*) at the end of his surname. You may also wish to try searching without William’s middle name George.
Searching the Victorian Births Deaths Marriages site I was able to locate three birth records that you may wish to purchase. One is for a William George Clarke born 1885 to a William John Clarke and Ellen Smith, another is for a William Clarke born 1884 to William Clarke and Mary Sweeney and a third record is for a William Clarke born in 1882 to William Clarke and Annie Ma Bertrand. When reviewing these records look for the father’s occupation as this may help to verify what you already know about William’s father.
I would also suggest before purchasing these records searching, if you haven’t already done so, any siblings of William and if there are clues in their records that can help you to determine which of the above birth registrations is your William. I have researched any William’s with a father recorded as William, but you may wish to look into the other birth records where the father’s name is unknown. While it is likely that the first record may be the correct registration of birth for William, I would also suggest expanding your search to other states in Australia, particularly N.S.W.
I hope this assists you in your search and you can progress your husband’s family tree.
Do you have a brick wall or your having trouble finding something on your ancestor, you can post a question for Ancestor Detective to answer for you.
Ancestor Detective 