Waggallalah: Murder, Methodism, and marriage

Waggallalah, also referred to as Wagahrallah, refers to a rural property in the parish of Lerida, to the south-east of Gunning, New South Wales. When pioneer Methodist preacher, John Wheatley (snr) moved, with his family to the Gunning region around 1850, he launched a campaign of zealous religious conversions in the Goulburn/Gunning Circuit from his son's property...

The Steads at Gundaroo

The story of the Steads of Gundaroo has shaky origins, intriguing details and an unfortunate tragic ending. Before we can detail what we do know, we must first deal with what we do not. John Henry Stead, born circa 1804, is the focus of this story. It appears that he was born in London, however...

Stories from the Alchin/Wheatley Line

The next cluster of stories that will be appearing here are mainly concerned with members of my maternal grandfathers family line. The line is comprised the Alchin and Wheatley families and those that married into them, including; Pollard, Brown, Stead, O'Donnell and Shaw. Details on these two family groups, and the members who are most...

Maria Brown and the mystery portrait

Photographs of our Australian colonial ancestors are hard to come by. Painted and sketched portraits are even rarer. Fortunately, one of my ancestors (my maternal grandmothers great-grandmother) was not shy of camera or canvas. Stashed behind an old refrigerator, in my grandparent's garage, are two portraits that were among items passed down and stored after...

Friend Tree Added

The Friend Family Tree, which also includes members of the Apps, Brown and Crago families, has been published to the website. Click the link above or find it in the menu under ‘Family Trees’.

Convicts in the Whittington/Noakes line

During my family research project a number of convict ancestors were discovered. Five were discovered in all; four of which belong to this (my maternal grandmothers) line of my family ancestry. Three belong to the Whittington side and one to the Noakes side. The other convict belongs to the Alchin side (my maternal grandfathers), but...

Wheatley Tree Added

The Wheatley Family Tree, which includes members of the Pollard, Holgate and Brown families, has been published to the website. Click the link above or find it in the menu under 'Family Trees'.  

Dalton: bailed up

In November 1863, during the height of the Australian bushranger period, the Melbourne Age reported that "the hitherto quite village of Dalton, on Jerrawa Creek has become the theatre of as daring an act of bush ranging as the already famed Canowindra". Only a handful of accounts exist that detail the incident which involved three...

William Brown’s Bible – “the best book to read”

Personal objects can often be overlooked when conducting family research. It may be that they are seen as merely possessions, however objects can provide us with rich and invaluable information and stories. While consulting a well-crafted genealogy publication, concerning the Holgate family, I observed an interesting note. On the pages that were of interest to...

Taylor’s Village: Charleyong

To have a village named after yourself, or at least known locally in your families’ name, usually means you made significant contributions to the social and economic life of the area. That seems to be the case with my 4X-grandfather (on my maternal grandmother’s side) William Taylor and his family who settled at Charleyong, near...