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Buried in the Clonrush parish baptisms and marriages registry are minutes for a famine relief committee that bears witness to my paternal three-times great grandfather’s contribution to alleviate starvation during Ireland’s great famine, commonly referred to as An Gorta Mór. Would knowing what your ancestors did, influence you when history repeats?
“Talk to everyone” was my mother-in-law’s parting advice before our trip to Ireland. Her advice was more for the great leads and new historical information that comes from talking to people and less for the fact that I’d rather hide in the archives. When we set off for a day trip from Templemore to cross over into County Clare on the western side of the Lough Derg, we had a whole day ahead of us knocking on strangers’ doors.
I had been pondering the emigration question as part of my family history research for a while. Why did my great-great grandparents decide to emigrate to Australia in 1863? Was it hardship, love, famine, political unrest? I had more questions than answers, so I packed my theories into a bag and travelled to Ireland to seek out primary material to put these research questions to the test.
Earlier this year I went to the Royal Historical Society of Victoria for a joint event with the Professional Historians Association (Vic & Tas) to hear five emerging historians – doctoral students – talk about their “break through” moment. While I was walking to the train station, I wondered what “break through” moment I would have discussed? Read more
When was the last time you did a jigsaw puzzle? The family archive in my spare room is the ultimate games room to me. Boxes upon boxes of various pieces waiting to be put together to create a new understanding of my family's collective history.
What Will Be looks back at people, places and travel and uncovers stories hidden in diaries, letters, and photos. It pieces together obvious clues and obscure details; reveals the personalities of people we used to know and those we could not have known; and re-tells the stories that have been forgotten or hidden. Tell me your thoughts and put a piece or two in the puzzle while you're at it.