Family history across the seas

Alona from Lone Tester blog has set us this geneameme for National Family History Month. The ground rules are as follows:

What places do your ancestors come from?

Using the alphabet how many letters can you name ancestral places for? Some you will no doubt know well, some you may not … at least not yet (see my letter ‘I’ and ‘N’ examples below). I still have more research to do on those lines.

It doesn’t have to be where your ancestors were born, but it does have to be a place that they were associated with. For instance they lived or worked (or died?) in that place.

Here is my own list – luckily for me I’ve done some of this before with the A to Z challenge in 2012 and I’ve included some links below. It’s a lengthy post but not too “dense” (follow as few or as many of the links to earlier posts as you like).

A is for:

Australia where my ancestors arrived between the early 1850s and 1910.

Ardkinglas, Argyll, Scotland – my 2xgreat grandfather lived and worked on this estate

Argyll, Scotland – home of my McCorkindales/McCorquodales/Macquorquodales and my Morrison families.

Annandale, Sydney, Australia – my great grandfather Stephen Gillespie Melvin lived here and had a confectionery factory here after moving from Charters Towers.

B is for:

Ballykelly townland, Broadford, Co Clare, Ireland – home of my O’Brien-Reddan 3xgreat grandparents.

Binbian Downs (near Condamine, Qld) where my Gavin family worked and lived on their first employment contract in Australia.

Bothkennar, Stirlingshire, Scotland where my Sim family lived for around 200 years.

C is for:

Charters Towers, Queensland where my Melvin family set up their confectionery and pastry shop and refreshment rooms. In a strange coincidence there is also a link between Charters Towers and my husband’s work in Papua New Guinea.

Cairndow, Argyll, Scotland – my 2xgreat grandparents, James & Isabella McCorkindale are buried in the Church of Scotland church yard. Isabella Morrison McCorkindale has a lovely gravestone quite close to the door of the church.

Crows Nest, Queensland – Denis Gavin lived here towards the end of his life and is buried in the cemetery there.

Coleford, Gloucestershire, England – my Partridge family (incl John & Elizabeth, my 3xgreat grandparents and 2xgreat grandfather William) lived there.

Courtown, Wexford, Ireland – my Callaghan ancestors were fishermen here for generations.

D is for:

Dublin, Co Dublin, Ireland – Denis and Ellen Gavin, my 2xgreat grandparents married here and lived in the Liberties.

Dalby, Queensland – my great grandmother, Julia Celia Gavin, was born here when her parents lived in the town for some years. My grandfather was born at the 40 Mile railway camp outside Dalby.

Drimuirk, Argyll, Scotland – my 3x great grandparents, Duncan and Annie McCorkindale, lived in this hamlet in the mid-19^th century.

E is for:

England: my Kent, Partridge, Thompson, Gillespie/Gilhespy, Reid families lived here.

Edinburgh, Scotland – my Melvin family lived in the Edinburgh port of Leith for generations.

F is for:

Fifteen Mile, Queensland – I’ve written about this small settlement outside Murphy’s Creek many times – home of the Kunkel-O’Brien family.

Fromelles, France – my grandfather’s cousin, James Gavin, is buried at Fleurbaix cemetery.

Fortune and Florentia – just two of the ships on which my ancestors came to Australia.

G is for:

Goroka, Papua New Guinea – where our family lived for some years. This will be ancestral country in the future.

Gorey, Wexford, Ireland – my great grandparents, Peter Sherry (later McSherry) and Margaret Callaghan were married here and my grandfather was born here.

Glasgow, Scotland – like so many Scots, my McCorkindale family came to Glasgow and settled there. My great grandfather, Duncan, was a cabinet maker, and he and his sons were pipers.

H is for:

Hughenden, Queensland – my Peter and Mary McSherry great grandparents lived in Hughenden for some time.

Highfields, Queensland – my great grandfather and his siblings were early enrolees at the new Highfields school when his family lived there before moving to the Fifteen Mile.

I is for:

Ipswich, Queensland: my Kent, Partridge, Kunkel and O’Brien ancestors all lived in Ipswich like so many early Queensland settlers.

Ireland – whatever my DNA ethnicities tell me, my paper trail confirms I have a significant amount of Irish ancestry – Kildare, Wicklow, Wexford, Offaly, Clare and my Mystery Sherry.

J is for:

Jondaryan, Queensland – where my great grandfather George Michael Kunkel, and his future wife, Julia Gavin, both worked for a while.

Jimboomba, Queensland – George Michael and Julia Kunkel lived here as part of his railway work.

K is for:

Knockina townland, Wexford, Ireland – my 2xgreat ancestors James Sherry and Bridget Furlong lived here, possibly in a railway house. This townland is mentioned on their children’s baptisms.

Kelvin Grove, Brisbane, Queensland – my grandparents and parents lived here for many decades.

Kildare, Ireland – birthplace of Denis Gavin, reportedly in Ballymore Eustace.

Korea – my father’s cousin, Robert Kunkel, was MIA in Korea and later registered KIA.

L is for:

Laufach, Bavaria – home of a few generations of my Kunkel family.

Longreach, Queensland – Peter and Mary McSherry lived here while he worked on the railway. He also taught the Longreach Brass Band.

Loch Fyne (and Loch Awe), Argyll – my spirit belongs to Loch Fyne, home of my McCorkindale and Morrison ancestors.

M is for:              

Murphy’s Creek, Queensland – the hub town where my Kunkel ancestors worshipped and worked. The Fifteen Mile (see above) is an outlying area.

Monmouth, England/Wales – my John Partridge was born here, if we can believe his census enumerations.

Moreton Bay, Queensland – the end of the long journey for most of my ancestors who came to Queensland.

N is for:

North Shields, Northumberland – my Gillespie/Gilhespy family came from here and my 2xgreat grandmother Margaret Gillespie was born here.

Neuhütten, Bavaria, Germany – home of my Kunkel ancestors before the move to Laufach.

New York State, USA – my 2xgreat grandfather’s nieces and nephews emigrated here.

O is for:

Offaly, (Kings County), Ireland – my 3xgreat grandparents, Martin Furlong and Margaret Stanton lived here.

Oceans – my Melvin ancestors and my Callaghan ancestors were seamen for whom the oceans were their workplaces. Oceans also played an important part in the life of all my emigrant ancestors.

P is for:

Peel Island, Queensland – my great grandfather’s first wife, Janet Peterkin Melvin, died in quarantine here soon after arrival and was buried there.

Q is for:

Queensland, Australia of course! With 11 pre-Separation ancestors who arrived or were born here before 1859 I’m proud of my Queensland roots.

R is for:

Roma, Queensland – my great uncle Joseph Francis Kunkel is buried there.

Rotterdam, Netherlands – my 2xgreat grandfather, Laurence Melvin, was buried there when he died during a voyage.

Rockhampton, Queensland – a key place for my Sherry/McSherry/McSharry family who arrived in Rockhampton in 1883 and 1884 and where my great grandparents, Peter and Mary McSherry celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary. They are buried in the Rockhampton cemetery.

Hmmmm. Should I be looking for appropriate cemeteries which start with R or avoid them?

S is for:

Sandon, Hertfordshire, England – home of generations of my Kent family

Strachur, Argyll, Scotland – home of my Morrison family for generations

T is for:

Tullamore, Offaly, Ireland -home of my 3xgreat grandparents and their family, the Furlongs.

Townsville, Queensland – my grandparents and mother lived here.

Tiaro, Queensland – my great aunt’s family, the Connors, live(d) here.

Toowoomba, Queensland – so many burials of family members in this cemetery, especially my great-grandmother Julia Gavin Kunkel and her mother Ellen Gavin nee Murphy.

Tooloom goldfields, New South Wales – where I confirmed the story that my George Kunkel (2xgreat grandfather) worked on the goldfields, and made other connections to fellow emigrants.

U is for:

Urana, New South Wales -home of my 2xgreat grandmother’s sister, Bridget Widdup nee O’Brien, with whom she emigrated. Pivotal to taking my research back to Broadford, Ireland.

V is for:

Villers Brettoneux, France where my grandfather’s cousin, James Paterson is remembered on the Australian War Memorial.

W is for:

Wicklow, Ireland – birthplace of Eleanor Murphy, possibly (probably?) in Davidstown.

Wallumbilla, Queensland – home of three branches of my Kunkel family: the Lee, Paterson and Kunkel families.

Winton, Queensland – home of the Mellick family: Bridget Agnes Mellick was my great-grandfather’s sister.

Y is for:

Y, oh Y, can I not find the ancestral home of James Sherry – my ongoing brick wall.

Z is for: 

DorfproZelten, Bavaria, Germany – my 3xgreat grandmother’s family, the Happs had an inn in the village for generations and my George Mathias Kunkel was born there.

I got a bit carried away with Alona’s great geneameme but it was fun. I’ve chosen to extend it from direct ancestors to ancestral family generally e.g. siblings, children and I’ve realised that I could write many more blog posts about them.

If you’re descended from any of these families I’d love to hear from you.

What are your ancestral places? Wherever you are, why not participate in Alona’s geneameme.