Family history across the seas

Join me on my Cemetery Searching expedition for the 2023 A to Z Blog Challenge. I’ll be re-visiting some cemeteries and preparing for a wish list of others. Some family members will be mentioned but I also have an interest in German family graves as well as those of people born in Co Clare Ireland.

Dutton Park Cemetery, Brisbane, Queensland

I have always known this cemetery by the Dutton Park name but it’s official name is South Brisbane cemetery. As the name suggests, it was the cemetery used for people who had lived on the southside of the Brisbane River…Brisbane takes its north-south division seriously.

Way back in the day my parents and I would visit the cemetery to place flowers on my maternal grandmother’s grave. This was something of a journey involving multiple bus trips so my mother was committed. I don’t remember being enthusiastic about it but also not deterred by it. To my astonishment, when I went there decades later, I somehow managed to negotiate myself to the right sport with no map or directions.

Dalby Cemetery, Queensland

Dalby is a town in the Western Darling Downs and one where my Gavin ancestors lived and worked soon after they’d completed their immigration contract.

Their eldest daughter, Mary Gavin, born in Dublin, was only 2 years old on arrival. She married Michael Travers on 6 August 1870. (Qld BDM 1870/C/48). The couple had six children: Michael (b 16/4/1871), Mary (b 21/6/1872 d 21/9/1873), Jane (b 2/8/1874), James (b29/5/1876), Julia (b 10/8/1878), George (b 16/4/1871).  Only the sons seemed to survive.

Mary Travers nee Gavin died on 21 January 1882 and there was a monument erected for her in the Dalby cemetery. Her husband Michael committed suicide on 18 May 1884, leaving three children who were looked after their grandparents, Denis and Ellen Gavin. There are quite graphic news stories about Michael’s death on Trove: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article174678560. Apparently, Michael had been suffering from depression since his wife’s death.

Dunwich Cemetery, Moreton Bay, Queensland

Dunwich was the site of the Dunwich Benevolent Asylum which took in poor and infirm people who could no longer support themselves. You can read about it here.

Many years ago I was corresponding (yep, snail mail) with another researcher in California as we tried to untangle the Gavin families who lived on the Darling Downs in the late 19^th century. We eventually succeeded but it did mean collecting a lot of “unrelated” records.

Carmel’s ancestors, Stephen and Honora Gavin, had ended their days at Dunwich, and she had organised to have gravestones placed where they were buried. On one camping trip I was able to take photos of the graves so she could see them in situ.

That was way back in the very early days of my family history journey and I’d really like to re-visit Dunwich…not hard, just a case of getting organised.

Dungog Cemetery, New South Wales

Another place I’d like to revisit. It is the burial location for one of “my” Dorfprozelten emigrant families, the Hennig (Henny) family. You can read their story on my other blog here.

Cemetery Searching wish list

Revisiting all of the cemeteries I’ve mentioned here.