Sunday, October 31, 2010

The journey to discovery


In 1993 Cliff and Joanne enrolled in a local community college to learn about Genealogy. Once a week they went along to learn the ways in which to trace our family history. Everything was going along well until in June the Trams at Parramatta Park burnt down. The journey of finding our heritage came to a halt.

Some 15 years on, while Jo was reading the Daily Telegraph newspaper she saw someone asking the where about of “Hoskinson’s Creek”. It was Robyn Currell of Tamworth. Jo was soon in contact with her via email, suggesting that Joanne may have some information from when Cliff and she were researching.

Joanne took a few days to respond as she didn’t have much information at all. She certainly didn’t know the location of Hoskinson’s creek. Joanne did realize though that she didn’t know much at all. Cliff and Joanne really didn’t even skim the surface when it came to discovering the past. So before Joanne responded to Robyn she spent some time on the Internet hoping she may discover a little more about her past.

The Internet proved to be very valuable for her as she endeavored to ascertain where she came from. With more knowledge under her belt she felt confident enough to contact Robyn. Joanne was soon to find out that Robyn was at this stage very new to tracing the family tree and was mainly concerned about Albert Edward Currell, Cliff’s oldest half brother. Robyn did pass on what information she had and some proved most useful.

While surfing the net Joanne located Ron Currell in England whom is a descendant of Luke and Sarah Currell. The data Ron forwarded over to Joanne was priceless. And in turn Joanne has been able to fill some of the gaps in his facts.

With knowing there are relations out there gave Joanne the drive and determination to follow through and find her extended family even if only on paper as for all her life the only Currell’s she has know have been her own immediate family.

There have been countless emails, phone calls and even road trips to ensure memories are not lost. With Cliff gone and not having him here to ask questions it is quite hard to realize what sort of early life he had. To piece together what information we can now for the future generations is imperative.

One thing this research has done for Cliffs children is bring them closer together again, as for a few years there they had drifted apart. For Joanne one memorable thing was while sitting at Linda’s dinning table with her and Beth. Watching the way in which Linda relived her memories with us, the love and warmth that flowed from her. While reminiscing about Steven Beth couldn’t bear the heartache she was feeling and it all became to much for her, Linda consoled her in such a compassionate way, that, that memory will be long lasting for Joanne as she was thankful to have been there to witness it, The love of sisters.



Reminiscing over Lamb cutlets

Joanne taking notes of Linda & Beth's memories


Next instalment Road trip Number 1...

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Yippeeee

Just collected all our travel documents... we are good to go....

:)

There is so much information behind why we are going.

133 sleeps left

Prior to leaving for the UK this blog will be more of a family history site. It will be filling you in on the reason behind the journey.

Yes we may be flying cattle class for 23hours straight and be hit by jet lag at the other end...but as you read the posts to come it is much more civilised then our ancestors who took months on boats to travel here.

Everyone has said to us..."oh you can't just go for 2 weeks!"  Oh but we are.. it is better then nothing and the reason for the trip is to meet family and see for ourselves the land from which our family came. To see any sights of England will be a bonus..

We have added another person to our list of people to meet for a cuppa, Brian Collett. Brian has a website http://www.collettfamilyhistory.net/ , we are connected to the Collett family through the Currell & Turner families. More info on this will be posted soon.

Mary & Cliff



Monday, October 25, 2010

Maud Currell nee Turner.

Maud and Edward Currell
Maud Turner was an English lady who migrated to Australia in 1913 on the ship MILTIADES bound for Melbourne/Brisbane. Maud is listed as “Domestic” under the heading occupation.

Women, especially domestic servants who were much coveted owing to the high demand for them in Australia, were often sponsored by governments or voluntary organisations both in Australia and Great Britain. Single women were encouraged to immigrate in order to satisfy perceived needs in relation to Australia’s future population, both in terms of its quantity and quality. Domestic servants would release middle-class women for their primary role in society as bearers and nurturers of children; they would help overcome the isolation of wives of rural settlers and, not least, they would become future wives and mothers themselves. Their character, youth and experience were therefore important criteria in selection.

The advertising associated with assistance schemes to bring out British farmers, young rural labourers and domestic servants (the ‘preferred’ immigrants) inevitably encouraged others. State departments and ‘intelligence bureaux’ were set up in the capital cities to receive and advise new settlers. Assisted immigrants made up about half the total arrivals in the pre-war years, some selected by state governments and non-government organisations, some nominated by relatives and friends already in Australia.

Maud’s father Alfred Charles turner was a polisher for Holland & Holland who was very much the luxury end of the horse drawn carriage market and may well have worked on some carriages of Queen Victoria. His father John is one of many in the Hertfordshire area and it is difficult to work out who is who. Her mother was Elizabeth Allen, this side of the family has been traced right back to the middle ages to the Collett and Bond families of Cambridgeshire.

The Christmas present ever for Joanne came on the 18th December 2009 when the verifying email arrived from Peter Mason in Sheffield England.

“Dear Joanne,
Thank you for your message. All I know about Maud is that she went to Australia. Up to now, I thought my grandmother Edith was the only daughter of Alfred to have a family. She had two sons: my father Frederick and Ralph who is still alive in his nineties in the Croydon area.
I am now retired in Sheffield, living with my wife Lorna, after working as a BBC engineer. I look forward to hearing more from you about your family.
Best wishes, Peter Mason.”

Half way through reading this Joanne had tears rolling down her face and was speechless. So from that day she has been in constant contact with Peter & Lorna and will soon be meeting them in person. To have someone else interested in Maud is lovely.

How Maud comes to arrive in Barraba is still a mystery today. She was working at the local Barraba Base hospital when she meets Edward Currell. On the 8th March 2010 Linda & Mark Floyd with Ben & Joanne Power traveled to Barraba to see if they could find out any more information on Maud. In one answer NO, she is proving hard to find out about. Tom Johnson mentioned that he thought she was a cook at the hospital, we were under the assumption she was a nurse as on her wedding certificate it states Nurse as occupation. The locals from that era believe she met Edward while he was a patient in the hospital. Edward too was on the board of directors so nothing here can be confirmed to how they met.

Maud & Edward celebrated their marriage on the 23rd May 1927 at St Lawrence’s Church of England church in Barraba. “Herbertvale” Barraba was the family home of Edward and Maud. Mary Maud was their first born on 27 June 1928 and baptized a month later on the 26 July 1928.  Clifford was born on the 15th July 1931 at the family homestead with the assistance of Dr. Rhipps and nurse Edith Woods. Cliff too was baptized at St Lawrence's parish in Barraba being on the 4th August 1931 the ceremony was performed by HCR Lancaster. Edward was 73 years of age when Cliff was born.

While caring for 2 young children, Maud also was caring for Edward as he was suffering from dementia. He treated Maud quite roughly and it really was a hard period for her. Edward would go walk about at night so to help Maud with this added pressure relatives would come stay the night.
These times would have been quite difficult for the family of wide ages as 1929 saw the start of the great depression in Australia; it was a time of extreme hardship for all Australian.

Maud was Edward's second wife; his first wife being Mary Esther Mc Neill. Mary had passed away a couple of years earlier on 23rd August 1923 of Pneumonia. Mary & Edward had 5 children together Albert Edward, Herbert Fredrick (Bert), James, Maud Ester and Robert William Hamilton.

Cliff unfortunately didn’t experience many years with his family as Edward passed away on 2nd May 1936 and is laid to rest next to Mary Esther in the Barraba General Cemetery. After Edwards passing his estate had a claim made against it from one of his adult sons, Robert (Bob). Robert lived on Herbert Vale with his family and helped run the property as a share farmer. He brought his house over from his own property for convenience. Maud decided with all the correspondence and demands that it would be best to sell Herbert Vale. With this the creditors and Robert were paid. Some money was left for Mary & Cliff. Mary and Cliff didn’t receive many processions from their father. Cliff was to be left Edwards chime clock and justice of the peace badge but he never did see them.

With all the emotional turmoil of losing her husband and then her home, Maud was soon to loose her children as she just couldn’t cope. Cliff had scratchy memories of spending a short period of time with Maud in a Manilla Hotel. (No mention of Mary).

Maud was to suffer a nervous breakdown and was admitted into a mental hospital in Newcastle, we are not sure of exact dates and the records are locked for 110 years. This is where she lived out her life till her death on 27th January 1962. The cause of death stated on death certificate was Cerebral Thrombosis duration 6 months, Arteriosclerosis, Years, and senility. Maud is in an unmarked grave in the Church of England Cemetery at Stockton
NSW. Mary and a friend had erected a timber cross in her memory all those years ago but over time this has since perished due to being exposed to the natural elements.

The grave number details are Anglican (formerly Church of England) Section No. 8 Grave 18, the reason why Newcastle Council had problems locating the grave when I first started the search for it is that somewhere along the line they have transcribed their old records incorrectly and have Maud Currell’s name as Burrell. It was with the help of Andrew France of France Family Funerals at Nelson Bay that we have discovered Maud’s were bouts. On her death certificate it lists Jonah Bevan and Son as the undertaker. So with this information and the help of the yellow pages we were to find this establishment still in operation in the larger Newcastle area.

So, our grandmother lay with no reminder of her existence and no thanks for the life she gave to us. The hunt has begun to locate her and give her life some recognition as with out her we would not exist.

One is to wonder what life was like for her, when she left London all those years ago she would have had dreams and hopes for a greater life then the one she was leaving behind. It seems she only managed a few shorts years of happiness. All anyone asks for in their life is respect and to feel some what appreciated, it seems Maud’s life was insignificant to many people.
The only photo of Maud that we have.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Itinerary

Thursday 10th March 2011 Fly to London, collect hire car (very thankful they drive on the same side as us) and spend 7 nights at Godington in self contained cottage.
While here will spend time exploring what England has on offer.
·         Buckinghamshire (this is the family history region)
·         London
·         Cornwall/Devon
·         The Cotswolds
·         The Slaughters
·         Bath
Godington itself is significant in our past, so being able to stay so close to our history is amazing. While here we will meet Ron & Shirley. Ron has done significant family history research and is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the Currell family. He will show us all the sights of Buckinghamshire of where our ancestors once lived.
Friday 18th March Depart Godington on route to Calver for 3 nights.
We spend this day driving through Wales, with the chance of visiting Llangollen, Snowdonia National Park, Snowdon Mountain railway, Hafod Eryri, and Chester just to name a few.
Calver is situated in the Hope Valley of the Peak District and it is here that we will meet our second cousin Peter and spend time with him and his family. Peter is through our Grandmother Maud’s family. We know very little about Maud and have no idea what brought her out to Australia in 1913, but one thing is for sure her dreams were not fulfilled.
Monday 21st March depart Calver and bid farewell to Peter & Lorna as we head north up into Scotland.  We will spend 2 nights in a semi-detached fishermen’s cottage which lies in the pretty village of St Abbs with its picturesque harbour.
On our way north we will visit York, North Moors National Park, Captain Cook Memorial Mueseum in Whitby, Newcastle Upon Tyne just to mention a few.
Tuesday we will explore Scotland, visiting Perthshire, Pitlochry, Glenshee & Loch Rannoch. We do hope that Beth will have the chance to see snow for the first time, so weather gods please be on our side that day.
Wednesday 23rd March we leave the UK to fly to Paris.
Well, what can I say about what we will get up to here, who cares we will be in PARIS J
·         Champs-Elysee
·         Eiffel Tower
·         Arc de Triomphe
·         Notre Dame
·         cruise down the Seine River
·         Laduree
·         shopping
The list could go on forever but one thing is for sure, I will eat myself silly here, Personally I just want to absorb the Paris atmosphere walk where Carrie did.... etc...
So on Friday 25th March our trip will come to an end L as we leave Paris to head home to Sydney..

Thank you Mum for giving us girls the opportunity to travel to the UK, we are very grateful.
 

Thursday, October 21, 2010

It is really happening...

So in 139 sleep we are heading off to London.. to meet family that we have been communicating with via email. Peter & Ron you may be sorry once you meet us.

I will over the next few weeks put up the history involved with the Currell family, and why this trip is so important to us.

The itinerary I put together is just a guide, but i too will put up a shorten version of that too.

So I do hope you follow our journey, it will be lovely to have a mum and her 3 daughters together for such a once in a life time experience.


I know for a fact their will be lots of laughs and tears throughout the trip, but most of all their will be memories made that no one can take away from us.