Voices

Voice interpretation

I've just watched the free Legacy webinar Can You Hear Me Now? Voice Recognition Software for Genealogists  and have been playing lately with voice searches using OK Google and Siri.
In all cases the voice recognition software needs to be trained to recognise one's voice and accent. The software improves with repeated use as it is trained to hear my voice.

This set me to wondering what Trove would reveal about voices.  Here's a lovely piece found in The  Burra Record of 1943. It made me reflect on how my voice influences other people's interaction with me.

Voices

There are number of Tones Possible to the Human Voice!

There's the softy voice, the lofty voice.
The crifty, crafty, crofty voice; 

The truly voice, the thrilly voice. 

The friendly voice and the silly voice. 

There's the sleepy voice, the weepy voice, 

The steady voice and the creepy voice. 

The bell-like voice and the hell like voice. 

The cheerful 'Well! Well! Well!' voice, 

There's the gentle voice, the parental voice. 

The 'Why haven't you paid your rental' voice, the right voice, the 'quite' voice, 

The 'What I say is right' voice 

There's the lazy voice, the hazy voice. 

The shrill voice and the crazy voice, 

The rough voice, the gruff voice. 

The 'Look at me, I'm tough' voice.

There's the smug voice, the mug voice, 

The whiskers in the jug voice; 

The hissing voice, the kissing voice, 

The wishing and the spitting voice. 

The carping voice, the rasping voice. 

The lisping voice and the gasping voice. 

There's the glowing voice, your own voice. 

The changing, telephoning voice; 

The gloomy voice, the boomy voice. 

The 'Prepare to meet your doomy' voice. 

Then there is the first voice new birth voice). 

The dearest sound on earth voice.



1943 'Voices.', Burra Record (SA : 1878 - 1954), 5 January, p. 4, viewed 9 December, 2014, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article36148339



This post first appeared on https://librarycurrants.blogspot.com

Trove Tuesday recipes

1914 recipes

With Christmas cooking on my menu for this week I wondered what was cooking 100 years ago in the district where I grew up.
Here are some recipes from The Kapunda Herald of 4 December 1914. Cabbage boiled for three or four hours, not quite the aroma of Christmas cooking that I have in mind.

 

1914 'Useful Recipes.', Kapunda Herald (SA : 1878 - 1951), 4 December, p. 4, viewed 2 December, 2014, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article108279128

1916

This one  is rather more interesting for a Christmas treat but quite a lot of work involved over a hot fire in South Australia where in December temperatures can range well above 35 degrees C.

Interesting use of a thimbleful as a unit for measuring ingredients. I wonder how many of us would need to buy a thimble to make this recipe and would a modern day thimble be the same size as one from 1916?

The joys of Trove, often it ends up posing more questions for us to ponder.

Enjoy your Christmas cooking!

1916 'CHRISTMAS RECIPES.', Kapunda Herald (SA : 1878 - 1951), 22 December, p. 1, viewed 2 December, 2014, 

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article124987242

Trovember

Lucky to be alive

As my contribution towards celebrating 5 years of Trove I've been text correcting the OCR in the family notices section of The Kapunda Herald and Northern Intelligencer.- 1864 -1878.  Both maternal and paternal sides of my family resided in this area in South Australia during those years covered by the paper and I have found many notices relevant to my family history. As there were only a few hundred notices to edit thanks to some previous editors, this proved to be an achievable task.

Editing family notices really brings home to one, how lucky we are to be alive. Here's a family in 1875 who lost 3 children in 14 days.

DEATHS.

BARRETT.—On the 31st of March, at Mr. J. O'Dea's, Waterloo Plains, of convulsions, Mary Barrett, daughter of James and Maria Barrett, of Tothill's Creek, aged 3 years and 9 months.

BARRETT.—On the 6th of April, at Mr. J. O'Dea's, Waterloo Plains, of scarlatina, William. Michael Barrett, son of James and Maria Barrett, of Tothill's Creek, aged 10 months.

BARRETT—On the 14th of April, at Mr. J. O'Dea's, Waterloo Plains, of scarlatina, Georgina Barrett, daughter of James and Maria Barrett, of Tothill's Creek, aged 5 years.

Then in 1879 another sad tale as Charles Smith loses his wife and infant son on consecutive days.

SMITH.—On 3rd January, at Boucaut, of consumption, Charlotte, the beloved wife of Charles Thomas Smith, and third daughter of the late John Baker, formerly of Kapunda aged 25 years. Also, on the 4th January, of diarrhoea, Gilbert Thomas, infant son of Charles Thomas and Charlotte Smith, aged thirteen months, "Not lost, but gone before."

FLAVEL—On the 25th January, at Kapunda, of convulsions, Evan, infant son of W. and C. Flavel, of St. Kitts's Creek, aged five months.

Life was tough and many children lived short lives.



This older couple died on consecutive days having been in the colony since early its settlement.

BELL.—On the 21st of August, at the residence of her son, Hamley Bridge, of bronchitis, Anne, the beloved wife of Joseph Bell, sen., aged 69 years. Also, on the 22nd August, Joseph Bell, husband of the above, aged 70 years. Both colonists of 41 years.

We have so much to be thankful for, advances in medical care and facilities, rapid transport options and so many other comforts we take for granted as our daily lot.
Thanks Trove for providing these insights into our past.



 This post first appeared on https://librarycurrants.blogspot.com