Carmel's Corner

Monday, 26 April 2021

Vickers and Voyages - AJCP

Vickers

If you had an ancestor who worked on Cockatoo Island, Sydney dockyards the Records of the Vickers PLC contain not only illustrated works like the one below but also details of some of the company's transactions and payments to agents and employees 1915 - 1965.

For those interested in military and aviation history much is to be gained from browsing the letters in this collection about the company's involvement in Australia.

https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1115899783/view
Cover of 73pp. illustrated brochure covering the wartime achievements of Cockatoo Island dockyard, with photos of the works and of ships built or repaired during that time

Voyages

The voyage to the Colonies was variously recorded by passengers, ships surgeons, captains of ships, pursers and clergy accompanying emigrants. Crew lists often accompanied these accounts along with ephemera such as menus, tickets and posters.

One of the best collections of accounts of voyages is found in the Records of the SS Great Britain. While much of this material is accessible at the Brunel Institute in Bristol, UK, we can now access diaries from 1852 - 1896 through the AJCP digitised microfilms.

Many of these diaries contain details of illness on board, food, deaths, ceremonies of crossing the line, weather, the sighting of other ships, concerts, along with details of ship's company and the livestock carried.

If your emigrant ancestor travelled on the SS Great Britain, these comprehensive records can provide background for your family story. There is also a series containing the Crew lists, August 1852 - August 1875, from voyage 9 to voyage 44. Perhaps your mariner predecessor manned the ship.

This ticket issued in 1862 details what appears to be two generations of the Tully family travelling together.

1862 ticket for the SS Great Britain
http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1414387132

Searching for records of voyages

Some suggested search terms

"voyage of (insert name of ship)"
"voyage to (insert destination, place or country)"
"diary of voyage"
"journal of voyage"
"account of voyage"
"emigrant voyage"

This voyage of HMS Herald from 1852 -1860 has provided Paintings, drawings, maps and photographs.

V - view some voyages across the vast oceans

Previous posts in this series

This post first appeared on https://carmelgalvin.info

Saturday, 24 April 2021

Upon reflection - AJCP

Family papers

In examining many collections of family papers throughout this series of posts I have been pleasantly surprised about the variety of materials within them. Some have family trees and many of the finding aids for the individual families provide potted biographical and historical information about that family. Land deeds, photographs, diaries and journals as well as letters to friends and family make up the rich resources.

Many filled the long days of their journey southwards to Australia or New Zealand by writing diaries. These often detailed embarkation and departure, reflections about all on board and descriptive passages of ports visited along the way and the final arrival.

It is well worth searching for those surnames on the far branches of your own family tree.

The Upton Family papers 1865 -1930

The Upton family papers which were filmed at the private residence of Mrs Francesca Upton. Shropshire, England are no exception. There is a shipboard diary and early letters back home. There is also an extensive letter collection dealing with family matters and the daily exploits of the children and their educational progress.

Images from this collection

1885 School report http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-944536760

http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-944537606
Photographs of Corporal Robert H.B. Upton

http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-743398936
Corporal Robert Henry Bramley Upton (1874-1900) died of illness at Johannesburg,
South Africa on 13 June 1900 whilst serving in the Second Boer War (1899-1902)
with the 3rd Contingent, No. 5 Company, New Zealand Mounted Rifles.

University collections

Many of these collections hold family papers. Here in the Glasgow University Archives and Business Record Centre there are journals, photographs, diaries of voyages, appointments to positions, business papers, conferences, newspaper cuttings and more.

T.G.B. Osborn includes photographs of his boys in a November 1916 Christmas/ New Year letter

https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2757318832/view

U - Unless one searches or browses these comprehensive collections one may never know the treasures within.

Previous posts in this series

This post first appeared on https://carmelgalvin.info

Friday, 23 April 2021

Tracks and Turning pages - AJCP

Tracking and citing

Keeping track of your found documents ensure that you and other researchers may follow the path to view the original. Each Finding Aid in the AJCP contains this paragraph of advice.

Preferred Citation
Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.

Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234)

Throughout this series I have added the direct link to all sources used within the AJCP. The Cite button on the left of every image has the direct link to that particular image.

Turning some pages in T

The Colonial Office records relating to Malay Straits Settlement are found listed in the M series under the letter T where they are listed as The National Archives (UK) Malay Straits Settlement. The collection contains a series of Government Gazettes.

Subseries CO 469. Selangor Government Gazettes, 1890 - 1895

If you had an ancestor working in the settlement in this period they may well be found in these government gazettes.

The General Index for each year provides an alphabetical list of appointments.

1895 http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2711059881

Here in 1892 the Government printer names and reports on the working habits of his staff.

http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2711012884
extract from Selangor Government Gazette 1892

Towle Family

Diaries and journals of Edward Towle includes account of trip to Australia in 1852 aboard the Great Britain S.S., accounts of life in the goldfields of Creswick and Ballarat and death of his brother Ben.