Information on the Topic
Week 20's theme is "Travel." Even though we aren't do much traveling these days, we can still use it as inspiration to write about our ancestors. Which ancestors travelled a long distance in his or her lifetime? How about an ancestor involved in a travel-related industry, such as railroads or ships? How about an ancestor you researched when you did some genealogy-focused travel?
Pandemic and us
As the information on the topic says, we're not doing much travelling at all at the moment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, as I'm writing this I'm sitting in our home (in Melbourne Victoria Australia) where we have very strict rules that have been in place for 4 weeks with another 2 to go (they are to be modified on Sept 14, 2020) as we are in our second wave of this virus. We are supposed to only go out for 1 hour of exercise per day, to pick up shopping we've picked and paid for online and the people at the stores put it in the boot (or trunk) of our cars, to work if you have a permit because your job meets certain guidelines, or for health concerns like getting tested for COVID or going to the hospital or getting medications. You can go food shopping but its only 1 person and supermarkets have been one of the major spreaders here of the virus and because of this, we either get the stuff sent to the house or we collect it in the parking lot. We haven't gone into a shopping area in months now. We even do this with all of our food. It's the only way we can be to be certain we don't get the damned thing.
Inline with the above, we cannot leave the country as they had put a ban of all people coming in and out unless you are a permanent resident or citizen and then when you do come into the country you must quarantine in a hotel room for 14 days and in some cases you must pay for it all which is well over $2000 AUD for one person. Back in June or July 2020, our state of Victoria stopped accepting passengers returning because we started going into our second wave due to the people coming back with the damned virus and this is why we are in lockdown right now.
Travelling for research
Be as all the above, we did get out in 2019 and do some researching even among my brother dying and our dog having to be put down as well. For the most part, 2019 was the year of me swimming through fog rather than living.
As I've said, my brother passed away in January 2019, which had us making a mad dash back to New York from Australia. My god, I apologize if anyone ever sees the incoming picture they took of me. I look like the woman from There's Something About Mary with her hair sticking straight up.
Anyhow, we did go back and we saw my father and my youngest sister out of the 3 I have and my sister in law and 2 of my nephews. Others couldn't or wouldn't make it.
However, I did get some interesting information out of my father when he was talking. He mentioned my grandparents, my maternal uncle's and my grandmother and great grandmother. He even talked about my great Aunt Honey. I finally found out how my father and mother met and how they had broken up and then he came back after basic training and my parents got together again and this time they married, moved around, had us, and then divorced. Oh and he even said my uncle (mother's brother) even stayed with them after they got married which shocked me.
I met up with my cousins I met online and my uncle (mother's youngest brother). We got together and talked and I asked some more questions. My cousins, while being interested in family history, are shocked about the amount of information they learned by one sitting.
Myself with my Uncle and cousins in New York. Credit: B Fitzgerald
I was given some pictures of other family members including my mother, grandmother, and other uncle and one other cousin. The one I smiled at was the one of my oldest sisters as kids I had never seen before.
Then as the weather got better, we also travelled around and looked for some of the headstones I was able to find for my grandfather and his sister (my great aunt) Florence, my great grandmother, Bernice, my great aunt Honey (although we're still not sure she's buried there even though in 2020 I found her grandson and he says she is), my great grandparents Gauquie and more great aunts and uncles and a few others. Of course there were some surprises when I found my grandmother's headstone right behind her parents' and that my great grandfather was buried next to my great grandmother and in front of my grandmother. We had a great time finding my Gauquie relatives buried at St Mary's in Washingtonville too.
The sign for St. Mary's. Credit: Find a Grave
I met my paternal grandmother's partners grandson, who gave me my grandmother's doilies back. Apparently my grandmother made them for his great aunt in the 1940s-1950s and she used them for a bit and then put them away. She wanted them to come back to my family, so she gave them to me via her nephew.
A picture of my grandmother's doilies given back to me. Credit: J Fitzgerald
This was on top of my normal visits to my paternal grandmother and her partner, Grandpa Charlie, and my uncle. We stop by each time we go over to visit.
My grandmother's headstone
Her partner, Grandpa Charlie's headstone
My uncle's plaque with his ashes
We visited the statue in Newburgh where my great uncle, James J Gauquie, has his name inscribed on the memorial because he was KIA in an airplane in WW2.
We visited Washington's Headquarters twice but also visited the land where my paternal grandmother, grandfather, father and uncle all lived before the tore it down because of Urban Renewal of the area that failed.
Overall it wasn't a bad visit and, as you can see, we got a boat load of research done.
Husband's side Research
As I mentioned above, we had some some research on my husband's side as well in 2019. This was about July as my husband wanted to get away and we decided to meet my father in law on the other side of the state to have a weekend away. This developed into taking a run to Kaniva, where my father in law grew up.
Along the way, we got to listen to some of the memories of my father in law growing up. From his father getting land in the Discharged Soldiers Scheme in the 1940-1960s. How Brett's Aunt Jackie grew up around the area as well. How his father used to run around on the farmland and always seemed to have to do something. The memories just went on and on.
We did visit my hubby's grandparents grave (they are buried together in one) for his grandfather's birthday. We sang Happy Birthday, lit a candle, left a gift from hubby's aunt for them.
The grave with the gift of a teddy bear from Noel's sister, Kathy/Sue, and a cupcake with the 100 number for birthday year.
A close up
This is Noel and Brett trying to light the candles and sparklers but it was too windy so gave up.
It is a very small cemetery compared to the ones I'm used to but it seemed comfortable at the same time because it was so small.
This is the section where Brett's grandparents are buried. Notice all the room around it. You even had to open/close the gates behind you it was that small!
Sometimes researching doesn't cost anything other than to drive around and look. Sometimes questions you didn't know you had are answered and you are given more than what you ever thought you would. And other times, it's just nice finding out someone really does exist more than just on paper.
