Australia

Ireland to Australia to California

An Irish ancestor in California may have spent time in Australia first. This migration began in January 1849 after gold was discovered in California. They came from New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria colonies. Aside from the miners, the gold rush opened up commerce by sea from Sydney to San Francisco, which was quicker than getting supplies from the eastern United States to San Francisco.

The Type of Australians Bound for California

From Tasmania, came many ex-convict Irish who had already served their terms or who had escaped. For escaped convicts, they would take small boats and when a larger ship was cleared to leave, they would then row out and board the leaving vessel. The Tasmanian penal colony in particular was brutal, which made any form of escape preferable.

Australians leaving for California upset the balance of power as people who could have stayed and helped build the colonies left. The lure of gold and commerce brought competition among the shipping firms to quickly gather passengers and cargo. Both common people and well established families headed off to California. It is estimated that between 1849 and 1851 alone some 6,000 left for San Francisco. From that number 900 were from the Hunter River area between Newcastle and Maitland, New South Wales, north of Sydney.

What the Australians Found in California

What these immigrants found upon arriving was much different than what they left behind. They learned about frontier justice and lynching; encountered Mormons for the first time; discovered Spanish speaking Mexicans and Chileans. They witnessed the plight of African Americans. They also met Americans arriving from the East. Some Australians had encountered American whalers before, but that was their exposure. On this frontier, they saw women auctioned off because they couldn’t pay their passage into San Francisco and indentured Chinese sold on the auction block as servants. They also drew parallels between the American Indians and the Aborigines back home.

When the Australian Gold Rush opened up in 1851, some Australians returned from California. However, many also chose to remain in California.

Evaluating the Australia to California Migration

When evaluating a migration such as this, it’s important to remember that Australia was a huge piece of real estate with a rather small population. The government kept records of both the convict population and free settlers. The chances of finding an Irish birth place, including the townland, preserved in an Australian records is far better than in a California record.

If you would like help tracing the migration patterns of your ancestors Contact Us.

Australian Convict Databases

16 Sep By Dwight Leave a Comment

When considering the Australian branch of the family; the first question to ask is free settler or transported convict. This blog will concern the various online databases to document convicts.

Convict transportation is important in Irish research is because births places are usually documented. Thus, if you cannot find Irish origins using records where your ancestor immigrated; then look for the relative who was transported.

The main database is “Ireland-Australia Transportation Index (1791-1853)” on the National Archives of Ireland: www.nationalarchives.ie/topics/transportation/search01.html However, be aware many of the transportation records pre-1836 have not survived.

From the Australian side, are sources from which to document the convict after arrival. It has been estimated 40,000 Irish convicts were transported between 1791 and 1853.

The Tasmanian Archives has a “Names Index” comprising several databases: www.linc.tas.gov.au/tasmaniasheritage/search/name-indexes/nameindexes The “Index to Tasmanian Convicts” is a comprehensive index of all convicts transported to Tasmania and those convicted in the colony from 1804-1853 when transportation ceased.

The State Archives collection of New South Wales has a wealth of varied databases on their website under “Indexes Online”: www.records.nsw.gov.au/state-archives/indexes-online/indexes-online This includes “Convict Index” which contains about 120,000 entries combining eight indexes covering 1810-1879. Other databases include “Sentenced Beyond the Seas” which covers Australia’s early convict records (1788-1801) and includes 12,000 names. “Applications to Marry, 1821-51” provides details for parties asking permission to marry. “Convict Exiles, 1849-50” which covers when transportation ceased to NSW in 1842, exiles who had served part of their time in a British penitentiary were granted pardon or ticket of leave on arrival in the Colony from 1846-50. “Convict Pardons, 1791-1873” documents convicts who received life sentences although usually pardoned.

The Internet holds a wealth of information on convicts. Again, it may be among this segment of the population that a birth place in Ireland is preserved.

Tasmania’s Heritage: Name Index

19 Nov By Dwight Leave a Comment

The Tasmanian Archive and Heritage Office is indexing various record collections and making them available in searchable databases in the “Name Index”:

Some of the record collections have digitized images to go with the index search. However, for those not digitized, with the reference from the index, a copy can be ordered from the archive. The collections are naturally packed full of Irish who arrived as convicts or as free settlers. The databases include the following:

Arrivals: This includes passengers and ships arriving mainly in Hobart in the nineteenth century. The source for this is a card index. Currently, surnames A-K are part of the Arrivals index.

Census Index: Most of the censuses were not retained by the government. However, what has survived for 1837, 1838, 1842, 1843, 1848, 1851, 1857 has been digitized. A listing of the districts and parishes enumerated are part of this database.

Colonial Tasmanian Family Links Database: Containing 500,000 entries, this database was created from mainly birth, marriage, and death records, held in the Archives Office. The linkage was developed by family historians from the former National Heritage Foundation in the late 1990s. The information is not necessarily verified.

Convict Applications for Permission to Marry: An index and digitized images of records for convicts who applied to marry free people or other convicts from 1829 to 1857.

Convicts (Tasmanian): This is an index to all convicts transported to Tasmania or who were convicted locally in the colony. The collection covers 1804 through 1853 when transportation stopped. The locally convicted convicts extends the database information to 1893. There are about 76,000 entries.

Departures: This collection includes indexes and digitized images to what records are available for departures from Tasmanian ports from 1817 through 1867.

Divorces: An index to the divorces heard before the Tasmanian Supreme Court from 1861 to 1920.

General Index: The sources for this database come from a variety of records. The references are mainly to people’s names, but subjects are also included. Some of the records have been digitized.

Inquests: This is an index and digitized images concerning inquests into people’s deaths from about 1828 through about 1930. Inquests into fires are under the General Index database.

Naturalizations: This is an index and digitized images covering 1835 through 1905.

Wills: This database includes an index and digitized images of Wills and Letters of Administration from 1824 through 1989.

FindMyPast Australasia

15 Oct By Dwight Leave a Comment

FindMyPast Australasia website: www.findmypast.com.au which includes Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands, is a subscription or “pay as you go” website as are the other FindMyPast sites. Included in the Australasia website are searchable databases for: cemetery records, death records, probate, land, court records, migration records, directories, criminal reports, electoral rolls, electoral rolls, almanacs, military records and government gazettes. At this writing there is an impressive collection documenting millions of individuals.

When using the website be aware FindMyPast are constantly adding new databases, so it’s important to always search the “Full List of Records” under the “Help & Advice” button at the top of the page. At that point you can select a specific database by category. You can also search all the databases with one search. If you have too many results in your earches, you can filter the search to a more specifically. There is no cost to search the index, but there is a cost in obtaining the full record. Credit cards are accepted as payment.

Each database has an accompanying description, and shows how many entries are part of that particular collection. Do not ignore these introductions, as they can provide excellent advice and helps in getting the most out of your search.

If you are new to the FindMyPast websites, then it is always wise to check what is actually on the website. Is it what you need? If not, then you may need to wait until what you need is added to the collections. I have personally used FindMyPast Australasia and I did find what I was looking for in an Australian case. The website did not have everything I needed, but for the key was a newspaper article. It was well worth my time and funds!

Ireland-Australia Transportation Records (1791-1853)

19 Sep By Dwight Leave a Comment

Whether you have ancestors in Australia or have a branch of your family who went there, the “Ireland-Australian Database (1791-1853)” is a resource you need to be aware. My approach to research is that if you cannot find out where your ancestors were from by using North American, Irish or UK records, then seek out the branch who when elsewhere. If a branch of your family went to Australia, especially a convict, then this database can help you track them down. Within the transportation records you will most likely find some clue as to where the family came from in Ireland.

The Ireland-Australia Transportation Records in this collection are on microfilm at both the National Archives of Ireland)”: www.nationalarchives.ie (NAI). The microfilm are also available at various Australian libraries, and at the Family History Library. The collection includes the following:

Transportation Registers (1836-1857)

Prisoners’ Petitions and Cases (1788-1836)

State Prisoners’ Petitions (1798-1799)

Convict Reference Files (1836-1856, 1865-1868)

Free Settlers’ Papers (1828-1852)

Male Convict Register (1842-1847)

There is an extensive research guide to this collection on the NAI website; as well as a Q&A which can guide you through what exactly can be gleaned from the collection.

The online index to the collection can provide some of the following information: name, alias, sex, age, imprisonment place, trial place, trail date, document date, crime description, sentence, ship, document references, comments (includes discharge date, character references, information about family, and witnesses).

The NAI database can be searched by itself or included in searches with other databases. It is but one of many online to research those transported to Australia as convicts.

TROVE as a Major Research Tool

24 Jul By Dwight Leave a Comment

If I were looking for a birth place in Ireland for my family, and I knew a branch went to Australia, TROVE would be one of the first places I’d search. The family information found in sources such as obituaries can solve where in Ireland the entire family was from.

You can do a general search or a name search. If you know a more exact locality, you can narrow your search to newspapers for that town, state or territory. With common names, this feature is helpful. As with all databases there are some quirks you need to be aware. First of all, not all newspapers published every day. So once you know the newspaper you are interested in, and say you are looking for an obituary or marriage notice, then check to see what dates around the time you need that the newspaper published. The database will tell you. In this case extend your search to one or two newspapers after the death or marriage took place.

The side bar index shows the types of articles in the newspaper. For example, if the newspaper had six pages, then the family data, such as marriage and obituaries might be listed on page four. Do not stop at the first page as the newspaper pulls up on the screen. Make sure you look at all the pages for the topic you are interested.

Yes, TROVE can be utilized for many other record types such as books, theses, journals, maps, diaries, letters and photographs. Currently, it contains over 100 million Australian and online resources. As a research tool TROVE is hard to beat.

Australasian Genealogical Computer Index (AGCI)

23 Jun By Dwight Leave a Comment

The importance of a resource such as this cannot be underestimated. Remember, if you can’t find out where your branch of the family came from in Ireland; go to the branch which went to Australia and New Zealand. Chances are their records will provide birth places. The AGCI provides easy access to records which are important for these types of research strategies.

The current edition of the AGCI on CD-ROM (2004) includes some 3.9 million records indexed by 39 societies. A second CD (2005) contains entries extracted from the New South Wales Government Gazette(1832-1863). Other CDs are planned for the AGCI. The AGCI will provide the individual’s name, place, date, cross reference, type of record (church, cemetery, government, newspaper, etc.), and the society which submitted the entry. This is a resource worth studying or purchasing for a library with genealogical collections.

If you find an index entry of interest then either look for the original record on microfilm at the Family History Library: www.familysearch.org or contact the SAG which has a record retrieval department for sources at the SAG Library, National Library of Australia, and from State Records of New South Wales. These entries comprise about two-thirds of the first AGCI CD and all of the second volume. Otherwise, the individual society which submitted the entry will need to be contacted directly.

This type of research is thinking outside the box.

Society of Australian Genealogists

10 Jun By Dwight Leave a Comment

The Society of Australian Genealogists (SAG): www.sag.org.au is an excellent genealogical organization. However, why would people outside of Australia even care?

Often in our research we plow through records only to see “Ireland” as the place of birth. Now consider this. In the nineteenth century, most immigrants had a relative who went to Australia, either as a convict or free. So to identify that ancestor, and begin using the Australian records is to open up an extra avenue from which to explore the question of Irish origins.

Sometimes I find it quicker to contact the SAG for the name of a genealogist for help rather than plowing through rolls of microfilm at the Family History Library. I’ve had the pleasure of working with many of them in the past. Like they have told me, it is common for the name of a county, parish and even townland in Ireland to be preserved in their records. This makes your Australian branch of the family very important.

The SAG members publish books and create databases. The SAG Library in Sydney has family histories and biographies, local and school histories, vital records indexes (civil registration), shipping records, probate collections, cemetery transcripts and burial registers, various commercial databases and indexes. Also at the SAG Library is a growing manuscript collection of more than 28,000 files. Within the files are family papers, pedigrees, photographs, certificates and research notes. Their quarterly journal Descent is recognized internationally for its quality.

From my personal experience, if you have a lost Australian branch, I would highly recommend contacting the SAG. They have a special Irish Interest Group: http://irelandhome.com.au

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