Spring has just started here in Australia, which is a great time to do some spring cleaning in our family trees. Here are five tips to get started: 1: Pick one line of your family at a time or make a list of ancestors who need their information updated. Start from the most recent ancestor […]

Three days ago the 2021 Census took place here in Australia, which got me thinking about the importance of census records in family history. As I looked through the census questions, I admit that I did feel a little envious of the future researchers and/or descendants who will see these records when they are released […]

Yesterday marked the 276th anniversary of the Battle of Culloden, where the Jacobite forces led by Prince Charles Edward Stuart were brutally annihilated by the the forces of Hanoverian king George II, under his younger son Prince William “The Butcher” Duke of Cumberland. Many people wonder why their Jacobite ancestors pledged their loyalty the Jacobite […]

Hello everyone, I hope you are well. As you know, it’s more important than ever to take care of our planet in every way possible, and a way I like to do that is looking at different aspects of my home and life to see what eco-friendly changes I can make. Here is what I […]

Hello everyone, I hope you are having a great start to the year! One of the really important parts of researching is keeping your facts neat and tidy, here are five tips to make your researching easier!   1. Save immediately: When I find a record, certificate or fact about an ancestor that I am […]

  It isn’t always easy to trace your family tree in Australia back to the “motherland”, but I’m here to help! Here are some tips: Google the surname: A quick google of your family surname instantly gives you an idea of where your family came from. Try to avoid websites like Wikipedia others similar that […]

Highland dress is a fascinating subject and one of my favourites. In these four blog posts I will be explaining the different kinds of Highland dress worn by women, men and children, but for now, let’s have a quick look at how tartan was made. Clan Tartan: Individual clan tartans were not officially in use […]

A trick that has really helped me with filling in the gaps is this: go by the nephews and nieces names.  You see, Scotland used to have a strict naming tradition, explained in this blog post here As you can see, children were often named after their aunts and uncles, so if you have one ancestor, […]

A question that came up for me recently was why did my 4th great grandfather John Campbell Colquhoun leave his relatives and hometown in Paisley, Renfrewshire to immigrate to Australia in 1857? Coincidentally a few days later I was listening to a podcast episode about the Highland Clearances, and the academic speaking on the podcast […]

  Free trials are a great way to see if a genealogy platform is right for you, since some websites and resources can have very expensive monthly or yearly fees. They can also be wonderful if you are searching for an elusive ancestor that turned up crickets and tumbleweeds on other websites.   But how […]