#52Ancestor – Close Up

Close Up of an Unknown Baby

Whilst this post might seem like an easy cop-out on the subject of “close up” I would truly like to share it in the hopes of putting a name to the child.  The photo has been staring at me from the pages of my grandfather’s collection since 1981 and yet I am no closer to identifying him.  My grandfather, Edward Thomas Bailey, had a number of un-named photographs in his collection of family photo’s and postcards.

I would think that it is a male child only because of the way he is dressed, and the style of haircut and he is possibly aged around 10-12 months.  It is a stunning photo of a child who actually look as if he is about to fall asleep he’s so tired, poor little mite.

Surely some out there can help me identify him – any ideas?

#52Ancestors – Cemetery – Week 17

Graves of Joseph, Christina & Eric Di Salvia. Rookwood Cemetery, Sydney
Aug 2001

First up – Apologises to all, as I am running very late!

For this weeks prompt I wanted to take you to visit the grave of my paternal grandparents Joseph & Christina Lorna Di Salvia nee: Hastings. 

By all family accounts these two loved each other deeply, although the family was hit with some very hard times.  My dad once told me of the wonderful evenings he shared with his family when his father would play the violin and the rest of the family would join in with singing, playing the spoons and clapping.

Christina passed away at the young age of 48 years on 20 Apr 1935 and Joseph would live a further 21 years, eventually dying on 29 Nov 1956.  Joseph missed his wife terribly and would place memorial notices in the paper for many years.  He never re-married.

Joseph and Christina Di Salvia are buried together at Rookwood Cemetery in Sydney. Also buried with Joseph and Christina is their infant son Eric Joseph who died in Nov 1912 aged just 6 1/2 months. Obviously the family were not in a position to put a headstone on Eric’s grave at the time.

In August of 2001 my sister Noeleen Macintosh and I decided to go to the Rookwood Cemetery to try to find their plot.  The cemetery is huge and I would have been lost in no time if it hadn’t been for my sister.  Nonny had told me that she thought the graves were unmarked, and only had vague memories of visiting them once before.  We did eventually find the plots, and I was surprised how very sad I felt, as I had actually never met these people.  The small area, amongst many other old graves with headstones, felt lonely and a little unloved.

We left flowers as markers so as anyone who saw the area would know that the relatives who laid there were indeed loved and remembered.  The purple flowers mark where Christina rests and the white flowers show where Joseph rests.

Source:

Headstone/Resting Place:  Joseph & Christina Di Salvia nee: Hastings, Rookwood Cemetery, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.  Photographed by Julie Preston 4 Sept 2015

TROVE Tuesday – It happened in Tamworth in 1908-A Sensational Incident

Alligator Killed In Store

This story breaks rules on so many levels when looking at it from today’s point of view.  Who in their right mind would exhibit a wild, 18 foot long alligator in a store frequented by the general public, in a cage that was clearly not designed to safely contain it?

It is amazing that the child mentioned was not seriously injured, or even killed by this huge predator. 

There has long been a tradition of a travelling circus visiting regional towns in Australia, but I had never heard of travelling exhibitions of a single wild animal.  I wonder if my grandparents, Ines Maude Smith and Edward Thomas Bailey, took time out of their day to come into town and see this alligator?  Whilst I understand that thinking was different 110 years ago, I do hope that they didn’t join in, as I think it quite barbaric.

Source:

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article107686267

Watch Out For Curve Balls!!

Don’t you just love it when family history throws you a curve ball that hits you right between the eyes!! 

For years I have believed that my grandparents, Ines Maude Smith and Edward Thomas Bailey, were married on 10 May 1908, but a few weeks ago when I went to scan their original marriage certificate for part of a Trove Tuesday post I discovered that they were in fact married on 5 Oct 1908.

Marriage Certificate of Edward Bailey and Ines Smith

At least I was consistent with my mistake.  I had it wrong in both my software (Family Tree Maker) and hence my synced Ancestry tree, and in a printed copy of that family line that I keep in the study, which I’d printed out in 2009.  I then went to my original “Our Family Record” book which I had started writing up in January 1980 – and there it was as plain as you could like – I had written the date of 5 Oct 1908. 

Just when the day and month of my grandparents marriage became transposed from 5/10 to 10/5 I have no idea.  I do know that at one time in Family Tree Maker, very early on, if you added dates to the software you had to be careful that the program didn’t convert it to the American form of date (month/day/year), and I guess that was when the mistake was made.  I think I bought my first Family Tree Maker software in the late 1980’s and I have to wonder if my grandparents marriage date has been wrong for all that time.

So folks, I have posted this article under the Trove Tuesday category so that anyone following my posts about what was happening in Tamworth in 1908 will know the truth about the wedding date.  I will however continue my Trove Tuesday – It Happened in Tamworth in 1908 posts for the remainder of the year.  I must apologise for the rooky mistake.

TROVE Tuesday – It Happened in Tamworth in 1908 – Pearly Whites

Recipe for Tooth Powder

My grandmother may have wished that this helpful little hint had been printed a couple of weeks earlier so she could have treated her teeth and had gorgeous “pearly whites” for her big day.  As it turns out the article was printed in the paper on the day of her wedding – Sunday 10 May 1908.

We now have all manner of treatments for whitening our teeth – scale and clean at the dentist and whitening toothpaste just to name the obvious, but it seems quite a foreign idea to me that everyday folk had to prepare their own teeth whitening treatments by purchasing ingredients from a pharmacy.

A drachm (the measurement noted above) is equivalent to about 1 1/2 grams, but the ingredients are amazing! Bicarbonate of Potass(ium), cream of tartar, cuttlefish powder, orris root & myrrh: I wonder if some of these things are even available for purchase today!  I don’t think the taste would have been wonderful though, even with the myrrh and orris root. 

I wonder if my grandmother, Ines Maude Smith, ever prepared a dental powder, or whether she used toothpaste in a tube similar to what we use today.  Toothpaste in a tube was  introduced in the 1890’s, prior to which it was sold in jars.  I didn’t know though that toothpaste  between the 1850’s and approximately 1945 contained soap – yuk!  I’m so glad I can use a decent tasting tooth paste.

Sources:

nla.news-page24883915

http://www.stylecraze.com/articles/amazing-benefits-of-orris-root-for-skin-hair-and-health/#gref

http://flavorwire.com/269063/would-you-brush-your-teeth-with-cuttlefish

https://www.colgate.com/en-us/oral-health/basics/brushing-and-flossing/history-of-toothbrushes-and-toothpastes

TROVE Tuesday – It Happened in Tamworth in 1908 – May 1

My grandparents Edward Thomas Bailey and Ines Maude Smith were married on 10 May 1908 so for the next 9 days I will be blogging about what was happening in their town prior to their wedding, even though it is a little out of character for a Trove Tuesday post. The newspapers  in New south Wales on May 1, 1908 were full of details about all manner of events as the excitement of the impending wedding grew.

Typhoid

A few weeks ago I blogged about the outbreak of Typhoid.  It was announced in the papers on May 1, 1908 that a Doctor would be sent to the town for the purpose of making a sanitary inspection.

Interlocking Station Request

Apparently a rail accident had occurred previous to May 1, 1908  as a letter appears in that days papers from a member of the public to request an interlocking system between Newcastle, New South Wales & Werris Creek, New South Wales – making Werris Creek the interlocking station.  This arrangement I believe, although much more technically modified, still exists today

Matron’s Death

The unexpected death of the Matron of Tamworth Hospital filled the papers on May 1, 1908.  By all accounts she was a fine woman dedicated to her work and the members of the local community

 

 

 

 

 

Crop Sewing

An article noting that sewing was in full swing – presumably this was wheat and oats, which the area is still known for

Thrown From Sulky

The accidental death of a solicitor’s clerk was reported when he was thrown from a sulky – I wonder if my grandparents knew him?

 

 

Pet Magpie Dies

And finally – the death of a pet magpie made the news!  Sometimes it astounds me as to what makes the newspapers!!  Magpies can routinely live between 25 & 30 years.

I wonder if Granma had time to read papers at this point?  Did she make a trip into Tamworth for last minute shopping only to have someone she knew bring up local issues?  Did she meet friends or family for a snack at a tea house and discuss any of these events?

Sources: