#RememberanceDay is commemorated on 11/11 in Australia regardless of the day of the week. In particular my thoughts turn to these brothers-in-law, nearly twenty years apart in age, one a WW1 veteran, the other a WW2 veteran- great friends just as their wives were. Norman Butchart (Pop) & Roy Wotton

#31DaysOfGraves day 31 and I think this is a #MementoMori - wilting flowers on the headstone of Sophia Palmer who I’m pretty sure is Sophia Bradford/Hegenbart/West/Palmer although the death certificate isn’t helpful & it’s circumstantial evidence that various family members all agree it is her

#31DaysOfGraves day 30 we decided not to #colour the Olympic Rings on Dad’s memorial plaque as I was worried it would chip off over time. The #flowers are from Mum & Dad’s garden from their home of nearly 50 years & the rose walkway is reflecting the roses that adorned Dad’s beloved tennis court

#31DaysOfGraves day 29 and William Rich died after 6 years of painful illness which was a result of burns sustained in his #occupation as a gold miner, Grenfell NSW. After researching the symbol, I could have used this for #SocialGroup with the Masonic Symbol prominently placed.

#31DaysOfGraves Day 27 - this is Dad’s grandfathers grave at Manly Cemetery under a beautiful #tree no headstone but a beautiful peaceful location for Marmaduke Constable Butchart and his two month old daughter Harriet. The sound of children playing in the school yard is a lovely backdrop

#31DaysOfGraves Day 23 and back to Grenfell, NSW to Margaret Madden’s grave with a #cross Her husband, John Madden is also buried here. They are my (surprise) Catholic branch & he is the son of our convict ancestor, also a surprise when I discovered him in 2015. John snr was sentenced for sedition

#31DaysOfGraves day 21 and I think this marker has a #Bronze plaque. It’s my Grandfather’s brother, killed near Ypres in September 1917. Several letters mentioned the plaque & it was clearly important to his fellow soldiers that his grave was suitably marked. His parents saw it in 1920.

#31DaysOfGraves Day18 Margaret Bell (Barnewall) was 81 according to her death certificate and I think age 78 on her headstone was a #Mistake so were claims that she was the daughter of a Viscount 🤣 Her father tried & failed to claim a Viscountcy in 1835. She’s my maternal line 3xg grandmother

#31DaysOfGraves Day 17 #Relocation Early cemeteries in Sydney were relocated to make way for the Town Hall & Central Railway station but none of my pre 1860’s arrival relatives were buried at those cemeteries as they lived at Liverpool, Picton & Grenfell. dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/devons...

#31DaysOfGraves - I was wandering around Rookwood Cemetery looking for a grave in the old CofE section when my phone rang, my boss (also my brother-in-law). I took the call next to this obelisk & then after realised it’s my BIL’s ancestor! There’s 1,000,000 interred at Rookwood - what are the odds!

#31DaysOfGraves Pop’s mother’s grave at Waverley Cemetery is badly #Damaged Jinny (Jane Margaret) Butchart was 47 when she died of Mitral Incompetence in 1916. Pop was “somewhere in France” when he received news of his mother’s death. Norman was 22

#31DaysOfGraves I couldn’t get #Inside to see the memorial stone dedicated to my gg grandfather, John Dobbie who was also the first Principal of Hunters Hill Public School across the road. John & his wife Isabella are buried at Field of Mars cemetery, Ryde, NSW & a beautiful tribute from him to her

#31DaysOfGraves Adeline had a #Skeleton in her closet - the children from her first marriage to Nathaniel Rosenfeld. Her whereabouts & death was a mystery to those descendants until someone added her second “husband” to the Family Search tree. I don’t know if she is interred at the crematorium

#31DaysOfGraves where grandma was born was not the most #Notable thing about her. It was her close ties to her family. When she died, a niece sent irises & I thought they were beautiful so nearly a year later when I married, I chose irises as the centrepiece of the bridesmaid bouquets. A memorial.

#31DaysOfGraves Day 11 #Military Pop’s cousin Roy May died of wounds sustained at Gallipoli & is buried in Cairo. He is also memorialised at Waverley Cemetery & the Australian War Memorial. Just weeks after news of his death arrived in Australia, Norman Butchart departed Grenfell with 19th btn

#31DaysOfGraves Day 10 #Urn this is the grave of two of my g grandfather’s 1/2 sisters & 1/2 brother in the row behind. My Pop was executor of Tottie’s will. I think Aunt Dellie left him property in Stanmore which he sold & bought in Toongabbie - moral - don’t take property advice from Pop!

#31DaysOfGraves Day 9 and this grave could use a helping #hand it’s my gg grandparents - William Irving is the source of my middle name. The cemetery is Field of Mars, Ryde, Sydney, NSW. I stopped by on my way home one stinking hot February Friday afternoon, walked round & round in circles 1/2

#31DaysOfGraves -Day 8 #Glass & sticking with my broad take that memorials of any kind are included - these are the stained glass windows in CofE church, Grenfell, NSW installed by my gg grandfather & his brother as a memorial to one of their brothers. I love - “Let Brotherly Love Continue”

#31DaysOfGraves Day 7 #Angel when my grandfather’s brother died of wounds sustained in a shelling attack, his parents didn’t know whether he would have a grave. This is from his mother, Cissie’s little autograph book where she noted significant events in her life & the first memorial to him

#31DaysOfGraves #Gender Dearly Beloved Mother in the wild old CofE section at Rookwood & two sisters in the Catholic section - both dearly beloved wives of Joseph Thomas Rich. He’s buried in his mother’s plot, as is his sister. One of my early cemetery forays - a massive sprawling area in Sydney

#31DaysOfGraves Day 5 #Bird these are the panels at #MeninGates listing the soldiers of my Pop’s 1st. AIF 19th Battalion with no known grave, including J Swan. NAA records show he was a farm labourer, single & died “in the Field Belgium” I don’t think his mother truly had adequate means?

#31DaysOfGraves Charles Rae arrived in Australia in 1855 from Udny, Scotland, lived in Forbes NSW for many years & his granddaughter, born over 40 years later said his accent was so strong he may as well have been speaking another #language This plot is at Rookwood Cemetery, Sydney NSW, Nov 2015

#31DaysOfGraves Day3 #Tomb As a teenager, i didnt see the point of those WW1 memorials in each suburb or town. But a physical location to mourn is important to many & this is the nation’s tribute www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11...

#31DaysOfGraves Day 2 #Nautical in the middle of this headstone at Waverley Cemetery is the name William Moreton Newman commemorated after falling overboard on a Syd-Mel trip. Waverley Cemetery has the most spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean - taken November 2020

#31DaysofGraves - belated day 1 - Flowers. This is my great uncles grave near Ypres. The black & white photo shows flowers laid by his parents in 1920in front of the cross erected by his fellow soldiers & the other I took in 2022 perhaps the first family to visit since 1920 & a photo sent in 1918

North - Inverness - Scotland South - Hobart (actually South west cape) East - Christchurch, NZ or Fiji West -Victoria island - Canada or Fiji

I’ve ignored the 5th, 3rd & 2nd bullet points & taken the plunge to post a new blog today, not holding back for #AncestryHour because #WomensHistoryMonth would be over jenniferirvinghart.wordpress.com/2025/03/31/1... inspired by @genealogystoriesuk.bsky.social prompt: Twelve

#GenHour this is the best parish baptism I’ve seen. If only they made this the standard issue parish baptism book! John was youngest sibling of my 4xg grandmother- Catherine Cordeaux née Lythe

Welcome to BlueSky @genealogysteffi.bsky.social Nice to see another #CuriousDescendant club member on here

This Trove article has some great suggestions & links for Aussie #OnePlaceStudies trove.nla.gov.au/blog/2024/12...

This is my favourite Advent calendar on this site. The descriptions are delightful. Over on Facebook I’m enjoying a school friend’s advent carols calendar

(Re)introducing myself to the #genealogy community Years researching: 9 Hobbyist or pro: Hobbyist Fun fact/Wildest discovery: my gg grandfather took my gg grandmother to court a year into their marriage for false pretences. Yay for Trove! My niche/s: east coast Australia & #CuriousDescendants

Remembrance Day - my grandfather, Pop with his brother-in-law, Roy - 20 years age difference, firm friends, one a WW1 veteran, the other a WW2 veteran & both united in hope that no one should ever experience the horror they witnessed