The Family Detective

Trove Newspaper articles have lead me to believe that Joseph Ross was sometimes referred to as John Ross. They had a connection with Sarah Bird and John Ross was noted as his brother in law. Could Ellen Ross have been related to Sarah? I have several posts that cover the relationship between Bird and the Rosses and also theories about Ellen Ross. FREE ACCESS: I am happy to share access to my research for those who request via comment below. Unfortunately I have had a large amount of my research from this blog taken without acknowledgment. It is with sadness I am making my research available "by request".  Also, feel free to use the comments as a place to share with others. I have a private  Facebook Group  where files and research will be posted. Feel free to join to join the conversations. _______________________________________________ It is widely believed that John Ross who was a convict and shoemaker was my fourth Great-Grandfather. I started this post with the intention

All researchers know we cannot all rely on what we find on Ancestry.com.  A number of trees have recorded William Littlewood Snr as the step father of William Littlewood Jnr (father of Rose Littlewood). William Littlewood Jnr it seems was the son of Bridget Kelly. To date I have not found the records that connect William Jnr to Bridget Kelly other than her marriage to William Snr.  Oddly none of the trees seem to have picked up the information that William Littlewood Snr was a convict on Charles Sturt's Second Exhibition. Also, many other vitals seem to be missing.  It seems nice to think William Littlewood Snr is indeed connected to our tree, and there are some interesting factors that I will explore (ironic). For the purpose of this I will continue to call them William Snr and Jnr. ... ____________________________________________________ FREE ACCESS: I am happy to share access to my research on William Littlewood Senior & Junior, for those who request via comment below. Unfor

In 2021, I completed a convict case study on Patrick Dodd for my UTAS Family History course. For some reason the word document has disappeared, but I have a PDF with full intext referencing for those who might be interested. My research looks at Patrick from the time of his crime, his time as a convict, and details of his life after that until his death. A full bibliography is included.  FREE ACCESS: I am happy to share access to my full research for those who request via comment below. Unfortunately I have had a large amount of my research from this blog taken without acknowledgment. It is with sadness I am making my research available "by request".  Also, feel free to use the comments as a place to share with others. I have a private Facebook Group  where files and research will be posted. Feel free to join to join the conversations. __________________________________________________________________________ On 30 August 1828, Patrick Dodd sat down to a meal of roast ham. H

I have already written of the Michael Cotter manslaughter of John Carroll, but I often wonder who John Carroll was and how he may have been connected to Michael, other than as a friend. Carroll is my brother-in-law's family so it's often intrigued me if he might be related to John Carroll. Also in delving into Richard Kelly's family trying to make a connection to Mary Ann Kelly, I've noticed his grandmother is noted as Catherine Carroll.  Who was John Carroll and who mourned his loss when he was gone? John's death was not registered (via BDM) and little information is gathered from the coroner's report of his inquest. A search of Trove, 1850, relays accounts of a John Carroll in the Bathurst area who was a trouble maker of sorts. He was described as a "Port Phillip vagabound" having recently arrived in Australia and a number of accounts of trying to get alcohol under false prentences. He claimed to be a thrasher from Dunn's Plains (near Rockley, an

 Do you have titbits of knowledge that you feel must connect somehow but don't know how? I  never know where to place them or keep track of them, but I'm going to try here. I shall try and keep them in family names. PHILLIPS - KELLY - EACRET In 1842 Richard KELLY & his wife Mary (nee EACRET) migrated with two of their children aboard Duke of Roxburgh and had in their care Anne PHILLIPS (20 year old from Leahy, Laois Queens County, Ireland) (Records show an Anne Phillips married Joseph Goodwin and settled at  Tangmangaroo) PHILLIPS - CONNOLLY - DODD Michael PHILIPS wife was Mary CONNOLLY. Ann CONNOLLY married Patrick DODD who was involved in stealing meat with her brother Michael CONNOLLY. Could there be a relationship? KELLY - DODD - COTTER Catherine KELLY married Michael DODD, son of Patrick DODD (she became Catherine DODD), her sister-in-law Catherine DODD married Michael COTTER (becoming Catherine COTTER). A number of Catherine KELLY's relatives are named Mary Ann K

It only struck me today that Michael Dodd's (Son of Patrick Dodd and brother to Catherine Dodd, who married Michael Cotter) was married to Catherine KELLY and in our search for Mary Ann Kelly, perhaps we have missed a cousin line that would connect Mary Ann Kelly to Edward Cotter. Today's venture will be to trace some of Catherine's siblings families for residential locations and to see if there were any Mary Ann Kelly's born.  FIRST - A quick look at Catherine in Ancestry Trees and what sources are there: Birth:  Marriage: Catherine Kelly (spinster, Narrawa) married Michael Dodd (farmer, bachelor, Narrawa) 11 January 1861, St Augustines Catholic Church in Yass. Witness Patrick Dodd & Bridget ? (possibly Kenna, Hanna, Hona, Krina or maybe even Hans). No age was given for either. [source: Marriage Certificate] Death: 26 Dec, 1921 at "McHenrys Creek" Young aged 84 years. (Parents named as Patrick & Catherine on BDM). Children still living Michael, Alfred

This is my convict case study I completed for University of Tasmania in 2021. For some reason the word document has disappeared, but I have a PDF with full intext referencing for those who might be interested. I've included the bibliography at the end of this post.