The Field Family Newsletter, Edition 25

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The FIELD Family Newsletter

25th Edition, February 2006, Edited by Dorothy Cefarin
Reproduced here with permission

CONGRATULATIONS TO

GWEN AND TOM AGNEW who celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary in 2005.

As Gwen and Tom, who believed that their children and their families were the surprise visitors for the week-end, went off to their customary Saturday evening church service, their backyard was quickly transformed into a party scene. Within the space of 20 minutes over 40 people with food, drinks and all other essential party items flowed into the yard and were all in place for the major surprise.

As Tom and Gwen’s car approached the backyard entrance, everyone present could see through their facial expressions that this really was a complete and overwhelming surprise for both of them.

The next half an hour saw them greet their guests who had travelled from as far as Quirindi, Batemans Bay, Kiama and Sydney as well as the locals from Condobolin. Included in the guests were the guys that Tom had worked with over his 51 years at the local butchery. Those who could not make the evening were all encouraged to telephone and many phone calls resulted. The evening was rounded off with a humorous presentation by local Ivan McDonald of a medal to Tom for his perseverance which resulted in the crowd giving equal support for Gwen and her tolerance

Above all the evening was an expression of respect for two people who have demonstrated outstanding commitment and love towards each other, their family and their friends. A great night was had by all..

Ed. Gwen is my sister and I was so disappointed that I couldn’t attend. I was a bridesmaid at their wedding. I also went to school with Tom.

Some people have asked David how he gets to do all our family tree and put it on out website, here is his answer.

“I recently had a long phone chat with one of the Field descendants that receive this newsletter about my cemetery walks. He wanted to know how I prepare for the trip, the equipment I use, and my technique. Rather than simply email him, I thought I would kill two of the proverbial birds with the one hunk of gravestone (grin) and give a basic rundown via the newsletter.

Once I decide on a location to go, I will use maps and other on-line sources to pinpoint any cemeteries on the way. Why drive 200km each way to go to a cemetery for a few hours, when you can take a full day and visit a few others on the way. I have found many relatives graves by doing this.

Armed with a list of cemeteries, I then use my Family Tree Maker to create a number of custom reports. I start with a list of people that I know have died and been buried in a particular cemetery. I then add people that died in the same town and often neighbouring towns as well. I remove those that have been buried in other towns, leaving a list of people that are, and that could be, buried in a particular town.

From this list I fill usually print a simple alphabetical list of the surnames of the people in it. Rather than looking for 3 specific Morris, 4 Fields, and 1 Strickland, I just add the surnames to the list. When I enter the cemetery, I read over the list a few times, then begin. Sturdy shoes, long pants, a hat and sunglasses are a must, as is a supply of cool drinks, especially in hot weather.

I use a Fuji Finepix S7000 digital camera with a 256MB XD card and a 128MB Compact Flash Card as a “Backup”. One of these days I’ll get a larger card to allow more photographs before I have to return to the car to unload the cameras to the laptop. I also carry 2 or 3 spare sets of AA NiMH batteries in the car as well, but I usually manage 300+ photographs on a set of batteries before they need replacing.

Using my digital camera, each time I see a surname that is on my list I will photograph the grave and move on. It is easier to sort through 20 or 30 photographs at home, than realising that at the cemetery 400km away, the “George Morris” you did not take a photograph of was actually a relation and you did not realise at the time!

As you do this a few times it becomes relatively easy. I often repeat the less-common names over in my head as I walk, and look at each grave in turn to see if the name is on my list. After 10 or 15 minutes you only occasionally have to refer to the list, as you memorise the names you are looking for. If a name is not on the list, but sounds “familiar” then I photograph it as well. The hardest bit is remembering where you are up to, especially if the rows are offset, or uneven as is often the case in older cemeteries.

When I return home from a trip I then open up the family tree and the pictures. Swapping between them, I look up each of the people in the picture. If they are a match then I move the picture to a folder name “????? Match”, where ???? is the cemetery name or location (Don’t forget the state name too). The ones that don’t match are not discarded, but instead are placed in a separate folder that indicates they are no match. I occasionally go through these a year or so later to see if I have since added some line of the family that I may have taken photographs of some time before. When I did this recently for the photographs in Forbes, I found another 8 graves I did not realise I had.

For the webpage, I then copy these match pictures, resize them to a set size, and save them in a separate directory for each cemetery. Details of the person, and a link to the photograph is added to the web pages, and the page is uploaded to the server. The sorting, converting and manually adding the details to the webpage can be quite time-consuming, especially if there are a large number of photographs, so I usually set aside a day or more to do it after a trip.

On a large trip it is not uncommon for me to take 500 photographs, but end up with only 50 or 60 “Matches”, so you can understand the need for a large storage card for the camera (Or a laptop as I usually use). I have had some trips where I have taken 200+ photographs in a number of different cemeteries, come home and found not a single match. Then again, after spending the day walking by yourself in a cemetery, muttering names under your breath, often being cautiously watched (or spoken to) by mourners is probably a good idea too.

I hope this gives you an idea of the work behind the family tree site, and the associated grave photographs. It is sometimes hard, exhausting and tedious work, but it is always enjoyable, especially when you receive a simple thank-you from a visitor to the site.

Personally I think the work and effort David has put into this is absolutely fantastic. I was brought up in Condobolin and my family are all buried out there. I rarely get to visit any more but I can view their graves and reminisce. Thanks to David.

NOTES RE – JAMES McLELLAND’S BOOK NO.5

The Nepean River Valley, It’s History, It’s Floods, It’s people..

CASTLEREAGH; Named by Governor Macquarie in 1810 after Lord Castlereagh.

1789

June. Captain Watkin Trench is sent by Governor Phillip to explore the country inland in an endeavour to find better pasture and agricultural land. he was the first person to sight the Nepean River, it was later named Nepean by Governor Macquarie after Sir Ivan Nepean, Under Secretary for the Navy.

A guard hut is erected on a rise of land named Rose Hill and plans are drawn up to establish a village at what is now Parramatte.

1790

Layout of Parramatta Village completed.

Small patrols of soldiers venture through the forests to the Nepean, but the major activity of the colony is centred around Parramatta and Sydney.

1791

Governor Phillip journeys to Windsor and names it Green Hills, it is renamed later by Governor Macquarie.

Population of Parramatta is now 1,818, of whom 1,669 are convicts..

Small villages now exist at Prospect, Mt. Druitt, Windsor and Richmond, some odd huts along George’s River, near present day Liverpool.

August 1794 Now settlers’ working small farms along the Hawkesbury River, a good track has been worn through the forests to Sydney.

1796

Many of the original settlers on the Nepean Hawkesbury River abandon their farms because of ignorance of farming methods and the difficulty of getting their produce to the Sydney market. As the settlers abandon their farms, they are bought up cheaply by merchants and officers of the N.S.W. Corps.

1799

Some Irish Rebels, who were to play their part in the history of the Penrith District, arrived in Sydney as convicts on the Convict Transport Minerosa. Included were Rev. Henry Fulton.

1800

Some freed convicts began settling along the Nepean River. Some were: Pierce Collett, Randall, Rope, Colin Fields, Lees, McCarthy, etc.

1803

August 7th 1803. Governor King advises Lord Hobart in England that he has stopped any further settlement along the Nepean.

Cillits, Mary. Free woman, arrived colony and was granted 70 acres of land at Castlereagh in July 1803. She had her husband, who was a convict, assigned to her.

Field, Edward. Private N.S.W. Corp. granted land 1803 on the Nepean at Castlereagh neat Jackson’s lane and Methodist Church. His son, also named Edward, married Maria Strickland and after her death he was married again to one Esther Lees.

1806

Heavy floods ravished the Nepean.

1808

March. heavy rainfall, bad floods down the Nepean

1809

Again, heavy rainfall and bad flooding along the Nepean.

1810

Governor Lachlan Macquarie arrives in the colony.
Colony sheep population now 33,000

In 1810, the first year of his long term of office which continued until 1821, Macquarie made an extended tour of N.S.W.

He was greatly troubled by what he heard about floods which had done much damage to farmland and property along the Hawkesbury River. To provide the settlers with extra allotments on higher ground – where they would be encouraged to build their homes and store their produce. – Macquarie brought into being five new townships. These were called Windsor, previously known as green Hills, Richmond, Wilberforce, Pitt-town and Castlereagh.

The first four towns were set on the Hawkesbury, but Castlereagh was situated on the Nepean. The Nepean River is really part of the Hawkesbury, but was discovered separately, in 1789, and given a different name. This is one of those quirks of history which can never be corrected.

Each of Macquarie’s five towns was carefully planned and properly surveyed, with provision for streets, important buildings, and a market square.

“God prosper Saint Matthew’s Church” said Governor Macquarie at a simple ceremony at Windsor in 1817, when he laid the corner-stone, under which had been placed a ”holey dollar” . This was a Spanish silver dollar with a hole punched in it, the centre being taken out in order to create an extra coin. The value given to a “holey dollar” was six shillings and three pence, sterling, for use as currency in the colony.

A few hours after the stone had been laid, some rascal overturned it and got away with the money. The Government agreed to repeat the ceremony, and two days later another ”holey dollar” was laid down for prosperity. But the second dollar went the way of the first, for the stone was overturned again and the culprit escaped detection.

Hawkesbury Museum at 5 Thompson Square, windsor occupies the site where John Howe – a free settler from Britain – conducted a general store from 1811 until the late 1830’s.

As the Daniel O’Connell Inn, conducted by Edward Coffey, the building which is now the museum became the most popular hotel around the Hawkesbury in the 1840s. it was the hub of social, political, and sporting life; its distinguished patrons included Governor Sir George Gipps and his successor, Sir Charles Fitz Roy.

The Doctor’s House, is perched above the river bank on the town side of Windsor Bridge...... the building was Coffey’s Hotel.

1811

Collitts Pierce. Convict, assigned to his wife Mary Collits of Castlereagh. Pardoned and appointed Chief Constable for Penrith District.

Lord, Simon. 18th October, 1811 granted 1170 acres of land at Penrith.

1812

First school in Penrith District established at Castlereagh.

1815

Name of ferry boat the “Pheasant” first recorded for taking passengers across the Nepean River.

1816

Lord, Simon. 8th October,1816 granted 100 acres of land at Penrith.

S.M.H. 31st March . Five settlers were killed and many others fled their homes along the Nepean River during clashes with Aborigines.

1817

Floods again hit Nepean and Hawkesbury.

Sir John Jamison, Rev. Henry Fulton, John McHenry and a military officer appointed to act as Magistrate at Penrith Court.

John Lees donated land at Castlereagh for first Methodist Church.

Phillip Strickland, born 1786 died 6th November, 1817, pioneer d. Anglican Church Cranebrook Cemetery.

1819

James McHenry conducted a blacksmiths shop next to the Court House, Penrith the property called Lemongrove.

1820

Two of George Wentworth’s children drowned in the Nepean.

1821

Rev. Henry Fulton former Irish Rebel and convict, appointed Magistrate at Castlereagh.

1825

First body of Mounted Police formed in Australia by Governor Brisbane, the first force consisting of two officers and thirteen troopers.

1826

The “Monitor” a weekly Sydney newspaper, began publication.

Field, Edward, Pioneer. Died 21st January, 1826 aged 57 years, name of wife Elysabeth. Buried Anglican Cranebrook Cemetery.

1827

Government ordered that there were no Ministers available school teachers perform funeral services and receive a fee of 2/6d. As no cemeteries were available most estates had burial plots in corners of a distant pasture.

22/10/1827 Extract from letter of Harriet King from Dunheved. Penrith is about six miles from here, towards the river, there is a Court House, Inn and a few huts. It is said a town is to be laid out on the plains and a hospital and Surgeon established.

1828

S.M.H. The NSW Government established a twice-weekly horse post between the principal inland towns, with a letter from Sydney to Bathurst costing 1 shilling in postage.

1830

Little progress was made in the Colony now for over twenty years until Gold was discovered. Rust attached the wheat along the Nepean, the sheep developed footrot and more families packed up and left the Nepean and crossed over the mountains because of the promise of free land grants.

1831

S.M.H. The first steamship built in Australia – the 25 tonne S.S. Surprise – was launched at Neutral Bay.

1832

Flour mill in existence at Castlereagh.

Field, Js. Pioneer family farming Burrargorang Valley 1832.

Mcmahon, T. Pioneer family farming Burrargorang valley.

1833

Field, Elizabeth. Aged 27 years, died 28th October, 1833. Buried Anglican Cranebrook Cemetery.

1835

The very hard life of the early Australian Pioneers, particularly their women folk is evident by the early ages at which they died.

1836

“The Australian” name of Lic Inn Castlereagh.

Lees, Joh. Born 1771, died 9/8/1837. Buried Anglican Cranebrook Cemetery.

TO BE CONTINUED....

SUBCRIPTION TO THE FIELD FAMILY NEWSLETTER FOR 2006 ... $5

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Just For Fun.. gardening

What amateurs grow in their garden is weeds and round shoulders ..A. Herbert

The soil conditioner still unmatched is a spade with spouse attached... Galbraith

The experienced gardener know that everything that grows like a weed, “is one” ...G. Barker

I love the sound of a lawn mower, it means something is being done, and I’m not doing it....... Helen Hayes

One of the nicest things about gardening is that if you put it off long enough, it eventually is too late.... Fowler.

What a man needs in gardening is a cast iron back with a hinge on it.... Warner

The seeds most people plant come up but not to specifications... Hugh Allen

No man feels more of a man in the world if he have a bit of ground he can call his own however small it is on the surface, it is 4,000 feet deep and that is a very handsome property..... Warner

The things I sow somehow don’t grow. S. Schlitzer

I’m sorely disenchanted, but Oh what luck I have with I never planted...

Every man in the world reaps what he sows, except the amateur gardener... G.K.

An optimistic gardener is one who believes, that whatever goes down must come up..

Make a better lawn and the world will beat a path across it to your door.. K. Henry

I can’t recommend growing old, there is no future in it
Also along the way bits and pieces fall off and there are no spare parts
After all we are vintage machines
A spray job could help but then again what about the rust underneath
If you are under 49 rejoice, if you are over don’t grease the slide too much

Marco Polo per R. Lockerbie

Please note that I have a new E-mail address
doff202@unwired.com.au

Please send all your stories on your relations also births, deaths and marriage items, these are important for those doing out Family Tree.
Send to
Dorothy Cefarin
24 Eggleton Street
Blacktown 2148
Phone 02-9671-2129