Who's in the tree?

An interesting new chart from MyHeritage under Family Statistics demonstrates I have not gone back many generations in my family history research but it does illustrate that I have 647 blood relatives who have a common ancestor with me.

I'm sure the second and third cousins have many more children than those I've managed to find. DNA testing has revealed dozens of matches so there is still plenty of work to do.

Surely among the 27 nieces and nephews I have there will be someone to carry on the family history and add in their stories and partner's families.

This post first appeared on earlieryears.blogspot.com by CRGalvin

A Memorable Minties Moment

1927, Geelong Advertiser (Vic. : 1859 - 1929), 26 February, p. 13. , viewed 25 Nov 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page25137816

“It’s moments like these you need Minties”. Celebrating its 100th birthday this year, this iconic Australian lolly is one of the oldest confectionery products still available. Minties were invented in 1922 by Australian James Stedman and produced initially under Sweetacres brand."

 
The above tweet from Trove reminded me of a memorable "Minties Moment" far from Australia. Thanks Trove for the images and reminder.

A fun competitive activity when I was younger was to unwrap a Mintie and while enjoying the lolly,  one proceeded to tear the wrapping paper into one long strip. A comparison with others, usually siblings, determined who had managed to tear the longest strip without any breaks. The reward was simply in the accomplishment of the task.

1953 'Advertising', Brisbane Telegraph (Qld. : 1948 - 1954), 7 October, p. 21. (LAST CITY), viewed 25 Nov 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article217216903

While accompanying my husband on an overseas posting, I had several opportunities to travel with a group of women who were from a wide range of countries. They were all there accompanying husbands attached to their country's embassy.

On one day trip out of Paris, we were in for a long bus ride. It had become a custom to entertain each other by introducing a fun activity or song or story while we travelled.

With several packets of Minties in hand I distributed them to all aboard.  I issued a suitable warning about the likelihood of tooth engagement! I then demonstrated the technique by which one could tear the wrapper into a long strip. Much hilarity ensued as many made the effort but somehow needed a second Mintie to try another time.

A fun activity that reminded me of special friendships with women forged across language and customs barriers. Have you had a memorable Minties Moment?

Minties - now made by Allens - a hard, white chewy, square mint-flavoured sweet, which on chewing become so sticky that they are notorious for causing dental fillings to come out. They are wrapped in a waxed paper.

This post first appeared on earlieryears.blogspot.com by CRGalvin

Visualising family data

Descendants of Johanna Fitzgerald and Thomas Horgan

The 31 grandchildren of Johanna Fitzgerald and Thomas Horgan

Above is a visual representation of the Horgan grandchildren all born in South Australia after the widowed Johanna Horgan emigrated from Ireland in 1852 with her three young sons John, Thomas and Daniel. She was later joined by her older daughter Johanna. 

I am grateful to Andrew Redfern for the idea of representing families in this visual manner.

A chart like this can be produced in a wide range of programs such as Word, Powerpoint,  or Google slides. I chose to make mine in Canva using their simple tools to duplicate and tidy the person icons in the table.

The 94 great grandchildren

Not all of the 31 grandchildren represented above went on to have their own children. Some died at a young age, several women remained unmarried and looked after parents as they aged, 2 married couples had no children, 2 of the men became priests and one woman became a nun.

Of those grandchildren who did marry, here are the numbers of offspring from those unions.

Johanna Horgan and John Hogan's offspring had 23 children: - 6 O’Sullivans, 6 Hogans, 5 O’Briens, and 6 Kitschkes 

John Horgan and Hanora O'Leary's offspring had 11 children : - 3 Horgans and 8 McInerneys

Thomas Horgan and Mary Caroll's offspring had 30 children: -25 Horgans, 5 Slatterys

Daniel Horgan and Julia Evans offspring had 28 children: - 5 Slatterys and 23 Horgans

Numbers and dates, interesting but somewhat boring. Thanks Andrew for visual idea.

I am a descendant of John and Hanora Horgan. If you are a descendant of any of these 94 great grandchildren I would be delighted to hear from you.

 

This post first appeared on earlieryears.blogspot.com by CRGalvin