Trip to visit the ancestors

Last weekend I set out with friend Pixie to visit areas in the Hunter Valley once inhabited by ancestors. Our first port of call was the Maitland Genealogical Society, where I learnt just what a beginner I am in this field, and how much information is out there to be researched.

This is a sketch of the old Mounted Police Headquarters, which now serves as the office.

We could have spent days and days there, but had to keep going on our roughly-planned itinerary. I got some more information on the Dodds ancestors (on my mother's side) and visited an old cemetery where I took this photo of one of the headstones.

Alexander Dodds (a brother of one of my direct ancestors, John, and father to some of those buried here) born 1814 in Kelso, Scotland, immigrated in 1830s, died 1892 in Sydney, had been quite a prominent figure: auctioneer, justice of the peace, returning officer, mayor, member of both NSW Legislative Assembly and Council.

Further up the Valley, we drove near Maison Dieu, an area just out of Singleton, which still carries the name of the property John (mentioned above) named in the 1830s, as well as Glenridding, named by John Earl, who came out from the Lake District, having married my ancestor Ann Mounsey (daughter of the last owner of Patterdale Hall, picture back in this blog).

The weather couldn't have been worse - wind and rain, with snow threatened - so we didn't quite make it to Quirindi but turned around at Murrurundi after finding this house once owned by ancestors:

Winifred, you should get back into your Irish ancestors. It is soooooo interesting, but of course, very time-consuming. As well as delving into online stuff, I've starting buying books on our first settlers and there's no way I'll have time to read everything before I die!

Good to hear from you, Olga. Do you know your ancestry??