I come from a lot of places, I mean my ancestry, and have done extensive research into the people who came before me, who they were, what they did and where they came from. That's a post for another time, and not something I'll ever fully share on line of course.
On my mother's side the ancestry is mostly from the United Kingdom although there's a German aspect as well - a fringe-noble woman who was denied permission to marry a commoner so they ran away in the 1800's to Australia via New Zealand to be together; they married and lived happily ever after...I have a photo of them from late 1800's.
Mostly mum's side is from the UK though and some arrived in Australia in the early-mid part of the 1800's in chains [transported as convicts to the penal colony of Port Arthur] and some came by choice from Cornwall, copper miners escaping the terrible conditions due to the downturn in work there and seeking fortune in the copper boom within the Copper Triangle, of South Australia; the three towns called Moonta, Wallaroo and Kadina on the States Yorke Peninsula.
Life was hard, incredibly hard, but Cornish miners were tough as nails, as were their families, and they carved out a life one pick-stroke at a time.
This is what it was all about, copper, and a lot was produced between the mid 1800's a very high percentage of the world's copper production was from the Copper Triangle and subsequent mines in the town called Burra as well...and I can trace my line back specifically to some of the people who did the physical labour, the digging, carting, processing and the dying; there was a lot of that, life was hard.
I visit the area a few times a year. It has wonderful coastlines, a low population and the freshest air you'll ever breathe.
I always visit 150 year old graves carved with names of people whose lives helped bring mine into being and I pay my respects and thank them for their hard work and hard-word-ethic which is something that comes so naturally to me...the Cornish miner in me perhaps...or maybe just the stubborn bastard aspect of my character.
Design and create your ideal life, tomorrow isn't promised - galenkp
[Original and AI free]
Image(s) in this post are my own
You have such a stout constitution it really isn't any wonder where you got the beginnings of that genetic makeup. Imagine going to a new and foreign land as punishment...how frightful that must have been. The fact that they left such a legacy is a testament to their strength of character. You have some good genes!
I often wondered (later on) about the resilience, determination and workrate I had as a kid and where it came from. I know now if course; partly me, my upbringing and wiring gained through a long line of people who were the same. I'm content.
As for the convicts...I've been to Port Arthur, a chilling and brutal place, now a tourist destination. It was also the scene of a 35 person (men, women, shildred) shooting massacre in 1996...seems the place just exudes misery Tam. I mean, there were parts that felt dark in full sunlight like the asylum in which I lasted ten minutes - don't need that oppression in my life. To have lived there, the brutality if the location, lack of proper food and clothing, (of hope), brutality of the convicted and English guards (rapes of female convicts was common) and the general mental aspect of being there for mostly minor reasons...to survive 20 years was not common.
As an Australian, convict heritage from the early-mid 1800's is worn like a badge of honour and I'm pleased to carry it. I come from good convict stock, among others as well like the Cornish miners of course.
It's heartbreaking, to think that for minor crimes you were to be colonized far from your home and loved ones and then to wind up in such a miserable place that just oozed cruelty.
To say you come from 'good convict stock' is such an understatement. I am inclined to believe you come from the best convict stock because anyone that completed their sentance in such a horrible place has such a strong constitution that is unrivaled in today's world. I do understand that there are attrocities happening in today's world that are comparable, but not equal to the circumstances of the convicts.
Yep, but they were given the death penalty initially then it was commuted to transportation. I wonder what hardships they endured and if they ever wished the sentence was carried out. It was a hellish journey to Australia back then in terrible conditions (no Qantas first class back then) and then Port Arthur. Terrible.
If you meet an Australian who has convict heritage and they say they are not proud of it is say you have not met an Australian at all. It doesn't mean we condone what they did to earn the conviction, just the way they endured afterwards. So many had only stolen bread, milk, a slab of meat to feed families starving to death. Sure, still stealing but death sentence? Bloody poms. (British).
Anyway, thank you for your words, I feel I am a small piece of everyone that came before me in my bloodline, the good and bad, and then I shape it my way into...me.
It's pretty cool being able to trace back so far! How did you go on the other side? Way back when I was doing my family tree (I haven't done it for a really long time now) I found SO MUCH information on J's side of the family (from UK) and pretty much nothing on mine and all I've got to go on are stories from my now departed grandmothers and other family (deep regrets for not thinking about pulling out my phone when my uncles were storytelling, I don't know when or if I'll next see them).
I usually joke it's because Asians aren't important enough to keep records on but it's probably more to do with the fact ancestry.com was (and would continue to be were I ever able to pick it up again) my primary research tool and not everything would be on there.
There wasn't much on the other side no one keeps records like the British which makes it difficult to learn much and especially difficult if there's no access to family members. I went back as far as great grand parents on my dad's side and got no further.
I think many people regret not finding these things out early enough and when the older family members are there to ask. I'm glad I did what I did although so many would simply see no value in the time it took I guess.
Yep pretty much the same.
It's so nice that you can trace your ancestors and learn more about them and how you eventually ended up where you are now.
I tried finding one of my great uncles who left Hong Kong for UK in the late 1800 but sadly couldn't find anything as there were no official documents in Hong Kong back then
The British kept very good records so it's possible although not always easy. I've seen court/trial documents for sentencing for both of my ancestors that were convicted and given the death sentence (later both commuted to "transportation" meaning the penal colony of Port Arthur, Tasmania (Australia). One broke into a hose and stole something, the other was a maid who stole a silver spoon from her employer. Amazing to think that the motivation for it was quite probably to feed their own families. Harsh penalties. I'm pretty proud of those folks...doing twenty years in Port Arthur back in the mid 1800's was brutal in many ways and would have been terrible for a woman.
As for the miners...when I was in the UK I visited all the places they came from, saw family graves, names in church registers for births, deaths and marriages and so on. It was pretty cool.
I'm not surprised you had trouble with the HK side, but once he got to the UK there should be some decent records. Immigration, census etc.
Anyway, long comment, sorry.
It's fascinating that you dug out so much information, and of course nowadays you can even access a lot of it from overseas, I believe that's how Jarvie researched this ancestors in UK from America.
Getting the death penalty for petty theft seems over kill, but it was probably an excuse to get long term free labour, it's so frightening.
As for my great uncle, it's really down not knowing his 'official' name and date of birth when he came over to UK as a seafarer. When they registered his name in English they could have translated it in many ways or even mis translated. And in those days, depending on your real age, some changed the birth year to make it easier to find work. I thought I found one family that was a match and even wrote to them, but sadly they weren't a match.
Anyway, a long reply 😄, but interesting topic, digging in ones past
It was common to get a hand cut off for stealing a loaf of bread, pretty harsh but I guess those in powder needed to keep those below them in check and this was one way to do that; I'm not sure how effective as a deterrent it was.
I used ancestry.com mostly, paid for a membership and spent two years researching; I hadn't planned on that but just fell into it once I got started which is typical really. Really amazing the documents there, images and all, the Brits were good at record keeping.
I'm not surprised at the name change thing, it's par for the course and I'm sure happened a lot...the immigration officer interpreting sound of spelling and that's the end of accurate records. Ony dad's side I can go back to my grandparents, that's it...no records.
I think it's a very interesting thing to do though and quite rewarding, at least I found it that way.
I wonder if the copper on/in the pennies I have saved over the years originated in that Triangle..?
Maybe, it was sent world-wide so it's highly possible.
That looks like on top of the "regular" hard conditions of mining back then, it must have been hot as hell. The copper stones look beautiful, though, especially within the wall.
Is that triangle economically dead now, or is there still mining going on? Or where they able to do the shift to a different economic line? Do you know?
My mother's side is a wealthy family, so the family tree there is well established. On my father's side, I don't know much. My grandpa was honored in Czaplinek, where he was born when it was still part of Germany. He built a nature reserve on an island there, and for that he was made a citizen of honor.
The hard working part comes from both sides, but especially from my mom's side. It's not for nothing that the family has money. My grandfather is also a citizen of honor of the Maledives, as he traveled there a lot, on a catamaran. He lived very frugally.
I might check up on that family tree one day. It's not the worst idea.
Terrible working conditions and very long hours were the norm; incredibly difficult work with little to no time off.
Sounds like your grandpa was a visionary and well respected.
That's a pretty fascinating history! My sister and her husband have taken a deep dive into my family, but I haven't really taken the time to talk to her about it for reasons I won't mention here. I've mentioned before that my home state has a deep connection to copper mining and a large Cornish influence to the north, so this really resonates with me.
Yeah, I remember you saying. The bloody Cornish mate, those buggers knew how to dig. You know, they used them (Australians and Brits) to tunnel under German lines/tenches in WW1 to plant massive mines that they subsequently bluew up. The movie, Beneath Hill 60, depicts it, based on true facts and people. Incredible really, the skill, determination and endurance. I've been to hill 60 in Belgium and have seen the crater, stood on its edge...it's bloody massive. The explosion, part of many simultaneous mine detonations up and down the trenches, was gargantuan.
Anyway, this comment went off on a tangent.
No worries, that is awesome. I didn't know about that, but I am definitely going to keep an eye out for that movie now. Very cool (and humbling) that you were able to see it in person.
Yeah, it's not a recent movie but well worth a watch. I spent a while touring the Western Front, the WW1 battlefields in France and Belgium, and in particular the famous Australian battlefields and Australian War Cemeteries and the Australia War Memorial at Villers Bretonneux. I wrote about it several times in the past. Humbling to be there indeed.
I've been starting to realize just how amazing some of the older movies are even though they don't have the production quality (or color)we have become used to.
Wow it's great that you tracked down all of this from your ancestors, did you get it from books, researches or?
I tried track some of my origins but all I could gather is just that centuries ago they came down from the local alps to the plains where I am now (some still live in the alpes tough) but couldn't go further away
Miner life was harsh, die was so easy and even if you survived all the breathed dust could kill you years later still, they had huge balls to keep up
I used ancestry.com and some books and references. It was pretty straightforward as the British kept very good records, something they did very well among all the other things they didn't do so well. It was an enjoyable process and I'm glad I did it, and glad I visited Cornwall, UK where many of my ancestors came from.
Ancestry.com interesting, it redirected me, asks a subscription of 10€ to start, you had to pay? Is it worth the price?
Curious how they kept record of all this "minor" things, precise people i guess
Yeah, I paid for a subscription for years, still do as I update now and then. It was worth if for me as I had an interest in it. There's millions of records, documents scans and all...the British were meticulous record keepers and have now scanned it into their archives. Other countries too.
I find all the ancestry history fascinating. I had my DNA tested years ago and it came back with 2% Scandinavian. I did not think much about it at the time wondering and questing its accuracy but I recently found a branch on my tree from the East of England with a surname of Fisk the Scandinavian world for Fish. I probably wont be able to find much more but it was fun piecing it all together.
I enjoyed the process, spent time every day doing it over two years, and found a lot of reward from finding and confirming new information. I wanted to know more about where I "came from" but got a lot more than just information.
I've not done the DNA thing, thought about it, but haven't followed through, perhaps I will one of these days. Was the process easy?
Very easy, just a bit of spit in a bottle sent off in the post. I did it through Ancestry.com when I had a membership. 3 of my family did it as well at different times. The results seemed accurate and helped confirm lots of my work. I think the dna testing is good for getting a bit of a picture from back before records. I would like to get a expert to run my dna against the data base again. I think the bigger the data base gets the better it will get in the future. I have a few unknown dead ends in an Irish branch.
When the CIA stop looking for me I'll probably think about giving it a go.
It was a tough time, when many people were just trying to get by, to live as they wished, perhaps making mistakes but doing so in their own way. Miners are hard workers and tough people. It's good to know where we come from, it's always good.
I was able to trace my Spanish and Italian ancestry back to my great-grandparents. My German ancestry... I couldn't find out anything, only that they were Germans from Volga. The other Spaniards and Italians came to Argentina looking for the same thing, escaping economic crises and hunger.
You have shown us a beautiful place with history, thank you!
I reckon if I traced my ancestry back far enough it'd go back to a caveman named Ugg who invented the wheel, or the bow and arrow or something like that.
I think it's good to know stuff like this...I've traced my back to the mid 1400's but haven't managed to go any further back.
I might go back to a cave woman with lots of children who invented fire... for cooking!
It's interesting to learn about our past, very interesting indeed. You've gone back a long way too.
Your ancestor probably invented Argentinian beef...but my ancestor invented Australian beef which, as everyone knows, is way better than Argentinian beef.
Probably... you'd have to try it to find out.🤣
It's awesome how much information that clears many aspects of ourselves is hidden or stored(better said) in our blood line and ancestors history. I've never digged into it too much, I know my grandfather's father was Spaniard and came here with the colonists in the 1800s, fell in love with a cuban lady ( my great-grandmother) left the spnish army and settled down here to enjoy their love, that's all I know without many more details that could be interesting like those you share are, and surely those more personal that won't be shared online. Life wa shard here too during that war, the next one and now in "praceful" times running.
You know a fair amount which is good, how did you find out the information?
Well, I recently talked to a cousin of mine, since memories of past comments came to me that my great-grandfather was Spaniard, so I started to ask around in the family I have left from my mother side and it happens that this cousin had been investigating avout it in the civil records and church, in order to apply to some remote posibility Spain is giving to blood line families from Spaniards who are not nationalized as Spanish people to become Spanish citizens. Many people here have done that to leave this country and so was my cousin and gave me some information about it and some other intersting details about my ancestors.
I think it's very interesting to find out things like this, do you want to know more or do you know enough?
I agree with you. I used, as a kid, to like seating by the elders and gear their stories. Always found it very interesting, entertaining and instructive, it's a shame I couldn't do it more. And answering yous question, of course I would like to know more about it, knowing our roots besides interesting helps a lot to understand a few things. On the other hand there is that saying I like a lot... it's never enough when it comes to knowing, learning or discovering.
(Sorry if it took me long to get back to you, electricity issues)
I think it's important to know who you are and where you come from. When I was in high school, every 8th grader had to do a family history project. There was no internet at the time, so we had to interview parents, uncles, grand parents, etc and gather as much info, photos and documents as possible. My grand parents still had documents and photos from the late 1800's. The idea was to make a book telling the families history. In the end we had to gather the family and show everything we learned. Fun times!
That's a pretty cool school project and I think most flwould have enjoyed the process right? Did you find out anything you didn't already know?
I think everyone enjoyed it. I was only 13yo, so I definitely learned a lot about my family history. I think it was also fun for my parents and grand parents during the process, since they had to dig for documents and photos and were able to share stories with me. In the end each student made a book with everything we got, I believe it might still be at my parents home, it's been only 37 years, so not sure... I might have to dig it to share with my kids.
That's what I thought, the entire group of family liked the process. It would be cool for you to find that book you made to show your own kids.
Ohh I see it really feels bad when our family members denied to marry the person who we love. I also see some of the members really have the hard time when some of them ran away from miner. Does copper really have such a high volume in that time its surprising because at those years whom ever would be mining would made lots of money.
The miners made very little, the owners of the mines and those processing the ore into refined copper made the money. The miners could barely feed themselves from day to day.