I send all of my love and thoughts to Paul, Stephanie and Jonathan and their families and to Bron's sisters Jean and Chris.
]]>After having left late from Heathrow we were only 10 minutes late landing - that was good...
Even so, getting shuffled through Border Control as a connecting passenger it was found that, when checking my ongoing baggage, the luggage would not be able to make the connection and therefore not would I - that's bad...
The Delta official was however able to find a flight direct from JFK to Salt Lake - and that's really good (some 2 hours earlier too)...
The oddity is that when booking my flights originally, I was going from LHR to Boston to Salt Lake City and then just before Christmas, Delta cancelled the direct to Boston flight and changed it to include an annoying JFK to Boston leg, when all along there was no way for me to make the flight! Why they couldn't have just done what the New York person did I don't know.
Anyway, now I am due in Salt Lake City at about the time I was originally scheduled back in October - yee har... or even woo hoo!!
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A night at the Travelodge on Bath Road should make for an easier journey to T4 at 6:00 in the morning - I hope :-)
Flying out with Delta to JFK, onto Boston and then onto Salt Lake City - I know it doesn't make sense but Delta decided that LHR to Boston was too convenient!
Main blog site is www.walter-family.org
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The topic of the day, naturally enough given the venue, was "Railway Workers". The list of presentations included David Hawkings on Records of Railway Ancestors; Martin Sanders, Senior Assistant Archivist, of the Modern Records Centre at Warwick University talking about Railway Trade Union Sources; as well as a couple of others.
I was very interested to attend as I (we) have a railway ancestor - Henry Walter. He has become the Head of Engineering on the Geelong-Melbourne Railway by the mid 1850s. Unfortunately on the inaugural run of the route, he fell from the engine's footplate and was subsequently fatally injured by the train.
I have read accounts of his death in the Geelong Advertiser and have the location of his grave in Geelong (yet to be visited) but I do not know anything of his life before this point. According to the inquest form, his father Joseph was from Bristol. I have not found evidence of Joseph emmigrating to Australia so I assume, at this point, Henry was also born in Bristol and quite probably had his apprenticeship on the railways in that location too. This would put him firmly under the auspices of the Great Western Railway Company.
As a result of todays presentations I have had a few more avenues of research opened up for me - now I just need to get the time to persue them...
]]>I have just returned from a trip back to Adelaide for Mum's 80th Birthday celebrations. Brilliant but all too short a visit.
I'll put fingers to keyboard to journal the event and the visit over the next few days as I also try and work out a way of revamping my web-based efforts.
Stay tuned (hopefully it won't be another 12 months until the next post - but I think I may have blogged that before...)
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...left Salt Lake at 830 this morning on the way back to London via Detroit.
The flight from SLC to DTW was uneventful and boring - some 3 and a half hours.
Now in the midst of the 5 hour layover in Detroit airport, so ensconced in the Delta Sky lounge again, away from the madding (and maddening crowds).
the exciting view from the Delta lounge and the train going between terminals...
Today was the last day of classes but there is still research opportunities for this afternoon and this evening as well as tomorrow. Unfortunately the library is closed on Sundays…
This afternoon Jane and Doris and I had a bit of a road trip up to Park City and the Utah Olympic Park nearby - about 32 miles (48km) south east of Salt Lake City.
The Utah Olympic Park was the venue for the ski jumping, bob-sled, luge and free-style jumps took place for the 2002 Winter Olympics.
We had a wander through the small museum/exhibition presenting various bits of history about the area, the skiing Hall of Fame and the olympics. The theatrette was showing a film about the 2002 Winter Games and as we entered it happened to be showing a segment about Alisa Camplin - Australian Gold Medal winner for the Women's Aerial Freestyle Skiing…
Park City is a bit further up the road and was, back in the 19th Century was a mining community. During the 80s and 90s it has a resurgence as a tourist location. The main street is now seemingly filled with art galleries, restaurants and souvenir shops. All very nice but just a little bit to trendy…
Back down in the library the rest of the afternoon and evening was quite productive in it's own way. Although I haven't definitive answers on Daniel Davis' line (it requires the purchase of some certificates that will take a few week to arrive), I have some good, specific research plans.
Tomorrow is the last day in the library so I plan to complete the look ups for Williams Rowland's siblings in the parish registers.
Today has been v.productive on the research front.
After a morning of looking at how to get the most out of Title Deeds in class, we headed to the Family History Library again for an afternoon and evening of research.
I haven't managed to do anything with the Title Deeds (yet) but did spend a lot of time investigating parish record images... after about three hours I have found (and have images for) the baptismal entry of my G-G-Grandfather William Rowland of Henllys and later Abercarn - son of Thomas (a shoemaker) and Hannah.
In the process I have also found the entries and images of the baptismal entries for his siblings John, Edwin, Oswald, Ann and Alfred and a previously unknown sibling - Hannah. I still need to look further to find the other two (Sydney and Emily).
The entries show that the family were moving about the district as the children were born and baptised in either Pontypool, Henllys or Llantarnum. There didn't seem to be a progression from one place to next in an order of birth years but a jumping around - Llantarnum, Llantarnum, Henllys, Pontypool, Henllys, Llantarnum, Henllys... we are not talking about great distances but maybe being a shoemaker at this time required more travelling than I previously perceived - yet another channel for research...
Anyway time for us to go out for an evening meal followed by another couple of hours research before the library closes.
