miles of irvings

On April 25th, 1854, the good ship “Marshall Bennett” carrying 180 persons, all assisted immigrants and their families, sailed from Southampton, the large port on the Solent in Hampshire, to Geelong, the major migrant port inside Port Philip Bay, Victoria. The trip took 109 days, landing on the 11th of August 1854. One family on… Read more

A story from the 20th September 1835 newspaper, The Bath Chronicle, reported a burial with military honours at Twerton commencing at 5 o’clock: “it is calculated upwards of 7,000 spectators were present.” The funeral, for Mr. Daniel Miles, of the Bath Troop of North Somerset Yeomanry Cavalry, started from the George Inn where Daniel had lived and… Read more

My mother’s maiden name was Juli Vacchini; her father’s name was Caleb Hutton Vacchini; her grandfather’s name was Caleb Francis Vacchini and her great grandfather’s name was John Vacchini. Everyone except John was born in NSW, Australia. Juli put her recollections of her family onto paper around the year 2000 and called it “Family Matters”.… Read more

My paternal ancestry has always been a bit muddled, primarily because my father was never forthcoming about his own life and deflected any questions about his ancestors. My mother wasn’t much help either, saying that her mother-in-law was a rather strange woman who had migrated to Australia from England just after WWI and had met… Read more

The Reverend John Percival Hoatson (1856-1910) Vicki’s 1st cousin, 3 times removed. John Percival Hoatson was born on 16th May 1856 in Halifax, Yorkshire, the son of Joseph Cockin Hoatson and Ruth Smith. He was the fifth child of seven; his siblings were Martha, born in Manchester (1848-1857); Marion born in Halifax (1849-1922); Mary Hannah born in Halifax (1852-?);… Read more

Two families, both from Ireland, both Protestant made their way to Berrima New South Wales decades prior to the celebrated gold rush in Australia. Both families were well respected, involved positively in developing their communities, produced very interesting characters and enjoyed a union of marriage between them.  The first to arrive were Roger’s 3rd Great Grandparents,… Read more