How Good a Wood Engraver was Edward LEE?

In the last third of the nineteenth century, my great-grandfather, Edward LEE (1840-1898) was employed as a wood engraver on the colonial illustrated newspapers in Melbourne. In June 2016, I was fortunate enough to have an article published in the Ancestor journal of the Genealogical Society of Victoria (GSV) detailing Edward’s working life in Australia.  READ MORE

Where did I get that hair…Mary Jane CAMERON?

I have a lot of hair. It’s thick and curly. As a child my mum attempted to train its unruly behaviour by giving me frequent ‘trims’. She skilfully wielded those sharp scissors over my head as a I dutifully perched on the high, yellow stool. The result: a short style with ‘room to grow’, which READ MORE

A LEE Match!

About a month ago, a LEE ‘relative’ in the USA, who I’ve recently made contact with, emailed a couple of photos of a brother of her forebear, Charles LEE (1841-1929). Charles LEE being the brother of my great-grandfather Edward LEE (1840-1898). The question….are the photos of Edward LEE? One of the photos is labelled Stewart READ MORE

A search for the final resting place of the LEEs in England

I knew my great great grandparents, Edward LEE and Jemima LEE (nee WILLIAMS), did not follow their sons, George, Edward (my great-grandfather) and Charles to Australia, so, it wasn’t too much of a jump to assume they died and were buried in England. But where? Discerning their ‘timelines’ in England led to a burial plot READ MORE

Some ‘hard’ drinking in the WINTER line

James WINTER (c.1806-1882), a brother of my great-grandfather, Edward WINTER (c.1812-1869), emigrated to Australia from Ireland with his wife Tirzah (nee DELMEGE) in 1851. The couple headed for the goldfields. They found gold, made some money, spent it on drink. How do I know this? Here’s my trail… In my internet ramblings for WINTER clues READ MORE

Tracing the LEE brothers, George, Edward and Charles, in Australia

Like a ‘good’ genealogist I sourced primary documents to trace my great grandfather Edward LEE (1840-1898) back to his birthplace. Edward was the first in my direct LEE line to emigrate to Australia. I have previously referred to him in a post ‘The Locket’. On the discovery that Edward LEE was born and raised in READ MORE

The Locket

My grandmother, Mary Grace Jane ‘Doll’ COGHLAN nee LEE (1881-1958) ‘handed down’ to her son, my dad, a gold locket. On the outside of the locket are the initials ‘MJL’ and on the inside are photos of a man, a lady and a baby. There are no names or dates on the locket or photos READ MORE