In this edition our first two articles present some unconventional approaches to courtship and marriage in 19th century society. In ‘The sisters, the suitor, and an old story’, Angela Rutherford tells a dramatic tale of violent events in Melbourne in 1849 which resonate with modern Australia. This stirring article was the runner-up in the 2024 GSV Writing Prize. In ‘For better or worse: the wives of John Brewer’, Jillian Brewer follows the risky and somewhat disastrous career of John Brewer and what this meant for the women in his life. With Anzac Day approaching next month, we are pleased to publish Bojan Pajic’s report on a new series of Serbian stamps that commemorate Australian medical volunteers in World War 1, including Miles Franklin. Bojan also provides biographies of these Australians.

Continuing our ‘Trades of the Past’ series, Nina Johnson describes the trade of her ancestors from Sheffield who made Devonshire slippers; Jenny Scammell tells us about her 3x great grandfather who turned ivory on a treadle lathe; Catherine Carmen delves into the now outmoded culinary trade of tripe dressing; while Ian Penrose explains the processes involved in his 2x great grandfather’s work making nails in 19th century Ireland. 

In our ‘How to’ section, Bronwen Paschalidis explores the possibilities for researching ancestors from Scandinavian countries, including Finland and Iceland as well as Norway, Sweden and Denmark. She covers the region’s history, explains differences in naming conventions, discusses national archives and libraries and online genealogy sites, and lists key words. 
Thanks to the amalgamation of the GSV and the Descendants of Convicts Group, we have a wealth of resources for researching convict ancestors in our library. In Research Corner, Rebecca Landy guides you though the sorts of resources available and how to access them.

In ‘Getting it Write’, Jenny Scammell reflects on the value of a writers’ group for family history, and explains the many ways in which the GSV Writers Discussion Circle supports members, such as encouragement, feedback and writing exercises. And in the first of an occasional series of articles introducing GSV office bearers, Ancestor is delighted to profile our new GSV Secretary Heather Landells.

Emma Hegarty
Editorial team