Stories of Agnes Cahill

You've probably heard how DNA was used to apprehend the alleged Golden State Killer. Knowing that I use genetic genealogy in my family history research, friends and family have spoken to me about how this unfolded. Upfront, I should say that the Police didn't use one of the commercial testing companies like AncestryDNA. They used  GEDmatch.com  which allows people to upload their DNA data from the commercial testing companies to a common platform. Roberta Estes, a US based gene tic genealogist, has published a very detailed article today that some may be interested in reading. Roberta makes the point that there's been little coverage of the same process being followed to identify a murder victim just 13 days earlier. The victim, known as the Buckskin Girl, was found in 1981 and identified as 21 year old Marcia Lenore King earlier in the month. At the end of the article, Roberta details why she's keeping her DNA online. Mine's staying online as well. Plea...

Anzac Day goes beyond the anniversary of the landing on Gallipoli in 1915. It is the day on which we remember all Australians who served and died in war and on operational service past and present. The spirit of Anzac, with its qualities of courage, mateship, and sacrifice, continues to have meaning and relevance for our sense of national identity. J ames Oswald (Jim) Woodlands was born on 20 September 1891 in Newcastle.  He was the son of Agnes Cahill from her relationship with Cornelius Bray, a Cornish stonemason who was living in the area at the time.   You can read more about Jim, Agnes and Cornelius here.   As far as we know, Jim never met his father and was 10 when Agnes married James Woodland. James Oswald Woodlands On 31 May 1917, aged 25, Jim enlisted in the 32nd Battalion 1st Australian Light Horse at Newcastle.  He showed his occupation as a grocer of "Cavan", Watkins Street, The Junction, Newcastle.  Jim left Melbourne on 28 October...

Michael was born on 23 March 1868 at Belford in the Singleton district of NSW.  He was the tenth of the eleventh children of James and Eliza Cahill.  Agnes was the ninth child. Choose this link to read more about James and Eliza Cahill and their children. Michael was our 1st, 2nd or 3rd great-uncle.  He was probably named after Eliza's older brother who was born about 1828 in Johns Well, County Kilkenny, Ireland.  James and Eliza had left there family behind in 1855 to live in Australia.  Michael's older brother, James, married Isabella Hogan, and their first son was called Micheal.  He was born in 1885 also at Belford. There are only fragments of Michael's life that survive after his birth in 1868.   On 9 November 1891, when he was 25, Michael appears in Maitland Goal's Entrance Book.  His conviction was for being drunk.  He was sentenced to 24 hours in goal or a 10 shilling fine.  Michael chose the 24 hours!  So th...

The last weekend of February was my first opportunity to visit Newcastle since I've become interested in my family history.  In planning and executing my "field trips", I'm looking for places that were significant to my family many years ago and getting a sense of the current "vibe" - great accommodation and eateries add a lot to the experience. To recap... Agnes Cahill is my "Woodlands great-grandmother".  She was born in about 1868 in Patricks Plain near Singleton, NSW - thought to be the tenth of the eleven children of James Cahill (abt 1822 to 1877) and Eliza Dunn (abt 1830 to 1890). Here's a photo of Agnes taken  in about 1937 in Sydney with her daughter, Lorna, and grandson, Ron. You can read more about Agnes and her family in these previous blog posts- The Children of Agnes Woodlands (nee Cahill) James Cahill and Eliza Dunn's children including Agnes  and Agnes Cahill - My Woodlands great-grandmother Agnes h...

Too many months have passed since my last post but today is the day to share the story of Agnes Cahill's niece and her family.   Catherine Cahill (1856 to 1913) was the oldest child of James and Eliza Cahill. She was about 12 when her younger sister, Agnes, was born - the 10th of 11 children. Catherine married William Dries in 1873 in Branxton. More about the Dries family in another post. William and Catherine had 10 children. Agnes Dries (1887 to 1929) was the eight born. I was interested in Agnes Dries' life as she was most likely named after Agnes, my great-grandmother, and, at the time, no-one had complete details of her life or death on public trees. I spent many long hours researching to arrive at the point that I could share the details of Agnes Dries and her family. Agnes Teresa Dries was born on 28 October 1887 in Glen Innes, NSW. She died in a private hospital in Charters Towers Road, Townsville, Queensland on 10 November 1929. She was 42. Agnes Teresa ha...