mining ancestors

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Carmel M Reynen on December 26, 2010 at 6:49am

Yvonne, Moonta must have been quite a town, I had family there during the mining days as well, but also my brother lived there a few years back and we went to visit, pity but I did not know about my miners then.

Looking at the indexes it seems this couple started in Adelaide, then went to Ballarat then back to Moonta. The first child was born in 1851, then it seems they were in Ballarat, one child, Richard was registered in SA in 1857 but is registered as being born in Ballarat Victoria (in SA. the next few Children were born Moonta.

When searching a name you can put in Pom* this will give you variations of the surname.

Some of areas you can look is of course Birth Death and Marriage registers, and if you can also try Newspapers via Trove

trove.nla.gov.au There is one letter in there written by William in praise of some young men who saved him from drowning in Moonta Bay. There is also an article of Manslaughter charges being laid against Mr William Pomroy at Moonta, There is also an obituary for a Harry Pomroy the only son of Mr & Mrs Pomroy, which if the right family may give you some history. It also mentions Moonta.

You need to remember that families did move around a lot, especially miners, and unless there was an official event, it maay be hard to trace thier exact travels.

I do hope this helps,

Oh and if there is something specific in Ballarat, let me know.

Carmel

Permalink Reply by lynda cuper on December 29, 2010 at 6:34pm

Hi           I have 'mining' ancestors and would like to know more about what they did? Also how do l join this group?

                                                                                       thanks Lynda

Permalink Reply by Yvonne Pomroy on February 12, 2011 at 7:39pm

Hi Shauna,

 

I meant to address my previous message to you... have addressed it to Carmel, please read as addressed to both of you and yourself in particular Cheers, Yvonne

Permalink Reply by Yvonne Pomroy on February 12, 2011 at 7:36pm

Hi Carmel,

Thank you for your reply... I have been working interstate and no access to personal emails, I'm now home again. Your information is very helpful & interesting. My William ancestor had relatives follow him to Moonta, Richard and another William (Pomroy or Pomeroy's just to complicate any research!!) the families all seemed to relocate to various areas together, interesting to find out  which William was accused of manslaughter. i found out sometime ago that the cousin William was declared bankrupt during the 1890's depression in SA because his creditors were unable to pay him.... anyway onward with the research. Unfortunately my time is limited due to work and other commitments but I do try to research as I'm able each week (even if it's only for an hour). Any information you can provide about Ballarat would be wonderful, at one point I did contact the Ballarat Historical Society but didn't receive a reply.

I have been able to trace some movements via birth of children as you suggested.

 

Again, thanks your website is a wonderfull resource and I'm sure it will only go from strength to strength.

 

Regards,

 

Yvonne

Permalink Reply by M. Denise Golding on February 22, 2011 at 6:07am

Hi Yvonne,

 

I am able to search the BDM records for South Australia (Moonta), and will do so for you if you wish. Have been doing a lot of this sort of stuff lately for patrons who come into the FamilySearch Centre and are unable to do it themselves because of physical disabilities.

 

Do you know Ann's maiden surname? That would make it more certain. My husband has Moonta (Cornish) miners in his family, and we've been tracing them. Back in the mid to late 19th century, Moonta was a large, thriving town (in excess of 20,000), and as some names were very common, the more information you have the better. 'Our' miner was a John Pascoe - well, there must have been dozens of them, and making sure you have the right children can be tricky if you don't have the mother's name.

 

Let me know if you would like me to try - I'll be in the Centre again this Friday.

 

Best of luck,   Denise