I saw this post on Facebook by Alona from Gould Genealogy and thought it would make a good blog post.

While we all think about writing our own history, few of us actually sit down to do so, as it’s not an easy thing to do.

But rather than writing a book, why not write Life Notes! Break it down into topics or lists, and just write down things like the houses you lived in, the various cars you owned over time, the places you went for holidays and the pets you had and so on … and then even if your book never gets written, the information has been preserved.

I’m starting with some of the homes I’ve lived in.

16 Jenny Ave, Dernancourt, Adelaide, South Australia. 1969 – 1973.

This is what it looks like now but it’s not greatly different from 1969 just the garden is more developed and the fence is different.

Corner of Flaxley Rd and Strathalbyn Rd, Flaxley, South Australia. 1973 – 1987

This photo was taken circa 1986-87

If you click on the picture to see it bigger you can just see under the peeling paint where a previous owner had painted Flaxley Corner on the roof.

Flaxley Corner in 2013, to me it’s now unrecognisable as the house I grew up in.

This picture is of the opposite side of the house from the one above.

Uno Station, near Iron Knob, South Australia.  Governess job 1987.

Uno Station Homestead 1987

Map Showing Uno Station Homestead, Uno Range, Lake Gilles and the start of the Gawler Ranges.

Flinders Island, South Australia. Governess job 1987.

Flinders Island, view from the house.

Aerial view of Flinders Island homestead 2013  Google Maps.

Callanna Station, near Marree, South Australia.  Governess job 1987.

Callanna Station Homestead

Callanna Station homestead is towards the bottom left hand corner of the map.

Cawkers Well Station, near Wilcannia, New South Wales, Australia. Governess job 1988.

Cawkers Well homestead is right in the middle of the map

Hood St, Wilcannia, New South Wales, Australia 1988.  I worked at the local school.  It was at this house I learnt to chop wood for my wood stove which I used for heating and cooking.

I belong to a Local Exchange Trading System otherwise known as LETS. Members buy and sell goods and services for units instead of cash.

http://adelaidelets.org/

I decided to offer my services as a researcher to anyone who would like a hand with their family tree or would like research done for them.  I’m currently doing research for two people and will be starting some for a third person soon.

I love the excitement and discoveries when starting a new tree.  Here are some of the things I’ve found so far.

I’ve been researching an English architect and came across the Royal Institute of British Architects.  They have a comprehensive database of architects which includes some biographical data.  I’ve emailed them and will be ordering some documents soon.

In another family I’m researching I found on a marriage registration in Victoria, Australia that the bride was born in Adelaide, South Australia.  This discovery led to finding her birth record, the names of her parents and from there a branch of the family leading back to the Scottish Highlands.  In researching this family I came across the Royal Commission On The Ancient And Historical Monuments Of Scotland (RCAHMS) website.

Canmore is the heart of the RCAHMS archive, providing searchable, map-based information on buildings and archaeological sites throughout Scotland.

If you have the name of a house or property in Scotland you can search for it on this website and find out where it was, what parish it was in, the current and former name of the district and the county.  On a marriage certificate I had a place name which Google Maps couldn’t locate so I tried it on this site.

I don’t know for sure if this is the right place yet so I’ll keep looking for other sources to disprove or confirm it.