This month is an interesting newsletter because besides our great array of contributors we have two new ones with interesting subjects they have written about. Don Hansen’s one was an eyeopener to me because I was unaware of the many census sources for NZ exist. The standard line from me has been – census records for NZ haven’t survived. I am now more educated on that statement. Garth Houltham has contributed an article on one of his databases which I was unaware of. Please read these (and the others, particularly mine).

That brings me onto one of my favourite annual events – The Family History Expo, aka the Fickling Show. I am very keen to attend and have never failed to learn something at this event. To quote my column:

“an unmissable two and a bit days gathering to hear speeches, consult experts, meet old friends, hear of new developments and gossip with other researchers etc. This does not cost anything to attend”

To get more details see below in the Auckland Public Library section.

Please remember to keep the coffees coming to me there and stop and talk to Robert at the FAMNET table – he gets very bored and lonely. You can complain to him about the standard of the newsletter.

Anyway, back to reality. Once again, we have an interesting newsletter. The articles are varied. The jokes are funny although they are not the main reason for reading the newsletter.

I hope this month’s issue occupies some of your time and you find something valuable.

Peter Nash

Do you want to receive this newsletter every month?

This newsletter is free. There are not many free newsletters of this length in New Zealand. I am biased but it should be an interesting read.

To subscribe is easy too. Go on - don't misspell it as I have, twice already. https://www.famnet.org.nz/

The front page is lovely, but click on [Newsletters]. A page opens showing you a list of all the past newsletters, you can click the link to read one that you’re interested in.

Like the front page, the newsletters page has a place where you can log on or register. It’s in the top right-hand corner. Put your email here and click [Continue]. If you aren’t already on our mailing list, there will be a message “Email not in database” and a button [New User] appears. Click this and follow the dialog to register. It’s free and easy. You should receive a copy every month until you unsubscribe.

Robert has assured me that he will not send begging letters to your email - apparently, he has enough money at the moment. You will not have to put in your credit card number. You will not be charged a subscription.

Tell other genealogists so they can enjoy the newsletters too.

Regards

Peter Nash

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Regular Contributors

From the Developer

Nothing from me this month

Telling your story: Index

1. Writing your story as notes, or with Word.

2. Embedding pictures in Word documents.

3. Saving Documents for Web Publication.

4. Saving Scrapbook Items

5. Sharing your Story: Managing your Family Group

6. On Line Editing: More Facts, Family, GDB Links

7. Comparing and Synchronising Records

8. Producing and Using Charts

9. Merging Trees. Part 1: Why Bother?

10. Merging Trees. Part 2: Adding Records On-Line

11. Merging Trees. Part3. Combining Existing Trees

12. Finding Your Way Around FamNet (Getting Help)

13. FamNet – a Resource for your Grandchildren

14. FamNet’s General Resource Databases
15. Updating General Resource Databases

16. Privacy

17. Indexes: beyond Excel.

18. Linking trees

19. Uploading a GEDCOM file

20. Uploading Objects to your Database

21. Bulk-uploading Objects. FamNet resource: Useful Databases
22. Publishing Living Family on Family Web Sites

23. Have YOU written your family story yet?

24. Editing and Re-arranging your Family Tree On-line.

25. It’s the Stories that Matter

26. Using QR Codes for your Family History

27. What happens to our Family History when we’re gone?

28. Our Shared Database Grows

Robert Barnes

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The Nash Rambler

Thanks Auckland Public Library

I should have written this column many weeks ago when mayor, Wayne Brown (I hope I have the right Brown), was thrusting his budget down Aucklanders’ throats. He was/is threatening large cuts to the services of the City Council organisations just so he can “balance the books”. This reminds me of the John Key government and their drive to “balance the books” and now we have a broken health system, broken education system and potholes etc because of the cuts his government made – there’s the political statement for the month. But Mr Brown’s administration will make cuts to the city’s services.

The Auckland Library system will be cut. From a genealogist’s point of view this could be disastrous and let me give you a few reasons for this statement.

1) I very seldomly wander into the research section of central library but recently had a need to. The service I received when I sat down at the desk was brilliant. Very quickly I was pointed in the right direction with pertinent advice. Training their staff in the genealogy world, methods, resources etc takes time and money. Even having a person sitting at a desk waiting for an idiot like me to approach for help costs money.

2) The access to the LDS library system is a very vital service. You would, if you read last month’s column, be aware of my Alfred John Carter problem which involves an illegitimate birth and is not falling out easily. I have a need to read parish registers, workhouse records, and other records to see if my target’s father is mentioned. Auckland Library is an access point to these LDS “films”. Here I don’t have to tithe or pay an exorbitant membership fee to get access as in other possible access points. At the moment it is free and, thanks to Winston (not Churchill), travel to the library is free – Long Live the Gold Card!

3) I know that I’m not the brightest penny in the purse but very recently I have discovered that I have access, from home, via the Library web site, to a number of websites that are essential for research e.g. FindMy Past, My Heritage. It is marvellous what you can find when you “play around” on a website. I will always say that I’m too busy to play around on a website but that is not quite true. I could spend less time on coffee purchase and/or crossword completion. But the Auckland Library website is an interesting place to dabble – remember to log in.

4) The Family History Expo, held in early August in Three Kings, is an unmissable two-and-a-bit days gathering to hear speeches, consult experts, meet old friends, hear of new developments and gossip with other researchers etc. It does not cost anything to attend. Every year I see more and more “beginners” attending, and there is no doubt that the “hobby” or addiction is continuing to grow. I have had many enjoyable discussions with beginners and, of course, giving free advice. This year I’m even a speaker albeit in the last session on the last day giving a speech aimed at these beginners. I must spend more time “giving back” to the hobby as payment for the many years of pleasure I have experienced.

All the above cost money. Mr Brown has a strong desire to save money and I’ll bet a big portion of my tiny pension that this library system has or will come under his microscope. Incidentally, a certain Mr Williamson who was a cabinet minister in John Key’s government is the leading knife sharpener for our tennis champion mayor.

So, I must thank the library system and the staff for the valuable services they provide and I hope it will continue.

Peter Nash

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DNA Testing for Family History

From the editor: Gail has written quite a series on DNA Testing. You will see them all on the FAMNET website and they are a must-read, particularly if you are considering or have had a test done. They are easy to read and not too technical. Click Index so far to see these articles

A Case Study incorporating Sleuthing Tools

A picture containing text, clipart

Description automatically generated I have been asked to do a case study and incorporate the sleuthing tools that you have been learning about in this long series of articles which I have written for Famnet readers. This case study is using Autosomal DNA which is marketed as Family Finder by FTDNA. It was one of the first tests I took.

Let me begin by stating that I put a basic tree incorporating some of my siblings and 1^st and 2^nd cousins from both sides of my parents. At the time of doing this, my aim was simply to extend my ability to find matches. This basic tree showed the siblings and the cousins who had agreed to test for me. What I did not know at the time was that the tester’s name had to be the same as the name of the person on my tree. The name similarity enabled linking.

My tree on my computer was too large and too personal to place in my FTDNA account, so rather than upload a Gedcom file from my genealogy software, I manually (and tediously) added people one at a time.

My biggest problem seemed to be the lack of my having parents to test (they are deceased along with the majority of their siblings) and locating people on my mother’s side who would test for me. This lack of genetic information on my mother’s side meant I could not ‘prove the written iformation I had. But I had overlooked the ability of the matching algorithm utilised by FTDNA – where the tree and the cousins’ results are considered.

Once I had completed the tree to my satisfaction and received the genetic results of siblings and cousins, I went into Family Finder Matches. Nearly at the top of the matches, I found this box.

Translating the information in the box, it shows out of 4770 matches, FTDNA identified that 1254 were from my father’s family and 607 were from my mother’s family, and 6 were from my siblings and our children – the latter meaning the testers had both of my parents autosomes in their genes.

Scrolling down through the list of matches, I came across a gentleman who had a description of being a 2^nd to a 4^th cousin from my mother’s side. He shared a total of 69 cMs with me.

Using Blaine Bettinger’s ‘Shared cM Project 4.0’ https://dnapainter.com/tools/sharedcmv4

I found this “Assuming no pedigree collapse or endogamy, and that you're related in just one way, the furthest back you might need to go to find common ancestors for a match of 69cM is 8th-Great-Grandparent level or generation 11 on your pedigree chart. The connection may be closer”.

I sincerely hoped it would not be as far back as 11 generations!

Keeping in mind the following rule that:-

a 1^st cousin has one of my grandparents as a common ancestor meaning one of my mother’s 2 parents;

a 2^nd cousin has one of my great grandparents as a common ancestor meaning one of my mother’s 4 grandparents;

a 3^rd cousin has one of my great great grandparents as a common ancestor meaning one of my mother’s 8 great grandparents;

a 4^th cousin has one of my great great great grandparents as a common ancestor meaning one of my mother’s 16 great great grandparents.

I decided to start with my 2 * Great grandparents as I do not have 11 generations on my mother’s side. After noting the ancestral surnames given by my match, I opted to look at my mother’s tree and search for those surnames. One of those surnames was in bold – this meant there was a match to a Surname I had placed in my account – nothing genetic.

Although Surnames do not mean a great deal where genetic searches are concerned, the bolded name was at least a good starting point. Not being sure whether I should be looking at a 2^nd or a 3^rd or a 4^th cousin, I returned to the match’s details and opened up the ‘Ancestral Names’ provided. Doing this enabled me to see the geographical placename for the Surname in bold. It was given as London.

Using both the Surname and the geographical place name, I went back to my tree. Only one person fitted both Surname and placename AND he was my Great Great grandfather.

I began to feel slightly more confident that I was not going down a rabbit-hole. But the name of the tester was different to the Surname in bold. More work had to be done! I needed to work out where and when this match’s name fitted into the picture I was trying to build.

Often the easiest way to do this is to write to the match. But in this case, there was no email address. However, he did have a profile and in that, he had named his most distant known ancestors with dates. Again these were unknown names.

When you are faced with names and dates and no real idea where to look, the normal way in this day and age is to use the internet. I chose Google as my search engine.

I googled both my match’s distant ancestor’s names and dates hoping the surname of my match might come into view. It did not.

But what did come up was a surprise! It was a published article about those distant Ancestors. The sub headline read “A leading British Liberal stateman, his brother, his sister, a surveyor’s daughter, her mother, her governess and her piano teacher…” And, a love child.

Guess whose eyes were glued to her monitor.

After piecing together the details within the article and plugging the pertinent points into my family tree, I learned that my match is a 3^rd cousin once removed.

My match was the grandson of the lovechild.

However, because this match of mine is young enough to still be living, I hesitate to state his name and the actual details in this publication. But if you are a match to me, please write and we shall see what we shall see.

The point of this article is not to relay another person’s details, but to show what can be found by following the genetic trail and utilising the tools that FTDNA and the internet provides. As well as Lady Luck of course…

Gail Riddell

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Chinese Corner


Museum of NZ Photographs Collections Online has information on almost 800,000 artworks, objects, and specimens from Te Papa’s collections. A search for Chinese people, or Chinese Women, comes up with many un-named professional photos, from the many studios in Wellington, that have since closed. We are lucky to have the photos for future research – but we also need to hurry to identify the portrait holders before they fade from our memories. https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/about-collections-online The photo below is one of several that the Spencer Digby Studios had taken in 1960. A number of photographers were employed by the studio including Brian Brake. The lady in the white coat has already been identified by the community, and the venue possibly James Smiths, on the corner of Manners and Cuba Streets.
	Women; inscribed 'NZ Listener (Chinese Community N.Z)’ Spencer Digby Studios; photography studio; 8 July 1960; Wellington https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/2029504#open-iiifViewer
	Young woman Cuba Photographic Studio; photography studio; circa 1930; Wellington https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/380526?fbclid=IwAR3UGYIS09rIrxkle1BNcDln5G11g7iGE8CB7O0YXqhCymHITax0lUz-Dww
	Bride - Spencer Digby Studios; photography studio; circa 1948; Wellington https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/1447550?fbclid=IwAR00_PLtHK-IyKeLoEN5YgnQkVhoVcSN7qoe10Bsqfln3ym9ZIE8Vy1ANMc This bride has also been identified by family – and Te Papa have reached out to them for more information.

Te Papa are also on a mission to identify early Indian immigrants. The portraits of nearly 4000 negatives that were found in the 1990s in a cupboard at 147 Cuba Street in Wellington. Te Papa acquired the collection in 1998.

"Of these, there are 95 portraits of early Indian immigrants taken at the Cuba Photographic Studio in the 1930s and '40s. But there will probably be more in the collection taken at different studios in different time periods,"

The building was occupied by portrait photography studio Berry & Co., which was established in 1897 by William Berry. Cuba Photographic Studio took over the premises in the 1930s.

2 children C1935 Wellington https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/indonz/493940/putting-a-name-to-a-face-te-papa-on-a-mission-to-identify-early-indian-immigrants?fbclid=IwAR1u40haisrqDKASaiuDwosSvjgjsIYqyoWG4wRVDiVC_5WD3CFDxxB760E

Helen Wong

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More Famous New Zealanders You have Probably Never Heard Of

Margaret Jane Briggs (1892-1961)

Maggie BRIGGS was born at Otakeho, South Taranaki* on the 17 April 1892 to Robert Ephraim and Linda Elsie Briggs nee STEVENS. Maggie’s father was drowned in a boating accident on the 29 November 1896 off Ohawe Beach, Hawera, and in 1898 her mother married farmer, John ROBERTSON.

John Dryburg MITCHELL, a noted Clydesdale breeder and sportsman of Manaia, had a little pony, Czarina, for whom he wanted a rider worthy of the mount. He watched the children riding to school, and chose six-year-old Maggie. Before she was allowed to ride Czarina in competition she had to be tutored in the art of riding and this job was given to J D’s son Alex Mitchell, himself one of the finest show ring riders in New Zealand. Under his tuition, Maggie began to learn the rights and wrongs of show ring riding. Fortunately, she had an innate love of horses, and she enjoyed every minute of the time she was asked to give practice. Maggie was one of the first to ride astride in competitions.

Eventually after two years of tuition, Maggie made her debut at the Egmont A & P Show, Hawera in 1902, when mounted on Czarina, she won eleven first prizes. In addition, competing on another mount she took third place in the women’s jumping event. Maggie was quickly dubbed the "Maid from Manaia". For six years Maggie and Czarina were unbeatable, and when Maggie became too old for the children’s events, the pony was retired from the ring with more than 100 first prizes to her credit.

For Maggie’s twelfth birthday she was given another horse, Rawhiti, by Gus SOLE of Bell Block. On this horse, Maggie began beating the finest women riders in New Zealand as well as winning at open hunting, wire jumping and other equestrian events. Later she proved herself outstanding in Australian competitions, making her first appearance at the Sydney Royal Easter Show in 1923. Invited by American millionaire Guy WOODIN to visit Los Angeles, she ended up riding Rudolf Valentino’s Arabian stallion making her "one of the most envied women in Hollywood". Maggie found America disappointing as show ring riding was almost unknown there and she suffered a hip injury which incapacitated her for some years. In her recovery period she began writing and publishing poetry under the pseudonym "Pakeha".

Maggie returned to New Zealand in 1948, and her interest in show jumping never waned. She donated almost all her trophies as prizes to encourage others. Maggie Briggs died on the 5 November 1961 at Otaki, New Zealand’s first international equestrian.

* Some sources say she was born at Otahuhu (Auckland) but her birth entry has been cited as Otakeho, South Taranaki.

Christine Clement

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Guest Contributors

Don Hansen

Accessible New Zealand census records that name people

This article, particularly Table 2, is too big to include directly in the newsletter, so click the link to see the article in its original form. This is an important contribution to New Zealand Genealogy.

All accessible New Zealand census records naming people that Don has found so far are listed in Table 2, which you need to go to Don’s article to see. It includes links that you can click, in some cases these might take you to the actual census data, they will at lease tell you where the data is held. Please tell Don about other surviving records or any errors for a future update (contact details below).

The criteria for inclusion are that:

1. the record was, or appears to have been, compiled with the intention of counting all Europeans and/or Maori living within a defined area, and

2. any of those counted are named, whether just a few or everyone, and

3. the record is now accessible to the public.

All sorts of lists of names survive, e.g., electoral rolls, directories, jury lists, militia lists, rate books, school registers and lists of Maori communal landowners. While they may serve as census substitutes, if they do not meet the above criteria then they are excluded from the tables below. A few records below may appear to be lists of property owners, rather than a census, but they are the only surviving part of a census record. Virtually all surviving census records over 100 years old are accessible to the public. The important inaccessible ones that name people are the surviving national census returns since 1966, but they may become accessible after 100 years.

Table 1: This table summarises the coverage of the surviving records, which are individually listed in more detail in Table 2.

E = European, M = Maori, B = both European and Maori, H = mixed European-Maori ancestry (“half-caste”) only

Table 2: describes the surviving records in date order. Click the link above, or this link, to see the full article including this table.

Articles on New Zealand censuses:

Hansen, Donald. “Forgotten but not gone: some early New Zealand census returns”. The New Zealand Genealogist. Vol. 42, no. 329. May/Jun 2011. pp.115-121.

https://genealogy.org.nz/NZG-Digital-Magazines/11094/

NZSG subscription required. An 1891 South Island Maori census was explicitly excluded, in error, from the list of censuses in the article, but is included in Tables 1 and 2 here.

Hansen, Donald. The Empire Census: New Zealand's first national census in 1851. (2017). Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington. MSDL-3780. https://ndhadeliver.natlib.govt.nz/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE30035271&dps_custom_att_1=emu

Don Hansen
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Garth Houltham

Soldiers of Empire Database.pdf

Little did I think 50 years ago when I began researching my family history that it would involve a lengthy interest in a group of British military men who chose to make New Zealand their home. My great- great- grandfather was a Howick Fencible and his daughter married a soldier from the 65^th Regiment.

In the 1980’s when I was a foundation member of the NZ Fencible Society I started a paper slip index collecting details for the Fencibles and their families. At the same time I met Hugh and Lyn Hughes who were indexing the soldiers discharged in NZ. Their work did not involve recording any information other than the discharge details so I started another paper slip index to record genealogical data for this group. Some NZSG members may well remember me giving talks with a table full of microfiche storage boxes full of slips.

With arrival of computers it became obvious that computerising the index was the way to go. Entering the database began with the Fencible records that I had collected and also material held by the NZ Fencible Society. It soon became obvious that there were quite a number of Fencible widows and daughters who were marrying men from the regiments so it became sensible to include all the discharged men. Having amalgamated the two groups I then discovered Lord Ranfurly’s 1902 Roll of Honour that listed all the known British veterans residing in NZ at that time. By adding these men it became obvious I had created a substantial one stop shop database for anyone who had a British military man residing in NZ from 1840 -1902. The arrival of Paperspast then made available another source that continues to give me more names for men other than those in the previous named sources.

The database is by no means complete and continues to grow daily as I discover new material. To date the database holds almost 70,000 individual names of British military personal, their wives and descendants, as well as other supporting documentation gathered from a very diverse group of sources.

Access to the database is limited at this stage as it is still a work in progress but it is hoped eventually to make it available online. I am happy to answer specific questions as to whether an individual’s name is recorded and the sort of information held. Contact can be made through the NZ Fencible Society Facebook page.

Garth Houltham
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Ken Morris

Useful Toil – Autobiographies of Working People from 1820s to1920s

Edited by John Burnett. First Published in 1974. 360 pages.

Professor John Burnett 1925-2006 was a social historian. He and two other scholars collected the Burnett Archive of Working Class Autobiography at Brunel University, the Archive contains over 230 autobiographies. USEFUL TOIL contains a selection of them (27)

My primary reason to purchase (via ABE Books) was in hope of finding information about seafarers, and shoemakers – but missed out on these occupations!

Each chapter is about a person, their occupation and life experiences, and is either in their own hand or as a told story. I have listed them all here as one might recognise a name of interest in addition to the actual occupation.

Anonymous navvy	Gabriel Tschumi, chef	George Stun, wheelwright
Tom Mullins, farm labourer	John Robinson, butler	Paul Evett, compositor
Lucy Luck, straw-plait worker	Edward Humphries, pageboy	Arthur Gill, Goldbeater and ticket-writer
John Ward (O'Neil), weaver	Lilian Westall, housemaid	T.R. Dennis, cabinetmaker
William Luby, sweet boiler	Winifred Foley, general maid	Thomas Jordan, coalminer
Winifred Griffiths, shop assistant	Emanuel Lovekin, mining `butty'	An old potter
Rosina Whyatt, munitions-factory worker	William Lanceley, house-steward	Henry Broadhurst, stonemason
William Tayler, footman	Thomas Wood, engineer	B. L. Coombes, coalminer
Charles Newnham, carpenter and builder	Jean Rennie, scullery-maid, kitchen-maid and cook-housekeeper

In addition to the actual autobiographies there is a preface ‘Autobiographies as History’ and introductions to each of the groups; The Labouring Classes, Domestic Servants & Skilled Workers, this section contains some interesting tables of job descriptions, numbers of people and wages.

I’ve not read all of the ‘occupations’ and offer the following as a selection those read.

William Luby ~ sweet boiler. Is from ‘Before My Time’ a Granada TV interview 1963. William was born near Manchester in 1883 of Irish ancestry, the interview was made when he was aged 80 and follows his recorded responses to the interviewer’s questions (11 pages). Covers life as a child and starting work at minimum age of 14 at Crabtree which made velvet, fustian & cords and involved in the stiffening of the cloth. There was only a brief mention to working for a ‘sugar-boiler’ which involved making moulds and then shells of cooled sugar syrup.

Lucy Luck ~ straw-plait worker. From ‘A Little of My Life’ London Mercury No 76 April 1926. Lucy was born in 1848 and died 1922 aged seventy-three, her memoirs were written towards the end of her life, her daughter says her mother used to write it at night when she couldn’t sleep. Lucy came from a family of four, the father, a bricklayer, was a drunkard and a brute and left the family who ended up in the workhouse in Tring. Aged 9 she was sent to away from home to work in the silk mills. Children under 11 were only supposed to work half a day but it was normally a 12 hr day. Living conditions were poor and boarding condition in homes with family violence and predatory males, seems that nothing has changed. A straw-plait worker was involved in making hats & bonnets and it was seasonal work. Lucy had to move around a lot and sometimes was homeless. She soon caught the eye of Will, a ploughman, and they were married in 1867 aged 19, Will’s pay was 12/- per week, bread was 8d a quarter loaf and rent of a farm cottage was 2/- per week. Eventually Will had to go to London to find work & Lucy followed, still making hats & bonnets at home and sending them back to her employer in Luton (work from home!). It seems London was a happier place, they had seven children and Lucy took on other work when hat making wasn’t in season.

Emanuel Lovekin ~ mining ‘putty’. From an unpublished autobiography brought to the authors attention by Lovekin’s great-great-grandson. Aged 75, Emanuel started to write some of his memories, (about 7,000 words). The extract in the book (8 pages) covers about half and is unedited and has his own spelling & grammar. He was born in Tunstall, Staffordshire in 1820, worked until 1899 and died in 1902.. He was one of nine children whose father spent most of his earnings on drink. Aged seven and a half years he became a ‘trapper’, opened access doors in coal pits. He had a number of serious accidents in his life, was a follower of the Primitive Methodist faith and a Chartist (aim of the Chartists was to gain political rights and influence for the working classes). His career was primarily spent in the coal mining industry, sinking pits, and the term ‘putty’ refers to a contractor rather than a wage worker. There are many references to locations, people he worked forand with and details of costs. He educated himself to advance in the industry and the family had a comfortable life, and in 1887 he visited two of his sons who had migrated to America. An enjoyable read.

Arthur Gill ~ goldbeater and ticket writer. Arthur was born in Leeds 1887, the autobiography was written in 1967 He was one of eight children and his father a boot repairer, having initially been apprenticed as a teazle-setter of superfine cloths. Arthur finished school at 13 and became a goldbeater and eventually a sign & ticket writer and a producer of advertising slides for the cinemas. He set up his own business from home in the 1930’s for showcards, tickets and posters, and retired aged 80 in 1967. The extract is from “I Remember: -reminiscences of a cobbler’s s -on an unpublished autobiography. The goldbeating starts with a 23 carat ingot, 3” long, 1” wide and ¼” thick, and by putting it thru rollers and beating it with a hammer becomes a gold leaf handled by tweezers into ‘books’ – the actual fully described method and methods of reclaiming any waste is much more interesting. The narrative covers his other roles in sign & ticket writing and references a number of location, people and companies. Arthur’s life didn’t seem to have any of dramas that some of the other people stories in ”Useful Toil”.

I will read the stories of the people with other occupations and I recommend the book as a source of what work, living conditions and costs were like in a variety of occupations 1820-1920 as well as a pleasant read.

I have nearly finished a story covering the first 20 years of my study & work as a construction engineer in Auckland, 1959-1979 and can at least relate to the learning curves that many encountered. My initial salary as a cadet engineer was £8-1-6 per week, not sure how it relates to the earning of 1820 on, paying Mrs Easy £3-10-0 per week for boarding was a big share, saving grace it included washing all my dirty rugby gear. (I took a fair bit of ribbing from my teammates over the name of my landlady)

Ken Morris

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Peter Brennan

The Story of a ‘Nearly’ New Zealander

Peter Joseph BRENNAN was born in Liverpool, England in 1846, to poor Irish migrants. He commenced his working life as a cabin boy and travelled the world on several fine clipper ships and he first visited Melbourne in 1854 on the Young America,

He settled in Melbourne in 1860 and married Catherine O’LEARY in 1868. Brennan continued to work as the Chief Steward on ships, including the You Yangs, servicing the New Zealand and Australian coastal trade until 1870.

In the early 1870s Brennan quit the sea and with funds he had saved, the family moved to Adelaide, where he operated a felting business, until it was destroyed by fire in 1873. After this dramatic loss of capital he decided to move the family back to Liverpool, where he set up a butchering business. The family had difficulty in coping with the dreary, wet and crowded city of 600,00 people. Fortuitously, the New Zealand government’s migration scheme provided a solution and the opportunity for resettlement.

On this second serious attempt at immigrating to the far-flung English colonies, Brennan set sail with his wife and four children from Liverpool, England for New Zealand as an assisted migrant. His occupation was listed as a skin dresser, one of the many work roles he undertook during his lifetime. Auckland was their port of entry, aboard the “fine clipper ship Salisbury, 1094 tons under Captain G Case,”^[1] on 27 February 1876, with the NZ government bearing the cost of 59 pounds.

Like many other assisted migrants Peter did not last long working in the job designated on the migration documents. He took off for Melbourne with his family, on board the Hero in April 1876, designated as a Steward ^[2]. This classification certainly fitted the employment history of this thirty-three-year-old seafarer.

The need to provide for his family on his return to Australia ensured he took up once again his role as a steward on coastal vessels operating out of Melbourne. During this time he added to his knowledge of the shipping industry in Australasia. Brennan also developed a growing awareness of the drive for unionisation of the workforce, not just locally but world-wide.

When his wife was committed to Kew Mental Asylum in 1883, he moved to Sydney. This led to a major change in his life as he commenced work with the Sydney Trades and Labour Council. He used his long experience and exposure to work conditions on the waterfront, and his well -developed interest of workers’ rights, to register the Stewards and Cooks Union (1884)^[3]. Over the next six years he used his know-how to found the Colliery Surface Miners Mutual Protective Association (1886); Amalgamated Slaughtermen and Journeymen Butchers Union (1889); Amalgamated Hotel and Caterers Employees Union of NSW (1890). His communication and negotiating skills gained him wider recognition which led to him being elected as President of the Trades and Labour Council in 1890 ^[4].

There is no doubt his participation in major industrial, social and political events in Australasia during his time in Sydney were historically important to the economies on both sides of the Tasman. The outcome of those events has had an enduring effect on both the Australian and New Zealand economies and work place law.

In 1890 there was foment not only across the waterfront, but the unrest included miners, shearers, seaman, and gas stockers in all the eastern states of Australia and New Zealand that gave rise to the Maritime Strike. “The strike was phenomenally large by nineteenth century standards; 50,000 Australian workers were involved and perhaps as many as 10,000 New Zealanders ^[5]. Brennan, who had experience in prior negotiations with the shipowners in 1889, headed up the Defence Committee for the strike. As consequence he was a prominent witness at the 1891 Royal Commission on Strikes ^[6] by the NSW Government.

This exposure, together with the reputation he had generated in the trade union movement, led to his appointment by the NSW government to the Trade Disputes Conciliation and Arbitration Council in 1892. “In both countries the strike is described as a catalyst for independent labour representation. It is the single most important force behind the Arbitration Acts and linked to the progressive legislation which marked Australasia as a social laboratory.”^[7]

Brennan is also recognised as a founder of the Australian Labor Party, “Brennan had favoured the establishment of a Labor party before the strike. In its aftermath he used his position as TLC President to push the issue to the fore. If anyone can claim to be a founding father of the Labor Party, it is him.^[8]” He was an influential member of the Executive Committee of the Central League, Australasian Federation League in 1894. New Zealand was a participant in these conventions but decided not to join a Federation with Australia.

Brennan left the trade union movement in 1895 and pursued various businesses including a waterfront carting company. In the late 1890s Brennan became involved in the management of hotels. As was his wont, he took a great and deep interest in the hotel industry and its machinations. He was licensee of the Royal Hyde Park Hotel 1899; Occidental Hotel York Street, Sydney (1901-1903); Melbourne Club, George Street, Sydney (1904); Grand Hotel, Ebley Street, Waverly (1904-1905); and during 1905 he traded as an hotel broker. Brennan became a committee member of the United Liquor and Victuallers Association (ULVA) in 1899 and later President and Treasurer of the organisation.

Even as a publican and investor Brennan may have impacted the New Zealand hotel industry because of the leading role he played in the well publicised 1898 NSW Liquor inquiry on “tied Houses”^[9]. Australia and New Zealand were similar in that “licensed hotels (increasingly owned by breweries) were lucrative businesses shielded from competition.”^[10]

He retired in 1905 and died at his home in Woollahra in March 1906 ^[11]. I believe I am justified in allowing Bede Nairn the final word on Peter Joseph Brennan:-

“Despite his work in founding the Labor Party Brennan was a trade union leader of the first rank rather than a potential politician. Although at times emotional and excitable, he was a witty and effective speaker. And a consummate negotiator at his home at union meetings, at the Trades and Labour council and at discussions with employers. His leadership and example were vital in the acceptance by the Labor movement of a system of voluntary conciliation and arbitration in the 1880s; opposed to all forms of compulsion, he believed that the enlightened self-interest of employers and the strength of trade unions would result in mutually acceptable collective agreements. He stressed the combined power of trade unions and believed fervently in the Federation of Labor.^[12]

[1] Auckland Star, 28 February 1876, Arrival of the Salisbury. The reporter observed that “the immigrants seem an exceptionally respectable lot and were provided for in the barracks”.

[2] https//prov.vic.gov.au/archive/4AOC882C-F96C-11E9-AE98-ODDB4E9AD148?image=463

[3] Bede Nairn, ‘Brennan, Peter Joseph (1843-1906)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/brennan-peter-joseph-3049/text4485

[4] Ibid

[5] “Gender, Household and Community Politics: The 1890 Maritime Strike in Australia and New Zealand, Bruce Scates, https://www.jstor.org/stable/27509091.

[6] Trove, The Argus (Melbourne,Victoria: 1848-1957) Wed25 Feb 1891 Page 8, The Royal Commission on Strikes.

[7] “Gender, Household and Community Politics: The 1890 Maritime Strike in Australia and New Zealand, Bruce Scates

[8] Why there is no Labor Party in USA, R. Archer, Princeton U P 2008, Chapter 8, P 228.

[9] Tied House Inquiry, Select Committee of the Legislative Assembly, http://trove.nla/newspaper/article/14406497

[10] Paul Christoffel, “Hotels and motels – Hotels and liquor laws’, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/hotels-and-motels/page-4 (accessed 11 June 2023

[11] Bede Nairn,’Brennan, Peter Joseph (1843-1906)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, ANU,https://adb.edu.au/biography/brennan-peter-joseph-3049/text14485 .

[12]Ibid

Peter Brennan

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Robina Trenbath

Elizabeth - I Wrote a Letter

Hot on the heels of Ken Morris (July Fam.Net Newsletter) pointing us in the direction of some well researched booksabout forebear journeys to New Zealand^1. Here is some shipping news from our family archives.

Elizabeth RUSSELL (sister to my paternal grandmother) was born on 2 July 1871 at 56 Marlborough Street, Bridgeton, Glasgow, Scotland. At that time, she was the third child of her parents Robert and Agnes. In life, she would go on to have nine more siblings. On 6^th July 1872 her brother Robert, aged 5, died of inflammation of the bowels. Another sister (Jane) arrived 7 months later (16^th February 1873).

Her father, Robert RUSSELL worked in the iron foundries of Glasgow as an iron dresser^2.To escape the congested housing conditions in Glasgow Robert and Agnes decided to take advantage of the Assisted Emigration scheme to Otago, New Zealand.

One month into the voyage (18 May 1874) Agnes gave birth to their 5^th child and named her Ramsay Burns Cartsburn (named after a serving officer on the vessel and the vessel itself). Joy must have been quickly overtaken by sorrow, a month later on 16^th February, Jane Russell (17 months) died of dentition (Death Place = Merchant Marine, At Sea, Great Britain).

N.B. Dentition: Teething is listed as the cause of death for over 450 children who are buried in the Leeds General Cemetery.³

N.B. Commentary: Teething as a Cause of Death – a Historical Review by Harry L. Gibbons MD, MPH. begins his research with a letter dated May 4, 1876 Christchurch New Zealand written by an early Utah polygamist settler, serving as a missionary.⁴

N.B. In the full context of the newspaper Item (below) a birth on the 18^{th of} May Mrs. Kavill of a daughter…has been wrongly transcribed… it should be Russell. It is worth reading (in its entirety): SHIPPING/ ARRIVAL OF THE CARTSBURN The Otago Daily Times, 15 July 1874.⁵

The Cartsburn arrived at Port Chalmers on 14 July, 1874 but due to an acute shortage of immigration cottages the Russell’s were amongst the many families temporarily housed (uncomfortably) on Quarantine Island. Congestion was no doubt exacerbated by the arrival (at the same time) of other migrant ships (Caroline, Hindostan, Devana, Carrick Castle & Sussex); casting upon The Railway Pier two thousand immigrants.^6.

Following the need for foundry workers close to the Otago Gold fields, the Russell family settled in Milton (Tokomairirio). There was a move to Lawrence in 1878 before finally establishing themselves in 1881 at Albany Street, Dunedin, where they remained until great grandfather, Robert Russel’s death in 1900.

1893: Swept up in the tide of Women’s’ Suffrage, Robert & Agnes signed the Votes for Women Petition, along with their eligible daughters Isabella, Elizabeth & Ramsay.

1894: Elizabeth Russell married William George Alsop ANGELL, a carpenter, and moved to Invercargill. They had a daughter who struggled to thrive and passed away a month after her birth. A second daughter, Winifred, was born in 1895. William found himself, increasingly in and out of work so a decision was made to migrate to the goldfields in South Australia. He had heard that carpenters there could not keep up with the demand for coffins. Little did the young married couple know that history would be repeating itself.

Setting out on the Tasman crossing with infant Winifred and 5 months pregnant with their third child, they soon discovered that the Victorian Goldfields were no place for a family. Little Winifred died in the bitter winter of 1896 and was buried in an unmarked grave in Footscray Cemetery.

1897: On 25^th April at North Carlton, Melbourne Elizabeth delivered of a son. It was agreed that William would remain and continue to work while Elizabeth and their son returned home to her parents in Dunedin. And, while the plan seemed good, it did not work out that way. At first he wrote and then the letters stopped. On 23^rd April the family’s beloved father died. Over the next five months from June 1900 Elizabeth sent off a flotilla of letters searching for her husband.

A close-up of a handwritten letter

Description automatically generated with medium confidence

Dear Sir, would you be kind enough to have a look around Melbourne and see if you can find any sightings of a man named William George Alsop Angell, he is a short, fair man, blue eyes, he was a passenger to Melbourne by the steamer Buninyong from Fremantle which arrived in Adelaide on 19^th of March Last, He was giving the Fore cabin Steward a hand with his work on the voyage. He is about 31 years of age, I am his wife and would be glad if you could give any news of him. He hasn’t written since arriving in Adelaide. P.S. He is a carpenter.⁷

A close-up of a handwritten letter

Description automatically generated with low confidence

I have to report that the S.S. Buninyong has just arrived for the first time since I received the attached correspondence. I saw the fore-cabin steward this afternoon and he informed me that Mr. Angell, inquired for, went on from here to Newcastle and then returned to Sydney. The fore-cabin steward saw him on Tuesday last the 10^th inst. He was then working as a lumper or laborer at Coopers Wharf. She fore-cabin steward states that Angell has had bad luck in obtaining work and been ashamed to write to his wife without sending her money.^8.

By November William had returned home and this time Elizabeth was not letting him out of her sight. Every year till 1909 Elizabeth had one baby after another. The son who was born in 1897 went to The Great War in 1917 and returned to run a successful taxi business. Three more sons would serve in W.W.11.

^REFERENCES:

^{1. Over the Mountains
of the Sea (Life on the Migrant Ships) by David Hastings. Auckland
University Press (2006). A Woman of Good
Character by Charlotte MacDonald, Allen & Unwin
(1990).}

^{2. Iron dresser aka
fettler who removed sand from castings and got rid of any} ^{lumps and
bumps.}

^{3. Causes of Death/
Teething: library.leeds.ac.uk}

^{4.Commentary/
Teething as a Cause of Death – A Historical Review by Harry L. Gibbons, MD, MPH
Salt Lake City and C. KENT BHEBBON, MD,MS,Utah
@ National Institutes of Health (.gov). National Library of Medicine:
ncbi.nlm.gov}

^{5. SHIPPING/ ARRIVAL
OF THE CARTSBURN. Otago Daily times, 15 July 1874 in
paperspast.natlibv.govt.nz}

^{6.Our Immigrants. Cromwell
Argus. 21 July, 1874, P.6. paperspast.nat.lib.govt.nz}

^{7. Family Letters:
From our Family Archive (C McIntyre & C. R. Angell) April
2008.}

^{8. Indexes to
Missing People Found in Victoria Police Correspondence Records. helendoxfordharris.com.au}

Robina Trenbath

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An Invitation to Contribute:

I have a number of people that contribute occasional articles. These appear irregularly if and when the authors send them to me. I use them to bulk up each month's newsletter. The more we have the more "rests "I can give my much-appreciated regular columnists.

This is a way that a person can get some of their writing published. Of course, we are all writing up our research results, aren't we? I have always said that every genealogist is an expert in some small piece of history, resources or research methods.

We circulate this newsletter to about 7,000 subscribers worldwide but is read by many more as it is passed on to other readers and LDS research centres. Every month I get feedback on my poor attempts at writing and I have now made many "new friends", albeit digital ones, I have even had some very helpful assistance in my research.

Why don't you contribute an article?

My basic requirements:

1) The column must be in English

2) The column should be no longer than about 1,200 words

3) The article should be emailed to me in a Word document format

4) The subject should be genealogical or historical in nature

Do not be afraid about your "perceived" bad English. The article will be edited, in a friendly manner, by me and then Robert. Then all columnists and a few valuable proof-readers get to read the newsletter before it is emailed out. You’ll be paid $0 for your article, which is on the same scale that Robert and I pay ourselves for editing and publishing the newsletter.

From our Libraries and Museums

We are offering a forum to our libraries and museums to publicise their events, and to contribute articles to this newsletter that may be of interest to our readers. Auckland Libraries makes good use of this free service, let’s see if other libraries and museums take up this offer.

For readers of this newsletter: please bring this to the attention of your local libraries etc, and encourage them to participate.

Auckland Libraries

Heritage Talks

Are you interested in family, local and social history, the stories of Aotearoa New Zealand, the Pacific, and beyond?

Then why not come along to one of our fortnightly HeritageTalks | Waha pū-taonga and hear more about both our personal and our shared heritage?

These talks are given by experts in their field and can provide valuable insight into our histories and our cultures.

When: Wednesdays, February to November, 12noon - 1pm

Where: Central City Library, 44-46 Lorne St, Auckland City Centre, Whare Wananga, L2
also online via Zoom

Bookings: https://www.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/Pages/family-and-local-history-events.aspx

For queries contact Research Central ph 09 890 2412.

Wednesday 9 August 2023 12pm-1pm Government Gazettes as a Genealogical Resource with Helen Smith (Australia)

The Gazettes were the weekly notices of Government activities meant for other government departments and some were available to the public. They are an untapped genealogical resource. The general gazette lists government appointments, various licences, Justices of the Peace, changes to legislation, deceased estates, and so much more.

Police Gazettes (only available to Police departments) list police officer movements, reports of crime often listing victims, reports on entry and exit from prison, and Missing Friends notices, while Education Gazettes list teacher movements, school information and more. Each colony had its own Gazettes and post Federation in 1901, the Commonwealth also produced a Government Gazette.

About the speaker

Helen Smith is a speaker, DNA specialist, researcher, and author with a strong interest in Australian, English, medical and social history. Has been researching since 1986: England, Ireland, Wales & Australia with various immigration trails to the USA, Canada, South Africa, and New Zealand. She has registered the surname Quested with the Guild of One Name Studies and collects them anywhere, anytime. She is a regular speaker at genealogy events in Australia, internationally in New Zealand, England, Canada, and the USA, on many Unlock the Past Cruises and has regularly presented for Legacy Family Webinars. She is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists and the Genealogical Speakers Guild.

Wednesday 16 August 12 noon-1pm Louis Becke - Pacific Explorer & Writer with Allegra Marshall

Born in Port Macquarie, NSW in 1855, Louis Becke has been said to be Australia's equivalent of Robert Louis Stevenson but is a relatively unknown author. At the young age of 14, he started travelling in the Pacific. Over the course of the next 30 years, he not only visited remote island groups such as the Carolines but also spent time in the Gilbert & Ellice Islands, Samoa, Guam, and Niue. He lived in many of these islands for extensive periods as a local - trading and exploring and forming many strong relationships. As a naive young man, he met and worked for the notorious American blackbirder Bully Hayes. Becke also lived in Jamaica, NZ, and Europe. As a result, his 38 novels reflect a wide variety of tales, adventure, and intimate knowledge of the South Seas. Come and discover Louis Becke, his life, and times, and you'll be wanting to read one of his books very soon!

About the speaker

Originally from Sydney, Allegra has travelled extensively in the Pacific Islands and is a 35-year part-time resident of French Polynesia. For close to 10 years, she has been immersed in extensive research to focus on Pacific connections from the 1790s onwards. Since 2022, Allegra is now the first Cemetery Tour Guide of Tahiti. Using her vast knowledge and her bilingual expertise, Allegra has rapidly become a Polynesian subject matter expert and assists others in finding their genealogical gaps. She is often called upon as a guide and reference for historical documentation. Allegra has been looking after Louis Becke's grave in Sydney since 1988 and is an Honorary member of The Louis Becke Society (formed in 2019)

Wednesday 30 August 2023 12pm-1pm Local history and family history: Distant relations, or close siblings?

In this session, Professor Michael Belgrave and Dr Carol Neill will discuss the distinctions and intersections between family and local histories, using examples from research to draw conclusions on their relationship.

Wednesday 6 September 2023 12pm-1pm A literary approach to writing local histories with Dr Janine Irvine

Dr Janine Irvine is a collaborative storyteller, researcher and oral historian who writes the stories of peoples’ lives and explores connections to places and communities. In 2021 she published the findings and observations of her doctoral research, made available through the Auckland Library e-book collection. The Stories of Places: A literary approach to writing local histories is an easy-to-read and contemplative resource for writers of local history. Janine has also written a collection of personal, family, and local histories.

Wednesday 20 September 2023 12pm-1pm Koreans left in Sakhalin after the Pacific War with Dr Changzoo Song

Changzoo Song is Senior Lecturer in Asian Studies at the University of Auckland. Receiving his Ph.D. in Politics from the University of Hawai’i as an East-West Centre Fellow, he worked in the United States, Latvia, and Ukraine joining the University of Auckland in 2002.

His research interests include nationalism, national identity, and Korean diasporic identities. He travelled in the Soviet Union, including Sakhalin, in the early 1990s when the country broke apart.

Monday 25 September 2023 12pm-1pm From Go to Wow! Aotearoa New Zealand's largest women's protest march, 24 May 1983

Kathleen Ryan and Karen Stacey were involved in the International Day of Action for Women Acting for Nuclear Disarmament (WAND) that became the largest women’s protest march in Aotearoa New Zealand’s history. They had varying experiences at that time and afterwards.

For further information go to https://www.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/Pages/family-and-local-history-events.aspx

Auckland Family History Expo 2023

WHERE Fickling Convention Centre, 546 Mt Albert Rd, Three Kings, Auckland

Fickling Convention Centre is adjacent to Three Kings Reserve and has some on-street parking on Mt Albert Rd and in side streets. If you are able-bodied we suggest public transport or street parking in surrounding streets. This multi-functional venue is wheelchair-friendly and has accessible toilets.

WHEN         Friday 11 August 2023           5pm-8.30pm
Saturday 12 August 2023       8.30am-5.30pm
Sunday 13 August 2023         8.30am-4.30pm

COST Free

Friday 11 August 2023: Opening event $25 per person. Booking is essential. Book tickets via Eventfinda.

Saturday 12 August 2023: Free entrance for all. No booking required.

Sunday 13 August 2023: Free entrance for all. No booking required.

Auckland Council Libraries and the Genealogical Computing Group (an interest group of the NZ Society of Genealogists) proudly present a weekend-long event covering a wide range of topics on researching genealogy and family history.

Take advantage of our free seminars, from beginner to advanced, computer-based tutorials, ask-an-expert sessions and research assistance on Saturday 12 August and Sunday 13 August.

Bring your laptops to take full advantage of the workshops and tutorials.

Our international guest speakers will be joining us virtually via Zoom. Our New Zealand speakers will join us in person.

Ancestry is the proud platinum sponsor of the 2023 Auckland Family History Expo.

FamilyTree Maker, Genealogical Computing Group and Auckland Council are gold sponsors of the Auckland Family History Expo.

Find out more on the Auckland Libraries website and book tickets for the opening event on Eventfinda.

Did you miss one of our HeritageTalks, or would you like to listen to it again?

Enjoy our podcasts - recorded events and presentations

https://soundcloud.com/auckland-libraries

And see more on our YouTube channel

https://www.youtube.com/user/aucklandlibraries

Nga mihi | Kind regards

SEONAID

Seonaid (Shona) Lewis RLIANZA | Family History Librarian

Central Auckland Research Centre, Central City Library

Heritage and Research

Auckland Libraries - Nga Whare Matauranga o Tamaki Makarau

Ph 09 890 2411| Extn (46) 2411 | Fax 09 307 7741

Auckland Libraries, Level 2, Central City Library, 44 - 46 Lorne Street, Auckland

Visit our website: www.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz

@Kintalk on Twitter / Auckland Research Centre on Facebook

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Group News

News and Views

Various Articles Worth Reading

From the Editor: Because of space restrictions and copyright issues I cannot put the complete articles in this newsletter so here are some URLs that are worth looking at . Just click the heading.

The future of NZ Census

A switch from a census to administrative data supplemented by sample survey data has been discussed at Statistics NZ on and off for the last 20 years or so, and alternatives have been investigated, but political and statistical reasons meant the census trundled on. Looks like the ballooning cost and barely sufficient response rates of this latest census will tip the balance.

Millions of Free Records on FamilySearch Can Not Be Found via Search: Here’s How to Access Them

How to Use Findagrave for Free Genealogy Research

The forgotten medieval habit of ‘two sleeps’

Traditional Irish wakes called for drinks, pranks, games, and songs

A child sitting on a stool

Description automatically generated

Auckland Hospital and Charitable Aid Records

GRO makes digital image download of birth and death records available

In conclusion

Book Reviews

Help wanted

Letters to the Editor

Advertising with FamNet

Every now and then we get requests to put an advertisement in the newsletter. I have therefore created a new section which will appear from time to time. Advertisements will be included only at the Editor's discretion and will be of a genealogical nature.

If your organisation is not a group subscriber then there may be a charge for advertising events and services, which must be paid for before publication. Charges start at $NZ25 for a basic flier, and increase for more elaborate presentations.

A Bit of Light Relief

A yellow rectangular sign with black text

Description automatically generated

An Irishman walks into a bar in Dublin, orders three pints of Guinness, and sits in the back of the room, drinking a sip out of each one in turn.

When he finishes them, he comes back to the bar and orders three more.

The bartender approaches and tells him, "You know, a pint goes flat after I draw it, and it would taste better if you bought one at a time."

The Irishman replies, Well, you see, I have two brothers.

One is in America, the other is in Australia, and I'm in Dublin.

When we all left home, we promised that we'd drink this way to remember the days we drank together.

So I drink one for each o'me brothers and one for me self."

The bartender admits that this is a nice custom and leaves it there.

The Irishman becomes a regular in the bar, and always drinks the same way: He orders three pints and drinks them in turn.

One day, he comes in and orders two pints.

All the other regulars take notice and fall silent. When he comes back to the bar for the second round, the bartender says, "I don't want to intrude on your grief, but I wanted to offer my condolences on your loss." The Irishman looks quite puzzled for a moment, then a light dawns and he laughs.

"Oh, no, everybody's just fine," he explains, "It's just that me wife had us join that Baptist Church and I had to quit drinking.

But it hasn't affected me brothers though."

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