Monday, April 5, 2010

Facts n Info is pouring in!

March 2010 has seen information trickle in from a variety of sources todate. Our HUGE thanks to Leone, tucked up there in tropical Singapore, for an abundance of information emailed to us. Thanks too to Elizabeth and Vi for making a start on the information pack we sent you.

Our appologies too to those 'newly aquired' cousins to whom we had not contacted in our initial mail out. Simply put we didn't know you existed! As a place for us to start our book project, our initial contact was with the grandchildren of William George Roberts and Charlotte Elizabeth Walkenden.

One of the great things about our project to date is discovering and being discovered by relatives who are either taking an interest in or wishing to contribute to the book project in some way. From that I'm sure many new connections and indeed friendships may evolve.

Wendy has set up an online family tree - the link of which will be posted next week. See if you're on it, if not - we'll put you there. That same week we'll share with you a trival fact or two about some of your relatives, until then ... send us what you can.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Timetable

This is a loose timetable of what we hope to achieve


Feb 2010

Wendy and Andrew suss out how we're going to run and manage this project
Letters and Focus Questions / Points to ponder finalised

March 2010
Letters and Focus Questions / points to ponder sent to you

June 2010
Your homework – those questions etc - due!
We'll contact you to see how you've got on.
Newsletter / blog update on what we've learnt from you so far.

August / September 2010
We may hassle you for more information or to clarify some stuff

December 2010
Our second newsletter to you summarising all our efforts this year

January – June 2011
Collating of data, information and pictures, articles etc that you've given or leant to us.
Formatting and writing of book


August 2011
Design and editing due

September 2011
First Draft due

October 2011
Final draft due

December 2011/ early 2012
Printers & Published (fingers crossed)

Easter 2012
Family re-union and book launch with lots of FOOD and laughter!

Letters and Questionaire sent out

Valentines Day 2010! Within the next 48 hours, we'll have emailed or posted our initial letters and Questionaires to the 12 living Roberts Relatives of William George & Charlotte Elizabeth Roberts.

The Questions have been grouped under 5 key areas and are summerised below...

A) These questions are to help us establish who you are and where you fit in the family tree

Your name DOB, Place of Birth, & Occupation(s)
Your parent’s names DOB, Place of Birth & Occupation
Their Parents DOB Place of Birth Occupation
Your siblings from oldest to youngest; DOB, Place of Birth & Occupation
Your children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, DOB, Place of Birth &Occupation

B) These questions help us establish your place in recent history!

The year in which you turned 15
What hairstyle, clothes or other fads were in fashion at that time.
Do you remember what current event was happening in Australia and the world at the time? Do you remember how you may have felt about it or how it influenced you in anyway?

C) These questions are to help our generation and those that follow gain an insight into the personalities that preceded us

List all of your Roberts's Aunts & Uncles – you might need to use the back of this sheet for this one!

Under their names what can you tell us in a few sentences (or more if you wish) about them?

E.g. their occupation, career, war-time history, wife / husband, love affairs – heaven forbid, VC winners, thieves, rogues and scallywags.

What you remember about their house / home when you visited them (or not as the
case may be!), pets, interests and hobbies etc

D) These questions help us gain an understanding into how previous generations thought within the historical context of the day and subsequently the actions and decisions they made.

Are you aware of any children that were adopted into or out of your family, either in your generation or earlier? If you're comfortable with writing this then as far as you're aware, under what circumstances led to those decisions being made?

Were there any relatives that made you or your parents / grandparents or Aunties and Uncles proud or cringe with embarrassment? Are there any stories fact or fiction that supports this?

Can you share with us your most memorable moment or moments when you were …
1.a child
2.a teenager
3.a young adult
4.a 30 something
5.a 40 something
6.pushing 50
7.and now?

In terms of local, national and world history, who of our relatives were involved, either as a participant or perhaps as a mover or shaker? What can you tell us about them and their role?

The women
Were there any women in the Roberts Family who stood out, perhaps their personality, their behaviours or an action that made the papers or made people stand up and take notice for better or worse?

The men
Were there any men in the Roberts Family who stood out, perhaps their personality, their behaviours or an action that made the papers or made people stand up and take notice for better or worse?

Military stuff
What do you know of those Roberts's who went to war – male or female? Who were they, what regiment were they in, what theatre of war did they partake in? Did they survive? Did they die in battle or as a result of battle, and where were they burried?

E) Feel free to expand on our list of questions and you can give as much or as little information as you like or are comfortable giving.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Read Here First - Our Aims

Wendy, with the help of her KIWI cousin Andrew, is aiming to have an informative and interesting book published, in late 2011, on the ancestors and decendents of William George Roberts (b1870 Pleasant Creek, Vic, Ausralia; d1952 Moorabbin, Vic, Australia).

Wendy 'just so happens' to work for a publishing company and knows all the tricks of the trade to make the dream of publishing our own family history become a reality.

We are aware of a number of family members who have a similar desire and who themselves have done considerable research in this area. We are hopeful of having all family members on board and thankful to those who have contributed be-it a little or a lot in either a supportive role or as a contributor.

We have set up this blog as a means for all family members to be kept informed of what our research has uncovered to date and to allow you to comment, question, add or otherwise to it.

This isn't a blog about Wendy or Andrew and nor will the book be either, we are merely acting as the co-ordinators of the knowledge that you have told us such that future genrations of the Robert's 'down-under' will have some understanding of what, where, when, why, how and who we are.

So read on, and if you have something to say ... please say it (we can be contacted via the 'contact us here' tab

With thanks
Wendy Clark & Andrew Oliver