Maiden Names missing from Queensland death indexes online

I recently (Sep 2013) sent this question to the Queensland Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages:

'Since your recent changes to online historical indexes, the mother's maiden surname has disappeared from many death index entries. Why is that, and will the matter be rectified in the future?'

Their reply was (I quote):

'If the Mothers maiden name (or Parents names) had been included on a Death Certificate than it will also be included on the historical index. Any details and information included on a Death Certificate does vary and is dependent on the amount of information provided by the Informant at time of death. All details we have are included on the index.'

Umm... WRONG!

Example 1 (death of Frederick William STEVENS, 1882):

Queensland Registrar-General's Pioneers Index 1829-1889 (on CD-ROM) shows the mother's maiden surname (GIBSON), but the online index at www.bdm.qld.gov.au does not.

Example 2 (death of John PERRON, 1911):

Queensland Registrar-General's Federation Index 1890-1914 (on CD-ROM) shows the mother's maiden surname (BERBACCI), but the online index at www.bdm.qld.gov.au does not.

I sent this information to the Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages. Their response was:

'We are aware of this and it will be rectified in the new release which will be in October.'


My main Web site has more tips about Queensland BDM indexes and certificates.
~ ~ ~

Children in Mental Asylums

This week someone asked me about children admitted to mental asylums. From notes that I made while indexing records at Queensland State Archives, I was able to give a few examples. The list below (which is in random order) shows the child's age, mental disorder, and my comments based on what I read in various sources.

Records from previous centuries contain many terms that, though considered normal then, are offensive to us today. Conversely, certain 'minor swear words' are now used in everyday language, but a hundred years ago we would have been arrested for saying them in public. Police watchhouse charge books are full of examples! Putting information into the proper historical context is a challenge faced by all family historians.

• Age 3, 'idiocy from the age of six months'. Died of pneumonia five years after admission.
• Age 14, 'imbecility; epilepsy for five years'. Transferred to Toowoomba. Died aged 40.
• Age 15, 'dementia; epilepsy'. Discharged into the care of a sister four months after admission. Father had several attacks of insanity and committed suicide.
• Age 8, 'idiocy; epilepsy'. Died five months later. Post mortem held.
• Age 5, 'idiocy; congenital'. Died six years later (epilepsy).
• Age 15, 'imbecility; epilepsy'. Died the following year. Post mortem held.
• Age 9, 'imbecility'. Died five months after admission.
• Age 9, 'idiocy since birth'. Died seven years later. Mother was already in the asylum and father was admitted later.
• Age 9, 'idiocy since birth'. Died from measles six weeks after admission.
• Age 5, 'idiocy; epilepsy'. Always climbing; tried to get onto the roof.
• Age 7, 'idiocy; congenital'. Died six years later.
• Age 12, 'imbecile; fell on her head'. Suggestion of hereditary syphilis. Died four years later.
• Age 15, 'imbecile; congenital defect'. Mother is deficient in intelligence and earns a living as a washerwoman, and can't look after the child, who wanders around the street. Transferred to Toowoomba.
• Age 11, 'imbecility since sunstroke at age 5'. Child was taken home by father the following month, and died two years later.
• Aged 13, 'dementia; epilepsy for two years'. Always asking about her mother and says she is lonely without her. Always nurses a doll. Transferred to Toowoomba. Died aged 19.

These particular examples are from the 1890s and early 1900s. Surnames of the children are (in alphabetical order, not the order shown above) AHNFELDT, BULCOCK, CHAMPION, DUMPHY, HAY, HORN, JOHNSON, KYLE, MANSFIELD, McKENZIE, MORRIS, PATTEN, PEDERSON, STUBBINGS and WEBB.

For more information about these children and their families, use Goodna Asylum case books and Public Curator insanity files, and various other records, as explained on my Web site and in my mini-guide Researching Queensland Mental Asylum Patients.

SCHOLEFIELD and CHARLES: Birth Certificates in Land Files

In 'Free Certificates in Archives Files' I mentioned some record series in which I had found birth, death and marriage certificates. I recently came across another example.

Birth certificates for Edward George SCHOLEFIELD (1906) and Ethel Irene Rose CHARLES (1904) are in a 'dead farm' (land selection) file.

The source location is Queensland State Archives item ID 73066, file no. 6297. If you can visit the Archives and inspect the file (which is quite large), you can take digital photographs of the certificates.

A friend and I are creating an index for certificates that we find in odd places (land selection files, Colonial Secretary's Office correspondence, etc). In the future (perhaps 2014 or 2015) the names from that index will be added to my main Web site.

D is for Dunwich Benevolent Asylum

Continuing to the next letter, 'D', in the 'Family History Through the Alphabet' challenge... D is for Dunwich Benevolent Asylum.

Dunwich was established on North Stradbroke Island, Moreton Bay, Queensland, in 1865. When it closed in 1946, inmates were gradually transferred to Eventide at Sandgate. The function of Dunwich (as defined by the Benevolent Asylum Wards Act of 1861) was to provide for poor people who because of age, accident, infirmity or otherwise were unable to care for themselves. The inmates thus included not only the elderly but also younger people.

Sources (many of which are held at Qld State Archives) include:

1. Index to Colonial/Home Secretary's Office applications for admission to Dunwich with associated correspondence, 1890-1922.


2. Typed index to many Dunwich sources for various dates between 1859 and 1971.


3. Card index to Dunwich records.


4. Immigration Department register of applications for admission to Dunwich 1902-1904.


5. Index to Dunwich weekly returns from Qld Government Gazette notices, 1885-1907.


6. Index to Eventide (Sandgate, Qld) registers of deaths 1954-1959.


7. Index to selected names from 1860s/1870s Colonial Secretary's Office in-letters.


8. Home Secretary's Office: registers of letters received.


9. Indexes to various series of mental asylum records.


10. Index to old age pension records.


11. Police Station watchhouse charge books.


12. Books:  Brisbane: Moreton Bay Matters and Moreton Bay People, vols. 1-3.


13. Brisbane Courier, 25 Oct 1927, p.9: detailed article that includes photographs of the matron, nurses and other staff, Private WILKINSON aged 99, Mrs ROWE aged over 90, and other elderly residents.

Some of the Archives sources give excellent biographical details. These may include address, age, country of birth, religion, occupation, length of time in Qld; married or single; names, addresses and circumstances of applicant's sons and daughters; names, addresses and circumstances of other relatives; names and addresses of employers during the past 2 years, and length of time with each; real or personal property; aid received from hospitals or other charitable institutions during the past 2 years; reasons for desiring admission; through whom applying; and applicant's signature.

For a detailed explanation of the sources available (with Archives location numbers where applicable) and access restrictions that apply to some records, see the most recent edition of my book, Tips for Queensland Research. It is described on my Web site.

You will find more tips for family history in my other articles in this series. If the information and advice is useful, have a look at this page.

Names missing from immigration index

Kerry Farmer has alerted me to the fact that some names are currently missing from Queensland State Archives' online index entitled 'Immigration 1848-1912'. They used to be there (Kerry has a screen shot to prove it) and now they have vanished. The list 'H to HANSEN' currently starts with 'HAGARTY'. I know for a fact that entries for these surnames from IMM/114 are missing (and there may be others):

Haack, Haagensen, Haake, Haanon, Haase, Haaver, Haavig, Haband, Haberecht, Haberling, Habluzel, Hackaday, Haddock, Hadfield, Haedtke, Haffenden, Hagans.

I have asked the Archives to investigate.

Police Summons Sheets

An interesting series that I recently used for the first time is Rockhampton Police Station summons sheets 1898-1905 (Queensland State Archives series ID 6545). The three volumes (item IDs 212364-212366; previous system A/146-A/148) cover 1 Nov 1898 - 13 Jul 1900, 29 Apr 1902 - 1 Sep 1903 and 6 Nov 1904 - 7 Feb 1905. Details shown are date, plaintiff (sometimes 'police'), defendant, offence, judgement and magistrate's name. Entries are chronological.

A wide variety of offences are listed. They include larceny; assault; insulting words; obscene language; excessive use of liquor; boarding a train while in motion; breaches of various Acts and By-laws; child desertion; wife desertion; disobeying a maintenance order; failing to contribute to support of children in an orphanage; and affiliation. ('Affiliation' refers to a court order against a man alleged to be the father of an illegitimate child, requiring him to make payments towards the child's upkeep.)

One entry in A/146 shows that Bob LONG, charged with 'larceny, lollies', was 'convicted but not punished upon condition that his father flogs him'.

To check whether similar sources exist for other towns, search for the phrase summons sheet in ArchivesSearch.

Other 'unusual' sources are described on my Web site, which lists over 70,000 names from records in Archives.

Gympie Police Charge Bench Books

Queensland State Archives item ID 324223 (previous system B/3056) is an index to Court of Petty Sessions (Gympie) police charge bench books, 14 Jan 1890 - 27 Jul 1931. It is alphabetical only by first letter of surname. Entries usually give date, name, offence and how disposed of.

Two letters inside the front cover are about James Edward MADDEN and J. HOLT (probably Joseph James HOLT). HOLT committed suicide on 21 Oct 1893. He had asked that two people in NSW be notified, and the document gives their addresses.

This departmental index for 1890-1931 makes it easier to find entries in the actual bench books, which are much more informative. I myself have indexed persons arrested and victims of crime from Gympie bench books for an earlier period (1884-1886).

WEBSTER and HUDSON graves, Helidon (Tombstone Tuesday)

I have two sets of great-grandparents buried in the General Cemetery, Helidon, Queensland -

James Campbell WEBSTER and Ellen WEBSTER nee BUTLER

George HUDSON and Mary HUDSON nee PEACOCK

Photos copyright Judy WEBSTER, 2003.

('Tombstone Tuesday' is a theme used by 'Geneabloggers'.)

Cunnamulla in Google Scholar

In Google Scholar, I searched for 'Cunnamulla' (my home town). Results ranged from 'The Role of the Church in the Rural Communities of South West Queensland' to a study guide for the film 'Cunnamulla'. The book 'Cunnamulla, a brief history of the Paroo Shire' has been cited in several articles. Other titles cited include 'The Geology of the Quilpie, Charleville, Toompine, Wyandra, Eulo and Cunnamulla'.

I also found a United States patent issued to inventor William Stewart BENTLEY, Mooning, Cunnamulla.

For the full text of this article see 52 Weeks to Better Genealogy, no.27: Cunnamulla in Google Scholar.

Sentimental Sunday: JOHNSON headstone

During the 1980s I made two very detailed studies (including transcriptions) of headstones in Cunnamulla General Cemetery in southwest Queensland. A variety of verses are included in epitaphs. Some are quite lengthy, but the majority are traditional verses or phrases such as 'In God's Care' or 'Rest in Peace'. In some cases a verse was composed for a specific person, giving an insight into his or her personality or habits. One example that I found very touching was on the headstone for Bruce Valentine JOHNSON, who died in 1987 aged 22. The verse reads:

Two little words
That meant to us a lot,
From the bottom of our hearts Bruce
Here's a special "Guess what!"

Source: Judy Webster, "Cunnamulla Cemetery Heritage Walk" (thesis, University of New England, 1989).

('Sentimental Sunday' is a theme used by 'Geneabloggers'.)

Hannah Trueman BURKE (formerly UPTON)

A statutory declaration from Hannah Trueman BURKE of Clune, Upper Logan, Beaudesert, says that she was formerly the widow of William Henry UPTON who died at Rockey Creek on 11 Jan 1867. They were married in the parish of Mullabrack, County Armagh, 10 Jun 1857. (The person who gave me this information could not provide a source reference for the document at Qld State Archives.)

Edward Spencer HARRISON and Charlotte Ann HARRISON

Qld State Archives source COL/A315; 1881/2556 (in item ID 847046) is about Edward Spencer HARRISON seeking admission to Dunwich Benevolent Asylum. Letters include one from his cousin Charlotte Ann HARRISON in London.

ZISCHLER death (Laidley Qld)

The 'Courier Mail' newspaper, 8 Jan 1915 page 4 column 3, has an article about the death from tetanus of Annie, daughter of G. ZISCHLER (Laidley, Queensland).

BEASLEY, McMANUS, LEGG

Charles BEASLEY married Emily McMANUS. Later (as Chester Alfred BEASLEY) he bigamously married Elizabeth LEGG. In 1898 Emily was living with Henry McCALLAUGH. Details are in the staff file of a police officer involved in the case (Qld State Archives item ID 566132).

Rosanna WEBB

From time to time I list interesting items discovered at Queensland State Archives. Today's find was a Colonial Secretary's Office in-letter (no.4413 in 1878) referring to Rosanna WEBB, a destitute child at Maryborough, who was accepted to an orphanage but wanted money for her passage.

If you need my help to obtain a copy of this document from Queensland State Archives (the cost would be about $15), email me at the address shown in the sidebar here.

If you are not familiar with in-letters, see:

• I is for In-Letters and Invalid Pensions (opens in a new window)


• The 'False Identity' story (opens in a new window)


• more examples of information in Col.Sec. in-letters.

Matilda JESSUP, 1870s

Queensland State Archives hold documents (dated 1878) about Matilda JESSUP. They give details of her arrival on the Scottish Hero with her husband; his death from typhoid (which she also had); her mother-in-law's death from burns suffered when she fell in a fire; and a passage back to England for Matilda and five children on the Windsor Castle.

If you need my help to obtain a copy of this document from Queensland State Archives (the cost would be about $15), email me at the address shown in the sidebar here.

If you are not familiar with in-letters, see:

• I is for In-Letters and Invalid Pensions (opens in a new window)


• more examples of information in Col.Sec. in-letters (scroll down on that page).

'Friedeburg' 1878: passengers / crew

These passengers and crew are mentioned in papers of quarantine of the ship Friedeburg (arrived 1878) in Queensland Colonial Secretary's Office correspondence:

Friedrick ANDERSEN (ship's crew)
Auguste CARLSON (died)
Ottilie EBEL
child FROST (born prematurely, died)
Elinore FROST (died)
Jurgen HAHN
Metha HANSEN
Heinrich HEININGER
Oscar HENNEBERG (ship's crew)
Fritz HINSPETER
George HOLST (ship's crew)
Wilhelmina KIRST
Carl LARSSON (ship's crew)
Amalie LINDENBERG
Caroline MADSEN
Fred MADSEN
Elizabeth NIEBELING
Martin NIELSEN (ship's crew)
Ellen NUGENT (died; from 'Scottish Admiral')
Catharina OLIVA
Mrs PETERSEN (re a birth)
Trina PETERSEN (died)
Lauritz PETERSON
Dorothea REICHE
Christian SCHADLICH
Mrs UTZ
Wilhelm WEINKEN
Amalie WEISS
Hulda WEISS
Wilhelm WEISS.

If you need my help to obtain a copy of this document from Queensland State Archives (the cost would be about $20), email me at the address shown in the sidebar here.

If you are not familiar with in-letters, see:

• I is for In-Letters and Invalid Pensions (opens in a new window)


• more examples of information in Col.Sec. in-letters (scroll down on that page).

Magdalen Asylum, Lutwyche (Julia CRONIN)

A letter dated 18 Jun 1897 says that Julia CRONIN was sent from the Magdalen Asylum, Lutwyche (Sisters of Mercy) to be confined at the Lady Bowen Hospital. The letter was in a bundle at Qld State Archives (previous system location CUR/R297) but it appears to have been filed there by mistake.

Employees, Criterion Hotel, Warwick, 1910

Qld State Archives previous system location CUR/R297, file no.231, document no.250, refers to wages paid in March 1910 to these employees of the Criterion Hotel, Warwick, Queensland:

Charlie AH CHEE
Mary BYRNES
Rose HAYES
Sarah HAYES
Bridgie HEALY
May NOONAN
Maggie RYAN
W. SPINKS

Illegitimate child's father named in inquest

An illegitimate child who is in the Registrar-General's index under the mother's surname, with no father's name shown, may appear in Justice Department inquest indexes/files under the father's surname.

Actual examples are:

'William SMITH, son of Catherine, father's name BROOM'

'Mary Anne DOBIKIN, daughter of Margaret, father's name Thomas JENYNS'.