My Great-Grandfather, Francis Duncan, who died 93 years ago today is a bit of a mystery man to me.
The only photo I have relating to him is one of his headstone in Cobar Cemetery.
Frank Duncan and Harriet Magick are buried in Cobar Cemetery
When I started writing this post an hour ago I decided to see if I could find any new information on Francis who had been born in Victoria and who died in Cobar. As he never "married" his wife, Harriet Holmes (nee Magick), I don't know when or where he met her and as the births of his children weren't registered I cannot confirm their birth places and discover where frank and Harriet were living at that time. I have visited the Museum in Cobar but they have no information on Frank.
Where did I turn? Trove of course. In a short time I have placed Francis in Cobar from 1900, discovered that he was a carpenter, lived in Prince Street, leased land and ran sheep on it, did contract work for the local council and that his estate was probated (I hadn't found this at State Records - time for more investigation there). Two In Memoriam notices confirm the names of some of his grandchildren.
This post did not go where I expected it to go thanks to Trove., I am excited and on the hunt. The source of my joy today is The Cobar Herald (NSW : 1899 - 1914 that must have been recently added to Trove. I must away aand thoroughly read the articles I have found and conjure up a few more search strings to test out The Cobar Herald.
Maybe one day I'll find a photo of Francis and Harriet.
© Copyright Jill Ball 2013