Yorkshire folk in Brisbane Hospital

Hospital records contain a wealth of personal and biographical detail. Here are the names of a few Yorkshire-born people who were admitted to hospital in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, between 1887 and 1902.

BARROW Sarah (nee STEPHENSON)
BEEVERS / BEEVES Joseph
BRADLEY Daniel Wilson
CORDINGLEY John William
EVANS Mary
FEWSOME Edward
LINGARD Mary
MEARDON Peter
TOWNSEND Frances
WARD William
WEST Henry
WHITE Thomas Simkin
WOOD John Arthur

If you have any questions, see the new webpage about Brisbane Hospital patients, with a combined list of names from four indexes, a description of the contents of pre-1923 patient records, and a new way to get information or copies.

See also:

• Yorkshire folk in Croydon Hospital
• Yorkshire folk in Dunwich Benevolent Asylum

(This post first appeared on https://my-yorkshire-genealogy.blogspot.com/2023/02/yorkshire-folk-in-brisbane-hospital.html.)

Yorkshire folk in Cooktown Hospital

Here are a few names of Yorkshire-born people from the records of Cooktown hospital in far north Queensland, Australia, between 1888 and 1900. These are just a few that I noticed, and there will be many more, so check the list of patients' names. Hospital records contain a wealth of personal and biographical detail, as explained below.

• ADAMSON Hannah Maria, born Scarborough (father: Benjamin)
• BRAYSHAW Levi, born Yeadon (father: James)
• CAMERON Nicolas, born Sheffield (married in Africa)
• COCKROFT Henry, born Huddersfield
• FLAVIN Ellen (or FLAVEN), born Sheffield
• RHODES Mary, born Easingwold (father: Charles, of Leeds)
• SMITH Richard, born Bradford

Register entries are not always complete, but there is provision for these details:

• name
• date admitted
• age
• birthplace
• occupation
• religion
• ship of arrival
• how long in colony
• place of residence
• marital status
• place of marriage, and at what age
• spouse's name
• names and ages of children living
• number and gender of children deceased
• father's name and occupation
• father's present residence if living (or 'father dead')
• mother's given name and maiden surname
• disease or reason for admission
• date of discharge, or date and cause of death
• sometimes additional remarks (medical history, social circumstances etc.)

Note that ship of arrival, place of residence, marital status and father's present residence are *not* shown on a Queensland death certificate; and a hospital register is sometimes the only surviving source of information about immigration.

To find out how to obtain photocopies of the hospital registers, see 'Copying Service' below the list of names from Cooktown Hospital admission registers.

(This post first appeared on http://my-yorkshire-genealogy.blogspot.com/2016/05/yorkshire-folk-in-cooktown-hospital.html.)

ASHTON and MATTHEW families (Yorkshire)

One of the current 'dead ends' in my family tree is Kitty (or Catherine) ASHTON.

Kitty was born in Yorkshire, England, probably in the late 1770s. She married Peter MATTHEW in 1803, and died sometime after the 1861 census. Associated surnames include HUDSON and LEAPER, and perhaps BOWER, HARWOOD and MOUNTAIN. Possible spelling variants for her married name include MATHEW, MATHEWS and MATTHEWS.

If you have an interest in (or references to) any of those surnames in Barton-le-Willows, Crambe, Kirby Misperton or Swinton (but which Swinton?!), I'd love to swap information with you. For more details see Jottings, Journeys and Genealogy.

Parish register of marriages, Kirby Misperton, held by North Yorkshire County Record Office

Yorkshire Newspapers: digital copies online

Image by Grant Cochrane, FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The online British Newspaper Archive includes many Yorkshire newspapers. Recent additions include the Yorkshire Evening Post.

I have used newspapers to find birth, marriage, death and funeral notices, obituaries, and other articles that provide information and historical context for my family history. I usually start by searching for surnames, village names and relevant keywords such as 'accountant', 'carpenter' or 'inquest'.

The rapidly expanding collection of searchable digitised British newspapers is available on two sites:

• British Newspaper Archive Web site


• British Newspapers collection within FindMyPast.

Both sites now offer very affordable one-month subscriptions.

Before searching, read Top Tips for Searching the Newspapers.

As more papers are digitised, details are added to the list of newspaper titles online.

British news and family notices were often reprinted in Australian newspapers, so you should also search Trove (a magnificent free site created by the National Library of Australia).

More Yorkshire Parish Register Indexes

More than 450,000 parish records for Yorkshire, Northumberland, Durham, Wiltshire and Suffolk have just been added to FindMyPast's UK parish records collection.

I have lots of Yorkshire ancestors, and many of them moved to the county of Durham in the mid-1800s. I was therefore delighted to hear that these new records include 7,113 Ryedale baptisms, marriages and burials (1754-1999);  22,687 Sheffield baptisms (1837-1968);  8,181 Sheffield marriages (1824-1991); and 27,420 Northumberland and Durham burials (1587-2009).

These parish records are available as a result of the ongoing partnership between FindMyPast and the Federation of Family History Societies. There are millions more records to come, so watch for news from FindMyPast.

Revenue from ads goes to Kiva

Photographs of Microfilm at the Borthwick Institute

If you can visit York to do genealogy research, you may want to take part in the Borthwick Institute's one month free trial of permits for photography of microfilm entries.

The trial starts on 4 March 2013. If you are interested, contact staff at the Borthwick.
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Yorkshire Genealogy Seminar, Maps and Survey

• Genealogy seminar in Leeds:  When I was in Yorkshire I went to Leeds for the annual genealogy lecture day organised by Jackie Depelle of Your Fair Ladies. It was one of the best seminars I have ever attended. This year's event is on 21 July 2012.


• Maps:  There is a good range of maps for Yorkshire and elsewhere at Alan Godfrey Maps.


• Survey:  West Yorkshire Archive Service invites you to do a short survey about their services and plans for a new building.

Yorksgen 2011 genealogy gathering: will I see you there?

As I will be in England in July, I have decided to go to 'Yorksgen 2011'. This genealogy get-together in York has been held almost every year since 2000. Yorksgen visitors come from all over the world. Bookings for 2011 already include family historians from the UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand, and many Yorkshire folk will be on hand to share their valuable local knowledge.

We will have ensuite single rooms in self-catering accommodation in the very new houses at the University of York. There is a large communal kitchen in which we can chat, hold meetings and generally help each other with research. There will be a programme of trips, tours and talks. We can join in if we wish, or do our own thing. (Some days I will be a family historian, and some days I will just be a tourist!)

Yorksgen dates are 16th to 23rd and 23rd to 30th July 2011. You can come for one week or two, or just a few days. (I have booked for two weeks.) At just 110 pounds per person per week (about 165USD, 185AUD or 230NZD), this is amazing value. Come on your own or bring a friend or partner. If they are not into family history, they will have no trouble finding something to do in the beautiful city of York, and trips to all parts of Yorkshire can easily be arranged.

The centre of York is about 10 minutes away by bus, and the Borthwick Institute (where I am keen to do some research) is a few minutes walk from the accommodation. Local libraries have good resources, and York is a great centre for visiting archives all over the county. The North Yorkshire County Record Office at Northallerton is easily accessible by train.

Have you been to one of the Yorksgen gatherings? Do you intend to be there this year? If so, please add a comment below.

P.S. In view of the number of tweets and private emails I've received, I should probably add this:

Yorksgen organisers are very helpful if you email a question. Yes, I believe it is possible to come for just a day or so. No, I don't know when the activities programme will be finalised. I have not been to Yorksgen before, but I think it is all rather easy-going, not like a formal conference. If you send an email to the address shown on the Web page I mentioned, I'm sure Janice or one of her colleagues will advise you.

Ancestor Approved Award

I was delighted when Mike (who writes the blog 'You Don't Choose Your Family') nominated this blog for an Ancestor Approved award. A few days ago I also received the same award for my Queensland Genealogy blog. One of the requirements of being given the award is to pass it on to ten other people. My list of nominees is on Genealogy Leftovers.

Borthwick Institute research guides: new location

There is a new Web address for Borthwick Institute for Archives (University of York) research guides.

Currently (2010) their 'Leaflets Primarily for Genealogists' are:

• A brief guide to genealogical sources at the Borthwick Institute
• Parish Registers deposited at the Borthwick
• Bishops Transcripts (Parish Register Transcripts) at the Borthwick
• A guide to probate courts and jurisdictions
• Simple Guide to Probate Jurisdiction
• Probate Records: what kind of copy should I order?
• Understanding York Probate Act Books - administrations and probate acts)
• Understanding York Probate Act Books - tuitions, curations and caveats
• Understanding Marriage Bonds and Allegations
• Records of birth, marriages and death after 1837 (Civil Registration)