Myself and Dad on his 92nd birthday, taken August 2019 at Warwick, Queensland
Preservation of Life.
Hello there,
Back in 2016 when I was studying for my Diploma in Family History I decided to put my studies to the test and do an oral history interview with my Dad, Jack Apps.
Dad was 89 years old when I interviewed him. He worked for another year before he retired.
I find it very comforting to listen to him talk about his life, especially now that he is no longer with us.
This is the truck that Dad talks about that has 1800 dry sheepskins.
This is the coal truck that Dad spoke of that he drove for R. W. Miller. The little boy is my older brother, John. Taken about 1951 at Bay Street Botany.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed listening to his stories. Click on the triangle at the left of the box below to listen to the recording that is 33 minutes duration.
This is an oral recording of my father, Jack Apps, recorded 8 December 2019
It is my intention to collect more oral history stories.
Written and compiled by M. Hope 2022 and research assistance from Jan Byrne 1939-2011
This post won’t be for everyone. It is a post that I feel I need to write about because we have so many William APPS’ in Camden, New South Wales area, they are being very much confused and recorded in the wrong families. .
To make my post seem more comprehensible I shall introduce each William chronologically, number them respectively and then put them into the family tree. At the end of this post I have inserted a Family History Dropdown Chart of six generations beginning 1726.
If anyone requires further information or source detail, please contact me through this post.
1. WILLIAM APPS 1756 – ? Parents: Richard APPS & Susanna MUNNS
William APPS and Thomas APPS were sons of Richard APPS and Susanna MUNNS. William was born in 1756 in England and he married Mary COLLISON in 1780 at Marsden, Kent. They had a son John APPS who was born in 1798 in Horsemonden, Kent. John is my paternal GGGG Grandfather. John migrated to Australia, with his wife and six boys, in 1839 onboard “Royal George” as Bounty Immigrants. The family worked on Macarthur’s Farm at Camden and McLeay’s property, Brownlow Hill and later at John Peter’s property, Yarrabee, at Wagga Wagga.
2. WILLIAM APPS 1782 – 1851 Parents: Thomas APPS & Jane CONSTABLE
Thomas APPS (above ), son of Richard & Susanna APPS, married Jane CONSTABLE and they had a son William APPS born in 1782. He married Susannah CLAPSON. Therefore, William (1) is the uncle to William (2)..
3. WILLIAM APPS 1812 – 1886 Parents: William APPS & Susannah CLAPSON.
William (3) was born in 1812 in Kent England migrated to Australia onboard “Cornwall” in 1839 as a Bounty Immigrant. He worked for Mr John Blaxland (brother of the explorer, Gregory), as a labourer at Newington Estate. When John Blaxland died in 1851 it appears William went to Camden, where he knew relatives resided. Here he married widow Mary BLUNDELL in 1855. Her husband, Thomas BLUNDELL died in 1853. Both William and Mary are buried in St John’s Churchyard Cemetery, Camden in the same grave as William APPS (4) in Grave No A127. Mary’s Husband, Thomas BLUNDELL is buried in Grave No A126. William (3) also had a brother Thomas born in 1808. He married Ann FERRIS and they had a son in 1836 named……. William (5). More on him later.
4. WILLIAM APPS 1822 – 1870 Parents: John APPS & Ann HUMPHREY
William (4) was born in Kent, England. He migrated to Australia with his parents onboard “Royal George”. He married Mary DAVIS. His death certificate states he was a butcher when he died from a fit in 1870 at Menangle. He is buried at St John’s Churchyard Cemetery, Camden, in an unmarked grave (Grave A127) with his son John, who died aged nine in 1856. William (4) is the grandson of William (1). William 3 & 4 are second cousins.
5. WILLIAM APPS 1836 – 1912 Parents: Thomas APPS & Ann FERRIS
William (5) was born in Kent, England. He migrated to Australia onboard “Washington Irving” in 1857. He stated he was a Shepherd and he had an Uncle living in Camden. This Uncle was William (3). William (5) married Emily Jane BLUNDELL at Camden Park in 1859. Emily was the child of Mary BROOKER & Thomas BLUNDELL. William APPS (3) was her stepfather. I guess William and Emily were first cousins by marriage but not blood. William and Emily had a son born at Cawdor, New South Wales in 1862 and they named him William (6)
6. WILLIAM Thomas APPS 1862 – 1951 Parents: William APPS & Emily Jane BLUNDELL
William married Evangeline Jane DOMINISH.
Dropdown chart depicting the various William APPS’ and where they fit into out family. M Hope 2020Unmarked Grave A127 at St John’s Churchyard Cemetery, Camden. Jan (Apps) Byrne placing flowers on her Great Great Grandfather’s grave in 2003. At this time we were unaware there were four people interred here.
Well, goodbye 2020, it has been a disordely time for many. Fortunately, for me, I live in Australia and have been very, very lucky, although we have had a few bouts of lockdown, to date, I have come out unscathed.
Yes, I am aware how lucky I have been and I am full of empathy for those who have suffered and my heart breaks for families who have lost loved ones. We must be strong to beat this. We must also remember what our forebears went through a century ago.
Loved ones went to war and many did not return. This war lasted four years (1914-1918). Those who were fortunate to return home in 1918, unknowling, brought back the Spanish Flu that lasted for two years. That’s six years our forebears suffered, without the medications and facilities that we are privileged to have today. The world wide death toll is estimated from 17 million to 100 million. The rate was greater for young adults, according to Wikipedia.
Two decades later, World War II broke out. That lasted six years! Those that went to war and those who were left behind, suffered terribly! But, they survived because they looked after one another. That is what we need to do today. Yes, look after one another and do whatever we can to help eliminate this pandemic. It is not going to hurt you too much to wear a mask, or sanatise your hands, or log your attendance, or look after your family, friends and neighbours. We must work together and be kind and considerate. Let’s get back to basics and look after our local community, which in turn, will help look after this wonderful country we are so lucky to live in.
Yesterday, out of the blue, I received a beautiful gift from someone. It wasn’t for Christmas or my birthday. A friend of hers recently started a home based business, so she wanted to help her get a foothold. I was honoured that she thought of me to be the recipient of her purchase. I wanted to share this act of kindness and the promotion of the creator with my followers.
Ann is my maternal grandmother’s fathers’ mother. I have never met her or seen a photograph of her but through my research, I believe she was a woman of stamina.
Perhaps she was a daughter of convict stock. My research cannot verify that connection. When Ann registered her fifth child, William, in 1858 she stated that she was 27 years old and born in Yass, NSW. Other documentation stating her age have not surfaced prior to William’s birth.
In January 1850 Ann married John Parker, an ex convict who was about 16 years her senior. They married at Carcoar Presbyterian Church.
Their children are as follows:
John born October 1850 Molong – died June 1931 at Mt Macquarie, NSW.
Jane was born in 1854, she died 15 March 1938 at Woodstock, NSW.
Maria was born in January 1855, registered at Bathurst and died 1942 at Bowral, NSW
Thomas was born August 1856 at Mount Costigan, near Cowra in August, 1856 at Mount Costigan, NSW.
William was born in October 1858 at Binni Creek, Cowra and died October 1938 at Carcoar, NSW.
Ann’s husband, John, died when William was just 6 months old (April 1859) by unknown causes. I often wonder how she survived looking after her children. I can only guess the family and community of Carcoar cared for her.
Two years after becoming a widower she married George Sampson. Over the next 22 years she gave birth to nine more childrern. Every one of them survived their infancy. Ann must have been a fit and healthy lady, as the infant mortality rate during this era was high.
She is one of my ancestors I would have loved to have met.
Family Group Sheet I have been asked to share this form so I thought this would be the easiest way to share and allow others to download the form. I enjoy discovering my ancestors as it gives me a sense of where I have come from. Sharing is my best attribute and I would like…
SS Montevideo Maru has been found. At last the resting place of more than 900 POWs is located. This is a great relief to so many families. https://www.pm.gov.au/media/montevideo-maru-found Arthur “Toss” Parker (1923 -1942) now has a known resting place. Lest We Forget. You can read about Toss in my previous posts.
Describe something you learned in high school. Evolution. This made me think about God. In primary we had scripture and was taught that God created man. In high school our history lessons told us we came from the sea. This is when I questioned all I had learned about religion.
Well, where has that time gone? We have achieved so much since my last post.
We sold our van, purchased a house in Tasmania, I traveled to England and Scotland with a life-long friend. Sadly, we lost my daughter-in-law to cancer, we sold the house in Tasmania and we are now living on the South Coast of NSW.
Do I have regrets? Only one! I wish my daughter in law was still with us! Looking on the positive side, I am so grateful that she chose my son to be her husband and together they gave us two treasured little boys and many, many wonderful memories that I will take to my grave. I could never have wished for a better daughter in law. Thanks, Shez.
So, after we reached Tasmania, we loved it so much we decided to sell the caravan and purchase a house. That house was just perfect! The only thing missing was my kids and grandkids. Eighteen months later a snap decision was made and here we are back in New South Wales. Back with the most important possessions in the world…..our family.
While I was in Tasmania I began to study online with the University of Tasmania (UTAS). Diploma of Family History was my choice (of course).
I have been researching our family since 1981 and I thought I was well versed in research, after all those years. I was so wrong! I have learned so much. I have one more unit to do and I will graduate.
Now, while I have been unpacking, I found my folders from Uni and I thought that I would like to preserve the stories I have written during my study. I was going to save them all in a file on my computer but I thought that they would eventually get lost. Then the lightbulb clicked and I recalled my WordPress Blog. This is the place where I can save them and share with those who wish to read them………and I won’t lose them!
So my next few blogs will be my essays. My last blog, being my niece’s wedding was part of my studies. I hope you enjoyed it. I enjoyed the wedding and the unit.
My Alcove 