Yet another Hello from the Antipodes

We Australians do seem to have dominated the Worldwide Genealogy so far, good thing we are generally a mixed bunch in this country of immigrants.

My brothers & the family pooch on the then very new
Mare & Foal Sculpture 

I am Sharon Muffett and I currently reside on the beautiful Central Coast of New South Wales an hours drive north of Sydney. I grew up further north and inland in a smallish country town  in an area famous for its horses and increasingly, its coal mines. My paternal grandmother's family have resided in the area since the 1860s and my paternal grandfather's family newcomers in the 1920s. My mother, whose immigrant ancestors all arrived in South Australia, is not yet considered a local having spent not quite 40 years in the in town.

I am frequently informed that I am rather young in the genealogy game, being just over 30 but genealogy and history more generally are long held passions. In 1989 a relative of some description published a book of Muffett descendants. Hundreds of hours have been spent perusing that volume and the thrill at seeing my name on page 72 as a sixth generation descendant has not dimmed. My active engagement however stems from 1997 and a school history project.

Each year, the Scone & Upper Hunter Historical Society sponsors an essay prize for local history in which all year 9 students at the various local high schools are required to participate. I wrote about my paternal grandfather and his brothers and fell in love with the family stories and the process of research (and received a highly commended). It was no real surprise to anyone when I completed a degree in History at university instead of opting for a more 'practical' subject, or that I've returned to uni to obtain a Masters in Archives & Records. Genealogy is something that I dived into sporadically but have now fallen in the deep end after someone has removed the ladder ;)

As for my ancestry, it is the typical mix of English, Irish, Scots and German, with a smattering of Norman-French from the Channel Islands on my maternal grandmother's side and the additional post-war French migration of my maternal grandfather. I am taking my first steps offshore now and as such am thrilled to be a part of this Worldwide Genealogy project! I am not a very consistent blogger, but you can find me gathering dust on occasion. I am trying to be more prolific in my posting.

I think I have rambled enough for the day but if you want to lose an hour or so as I did yesterday, you might find your way over to the Archives Office of Tasmania and their digitised convict records. Even if you have no link to "Australian Royalty" they make for a fascinating read.