Family History Through The Alphabet Challenge: Letter I
The lovely folk at Gould Genealogy have issued a challenge to genealogists and family historians. Their idea is The ‘Family History Through the Alphabet’ Challenge We will work our way through the alphabet, using one letter each week and discuss anything relating to our family history starting with that letter. This week being week 9, is the letter I
I is for Inquest: In the very early days of my research, due to the murder of an ancestor I discovered that it was possible to view and order copies of inquests at the Public Record Office Victoria This became one of my favourite forms of research, but not in a macabre way. I just loved to read the evidence that was given in the voice of the day, and also in the voice of my ancestors.
One of my favourite inquest documents is that of THOMAS JAMES JONES, the son of my Great Great Grandfather Joseph Henry Jones. The family had been living in Hobart, but I had lost track of them, and for years had been searching. Until another researcher pointed me in the direction of a Victorian Inquest for James Jones. With not much expectation, off I went to PROV to check it out. Not only did I find that this was my ancestor, but there was a witness statement from my Great Great Grandfather. At last I had him and his family.
My advice to any researcher reading this would be to search for any inquests that may have formed part of your family history, and never discount their importance.
</a
Tracking Down The Family 
Thanks for posting on this subject Jennifer. I have never been able to get away to the PROV myself to read inquests. Being a bit of a country bumpkin it has always seemed a daunting prospect but I intend to do it one day. I know who I can get advice from now 🙂 I want to do the same with passenger lists.
Send this to Tom Jones aka Sir Thomas John Woodward, he’ll have a laugh at it too. Ok I’ll bite. Was he a funny guy with a sound like a duck or a Quaker?
Phil, a quaker was a person performing a certain task in goldmining. Took quite a bit of research to find it.
How true, Jennifer. We never know what we’ll find in these documents, do we?
Fi, these little “finds” are what keeps us going, I’d guess
“My advice to any researcher reading this would be to search for any inquests that may have formed part of your family history, and never discount their importance” >> certainly great advice 🙂