The Gersbachs from Eltville to Kempsey, Orange & St Marys

The Society of Australian Genealogists' "Hang Outs" are giving me the opportunity to systematically record my research and then turn it into blog posts!      Yesterday was the opportunity to tie together the stories of the past two weeks with my favourite topic - genetic genealogy.  If you've done a DNA test and would like any assistance, please contact me at the above email.  You can read the story of Jane Feeney, my second great-grandmother,  HERE.   You can read the story of Anton and Margaretha Gersbach, my second great-grandparents,  HERE .  I'll show  how DNA is helping me find my genetic make up from Essie Woodlands, my paternal grandmother.    Genetic evidence is necessary to “prove” our pedigree. Louise Coakley is an Australian genetic genealogist, member of SAG and publisher of  Genie1 .  DNA does indeed have amazing power and I hope the information in this post demonstrates that.   Here’s my paternal grandmother’s pedigree.  Two weeks ago, I wrote

Starting the first post for this blog has been a long time in the making!   Today, I "virtually" joined other members of the Society of Australian Genealogists.  The theme for the session was emigration.  You might the interested in reading about the emigration scheme that our many times great grandparents were part of.  This presentation builds on the story of Jane Feeney, my great great  grandmother that you can read  HERE . Jane Feeney arrived in Sydney in April 1849 on board the Digby as one of over 4000 young woman who came to the colonies from Ireland as part of the “Earl Grey Famine Orphan Scheme”.  Jane’s daughter, Margaret, married Francis Gersbach.  Frank was the son of Anton Gersbach and Margaretha Songen who’d arrived in Sydney in September 1855 and settled on the Macleay River in northern NSW near Kemspey.  Anton and Margaret were born in the small towns of Eltville and Winkel on the banks of the Rhine about 50 kilometres from Frankfurt.  They’d married in Feb