Genealogy – James O'Brien

23/05/202023/05/2020Blogging

Black and White Family Photographs in Colour

With a bit of free time on my hands over the last few weeks, I’ve been using a website to colourize some old family photographs I’d only ever seen previously in black and white. http://playback.fm/colorize-photo

Though, I can definitely pick there’s an algorythm at work (they all look a little bit “the same”), I’m still happy with what the website offers for free and without much effort.

And what they offer is a new level of detail of the people involved, which would otherwise be the lost in the grey background.… Read the rest “Black and White Family Photographs in Colour”

28/07/201810/06/2019Blogging

Waverley Cemetery

by James O'Brien5 Comments

A friend and I went on a walk this morning, hosted by the Friends of Waverley Cemetery, which was excellent. We were the only two on the tour, so it was very personalised, and our guide, who was passionately interested in history, even helped find the grave of one of my ancestors.

Awesome waterfront views, also.

26/05/201826/05/2018Blogging

Genealogy Rant

by James O'Brien11 Comments

I have been active genealogist for most of my life. Early in the piece I would use all manner of software, including Family Tree Maker etc. But as my interests moved on from compiling extensive lists and gedcom files, to being more about the story, I haven’t bothered so much with that kind of approach anymore. Oh, and I absolutely abhor Ancestry.com for the way in which genealogy has been commodified and paywalled, and a brief flirtation with it, refuse to use it on principle.… Read the rest “Genealogy Rant”

21/05/201809/10/2018Blogging

Family Reunion

by James O'Brien4 Comments

It’s so funny meeting people who know people you know, but who not so many people know anymore. Below, you’ll see the black and white photograph of my mum and my granny I showed to an older, family member I met at yesterday’s Rixon-Goodwin Family Reunion at Windsor in Sydney’s West. Both mum and granny died back in the 1980s, and there aren’t too many people around now who remember them.

We’re both descended from William Rixon and Ann Hoare, and before that from James Rixon and Amelia Goodwin, and John Hoare and Elizabeth Love, who were all early European settlers in Australia, being a combination of free and convict settlers.… Read the rest “Family Reunion”