Australia Day 'earliest document' challenge

I know, it’s not Australia Day (Jan 26th) yet, in fact it’s still Burns Night here…

But I’ve been a bit caught up in Real Life and horribly neglected this blog. Luckily, I was inspired by Inside History magazine and Twigs of Yore to join the Australia Day challenge on behalf of Nicholas Delaney.

Here it is:

Find the earliest piece of documentation you have about an ancestor in Australia. If you don’t have an Australian ancestor, then choose the earliest piece of documentation you have for a relative in Australia.

On Wednesday 26 January 2011 post your answers to these questions:

What is the document?

Do you remember the research process that lead you to it? How and where did you find it?

Tell us the story(ies) of the document. You may like to consider the nature of the document, the people mentioned, the place and the time. Be as long or short, broad or narrow in your story telling as you like!

For me, this is obvious. The earliest document I’ve seen about Nicholas Delaney is the transcript of his trial, which took place in 1799. He was accused of double murder by Bridget (Croppy Biddy) Dolan, the most notorious paid informer in south-east Ireland.

And it’s a bloody tale. Whether it’s true or not is another question…

So thanks, Cassie and Shelley, I’ll get to work on writing something for Australia Day.