21/12/2024
This post celebrates the uniquely Australian day – Gravy Day, as inspired by Paul Kelly’s amazing song ‘How to Make Gravy.’
See how one song can inspire your research in ways you may not have thought of before.
This Gravy Day share your story with those you love!
~How To Make Gravy~
Hello Dan, it’s Joe here, I hope you’re keeping well
It’s the 21st of December, and now they’re ringing the last bells
• Australians are known for using nicknames and love to add an -o. Do you have a Wayno or Jacko in your family. Remember to check for name variations when you are searching for that missing ancestor.
• Old family letters are a great resource especially if you have both the sender and receiver's sides.
If I get good behaviour, I’ll be out of here by July
• For convicts, look for their ticket of leave or pardon. Don’t forget the Colonial Secretary’s correspondence as they may pop their head up there too.
• For closer ancestors, they may be in the police gazette, court records or newspapers, as well as their own personal case records
Won’t you kiss my kids on Christmas Day, please don’t let ’em cry for me
• We know now that there are civil birth records to find and possibly a civil marriage record.
• We can presume that Joe is a follower of one of the Christian denominations so there may be church records also.
I guess the brothers are driving down from Queensland, Stella’s flying in from the coast
• We have more people to find, but are they brothers to Joe and Dan? Perhaps they can be found in school records, sporting group records, social media or newspaper article related to Joe case
• For Stella, older people may be in the flight manifests found in some state libraries
They say it’s gonna be a hundred degrees, even more maybe, but that won’t stop the roast
• Weather and natural disasters often shape our ancestors’ journey, use the internet to search for weather reports for significant dates. The BOM is a good place to start. Trove is also another place to look.
• Having a historical connection to Great Britain a Christmas roast has been a mainstay, but does your family have other Christmas food traditions that could be recorded. The 5c piece in the steamed pudding was one of ours.
Who’s gonna make the gravy now? I bet it won’t taste the same
Just add flour, salt, a little red wine
And don’t forget a dollop of tomato sauce for sweetness and that extra tang
• Has a recipe been handed down that is still being made today? Its story is important too. Who made it first? Is it from someone’s homeland? Was it changed as an ingredient wasn’t in Australia?
• Was a special wine served at Christmas or was someone in the family a vigneron or vintner?
• Was the family affected by alcoholism?
And give my love to Angus and to Frank and Dolly,
Tell ’em all I’m sorry I screwed up this time
And look after Rita, I’ll be thinking of her early Christmas morning
• DNA may help find connections with distant family member.
• Nicknames can look nothing like their original. Frank is often Francis; Dolly is often Dorothy, but then there are more obscure ones like Peg which is often Margaret. Search as many variations you can think of.
When I’m standing in line
• Are there routines, habits, or traits that you’ve noticed family members share?
I hear Mary’s got a new boyfriend, I hope he can hold his own
Do you remember the last one? What was his name again?
(He never did get Nina Simone)
• Recording past partners on a timeline can help plot out a person’s life. They can help prove or disprove a piece of information too.
• Music that was important to people can tell a lot about their personality and values. Nina Simone for example was an American civil rights activist. Does Joe just like her music style or does he resonate with her activism?
And Roger, you know I’m even gonna miss Roger
‘Cause there’s sure as hell no one in here I want to fight
• Is Roger the black sheep of the family? What did they fight about? It may be significant enough to be in the newspaper or on the internet. What are the family stories?
• Was either a trained boxer? Are there any records associated with boxing?
Oh praise the Baby Jesus, have a Merry Christmas,
• Religious newsletters may hold family news. Are there memories of being an altar boy written down?
• Are heirlooms such as bibles or rosary beads located?
• Were family members clergy?
• Consider the darker side of religion – child removals, court cases etc
I’m really gonna miss it, all the treasure and the trash
• Again heirlooms, but also all the trends that define an age like the Rubik’s cube of the 1980s and G.I. Joe of the 1960s. The things that every kid wanted in their stocking.
And later in the evening, I can just imagine,
You’ll put on Junior Murvin and push the tables back
• The influence of global styles on our ancestors, from fashion to music. The music of teenage years is often what stays with people throughout their life and playing music from that era is a good way to get older people to open up and tell their story.
• Was the family always going to children’s ballet concerts? Have the programs been kept? They are good prompts for remembering childhood friendships.
• Dance styles and trends are important too. Does the Macarena and the Nutbush come out at every family event?
And you’ll dance with Rita, I know you really like her,
Just don’t hold her too close, oh brother please don’t stab me in the back
• There was a tradition of a brother marrying his widowed sister-in-law to ensure the children were taken care of. This highlights some of the other reasons ancestors many be hard to find or leave you scratching your head as relations marry. This can lead to pedigree collapse or endogamy.
• Divorce records
I didn’t mean to say that, it’s just my mind it plays up,
Multiplies each matter, turns imagination into fact
• Health records
• Institutional records
• Inherited medical conditions
You know I love her badly, she’s the one to save me,
• Courtship stories
• Engagement notices
I’m gonna make some gravy, I’m gonna taste the fat
• Food deprivation – famine records, workhouse records
• Political Hunger strikes – newspapers, court, or police records
Tell her that I’m sorry, yeah I love her badly, tell ’em all I’m sorry,
And kiss the sleepy children for me
You know one of these days, I’ll be making gravy,
I’ll be making plenty, I’m gonna pay ’em all back
• Not knowing what happened to Joe his death records may tell the last of the story.
• What's in his will may be how he paid them all back
I hope this post shows how one source, a story written and sung by Paul Kelly as his contribution to the Salvation Army’s fund-raising album, can be analysed for possible research avenues. A lot of them are not relevant to Joe’s story but are included as inspiration.
