18/10/2024
***Update***
This book is now available at Derbyshire Libraries. Order from your local branch 😊
Those of us who have ancestors who emigrated to Australia during the Victorian gold rush may find the following new publication of interest:
Work of Heart written by Cynthia McCaughan. This story follows the life of Jane Norton the 3 x Great Grandmother of the author, born in Norfolk in 1839 who, following the death of her mother, left our shores to start a new life in Australia. Arriving in Melbourne in 1856 she later met Henry Smith with whom a brief relationship ensued, resulting in the birth of Janes only child Alice in 1860. Henry Smith provides the Derbyshire connection to this story. For a long time, he was an unknown entity; who was he? where was he from? why was he in Australia? and what became of him when he left Jane and Melbourne for a new adventure in the gold fields of New South Wales? DNA provided the answers to the many unanswered questions about Henry, to his birthplace of Kelstedge, a hamlet of the parish of Ashover, his family and other abandoned children. In 1872 Jane and Alice later moved to Reefton New Zealand where Jane became a midwife and met her future husband David Ogilvy Preshaw a chemist. Together they ran Reefton Hospital for thirty years until their retirement.
More information about the book and how to order can be found on the authors blog here:
End of a long journey has arrived!
