We were chasing some family history. Our ancestors have been in this district since the late 1800's and the land was foreign and harsh to them. They hailed from Argylshire, Scotland and found themselves in a hot and rugged environment.
My great, great grandparents, Duncan and Martha McIntyre (nee Crombie) had eleven children of whom only 4 survived to adulthood.
One of these children, Dugald, was only 6 years old when he died, and it was on a December day in 1877. One can only assume it was one of our very hot December days, as poor little Dugald died of sunstroke. His grave has just been discovered at a place called Lagoon Creek where a huge coal mining venture is taking place. A representative of the consortium was seeking our permission to move the remains to the Jondaryan cemetery where his parents are buried. We do not have a lot of information about the other children Duncan and Martha buried, but believe most were in very early infancy.
We tramped around the cemetery in the misty rain and black mud and found the graves of our ancestors. We took photos to pass onto the coal mining company to give them an indication as to where Dugald is to be moved to. Adjacent to the graveyards was a beautiful little church. Made from wooden slabs with cute little arch windows down both sides and a simple effective stained glass window behind the elaborately carved altar,
My Dad really enjoyed this 'different' kind of outing and it was also good for some of the younger family members to learn a little of their heritage.
No comments:
Post a Comment