Ancestral Neighbours Episode 1

I couldn’t believe it when I heard that my favourite Aussie soap first aired 39 years ago next month. How can that be??? It seems like only yesterday I was sat in my school uniform (wishing it was the cool check print, collared dress rather than my boring drab livery), glued to the screen watching the Robinsons et al.

As family historians, we often ignore the other names listed in documents, and just jump straight to the surname/individual we are investigating. But these other people were the neighbours, maybe even friends of our ancestors, and should not be ignored. Researching them can often lead to discoveries about our family. Perhaps your great great grandmother married the boy next door, or your five times great grandfather was an apprentice to the Blacksmith who lived on the corner.

So, inspired by the community of Erinsborough, for the next five weeks I am going to post the names of my ancestors’ neighbours, discovered on one single page taken from various documents over the years.

I shall start with the 1901 Census for the Perkins branch of my family tree.

I hope this blog encourages you to apply the FAN (Friends And Neighbours) Method to your research, maybe start by exploring your ancestors’ streets.

Tune in next week for Episode 2 of Ancestral Neighbours.