After a busy August which included the fantastic Family History Week, we present to you the people who make up our Genealogy Team. We hope this post gives you a sense of who is contributing to this blog and makes family history at the State Library of Victoria such a popular and rewarding experience.
The Genealogy Team: Grant, Chris, Anne, Carmen and Jenny
Anne Burrows
I have been Genealogy Librarian at the State Library of Victoria since October 2000. I am currently a member of the Council of the Genealogical Society of Victoria and of the Committee of the Victorian Association of Family History Organisations. In 2007 I was elected to a four year term as the Australian representative on the Standing Committee of the Genealogy and Local History Section of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA). I have responsibility for the services and collections of the State Library’s Helen Macpherson Smith Genealogy Centre opened in September 2003. Outside work I have a strong research interest in many aspects of South Australian history.
Grant Hamston
I have worked at the State Library for over 20 years and have been associated with the Library’s genealogy collection for all of that time. I have been a member of the Genealogy Team from its beginnings in 1997 and my main research interest relates to convicts transported to Australia.
Chris Wade
I joined the Genealogy Team at the State Library in 2002 and am the administrator of this blog. Previously, I worked in several different libraries in environmental protection, heritage and applied bioscience. I am particularly interested in online genealogy services and resources for family history research. At the moment, I am so busy assisting other people with their family history that I am planning to start my own research when I retire in 2050!
Carmen Quick
I have worked at the State Library of Victoria for the past three years in a variety of Librarian roles. I have a Bachelor of Arts (Major: Sociology) from La Trobe University and a Graduate Diploma of Information Management from RMIT. I am a keen genealogist in my spare time and since July 2009, I have had the good fortune to be based in the Library’s Genealogy Team. My genealogy areas of interest include researching adoption and wardship, Victorian, UK and New Zealand research.
Jenny Bobbitt
I have been working as a library technician at the State Library of Victoria for over 30 years in a variety of areas. Since 1997 I have been in the Genealogy Team where I have responsibility for all aspects of Genealogy collection processing, so lots of microfiche and microfilms!
Dear Genealogy Team
I have been looking once more at the portrait of my ancestor, Henry Condell, First Mayor of Melbourne. His brother, Joseph Alexander Condell was my Gt Gt Grandfather.
I think that the date given for his portrait, an oil painting in the collection of the State Library may be a bit late. He was working in India until 1822, when he returned to Edinburgh to marry. He then emigrated to Tasmania, leaving his wife behind (with his portrait?). I have a hunch that he ordered the painting in India to send to his future wife, or had it painted in Edinburgh. The hairdo and style look to me to be much more 1820s than 1830s and he is a very young man. Born in 1797, he would be about 25 years old in 1822. This looks about right to me.
The State Library may have proof of the date 1830. If so, I am wrong in my guess. What is your opinion? I believe there is no date and no signature on the actual canvas?
I visited the Library several years ago and bought a copy of the portrait (The SLV version on your website is very much clearer). We lived in NSW fro almost twenty years. Now back in the UK I am still interested my family history. The Condell branch is particularly interesting and I have a collection of research papers, many of which I copied to Noel Lindsay for his Biography of Henry Condell.
With best wishes
Dian Elvin
Hi Dian
Thanks for your question about our portrait of Henry Condell. A colleague from our Pictures Team will reply to you with any further information.
Update: We have changed our catalogue record based on the information you provided. Your feedback is much appreciated. You can also add comments directly to catalogue records if you have a State Library of Victoria registration card.
Chris