Listen now | In the first of our “All About That Place” series, we've asked Simon Davies to share his insight and perspective into one-place studies. To learn more about our involvement as Projectkin.org in #AATP24, please visit Projectkin.org/AATP24
I have now caught up with Simon's 'Why Study One Place' talk hosted by ProjectKin. Thanks Simon (and Barbara for facilitating).
I have recently started a one place study using the new one place study archive feature on the weare.xyz platform. I have been building two family history archives on the platform for almost 2 years now (I don't know where that time went!) but my focus on a one place study is just beginning. I have had the idea in the back of my mind for some time but the addition of the one place study archive feature at weare.xyz spurred me on to start actually doing something about it. So, it was interesting to have the walk through of the things you have done in relation to places, Simon.
My one place study is centred on the Kyeburn Diggings in the Central Otago District of Otago, New Zealand. My motivation for studying this place is not personal in the way that Simon's places are personal to him. I have no ancestral link to the place myself. I became interested in it as a place to study in the context of researching my husband's 2nd great grandfather who, for a time was a miner there (gold and coal). Gold was discovered there in 1861 and a bustling town grew up there. All that is left of the infrastructure now is a hotel and a cemetery (both still in operation). Other hotels, post office, shops, butcher, baker and school have all since gone and all that is left of the miners is piled high tailings and the scars of sluicing and dredging along the cliffs of the Kye Burn. The Kyeburn Diggings are a wilderness some 600m above sea level with a harsh climate.
I am interested in the miners, their families and their interactions with others when the town was a busy place. I guess it is the social fabric of the place - the people who made it the place it was when it was a populated place, that really interests me. So for me it will be more of an intellectual journey born of curiosity than a personal one. There is a lot of material to gather and lots of people's lives and stories to sketch out.
The possibilities are enormous. I don't think I have enough lifetime left to do it justice so I intend to turn it into a collaborative project by inviting people with ancestry in the area to participate in the study if they want to. I will just get some information added first so that people can see the possibilities and then put out some feelers via my genealogical connections. The really good thing about the weare.xyz platform is that it makes collaboration so easy.
Oh, Jane, that's brilliant and what a fabulous example. Because the platform is at its heart a database, it gives you a way to capture your research in a structured way while opening the doors to collaboration.
I live in Northern California, a region also defined by a 19th century gold rush. All across the American West we also have legacies of history captured in place just waiting for someone to tell their stories.
I came into much of this through an incredible collection of old photos I inherited. In one photo, my great grandfather is standing with my grand aunt in front of a building that looks like a log cabin. Across the top of the entrance are the words, "Half-Way House." Knowing that term was used for a home for the formerly incarcerated I wondered what the connection was. As it turns out, no... none at all. This was one of the "half-way houses" that lined the trail of the Pony Express across the American West. I still have no idea where this place is, but those tidbits lure us in like white rabbits carrying pocket watches. We're not related to the rabbit, but where is he going?
Thank you so much for sharing that! It's lovely to have you here, reach out with any questions at all, Jane! 👋
Hi Jane, That sounds fabulous and I'm particularly thrilled that the new OPS option on the platform has stirred you to action. I think so many of us are fascinated by places and would love to 'get lost in them' and capture what we unearth as we go. Your study reminds me of a deserted town in Tasmania I vaguely recall in a documentary; something about poisoning the water with all the mining. And the hotel is still standing. It also reminds me of visiting Bodie, an amazing ghost town in Nevada left over from the gold rush. I hope you have wonderful times getting up close and personal with the Kyeburn Diggings - think you need to design a t-shirt too! Oh and seeding something to then be adopted by a community - awesome!
I have now caught up with Simon's 'Why Study One Place' talk hosted by ProjectKin. Thanks Simon (and Barbara for facilitating).
I have recently started a one place study using the new one place study archive feature on the weare.xyz platform. I have been building two family history archives on the platform for almost 2 years now (I don't know where that time went!) but my focus on a one place study is just beginning. I have had the idea in the back of my mind for some time but the addition of the one place study archive feature at weare.xyz spurred me on to start actually doing something about it. So, it was interesting to have the walk through of the things you have done in relation to places, Simon.
My one place study is centred on the Kyeburn Diggings in the Central Otago District of Otago, New Zealand. My motivation for studying this place is not personal in the way that Simon's places are personal to him. I have no ancestral link to the place myself. I became interested in it as a place to study in the context of researching my husband's 2nd great grandfather who, for a time was a miner there (gold and coal). Gold was discovered there in 1861 and a bustling town grew up there. All that is left of the infrastructure now is a hotel and a cemetery (both still in operation). Other hotels, post office, shops, butcher, baker and school have all since gone and all that is left of the miners is piled high tailings and the scars of sluicing and dredging along the cliffs of the Kye Burn. The Kyeburn Diggings are a wilderness some 600m above sea level with a harsh climate.
I am interested in the miners, their families and their interactions with others when the town was a busy place. I guess it is the social fabric of the place - the people who made it the place it was when it was a populated place, that really interests me. So for me it will be more of an intellectual journey born of curiosity than a personal one. There is a lot of material to gather and lots of people's lives and stories to sketch out.
The possibilities are enormous. I don't think I have enough lifetime left to do it justice so I intend to turn it into a collaborative project by inviting people with ancestry in the area to participate in the study if they want to. I will just get some information added first so that people can see the possibilities and then put out some feelers via my genealogical connections. The really good thing about the weare.xyz platform is that it makes collaboration so easy.
Oh, Jane, that's brilliant and what a fabulous example. Because the platform is at its heart a database, it gives you a way to capture your research in a structured way while opening the doors to collaboration.
I live in Northern California, a region also defined by a 19th century gold rush. All across the American West we also have legacies of history captured in place just waiting for someone to tell their stories.
I came into much of this through an incredible collection of old photos I inherited. In one photo, my great grandfather is standing with my grand aunt in front of a building that looks like a log cabin. Across the top of the entrance are the words, "Half-Way House." Knowing that term was used for a home for the formerly incarcerated I wondered what the connection was. As it turns out, no... none at all. This was one of the "half-way houses" that lined the trail of the Pony Express across the American West. I still have no idea where this place is, but those tidbits lure us in like white rabbits carrying pocket watches. We're not related to the rabbit, but where is he going?
Thank you so much for sharing that! It's lovely to have you here, reach out with any questions at all, Jane! 👋
Hi Jane, That sounds fabulous and I'm particularly thrilled that the new OPS option on the platform has stirred you to action. I think so many of us are fascinated by places and would love to 'get lost in them' and capture what we unearth as we go. Your study reminds me of a deserted town in Tasmania I vaguely recall in a documentary; something about poisoning the water with all the mining. And the hotel is still standing. It also reminds me of visiting Bodie, an amazing ghost town in Nevada left over from the gold rush. I hope you have wonderful times getting up close and personal with the Kyeburn Diggings - think you need to design a t-shirt too! Oh and seeding something to then be adopted by a community - awesome!