From Mahood to Hood
Before I began researching my dad's family in 2004, the only thing I knew about his mother was her name - Daisy Olive Blanche Hood. I knew nothing of her family, who they were, where they had come from. I only had a handful of photographs of Daisy from my mother's photo albums.
I do remember my nanna well though, I remember how self-assured and independent she seemed. She was the matriarch who held the family together. I will always regret, however, never asking her about her own family.
I was lucky enough to meet Beth Hallam of Queensland online in 2004 and she was able to provide me with much more information about the Hood family. Or should I say the Mahood's - apparently they dropped the "Ma" on the way from Ireland to Australia. Beth, the granddaughter of Daisy's older sister Edith Alice Coley, had spent many years researching the family and had even been to Ireland to stand on the land where the Mahood's farmed. Beth kindly provided copies of the certificates she held, as well as some lovely family photographs.
Later I was able to find the passenger records held at the South Australian Maritime Museum and locate the arrival of the Hood family in South Australia. I was also able to eventually track down some census records in Scotland and find the marriage of Edward Mahood and Margaret Dick in online records.
In 2015 I met anther granddaughter of Edith Alice Coley online. Raelene Brooks was able to fill in some more details of the Hood family and also was able to send me some photographs of the Coley family.
Thank you very much to Beth and Raelene for their assistance, and also to everyone else who has helped me over the last 15 years to piece together my nanna Daisy's family. Every little snippet of information adds to their stories.
My thanks also to the wonderful resource provided by the National Library of Australia - Trove. What would we do without it!
I do remember my nanna well though, I remember how self-assured and independent she seemed. She was the matriarch who held the family together. I will always regret, however, never asking her about her own family.
I was lucky enough to meet Beth Hallam of Queensland online in 2004 and she was able to provide me with much more information about the Hood family. Or should I say the Mahood's - apparently they dropped the "Ma" on the way from Ireland to Australia. Beth, the granddaughter of Daisy's older sister Edith Alice Coley, had spent many years researching the family and had even been to Ireland to stand on the land where the Mahood's farmed. Beth kindly provided copies of the certificates she held, as well as some lovely family photographs.
Later I was able to find the passenger records held at the South Australian Maritime Museum and locate the arrival of the Hood family in South Australia. I was also able to eventually track down some census records in Scotland and find the marriage of Edward Mahood and Margaret Dick in online records.
In 2015 I met anther granddaughter of Edith Alice Coley online. Raelene Brooks was able to fill in some more details of the Hood family and also was able to send me some photographs of the Coley family.
Thank you very much to Beth and Raelene for their assistance, and also to everyone else who has helped me over the last 15 years to piece together my nanna Daisy's family. Every little snippet of information adds to their stories.
My thanks also to the wonderful resource provided by the National Library of Australia - Trove. What would we do without it!