The links below take you to the latest version of our family history. It starts with a chapter each for the Pagets, Beattys, Forsters and McLeans, then from early 20th century it focuses mainly on the family of Archibald Beatty of Carron Vale, Mooroolbark, and later of Enniscrone, Mont Albert, Victoria, Australia. The chapter sequence is roughly chronological.
Like every family, ours has many stories. I’ve heard lots, from a variety of sources, and am trying to weave them all together into one coherent account, using the family tree as a framework and fitting in other details from old documents and letters and illustrating it with appropriate photos from the albums. A surprisingly clear picture emerges of the life of the family, especially from the early 20th century onwards. Some parts of our story, such as William Mark Forster’s role in founding the Try Society are well known and published elsewhere. I’m more interested in the less well known parts of the story, the anecdotes that bring colour and life and give a voice to the people behind the fading black and white images in the old albums.
My focus is the story of my father and his sister, and that of their parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, friends and and other people they knew. For privacy reasons I’ll try to avoid mentioning people who are still alive, and will probably end at the late 1940s. Eventually I’ll turn to my mother’s side.
Some families publish their family history as a book, which is easy these days. I’m not planning to do that, mainly because you never really finish. There’s always another detail, a different version, and so it should be.
Please buy into it with corrections, additions and different versions.
This page has the following sub pages.
- 1. The forgotten Pagets of County Mayo
- 2. The Beattys out of Ireland : 1800s
- 3. The Forsters of Rothbury : 18th and 19th centuries
- 4. The McLeans from Ulster on the “Sarah Botsford” to Sydney and the Blue Mountains
- 5. Archie and Connie Beatty 1903-12
- 6. Early childhood at Carron Vale 1913-20
- 7. Weekly boarders : Carron Vale 1920-24
- 8. Growing up : Carron Vale 1925-6
- 9. Leaving Carron Vale : 1927-28
- 10. Raby Station jackaroo : Harold Beatty 1928-30
- 11. Beatty friends, weddings and “Enniscrone” Mont Albert 1930-34
- 12. The last artist’s camp : McBeatsome
- 13. Dark days for the Beattys of “Enniscrone”, Mont Albert : 1935-1946
taggerty 
The Blacketts
Nick Vine Hall wrote a book Blackett is my name, as he descended from Blacketts. he researched the Forster Blacketts in England with genealogist Surtees. His research is now with either his son? or at the Genealogical Society in Kent St Sydney. he had the Blacketts going right back to the Blacketts of Woodcroft Hall. The new website blacketts of NE England discounts nick’s research when the line gets to joseph Blackett 1733. Nick attributed Joseph as being son of Henry married to Mary Walton. Based on a will leaving henry’s money to daughters, the Blackett from NE England site claims Nicks research to be in error as they could not find a son Joseph. As Nick had access to material in England & searched with Surtees, I believe we need to see Nick’s work ( which I have tried to do) before we can accept he is wrong.
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Thanks bess, I’m aware of the work of Nick Vine Hall on the Blacketts and plan to have a closer look at the issue myself eventually. At the moment I’m fascinated by a far shorter branch of the family tree, my Beatty/Paget ancestors from Ireland. I would be thrilled to get either of them back to an ancestor born in 1733. Also the Blacketts and Forsters have been worked over by many experts while our Beattys and Pagets are relatively fresh research fields. I’ll post here when I do eventually take a closer look at the Blacketts but currently I’m not confident that the issue you raise will ever be resolved beyond question.
PS 11/2/2012 Since replying to this message I’ve made great progress with the Pagets at least. Next the Beattys…
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