Articles

Articles

Over the last few years I have written a large number of articles about family history. About half of them are research reports that are designed to share the outcomes with other family members. The others illustrate particular episodes in the family's history. These include several biographies written for the annual Croker Prize competition and a couple of memoirs written by my father, Bruce Fleming.

Published research articles

Three of my research reports have been published, two in Descent (journal of the Society of Australian genealogists), and one in Carillon Chimes (magazine of the Bathurst Family History Group).

• Carillon Chimes article - William Baker's arrival – Proves that William Baker arrived as a convict aboard the Guildford in 1829
• Descent article - Thomas Kessey's Origins – Debunks the old theory of Thomas Kessey's origins
• Descent article - The Waples Roadblock – How I circumvented a Waples research roadblock

Published general articles

In addition to the published research reports above, several of my articles on more general subjects have been published, as follows.

• Brigadoon (The Deed, number 5, Jul 2025) – reporting on the Bundanoon Highland Gathering on 5 Apr 2025
• Clan v House (The Deed, number 5, Jul 2025) – examines whether the Scottish Fleming family is a Clan or a House
• Wigtown Revisted (The Deed, number 3, Jan 2025) – rehabilitates the reputation of Thomas Fleming of Fulwood (c.1333 - c.1383)
• Cumbernauld Castle (The Deed, number 2, Oct 2024) – owned by the Fleming family for over 600 years
• Clan Fleming Titles continued (The Deed, number 2, Oct 2024) – including commendator, justiciary, usher and Privy Councillor
• Clan Fleming Titles (The Deed, number 1, Jun 2024) – including Baron, Lord, Earl, Sheriff and Chamberlain
• La Belle Ecossaise (The Deed, number 1, Jun 2024) – Lady Janet Fleming was the daughter of one king; mistress of another; and governess to a queen

Unpublished articles

Most of the following unpublished articles are research reports but there are also a couple of interesting stories from our history.

• An unfortunate family – The family of Mary Lahy experienced a Dickensian series of life's obstacles
• Bricks at dead of night – Grandfather Kessey played a key role in a fractious political incident
• Lahy family origins - UPDATED – Confirms the Lahy family origins (including Bohen and Tobin)
• The Baker Roadblock – How genealogists circumvented this roadblock by researching William Baker's brother
• James Murphy's Demise – Proof that James Murphy did not die in 1914 and is not buried in Bourke
• Our Carlisle Origins – Debunks the old theory that William was a son of Ann Scarborough
• The Poulton-Clarkson Roadblock – How I overcame this roadblock by researching a fellow-traveller
• Fleming ancestry DNA analysis – I analysed our DNA matches in an effort to shed some light on our Fleming ancestry
• Angus Flemings origins – How I identified the baptism record that relates to my 4G grandfather, Angus Fleming
• My tangled Ballantynes – How I straightened out the tangle caused when people with the same surname marry
• The Ballantyne Roadblock – How I overcame this roadblock using a DNA hint and good old-fashioned genealogical investigation
• Finding Patrick Tobin – How I identified our Patrick Tobin in a haystack full of namesakes
• The mystery photograph solved – How I identified the Reed family as the subject of "the mystery photograph"
• 1919 - The Union Hotel – Research based on a family photograph of "James Kessey's Union Hotel"
• 1892 - Charles Fleming and the Captain Cook II – Charles Fleming manufactured the figurehead for the Sydney Harbour pilot vessel Captain Cook II
• Oral History Transcript – Oral history provided by Ena Ruby Kessey nee Murphy

Croker Prize

In 2014 the Society of Australian Genealogists established the annual Croker Prize for Biography (named in memory of benefactors Colin and Loas Croker). The prize is awarded to the author of the best biographical essay submitted in accordance with whatever theme the judges choose for that year. Every financial member can submit one entry to the competition each year.

These are the Croker Prize entries that I have submitted. All relate to members of my family.

• 2025 - Earnestly Seeking Salvation – about William Carlisle (c.1784 -1852), pioneer in both Australia and New Zealand
• 2024 - A Life of Service – about Benjamin Heazle (1791-1850), a soldier who fought agains Napoleon's forces
• 2023 - From Waywardness to Solid Citizen – about James Murphy (1843-1919), pioneer of Bathurst and Bourke
• 2022 - Frances Reed, pioneer of Bourke – about Frances Reed nee Heazle (1812-1895) who helped to forge a better life for her many descendants
• 2021 - Where the coolabahs grow – about William Isaac Kemp (1826-1897) who raised a family of sixteen in outback NSW
• 2020 - Showdown at the Blue Bell Inn – about Elizabeth Clarkson (1834-?), who left her husband and continues to elude researchers!
• 2019 - A Noble Harvest – about the influential Elizabeth Taylor (1831-1881) - Received a Highly Commended award
• 2018 - The Disappearing Boots – about the divorce of James Kessey (1858-1944) and Mary Jane Press (1867-1951)
• 2017 - Scrabbling in the dirt – about Mary Tobin (1818-1856), who suffered a tragic ending to a tough life
• 2016 - The Clan keeper – about Alice Clarkson Poulton (1860-1927), matriarch of the tight-knit Bowen clan
• 2015 - Looks like hopelessness – about Charles Fleming (1854-1928), who emigrated not once, but twice!
• 2014 - Criminal or Victim? – about John Kessey (c1836-1902), whose life was blighted by his upbringing

Bruce's memoirs

These autobiographical stories were written by Bruce Fleming (1929-2016).

• The early years
• The cadets