Clan Chisholm Society NZ Newsletter # 45 December 2008 Inside this issue: Editor’s note: From the President 2 Christmas 2008, Seasons greetings to all readers. The promi- nence of Venus, with Jupiter nearby in our Skies at the mo- Genealogical Database 3 ment, has a Bethlehem-esque quality about it. The 12 day History 5 journey of the Magi , guided by the star of Bethlehem , is recalled by guest writer Marcey Hunter in her article on the Sonia & Robert 8 12 Days of Christmas, to be found, naturally, on Page 12. Turn back to page 10 and you will see a tribute to a bright Colonial Tartan 9 star of Clan Chisholm, Wilf Medlam. The last page is dedi- Wilf Medlam 10 cated to our Canadian Cousins, who just could not wait till December 25 to organise a celebration. In between, are a DNA project 11 variety of articles which I trust you will find an enjoyable read over the festive season. Our wonderful Historian Aud- 12 Days of Christmas 12 rey has taken some time out , as she attends to her dear Chisholm Gathering 2008 14 husband David , who has been in poor health recently. The entire clan is wishing you two the very best, and more, for this Christmas. I have written the History article for this issue, although “written” may not be the correct term. I have simply plucked a few stories from Alexander McKenzie's’ History of the Chisholms, and attempted to simplify them somewhat. I have picked on three important personages, all bearing the same name, but living through very different times. Colin Chisholm I of Knockfin saw out the penulti- mate stages of the Clan system, Colin Chisholm IV of Lietre fought his way through both of the Jacobite uprisings, 1715, and 1745. Colin Chisholm VII of Lietre became a legend in his lifetime, and beyond, for his encyclopaedic knowledge of Highland, Gaelic, Strathglass, language, cus- toms, traditions, poems , and genealogy. Enjoy the read . Quiz: This cowboy (right) 30 April 2009 was not seen recently riding Celtic Festival on the Chisholm Trail, but was spotted many miles fur- Chisholm Gathering ther north, in the Canadian Standing Stones Park Rockies. Glen Innes NSW Who is he? Answer on page 14 www.australiancelticfestival.com Acknowledgements: Thanks to the following for contributing to this newsletter: John Ross, Canada Branch Newsletter, History of the Chisholms by Alexander McKenzie, Marcey Hunter (USA), Ian Chisholm (Canada) Kat Moore (USA) Clan Chisholm website UK Branch pages, Sonia Chisholm (Wellington). This newsletter is produced for swift and economical electronic distribution in full colour. A black and white edition is printed and copied for all of our postal subscribers. The newsletter is distributed free of charge to all members of Clan Chisholm Society NZ ,to Clan members on the International mailing list, and to several research or genealogical organisations. It may be reproduced and copied, and is available from the NZ page of the Clan Chisholm website. Clan Chisholm Society NZ Newsletter # 45 December 2008 Page 1 Newsletter Editor: Robert Chisholm 09 817 7131 [email protected] From the President President: John Ross, 8 York Place, Palmerston North (06) 357 4614. email: [email protected] Secretary/Treasurer: Barry Chisholm, Palmerston North . Ph (06) 355 5943 [email protected] President’s Report Dear Chisholm people Hope your Christmas/Hogmanay prospects are shaping up congenially. Hope too that a goodly number of you will get to our 2009 Gathering, which will be on Easter Satur- day, 11 April, in Dunedin, at the St Clair Presbyterian Church Hall, 51 Albert Street, St Clair (more pre- cise details as to how to find it will be in our next newsletter). Starting at 10am, with socialising, then more structured things from 11am, lunch at 12, then from 1pm, AGM formalities, including various reports, etc., going on to about 2.30 or 3pm, finishing with afternoon tea. From then till the evening, free time, but people might like to visit the Chinese Garden, in lower Rattray Street, or Olveston House, a fine old house full of beautiful things. From about 6.30pm, dinner at the Speights Ale House, Rattray Street, preceded by a tour of the Speights Brewery, from 5pm, for those interested (there's a small charge for this). We are hoping that a reasonable number of out-of-town people will stay around for all or most of Sunday, and there are quite a few things you could do, including a trip to the Albatross Colony by land or boat. For some, this could expand into a more extended tour of this area of Otago. Given this is Easter, if you're thinking of flying in and out of Dunedin, it would clearly be a good idea to book early, to get on to flights when you want to, as well as getting better rates. And, also, booking accommodation fairly well in advance would be a good idea - Lorna Ryder, one of the organis- ers, email: <<[email protected]>>, could advise on this. Then, at the end of April, we are invited to join with the Australian Clan Chisholm Society for their gathering at Glen Innes, northern New South Wales, from Thursday 30 April through to Sunday 3 May 2009, which will coincide with the local Celtic Festival at the Standing Stones Park, with Highland Games and the like. It would make sense, geographically, to fly into Brisbane, and take a train or bus south from there. Again, it would be good to book into accommodation early, which can be initiated by contacting the Glen Innes Tourist Information Centre, email: <<[email protected]>>. Regretfully, I decided against attending the international Clan Gathering at Banff/Canmore on the eastern side of the Canadian Rockies, in August this year, and, as it turned out, the only representa- tion from the Southern Hemisphere was of people from South Africa. The Canada Branch newsletter con- tains a lot of photos and of brief accounts of happenings. Clearly, everything went well. To make the already spectacular landscape even more so, halfway through, down came quite a fall of snow (in mid- summer!). We have at last printed out copies of a fully satisfactory Clan Chisholm Society of NZ leaflet, which we'll send out copies of with the Journal, so that members can pass them on to possible mem- bers. But - contact me if you'd like some copies earlier. Duncan Chisholm's book, "The Mussel Poachers of Orere Point, and other Poaching Stories"(Hazard Press, 2005) is a wonderfully lively read. It turns out the author is our newsletter editor's brother, and not a poacher but a retired Fisheries Officer. He has written two previous books, fictional works based on his experiences, but the accounts of them here, and of some of the rogues he encountered, are really good value in themselves. Wishing you and yours a marvellous Christmas and an excellent year ahead. John C. Ross, President, CCS of NZ Do you have anything to share in the newsletter. Some piece of your own Chisholm family history? Something current? A local event which you think may be of interest. Perhaps a theme or a specific topic which you would like to see brought into the next edition of the newsletter. Just phone, write, or e-mail to the editor. Your feedback is most welcome. Clan Chisholm Society NZ Newsletter # 45 December 2008 Page 2 Clan Chisholm International Genealogical Database Part of report by Ian Chisholm (Vancouver) Vice President of Clan Council . 6 Dec 08 Back in 2001 Bob Chisholm, the UK Branch Genealogist, had created a database using an effective database software product called FileMaker Pro. His next step would have been to develop the means to launch this database on the web. However as he could not generate interest within the society he chose not to pursue it. Subsequently, Bob discovered a web based software product that had the potential to meet the requirements of the Branch Genealogists. It took some time to convince his peers that he had discovered a far superior product than the original database. However, he persevered and eventually a majority of the genealogists became converts. The next step for Bob was to garner support from the Clan Council. This he did in late 2007 and the project was re-formed in early 2008. New Web-based Solution The approach recommended by Bob Chisholm and endorsed by the Chisholm Genealogies Database team was to utilize a software package called TNG which stands for The Next Generation of Ge- nealogical Site building. This web-enabled genealogy software can be uploaded and installed on a Web server. Genealogy information in GEDCOM format can then be uploaded to the same Web server, along with associated pictures. Data can also be entered manually, if required. Using this software, a master database can be assembled from approved family trees based on in- formation gathered at the branch level. This is the version of the database that will be made avail- able to Clan Chisholm Society members in good standing. The master database will be adminis- tered by the master database administrator. Project Team The Project Team consists of one individual from the Clan Council who acts as the Project Liaison, and the Consultative Group. Their respective responsibilities are described below: Project Liaison (Ian Chisholm) Liaise with the Consultative Group and provide periodic progress reports to Clan Council. Consultative Group A consultative group has been formed consisting of, the Branch Genealogists, and supplemented by subject matter experts. The duties of the group include:Administer the master database, Administer branch or regional versions of the TNG software and/or upload Gedcom files to the master database, in conjunction with the master database administrator, Participate in team meetings and the team decision making process resolve disputes regarding family trees, e.g., elimination of duplicate entries, and Make decisions on family trees that do not have proper genealogical documentation.