The short answer is that all projects like this have to start somewhere. And this is where I decided to start. Every additional generation you go back into time takes more time than the last one. Ancestry and My Heritage are fantastic resources, but you need to be very careful. The fact is that sites like these are maintained by amateur genealogists – well-meaning of course, but amateur nonetheless. And of course, this includes me!

When people go to Ancestry.com they’re actively looking for their “story”, and their minds are generally wide open to suggestion, much of which is driven by the ubiquitous Ancestry.com “hints”.

I’ve seen cases where people have built a family tree that has children born when one of their parents was 6 years old, siblings who have birthdates that are just 4 months apart, two and even three children with identical names but born in different years, and much more that simply can’t be true.

So, earlier generations will come in time.

It’s a good question. A family tree like the O’Brien’s is wide….VERY wide. From Bill and Irene back, it seems that almost every couple were having 10, 12, 15 and even more children. If I wanted to look at each branch of that tree, I’d need a team of researchers or a couple of more lifetimes. Both of these seem unlikely.

So, I decided to keep things focused on the direct paths that led to Bill and Irene, and the paths that emanate from them. Imagine this like two funnels joined at the spouts. At that join is the “hub” of our story - Bill and Irene O’Brien. That funnels outwards through the top funnel to their parents, grandparents, and it also funnels outwards through the bottom funnel to their children, grandchildren and beyond.

Another good question! You guys are GOOD. The short answer is I’m a complete megalomaniac. But that’s not (completely) true.

I wanted the O’Brien website to grow in a controlled way, with someone making sure that information is checked and edited before it gets published. Of course, I welcome any contributions from any members of the family. In fact, the success of this whole project depends on that. It needs your input!!

But for now, that input needs to be funnelled through me, and I’ll do the checking, editing and publishing. Eventually I’d LOVE to open parts of the site up to each family, with one or two family members being the curators for their part of the family. Stay tuned!

If in doubt, send me anything you think would enrich the site. More is WAY better than less. I can always contact you to discuss and refine the material you send.

At this stage, the main items are - Photographs, Stories and Documents. But it goes a bit beyond that.

INFORMATION ON ERRORS - I’d also like people to send me details of any errors they find - I’ll take them onboard after checking them, and make the appropriate corrections. The site will never be perfect, but it’s in everyone’s best interests for it to be as accurate as possible.

CONTACT DETAILS - If you see that details are missing for any of the family members, then please send those through too. The profile and contact information is a really valuable resource for all of us, so accuracy is important.

PHOTOGRAPHS - In terms of content, virtually any photos of Irene and Bill’s parents and grandparents will be included. These are rare and important. From Irene and Bill downwards, the aim is to have a minimum of a main photo for each person, plus a few more that tell their story. And of course, anything that has family significance - like wedding photos, reunions, special events, the time Jack got his award after WWII, etc. But generally not just holiday snaps!

In terms of quality these should be the best quality JPG’s possible - whether scanned or via a digital; camera. If you have these available digitally, then they can be emailed to me here. But if you have originals and aren’t able to scan them, I’m fine for you to post those to me. I’ll take good care of them, scan them and return them ASAP. My address is PO Box 1008, Bowral NSW 2576.

STORIES - In terms of subject matter, the same rules apply. They need to have family relevance, so not just “what I did over the last year” or details of a recent holiday. At the most basic level, each person should have a biography. I’ve completed these for the early relatives, but it would be great to have something - no matter how short - for everyone. Some other examples would be: historical or biographical information about Bill and Irene, transcripts of letters (please include a photo of the original if possible), eulogies, etc.

These need to be provided as text, and that can be in Microsoft Word, or via an email. I may edit these, mainly for consistency, accuracy and quality.

DOCUMENTS - These could include birth certificates, marriage certificates, official documents about our ancestors arrival in Australia, newspaper clippings, and much more. If you can photograph them so they’re very clear that would be best. That way I can use optical character recognition (OCR) to transcribe them to text.

I’ll be totally up front here – I will have made some errors. There’s a lot of material here. I’ve been careful, double and triple checked, and had others check as well. But a lifetime of writing documents has taught me that stuff gets missed. So please, don’t take offence if you see errors –just use the details here to make contact and they’ll be corrected as quickly as possible.

The thing is, once you track back to the 1700’s and 1800’s, you can easily find yourself in difficult and somewhat confusing territory. Dates seem to be more of a “guideline” than a “rule” in many cases. Even dates of important events like birth, marriage and death can vary from document to document.

Of course Ancestry.com is a fabulous resource, but the fact is that it’s maintained by amateur genealogists – well-meaning, but amateur nonetheless. And of course, this includes me!

When people go to Ancestry.com they’re actively looking for their “story”, and their minds are generally wide open to suggestion, much of which is driven by the ubiquitous Ancestry.com “hints”.

I’ve seen cases where people have built a family tree that has children born when one of their parents was 6 years old, siblings who have birthdates that are just 4 months apart, two and even three children with identical names but born in different years, and much more that simply can’t be true.

I’ve tried my best to be VERY careful, and to crosscheck everything. But in some cases, you just have to accept that, with the information unearthed so far, you have to have a degree of flexibility around dates and the like. Where I’m not sure, I’ve noted that.

Remember that the O’Brien Clan website is a “living” resource, and by that, I mean it will grow over time. And that’s where all of you come in. Feed the site. Send your material.

I had to start with something, so I worked mainly from two primary sources – Ancestry.com and material that was uncovered when Kate and I went through Mum’s 28 boxes of memorabilia.

So, the short answer is that I used what I had available. It’s by no means complete.

Let me share my own view first. I would like to create a website that tells the real story of our family – warts and all. I’ve certainly taken that approach with the “Gwen Landsberry” part of the site. Stuff happens in every family – good stuff and bad stuff. But it’s all history. That said, it’s obviously not a place to publish anything inflammatory. And accuracy is key.

Of course, I realise that others may have different views. As Mum would have said: “it wouldn’t do if we were all the same”. So, if you have a problem with some of the material, then let’s discuss it and come up with an acceptable solution. In some cases that may involve removing material, but I really believe that should only be as a last resort.

One thing I’ll add is that if I believe something is controversial or needs someone’s approval before being included in the site, then I’ll contact the appropriate person/people and seek their “OK”.

I’ve set up the site so that to access anything other than general information, you must register and log in. By “general information” I mean the Home page, this FAQ section, the Privacy Policy, the Terms of Use, and the Contact page.

And even when you register, you won’t get immediate access to the other material. You’ll be vetted to make sure you’re actually connected to the O’Brien Clan, and will only have access once you’re approved. In some cases, I’ll reach out to those seeking registration, to confirm their details and family connection.

My goal has two parts. Firstly, to make the site available to ALL members of the O’Brien Clan, and to those associated with them, such as partners. And secondly, to make sure that ONLY those members have access to the material.

Now listen. How about we focus on what IS there and stop all this negativity.

It’s all about time, and the constant lack of it. I will get to the partners over time.

But a warning - that’s as far as that will go. If those partners had partners and children other than those on the O’Brien family tree, then they won’t be on this tree. I’m only human, and sometimes not even that.