My parents were Roy Albert and Beryl Eve O'Donnell.

They lived in a small country town called Benalla, where my brother and I were born.

Mum was born 13th June 1927 and dad was born 10th September 1908. He used to say it like 10 09 08. Which was pretty cool.

They were married 11th December 1954. A second marriage for both of them.

Dad had a son from his previous marriage but mum didn't have children the first time round.

My dad passed away in December 2003 he was 95. Mum passed away after she had her hip replaced as a complication of the surgery in March 2006 she was just 78.

They didn't quite make it to their 50th Wedding Anniversary which was a shame for them.

My mother did alot of research on dad's side of the family. She has passed all her work onto another younger member of the O'Donnell Clan.

Her family lived in Warburton where she grew up and her dad was Thomas Hansen and her mum was Janet Olive Johnson. Thomas was involved in the bush and he used to use bullocks and drays to bring down the cut trees down from the hills and Olive's family had a foundry I think in Brunswick. I have a few cast iron mementoes of the era.

Thomas was the first person to own a truck in the area and at the time of the war it was comandeered by the Army.

Hamilton Lewis O'Donnell was born in Omah,County Tyrone Ireland. He is the great great grand daddy of this line of the O'Donnell clan.

Dad had a brother Rex who lived up in Queensland with his wife Molly.
Rex lived to a grand old age as well.

Roy and Rex worked together and were builders or carpenters. There is many a house in Benalla that I could say my dad had a hand in. As well as some of the stores in the main CBD.

Will I do the Family Tree on the O'Donnells from my side? Maybe one day I will attempt it. At the moment I am concentrating my efforts on my husband's side of the family, the Tollidays. You will see I have written many journals on this family as I have been given so much information and it has been easy and a pleasure to do.

There is no point in me researching the O'Donnells because it too has been done but I just don't know who has got it all. And if they plan to make a website on it.

Tho yesterday I did find a site with the names of Hamilton Lewis and his children. There were no details of my dad's name or our names in the listing. SO I'm guessing that we haven't been linked up yet.

I think my father's father was Albert Edward O'Donnell. The children's names and Birth years as follows:- Edith b 1875, Albert Edward b 1879, Edwin James b 1881, George Lewis b 1884, Rebecca b 1886 and Maud Mary Adelaide b 1888 and ones with dates to come- Annie L, Charlotte M, Daisy Ethel, Emily Jane, Robert John, Cecile A M, Evelyn V,

That would account for the family name of Albert being passed onto my dad as a second name.

Drop me a line if you are related to me and mine.

Cheers

Meredith

Check out this website for information on the original Irish Family and their descendants.

http://haleycentral.com/phpGedView/individual.php?pid=I64979&ged=consolidated.ged