Winter for decluttering, road trip to ancestral places & other news: my genealogy months April and May 2026

Well the year is almost half over and not turning out quite how I expected.Our family history trip to England and Scotland in June went belly up when Qatar cancelled our flights. A full refund but still disappointing and only about two thirds back on our travel insurance due to cancellation fees and non recognition of the impact of war on travels. 

Miegunyah, Bowen Hills

So some unexpected free time to catch up on things neglected by my single focus on my PhD now called Women of Bad Character: insights into the lives of incarcerated women in colonial Queensland. 

Books 

I'm still enjoying my way through Tea Cooper's books which throw insights into early colonial New South Wales. A nice break from my academic readings.

Plus the last  week or so  I  have been blitzing all the genie society journals  I haven't read this  year. When I see  the  notice that the June journal is out, I realise I haven't even read March yet. 

So many good tips and news of interesting record releases by the various companies. Torn between delving into my family history or continuing my PhD journey.

Conferences 

I'm excited to be heading to Port Macquarie, New South Wales in September  for  the annual NSW & ACT conference. The theme is The Paper Trail & Beyond: Family History in the Digital Age. My session is on Finding your way on digital trails in the archives. We will  be driving down and back so another road trip for my little car and a few pit stops on the way. 

Child's bedroom

AFFHO Congress, Wellington New Zealand 11-14 February 20207 theme Across the Tasman: Natural Allies and Strong Connections. This one is for the calendar if you feel like a trip to New Zealand  next year. I try to attend most AFFHO congresses so I have put  this one into my calendar.  We might even combine it with a short holiday on the North Island as it is a few years since we have been there.

Decluttering

Cold weather is always a good time to clean out cuboards, wardrobes and even the freezer. What usually is a quick drop off of donations to the local op shops often turns into a mini shopping spree bringing home more books or interesting finds.

New Resources

I am a member of Genealogy SA and excited that they have just  added another 1.2 million records to their online database including a totally new record set. When you can't easily get to a research centre, it pays to be a member of the local society especially when they have lots to search online. 

The shipping departures index is from 1836 to 1940. 

• Shipping Passenger Departures from SA – brand new dataset! 
• Newspaper Births – massive update!  
• BDM Registrations: Deaths & Marriages 
• Newspaper Personals – Ian Shillabeer Collection
• All Other Records: Nurses & Magazines 
• South Australian Church records: Baptisms, Marriages, Burials & Other
• School Admissions 
• Certificates – Australia and Overseas

Dining room Miegunyah

PhD update

As a patron of History Queensland, I gave a talk on Finding women: tips and tricks at the AGM in May. It was to be in person but with the fuel crisis at the time it was decided to make it a Zoom meeting instead to save those  travelling from regional areas. 

My presentation on how I am  trying to identify the women in my PhD case studies is freely available if you want to have a look. https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/1-YNpNYWEhfMgsVIZ-_GHoh7SHLOYgikvmF8v40r7F6ls7zyt77UfYxEMyM3OuY9.oi0bR0D3rDyLi4s-

Talks

I have seriously cut back on giving talks this year due to more travel and also the  need to start writing  my thesis. No more talks until Spring.

Visits

Went on a tour of Miegunyah House Museum with the Professional Historians Association Queensland last weekend and the Museum has some amazing collections. It is the home of the Queensland Women's History Association and run by volunteers. A guided tour of the house is definitely a highlight although the fresh scones, jam and cream was a very close second.

No air  fryer back then!

What's Coming Up? or is that Walking in Ancestral Footsteps?

We can't get to England and Scotland now but we can get out to Thargomindah and Eulo where my GG Grandmother Ellen Ferguson lived in the 1890s. She was an opal miner and her husband a jeweller in Eulo. 

Also having  a look around Charleville and Cunnamulla while we are out that way.

Happy searching and safe travels this winter. Take care until next time, Shauna 

Talks, Webinars, Books, PhD update & other news: my genealogy months February and March 2026

Where did February and March go? I know February is the shortest month but it just whizzed past me and then Easter slipped past in a haze of chocolate and hot cross buns. April is also fast running away from me but I have been head down in the PhD. Totally absorbing, at least the research is.

AFFHO

My voluntary position as convenor of the Nick Vine Hall awards has now kicked in  for 2026 and I have collated and  sent off the entries to our three judges. I'm much happier being the convenor as judging is difficult with so many great family history journals produced by AFFHO member societies. The winners are announced in Family History Month in August. 

Books & PhD

I'm reading mostly academic texts and articles for my PhD on incarcerated  women in colonial Queensland. Not a lot of previous research has been done but I need to know more about the police, courts and prison system.

Boggo Road women's laundry ca 1903 via 
State Library of Queensland

Academic writing is more complex with its rigour on citations and terminology as I discovered by submitting an article on  my vagrant women for Circa, the journal of the Professional Historians Association. Thankfully two very kind peer reviewers and the editors gave me great advice and helped my polish it up into a publishable article. It was published just at Easter and if you want to read my article, along with other interesting history articles, visit the PHA website and click the Circa link. It's free.

So many new things to learn with the PhD. For example, at an earlier meeting with the tutors they suggested a biometrical analysis  of my women looking at their teeth and tattoos. What a  rabbit hole,  although more like a sink hole but fascinating and gave me a different perspective from just the offences.

I now have a database of about 1700 women, with just over 200 women's stories written and  over 200,000 words in my first draft which obviously is not yet finished and will need to be severely edited down to the required 100,000  words. Not to mention amended, and added to as I discover more. Every book and article seems to suggest new directions. Focus is now my middle name.

Speaking of books, my Australian Genealogy Online is still bringing in a nice little royalty payment from Gould Genealogy & History. Doing a new edition last year was worth while.

Conferences

RootsTech has been and gone and the good news is that the recordings are still there to watch.  I only did one prerecorded talk on cemeteries and burial records in Australia. But there are lots of other sessions I would like to watch if I ever get those  spare  minutes.

My plans for attending the NSW & ACT conference in Port  Macquarie in  September have firmed up. So looking forward to a road trip down the Pacific Highway to one of my favourite places.  Not to mention  catching up with friends. In the good news department, my talk on digital pathways in the archives is on the program. Now to save up to pay for petrol to drive there and back, with a few stops along the way. May as well make it a holiday too.

New Resources

I'm loving the new Queensland papers in Trove although it does mean I have to do another search on all my incarcerated women in case of any updates. 

The five part series on AI from Fiona Brooker and Andrew Redfern for Legacy Family Tree Webinars almost made me want to quit the PhD so that I can explore family history more with AI. So much to learn and such a fast paced technology.

Talks

My two workshops at Noosaville received really good feedback. Genealogy apps and blogging was of interest to a full house with lots of questions. I do prefer sessions in person as you can relate with the audience much easier. 

I have started Genie Chats again with my Bribie friends and also ran a five week Genie Chats with Caloundra Family History Research on English genealogy. These are great opportunities  to keep me up to date with new resources and for finding new bits of information on  my own families. Otherwise I probably wouldn't find time to do any of my own family history. 

I had a trip in person to Caloundra for my case study on writing and editing a family history. My hope was to finish the Cornish Connections draft by the end of Easter and get that uploaded into NED (National E Deposit) so it will be accessible online and free to use. Didn't happen due to my spending so much time on my PhD stats. At least it is still on the 'to do list'.

I don't have too many talks lined up this year as the focus is the PhD but there are a few, mostly on Zoom which saves on travel time. History Queensland have asked me to speak at their AGM in May and it is being held at the Bribie RSL which is nice and handy. I'm going to talk about how  I locate and identify my women with all their aliases and variant spellings of names. Tips and tricks for finding women lost in the prison system but also applicable to everywhere else.

What's coming up?

We are booked to go to England and Scotland in June to visit family history locations. Only downside is we are on Qatar airlines through the Middle East so a bit of a wait and see at the moment. I haven't booked accommodation yet, in case our flights are cancelled but things are so unpredictable at the moment.

Until next time, happy searching and enjoy our autumn weather. My Easter orchid is blooming again after it did an early bloom in January. When the flowers finished I split the plant into two and repotted it. Rewarded with more blooms in each pot and I just love the colours. 

Regards, Shauna

DNA sorting, family history writing & other news: my genealogy fortnight 15 - 31 Jan 2026

 A big fortnight for learning new things. Trying out AI and Chat GPT, SubStack and solving website issues are just some of my technolical learnings this past fortnight.

AFFHO

I have agreed to convene the Nick Vine Hall awards again and my three judges from last year have all agreed to stay on for 2026 which is wonderful. Updating the flyer and information sheet is easier when there is not too much to change. Journal entries from member societies will come in during February and March and then the judges have three months to read and score the journals. I get a month to collate the scores and all is ready to be announced at the beginning of Family History Month in August.

Amazing how quick the year goes when you outline a timeline like that.

Books

My review of the Hop-Picker Murders by Nathan Dylan Goodwin is now up on my blog page of my website. As always, I love his books and can't wait for the next one.

Conferences

RootsTech 2026 is just a month away so start looking at what you might want to attend live or watch later. I am giving one session on Australian cemetery and burial records. It is recorded and will be available in the library to watch anytime. I'm also part of the virtual media team.

The NSW & ACT conference is in person in 2026 and will be hosted by Port Macquarie & District Family History Society. Check out the conference website. We nearly settled in Port Macquarie so it will be on our travel plans this year.

New Resources

Legacy Family Tree Webinars has a whole series on AI and DNA and I really need a few rainy weekends to catch up with my viewing schedule. And it is only January. 

Talks

My first talk/webinar for 2026 was for Legacy Family Tree Webinars on Sorting my DNA matches with MyHeritage's theory of family relativity which went well. It was the first time I have done a case study as a talk so it was about my methodology and what I found by looking at my mother's DNA matches. You can watch it here for free.

Next is a talk in early February for the Bribie Family History Association on Mining the archives so that is in person. I am looking forward to seeing people again at the meeting and having lunch after.

The following week is up to Noosaville for two workshops on using apps for family history and blogging our stories so that we will be fun. 

Travel plans

This is the year I explore my Mother's origins in central England (Northamptonshire, Staffordshire), before heading up to Scotland to check out Dad's maternal Scottish ancestry north of Edinburgh. Plus a stopover in York, must see the Jorvik Viking Centre!

James Carnegie (my great grandfather), his mother was from Montrose, Scotland

Writing Family History

As many of you will know, I have written draft family histories for both Mum and Dad's side of the family on different family lines. I haven't published yet because I keep adding things, changing how I cite sources, or simply tinkering. Biting the bullet I had decided to get Chat GPT to help me edit my Cornish Connections draft. 

Edit only, not rewrite and it has been interesting to see little inconsistencies in style, dates and it has even picked up when I failed to cite a source. For example, I use 'on board' and sometimes 'aboard' a ship. 

Front cover of latest draft

I think 2026 is the year these long standing drafts will get finished. 

What's Coming Up?

February sees the start of my PhD meetings again with my tutors. I have made good progress over the holidays but those monthly meetings will keep me focussed. 

I have also resolved to get out and about more and have joined the Bribie RSL fishing club. My first fishing competition is coming up next week using only a hand line. The last time I did that was probably with my father decades ago. It will be followed by a BBQ. Just hoping this heatwave is over by then.

Until next fortnight, happy searching.

Shauna