Genealogy notes 2 July 2011

I'm really pleased with the encouragement I have received so far on this new blog idea - it's nice to have friends.

One thing I forgot to mention yesterday was that I accepted an invitation to participate in Google+ (without really knowing much about it). Today I have people putting me into circles and I was really pleased to see Twitter friend @CaroleRiley tweeting an article on the Pros and Cons of Google+ so I am a little wiser. Like all social media it takes a little while to get the hang of it (at least for me), so I'll take it slow and steady.

No time for research today but I have been reading some e-newsletters. It was good to see a tribute to Don Grant in Eastman's Daily Online Genealogy Newsletter and this has to be one of my favourite newsletters for keeping up to date on what is happening with genealogy around the world. There is a free standard edition and for a very modest annual fee you can access his 'plus' articles which are always good value.

Another one of my favourite e-newsletters arrived and that is Snippets from the Queensland Family History Society - it is monthly and while parts of it are only relevant if you live in Brisbane, there is usually a great selection of news and links to follow up. I was a founding member of QFHS so it is a great way for me to keep up with what is happening in my home town. It is sent to members but the last six issues are available online for free so non members can still read it.

Another genealogy society e-newsletter I like reading is from the Society of Australian Genealogists - I did their Diploma of Family Historical Studies back in the early 1990s and I have always maintained contact with them since. You don't need to be a member to receive the newsletter so you can subscribe or simply read past newsletters online.

It's probably a good idea to see if the society in an area you are researching has a free e-newsletter because it is a great way to find out what's new in that area - we can't afford to join all the societies where our ancestors lived. Of course you should also be a member of the society near where you live so that you can take advantage of their library, meet other knowledgeable members, attend talks, seminars and so on. Here in Melbourne I am a member of the Genealogical Society of Victoria and the Australian Institute of Genealogical Studies.

Perhaps the most exciting genealogy event for me today was receiving an email from a person who read the latest article in my Looking For Mining Ancestors series which is published in Australian Family Tree Connections. I was writing about my great grandfather Thomas Price who died at a very obscure mine called Wee McGregor at Hightville in far western Queensland. Prior to moving out there, he was a Baptist Sunday school teacher in Charters Towers. This person's mother was one of his students and he is fondly mentioned in some of her personal records from that time which she kept and are now in her family's possession. How amazing!

It just goes to show the more you write and publish information on your ancestors, the more chance you have of making contact with other family members or people who have information on them. I should probably start up a dedicated blog to my ancestors but there are so many of them and only one of me!

I was worried that I might not be able to keep up the content for this blog but so far I think my problem is going to be how to keep it contained to a reasonable length!