NFHM, guest blog, talks & other genealogy news: My genealogy months 16 July to 16 September 2023

Two months have disappeared just like that. But there were very busy months.

National Family History Month is over for 2023. I hope everyone had a great time at their local family history society or online with the many virtual offerings. I gave two talks - one at Caloundra on convicts and criminals in the family and the second at Noosaville on making the most of archives. Both days were well attended and with good feedback.

If you haven't seen the opening presentation by Hamish Maxwell-Stewart and Andrew Redfern it is still on the website until the end of September. All about AI (artifical intelligence) and using it for genealogy.

An added bonus for the month was that my family were visiting from Sweden and I got to spend some special time with my little grandson.

Blogs & Draft Family Histories

Sometimes I think I have lost my blogging mojo. Even if I have spare time, I don't seem to want to write smaller pieces. The exception there is my guest blogs for the Genealogical Society of Queensland. My next post is entitled The Agony and the Ecstasy with all due reference to Michaelangelo. Here is the link to my guest post 

Honestly my writing time is taken up with sorting and updating my sources in my draft family histories. I was truly slack in the early days about citing sources especially births, deaths and marriages. Still nothing finalised but working on several at the same time. When I get bogged down or bored with one, I swap to another. At this rate I won't finish anything. 

Books

My usual love of reading is now coupled with reading for my PH D on women in colonial gaols in Queensland in the 19th century. Almost a reverse of my Masters thesis which examined female philanthropists in colonial Queensland who helped fallen women. 

Now there really isn't enough time in the day.

However I must mention Kate Grenville's Searching for the Secret River an ebook I borrowed from my local library. The Secret River was a fictionalised account of her family history and this ebook tells how she went about finding her family history. An insight that we can all relate to.

Conferences

So many good geneacruises

I have booked on the next Unlock the Past genealogy cruise but that is not until December 2024. It is the 18th cruise and Chris Paton is the key speaker with a host of other overseas and Australasian speakers. 

Before then we have RootsTech 2024 from 29 February to 2 March and sadly I am not going in person. 

Instead I am thinking of hosting a live pyjama party here so that we can watch live sessions in the middle of the night! 

That might be better than watching on Zoom by myself and risk falling asleep in front of the computer.

Registration is now open. It seems a long way off but will be here in no time if the past year is an indication. 

Nick Vine Hall Awards

These awards are an AFFHO initiative to promote the publication of society journals and family stories. Previous winners are on the website. I have just taken over the organisation of these awards as I have fond memories of the chats I had with Nick Vine Hall over the years and especially when we were both in Melbourne. Lunch on the lawn outside the State Library of Victoria dodging pidgeons. Those were the days. 

I will be doing a review of the criteria for judging the NVH Awards and finding three new judges, preferably not associated with a society that publishes a journal either in print or ecopy. Once that is all sorted then it will be time to promote the Awards to societies and encourage them to enter. How hard can that be?

Talks

Thomas Price died
at the Wee McGregor mine in QLD

My last talk was for the GSQ on the Midland Counties of Staffordshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. It is interesting to have indepth looks at individual counties. 

The next one is for Legacy Family Tree Webinars on Gold Fever and Finding Miners Down Under. That is 4 October at 11am Brisbane time. The dreaded daylight saving time will be back by then.

What's Coming Up

We have a trip to China in October and I was last there in 1996. Excited to be seeing the Great Wall of China again. So spectacular and I love Chinese food. That will be our last getaway for the year. 

Finally, I have just had another basal cell carcinoma cut out of my face, just to the left of my nose. The other one was on the right side of my face. 

Seriously thinking I should have done a new speaker portrait before the surgery but too late now. All will be revealed next Thursday when the stitches come out. 

Make sure you find time for annual skin checks, so important in our country.

Until next time, happy searching

Shauna