Legacy Webinar Marathon, Trove update, Noosa talks, 2024 invitations & more genealogy news 1-15 April 2023

 Hello everyone

I am moving back to fortnightly posts as there is so much happening in the genie world at present. It is all very exciting. April used to be a big birthday month - both my mother and my paternal grandmother had birthdays. We always used to have birthday parties with cake. I think the photo below is ca 1976/77. Strange I can really see my father in this photo of me and my mother.

April 14 would have been Mum's 89th birthday

Blogs

Some of my geneamates are participating in the April A-Z blog challenge. There are some great posts and I am trying to keep up with reading Pauleen Cass blog posts. So many great ideas and suggestions for our own family history research. 

Books/Magazines

I have been doing a massive catch up with journals from all the societies I belong to. And a blitz on Family Tree Magazine UK and Who Do You Think You Are. Did you know that you may be able to get paper copies from your local library and even perhaps an e-copy? Check out what is available online via your local library. It is afterall a free resource.

Bribie Family History Association Inc

Bribie Genealogy has taken the next step and formalised into an incorporated family history association. No surprises that I was elected President. We still meet at the Bribie RSL on the first Friday of the month, except January. There is an excellent speaker program for 2023. There is also our Facebook page. 

New Resources

Is anyone keeping up with all the new resources at FamilySearch, Ancestry, Findmypast, MyHeritage and The Genealogist? What about Trove updates or the British Newspaper Archive?  It's exhausting and some days I can't decide which family I want to review and update.

Wasn't this wonderful news? From the Trove press statement - 

The National Library of Australia welcomes the commitment made by the Albanese Government to provide $33m over the next 4 years to maintain Trove, with $9.2m ongoing and indexed funding from July 2027. We are delighted that Trove’s future has been secured. 

Talks

I am starting to get requests for talks in 2024 which is amazing. 2023 is not almost into May and life has definitely sped up. Perhaps it will slow down now after all my overseas trekking.

There are more talks coming up at Noosa and Moreton libraries and for the Genealogical Society of Queensland. Normally I would say check my website but as you will see below, that's a bit tricky at present.

Webinars

Legacy Family Tree Webinars held a 24 hour genealogy marathon and I was one of the speakers. The sessions are available for one week free. After that you need to take up a subscription which is modest or it would make a great birthday/Christmas present. A wide range of fantastic speakers and topics. 

My session looked at Australian online indexes for family history research which you might not know. Here is the link.  https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/australian-indexes-online-for-family-history-research-you-might-not-know/

Thanks to the 269 viewers so far

Website

This month my website was moved to a new hosting service and the move has not gone well. You can still see most of the pages scrolling down but it looks like a dog's breakfast. My wonderful website guy is going to try and restore how it looks. 

What's Coming Up?

More Irish genealogy sessions at Bribie U3A. It's amazing how much new material I find while preparing this talks. 

Another talk at Noosa on FamilySearch which will be an in depth look at using all the features that FamilySearch offers.

More time will be spent on updating and finalising my draft family histories. Last weekend I worked on the White family history - adding missing citations, inserting photos and despite my resolution not to do new research, I managed to expand from 90 pages to 115 pages. And I have five of them to do. I need more weekends which is what I used to say when I worked full time.

Front page of my draft White family history 

Until next time, happy geneasearching

Shauna

Review FHDU 2022, new books, new resources & other news: My genealogy weeks 6 - 25 November 2021

Wow time does fly when you are having fun. So much has happened since my last post.

Books

Family History Down Under was definitely a temptation for me and I ended up buying 6 books from authors such as Chris Paton and Penny Walters. Plus one of my favourite authors Nathan Dylan Goodwin sent a review copy of The Sawtooth Slayer, the latest in his Venator cold case series. 

Which book to read first? 

The 4th book in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series, The Drums of Autumn, has slowed down my list of books this year. Why are all her books so big and with small print? I can't put it down but at the end of the day my eyes are not as sharp. So I am going to sleep earlier and getting up earlier so I can still get my hour of reading done.

Conferences

Well FHDU was a big success and I really loved seeing everyone again in person. There were some great speakers and talks and lots of catching up with what's new. My to do list is a mile long! For a longer report on the conference see my blog post Report on FHDU 2022.

My next adventure will be RootsTech 2023 which I will be attending in March 2023 in person for the first time. Can't wait. I'm also lucky to be one of the Influencers for RootsTech next year. 

New Resources

It was interesting to see in the FamilySearch October 2022 update that they have now included some more UK cemetery records. Both in counties that I am researching. Another thing on the to do list. 

Findmypast added a number of new and updated digitised newspapers and again there are things that I want to research. It really is never ending. The 1868 Staffordshire Sentinel is calling me.

Talks

Only five more talks this year. Four of them will be at Coffs Harbour & District Family History Society annual seminar this weekend. Looking forward to that as it has been a few years since I was last there. I'm donating a copy of my Australian Genealogy Online as the lucky door prize.

My final talk for 2022 will be at Bribie Genealogy - they are expecting my annual Christmas quiz but this year I am going to look at setting some goals for 2023. We all need to start thinking about how are we going to leave our research for the future. 

What's Coming Up?

My trip to Sweden and my first catch up with my son and his family since they moved there in 2019. Also my first cuddles with my only grandson the adorable Theodor. It is snowing there at the moment so perhaps I will be able to have my first White Christmas and tick off another bucket list item.

I still have two weeks here so there will be another Diary post before I leave. 2022 has just gone so quickly. Well I must be off to Coffs Harbour which is about a six hour drive from here. Have a great weekend and try to get some genealogy research in. 

Until next time, stay safe and well.

Is it really Easter? : My Genealogy Weeks 22 March -12 Apr 2022

That was a speedy three weeks and Easter is upon us. I can't believe how busy it's been with presentations and preparing for my English genealogy class at Bribie U3A. I have done very little research or writing which was going to be my priority in 2022. Time to stop talking!

Blogs

Mum & Dad early 1950s

Week 8 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks was completed - Branching Out - Courting which was a look at my own parents and how they met. Week 9 was about Women and my focus was Helen Carnegie my GG grandmother. Click on the links to the week to read those stories. 

Although I have enjoyed the first nine weeks of the blog challenge, realistically I know that I can't keep up a weekly blog at present. Maybe when I retire!

Books

Perhaps my fascination with the Ela of Salisbury medieval murder mysteries is one reason why I am not writing very much. Totally love this easy to read series and Book 3 The Lost Child and Book 4 Forest of Souls were both fascinating. 

What I like most I think are references to what they ate (jellied eels) and how they spent their days in 12th century Wiltshire. With four books read, I'm half way through the eight books in the series. Next is The Bone Chess Set which will be my Easter reading.

If my medieval Cornish genealogy is correct (compiled by someone else last century), then one of my ancestors was a Sheriff of Cornwall around the same time. He would have led a similar life to Ela. The big difference, of course was that Ela was a woman and very unusual for her time. 

My research guide Australian Genealogy Online is available for sale from Gould Genealogy & History. Click here for details. Managed to sell a few at events but thanks to Covid no one seems to carry cash anymore. I just hope they all follow up and order online with a credit card when they get home.

DNA

No exciting big matches but Bribie Genealogy held a workshop for Gedmatch Tier One Tools which was very good. Finding the time to sit down and play with the new concepts hasn't been easy. Plus my notes never seem to make sense a week later. 

New Resources

Findmypast added 169 new and updated newspaper titles to its collection this week. It is almost impossible to keep up with digitised newspapers. New titles means perhaps more on our ancestors so we do have to have another look. 

Never ending indeed but super exciting at the same time. Who knows what you will find. 

Presentations

I was honoured to be part of the History for Ukraine 24 hour genealogy event on 27 March that raised money for the British Red Cross. So many great speakers and talks over the weekend.

Trips to Noosa are always fun and it was a good audience for my military talk at Noosaville library. Back there again next month with a look at mining ancestors. The presentation is on the Resources page of my website. 

Recorded my first ever webinar for Legacy Family Tree Webinars - My Top 20 Free Genealogy Websites. That got some good feedback too and it is now part of a number of talks I have on their platform. Sessions I do for The Surname Society are also recorded and added to the offerings from Legacy Family Tree Webinars. 

Finally I went to THE Genealogy Show Spring Event and gave a talk on Australasian probate records. Plus I am still trying to watch some of the other sessions before the link expires.

What's Coming Up?

Remember to check my website for talks coming up over the next few months. Go to the Events page of my website for all the details.

Have a good Easter with family and friends, stay safe and take care until next time. Shauna

RootsTech Connect & Other News: My Genealogy Fortnight 1-14 March 2022

What a fantastic fortnight which included the geneamegafest of RootsTech Connect. It was good to watch some live stream but my personal preference was to watch in my own time. I hope you all had a chance to participate and remember the sessions will be available for the next 12 months. 

I also liked the Connect with Relatives and managed to have a few good connections on Mum's side. Should help with some of my DNA matches. 

Blogs 

Well behind with my 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks genealogy blog challenge but I do have some posts drafted. My main problem is trying to find images to suit the posts. I mostly have to go with images of places as I don't have many photos of my families. 

A week away with limited internet plus I try to have down time when away, meant I did more touristy things than genealogy. 

Meet the Big Pelican at Noosaville. A great restaurant strip nearby on Gympie Terrace.

Bribie Genealogy

Given all the flooding and the uncertainty of the weather, we changed from an in person meeting to a Zoom meeting. 

Our guest speaker was Judy Lofthouse and she spoke about using Findmypast and also looked at the 1921 census. I like that we can record Zoom sessions with the speaker's consent but I also miss the in person chat and lunch afterwards.

Bribie U3A

First term was cancelled due to covid, but second term is going ahead and I agreed to do English Genealogy this term. Most of the sessions have been completed as it was meant to be last term. Although I will have to check as there have been changes to a number of sites since then. It will be nice working with a group of people again and trying to help them with their English genealogy.

Books 

Finally read The Foundlings by Nathan Dylan Goodwin and really enjoyed it. 

Now onto the Ela of Salisbury medieval murder series by J G Lewis. I like starting a new author and book series as I know that there are more books to follow when I finish one. Or at least until the series runs out. 

One of the things I really did enjoy on the hols was having a number of the Ela books on my Ipad. Now on to Book 3. 

Spotted this cute little houseboat while cruising on Noosa River - imagine how many books you could read there uninterrupted.

The Ela mysteries have also led me to dig out my medieval family lines as they cover the same time period which makes it even more fascinating to me.

Conferences 

Just going back to RootsTech, Fran Kitto (fellow member of Caloundra Family History Research) posted a blog RootsTech 2022 Conference Update to remind our members that the sessions are still available. All societies should encourage their members to have a look at the sessions. So much to learn.

 I attended the Scottish Indexes Conference last weekend which was really good as usual. The handouts are useful to refer back to. The next conference is on 3 September 2022 which seems ages away. Registration is already open and its free - although if you value these conferences, a donation is always appreciated.

Talks

My two sessions at RootsTech were Mining Ancestors and Making the Most of the National Archives of Australia. There is a handout for both talks as well.

My first talk for Moreton Libraries in 2022 will be at Caboolture Library on organising your DNA matches without the headache. 

I have also agreed to give a short talk on Ukranians in Australia as part of the History for Ukraine 24 hour event. It will be on 26 March.

My talks and where they are being held are listed on the Events page of my website. 

What's Coming Up Next?

My new research guide Australian Genealogy Online is now available for sale from Gould Genealogy & History. Click here for details. My copies should arrive this coming week. Looking forward to seeing the final result.

Also excited about some new work projects which should kick off in late March.

Should be back to weekly updates now that I am home.

Have a wonderful week researching and until next time take care and stay safe. Shauna

Shipboard diaries, ancestral epidemics & other news: My Genealogy Week 22 - 28 February 2022

February is always a short month but it still went faster than anything. 

We were trapped at home by floodwaters and almost driven mad by incessant rain for six days. Watching all those who lost their homes and businesses all the way along the south east Queensland coast was heartbreaking. The weather event is still going on in NSW with towns flooded and isolated. Brisbane is starting her big clean up. 

Mother Nature in February at her worst. Also a very stark reminder to make sure our family history records are backed up, stored safe and accessible to others.

Blogs

Trying to keep up with my 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks genealogy blog challenge. Here is Week 7 which looked at my GGG grandfather Robert Fegan/Fagan from Glasnarget South, County Wicklow, Ireland. Week 8 will be next after this blog post. 

There was also an additional blog post this month as a guest blogger for the Genealogical Society of Queensland. I do this twice a year. The topic for my first 2022 post was ancestral epidemics. My ancestor was the only one in her family to survive a cholera epidemic. Do you ever think about all the coincidences in life and brings us to where we are today? If she had died, I wouldn't be here and that is probably repeated in other family lines. Enough philosopy, read about the 1832 cholera epidemic in the UK Midlands here. 

Books

Back in December as a Christmas present to myself, I had a buying spree on Amazon and purchased Nathan Dylan Goodwin's The Foundlings and the seven book series Ela of Salisbury medieval mysteries by J G Lewis as ebooks. Then promptly forgot about them as ebooks are not the same as print books piled up on the bedside table to read. 

Almost finished The Foundlings and as always a great Morton Farrier story. The Ela of Salisbury books I purchased as my White family were from the Salisbury area and I liked the Brother Cadfael mysteries. Plus Ela was a real person and has an entry in Wikipedia Ela of Salisbury. The series is next on the list to read.

Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire, founded by

 Ela of Salisbury in 1229 via Wikipedia

Conferences

RootsTech Connect is almost upon us and I will be giving two talks. There is an amazing range of topics and speakers plus they are offering some talks from 2021 as well. 

I also love the Relatives at RootsTech app and when I first looked I only had 50 connections, then that jumped up to 187 connections but none closer than 4th cousin once removed. Some were even from Australia and New Zealand which was interesting but most were in the USA. That can be useful for working out the more distant DNA matches.

New Resources

Front cover of the Yelland diary
that I received decades ago 

During the week I was contacted by someone who reads my blogs. Nothing new there but her ancestors were on the same immigrant ship as my John Finn and Sarah Fegan. Her ancestor wrote a shipboard diary of his time on the Mairi Bhan and she sent me a copy. 

I already had a copy from another descendant and was able to share that. Shipboard diaries are not that common and we have two for the 1878 voyage of the Mairi Bhan. While similar, both diarists commented on different aspects of the voyage. 

If I didn't blog, I would not have this exciting new insight into my GG grandparents voyage to Queensland. Everyone should be blogging their stories.

Talks

No talks this week but I did prep some talks for March.

I also hosted on Zoom the monthly meeting of the Association of Professional Genealogists in Australia and New Zealand. It is always good to see each other and catch up on the news.

What's Coming Up?

My new research guide published by Unlock the Past is now available from Gould Genealogy & History, either in print or ebook. So that is very exciting news. 

Bribie Genealogy's March meeting is on Friday 4 March and we have Judy Lofthouse from Brisbane talking about the 1921 Census. There will be our usual lunch afterwards which is a good way to end a busy week.

I have also had a bit of a breakthrough on the unknown biological father of my great grandfather James Carnegie. I have now connected a DNA match to that family line so it is now a matter of trying to work out how and where the intersection happened. That should keep me busy!

Happy researching until next time. Stay safe and well, Shauna