Sands of Time earlybird extended & other genealogy news: My Genealogy Fortnight 1-14 September 2022

 Attending genealogy conferences and expos always motivate me. I come home and I'm superexcited to follow up on the tips and tricks from the speakers. What else can I find out about my ancestors? But new research always takes me away from downsizing and tidying up my 45 years of research. My writing up of the family histories falls by the wayside as I chase new records. This month the plan is to do more scanning and writing and less research - not sure I can do that but that's the plan.

Blogs

No missing our hotel!

Finally got around to writing up my notes from the AFFHO Congress on Norfolk Island and the family history expos in Auckland and Christchurch, New Zealand. Read Geneatravel in National Family History Month.

Books

The trouble with reading Diana Gabaldon's books is that they are so big and with small print. That takes up a lot of reading time. Still I am almost at the end of the first book Cross Stitch aka Outlander and I have the second book from the library. I will have to tackle that in case someone else wants to reserve it. I would hate to return a book I hadn't finished reading!

Conferences

As a Sands of Time ambassador I have the pleasure of introducing another one of the speakers at the conference in October in Redcliffe. 

Meet Liesl Harrold

Tell me a little about yourself and your interest in history?

I grew up listening to my family discussing family history and brick walls. By the time I was in high school, I was doing family history research unsupervised and getting close to 100% in history. At university, I completed a Regional and Town planning degree which included writing a thesis titled, The Recycling of Public Heritage buildings for commercial purposes: A [Queensland] Treasury building case study. I have worked in historical and statistical research roles including managing the work histories team which was tasked with researching the histories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to support their claim for the Stolen wages class action. I have also completed both the certificate and diploma courses with the Society of Australian Genealogists and taught various family history courses.

Your talk sounds fascinating - what led to your interest in this topic?

In working with beginner researchers, I have found that mistakes are often made because their methodologies are missing key elements. The missing elements are vital for unlocking evidence and proof. Left long enough, the omission becomes habitual and we find ourselves forever looking but never finding. My presentation aims to showcase the essential elements of the proof standard, research cycle and research techniques which will hopefully help the researcher make discoveries.

 What do you hope to experience/learn from attending Sands of Time?

I am looking forward to the opportunity of hearing from some great speakers and share some of my adventures in research. I am especially looking forward to meeting people face to face and having a good yarn about all things history.

Earlybird registration has been extended to 23 September so don't miss out. It will be at Redcliffe (close to Brisbane), Queensland on 21-23 October 2022. 

New Resources

FamilySearch have added two expanded Australian collections :

•  Australia, Albany, Inward passenger lists 1873-1924 (also available from the National Archives of Australia website)
• Australia, Victoria, Wills, probate and administration files 1841-1926 (also available from the Public Record Office Victoria website)

The British Newspaper Archive added more new titles including:

• Liverpool Shipping Telegraph and Commercial Daily Advertiser 1846-1849, 1851-1872, 1874-1876, 1880, 1885-1897, 1899
• Harrogate Advertiser and Weekly List of Visitors 1865,1877,1880, 1889

Note the missing years. It is always necessary to check coverage to see if the dates that you want are covered by whatever database you are searching.

Talks

Sally Romano our September 
guest speaker

The September meeting of Bribie Genealogy had Sally Romano from Brisbane telling us all about writing a family history. Sally shared how she had written her own Days of Yore and gave tips and tricks that she learnt from that experience. She also stayed to lunch with some of our members and it was good to socialise again.

It seems I am having a rest from talking in September (apart from U3A). But I do have my keynote session at Sands of Time in October to finalise.

Also in October I have the road trip down to Coffs Harbour in northern New South Wales. Giving several presentations on the Saturday for the Coffs Harbour District Family History Society. 

Also a bit strange to be booking in talks for 2023 but I now have some for Moreton Libraries and one for the Association of Professional Genealogists. 

What's Coming Up Next?

Fourth term of Bribie U3A will be about Family History Brickwalls. I'm hoping that as an interactive class we might be able to help each other solve our genealogy mysteries. Sounds better than me doing all the talking all the time.

Bribie Genealogy 

Our October meeting of Bribie Genealogy has Helen Smith as our guest speaker talking about dating photographs. This is a topic of huge interest to our members so it will be great to have Helen in person. Last time covid reared its ugly head and we had to Zoom. 

As I said at the beginning, I am ignoring all bright shiny objects for the time being, and doing some serious family history writing this month. And scanning, which is not as interesting as writing but just as important. Wish me luck. 

Happy researching until next time. Shauna

Books, NFHM, WDYTYA, & Other News - Genealogy Notes 14 Jun - 10 Aug 2020

Another seven weeks have slipped past me. Most of this year has slipped past me.

Breaking my left shoulder at the end of May meant that I could not do too much physical work around the house so I just kept on doing family history research and tidying up my records. There was some client work, and a couple of talks to groups via Zoom and Go To Webinar. Lots of reading ejournals (family history of course) and listening to genealogy webinars. 

My motivation to write is still somewhat missing in action and the reason there have been no Diary or other blog posts. It is probably my response to the shutting down of everything due to COVID 19. I miss the personal interaction with people and that was a great motivator to start this Diary all those years ago. U3A here on the Island is not resuming until 2021 so that is disappointing.

I must admit that the cancer treatment over the past year has also worn me down a little. But I am pleased to say that I have had my first haircut in over 12 months and there are only three more treatments to go. My last one is on 21 October and I plan to have a big bottle of bubbly chilled for the occasion.

The end is in sight and I am currently revamping my website (for the new healthy me) and looking to 2021. Already I have six talks in my calendar for next year - hopefully they will all be in person!

Now for a selection of what has kept me busy.

Books

Graeme Davison's Lost Relations: Fortunes of my family in Australia's Golden Age is an excellent read combining elements of his family history with social history in England and Australia.

Genealogy Software

I have been a Legacy Family Tree user for many many years, having moved to it from Brothers Keeper. A migration that was not without some grief.  Here on the Island I am surrounded by people using Family Tree Maker so to challenge myself, as I said I would never move software again, I have moved my own family tree to Family Tree Maker. The move was quite painless and I found that the main tidy up area was around inconsistent use of sources over the decades. A bit of time was spent on that and I did find sources easier to do in FTM.

My partner's and my son's family history are still both in Legacy Family Tree. By using both I will be able to do a good comparison. I just hope I don't get too confused. 

National Family History Month

August is NFHM in Australia and the website has online events (very few in person in Australia at present). This makes it much easier to attend as there are no travel costs although some events may have a fee. Check out the website for details.

Another great way to celebrate would be to watch some of the free Legacy Family Tree webinars or treat yourself to a subscription. Lots of educative videos on You Tube as well. No excuse to be bored this August. 

This afternoon I am doing a Live Facebook with MyHeritage on Australian Records as part of National Family History Month. It will be my first Live Facebook and coincidentally, MyHeritage asked me to do my first webinar, some years ago now but also during NFHM.

Society Membership

I finally got around to joining Caloundra Family History Research. They are my closest society and I don't have to battle Brisbane traffic. 

Love the fact that they have purple shirts - I fitted right in everytime I visited to give a talk.

The half price membership (due to COVID 19) was another draw card but I was also attracted to their incredible Zoom program of events each month. All the special interest groups meet via Zoom and have guest speakers plus they are running a fortnightly Meet & Chat in addition to the monthly meeting. 

Incredibly active Society and I hope their inspiration and motivation rubs off on me. There are quite a few events in my diary for the next month.

I am still a member of Queensland Family History Society and the Genealogical Society of Queensland and both groups are now talking merger. 

Plus I have memberships with the Genealogical Society of Victoria and the South Australian Genealogy and Heraldry Society. So many benefits to society memberships.

Television

During the time since last Diary, I have managed to catch up with a number of episodes from the latest Australian series of Who Do You Think You Are. 

The stories are interesting and I can usually relate to various aspects of my own family history. Plus I love seeing friends and colleagues helping the celebrities discover their family stories. Celebrities were Lisa Wilkinson, Bert Newton, Cameron Daddo, Lisa Curry, Denise Scott, Kat Stewart, Julie Bishop (I have never seen a celebrity change clothes and earrings so often) and Troy Cassar Daley.  If you have missed an episode catch up with SBS On Demand.

What's Coming Up?

The weekly Zoom meetings with the Bribie Zoom Genies will now continue until the end of the year as U3A is closed until next year. We are a small group but we have fun and all look forward to seeing each other regularly. 

The Bribie Historical Society is resuming meetings this month so it will be good to see all of those members again. I haven't stood for President again as I was away/sick more often that I was there in the the last 12 months. Not that we had physical meetings for four months.

We are certainly living in unknown times and fortunately most of Australia is keeping the pandemic at bay. Victoria and New South Wales to a lesser extent are struggling and I really hope that all my friends and colleagues in those areas stay safe and well. 

Finally there are only three weeks of winter left - it doesn't really get cold here and there is no visual seasonal change like there is down south. Spring always seems brighter and I am already resolved to exercise more and enjoy the sunshine. 

Stay safe everyone and happy searching until next time.

Online Genealogy Everywhere - Genealogy Notes 1-21 April 2020

My Hibiscus - a gorgeous colour

Now completed five weeks mostly at home except for my medical appointments and a bit of grocery shopping. Luckily I have always had a pile of books I want to read, our place has a swimming pool with solar heating, there is a quarter acre of gardens to tend and I like cooking my own meals.

So I can escape into the backyard and watch the birds, butterflies and the very occasional plane fly overhead. In fact I was in the pool when I spotted it and started shouting 'there's a plane, there's a plane'. Then it dawned on me how much our lives have changed in 2020.

Thankfully Australia locked down early and we are not seeing the same spread of the virus and loss of life overseas. So sad and no end in sight just yet.

The other bright spot in my weeks now is the wonderful online access we are seeing from archives, libraries, commercial companies and others. Family history research and learning has never been easier (but remember not everything is online). Some of these new access points are mentioned below.

DNA

I have spent a lot of time building trees on all descendants for an immigrant couple to help me further identify where some of my larger matches fit into my family. This is especially true for Dad's unknown paternal side as I have previously tried to trace all Mum's relations in Australia.

It is amazing how you can use the information online to build these trees and then trace where the families moved to. The big question is - why did they always have to have 10 or more children? It is no wonder I have so many matches that fall within the Ancestry NSW cluster in my ethnicity. Given that previously I did not think I had any ancestors in New South Wales, this has to be Dad's family.

I've also been using DNA Painter to match up chromosomes to complement the trees. Lots of pieces are falling into place but it does take time. The stay at home message has been really good for my DNA research.

The view from my office window

EMagazines

The latest Spring edition of Irish Lives Remembered is now available. Remember too that you can see/download back issues for free.

I was missing my free Lost Cousins newsletters and discovered them in my Spam folder. Not sure why this has suddenly started happening but I hope that my 'not spam' correction works.

Resources

If you are a member of a family history society or genealogical society, then you may have access to some of the major commercial databases at home. For example, through Queensland Family History Society members can access Ancestry, Findmypast, MyHeritage and The Genealogist from home. I have always said people should join a local society and there is no better time than when we are bunkered down at home.

I have also seen similar offers from my local library, State Library and National Library so check out what is available in your area.

Trove has added lots of newspapers, and I was excited by all the new Western Australian titles, and left wishing that the State Library of Queensland would do similar for Queensland newspapers.

Just this morning I spent hours on The National Archives UK Discovery website as they have made access free to all online documents. I now have 6 wills to read/transcribe so why not have a look for your ancestors. Not everything is digitised or at item level, but you may find some treasures like I did.

So many webinars, zoom meetings and online events are on offer. I find Facebook is where I see most of these notices but I also receive enewsletters from various archives and libraries. Some conferences are now being held in the virtual world, no need to travel anywhere. Although for me one of the best things about a conference, is meeting up with all your friends and colleagues.

Another frequent visitor

What's Coming Up?

My talk to Caloundra Family History Research on 21 May has not been cancelled. Instead the group now hold their meetings via Zoom. So I will give the talk using technology but I will miss the friendliness of the group and of course the chats over afternoon tea.

That is also my son's birthday so it will take my mind off him (he lives in Sweden and I am trying not to be concerned by the Swedish government's approach to coronavirus).

I also want to get back to blogging but my motivation seems to be quite lacking. I found a really nice article in Trove a couple of weeks ago which was going to be my Trove Tuesday contribution. But it is still pending as is the next update in downsizing my family history research.

As someone who usually enjoys writing, I am struggling to focus. Self imposed deadlines are not working but I guess this is just a sign of the times we live in. Every day is the same unless I am 'lucky' enough to be going to a medical appointment.

Stay safe everyone and enjoy the luxury of searching these new online resources while we have the opportunity. Until next time

Genealogy projects for 2020 - Genealogy Notes 1-31 Mar 2020

Well March did not go as planned and the world has changed a lot since my February blog post. Most of us are now at home with limited exceptions to going out and about. My medical treatments continue but other appointments were cancelled until a later date. All the genealogy events we were looking forward to have been cancelled but there are new online options with greater access to various collections and webinars. Plus we have all that time to spend on our family history research. I have already made some wonderful discoveries tracing Mum's cousins in England.

Blogs

Pacific Aria off Kangaroo Island, South Australia

During March I managed three blog posts. Two report on the Unlock the Past genealogy cruise which was meant to go to Tasmania. However before we got there, the cruise was cancelled and we turned around and went back to Adelaide. Disappointing but we did visit Kangaroo Island (which was a bucket list item) and we still had the two full conference days at sea.

Not too many talks were missed and you can read more about the trip and the speakers. Part One and Part Two are a summary of the talks I attended. There were two streams and we had to make the painful choice of which one to go to. As usual I came home with lots of notes and things to follow up.

My other blog post was a report on Month 4 of my personal genealogy blog challenge on Preserving Your Family History for Hand Over. As I was away for a couple of weeks there wasn't a lot of progress but now that I am home all the time, there should be a lot more tidying up achieved.

Conferences

I was honoured to have been chosen as one of the Ambassadors for the Family History Down Under event on the Sunshine Coast in March 2021. Where else can you see Cyndi Ingle, Maurice Gleeson, Judy Russell, Chris Paton, Blaine Bettinger, David Rencher and Paul Milner all at the same time? It will be mega and after all the cancellations this year, it will be an event not to be missed.

Resources

What can I say here? There are so many online opportunities now to help all those at home. For example, British History Online has made its entire collection free for individual users. Previously you could search and see some things for free but others were behind a pay wall.

Similarly I know some people have been able to access Ancestry from their local library if you have a library card. Remember too that you can also access British newspapers through EResources at the National Library of Australia (apply for a library card if you have not already got one). You may also be able to access them via your State Library. Click on the link to see a blog post about using the new portal if you haven't looked since September 2019.

There are lots of free webinars and you may be able to catch up with some of the RootsTech presentations and Legacy Family Tree webinars are worth checking out. Your local Society may also be providing online access to records or webinars although you will have to join.

Facebook and Twitter are great social media avenues for discovering what's new - simply search for genealogy or family history or use a hashtag. Sometimes I think there are just too many things out there and it is easy to get distracted. Why not list some research projects and prioritise them?

What will you have achieved six months down the track when we hopefully return to a more normal lifestyle?

What's Coming Up

All my talks have been cancelled and events I was hoping to go to also cancelled. But I have a long list of webinars that I want to watch, books to read, DNA results to organise, writing up various family histories and still downsizing my family history.

I definitely need a plan or a list of things to tick off each day.

For example, today was write this blog post, and finish up tracing a line of Mum's family that I did not know had come to Australia. This should help me to identify some of those close DNA matches of Mum's. I will try not to be distracted by something on Twitter or Facebook and just note it down to be followed up another day.

Tomorrow I want to set aside as a day to simply write up one of my family histories. Probably too big a task for one day but at least I will have started and if I do a bit each week, it may be completed by the end of the year.

There are some draft family histories in the cupboard which date back to about 2009 - so just a matter of updating and completing! How hard can that be?

The day after will be concentrating on downsizing all my paper files. That's been a slow process but now down to just one 4 drawer filing cabinet. And the list goes on.

Of course I will get distracted (I'm human) but each week I will see progress and all this extra time will have been worthwhile.

Remember that there are lots of opportunities to communicate with each other online via email, messenger, Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms. This blog will be fortnightly during the next six months. My Hand Over challenge reports are every month. Stay safe everyone and let's make the most of our genealogy time over the next few months.

Electoral rolls, conferences & DNA progress - Genealogy Notes 8-31 Jan 2020

How is it February already? It has been a terrible summer season with the drought and bush fires just about everywhere and now it looks like it is about to flood. Where I am it looks like it will rain for the next week so lots of indoor time to concentrate on my family history records reduction program. Stay safe everyone.

Blogs

Before (but I kept the wardrobe door closed)

Month 2 report on my personal genealogy blogging challenge is up. Links to the original blog post and Month 1 are in that report.

Preparing your family history records for hand over to someone else is not a quick and easy task. A simple goal like scan photos could take weeks/months and I am finding that you have to be selective and ruthless. It is easy to get bogged down and I have quite a few issues parked because they are too big or I can't decide what to do.

Books

Thanks to the generosity of one of my U3A students, I was able to go to the local secondhand bookstore and select a variety of books that might be useful to the family history or writing classes. I had no trouble finding items that would be of interest to both classes and of course they all joined my list of 'must reads'.

One would think being sick I would have more time to read - my trouble is staying awake if I lie down or even when sitting in the lounge chair! Do they purposely make drugs that cause fatigue to ensure you get adequate rest?

Conferences

Everyone is excited about Family History Down Under which is 22-26 March 2021 (yes more than 12 months away) which will be held on the Sunshine Coast. There is an early bird rate which closes on 14 February 2020 so you have to get in quick for the substantial saving on the whole conference.

Check out the speakers and you will understand why people have already booked accommodation, airfares and registration. Not to be missed and look at the conference venue.

I'm also waiting for the Riding the Waves of History (Newcastle ACT/NSW) conference in September 2020 to open registrations. I don't want to miss that as I'm planning research on Dad's family at the same time.

The final Unlock the Past genealogy cruise  to Tasmania departs in just over a month from Adelaide and I'm looking forward to catching up with lots of friends and learning heaps from the speakers. Stay tuned for cruise reports in late March early April.

DNA

Herbert William White
from Wiltshire

Another first cousin has tested - this time in My Heritage and it has been quite a few years since we have seen each other. She is also on Mum's side.  Now that I have a few close matches with first and second cousins I can sort out the Prices from the Whites and the families back from them.

I'm still waiting for closer matches on Dad's side. No doubt all those DNA test kits for Christmas will start to filter their way online soon. Fingers crossed.

Resources

Thanks to Twitter I have been keeping up with additions to the Cornwall Online Parish Clerk's website. Quite a few of my parishes have been listed so time to have another look at my Cornish families for any new information.

Received the following media release from Queensland Family History Society. It can be more difficult to find information on living people and electoral rolls are one possible resource and 1969 is quite recent. The Society also has other information online that is exclusive to its members.

Commonwealth Electoral Roll (Qld) 1969

Queensland Family History Society (www.qfhs.org.au) has just launched online access to the Commonwealth Electoral Roll (Qld) 1969. All QFHS Members have access to this data that is not available on Findmypast, MyHeritage, FamilySearch or Ancestry.

This database provides details of more than one million people in Queensland who were registered to vote in the 1969 elections. It lists all the information recorded in the rolls of National Archives of Australia: BP94/2 (Commonwealth Electoral Rolls for Queensland).

The Electoral Roll is a unique source of public information on individuals at the time. Enrolment and voting were compulsory for those aged 21 or older, so Queenslanders from all walks of life are included. Combining the range of information with the search and sorting facilities can be especially useful for finding family groups.

Talks

There is a list of my talks coming up in April and May on the Events page of my website. Two talks for Moreton libraries and one for my local Bribie Island Family History Group. All on DNA matches which will be fun with lots of questions.

Our own Bribie Island Library DNA for Genealogists group starts meetings again this month so another opportunity to learn more and discover how others are going with their matches.

What's Coming Up?

My two U3A classes on advanced family history and writing family history keep me busy. There are a few new people in each class but it never hurts to do refresher classes as there are always new resources and websites.

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and I often wonder how my ancestors met - did they live near each other, go to the same church, or was it on the high seas travelling to Australia. I have few wedding photos so I can't even guess what kind of wedding it was. They don't rate a mention in Trove so I'm guessing small family affairs and if I'm honest, in a couple of cases the first child was on the way.

Happy ancestor searching until next time.

Blogs, Memes & Other News - Genealogy Notes 15 Dec 2019 - 7 Jan 2020

Welcome to 2020 and another year of genealogy and learning more about our ancestors. Sadly this will be set against a horrifying backdrop of fires in every state. The loss of life, homes, businesses and our native wildlife is almost inconceivable and they say it is not over yet. Stay safe everyone and this is a good time to make sure you have everything backed up some place else.

Katherine R Willson
hand made card 2019

A belated Christmas surprise was a hand made card from Katherine R Willson which I was delighted to receive.

Katherine maintains that wonderful Facebook list of everything to do with genealogy (as at May 2019 there were over 4500 links). I love just browsing it as there are so many different groups that may be useful to our research. Check out her Social Media Genealogy site.

Blogs

GeniAus (aka Jill Ball) challenged us to an Accentuate the Positive Geneameme 2019 and you can read my response here. Other participants are also adding their posts to Jill's original challenge and it is a good way to learn about new things such as books and software.

Thanks Jill for getting us all motivated so early in 2020.

The binders have gone - discover where in forthcoming
Month 2 update

My personal blog challenge on Preparing Your Family History for Hand Over in the Future continues and another update (Month 2) is due next week.

I'm steadily working away at various things although with Christmas/New Year and a household visitor progress has been slow. But all  systems go now with that Month 2 update looming.

To assist me with this challenge and in particular, the writing up of my ancestors stories, I thought about participating in Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks blog challenge.

However we are almost at the end of Week 2 so I'm not doing so good. However, like all challenges you don't have to keep up as everyone has family/personal lives which take priority. But it is a motivator so stay tuned.

Journals

The latest issue of Traces: Uncovering Australia's Past was part of my holiday reading. So many great stories out there and we can definitely learn from other's research.

Which brings me to a huge issue in my genealogical blog challenge mentioned above. As I used to move homes every 5-10 years, I regularly just gave away all my journals to genie societies rather than pack and move. I did this with no hesitation. It just had to be done.

Which is why I'm puzzled by my current struggle to let go of all the journals and magazines I have gathered here in the last 7 years. I will even confess that some are over 20 years old so obviously some have more appeal than others.

What I am finding now is that without the pressure to pack and move, I am rereading/skimming and deciding that I need to follow something up. Sitting here scratching my head over the dilemma doesn't work, that just means more bits of hair on the laptop. I've moved to 3 weekly chemo (much better than weekly) but still losing what little hair I had left.

My motto in the blog challenge is be ruthless - so three boxes have just come down from the shelf and now to find them new homes or use them in my U3A classes.

Resources

Remember 1 January is when many BDMs and archives update their catalogues with another year of information. There is always something new to discover. Here is what's new at Public Record Office Victoria in 2020.

December is also a month when various groups/companies give a round up of the year's achievements. Check out what FamilySearch did in 2019.

January is also a time when those same people start to tell us what's coming up in the new year. I think 2020 is going to be amazing and a follow on to DNA in 2019 - it seems to me that was the topic that interested everybody last year.

What's Coming Up?

Port Arthur from the UTP Feb 2014 cruise

My website Events page has a list of my talks for 2020. There are four talks so far and I agreed to do something for the GSQ DNA group but no date has been set yet (or not that I can remember).

There is even one on the final Unlock the Past genealogy cruise Adelaide to Tasmania. Hard to believe I was last there 5 years ago.

A bit sad that this is the last one and hope to see many of the UTP regulars as well as meeting new geneacruisers.

I am also involved with the DNA for Genealogists group that meets in Bribie Island Library on the 3rd Thursday of the month, February to November.

My two U3A classes are still running - Advanced Family History & Writing Family History so that will keep me busy.

I hope everyone has a happy, healthy and safe 2020. Let's find those elusive ancestors now!

Saving & Writing Family History, WDYTYA & Other News - Genealogy Notes 1-21 Nov 2019

Although I said that this  blog would become fortnightly again, it is obvious that may not be possible. An unplanned trip to hospital, more tests and treatment meant that a week disappeared. So it may be more random but I will try for regular posts.

Blogs

Purpose built shelves & filing cabinets

As I indicated last Diary, I have set myself a 12 month genealogy project (although realistically it will take me longer).

The challenge is Preserving Your Family History Records For Handover in the Future. Read what I have planned and the aim is to reduce down and tidy up my family history. There will be monthly updates on what is being tackled and how I go about it.

Here are a couple of photos of what the study looks like presently.

Resources

Findmypast added more Northumberland and Durham records, another 15 parishes in the Greater London Burial Index and almost 100,000 pages of new British and Irish newspapers. Only one new title The Banffshire Reporter and additions to 13 other titles.

Ancestry added records for Bristol, and increased the England and Wales death index from 1989 to 2018. I wish we could search deaths within the last 30 years. Still amazing what we can access online at home.


Television

Really enjoyed the Olivia Colman espisode of WDYTYA Series 15 on SBS this week. I loved watching her in Broadchurch and it was so good to see her reactions as her family's unknown history unfolded. I hope the other episodes are as interesting.

Somehow I missed episode 1 with Michelle Keegan but luckily I can catch up with SBS on Demand for WDYTYA.

Even the wardrobe has family history records

Writing Family History

Throughout 2019 I have tutored a writing family history class at U3A. Basically encouraging people to write their stories either as small/large articles, blogs, or even substantial family histories. As well I provide feedback on such things as citations, sources, editing, grammar and spelling.

It has been really rewarding seeing some of the finished works. Everyone has said that it took longer and was more challenging than they first thought but worthwhile.

I received this feedback this morning from a student who is not continuing in 2020 as she has finished what she wanted to do - the story of her grandmother's life as told through her grandmother's eyes.

I wasn't expecting that my story would get such an emotional response (from family). 

So Shauna,  thank you for the opportunity.  

And if you hadn't held your creative writing class, I'd never have thought to tell some of the stories. So it's been invaluable. 

What's Coming Up?

Very little happens in December and January, our hot summer months so that will give me lots of time to work on 'saving my family history records' project. I also want to get back to tracing Dad's family and sorting those DNA matches. The nice thing about genealogy is that there is always something to do and you are never bored. At least I'm not!

Until next post have a wonderful time researching your family history.

New personal blog challenge & Other News - Genealogy Notes 16 Sep - 31 Oct 2019

Six weeks since my last post. Numerous tests, three operations and now into a weekly chemotherapy routine and a new look. Fortunately the future looks positive although the path there is long and tough. I'm still managing to do most things although I do seem to be sleeping more.

Thanks to everyone who have sent virtual cards, hugs and kisses and to all those who have visited and left chocolates, flowers, books, tea towels, procrastinator pencils, a worry doll and crystals. You have all made the last two months much easier.

Blogs

I haven't written anything but as my treatment will span 12 months, I have given a lot of thought to a new personal challenge. For years I have been gradually reducing my paper research, scanning photos and certificates, writing draft family histories and organising my digital records. But always in fits and starts because I get bored or something else hijacks my priorities.

My illness has made me focus again on what happens to my research in future - no one in the family wants it. Therefore I need to get it all into a more manageable and accessible format. Books, magazines, paper files, photographs, albums, memorabilia, erecords, emails, digital family histories and of course the genealogy database.

To keep me on track over the next 12 months, the plan is to do a monthly blog on my progress with the end goal that all my research will be in a more portable format to pass onto others. How hard can that be? First task - to think up a catchy title for the blog challenge.

Books

It's been a good chance to catch up with my backlog of genealogy print and ejournals and the pile of must read novels and other genealogy or local history books. The big challenge is not to fall asleep reading!

Resources

Webinars/videos are also a great way to learn more. Check out the RootsTech 2019 Salt Lake City sessions, do a search of YouTube for 2019 London RootsTech, or the regular FamilySearch monthly webinars and also some free ones on Legacy Family Tree Webinars. Of course, these just encourage me to do more research at a time when I am trying to finalise and tidy up, not create new records.

Herbert William White
from Pitton & Farley, Wiltshire

As part of my cleaning up paper files, I am discovering new resources online. Thanks to Ancestry's Wiltshire parish records I've managed to get digital copies of many of my baptisms, marriages and burials. I've even pushed back a few lines another couple of generations. It is amazing how many ways Forder can be spelt/indexed - but when you look at the handwriting from the 1700s it is not surprising that the indexers couldn't identify the surname.

And why did I start with the letter F? I randomly opened a filing cabinet drawer and pulled a file out without looking. This way there is an element of surprise and it won't be easy to see how much has been done or still to go. Whereas with A to Z it would be a negative until after I passed the half way mark in the alphabet. Although some letters do have more family names than others.

Talks

I had to cancel my presentation to the Genealogical Society of Queensland DNA Group but I managed to do a small talk on Ancestry matches to the Bribie Island DNA for Genealogists Group at the Library.

There are also a few talks booked for next year that I am looking forward to.

I am still tutoring my U3A class for Writing Family History every Tuesday fortnight but I have had to give up tutoring the Advanced Family History class as it clashes with the weekly chemo. Still the class will be back next year, something else to look forward to.

What's Coming Up

In some ways getting sick at the end of a year is not too bad as the genealogy world slows down in December and January and by February I should be past all the hard yards. Diary should now go back to a regular fortnightly blog post and I'm hoping for another couple of Trove Tuesday blog posts before the end of 2019.

Until next time, happy searching.

New Victorian resources, DNA reports & other news - Genealogy Notes 15 Aug - 15 Sep

DNA Down Under memorabilia

I had a fantastic time during National Family History Month and had every intention of doing a report at the end of August.

However bad news on the medical front hijacked me to doctors, specialists and surgeons. This Wednesday I'm heading off to hospital for breast cancer surgery and if hugs and kisses (both physical and virtual) could cure cancer, I wouldn't need surgery. Everyone has been fabulous and offered help and support. With luck it has been caught early enough but I will know more after surgery.

Archives

The Geelong Heritage Centre Archives catalogue includes over 46,000 records and can now be searched online for the very first time by visiting archives.grlc.vic.gov.au.

The Archives are a unique recorded history of Geelong and surrounding areas (stretching from Portarlington to Lorne, Belmont to Lara, Geelong to Meredith and everywhere in between). There are collections of public and private records, newspapers, maps, plans, photographs, and catalogues and indexes.

When I lived in Melbourne I had the opportunity to research there a few times in the old facilities. Now they have much more luxurious premises and an online catalogue to search before you visit.

Blogs

I managed to write three blog posts about DNA Down Under. Read about the Brisbane event here, Part 1 of the Sydney 3 day event here and Part 2 here. 

Another souvenir!

It was absolutely fabulous and I learnt so much. To distract myself, I have been having an intensive look at Dad's biological family and its amazing how time flies when you start chromosome mapping.

E-Resources

The State Library of New South Wales blog post When NED Rode Into Town attracted my attention. Of course we all think of Ned Kelly but not in this instance. Below is a brief abstract of the post and for more details click on the link to the blog post.

The national, state and territory libraries joined forces to launch one giant national digital collection of Australian publications. It’s called National edeposit – or NED for short.

By ‘Australian publications’ we’re talking books, journals, magazines, music, pamphlets, newsletters, novels, children’s stories, self-published poetry anthologies, maps, government reports. You name it, regardless of where it was published in this vast continent, NED will have it.

NED is a website. It’s a system and a service, connecting a network of publishers and libraries.

Publishers go to the NED website to deposit and describe their electronic publications using a simple tool, choosing where and how they want them to be accessed. For the rest of us, these publications show up through the national discovery service, Trove.

The queue to registration at Brisbane DNA Down Under

Talks 

During August I did eight talks for Moreton Region Libraries on English Genealogy and Irish Genealogy Resources Online. Both presentations are on my the Resources page of my website, scroll down to Presentations.

I also did a DNA presentation on the search for my father's biological family to the Bribie Island Library DNA Genealogists group.

Victorian Resources

Still in Victoria, one of the main reasons I maintain my membership of the Genealogical Society of Victoria is so that I can access their Cemeteries Database and GIN (Genealogical Index of Names) online at home. I was interested to see this update from last November (sometimes it takes me a while to catch up with news).

GSV has been transcribing cemetery records since the 1950s and although there are now online websites for cemeteries (with many including photographs), some of those early headstone have disappeared or become illegible or even destroyed by vandals.

So make sure you try this database. You can search for free but if you want access to the information you need to be a member or pay a fee. Here are the additions.


Recently added to Cemeteries Database:
Trafalgar cemetery transcriptions 1886 -1996. 2nd ed
Trafalgar cemetery headstones 1882-1979
Voters’ roll for the… District of Epping, for the year ending July 1870
Steiglitz old & new cemetery register & headstone transcriptions 1854-1997
Mornington cemetery headstones 4/1/1861 to 18/2/1985
Orbost cemetery headstones 5.4.1882 to 12.8.1982
Winchelsea cemetery register and headstones 1858-1981
Yalca North cemetery headstones 1/10/1895 to 26/5/1977
Goroke cemetery register and headstones 14/3/1890 – 13/9/1982
Gormandale cemetery headstones 8/11/1895 to 13/7/1982
Guildford cemetery records 1871-1st Nov 1998
Ashens cemetery headstones 1890-1908; includes some Ebenzer Mission cemetery headstones
Flinders (Cerberus Naval Base) Boot Hill Naval cemetery records 7 June 1925 to 11 February 1980
Goroke private cemeteries: ‘Pleasant Banks’ station cemetery 1866-1893 & ‘Mortat’ private cemetery 1850-1877
Crib Point cemetery tombstones
Mulwala cemetery NSW: register and headstones 7/4/1853 – 22/5/1991
Bridgewater cemetery headstones 1863-1984
Coburg Pine Ridge cemetery register 1864-1996

Added to Genealogical Name Index & LINX Australia
Baptisms 1869 to 1900 at Bendigo St Paul’s Church of England (part complete)

Voters’ roll for the… Shire of Gisborne for the year ending October 1884: Borough Riding.

What's Coming Up?

My last talk for the year is another DNA presentation on how I have searched for my father's biological family and this time it is for the Genealogical Society of Queensland DNA Group. I still have some question marks around my research so it will be good to test out my theories with such a knowledgeable group of people. Plus some  of the newer members may benefit from my own experiences on this unexpected DNA journey.

There are my two U3A courses - Advanced Family History and Writing Family History - for 4th term and I am still working on the programs. This will also depend on my physical health as well but I am hoping that it will be business as usual, or almost.

Until next time, have a wonderful time researching your ancestors.

Memories of Dad, DNA hunting & other news - Genealogy Notes 1-31 Jul 2019

July saw me totally fixated on my father's family. Confirming DNA matches with traditional genealogy methods. It has been enlightening for all kinds of reasons. Certificates are more expensive than when I first bought them 42 years ago but now they arrive seconds after my visa card payment goes through.

The ease of checking indexes and looking at digitised records is way different from back then. My trouble now is that I just want to keep going with my searches and at times it almost seems like a scattergun approach. Look everywhere and check anything that looks like the name I am chasing.

Time to pull back and look at it from a fresh viewpoint. My next task is a timeline to make certain that it all fits together logically across Ireland, NSW and QLD.

July is also a month of many memories of Dad - he was born in July, married in July and died in July. A late 1950s photo of me and Dad plus koala with Mum, my baby brother and baby koala. I can't remember the outing but the photo certainly tells me it was a day out to Lone Pine in Brisbane.

Blogs

Full on research meant that I didn't get around to any blog writing this month. I was also sad to learn that The In-Depth Genealogist is not going to publish Going In-Depth anymore. I enjoyed doing regular articles and monthly blog posts for them over the last few years. The plan is that I now put that time into more blog posts on my own website.

National Family History Month

August is NFHM and there are lots of exciting events around the country. Check out the website to see what's on in your area. I'm giving eight talks across August at various Moreton Bay Libraries which will be a lot of fun on English and Irish genealogy. See the Events page of my website for details.

In addition I'm going to the one day Brisbane DNA Downunder event plus the three day conference in Sydney. Lots of geneamates seem to be going to that too so a good chance to catch up with everyone plus learn more about DNA.

The Bribie DNA Genealogists Group has me as their local speaker at the August meeting. Basically it will be explaining my DNA discovery and how I have traced my father's family. We are hoping to have a NFHM dinner after the meeting - it will be a first for Bribie!

New Resources

In the latest South Australian Genealogy & Heraldry Society journal I read about all the amazing records that FamilySearch are digitising for South Australia. So far I have loved the shipping, school and prison records but there is more planned. It is not the easiest state to research but digitisation is changing that.


Reading

I have mostly been catching up on my journal reading and paper copies go to bed with me so that in the morning I can read them before getting up to a chilly but not cold house. The mornings are getting lighter so spring can't be too far off.

Do you get your free copy of the latest digital issue of Irish Lives Remembered? This is definitely one to read on the laptop with a cup of coffee carefully off to the side.

The latest issue of the Australian magazine Traces arrived in my mail box and it features a Q&A that I was asked to do on dating a photograph. For those not familiar with Traces it is similar to what Inside History was and has excellent and varied articles on genealogy and history. A subscription makes a good birthday or Christmas present.


One of my U3A students commented that she told her family not to give her any presents that you could not eat as she had everything else. She ended up with seven boxes of chocolates. I have now suggested she ask for subscriptions to some of the great genealogy magazines out there. Definitely better than chocolate (but then I'm a cheese person).

Talks

My DNA talk to the local Bribie Island Family History Group was well received and many people said they were going home to try out my tips.

Dates of my talks at Moreton Libraries in August are on the Events page of my website and you do need to book. They are free but some libraries have limited seating so remember to book and check out the times of each talk as well.

In October I have agreed to give a talk on my Unexpected DNA Journey to the GSQ DNA group which meets in Brisbane.

Television

I loved watching Every Family Has A Secret and hope there are more episodes on the way. If you missed it catch up on SBS. Wondering when we will see the new British episodes of WDYTYA? Trying to avoid any spoilers on Twitter or Facebook but it's a bit tricky.

What's Coming Up

Planning my two U3A courses has given me lots of new opportunities to expand my own knowledge.  Plus I'm still into researching Dad's family and I want to try the Family Tree Magazine (UK) challenge to write my family history in 1000 words. I suggested that to my U3A writing students so really should give it a go myself. Thinking about it more, the challenge would be good to do in NFHM.

As usual busy times - have fun with genealogy until next time.

Conferences, books & resources - Genealogy Notes 16-31 May 2019

Another fortnight has slipped away from me and we are now into winter. The cooler weather should keep us indoors more which is perfect for genealogy research. I have been making great progress in decluttering my study (yet again). This time I am being more ruthless with paper and old magazines. Although it can be distracting when you start to flick through the mags instead of putting them in the 'give to someone else' pile!

Blogs

My blog writing is seriously haphazard this year - probably because I have not committed to any theme or timeline. My only blog for the fortnight was the first of my reports on the Waves in Time conference on the Sunshine Coast.

Part One of a two part report looked at the Public Genealogy and Local History Fair on the Friday. The second part will be done this week so stay tuned.

Books

It wouldn't be a conference if I didn't come home with at least one book. This time I only bought two - a second hand book I talk about in Part One (paragraph above) and the second was one from Gould Genealogy & History which they have just mailed to me (not in stock at the conference).

This was Wayne Shepheard's Surviving Mother Nature's Tests: the effects climate change and other natural phenomena have had on the lives of our ancestors. He did a talk at the Unlock the Past Seattle conference last year and I have since listened to his webinar at Legacy Family Tree on the topic. Now I have the book to read.

Conferences

The Waves in Time conference was excellent and once I finish my reports, there is a long list of follow up research tasks. Just about every speaker gave suggestions that were relevant to my own research.

The conference committee did a wonderful job and I am looking forward to finding out where the next one will be in 2021.

I am now registered for both the Brisbane one day seminar and the three day Sydney conference as part of DNA Down Under in August.

Accommodation is booked and I am sharing with someone. We will rendezvous at Sydney airport coming in and leaving and share a hire car. This helps to keep costs down especially if you are travelling from interstate for the event.

Resources

There are some interesting webinars in the June schedule for FamilySearch. These are free and the handouts are useful too. You can also see past webinars and handouts. Their May newsletter reported that FamilySearch added 47.4 million records in April which is simply amazing. Also included were immigrant shipping lists for South Australia. Subscribing to enewsletters is free and a great way to keep up with all the new resources.

Talks

The Bribie Island Family History Group have invited me to speak at their July meeting on sorting out your DNA matches. I will be using my own search for a biological grandfather as a case study. By a process of elimination I now believe I have identified the correct families. Most of my matches tie in to these two families who are probably Dad's great grandparents. Still doing the traditional research to make sure the paper trail matches up with the DNA trail. Exciting times.

What's Coming Up?

Hard to believe but we are into the last weeks of Term 2 at Bribie U3A and topics we are looking at include Irish genealogy, wills and probates and an end of term workshop. The writing class is also going well with people starting to think about new projects for Term 3.

Finishing off my Waves in Time conference report is also a priority and I'd like to get back to blogging family stories again. Maybe the cooler weather will increase my productivity. Although I always have the problem of getting side tracked with new research which always seems to be more exciting than simply writing the story up.

Until next time happy searching.