Showing posts with label writing family history. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing family history. Show all posts

Sunday, 11 June 2023

Guest blog, blurry eyes, DNA update & other genealogical news 8 May - 12 June 2023

Sometimes I wonder if I will ever get back to weekly blog posts. Life keeps throwing curve balls which have their various challenges. 

For some time, I have had blurry vision - was it the medication I'm on (a known side effect), am I spending too much time on a computer, did I just need to upgrade my glasses script and get new glasses (both reading and distance). After much procrastination I went to the optometrist and discovered that I had cataracts in both eyes and the left eye needed urgent attention and the right wasn't far behind. In the last three weeks both eyes have been done, I've worn sunglasses to meetings, and I hate the taste of the eye drops which seem to seep down from the tear ducts and into my throat. On the plus side I can now read all that information on food jars and tins from across the kitchen. I kid you not! Everything is so much brighter and clearer. Very pleased with the results.

Blogs

Writing blog posts has definitely dropped off over the last twelve months or so and I am now wondering if part of the issue was not being able to see clearly? 

First day at school & no clue
what I wanted to do when I grew up

Getting back on track with this one and I have done another guest post for the Genealogical Society of Queensland. Does Researching Our Family History Change Us? How Do We Want To Be Remembered? It's a continuation of a post I did for them last November. 

Books & Journals

These too have dropped off in favour of ABC and SBS crime dramas. I definitely think it was easier to watch TV then to read books and ejournals on my IPad. The question now will be what will win - the big stack of books I have to read or all the drama titles I have listed to watch. I've been loving the Swedish ones and the original Wallander series was filmed near where my son lives today in southern Sweden. It has hardly changed in the 20 something years since it was first filmed. 

I have also been watching and enjoying, the latest Australian series of Who Do You Think You Are? You can catch up with the episodes on SBS on Demand. 

DNA

Not much to update on my own DNA research, but Max has an intriguing 2nd cousin match on his father's paternal side. It is in the UK and I have researched those lines back multiple generations and nothing jumped out at me. A puzzle for a quiet afternoon and probably several cups of tea.

Events

Author photo May 2023


On 20 May we went for a private tour of the Abbey Museum of Art and Archaeology followed by a delicious morning tea. The Museum is not that far from where we live and each year, they host the Medieval Festival which attracts large numbers from all over Australia. 

The Abbey Church has some very significant stained-glass windows brought over from England and they are truly beautiful with the sun behind them. A shame that bullet proof glass is necessary on the outside, but a sign of the times we live in no doubt. Never have understood vandalism.

History Queensland had their AGM in Caloundra last month and I gave a small session on visiting RootsTech in person as well as virtual attendance. Societies can have their own groups watching live or recorded sessions. 

The only drawback to live was that it would need to be a pyjama party due to the time difference. But what fun for 2024!

I also attended the AFFHO AGM and noted that Rosemary Mckenzie from the ACT is the new President. Some committee positions are vacant and I'm sure that she will be able to fill those positions shortly.

The Bribie Family History Association Inc has regular board meetings and they kindly fit my surgery schedule into our committee meetings. We have about 45 members which is good considering we only formally established in February this year. Monthly guest speakers bring people in and in July I am the guest speaker with A is for Alias (all about ancestors who change their names and how you can find them again).

New Resources

Findmypast have released a new set of records Britain: School and University records which contains almost 152,000 records unique to Findmypast and spanning from 1264 to 1926. I wonder how many people can trace back to the 1200s? Plus, they added six more Yorkshire newspaper titles. 

The Genealogist added an intriguing release of records for Guilds, Societies and People of Note. So if you have Freemen, Liverymen, Aldermen, members of the Masons and Oddfellows or Worthies then this is a collection to search. I was curious to know who were included as Freemen and they seemed to be tradespeople - pewterer, draper, glover, smith, cooper, weaver, hatmaker, shoemaker, tanner, capper, baker, butcher, merchant and so on. The Rolls of Freemen reminded me of directories which are always good to search for occupations. 

MyHeritage introduced Reimagine a mobile app for both iOS and Android that lets you scan photo album pages and restore, enhance, colorise and animate your photos easily. I haven't used it and must admit that I do find colorising and animating old photos a bit creepy but I can see how those features make it more interesting when telling stories. Being a mobile app makes it ideal when visiting relatives and they bring out the old photos.

Talks

Since my last diary update, I have spoken at the Noosaville Library. I never get tired of watching all the fruit bats in the trees around the Library but do take care not to park under the trees. So noisy for such small creatures.

Plus I tutored a few sessions on advanced Irish genealogy at Bribie U3A. 

What's Coming Up?


Quiet time! Apart from the talk at Bribie I don't have anything planned for July.  

The time is going to be spent on scanning docs/photos, writing, editing, adding/checking citations and perhaps even doing a little bit more research on my draft family histories. There are five family history drafts that I would like to see self-published as a first edition on my website and perhaps even in Trove. They are:

  • Carnegie including Davis/Ferguson (Scottish- Angus)
  • Guy, Rosewarne and Trevaskis (English - Cornish)
  • Finn and Fegan (Irish - Wicklow)
  • Price including Pollard (English - Staffordshire)
  • White and Titt (English - Wiltshire)
The hardest part is trying to stop myself looking for new/missing information. Plus, early citations are not what they should have been, so I often have to look them up again. 

I first started each of these when I lived in Brisbane, 24 years ago. Since then, they have travelled to Canberra, Melbourne and now here on Bribie. For someone who started researching her family history 46 years ago, it's time to publish something! Wish me luck.

Until next time, happy researching. Shauna

Saturday, 20 November 2021

Exciting Progress, online events & what's coming up: My Week in Genealogy 13-20 Nov 2021

This is the first week of my new weekly genealogy progress diary. Yes I am doing my own genealogy. And I am having lots of fun and learning heaps. 

Honour Roll Peachester 

Events in Person

This is certainly something I have missed over the last two years. Yesterday I attended the History Queensland meeting at Peachester. Niles Elvery from Queensland State Archives did a talk on Peachester school which was a good summary of education records in general. 

Each of the member society present gave a quick catch up of their activities over the last six months. We had a wonderful morning tea, lunch and tour of the Peachester Heritage Centre. And we could catch up with people we hadn't seen except via Zoom for ages. It was really good.

Online conferences

Last weekend I spoke at the Virtual Genealogy Association annual conference. I didn't watch any live sessions due to the time difference. I also registed for the FHS Really Useful Family History Show and again because of time differences, I opted to watch after. Therefore this week I have steadily been making my way through the FHS webinars and classes as the link expires this week. Sometimes it is hard to watch everything before links expire. The VGA has given us until March which is not so hectic. 

One of the good things about webinars is that you can pause and then on a different screen call up a website and do some searches or whatever to follow up on what the speaker is saying. Of course, this makes for longer viewing but can be worthwhile when you discover new things. The FHS only cost me $20AU and that is excellent value when there were more than 20 speakers/talks on a range of topics.  So much to learn or is that remember?

My last talk for the year is on asylum records in Australia at THE Genealogy Show Winter Event 3-4 December 2021. 

Writing My Family Histories

With my new dedicated focus, I now have Cornish, Scots and Irish draft family histories drafted with images, citations and list of contents and illustrations. The indexing will happen after I am satisfied with the text. 

Mum's Price and White families are almost complete and I spend a lot of time trying to find my great grandfathers Thomas Price and Herbert William White nieces and nephews in the 1939 Register. 

Finding people can be an issue when handwriting is faint, poor or both. Robert James White was finally located under Robert F White - and I won't tell you how many Robert Whites were in Wiltshire in 1939!

The concentrated writing has made me realise that I have more on some lines and less on other family lines. This of course has led to more research to balance up each family history as I want them to be of interest to anyone descended from the same immigrant couple. 

U3A

One reason I am making some good writing progress is that I am not tutoring at U3A this term. However, with the goal to have all my family histories done by the new year, what will I do next year? So I have agreed to go back to tutoring and will do Advanced English genealogy in Term 1, Advanced Scottish genealogy in Term 3 and Advanced Australian genealogy in Term 4. That should be fun and keep me busy and learning new things at the same time.

Overseas Tripping

I can hear some of you saying 'what about Term 2'? My son lives in Sweden and I will finally be a grandmother in early 2022. The plan is to visit them and also do some tripping around England, Ireland or Scotland depending on how Covid shapes up in 2022. It is hard to plan now with all the uncertainty around this Fourth Wave in Europe but I will map out some travel plans with different scenarios and then see how 2022 unfolds. 

Talks

There have been lots of invitations to speak next year and so far there are all in the first few months as my travel plans are so uncertain. Some in person, some hybrid and some simply Zoom. At least Covid has changed how we interact online and given us so many more options to hear speakers without expensive or time consuming travel. Check out the Events page of my website for dates and places and remember I update as invitations come in.

Big events include two talks for RootsTech 2022, the AFFHO Congress on Norfolk Island, and two presentations for Legacy Family Tree Webinars. All very exciting plus talks to some of my favourite societies in Australia.

Thomas Price

What's New in My Family History

There is so much new I don't know where to begin. What I have noticed that revisiting some websites to check sources for my written histories, I have found new information and photographs that weren't there the last time. So  review and revisit. 

The most exciting find was the burial of my 8 times great grandmother Agnes Leach in Scotland. She was indexed under her maiden name of Mitchell and not her married name although she was described as the widow of Alexander Leach. In 1779 in Maryton, Angus, Scotland. Amazing. One of the places on my 2022 trip wish list.

The most frustrating is tracing my Price family. My great grandfather Thomas Price was the grandson of Henry Price, a coal miner who died in a mining accident in 1840. Just before the census. Henry's wife Elizabeth Peploe died before the 1851 census so I don't know where she was from either. They had nine children and trying to find common names in Staffordshire is not easy.

DNA Update

Just this week someone has turned up matching my brother's Y DNA and just 2 steps away and living in Scotland. That is a close match and the paternal country of origin is Scotland. One of the surnames the person is researching is similar to an American DNA match which is 4 steps away. Both surnames are similar to the surname I suspect is Dad's father's name. Getting closer I feel but definitely not straight forward. 

Takeaway tips

Don't give up 

Keep searching - new resources all the time

Register for overseas conferences - great value - some may even be free

Remember Australian online events may also be free or cheap

Review and revisit your research - maybe declutter

Write those family stories now - dedicate time

Tuesday, 17 December 2019

Saving & Writing Family History, BDA Online Update & Other News- Genealogy Notes 22 Nov - 14 Dec 2019

Another three weeks went past in a blur of medical 'stuff'. However now at the 3/4 mark with chemotherapy so the end is in sight. Treatment will go on but it won't be that week after week of not feeling all that good.

Birthdays & Family Histories

Someone close is turning 70 in March and has suggested it would be nice if I wrote up his family history similar to what I usually do for clients. This gives me two months (not allowing for any health delays) but most of the research is done. Nothing like a challenge. Or another one!

Blogs

On the positive front I made great progress with my personal genealogy blog challenge - here's the first month progress report in my Preparing Your Family History Records for Hand Over in the Future.

If you are thinking about doing this, just note that it takes way longer than you expect as each task generates other tasks.

Books/Magazines

Being sick is the perfect excuse to curl up in bed or a lounge chair with a stack of things to read. I've got genealogy society journals, family histories and even a few items in e-format and this is where the I Pad comes in handy.

Conferences

Breaking news is that the Australasian Federation of Family History Organisations (AFFHO) Congress in 2021 is being held on Norfolk Island (a place I love going to and reconnecting with convict ancestors who lived there before being despatched to Van Diemen's Land). The dates are 30 July to 6 August with the actual Congress on 3-5 August. The usual way to visit Norfolk Island is a weekly accommodation package as the planes don't fly in daily.

Another major event in 2021 is the Unlock the Past Family History Down Under event which is being held on the Sunshine Coast (very handy for me) on 22 - 26 March. There are 7 key speakers with some really big names revealed so far. Check out the website and sign up for the enewsletter for all the latest news.

I'd better start saving for 2021!

In the meantime I am hoping to go to the NSW & ACT annual conference which is in Newcastle in 2020. I have family links to the area so some research combined with the conference sounds perfect. Dates are 11-13 September 2020 and the theme is Riding the Waves of History.


Decluttering my family history records

Two empty file drawers - how good is that?
This is the subject of my blog challenge above and I have to admit that I'm enjoying the whole process. It's not easy but looking back on 42 years of family history research I can see a lot of achievements.

Memories of excited finds, sore arms from winding microfilm machines, frustration at trying to find things on microfiche, waiting months for replies/ certificates from government agencies and all the other hassles of a not online world.

Researching today in a digital environment is fantastic - looking back how did we ever manage to do research?

New Resources

Each month we see wonderful new records online.

One of my favourite 'boutique' online databases is the Biographical Database of Australia (BDA Online). There is a modest subscription but you can search for free. Anyone who has early convicts/settlers it is definitely a place to look. Release 8 is coming up soon and will include the following datasets:

Births, deaths, marriages, church records:
-Baptisms Goulburn NSW C of E 1833-1865
-Baptisms Wollongong NSW C of E 1834-1864
-Deaths at Sydney Hospital 1811-1826

Convict records:
-Applications for convict workers NSW 1826-1828
-List of uncollected convict pardons NSW 1850
-Lists of convicts recommended for pardons NSW 1826-1856
-Lists of convict tickets of leave cancelled NSW 1832-1870

Shipping & passenger records:
-Lists of passengers sailing Sydney to California 1849-1851 in search of gold in the USA
-List of Shipowners NSW 1849

Military & biographical records covering most rank & file in British garrisons in Australia to 1837: 
-4th Regiment 1832-1837
-17th Regiment 1830-1836
-Veteran Companies 1828-1832
-Royal Staff Corps 1826

Miscellaneous lists & databases:
-Colonial Secretary letters to Sheriff NSW 1828-1850
-Norfolk Island victualling records 1802-1809
-List of Norfolk Island residents-1825-1855


What's Coming Up?

Norfolk Island history & spectacular scenery
Christmas and New Year and then someone told me to expect hot cross buns in the supermarkets shortly thereafter. I hope they are wrong but I wouldn't be surprised to start seeing Easter eggs too.

2019 didn't end the way I thought it would but like anything, there are positives and negatives. The real positive for me was that it made me take seriously the issue of handing my research on before it is too late. Better for me to do it myself than risk it all ending up in the bin.

I hope all my readers, friends and colleagues have a safe and happy Christmas with family and friends. I look forward to catching up with many of you in 2020, either online or in person.

Thanks for being part of my 2019 genealogy adventure.










Friday, 22 November 2019

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.

Monday, 18 March 2019

Conferences, publishing & DNA update - Genealogy Notes 1-15 March 2019

Super effort to catch up this fortnight and stay organised. Another study tidy up and rearrangement of furniture, books and family history folders. So neat and tidy and no place to just pile up anything. Yes neatly labelled draws with my only fear that it will be 'out of sight out of mind'.

Blogs

Niles when he visited Bribie Seaside Museum 
It was actually good to get back to some blog writing. March is International Women's Month and it is a long standing practice to write about my female ancestors. This time I have written about Finding Female Ancestors which includes some of my favourite resources for locating women in the family.

Also completed the first of my Waves in Time conference interviews with speakers is Niles Elvery from the Queensland State Archives. Next up is Jason Reeves from Ancestry with Dan Kelly from Boolarong Press to follow.

Conferences

Apart from the Waves in Time conference, there is also a book publishing conference in Brisbane on 27 April 2019 which looks interesting. There is a modest registration, it is only one day although a long day if I add travel time from Bribie.

Most family histories won't attract a commercial publisher, but more and more are opting for the self publishing option as either ebooks or print. We still need to know about editing, and what the various production methods are these days.

My writing family history classes at U3A have a wide range of student projects, so something like this conference might help answer some of their questions. Seriously tempted.

Cousin Visiting

The Eldridge girls on the steps of
their grandparent's house on Bribie
In this online world we should not lose sight of the need to make personal contact with distant cousins. Last week our second cousins on the Burstow line visited Bribie and we caught up for the chat and swapping of information.

Then we went for a drive and they were able to show us where the original Burstow home was at Woorim on the other side of the Island. Where the house was is now a block of four units but at least we know that the family story of just being able to walk down the stairs and across the dunes to reach the beach was totally true.

DNA Update

We are probably all aware of the new DNA tools announced during RootsTech 2019. There are various papers from the conference available for download and not just on DNA - so check out the Conference Syllabi.

As a way of looking at these various new tools, I used my own families to illustrate them to my U3A class in advanced family history. While it is possible to talk about Ancestry's Thrulines it is much more meaningful when you can show people how it relates to real examples. Many of my Cornish lines have extensive paper trees, and this is now being confirmed by DNA matches with distant cousins.

MyHeritage's new cluster groupings were mostly on my mother's side of the family. Of my 27 clusters, only two were on Dad's side. Wondering what this means?

There is also a new DNA interest group established on the Island and we will be meeting on the 3rd Thursday of the month at the Bribie Library starting in May. This should be a great way to ask questions, learn about new tools, and share our own experiences.

Talks

Court sketch and only known
image of John Finn
My next talk is at the Bribie Library and will be on convicts and criminals, a topic of interest as most of my families were behind bars at some point. The records are similar and provide a wealth of information not always found in other records. Sometimes they were acquitted but the records were still created while they waited for their day in court. Where and when I am speaking can be found on the Events page of my website.

What's Coming Up?

Only two more weeks and U3A breaks before starting Term 2. Easter is just around the corner and Mum will celebrate her 85th birthday. Apparently she wants fish and chips down by the passage. The aged care centre also provides a cake for Mum and the other residents so it will be a full on weekend.

I have been working on an update to the Price family history for her but there is so much new material I'm not sure it will get finished in time. There are still three weeks, so no more bright shiny objects of distraction!

Until next time, have lots of geneafun.






Saturday, 19 January 2019

Australian Websites, Trove Finds & What's Coming Up - Genealogy Notes 1-15 Jan 2019

2019 might just be going faster than 2018, this is already a few days late. So much has happened but let's hope it is just new year madness. There have been invitations to speak and participate in projects, planning for U3A, endless hosing the gardens and lawns as it refuses to rain (we have bore water), and trying to read all the books I received for Christmas. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday period.

Blogs

My favourite 25 Australasian websites was the first blog post for 2019. It is amazingly hard to narrow down to your favourites and of course it can vary depending on what you are currently researching. It was good to see this listed in Gail Dever's Creme de la Creme list for 19 January. I love lists that are compilations of weekly blog posts - it is easy to scroll down and see what others are writing.

Sunday Mail 23 Nov 1952 via Trove
My Trove Tuesday post was Karisma Estate, Toorbul & the Carnegie Family. This was a bit of local history and family history and we really should explore our families in the context of the communities in which they lived.

I also was included in Gail Dever's This Week's Creme de la Creme blog round up (12 Jan 2019) with The Prosecution Project for The In-Depth Genealogist.

Books

Finally managed to sit down and read Kate Grenville's The Secret River which is based on one of her convict ancestors. It is a fictional account and a gripping read. If you want to know what life was like for early convicts in Sydney find yourself a copy. My local library had it as she is a popular Australian writer.

Rereading Hazel Edwards classic How to Write a Non Boring Family History. So many good tips but of course the main thing is to simply set aside time to write, and then rewrite and rewrite.


Talks

National Archives of Australia Brisbane office
My talks for 2019 start with a QFHS seminar Taking Your Australian Research Further.

My first session is what's in the archives for Australian family history that you don't know about and the second is what other resources are you not using for your Australian family history research.

The other speaker is Janice Cooper and how to place your families in their local communities and historic times. Should be a good day.

Moreton Region Libraries have asked me to do a series of talks for them in National Family History Month (August). Seems ages away but probably here before we know it.

My first talk for them this year is in April on Convicts and Criminals at the Bribie Island Library.


What's Coming Up?
Amazingly I am almost at the end of the Writing Your Family History course with the University of Tasmania's Diploma in Family History. The weeks have just flown past and I have read so many interesting family stories from other students in the course. Some weeks you just don't have time to keep up with all of them. I haven't decided yet if I will do any other subjects.

Many years ago I did the Society of Australian Genealogists Diploma in Family Historical Studies and that was a good way to make progress on my own research. Just need more hours in the day!

Until next time happy searching.





Sunday, 16 December 2018

WA Perth cemetery, writing family history & other news - Genealogy Notes 1-15 Dec 2018

The second last Diary notes for 2018 and I am looking forward to the Christmas/New Year break as it will give me a chance to process all the new information I have found this year. Preparing the weekly U3A classes has really helped me to locate family information that I might never have looked for.
Make sure this event is in your calendar. Not to be missed.

Books 

A few weeks back, I enrolled in the University of Tasmania Writing Family History unit (part of the Diploma in Family History). As well as picking up some tips on writing, I am also discovering quite a few books that I want to read - Santa has also been informed so bring on Christmas Day.

 I have two of the books they refer to frequently - Hazel Edwards How to Write a Non Boring Family History and Noelene Kyle's Writing Family History Made Very Easy. They are long time favourites, but I am rereading them for further inspiration and tips.


Blogs

In October and November I only managed two blog posts (apart from Diary and my monthly blog for The In-Depth Genealogist) - one a book review and the other a Trove Tuesday post. Half way through December and I haven't met my goal to do better - time for the skates. Over the weekend I worked on a Trove Tuesday which will be ready to go on Tuesday and I want to finish a blog post on DNA so that I can start fresh in 2019.


Family History Writing

My desire to be part of a local family history writing group became a reality last week. A quiet word to the local U3A course programmer and I found myself a room, day and time for the first term in 2019. At this stage we will meet fortnightly to discuss our projects and to inspire/motivate each other.

New Resources

Friends of Battye Library and National Trust of Western Australia have launched an upgraded website for the East Perth Cemeteries. There is new burial data, searching is faster with more sophisticated search abilities and a fantastic mapping component. I don't have anyone in the Perth cemetery (mine are in Karrakatta cemetery) but the site is still worth a look.

Fields in the database include the usual name, date of death and burial, age, location of grave and number plus the really exciting cause of death and monumental inscription if there is one.  Lots of information from just one search. There are also sections on Stories and People, Shapes and Symbols and Events and the interactive map. Under about there is a history and other interesting menu options - explore the whole site, especially if you have anyone in the East Perth Cemeteries.

What's Coming Up

My favourite photo of my son - the first Christmas when he
was old enough to really get excited about presents!
Christmas and New Year (as the next Diary will be due on 31 December). So much of the next week will be last minute shopping and festivities although all the formal Christmas parties are over.

Might be time to get in some exercise and the garden will certainly need a good weed after the drizzly rain and humidity we have had over the last few days.

Between Christmas and New Year I am hoping for some quiet family history time and lots of family stories written (without getting sidetracked into more research).

My website needs a good review and tidy up so that's another priority.

Finally I would like to thank all my readers throughout 2018 - all feedback, comments and emails are appreciated. I hope that everyone has found something new for their own family history through my Diary posts.

2018 has been fabulous and I know 2019 is going to be even better.

Have a safe and happy Christmas with your families. Until next time.




Thursday, 1 November 2018

Blogs, 2019 Conferences & Other News - Genealogy Notes 16-31 Oct 2018

Lots of travel this fortnight, mainly to Brisbane to give presentations and attend meetings. The traffic leaving Brisbane on Saturday afternoon surprised me but once out on the open highway, we moved more freely. It is not far to travel but the traffic just makes it seem that much further.

Blogs

John Trevaskis son of my
missing James Henry Trevaskis
My guest blog for the Genealogical Society of Queensland on genealogy cruising was published. Read it here.

I also managed to get my Trove Tuesday Body Discovered Unknown Identity blog post finished in time. Sadly there are lots of unknown people out there that belong in someone's family history. Is this what happened to my James Henry Trevaskis although you would think that his wife would have had some sort of search undertaken for him. Maybe his death is meant to remain a mystery.

Conferences

I missed a meeting of the Waves in Time Conference as I was still not feeling great and there were so many other commitments I had to attend. Speakers not showing up has to be an organisers worst nightmare. Anyway the committee are very capable and it is shaping up to be an interesting program with some great speakers. A 3 day geneafest not to be missed.


The next NSW & ACT Family History Association conference has already sent out its first newsletter. So put 11-13 October 2019 in your diary and it will be held at Knox Grammar School and organised by the Ku-rin-gai Historical Society. The theme is Exploring the Past, something we all do with our family research.

Education

Three years ago, just before I broke my right elbow I signed up to do a course on family history with the University of Tasmania - Diploma of Family History. Due to the accident I had to pull out and I have been looking at it ever since. This fortnight I have again applied and the first subject if my application is successful, will be Writing Family History. This is an area that I have been working on for years - trying to get all my stories, documents, photos into something that others might read. Starts later this month and goes through to the end of January. Something to do when it is too hot outside.

New Resources

I subscribe to the FamilySearch newsletter and the amount of records being added is staggering. For example, in September 2018 almost 13 million indexed new family history records were added and over 500,000 digital images from all over the world.

You can now access FindAGrave and Billion Graves through FamilySearch too and in a search I found one of our direct ancestors had a tombstone which was surprising. I might not have looked at FindAGrave or Billion Graves but as it came up in the FamilySearch search, I looked and it was the right person. So sometimes fishing in a bigger pond is a good idea, especially if you are not really looking for anything in particular.

Talks

It was a busy fortnight with a blogging presentation at Strathpine library, a webinar on mining ancestors for the Society of Australian Genealogists and a presentation on Probate Records in Australia, the UK and Ireland for the annual seminar of the Genealogical Society of Queensland. All three presentations are on the Resources page of my website, scroll down to Presentations.

In addition I did my usual two talks at the Bribie U3A Advanced Family History class - genealogy software, paleography and non conformist records.

What's Coming Up?

Only one more talk on blogging at the Caboolture Library on 19 November and that will be the end for 2018. That's a total of 22 talks in 10 months (no talks in Dec-Jan). An average of just over 2 talks a month. So much for cutting back in 2018!

So far there are only 5 talks scheduled in 2019 but don't forget all my U3A advanced family history sessions which are 4 terms a year with 9-10 weeks per term. That adds up to a lot of talks but in a more informal class room setting.

We had a great Halloween class on Wednesday - chocolates, gruesome deaths and one student even came dressed in a fantastic Welsh costume. We have had so much fun it will be a continuing class in 2019.

Have fun searching in the coming fortnight - I will be away for a week at one of my favourite beaches in Queensland then back home for some serious work on my own family history in the December/January quiet time. Till next time.


Friday, 20 January 2017

Writing family history, genealogy events & other news - Genealogy Notes 15-21 Jan 2017

Transmission by Death notices
are good for discovering freehold land ownership
With visitors in the house it's not that easy to spend time quietly on the laptop pleasing oneself. I managed to write a Trove Tuesday blog post but was then persuaded to go swimming. By the time we came back I had forgotten that I hadn't published it. At least I won't have to worry about writing next Tuesday's post. To be realistic I think managing two posts a month is more manageable. My first Trove Tuesday's blog on transmission by death notices here if you missed it.
is

Some of my geniemates have already arrived in Salt Lake City for Rootstech so I'm a little envious. Although all those photos of snow on Facebook aren't doing a lot for me, but then neither is this incredible steamy heatwave we are having at the moment. Looking forward to more Facebook and Twitter posts about Rootstech  as it gets closer (8-11 February). Although I will be overseas then and miss most of it.

Finally managed to do my review of Carol Baxter's two books - Writing Interesting Family Histories and Writing and Publishing Gripping Family Histories, two companion works to help those wanting to write up their family stories in an interesting way. Read Writing Up The Family History With Carol Baxter.

Unlock the Past have a mega event coming up in National Family History Month in August. Chris Paton (Scotland) and Dirk Weissleder (Germany) are doing a 7 city Australian and New Zealand roadshow. I don't have any German research but I will probably make the trip to Brisbane for Chris Paton's talks. Read more about it here.

My GGG grandmother's handwriting from a distant cousin
Smart matching and handy hints seem to be all the go with many of the genealogy databases at the moment and to be honest I find most of them a distraction. Some are obviously not related and you wonder why they have come up as a match. Others are really obscure and while I'm all for contacting distant cousins as I have been sent some wonderful family treasure, some connections are just too obscure for me. The one that has me truly puzzled is  where the person is my grandmother's sister's partner's sister in law's grandmother. I don't even think that is a blood relation but then I must admit it has me confused.

We all love free stuff and I was reminded that GenEbooks often have a free download and I have got quite a few genealogy ebooks that way. This month's free offer is Etiquette in Australia 1902 by Mrs Erskine and I love these kinds of books which tell you how things used to be. Thankfully we don't have to dress up to go to the shops anymore! But I do miss some of those other manners and behaviours of the past.

Life will get back to normal from Australia Day, which reminds me I should do an Australia Day blog post. Which family to choose to write about? I've just done a Google search to see which ancestors I've written about previously (see the advantages of blogging) and I can't see one for my earliest ancestor born in Australia. So stay tuned for her story.

Have a great genealogy week and here's to some wonderful discoveries. Until next time, happy searching.