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.

ANZAC Memories, DNA updates & Other News - Genealogy Notes 22 Apr - 13 Jun 2020

The last seven weeks have been a struggle to keep up my motivation, at least for blogging. I have done lots of research and tidying up but I am definitely missing seeing people in person. 

Just as we appeared to have a little more freedom, I went and slipped in the kitchen. Broke my left shoulder and confined to a sling and only using one hand for about six weeks. Definitely part of the reason for this delayed blog post which started back in April.

A new look me with my hair growing back and my fashionable black sling.

ANZAC Day
A very different day this year but I think the people gathering in their driveways was a more personal tribute than a larger gathering, although I did miss watching the local parade.

George Price from
Charters Towers

I was prompted by a few Facebook posts to recheck information on some of my WW1 relatives. This was a great idea as I found a soldier portrait of my mother's uncle George Price in the State Library of Queensland's Soldier Portraits website. It was listed under G Price and that may be why I hadn't seen it previously. Remember to check initials and all variations of names.

A feature is the Queensland Registrar General's historic source images for those Queensland soldiers who died overseas. All of their deaths were registered in 1922 after the then Registrar sought information from all the families. In some cases this may only be a death certificate completed by the family and in others cases it may also contain letters from the family. Not all events have historical source images but it is worth a look.

A snippet from their Facebook tribute to an inspirational man:
As we approach Anzac Day, we acknowledge the efforts of George Porter, former Registrar-General, who painstakingly took it upon himself to record the deaths of Queensland’s fallen WWI soldiers. George wrote to the families of every fallen soldier to compile the records. The families’ responses have been digitised, along with the records, and these are available to search and download.

Only one of my family died overseas and when I looked at Frederick Trevaskis' entry it showed that there was an historical source image. It is the same cost as a digital image of the death certificate but with the possibility of other family material. I purchased a copy (instant delivery) and it was only the handwritten certificate completed by Frederick's mother in 1922. How hard was it for her to do that six years after her son had been killed on the Western Front?

Blog Posts

My genealogy tidy up continues and my Preparing Your Genealogy Records For Hand Over Month 5 Progress Report records my success to date. It is almost never ending as each task seems to generate more research, which is the part I like most.

On 1 June I was guest blogger for the Genealogical Society of Queensland with my post Genealogy in COVID 19 Times was Amazing and Never Boring. Thankfully I had finished writing it before my accident. Some of my activities for the last month or so are recorded there.

Books

During my enforced rest I was fortunate to have The Sterling Affair, the latest Morton Farrier Forensic Genealogist crime mystery by Nathan Dylan Goodwin to read. 

Thoroughly enjoyed it but my book review will be a few weeks until both hands are working again.

DNA

In April I attended the Genealogical Society of Queensland DNA group meeting via a Go To meeting platform. You can see people if they turn their webcams on, see slides from the presenters and watch the organisers speak. Overall I heard reasonably well and I made quite a few notes to follow up because as always the DNA world is a moving feast. We looked at small DNA matches (and how they may not be true matches), clusters and how to use them and WATO (what are the odds) on the DNA Painter site.

Join a Family History/Genealogy Society

Even in these stay at home times, it is useful to belong to family history/genealogy societies as most of them are now online for monthly meeting and special interest group meetings. Many are providing even more information online to members including access to major subscription sites. Various societies that I am a member of have given me access to Ancestry, Findmypast, MyHeritage and The Genealogist all without leaving home. Some of us may not want to go back to pre coronavirus days with all this wonderful access at home.

Talks

On 21 May I gave a talk via Zoom on Online English Genealogy Resources for Caloundra Family History Research which was a first for me. I missed the audience but from a technology viewpoint it is a good way for societies to keep members involved. As usual the presentation is on the Resources page of my website.

The other thing missing was the photo opportunity after the meeting. As I give a talk there each year, it is a useful guide to how I have changed over the years. This is last year, 2019. Me with hair seems so odd and I suspect I may not go back to longish hair!

Caloundra have asked me to do a similar talk on Irish Online Genealogy Resources for their special interest group in July. This is also the year that I finally join the Society as I enjoy their meetings and it is easier and quicker to drive to Caloundra than to Brisbane. 

What's Coming Up?

U3A classes are still on hold but I have been hosting Zoom meetings for most of the advanced genealogy group each week. That is keeping us in touch with each other and allowing us to share information and success stories.

I have another three weeks in my sling so physical activities will be minimal. It might be a good opportunity to sort through all my old genealogy journals and magazines. You can't keep everything but it is so hard to part with things. Hopefully some of my U3A students will be interested in browsing them.

Stay safe everyone and continue to enjoy all the online resources at home. 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