Cousin Bait, Blogging, Talks & Other News - Genealogy Notes 19 -28 Feb 2018

Full on the last few weeks with time out for talks and a couple of trips to Brisbane. The whole of summer seems to have flown past although the start of autumn still seems hot and humid. While browsing the local bottle shop for some birthday party wine, I came across this wine label and I simply had to buy the bottle. Luckily I like red wine! Who would have thought we would be using convict photos to sell wine?

Articles

Managed to get my monthly article to The In-Depth Genealogist for their Going In-Depth digital journal in on time despite the short month, those 2-3 days make a difference. This time I was looking at the wonderful digital resources on the State Library of Western Australia's website and last month it was State Library of Victoria. We really do have some wonderful libraries offering free access to key genealogical resources. Both articles will appear in future issues of Going In-Depth.

I was also excited to be asked to do a Q&A for Traces magazine which made it's debut at Christmas. It has taken over the now defunct Inside History magazine and many of our favourite pieces are still in the new magazine. The website is worth a visit as some of the old Q&A content from Inside History is on the Traces website and the advice is still good advice.

Cousin Bait (aka blogging)

Maria Jeffers

I first wrote Letters Home - My Irish Families in March 2010, eight years ago which doesn't seem possible, and I am still being contacted by people who are related to the Jeffers family. Just this week there was another email from yet another unknown branch. Blogging and Google make it so easy for distant relatives to make contact. Anyone doing a Google search on Jeffers from Portadown will find my blog post and me. Amazing and I'm surprised that not everyone is telling their stories online.

My U3A class this week discussed the issues with putting your info online and how some simply take and never acknowledge which is disheartening. So I guess that has to be weighed against the benefits of finding people you would never be able to track down easily or cheaply. I never put everything online which encourages people to make contact and that's always a plus.

Resources

With many mining families, both in Australia and in England, I was excited to see that Find My Past has added England, Mining Disaster Victims. There are over 9000 transcripts from four counties - Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire. I really wanted Staffordshire as one of my direct ancestors was killed in a mine accident, (from the burial register) but so far I haven't been able to find a reference to the accident in the newspapers. 

There are so many new collections going online all the time it is hard to keep up with everything. Repeat searches are a must.

Thanks to Queensland Family History Society March enewsletter Snippets I found out that New Zealand was also sending its convicts to Australia - a fascinating article Soldiers Thieves Maori Warriors: the New Zealand convicts sent to Australia by Kristyn Harman. Back issues of Snippets are online and always some good tips.

Talks

My talk on Weaving Your Stories on the Web at Arana Hills Library went well with a very enthusiastic audience all keen to either start a blog or improve what they are already doing. Moreton Libraries have indicated they might get me to do it at some of their other libraries later in the year. As usual my presentation is on my website Resources page - scroll down to Presentations.

What's Coming Up?

I can't believe Congress 2018 is next week in Sydney where I, and 599 other delegates, will experience some fantastic talks, catch up with friends and spend money at the exhibitors stalls. I fly to Sydney on Thursday and hope to collect my Congress satchel at the Society of Australian Genealogists in Kent Street before they close Thursday afternoon. That way I will beat the rush on Friday morning. Plus I always like to go through the goodies before the Congress starts.

I will be too busy over the four days, attending sessions and giving two of my own talks. So there won't be daily blog updates but there will be daily reviews once I'm back. Flying home on Monday night so it will be a late night and probably a sleep in, but then straight on to blogging all the news and excitement.

This coming week I need to prepare two U3A sessions - Fleshing Out the Family and Some Different Websites for Genealogy so that I don't have to panic when I get back. The sessions are popular and there are so many on the waiting list that we have decided to dispense with tables in the room and just have chairs. This should double the numbers next term. I send my session notes via email so we don't use the tables and it will be nice to have new faces and a wider pool of experience.

If you are going to Congress, I will see you there. If not, have a fun week searching for those ancestors.

Geneafiction, Freebies, Cornwall & Local Talks - Genealogy Notes 29 Jan - 18 Feb 2018

We had a week away tuning in to nature instead of technology which was fantastic. So much more relaxed but of course you do have to come back and read those emails, blogs and open up those bills. I hardly ever get mail via Australia Post these days and no more paper cuts!

It also means that there was nothing to report last week although I will comment on the book I read while lazing around. This week has been catch up and trying to get organised for some events coming up soon.

Blogs
GeniAus' blog post Getting Conference Ready was a wake up call that Congress 2015 is almost upon us. I'm not going to Rootstech 2018 like so many of my other geneafriends but I will be following it via social media. It starts in a week or so and Congress a week or so after that. An exciting geneamonth coming up.

But back to the post - lots of good tips for newbies to Congress and a good reminder to old hands as we always want to try and fit in more than we possibly can over the four days. Already there are additional meetings, breakfast, lunch and dinner gatherings for various groups and you really can't go to everything. Plus you also want to just chat with geneafriends you only ever see at Congress every three years.

My tips are comfy shoes as there is a lot of walking and standing, money/credit card, business cards, notebook and pens (I'm a Luddite), camera, and try not to make your bag too heavy. I carry an across the chest bag to help distribute the weight more and not burden my shoulder/neck.

Freebies
It's a while since I mentioned genEbooks but they offer a free download and this month's caught my eye - Ranks and Badges in the Australian and American Navy, Army and RAAF published ca 1943. It should be useful to help identify uniforms in family photos. It's a simple process to download, even easier if you are already registered which saves entering your email etc. You can usually find the free download in with the specials.

Rootstech 2018 is where about 30,000 genealogists will gather for four days of talks, explore or is that be enticed by exhibitors  and catch up with old friends and meet new ones. Probably more than 100,000 people will also participate remotely via livestreams and social media. The world's biggest geneaevent.

Check out the livestream schedule and remember to convert to your local time. If it is not too inconvenient time wise, you might want to attend some of the sessions. You need to register or you can wait till it is over and watch at your leisure.

My preference is to watch afterwards without the pressure of a busy week during Rootstech. You can still watch some of the 2017 sessions for free.

Reading
While on hols I read Marie Benedict's Carnegie's Maid which is a fictional story of an Irish maid who worked for the Carnegie family. While my grandmother on Dad's side was a Carnegie there is no connection to Andrew Carnegie and his family (unfortunately). The story is presented through the eyes of the Irish servant and how she was forced to leave Ireland and her family to seek work in the US to help her family. She connects up with Irish cousins who went before and sees their struggles to adjust to life in their new homeland.

We also see what life was like for the servants and what type of tasks they were asked to perform. As a lady's maid, the book's heroine has to help her mistress dress, undress, hair, makeup and accompany her places. Today we find it strange that people didn't brush their own hair or put their own hand cream on. It was an interesting insight into that type of world. I never give away the key story but this was a nice lighthearted look at the trials of being a lady's maid in the mid to late 19th century. 

I simply love geneafiction and once started, rarely put a book down until finished. So it was good to pick up some genealogical fiction 'must read' from Janet Few's blog post Genealogical Sleuths - Fiction for you to enjoy on the In-Depth Genealogist. I'm already a fan of Nathan Dylan Goodwin's genealogical books but there are some new authors for me to follow up.

Resources
There are always new resources each week and it can be hard to keep up with things. The best way I find is to subscribe to free emails that give you weekly updates from Ancestry, Findmypast, MyHeritage and FamilySearch or smaller national/state archives and libraries.

For example, this week FamilySearch added collections for Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, England, Panama, Russia and Slovakia. Now most of those countries don't interest me but the English collection was Cornwall parish registers 1538-2010 with almost 500,000 indexed entries. I usually use the Cornwall Online Parish Clerk but will also check out this new FamilySearch collection. I was also surprised to see that BillionGraves is now in FamilySearch as that is another resource used frequently.

What's Coming Up?
My immediate priority is a talk on blogging for family history which is 21 February at Arana Hills Library. There is a sizable audience already registered to learn the benefits of blogging - not only capturing your own family stories but also learning from the experiences of others. It should be a good afternoon and I just hope I don't get too lost again. Arana Hills Library is one of those places that is tucked away in suburbia. It is also the most far flung of the Moreton Region Libraries, almost Brisbane!

Then of course I have the weekly preparations for the Advanced Family History Session I tutor at Bribie U3A. It's another enthusiastic group and we are covering a wide range of topics suggested by those attending.

Plus I'm starting to work through my Congress 2018 preparations to make sure everything is ready to go. I don't think I will do any live blogging while there, too busy having fun but I will write up my adventures on the return home.

Have another great genealogy week. Until next time.

Samuel Plimsoll (ship), new archive releases, free webinars & other news - Genealogy Notes 21-28 Jan 2018

Last week I said that I would randomly review one of my families and see if I could take it back further in Hampshire and Wiltshire. Well there were some deaths post 1837 that might be mine but the information on UK death certificates is not going to confirm that unless my ancestor was the informant. So I haven't paid out any money yet.

All Saints parish church, Winterslow, Wiltshire
image Trish Steel via Wikipedia

On the plus side I did find digitised images of parish church records in Ancestry.  My GGGGG grandmother Hester Parrick's baptism was in 1727 and she married in 1747. Her mother (that's 6 Gs) Martha Parrick was buried in 1742, all in Winterslow, Wiltshire. Amazing that I can sit here and view these images. Somehow it makes my ancestors seem more real.

I also like to read up on a place and find Wikipedia useful for a quick overview of a parish. Plus there is usually a map showing where in the county a parish is located and a photograph of the parish church. Check out the entry for Winterslow.
Blogs
Rootsfinder asked for permission to reuse one of my Trove Tuesday blog posts from last year in their How I Solved It series. Which Trove Tuesday blog post did they choose? It was the one where I found my great grandfather's accidental death, not by name (Thomas Price) but by the place name because the journalist recorded the wrong name (William Price)! Read the Rootsfinder post here and why not check out some of the other blog posts in this series for other ideas.

And speaking of Trove Tuesday, I managed to do my first Trove Tuesday blog post for 2018. It was a wonderful find - Samuel Plimsoll (ship) 1878 illustrated sketches. Thomas Price, paragraph above, arrived on the Samuel Plimsoll with his new bride Elizabeth Judge in Sydney in 1878. I'd previously located reports of the voyage out but on rechecking, I discovered these fantastic sketches. It might pay to see what else is under the Illustrated filter!

Education
The internet provides so many ways to learn more about genealogy and family history and how to improve our searching skills. FamilySearch conduct free webinars on a monthly basis and you can see what's coming up in February here. Handouts from past webinars can also be downloaded and some of the sessions on using various aspects of FamilySearch more effectively are quite useful.

Reading

Although it arrived a few weeks back, I have finally sat down to have a good read of Traces: uncovering the past. This is a new magazine and Volume 1 reminded me a lot of Inside History which I also loved reading.

This is what the cover is like if you are trying to locate it in a newsagent. I've taken up a subscription as there are not a lot of newsagents on the Island and the range of genealogy/history magazines is not great. One of the things I miss about not living in a big city.

Sources
Once upon a time in my archives work life, I used to get excited about the 1st of January as that was the day new access releases were made. So this completely slipped my mind this year but there are another year of BDMs to search, and more items opened up in our state archives.

Public Record Office Victoria usually does a very handy list or blog post and this year it is an extremely interesting read with some great photos. Check out New Archival Records to Explore at PROV. There is also a complete list of all new releases under their Section 9 openings. If nothing else, the list will give you a wonderful idea of what can be found in our state archives.

What's Coming Up

Apparently the summer holidays are over, and the Bribie U3A resumes this coming week. On the grapevine I heard that my advanced family history class on Wednesday afternoon is fully booked and there is a waiting list. There has even been the odd email asking can I sneak someone in.

I also go to the local history class on Friday mornings so my weeks will be busier for the next 10 weeks, then the Easter holidays. Reminds me of my school days.

This photo was my first day of school in my new uniform, taken in the back yard. Just to the left of me was the 'old dunny' and it looks like it was before we got the 'hills hoist clothes line' as there is no shadow from it.

Until next time, have a great genealogy week.

Internet Archive, Occupations and Other News - Genealogy Notes 13-20 Jan 2018

One of those weeks where everything seems to happen at once, and none of it planned for. So catching up on a lot of household chores and other bits and pieces today including this blog.

BDMs 

The UK General Register Office is extending their pilot of supplying birth and death certificates in a digital format for a cheaper price. I picked that up in the WDYTYA magazine (read the notice here) and it motivated me to think about a lot of my UK research which was done decades ago. The cheaper price of 6 pounds (less than $10.50) means that I could look into some of the siblings or even kill off a few direct ancestors with a death certificate. They don't give much information but at least I would know cause of death and where.

East Dean is in the hundred
of Thorngate, image Internet
Archive Book Images on Flickr

Which family to review? I have a 4 drawer filing cabinet full of paper folders so I randomly selected drawer 2 and pulled out a file mid way along without looking. I've ended up with my Fox family from East Dean, Hampshire and it has been quite a while since I last opened this folder. Looking forward to some exciting discoveries with this family review.

This image is from the Internet Archive Book Images on Flickr - A history of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, by Herbert Arthur and published in 1900. The Internet Archive is a wonderful place to look for digitised books and images.

Blogs

My January blog for The In-Depth Genealogist was on The Australian Cemeteries Index  (not to be confused with Australian Cemeteries) and the blog post was picked up in Gail Dever's Creme de la Creme round up for 13 January.

One of the reasons I like the Australian Cemeteries Index is that it includes images of all the graves in the South Brisbane cemetery tombstones.
Conferences

I mentioned earlier that the Waves in Time conference is being held at Caloundra in May 2019. The website is now up and also their social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Check the website out and follow updates via social media. I'm going to a conference committee meeting next week so things are moving along quickly.

The Bridging the Past & Future conference in March in Sydney is fast approaching and speakers have received their Dropbox accounts for their presentations. Due date is 8 February so finishing my two presentations is high priority in the coming week. As usual I have too many slides and keeping to time is a must. Nothing worse than missing the end of someone's talk or seeing them speed through the last slides.

Sources
One of the things I like discovering about my ancestors is their occupation as that allows me to think about how they spend their days. One of my Wiltshire ancestors was Robert White and he was a beadle. I had no idea what that was and if you Google you can find various occupation sites but one of my favourites is the Hall Genealogy Website: Old Occupation Names. It's arranged A-Z and beadle is a town crier and parish officer who kept order. From other documents he was also described as a clerk of the church. Possibly what we might call a desk job today, certainly not out in the fields or sweating in the blacksmith's shop.

           
Television
This week's episode of Who Do You Think You Are Series 13 was on Warwick Davis and I really enjoyed it. He was confronted with an ancestor who committed bigamy and another who was a minstrel who 'blacked up' as he put it. We have to be careful not to put 21st century values on 19th century actions because the world has changed a lot since then.

One of my great great grandmother's was a prostitute and in and out of gaol on numerous occasions. I had the opportunity to sit in a cell in the old women's prison at Boggo Road and it could have been one that she occupied at some point. Her marriage had failed and she was destitute and prostitution has always been one way for a woman to support herself since the beginning of time. My ancestor went on to die a respectable old lady but if she had not had an illegitimate child, I wouldn't be here today.

This was something that Warwick also expressed in the episode. If his ancestor hadn't had the bigamous marriage he wouldn't be here, nor his children. We can't change our ancestors, we just have to accept them, and the times in which they lived. Great episode and I'm looking forward to next week's show.

What's Coming Up?
This coming week I'm determined to do a Trove Tuesday blog, at least one a month for 2018. I've already found the article that I want to write about, a ship that two of my great grandparents arrived on in 1878. It's an illustrated newspaper article that I recently found and want to share with others.

My two presentations for Congress as mentioned above and I should start on my February article for Going In-Depth and another IDG blog post.

Have a great genealogy week and if you are in one of the areas suffering these ongoing heat waves this summer, try and stay cool. Until next week, have fun.

Worcestershire archives, historical children's books & other news - Genealogy Notes 6-12 Jan 2018

Thanks to everyone who commented on my new look - we are all agreed that headings are useful and they do help me to remember what I want to comment on.

Blogs
It was good to see other bloggers getting back into Trove Tuesday challenges and quite a few are doing the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge. If bloggers are using hash tags you should be able to Google and find some of these posts. Tuesday came and went before I even realised it and a weekly blog challenge has to wait until all the family dramas are behind me.

However I did manage to complete my review of the Worcester Archives and Archaeology Service's new e-publication - read Discovering Worcestershire Archives and see what you might be missing in English county archives. The types of records and access are similar so it has broad appeal. It is available to download for £6.

Books
Whenever I am holidaying in Bargara (at least once a year) we pop into the local Vinnies to get some reading material. For $1 there was a copy of Bryce Courtenay's The Family Frying Pan. The title caught my eye and I am a fan of Courtenay but I hadn't seen this book before.

While fiction, it is based on the story of Mrs Moses who escapes from Russia pre WW1 and the stories of those who make the trip with her. Every night they gather around the camp fire and tell the story of their life over whatever they have managed to cook in the frying pan.

The book's dedication gives a clue as to why you should read this novel - to my two sons Brett and Adam who would not be who they are if their great great grandmother had not walked across Russia carrying a large cast iron frying pan. A great read and I couldn't put it down.

While we might not have Courtenay's writing skills, we should all be trying to capture our own family stories before they are lost in the mists of time.

Television
This week saw the return of a new UK series of Who Do You Think You Are? A must watch series even though we know it is much harder than it looks and most of us don't have the money to just pop off and do a spot of research in another country. Hard to believe this is the 13th series, where do the years go.

This week it was Sir Ian McKellen and coming up are Sophie Raworth, Sunetra Sarker, Greg Davies, Liz Bonnin, Danny Dyer, Cheryl, Ricky Tomlinson, Warwick Davis and Amanda Holden. Some of these celebrities I haven't heard of but there is usually something you can learn from most episodes. On SBS and I won't give the time  as we are all on different time zones.

Journals/Magazines
WDYTYA reminded me that I still haven't read the January 2018 issue of the WDYTYA magazine. I did a Q&A for them and was sent a complimentary copy of the issue. One of the main articles is 50 Websites to Watch in 2018 and while I was familiar with quite a lot of them, there were some that I had never heard of and some that were definitely of interest to my own research. Now all I need is a rainy day to do some research instead of spending hours hosing my gardens in this incredible heat. While it's nice to live on a quarter acre, you do have to keep the vegetation alive plus the birds and other wildlife appreciate our little oasis in suburbia.

Social Media
Open Culture highlighted the release in a blog post of 6,000 historical children's books all digitised and free to view online. I can vaguely remember my own children's books (Enid Blyton was a first love) and all the old fairy tales but by the time of my son it was definitely Thomas the Tank Engine and friends. At least that was more entertaining than Spot the Dog. But what books did my mother read as a child or her mother? I have no idea but we can explore these questions with this new resource. I also love just looking at all the old time illustrations.

Sources
If you have ever struggled to work out Land Grants in NSW 1788-1856 then this online guide by State Archives and Records NSW will certainly help. It's much more complex than I ever realised. But then most land records are not easy to identify or access.

What's Coming Up?

Caloundra talk, 2017

I've been invited to attend the next meeting of the Waves in Time conference which will be held in Caloundra on 24-26 May 2019. It is being hosted by Caloundra Family History Research. There will be a website coming soon and some of the people who organised the very successful conference at Southport last year are on the organising committee. So save the date and watch out for updates.

Caloundra are a fun group and their members all wear purple shirts. I give a talk there every year which means I too must wear purple. My next talk for them is in April - must start looking for a new purple shirt!

Unbelievably I am now preparing my classes for the advanced family history sessions at Bribie U3A - holidays and terms seem to go super quick. The class will be a mix of ongoing students plus some newbies and should be a lot of fun.

Until next time, happy searching.

New Year, New Look & Lots of News - Genealogy Notes 27 Dec 2017 - 5 Jan 2018

Christmas 2016 in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

Happy New Year everyone. Still wondering where 2017 went but looking forward to a big genealogy year in 2018.

Blogs
My first blog challenge for the year was Jill Ball's annual Accentuate the Positive 2017 challenge - read my year in review here. When you stop and consider the questions, you really have done more genealogy than you first think. It is also good to read what others have been doing as there are lots of ideas out there and Jill will be collating responses in January. Stay tuned.

I'm back doing blog posts for The In-Depth Genealogist and my first post was on Discovering the Ryerson Index and there have been quite a few comments, adding to the history of the index. It was also picked up in three genealogy blog roll ups:

• Gail Dever's Genealogy a la carte - This Week's Creme de la creme 23 Dec 2017
• Copper Leaf Genealogy - Friday Finds 22 Dec 2017
• Crissouli's That Moment in Time Friday Fossicking 5 Jan 2018

I am a fan of those who do these blog compilations as it is hard to keep up with everything published and these summaries often contain useful posts I'd miss.

Books
I've been asked to review Worcester County Council's new digital Explore the Past publication which looks at how to trace your ancestors in Worcester. It's 70 pages and available for 6 pounds and looks very comprehensive. My review should be finished in the next week.

Over the holidays I read Winston Graham's The Angry Tide - I come from a long line of Cornish tin miners and first read Graham's Poldark series back in the late 70s (somehow that doesn't seem as long ago as the 20th century). Of course, I am also watching the new Poldark television series and The Angry Tide picks up where the last series ended so I won't give any spoiler alerts.

Journals/Magazines
It's always exciting when a new history/genealogy magazine starts up and I have just received Issue 1 of Traces: Uncovering the Past which is published in Australia. I took advantage of the 50% introductory offer last year but I noticed (just now as I write this) that the offer is still on the website. So if you are interested, be quick.

Cassie Mercer who we all loved as editor of  the now defunct Inside History is a consultative editor and the first issue has some of my favourite authors including Jayne Shrimpton and Helen Smith.

Social Media
Alona has been busy updating her very useful lists of Australian Genealogy Facebook sites and there are now over 1100 links. Read about the update here and to download a copy - but don't hit the print button as it is 42 pages.

Sources
This is not a new resource but I sometimes forget how useful it can be. The University of Leicester's online Historical Directories Collection is free to access. It covers local and trade directories for England and Wales from 1766 to 1919. The website contains at least one directory for every English and Welsh county for each of the 1850s, 1890s and 1910s. A wonderful resource.

What's Coming Up?
Even though I said no more travelling, no more talks, I find that I've already agreed to give 10 talks in 2018 and that involves some travelling. At least it's less than previous years. To see where I will be presenting in 2018 check out the Services/Events page of my website.

The really megaevent this year is the Bridging the Past & Future conference in Sydney in March. There will be over 500 attendees with lots of great talks, exhibitors and time to catch up with old and new friends. I'm giving two presentations and currently putting the finishing touches to the papers which are due on Monday.

Until next time, happy searching.

Convict Records, new conferences & blogs - Genealogy Notes 19 Nov - 26 Dec 2017

I had a wonderful break and it is actually harder to sit and do nothing than you think. Sitting and watching mother nature is fascinating and I never realised just how many different types of sand crabs come out to play/feed at low tide and there are more birds than just seagulls at the beach. The determination of female turtles is amazing - they wait 30 years before first heading back to the beach they themselves hatched on to lay their own eggs. Then they swim away and do it all again the following year. The sad part is that over the last 30 years that I have been doing this, erosion has taken away many of the sand dunes and now the Rangers and volunteers try to move the eggs to higher ground so that the eggs are not lost to the next incoming tide. A very worthy project and great to see so many tourists supporting turtle conservation.

Totally refreshed I am now getting ready for 2018 and making sure I don't double book any speaking engagements and that they don't clash too often with my Advanced Family History class at Bribie U3A. Quite a few of last year's students are returning and I'm pleased to say that two of them broke down brick walls after we discussed them in class. It definitely pays to discuss a brick wall with others and get alternative views and suggestions.

An old, but still relevant and interesting article about the destruction of convict records in NSW in 19th century - article was written by Christine Shergold and it is available online at State Archives and Records NSW where Christine worked for many years.  It is a timely reminder that if you are looking at a specific group of records, take the time to read any online guides about the records for background information and context. It might just explain why you can't find a particular record.

This last week of 2017 I'm busy finalising my two papers for the Bridging the Past & Future Congress in Sydney in March 2018. I'm really looking forward to four days of amazing talks and meeting new and old friends. My airfare and accommodation is all booked and paid and it is within easy walking distance of the venue. More time for looking at the exhibitor stalls or catching up with people for coffee and a chat.

There is another new conference on the Australian scene in 2018. There is the inaugural GAGHA conference in Adelaide on 17-19 August - if you are like me, you hate acronyms and are sitting there trying to work out what it is. Pat yourself on the back if you got German - Australian Genealogy & History Association which will be exciting for all those with German ancestors. The call for papers is open until 31 December 2017 so be quick if you want to present a paper but otherwise note the dates and plan a trip to Adelaide. Registration opens in February and I imagine that they will also be promoting it at the Sydney Congress.

I managed to get one more Trove Tuesday blog post done for 2017 and its about The Queenslander Cot Fund which helped the Hospital for Sick Children in Brisbane. Amazingly this one newspaper article mentioned my GGG grandmother, my GG aunt, her two sons and my G grandfather and his fiancee, later my G grandmother. Three generations of a family connected in time and place by one newspaper article. Thanks Trove and if you want to know what titles are coming up in 2018, click here. It's a bit disappointing that there are no Queensland titles but I am excited about the Ballarat ones.

After a break, I have started writing blogs and articles for The In-Depth Genealogist again and my first blog post was Introducing The Ryerson Index. It gives just some of the reasons why and how I use the Index for genealogy and family history. Check out other In-Depth blog posts here. I'm also happy to say that my article on Starting Out in Australian and New Zealand Genealogy made it onto the front cover of the December issue of Going In-Depth.

Unlock the Past have a new range of Handy Guides which are low cost 4 page guides on a range of topics and these are in addition to their guide books where there are now over 80 titles. I'm looking forward to checking these out in Sydney in March. My absolute favourite Unlock the Past activity in 2018 is their Alaska cruise in September. I've not been to America before so I'm also looking at a post cruise trip but so many places to consider.

My son ca 1991 - now he is getting married
and moving to Europe to live. White Christmas coming up!

Christmas lunch was out our place this year and my brother and his family joined my son and Mum for a magnificent seafood feast which literally went on for hours as we tasted oysters, crab and a range of different prawns with avocado and freshly baked rolls. Followed by a yummy creamy fruit pavlova for dessert. For the traditionalists we also cooked a piece of port with our best ever crackling. All I managed for Christmas dinner was a cup of tea and a shortbread biscuit! Given the heat yesterday we were all glad that we had broken with tradition although Mum did keep saying it really didn't seem like Christmas.

There are lots of exciting things on my genealogy agenda for 2018 and I look forward to sharing them with everyone. Enjoy the last week of 2017 and try to squeeze in some family history, especially if you have relatives visiting. Until 2018 have fun.

Local History, Remembrance Day & Other News - Genealogy Notes 19 Oct - 18 Nov 2017

Well four weeks slipped past again in a blur and my brother assures me that all family drama will be over by Christmas and I can start 2018 again fresh! I'm still trying to work out where 2017 went and having spent last weekend going through all Mum's photos I'm left wondering where the last 60 something years have gone. I'm left with a small box of photos that I want to keep and some that I will digitise and the rest are in a bag for my brother to go through. He seems to have taken more photos than me over the years but then he had two children so you would expect more.

Memorial to the Kennedy Regiment,
Army Museum North Queensland,
Townsville, Sep 2017

I did manage to write one blog post - Remembrance Day 2017 and the Kennedy Regiment, Queensland which is appropriate as Mum's father Henry Price and his brother Les Price were on the Kanowna when it left Townsville for German New Guinea at the start of World War One.

My tutoring sessions at Bribie U3A on advanced family history are going well and it is hard to believe there are only two more sessions before the end of term four. Both are on brick wall solving and already one attendee has broken down her brick wall which is good. Not sure why but I am always surprised by other people's brick walls, some are absolutely fascinating and I suspect our ancestors never thought that one day their descendants would come looking for them. The tutoring has been fun and it will be a continuing course next year with many of the attendees staying in the class. We have even been given a bigger room.

From 13 December 2017 users of FamilySearch will be prompted to register for a free account or sign in to their existing account to have access to the free expanded benefits of FamilySearch. This is due to the need for FamilySearch to be able to assure all its partners that its content is offered in a safe and secure online environment and signing in to accounts fulfills that need. I set up an account a while back to add in some family names but haven't done anything since. Signing in will probably prompt me to do more than just search for something. The hardest part will be remembering yet another password as I don't like using the same password for everything. Read more about the changes here.


The Royal Historical Society of Victoria have published a useful online guide Writing and Publishing Local History: A Guide for First Time Authors and Historical Societies, written by Rosalie Triolo, Helen Doyle and Katya Johanson. It is free to download or you can buy a paper copy from the RHSV Bookshop for $30.

Ravenswood Hotel, Sep 2017

Catching up with my National Trust of Australia news and the 2018 Australian Heritage Festival theme is My Culture, My Story and they are currently looking for events to go into the calendar for April/May next year. There will probably be lots of interest for family history too so make a note to watch out for the calendar. The Festival starts on 18 April 2018.

With everything that has happened this year I have given considerable thought to what I want to carry over into the New Year. After coordinating the last 5 National Family History Month's in Australia from 2013-2017 I have stepped down as the voluntary coordinator.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the societies, individuals and sponsors who helped me achieve all that I did over the five years. So much of what is done in the family history world is done by volunteers who try to support societies who exist to help individuals both in person and online. The answer is not always on Facebook and it is not always instant and free.

Support your local societies before we lose more of them and the services they offer such as meetings, seminars, libraries and special interest groups.

Best parma in Queensland,
Ravenswood Hotel, Sep 2017

With my haphazard blog posts of late I was also planning to end this blog but as my brother said, things will be better in 2018 and I might regret killing it off. So possibly monthly posts as we go into the Christmas/New Year period and not a lot of family history usually happens then as we all get caught up in the festive spirit. We can then see what the New Year brings.

So on a more positive note I've drawn up a list of three things to focus on in 2018:

•  a regular schedule of blog posts for my own genealogy development in 2018 which will appear on my website, 
• again writing regular blogs and articles for Going In-Depth after my sabbatical (which has taken far too long) 
• and getting back to my DNA research and the mystery grandfather. 

There will be one more Diary post before Christmas so until then have fun searching and why not think about what you want to focus on in 2018.

Digital tools, Open Data, Rockstar Genealogists & Other News - Genealogy Notes 11-18 Oct 2017

It's been a soggy week in south east Queensland which means lots of time indoors. I've now got my family history database on the new laptop and brought all my photographs across. It would have been easier to just copy everything across but it is amazing how many programs I have that I no longer use or there are newer and better versions. I am also tidying up my file directory and deleting things that I don't need anymore. A true spring clean and of course a nice little list of things to do later. 

The professional development day of the Queensland Professional Historians Association in Brisbane was a great success and I learnt about some digital tools for organising research so that you can find it again later. Of course Evernote was one that was mentioned, Air Table and also Zotero which I had forgotten about and how you can use it with Trove. The Department of Natural Resources and Mines has a new Queensland historical map viewer coming soon which will allow us to use the historical digital maps already in open data easier. It looks fantastic and here's hoping that the testing phase is completed soon.

My talk was on social media for historians and how it can be used for finding and sharing information as well as networking. It was a long day but good catching up with some people I've known for decades - I guess that's when we realise the years are passing. The venue was the Queensland Art Gallery theatre and I really must get down to Brisbane and spend some time in the Gallery, Library and Museum as they have all changed greatly since I worked there in the 1990s.

In the small world category, one of the attendees who I have known for years, had just spent time with a friend who is my distant cousin on the Carnegie side of the family and while she was visiting, they Googled some of the family names and found my blogs.  Naturally I said please have her contact me and we can share more family stories but I was also fascinated by the personal recollections she had of Toorbul. When you start to share your family stories online you really do start to connect up with others.

John and Helen Carnegie's grave
at Toorbul (my GGG grandparents)

Going to U3A twice a week for advanced family history and local Bribie history takes up time but it is also another opportunity to share information and learn from others. My talk on the Carnegies of Pumicestone Passage went well at the Bribie Island Historical Society Meeting and everyone was amazed at how much additional information I had found over the last three years. How I solved the brick wall with so many people using aliases left some just shaking their heads but it was something that took me years to solve and only 45 minutes to explain. It's always easier in hindsight.

I have just accepted my first talk for 2018 with Caloundra Family History Research, apart from my two talks at the Bridging the Past & Future Congress in Sydney in March. Speaking of talks, John D Reid (Canada's Anglo Celtic Connections) is again hosting his annual Rockstar Genealogist survey and voting is now open. I'm honoured to be nominated and there is a great line up of Australasian genealogists as well as some of the overseas genealogists who have visited our shores in the last few years. Check out their websites/blogs and be prepared to learn lots.

Talk of Christmas parties seems to be everywhere at the moment but I also like this time of year as I don't have any talks, so no travel and just time to catch up on projects and do some writing. Of course it helps that it is raining so no garden, pool or walks along the beach to distract me. The bookshelves need a tidy up with all my new books (some still to be read) plus print copies of journals and magazines.

We have been here 5 years in January so that means quite a few boxes have magically appeared in the study cupboards. The only time I find it easy to weed my magazines and journals is when I am moving house and then it's a necessity. Now that I am staying put, I'm hoarding again. It might be time to bundle some of them up and take them along to those Christmas parties!

I'm looking forward to a nice quiet week of research and writing and perhaps weeding those magazines. Have a great genealogy week and until next time, happy searching.

Conference report, NSW webinars & Other News: Genealogy Notes 15 Sep -10 Oct 2017

Well an action packed few weeks and I have a new laptop. My old one had been experiencing blue screens of death for some time, the odd one and then more frequently but as the last few months have been so hectic I kept putting off doing anything. I was still using Windows 7 and Microsoft 2007 so just getting used to Windows 10 and Microsoft 2016 has been daunting, not to mention copying everything across and setting up the new laptop with all my other programs. But there comes the time when you simply have to do it. I always back up in a number of ways so no data files have been lost but it has been a time consuming exercise. My fingers are still getting used to the new keyboard which is slightly smaller and I have to check for typos more often.

Exhibitors located throughout Orange Library

Catching up on my emails I realised that I had won a prize at the recent Unlock the Past Researching Abroad roadshow. My prize was one years membership of Victorian GUM (Genealogists Using Microcomputers) which was a blast from the past. When I was living in Victoria I was a member and went to some of their meetings and I particularly liked their journal which mainly focuses on using FamilyTreeMaker and Legacy. They were established in 1984 and we have come a long way since those early computer times. It is going to be good getting their journal again.

It was a long drive down to Orange for the NSW & ACT Association of Family History Organisations (and back home) but I am really glad we made the trek. It was a really good conference and a number of speakers that made you sit up and think. My blog post on the conference is now on my website - read Report on Recording Your Family Story. My great grandparents Thomas and Elizabeth Price were in Orange in the late 1870s and early 1880s so it was good to visit and try to imagine what the town looked like back then. The conference venue was the Civic Theatre which is right next door to the Library which is where the Fair was held on the Friday and the exhibitors were located during the weekend. Next door to that was the Gallery and the Museum so during breaks you could explore the local history which was excellent and I really liked the old photos of Orange in the Museum.

Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Orange (did my ancestors attend here?)

One thing I have picked up on is that State Archives & Records New South Wales webinar program and the next one is on 7 November 10am (obviously NSW time so if you are in a different time zone remember to make the adjustment). It will be on NSW probate records which are a little complicated to work your way around so a webinar to tune into. If you forget or can't make the live webinar, remember you can always view earlier webinars in the library. There is also a quick start tutorial if you are not sure what a webinar is or how to access them.

For the 4th term of Bribie U3A I am again doing an advanced family session class with the first one last week. It is a 9 week term which must mean that Christmas is fast approaching and 2018 just around the corner. I can only hope that there will be less family drama next year although my son has announced (finally) that he is getting married. So I have a date that must be kept clear!

James Carnegie and Mary Finn
(my great grandparents)

Tomorrow night at the Bribie Island Historical Society meeting I am giving an update on my Carnegies @ Pumicestone talk which I gave in March 2014. Thanks to a few blog posts and sharing my brick wall, I have got lots of new information which reveals all the family secrets. Plus I even have some photos to share so blogging definitely pays off.

Not surprisingly I haven't done any family history research or even made a start on all the photos and albums I cleared out of Mum's house. The hardest part is always starting but I also need to digitise as my brother wants some too. Mum and Dad always took photos of our children (their grandchildren) when they babysat so lots of photos that neither my brother or I have copies of.

Touching my wooden desk, life should return to normal for me and I will get back into a nice routine of household chores, family history and gardening. Perhaps even a bit of exercise and social activity. Have a great week searching and Diary will get back to regular reporting. Until next week.

Townsville seminar, Orange conference, UTP guides & other news: Genealogy Notes 1-14 Sep 2017

At the end of August everyone says to me you must be glad that National Family History Month is now over, all that spare time. I wish! Actually the first two weeks of September are usually super busy as I am notifying sponsors and prize winners, following up any issues and writing up a report for AFFHO on the month. There was an AFFHO meeting (via Skype) last night and I'm almost finished the report. Then starts the planning for NFHM 2018!

Display tables kept everyone busy!

Another NFHM  activity was writing up a report on the closing event held with the Family History Association of North Queensland in Townsville. It was a great weekend with a full day of talks on the Saturday (Louise Coakley from Cairns was the other speaker) and we both attended the DNA special interest group meeting on the Sunday. Read my report on the weekend here. I still have to write up the family history aspect of the trip as Mum's Price family lived in Townsville and Charters Towers. The visit to the Army Museum North Queensland in the Jezzine Barracks precinct was really good but I will save the details for the blog post, coming soon.

There is no rest for the weekend because next week I will be off to Orange, NSW for the annual conference of the ACT & NSW Association of Family History Societies. The theme is Your Family Story: Telling, Recording and Preserving and it is an interesting program on the Saturday and Sunday with workshops (now all fully booked) on the Friday as well as a Family History Fair. One of my mother's uncles was born in Orange, NSW so I am looking forward to visiting a place my family once lived.

Eric's new guide

I love getting parcels of books or magazines (ebooks/emags are never quite as exciting). One small parcel contained four new research guides from Unlock the Past. I read Carol Baxter's To Trace of Not to Trace: a family history overview for the curious on the plane to Townsville, and Rosemary Kopittke's My Heritage ...My Story on the way home. I heard Rosemary's talk on select features of MyHeritage on the Unlock the Past PNG cruise in July so I was keen to learn more. The other two guides are Eric Kopittke's Introduction to German Family History Research for Australians which should be very popular and Chris Paton's 2nd edition of Discover Scottish Land Records. All can be purchased online from Gould Genealogy & History.

Another exciting mail delivery was a copy of the Who Do You Think You Are magazine, August 2017 which had my article on Australian Gold Rush Ancestors. An article always looks more interesting when laid out by editors and my text turned into a five page spread. So far only one Australian friend has congratulated me on the piece, but perhaps it is not widely read here. I have never seen it in my local newsagent but perhaps I will look next time I visit Brisbane.

My grandfather Henry Price was in the Kennedy Regiment
lots on them at Jezzine Barracks Townsville

I've been waiting for an English marriage certificate since 24 August - it is so frustrating that it takes so long to be mailed out when I can order a Queensland or Victorian certificate and see it 60 seconds after I have paid for it. If some BDM registries can do it, why not all of them? Still in the good old days I had to wait months so I guess there is some improvement. Just have to learn patience all over again.

This coming week will see yet another desk clean up - everything seems to go everywhere when I am busy and travelling. Little piles to work through when I have time!

Have a fantastic week searching and until next time, have fun too.

End of NFHM 2017, book review & other news - Genealogy Notes 23-31 Aug 2017

On the eve of the closing of National Family History Month (NFHM) all I can say is that it has been very hectic. I finished my series of talks for Moreton Bay Region Libraries this week with an enthusiastic audience at Caboolture Library. Two people even came down from Caloundra to catch my Ancestors in Church talk. The presentation can be seen on the Resources page of my website, scroll down to Presentations. It was also good to see that Findmypast is now available free at the Caboolture, Strathpine and Redcliffe libraries although there is a limit of two hours access per day per customer. Still you can do a lot of searching in two hours.

An early Spencer home in Adelaide (family photo)

My one piece of blog writing was to take part in Alona Tester's alphabetical ancestral placenames geneameme - read my Ancestral Places Geneameme to see where some of my families are from. I managed to find at least one place for every letter of the alphabet except X.

Part of my NFHM activities was to do a review of Lynette McDermott's historical novel Perseverance which is about two First Fleet convict families, the Garths and Belletts,  after they were removed from Norfolk Island to Tasmania. Read the review here. Lynette donated a copy of the book as a prize for NFHM.

Another NFHM activity was a guest blog for MyHeritage, another prize sponsor of NFHM. Read my guest post Family Memories From Down Under. All the boxes of Mum's stuff in the back bedroom still needs to be sorted but there are no visitors on the horizon so it can wait a little while longer. Not a job to be rushed.

Mum, my brother and I - a lifetime ago (family photo)

The NFHM prizes giveaway is being drawn on Saturday 2 September in Townsville so there will be some excited people next week when the winners go up on the NFHM website. Louise Coakley will be giving two talks on DNA and I'm talking about archives and skeletons in the family so it is going to be an interesting day in Townsville. On the Sunday I'm attending the Family History Association of North Queensland DNA special interest group meeting which will be good too. I really do need to sit down and really examine my results and work out which matches to follow up. There will be a blog post to follow.

Once I get home again my focus will be on the NSW & ACT Association of Family History Organisations annual conference Your Family Story: Telling, Recording & Preserving which is on in Orange, New South Wales in three weeks. My conference paper is Weaving Your Family History on the Web. There is a great program plus the Friday Fair where there will be all kinds of temptation.

I hope everyone has had a wonderful family history month and managed to attend an event or visit a library or archive. If you have an entry in the prizes giveaway good luck. Until next time, happy researching.

Family Memories, Nick Vine Hall Awards & Other News - Genealogy Notes 15-22 Aug 2017

We are now into the third week of National Family History Month in Australia. So far I have done talks in Caloundra, Nambour, Maleny, Beerburrum, Noosaville, North Lakes, Albany Creek, Arana Hills and Strathpine. That's quite a few kilometres around south east Queensland and I have one talk left next week at Caboolture. It is fantastic to see the local libraries providing a great range of talks and speakers during NFHM. My presentations are on the Resources page of my website, scroll down to Presentations.

Mum Dad me and my baby brother
Lone Pine Sanctuary ca 1960

Also as part of NFHM, I was asked to do a guest blog for MyHeritage one of the major sponsors of NFHM2017. My Family Memories post draws on my recent experiences clearing out my mother's home. No doubt more memories will surface as I now work my way through all the boxes stacked in my own back bedroom. Something to look forward to in September after I finish all of my NFHM activities.

Next week I will be heading off to Townsville for the closing event for NFHM. An all day seminar in conjunction with the Family History Association of North Queensland where I am giving two talks along side Louise Coakley a DNA specialist from Cairns. See her Facebook page Using DNA Testing for Genealogy & Family History Research Australia & New Zealand. It should be a great day and I am also staying on for the Society's DNA special interest group meeting on the Sunday. By the time I get home I will well and truly be motivated to try and work out my own DNA results. There seem to be so many matches it is a bit overwhelming.

So far this month I have managed to read two family history related novels. The first was a review copy from the Moreton Region Libraries Book Club and as a member I get offered from time to time review copies. When I selected this one from the list I was attracted to it because it was set in medieval times and I hadn't realised there was a family history element too. Anyway I found Ian Mortimer's The Outcasts of Time a great read and it starts off in 1348 with England in the grip of the Black Death and the hero is given six days to live. Either in his own time or one day every 100 years ending in 1945. He chooses the latter option and it is fascinating and had me thinking about my own family history over 600 years.

Max and I as part of the 200th anniversary commemoration
on Norfolk Island 2007

The second book is Lynette McDermott's Perseverance which is Book Two of the Garth Trilogy. It is an historical novel based on the lives of two First Fleet convict families who are first exiled to Norfolk Island (Book One) and then exiled again to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) in Book Two.

This was of interest to me as Max's convict ancestors Samuel Pyers and Sarah Johnson were also sent to Norfolk Island in the First Settlement and then forced to leave and resettle in Tasmania around the Richmond area. So again it was easy to picture our own families living through the same experiences as the Garth family.

Lynette has kindly donated one of her books as a NFHM prize - see the sponsors page to enter the giveaway and remember it closes on 29 August and is only open to Australian residents.

Announced at the launch of NFHM in Sydney were the winners of the annual Nick Vine Hall Awards. Congratulations to the winners.

• Category A winner  Botany Bay Family History Society; The Endeavour No 129 December 2016 editor John Levy
• Second Australian Society of Lacemakers of Calais; Tulle Volume 34 No 4 (November 2016) editor Jim Longmire

• Category B winner Australian Institute of Genealogical Studies; The Genealogist Vol 15 No 4 December 2016  editor Carolann Thomson 
• Second Queensland Family History Society; Queensland Family Historian Volume 37 No 4 November 2016 editor Lyndal Cosgrove 

If you have run out of ideas for NFHM have a look at my 31 NFHM Activities for Researchers which explores some of our sponsors websites and other activities. It's an online event and anyone can participate.

The next week will be hectic as I prepare for Townsville and the closing of NFHM but then it will be spring, not that we have had much of a winter. Still swimming in the pool most days, solar heating is wonderful. I always think I will have lots of time post NFHM but other things always crop up to keep me busy! There are talks coming up for the Professional Historians Association of Queensland and also for the Bribie Island Historical Society and I also said I would tutor again on advanced family history for the local U3A. No I won't be bored!

Until next time, enjoy the last week of NFHM and good luck with the prizes giveaway. 

Genealogy cruising, NFHM talks & other news - Genealogy Notes 1-14 Aug 2017

It is really good to be home and sitting at my desk and watching the birds outside my window while I ponder what to write.

The last two weeks have been very hectic. First I was away on the Unlock the Past military and genealogy cruise to Papua New Guinea which was fantastic. It was really good seeing Rabaul and Milne Bay where we had family members during World War 1 and 2.  There were also port stops at some of the really scenic islands so there was something for everyone. Blog post to follow this week on the genealogy and military talks. I have already booked into the next genealogy cruise to Alaska.

Got home to some domestic issues which needed to be sorted which meant that I had to miss the Researching Abroad Unlock the Past roadshow in Brisbane the day after we got back. Thankfully some genimates were also there and have blogged the event. See Pauleen Cass' blog posts on Day 1 and Day 2. 

For the next three days I gave six talks in six different towns in South East Queensland, which might be some kind of record. It was really good to give talks for both Sunshine Coast Libraries in Caloundra, Nambour, Maleny and Beerwah and Moreton Region Libraries in Albany Creek and North Lakes. All of the Sunshine Coast sessions were fully booked and attendees were enthusiastic about National Family History Month too.

Today I gave another talk on starting family history research - this time at Noosaville Library so I am really getting to see south east Queensland's most iconic tourist spots. And the winter weather has been almost like summer. I really loved the brochure the Noosa Library service did to promote NFHM 2017 with four speakers and some fantastic talks.

All my presentations are on the Resources page of my website, scroll down to Presentations.

I had to miss this year's launch of National Family History Month but thanks to Jill Ball there is a blog post A Long Drive to Chester Hill about how smoothly the event went. Even in my absence people were keen to enter the prize giveaway so I've been busy processing all the entries so far. I also need to do a blog post thanking all of our wonderful sponsors for helping to promote NFHM. 

My 31 Activities for Researchers during NFHM is an online event and there are other online events so remember to look at that category of events as well as your local state.

Coming up at the end of this week is a tour of the Woodford Museum with the local Woodford Historical Society. I always love visiting these places as often so much of what they hold is not digitised, catalogued or online and therefore you really do need to visit and see what resources are held for research.

I keep getting notifications of DNA matches so I am just going to have to set aside some time and really study them to see where the connections are. This will probably have to wait until after NFHM as organising that does take up quite a bit of time. 

Time to start writing up my cruise blog so enjoy the 3rd week of NFHM in Australia and remember to enter the prize giveaway - click on the Terms & Conditions to see how to enter and it's only open to Australian entries. Until next time, have a fantastic week of research.