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

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

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

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

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

Blogs

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

National Family History Month

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

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

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

New Resources

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


Reading

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

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

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


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

Talks

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

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

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

Television

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

What's Coming Up

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

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

DNA, NFHM & Other News - Genealogy Notes 1-30 Jun 2019

June went by in a blur of medical type appointments and that's one of the reasons this post is for the whole of June and not my fortnightly updates. I'm hoping for a quieter and easier July. There is also a two week holiday from U3A so lots of time to sit in the beautiful warm, sunny winter outdoors. This is definitely the time of year I don't wish to be back in Canberra or Melbourne.

The last Waves in Time conference committee meeting was held at the end of June. It was a wrap up and review of the excellent feedback from attendance. In some ways it is sad that our group will no longer meet and have lunch afterwards. But hosting and organising a conference is a lot of work and everyone is looking forward to more spare time.

Blogs

One thing I did manage to complete in June was my second blog post on the Waves in Time Conference. Part 2 covers the speakers on Saturday and Sunday. Here is the link for Part 1 again in case you missed it. An excellent three days and looking forward to the announcement of the next Queensland conference.

DNA

I have been making steady progress with my DNA matches and also helping a friend to work out her Ancestry DNA matches. It is definitely easier if you know all your relatives and there are no surprises.

My airfare and accommodation is booked for the DNA Downunder 3 day conference in Sydney in August and it sounds like it will be huge with lots of friends from across Australia saying they will see me there. I am also going to the one day seminar in Brisbane too. Don't leave booking tickets to the last minute as there is a strong chance some of these Downunder events will book out in different cities.

Our DNA genealogists group meetings at the Bribie Island Library are going well, although the cold weather sees many Islanders flee north during the winter months.  I will be giving a talk at the August meeting on my own personal DNA experiences.

National Family History Month

Remember August in NFHM and events are now being added to the NFHM calendar. Check out what might be happening in your state or city/town.

I have been asked to do a series of talks on English and Irish genealogy for Moreton Libraries during August. Full details on the Events page of my website.

New Resources

FamilySearch continue to make more South Australian records available - the latest were prison records which was interesting.

Television

As usual I enjoyed the new Australian series of Who Do You Think You Are and now I'm enjoying the new series Every Family Has A Secret, also on the SBS on a Tuesday night at 7.30pm. There have been two episodes so far with another two to go. Each episode features two different stories and they are all fascinating. If you have missed them, you can catch up through SBS.

What's Coming Up?

Next week I'm giving a DNA talk to the Bribie Island Family History Group - it's in two parts - a matching exercise using Ancestry to show how you can colour cluster using their new tools and also ThruLines - and the second part is a progress update on the search for my biological grandfather's family - now found. I always enjoy the lunch afterwards as quite a few members stay and it's good to catch up.

Although it is holiday time at U3A I still have to do some third term planning for both the advanced family history class and the writing family history class. Two classes certainly make the term go fast or is that faster?

Until next time, happy searching.

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

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

Blogs

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

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

Books

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

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

Conferences

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

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

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

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

Resources

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

Talks

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

What's Coming Up?

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

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

Until next time happy searching.

DNA, Talks, Conferences & Resources - Genealogy Notes 1-15 May 2019

So many interesting things happening at the moment. Simply loving the Bribie U3A classes and everyone is learning something and being motivated. It's like having your own little family history society and meeting weekly. Also had some interesting client research projects which have taken me into new areas.

Books

Currently reading (via inter library loan) Genetic Genealogy in Practice by Blaine Bettinger and Debbie Parker Wayne. As I'm going to two of the DNA Down Under events (Brisbane and Sydney) I thought it was time to do some background reading. I already have my own copy of Blaine's The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy but the more you read, the more you learn and absorb/remember.

Conferences

Waves in Time is next week so I have been dusting off the blogger beads, getting some of my books ready for sale (should anyone be interested) and making sure my talk is ready to go. It's a short time period with other free talks closely following each other so no going over time.

I've also been saving my dollar coins and small notes should anything tempt me on the secondhand book stalls.


Resources

Found baby Fred in the SA school admission
registers on FamilySearch

During the fortnight FamilySearch added more South Australian school admission register entries and South Australian will and probate records to their database. Two collections that I am following closely. Only indexed records no images.

Findmypast added almost 100,000 pages of updated digitised newspapers and some Scottish occupation records, but none relevant to my Scotsman who was a sailor. I have previously found records for him in Findmypast.

Ancestry have a new message centre for members and there are changes to the member profile with more setting options available. I need to have a look at both of these too.

Keeping up with the changes is often hard but everything online seems to be getting better and better.

Makes me wonder how we ever did genealogy back in the days before computers and the internet. I know because I still have four drawer filing cabinets full of paper correspondence and copies of documents  which I occasionally try to modernise into digital format.

Talks

Went to David Barnes talk on DNA at the Bribie Island Family History Group's meeting last week. I've heard David's talks before and he manages to pack a lot of information into his talks but he then shares those presentations with attendees so you can go over them again at your own pace. Everyone is at different levels of understanding and for some of the beginners, it can be overwhelming.

They have asked me to do a DNA talk in July based around my own DNA matches and analysis. So more of a practical approach on what to do with your matches.

David and I also had our first monthly meeting of the DNA Genealogists Group at the Bribie Island Library which was attended by 16 people. This was a good number for an inaugural meeting as there was time for everyone to introduce themselves and say a little about why they were interested in DNA and genealogy. We also watched an introductory DNA webinar from RootsTech and had a Q&A session plus a chat over tea and coffee (no biscuits). Will have to remedy that next time.

What's Coming Up?

A busy week with my writing family history and advanced family history classes at U3A, the Waves in Time conference and of course afterwards, I have to write up a couple of blog posts about the family history fair and the conference sessions. This next fortnight is simply going to fly past but lots of excitement and genealogy. Until next time, good researching and have fun.

Free Books, DNA, Conferences & New Resources - Genealogy Notes 16-30 Apr 2019

Wow so much is happening in the genealogy world at the moment. I'm torn between looking at new and exciting records, sorting my DNA matches or getting all my family history research for the last 40 plus years into really good order.

Blogs

My last two speaker interviews for the Waves in Time genealogy conference (now only a few weeks away) were completed. Read about Cara Downes from the National Archives of Australia here and Barb Toohey from Canberra here. Barb's talk is on who wants my records and that is partly behind my current determination to tidy up all my paper based records and make sure they are in my genealogy database. To follow will be the tidy up of my digital files which also show a blend of different recordkeeping styles over the last 20 years I have had a computer.

Books

Regular readers will know I am a fan of Nathan Dylan Goodwin's books and recently he has been advertising a free copy of The Asylum which is the prequel to his Morton Farrier Forensic Genealogist series of books. Click the link for a free download from his website. I loved it although I still struggle to read ebooks on my laptop. There is no curling up in bed or a comfy lounge chair - maybe I need to get a smaller device?

Conferences

Only a few weeks now till Waves in Time and my talk on tips for beginners has gone to the organisers. I am the first talk on the Friday at the free public fair which is really good. This means that I then have the rest of the time to totally enjoy myself with no pretalk nerves.

I booked my Brisbane ticket for the DNA Down Under tour in August and made the decision to go to the Sydney 3 day DNA event at the end of August. Before then the aim will be to work out some really good questions to ask all those experts - I'm looking to find a biological grandfather and it is a bit trickier when you haven't got any surname to look for. There are lots of matches that are not on Mum's side and don't match known relatives on Dad's side. I am pleased to be one of the Ambassadors for this exciting event which is occurring during our National Family History Month.

New Records

Findmypast has added some new Queensland records - the WW1 soldier portraits from the State Library of Queensland. I have already found some of my soldiers on the Library site but the advantage of having them in the bigger pond of Findmypast is for those who don't know about the Library's wonderful resources. Judy Webster's Queensland hospital registers are now included and as a big fan of Judy's over the years, I have used these records before too. But for others they could be a breakthrough for missing ancestors, especially those from the Queensland goldfields.

FamilySearch are continuing to add South Australian school admission records which I have found quite useful on the Spencer side.

Talks

My talk on Soldiers in the Family was well received at the Caloundra Family History Research group. Although the traffic on Easter Thursday was a lot heavier than normal, I gave myself plenty of time to get there without stressing. The drive home was marginally easier and I had time to go home for a quick cuppa before going to the Bribie Island Library in case anyone turned up for our new DNA  meetings. There is a lot of interest in DNA on the Island and the first meeting in May should be good.

What's Coming Up?

My U3A advanced family history group and the writing family history group are keeping me busier than I anticipated. On the plus side, it's very motivating for me as I can't just do the talk, I have to do the walk too. Hence tackling the organisation of my family history records for the next few months.

The Waves in Time conference will be a lot of fun and I will be blogging about the three days but after the event. Too much going on and I don't want to miss anything while trying to blog at the same time.

There is a DNA talk next week from David Barnes at the local Bribie Island family history group and I will be attending that. There is a lunch afterwards which is a good time to chat to others about the meeting and swap tips.

So a busy two weeks coming up. Take time out where you can to keep your genealogy research going and if you are at any of the same events, please come up and say hello. Until next time.

DNA Down Under, Books & Talks - Genealogy Notes 1-15 Apr 2019

It's almost Easter and without fail my orchids bloom each year just in case I forget. The blooms this year are not as good as previous years, possibly that long hot summer with no rain.

This image is from a few years ago when they were simply magnificent.

Blogs

During the fortnight I continued my blog interviews for the Waves in Time conference speakers - read about Michelle Patient - The Patient Genie who is giving a session on methodology.

There is now a link on the conference website to speaker interviews with the other conference ambassadors. Check it out here and more interviews will be added over the next few weeks. Hard to believe that the conference is now just over four weeks away.

Books

One of my Christmas presents was Nathan Dylan Goodwin's Ghost Swifts, Blue Poppies and the Red Star, a Mrs McDougall investigation. I made the mistake of putting it into my must read pile of books and of course since then more have gone on top and I have been sidelined by others. After seeing a tweet from Nathan on whether people liked the book, I realised my error and it went straight to the bedside table. Another great read and hard to put down. It is set just after World War One when so many were grieving for lost sons, fathers and husbands. I hope there is another Mrs McDougall adventure soon.


Conferences

I am pleased to announce that I am also an ambassador for the Unlock the Past DNA Down Under event in August. There are one day seminars in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne and Perth and a three day conference in Sydney. At each event there will be a number of speakers and topics and as DNA seems to be the flavour of the geneamonth, these sessions are likely to be very popular.

I'm tempted by the longer Sydney event but the Brisbane event will be easier to get to. I was fortunate to hear Blaine Bettinger at an Unlock the Past event in Seattle prior to the Alaska genealogy cruise.

Similarly I was on the same program at a Townsville genealogy seminar for National Family History Month in 2017. Both speakers I would like to hear again and both are on the program for Brisbane. So that looks like a must do.

As Sydney is over three days, it is divided into Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced streams - at the moment I think I am somewhere between intermediate and advanced. Which stream/talks to go to if I decided to go to the Sydney conference? The full program is not online yet but I can see the choices might be tough.

What's Coming Up?

Uncle Gordon,
a Rat of Tobruk

This week I'm presenting A Soldier in the Family to Caloundra Family History Research. It looks at different military resources using my own family examples. My biggest worry is getting trapped on the highway going to or returning from Caloundra - Easter Thursday holiday traffic which I didn't consider when they first asked me to do this date.

The main issue coming home is that I have to be back at the Bribie Island Library by about 4.45pm as our new group DNA Genealogists might be turning up. We received publicity in the local papers but the fact we were not having the first meeting until May was not published. Therefore some people might turn up even though it is Easter Thursday. My job is to sit there and explain the mixup. So far quite a few people have expressed interest but anyone who hasn't formally contacted the organiser won't know there is no April meeting.

My two classes at U3A Bribie will resume - advanced family history which seems to have a waiting list to join and my writing family history. Both groups have continuing students and it will be another fun term but it speeds up the weeks. Time seems to fly during terms.

Until next fortnight have lots of geneafun.