Short month, lots of genealogy: Australia & New Zealand Genealogy Notes February 2021

Wow the 28 days of February went past so quickly. But a huge month for doing nothing but watch webinars. One of the reasons this blog post is a week late.

Books

Hard to believe but I still haven't started The Chester Creek Murders by Nathan Dylan Goodwin. I have been waiting for some extra spare time so that I can read uninterrupted. I have a week away at Noosa and Caloundra at the end of March. It will be perfect motel reading. 

Bribie Genealogy

Time was spent on putting together an email list (doubles as membership) and preparing for the March meeting. 

Our April meeting is Good Friday so we will be having a Zoom meeting on Easter Saturday instead. We have even started to think about having a second meeting a month in the evening. It is really good to see so many enthusiastic people.

Conferences

This is where most of my time has been spent. Finalising handouts for the FHDU conference in March as well as trying to record my presentation using Powerpoint rather than Zoom. I found it really limiting and stopped the flow of my usual style when giving a talk. Still a learning exercise and technology continues to get better and better. Now that it is virtual, the overall package is cheaper than it was in person. That's a plus but I will miss the personal catch ups.

Of course RootsTech Connect took up three days and nights and it was amazing how you could get caught up in the frenzy of trying to do everything. I scored a few freebies in the Exhibition Hall but will do a blog post soon on how I found the whole experience. The Twitter #ANZAncestryTime topic last week (Tuesdays 7pm Brisbane time) was on RootsTech so I picked up more tips to follow up. 

The talks are still online and if you search for Oceania you will pick up most of the Australia and New Zealand talks. My talk on Australian Archives was well received and there were a few people in the chat room and one person even found her ancestor after hearing one of my tips on spelling variants. 

All RootsTech Connect speakers were sent a gift package which was unexpected and a lovely way to end an amazing experience. Thanks to all the people behind the scenes. 

Plus on the spur of the moment I decided to attend The Family History Show on 20 February which was only about $10AU. I have done a blog post on the conference and it is funny how it took about to 2011 and an article I wrote for Discover Your Ancestors. Small world. Read the report here. 

Talks

My talk at Bribie Island Library on What's In A Surname was well received and the Where Do I Start beginners session at Noosaville Library has a very enthusiastic audience. Both events booked out. Another talk on Using Ancestry's DNA Tools is coming up for Noosaville. I have been asked to do a webinar for The Surname Society in March. 

I'm also back at U3A as the person doing the beginners course can no longer do it. Therefore in Term 2 I will be trying to confine myself to beginner methodology. Hope they don't find me too overwhelming. Actually it will be good to get back to basics. Another plus is that  they can come along to Bribie Genealogy meetings. 

See where I am speaking on the Events page of my website. 

What's New in Australia & New Zealand

If you subscribe to the free Trove enews, you can get the latest on what's new in Trove. There is also a link to the enews on the home page of Trove. For example, the February news was that four newspaper titles for each of New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia were added, varying date ranges. 

I was interested in these three in particular:

• Nowra Colonist (NSW) 1899-1904
• The Telegraph and Shoalhaven Advertiser (NSW) 1879-1881
• Windsor & Richmond Gazette (NSW) 1888-1961.

Two of my great grandmother Elizabeth Price's children were born in the Shoalhaven area in the 1880s. 

Sign up to Trove at the bottom of the February newsletter. 

Also remember it is a new calendar year and many of the BDM indexes are now available for another year. Some states like NSW update through the year, while others don't. This also applies to state archives and that means another year of closed series is now available. You really do need to go back and check for additional records at the start of each calendar year.

FamilySearch added New Zealand electoral rolls 1865 to 1957 adding just over 3.5 million names to the records for New Zealand. With trans Tasman families there's another search I need to do. 

Findmypast added quite a few interesting records for my English and Irish families and Ancestry updated its Australia and New Zealand Obituary Index 2004 to the present. Also some UK WW1 pension records which interest me. 

If you subscribe to the free enews from the archives, libraries and resources that are of interest to your research it really is easy to see what's new. However, beware of bright shiny objects which may tempt you away from a planned research strategy. 

Have a wonderful research time in March. Stay well and safe.

Shauna

Diary is Back : Australia & New Zealand Genealogy Notes January 2021

It's hard to believe that the last time I wrote Diary notes was in mid October 2020. 

Between cancer treatments and covid restrictions, I seem to have lost my blogging spirit. There were many times that I have gone to write something but didn't quite make it. The other night on #ANZAncestryTime on Twitter, I was a little embarrassed when @geniaus tweeted she always liked reading Diary. 

I think Diary lost its way a little when I stopped flitting around from conference to conference, and giving talks here there and everywhere. The awful truth is that my life at home is not that exciting. So I have been thinking what purpose does Diary serve now in 2021. 

As life returns to normal, there are some in person events as well as virtual conferences. Plus I am always doing something with my own personal history - either new research or trying to make it all virtual and writing up those family history stories.

No more excuses - Diary is back. 

Books

Nathan Dylan Goodwin's The Chester Creek Murders is next on my reading list. You can't go past a good genealogical crime mystery.

Genie friend Jenny has given me this book on Wicklow to read. Not one for going to bed with unless you are trying to knock yourself out when you doze off! It weighs half a kilo.

Bribie Genealogy

Bribie Zoom Genies are no more - we have merged with the Bribie DNA for Genealogists group to form Bribie Genealogy. We are an informal group meeting at the Bribie RSL once a month - 38 people turned up to our inaugural meeting and there were quite a few apologies too. 

March will be bigger again I suspect as we have Pauleen Cass as our first visiting guest speaker and she will be talking about Irish ancestors. Can't wait.

The group can be contacted via bribiegenealogy@gmail.com or we have a Facebook page - we are mainly for people living on Bribie Island and the mainland side of Pumicestone Passage. 

Conferences

Let's not forget RootsTech Connect 2021 now just two weeks away in late February. It's free and virtual so why not register and enjoy a wide variety of speakers and subjects. I am honoured to be one of the speakers with a talk on Digging Deeper in Australian Archives. 

FHDU 2021 in March 2021 is now virtual and there are four streams to choose from or select all four. 

Prices vary so check out the website for the program and price structure. I have two presentations to record in the next few days - much prefer live audiences and the positive vibes in the venue. 

DNA

Not much has happened on the DNA front - I really need more close cousins to test so that I can work out all those non parental events. But slowly chipping away at Dad's biological families. 

Louise Coakley's monthly DNA newsletters are a must read for all the latest news on the testing companies, blogs to read and webinars to watch. 

Downsizing Project

This has continued even though I stopped writing up my progress. I am still weeding paper files, scanning photos and documents, tidying up my genealogy software and adding sources, and writing up the family histories. 

I think writing up the histories is becoming my preferred way to pass on my research. People are more likely to read the history than try to work it out from the database. Yes the software can print out all kinds of reports and includes images and citations but it seems artificial to me. Still writing it up is a lot of work too when you consider I have over a dozen immigrant ancestors. Currently working on Carnegie @ Pumicestone (front page at left and just over 15,000 words!

Talks

Over the next few months I am doing a series of talks in Moreton Libraries, (Bribie, Burpengary and Redcliffe) and for Noosa Libraries on the Sunshine Coast. To book a place you need to go to the Library websites.

It will be so good getting out and about again and talking to people about genealogy and family history.

What's New in Australia & New Zealand

A lot of work seems to have been done during 2020.

The easiest way I find to see what has been added recently to FamilySearch is to check by location. If you go to Location (use the map on the Records home page) and select Australia. Open up the list of 33 Indexed Collections and you can see what was added in 2020 and there are even some additions already for 2021. South Australia now has school records, prisons, passenger lists and wills and probates. 

Remember too that not everything is indexed yet in FamilySearch. Scroll down to the Image Only Collections and there are another four collections mostly for Tasmania.

Of course, Ancestry, Findmypast, MyHeritage and The Genealogist have all been adding to their collections. The easiest way I find to keep us is to subscribe to the free enewsletters. 

Until next time happy searching. Stay safe and well.

Shauna

#ANZAncestryTime, DNA, Webinars & Talks - Genealogy Notes 1-14 Oct 2020

It has been a huge fortnight with so many things happening. Time truly flies when you are doing family history or Zooming around the world. 

The Australasian Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists has been reactivated and I am the new Chapter Representative. Currently reviewing bylaws and regulations and working out a social/professional development program for members. Happily there are a number of others who want to assist. Zoom will make it much easier for Australian and New Zealand members to meet so monthly meetings are now an option. Before we were rather limited to genealogy conferences where a few of us were able to attend and have a get together. Looking forward to progressing the Chapter over the next 12 months.

#ANZAncestryTime 

This is the new must follow Twitter tag for Australia and New Zealand genealogy. It happens every Tuesday night from 7-8 pm Brisbane time. Just use a time converter to make sure you have the right time for your place. 

What is it? It is where a group of enthusiastic genealogists come together to pose a series of questions over the hour. Everyone at home answers the questions with their tips, resources and expertise. It is the fastest hour I have ever spent. To try and keep up with all the posts I use TweetDeck so that I can follow the hash tag and still tweet myself and see any notifications that mention me. 

One thing about getting involved with these events is that it does force you to learn new technology (TweetDeck in my case) and you get to learn from a wide variety of other genealogists. Even though it is set for Australasian time, people follow from all over the world.

Why not join us next Tuesday night?

Blogs

Still not doing any blog writing but I have managed to do this Diary almost on the fortnight.

I think part of the problem is that I'm being tempted by all these Zoom meetings and webinars, instead of writing. 

Conferences

I have registered for the Family History Down Under 2021 conference in Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast. Now booked out under current Covid restrictions. If Queensland eases restrictions, the venue will be able to host more people. Fingers crossed.

Also happy to accept being an Ambassador for the conference. Let's hope Queensland stays relatively Covid free and we can get all together again next year. The sessions are also being recorded before hand, just in case it becomes a virtual event. 

So hard to plan anything for next year and overseas travel is certainly not on the agenda.

DNA

Mary Finn and
James Carnegie on their
wedding day in 1906

It was exciting to see a first cousin once removed turn up in MyHeritage on Dad's maternal side. This will help me to further identify my Carnegie/Finn families. We share 11 segments and 197.6cM. They triangulate with my brother and I in a number of places.

Remember to go back and check for any new matches. 

New Resources

Another plus for me was seeing the City of Westminster, London Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1558-1812 and the Marriages and Banns 1754-1935 appear in Ancestry's latest additions. That's almost 4 million records. 

Also in Ancestry, the England and Wales Death Index has been expanded from 1989 to 2019. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could have access to recent death indexes in Australia?

Talks 

Thanks to the magic of Zoom I was able to listen to Cyndi Ingle on Building a Digital Research Plan courtesy of the Temecula Valley Genealogical Society in the USA. It was a great session and I always learn something new. 

My own sessions with the Bribie Island Zoom Genies continue and the weekly sessions certainly keep me busy. We are having an in person workshop this week for something different, although we still have to abide by all the covid regulations. 

The  Deniliquin Ute 2012

I am also excited to be hosting a couple of talks for the Deniliquin Genealogy Society - not as good as their usual Deniliquin Genealogy Expo which was cancelled due to Covid 19 - but it will still give the weekend a genealogical buzz. 

Sessions are on Irish Resources and DNA Matches Using Host Tools.

Webinars

I watched courtesy of Legacy Family Tree Webinars Blaine Bettinger's Advanced DNA Techniques: Deductive Chromosome Mapping and found it very useful. I have Mum and my brother's DNA so I will be trying this out. I will need to watch it again as it is definitely not for beginners. Finding time will be the problem.

What's Coming Up?

Next week is my last cancer treatment and another operation in early November. By Christmas I will be looking forward to 2021 and all the exciting things already on my agenda. I definitely feel more positive and excited. Queensland has been lucky in that the effects of Covid 19 have been minimal in this state apart from the initial lockdown at the beginning. 

Just checking the calendar and I also have the Genealogical Society of Queensland's annual seminar and this year it is Irish Ancestry on 24 October via Zoom. I even purchased raffle tickets virtually. Dad's side is mostly Irish with a bit of Welsh and Scots so I'm hoping to learn some new tips and resources. 

Until next time, happy researching and remember #ANZAncestryTime every Tuesday on Twitter.

  

Online genealogy, back ups & other news - Genealogy Notes 21 Sep - 1 Oct 2020

Our first visit to Norfolk Island in 2007

Still trying to break free from my Covid fog and days that just seem to run into each other. I know it is Tuesday because that is when we have our genealogy Zoom sessions here on Bribie. But the other days could be any day. 

But there is a lot to be excited about coming up in 2021 with conferences both in person (Sunshine Coast and Norfolk Island) and virtual. 

But first my last week or so.

Back Ups

Like many people I do a back up of my computer files and genealogy databases on the 1st of every month. Sometimes I may back up during a month if I have done something substantial but otherwise it is a could habit to get into. First of the month, back up.

Blogs

It was nice to see my last Diary post mentioned in Interesting Blogs in Friday Fossicking at That Moment in Time 25 Sep 2020. Chris' round up of blog posts is always interesting and covers a wide variety of subject areas.

Conferences

My AFFHO Meritorious Service Award
- would be nice to get another personal 
chance to wear this.

Family History Down Under 2021 has a new venue in Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast and the program has just been released. I paid my early bird registration this week as attendee numbers are limited by the new venue and covid regulations. Of course that may change again if we can move past covid in 2021. 

The AFFHO Congress is on Norfolk Island in 2021 which should be covid free but it is so difficult to make future plans amongst the uncertainty of travel plans. 

I love visiting Norfolk Island and would like to see what the program is before I make any decisions.

On the virtual front we have RootsTech 2021 which is going to be massive with so many people and countries participating around the world.

New Resources

Ancestry, Findmypast, FamilySearch and MyHeritage have all added new records to their already super databases. Now might be the time to check again for any missing ancestors or families that have been tricky to find. As more and more records are indexed, it can be easier to locate them, especially if they are not where you think they should be. People did move around.

Talks

I have another Facebook Live session with MyHeritage on 12 October at 4pm Brisbane time. 

Plus my weekly Zoom sessions with our little Bribie Zoom Genies. For something difference we will be hiring the Bribie Arts Centre for a 3 hour in person workshop on a number of topics. Members will be bringing their laptops for hands on searches or genealogy software questions. Should be fun and good to see people in person although we do have to meet all the covid requirements. 

Twitter

Ancestry Time Australia and New Zealand @ANZAncestryTime is starting up on Tuesday 6 October from 7 pm Brisbane time. Come along and join everyone for a live hour of genealogy on Twitter. Other time zones for around the world are on the home page.

What's Coming Up?

I have a couple of clients at the moment keeping me busy. 

Me in Oct 2019

I am also one of the moderators for the new @ANZAncestryTime and I'm not too sure what that involves, but I will be there every Tuesday night 7 pm Brisbane time.

My revamped website is almost in the final stages. Some of you might have seen some of the changes throughout the year - what should have been a lot quicker kept getting delayed by my illness, broken shoulder and family losses. 

I am really looking forward to moving on post cancer. What a difference a year makes - only one more treatment to go!

Another thing some of you may have noticed, earlier in the year (before everything else happened) I set up a Facebook page for my business. 

The intention is to separate out my personal life from my genealogy life although I suspect the two are intertwined. We shall see.

Until next time, stay safe and well and have fun genealogy searching.

Family, COVID & Genealogy Online Boon - Genealogy Notes 11 Aug - 20 Sep 2020

 Have you ever wondered about the term 2020? I have always associated it with perfect vision so to me it suggests something wonderful. Yet this year has been anything but, not only for me, but many people around the world. 

My intention to get back to a regular writing routine after last Diary was thrown by the unexpected deaths of both my mother and mother in law within a three week period. I showed a 60 photo Powerpoint of Mum's life at her private family service and was quite pleased to hear some of my mother in law's family history read out at her service. It really brought home to be that I can't ask any more questions of that generation. We really need to capture our family stories before it is too late.

L-R Maren, Adam & Val (my Mum) 

I find family history research therapeutic and a distraction from the world's woes at present. The introduction of COVID 19 into our lives has brought many changes but there is one aspect that I really do like. Many events have gone virtual and we are able to attend in real time, or watch later if sessions are recorded. 

Just this weekend I have been following the Back to Our Past Irish conference which only cost me $17AU to attend. What a bargain for three days of genealogy talks on all aspects of Irish family history. 

My Irish GG grandfather,
John Finn from Wicklow

It is kind of funny watching people presenting from their own homes and occasionally you get to see another family member pop up, the door bell chime or somebody talking in the background! Mute those microphones when attending a session!

DNA

New ethnicity results from Ancestry have not made a big difference to my previous ethnicity but I am still wondering where my Australian region has gone. Without that I would not have found my father's family in New South Wales and narrowed down my DNA family.

I did see a new feature called Story Scout which purported to be stories about my ancestors and all three stories were totally wrong and not consistent with the known facts on my trees. There was an invitation to share. At the time I was dealing with family matters so I noted to follow it up. Now when I search my Ancestry menu I can't find it at all. 

Does anyone know what Story Scout is?

The by product of this futile search, was that I ended up exploring the Ancestry Academy which has lots of different videos on a wide range of topics. Another rainy day activity! If it ever rains again on the Island.

Television

Remember, the new series of Every Family Has A Secret with Noni Hazlehurst on SBS starts this Tuesday 22 September. Sadly there are only three episodes and if you miss one you should be able to catch on up SBS on Demand. Wish we had more shows like this, I never tire of watching how people research.

What's Coming Up?

My weekly Zoom sessions with Bribie Zoom Genies is a real motivator. We are even planning a three hour in person get together workshop for 20 October. I wrote that date out as 20/10/20 after the meeting ended and wondered was that really a good date for it? 

There is another Facebook Live with MyHeritage in October and I have been accepting talk dates for 2021 - some in person and some online. 

My latest selfie is at right - seems strange to be getting haircuts and washing my hair again. So much easier just pulling the turban on. Only two more cancer treatments (last one 21 October) and some surgery in November and by Christmas it will be over. Just in time for 2021.  Let's all hope the world is in a better place by then.

Until next time, happy searching

Shauna

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

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

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

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

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

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

Now for a selection of what has kept me busy.

Books

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

Genealogy Software

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

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

National Family History Month

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

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

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

Society Membership

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

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

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

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

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

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

Television

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

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

What's Coming Up?

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

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

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

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

Stay safe everyone and happy searching until next time.

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.