No.26 (genealogy worldwide)

Links open in new windows so you won't lose your place on this page. If you share these tips, please acknowledge the source as http://updatesgenie.blogspot.com.

• Qld BDMs - major changes:  On 16 Oct 2013 there were major changes to the Qld Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages Web site. Read my tips on how to benefit from the changes. I've already heard several success stories.


• FamilySearch & FindMyPast:  13 million genealogy records from FamilySearch.org (including major collections of births, deaths and marriages for Australia, Ireland and America) were added to FindMyPast this week. About 600 additional collections (millions of records) will follow. We now have the convenience of searching treasures from FamilySearch at the same time as existing collections at FindMyPast.


• Genealogy mini-guides:  The first two to be made available are 'Researching Illegitimate Children' and 'Researching Queensland Mental Asylum Patients'.


• NSW Deceased Estates:  Index to NSW Deceased Estate Files 1923-1958 (new on Ancestry).


• Toowoomba Chronicle:  Toowoomba Chronicle newspaper index 1921-1925 (births, marriages, deaths, accidents and other events such as maintenance cases, transfers, lost, missing etc.)


• England/Wales probate indexes:  The probate search facility at High Holborn (London) is moving to the Strand.


• Alcohol?  Do terms on death certificates really suggest that it was alcohol-related?


• Digitised newspapers:  8 Ways to Overcome OCR Errors when Searching Newspapers.


• Does time matter?  Yes! Many 'dead ends' in research can be overcome if you think about your family in the context of local, national and world events.


• Green:  17 things our grandparents did when green was just a colour.


• Hospital records:  I have found more hospital admission registers to index!


• ChangeDetection:  I can see from the statistics that very few of you updated your ChangeDetection settings when my Web site moved. Many pages (including What's New, Indexes, Tips, Hospitals and Publications) have a 'Receive email' bar (an image is below). Don't worry - you will only receive an email when there is a significant change to the page!

This ChangeDetection option is on many pages of my Web site

No.25 (genealogy worldwide)

Links open in new windows so you won't lose your place on this page. If you share these tips, please acknowledge the source as http://updatesgenie.blogspot.com.

• My Web site has moved!  To help you find Queensland, interstate and overseas folk, the site now has 135 pages with free advice and 53,000 names from my indexes to records in archives. The emphasis is on unusual sources that are superb for finding people who 'vanished'. The site is now easier to use, with a different font, a new 'main menu' bar, breadcrumb navigation links, etc. Before using the customised search box to search my entire site, read 'Site Navigation Tips'. Please update your bookmarks and ChangeDetection settings, and notify your family history group that the site is now at www.judywebster.com.au.


• BDMs for VIC & ACT:  FindMyPast recently added birth, death and marriage records for Victoria and the ACT. Other States' records will follow soon.


• 1911 census (England/Wales):  Although I think FindMyPast's census indexes are the most accurate, you may want to try Ancestry's version of the England and Wales 1911 census while it is free (until 23:59 GMT on 14 Oct 2013).


• Dog Licences (Ireland):  Half a million records (1866 onwards) from Irish dog licence registers are now online, with millions more to be added later in the year.


• Irish newspapers online:  More digitised Irish newspapers are now on the Internet.


• Biographical Database of Australia:  Transcripts and indexes of many original records and published biographies of people who arrived in or were born in Australia, starting from the earliest times. Index searches are free.


• Lost in Early NSW:  This is the theme of the Society of Australian Genealogists' weekend seminar at Port Macquarie (2-3 Nov 2013).


• Why FindMyPast?  Read why I use and recommend FindMyPast for family history research in Australia, NZ, United Kingdom, Ireland, USA and Canada.


• NSW Immigration Deposits Combined Index 1853-1900:  An updated edition of this CD index, with new data added to many records, is about to be released. It will be free to purchasers of the 2012 edition. To claim this, send the original CD (you can keep the case) to Aileen Trinder, 5 Garbala Road, Gymea NSW 2227, with a $5 admin fee to cover costs.


• Family history talk:  On Fri. 25 Oct 2013 I am speaking at Mission Beach ('Family History Sources in Archives & Elsewhere').