No.53 (British Isles and European Ancestors)

Between 8th and 26th August 2017, family historians in Australia and New Zealand will have a unique opportunity to hear leading international genealogists Chris Paton and Dirk Weissleder explain how to research our British Isles and European ancestors.

I mentioned this briefly in a previous edition of UpdatesGenie and on my Facebook page, but here are a few more details.

Chris and Dirk will give a series of presentations in Brisbane, Auckland, Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide and Perth during Unlock the Past's genealogy roadshow entitled Researching Abroad: Finding British Isles and European Ancestors.

Every time I've heard Chris Paton speak about Scottish and Irish genealogy, I've learned a lot (and the learning process has been fun). Dirk Weissleder (from Germany) is new to me, but he comes highly recommended by colleagues whose opinion I trust, and I'm sure he will inspire me to resume work on my STEINKE and RIENECKER family trees. While Chris and Dirk catch their breath between talks, local speakers will briefly describe British and European resources held by libraries and societies here. In each Australian city there will also be an introductory talk about using DNA as a tool for genealogy.

In some cities it may be possible to simply arrive and pay on the day, but if you pre-book you will save money, and you will also go in the prize draw. The prize pool is expected to total at least $10,000 over all six Australian cities.

On the roadshow's main page, click on your preferred city to see full programme details and a booking form for that venue. There are also links to pages about the speakers, prizes, special offers, sponsors and exhibitors.

The roadshow starts in Brisbane, and I'm looking forward to catching up with friends and colleagues there. We don't often see such renowned international speakers here, so make the most of this opportunity!

(This post first appeared on https://updatesgenie.blogspot.com/2017/07/no53-british-isles-and-european.html.)

No.42 (genealogy news and discounts worldwide)

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Examples of letter S (image:Wikipedia)

• German handwriting:   Ten Tips for Deciphering Old German Handwriting.


• Discount:   Until midnight Sat. 28 May 2016, get 20% off any new 12 month World subscription at Findmypast. Untick 'auto-renew' in the MyAccount section of the site. A full list of records available on FindMyPast is at http://bit.ly/2worldlist.


• English & Scottish research:   'Lost in English and Scottish Research' is a Society of Australian Genealogists webinar. Listen live on the weekend of 18/19 Jun 2016, or listen to the recordings after the event.


• Cheaper copies:   For many of the State Archives records that I've indexed (including old age pension records), I've reduced my fee for supplying copies of the original documents. I've also changed the wording on some Web pages to make it easier to see how to order copies.


• Northern Territory:   Looking for wills? Try the Northern Territory probate index 1911-1994.


• Google Books:   There are interesting family history examples in Google Books (52 Weeks to Better Genealogy) and Google Books Finds: Including an Article with Four Photos.


• Epidemics:   The epidemics timeline may explain some deaths in your family tree.


• Lookups:   The Legal Genealogist sets us straight on the issue of genealogy lookup requests.


• When you're gone:   Amy Johnson Crow describes 5 ways to preserve your genealogy research.


• Indigence cases:  A new index on the Qld State Archives Web site is Indigence Cases 1899-1948. Many Chinese, Islanders etc are included.

(This post first appeared on http://updatesgenie.blogspot.com/2016/05/no42-genealogy-news-and-discounts.html.)
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No.9 (genealogy worldwide)

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• Keeping the Memory Alive:  Genealogists for Families is a story about family history, good deeds and continuing the work of our loved ones via Kiva. Be sure to read the comments.


• Generous Genealogists:  Quoting from the article Generous Genealogists: 'It would be lovely if this team could grow to include genealogists from around the world and to become a family tradition for all of our families.' Again, be sure to read the comments.


• Free Ancestry searches:  From 1st-15th Oct 2011, a different collection will become available for free each day, and remain free until 15th October. The collections are for Australia (electoral rolls), England and Wales (1901 census and 1916-2005 birth index), Ireland (Griffith’s Valuation), USA, Canada, Germany and Sweden. For full details see Ancestry's blog.


• Multiple searches:  Audrey Collins explains why you must use all versions of what appears to be the same index or database.


• Timelines:  To understand your family history in the context of local, national or world events, use timelines such as those at Timelines of History.


• Queensland news is in today's edition of Queensland Genealogy.


• Interesting reading:  Britain's first Railwaywomen.