No.54 (genealogy news / discounts worldwide)

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• 15% discount:   I was delighted to hear that until 11:59pm (London time) 16 Oct 2018 (which, in Australia, is early on Oct 17th), both new customers *AND* returning subscribers can get 15% discount on a 12 month Findmypast subscription by using the links below. Each of these subscriptions gives you access to all of Findmypast's billions of records worldwide, including images of many original documents that are not online anywhere else. More records are added every week (see Findmypast Fridays), and there is a full list of records already on Findmypast (arranged by country). I've had a subscription continuously since 2011, and I can't image life without it. Choose the link for the region where you live:
• Australia (World subscription)
• United Kingdom (Pro subscription)
• Ireland (World subscription)
• United State of America (Ultimate subscription).

Each person must subscribe using their own individual device and their own individual email address. If you don't want your subscription to renew automatically after 12 months, untick that box in 'My Account'. I've had a World subscription continuously since 2011, and I can't image life without it!


• Marriage certificates:   I'm very concerned about the proposed changes to Australian marriage certificates - namely, the removal of 'usual occupation', 'usual place of residence', 'father's name' and 'mother's maiden name'. Those details (especially parents' names) are vital not only for family trees, but also for compiling a medical family history, tracing beneficiaries of deceased estates, etc. Read about the proposed changes and email your feedback to marriagecelebrantssection@ag.gov.au by Sunday 28 Oct 2018.


• Qld BDM indexes:   If you can't find an entry via the Queensland Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages *new* search page, try the old version (the new page has a link to 'Previous Family History Search service'). WARNING! You must use the 'Clear' button between searches; and if your Internet connection drops out before that takes effect, you may be using 'hidden' search criteria that remain from a previous search. My understanding is that the Registry intends to shut down the Old Search - so if you still want it, please tell them so (email bdm.webteam@justice.qld.gov.au).


• Doctors:   The Australian Medical Pioneers Index is a database of colonial doctors to 1875, with biographical data for over 4,500 doctors who lived in Australia or visited Australian shores. And if you're a descendant of Dr. Donald Rankin MACDONALD and his wife Ann CAMPBELL (sister of my great-great-grandmother) from Mudgee (NSW), please contact me!


• Deaths/Funerals:   I recently went to the State Library and copied about a hundred death and funeral notices from newspapers that are not on Trove. Before my visit I'd found some title/date details in the Ryerson Index. If I drew a blank there, I looked for approximate death dates in cemetery and funeral directors' records etc. See 40 of My Favourite Genealogy Indexes / Sources.


• My talks:   If you came to my recent family history talks at Strathpine or Tweed Heads, I sent you two emails regarding the handout. If they are not in your Inbox, check Spam/Trash/Junk. I will be repeating the talk 'Not Just the Patient: How Hospital and Asylum Records Tell the Story of a Family') on 14 March 2019. Admission is free but bookings are essential. Details are on www.judywebster.com.au/talks.html.

(This post first appeared on https://updatesgenie.blogspot.com/2018/10/no54-genealogy-news-discounts-worldwide.html.)
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No.46 (genealogy news and freebies worldwide)

Happy New Year! I hope these tips will get you off to a great start in 2017. Links open in new windows.

• Free access at FindMyPast:   For 4 days, from 10am 12 Jan to 11:59pm 15 Jan 2017 (GMT) FindMyPast (my favourite genealogy subscription site) is giving everyone FREE access to billions of birth, marriage, death & census records. You don't need to give credit card details - just register (free). You will be able to see images of many original parish registers! I've had huge success with this for my Yorkshire families in particular.


• Mackay (Qld):   FindMyPast now has indexes to Mackay records (funeral directors' records, and funeral notices from Melrose and Fenwick 1955-1984 and from Mackay's Daily Mercury 1984-2012).


• Passport records:   FindMyPast also recently added an index to passport registers 1915-1925. Applicants were in Australia, Canada, Papua, Ceylon, Fiji, China, England etc but the records are held in Queensland.


• Victoria:   This is a very exciting resource! Images of original Court of Petty Sessions records at the Public Record Office Victoria are now online, with defendants and complainants indexed. There are over 3 million records from 74 courts dealing with minor cases such as drunkenness and theft. Dates range from 1854 to 1985.


• Indexes & Sources:   40 of my favourite genealogy indexes and sources. Which is your favourite, and why?


• Trove Helper:   This nifty tool provides a series of clickable links to Trove newspaper search results based on the details you enter in Trove Helper. The results obtained by clicking each of the links is intended to quickly provide a reasonable starting point which can then be further refined on Trove.


• Saturday series:   My new 'Saturday series' of family history tips (quite different from last year's series) is now underway at Judy Webster - Queensland Genealogy.


• Boonah (Qld):   If you have family history in this area, see Boonah Branches.


• NSW Archives:   The State Archives and Records Authority of New South Wales is now called State Archives and Records NSW or State Archives NSW.


• Publishing family trees:   If you want to publish a family tree, read The Opt In Default.


• Recommended reading:   The Truth About Ancestry's Hints.

(This post first appeared on http://updatesgenie.blogspot.com/2017/01/no46-genealogy-news-and-freebies.html.)
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No.4 (genealogy worldwide)

Links open in new windows so you won't lose your place on this page.

• New index:  Index to Gregson and Weight Funeral Records 1972-2010. Burials and funeral services that took place all over the world (Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Ireland, Fiji, Sweden, Greece, Hungary, Austria, Netherlands) are listed in these Queensland records.
  
  
• Genealogy Expo at Coffs Harbour:  On Fri. 3rd and Sat. 4th June 2011 Unlock the Past (with the support of local organisations) is holding a genealogy Expo at C-ex Coffs, Vernon St, Coffs Harbour NSW, with 31 talks and over 50 exhibitors. Talks that I have heard previously and particularly recommend include DNA for Genealogists (Kerry FARMER), Social Media for Family Historians (Carole RILEY), Society of Australian Genealogists: how its treasures will help your family history (Heather GARNSEY), German Research (Eric KOPITTKE), and various talks by Shauna HICKS. Another talk that is likely to be very popular is Helen SMITH's Breaking Down Genealogy Brick Walls. This is quite different from the talk I sometimes give, as Helen focuses mainly on strategies rather than sources.