No.47 (genealogy news and tips worldwide)

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• Customs House records:   The index to passengers and crew in Queensland Customs House shipping lists 1852-1885 is now online. It includes over 90 lists that are not in Qld State Archives' assisted immigration index. Departure ports are Batavia, Boston, Dundee, Glasgow, Greenock, Hamburg, Hong Kong, Liverpool, London, New York, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Plymouth, Queenstown (Ireland), Singapore, San Francisco, Sydney, South Sea Islands and Southampton.


• Not just names:   What were your ancestors really like as people?  7 Ways to Get to Know Your Ancestors Better describes some resources that may answer that question. Records could be in an unexpected country, so search widely.


• Illegitimate children:   On 14 Jan 2017 I added more names to the page about illegitimate children whose father is identified in a document in Archives. The Web page may list either the child or the child's mother, and it explains how to order copies of original records. Researching Illegitimate Children is one of my mini-guides.


• 1939 Register:   The 1939 Register for England/Wales now has over 5 million more records than it did at launch. Millions of closed records were opened during 2016, so check whether you can now see parts of the image that were previously hidden.


• Intermittent research:   If you only do family history intermittently, a one month subscription is a good way to view online records. Note, though, that the 1939 Register for England/Wales is only available with FindMyPast's 12 month 'World' or 'Britain' subscription.


• Photos:   The Most Important Question to Ask Cousins About Old Photos. If only I'd thought of this when my grandmother was alive!


• Books & microfilms:   The real reason why you shouldn't reshelve genealogy books (this also applies to microfilm in all libraries and Archives).


• Irish folklore:   'Local Marriage Customs' is one of many interesting items in the Irish Schools Folklore Collection (a treasure trove for family historians).


• Ancestry.com:   Why you should make copies of what you post on Ancestry.com.


• Western Australia:   I came across an interesting site for family and local history on the central goldfields of Western Australia.

(This post first appeared on http://updatesgenie.blogspot.com/2017/01/no47-genealogy-news-and-tips-worldwide.html.)
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No.44 (genealogy news and discounts worldwide)

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• FindMyPast discount:   Until 11:59pm on Tues 6 Sep 2016, new subscribers can pay just $1 (one dollar) for a 1 month FindMyPast world subscription. That's a saving of 95%! Un-tick 'Auto-renew' in the MyAccount section of the site. Read why I use and recommend FindMyPast.


• Passenger lists:   I was excited to see that images of Victoria coastal passenger lists 1852-1924 are now online. They list people travelling locally as well as immigrants from overseas. For many people attracted by Australia's gold rush, including those who were on USA goldfields, this may be the only surviving shipping record.


• Recommended reading:   Shadows of the Workhouse: The Drama of Life in Postwar London (Jennifer Worth). I couldn't put this book down!


• Hospital records:   Hospital admission registers have superb data (usually better than a death certificate), and I index them. Many patients were from interstate and overseas, especially the UK and Ireland. For Croydon hospital 1888-1925, which includes the North Queensland gold rush era, I've combined two lists of patients into a single alphabetical sequence. To order copies of original records, see 'Copying Service' near the bottom of that page.


• Illegitimate children:   Since 19th August I've added two batches of names to the page about illegitimate children whose father is identified in a document in Archives. Most of the mothers and children lived in Queensland or NSW but a few were interstate or overseas. This index is designed to help family historians and people seeking birth parents. See 'Copying Service' near the bottom of that page.


• Cemeteries:   Toowong cemetery and South Brisbane cemetery indexes are on FindMyPast, but you currently can't find them with an A to Z search. You need to use links on the full list of Australian and New Zealand records on FindMyPast. (Thanks to Rosemary for pointing this out.)


• Western Australia:   Uncertified copies of Western Australian birth, death and marriage certificates now cost just $20.


• Ancestry:   Danny Barber explains how to sort Ancestry hints by collection. I haven't tried this yet, but it sounds useful.


• Photographs:   See the tips in How to Relax and Rehumidify Old Rolled Photographs.


• Privacy:   Judy Russell (The Legal Genealogist) shares her sensible advice about privacy.


• Genealogy on Facebook:   You can read many genealogy pages on Facebook without joining. There is now a page for Toowoomba and Darling Downs Family History Society - and note my 'Saturday's Source' series of tips on Judy Webster: Queensland Genealogy.


• Copies of copies:   This article has images showing how information was copied from a copy of a copy (etc) and neither the birth date nor death date remained correct in the copy on Ancestry.

No.40 (genealogy news and discounts worldwide)

Book by Chris Paton

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• Irish land records:   Paul Milner has written a comprehensive review of Chris Paton's book Discover Irish Land Records.


• FindMyPast discounts:   Until midnight 17 Mar 2016 you can get a 1-month World subscription at FindMyPast for just $1, or you can get 20% off a 12-month World subscription. To find out about future discounts, go to Genealogy Discounts and Freebies, click the bar marked 'Receive email when this page changes', and follow the instructions. Select 'daily' as the frequency (not 'weekly') so you don't miss short-term offers that last less than a week.


• My other sites:   When I hear about discounts and freebies for genealogy, I often mention them first on my Facebook page.


• 1939 Register:   A 12-month Britain or World subscription to FindMyPast now gives you unlimited free access to the 1939 Register for England and Wales (including images of the original documents).


• Pastoral runs:   The Queensland State Archives Web site now has an index to rents payable on pastoral runs 1860-1911.


• Toowoomba seminar:   On Sat. 2 Apr 2016 I'm giving two talks to members of Toowoomba & Darling Downs Family History Society ('Not Just the Patient: how hospital and asylum records tell the story of a family' and 'Ancestors who Moved or Vanished'). For more details see my 'Talks' page.


• Cairns seminar:   The two talks I'm giving at Cairns Library on Sat. 16 Apr 2016 are 'Scallywags, Scoundrels and Vanishing Relatives' and 'Researching Illegitimate Children'. For more details see my 'Talks' page.


• Handouts from my talks:   If you were on Unlock the Past's genealogy conference/cruise (Barrier Reef, March 6th-13th) and want a free copy of the handouts from my first two talks, email me at the address shown on my Web site, quoting your name and town as shown in the '11th Unlock the Past cruise group' list. There was no handout for my third talk ('Researching Illegitimate Children') because there is already a mini-guide.


• Wednesday's Webpage:   The Wednesday's Webpage for Genealogy series will resume next week, but if the level of interest doesn't increase, it may be discontinued.


• Recommended reading:   5 Tips for Finding Women's Obituaries, by Amy Johnson Crow.

(This post first appeared on https://updatesgenie.blogspot.com/2016/03/no40-genealogy-news-and-discounts.html.)
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No.34 (genealogy worldwide)

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• Photos & Sketches:   I've added 1,132 names to the Web page 'Historical Photos and Sketches of People' (http://bit.ly/phqsa). The photos and sketches, which I found in various Archives records, are accompanied by biographical or background data that is superb for family history.


• Qld BDM source documents:   When you buy a certificate, you see details that were copied into a register from information in source documents. Transcription errors are therefore likely! The Queensland Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages has begun imaging source documents for births, marriages and WW1 / WW2 deaths. Some records have as many as 5 pages (statements by different parties, letters from parents, baptismal certificates, etc). All existing source documents should be digitised, indexed and available for purchase during 2016.


• GSQ has moved:   Genealogical Society of Qld's library has moved from East Brisbane and will re-open at 25 Stackpole St, corner of Mt Gravatt - Capalaba Road, Wishart, in Dec 2015.


• Old age pensions:   Copies of original records of old age pension applicants 1908-1909 (including people whose application was rejected) are cheaper if you order before 31 Dec 2015. The pension records description (http://bit.ly/oapJW) leads to lists of applicants' names.


• Victorian records:   FindMyPast has secured the rights to publish images and transcripts of two magnificent collections from Victoria that have never before been microfilmed or indexed: Victoria's Coastal Passenger Lists 1852-1924, and Victoria Petty Sessions records from 1851 to the 1970s. Details are on http://bit.ly/2cpsvic.


• Electoral registers:   Electoral registers for England and Wales 1832-1932 are now searchable (http://bit.ly/2Eelec), but note the crucial information and warnings in 'Learn More' and 'Discover More' on that page.


• Illegitimate children:   I've added more names to the page about illegitimate children whose father is identified in a document in Archives. Most of the mothers and children lived in NSW or Queensland, but a few were in other States, and one was in Scotland. This index is designed to help family historians and people seeking birth parents.


• Interesting reading:   9 ways underwear changed forever in 1939.

(This post first appeared on http://updatesgenie.blogspot.com/2015/11/no34-genealogy-worldwide.html.)
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No.29 (genealogy worldwide)

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• British Newspaper Archive discount:  Today is the last day to get a 1 month subscription to the British Newspaper Archive for just 1 pound (use the discount code SUMMER01).


• Land Records in Queensland:  On Monday evening, 21 July 2014, Nola Fulwood is speaking on this topic at the Genealogical Society of Queensland's Southern Suburbs branch. Nola is one of only a handful of people who understand the complexities of land records at Qld State Archives.


• Illegitimate children:  I have added more names to the page about illegitimate children whose father is named in archival records.


• Wills:  10 tips for wills, intestacies and probate (and related documents in unexpected places).


• Origins.net:  Record sets from Origins.net will be added to FindMyPast. With the National Wills Index from Origins, and collections currently on FindMyPast and those in development, FindMyPast will become the largest online resource for UK wills and probate (and those records include material for many people from other countries including Australia). The Origins website will continue to run as usual.


• Searching at FindMyPast:  The site has changed again, and more improvements are coming. Read the latest tips on how to use FindMyPast's new search tools.


• Recommended reading: 
  • 'Name Variations: Tips and Tricks', by Dan Lynch, author of the brilliant book Google Your Family Tree.

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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