No.50 (genealogy news worldwide)

Links open in new windows. If you share the tips below, the Creative Commons license requires that you acknowledge the source as http://updatesgenie.blogspot.com.

• Prize draw:   If you'd like to win a 12 month Findmypast subscription, this is your chance! Submit your entry by 8am (AEST) Wednesday 26 Apr 2017 in two easy steps on my Prize Draws and Competitions page. I'm grateful to Findmypast for allowing me to give away such a wonderful prize (RRP $114.50). I've had a Findmypast subscription for many years, and I love it!


• Free access:   All Australian and New Zealand records on Findmypast are completely free until 25 Apr 2017 (AEST). Another 'free access' offer will be announced on Genealogy Discounts & Freebies later this week.


• Discounts:   Genealogy Discounts & Freebies currently has more offers listed than ever before, but most of them end soon. One offer is NSW certificate transcriptions for just $18.


• New records online:   Interesting records that went online last week include stage 1 of 'crew and passengers on ships arriving in New South Wales' (check this for anyone you can't find in the British 1881 census); parish registers for Christ Church Cathedral in Newcastle NSW; more Boer War records; and more NSW closer settlement and returned soldiers transfer files.


• UK records:   Findmypast's United Kingdom parish records collection (already the largest of its kind online) is about to get a whole lot bigger. Records from six more counties (the list is on that Web site) will go online over the next 6 months.


• Books:   During April, Gould Genealogy has the entire Unlock the Past guide books range on sale (25% off), and the Australian History and Genealogy Handbook is just $1.


• Finding death dates:   My family history project for Easter started with a list of Australian relatives for whom I had no death date. I searched 13 million Aus/NZ deaths, burials, wills and probate records. If I didn't find the name, I searched individual Findmypast record sets and Ancestry databases. I also used the magnificent Ryerson Index to find recent death/funeral notices. There are many other resources available, but these are my usual 'first steps'.


• Updated index:   Check out CQFHA's new Master Name Index (over 767,590 entries for people from many areas). I had unexpected success with this.


• My talk at Noosa:   If you're interested in hearing my talk (11 May 2017) on Ancestors who Moved or Vanished, book now (free). When I checked today there were only 7 seats left.

(This post first appeared on http://updatesgenie.blogspot.com/2017/04/no50-genealogy-news-worldwide.html. The 'win' image is by Stuart Miles, freedigitalphotos.net.)


~~~

No.47 (genealogy news and tips worldwide)

If you share these tips/links, the Creative Commons license requires that you acknowledge the source as http://updatesgenie.blogspot.com. Links open in new windows.

• 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.)
~ ~ ~

No.44 (genealogy news and discounts worldwide)

Links open in new windows.

• 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.