No.38 (genealogy news and discounts worldwide)

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• Genealogy Discounts and Freebies:   Two new offers were added today, including one from FindMyPast that ends at midnight Monday 15 Feb 2016. This is your last chance to beat next week's 20% price rise.


• Current electoral roll:   It is once again possible to visit Australian Electoral Commission offices to use the current electoral roll for genealogical research. Electronic recording of data is not allowed.


• Seminar in Brisbane:   Judy Russell ('The Legal Genealogist') and Carol Baxter are two of the speakers at the Unlock The Past seminar in Brisbane on Sat. 5 Mar 2016.


• Ships & Passengers:   A new Web site, Passengers in History, brings together a database of 250,000 passengers to South Australia between 1836 and 1961, and a list of ships' logs/diaries (Log of Logs).


• Searchable books:   On MyHeritage you can search the text of many books that are useful for genealogy. It covers an amazing variety of publications.


• Google maps:   Step-by-step guide to using Google Maps and creating personalised maps for your family history.


• One-place studies:   Check the list of one-place studies to see whether there's one for an area where your ancestors lived.


• Irish R.C. parish records:   FindMyPast will soon release indexed transcriptions of 10 million records from over 3,500 Irish Roman Catholic parish registers (baptisms and marriages) for all 32 historical counties (Irish Republic and Northern Ireland), with links to images.


• USA marriages:   FindMyPast is releasing what will be the largest online collection of USA marriages 1650-2010 (60% of which have never before been published online). The first 33 million records are free to the public until 15 Feb 2016. When complete, this collection in its entirety will only be found on Findmypast.


• Client records:   I am updating my client records. If I've done research for you, or if you are/were on my mailing list, I invite you to contact me to confirm your preferred/alternative email addresses. Use the address in the sidebar here or the one on my main Web site.


• Interesting historical background:
  
  • 9 Fascinating Facts About Ag Labs
  
  
  • Australia Day, 26&nbspJanuary... or is May or July?

(This post first appeared on http://updatesgenie.blogspot.com/2016/02/no38-genealogy-news-and-discounts.html.)
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No.35 (genealogy news and discounts worldwide)

One of several different types of Missing Friends records

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• Missing Friends:   Names from the first stage of my index to Missing Friends records are online (3 pages). Most of these people were born in the United Kingdom, Ireland, western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, USA or Canada. I expect to gradually add another 8,000 names.


• Beenleigh cemetery:   The Beenleigh (Qld) cemetery register for 1872-1961 is now at Qld State Archives (series ID 20515).


• FindMyPast discounts:   Until 30 Nov 2015, get 50% discount on any FindMyPast subscription by using discount code BLACKFRIDAY15 at Findmypast.com.au or Findmypast.co.uk or Findmypast.ie. (USA customers only get 75% discount on a FindMyPast 12 month World subscription by using discount code THANKSNOV15 on the USA site, Findmypast.com.)


• Asylums, Hospitals & Vanishing Ancestors:   Free download until 30 Nov 2015 via the link on Genealogy Discounts and Freebies.


• VIC BDM indexes:   Victoria's historical birth, death and marriage indexes are now FREE to search online.


• Clothing:   How World War 2 changed women's fashion (interesting for family history).


• Billion Graves:   'Billion Graves' cemetery indexes for Australia and New Zealand are now on FindMyPast (free to search, and updated regularly).


• British places:  A Vision of Britain Through Time has maps, statistics and historical descriptions between 1801 and 2001. Use the 'Places' page to research towns and villages where your ancestors lived.


• Site search:   For technical reasons, the search box for my main Web site (www.judywebster.com.au) is now (1) near the bottom of most pages and (2) on the page 'How to get the most out of this site' (and a link is at the top left of each page as shown below).

(This post first appeared on http://updatesgenie.blogspot.com.au/.)
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No.33 (genealogy worldwide)

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• Discounts:  Some exciting offers are currently listed on Genealogy Discounts and Freebies. The best one expires soon.


• Indexes:  I am indexing Missing Friends registers and Brisbane Prison Hospital admissions. Watch for links to be added to my 'indexes' page.


• 'Off The Record':  This highlights records that many family historians overlook (eg, plastic surgery archives!) Each fortnight's Off The Record has a different theme, with links to four series (one each from the UK, Ireland, USA and Australia/NZ). Recent themes include Death records, Local collections, World War I, Military records, Criminal records, and the (In)Justice system.


• 'In Time and Place':  The Queensland State Conference on local history, family history and social history is in Brisbane on the weekend of 3rd-4th Oct 2015. One of the speakers is Janis Wilton, whom I find quite inspirational.


• Placenames:  A useful site is Renamed places in Queensland.


• FindMyPast:  More Australian records are now on FindMyPast. Scroll down on the page that lists recent additions.


• Ireland's Catholic parish registers:  These are now online as free images. See Chris Paton's article with the link and extra advice.


• Free e-book:  Surnames: Family Search Tips and Surname Origins consists of five guides ('4 Keys to Surname Origins and Meanings', 'Seven Strategies for Surname Research', 'How to Construct Google Surname Searches, Step by Step', '10 Sources to Find Female Ancestors' Maiden Names' and 'Country-by-Country Guide to Naming Customs').


• WDYTYA? handouts:  Download speakers' handouts/slides from Who Do You Think You Are? Live in 2014 and 2015.


• Wednesday's Webpage:  This is a new feature on my Queensland Genealogy Facebook page, which anyone can read (no need to log in).

(This post first appeared on http://updatesgenie.blogspot.com/2015/07/no33-genealogy-worldwide.html.)

No.18 (genealogy worldwide)

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• Queensland Births, Deaths and Marriages:  Digital images of historical registers.


• Gazetteer of British Place Names:  This exhaustive Place Name Index to Great Britain, with more than 50,000 entries, lists the historic county and the main administrative areas in which each place lies. Read the notes before using the Gazetteer.


• Society of Australian Genealogists manuscripts index:  It is worthwhile checking this online index periodically. In the Primary Records Collection I found handwritten genealogical notes provided by my great-great-grandfather's sister in about 1900. Without those notes I would still be stuck on 'Thomas WEBSTER, born London c.1824'.


• FindMyPast:  (UPDATED)  It is now possible to buy a Worldwide subscription to FindMyPast through any of their sites.

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