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EPISODE 20 - SHOWNOTES: Irish stuff for genies: Connecting with your Irish ancestors (May 2013)
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Maria broadcasts this podcast episode from the island of Inis Meáin (Inishmaan), part of the Aran Islands off the coast of Galway, Ireland. Here are a few pics of Inis Meáin.

 

In episode 20, you'll find answers to these questions:

  • What are some strategies to find information about my Irish ancestors?
  • What are some of the myths about Irish family history research?
  • What are some of the underlying ideas about Irish history and family history that will help with the practical side of Irish family history research?
  • If my ancestors spoke Irish, what were some common words and phrases that they may have spoken?

Throughout today's podcast you'll hear some interviews with people (thanks to Maureen, Colm, Jenny and Cormac) who live on Inis Meain and some of the music (thanks to Cormac, Kate and Louis) played at the local pub on the island.

TIPS about Irish family history research

Tip no. 1: Think "land". Many sources of Irish genealogical resources are land-based, relating to how our ancestors owned or rented land and property. Thinking in this way will help to understand how our Irish ancestors lived and worked.

To get a fuller understanding of how important land ownership and use is in some parts of Ireland, check out the movie called The Field, starring Richard Harris and Tom Berenger.

Tip no. 2: Get a sense of the county where your ancestors originally lived. The counties in Irealand are very different from one another in their position (inland, coastal, etc.), their landscapes and histories. Some counties were hit harder by famines than others. Here are a few links to help you to understand the counties of Ireland in more detail:

Tip no. 3: Keeping up-to-date. The Irish Genealogy News website is great for keeping up to date on Irish genealogy. New information is constantly being added to this site about new records being paced online.

 

TOOLS for Irish family history research

Some tools sent in my our listeners after last month's podcast episode:

Tool no. 1: Land-related records. Here are a few land related records to explore and bookmark:

Tool no. 2: Document sites

Tool no. 3: Ask about Ireland.This site, AskAboutIreland has some very useful links, especially under the "Reading Room" and "Libraries" tabs. Check out the "eBooks by County" link.

Tool no. 4: Roots Ireland. This site, Roots Ireland, has over 20 million online records. This is not a free site but the pay-as-you-go rates are fairly reasonable. This site is described as follows: "This website was created by the Irish Family History Foundation (I.F.H.F.), an all Ireland not-for-profit organization, that is co-ordinating the creation of a database of Irish genealogical sources to assist those who wish to trace their Irish ancestry."

Tool no. 5: National Archives of Ireland. This site, National Archives of Ireland, includes a massive collection of records. One of the interesting sections of this website is the featured "Document of the month".

Tool no. 6: Cemetery records. There are many large fee-based and free sites that provide searchable databases of cemetery records in Ireland, such as Ancestry, Find a Grave, Billion Graves, Find My Past, Family Search and Deceased Online. Also, many locally based sites exist that offer information about cemetery records from various towns and counties in Ireland, such as:

TRICKS for Irish family history research

Trick no. 1: Blogs about Irish Family History. There are many genies out there who are more than willing to share their ideas and experiences about their own Irish family history research. Here are a few of them:

Trick no. 2: The Gathering. The Gathering is a set of Ireland-wide events encouraging people with Irish ancestry to come back to Ireland this year.

Trick no. 3: Google alerts. Setting up Google alerts enables you to effortlessly search the web for phrases and words (such as Irish place names, Irish names, addresses and Irish family history records) related to your Irish family history research.

Trick no. 4: Irish language. Get to know a few Irish phrases that your ancestors may have spoken. The podcast has some examples.


TRAPS to avoid when doing Irish family history research

Trap no. 1: Myth - most Irish genealogical records were destroyed. Although many Irish family history records were burnt in the 1922 fire, there are now a lot of records available online.

Trap no. 2: Don't ignore Ireland's famine history. The famine wasn't just about potatoes - it was also very much related to property ownership, land rights, government, exports and imports. There was also quite a political edge to the 1840s famine in that some elements of the government of the time were blamed for not distributing food adequately to the poor and suffering.

Here are a few websites with information about Ireland's famines:

Some photos Maria has taken of famine memorials in Ireland:

 

Trap no. 3: Don't only use Ireland-wide genealogical sites. There are many more sites becoming available that are created by local history experts and genealogists that focus on Irish towns, cities, counties are regions. For example:

Trap no. 4: Don't ignore Irish history. There are some excellent podcasts available to help you to brush up on your Irish history. For example:

Trap no. 5: You don't have to find all the online Irish family history sites on your own. Other genies have done much of this work for you. For example:

 

Warren Fahey's music

Check out Warren Fahey's homepage and general store to peruse and order his very Aussie music at very reasonable prices. Warren has kindly given us permission to feature his excellent music in our podcast. He describes himself as a "folklorist, record producer, author, performer and oral historian" -so you can see he is a real fan of history, research and music.


EPISODE 19 - SHOWNOTES: Techy stuff for genies: Computer and online resources to use with our family history research (April 2013)
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Maria broadcasts this podcast episode from the island of Inis Meáin (Inishmaan), part of the Aran Islands off the coast of Galway, Ireland. Here are a few pics of Inis Meáin.

 

In episode 19, you'll find answers to these questions:

  • How can I use techy stuff to help with researching my family history?
  • How can I use techy stuff to organise my genealogy research?
  • How can I use techy stuff to create and share my genealogy research?
  • Where can I get more techy ideas and keep learning about my family history research?

 

Each of Maria's tips, tools, tricks and traps are presented in this podcast within her Genealogy ROCKS! approach for dividing your genealogy research time:

  • Research
  • Organise
  • Create
  • Keep learning
  • Share


5 TECHY TIPS

Tip no. 1: TO DO folder. Within your main folder for genealogy research, keep a folder where you keep all of your ideas for future research and make lists of future tasks such as: Certificate wish list; What to create; List of questions that I need to find answers to; Goals for the year

Tip no. 2: Soft and hard copies. Keep both electronic (soft) and printed copies (hard) of your research information. Link the two sets of information so that you use the same categorisation system to organise your electronic and printed files. This structure can also be applied to email folders.

Tip no. 3: Conferences. Make the most of attending conferences and seminars about family history. Speak to the presenters as well as members of the audience. You can pick up a lot of techy tips and ideas to use in your family history research through informal networking. For example, Rootstech.

Tip no. 4: The underscore. To ensure that important folders (directories) or files are listed at the top of the list, add an underscore (_) to the beginning of the folder name or file name (e.g., _To Do). This naming strategy will ensures that the folder with an underscore at the beginning of it's name will be listed first in the list of alphabetically listed files or folders (directories).

Tip no. 5: Publish. Aim to publish something each year from your family history research. This could be a printed or electronic book (e.g., through Lulu) a website (e.g., using Weebly).

 

5 TECHY TOOLS

Tool no. 1: Online newsletter. Subscribe to local and national genealogical societies to receive their newsletter. Subscribe to international newsletters about genealogy such as Dick Eastman's newsletter.

Tool no. 2: Webinars. Join in on some of these reasonably priced or free online seminars. "Webinar" is the shortened term for web-based seminar. For example, the SAG (Society of Australian Genealogists) run a series of webinars on topics such as:

  • Internet Resources for British History and how they can help genealogists
  • NSW BDM Records

Tool no. 3: Apps for the iPad. There are now many apps for genealogy for the iPad. Lisa Louise Cooke's new book, Turn your iPad into a genealogy powerhouse, can be purchased at Lulu.com for $12.59.

Tool no. 4: Calendar. This freely accessible online calendar, Calendarhome.com, from Janelle, one of our listeners, allows you to calculate ages and time periods based on known start and end dates.

Tool no. 5: Online bookmkarking. Instead of only relying on your computer's browser to store your favourite or bookmarked websites, Liz (one of our listeners) suggests using an online bookmarking tool such as Delicious.

 

5 TECHY TRICKS

Trick no. 1: Google Drive (Google Docs). This is a great way to store, retrieve, modify and collaborate on your genealogy files. You can access these files from any internet connected computer. Read Jill Ball's Geniaus blogpost about using Google Drive for genealogy research: Need to share files easily? and Google Docs and Evernote.

Trick no. 2: Cover letter. To ensure your precious genealogy research isn't ignore after you die, nominate someone in your family to care for your research, and hopefully extend it, when you are gone. To make it easier for this person to access and understand what you have done, create a cover letter or an audio message to store with your files - this can explain why you started your research, what needs to be done next and a heartfelt message about what you would like done with your legacy of research.

Trick no. 3: Note discrepancies. Work out some techy way of highlighting the discrepancies in your research. Sometimes, these discrepancies can form the point of moving your research onwards and upwards. You may ask yourself question such as: Why were ages listed differently? Why were names listed differently across documents? Why was the father's name missing?

Trick no. 4: Ancestor online presence. Most of our ancestors existed before the internet was even heard of. However, some of my ancestors have their own website - because I have created one for them. I've also heard of other people creating a Facebook Page which is linked to their own Facebook page. Creating an online presence for some of your more interesting ancestors is a great way to create some "bait" for other researchers with whom you can share and extend your research.

Trick no. 5: Google image search. As well as doing Google searches for your ancestors, don't forget the potential that lies within Google images. Search for your ancestor's name, along with some key dates and place names. Older photos are very recognisable within the collection of Google images.

 

5 TECHY TRAPS

Trap no. 1: Backing up. How much of your work are you willing to lose? If you are willing to lose a day's work, back up every day. If you are willing to lose a week's work, back up every week. Consider purchasing one or two external hard drives to keep a copy of your precious files. Buy a couple of $100 external hard disks and get into a pattern of using them very regularly. You could also investigate online backing up systems such as Mozy.

Trap no. 2: Over reliance on a family tree program. When using a family tree program such as Legacy, Family Tree Maker or Rootsmagic, be sure you know why you are using it. Don't be a slave to these programs. Also consider traditional ways of storing your information such as Word documents and databases.

Trap no. 3: Software upgrades. Don't be a slave to regular software upgrades. Sometimes the upgrades are very minor. You can sometimes afford missing a few versions as long as you don't wait too long in between upgrades.

Trap no. 4: Ancestry.com "hints". If you are an online Ancestry.com user, you will notice the "hints" on your screen in the form of shaking leaves. Sometimes these hints link you up with other researchers. When the researchers have thousands and thousands of people on their tree, beware that you are not dealing with "ancestor hunters" and "name collectors" who don't always check their sources.

Trap no. 5: Not just text. When creating products from your family history research (books, websites, etc.), be careful not to overuse text. Readers also like seeing graphics, diagrams, tables, video and audio.

EPISODE 18 - SHOWNOTES: Naming stuff for genies (Part B): Tools, tricks and traps about naming patterns, traditions and stories in family history (March 2013)
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Maria broadcasts this podcast episode from the island of Inis Meáin (Inishmaan), part of the Aran Islands off the coast of Galway, Ireland. Here are a few pics of Inis Meáin.

 

In episode 18, you'll find answers to these questions:

  • What are some good online tools I can access to help me add some context to my family history about naming stuff – naming patterns, traditions and stories in family history?
  • What are some tricks I should be aware of to help me add some context to my family history about naming stuff – naming patterns, traditions and stories in family history?
  • What are some traps to avoid when I'm researching the names used in my family history research?

Thanks to all of these genies down under (from Australia and overseas) for contributing their fantastic and inspiring ideas to Episode 17 and 18 of the Genies Down Under podcast episodes: Andrew, Dot, Duane, Fiona, Jacqui, Janelle, Jenni, Kai, Kathleen, Kathy, Kerrie, Kylie, Lesa, Liz, Nancy, Marilyn, Pauleen, Rachel, Ros, Sandra, Tanya and Vic. It's so great to have your ideas in this podcast.

[More shownotes for Episode 18 are coming soon.]

 

EPISODE 17 - SHOWNOTES: Naming stuff for genies (Part A): Tips about naming patterns, traditions and stories in family history (February 2013)
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Maria broadcasts this podcast episode from the island of Inis Meáin (Inishmaan), part of the Aran Islands off the coast of Galway, Ireland.

inishmaan inishmaan Inishmaan

In episode 17, you'll find answers to these questions:

  • What naming patterns were used by our ancestors to name their children?
  • Were there any particular naming traditions used by our Aussie ancestors?
  • What are some funny naming stories from family history research?
  • How can our knowledge of naming patterns helps us to analyse and extend our family history research?

All the best to the genies down under who are going along to the Unlock the Past geneaology cruise from Sydney to Noumea and Fiji and back to Sydney from 10-19 February 2013. Have a wonderful time and we look forward to hearing about your adventures when you return.

Thanks to all of these genies down under (from Australia and overseas) for contributing their fantastic and inspiring ideas to Episode 17 and 18 of the Genies Down Under podcast episodes: Andrew, Dot, Duane, Fiona, Jacqui, Janelle, Jenni, Kai, Kathleen, Kathy, Kerrie, Kylie, Lesa, Liz, Nancy, Marilyn, Pauleen, Ros, Sandra, Tanya and Vic. It's so great to have your ideas in this podcast.

Whether you agree or not with the title of this web article, Baby names that are just plain wrong, it's an interesting read to see what types of names people give their children. There are some very ususual names on this list!

And here are some interesting and funny names given to babies by celebrities: Celebrity baby names - Top 20 Crazy List

In this episode, you'll find answers to these questions:

  • What naming patterns were used by our ancestors to name their children?
  • Were there any particular naming traditions used by our Aussie ancestors?
  • What are some funny naming stories from family history research?
  • How can our knowledge of naming patterns helps us to analyse and extend our family history research?

Check out some of the most popular babies' names in 2012: Top boys' names of 2012 in Australia, Top girls' names of 2012 in Australia, Popular Aussie baby names, Most popular babies' names in Ireland in 2012.

Talking about popularity, here are the Top 100 Most Popular Genealogy Websites for 2012. Thanks for sending in this link, Liz.

Tips about Name origins

Kai reminded me recently that many people are named after saints. If you are named after a saint, check out these sites:

Here is a list of saints of Ireland on Wikipedia and some information about St Brigit whose saint's day is celebrated on 1 February, the beginning of Celtic spring in Ireland.

Read about orgins of Welsh, Scottish, Irish or unusual, unique or creative names at the NameNerds site

Thanks to Kathy for sharing the history of the name of BRERETON. See the BRERETON surname website for more info.

Thanks to Vic for sharing the history of the name of MALHAM.

Thanks to Janelle for sharing the funny urban myth story about Remus Rudd. Note that this is just a fun story that someone has created to make a point about political spin. This was included in this episode for it's family history theme.

You might like to have a sneak peek at Liz's blog where she has shared a lot of the tips and links she sent me for the naming stuff episodes: Yarra Plenty Genealogy - Naming Patterns (thanks also to Andrew for sending in this link). Many of these links will also be shared in Episode 18 in March 2013.

Tips about naming patterns including surnames, first names and middle names

Tips and links from the podcast will be added here during the first few days of February 2013.

Thanks to Tanya for telling us about the "James, George, James, George...and then Warren" naming pattern in her family.

Thanks to Fiona for telling us about the use of the name, Maria, in her Italian family history.

Thanks to Kathleen for telling us about the history and origins of her first name.

Thanks to Jacqui for telling us about the origin of her mother's first names.

Thanks to Janelle for telling us about the origins of her surname.

Thanks to Sandra for her story, the finding the parents of Martha Carbis.

Thanks to Kylie for reminding us about the use of a mother's maiden name as a middle name in later generations.

Thanks to Janelle for telling us about the use of Lorne as a middle name.

Thanks to Jacqui for telling us about the use of the name Roland and Rollo as middle and first names.

Tips about international naming patterns (including Scandinavian, German, Indian, Scottish, Irish, Welsh)

Tips and links from the podcast will be added here during the first few days of February 2013.

Thanks to Liz for sharing with us the following naming pattern used by Scottish ancestors:

First son is named for the Father's Father.
Second son is named for the Mother's Father.
Third son is named for the Father's Father's Father.
Fourth son is named for the Mother's Mother's Father.
Fifth son is named for the Father's Mother's Father.
Sixth son is named for the Mother's Father's Father.
Seventh through Tenth sons are named for the Father's Great-Grandfathers.
Tenth through Fourteenth sons for the Mother's Great-Grandfathers.

First daughter is named for the Mother's Mother.
Second daughter is named for the Father's Mother.
Third daughter is named for the Mother's Father's Mother.
Fourth daughter is named for the Father's Father's Mother.
Fifth daughter is named for the Mother's Mother's Mother.
Sixth daughter is named for the Father's Mother's Mother.
Seventh through tenth daughters are named for the Mother's Great-Grandmothers.
Tenth through fourteenth daughters for the Father's Great-Grandmothers.
Source: http://www.halmyre.abel.co.uk/Family/naming.htm

Also, thanks to Liz and Andrew for sharing these sites relating to Scottish naming patterns: Scotlands People - Forename Variants, Information about naming pattern at Rob's Family and Naming traditions at the Rootsweb site.

Still on the Scottish theme,

  • Thanks to Andrew for sharing with us some examples of how middle names were used in the BLACK family, in which the surname  of their forefather’s was used as a middle name.
  • Thanks to Marilyn for telling us about how her daughter was given the name of both grandmothers, and how her son's middle name was based on one of her first ancestors who arrived in Australia in 1855.
  • Thanks to Jenni for sharing the information about how her ancestors used a pattern of first and second names being alternated, for the first-born sons.
  • Thanks to Ros for reminding us that it was not uncommon for some of her Scottish ancestors, at least amongst the Highlanders,  for two brothers to have the same given name even with the older was still alive and well. 

Thanks to Kathy for reminding us about the excellent book by the late Janet Reakes, How To Trace Your English Ancestors, which has some great information about English and Welsh naming patterns.

Thanks to Lesa for sharing information about Scandinavian ancestors, specifically Norwegian names. She explains that Norwegians were identified by their Christian name and their father’s name plus the appropriate suffix – “sen” for son and “datter” for daughter.
A third name was often used and this was usually the farm name and signified a place of residence. Legally, the use of a fixed surname was not made compulsory by law in Norway until 1923. Before this, surnames were not used generally by rural Norwegians, but were used by families of educated upper class and people who lived in cities. Lesa also shared these websites: Lesa's website about her Norwegian ancestors.

Thanks to Liz for sharing this website about German naming practices.

Thanks to Tanya for sharing her mystery story about the surname, ST CLAIR HONEY.

Here are some sites which offer information about Irish naming patterns, Rootsweb.

Look out for a load of Tools, Tricks and Traps about naming stuff in the Episode 18 podcast episode in March 2013.

Mini-genie 003 - SHOWNOTES: Ideas for cemetery (25 January 2013)
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Thanks to Kerrie for the ideas in this podcast!

This mini-genie podcast looks at some great tips from a Genies Down Under listener, Kerrie, about cemetery searching and uploading photographs of graves and plaques to online cemetery index sites, including:

 

 

EPISODE 16 - SHOWNOTES:Using what's not on the internet for family history (January 2013)
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Maria broadcasts this podcast episode from Galway Bay on the beautiful west coast of Ireland.

Galway Bay

In episode 16, you'll find answers to these questions:

  • Before the internet, how did family historians research their family history?
  • What offline resources, resources that are not on the internet, can I use to extend my family history research?
  • What offline processes can I use to extend my family history research?
  • Where can I find out more about where to access offline resources and processes to extend my family history research?

Podcast dedication

This podcast is dedicated to Pauleen from the Family history across the seas blog - especially for her series, Beyond the Internet, that she has produced over the 52 weeks in 2012. See her final blog post in the Beyond the Internet series in December 2012 - Final

Thanks Pauleen, for all of your hard work and for sharing your expertise.

Tips about offline stuff for genies

  • Tip no. 1: Archives and books. Don't forget the masses of resources that are available for you to search through at your local State or Territory archives office and the books that are housed in these offices. Sometimes the books are catalogued and sometimes they are just available by browsing through the shelves.
  • Tip no. 2: Ask for photos. Make sure members of your family, both close and far, know that you are a genealogist. Ask them for copies of photos they may have and, if possible, ask for a commentary about the photograph. Ask questions about where the photo was taken, who took it, who is featured in the photo, whether or not the photo marked a special occasion, etc.
  • Tip no. 3: Library shelves. When visiting your local library or a library in the town or city of your ancestors, walk the shelves and don't just rely on the catalogue. You may even find some research that other members of your family have done that you didn't know about. By browsing the shelves you may find clumps of books and resources that have been catalogued together - sometimes these collections are more obvious when you see them "in real life" rather than on an online catalogue.
  • Tip no. 4: Family history conferences. Go to Family History conferences and talk to people. You find out a lot from the key speakers but you'll also find out even more from other conference attendees who you may speak with at morning tea and lunch breaks. Remember there are so many experts in the audiences of these events.

Tools to use for offline family history research for genies

  • Tool no. 1: Shauna Hicks' book, It's not all online. This is a great little inexpensive book (about $15) that provides loads of ideas about how to use offline resources and processes to extend your family history research.
  • Tool no. 2: Audio recorder. A hand-held audio recorder is an invaluable resource to capture stories and info provided to you by family members and friends of family members.
  • Tool no. 3: Old maps. Old maps can provide you with a lot more context to your ancestors' whereabouts than just an address. Access old maps through your local or state government lands office or access copies or orginals through local historical societies and libraries.
  • Tool no. 4: Timelines. Go no further than all the family research you have done so far. Analyse and summarise your research about key or difficult ancestors by creating a timeline that traces the milestones in their life - birth, baptism, location, job, training and qualifications, schools attended, marriage, children, migration, businesses, divorce, bankruptcy, death, etc.
  • Tool no. 5: Lands department. These government offices hold original copies of land titles and some mortgage details of your ancestors' lives. More than just addresses and land information is often provided in these records.
  • Tool no. 6: Family history society journals. Many family history societies regularly produce journals (sometimes only in a paper-based format), in which the history of the local community is recorded by its members. Contextual and specific information can be gathered from these journals which can usually be accessed at archives offices, family history society offices and some libraries.
  • Tool no. 7: Family history magazines. Although full copies of these magazines are not always available electronically, they are a wealth of information. Magazines such as Australian Family Tree Connections and Inside History are some favourites of Aussie genies.
  • Tool no. 8: Beyond the Internet blog series. Pauleen has created a superb set of ideas on her Family history across the seas blog, about researching family history using offline resources and methods. Her Beyond the Internet series of blog posts that she has produced over the 52 weeks in 2012 is an excellent resource. See her Final blog post in this series.

Tricks to use for offline family history research for genies

  • Trick no. 1: Oral history. Try to collect as many short and long stories as you can about your family's history from living relatives, as well as from the people who may have known your deceased ancestors. Many of these people may not be active on the internet so you may have to use old fashioned methods of communication to contact them. As Pauleen says on her blog site "Don't forget there are other families who've lived in the area for many years and experienced many of the same crop failures, weather problems, wars, socials and weddings."
  • Trick no. 2: Visit tourist offices and museums. These types of places in country towns and big cities often sell material that is not available on the internet - such as historical books written by local community members or family history booklets produced by local townspeople. If you can't find exact references in the material available in tourist offices and museums, you may find handy information or photographs which provide you with contextual information about where your ancestors lived in particular times or the types of jobs they may have been employed in.
  • Trick no. 3: Contact or visit schools. If you know the school or schools attended by your ancestors, you could try to contact the school or visit the school. Many old schools produce year books and have had historical books written about them. Again, you may not find exact references to or photographs of your ancestors in these books, but you may find out some interesting contextual information about what it was like when your ancestor attended this school - such as the rules for children, the principal at the time and the subjects taught at the school during the time your ancestor attended the school.
  • Trick no. 4: Timelines. Go no further than all the family research you have done so far. Analyse and summarise your research about key or difficult ancestors by creating a timeline that traces the milestones in their life - birth, baptism, location, job, training and qualifications, schools attended, marriage, children, migration, businesses, divorce, bankruptcy, death, etc.


Traps to avoid when doing offline family history research for genies

  • Trap no. 1: Library books not all on public shelves. If you are searching for library books that appear in the catalogue but not on the shelf, ask your librarian for help. Many libraries store older or less used books away from the main public access area.
  • Trap no. 2: Don't only keep your records electronically. Remember to print out some of your key documents, photographs and records. As well as providing an alternative backup format, this can also provide a quick-to-access set of records for family members to browse through, without requiring a specific commentary from you.
  • Trap no. 3: Don't ignore handwritten records. Because so many of our family history records are now online, we tend not to use or create handwritten records as often as our ancestors did. If you are lucky enough to have records of your ancestors' handwriting, feature these examples in your family history research. Also, remember to be a good future ancestor by including some of your own handwriting in your records.

 

 

EPISODE 15 - SHOWNOTES: Crafty stuff for genies: Family history creations (December 2012)
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Our book, Convicts Down Under, is now published!!!

We have some exciting news for you to start this podcast! In November, six of the Genies Down Under listeners joined Maria in publishing a book of seven stories about seven convicts who landed on Australian soil between 1796 and 1844. We are very pleased to officially launch our book on the December episode of the Genies Down Under podcast. Our book is called Convicts Down Under and you can purchase a printed copy of our book for $20.99 or an e-book version of the book (for $7) at the Lulu.com website. We are purposely keeping the prices of the book as low as possible. Any profits made will be used to buy copies of the printed book to send to local and national libraries and family history societies. Please let us know what you think of our book by emailing Maria at geniesdownunder@gmailcom

Want to get hold of a
printed version
of our book?
Click on the link below

$20.99 at Lulu.com

 cover

Want to get hold of an
e-book version
of our book?
Click on the link below

$7 at Lulu.com

 

In episode 15, you'll find answers to these questions:

  • What types of family history items could I create with my hands?
  • What types of family history items could I create using my computer?
  • What types of family history items could I buy for others or for myself?

Tips about family history craft

photoframes

 

  • Tip no. 3: Family tree corkboard. This is a nifty way to create some family tree craft that is useful and interesting. Buy a large corkboard, print out some photographs of your ancestors and represent your family tree on the corkboard.
corkboard tree

 

  • Tip no. 4: Create a set of ancestor playing cards. Choose your favourite ancestor and print their photo on the back of a set of playing cards. The following companies can do this for you for about $20:
    – Harvey Norman playing cards
    - Big W playing cards
    - Snapfish playing cards
    - Overseas:     Printers studio.com

  • Tip no. 5: Create ancestor placements. Choose a collection of your ancestors' photos and use these to print and laminate A4-sized placemats. They can be created as a set of 6, 8, 10 or more and given as gifts or used around the Christmas table. You may also like to create matching drink coasters. Here are a few examples of placements that Maria made for a recent family reunion.
placemats

 

Tools for creating family history craft

  • Tool no. 1: Pinterest. This is an online pinboard where you can gather up collections of photos of beautiful things. There are many "pinners" who are interested in family history. Here is a video that describes Pinterest. Here is an example of family history craft images on Pinterest.

  • Tool no. 2: Word cloud. These tools, such as Wordle, allow you to create word pictures. Why not use the names and places of your family history to create a word cloud. This process takes just a couple of minutes.

    Here are a few examples of genealogy word clouds:
    - genealogy word cloud on Pinterest
    - a family tree word cloud at Cassmob, a genealogy blog
    - genealogy addition word cloud at Original Hunter's blog
word cloud

 

  • Tool no. 3: Shape Collage. Here is an example of using Shape College to create a banner on the top of my family history blog: Wishful Linking.

  • Tool no. 4: Lulu.com. This is a self publishing website that provides a high quality service for a reasonable cost with very quick turnaround times.

  • Tool no. 5: Laminator and laminating sheets from Target, K-mart or Big W. About $40 -$100. Provides a very professional job. Turn on, put paper into the laminator envelope. Wait 5 mins for machine to warm up and then push the envelope through. Takes about 5 mins to cool down.

  • Tool no. 6: Youtube and Howto.com. These sites will provide you with all sorts of tutorials that will guide you through family history craft processes.

Tricks for family history craft

Here is a small bunch of tricks when creating family history crafty stuff. I hope these tricks will especially help you to think creatively about what you could make for others or yourself this Christmas.

  • Trick no. 1: Family reunion ideas. Whenever you look up books or websites or hear podcasts about family reunions, they often have great ideas of things you can create using your hands, your computer or both. Here are a few examples:
    - Family Reunion Planning Kit for Dummies [With CDROM] on Ebay for about $30
    - Family reunion tips from Ancestral Story.com.au:
    - Book by Gould Genealogy: Your Family Reunion: How to Plan it, Organize It, and Enjoy It

  • Trick no. 2: Scrapbooking (Memory keeping). Scrapbooking is described as: "a method for preserving personal and family history in the form of a scrapbook. Typical memorabilia include photographs, printed media, and artwork. Scrapbook albums are often decorated and frequently contain extensive journaling." (Wikipedia, November 2012).
    You could use your scrapbooking skills for family history preservation. Here are some ideas for using your scrapbooking skills in family history crafts:
    - About.com provides information about Scrapbooking Your Family History: How to Create a Heritage Scrapbook. They suggest using items such as birth and marriage certificates, report cards, old letters, family recipes, clothing items, and a lock of hair can also add interest to a family history scrapbook.
    - Gould Geneaology sells family tree charts for $1.50 that can be incorporated into your family history scrapbooking. These pedigree charts are sold as single sheets. They have a lovely vintage looking background, a tree in the centre and plenty of places for you to record your family's names and events.
    - Family history quotes from Scrapbook.com to add throughout your scrapbook: such as "But those who came before us will teach you. They will teach you from the wisdom of former generations." and "Family faces are like magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present, and future." Or perhaps you could include sayings from various members of your family.

  • Trick no. 3: Pictures instead of cards on presents. See an example on Pinterest.

  • Trick no. 4: Story journal. Buy or create books to use as journals for recording family history stories. You could do this yourself or ask someone to do it for you. There are some lovely journals you can buy on e-bay. Just put in "journal" or "notebook" into ebay, you may get the purple furry variety (first one on the list), so I'd recommend adding something like "vintage" "old style" "antique" or "old". Here are a few examples:
    - Vintage classic notebook blank diary journal note book writer gift hard cover $11.99
    - Vintage classic notebook blank diary journal note book writer gift hard cover $15.99
    - Handmade Leather Journal Rustic Blank Notebook Travel Diary Olive Green $1.99
    - Suede Leather Bound Older Blank Diary/Journal $75
    - SILK PAPER JOURNAL Red Gold Lotus Lined Diary Gift S $5.25

Traps to avoid when creating family history craft

Here are some traps to avoid when creating family history items. I hope these traps will save you time, money and effort.

  • Trap no. 1: Don't use originals. Use copies, not originals, especially when glue and laminating is involved. This is especially important if your family history creation involves using photographs of precious items from the past.

  • Trap no. 2: Can't make? Then, buy instead. There are loads of ideas about in the shops these days (also online) that will inspire you in your gift buying for others or for yourself. How about some of these ideas:
    - A book, often available at local newsagencies and book shops, which provides focus questions and partly blank pages to fill in to record the details of your family's history
    - A cross-stitched creation of 6 generations of your family tree. Caroline at CEMA Designs can help you there. She often advertises in the Australian Family Tree Connections magazine or can be contacted by email at: caroline@cemadesigns.com.au
    - If you're thinking of giving family history related items as gifts this year, using the search terms "family history", "family tree" or "genealogy" on Amazon, Lulu or Ebay will provide you with more ideas that you can ever imagine
    - Keep an eye out for family tree related products such as this cute little ornament, by Blossom Bucket Inc., that I found in my local chemist shop recently.
2 birds
  • Trap no. 3: Stick to the proven facts. When creating family history craft, it is quite likely, we hope, that your creation will be kept for a long time. It may even be passed onto others or passed down the family tree. So, whatever facts and figures you may include about your ancestors on these creations, only include the information that you are absolutely sure about. It's better to pass on a selecton of your most accurate research findings, rather than pass on a collection of possible facts.

Mini-genie 002 - SHOWNOTES: Ideas for searching through the NSW Police Gazettes (24 November 2012)
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In this Mini-genie, you'll find out some ideas about how to search through the NSW Police Gazettes (1854–1930) for information about "the lives of people on bothsides of the law", including information about:

  • missing persons/ missing friends
  • crimes committed
  • wanted criminals
  • criminals who had been apprehended
  • police officer promotions
  • vacant positions for police offers
  • police appointments

The Police Gazettes can be accessed and searched through Ancestry.com.au. If you don't have paid subscription access to Ancestry, you can access it through computers at some libraries, archives offices and family history centres.

EPISODE 14 - SHOWNOTES: Convict stuff for genies: Stories of crime, punishment and freedom in our ancestors' lives (Part 2)
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In episode 14, you'll find answers to these questions:

  • How would I know if I had a convict in my family history?
  • How can I research a convict?
  • What records are available for convicts who were transported to Australia??

The shownotes for this episode will be available during the next few days.

Information, photos and links about Port Arthur convicts:

Pictures of Port Arthur convicts from the National Library of Australia
Port Arthur site
Port Arthur image library
ABC story: "Face of brutality: the hidden Port Arthur photographs"
Information about, Exilted: The Port Arthur Convict Photographs by Edwin Barnard, a book from theABC shop. Paperback. $39.99

Blogs about Australian convicts

Rebel Hand

A little bit of Irish: My mother's people in Australia

A Pocket Full of Family Memories: My Written Journey Back To My Roots & Heritage : From The Heart of England To The Shores of Australia

Convicts Australia: A blog for researching Australian convicts

Tips about researching convicts

How to write your story.

Check out the Rebel Hand blog as a great example, especially the convict story, When John met Sarah, a story of convict courtship. From this blog, you come to understand the plight of female convicts.

Understand the convict experience by listening to the Hindsight podcast: FRANK THE POET: A CONVICT'S TOUR TO HELL. This podcast celebrates the 151st anniversy of the death of Frank the Poet (Francis MacNamara). Frank is considered to be one of Australia's leading poets. You can gain an understanding of Frank's attitude to the authorities, the punishments he received and how he entertained his fellow convicts.

Tools for researching convicts

Wondering where to begin? Maree Shilling's book, Is There a Convict in the Family?, will help you. Some of her tips include:

  • Talk to elderly relatives (rumours, stories, assumptions?)
  • Join a family history society, especially as they can provide advice about which records are relevant to each state
  • Focus on primary records (actual certificates and original records)
  • Consult the index: Index to Convicts who arrived in NSW i1788-1842 and an index to the ships that transported them

Books to help with your convict research, recommended by one of our listeners, Andrew.

Information about researching female convicts:

Tricks for research convict ancestors

  • Trick no. 1: Don't be satisfied with one or two records.
    Search through the following records:
    - Convict musters
    - Newspaper reports
    - Court records (home country and in Australia), such as the Central Criminal Court in London (Old Bailey), Courts of Quarter Sessions, Church courts, local courts in major nearby towns
    - Shipping records and surgeon's journals
    - Indents – on-ship records, like a convict muster
    - Ticket of leave dates and details (often have details about appearance)
    - Conditional pardon
    - Absolute pardon
    - Certificate of freedom
    - Assignment
    - Marriage applications and records
    - Convict bank accounts
  • Trick no. 2: Where to look online.
    Browse through some of these links to find information aboout convict ancestors:
    - National Archives: Scroll down to "Convicts" and you'll get links to all of these gain access to all sorts of records including Convict transportation registers 1787-1867, Convict records at State Records NSW, Convicts to Australia: a guide to researching your convict ancestors, First Fleet online, Ireland-Australia transportation records, 1791-1853, Irish convicts to NSW 1791-1836, Ships of the First Fleet, South Australian transported convicts 1837-1851, Swan River convicts 1850-1868, PRO Victoria - Convict records, Index to Tasmanian Convicts - index and digitised records, Index to convict applications for permission to marry 1829-1857 - Tasmania, Cascades Female Factory (Tasmania) Historic Site, Proceedings of the Old Bailey 1674-1834 - records of trials held in the Old Bailey, Claim a convict
    - Australian Convict Sites
    - Coraweb: Convict records
    - Convicts to Australia. A guide to researching your convict ancestors (by Perth DPS – Dead Persons Society – but relevant to all places in Australia):
    "Most family historians in Australia regard a convict in their ancestry as enormously desirable. "Convicts to Australia" is intended to guide, inform and entertain those just starting the hunt as well as the more experienced researcher. The site is a 'work in progress' and data is being added regularly. We hope your convict research is made easier by our efforts and above all we hope you have FUN. Although feedback and suggestions are welcome, unfortunately we are unable to answer individual questions and research requests."
    - ConvictRecords.com.au. This site " allows you to search the British Convict transportation register for convicts transported to Australia between 1787-1867. Information available includes name of convict, known aliases, place convicted, port of departure, date of departure, port of arrival, and the source of the data. To get started, enter the firstname or surname of the person you are looking for, or click advanced search options to search by year or ship name. Only one search field is necessary to get started."
    - Convict ships to Australia. This site provides details of convict ships to Australia. Connected to http://www.convictcentral.com/.
    - History of Australian convicts. This site includes good information on women convicts, Port Arthur andtransportation
    - NSW convict records
    - Convict transportation registers database
    - Irish Convicts to NSW 1788 – 1849
    - Tasmania's Heritage convict records
    - Fremantle Prison Convict Database
    - Convicts transported from South Australia
    - Convict Life in NSW And Van Diemen's Land


 

Mini-genie 001 - SHOWNOTES: Upcoming episodes of the Genies Down Under podcast (27 October 2012)
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In this Mini-genie, you will find out what episodes are planned for the future of Genies Down Under. Based on listeners' ideas, Maria gives you a list of some of the episodes that are planned for the next few months of the Genies Down Under episodes, with plenty of opportunities for you to contribute your ideas and stories:

  • Episode 014 - Nov 2012 Convict stuff (Part 2)
  • Episode 015 - Dec 2012 Crafty stuff (ideas on items to make, based on family history research)
  • Episode 016 - Jan 2013 - Offline stuff (resources that are not on the internet)
  • Episode 017 - Feb 2013 Naming stuff (patterns of how children are named in various families, history of surnames, how surnames were developed, any stories about names in your family)
  • Episode 018 - Mar 2013 Techy stuff (online tools and software, apps, etc. to use with our research)
  • Episode 019 - Apr 2013 Irish stuff (anything to do with Irish ancestry and Aussie family history research, since I'll be in Ireland for a few months next year)
  • Episode 020 - May 2013 Favourite ancestor stuff (the most mysterious, the most roguish, the most interesting, etc.)
  • Episode 021 - Jun 2013 Immigration stuff
  • Episode 022 - Jul 2013 Storage stuff
  • Episode 023 - Aug 2013 Official record stuff (archives, record offices and libraries)

Please note the above list was updated on 3 February 2013, to accommodate an additional "Naming stuff" episode, to:

  • Episode 018 - Mar 2013
  • Episode 019 - April 2013 Techy stuff (online tools and software, apps, etc. to use with our research)
  • Episode 020 - May 2013 Irish stuff (anything to do with Irish ancestry and Aussie family history research, since I'll be in Ireland for a few months next year)
  • Episode 021 - Jun 2013 Favourite ancestor stuff (the most mysterious, the most roguish, the most interesting, etc.)
  • Episode 022 - Jul 2013 Immigration stuff
  • Episode 023 - Aug 2013 Storage stuff
  • Episode 024 - Sept 2013 Official record stuff (archives, record offices and libraries)

 

 

EPISODE 13 - SHOWNOTES: Convict stuff for genies: Stories of crime, punishment and freedom in our ancestors' lives (Part 1)
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In episode 13, you'll find answers to these questions:

  • What are some true stories about convicts from Australia's history?
  • What types of crimes were convicts transported for?
  • What did convicts get up to once they arrived in Australia?
  • What sources of information have our listeners used to research a convict history?

Short listener survey (7 questions): Tell Maria what you think of the Genies Down Under podcast

In this episode, we had some excellent stories from our Genies Down Under listeners, including:

  • Story 1 by Gill about George Sherriff
  • Story 2 by Janelle about Esther Spencer (nee Salamon)
  • Story 3 by Andrew about Thomas Baggott
  • Story 4 by Dot about Patrick Mullally
  • Story 5 by Jenni about a convict from England
  • Story 6 by Vic about Henry Patterson
  • Story 7 by Maria about Thomas Riley

Website resources accessed by Andrew in his research:

Website shared with us by Vic:

Next month, we'll have a lot more links and resources that you'll be able to access to do your own convict research.

 

EPISODE 12 - Extra SHOWNOTES: Interview with Ian Kath, host of Create Your Life Story and Your Story podcasts (September '12)
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In episode 12 - extra, we ask Ian questions such as:

  • What are your two podcasts and what are they about?
  • How would your podcasts be helpful for family historians?
  • What are your best tips for interviewing people you may know?
  • What are some traps to avoid when engaging people in guided conversations?

Here are the links to Ian's podcasts and the link to his new book:

 

EPISODE 12 SHOWNOTES: Interview stuff for genies: Finding our more about our ancestors (September '12)
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In episode 12, you'll find answers to these questions:

  • Who should I interview for my family history research?
  • What are some effective interview questions?
  • How could I set up a good interview?
  • What can I do if I can't interview people face-to-face?

Some news

Annual State Conference - Look forward to seeing you at this conference if you are able to attend from 14-16 September 2012in Gymea in Sydney. Hosted by Botany Bay Family History

Petition - Click on this petition if you'd like to make Australian Birth Death and Marriage certificates easier to access and less expensive.

Historic Newspapers
Thomas Walker, from Historic Newspapers, explains his company as: "The worlds largest private newspaper archive where you can obtain genuine originals for past dates, such as birthdays. There is also a dedicated research team in place for special requests. The price of the newspapers ranges depending on the title and day of the week as Sunday papers carry a premium. There is a £5 off offer running for the rest of this month which means that genuine originals can be obtained dating as far back as 1900 from as little as £29.99 and any 3 items means free shipping."

Music of Michael Stewart, the Geneaology Widower. Some of the music in this podcast has been composed and recorded by Michael Stewart. Three of his songs have a special genealogical flavour. Michael Stewart has composed and recorded three songs about genealogy:

  1. The Genealogy Widower
  2. 10 More Minutes
  3. Who Do you Think You Are?

https://artistsignal.com/album/680/the-genealogy-widower

Tips

On our September podcast, you'll hear some tips about interviewing stuff for genies, including:

Tools

On our September podcast, you'll hear about some interviewing tools for genies, including:

  • Tool no. 1: Ian Kath's podcasts including Create Your Life Story, helping you record a lifetime of stories, and Your Story, sharing the stories of others with the world. Don't miss out on Ian's new book, Prompts and Topics for your Life Story
  • Tool no. 2: Dear photograph. A great way to blend the past with the present in one photograph using an old photograph and your hand-held camera.
  • Tool no. 3: Audio recorder. Consider using the free, downloadable software, Audacity.

Tricks

On our September podcast, you'll hear about some interviewing tricks for genies, including:

  • Trick no. 1: A non face-to-face interview - use Skype, email, phone, letters
  • Trick no. 2: Use props such as photos, jewellery, quotes from other relatives, books, photo albums, video clip, songs, perfume bottle, iPad, mobile phone, digital photo frame
  • Trick no. 3: Watch other people's interviews such as the Teapot Genealogy Ladies interviews on Youtube.

Traps

On our September podcast, you'll hear about some interviewing traps to avoid for genies, including:

  • Trap no. 1: What not to do in an interview: Never be late. Never, never cancel. Never go way over time. Never ask for permission after you have turned on the recording device. Never push if someone doesn't want to talk about something. They may come back to it but they probably won't come back to it if you are too pushy. Leave it open. Don't take photos away
  • Trap no. 2: Don't get too caught up in the "fact or fiction" debate. Memories are memories – not historical textbooks. Record the story being told to you.
  • Trap no. 3: What not to ask. Tricky topics include: illegitimacy, adoption, abortion, alcoholism, divorce, bankruptcy, violence, crime, convicts, murder. Keep questions open – they will tell you want they want to tell you and they won't tell you what they don't want you to know.
  • Trap no. 4: Golden Rule of Genealogy (from AFTC magazine)
    Rule no. 10: SHARE your information and documentation - copies only - with others researching similar lines

Story

The September 2012 podcast episode is dedicated to one of Maria's great-grandmothers, Margaret RILEY (who became Margaret NORTHCOTE) 1843-1927. She was the person I'd most like to interview if I could go back in time.

Margaret Riley

I'd ask her questions like:

  • What was your father, the convict, like?
  • How did your mother put up with him?
  • What was it like to be the eldest of 12 children?
  • Whatever happened to that first husband of yours that you met and married when you were a domestic servant at Wellwood, just outside of Orange?
  • Speaking of husbands, how did that second husband of yours die and how did you get his body back home for burial?
  • What was your third husband like?
  • Did he give you any hints of the big family secret that he promised to reveal?
  • How did you support your 9 sons after your third husband died in 1888?
  • What do you think of your devoted sons' memorials to you in the paper year after year?

Here are a few blog posts about Margaret Ann RILEY:

 

EPISODE 11 SHOWNOTES: Occupation stuff for genies: Working with our ancestors (August '12)
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In episode 11, you'll find answers to these questions:

  • How can I use information about my ancestors' occupations in my family history research?
  • How can I modify my thinking about occupations in my family history research?
  • Are there any connections between my ancestors' occupations and my current family's occupations?
  • How can I find information about my ancestors' occupations?

Tips

On our August podcast, you'll hear some tips about occupation stuff for genies, including:

  • Tip no. 1: Ways of thinking about our ancestors' occupations (consider whether or not they worked for themselves or for someone else, what training and/or qualifications they received, whether or not they could find work, how you can find information about your specific ancestors' occupation, how you can find out information about their occupation - in general, what types of records to look into to find information about your ancestors' occupation)
  • Tip no. 2: Sources of occupation information (consider looking in all these sources of information: telephone directories, post office directories, almanacs, census records, electoral rolls, BDM - certificates, newspapers, advertisements, military records, divorce and bankruptcy records, gravestones, classifieds in newspapers - deaths, funerals, memorials, obituaries)
  • Tip no. 3: Family History Societies (join a family history association to gain assistance with finding information about your ancestors' occupations). Follow the Australian Family Tree Connections magazine's Golden Rule no. 9:
    DO join at least one Family History Group, Genealogical Society or Historical Society. See their full list of Golden Rules.

Tools

  • Tool no. 1: Online tools and resources. Here are a few online tools and resources that you could use to help you with tracking down information about your ancestors' occupations:

    The Society of Australian Genealogists' information about the Basics on Occupations

    Various podcasts about occupations, such as:
    - Artisan Ancestors by Jon Kay
    - Genealogy Guys. Check our their special episode about ancestors occupations: The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 10 September 2006. George and Drew discuss how to find out about our ancestors' occupations.
    - Digging up your roots podcast (BBC). See especially Episode 3. Episode 3 of 8, Series 6 in which the Bill Whiteford looks at occupations. Resident genealogist Professor Bruce Durie and Secretary for the Scottish Local History Forum Dr Eric Graham reveal what records can reveal about the working lives of our ancestors.

    These websites are particularly helpful:
    - Occupation names including some of my favourites: Feather Wife Woman who cleaned feathers for sale, Lamp Exhauster who removed the air from the glass envelope of electric light bulbs, Seeker of the Dead During the Plague - old women who were employed to diagnose the Plague from the buboes and count the dead to enable the compilation of Bills of Mortality, for which they were paid from 3 to 4 pence per corpse. Risky job!
    - Cora Web's page on Occupations in Australia with an especially helpful an alphabetical index to Colonial Occupations
    - Glossary of old occupations and trades:
    - Obscure Old English Census Occupations
    - Family tree occupations including mining, agricultural workers, cloth industries and publicans
    - History of apprenticeships in Australia (2001) including an overview of the Australian apprenticeship and traineeship system
    - Follow-up paper to the 2001 paper, above: Evolution of apprenticeships and traineeships in Australia: An unfinished history

  • Tool no. 2: Archives. Your state or territory and your national archives can present a treasure trove of information about your ancestors' occupations. Here are a few examples to give you an idea of what can be revealed in our Australian archive collections:

    National Archives which also includes an A-Z for researchers including links to archives about the Air Force, Navy, Army, Electoral rolls, Immigration, Passenger records, Prisoner of war records.
    The National Archives also provide a huge selection of Fact Sheets, including the following examples:
    Cockatoo Island Dockyard – Fact sheet 140
    RAAF service records – Fact sheet 32
    Commonwealth Reconstruction Training Scheme applicants and trainees – Fact sheet 179
     World War II Army pay files held in Adelaide – Fact sheet 132

    NSW State Archives including "good news" records relating to:
    Census, Chemists, Druggists and Pharmacists, 1876-1920, Doctors - Australian Medical Pioneers Index (AMPI), Firms - Registers of Firms, 1903-22, Immigration, Insolvency records - 1842-87, Land records, Mines - Register of auriferous (gold) leases - 1874-1928, Police Service Registers - Covers police appointments from 1852 to 1913, Publicans' Licences - 1830-61, Railway Employees - Nominal Roll of the First Railway Section (AIF) - 1917-20, Squatters and Graziers -1833-49, Teachers' rolls - 1869-1908, Railway Employment Records, NSW Government Railways and Tramways Roll of Honour - 1914-19
    ... and the "not-so-good news records relating to:
    Bankruptcy, Convicts, Courts, Deceased Estates, Divorce (anecdote of divorce papers I came across), Gaols - Gaol Photographs, c. 1870-1930, Intestate Estate Case Papers - The index currently covers the years 1823-1896, Probate packets

    The NSW State Archives also offers a Good guide about occupations: Short Guide 10 - Professions and occupations, including an alphabetical list of occupations from Accountants through to Watermen.

  • Tool no. 3: Books about occupations. Here are a few that may prove to be useful for your search for information about your ancestors' occupations:
    - Female Occupations: Women's Employment from 1840-1950 by Margaret Ward (Nov 17, 2008)
    - The Worst Children's Jobs in History by Tony Robinson (2005)
    - The Worst Jobs in History by Tony Robinson
    - The French Worker: Autobiographies from the Early Industrial Era by Mark Traugott (Mar 25, 1993)
    - A Dictionary of Old Trades, Titles and Occupations by Colin Waters
    - Dictionary of Old Occupations" by Jane Hewitt
    - Genealogical Society of Victoria Online Shop has plenty of books about occupations including titles such as "Bakers and Bakeries", "Charcoal and Charcoal Burning", "Chimneys and Chimney Sweeps", "Coachbuilding the Hand Crafted Car Body"
    - Books from the Society of Genealogists (UK), including titles such as: My Ancestor was an Agricultural Labourer - £7.50, My Ancestor was an Anglican Clergyman - £6.50, My Ancestor Was a Coalminer - £8.50, My Ancestor was a Lawyer - £10.50, My Ancestors were Manorial Tenants - £5.95, My Ancestor was a Merchant Seaman - £8.50, My ancestor was a Policeman - £5.50, My Ancestors were Thames Watermen - £5.95, My Ancestor worked in the Theatre - £5.95

  • Tool no. 4: Tools of the trade. Keep an eye out for information about the tools of your ancestors' trades and occupations in newspapers, books about occupations and even ebay. Note that some of this information can be found in general history books that may not be particularly related to family history publications or items.

Tricks

  • Trick no. 1: Magazines and Journals. There are often articles and series of articles published in the following magazines and journals about occupations from the past:
    - Australian Family Tree Connections magazine
    - Inside History magazine
    - DESCENT, the journal of the Society of Australian Genealogists. For example, see the article titled, Was your ancestor in business?" on pages 142-144 of the DESCENT publication in Sept 2011.

  • Trick no. 2: Then and now. Make a list of your ancestors' occupations and compare them with your current family members' occupations. Are there links, similarities, trends, patterns?

  • Trick no. 3: Quotes. Spice up your family history writing with quotes from classic Aussie books or from other well known authors such as:
    - My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin
    - The Harp in the South by Ruth Park
    - My Brother Jack by George Johnston
    - All the Rivers Run by Nancy Cato
    - A fortunate life by Albert Facey
    - Kings in Grass Castles by Mary Durack


    And if you can't find any suitable quotes from the books above, why not try browsing through sites such as BrainyQuote or ThinkExist where I found some of these quotes about jobs, occupations and work:

    "Agriculture for an honorable and highminded man, is the best of all occupations or arts by which men procure the means of living" Xenophon quotes (Greek historian, author of the Anabasis, BC 431-350)

    "Acting is a masochistic form of exhibitionism. It is not quite the occupation of an adult." By Laurence Olivier
    "Friendship is a pretty full-time occupation if you really are friendly with somebody. You can't have too many friends because then you're just not really friends." By Truman Capote

    "There are worse occupations in this world than feeling a woman's pulse" Laurence Sterne quotes (Irish born English Writer, 1713-1768)

    "I trust the time is coming, when the occupation of an instructor to children will be deemed the most honorable of human employment." Angelina Grimke

    "If you make listening and observation your occupation you will gain much more than you can by talk." Robert Baden-Powell

    "It is neither wealth nor splendor; but tranquility and occupation which give you happiness." Thomas Jefferson

    "The best way to appreciate your job is to imagine yourself without one." Oscar Wilde quotes (Irish Poet, Novelist, Dramatist and Critic, 1854-1900)

Podcast dedication

Our August podcast has been dedicated to John Joseph WALTERS, one of Maria's great-grandfathers who was a tailor by trade. Find out more about him on this blogpost: What were they really like?

 

 

EPISODE 10 SHOWNOTES: Coincidence stuff for genies: Tales of genealogy flukes (July '12)
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In episode 10, you'll find answers to these questions:

  • What are some coincidences that have happened to other family history researchers?
  • What can I do to increase the chance of coincidences happening in my own family history research?

There aren't that many links for this month's website - but there are plenty of stories about coincidences when you listen to the podcast. However, if you'd like to read more stories of genealogical coincidence ...

Here are a few stories of coincidence that you can read about, in addition to our podcast episode number 10:

Visit to a nursing home pays off by Jody Dean

Coincidence or Family Tree Serendipity?

Couple find 1858 tombstone in yard

Laughing their celestial socks off!

Another great Aussie genie site to check out

Lesa's Family Tree Site

 

EPISODE 9 SHOWNOTES: Context stuff for genies: Getting to know your ancestors (June '12)
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In episode 9, you'll find answers to these questions:

  • What do we mean by the "context of family history research"?
  • How can I fill out some of the context of my own family history research?
  • How can I find out a bit more about my ancestors' everyday lives?

A few more Aussie genie sites to check out

Janelle Collins' new blog - Janelle's Family Tree Addition

Fiona's Dance Skeleton's blog: Tracing our family history to Australia, one skeleton at a time

Caroline Pointer's website: Blogging Genealogy

Maria's Genies Down Under blog: A-Z series of tips for Aussie Genies:

Jill Ball's blog post about how to access the British Newspaper Archives

What is the difference between family history and genealogy

To work out the difference between family history and genealogy, read Martin Flint's article:

Is there any difference between 'genealogy' and 'family history'?

Context idea 1: Hit the road and walk in their shoes

This is one of the best ideas I have for getting to know some context of our ancestors' lives - walk in their shoes, their footsteps, down the streets, into churches, shops, sit near rivers, walk through farmgates, talk to locals who may have written books about earlier times.

Here are a few blog posts to give you some examples of how I walked in my ancestors footsteps

Kay from Oklahoma has another good set of points about how to walk in our ancestors' shoes.

Context idea 2: Read those mags

Reading family history magazines is an easy way to find out about the context of your ancestors lives.

Check out my two favourite magazines:

Context idea 3: Why oh why?

Ask ourselves the "why?" question about our ancestors' lives:

  • Why did they come to Australia?
  • Why did they commit those crimes?
  • Why did they have so many children?
  • Why did they choose to dig for gold?
  • Why did they all work as gamekeepers?
  • Why did they go bankrupt

Context idea 4: Tic, toc, tic toc - timelines

Create timelines for your favourite ancestors' lives, track groups of your ancestors, work out where your families were living at similar times in their lives.

Read Leslie Albrecht Huber's Quick Guide: Timeline Generators (2011)

Context idea 5:Myths and legends

Don't forget to record the twisted or stretched tales of woe and joy from your family's oral history. You never know, you may find out some info one day that helps you to extract that truthful kernel from these family myths and legends.

Record the story, note who told the story and make a list of questions about the story that you have.

Context idea 6: Pics, pics, pics

There's nothing like a few pictures, diagrams, maps, photographs to bring your family history documents to life.

For a few more ideas on using pictures to add context to your family history, check out:

Context idea 7: Handwriting

For ideas on how Fiona uses handwriting on her Dance Skeletons blog, see her post: Apps, writing and what we leave behind

Context idea 8: Dig, dig, dig up info about dead ancestors

Think wide and deep when considering what types of records can be found about your ancestors' deaths: grave inscriptions, cemetery records, death notices in newspapers, funeral notices in newspapers, memorial notices in newspapers, photos of gravestons, cemetery plot information, church records, undertaker details, newspaper reports about accidental or suspicious deaths, inquests, court records, obituaries, war grave memorials, prayer cards from funerals.

Don't forget to check out the Billion Graves and Australian Cemeteries websites.


Context idea 9: Neighbours

Don't ignore your ancestors' neighbours in your search for contextual family history information. Check out the census records to find out who was living nearby, next door, across the road, down the street, around the corner. Find out what occupations the neighbours had.

See a link to an advertisement about one of Maria's ancestor's neigbours, Mrs Ettie Kocass of 12 Red Lion St Rozelle who found the wonders of Dr Morse's Indian Root pills which solved all of her billeous headache problems.

Context idea 10: Hit the history books

Books about Australian history and local history about the places where our ancestors lived can provide masses of information about the context of our ancestors' lives. If hitting the history books doesn't always sound that appealing to you, check out some of the Aussie blogs below. The writers of these blogs have done the hard work for us:

Frances' Rebel Hand blog. Here are some of my favourite Rebel Hand posts (plenty of context here):

Margie's blog, Australian History for Genealogists has loads of contextual information for Aussie genies. Here are some of my favourites from her blog:

Podcast dedication: William Walter NORTHCOTE

One of my great-grandfathers who was also known as Walter William, Walter Stafford, George Bede, John and Henry. Read about him in these blogposts:

 

EPISODE 8 SHOWNOTES: Blogging stuff for genies: Getting online with your ancestors (May '12)
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In episode 8, you'll find answers to these questions:

  • What is a blog?
  • How can I create a blog?
  • How can I use blogs to share my family history research?
  • How can I access other people's blogs to build up my own family history research?

Who do you think you are ?(Australia version)

I'm a huge fan of this series, whether it's showing in Australia, the UK or the US - I love 'em all! Check out Kerry O'Brien's Who Do You Think You Are? Episode, Vince Colosimo's Who Do You Think You Are? Episode or John Wood's Who Do You Think You Are? Episode

If you'd like to hear a story about Kerry O'Brien's interest in wearing white gloves, check out the Director's interview.

What is a blog?

Definition of a blog at blogger.com

A couple of YouTubevideos that will explain the concept

Types of blogs

There are many, many types of blogs that you can create and read. Whatever type of blog you create, always have a clear purpose and communicate this to your readers. Here are a few ideas of the different types of blogs you can create:

  • Tell a story about your family history research
  • Share your research processes and findings
  • Provide information (end of the research process) about part of your family history
  • Create a blog for each of the main surnames in your family
  • Share an ancestor's diary - on a day-by-day basis
  • Record the transcript of an interview. For example, see Amanda's blog where she interviewed Maria
  • Record a memory – for example, a memory about being given a dragster for Christmas
  • Blog for society's newsletter
  • Record of your touring around and visiting family history places
  • Just something inspirational – such as a cemetery with a rainbow south of Hobart (Jackson's Point)
  • Collect and share info that isn't about your family – just to help others. See Jill Ball's blog about photographing grave info for others

Examples of blogs and websites

To find more genealogy blogs, click on the "GenealogyBlog Listing" link or the "Blogs by type" link on the home page of Geneabloggers or check out Genealogy blog finder

Tips for writing blogs and blogposts

Nine nifty tips from Maria:

  1. Just start – you get better with practice
  2. Include the purpose of your blog somewhere in the header
  3. Unless you have a particular reason for creating a long blog post, try to write short, informative, entertaining
  4. Don't just use text – photos, dot points, lists, tables, videos, links
  5. Read other people's blogs
  6. Acknowledge the source of your info
  7. Share your blog with others. Creating blogs will create more success in your family history – your blog entries will show up on other people's searches in Google but there are some tthings you can do to get your message out there yourself: – Twitter, Email, Facebook, Geneabloggers, etc. Click on the "Suggest a blog" on their site to get your site listed to their site. And, let me know your URL and I'll add it to the GDU site as well.
  8. Create more than one blog. Blogger for example will let you have multiple blogs and you can manage them all from the same site (the blogger dashboard)
  9. Let your personality, your sense of humour and your quirky ideas shine through

There are plenty of others tips on the internet, including:


How to create a blog?

There are a number of tools to use:

Blogger : Take a quick tour of Blogger or watch a video tutorial

Steps to create a blog using Blogger:

  1. Create a Google account or sign in, if you already have one
  2. Name your blog (gives you a URL)
  3. Choose a template (gives you a look and feel)

Wordpress

Live Journal

Typepad

Ideas of blog series

Diary records, for example Joan's Jottings

Sepia Saturday: (Leslie Ann) at her Ancestors Live Here blog

Forebear Friday at Ancestor Soup

Dr. Bill Tells Ancestor Stories

MYOG - Mine, Yours', and the Other Guy's Genealogy

 

EPISODE 7 SHOWNOTES: Place-based stuff for genies: Tracking down your ancestors (April '12)
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In episode 7, you'll find answers to these questions:

  • What free resources can I use to find out more about my ancestors' places, where they lived, were born, married, etc.?
  • How can I use information that I find out about places in my own family history research?
  • How can I use maps to make my family history come to life?
  • If I can't get to these places, what other things can I do instead?

A few more ideas about graphics stuff for genies (from our March 2012 podcast)

Maureen Taylor's site, the "photo detective": http://www.maureentaylor.com/

Tips for finding out about place-based research information

TROVE (digital archive of Australia's newspapers): http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper
TROVE is great for finding information about addresses of your ancestors, and information about the places where they lived and died.

Here's a link to a story Maria wrote about what she found out about some of her "honest" ancestors by searching on TROVE. The story is called, What were they really like? http://wishful-linking-family-history.blogspot.com.au/2011/03/what-were-they-really-like.html

SMH 1932

British Newspaper Archive: http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/

Don't forget to inquire about access to the British Newspaper Archives via your local State or Territory library.

Tools to use in your place-based family history research

Newspaper Map: http://newspapermap.com/ (this resource is extensive, especially handy for place-based research, locates newspapers for places all over the world)

Antique Print Room: http://www.antiqueprintroom.com/contact/ (specialist dealers in C15th – C20th antique maps and antique prints of the World, Australia, Pacific, Asia, America, Africa, England and Europe, situated in the Queen Victoria Building in central Sydney, contact them to inquire about prices)

Geograph UK: http://www.geograph.org.uk/ (this project aims to collect photographs and information for every square kilometre of Great Britain and Ireland, genies like us are encouraged to contribute)

History pin: http://www.historypin.com/ (this site aims to collect the old photos stashed in old shoeboxes and stories from wise heads, allows us to compare then and now, links to street view in Google Maps, allows you to pin photos with information about key places in the world)
Check out the 90 second introduction to History Pin at: http://www.historypin.com/

Google Earth: http://www.google.com/earth/index.html

Tutorials about Google Earth:

Tricks for your place-based family history research

Australian Genealogy Journeys (Tips about researching the interiors of churches):

Traps about place-based family history research

Be aware of changing borders in th eplaces that your ancestors lived. Here are some helpful sites:

Australian Government - State and Territory Borders: http://www.ga.gov.au/education/geoscience-basics/dimensions/state-territory-borders.html

States and territories of Australia (Wikipedia): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_and_territories_of_Australia

Mabo - the Native Title Revolution: http://www.mabonativetitle.com/map_Aust_1.shtml

Free maps of Ireland: http://www.wesleyjohnston.com/users/ireland/map_index.html

Old maps online: http://www.oldmapsonline.org

 

EPISODE 6 SHOWNOTES: Graphics stuff for genies - Using images in your family history research (March '12)
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In episode 6, you'll find answers to these questions:

  • What types of graphics can we use in our family history research?
  • Where can I get my hands on some graphics or my family history research?
  • What tools can I use to create my own graphics?
  • How can I use these graphics to record my family history?

Twitter and Facebook

Genies Down Under is now on Twitter and Facebook. Check us out:

Mystery woman

Do you know this woman? Her surname may be Carrick, Kingsbury, Staples or McLister. This photo was taken at Tasma Studio in Newtown, Sydney in the late 1890s or early 1900s. If you recognise her, please email me at geniesdownunder@gmail.com

Mystery woman

Other terms for graphics?

Keep these terms in mind when analysing, finding and creating graphics in your family history: drawings, illustrations, photos, maps, engravings, slideshows, movies (moving graphics), collages, flowcharts and diagrams (classic – is the family tree), graphs, pie charts, houseplans, suburb plans, brand symbols on products, paintings, sketches, murals, graphic-style text fonts, icons

Places to find graphics

Mocavo: family history search engine

Google images: graphics found using the Google search engine

National Archives of Australia, including a Record Search Forum

State Records of NSW, includes a special photographic search function, which includes a few photographs of Maria's ancestors:

Queensland State Archives

State Records Office of Western Australia

LINC Tasmania

Public Record Office Victoria

ACT Government Archives

State Records of South Australia

Picture NT

Ancestry.com

Graphics of all types from Morguefile

TROVE: Including access to more than 6 million pages from Australian newspapers from as early as 1803 (including many, many photographs)

Creating objects using graphics

Try creating a book online at Lulu or Big W

Ideas from Lisa Louise Cooke

Graphic creation tools

Photostory3: Software to download and use to create slideshows on your computer

Adoramapix: Online site that allows you to upload photos and create online slideshows

Shape Collage: Allows you to create collages of photographs and other graphics in less than a few minutes. See an example of a a collage made using Shape Collage at Maria's family history blog, Wishful Linking.

Wordle: a word cloud creation tool

Banner making tool: from the University of Melbourne

BeFunky: online photo editing tool

Other ideas for using graphics in your family history reseach

Dear Photograph: compares old and new photos of the same place

Add photosgraphs to your family tree. Here are a few examples: Generation Project Blog, Descendants of Rufus Elmo Halls, Scottish Houses of Bruce & Stewart Family Tree

 

EPISODE 5 SHOWNOTES: Newspaper stuff for genies - Read all about your ancestors (Feb '12)
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In episode 5, you'll find answers to these questions:

  • What newspapers are available for me to access here in Australia?
  • What newspapers are available for me to access overseas?
  • How can I use newspapers to add some of the interesting foliage on the bare family tree branches?
  • How can I search newspapers for information about my family?

Background information about newspapers

History of Newspapers in Australia from the National Archives – tell us that "Australia's earliest newspaper, the Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, was first printed in 1803."

Press timeline: Select chronology of significant Australian press events to 2008.

Online book (36 pages), called "Two hundred years of Sydney newspapers: A SHORT HISTORY by Victor Isaacs and Rod Kirkpatrick"

Sources

When citing newspapers as sources in your research, remember to acknowledge where the source of the newspaper, and collect information like:

  • Header of the newspaper
  • Section
  • Page
  • Edition
  • Day and date
  • Town
  • Note articles on or near the article you are focusing on

Tools - Where to find Australian and UK newspapers

TROVE: Including access to more than 6 million pages from Australian newspapers from as early as 1803.

Explanation of TROVE on ABC news (2 minutes)

ABC news (2 mins) explanation of TROVE in 2010 when TROVE was released. It is described as Australia's National Library's new search engine: "Rose Holley talks about Trove in the Australian News. April 2010".

Ryerson Index: "The Ryerson Index is an index to death notices appearing in current Australian newspapers. It also includes some funeral notices, probate notices and obituaries." The last time I looked, this website boasted access to 199 Newspapers and 3,312,136 entries.

British Newspaper Archive. Archive of over 3 million historical newspapers across the UK and Ireland. About 8000 pages are added daily to this site. See the price guide for accessing full newspaper articles from the British Newspaper Archive. Watch a short video about a tour of the Newspaper Library in which the speaker says: "The stories that you'll find in here are going to be beyond your imagination".

Tools - Where to find other overseas newspapers

Ireland Old News: Organised by counties.

Fairfax Newspapers: News until 1990. Free index.

Infokoori: in Australian Indigenous Index to the Koori Mail, a national newspaper published in Lismore, NSW. Focuses on the Indigenous people of Australia (May 1991-present).

New Zealand Papers Past: This site is described as: "Papers Past contains more than two million pages of digitised New Zealand newspapers and periodicals. The collection covers the years 1839 to 1945 and includes 68 publications from all regions of New Zealand."

Chronicling America (Historic American Newspapers) from the Library of Congress site

Newspaper Map: Shows you which newspapers were published in various locations around the world.

Traps

Optical Character Recognition (OCR): Information about this process can be found on the TROVE website.

 

EPISODE 4 SHOWNOTES: Planning stuff for genies - Getting ready for family history research in 2012 (Jan '12)

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In episode 4, you'll find answers to these questions:

  • How can I organise my files and databases?
  • How can I make my research a bit more manageable, especially if I only have short bursts of time?
  • What goals should I make for my family history research?
  • How can I involve living relatives in my family history research this year?

For 2012, plan to attend to:

  1. New stuff: Find out some new stuff
  2. Old stuff: Organise some old stuff
  3. Write and share stuff: Write some stories
  4. Request stuff: Ask others to write some stories
  5. Learn stuff: Learn some skills
  6. Equipment stuff: Revise, update or add to your equipment

Tools for keeping on track:

  • Calendar: Use an online calendar (e.g., the calendar within gmail) to send reminders to yourself about keeping on track with your research goals for 2012. For example, send yourself a reminder on the 15th day of each month. Try the online Google Calendar.
  • Website or blog: Create a blog (e.g., blogger.com) or a website (e.g., weebly.com) to record stories about your family history research or to record the life of individual ancestors. See an example of a website about Maria's great uncle, Carew Northcote, the publican.
  • Communication log: Keep a record of who you contact about your family history research (emails, letters, certificate ordering, etc.). See a blank template for the Communication Log that Maria uses. Suggested categories: family surname; date sent; sent to (contact); iInfo requested (inc. name); date received; follow-up required.
  • Letters to relatives: Consider sending a letter or email to relatives, requesting information about the family (with specific questions). Remember to include a gift for them as well (e.g., a story about a relative, a portion of the family tree, etc.). Here's a sample letter that Maria uses - feel free to use this and modify it to suit your own purposes.

Suggestions for backing up files in the "cloud":

Drop box

Mozy

Golden rules of genealogy

10 Golden Rules of Genealogy from the helpful genies at the Australian Family Tree Connections magazine. In this episode, we focus on
Rule no. 4: ALWAYS check surname variations when researching.

Surname suggestion list: Free computer program that is intended to assist you in searching the web for information on your surnames and their variants.

Online names: Online names is a searchable database compiled from public submissions.

Janet Reakes

Find out more about Janet

Find out about the Janet Reakes Memorial Award for writing stories about your ancestors.


EPISODE 3 SHOWNOTES: Heirloom stuff for genies - Old things around the house (Dec '11)
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In episode 3, you'll find answers to these questions:

  • What is an heirloom?
  • How can I get my hands on family heirlooms?
  • How can I record information about my family's heirlooms?
  • How can I help to preserve the family's heirlooms?

Blog to check out

Check out Kylie Willison's blog with loads of photos and stories about Aussie ancestors.

Read what Kylie has to say about the Genies Down Under podcast.

Extra cemetery links

Check out the additonal links to Aussie cemetery information for Western Australia, Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania, and the UK, the US:

Metropolitan Cemeteries Board, Western Australia (WA): The Metropolitan Cemeteries Board for the Perth Metropolitan area covers the Guildford, Karrakatta, Midland, Pinnaroo, Fremantle, and Rockingham cemeteries. While photos are not available on the site, it is very comprehensive for tracing records of those interned there. This site provides name searches of deceased persons' names.

Oz Burials in Western Australia (WA): Useful for Western Australian Country areas. The site also covers other states of Australia and may be helpful when you cannot locate someone in the Australian Cemeteries Index

[Thanks to Graham Wilkie for contributing the WA sites.]

Deceased search (Victoria): Especially helpful for ancestors buried in Victoria. You can search by surname, given name, date of death, date of birth and locaton.

Genealogical Photography (Tasmania): A semi-commercial site for Tasmania, Genealogical Photography – Tasmania. This site is described as ""We are aiming to make this site a useful resource for people researching their Family History or otherwise engaged in Genealogy in Tasmania."

Millington's Funeral Services (Tasmania): This site for a funeral director in Hobart is very helpful and can supply maps and other information. Also provides a name search service online. This link searches the four Cemeteries operated by Millingtons – Cornelian Bay, Kingston Regional, East Risdon and Cambridge. Pontville Catholic Cemetery will be added to the database in the coming months.

Carr Villa Memorial Park, Launceston (Tasmania): Owned by Launceston City Council, this is Launceston's major cemetery and crematorium.

[Thanks to Vic Malham for contributing the Victorian and Tasmanian sites.]

Deceased Online(UK): is described as "the central database for UK burials and cremations". Holds records from the 1850s onwards. Searching is FREE but if you register with, you can then purchase credits online which will help you to access further information about the records you’ve found.

Resting spot (US): A way of recording digital photographs, GPS coordinates of grave locations and biographical information of people who have died. It's described as: "RestingSpot connects the memories of loved ones who have passed with their final location on earth. A unique combination of mobile and web technologies preserves the legacy of loved ones for generations to come."

Findagrave (US):This website is described as: "Find A Grave is a resource for finding the final resting place of family, friends, and 'famous' individuals. Visitors can leave 'virtual flowers' on the memorials they visit, completing the online cemetery experience."

 

Thinking about heirlooms - what is an heirloom?

An heirloom is an object that is valuable to you or your family that you think should be passed on to your descendants.The stories about the objects make them meaningful.

Heirlooms can include all sorts of object – photos or photo albums, ornaments, jewellery, kitchen objects, trade objects (e.g., pair of scissors), documents, a journal, a painting, a bible, military medals, trophies, awards, clothing. Here are a few examples:

black coat

1930s-1940s Black coat, made by trained tailor for his wife

metal spoon

Metal spoon, passed down through four generations, from mid-late 1800s

tailor's brush

Tailor's clothes brush from early 1900s

 

 

National heirlooms

Read about the Not just Ned: A true history of the Irish in Australia exhibition held at the National Museum in Canberra recently (March – July 2011). The exhibition traced the influence of the Irish in Australia from the First Fleet in 1788 to the present day. The exhibition included items like the Kelly gang armour, the Rajah quilt, sewn by convict women and Cardinal Patrick Moran's magnificent replica of the Cross of Cong brought to Australia in the 1890s.

You can listen to a podcast about this exhibition on the National Museum podcast where the curator, Richard Reid describes his five favourite things in the exhibition (about 47 mins into the podcast).

Information about Ned Kelly

Ned Kelly's World

Australian Government site about Ned Kelly

Ned Kelly on Wikipedia

About heirlooms

Genealogy in 3D: An article about heirlooms on page 54 of the Family Chronicle magazine.

Maria's tips on preserving heirlooms

Here are four tips I'd like to share with you about preserving heirlooms

  1. Location: Keep heirlooms safe from weather, possible thieves andinsects. Keep them dry and cool, out of direct light. Keep them in an environment where the temperature is as stable as possible (not in an upstairs hot attic, not in a damp basement). Store them away from outside walls.
  2. Records: Keep detailed records. Consider how could you attach the story of this heirloom to the object itself.
  3. Repairs: Be wary of repairs. Don't repair in most cases, unless you are completely sure it won't damage the object. Keep away from stickytape, glue, other chemicals. Consult a professional curator or antique repairer but be wary as many repair processes can damage the original item.
  4. Backup and copy: Many of the precious items that you'll be able to pass on to your descendants are on your computer or in files on your bookshelves. Remember to keep backups of your computer files (audio, video, graphics, text documents, scans) and make photocopies and electronic copies of paper based heirlooms. Make sure they're not all in the same place. Remember the question – what would I lose if my house burned down? Share your copies around to trusted relatives and friends.

More tips about preserving heirlooms:

Listen to Lisa Louise Cooke's Family Tree Magazine podcast. This podcast has a regular feature called "Safe Keeping" which includes detailed ideas on how to preserve and conserve family heirlooms.

Artile called Save your treasures the right way by Heritage Preservation.

Article called Preserving Family Treasures & Heirlooms: How to Protect and Save Them for Future Generations by Kimberly Powell. Includes tips about light, where to display or store, what to do if the heirloom is broken.

5-minute podcast by Amanda Pontifex, the Museum Development Officer for North Queensland, about preserving heirlooms in Australian conditions.

Book: Keeping Family Treasures. An illustrated guide by the National Archives of Australia on how to look after precious family heirlooms in the home. Chapters cover how to preserve letters, albums, photographs, diaries and notebooks, scrapbooks, and precious objects and textiles, as well as the preservation of audio and video tapes, home movie film, CDs and DVDs and time capsules.

Book: Tales from the Attic: Practical Advice on Preserving Heirlooms and Collectibles by Colleen Wilson (about $21 with free shipping in Australia):

Recording family heirlooms

Use Maria's Heirloom Checklist Record for Aussie Genies to record key information about your special family heirlooms. Download it in PDF or Word format. Download an example of how an one of these record templates has already been completed.

Additional record forms to download from the Family Tree magazine in the US, including: Artifacts and Heirlooms, Tradition Recording Form, Time Capsules, Oral History Interview Record and an Heirloom Inventory.

7 Tricks for accessing family heirlooms

  1. Ebay alerts (saved searches).
    Instructions on how to create Ebay saved searches, see instructions from Lisa Louise Cooke or tips from the Auction Sniper.
  2. Online antique shops.
    Here are a few antique shops and heirloom sites that will give you hours of browsing pleasure:
    Australian Antique and Art Dealers Association, Antiques Australia, Antiques Plus in Armadale Victoria, Antiques and Collectibles in South Perth, Roy's Antiques in Clifton Hill Victoria, Ancestor Docs in the UK - reuniting families with precious family documents, Just a Joy in the US, Artfact, and Ruby Lane in the US.
  3. Google alerts.
    Check them out at this site. Video tutorial on how to set up Google alerts from the Google Genealogist.
  4. Visit the town.
    Don't forget to check out the local second hand and antique shops, and tell the locals who your ancestors were.
  5. Ask a live person.
    This is especially important if you have older relatives. Ask about whatever happened to that old book, that old watch, etc.
  6. Create heirlooms.
    CEMA - a business that specialises in creating cross-stitched family trees as heirlooms.
  7. Look around the house.
    Don't forget to look under the house and don't overlook everyday items such as kitchen utensils, ornaments and paintings.

For information about other tips on how to access heirlooms, see:

Other places to find tips about heirlooms

Geneabloggers podcast: The 6 August 2011 episode of this podcast was titled: Family Treasures - Heirlooms and Genealogy.

A guide on How to manage family heirlooms. This is especially useful for working out how to distribute heirlooms before and after someone dies. It sounds a bit mercenary but this guide includes some very useful tips.

Top 5 Places to Dig Up Family Treasures by Kimberly Powell. Provides suggestions such as connecting with cousins, checking out antique stores, ebay, visit the family home.

Golden rules of genealogy

10 Golden Rules of Genealogy from the helpful genies at the Australian Family Tree Connections magazine. In this episode, we focus on
Rule no. 3: NEVER completely trust the spelling of surnames, place names etc.

Stories about heirlooms

She wears her ring: Story about a wedding ring heirloom in which a great-grandaughter wears the wedding ring of her Irish great-grandmother

Listen to Lisa Louise Cooke's touching story about a family quilt. Episode 39 of the Genealogy Gems podcast, January 2008 (story starts at about the 27-28 minute).

SBS Heirloom site includes a series of ten stories of men and women from diverse cultures. Beautiful animated stories.

Janet Reakes Memorial Award stories

 

EPISODE 2 SHOWNOTES: Free stuff for genies - It fell off the back of a truck (Nov '11)
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In episode 2, you'll find answers to these questions:

  • What free stuff can I access online for my family history research?
  • What free stuff can I access that isn't online for my family history research?
  • If I'm a bit short of money, how can I still keep going with my genealogy?

Family Group Sheet

I especially like this family group sheet from the Western Australian Genealogy. Or you can download a family group sheet from Ancestry.com.

Pedigree Chart

A handy pedigree chart from the Western Australian Genealogy Society (WAGS). Or download an ancestral chart, also known as a pedigree chart, from Ancestry.com.

Genealogy Relationship Chart

To help work out how you are related to various members of your family, some researchers find it helpful to use a Genealogy Relationship Chart from the Western Australian Genealogy Society (WAGS).

Maria's research checklist

Download this handy Research Checklist for Aussie Genies from Maria in Microsoft Word or PDF format. This checklist gives you a list of suggestions for information and ideas to source when researching your ancestors in Australia.

Magazines to access

aftc

Australian Family Tree Connections magazine. Click on the "Free magazine offer" link at the bottom-left of the screen, and you will immediately be able to access, free of charge, six articles from this magazine which have appeared over the last few years. You can download them as PDF files and keep them on your own computer.

If you'd like to take this one step further and get a printed sample copy of this magazine sent to your door, you will have to fork out a $1.20 for a stamp – so I suppose this is not absolutely free. But, if you're willing to send an A4 size stamped, self addressed envelope with a $1.20 stamp attached, to the folk at AFTC will send you a past copy of the magazine.

See a photo of Maria's grandmother, Ellen Maria Keneally, and her brother on the front page of the Australian Family Tree Connections magazine in September 2011.

IHM

Inside History Magazine. To access a free issue of this magazine, go to their website and click on "look inside Issue 6". Although this doesn't offer you a printed copy to be sent to your door, it does allow you to basically read almost half of the magazine online. Here are some of the titles of the articles that you'd be able to access online:

  • Bob's your uncle – networking with other descendants on page 11
  • What's on in genealogy – page 19

IHM

Family Chronicle. This magazine is published out of Canada. It's described as a "how to" genealogy magazine. The current magazine being offered free of charge is from 2009 but the tips are timeless. Click on free issue link, and click on "Simply click here to begin downloading your FREE issue". You can save it as a PDF.

Here are a few examples of what the magazine includes:

  • 50 timesaving research tips
  • My grandmother's gift and what it taught me
  • A research treasure hunt
  • Genealogy in 3D. (The author of this article, Bill Leslie, offers heaps of tips about how to "round out" your research with heirlooms and artefacts. Be sure to read about the very meaningful but small lump of lead that's been passed down from person to person in one family.)

The mystery Henry NEWTON's death date

So when did Henry NEWTON die? What other mysteries were suggested during the process of solving the riddle of Henry's death date. Read about how the research process of triangulation helped solved this myster. Read more ...

Comparison of certificates costs in Australian states and territories

Go to Cora Nunn's website for a handy comparison of the costs of birth, death and marriage certificates across all Australian States and Territories. This comparison chart was updated in April 2011.

Creative Commons, Copyright and Copyleft

CC

Find out more about the Creative Commons licence in Australia. The Creative Commons motto is "Share, Remix, Reuse — Legally. Creative Commons works to increase sharing, collaboration and innovation worldwide."

Golden rules of genealogy

10 Golden Rules of Genealogy from the helpful genies at the Australian Family Tree Connections magazine.

Warren Fahey's music

Check out Warren Fahey's homepage and general store to peruse and order his very Aussie music at very reasonable prices. Warren has kindly given us permission to feature his excellent music in our podcast. He describes himself as a "folklorist, record producer, author, performer and oral historian" -so you can see he is a real fan of history, research and music.

 

EPISODE 1 SHOWNOTES: You're a long time dead - Cemetery stuff for genies (Oct '11)
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This podcast should answer some of these questions for you:

  • How can I find my dead ancestors without taking too much time and without wasting money?
  • What should I take on a cemetery visit? What can I do before the cemetery visit to make my visit more enjoyable and successful?
  • How can I find that hard-to-find cemetery?
  • How can I use tools that I have at home for my genealogical research?
  • How can I avoid genealogical time-wasting traps?

Finding cemeteries

Australian Cemeteries Index: This online index contains information about headstones from almost 900 cemeteries in Australia.

Result of search on the Australian Cemeteries Index for "Northcote":

Northcote search
Photo of headstone of Carew Northcote's grave at Gulgong Cemetery:

carew northcote headstone

Australian Cemetery Geolocations: This website helps you to find a cemetery's exact location in Australia – and it also gives you a link to an interactive map to show you exactly where the cemetery is.

Result of search for cemeteries in Gulgong:

geolocations gulgong

Rookwood cemetery, Sydney

Rookwood Cemetery: Known as the largest cemetery in the southern hemisphere, located in Sydney.

Grave of Ellen Fleming (nee Torpy), 1904, Rookwood Cemetery, and surrounding graves:

ellen fleming gravestone ellen fleming grave rookwood flowers

Teapot Genies visit Rookwood Cemetery (see two videos below):

   

Advice for cemetery visits

Advice for your cemetery visits: See Kimberly Powell's article called Tiptoeing Through the Graveyard includes some very handy tips on what to take on your visit to the cemetery and Carla Ridenour's Packing for a Genealogical Journey is also helpful.

Golden rules of genealogy

10 Golden Rules of Genealogy from the helpful genies at the Australian Family Tree Connections magazine.

A family history story

Love in the graveyard: A story about how a couple's courtship began in a graveyard in the 1920s. From Maria Northcote's Wishful Linking Family History blog.

Warren Fahey's music

Check out Warren Fahey's homepage and general store to peruse and order his very Aussie music at very reasonable prices. Warren has kindly given us permission to feature his excellent music in our podcast. He describes himself as a "folklorist, record producer, author, performer and oral historian" -so you can see he is a real fan of history, research and music.

 


 
   
   
   
   
   
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