Who's Done What?
Or finding out if your family history's already on the Internet!
We're frequently asked how to find out if other people have researched the same lines. Of course, on our own website, we list our members' research interests so that is always worth a first port of call!
In the wider Internet world, there are a number of projects to which people can contribute their research, for publication on the relevant web site. Over the next few issues of SAG-E, we'll feature these websites.
 The first of these is the WorldConnect project, which you'll find under the Family Trees (WorldConnect) heading on the Rootsweb home page at www.rootsweb.com.
WorldConnect currently boasts over 368 million names on file. While the majority of those names have been submitted by researchers in the USA, there is an increasing international flavour to the names being submitted. To search all these, go to the project's main page.
 Simply type your ancestor's name in the search box, click 'Go' and check the search results. Clicking any result will take you to the specific database where that person's name appears and where you'll also see the email address of the researcher who submitted the information. It's then just a matter of emailing him or her and, hopefully, starting to share information.
The site also features an advanced search facility, which allows you to specify information in your search such as birth, death, marriage and parent details. This will very usefully limit the number of search results.
Our next issue will step you through how to submit your family history information to the WorldConnect project so that other researchers can find you!
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NEWS |
• Irish & Salt Lake City Tours
• Greg Milton
• Ancestry.com access
• NSW BDM ordering requirements
• WA BDM indexes online to 1905
• Using the Internet for genealogy
• Situation vacant
• Easter closing
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COURSES etc |
• Kickstart Your NSW Research
• Irish Research Weekend
• Primary Records - Photographic Collection
• Ancestry.co.uk
• English Census Records Online
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WEB TIPS | New or interesting sites to help you:
• Military Badges
• 1861 Census Online
• Female Factory Muster
• Encyclopedia of New Zealand
• Ancestry.co.uk
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SHOP | Check these out:
• Golden Threads
• More Pig Bites Baby
• Kingsgrove - the first two hundred years
• The Teacher from Snowy River
• Earlwood's Past
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SUBSCRIBE | Subscribe or alter your subscription to these newsletters
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Irish & Salt Lake City Tours
SAG's 2005 tours to Ireland and Salt Lake City are filling up! Join Perry McIntyre and Richard Reid in Ireland, 17 September to 10 October, visiting repositories and getting great access to records and experts to help the research into your Irish ancestry. Not only that, but soaking up the scenery, history and spirit of Ireland!
Optionally, go first to Salt Lake City from 3-17 September, where Perry McIntyre and Jan Worthington will help you make full use of the millions of films and fiche at hand in the Family History Library - not just your Irish lines but all the rest as well! Then go onto Ireland, extend for another week in SLC with Jan, or visit other USA destinations.
For prices, booking information and other detail, visit the tour web site.
Greg Milton
Greg Milton, long term member and for many years our 'computer guru', died suddenly on 22 February. Whether maintaining our computers, installing new software, or working as a library volunteer, Greg was always ready to show members and other volunteers how to make more effective use of our computers and software. He was much liked, a good friend to many and will be very much missed at SAG. Our thoughts are with his family.
Ancestry.com access
We're very grateful to MyFamily.com for recently extending our Ancestry.co.uk subscription to include the whole range of online databases available through Ancestry.com. This should be of particular interest to members with ancestors or other interests extending beyond Great Britain - for instance, families that emigrated from Germany, France etc; or who spent time in the USA or Canada before returning.
NB: this access is available to SAG members (only), and only at our Rumsey Hall premises, 24 Kent Street, Sydney - bookings advisable!
NSW BDM ordering requirements
The NSW registry has recently relaxed its requirements for ordering certificates. It is no longer necessary to provide ID or provide the permission of next of kin for ordering a NSW death certificate more than 30 years after the event, or marriage more than 50 years previous. Such certificates cannot be ordered or paid for online unless they're listed in the online indexes - applications must be made using a new "family history application form" on the registry web site at www.bdm.nsw.gov.au. The ordering process for events found in the online indexes - births to 1905 and deaths/marriages to 1945 - is unaltered.
No extra indexes have been made available, so full price applies to these new family history certificates - and possibly extended search costs - unless you have an index number available from some other source, such as extract copy of birth. Existing ID and next of kin requirements continue for other years: births - 1906 or later; marriages - 1956 or later; deaths - 1976 or later.
WA BDM indexes online to 1905
Free searching of the Western Australian births, deaths and marriages is now available online. Go to www.justice.wa.gov.au, click on the Births, Deaths and Marriages link, and then choose the Family History link. Selecting the Western Australian Pioneers Index 1841-1905 leads you to the index search.
Using the Internet for genealogy
Kylie Veale,a PhD candidate at Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Western Australia, is an amateur genealogist and is currently researching the use of the Internet for genealogy by people in USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the UK, for her PhD thesis.
She's seeking help from readers by participating in her study. The survey (and an information sheet) is available and ready for participation until 10 April 2005 at http://igcs.survey.curtin.edu.au. The results of the survey will be sent to every participant, after collation.
Situation vacant
SAG has a vacancy for one or two members willing to devote some volunteer time to tweaking computer programs associated with a couple of SAG's future database publications. Experience in Visual Basic is required and sharing that experience would be a great way to help us make these databases available to researchers sooner than otherwise! If you think you might be able to help, please contact our webmaster in the first instance, providing your contact details and a bit of background. He'll then follow up and provide further detail.
Easter closing
Since hot cross buns and Easter eggs have already appeared in the shops, some of you might be beginning to plan a visit to Sydney over the Easter holidays. Please note that SAG's libraries are not open on Easter Saturday. We will close on Thursday 24 March at 4pm and reopen on Tuesday 29 March at 10:30am.
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Our complete activity programme for the first half of 2005 is available here. Bookings for most activities can be made and paid for online. Places are still available for:
Kickstart Your NSW Research weekend - Sat/Sun 19/20 March, 10:00am-3:30pm
Just starting, stuck on a branch or returning to research after a break? Then this weekend is for you! Designed for beginners and those needing a refresher, the Education team will lead you through the main NSW records such as BDMs, shipping, convicts, probate, cemeteries, newspapers and musters, focusing on what you can do through the SAG collections. Cost includes morning & afternoon teas; BYO lunch both days. Detailed programme available for download here.
$100 ($80 for SAG members).
Irish Research weekend - Sat/Sun 16/17 April, 10:00am-3:30pm
Join visiting Irish genealogist Margaret Bonar and other experts on Irish research for a weekend of helpful ideas to advance your Irish research. Full programme here (requires Adobe Reader - see below). Cost includes morning & afternoon teas; BYO lunch both days.
$100 ($80 for SAG members).
Primary Records - The Photographic collection - Saturday 12 March, 10:00am-12:30pm
Let our Archives Officer Ralph Hawkins & historian Dr Lisa Murray show you SAG's photographic collection & help you learn more about dating photos from their format and style.
$20 ($15 for SAG members).
Ancestry.co.uk - Saturday 5 March, 1:30pm-3:00pm
There is MUCH more to this database than just the census! Find out what else it contains to help you with your British research. Presenter - Martyn Killion.
$22 ($18 for SAG members).
English Census Records online - Saturday 2 April, 10:00am-12:30pm
An update on how much census work you can now do online. Includes 'pay to view' and free census sites. Presenter - Martyn Killion.
$22 ($18 for SAG members).
Bookings are ESSENTIAL for all these activities! Payment required with bookings. Click here to book and pay! Or telephone us at (02) 9247 3953. Or visit our website for details of all our courses and other activities, refund rules etc. All sessions held at Rumsey Hall, 24 Kent St, Sydney, unless otherwise indicated. Get a free copy of Adobe Reader if necessary to view linked items.
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Check out these spots on the web!
Military Badges
Have you peered at World War I photos you've inherited? Pondered their familial likeness or lack of it? Wondered where or when it was taken? Well often there are useful clues in the uniforms themselves, and particularly any hat or cap badges that may be visible.
A useful site at www.militarybadges.info helps identify not only hat/cap badges, but badges and other insignia of rank, shoulder titles and patches, lapel and collar badges, and indications of trades, proficiency, service etc.
The site provides very broad coverage, across both time, the various services and countries. Many of the images are scans of real badges while others are well drawn. The coverage of Australia and New Zealand - a more extensive version of which can be seen at www.diggerhistory.info - is very good and extends back into the colonial era.
The sites have a search engine, but it's not obvious - check the site map page! But in any event, a good exploration of the sites will certainly repay the time taken.
1861 Census online
Some time ago Ancestry.com (see below) flagged its intention to place online indexed images from the 1861 Census of England & Wales. That's still their intention, but they've been upstaged by www.1837online.com, which placed indexed images for London, Middlesex, Surrey and Kent online earlier this month.
Images are on a "pay per view" basis, with 3 "units" being required to view per transcript or image. Units may be purchased in minimum quantities of 55 for £5, which retain validity for 45 days. Discounts apply for purchases £10 and over, and validity lengthens. For example, £60 buys 891 units (a 25% discount) and validity extends to 365 days.
Female Factory Muster
The Female Factory Research Group in Hobart is building a database of female convicts who spent time in Van Diemen's Land. It includes not only those women transported directly to VDL, but also those who came free and were convicted there during the period of transportation (1804-1853), or those who were transported to NSW and later went to VDL.
You can view the current list of records in the Female Family Founders Database - this is an alphabetic name list in PDF format (requires Adobe Reader® - a free download) and is updated regularly. The database itself - currently 1463 records - is not available online, but if you spot someone of interest, simply email the Group and they will provide the database detail currently available on that person. More extensive research on individual female convicts is available on a fee-paying basis, $35 per hour (minimum $35) - see the Group's web site for further detail.
Descendants and other researchers of convict women who spent time in Van Diemen's Land are also encouraged to record the names and details of their convict(s) on the Female Family Founders Database. Their web site has a form for making such submissions.
The Group is also seeking biographies of people in the database and is putting these on their web site - already quite a number are there, some quite lengthy.
Encyclopedia of New Zealand
The Encyclopedia of New Zealand is gradually going online at www.teara.govt.nz. Already it has 'New Zealand in Brief' - snapshots of the nation, including its history, natural environment, government and culture - and 'New Zealanders' - their origins, voyages, stories of settlement and diverse heritages.
Also on the website is the complete 1966 edition of the encyclopedia - a bit dated in some respects but nonetheless a mine of information on almost any subject connected with New Zealand.
Of particular interest is a planned 'interactive cube' - derived from information recorded in death registers, a database of 14,000 sampled from the more than half a million immigrants who came from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales between 1800 and 1945. It will provide insights into the British and Irish settlers of New Zealand, allowing users to research such topics as when immigrants arrived, where they came from, their religion, marital status and occupational background, gender balance and place of death in New Zealand. User queries will be answered graphically, with charts able to be tweaked to user preferences. Worth watching for!
Ancestry.co.uk
Indexed images to 37 English counties are now available for the 1901 census of England, at Ancestry.co.uk. Yorkshire and Durham have been added in the last month, and Cumberland and Northumberland are expected soon, with the Welsh counties, Isle of Man and Channel Islands following on.
In the meantime, 1871, 1881 & 1891 images are complete. 1861 will be started after 1901 is complete (but has already becoming available on 1837online - see above), with 1851 following later in the year, and 1841 bringing up the rear.
Access to Ancestry.co.uk AND Ancestry.com are free to SAG members visiting our premises at Rumsey Hall, 24 Kent Street, Sydney - bookings advisable!
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Check out these items from our shop!
But don't forget that they're only a small part of a great collection of family history book titles available on-line, as well as local histories, CD-ROMs, charts and genealogical software - all at competitive prices!
 | Golden Threads - the Chinese in regional NSW 1850-1950 by Janis Wilton - just $34.95 plus p&p.
The story of the Chinese people who came to and sometimes settled in NSW, from the early 1800s to the 20th century. Explores their lives, hopes and beliefs, and the attitudes of white Australia. 132 pages, A4, softback. [more detail] |
 | More Pig Bites Baby by Michael Connor (ed) - just $20.00 plus p&p.
Draws together a range of items selected from the pages of the Sydney Gazette, during the period 1810-1821. A5, 372 pages, softback, index. [more detail] |
 | Kingsgrove - the first two hundred years by Ron Hill & Brian Madden - just $20.00 plus p&p.
The story of the area named King's Grove, the first land grant south of the Cooks River - now a desirable Sydney suburb, Kingsgrove. 200 pages, 17½x24½cm, softback, index. [more detail] |
 | The Teacher from Snowy River by Peter Meyer - just $38.50 plus p&p.
The story of Carl Meyer, who spent 20 years teaching etc with the NSW Education Department. The book follows his career, supplementing that with family trees, stories, photos and much other research. An interesting insight into 19th century teaching practice. 208 pages, A5, softback. [more detail] |
 | Earlwood's Past by Brian J Madden & Lesley Muir - just $4.00 plus p&p.
A history of Earlwood, Undercliffe and Clemton Park, New South Wales - one of a series of suburban histories commissioned by Canterbury Council as a bicentennial project. Packed with details of early residents, businesses and other organisations. Illustrated and indexed. 62 pages, A4, softback. [more detail] |
All the above items available on-line, or by mailing, calling or faxing us with your name and credit card details - contact details at top.
Or visit us at 24 Kent Street and see our whole range.
Charges for postage and packing vary with destination and weight - minimum $6.00. For detail, see here.
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Have you got friends or relatives who've expressed an interest in family history? Why not give them a nudge to join SAG? Go on, forward this email to them!
If you've been forwarded this email by a friend or relative and have at last been inspired to explore your family's history and want to subscribe, just email us and we'll be glad to subscribe you to future newsletters. Make sure you give us your full name - and, if you're a member, please let us know your membership number and renewal date - it'll help a lot!
Your privacy is assured - we will not pass your email address to any other organisation!
Alternatively, get more detail about becoming a member.
Or let us know if you'd prefer not to receive future newsletters, would prefer to receive a 'text only' version, or want to change your email address.
© Society of Australian Genealogists 2005 - all rights reserved
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