Family Tree UK April 2026

The latest issue of Family Tree UK magazine is now available free online for Campaspe Library members via our subscription to Libby eMagazines.

Inside this month's issue : 

• TNA response to MOD service record request enquiries
• Map Explorer: now includes 25 inch & LiDAR mapping
• Vivid Pix wins Digital Health Award
• ‘A family history of…’: new podcast from Findmypast 
• Website charts Scots’ journey to New Jersey in the 1680s
• New video guide: Researching Ulster ancestors after 1800
• New-look SoG website
• DNA Club news 
• 1,000-year-old astrolabe
• Wrap-around family history publishing services 
• Some of our censuses are missing
• Elizabeth Hyett - shop-keeper, dealer in clothes, wet-nurse and mother
• Inside the Titanic's Lost Workforce
• The evolution of the Irish Free State
• Working with your DNA match list
• And more... 

Week 11 (Mar. 12-18) A Turning Point - #52Ancestors

Turning points come about in many ways as we research our family history.  Sometimes it is a breakthrough when new information comes to hand.  Sometimes it is when we revisit our research and uncover a mistake made long ago.  Sometimes it is when we learn new research tricks and methods.  Sometimes it is when fellow researchers reach out a hand to provide help or just a fresh set of eyes.

For some time I had been researching a family history mystery - the fate of my great aunt Alice May Pummeroy.

According to the Victorian Birth Index, Alice May Pummeroy was born in Carlton in 1897 to Alfred Henry Pummeroy and Eliza (Beseler).  Alice was only 3 years old when her father died of pneumonia, leaving his widow destitute with 4 young children -  Edith Margaret (who was a deaf-mute) 4, Alice May 3, Alfred Edward 2 and William Henry 4 months. 
 
After years of struggle Eliza remarried in 1911 to Edward Jennion, with whom she had two more boys, Edwin and Daniel.   All the other siblings can be traced through electoral rolls and other records, but Alice disappears, and for several years I searched for her in vain.

Then came the turning point.  In New Zealand, I found a record for a May Alice Pummeroy marrying David James Moorhead in 1918.  Looking in New Zealand for May Moorhead, I located several electoral roll listings before she disappeared again, reappearing in Australia as May Alice Moorhead in electoral rolls from 1950 to 1980.  David James Moorhead is recorded as dying in Victoria in 1951, age 77.  His death certificate lists him as being born in Christchurch, New Zealand.

The final turning point came with the help of a fellow genealogist who sent me another piece to the puzzle, with a death notice and cemetery record which shows May Alice Moorhead died 1st September 1989, age 92, in Salisbury North, South Australia.  She was cremated at Enfield Memorial Park, SA.

Why she chose to move from Melbourne, Victoria to South Australia I don't know - possibly she had children who settled there and she moved to be closer to them.  All her siblings lived and died in Victoria - she was the one who travelled away.  This just goes to show that people can change their names, move to places you don't expect, and you just need to keep looking and broaden your search if you don't find them where you expect them.  Eventually a turning point in your research will come.

Week 10 (Mar. 5-11) Changed My Thinking - #52Ancestors

So often the details of our family history that we discover change our thinking - about our family, about our lives, about history, about the world we live in.  So many events and details have changed my thinking along my family history journey.

From discovering the fate of orphaned children to witnessing the determination of a newly widowed mother, from discovering a family's immigration tale to reading the World War 1 dossier of a soldier, there is always something new to learn and consider.  I have uncovered tales of divorce, disaster and desperation.  There are also stories of happier times - of social gatherings and sporting achievements, of education and career success, of marriages and growing families.

Family History opened my eyes to how life was lived by my ancestors - where they lived, their occupations, what life was like for them, how hard life was for many.  It all changed my thinking and made history so much more 'real'.

RootTech 2026

RootsTech 2026 is about to begin!   From DNA to the power of family stories and advanced research techniques —RootsTech has sessions on nearly every topic.

The online event includes :

• 200+ new online sessions in over 26 languages
• Join keynote sessions live from the comfort of your own home
• Chat online with other attendees worldwide

Many of the online sessions are presented live, with recordings available for approximately 3 years afterwards.  You can even create your own playlists so you don't miss any of the sessions that interest you.

You can search the schedule and build your own playlist of the sessions you want to view, making sure you don't miss out on anything.  Remember, recordings of the online sessions remain available after the event, so you can view all you want at your leisure.  And it is all free!

Ancestry opens records for International Womens Day

Over four billion family history records, including census and military records, will be free to access on Ancestry to mark International Women’s Day.

In a statement Ancestry said: “International Women’s Day is a time to not only celebrate the achievements of women today but to reflect on the progress made by the women who came before us. Many of the incredible stories of women from history are hard to find because historical documents sometimes exclude women’s occupations, and newspapers often recorded women under their husbands’ names; but our research shows that people have a deep desire to learn about their women ancestors.”

Ancestry is offering free access to 59 record sets from 8 to 18 March.

Key free record sets include:

• The 1881, 1911 and 1921 English and Welsh census records
• The 1939 Register for England and Wales
• Over two million 1833-1956 UK rail employee records
• The 1737-1969 UK postal service appointment books
• The 1898-1968 UK and Ireland nursing registers
• The 1904-59 UK midwives roll
• The 1914-23 UK First World War pension ledgers and index cards
• The Second World War Women’s Land Army index cards
• The First World War Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps service records
• The First World War Women’s Royal Air Force service records
• The First World War Women’s Royal Naval Officers’ service records
• The England and Wales civil registration marriage indexes for 1837-1915 and 1916-2005
• The England and Wales civil birth indexes for 1837-1915 and 1916-2007
• The England and Wales civil death index for 1837-1915

Ancestry will also offer free access to its Newspapers.com historic newspaper website.

 

Week 9 (Feb. 26-Mar. 4) Conflicting Clues - #52Ancestors

So often during our family history research we uncover conflicting clues. Stories that don't add up, records that don't match, timelines that prove impossible, hints that are incorrect.  Any new piece of information needs to be checked and confirmed.  Mistakes WILL be made - by researchers, by transcribers and digitizing projects, even by those who originally created records, and they can lead us badly astray in our research and waste valuable research time trying to untangle the conflicting clues.

In an earlier post I listed some of the things to keep in mind to help spot obvious errors and conflicting clues - and I have seen all of these in records and online trees : 

• Children cannot be born before their parents. 
• Children cannot be born to a mother who is 6 years old.  Or 94 years old.  
• Children are highly unlikely to be born to a father who is 89 years old.  While this MAY be biologically possible, it is unlikely and deserves a bit of fact checking. 
• A child cannot be christened 2 months before they are born. 
• A woman cannot marry 3 years after she has died. 
• A man cannot enlist in the army 5 years after he has died.
  

Recently I discovered a transcribed record in an online database that illustrated the conflicts that can occur.  The record for the baptism of Hannah May below leapt out at me when I first located it.  Why??  Check the birth and baptism dates again.  According to this record Hannah was born 17 August 1796 but baptised 6 weeks earlier on 9 July 1796.

Something has been transcribed incorrectly in this record.  Possibly the dates are transposed and Hannah was born in July and baptised in August.  Possibly one of the months was transcribed incorrectly.  With no original image to check, I will need to dig further to find out.  It is clear, however, that a mistake has been made somewhere and has not been picked up in the transcription process.  Another conflicting clue.

Family Tree US Magazine March/April 2026

The latest issue of Family Tree US magazine is now available free online for Campaspe Library members via our subscription to Libby eMagazines. 

Inside this month's issue : 

• Web Highlight: RootsTech at Home
• Take your research to the next level!
• AI and Ancestry.com
• MyHeritage Adds Languages Support, DNA Traits
• Old Ancestors, New Tools
• Talkin’ ‘Bout a Revolution
• Digital photo frenzy
• Form-Fitting : Record your research 
• Find Your U.S. Ancestors
• Site Savoir Faire : Say bonjour to French ancestors 
• The Secret Garden : the history of Castle Garden
• Institutional Records
• Finding Swedish Records at ArkivDigital 
• Preserving Religious Artifacts
• Finding Irish Censuses Online
• FamilySearch : Searching Records, Building a Family Tree, & More
• And more...