Trove

The National Library of Australia is pleased to announce that the following newspaper titles have been added to Digitised newspapers and more on Trove:
Victoria
Oakleigh Leader (North Brighton, Vic. : 1888 - 1902)
Oakleigh Leader and District Record (Brighton, Vic. : 1887 - 1888)
Sunbury News and Bulla and Melton Advertiser (Vic. : 1892 - 1900)
The Benalla Ensign and Farmer's and Squatter's Journal (Vic. : 1869 - 1872)
The Coburg Leader (Vic. : 1890 - 1913)
The Elsternwick Leader (Brighton, Vic. : 1888)
The Elsternwick Leader and Caulfield and Balaclava Guardian (Brighton, Vic. : 1887)
The Elsternwick Leader and District Record (Brighton, Vic. : 1887 - 1888)
Elsternwick Leader and East Brighton, South Brighton, Cheltenham, Mentone, Mordialloc, Oakleigh, Sandringham, Balaclava & Caulfield Record (Vic. : 1887)
The Kerang Times (Vic. : 1889 - 1890)
The Kyabram Union and Rodney Shire Advocate (Vic. : 1894)
Healesville Guardian and Yarra Glen Advocate (Vic. : 1898)
These titles have been funded by the State Library of Victoria
Tasmania
The Observer (Hobart, Tas : 1845-1846)
New South Wales
The Leader (Liverpool, NSW : 1946-1949)
This title has been funded by the Liverpool City Library

Royal Society Historic Scientific Papers

The Royal Society has put online their historical journal archive. The archive consists of some 60,000 historical scientific papers dating back as far as 1665. This is a fun collection to browse through even if you have no ancestors who were scientists. Included in this collection is Benjamin Franklin’s famous paper on his electrical experiments with kites, geological papers written by Charles Darwin plus Sir Isaac Newton’s first published scientific paper. The archive can be searched by author, title of the paper and time period. Access is free.

British Newspaper Archive

Launching soon, the British Newspaper Archive will make millions of pages of historical newspapers available online for the first time – unlocking a treasure trove of material for historians, researchers, genealogists, students and anyone interested in when, where and how our ancestors lived and key periods of historical interest.

Highlights will include:
•Contemporary reporting of major events – vivid first-hand detail and reaction to key events including the Crimean War, the Irish famine, the Great Exhibition and the Boer War
•Family notices – a wealth of detail from sources such as births, deaths and marriages, obituaries and related announcements
•Local and regional press – supplementing national titles already available online, the Archive will feature a wide range of local and regional titles over many decades
•Fully searchable online by date, title and keywords – transforming access to material previously only available in the British Library Reading Rooms as print or microfilm

More than 1 million pages of pre-1900 newspapers will be available at launch, building to 4 million digitised pages over the next 2 years.

New to Ancestry Library Edition

Ancestry have added a number of interesting records to their database recently.
The Australian Electoral Rolls database has been updated to include years ranging from
1903 – 1980 (previously only available up to 1954).
For those with convict ancestors, you may find the following databases to be of interest.
- UK Royal Navy Medical Journals, 1817-1857
- UK Surgeon Superintendents’ Journals of Convict Ships, 1858-1867
These databases contain indexed images of medical journals kept by surgeons aboard convict ships sailing from England to Australia
And the following New South Wales records have been added
- New South Wales, Australia, Registers of Police Employment, 1847-1885
- New South Wales, Australia, Returns of the Colony, 1822-1857
Ancestry Library Edition can be accessed free of charge on any Campaspe Library computer.

Familysearch

A lot has been happening at FamilySearch recently.  They have created a new index collection of Essex parish records. This collection includes christenings, marriage and burial records. The 538,000 records in the collection span the years 1538 to 1900. FamilySearch has also managed to put online a rare collection of Russian Orthodox Church records from the province of Tver, which is just north of Moscow. The collection was acquired from the state archive and includes records of births, baptisms, marriages, deaths and burials. The records span the period 1722 to 1918 (the end of World War I).  Also now available are some 2.3 million searchable Hungarian civil registration images. This collection includes births 1895 to 1920, marriages 1895 to 1950 and deaths 1895 to 1980.  Access to all these collections are free.

Victorian Genealogy Expo

The Victorian Genealogy Expo will be held Septemer 2 and 3 at the Geelong Arena, North Geelong.
The Expo will feature:
A major exhibition - including local and family history societies, libraries, archives, museums, product and service suppliers.
Presentations from leading experts from around Australia. There will be a $5 charge for most main talks; some others will be free.
Come along and enjoy the talks and exhibits.

Trove

Have you looked at Trove recently?  Trove is an online search engine developed by the National Library of Australia found at http://trove.nla.gov.au/ . The following are a selection of newspaper titles that have been added to the National Library of Australia's Trove since November 2010. The years covered so far for each title are limited, but ofcourse more issues will be added progressively!
Kilmore Free Press and Bourke and Dalhousie Advertiser (Victoria)
Eltham and Whittlesea Shires Advertiser and Diamond Creek Valley Advocate (Victoria)
Alexandra and Yea Standard and Yarck, Gobur, Thornton and Acheron Express (Victoria)
Advertiser (Hurstbridge, Victoria)
Sunday Times (Perth, Western Australia)
The Mail (Adelaide, South Australia)
The Register News-Pictorial (Adelaide, South Australia)
Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton, Queensland)
Rockhampton Bulletin and Central Queensland Advertiser (Queensland)
Morning Post (Cairns, Queensland)
The North Australian and Northern Territory Government Gazette (Darwin, NT)
Northern Standard (Darwin, NT)
North Australian (Darwin, NT)
Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW)
A full list of newspapers titles is available at http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/titles .

Family History Feast at SLV

The anual 2011 Family History Feast will be held at the State Library of Victoria on Monday 1 August 2011 commencing at 10am. Bookings will open via Public Record Office Victoria website on Monday 23 May (online bookings preferred) or email ask.prov@prov.vic.gov.au or telephone (03) 9348 560

Speakers inlcude:

• Indigenous Family History Research - Public Record Office Victoria
• VicHeritage at Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages - overview of current projects. Peter Gloury VicHeritage Manager, Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages
• Viewing of WDYTYA dvd (Shane Bourne episode) available at 12.30pm in the Theatrette.
• Conscription records - Mark Brennan, National Archives of Australia
• Australian published collections - Katie Flack, Librarian, State Library of Victoria
• Introduction to VAFHO and the Don Grant Lecture by Jenny Harkness, VAFHO President. 2011 Don Grant Lecture: Storming the barricades: the family history revolution presented by Dr Andrew Lemon.

Obituaries Australia

Obituaries Australia is a digital repository of obituaries published in newspapers, journals, magazines and bulletins. Here you will find the life stories of Australians from the earliest times to the present.  Enter a name in the Quick Search box to get started. The Advanced Search function offers the ability to search by occupation, life dates, birthplace, religion, ethnicity, author and source.  Go to http://oa.anu.edu.au/

New Genealogy books

1.  Genealogy online for dummies.  6th edition.
2.  Family history on the cheap by Shauna Hicks.
3.  Family and local history resource directory for Victoria by Shauna Hicks.
4.  Genealogy online 9th edition by Elizabeth Crowe.
5.  Pitfalls and possibilities in family history research by Pauline M. Litton.
6.  What was the voyage really like? : researching convict and immigrant voyages by Shauna Hicks.
Now available at Campaspe Regional Library.

Donna's Genealogy Blog

If you are have Irish ancestry, visit Donna's Genealogy Blog and read her posts on Irish records and resources.  Donna is a professional genealogist specializing in Irish research along with U.S. research, methodology, technology and Macintosh computers. There is a huge amount of information on what records are available and how to access them.  Go to http://www.moughty.com/Site/Blog/Blog.html

Genealogy in Time

GenealogyInTime is one of the top online genealogy magazines in the world.  Their mission is to find new and innovative ways to help people connect with their ancestors, and everything on their website is free.  They regularly have articles on genealogy and news on new genealogy resources.  Go to http://www.genealogyintime.com/

English Parish Registers

The English County Parish Registers are delivered directly to your Email Inbox in pdf format for a low cost, usually around £2.00.  Resources available include baptisms, marriages, burials, bonds, licences, etc.  Payment is generally by Paypal or cheque.

German Research

Two sites I have discovered for German research are German Roots and the German GenealogyNet.  Both sites  have many links and tips on researching German ancestory, although a majority of records are transcribed in German only.

Connected Histories

Connected Histories brings together a range of digital resources for British History 1500-1900 in a single federated search.  Free registration allows resources to be saved and shared within a personal workspace.  Resources include British History Online, British Museum images, British Newspapers 1600-1900, Charles Booth archive, Church of England Clergy Database 1540-1835, House of Commons Parliamentary Papers, London Lives 1690-1800 and the Procedings of the Old Bailey 1674-1913.

English Heritage

Discover more about England's heritage from the National Monuments Record (NMR), the public archive of English Heritage. They hold over 10 million photos, plans, drawings, reports and publications on archaeology, listed buildings, aerial photography and social history, with over 2 million images available online.  They also manage the national historic environment databases of England's buildings, sites and territorial waters. The site includes links to Images of England (over 320,000 contemporary images of England's listed buildings), Heritage Gateway (national and local records of historic sites and buildings), English Heritage Archives (online descriptions of over 1 million historical documents and archives), Pastscape (a database of archaeological, architectural and maritime records), and Viewfinder (over 70,000 historic images of England from 1850s to present day).

Historical Directories

Historical Directories is produced and owned by the University of Leicester. It is a digital library of local and trade directories for England and Wales, from 1750 to 1919.  They include Post Office directories, Kelly's directories and more, and can be searched by location, decade or keyword.

Classes at Echuca and Kyabram

Campaspe Library now offers free beginners classes in Online Genealogy Resources monthly at Echuca and Kyabram Branch Libraries.  Classes run for 2 hours and cover a range of resources, from online databases to lookup exchanges to mailing lists, and exeryone attending is given a list of all the sites covered during the class, plus more sites listed on the Library Homepage.  Anyone interested in attending a class please contact your local Branch Librarian to find out when the next class will be held.

Irish Archives Resource

The Heritage Council of Ireland has just funded and launched a major new web portal called the Irish Archives Resource. It enables researchers to locate archival collections in Ireland that are relevant to their research. The intent of the site is to essentially act like a giant card catalogue for anyone doing ancestral work on Ireland. A search function allows users to pull up the relevant collections. A detailed listing is provided for each collection along with instructions on how to access the collection either online (if available) or physically at a public location in Ireland. Many of the major city and county archives in Ireland have already contributed to the website and much of it would be of interest to anyone with ancestors from Ireland.  Access is free.

Hearth Tax Online

The Hearth Tax was levied between 1662 and 1689 on each householder according to the number of hearths in his or her dwelling.  The online records currently cover ounty Durham 1666, Kent 1664, Surrey 1664 and Yorkshire West Riding 1672.

Irish Genealogy Toolkit

The Irish Genealogy Toolkit includes :
• Advice and tips for beginners
• Downloadable free family history forms and charts in formats used by professionals, a selection of free family tree templates , and even old maps of Ireland
• Info about Irish civil registration and Irish census records, and how to access them
• How to trace family history through Irish church records
• The very latest news about groups, meetings, resources, and all Irish genealogy issues
• An insight into the daily life, Irish crafts, social customs and Christmas traditions of your ancestors and well-known symbols of Ireland
• The importance of land and property records in Irish genealogy
• The story of Irish emigration to Canada, Britain, Australia, New Zealand and the USA
• Recommendations for recording and preserving your genealogical discoveries
• Information about Ireland, from visitor facts to in-depth articles.

British History Online

British History Online is the digital library containing some of the core printed primary and secondary sources for the medieval and modern history of the British Isles.  Indexes are available by place, subject, period and source and a number of primary and secondary history sources have been digitized.

Genealogy and Family History Podcasts

For those unfamiliar with them, a podcast is an audio or video file that is made available on the Internet for download and playback using a computer or a mobile device such as an Ipod.
Podcasts of the BBC Radio genealogy programmes are now available online.  Tracing Your Roots was a series of talks on BBC Radio 4, and Digging Up Your Roots is BBC Radio Scotland's genealogy programme.
The National Archives in Britain also have a series of podcasts available on a variety of topics.

South Australian BMDs

Were your ancestors pioneers of South Australia? Perhaps they were among SA's early settlers. Find out by searching the shipping passenger lists, birth, marriage, death and cemetery records.  Searchable databases include : Colonial South Australian Pioneers [arrivals, births, marriages, deaths & burials] ; Passenger lists of shipping arrivals in South Australia 1803-54 ; Births in South Australia 1836-54 ; Marriages in South Australia 1836-55 ; Deaths in South Australia 1836-50 ; Cemeteries & burials in South Australia [with maps].  Go to www.familyhistorysa.info/

Local cemeteries

These links are to cemeteries in Campaspe or Murray Shire.  All have contact information and several have headstone photographs or other information available.
Echuca Cemetery
http://www.australiancemeteries.com/vic/campaspe/echuca.htm
Kyabram Cemetery
http://kyabramcemetery.com/
Rochester Cemetery
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ausvsac/Rochester.htm
Whroo Cemetery
http://www.australiancemeteries.com/vic/campaspe/whroo.htm
Tongala Cemetery
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ausvsac/Tongala.htm
Colbinabbin Cemetery
http://www.australiancemeteries.com/vic/campaspe/colbinabbin.htm
Corop Cemetery
http://www.australiancemeteries.com/vic/campaspe/corop.htm
Mathoura Cemetery
http://members.bordernet.com.au/~denifhg/mathoura.html
Moama Cemetery
http://www.australiancemeteries.com/nsw/murray/moama.htm

Historic Irish Church Records

Now available free online are the Catholic Church records for Dublin City, Carlow, Cork and Kerry.  Go to churchrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/ to search and keep an eye on the site for more counties coming online in the future.

Northern Ireland Wills

The Public Records Office of Northern Ireland now provides abstracts of wills from the District Probate Registers for Armagh, Belfast and Londonderry from 1858-1919 and 1922-1943.  Go to www.proni.gov.uk/index/search_the_archives/will_calendars.htm to search.  The site hopes to expand the areas and dates covered in the future.

Deceased Online

Deceased Online is the first central database of statutory burial and cremation registers for the UK and Republic of Ireland.  Searching can be restricted as required to country, region, county, or individual burial authority or crematorium.  Basic information is available free, and full records and inages are pay-per-view.  Go to http://www.deceasedonline.com/ to explore the site.