Congress Post 3

Day 1 of the main congress began with the official opening at 8.30am and the opening address by Dr Matthew Trinca of the National Museum of Australia in the main Royal Theatre - a huge space that gradually filled up with genealogists.  The three big screens were a bonus for those sitting further back as there was generally a camera on the speaker showing them on the main screen and any slides showing on either side - so no matter where you sat you could still see.

Royal Theatre

After the opening addresses there was morning tea.  All lunches and teas were served at several stations in the main exhibition hall, which was also where all the exhibitor's booths were located.  Breaks throughout the Congress were a great opportunity to mingle and chat, visit various booths, pick up brochures and purchase books and supplies and, if you were not already in information overload, visit the Ancestry Speakers Corner for shorter less formal talks.  You could also go for a short walk in the courtyard behind the Convention Centre or just sit quietly and soak it all in.
After morning tea the concurrent sessions began, with 4 different talks to choose from.  First for me was Cora Num's talk "What can I find using eRecords".  Unfortunately Cora was unwell and could not attend the Congress, but in true soldier on fashion she video recorded all her talks and they were shown on the big screens on the Royal Theatre - a big achievement and congratulations are well deserved by all involved.  Then it was on to Paul Milner's "Buried treasure : what's in the English Parish Chest", lunch, Roger Kershaw's "Tracing free immigrants to Australia", Carole Riley's "Dropbox and Evernote for family historians", afternoon tea, and Heather Garnsey's "The Joint Copying Project" - and that was just Day 1!!  A short walk back to my accommodations for tea and a good rummage though all the goodies in my Congress satchel, then off to sleep.

Satchel, lanyard and name tag, and blogger beads

Congress Post 2

The welcome function in Anzac Hall at the Australian War Memorial has been a blast.  What a great setting for our meet and greet.  After spending the day at the Librarian's Seminar, where most efficiently we had our conference satchels and tags delivered to us, it was off to the War Memorial.

The Australian War Memorial

One of the many World War 1 dioramas

Lancaster Bomber G for George

Congress Post 1

The National Library

I have arrived in Canberra and it is the day of the Librarian's Conference, held the day before the Congress itself begins, at the National Library.  This is a new feature of the Congress, a chance for library staff like myself to get together and discuss things like assisting new genealogists getting started in good research techniques and disillusioning them that all their information is just waiting for them in one place online.

As Genealogy and Family History grow ever more popular libraries have a lot to offer, with many of us offering free access to one or more of the major subscription databases, classes on various family history topics, local history information and assistance in finding that elusive record.

The day was a great start to the congress, my notebook already has several pages filled and it has been great to catch up with so many other librarians.  On to the Welcome function in Anzac Hall at the Australian War Memorial.

As my Canberra internet connection is a bit dodgy, I may end up drafting these posts and uploading them all when I get home.

52 Weeks of Genealogy - Week 33 - Church Records

I am still following Shauna Hicks' 52 Weeks of Genealogy and Shauna has chosen Church Records as her topic for Week 33 - but not the 'church records' I assumed when I started reading her post.

Shauna tells us that "within the broad category of church records there are lots of different kinds of records. For the purpose of this week’s blog post, I am only looking at church publications. This includes newsletters, magazines, journals, newspapers, yearbooks, church histories and so on."

Now I must confess that this is not an area that I have given the time and consideration that I should - an error I will definitely have to remedy.  I have visited my mother's family church in Brighton where my parents married.  I know my father's paternal line were quite involved in church work in the family church at Fordham, Essex, where the family lived for a number of generations.  I also know that several branches of my father's maternal line, who lived in Suffolk, England, were Baptists.  I have not, however, put much effort into locating church newsletters and other publications - and in neglecting this resource I have done quite a disservice to my efforts to flesh out my family history.

This is the great thing about following a challenge like Shauna's 52 Weeks - it encourages me to think about all the different types of records out there and if I am using them effectively, or, in the case of church publications, if I am actually using them at all!  Thanks again Shauna - please click here to read Shauna's full post on Church Records.

The Silver War Badge Records 1914-1920

Was your ancestor discharged from the military because wounds or illness left them unfit to continue service?  They may have been among the 800,000 recipients of the Silver War Badge whose records are now available at Ancestry.com.

In September 1916, King George V authorized the Silver War Badge (SWB) to honor all military personnel who had served at home or overseas since 4 August 1914 and who had been discharged because of wounds or illness. The SWB was a small, circular badge made of sterling silver that bore the king’s initials, a crown, and the inscriptions ‘For King and Empire’ and ‘Services Rendered’. The badge could also be worn by personnel who were discharged because of age. 
 
The SWB was not simply an honor; it also served a practical purpose. At the time, men of military age in England who were not obviously in the service were sometimes accosted or insulted by civilians presenting them with white feathers—a symbol of cowardice—for shirking their patriotic duty. The badge, which was worn with civilian dress, served as an outward symbol that the wearer’s duty to country had been honorably fulfilled. 

Thousands of women appear on the rolls as well, serving overseas in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, which provided cooking, mechanical, clerical, and other support services.  Many others served as nurses.

 One thing to keep in mind as you search for your own WWI ancestor. Millions were wounded in the war—some, like J.R.R. Tolkien, so severely that they never did return to the front—but unless they were discharged, they won’t be on the Silver War Badge rolls. 

For those of you who do not have a subscription to Ancestry, check your local library to see if they have a library subscription.  Ancestry Library Edition is available via our free public internet at all branches of Campaspe Regional Library.

Canberra Congress

There is little more than a week to go before the AFFHO Canberra Congress 2015 begins and I am in full swing getting ready.  The car is serviced, the suitcase is out, the neighbour has been organised to catsit and the cat is sulking.  My 'to do' list is finally shrinking rather than expanding as I am actually crossing off items faster than I can think of new ones to add.

This is the first time I will attend a Congress, having missed out on the last few due to family and work commitments, and I have been following official Congress Bloggers like Shauna Hicks and Jill Ball as they talk about everything in store for us and interview many of the speakers.  Many thanks to both these ladies, and all the other bloggers out there who have been talking about the Congress and how to get the most out of your time there.  I have even installed the Congress App on my smartphone.

It has been diffcult to choose which sessions to attend from each of the four concurrent sessions per time slot.  I considered each according to speaker, topic and relevance to my research areas and current expertise - and still wanted to be in two (or three, or even four) different places at once.  I'm also looking forward to visiting vendors in the Exhibitors hall, sharing and networking with colleagues and Congress delegates.  There is also the Librarian's Seminar the day before the Congress itself - just to make sure I really get into information overload!  We are fortunate to have access to so many international and Australian speakers during the Congress, as well as the exhibitors and other events.

See you at the Congress!

New Military Records Online

Ancestry has added thousands of Australian service records from the First World War. Digitised from dossiers held by The National Archives of Australia, the collection covers personnel from the Australian Imperial Force (AIF), Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF), Royal Australian Naval Bridging Train (RANBT), Australian Flying Corps (AFC) and the Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS).

Ancestry has also uploaded a tranche of records regarding UK citizens resident in the United States who served in the British Expeditionary Force between 1917-19. Released in partnership with the US National Archives and Records Administration, the collection comprises scanned index cards, providing the name of the resident, their address, date of birth, marital status, civilian occupation and date they entered service.

Finally, Ancestry has added the records of men who served in the Royal Navy during the First World War. Spanning 1900-1918, the Registers of Seamen’s Services can reveal information such as birthdate, birthplace, vessels and dates of service. Family historians can also click through from the transcriptions to view scans of the original documents, held at The National Archives, which provide additional details such as physical description.

Thousands of women’s military records have been made available on Findmypast for the first time. Launched to coincide with International Women’s Day on 8 March, the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps Service Records collection provides details of women who served in the unit (known by the acronym WAAC) in England, France and Flanders during the First World War. Digitised from records held at The National Archives, the files reveal details such as birthplace, physical description, medical history, education and parents’ nationalities.

Forces War Records has now uploaded more than 100,000 First World War medical records to the web. Originally launched with 30,000 entries in October 2014, the Military Hospitals Admissions and Discharge Registers collection comprises transcriptions of files created by field hospitals between 1915-18, containing details of men treated on the front line and the nature of their ailments.

Researchers looking for family living in Jersey during the WW2 German occupation can now download their registration card, including a photograph. The collection of German Occupation registration cards, recognised by UNESCO for its importance, has been digitised and added to the Jersey Heritage website by Jersey Archive. The collection includes 90,000 images that can be searched for free, although there is a fee of £5 to download a card.

With so much happening during the Centemary of World War 1 I'm finding it quite hard to keep up with all the records and information coming online - especially as I an researching family members in several countries.  I hope you all find something useful in the sites mentioned above.