While looking through the many events listed on the National Family History Month website and asking myself if I can possibly fit anything else into August that I have not already committed to (answer - probably, but I may have to give up sleeping), I found the NFHM Blogging Challenge.
What a great idea! I do like blogging challenges - they get me thinking and blogging about topics I wouldn't have come up with in my own - and I especially like the literary theme (I am a librarian). I have read all four books listed - some many years ago - and I love the inclusion of All the Rivers Run, as I can remember the filming of the miniseries here in Echuca back while I was at school.
So now its time to revisit the books and start thinking about how I will respond to each for the blogging challenge. Have a look at this and the many other NFHM activities and see what is there for you. Thanks to everyone out there who is participating - the more the merrier!
Thursday, July 13, 2017
Thursday, July 6, 2017
Family History Month
August is Family History Month and Campaspe Library is offering a number of free classes at all our library branches during the month. Below is the schedule and bookings are now open via our homepage. Check out the Family History Month website for all the wonderful events taking place around the country and see what is available in your area - there is sure to be something to interest you.
| Library | Topic | Date and Time |
| Echuca | Ancestry Library Edition | Tuesday 1st August 2.30pm |
| FamilySearch | Tuesday 1st August 3.30pm | |
| German | Tuesday 8th August 2.30pm | |
| Irish | Tuesday 8th August 3.30pm | |
| National Archives Aust. | Friday 11th August 2.30pm | |
| Workhouses | Friday 11th August 3.30pm | |
| Trove | Tuesday 15th August 2.30pm | |
| PROV | Tuesday 15th August 3.30pm | |
| Military Records | Friday 25th August 2.30pm | |
| Convicts | Friday 25th August 3.30pm | |
| Online Resources | Sunday 27th August 2.30pm | |
| Online Resources | Tuesday 29th August 2.30pm | |
| Organising your research | Tuesday 29th August 3.30pm | |
| Kyabram | Ancestry Library Edition | Wednesday 2nd August 10.00am |
| Convicts | Wednesday 2nd August 11.30am | |
| National Archives Aust. | Wednesday 2nd August 2.00pm | |
| Rochester | Ancestry Library Edition | Monday 28th August 10.00am |
| German | Monday 28th August 11.30am | |
| Convicts | Monday 28th August 2.00pm | |
| Rushworth | FamilySearch | Wednesday 9th August 10.00am |
| Trove | Wednesday 9th August 11.30am | |
| German | Wednesday 9th August 2.00pm | |
| Tongala | Military | Wednesday 16th August 10.00am |
| PROV | Wednesday 16th August 11.30am | |
| Irish | Wednesday 16th August 2.00pm |
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
Researching Abroad - Upcoming Conference
For those of you who somehow don't know, August in Australia is Family History Month. This year, along with all the other talks, events and sessions happening around the country, the wonderful people at Unlock the Past are holding a roadshow "Researching Abroad : Finding British Isles and European Ancestors".
Check out their website for the dates and details of the roadshow, which covers Brisbane, Auckland, Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide and Perth.
The two featured speakers are :
Check out their website for the dates and details of the roadshow, which covers Brisbane, Auckland, Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide and Perth.
The two featured speakers are :
- Chris Paton - British Isles stream
Professional genealogist, author, international speaker and writer of The GENES Blog concerning Britain, Ireland, and their diasporas
- Dirk Weissleder - German/European stream
Coordinator of the German-Australian Genealogy Alliance and the International German Genealogical Partnership
Sunday, June 18, 2017
Cemetery Day
In a recent post Alona of Lonetester declared June 18th to be Cemetery Day. As I think this is a great idea (thanks Alona) I decided my goal for the day was to go through some of my records looking for gaps and see if I could track down the graves of some of my ancestors that had eluded me. Using Billion Graves and Find a Grave as my starting points, and newspapers such as Trove and British Newspaper Archive, amongst others, I spent a lovely couple of hours tracking down graves and finding photos of family headstones. It was quite surprising how many gaps I had in my tree and how many I was able to fill.
So come on board with Cemetery Day and research an ancestor's grave site, visit a cemetery and take some photos, share the photos you have with your family - or start planning for Cemetery Day 2018.
 |
| Headstone of my great-grandfather John Clark |
Monday, May 29, 2017
Moving House and finding (more) Treasures
Well, its done. I have sold the old family home and moved to my new
house. There are boxes everywhere and I feel like it will take me
MONTHS to unpack and settle in, but I haved moved house. Closing the
door on the old family home for the last time was quite an emotional
experience - I was only 2.5 years old when my family moved in, and after
several years away I moved back to care for my parents in their last
years, so there are a lot of memories in that house.
I've posted a few times about finding treasures in the cleanout, many hidden amongst piles of rubbish and the final packup was no different. It was amazing finding things that had fallen behind wardrobes and bookcases years ago or were stashed in the back of a drawer or under a bed and never recovered. Given that I have been researching the family history since I was 16 years old, and have always been interested in my parents stories of their childhood, how some of these things were never mentioned, much less produced, escapes me. I think my parents had forgotten about many of these treasures themselves.
I've posted a few times about finding treasures in the cleanout, many hidden amongst piles of rubbish and the final packup was no different. It was amazing finding things that had fallen behind wardrobes and bookcases years ago or were stashed in the back of a drawer or under a bed and never recovered. Given that I have been researching the family history since I was 16 years old, and have always been interested in my parents stories of their childhood, how some of these things were never mentioned, much less produced, escapes me. I think my parents had forgotten about many of these treasures themselves.
A couple of examples. The first
was found in a pile of other papers - many equally fascinating and
unseen before by me - hidden in the linen cupboard behind some old
sheets. Apparently my dad did some running while he was a lad at school -
this certificate below dates from 1935, and dad would have been 9 years
old at the time.
The
second was an even more unlikely find. It was only discovered when the
removalists were loading up my furniture to take it to the new house.
This colored print of my father was taken from a photograph from when he
enlisted in the Air Force, during World War 2. It is hand colored on
cardboard - and has spent who-knows-how-long lying behind a wardrobe in
my parents bedroom. Neither my sister or I can recall ever seeing it,
although we are both familiar with the photo from which it is taken, and
how or when it was created I have no idea.
While
I am grateful I have these treasures now, I would have loved to have
seen them when my parents were alive. There are so many questions I
have - and obviously stories I missed out on.
Monday, April 10, 2017
English Police records added to Ancestry
Was your ancestor a policeman? Nearly 70,000 Metropolitan Police pension records have been added to Ancestry in a new collection which spans 1852-1932 and features scans of original records held by
The National Archives.
Generally the registers will reveal information about the officer's length of service, whether he retired or was discharged, his pension amount and who his next of kin were. Other details may include place of birth, marital status and parents, and from 1923 birth and marriage details of the spouse are also included.
Among the papers are entries for notable detectives, including some of the senior members of the Jack the Ripper investigation unit. Frederick Abberline, chief inspector on the case, resigned in 1892 aged 49 with an annual pension of £206, 13 shillings and four pence.
Generally the registers will reveal information about the officer's length of service, whether he retired or was discharged, his pension amount and who his next of kin were. Other details may include place of birth, marital status and parents, and from 1923 birth and marriage details of the spouse are also included.
Among the papers are entries for notable detectives, including some of the senior members of the Jack the Ripper investigation unit. Frederick Abberline, chief inspector on the case, resigned in 1892 aged 49 with an annual pension of £206, 13 shillings and four pence.
Tuesday, April 4, 2017
Australian Copyright Laws Amended
Big news for Australian genealogists came on the 22nd of March 2017 when the Copyright Amendment (Disability Access and Other Measures) Bill was introduced to the Australian Parliament.
The Bill ends antiquated provisions in the Australian Copyright Act that provide perpetual copyright for unpublished materials, no matter how old they are. As a result millions of historical manuscripts such as letters and diaries held in our National and State/Territory libraries and archives, and thousands of theses at our universities, will be freed into the public domain on the 1st of January 2019. This will include all those old letters sent to government departments or shared between family and friends decades ago that have until now been restricted by the old copyright laws. See the media release from the Australian Libraries Copyright Committee.
With the boom in digitising and making available online so many collections of old documents, these amendments will allow researchers to access a huge amount of material that has been restricted and clear up a lot of the confusion that surrounded the use of unpublished material.
Roll on January 2019!
The Bill ends antiquated provisions in the Australian Copyright Act that provide perpetual copyright for unpublished materials, no matter how old they are. As a result millions of historical manuscripts such as letters and diaries held in our National and State/Territory libraries and archives, and thousands of theses at our universities, will be freed into the public domain on the 1st of January 2019. This will include all those old letters sent to government departments or shared between family and friends decades ago that have until now been restricted by the old copyright laws. See the media release from the Australian Libraries Copyright Committee.
With the boom in digitising and making available online so many collections of old documents, these amendments will allow researchers to access a huge amount of material that has been restricted and clear up a lot of the confusion that surrounded the use of unpublished material.
Roll on January 2019!
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