What's New on Trove

Trove is one of my favourite online genealogy sites, and one that I visit regularly in my research.  While they’re not scanning as quickly as they have in the past, mostly due to budget cuts, they are still finding more newspapers to digitize and the collection continues to grow.

Here’s the list the titles they’ve released over the past few months, as well as those that are coming soon.  These new additions take the current total of old newspapers records to a amazing 220,950,426!

Thanks to the wonderful people at Unlock the Past who highlighted these new additions in their blog.

New Additions

NEW SOUTH WALESThe Spectator (Sydney, NSW: 1846)
The Spectator (Sydney, NSW: 1892)

WESTERN AUSTRALIA
The Albany Despatch (WA: 1919-1927)
Chung Wah News (Perth, WA: 1981-1987)
Coolgardie Pioneer (WA: 1895-1901)
Day Dawn Chronicle (WA: 1902 – 1909)
Geraldton Guardian (WA: 1951-1954)
Harvey Murray Times (WA: 1931-1954)
Hellenic Echo (Perth, WA: 1967-1968)
Japanese Perth Times (Subiaco, WA: 1989-1996)
Kookynie Press (WA: 1903-1911)
Manjimup Mail and Jardee-Pemberton-Northcliffe Press (WA: 1927-1950)
Midlands Advocate (Perth, WA: 1930-1954)
Newcastle Herald and Toodyay District Chronicle (WA: 1902-1912)
North-Eastern Wheatbelt Tribune (Wyalkatchem, WA: 1926-1940)
Stampa Italiana = The Italian Press (Perth, WA: 1931-1932)
The Voice of Freedom = Elefthera Phoni (Perth, WA: 1956-1957)
The Western Australian Goldfields Courier (Coolgardie, WA: 1894-1898)
Wheatbelt Tribune and Koorda Record (Wyalkatchem, WA: 1940-1954)

INTERNATIONAL
Guinea Gold (Papua New Guinea: 1942-1945)
Papua New Guinea Post-Courier (Port Moresby : 1969 – 1981)
Papuan Courier (Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea: 1917-1942)
Papuan Times (Kwato, Papua New Guinea : 1951-1954)
Papuan Times (Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea: 1911-1916)

Coming soon

NEW SOUTH WALES
Albury Banner (1881-1896); [Albury & District Historical Society; NSW State Government Regional Cultural Fund]
Border Morning Mail (1938-1942); [Albury & District Historical Society; NSW State Government Regional Cultural Fund]
Daily Express (Wagga Wagga: 1919-1929); [Wagga Wagga & District Historical
Mosman, Neutral and Middle Harbour Resident (1904-1907); [Mosman Historical Society]

QUEENSLANDToowoomba Chronicle (Sept. 1917-Sept. 1922); [State Library of Queensland]
Toowoomba Chronicle and Darling Downs Gazette (Oct 1922-Dec 1933); [State Library of Queensland]

SOUTH AUSTRALIAMessenger (1951-1954) [State Library of South Australia]
Port Augusta & Stirling Illustrated News (Feb.-Aug. 1901) [State Library of South Australia]
Portonian (1871-1873) [State Library of South Australia]

VICTORIAElmore Standard (1882-1905);[Bendigo Regional Genealogical Society]
Great Southern Advocate (1907-1913; 1919-1926); [Korumburra & District Historical Society]
Richmond Guardian (1907-1909;1915-1916) [Rhett Bartlett]

WESTERN AUSTRALIA
The Fremantle Advocate (Aug 1926 – Jan 1942); [Fremantle Library]

Statistical Accounts of Scotland

The Statistical Accounts of Scotland Online provides access to digitised and fully searchable versions of both the Old Statistical Account (1791-99) and the New Statistical Account (1834-45). These detailed parish reports, written by Church of Scotland ministers, detail social conditions in Scotland and are an invaluable resource for anyone interested in Scottish history.   They note basic details about the parishes in question: the industries that were followed, the religious denominations present, the names of key landholders, the topography of the area, and even the nature of the inhabitants themselves.

You can search with a place name or a keyword, for example Glasgow or mills, then click on the map. A new map will open where you can click on any county, to see the parishes in that county. You can then select a parish and view the available reports.

The website allows basic searches for free and charges a subscription fee for access to additional features such as print and download, the ability to tag and annotate pages and many more. Otherwise the service is run on a not-for-profit basis and the subscription fees only cover the cost of hosting and maintaining the website.

Week 44 - Frightening - 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Frightening is a rather apt prompt for the week considering it is Halloween (although Halloween itself has passed by the time I write this post) - a day much more prominent in America than it is here in Australia, although it is now growing in popularity.

When I think of the frightening things my ancestors would have endured, there are so many things to think about.  The enormous changes in society they would have witnessed, from the industrial revolution to the digital age.  The two World Wars, along with many other conflicts.  Social upheavals.  Natural disasters.  Illness, unemployment, the threat of the workhouse.  Accidents, with the resultant possible loss of income, with little or no social welfare to fall back on.  Life is indeed frightening.

Most of all, I think about those of my ancestors who emigrated from England, Ireland and Germany to Australia.  How frightening it must have been to make the decision to move halfway around the world.  To step on board the ship knowing there was little chance they would ever see the family and friends they were leaving behind again.  To face life in an unfamiliar country, an alien landscape.  To establish themselves in that unfamiliar place and build lives for their children and grandchildren.  While for many it was a way to escape poverty, hardship and persecution, a potential to built lives for themselves better than they could ever have hoped for in their country of birth, it must still have been a frightening leap into the unknown.

Exactly how my ancestors faced those fears I will never know in great detail, but face them they did.  The lives they built in Australia were, for the majority, well worth the risk.  And I can only thank them for having the courage to face their fears and build those new lives.

Irish Records on FamilySearch

FamilySearch has increased their collection of Irish civil registration records by an additional one million records in the last few months. These are primarily birth (1864 to 1913), marriage (1845 to 1870) and death (1864 to 1870) records issued by the Irish government.

A typical birth record in this collection lists the name of the child, date and place of birth, full name and address of the father, profession of the father and full name (including maiden name) and address of the mother.

A typical marriage record in this collection includes the full names of the bride and groom, their ages, date and place of marriage, occupations of the both the bride and groom, their signatures and witnesses to the marriage (who were often close relatives).

A typical death record in this collection includes the full name of the deceased, date and place of death, sex, age, marital status, occupation and certified cause of death (if known).

These records can be searched by first name and last name. Sadly, most of the records in this collection do not show images of the original record, but it is still a fantastic addition to the FamilySearch collection for those of us with Irish ancestry.

Week 43 - Cause of Death - 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 43 is 'Cause of Death', and some of the causes of death listed on death certificates, in coroners reports and even on headstones can make you stop and think.  Sometimes they are straightforward and I know what the terms mean, but others required some research to understand.

There  are a few great websites around that help us understand the causes of death we find given for our ancestors.  One I have used several times is Rudy's List of Archaic Medical Terms - giving explanations of various causes of death and for many their equivalent today and a handwritten example of the term.

In my own family there are a range of causes of death.  Several died in accidents - falling from a horse, cart turnover, farming accidents.  Several women died in childbirth.  Two died in lunatic asylums, both admitted in old age because of dementia.  Others died of pneumonia, influenza, cholera and other illnesses.  Cancer has also appeared fairly frequently.  Rarer causes of death include catarrh, atrpohy, occlusion and simple old age.

Week 42 - Conflict - 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 42 is about conflict, and like so many other families, mine has had a number of individuals serve in the military in various conflicts.

My family was certainly more fortunate than many, with few injuries and even fewer deaths during military service, but I do not doubt that all who served - and those who waited at home for them to return - were profoundly and permanently changed by the events they witnessed.

For those who served in Australian forces, the National Archives of Australia has been invaluable in my research, providing military dossiers of many family members.  The Australian War Memorial has also been a fantastic resource, with Embarkation Rolls, Red Cross files, Unit Diaries and general information about the battles in which family members fought.  Researching  newspaper reports in Trove has also been a gold mine, with news of enlistments, farewells, news from the front, even a few letters home were published in local papers.

With so many commemorations and activities surrounding the centenary of World War 1, the last few years has seen an explosion of information become available about military ancestors and the conflicts in which they served, and I an sure I am not the only family history researcher who has found out so much about various family members as a result.

British Red Cross Memorabilia

The British Red Cross has launched a new online database, allowing the public to explore its collection of historic artefacts.

The British Red Cross Museum and Archives has approximately 56,000 items, one of the largest Red Cross collections in the world.  It has currently published an online database of 28,752 items, including approximately 11,000 museum objects plus catalogued archive items such as letters, posters, photographs and films.

The database is searchable by keyword, name, type of object and even by color, and users can save their favorites.  Many of the objects are photographed, including a collection of items used by Allied prisoners of war during the Second World War.  The charity will continue to add items to the database, although it has stated that some will be withheld because of data protection laws.