ANZAC Day

As April 25^th approaches again, I find myself reflecting on the meaning of ANZAC Day to me, to my family and to the community.  And while we say the Ode on Sunday, I will be remembering not only my father and several uncles who served in WWII, and those of my family who went before them, but all of those men and women who have served.  I will remember especially those who did not come home and all of those who came home forever changed, as well as those who did not see fighting, but served in different ways both at home and abroad.

Russell Clark, WW2

ANZAC has very much become a part of our national vocabulary.  The people who lived though that campaign were ordinary volunteers, just as Australia’s current veterans were ordinary volunteers.  They put their daily lives on hold to serve and protect us all, most with very little clear idea of just what they were volunteering for.

My family was extremely lucky, in both world wars, to have most of those who served not only come home, but come home fairly unscathed.  Once second cousin was killed in France in World War 1 ; one uncle died in the Merchant Navy in World War 2.  All the other relatives who served – my father, uncles and great-uncles - returned safely to their loved ones.  While they all had to live with the memories of the conflicts, they were mostly uninjured by their experiences and able to rebuild their civilian lives. 

Leonard Clark, WW2

So many others were not so fortunate.  Numerous Australian families endured the loss of loved ones on foreign soil, or the return of family members forever scarred by their service.  So many who returned faced a lifetime of ruined health or years of recovery and rehabilitation.  My family was lucky indeed.

 

For those in my familywho 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.

I am forever grateful to all of you who have served and sacrificed on our behalf. It is a solemn undertaking to be ready to put your life on the line for your Country. One that is deserving of our gratitude.

Lest we forget.

The Online Genealogical Index

The Online Genealogical Index is a website aimed at helping you find specific genealogical records online, both free versions of records and those on subscription sites such as Ancestry and FindMyPast.  Known as the O.G.I. for short, this database covers more than 400,000 records for England, Wales and the Isle of Man. Other countries may be added in the future.  The OGI is completely free to use and requires no registration.

 The Online Genealogical Index has grown over the past few years from a few thousand data sets to a over 407,000 covering all major subscription sites and thousands of small sites unknown to many. These include:

• transcriptions of parish registers
• graveyard surveys
• pedigrees
• school records and more

A data set can contain a handful of records or tens of thousands. The OGI has gone through a complete reworking in March 2021 to speed searching and add new filtering options. All you need is a place and approximate year to get started.  If your ancestor gives their birthplace on a census or you know a marriage location, searching these areas can result in links to sites holding records for that place.  You can even specify record type and year ranges.  Results will show if the site holding the record set is free or subscription.

Clicking on the blue links will take you to the required page in a new tab.

You can read the latest information about the OGI by using the News link in the menu to read the blog.  Data is uploaded every few weeks.

WDYTYA Magazine

The latest issue of Who Do You Think You Are magazine is now available free online for Campaspe Library members via our subscription to Libby eMagazines.

Inside this month’s issue

• Archives in lockdown
  Jonathan Scott looks at how local archives have risen to the challenge of the coronavirus pandemic
• Get creative
  Jerome de Groot on how family history research can inspire your creativity – from writing to art
• Old newspapers
  The best websites for searching newspaper archives
• Cartoon capers
  The old comics that delighted generations of Britain’s children
• Family hero
  Erica Ward celebrates a suffragist in her tree
• Plus…
  How to improve your online searching, understanding Home Guard records, the lives of ancestors who worked as clerks and much more…

Irish Lives Remembered

The latest issue of the free quarterly online Irish Family History magazine 'Irish Lives Remembered' is out now.   The magazine can be downloaded and read on your computer or tablet.

Articles: 

• Fiona Fitzsimons and Helen Moss - President Joseph Biden's Irish Roots. Part 2: The Scanlon Family,
• Eamonn P. (Ned) Kelly – The Winter Bower of the Sun God and his Consort,
• Brigit McCone – The Rebellion of Dervorgilla, Queen of Tyrconnell,
• Deirdre Powell – The Increase in Appreciation of Irish Composer Ina Boyle (1889–1967),
• Jacqueline Gallup – Dúchas: An Invaluable Resource for Folklore and for Family Historians. Part I: Folklore and the Connection to Family History. Part II: An Interview with Críostóir Mac Cárthaigh, Director of the National Folklore Collection,
• Nathan Mannion – David Herbison: The Poet Laureate of Ballymena (County Antrim) 
• Paul MacCotter – The Barretts of County Cork. Part One: The Early History.
• Book Review - A Review of Fashion and Family History: Interpreting How Your Ancestors Dressed [Patrick Roycroft reviews the latest book by Jayne Shrimpton]
• Book Excerpt – Fashion and Family History: Interpreting How Your Ancestors Dressed (2021, Pen and Sword Family History) by Jayne Shrimpton.
• The Genealogical Publishing Company Book Excerpt – Clan Callaghan: The O Callaghan Family of County Cork (2020 revised edition) by Professor Joseph P. O Callaghan

Regular columns: 

• Dear Genie (Our Genealogists help you with your research block)
• Photodetective (Jayne Shrimpton analyses one of your family photos)
• Patrick's Page (Patrick Roycroft deals with a client at the Irish Family History Centre)
• FMP Roundup (Niall Cullen lets us know of the new Irish genealogy records that have been added to Findmypast)

AncestryHour

Have you discovered AncestryHour yet?  AncestryHour is a Twitter base for everyone and anyone, professionals and amateurs alike, with an interest in Genealogy, Family & Local History.   With AncestryHour you can meet online, exchange tips, promote your services, ask questions and engage with an international following within the ancestral community.

The group currently gets together on Twitter every Tuesday evening from 7.00 - 8.00 pm GMT.  The chat is led by a team of eight well known and well respected genealogists and historians, each with their own specialism but united in their passion for the past. 

If you are not able to participate in the weekly chat, you can still participate at any time and follow the conversations on Twitter or Facebook.  For those isolated at home, it is yet another avenue for communicating with fellow genealogists, to keep learning and researching, and keep up your interest.

Memories of Covid-19

As restrictions due to the global pandemic ease for us in Australia, many archives and libraries are recording for future generations people's experiences of the crisis.  As family historians, we need to do the same thing and record our own experiences of this time.

The Covid19 pandemic has been (and still is) a major historical event.  For all of us who have lived through it, there will be memories of Covid, both positive and negative, that stand out.  There were, and still are, new routines, changes in how we live, work, communicate, shop, relax, learn, and more.  We will never forget the sight of police blockading state borders, images of empty streets at midday in our cities, the shock of walking into a supermarket and seeing panic buying or stripped shelves.  Then there are the more personal experiences - business closures and work stand downs, learning to work from home or change our daily routines.

Then there are the positive experiences.  Teddy bears and rainbows in windows, people standing at the end of their driveways on ANZAC Day, the joy of getting out and about after lockdowns ease.  For many of us the simple pleasures in life have taken on new significance as we rediscover them after the trial of lockdowns.

For myself, there are a number of memories I have recorded already.  Living in a border town, the sight of police on the bridge between our twin towns came as a shock the first time I saw them, even though I already knew they were there.  There was the shock and uncertainty of being stood down from my job, not once but twice.  The sight of neighbours all out standing at the end of their driveways for dawn service on ANZAC Day.  The friends who appeared on the road outside my house to sing 'Happy Birthday' to me (in an appropriately socially distanced manner) when my 50th birthday fell during the second big lockdown.

These stories are all part of my personal contribution to my family history and I hope that one day, years from now, family members will look back at the stories and emotions I have recorded and it will help them understand the impact Covid19 has had on our lives.

Scotlands People

ScotlandsPeople has announced that thousands of volumes of historical records from the collections of National Records of Scotland (NRS) are now available online for the first time.

Images of more than a million pages from the kirk session and other court records of the Church of Scotland can now be viewed and downloaded. These records contain details of key events in communities across the country between 1559 and 1900 and are one of the most important sources for Scottish historical research.

You are able to browse through the kirk session records for free, only using credits when you would like to save an image, as these records are made available without intensive indexing of their contents by personal name, place or other subjects.

ScotlandsPeople have also produced a series of guides to help you understand how to use the records and how to navigate the virtual volumes system.