Who Do You Think You Are 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: 

• 12 Christmas projects 12 fun ways to build your family tree over the Christmas period
• Christmas quiz Try out these family history brainteasers
• Reader story Mary Jones' seven-year-old relative was arrested for stealing coal
• The history of Christmas dinner What did our ancestors eat at a festive feast?
• Old newspapers How to use newspapers in family history research
• London ancestors Our complete guide to tracing your family history in the capital
• And more
  

 

Ancestry DNA 2-step Verification

For those who have done a DNA test with Ancestry, you may have already noticed that to access your DNA matches you are now required to set up 2 step verification.

To set up this added layer of security, you are first required to choose between having your code sent to a mobile phone or an email address.  Then you input the number or address you wish to choose and confirm using your current Ancestry password.  A code is then sent to you via your chosen method for you to input before you are able to access your DNA matches.

Once you have accessed your DNA matches, you have several ways of sorting them.  At the top level, you can view matches by :

• Parent - view matches on your maternal or paternal line
• Ancestor - choose any ancestor in your Ancestry tree
• Location - zoom in on a world map to see where you matches are dispersed

You can also filter by 

• Unviewed matches - highlighting those DNA matches you have not yet evaluated.  
• Common Ancestors - viewing only matches whose Ancestry tree intersects your own
• Trees - sort by Private Linked Trees, Public Linked Trees or Unlinked Trees
• Shared DNA - sort by Close Matches, Distant Matches or by Custom Centimorgan Range
• Group - create you own custom group such as new matches

So if you have done an Ancestry DNA test and haven't checked back in a while, go set up your 2 step verification and check out the latest updates.

Family Tree US Magazine

The latest issue of Family Tree US magazine is now available free online for Campaspe Library members via our subscription to Libby eMagazines. 

Inside this month's issue :  

• 23andMe Data Breach
• 2024 Virtual Genealogy Conferences
• Living History - Building ancestral homes gives one woman a hands-on family history experience.
• The Year Ahead - 366 genealogy tips will make 2024 your best research year yet.
• FAQs - Go back to the basics with these answers to common genealogy questions.
• What Kind of Cousins Are We?
• Genealogy Mythology
• Types of DNA Tests
• Getting he Picture - Unlock the clues hiding in your family photos.
• Passenger Lists
• Preserving Scrapbooks
• Small Ethnicity Estimates
• Civil War Genealogy
• And more
  

PROV Researcher Resources

Did you know that the Public Records Office of Victoria (PROV) has its own YouTube channel?  They offer a wealth of videos to help you get the most out of their archives.

From an Open House Tour of the Victorian Archives Centre, to deep dive research, stories within the Archives or how to use the PROV website, there is a wealth of presentations free to view to help you with your research.

Learn to get the most from the PROV website with :

• How to create an account and log in
• How to search and filter
• How to order a record or box to view
• How to order copies
• How to order via Direct Entry
• Order dashboard
• Understanding and researching the public record  collection

The Deep Dive Subject Research tutorials include :

• Correspondence records
• Introduction to researching place
• Introduction to crime research
• Crown Grant records
• Pupil Registers
• Rate records
• Divorce records
• Criminal trials

So take a look to the PROV YouTube channel and get the most out of the records on offer.

Victorian Court of Petty Sessions Records

A new record collection available on Ancestry includes images of the original records from the proceedings of Australian Courts of Petty Sessions between 1854 and 1922. 

The court registers in this collection typically have criminal, civil, and licensing cases mixed together, but the busiest courts may have recorded each type of case in separate registers. Entries in the court registers were typically organized chronologically and were handwritten, making some information difficult to read.

Records may include the following information:

• Name
• Court date
• Court city
• Names of children
• Place of residence
• Reason for appearance
• Result of appearance
  

The records were created by officials working for Courts of Petty Sessions in Victoria, Australia. The original documents are primary historical sources, and the information in them may not be available in other records. The original register books are housed at the Public Record Office Victoria in Melbourne.

The powers and jurisdiction of the Courts of Petty Sessions were established by a parliamentary act in 1832. These local courts were conducted by two or more justices hearing cases together and commonly making decisions without the input of a jury. The most common criminal cases heard in Petty Sessions were for theft, drunkenness, and disorderly or dishonest conduct. People also were charged with failure to show up for work or were accused of speaking to their employer in abusive language. Courts of Petty Sessions also handled civil cases and the issuance of licenses. However, in 1886, separate courts were established to process liquor licenses.

From minor criminal charges to cases of child neglect to accusations of drunk and disorderly conduct, this record set has been a gold mine of information about my ancestors.  Not only can these records be used to confirm that my ancestors appeared before a Court of Petty Sessions at a specific time and place, they also confirm where these people lived at the time of their court appearance gives me a location to search for land, church and government records. 

Don't forget that you can search the Ancestry database for free at any branch of Campaspe Libraries using our public access PCs or wifi through our subscription to Ancestry Library Edition.

Trove Maintenance Closure

An announcement has just been made regarding upcoming maintenance for Trove.

The statement by the National Library of Australia is  below :

"Trove will be unavailable from 6pm AEDT Saturday 9 December until 12pm AEDT Sunday 10 December 2023 so the National Library of Australia can undertake planned maintenance. Our enquiry service, Trove Support, will also be unavailable over this time. 

For information about impacts to other online and onsite Library services over this weekend, please see the National Library’s update. 

On 10 December you can check social media to find out when we are back online. 

Trove will also be unavailable over the weekend on 13 and 14 January 2024. Further details about this planned maintenance will be published closer to the time."

Scottish Indexes Conference

 
Are you interested in tracing your Scottish genealogy? The Scottish Indexes Conference is an opportunity to learn new research skills, discover diverse records and see how others have put these into practice. If you want to trace your Scottish family tree, this is the event for you.

This is a free event and is open to all. The conference starts at 7 am UK time and keeps going until 11 pm UK time. Each presentation is shown twice, once between 7 am and 3 pm, then again between 3 pm and 11 pm. You can come and go throughout the day. 

The conference is designed to be interactive and is best watched live, however some presentations from previous conferences are available to watch again. Visit the Past Conferences page to see what you’ve missed so far and catch up with some of the presentations.