Website Wednesday - PROV

The PROV - Public Records Office of Victoria - has a number of fantastic online resources for family history researchers, from Asylums to Wills and so much in between.  They even have 16 short video tutorials will introduce you to popular research topics to get you started on your journey!

Below are the details of a few of the many Victorian State Government records that have been digitised and are available free online.

 
Inquest records up to the year 1937 have been digitised and can be viewed online. Inquest records from 1938 onwards are not digitised and can only be viewed in the reading room after you place an order.  You need to know an approximate year of death, and the name/s of the deceased. It is worth noting that not all deaths resulted in an inquest. However, records of a post-mortem and initial investigation may be available - consider searching through the Body Cards as well.

Ward of the State and Care Leaver records for the period 6 December 1864 to 12 October 1923 have all been digitised and individual children can be found by typing their names into the search form. You can use the 'date' fields to narrow the list if you are searching for a commonly used name.  Currently there are five volumes covering the period 1923-1925 which are in the process of being digitised and/or indexed. Digital copies of the volumes covering this period will be progressively made available on the catalogue and then will be made name searchable shortly thereafter.

Passenger Lists.  An “assisted” immigrant had their voyage subsidised from the UK by the Victorian government for the purpose of being employed on their arrival.  Indexers transcribed the names and ages recorded on lists of passengers aboard ships which arrived at Victorian ports from overseas, between 1839 and 1871.  For Unassisted Passengers, indexers transcribed the names and ages recorded on lists of passengers aboard ships which arrived at Victorian ports from overseas, between 1852 and 1923 (for passengers post 1923, try searching records of the National Archives of Australia). 

The Central Registers of Male and Female Prisoners (1855–1948) cover individuals held at Melbourne area prisons (Collingwood, Carlton and Williamstown stockades, the Eastern Gaol, the Hulks and Pentridge). The records also include regional prisons for female prisoners only.  Search by a prisoner’s surname (or alias), or prisoner number.

Wills 1841-1950 and Probates (1841-1937) can be viewed online.  A will is a legal document in which a person can give instructions on how their property should be distributed after they die, and naming executors to do this on their behalf.  A probate file contains documents received or created by the Supreme Court to verify the will and issue the grant of probate that authorises the executors named in it to distribute the estate.  An administration file contains documents received or created by the Supreme Court to issue the grant of letters of administration that authorises the distribution of the estate in cases where the deceased left no will or new executors had to be named.  Digitisation of these records is ongoing; the next batch that will be digitised and published online will be for the period 1926-1950.

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 : 

• Web Highlight: RootsTech from Home
• New Tools from the Big Sites
• Turnover at the National Archives
• Ireland preps 1926 Census
• Waves of History
• Home Again
• Raising the Flag - Research your WW2 family members
• Falling in at Fold3
• Case Study : Dad and Uncle Art
• Find Your U.S. Ancestors
• Your Reunion-Planning Checklist
• Speaking softly • Navigate hard-to-talk-about subjects
• Gazetteers
• Locating Tombstones at Find a Grave
• Preserving Old Photo Albums

Week 18 (Apr. 30-May 6) Institutions

Over the years of my research I have discovered several ancestors who spent time in institutions such as workhouses, orphanages and lunatic asylums.  I have discovered that two of my Great Great grandfathers died in lunatic asylums, both from what we understand today to be dementia.

For many families, caring for an elderly relative, especially one who had developed dementia, was simply not possible, and before the rise of affordable nursing homes and old age care there were few places where the elderly could be cared for.  In times when dementia was little understood and any kind of mental illness carried a weight of social stigma for the family as well as the sufferer, hiding the person away in an institution was a frequent solution.  Others, unable to care for themselves because of their deteriorating mental state, were arrested for various reasons and ended up before the courts.  Many ended up in lunatic asylums, spending their declining years in conditions that today we would consider inhumane and totally unacceptable.  For my ancestor Edward Beseler, this was to be his fate.

Edward Beseler was born in 1836 in Neubukow, Germany and emigrated to Australia as a child with his family, father Carl Friedrich (Frederick) Beseler, mother Susetta Eva (Lisette) nee Farckens and 4 siblings.  The family arrived in Adelaide in 1847 on the ship Pauline, with the ship's passenger list describing Carl Beseler as a shoemaker.  The family lived in Adelaide for several years before travelling to Victoria, settling on a farm in Ercildown.

Edward was naturalised as an Australian citizen in 1863, and married Emma Flower in 1865.  Emma was born 19 September 1841 in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales and died 1 August 1882 in Donald, Victoria.  Together the couple had 10 children.

By 1900, Edward was in his 60s and showing signs of dementia.  Matters came to a head in 1909 when he appeared in court (see report below) on the charge of having insufficient means of support, was found to be insane and an order of commitment was made.

From the Ballarat Star, 4 February 1909

Edward was admitted to the Ararat Mental Asylum, where he was assessed, found to be suffering from senility, and committed to the wards.  In his asylum record he is described at the time of his admission as being in fair bodily health for his age, clean and tidy but difficult to communicate with as he was quite deaf and illiterate, and described as suffering from delusions.  While there are only a few doctor's notes in his file, by 1917 Edward's health was deteriorating and he died in the asylum on 7 December 1918, only a few months short of 10 years after his admission.

Website Wednesday - Populations Past

The new website Populations Past allows users to create and view maps of different demographic measures and related socio-economic indicators every 10 years between 1851 and 1911. These include fertility, childhood mortality, marriage, migration status, household compositions, age-structure, occupational status and population density. Brief explanations of each measure are included, indicating how they are calculated and explaining how they relate to other measures. Users can zoom in to a particular area on the map, and compare side by side maps of different times or measures. When large areas are viewed at once the data are displayed in Registration Districts (RDs), but the display changes to Registration Sub-Districts (RSDs) when the users are zoomed in.

The Resources tab on the website contains a handy User Guide, as well as several podcasts of interviews with census experts created in partnership with Year 8 students from South Wales, resources for teachers, an image gallery and a number of links to online National RSD Maps.

The website is hosted by the University of Cambridge and Populations Past and its associated research project, An Atlas of Victorian Fertility Decline, have been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and the Isaac Newton Trust (Cambridge).

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 :

• VE Day 80 years on The end of WW2 in Europe in the soldiers' own words
• Who Do You Think You Are? 2025 What to look forward to from the new series
• The dangerous world of 17th-century Britain Would you have survived?
• Family Hero Deborah Lawrenson's mother was a Cold War spy in Moscow
• The British in India How to find your family
• Around Britain Norfolk
• And more...
  

Week 17 (Apr. 23-29) DNA

The Week 17 prompt of DNA has sent me back to my Ethnicity Estimates with Ancestry. 

The table below shows my ethnicity estimates over the years since I first tested.  I have commented before that with every ethnicity estimate update, my results seem to move further from my family tree as I know it.  For the second time in a row the numbers moved a little back towards what my existing tree leads me to expect.  It is worth noting that in 2018 and 2019 the Irish ethnicity represented Ireland and Scotland combined.   

According to my researched Family Tree, my father's family is 100% English back to the early 1700s and further and is primarily from the Essex/Suffolk area. My father's parents married in England before they came out to Australia.  My mother's family is at mostly English with some Irish (a Great-Grandmother), German (Great-Great-Grandfather) and Scottish (Great-Great-Grandmother) mixed in.  Most of her lines arrived in Australia in the 1840s and 1850s, and the various nationalities intermarried out here.  This is not reflected in my ethnicity estimate.  

I would love to know where the Ivory Coast/Ghana and Yorubaland heritage comes from - both are from my mother's side of the family and I have a suspicion I may eventually find slavery in my ancestry.

As I say just about every time I post about Ethnicity Estimates, we need to remember that these numbers are estimates only and can still be quite inaccurate and open to interpretation.  As I move back I may find my known Irish ancestry (Antrim) links back to migration from Scotland.  Likewise some of my northern European ancestry (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands) may link into my German ancestry, or even my Scottish and Irish ancestry (Vikings!).  I may never see back far enough to know for certain.

Isn't it fun to think about, though!

ANZAC Day

 
It is April 25^th again, and once more I find myself reflecting on the meaning of ANZAC Day.  While I stand and say the Ode today, 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, as well as those who serve today.  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.

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.

There are many resources available for those researching their family military history.  The Australian War Memorial has several databases available, including the Roll of Honour, Commemorative Roll, WW1 Embarkation Rolls and Nominal Roll, the Australian Red Cross Wounded and Missing Files, WW2 POWs and Missing Persons, and more.  The National Archives of Australia have the military records of many Australian military personnel from World War 1 and 2, and earlier digitised online.  The Commonwealth War Graves site commemorates the men and women of the Commonwealth forces who died in the First and Second World Wars, ensuring they will never be forgotten.  There are many other websites and resources available as well.

Around the world many towns and suburbs have plaques, cenotaphs and memorials commemorating local men and women who have served and paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country.  How often do we stop as we walk past them in our daily lives and spare a moment to remember these people?

I am forever grateful to all of those 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.