New Irish Records on FamilySearch

FamilySearch has added two new collections of Irish records – ‘Diocesan and Prerogative Wills & Administrations Indexes, 1595-1858’ (with 364,122 records) and ‘Diocesan and Prerogative Marriage License Bonds Indexes, 1623-1866’ (with 218,434 records).

Probate refers to the process of ‘proving’ a person’s will after their death by seeing that the administration of their bequests was carried out correctly. Civil probate was introduced in 1858. Previously, it was the responsibility of the church authorities. In Ireland, this was the ecclesiastical courts of the Anglican Church of Ireland, despite the fact that the majority of the population were Catholic. The indexes reveal the date your ancestor died and the place where the record was proved.

Marriage licence bonds were an alternative to marriage bonds. They allowed a couple to go to the ecclesiastical court and pay a sum to sign a witnessed declaration that the marriage was free to go ahead. The records include the names of the spouses and the date and place where they obtained the licence.

The records are taken from indexes compiled by the Dublin Public Record Office. Many of the original records were destroyed when the Public Record Office burned down in the Irish Civil War in 1922, so the indexes are all that remain.

New WW1 Pension Records on Ancestry

Ancestry has added to its collection ‘WWI Pension Ledgers and Index Cards, 1914-1923’. These records had already included the Naval Ledgers, Merchant Marine Cards and PRC Ledgers.  The new trance of records, ‘Other Ranks Died’, covers men below the rank of officer who died while serving in the army, navy and air force.

This set of records, amounting to approximately one million cards, relate to pensions claimed from the British Ministry of Pensions for 'other ranks' (not officers) who were killed or died in the Great War.  This constitutes a full set of records and has not been subject to any weeding (as has been the case in other records preserved by the Ministry of Defence). Therefore a card should exist for every soldier, sailor or airman who died in the war provided his next of kin claimed a pension. If there was no pension claim, no card will exist.  The website also notes that pensions of men who survived the conflict will be part of a later release.

The cards enable the identification of individual servicemen via reference to either (1) his dependent/next of kin (for example wife/parents) and/or (2) a home address. Therefore, for servicemen with common names (for example Smith and Jones) researchers can now identify the relative they are looking for, as these extra details will give certainty where none existed with other archived records, such as the Medal Index Cards.

You may be able to find the following information (where available):

• Name
• Gender
• Date of Birth
• Date of Death
• Date of Injury
• Details of dependents or next of kin
• Date of Marriage
• Place of residence
• Rank
• Ship
• Regimental Number
• Regiment or unit

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 RB Digital eMagazines.

Inside this month's issue

• Register offices revealed
  Are certificate services failing family historians? Don't miss our exclusive investigation of the best and worst local councils
• Navy board records ahoy!
  The hidden history of the Navy is uncovered thanks to volunteers at The National Archives
• The beast from the East
  130 years ago, the Russian flu killed thousands across Britain. Did your ancestor die in the forgotten pandemic?
• Family hero
  How Rachel Thomas' great uncle survived months in a lifeboat, only to become a prisoner of war
• Workhouse records
  Peter Higginbotham explains how you can trace ancestors who fell into poverty
• Plus...
  The best DNA test services; uncovering Merchant Navy crew lists; the lives of potters, and much more...
   

Around Britain

• Somerset
  We catch up with the county's new archive services - and the free websites you can use to find your family

Upcoming Genealogy Classes

As part of Seniors Month in October Campaspe Regional Library will be offering a number of free genealogy classes around the Shire, and bookings are now open.

Echuca Library
Ancestry Library Edition   Friday 11 October 1.00pm
Public Records Office of Victoria   Friday 11 October 2.00pm
FamilySearch   Friday 18 October 1.00pm
Genealogy Hints and Tips   Friday 18 October 2.00pm
Genealogy and DNA   Sunday 27 October 2.30pm
National Archives of Australia   Monday 28 October 10.00am
Trove and the National Library of Australia   Monday 28 October 11.00am

Kyabram Library
Trove and the National Library of Australia   Wednesday 23 October 9.30am
Ancestry Library Edition   Wednesday 23 October 11.00am
Genealogy and DNA   Wednesday 23 October 2.00pm

Rochester Library
FamilySearch   Monday 21 October 9.30am
Ancestry Library Edition   Monday 21 October 11.00am
Genealogy and DNA   Monday 21 October 2.00pm

Rushworth Library
Genealogy and DNA   Friday 25 October 9.30am
Ancestry Library Edition  Friday 25 October 11.00am
Researching ANZACs   Friday 25 October 2.00pm

Tongala Library
Genealogy and DNA   Monday 14 October 9.30am
Ancestry Library Edition   Monday 14 October 11.00am
Researching Irish Ancestors   Monday 14 October 2.00pm

Bookings are available online via the library homepage or you can call the library on 54812400.

Checking Ancestry's Database Information

It's always important to understand the resource that you're using, whether it's an original record, a book, or a database. Like you would read the introduction to a book, it's a good idea to read the "about" section of any database you're using. So when you're looking at a particular database on Ancestry, scroll past the search box and you'll see information about where the data came from and more details about what is in that resource. 

In my last post I wrote about accessing the Asylum records for Victoria, Australia.  The 'About' section for this dataset tells me where the information has come from and what information it might contain.  All fairly straight forward and worth knowing.

For other datasets, however, the 'About' detail can give some important information.  For example, the Rate Books 1855-1963 for Victoria, Australia are by no means complete, and the detail makes this clear.  While the list below is not the complete list of Rate Books available, it gives you the general idea that different areas covered different year ranges.  For the complete list, please check the card catalogue yourself.

There is nothing more frustrating than spending your valuable researching time looking for information that is not covered by the database, even though the broad description implied that it was there.  So try checking the description of some of the datasets available on Ancestry to see exactly what they cover - it may explain why you cannot find a records you were expecting to be available.

Searching the Ancestry Card Catalogue

When was the last time you searched the Ancestry card catalogue?  If your answer is "Never" than you may be missing out on a great way to narrow down you searches on the website, and discovering specific sets of records that you may otherwise be missing.

To get to the card catalogue, log into Ancestry and click on the Search tab at the top of the page, then select the "Card Catalogue".

The Card Catalogue is a searchable list of all the record collections available.  Because of the way their databases are titled you can use the title search box to narrow all the resources for a specific place, such as "Victoria, Australia".  You can then browse through the various data sets, click on one which interests you, and conduct a specific search of those records for anything relevant to your family.

Using this method, I discovered that Ancestry holds many of the Victorian asylum records from 1853-1940.  I searched these records and was able to locate the patient records of two of my ancestors who were admitted to asylums shortly before they died.  Both were elderly and suffering from dementia, one in Ararat and one in Kew.  Their records contained details of their admission, family members who admitted them, their doctor's comments on their illness and general health - one even had a photograph attached.  Incredible details to add to my knowledge of each individual.

So take a look at what the card catalogue has to offer and get the most out of Ancestry.  You may find a selection of records you never knew existed that hold details about your family

Making History

Making History is a set of online resources designed by Museums Victoria to support students, individuals and community groups as they investigate and create a short digital history (up to 3 minutes). This site guides you through the process to research, produce and share a digital history about a person or event. 

Modules include :

1. Introduction to Digital History
2. Choose Your Theme
3. Research
4. Create a Storyboard
5. Edit Your Digital History
6. Share Your Digital History

There is also a Student Showcase where you can select from more than 70 videos from undergraduate students studying the Making Histories course at Monash University, Secondary-aged students across Victoria, and Primary-aged students across Victoria.

These modules are a great was to create a family story for a reunion or to focus on a particular family member or event, and it is all free online.  Check out what Making History has to offer.