#52Ancestors - Week 36 - Exploration

While home isolating during a recent bout of Covid, I decided to spend a few days exploring my files, checking documents and revisiting old research.  Exploring my old research is something I need to do more, fact checking and making sure all documents are properly referenced in my family group sheets, re-reading family stories and the records and details that corroborate (or explode) them.  

I always enjoy exploring my files, revisiting old documents and reliving discoveries.  As I have been researching for a number of years, the amount of paper I have accumulated is impressive, and I may not revisit certain families for quite some time.  Delving deep into my accumulation of records is an exploration indeed.

I also spent time online exploring 'new' data available since I last researched certain branches of my family and making sure I had all the information available.  

Another exploration over the past few weeks has been my online family tree, and the hundreds of 'hints' available.  While the majority I quickly dismiss and delete, there are always a few treasures to explore and add to my research, details that either I have missed during earlier research or coming from newly available records which have only just been added.  

Family History is in itself an exploration - of our past, of the history of our ancestors and the wider history that impacted and changed their lives.  Happy exploring!

#52Ancestors - Week 35 - Free Space

I think we can all agree that there is very little in life that is free.  But there is a free space available to all, at our local public library.  It is a resource every genealogist needs to take advantage of.

So what does the free space that is you local library have to offer a family history researcher?  Free access to books for a start.  Check out your library catalogue to see what family history books are available.  From genealogical reference books to published family histories, there may well be treasures lurking on the shelves waiting for you to find them.  Check out the Local History collection too, especially if your family has lived in the area.  Try contacting the library in places your family has lived to see what the Local History collection offers.  Don't forget Inter-Library Loan either.  Many public libraries can access titles not in their own collection through reciprocal lending agreements with other libraries.

Check out online databases the library may subscribe to.  Many libraries have free public access to online genealogical databases you would otherwise have to pay to access.  Depending on the licencing agreement, you may be able to access them from home using your library card, or they may be in-house use only, like Ancestry Library Edition or Find My Past.  If the database is in-house only, you will need to visit your library and use their public computers or free wifi.

Check out online eResources too.  Does your local library offer online magazines?  Who Do You Think You Are, Family History UK, Family History Us and more might be available for you to download and read on your PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone, all free.

Ask about classes, talks and groups.  Does your library ever run family history classes, host family history society meetings or genealogy chats?  These can be a great way of expanding your researching knowledge and meeting other researchers to exchange research tips.

So take advantage of the free space that is your local library and see what they have to offer you.

#52Ancestors - Week 34 - Timeline

Timelines can be so important in our research, giving context to our ancestors lives.  Timelines of significant historical events help us to understand the times our ancestors lived in.  Did they live through conflicts or natural disasters - floods, famines, diseases?  Did they experience the crowning of a new monarch or a significant change in government?  What were the major social changes that happened during their lives?  Timelines of local events give us insight into our ancestors daily lives - holidays, popular passtimes, local culture and festivals.  

Personal timelines are also useful in highlighting potential errors in our research.  Look at your ancestors timelines to see how old they were at the birth of each child - especially the mother.  Is she too young or too old to reasonably be giving birth?  Look at the time between the birth of each child - you cannot have a child born only 6 months after a sibling.  How old were they when they married or died - and are these ages reasonable?

Sometimes your timeline will highlight an interesting fact that is not impossible but worth noting.  Did an ancestor enlist in the military underage - or overage?  How old were they when they left school, left home, or began working? 

Noting life events in a timeline gives context and helps flesh out our ancestors lives, deepening our understanding of the times in which they lived.

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 

• Searching the streets of London
  Judith Batchelor explains how to place your London family on the map
• The super recognisers - Meet the men and women using their facial recognition tools to solve family history problems
• Reader story - Nigel Gray traced his family history in the Far East
• Zeppelin attacks - The forgotten Blitz of the First World War
• The English Civil War - The surviving records of the 17th century
• The best websites for researching performers, using estate records, tracing Australian emigrants and more 
• Lincolnshire - Everything you need to know about family history in the county

 

New on Trove

A number of new and expanded newspaper titles have been added to Trove recently.  It is always exciting to discover new additions to the database, many courtesy of the hard work of local community groups undertaking digitization projects.

New Victorian additions to Trove include :

• Bacchus Marsh express (1919-1945), (1946-1954) [Bacchus Marsh and District Historical Society]
• Ballarat Courier (1883-1884) [Ballarat and District Genealogical Society]
• The Ballan Times/The Ballan Times and Blackwood, Blakeville and Myrniong Standard/The Ballan Times and Gordon, Egerton, Wallace, Millbrook and Blackwood Advertiser/The Ballan Times and Egerton, Gordon, Blakeville and Myrniong Standard (1890-1913, 1919-1920) [Ballan Shire Historical Society Inc]
• The Brunswick and Coburg Leader (1922–1926) [Moreland City Libraries]
• Elmore Standard (1882-1920) [Bendigo Regional Genealogical Society]
• Kyneton Guardian and Woodend and Malmsbury Chronicle (1863-1870) [State Library Victoria]
• Mildura Irrigationist/The Mildura Irrigationist and Murray River Cultural Advocate (1893, 1895-1896) [Mildura Rural City Council Library Service]
• Nagambie Times (1882–1913, 1919-1920) [Nagambie Historical Society Inc]
• Nagambie Herald and Goulburn Valley Advertiser (1873) [Nagambie Historical Society Inc]
• The Nagambie Herald and Avenel, Murchison and Goulburn Valley Advertiser (1873) [Nagambie Historical Society Inc]
• Richmond Guardian (1885; 1904-1924)
• The Tarrangower Times and Maldon District Advertiser/The Tarrangower Times and Maldon and Newstead Advertiser/The Tarrangower Times and Maldon, Newstead, Baringhup, Laancoorie and Muckleford Advertiser (1862-1894) [Maldon Museum]

 For a full list of recent additions, click here.

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 :  

• Out on a Limb
• Writers in the Family
• Ancestry Launches SideView
• Ireland Reconstructs Lost Records
• Portal of US History
• FamilySearch Wiki Hits 100,000
• NYC Vital Records Online
• Power Tools
• branchingout
• Keep or Toss? - Declutter your genealogy
• Public Access - Delve into the collections held by the U.S. National Archives
• The NARA Network
• Pomp and Circumstance - Finding school records online.
• Hometown Heroes - Pinpoint an immigrant ancestor’s Old World town of origin
• Filipino Family - Jump-start your ancestor search in the Philippines
• The Hats Have It
• Finding Publications with PERSI
• Preserving Digital Media
• Half-and Removed Relatives
• 8 Keys to Cemetery Success

#52 Ancestors - Week 33 - Service

Many families have a history of service.  To me, service is not just serving in the military, but also serving the community in other ways.  Serving in the Police, SES, firefighting and in medicine and welfare.  The events of the past few years have highlighted the important roles filled by our doctors, nurses, paramedics and ambulance crews and other hospital personnel.  Volunteering for community groups and welfare services - undertaken quietly and without expectation of reward by so many.  

Several years ago I learned that my Great Uncle David James Clark received an Order of Australian medal for his service to the community.  By searching the website Its an Honour, which explains the Australian Honours system and allows people to search their database of Honours recipients, I was able to discover more.

The website his the following citation

While I have the military records of many family members who served in the First and Second World Wars, this is the first civilian honour I have found, and highlights another form of service for me, which I need to explore.