In case you’ve not discovered Inside History Magazine yet, this is THE perfect reading material for everyone who is passionate about Australian and New Zealand genealogy, history and heritage.

From Irish convicts to famine orphans, assisted immigrants to modern migrants. they’re all covered in this Irish heritage issue. “With over 40 per cent of Australians claiming Irish ancestry, Irish-Australian stories are particularly significant within the national fabric – not to mention often enthralling,” says magazine Editor Cassie. “Especially given that Irish ancestors are often tricky to trace before they emigrated.”

The handy roadmap to Irish family history research will help you track down those notoriously elusive – and often underutilised – Irish records, and staff from the National Library of Ireland talk us through its family history resources, while Irish-Australian expert Dr Perry McIntyre’s in-depth guide to historical Irish newspapers will see you browsing broadsheets from Dublin to Donegal.

Now their Irish spotlight doesn’t stop there, as historian Dr Richard Reid offers an enlightening account of the strained relationship between Irish immigrants and colonial authorities in the early 1800s. Perry McIntryre gives us a history of the Irish Famine Memorial in Sydney, and the informative Famine Orphan Database, while Dr Jeff Kildea reveals the riveting history of St Patrick celebrations in Sydney. Plus, we take a look at the experience of modern migrants through Museum Victoria’s latest exhibition, Leaving Dublin.

Those bound for the Emerald Isle in 2013 will love the heritage travel guide to Ireland’s must-see attractions and family history research hotspots right in time for Irish tourism highlight, “The Gathering”. Plus there’s a treat in store for our digital readers – a free supplement from our friends at Irish Lives Remembered on the latest genealogy and history events making headlines in Ireland.

Closer to home, we journey through North Sydney as one-time resident Henry Lawson knew it, and ask the question, who was Australia’s Great Gatsby? Find out more about our candidate: mover-and-shaker-about-town, Hugh McIntosh, aka ‘Huge Deal’. We also profile the recent additions to Historypin’s resources, from The Benevolent Society to the State Library of Queensland, and explore Sydney Living Museums’ new exhibition, A Convict In The Family?.

Regular features of the magazine include:

- Postie’s here! (your thoughts, your say)
- Bob’s Your Uncle (network with other researchers)
- Platform (we chat with Irisl ConsulGeneral, Catriona Ingoldsby about family history; plus, the latest history and genealogy news)
- History apps (from name maps to learning if you’re rekated to royalty, we review the latest apps)
- Guest Society (Royal Australian Historical Society)
- What we’re reading (the latest and greatest to hit the shelves)
- One picture … 1000 memories (The story behind the image)

All of this packed into into one magazine guarantees you a great read.

You can buy the printed copies of the magazine from Inside History directly, and a number of societies and newsagents around Australia stock it as well.

AVAILABLE AS A PRINTED MAGAZINE AND ALSO AS A DOWNLOAD FOR YOUR iPAD OR ANDROID DEVICE

PRINTED EDITION:
Copies of the current issue (and back issues) can be bought from the Inside History website. Or you can subscribe to the magazine
AUD$10.50 / NZ$15.00 per issue
AUD$31.50 / NZ $45.00 6 mth subscription (3 issues)
AUD$63.00 /NZ $90.00 12 mth subscription (6 issues)

DIGITAL EDITIONS:
iPad edition (available from the iTunes Store)
Android & Desktop edition (available from Zinio)

Now Archival Access Victoria has come up with an initiative that will help everyone. Their plan is to digitise these records for country Victoria, and to get them out to those who find them useful. Sounds good, doesn’t it … well, keep on reading!

They have chosen to start off with the town of Wodonga in Victoria. This town is right on the Victoria/New South Wales border and is about 300 kilometres away from Melbourne where many records relating to this town are. The aim for this initial Project is to digitise the court records from the Wodonga Magistrates Court that date from the early 1900′s through until the 1970′s. As you can imagine these records reveal so many stories from the towns past, and provide a valuable research tool for the community. And let’s face it – who wouldn’t like to find out if your reli got in trouble ‘back in the day’!

So the end product will be high quality digitised copies of the records which will be in the hands of those most interested in them – the people of Wodonga. Copies will be given to the family history and general historical groups in the area.

Now Archival Access Victoria are no stranger to digitising, having made digital copies on a variety of archival records on demand for family historians and community groups, but this is their first Project, and crossing fingers that it proves so successful that there will be many more for more Victorian country towns in the future , and in doing so lots more records can be made accessible to researchers in regional areas.

This is a Project, and projects need help. To aid with this Archival Access Victoria have created a pledge page which allows you to ‘donate’ or pledge money to their Project. Now you may ask what are the rewards for pledging? Well, apart from the warm fuzzies of helping out a worthy Project, you will receive your very own copy of the digitised records. The biggest cost in this Project is the man hours it takes to photograph every page of the twenty BIG volumes which are earmarked for copying, and then throw in editing, DVD production and posting to the intended recipients and those receiving rewards.

Will these digitised records be available online? Now I did check this with Archival Access Victoria, and they the answer is NO. So if you are interested in them pay a few dollars towards a worthy Project, and you’ll receive a copy.

If you to wish to pledge to the Project, you can head on over to their page here:

http://www.pozible.com/project/22232

[Kudos to Mark at Archival Access Victoria for this creative idea, and for letting me spread the word on this amazing Project]

WHEN: Saturday 30 November 2013
WHERE: Gumeracha Town Hall, adjacent to Federation Park picnic grounds
TIME: 10am to 4pm (provisional)

William Kelly (1804-1888) and his wife, Jane (1819-1893), left the Isle of Man in July 1838 for South Australia, where they arrived on 1 December 1838.

They came soon after to what became Cudlee Creek and were granted Section 6164 (101 acres) from the Sources of the Torrens Special Survey in April 1842. The home William built was named Sulby Glen after Sulby in the Isle of Man.

1938 – A centenary reunion was held at ‘Sulby Glen’, Cudlee Creek in 1938 and a book The William Kelly Clein (with family tree) was published in 1939. A facsimile this book will be available at the 2013 reunion.

1988 – A 150th jubilee reunion was held at Campbelltown in October 1988. The Kelly Family Association was formed to plan this and other follow up Kelly activities. A new book Introducing the Kelly Clein was published for the occasion. A comprehensive family tree Kelly Clein FamilyTree was published in 1990. The three Kelly books are still available – separately or at a special set price.  All will be available at the 2013 reunion.

2013 – The 175th reunion
The program for the day has yet to be settled, but will/may include:
- picnic lunch
- display of Kelly memorabilia photos and updated family trees
- sale of various Kelly books – and possibly a multimedia CD/DVD
- opportunity to update the family tree
- the chance to visit nearer Kelly places of interest – Cudlee Creek and One Tree Hill cemeteries at least
- and most of all, another chance to get the Kelly family together again

For more information about the upcoming Reunion or the Kelly family, please contact:
- Alan Phillips – reunion and general queries/suggestions and submission of any photos – alan@unlockthepast.com.au (08) 8189 1043
- Sharon Norman – reunion inquiries and family tree updates sootybear@chariot.net.au

William Kelly from the Isle of Man

Jane Christian Kelly (nee Caley), William’s 2nd wife

The Queensland State Archives have an index to passenger lists of those arriving in Queensland from 1848 to 1912. Sounds good doesn’t it! But it gets even better. This index all arranged alphabetically so your family is easy to find, has hyperlinks to the actual images of the passenger lists! Yes, truly. So you don’t even have to go hunting through each passenger list – they’ve all been indexed. So it honestly couldn’t be easier.

Now the detail on the Queensland passenger listst does vary over time. But they do include the names of ship, date of departure from European port and arrival in Queensland port, together with the tonnage etc of ships and names of masters, surgeons etc as well as the passenger lists, usually arranged by type of passage (eg free, assisted, remittance, bounty, steerage) or sometimes by type of immigrant (eg railway workers).

Details for each entry for a passenger include the name, whether married or single, male or female and age, whether a child 1-12 or an infant. A summary of passenger totals, including births and deaths, may also be included.

a page from the Duke of Sutherland passenger list
this ship arrived in Queensland 7 May 1886

The passenger lists are primarily for assisted passengers from the United Kingdom and Europe. Please note that this list does not include passengers from New Zealand, the Americas, Asia, Africa, other Australian ports or those passengers who paid their own fare (in a few lists there are fare paying passengers included).

You do need to be aware that this index does not include all immigration records for that period, such as some in the 1860s which are incomplete because they were inundated in the 1893 floods. The registers held at Queensland State Archives were rewritten from the damaged originals during that period.

The Queensland State Archives have a short YouTube video that shows you just how to use these records.

Want to start searching? Sure you do. Firstly click on the link below, then scroll down to “Search the Indexes”, choose the letter you wish to search, then page down till you get to your surname and family, click on the hyperlink of the ship, and you’re taken to an image of the original passenger list!

Start searching for passengers now!

Happy searching!

Now a major part of why the Unlock the Past cruises are so good is because of the guest speakers. Afterall you can’t really have a genealogy conference onboard without them can you? And this cruise most certainly takes the cake for the number of guest speakers. With six international speakers, and twelve from Australia this will be a cruise like no other.

But the cherry on top has to be the variety of topics that they are specialise in. It’s astounding the amount of knowledge that these people bring. So for anyone attending, trust me you are guaranteed an absolutely amazing variety of topics.

Now on to listing the guest speakers in alphabetical order:

Anne Daniels (England)
Drawing on the Past
Anne’s business is ‘Drawing On The Past’. And she creates totally unique artwork using photographs of your ancestors. By incorporating both hand drawn and digital imaging techniques, the finished design is then printed on to a beautiful heavy grade watercolour paper using a high quality fine art printing process. When you commission a piece of work from Drawing On The Past you can be assured of receiving a unique artwork, drawn from your own personal history.

Now having a “resident cruise artist” onboard will be a first for an Unlock The Past Cruise, and Anne will be available for specially priced commissions for our geneacruisers. Nearer the time we will give advance notice abot coming prepared with photographs and documents so she can commence artwork creation onboard which will allow you to see its development. But printing and framing would have to be done afterwards. Anne will also be presenting two workshops.

————————————————————————————————-

Chris Paton (Scotland and Ireland)
Scotland’s Greatest Story & British GENES
We were lucky enough to have Chris Paton join us for our 2nd Cruise, and he loved it so much (and we loved him too) that he’s coming back four the 4th Cruise. Originally from Northern Ireland, Chris Paton is a Scottish based professional genealogist, who runs the Scotland’s Greatest Story ancestral research service. He’s a regular contributor to several UK and Ireland based family history publications, and author of a number of books, and in his spare time <grin> he also writes the daily British GENES (GEnealogy News and EventS) blog.

————————————————————————————————-

Helen Smith (Queensland)
From Helen V Smith’s Keyboard
Helen has been researching her family since 1986 when her mother lamented the fact she had never known her Grandfather, George Howard Busby. Helen found some information and a newspaper photo of him, was hooked and has been addicted ever since with research in Australia, England and Ireland. She is the author of Death Certificates and Archaic Medical Terms and has written for ‘Inside History’, ‘Australian Family Tree Connections’ and other family history journals as well as scientific publications. She is the author of a number of genealogy and history related blogs, with her main one being From Helen V Smith’s Keyboard.

————————————————————————————————-

Jan Gow (New Zealand)
Hooked on Genealogy Tours
Jan says she has been ‘Hooked on Genealogy’ since 1981 when she won an airfare to the States. She has been a tutor, author and lecturer at local, national and international levels since 1985. And on cruise ships! She has served three years as Treasurer and then three years President New Zealand Society of Genealogists. She is presently the Liaison Officer for FamilySearch/NZSG, is a NZSG Life Member and Past Board Member Association Professional Genealogists. She has owned Beehive Books since 1987, the one-stop-shop for NZ genealogists and led Hooked on Genealogy Tours (since 1992) – each year preparing and escorting genealogists to Salt Lake City for three weeks and on to the UK for a further three weeks.

Jan was awarded the AFFHO Award for Meritorious Service to Family History in 2006. She was on the organising committee for the AFFHO Congress in Auckland in 2009, and the NZ Family History Fair in 2010.

————————————————————————————————-

Jane Taubman (England)
FHUG – Family Historian User Group
Having begun research into her roots in her early twenties, Jane has been combining her interests in computers and history ever since. In 2002 she purchased the first version of Family Historian and set up a place on the web for people to get help with it. Ten years on “FHUG: Family Historian User Group” www.fhug.org.uk is now full of resources to help people get the most from this powerful program. Having previously run short courses for the Society of Genealogists in London as well as for My History in the North of England, she now runs regular Family Historian courses near to her home in South Somerset, with people regularly travelling from across England to join them.

Simon Orde, Family Historian’s chief designer had this to say about her, when asked to recommend a presenter for Family Historian. “She is a real expert on Family Historian, on computing generally (she is a director of an IT company), and a lifelong committed and very knowledgeable genealogist. She is also an expert photographer and gives courses on that too. She regularly gives detailed advice to everyone on the FHUG and on the FHU Mailing List. She knows absolutely everything about Family Historian.”

Jane will present a special Family Historian stream of workshops as well as give and introductory presentation for non-Family Historian users.

————————————————————————————————-

Jill Ball (New South Wales)
Geniaus
Jill, now an amateur genealogist, has been a librarian, teacher and Head of IT at a Sydney Independent School. Jill embraces any new technology with an amazing enthusiasm, and she uses Web 2.0 tools including Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Picasa, and Blogger to communicate with genealogists and family members around the globe.

She shares her passion for integrating technology with genealogy through her blog (Geniaus), as well as presentations in Australia and internationally at Rootstech. Apart from being a well-known name in the genealogy blogisphere, having been an Official Blogger for RootsTech twice, and the Australasian Congress, she’s also written several articles for Inside History Magazine.

Jill will be sharing her knowledge of technology both in the toys that are available as well as the social media side of it with us on the cruise.

————————————————————————————————-

Julie Goucher (England)
Anglers Rest
Julie lives in the South West of England, but was born and bought up in Surrey. The genealogy bug caught her in her early twenties and her obsession was fed by a series of elderly relatives who loved to share the family’s history.
Julie uses her ‘Anglers Rest’ blog to record the stories of her family as well as a place to records how her research is progressing.

One the cruise Julie will be speaking about One Place Studies.

————————————————————————————————-

Dr Lesley Silvester (Western Australia)
TimeTrackers
Lesley is a Londoner who came to Australia with her family in 1961. After a career in nursing and administration, Lesley’s long-standing interest in genealogy resulted in her starting the busy genealogical firm TimeTrackers in 2000. TimeTrackers has helped thousands of clients across Australia and in the UK, New Zealand, USA and a smattering of other countries. Lesley’s interests are historical and genealogical research and education. As well as working for clients, she is also heavily involved in WAGS and is a regular volunteer helping people find their families at a support centre for Child Migrants.

Lesley and her husband, Mike Murray will host a fascinating evening presentation of story and song called ‘Strangers on the Shore’ on the crusie. It’s all about Western Australia’s dramatic and moving Maritime past – shipwrecks, pirates, triumph and tragedy. And you’ll get the chance to sing a verse or two.

————————————————————————————————-

Linda Elliott (New Zealand)
Mad About Genealogy
Linda is an English genealogy expert having started researching her family tree in the 1970s. Linda has worked as a freelance genealogy researcher in England and New Zealand where she now lives.

Linda has been awarded Life Membership of the Hampshire Genealogical Society and the Bay of Islands branch of the NZSG, and she has taught evening classes, workshops, seminars and at the present time is leading monthly classes through a 2 year syllabus designed to take family historians from beginner to advanced researcher level.

————————————————————————————————-

Marg Doherty (Queensland)
Genealogical Society of Queensland & History Queensland
Marg Doherty is as passionate about Queensland’s history as anyone can be. Being the current President of the Genealogical Society of Queensland, a position which she has held for a number of years now, as well as being the current President of History Queensland been actively involved in activities and projects which aim at recording or documenting history from the region, together with working towards making that more accessible to the public.

————————————————————————————————-

Mike Murray (Western Australia)
TimeTrackers
Mike’s interest in genealogy started in 1989, sparked by the sudden death of his mother and the reailsation that she was the font of all family knowledge, which had now gone. Mike resolved to find out more about the family’s roots, and has been successful in tracing his mother’s side in Ireland for many generations and the Murray family’s Scottish roots back to the 1600s. Like many of us, the quest for his family roots aroused his passion for genealogy and history.

After retiring from a career in industry and international consultancy, Mike joined his wife Lesley in running TimeTrackers, which specialises in British and Australian research, education, publishing and film-making. Mike does the publishing and film-making. Mike has had many speaking and educational engagements on a variety of genealogical topics, and is heavily involved with the WA Genealogical Society (WAGS), and is the Convenor of the Computer Interest Group and, with Lesley, the London and South England Special Interest Group.

Mike and his wife, Lesley Silvester will host a fascinating evening presentation of story and song called Strangers on the Shore on the cruise. It’s all about Western Australia’s dramatic and moving Maritime past – shipwrecks, pirates, triumph and tragedy. And you’ll get the chance to sing a verse or two.

————————————————————————————————-

Lieutenant Colonel Neil Smith, AM (Retd) (Victoria)
Mostly Unsung Military History Research and Publications
Raised in Western Australia, Neil spent 24 years in the Australian Regular Army with postings throughout Australia and overseas including a tour of duty in South Vietnam. With a broad service experience no one knows better how to get the most out of military records and archives.

Since resigning from the army 20 years ago Neil has pursued an interest in military history which had started whilst stationed in the UK. With his wife Sylvie he established Mostly Unsung Military History Research and Publications and has published scores of unit histories and other works and articles on Australian and British military history. His first book with Unlock the Past, That elusive digger: tracing your Australian military ancestors is already publsihed, with more titles expected in time for the cruise.

Neil often provides presentations on military history with a particular focus on how to research the man behind the medal. He has undertaken much TV work from both sides of the camera and has also researched in detail tens of thousands of individual service personnel for a range of official and private clients, many of whom are genealogists.

————————————————————————————————-

Dr Noeline Kyle (New South Wales)
Writing Family History
Noeline has been researching and writing family history since the 1970s when as a mature age student she discovered family history, women’s history and a love of learning all at once. Noeline gained a doctorate in history from the University of Newcastle and published her first book in 1985, Tracing family history in Australia with other books following. Since her retirement from university teaching has supported family historians with their writing of family history with her book How to write & publish family stories in 10 easy steps and with workshops, seminars and talks on writing family history over the last thirty years.

For the cruise Noeline will be drawing on her recent and forthcoming books with Unlock the Past:
- Finding Florence, Maude, Matilda, Rose: researching and writing about women in family history
- Citing historical sources: a manual for family historians
- Researching & writing about nurses, midwives, hospitals and health: a source book for family historians
- Write it! Publish it! How to write & publish a family history the family will love to read

————————————————————————————————-

Rob Hamilton (Victoria)
Freemasons Victoria
Rob’s talk will be on the spread of Freemason’s Lodges throughout the world as the British empire expanded, together with the records that are available.

Often the Lodge building was one of the earliest permanent structures to be established, and many early records still exist, in some cases dating back to the mid 1700s in England. The records in Victoria in some lodges are in excess of 150 years old and through careful study give a good social aspect of the social and commercial life of the times.  Membership records will often give details such as, the occupation, age of the member, the date he joined the lodge, his address and the various lodges he was a member. This information assists with locating the movements of these men around the country.

Masonic lodges often have photos of the lodge members particularly the office bearers, and funeral notices often are placed in the press by a members lodge, and often only refer to that lodge by a number. These numbered lodges may no longer be in existence however in some cases the monthly minute books survive, detailing the activities of the day.

The subject is so vast that no amount of time would ever be sufficient to cover the entire subject, however as this will be the first time the subject of Freemasonry, their records and influence has been given on one of the cruises that Rob will not only be speaking on the subject as a talk, but he is likely to be helping out in the Research Help Zone for with further interest.

————————————————————————————————-

Rosemary Kopittke (Queensland)
Queensland Family History Society
Rosemary has been tracing her family history since 1985. A statistician by training, she has worked in that field as an hydrologist, teacher and biometrician. Recently she has completed Certificate in Genealogical Studies (English Records) with the National Institute for Genealogical Studies.  and currently works as a consultant for Gould Genealogy & History and is regularly invited to speak on findmypast and other topics at events in Australia and New Zealand. She has published numerous indexes to cemeteries and government records though is probably best known for her work with husband Eric on the Emigrants from Hamburg to Australasia 1850-1879 publication. She is editor of Unlock the Past publications and author and contributor to several.

A current member of the Australasian Federation of Family History Organisations (AFFHO) Council and the Queensland FHS Management Committee, Rosemary is a Fellow of the Queensland Family History Society and in 2006 received the AFFHO Award for Meritorious Services to Family History.

————————————————————————————————-

Shauna Hicks (Queensland)
Shauna Hicks History Enterprises & Diary of an Australian Genealogist
Shauna Hicks has been tracing her own family history since 1977 and worked in government for over 35 years primarily in libraries and archives in Brisbane, Canberra and Melbourne. She is currently Director of her own research and consultancy business, Shauna Hicks History Enterprises. She is a sought after presenter at Unlock the Past and other events. She is the author of a number of research publications published by Unlock the Past, as well as numerous articles for journals and magazines.

Shauna has a number of tertiary qualifications from Queensland universities as well as the Diploma in Family Historical Studies from the Society of Australian Genealogists. She is a Fellow of the Queensland Family History Society; in 2007 she was awarded a Distinguished Achievement Award from the Australian Society of Archivists and is a recipient of the AFFHO Award for Meritorious Services to Family History.

————————————————————————————————-

Thomas MacEntee (US)
GeneaBloggers & High-Definition Genealogy
As a genealogist specialising in the use of technology and social media to improve genealogical research and to interact with others in the family history community, Thomas MacEntee relies upon his 25 years of experience in the information technology field.

Born in the Catskill Mountain region of New York, Thomas was introduced to his ancestry in 1993 when he discovered a published copy of his family’s genealogy from 1916. Thomas now shares his knowledge of technology and experience as a genealogist with others through various forms of social media and speaking engagements. Through his business High-Definition Genealogy, he provides consulting services in the genealogy industry covering such areas as market research, education, technology and more. As the creator of GeneaBloggers.com, Thomas has organised and engaged a community of over 2800 bloggers to document their own journeys in the search for ancestors.

————————————————————————————————-

Tiggy Johnson (Queensland)
Tiggy Johnson
Tiggy is an Australian writer and poet whose short stories, essays and poems have appeared widely, including in Black Inc’s Best Australian Poems 2012 in the Herald-Sun and on Melbourne trains. She has taught in the Professional Writing and Editing TAFE course and has spoken at and performed at various national writing/poetry festivals.

With a love of stories and puzzles, she was destined for genealogy.Tiggy is currently working towards her Masters in Information Studies, and since catching the genealogy bug, is writing her family history in poetry.

On the cruise Tiggy will be speaking on writing and poetry, and different ways to present your family history.

————————————————————————————————-

So there you go, it’s is an impressive line up isn’t it. And if you want to be a part of this totally amazing geneacruise, and mix it with so many wonderful people who share your passion for genealogy, join us, we’d love to see you there – but you will need to be quick as cabins are booking up fast.

For full details about the cruise, check Unlock the Past’s 4th cruise page
For queries or to book, contact Clean Cruising
To keep up with news about the cruise, ‘like’ Unlock the Past’s History & Genealogy Cruises Facebook page

Now Iain Grant from the Group was kind enough to inform me about this Project, and he can tell you about it better than I can …

THE GREAT OCEAN ROAD: WHO BUILT IT?
The year 2007 saw the 75th Anniversary of the opening of the Great Ocean Road, and marked with many celebrations as befitted this iconic road. Many speeches were given, as were thanks to the ex-servicemen and others whose toil, sweat, blisters, hardships, heat, cold and adversity resulted in such an astonishing memorial to those who fought for Australia during World War One.

Commenced in August 1919, the 400 kilometre stretch of road from Lorne in the east of Victoria, to Allansford in the west, it was not until 29th November 1932 that the road was officially opened by Victoria’s Lieutenant Governor, Sir William Irvine.

This had the advantage of opening up this vast coastal area so that farmers were more able to get their produce to market. Timber mills were more able to get sawn timber to the markets in Melbourne where it was desperately needed as the population grew. Previously they had to rely on coastal steamers plying the coast. Inland tracks were only passable during the summer months and with great difficulty; indeed most travel was confined to horseback.

During the intervening years some 2400 ex-servicemen and 600 civilians laboured on this massive project, initially earning 10 shillings and sixpence a day in sustenance payments. This was shortened to “susso” and was the forerunner of the “Dole” as we know it today. Many other projects in Victoria were undertaken with this scheme.

The men lived a life of hardship in tent cities situated along the length of the road; often in wet and boggy areas of the only flat land near the mouths of the various creeks.

Most records of the Great Ocean Road Trust were destroyed deliberately during World War Two leaving historians with absolutely no idea who formed to workforce that built the road. Who bent their backs to earn their “susso?” Who built the bridges? Who engineered the roads that hug the hills? Who surveyed the trackless wastes to forge ahead and open up the land to farmers and graziers? Who supplied this army of men with their daily provisions? The Salvation Army was of course there to support the men as they had in wartime, but who else supplied pastoral and other care? Who supplied the nursing that injured men might need? Who provided the entertainment in the camps at night, as men parted from their loved ones yet again, sought relaxation and succour?

Was your grand-dad, father, uncle, or brother, a worker on the road? Did an aunt, great grandma, mother, or sister assist with the feeding, cooking and other care for these men?

The Portland Family History Group is currently attempting to compile as complete a list as is humanly possible of those who had a connection with the road, and they would appreciate ANY and ALL information about your relatives or friends that you may be able to supply.

Anything at all such as names, age, where from, service in the armed forces, how long employed on the road, what job they had, which camp they were allocated to, copies of photos, or other memorabilia, written anecdotes or other stories, how they coped with the work, in fact even the smallest piece of information would be of assistance in collating a list so that they can keep a small biography on all the names before this important knowledge is lost to all of us forever.

Contact details:
Portland Family History Group
Phone: (03) 5522 2266
Email: historyhouse@glenelg.vic.gov.au
Mail: PO Box 409, Portland, VIC 3305

Iain Grant
Phone: (03) 5523 4550
Email: ij.grant@bigpond.com

Follow them:
For those into social media, go ahead and ‘like’ the Great Ocean Road Workers Facebook page to keep up with their news, and while you’re there, you might like to also ‘like’ the Portland Family History Group’s own Facebook page.

Spread the word:
They are asking us all help spread the word about this Project. So go on, tell your friends, relis, neighbours, Facebook buddies and those in  your local genie groups. The more who know about it, the more people they are likely to find connected to the building of the Great Ocean Road.

The photos below a just a few from their collection.

And as genealogists we all LOVE headstones, and we know how useful they are in our research. And it goes without saying that it’s ‘genealogy happy dance’ ‘time when we find a photo of our reli’s headstone online, particularly if you’re in another part of the world, so projects like this are so important.

The aim of the Canadian Headstones project is to capture digital images and the complete transcription of  headstones of our ancestors. Time and vandalism have an effect of headstones so it it vital that they are recorded now – before more are lost.

This Headstone Photo Project is a non-profit organisation, and the success of the Project depends completely upon the activities of many volunteers and other individuals who contribute photographs to the archive – so they NEED YOUR HELP!

So if you are in Canada, visiting Canada, or have photos from when you have visited that you’d like to contribute to this Project, you can do so.

On their website you can:
- Submit a Headstone Photo
- Search Headstones
- Browse Headstones By Cemetery
- Find a Grave in the Province/Territory
- Read about CanadianHeadstones.com In The Press

The Canadian Headstone Photo Project would be an excellent project for your genealogy or history group – hint, hint for those in Canada . And for those associated with a church use it to create a permanent, updatable, and searchable photographic record of your cemetery. Sound good doesn’t it.

For for information about the Canadian Headstone Photos Project, check out their website CanadianHeadstones.com, and keep up with the latest news on their blog.

Title:

Authored by Charles Glover, this was the first book to be written on the history of Freemasonry in South Australia, and it is one that is ‘highly’ regarded and a noted authoritative work.

In his Introduction Glover states “the main object which I had in mind when undertaking the work was that of preserving, in a permanent and concise form, the existing evidence which relates to the early history of the Craft in South Australia, and which, being largely contained in documents scattered throughout the State, is on that account peculiarly liable to loss or destruction”. He continues “… it must be regarded merely as a compilation of the records of the various Lodges in this state”.

Covering the period 1834-1884, this book of over 470 pages is one that all with an interest in, or families involved with, Freemasonry in the colony of South Australia.

The CD contains high quality scanned images of the whole of the original book, and it has been bookmarked for easy navigation, so pages can be searched, browsed, enlarged and printed out if required.

Tony Pope, PM, OS (Lodge of Fortitude #94), has has done an extensive review of this title, which I’ve been given a copy of. You can read his indepth report on it here > Click here for the review.

Now the heritage collections at the Isle of Man Museum have been digitised and have released online at www.imuseum.im giving the world access to the most amazing collection of Manx records right at their fingertips.

As well as providing hundreds of artworks, sound recordings and photographs of artifacts currently that are housed in museums across the Isle of Man, many of the records most important to genealogists – such as baptism, marriage and burial records – are also included. Each document carries a detailed catalogue description and is fully transcribed, meaning that its contents can be searched by keyword or browsed by category. Once users have identified an image or document relevant to their research interests, they can ‘pin’ items to a digital album for downloading and printing later.

This state-of-the-art website forms part of a £2 million initiative to help preserve and promote Manx culture, and has made possible by large financial contributions from the Isle of Man government and volunteer work by members of organisations, such as the Isle of Man Family History Society. Further items held by the iMuseum are currently being digitised and are set to be uploaded to the website over the course of the next few years.

“iMuseum online opens up the Manx national archives to a worldwide audience and completely transforms the way in which people access our collections,” explains Edmund Southworth, Director of Manx National Heritage. “Rather than having to view the items in a museum or specialist storage centre, people from across the world can now explore the goldmine of information in our collections from the comfort of their own homes. Research that may have taken many months or even years is now available in seconds at the click of a button.”

For a small charge, iMuseum also provides a portal for viewing thousands of newspapers dating back to the late 18th century. Comprising over 400,000 digitised pages, the publications provide eyewitness accounts of key events in the island’s history as well as key resources for family historians such as family announcements and obituaries.

So this is kind of a combined January to April collection of blogs that I’ve read, loved, and wanted to share with you.

I know that I’ve mentioned before that I find that reading blog posts helps me keep up with the latest news, products as well as what’s happening in general in the world of genealogy. And if you happen to already follow me on Twitter, and to some extent Google+, you already know that I like to share with you the interesting things I read.

Anyway I hope you find the following Genealogy Blogs … useful, and well, inspiring.

Who Belongs on the Family Tree?
Kirsty Wilkinson is the author or The Professional Descendant blog, and like many of us, and has limited time to add research her own family history. So she asks the question, “Just who should I be researching?” Or, to put it another way, “Who belongs on the family tree?”. Or putting it another way again, “who should she spend her time researching”? All the husbands of a 4x great grandmother, and for that matter, all of the children from each marriage as well? What about all of your 3rd and 4th cousins … and so on? Read the full story …

Keeping the Lights On
Craig G. Scott’s (President of Heritage Books) guest post on The Legal Genealogist blog really struck a cord with me, and it is most certainly written from a perspective that most people don’t consider. He write how genealogists greeted the announcement that the Family History Library would provide free lookups and page copies from its books with applause. The same enthusiasm is shown for the book snippets that appear on Google Books. But I can’t join in. Because this sort of conduct, by libraries and by Google Books, will harm authors and book publishers to the point where authors will not write and publishers will not publish. That will harm us all. Read the full story …

The Worst Genealogy Blogs of 2012
I admit the title hooked me in, as I’m sure it has you too, but I’m not going to spoil it by giving telling you the ending. So you can find out about the Worst Genealogy Blogs for yourself by reading the post. Read the full story …

A Blog is More Attractive than a Website
In this post, Carole Riley gives us good reasons as to why publishing your family history as separate articles in a blog rather than putting your full family tree online on a website is better. What are your thoughts? Read the full story …

Focusing on One Ancestor at a Time Keeps the Work Simpler
I’m pretty sure everyone can relate to doing multiple families (or branches) all at once, and it can get not only a little confusing, but rather overwhelming. In this post Barry tells us about his “Power of One” and how he focuses on one ancestor, one question and one record at a time. Read the full story …

A 10 Step Plan: Getting Sources & Citations Under Control
Let’s face it, sources and citations can really get you bogged down. They are important, as it is guaranteed that you will not remember that you got that piece of information from the book you borrowed from the library, or when you went and visited your aunt Jane. In this post Lynn has a plan on how to keep citing your sources in check and under control. Read the full story …

Protect Your Newspapers and Clippings
OK, maybe this isn’t a blog post as such, but it is an article that I found on the State Archives of Florida website which is most useful in advising about how to protect your newspaper clippings. And we ALL have newspaper clippings, and while scanning does give up a digital image, it’d be nice to keep the orginial too. This article tells you how to go about it. Read the full story …

Grabbing the Next Generation in Genealogy
This is Stephanie Pitcher Fishman’s report on RootsTech. Now she didn’t physically attend the conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, but thanks to the power of technology, she took advantage of the RootsTech livestreams and was able to listen to an amazing keynote address given by three gentleman greatly admired: Dennis Brimhall, Syd Lieberman, and Josh Taylor. They were all engaging, informative, and inspiring. And her take on it all  … we need to grab the next generation. Read the full story …

5 Guaranteed Ways to Mess Up Your Genealogy
Archives.com have some up with some sure-fire ways that you can mess up all your work. Now why would they do such a thing? To use as examples of to NOT do of course. Read the full story …

Online Family Trees – the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Have you put your family tree online in the hope that relatives will contact you and you’d have connections, only you then discovered you family tree and photos appearing on other websites. So someone took your tree and ran. Sadly, courtesy seems to have have died, at least in this instance. Read Lorene’s take on online trees.
Read the full story …

Is Genealogy History or is All History Genealogy?
It’s a good question isn’t it. And trust me the most you think about it, the more you’ll get confused! Anyway in this post James. L. Tanner asks us “when was the last time you took a class on the history of the country you live in? When was the last time you took a class on the history of the country your ancestors came from?” In many cases, trying to find your ancestors may be impossible without a clear understanding of the local history of the area. Read the full story …

Scott’s Third Set of Tips for ‘Real World’ Family History and Genealogy Fans
Scott focuses on keeping his tips valuable, yet simple and as cheap as possible! He starts off by saying “toss the term genealogy in the trash bin”! Read the full story …

There really is a bit of everything covered in these blogs from preservations, to general research tips, to social history, to tips on what not to do in your blog.

Happy reading

Their three new guides ‘Tracing Your Clare Ancestors’, ‘Tracing Your Sligo Ancestors’, and ‘Tracing Your Westmeath Ancestors’ complement the range of guides they have relating to researching various counties in Ireland.

Currently there are ten titles available. Each covering a different Irish county, and each written by an authority who knows what records are available, together with where to find them, and tailored to each county:
- Civil registration
- Censuses and census substitutes
- Church records
- Land records
- Wills, administrations and marriage bonds
- Newspapers
- Directories and occupational sources
- Memorial inscriptions
- Education
- Family names and histories

Together with useful information such as:
- Maps
- The administrative divisions
- The repositories and addresses

The titles that are available in this series are:
Tracing Your Clare Ancestors
Tracing Your Cork Ancestors
Tracing Your Donegal Ancestors
Tracing Your Dublin Ancestors
Tracing Your Galway Ancestors
Tracing Your Limerick Ancestors
Tracing Your Mayo Ancestors
Tracing Your Roscommon Ancestors
Tracing Your Sligo Ancestors
Tracing Your Westmeath Ancestors

With a whole bunch of articles, a number of Can You Help? queries, a Guest Society, and the Computers and Genealogy section which has a heap of websites for your to discover, togther with news and events  – there’s weekend reading for you.

The special features in this issue include: a story on Frank Howells and Ada May Rachinger; My grandmother Eileen; Part 2 of Errol Flynn’s great grandfather William Wdie Madden (aka William Adnum, aka William Maddon); Higgins and Mullins, Sergeant James Dillon. Harry write about #1450 Trooper William George Phillip Whildon, and Eileen tells up about the Meyers family: Four generations of service in the Royal Engineers.

In the Can You Help? section Simone asks the question Who was Kate Vaughan’s Foss’s mother?; and Peter tells us about his 3x great grandfather Thomas Belfield, convict. June introduces us to Lance Corporal William Andrew Craigie; and Mrs Coleman is pursuing her uncle’s side of the family, and about Edward J. de Weske. Also in the Can You Help section, Nicole write about a jockey names ‘Dodger’ Cleal. If you able to help with information relating to any people, the authors of each article would no doubt be eternally grateful.

The Dead Persons Society in Melbourne features as the Guest Society for this issue. You’ll get a brief background history of the group, togehter with their hours, resources, membership and meetings, publications and various services.

The Computers and Genealogy section has a heap of websites for you to discover, such as: Forced Adoptions History Project, additions to the Queensland BDM Indexes,  DeceasedOnline and Families in British India Society (FIBIS) sites. It highlights GENANZ mailing list, as well as RootsChat.

These are combined with all the regular features such as:

- Area research
- Family histories
- Family reunions
- For Sale
- Genealogy services
- Missing ancestors
- Missing relatives (living)
- Odds and ends
- One-Name studies
- Wanted
- Where to go
- Genealogy news
- Letters to the editor
- Resources (new publications)
- Surname register
- What’s on this month (events)

Issued monthly this magazine is on sale at newsagents, and family history societies around Australia (price Aus $6.95, and price NZ $7.95). New Zealand and overseas readers can buy this month’s magazine directly from Australian Family Tree Connections. Subscriptions and back issue can also be purchased directly through AFTC.

While the list does tend to be a little US-centric, don’t let that put you off of checking these wonderful blogs out. There is a lot of experience that these bloggers have and draw on when writing their posts.

Now, there is no doubt that creating and maintaining any blog takes time (I can vouch for that), as well as expertise and a way with words together with pictures (I’m still trying to master these bits) – but above all, it requires commitment (ooh my hand goes up for this one, I am committed!). Not that you have to post something everyday, but rather that you post regularly enough to keep your readers happy.

When Family Tree Magazine were reviewing past winners and contenders for their “40 Best Genealogy Blogs” list this year they found that even ‘some of the best’ can become stagnant after a few years, or at least distressingly sparse in its postings. It’s little wonder that even the best blogs run dry sometimes. The life of a genealogy blogger, after all, can be a constant tug of war between writers block and the urge to blog, writing about research and doing research, online life and real life with all its daily demands and distractions.

So as we celebrate this year’s crop of 40 award-winning blogs, let’s take our hats off to these geneabloggers who stick with it and sharing their wit, wisdom and family history finds with us. Their rewards: are simply the praise of readers who pause to comment, the satisfaction of ever-rising click counts, the occasional precious connection with a distant cousin, the pleasure of helping a fellow researcher. And of course, for these select few, the honor of being named to Family Tree Magazine’s top 40 blogs.

Divided into several category types, I urge you to take a visit to each of these blogs (if you haven’t already), and see what you can learn from these amazing geneabloggers.

GENEALOGY BLOGS FOR GOOD ADVICE …
When someone’s been there and lived to tell about it (in the form of a blog post), it makes your research a bit easier. Heed the wise words of these bloggers to learn about resources, discover tried-and-true techniques, and even avoid sticking your foot in your mouth, genealogically speaking.

• The Armchair Genealogist: Writing your family history is a focus of Lynn Palermo’s blog, but the list of post topics at the top suggests the range of her interests, which also include Helpful Research Tips, Irish Genealogy for Beginners, Genealogy Conferences, Old Fashioned Recipe Collection, The Family History Blog to Book Project, Everyone Has A Story—Tell Me Yours, Family History Writing Contests, Mind Mapping for Genealogists and Self-Publishing Tools for the Family History Writer.

• Clue Wagon: Funny and opinionated, Kerry Scott holds forth on subjects as diverse as “The Worst Question in Genealogy” and why “You cannot merge other people’s family trees into your family tree. Ever. EVER. NOT EVER.”  This former corporate HR executive started blogging about how to get a job. Genealogists will be glad she now likes “dead people” instead: “Spending my time with dead people is awesome. They never send dumb chain emails or make you sit through three-hour meetings in windowless conference rooms. They don’t sexually harass each other, and you never have to fire them and then help them clean out their desks. Dead people rock.”

• DearMyrtle: A pioneer in sharing advice and news about genealogy, Pat Richley-Erickson has been “your friend in genealogy” since 1995. She shows no signs of slacking off—she finished 2012 with a whopping 410 posts.

• Genea-Musings: Chula Vista, California, blogger Randy Seaver has racked up nearly 1.5 million page views since 2008 for his lively posts delivering “genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories.”

• Genealogy Tip of the Day: Delivering exactly what it promises, Michael John Neill’s blog serves up short tips on a daily basis. His advice is no-nonsense and often inspired by his own experiences, with headlines such as “If You Didn’t Write It, Cite It,” “Did It Really Happen There?” and “Never Really Changed the Name.”

• Hidden Genealogy: Jim Sanders started in genealogy to learn more about his grandparents, who all died before or not long after he was born. That led him to become an expert on “unusual and hidden records,” which he shares on this in-depth blog. Some posts follow up on that personal interest, such as his favorite, on identifying old photos, which was inspired by a 19th-century album containing more than 50 family photos. Other sources he’s uncovered (and posted or transcribed on his blog) include late 19th-century Connecticut grade school records, New Jersey city directories, funeral cards and old Pennsylvania newspaper wedding announcements.

• Midwestern Microhistory: Though Harold Henderson focuses on “genealogy and family history in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin and Michigan, and neighbor and feeder states,” you can learn a lot from him even if your ancestors never came near the Midwest. For one thing, he covers the Allen County Public Library in Indiana, one of the nation’s top genealogy research meccas. For another, his clear, common-sense writing imparts valuable lessons, often from his own research experiences, about techniques you can use to push backward into your family’s past wherever they lived.

• Mississippi Memories: Much like Midwestern Microhistory (above), Mississippi Memories takes a relatively narrow slice of genealogical geography and uses it to explore universal research techniques. Posts in recent months have tackled “Genealogy and Adoption,” “Crossing the Color Line” and “If Only The Walls Could Talk …” (house history), as well as blogger Janice Tracy’s own family stories and finds.

• Olive Tree Genealogy: A blogger since 2003, Lorine McGinnis Schulze shares “tutorials, genealogy book and app reviews, genealogy news, genealogy specials and more.” Recent topics range from tracking down death records to genealogy events and conferences to DNA testing for Native American Heritage. Special categories of posts are Sharing Memories, Cemetery Walks and Soldiers’ Items Found.

GENEALOGY BLOGS FOR TECH SUPPORT …
As if there weren’t already enough websites, databases, software, hardware, apps and social networks to send a genealogist into a technology tizzy, now you’ve got “the Cloud” to contend with. Thank goodness for these savvy bloggers, who guide you to the best family tree tools for your search.

• Ancestry Insider: Despite its name, this savvy, well-designed blog gives readers the inside scoop not only on Ancestry.com but also on that other online genealogy giant, FamilySearch. It’s packed with tips and news as it pursues the mission of “reporting on, defending and constructively criticizing these two websites and associated topics. The author attempts to fairly and evenly support both.”  That author remains anonymous, though the blog notes with tongue in cheek, “He has been an insider at both the two big genealogy organizations, FamilySearch and Ancestry.com. He was Time magazine Man of the Year in both 1966 and 2006. And he really is descended from an Indian princess.”

• Ancestry.com Blog: This official blog isn’t all corporate puffery, though it does deliver the latest on new offerings from Ancestry.com. Its frequent posts also range from research tips (one recent topic covered American servicemen in Australia) to reports from outings such as the recent “Great, Great, Great Grand Adventure” following a family’s research tour from coast to coast. It’s not without humor nor too full of itself.

• Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter: Though veteran genealogy newsman Dick Eastman’s coverage ranges far and wide, he’s especially expert on all things digital. Perhaps that’s because his newsletter began 17 years ago (yes, you read that right) with an email to about 100 members of the Genealogy forums on the now-long-defunct CompuServe online service. Nearly two decades later, he’s still at it, posting several times a day in “the DAILY genealogy technology newsletter for genealogy consumers, packed with straight talk—hold the sugar coating—whether the vendors like it or not!”

• GeneaBloggers: Think of Thomas MacEntee’s site as the blog of genealogy blogs. You’ll come here (as we did in seeking candidates for this compilation) to find what’s new and noteworthy in the ever-growing world of genealogy blogging. Thinking of starting your own blog? Check out MacEntee’s resources and daily blogging prompts.

• Genealogy’s Star: Though not strictly about technology topics, James Tanner’s blog is a go-to site for the latest news along with tips on getting the most out of genealogy tech (and avoiding technological overload). New posts are constantly popping up—as witnessed by the 713 posts here in 2012 alone.

• The Genetic Genealogist: The latest technological twist in genealogy isn’t online but in our DNA, and who better to explain it than blogger Blaine Bettinger, a genealogist with a PhD in biochemistry. As he explains his mission, “The Genetic Genealogist examines the intersection of traditional genealogical techniques and modern genetic research. The blog also explores the latest news and developments in the related field of personal genomics.” If you want more of Bettinger’s clear and commonsensical insights, you also can download a free ebook, I Have The Results of My Genetic Genealogy Test, Now What?

• Moultrie Creek: Denise Barrett Olson’s long-running blog has broadened beyond its technology focus to also include tips on topics as diverse as cemetery artwork and archiving family keepsakes. But you’ll also find plenty of plugged-in info on digital storytelling, creating great iPhone photos, family-cookbook apps, research management tools and other tech-y topics.

GENEALOGY BLOGS FOR GRAVE MATTERS …
These genealogy bloggers have a special way of helping us appreciate cemeteries for the genealogical havens they are: full of names and dates, historic statuary, and spots to contemplate the lives of ancestors committed to the earth long ago.

• The Association of Graveyard Rabbits: This blog is the hopping headquarters for a network of “graveyard rabbits” (and their own associated blogs) dedicated to transcribing tombstones and documenting local cemeteries in words and pictures. As such, it gives digital ink to a variety of interesting voices while offering insight into broad trends in cemeteries of yesterday and today, as well as fascinating facts about cemeteries around the world. You even may be tempted to become a “graveyard rabbit” yourself.

• Digital Cemetery Walk: Where else can you find a headline like “Dead Bodies by Mail”? Gale Wall shares cemetery stories as well as photos of her regular cemetery walks, backing up her belief that “Every stone has a story. And they are waiting to be told.” Kansas researchers in particular will want to check out her posts, but there’s something here for everyone who’s fascinated by final resting places.

• Granite in My Blood: A charter Graveyard Rabbit, Midge Frazel shares tombstone photos and explains what she learned from each stone—along with the mistakes she made along the way, which can be equally instructive. Her blog’s title is more than metaphorical: Frazel’s family tree includes several generations of stone carvers.

GENEALOGY BLOGS FOR HERITAGE HELP …
Think you’re the only one researching roots in your ancestors’ tiny hamlet? Turn your search for company to the genealogy blogosphere, where you’ll find those tracing roots of all stripes. These genealogists excel at sharing their ethnic roots research in informative, inspiring ways.

• British Genes: Keep up with the top stories and events concerning British Isles ancestral research from Irish-born, Scottish-based family historian, author and tutor Chris Paton. He covers websites such as findmypast, archives, events and conferences.

• Finding Eliza: Through family photos and old newspaper clippings, Kristin Cleage Williams tells the story of the family she’s been researching since 1963. Reading her blog takes you into the personal side of the civil rights movement—her father was a prominent minister—as well as efforts to combat segregation in the early part of the 20th century.

• Geder Genealogy: We can’t explain the mission of this blog from George Geder, a photo-restoration artist and self-proclaimed evangelist for African-ancestored genealogy, better than his own post: “Geder Genealogy is really about helping you to think about your genealogy and family history; developing your personal memoirs; and recording your oral history using examples from George Geder’s family tree. Geder Genealogy is sharing some ideas, tips, allegations and attitudes, for and about Persons of Color, needing examination and exploration. George Geder is all about Expression, Inspiration, Ideas and Information!”

• Genealogy Canada: This daily blog about Canadian genealogy, heritage and history is crafted by Elizabeth Lapointe, a member of the Ontario Genealogical Society and editor of its newsletter. Though not technically an official blog of the society, this newsy and tip-filled site reads like a lively one.

• Help! The Faerie Folk Hid My Ancestors!: That charming blog title gives you a taste of what you’ll find in Deborah Large Fox’s posts about Irish and Irish-American genealogy: research tips and news delivered with a lively touch. She also blogs about preserving and sharing family stories at Spilling the Family Beans.

• How Did I Get Here? My Amazing Genealogy Journey: In this richly illustrated blog, Andrea Kelleher takes readers step-by-step through her explorations of her African-American ancestors. Mixed in with her genealogical adventures are posts about her immediate family and interjections about the non-genealogical realities of life (“Whoah! Have to get dinner on the table folks. Mr. Wright Hammond is going to have to wait for another day.”).

• Nordic Blue: Norwegian-American genealogist Chery Kinnick shares family stories and ancestral research from Minnesota, the San Francisco Bay Area, the Willamette Valley in Oregon, and of course Norway. But even non-Norse visitors will be entertained and enlightened by her posts, such as the tale of “Flaming Ice Cream Snowballs” that were served on the Christmas Eves of her childhood.

GENEALOGY BLOGS FOR SHOP TALK …
Keeping up with genealogy news and resources can be quite a job, and these bloggers from genealogical organisations do it exceptionally well.

• Brooklyn Historical Society Blog: This quaint site is like a trip back in time to the Brooklyn, NY, of the past. Monthly map posts and weekly photos accompany breezily written yet carefully researched and hotlinked narration on topics as diverse as food trucks, Brooklyn’s Parade Ground and volunteerism.

• Eastern Washington Genealogical Society: You don’t have to be a member—or live in “Spokane, Washington, USA, and the Inland Northwest”—to get something out of this newsy society blog. Posts frequently address larger questions or share what members’ lessons from their own research or from guest speakers. The list of links is also worth a visit.

• NARAtions: If you expect a blog from the National Archives to be dry and officious, think again. This upbeat, often surprisingly personal blog invites readers into the archives, and even asks for help, such as tagging records in NARA’s online catalog. Recurring weekly themes include “Family History Fridays,” “Tag It Tuesdays” and “What Are You Working on? Wednesdays.” Posts grouped as NARA Staff Favorites reveal hidden treasures not only at the main branch in Washington, DC, but also in regional archives (which get their own category in “NARA Coast to Coast”).

• New York History: A long list of contributors makes this unofficial blog the place to find news about the Empire State’s history and history-related organizations. Topics might include conference reports, old murder mysteries (“A Backcountry Murder in Lake Pleasant”) and an essay on WWII stories from the New York Historical Society. Daily updates link to the latest news from the New York State history scene, whether “Battle Over Historic RR Corridor” or “Police Find Loaded 1700s Cannon.”

• Sandusky History: Now a three-time honoree in our best-blogs roundup, this richly illustrated site from the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center will make you wish for kin in Erie County, Ohio. Posts read like a local history lesson, on topics big and mostly delightfully small, such as: “Stephen Wallace Dorsey, Sandusky Tool Co. Superintendent and US Senator,” “Albert H. Robrahn’s Tailor Shop,” and “40th Anniversary Meeting of the International Union of Operating Engineers.”

• Seeking Michigan: Can you do a blog that’s mostly pictures and captions? This lovely and informative stream of old photos from the Archives of Michigan (and other collections) proves the answer is yes. Much more than mere eye candy, the “Look” blog shares the stories of images as diverse as an 1813 British cartoon depicting the capture of American General Winchester; the belated 1905 return of the body of Michigan’s “boy governor”, Stevens T. Mason; and WPA “No Depression” Christmas cards.

GENEALOGY BLOGS FOR STORY TIME …
Making one’s family tree interesting to those not hanging from its branches is a feat for a genealogy writer. The family tales of these bloggers engage us with words and images, and offer useful bits of research wisdom.

• Climbing My Family Tree: Enthusiastic blogger Jennifer is “an Army wife, a homeschooling mom, an obsessed genealogist, a photo enthusiast, an avid traveler and a self-professed bookaholic.” Besides chronicling her research, this lively and lovely blog serves up posts such as “Shopping Through the Ages,” “Family Tradition: My Ancestors Farmed a Monastery” and “The Most Confusing Land Division I’ve Ever Come Across!” Every Tuesday is a new tombstone post, and the week starts with Amanuensis Monday, featuring transcriptions of records such as divorces and deeds.

• Heritage Zen: While sharing her own research into her Polish, French-Canadian and Acadian ancestors, Cynthia Shenette aims to help others “following the path to greater genealogical awareness.” Her quest is frequently illustrated with photos, not only as art but also as lessons, as she walks readers step by step through analyzing and extracting information from family pictures.

• Into the Briar Patch: Blogger Mariann S. Regan grew up in North and South Carolina, where most of her relatives still live. As slaveholders, her South Carolina ancestors “lived inside a psychological briar patch of American history”, which Regan explores in this literate and often literary blog. (No wonder—after graduating from Duke University, she earned a doctorate in literature from Yale and became a professor of English at Fairfield University in Connecticut.)

• Journey to the Past: Even if you don’t share the surnames Brenda Leyndyke is researching, you’ll learn a lot of genealogical technique from her posts such as “Why Samuel Poor DID NOT Die in the War of 1812″ and “Where in the World is David Watt?” along with her in-depth “ancestor biographies.”

• Kinexxions: Blogger Becky Wiseman is a GeneaHistorian, native Hoosier and former globetrotting member of the US Navy. Now in its sixth year, her blog offers “a bit of family history, genealogy, research tips, photography, travel, and whatever else catches my interest!” Among her most popular posts last year were “Their Magnificent Old Home,” about the home of a brother of her third great-grandfather and “There were three brothers who immigrated …”—a rare case of that old genealogical yarn actually turning out to be true.

• Nutfield Genealogy: Heather Rojo’s frequently updated blog feels like a visit to New England. “Nutfield” is now known as the towns of Londonderry, Derry and Windham, NH. Rojo also chronicles her finds in Massachusetts and Maine, “with a smattering of Nova Scotia.” Currently the secretary of the New Hampshire Mayflower Society, she’s also a member of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, the Londonderry Historical Society, the New Hampshire Historical Society, the New Hampshire Society of Genealogists and the Massachusetts Society of Genealogists. So you know you’re getting New England genealogy from someone well steeped in the subject.

Anyway Unlock the Past, together with the backing of the VAFHO  State Conference (as the 8th Victorian State Family History Conference is on the following 2 days in Ballarat), has organised the Ballarat History and Genealogy Exhibition, which is a one day event. So if you’re heading to Ballarat for the VAFHO Conference come a little early, and check out the exhibition.

Starting a 2pm and running through until 9pm, you’ll be able to wander around without the need to rush back to the next talk, and will have displays from numerous vendors, as well as a few talks.

—————————————————————————————-
THE DETAILS

When: Friday 3 May 2013, 2pm-9pm
Where: Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute, 117 Sturt Street, Ballarat (click here) (4 minute walk from the Town Hall for those also attending conference welcome at 5pm)
Cost: Free

—————————————————————————————-
THE EXHIBITORS
(with product displays, sales and demonstrations)

Archival Access Victoria
Flip-Pal mobile scanner
Genealogy ebooks
Genealogical Society of Victoria
Gould Genealogy and History
Mostly Unsung – Lieutenant Colonel Neil C Smith, AM, specialist in genealogical and historical research on Australian and British Defence personnel
MyHeritage
Unlock the Past
Unlock the Past cruises – soon offering a wider range of genealogy cruises (internationally) to suit many tastes and budgets
VicGUM
… others to be advised

—————————————————————————————-
THE PRESENTATIONS, WORKSHOPS AND INFO SESSIONS
(provisional schedule – subject to change)

2.30pm – The amazing Flip-pal Mobile scanner – Rosemary Kopittke
2.50pm – Family Photo Book: the easy fun way to present your photos – Rosemary Kopittke
3.10pm – That Elusive Digger: Tracing your Australian Military Ancestors – brief introduction and then question and answer – Neil Smith
3.40pm – Introducing genealogy cruising: more cruises, more choice, prices to suit different budgets; and Introducing Genealogy ebooks – Alan Phillips
4.00pm – Family Tree Maker – Doug Elms from VicGUM
7.30pm – Introducing MyHeritage: the best and most progressive online tree software – Rosemary Kopittke
8.00pm – The amazing Flip-pal Mobile scanner – Rosemary Kopittke

—————————————————————————————-
THE EXTRAS

There will be FREE lookups for Findmypast, Ancestry, The Genealogist, World Vital Records (as time permits), and ScotlandsPeople (limited guide and lookups)

There will be Special exhibition offers and discounts and prizes, including  10% off all Unlock the Past guide books, hundreds of dollars worth of prizes from Gould Genealogy, Unlock the Past, Clean Cruising, and the Genealogical Society of Victoria … and others to be advised

—————————————————————————————-
MORE INFORMATION

For further information on the Ballarat History and Genealogy Exhibition check out the Unlock the Past website.
If you’d like to exhibit, please contact Alan at alan@unlockthepastcom.au or (08) 8263 2055

For further information about the 8th Victorian State Family History Conference, you can find details of the speakers and their topics here.
And more details about the conference itself here.

—————————————————————————————-

So please spread the word, as the more merrier,
and we hope to see you at one or both of next weekend’s events.

When I heard about it, it sounded too good to be true, so I had to go and check it out for myself. And sure enough you can now get ORIGINAL IMAGES of baptisms, births, marriages, deaths and burial records.

These records are not indexed, so you will need to page through, or better still if you have the Digger CDs (Tasmanian Pioneer Index 1803-1899 and Tasmanian Federation Index (currently out of print)), use them to find out the when and where, which will help narrow down your paging through.

Browse the Tasmania Birth, Death & Marriage Records 1803-1933 now.

These baptism records generally contain the following information:
- Name of child
- Date and place of baptism
- Names of parents
- Residence
- Father’s Occupation
- Gender

sample page of Tasmanian baptism records

These birth records may contain the following information:
- Name of child
- Date and place of birth
- Name and surname of father
- Name and Maiden name of Mother
- Father’s occupation
- Date of registration

a sample page of birth records from Tasmania

These marriage records generally contain the following information:
- Name of bride and groom
- Date and place of marriage
- Age of bride and groom
- Occupation of groom
- Names of witnesses

a sample of a page of Tasmanian marriage records

sample of an alternate style Tasmanian marriage page

These death records generally contain the following information:
- Name of deceased
- Date of death
- Gender
- Age
- Occupation
- Cause of death
- Date of registration

a sample page from the Tasmanian death records

These burial records generally contain the following information:
- Name of deceased
- Last residence
- Date of burial
- Age at burial
- Occupation of deceased

a sample page from the Tasmanian burial records

Sure Tasmania is a small state, but it has a “long-for-Australian-standards” history, with many convicts being sent to Tasmania, with many more emigrating there to live, so it has a rich history.

And thanks to the Archive Office of Tasmania, who is truly a leader in the archives scene, for not only in preservation of these and the many, many  thousands of other historical documents they hold, but also for the fact that they are allowing the images to put online and FREE, as well a putting many on their own website recently. Now if only other Australian archives offices would follow suit!

Now for those that have family in other Australian states and just in case you weren’t aware of what other Australian BDM records are online, here’s the links to the relevant pages:
New South Wales 1788-1982
Queensland 1829-1983
South Australia 1842-1972
Tasmania 1803-1933
Victoria 1836-1985
Western Australia 1841-1971

and you may find some links to Tasmania in the following FamilySearch collections:
Australia, Births and Baptisms, 1792-1981
Australia, Marriages, 1810-1980
Australia, Deaths and Burials, 1816-1980

The Kernewek Lowender, is a Cornish festival held in the Copper Coast towns of Kadina, Moonta and Wallaroo on Yorke Peninsula in South Australia. ‘Kernewek Lowender’ means ‘Cornish happiness’ in the Cornish language.

It is held on the second Monday of May, every two years, and their own website makes the claim that the Kernewek Lowender is the world’s biggest Cornish Festival in the world, though Wikipedia, does claim that it is the largest ‘Cornish festival outside of Cornwall’. Either way it is a BIG event.

Having been instigated by local businessmen together with the then Premier of South Australia, Don Dunstan as a means to boost the then economically depressed Copper Coast, the first one was held in May 1973 and completely exceeded everyone’s expectations by attracting over 20,000 visitors.

2013 marks the 40th Anniversary of the Cornish festival, and the seven day program which runs from May 20-26, and is designed to involve the whole Copper Coast community.

The 2013 program is again expected to attract tens of thousands of people from around Australia andthe world to the Copper Coast region, with its record number of displays and associated activities organised by enthusiastic community groups, well complementing the traditional Kernewek Lowender events on offer. Past committee members and dignitaries have been invited back to mark the 40 years of festival success since the inaugural event was staged in 1973.

The spirit of ANZAC Day seems to grow each year, with more and more people honouring their parents, grandparents or great grandparents who were involved in World War 1, World War 2 or the subsequent wars.  This post is to let you know of some special offers that are currently on, as well as other bits that relate to ANZAC Day 2013, together with various ways you can honour your military ancestors.

—————————————————————————————————————————-

FREE SPECIAL AUSTRALIAN MILITARY DIGITAL MAGAZINE
Findmypast.com.au and Inside History Magazine are delighted to announce a collaboration to produce an exclusive free digital magazine. The free digital magazine is available on iPad making it a really interactive and entertaining way to learn more about family history.

The digital magazine gives you intriguing articles by military experts to inform and entertain you, as well as showcasing new international historical records available on findmypast.com.au. You will also be able to read captivating case studies about those connected with the war.

Download your FREE copy today and enjoy the this wonderful magazine on your iPad today. Inside History have said that they will be publishing articles from the articles on their blog over the coming weeks.

UPDATE: An update from findmypast.com.au says that Inside History Magazine are currently working on a PC version of the app which is expected out next week.

—————————————————————————————————————————-

FINDMYPAST.COM.AU’S ANZAC MEMORY BANK
Findmypast.com.au has created an Anzac Memory Bank to honour and remember the brave men and women who represented Australia or New Zealand during war. The Anzac Memory Bank commemorates not only the lost lives but also the brave men and women who made it home safely again. It’s aim is to record real-life stories from soldiers, odes to those dearly departed, war stories, photos, as well as detailed information on the Boer War, WWI, WWII and Vietnam War, and you will also have the ability to ask their experts your military questions. If you wish to contribute by sharing a story or photograph, you can do so by emailing them to anzacday@findmypast.com.au.

You can read the stories that have already been added to the Anzac Memory Bank here.

—————————————————————————————————————————-

NEW MILITARY RECORDS ON FINDMYPAST.COM.AU  – Free Access 22-26 APRIL 2013
The extensive military collection on findmypast.com.au includes 3.6 million records from Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Britain and the United States. To commemorate Anzac Day the entire military collection will be available free of charge in the week leading up to Anzac Day – Monday 22 to Friday 26 April, 2013.

Some of the new records available on findmypast.com.au include:

* Australasian Imperial Expeditionary Forces Roll of Honour — An index to the roll of honour of the soldiers and sailors of Australian Imperial Expeditionary Forces
* New South Wales Roll of Honour — A comprehensive list of the names of service personnel extracted from honour rolls in schools, public halls, clubs and village war memorials across NSW
* New Zealand War Medal Roll — An index of returns of Officers and Men of the Colonial Forces who made applications for the New Zealand War Medal for services before 1866
* New Zealand Boer War Servicemen — A list of New Zealand servicemen who took part in the Boer Wars

The advanced search means you can simply start searching with a name, date, place or relevant keyword. Using a keyword such as the name of a battalion for example could prove useful. You can also search specifically in one country or search across the entire international collections.

—————————————————————————————————————————-

LEAVE A TRIBUTE ON ANCESTRY.COM.AUs ANZAC DAY TRIBUTE WALL
If you’re a Facebooker, head on over to Ancestry.com.au’s ANZAC Day Tribute Wall, and put write your own message. Every family has its military heroes, and you can remember yours this ANZAC Day by leaving a message on our Tribute Wall. Lest we forget. You can find the link to the page here.

 —————————————————————————————————————————-

GOULD GENEALOGY ANZAC DAY SALE
Here at Gould Genealogy, we have looked through our large range of military titles, and have decided to have an Anzac Day sale. As such we are offering 24 titles at very special prices until the end of April 2013.  Being all military related, they cover Australian general military, WW1, WW2, unit histories and the New Zealand army as well. So have a look at the list and if there’s something of interest, save yourself some money, and buy it while it’s on sale! Click here for the list.

 —————————————————————————————————————————-

ANZAC APPEAL
While this isn’t a special offer as such, I wanted to include it to remind everyone of the wonderful work that the ANZAC Appeal does. The ANZAC Appeal raises funds to support former and serving members of the Australian defence forces, their allies and dependents when in need. The ANZAC Appeal began in early April and runs up until ANZAC Day on 25 April. Most of the funds are raised through donations and the sale of ANZAC badges, but you can head over to their website and make a donation too, every little bit helps.  http://www.anzacappeal.com.au/

The latest addition to the Unlock the Past range of publications is one on tracing your Australian miltiary ancestors, and is released just in time for Anzac Day.

Titled “That Elusive Digger: Tracing Your Australian Military Ancestors” this book is specifically written for genealogists by Lieutenant Colonel Neil Smith, who spent 24 years in the Australian Regular Army, before pursuing his interest in military history.

The interest in discovering your ancestor’s military history has never been greater, and Lt. Col. Smith takes the reader the reader through the various wars, the various records, together with the places you can find records.

Previously there was no concise but comprehensive guide to help the family historian embark on the search for Australian military ancestors, much less one which also gives simple overviews of Australia’s military history. This small book sets out to rememdy these failings.

This book provides handy summaries of Australia’s military history both in peace and war; and gives a glimpse of where to look and what to look for, togehter with how to understand them, so as to get the most from the records.

For those seeking to search out their Australian military ancestors, there is no better place to start.

Australia’s goldrushes are an important time in the country’s history, having changed family life for so many due to migration when they headed to the goldfields, and of course some had good fortune, others bad fortune. And some never returned home.

Robyn Annear’s ‘Nothing but Gold’ book is one of the standard works on this topic. Having first been published in 1999, and having been reprinted and updated numerous times since, this is a must for everyone who wants to experience life on the goldfield as it was in 1852.

Gold was discovered in Australia in 1851, and within a year the infant colony was transformed from a sump for convicts to a Land of Opportunity. Robyn Annear’s lively history describes in detail life on the diggings: the mud of winter and dust of summer, the pluckiness of the women and children, the grog shanties, the flies, the mania of mining, the despair and the delirium, and the much hated licensing system which was to culminate in the Eureka Stockade.

Robyn tells the story of the 1852 gold rushes in imaginative detail … she tells us how it felt to be there. You find yourself worrying about the problems long ago resolved, sharply aware of the gold diggers’ hopes and ordeals, diverted by the high comedy of a chaotic time. Like all good narratives, it look easy because it is so easily read and enjoyed.

She makes a mosaic out of small moments of experience … the physical realities of the diggings are evoked, with all the ingenious ways of managing tent space, cooking, guarding gold, finding feed for horses, keeping off wind and rain, ants and mice. – Brenda Niall

Contents:
Weights and Measures
A Note About Goldfield Names
Map of the Victorian Goldfields 1851-52
Prelude
1. Discovery
2. The Great Exhibition
3. Melbourne-bound
4. Diggings, Ho!
5. The Road
6. The Tent
7. Tentkeeping
8. The Land of Chops and Steak
9. The Neighbourhood
10. Time Off
11. Sundays
12. When the Dustwinds Blow
13. Rush
14. Dig
15. Perseverance
16. Diggers’ Gold
17. The New Aristocracy
18. Licences and the Law
19. Police!
20. The Camp
21. Joe!
22. Keep Your Powder Dry
23. The Great Adventure
Coda
Bibliography
Index

Hebart Hall, in Jeffcott Street, North Adelaide was once a major private school. It now houses the Australian Lutheran College.

Open House Adelaide is part of a global network of Open House regions worldwide. The concept of opening buildings up to the public started in London almost 20 years ago. The Open House model invites everyone to experience and explore the value of buildings in their environment. This successful concept has been extended to other cities around the world, and you can now find Open House in Adelaide, Barcelona, Brisbane, Chicago, Dublin, Galway, Gdansk-Sopot-Gdynia, Helsinki, Jerusalem, Limerick, Lisbon, London, Melbourne, New York, Perth, Rome, Slovenia, Tel Aviv, and Thessaloniki.

Adelaide joined the Open House network in 2012, and hosted their first one during South Australia’s About Time History Festival last year. This proved incredibly popular, and it’s now it back with even more buildings around Adelaide opening their doors to the public.

Saturday 4th May and Sunday 5th May are the days these buildings scheduled to be open. Some 1 day only, others both. You can find full details of each event  on the www.openhouseadelaide.com.au website.

Please book for the events you wish to attend (don’t just turn up on the day), and if attending events, be sure to wear comfy walking shoes, and take a brolly just in case of bad weather.

Open Saturday 4 May
Art Gallery of South Australia
Black Box
Dickson & Platten Architects office building
Edmund Wright Building
Elder Hall
Elder House
Former Flinders Street School of Music
Former Reserve Bank building
Goodman Building
Hardy Milazzo Office
Hebart Hall
Her Majesty’s Theatre
Historic McLaren Street Walk and Talk
JPE Design Studio
Oxigen Halifax Studio
Quaker Meeting House
Thebarton Incinerator
Torrens Building
Tridente Architects Studio
University of Adelaide, Elder Hall
University of Adelaide, Mitchell Building
Walkley House

Open Sunday 5 May
Ada Street House
Adelaide Festival Centre
Artlab Australia
Ayers House Museum
Brougham Place Uniting Church
First Church of Christ, Scientist, Adelaide
Government House Adelaide
Migration Museum
National Wine Centre of Australia
Parliament House
Torrens Training Depot and Parade Ground
UniSA City East campus, Brookman Building
UniSA City West campus, Kaurna Building
UniSA City West campus, Samstag Museum of Art
UniSA, School of Law
University of Adelaide, Darling West
University of Adelaide, Hartley Building
University of Adelaide, Lower North Terrace Campus
University of Adelaide, The Plant Accelerator
University of Adelaide, Urrbrae House

Open Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 May
Adelaide Town Hall
Freemasons Grand Lodge, SA and NT
Goldsbrough House
MFS Headquarters – Adelaide Station
North Adelaide Baptist Church
Santos Museum of Economic Botany
Shell House
Smyth Memorial Chapel
St Peter’s Cathedral
State Herbarium of South Australia
State Library of South Australia
Sussex Street Residence
Westpac House

Further information and useful links:
Open House Adelaide website: http://openhouseadelaide.com.au
Open House Adelaide on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/OpenHouseAdelaide
Open House Adelaide on Twitter: https://twitter.com/OpenHouseAdel

Open House Worldwide website: http://www.openhouseworldwide.org
Open House Worldwide on Twitter: https://twitter.com/OHWorldwide

About Time: South Australia’s History Festival website: http://abouttime.sa.gov.au
About Time: South Australia’s History Festival on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/HistoryFestival
About Time: South Australia’s History Festival on Twitter: https://twitter.com/historyfestival

It’s no surprise to us that family history and genealogy is one of the most popular hobbies around the world, and why wouldn’t it be when your own family history is far more interesting that fiction!

The organisers quote that there are over 250,000 Australians who are members of family history related organisations around Australia. Just think of how many more people are interested, but aren’t actually a member of a society! Now with a month to schedule events, everyone will have time to participate in an event or two – so the idea of a month long event has great appeal countrywide.

National Family History Week has been held in Australia since 2007, usually at the end of July and into August. The National Family History Month is an initiative of AFFHO (Australasian Federation of Family History Organisations), is being held for the whole month of August and while it has received support from some of Australia’s leading government and non-government organisations, the general public will love it, as they don’t have to cram so much into a week.

During the month events will be held right across the country that focus on genealogy, family history, heraldry and related subjects including family reunions, seminars, talks, open days, history walks, book launches, film evening and expos.

So if you, your group, or organisation wish to participate by organising an event, or even using your currently scheduled event for August as a Family History Month event, you can submit details of it online by clicking on the Add Event button.

And everyone can check to see what events are on it in their area by clicking the relevant state buttons.

Keep up to date with news on Family History Month happenings by liking their Facebook page

National Family History Month
1-31 August 2013
http://www.familyhistoryweek.org.au

the team from Unlock the Past at RootsTech 2013: Alan Phillips, Helen Smith & Alona Tester

RootsTech was a few weeks ago already, and while Gould Genealogy & History didn’t exhibit over there, I did help out on the Unlock the Past stand (our sister company), but when I had a chance to go and wander around the exhibition hall I did.

Now I’m not going to name all the exhibitors as there was over 140 of them, and even with three days I didn’t get around to seeing eveyone anyway. But as you would expect all the big name companies were there with very impressive stands, but it is some of the smaller (less well-known) ones that I wanted to highlight here today.

ELIJAHTREE
—————————————————————————————————————————-

I completely fell in love with the trees done by Elijahtree, and I have added getting one of their trees done on to my “absolute must do” list. The images pretty much speak for themselves. The names on your tree are used to make the tree trunk and the swirls of the treetops. No it’s not as readable as a regular printed chart, they trust me it looks simply stunning, and will most certainly be an heirloom. I was fortunate enough to meet Molly at RootsTech. And not only is she gorgeous and very talented as she’s the artist and designer of these magnificent trees, she has a real passion for what she does.

Web: http://www.elijahtree.org
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ElijahtreeCo

Molly at her Elijahtree stand at RootsTech 2013

one of the gorgeous trees done by Elijahtree

EMIWEB
—————————————————————————————————————————-

Another exhibitor at RootsTech was EmiWeb. They are the first web based archive of its kind covering migration to and from Scandinavia. Their purpose is getting archives online and contribute to non-profit organisations research and development. They currently have associations with archives in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and North America. Their database contains millions of entries of emigrants who travelled to and from the Nordic countries. This is a subscription site which can be on a 3 month of 12 month

Web: http://www.emiweb.se
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/EmiWeb

the EmiWeb stand at RootsTech 2013. Mathias Nilsson (standing) is the Director of the Swedish American Center – National Institute for migration research and cultural exchange

GENLIGHTEN
—————————————————————————————————————————-

Some of you may have heard of Genlighten as they have been around for little a while now. Genlighten are an organisation that connects research requests with those who can do the research. While they are largely US orientated, they are wanting to expand so if you have a request or are willing to offer help in Australia (or elsewhere in the world) feel free to jump on to their website put details in.

Web: http://www.genlighten.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/genlighten

the Genlighten stand at RootsTech 2013

HOUSTORY and THE HEIRLOOM REGISTRY
—————————————————————————————————————————-

I was fortunate enough to meet Mike and Dan Hiestand the founders of Houstory at RootsTech. Unfortunately going back through my many, many photos, I don’t seem to have got one of them, but I have found a lovely photo of them from their RootsTech photo album (and I know they won’t mind sharing it with you).

Anyway Mike and Dan are the publishers of the original ‘Home History Book’ and are also the creators of ‘The Heirloom Registry’. While these are two separate things they kind of work in together. The Home History Book is one that is designed for your to record details of your house. Or in their own words “it is an heirloom-quality book that, unlike a family’s personal scrapbook or photo album, is meant to stay with a house as a permanent record of its past history and present stories”.

While The Heirloom Registry is a place to record the history or story of a family heirloom or treasured belonging. Each item you wish to register is given a unique tag (sticker) that you attach to them item. This coded sticker has the heirloom registry’s web address and when that number is entered, the details (including your story) of that heirloom will come up. So the story stays with that item wherever it goes. Always.

Web: http://www.houstory.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/HoustoryPub

brothers Mike and Dan Hiestand at their Houstory stand at RootsTech 2013

PHOTO FACEMATCH
—————————————————————————————————————————-

Hands up who has old photos but aren’t sure who they are? Yes, I know every one of you does (as do I). Well, Photo Facematch can’t name your photos, but it can help you determine whether the same person is in various photographs by analyzing them.

The comparison process is very simple. Once you have accessed the PhotoFaceMatch page, load between one and five images of a known person along with a photo of someone you’re not sure of, click the analyze button, and using state-of-the-art facial recognition technology, the program will help determine the likelihood that they are the same person. Sounds cool eh?

Now it won’t be able to compare a photo of  a baby with a photo of someone in their 80s simply because the baby’s facial features haven’t developed yet, so it’s hard to analyze.  I was told the age range, and from memory their program works with photos of kids aged 7 (or was it 10?) and upwards. So useful, but unfortunately those baby photos might stay unanswered for a bit longer.

Web: http://www.photofacematch.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/photofacematch

Brock from Photo FaceMatch at RootsTech 2013

REELGENIE
—————————————————————————————————————————-

ReelGenie are an amazing new company who exhibited at RootsTech, and they certainly created a lot of interest with their new product – one that allows you to make your own family movies online.

Users select a storyline for their movie, and ReelGenie guides them through the process of uploading photos, videos, and historical documents; recording voiceovers; and adding music to generate an online movie that can be shared with family and friends. Geared toward the creation of personal history movies for birthdays, memorials, anniversaries, and reunions, the service is the first of its kind.

Sounds cool doesn’t it!! Well, you’ll have to wait just a little longer as they haven’t actually launched yet. But if you head on over to their website and pop in your email, you’ll be notified when they launch, and then go nuts making your own ReelGenie movies.

Web: http://www.reelgenie.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReelGenieFilms

the guys at the ReelGenie stand were non-stop busy at RootsTech 2013

What: Reunion for the Blinco family
When: Saturday, 13 April 2013, 12noon – 4pm
Where: Point Walter Foreshore, Honour Avenue, Bicton, Western Australia

A family reunion for the Blinco family is planned at Point Walter, Bicton on Saturday, 13th April 2013.

The Perth branch of the family descend from Henry Blinco and his wives Eliza (nee Hinds) and Martha (nee Stallard). Asst. Warder Henry Blinco amd wife Eliza arrived at Fremantle on the ‘Merchantman’ on 12th September 1864. Henry had 10 children at various locations in Western Australia including Fremantle. The surviving children include Alfred, Harry, Thomas, Edward, John and Daisy (Moore).

Come and meet not only your Blinco relatives for a lunchtime BBQ picnic, but also some of the authors of the brand new Blinco book as well. You’ll need to bring food, drinks, chairs and shade for a picnic. Copies of the new book “Blinco from Hedgerley to Australia” will be available for $40 at the Reunion.

The organisers are looking forward to seeing any who can attend on the day. If you are unable to attend, please get in touch with Robert as he’d love to hear from you and find out where you fit into the Blinco family tree.

If you would like further information about the family, the reunion or the book, please contact Robert Wallis
Email: wallball@tpg.com.au
Phone: 0427 445 813

FamilySearch Family Tree Certified
The first of these is that the recent update to RootsMagic 6 has been “Share Certified” by FamilySearch for use with their new “FamilySearch Family Tree” system. [I know, I haven't mentioned FamilySearch Family Tree before, so you're saying what's it about? Well, I'm still getting my head around it, but essentially it is FamilySearch's place that you can put your tree online, and it is free ... more on that one later!]

Anyway back this this post … this accolade means that RootsMagic is the ONLY software certified to share data with FamilySearch Family Tree! You can read more about this announcement on the RootsMagic blog.

About.com Reader Choice Awards
Now the second and third awards have come from the recent About.com Readers’ Choice Awards, and out of a total of eleven categories, RootsMagic has picked up two awards.

RootsMagic has been awarded as the BEST GENEALOGY SOFTWARE (Windows) as well as the BEST ONLINE GENEALOGY TOOL OR MOBILE APP.

These are awesome awards to receive as it is the public who vote not just those in the industry. So it’s fabulous to know that users appreciate your product.

I was going to say Well-done, but rather this requires a standing ovation for Bruce and the whole team at RootsMagic for their accolades and awards!! Here’s to more awesome things for you in 2013!

If you’ve not tried RootsMagic, you can do so by downloading the RootsMagic Essentials version for free. This is not just a trial version, but a very usable cut-down version of the full program.

Or if you wish to go ahead and purchase the program, you can find it listed on our website here.

Each year the National Archives of Australia offers a day of guest speakers, seminars, expert advice and resources to inspire you to delve into your family history. Some states are offering tours through the archives, so if you get the chance, DO NOT MISS THAT! How often do you REALLY get to see what an archives office holds??

A number of the seminar talks relate to migrant ancestors, so you can learn how to find records related to your family’s story of arriving and settling in Australia.  You can speak to experts about resources that can assist with your search, and you will hear personal stories from fascinating guest speakers.

You’ll also get to hear about the National Archives of Australia’s new website Destination: Australia, which showcases more than 21,000 photographs of migrants in Australia following World War II.  And you just never know, but someone from your family could be among them.

As each state National Archives office hold their own event, click on the relevant link to find out the schedule of talks on for that state.
Please note: BOOKINGS ARE REQUIRED for the seminars, so check the contact details on the form you print out.

Canberra

• Shake Your Family Tree 2013 program – Canberra (pdf, 961kb)
• Shake Your Family Tree 2013 program – Canberra (Word, 1680kb)
• Catch the free Centenary ACTION bus to the event – View the timetable
  
• BOOK ONLINE

Sydney

• Shake Your Family Tree 2013 program – Sydney (pdf, 474kb)
• Shake Your Family Tree 2013 program – Sydney (Word, 1103kb)

Melbourne

• Shake Your Family Tree 2013 program – Melbourne (pdf, 423kb)
• Shake Your Family Tree 2013 program – Melbourne (word, 1143kb)

Brisbane

• Shake Your Family Tree 2013 program – Brisbane (pdf, 661kb)
• Shake Your Family Tree 2013 program – Brisbane (Word, 1071kb)

Adelaide

• Shake Your Family Tree 2013 program – Adelaide (pdf, 607kb)
• Shake Your Family Tree 2013 program – Adelaide (Word, 1034kb)

Perth

• Shake Your Family Tree 2013 program – Perth (pdf, 475kb)
• Shake Your Family Tree 2013 program – Perth (Word, 1082kb)

Hobart

• Shake Your Family Tree 2013 program – Hobart (pdf, 494kb)
• Shake Your Family Tree 2013 program – Hobart (Word, 1098kb)

So make a day of it. Go and discover what your local National Archives of Australia repository actually holds, and see how they can help you with your research.