So here’s a rundown of the new records that have just been added …

Ancestry.co.uk
- London Wills and Probate 1525-1858
The beginning of July saw the release of Ancestry UKs London Wills and Probate collection. As we all know wills are truly personal documents, often written by your ancestor’s own hand, and they can provide a real insight into how they lived, telling you how much money they had, what sort of possessions they owned and even which of their relatives they preferred.

Before 1858, the place where a will was proved depended not on where someone lived, but on where they owned property. As you can imagine, plenty of people lived outside London but had second houses, business premises or simply land in the city. You may well find these people’s probate records in this new collection. [PHOTO]
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=1704

 - British Postal Service Appointment Books, 1737-1969
An unusual source of information, but still very important, are the British Post Office appointment books, which contains about 1.5 million names on 39,864 images, in the indexes to the Postmaster General’s minute books. They show Name, Date of appointment, and Location, which includes when they started a new position within the Post Office. Some records contain the job the worker was appointed to. The books were kept from 1831 until 1969, when they stopped being kept because of legislation and human resource procedures.
http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1933

Ancestry.com.au
- Australian Immigration Collection 1788-1923
Earlier this month Ancestry.com.au announced the launch their new Australian Immigration Collection 1788-1923, which claims to be the largest online collection of historic Australian immigration records in existence. This collection documents the names and journeys of more than 14.5 million people who travelled to Australia between 1788 and 1923 in search of a new life.
http://www.ancestry.com.au/immigration

 - New South Wales, Australia, Wives and Children of Irish Convicts, 1825-1840
This index contains lists of wives and children of convicts transported to New South Wales who, at their husband’s or father’s request, were brought to New South Wales at the government’s expense to join their spouse or parent. The index also includes female convicts whose children were transported with them. This index was compiled from musters and other New South Wales records. This index gives you the name of convict, spouse or child; the ship name; the departure year of the ship; and any remarks (which can these can include place information or even birth dates). The index includes names of some individuals who refused the request to be transported to New South Wales.
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=2377

Deceased Online
The burial and cremation records for Edinburgh, Scotland that are now online at Deceased Online comprises over 1 million records, and this on top of nearly a million burial records from the UK’s largest cemetery added in February this year. Deceased Online is constantly growing, and now has records for nearly 450 cemeteries and crematoria around the UK, and by early August they expect to add another 1.25 million burial and cremation records from the north of Scotland to South Devon.
www.deceasedonline.com

FamilySearch
The world’s largest FREE genealogy website, FamilySearch grows at an incredible rate. Here’s details of the new records that have been added online in July:
- Australia, Miscellaneous Genealogical Records 1776-1980 (4275 images)
- Austria, Upper Austria Seignorial Records 1537-1888 (116,182 images)
- Belgium Civil Registration 1795-1920 (328,045 records, 6,408,769 images)
- Czech Republic Church Books 1552-1935 (39,869 records, 302,046 images)
- England and Wales Census 1901 (34,138,362 records)
- England, Cheshire Bishop’s Transcripts 1538-1900 (2,180,763 records
- England, Cheshire Parish Registers 1538-2000 (4,140,534 records)
- England, Lancashire, Cheshire, Yorkshire Parish Registers 1603-1910 (947,377 records, 332,814 images)
- France, Coutances Catholic Diocese 1802-1907 (269,828 records, 553,957 images)
- Germany, Pomerania Church Records 1544-1945 (140,256 images)
- Germany, Westfalen, Minden Citizen Lists 1574-1902 (14,707 records, 902 images)
- Italy, Civil Registration 1806-1940 (102,724 records, 3,844,256 images)
- Italy, Waldensian Evangelical Church Records (63,714 images)
- Poland, Roman Catholic Church Books 1600-1950 (1,002,155 records, 2,249,867 images)
- South Africa, Methodist Parish Registers 1822-1996 (18,726 images)
- Sweden, Södermanland Church Records, 1640-1860 (90,102 records)
- Wales, Probate Abstracts 1773-1780 (69,525 images)

Please note I am not meaning to offend any of my American friends by not including the details of the new collections from the Canada, the US and South American regions. There have been some enormous collections added online for the US and Mexico in particular in this past month. These have been well covered by fellow geneabloggers. But you can always find the full list of collections for these areas here.

Findmypast.co.uk
- Business Index Collection 1892-1987
The Business Index Collection, published by www.findmypast.co.uk and in association with the Society of Genealogists, is available online for the first time, over 100 years after the indexes were first published in print. The Business Indexes are directories of how Britain’s business landscape shaped up between the early 1890s and 1927. They contain images and details of Britain’s shopkeepers, businessmen and women, as well as captains of industry. The records also feature a short biography, detailing the entrant’s prominence in local society, their memberships of corporations and/or clubs, the hobbies or leisure activities they enjoyed, as well as charities and other institutions that they may have been involved in. This information provides a unique insight into the individual’s character, which is extremely difficult to find elsewhere in such a comprehensive form.
http://www.findmypast.co.uk/search/business-index/

 - 19th and 20th Century Military Records
FMP UK have just release four new military sets of records. These contains over half a million records covering 100 years of the militia – the forerunner of The British Territorial Army – have just been published online. Records provide unique descriptions of what your ancestors actually looked like. These are everyday workers including butchers and bakers fighting for their country. The records provide useful detail including attestation and leaving dates, achievements made in service and soldiers’ physical appearance. And, certainly in the case of the 1861 records, the records can fill in gaps left by the census. The releases are the:
1861 Worldwide Army Index
Royal Fusiliers Collection 1863-1905
Paddington Rifles 1860-1912
Surrey Recruitment Registers 1908-1933

 - More Parish Records
FMP UK added another 290,000 new parish records going back to the 1700s. These records comprise:
Suffolk 1753-1837 (50,608 marriages)
Suffolk 1812-1905 (75,258 baptisms)
Warwickshire, Rugby 1564-1837 (1,436 marriages)
Warwickshire, Handsworth Cemetery 1909–1991 (62,252 burials)
Yorkshire, Sheffield 1558-1934 (99,611 baptisms)
http://www.findmypast.co.uk/parish-records-collection-search-start.action?redef=0&event=B

Findmypast.com.au
All is quiet from FMP Australia at this stage, with no new collections added since June.

Findmypast.ie
FMP Ireland continues to grow bit-by-bit with a few more additions to their collection over the last past month.

 - Burke’s Landed Gentry of Ireland 1899
This was the first specifically Irish edition of Burke’s Landed Gentry, and is considerably more detailed on Irish families than what had appeared in previous years in the general British series. It contains about 80,000 records, which contain detailed genealogies of all the ‘landed gentry’ in Ireland.

http://www.findmypast.ie/content/burkes_landed_gentry_launch

 - Ulster Parish Registers: Derry Cathedral 1642-1703
10,000 new BMD records have been released online to help you piece together your Irish family history. The Register of Derry Cathedral includes records of the baptisms, marriages and burials for the parish of Templemore, which included Derry City, from 1642 to 1703.
http://www.findmypast.ie/content/register_of_derry_cathedral

 - Dublin Post Office Directories
Two more excellent sources of information for those researching their Irish family history have just gone live, The Post Office Annual Directory and Calendar for 1843 and 1858. The directories are extremely rare and valuable sources of information for anyone researching their Dublin ancestors. Containing 650 and 700 pages respectively, the directories list all the government, military, religious, educational, medical, legal and police establishments in the city and county.
http://www.findmypast.ie/content/post_office_annual_directory_and_calendar

HAPPY SEARCHING!

The following is an announcement made by Ancestry.com.au:

“We want to help you discover more about your family’s past. So we’re increasing the hours our expert advisers are available to take your calls.

Our helpline will now be open 7 days a week. We’ve also recently extended the hours we’re available during the week, so now we will be on-hand to help with your family history or account queries (Aus EST)

Monday to Friday, 9.00am to 8.00pm
Saturday and Sunday, 9.00am to 4.00pm

To speak to us about anything to do with tracing your family, or just get advice on how to use the site.”

You can contact Ancestry.com.au at:
1800 251 838 (toll free from Australia)
0800 442 100 (toll free from New Zealand)
or email support@ancestry.com.au

The quantity of Australian genealogy records online continues to grow, and Ancestry.com.au has contributed to that with their recent additions.

So if your reli’s were in the Randwick Asylum, or owned a pub, can I suggest you log on to Ancestry.com.au and see what long-lost family member you might find.

Ancestry has just uploaded a heap of new military records for New Zealand, which is perfect timing to be up in time for ANZAC Day.

Approximately 124,000 served in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF), during World War 1. Of these, about 100,000 were sent overseas. Sadly nearly 17,000 died of wounds or sickness while on active service, while another 35,000 were wounded.

Use these records to find more about your ancestors New Zealand military history.

The Defenders of New Zealand
Comprises short biographies of certain colonists who distinguished themselves during the New Zealand War of 1860–1870. It also contains tales of the Maori, a list of volunteers and militia who received the New Zealand Medal, and a list of officers and men of the colonial force who were killed in action during the war. The list of medal recipients has been indexed and is searchable in the New Zealand Army Medal Rolls, 1860-1919 collection.

New Zealand Army WWI Nominal Rolls, 1914-1918
This is an indexed collection of soldiers and other individuals in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. The rolls cover soldiers who embarked from New Zealand from 1914 to 1918 during World War I. The records contain the enlisted person’s name, rank and regimental number, unit or regiment, the name, address, and relationship of the person’s next-of-kin. The records may also contain the last New Zealand residence, marital status, occupation, recruiting district, and the name of the body or reinforcement draft.

New Zealand Army WWI Reserve Rolls, 1916-1917
This collection is an index of men who were conscripted into the New Zealand Expeditionary Force Reserve during World War I. The collection runs from 1916 to 1917 and the records contain name of the reservist, occupation, place of residence at time of enlistment. The second roll also contains a classification based on how many children the reservist had.

New Zealand Army WWII Nominal Rolls, 1939-1948
This is an indexed collection of soldiers and other individuals in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. The rolls cover soldiers who embarked from New Zealand from 1914 to 1918 during World War I. The records contain the enlisted person’s name, rank and regimental number, unit or regiment, the name, address, and relationship of the person’s next-of-kin. The records may also contain the last New Zealand residence, marital status, occupation, recruiting district, and the name of the body or reinforcement draft.

New Zealand Army WWI Casualty Lists, 1914-1919
The New Zealand Expeditionary Force or NZEF were the forces sent by New Zealand to fight alongside Australia and Britain in WWI. This collection contains records of the casualties the force sustained between 1914 and 1919. Information that can be found in this index includes surname, rank, army number, casualty type, etc.

New Zealand Army WWI Roll of Honour, 1914-1919
This collection is an index of soldiers who died in military service for the New Zealand Expeditionary Force between 1914 and 1919. The rolls are split into three sections: persons who were killed in action or on active service, persons who died from wounds or disease after discharge, and people who died from disease or accident during training. The records contain name, rank, regimental number, unit abbreviation, casualty details, location, and date.

New Zealand Army Medal Rolls, 1860-1919
This collection provides an index of individuals from New Zealand who were awarded medals, decorations, or other honors for military service, between 1860 and 1919. The medal rolls were compiled from The New Zealand Official Yearbook (1919) and Defenders of New Zealand (1887), and may not contain a complete list of all military medals and honors awarded to New Zealanders who served between 1860 and 1919.

New Zealand WWI Military Defaulters, 1919-1921
This collection contains an index of men who were eligible for compulsory military service during World War I and, for moral or political reasons, failed to meet their legal obligations under New Zealand’s Military Service Act of 1916. With the passing of the Expeditionary Forces Amendment Act of 1918, they were deemed Military Defaulters. You can expect to find their names and places of residence in this index.

Chronicles of the N.Z.E.F., 1916-1919
The “Chronicles of the N.Z.E.F. (New Zealand Expeditionary Forces)”, a magazine published twice a month in London during WWI from 1916 to 1919, are in this database. The magazine provided reports on service life in the NZEF, including stories, entertainment, and information about sporting and social events. Each issue also contains obituaries and casualty lists for soldiers who died while serving in the NZEF, as well as hospital reports of wounded troops.

St Patrick’s Day (March 17) is celebrated by the Irish and Irish descendants around the world. Ancestry have added to the celebration by releasing a raft of new records that will help people uncover their Irish roots.

These four new collections date from the 19th century, and provide a detailed view of life before and during the Great Famine. This tragedy brought about mass emigration from Irish shores, so in many cases these records provide the last chance to see your ancestors in their native home.

The Griffith’s Valuation 1848-1864, and Tithe Applotment Books 1823-1837, act as crucial replacements for the destroyed Irish census records. They reveal where your ancestors were living, whether they were homeowners or tenants, and the value of their land - so you can really imagine how they lived their lives.

The other two collections let you add some colour to your discoveries – and put them within their historical context.

The Lawrence Collection of Photographs 1870-1910, brings together images from all over Ireland, showing the world your forebears lived in.

Meanwhile, the historical maps in Ordnance Survey 1824-1846, let you find your way around Ireland in this era.

Because the Irish have spread so widely over the globe, these records offer the tantalising prospect of discovering lost cousins in Ireland. Search the collections above to see if you can find any more connections to your family.

With these new collections, Ancestry now have over 35 million records to help you uncover your Irish roots. Click here to find out more.

The following announcement was written by Ancestry.com.au:

Bringing Family History to Life for Aussie Kids
Ancestry.com.au’s new free online teaching resource, My Place in History^TM, brings family history to Australian classrooms

Sydney, Australia, 14 February 2011
According to research released by Ancestry.com.au, almost one third of Australians do not know when their ancestors arrived in Australia, with one in five not knowing the occupation of their grandparents.

Conducted by The Online Research Unit, almost 60 per cent of Australians believe it is important for children to know about their family history in order to better understand who they are today, and why Australia is the way it is.

To coincide with this research, Ancestry.com.au, has launched My Place in History, a free web-based educational program designed for teachers to assist them in teaching their students about family history.

Created by leading family history experts, Ancestry.com.au, the program brings family history into the classroom of Australian primary schools by placing the child’s family history at the centre of the learning experience.

The teacher-lead program enables each student to delve into their heritage and learn first-hand about their family history, whilst also exploring the many economic, political and social circumstances that have impacted and shaped who we are today.

Louise Zarmati, Doctoral Researcher, Deakin University, said “It’s through new resources like My Place In History that teachers can bring family history into the classroom and create a unique and engaging learning experience for our children to understand their history alongside community history.”

Building on the recent increase of interest in family history, students will be able to create family trees online, whilst learning about the key drivers of change within our society during the lives of their ancestors – wherever they came from – and how these changes have impacted their own identity, as well as that of their family and society more generally.

“My Place In History brings history to life for students by putting the experiences of their ancestors in context with global history, personalities and events. This program is highly engaging and will see students eager to learn more about their past,” said Josh Dunn, Teacher, St. Matthews Catholic School, Mudgee.

My Place In History services as a fun, educational resource for students and it’s also an opportunity for teachers to upload and explore their family history too.

Debra Chesterton, Managing Director, Ancestry.com.au, said: “Ancestry.com.au has created an interesting and engaging online resource to help teachers, children and parents understand the various ways in which the world has changed, from one generation to the next”.

“What better way to make this relevant and meaningful to our children than by encouraging them to learn about our history through the lives of their own family. It’s a great project that starts in the classroom and one that the whole family can then do together.”

The online teaching resource includes a step-by-step teaching program (including learning outcomes, lesson outlines, discussion topics, and cross curricula activities), questionnaires, and space to upload teachers’ own personal resources.

The free website also includes a tool for teachers and students to build their family tree and a range of interactive activities that are designed to make learning fun and engaging for students and teachers alike.

Teachers can register and get started by visiting: www.myplaceinhistory.com

Through the creation of My Place in History, Ancestry.com.au is allowing people to discover, preserve and share their family history, as they believe that this is an activity whole family can enjoy doing together, regardless of their generation.

As such … let me introduce you to my great-great-great-great grandpa Isaac Richardson. First just a little of his background. Born in Somersetshire, England in 1804, Isaac was the oldest of 10 children born to Benjamin and Esther Richardson (nee Moore). During his childhood the family moved from Somersetshire to Kent where his father was a clock and watchmaker.

During the early part of the 19th century the Agrarian Revolution, as well as the Industrial Revolution was taking place, which made times difficult, and wages fell and unemployment increased.

By the mid 1820s, Isaac was married with two children. Both he and his brother Simeon became involved in the ‘Swing Riots’ (also known as the ‘Kent Machine Breakers’), protesting against the poor living conditions, low wages and the introduction of machinery.

Wednesday 24 November 1830 was the day that changed Isaac and Simeon’s life forever, as they, along with others were arrested for rioting. They were sentenced to death, but a petition from the local townspeople saved their life, and they were then transported for ‘Life’ to Van Diemen’s Land instead.

Prior to being transported, Isaac and Simeon were sent to stay on the prison hulk “Retribution”. And thanks to Ancestry.com.au having put these records online, I now have a record documenting this.

The document I have relating to my earliest Australian ancestor, would be the “Conduct record” (a portion of which is below). This mentions that Isaac (and Simeon) were transported on the ‘Lord Lyndoch’ which arrived in Van Diemen’s Land on 18 November 1831. So this is the date of arrival of my earliest Australian ancestor.

Available to view online this, together with the “Physical Description record” as well as the “Appropriation List” (who he was assigned to – which is pictured below) are all on the Archives Office of Tasmania website and available to search, view, and print for FREE. Awesome work from this Australian Archives!!

So without going into the whole of Isaac’s life, it did turn out pretty good for him, considering he was sentenced to death at age 25.

He was assigned as a labourer to James Hume, in Campbell Town (Tasmania), and managed to stay out of too much trouble, which was no doubt a contributing factor when he was granted a Conditional Pardon in 1842.

Matilda, Isaac’s wife managed their two children for seven years on her own, before finally being granted assisted passage to emigrate to Tasmania in 1837/38. So it took a while, but they were a family again. Seven more children were born in Tasmania, he became a watchmaker, no doubt having learnt something of the trade from his father, and he lived to the age of 69.

I really do believe that everyone has an interesting story, and this is just ONE story about ONE of my fascinating relatives. Thanks again to TwigsOfYore for coming up with this blog idea, and allowing me to share a little of my history. I do look forward to reading the posts by others on this topic.

With over 2.3 million searchable convict and criminal related records, they have the most comprehensive online collection of Australian convict records.

Until then end of January you can enjoy free access to authentic images of historical convict records including Passenger Lists from the First Fleet, Muster rolls and Registers of Pardons dating back to 1788. With all these fantastic records available online, there’s more chance of discovering if there is a convict relative in your family history.

So click here to start your free search today!

A fascinating collection, this consists of registers and letter books of prisoners on convict prison hulks in England between 1802-1849. A hulk is a decommissioned ship that is either technologically out of date or cannot make it through the open sea without taking on water, but is still able to float without problems. There were many of these ships available when engines started to power ships instead of sails, so the hulks were moored in harbors and used as floating prisons or for other purposes.

The hulks’ place in harbors also made it easier to hold and transport convicts being sent to Australia. The first prison hulks in England appeared after a 1776 act allowed them to be used to house prisoners.

The collection contains a letter book relating to the establishment of hulks written from 1847-1849 and the registers of prisoners on 19 different hulks between 1802-1849 – a total of about 200,000 records. Those covered are: Bellerophon, Captivity, Coromandel, Cumberland, Discovery, Dolphin, Establishment, Euryalus, Fortitude, Ganymede, Hardy, Justitia, Laurel, Leviathan, Perseus, Portland, Prudentia, Retribution, Warrior, and York (pictured).

The records reveal the lives of the convicts who were imprisoned on these hulks and detail each inmate’s name, year of birth, age, year and place of conviction, offence committed, name of the hulk and, most interestingly, character reports written by the ‘gaoler’ (prison officer) which provide intriguing insight into each convict’s personality.

Many of the 200,000 convicts held on board the floating prisons were awaiting transportation to Australia, but the hulks were unable to go to sea, having been stripped of their masts, rigging and rudders, and instead fitted with prison cells.

Typically, each hulk held between 200 and 300 convicts in dire conditions. Disease was rife and spread quickly as there was no way to separate the sick from the healthy in the cramped conditions. This meant mortality rates were high, with around one in three inmates dying on board.

The records will be of use to family and social historians, and anyone with an interest in the UK penal system. They detail the rather bleak conditions that those who fell foul of the law would have found themselves in.

Please note, some of these site you do need to pay to view records, others are free.

ANCESTRY.COM.AU (pay)
Ancestry.com.au continue to add to their collection, by adding or updating the following:
Australian records:
Australia Birth Index, 1788-1922
Australia Marriage Index, 1788-1949
Australia Death Index, 1787-1985
Australia Cemetery Index 1808-2007
Australia and New Zealand Obituary Collection
South Australia Government Gazettes 1867-1884
Sydney and New South Wales Street Index 1861-1930

ARCHIVES OFFICE OF TASMANIA (free)
The Archives Office of Tasmania has recently added three new databases: arrivals, inquests, and a general index. All of these together with other indexes are available to search free.
General Index – indexes contents of a range of records, mainly names, but some subjects
Index to Inquests c.1828 – c.1930
Index to Passengers & Ships Arrivals to Tasmania in the 19th Century

FAMILY HISTORY SA (free)
Family History SA, a site dedicated to South Australian records has recently added the following to their collection:
Deaths of Returned South Australian Servicemen
South Australian Land Purchases 1869-1890

FAMILYSEARCH (free)
FamilySearch has certainly bee busy adding millions of records online in the last few months, unfortunately no new Australian ones in this lot, and just one new New Zealand title … but I can tell you more Australian records are due soon from FamilySearch so keep an eye on their site.
New Zealand Immigration Passenger Lists 1871-1915

FINDMYPAST.COM.AU (pay)
findmypast.com.au took over WorldVitalRecords.com.au earlier this year, and now they are just starting to add a few new records to their collection.
Goomeri Cemetery Index
Mundubbera Cemetery Index
Queensland Commonwealth Electoral Roll 1959
Queensland School Pupils Index 2
Queensland School Pupils Index 3
Queensland School Pupils Index 4
Ravenswood Cemetery Index

QUEENSLAND STATE ARCHIVES (free)
The Queensland State Archives has been very busy adding new data online long list of newly added records to their collection. The newest addition to their collection is the Queensland Wills Index 1859-1925. The files contain documents which include information such as name, address and occupation of the deceased, date and place of death, next of kin, an inventory of property and its value and disposition.

Other recent additions to the Queensland State Archives site are:
Bureau of Investigation papers on land and irrigation development c01/01/1932-31/12/1973 (Open)
Co-ordinator General’s Office Miscellaneous Plans, Maps and Diagrams c01/08/1936-14/05/1947 (Open)
Education Department Inspectors’ Reports c19/03/1878-05/06/1991 (Partially open)
Lands Department District Working Maps c01/01/1879-31/12/1999 (Open)
Local Government Association of Queensland Executive Committee Minutes 14/08/1896-10/12/2009 (Open)
Mining Warden, Burketown/Mining Warden, Cloncurry Register of Miners’ Rights 27/03/1899-25/08/1960 (Open)
Police Station, Croydon Circular Memoranda and Order Books 19/01/1887-12/08/1925 (Open)
Police Station, Croydon Letterbooks c01/11/1892-08/06/1916 [with gaps] (Open)
Police Station, Croydon Register of Pay and Allowances 10/09/1903-29/11/1915 (Open)
Police Station, Harrisville Letterbooks 21/08/1904-26/04/1917 (Open)
Police Station, Irvinebank Letterbooks c03/07/1912-03/12/1915 (Open)
Police Station, Normanton Memoranda and Letterbook 30/10/1909-21/05/1952 [with gaps] (Open)
Port Brisbane Authority/Corporation Cairncross Dock Plans 18/11/1942-01/12/1972 (Open)
Registers of Applications under the Liquor Act, Croydon c03/04/1929-30/12/1940 (Open)
Port Brisbane Authority/Corporation Correspondence and Papers 18/08/1905-27/04/2005 (Partially open)
Registers of Resumptions 01/06/1935-31/12/1994 (Partially open)
State Butchers Department Register of Letters Received 26/12/1918-30/10/1920 (Open)
The Gap State High School Admission Registers 25/01/1960-17/05/1993 (Open)

THE SHIPS LIST (free)
Passengers:
- barque Alice Brooks, from Melbourne, to Port Adelaide 7th December 1855 … with passengers
- barque Bielefeldt, from Hamburg, to Melbourne 25th November 1855 .. plus two families
- barque Asa Sawyer, from Hamburg, to Melbourne 26th November 1855
- barque Steinwaerder, from Hamburg, to Port Adelaide 19th December 1855
- barque Helene, from Hamburg, to Port Adelaide 23rd January 1856
- ship Europa, from Hamburg, to Port Adelaide 25th June 1856
- barque August, from Hamburg, to Port Adelaide 17th August 1856
- ship Adele, from Hamburg, to Port Adelaide 14th September 1856 .. Melbourne 11th October 1856
- barque Heinrich, from Hamburg, to Port Adelaide 18th September 1856
- brig Vesta, from Hamburg, to Port Adelaide 29th November 1856
- barque Ramillies, from Plymouth to Port Adelaide 11th November 1860
- ship Schah Jehan, from Plymouth to Port Adelaide 1st December 1860
- barque Verulam, from London to Port Adelaide 27th December 1860

Immigration Reports:
- Assisted Passage from United Kingdom to South Australia, 1862

AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPERS (NLA and TROVE) (free)
The National Library of Australia’s “Australian Newspapers”really deserves a blog post of it’s own, but for ease of use for finding what records are new, I decided to leave it in . As you can see from the extensive list, the people at NLA have been extremely busy scanning and putting the images online for all to see and use for free … and while heaps of papers have already been scanned, there are HEAPS more still to come!!

The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA: 1889-1954)
* From 1862-01-01 to 1865-12-30
* From 1868-01-02 to 1867-12-31
* From 1868-07-01 to 1869-12-31
* From 1876-10-02 to 1877-09-29
* From 1875-10-01 to 1876-09-30
* From 1877-10-01 to 1878-06-29
* From 1878-10-01 to 1879-09-30
* From 1879-10-01 to 1880-07-31
* From 1880-09-01 to 1869-06-30
* From 1881-04-01 to 1881-06-30
* From 1881-07-01 to 1882-03-01
* From 1882-04-01 to 1882-07-31
* From 1882-09-01 to 1883-12-31
* From 1888-10-01 to 1888-12-31
* From 1889-01-01 to 1889-03-30
* From 1895-04-01 to 1897-03-31
* From 1896-04-01 to 1897-03-31
* From 1898-04-01 to 1899-03-31
* From 1899-04-01 to 1900-03-31
* From 1928-08-01 to 1928-11-30
* From 1929-08-01 to 1929-11-30
* From 1929-12-02 to 1930-04-30
* From 1930-09-01 to 1931-02-20
* From 1931-10-01 to 1932-01-30
* From 1930-05-01 to 1930-08-30
* From 1937-06-01 to 1937-09-30
* From 1939-05-01 to 1939-05-29
* From 1939-07-01 to 1939-07-30
* From 1940-08-01 to 1940-08-31
* From 1940-10-01 to 1940-10-31
* From 1947-01-01 to 1947-05-31

Australasian Chronicle (Sydney, NSW: 1839-1873)
* From 1839-08-02 to 1843-10-07

Braidwood Independent (NSW: 1867)
* From 1867-08-31 to 1867-10-16

Cairns Morning Post (Qld: 1907-1909)
* From 1909-01-04 to 1909-06-30

Camperdown Chronicle (Vic: 1877-1954)
* From 1879-01-03 to 1879-12-26
* From 1892-06-02 to 1893-02-28
* From 1901-07-02 to 1902-02-27
* From 1905-07-01 to 1906-02-27
* From 1910-03-01 to 1910-10-29
* From 1910-11-01 to 1911-06-29
* From 1918-04-23 to 1919-04-24
* From 1921-01-04 to 1921-12-31
* From 1933-07-01 to 1933-12-23
* From 1934-01-04 to 1934-06-30
* From 1930-07-01 to 1930-12-31
* From 1935-07-02 to 1935-12-31
* From 1938-01-04 to 1938-06-30
* From 1948-01-05 to 1948-12-30

The Colonist (Sydney, NSW : 1835-1840)
* From 1835-01-01 to 1837-12-28
* From 1838-01-03 to 1839-07-20
* From 1839-07-24 to 1840-12-31

Kalgoorlie Western Argus (WA: 1896-1916)
* From 1896-02-13 to 1896-07-27
* From 1896-09-03 to 1897-02-25
* From 1897-03-04 to 1897-07-22
* From 1897-07-29 to 1898-04-14
* From 1898-04-21 to 1898-11-24
* From 1898-12-01 to 1899-03-16
* From 1899-03-23 to 1900-01-25
* From 1900-02-01 to 1900-05-03
* From 1900-05-10 to 1900-07-26
* From 1900-08-02 to 1900-10-16
* From 1900-10-23 to 1901-01-01
* From 1901-01-08 to 1901-03-26
* From 1901-04-02 to 1904-05-10
* From 1901-09-17 to 1901-12-03
* From 1902-11-04 to 1903-03-31
* From 1903-06-23 to 1904-05-10
* From 1904-05-17 to 1904-08-02
* From 1904-08-09 to 1904-10-25
* From 1904-11-01 to 1905-06-20
* From 1905-06-27 to 1905-09-12
* From 1905-09-19 to 1905-11-28
* From 1905-12-05 to 1906-09-18
* From 1905-09-19 to 1905-11-28
* From 1906-09-25 to 1906-12-18
* From 1906-12-25 to 1908-04-14
* From 1908-04-21 to 1912-07-02
* From 1912-07-09 to 1912-10-01
* From 1912-10-08 to 1916-11-28

The Mercury (Hobart, Tas: 1860-1954)
* From 1925-07-01 to 1927-09-30
* From 1928-04-02 to 1928-09-29
* From 1929-10-01 to 1930-03-31
* From 1931-10-01 to 1932-06-30
* From 1930-04-01 to 1931-09-30
* From 1934-10-01 to 1935-03-30
* From 1935-04-01 to 1936-02-29
* From 1936-09-01 to 1937-02-27
* From 1937-09-01 to 1938-02-28

The Monitor (Sydney, NSW: 1826-1828)
* From 1826-05-19 to 1828-08-11

Morning Chronicle (Sydney, NSW: 1843-1846)
* From 1843-10-11 to 1846-07-08

Queanbeyan Age and General Advertiser (NSW: 1864-1867)
* From 1864-05-19 to 1866-12-27
* From 1867-01-03 to 1867-06-28

Queanbeyan Age (NSW: 1867-1915)
* From 1867-07-05 to 1876-09-21
* From 1878-01-05 to 1886-12-30
* From 1887-01-13 to 1889-12-11
* From 1898-01-05 to 1900-12-29
* From 1891-01-17 to 1897-12-11
* From 1900-01-03 to 1903-12-29
* From 1904-01-01 to 1907-12-31
* From 1908-01-07 to 1909-12-24
* From 1910-01-04 to 1914-12-25

Queanbeyan Age and Queanbeyan Observer (NSW: 1915-1927)
* From 1915-01-05 to 1917-12-28
* From 1918-01-04 to 1920-12-24
* From 1921-01-04 to 1922-11-17
* From 1923-01-05 to 1924-12-23
* From 1925-01-02 to 1925-12-22
* From 1926-01-01 to 1926-12-31

Queanbeyan-Canberra Advocate (NSW: 1905-1927)
* From 1925-01-08 to 1925-11-19
* From 1926-01-07 to 1926-12-30

South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register (Adelaide, SA: 1836-1839)
* From 1836-06-18 to 1839-06-15

The Sun-Herald (Sydney, NSW: 1953-1954)
* From 1953-10-01 to 1954-12-31

The Sunday Herald (Sydney, NSW: 1949-1953)
* From 1949-01-01 to 1952-04-30

Sydney Chronicle (NSW : 1846-1848)
* From 1846-07-11 to 1846-12-30
* From 1847-01-02 to 1848-09-30

The Sydney Monitor and Commercial Advertiser (NSW: 1838-1841)
* From 1828-08-16 to 1832-05-16
* From 1832-05-23 to 1838-10-03
* From 1838-10-05 to 1840-04-15
* From 1840-04-17 to 1841-12-29

The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW: 1842-1954)
* From 1851-07-01 to 1852-11-29
* From 1853-12-12 to 1854-11-08
* From 1863-09-18 to 1865-05-04
* From 1865-05-05 to 1865-12-30
* From 1874-04-24 to 1874-12-31
* From 1879-07-26 to 1880-03-12
* From 1880-10-28 to 1883-02-12
* From 1890-05-05 to 1898-10-31
* From 1899-05-25 to 1907-07-20
* From 1907-07-22 to 1908-01-11
* From 1908-01-13 to 1913-02-07
* From 1928-01-02 to 1928-04-14
* From 1933-11-01 to 1934-02-17
* From 1935-06-01 to 1935-09-30
* From 1936-09-01 to 1936-11-30
* From 1940-01-01 to 1940-04-30
* From 1946-05-01 to 1946-08-31
* From 1948-04-01 to 1948-09-30
* From 1948-10-01 to 1949-02-28
* From 1952-05-01 to 1952-08-31
* From 1954-01-01 to 1954-02-28
* From 1954-07-01 to 1954-08-31

Western Argus (Kalgoorlie, WA: 1916-1938)
* From 1894-11-24 to 1896-02-06
* From 1916-12-05 to 1923-01-30
* From 1923-02-06 to 1930-10-07
* From 1931-03-03 to 1931-12-01
* From 1931-12-08 to 1934-12-25

Western Mail (Perth, WA: 1885-1954)
* From 1885-12-19 to 1890-08-02
* From 1890-08-09 to 1892-10-01
* From 1892-10-08 to 1893-02-11
* From 1893-02-18 to 1895-04-20
* From 1895-04-27 to 1896-05-22
* From 1896-05-29 to 1898-12-09
* From 1899-02-24 to 1900-09-15
* From 1900-09-22 to 1901-08-03
* From 1901-08-10 to 1901-12-28
* From 1902-03-29 to 1902-06-14
* From 1903-02-07 to 1903-04-25
* From 1905-04-22 to 1905-09-30

The West Australian (Perth, WA: 1879-1954)
* From 1923-08-29 to 1925-05-08
* From 1925-05-09 to 1925-10-01
* From 1926-02-19 to 1926-11-17
* From 1926-11-18 to 1927-04-01
* From 1927-04-02 to 1927-12-15
* From 1927-12-16 to 1928-04-04
* From 1928-04-05 to 1928-08-02
* From 1928-08-03 to 1930-01-09
* From 1930-01-10 to 1930-05-01
* From 1930-05-02 to 1932-02-18
* From 1932-02-19 to 1932-06-22
* From 1932-06-23 to 1933-07-03
* From 1933-11-03 to 1934-06-11
* From 1933-07-04 to 1933-11-02
* From 1934-06-12 to 1934-09-25
* From 1934-09-26 to 1935-04-23
* From 1935-01-05 to 1935-04-23
* From 1935-04-24 to 1936-02-28

West Australian Sunday Times (Perth, WA: 1897-1902)
* From 1897-12-19 to 1899-05-21
* From 1900-05-06 to 1902-03-23

If you are a website owner or just someone that keeps an eye out for new data, and you know of new Australian data that I’ve not mentioned – big sites or small – (I admit that it is impossible for me to keep an eye on ALL Australian genie sites, though I do try), please do send an email to me (Alona), so I can make mention of it for others to discover and use.

Happy searching … and keep an eye online for more good Australian data to come!!

Featuring records of 15 million Australians, and dating back more than 200 years to when modern Australia was settled in 1788. It is estimated that one in three “Britons” have an Australian in their family tree. For genealogists researching Australians, the release of these records is a major stepping stone to helping them discover their family history. The Birth index covers 1788-1922, Marriage index1788-1959, and Death index 1788-1985.

You can read Ancestry’s own announcement about this on thier blog.

Chris Paton from Scottish GENES seems to have been the first blogger to pick up on the new records, and spread the word around about it. This was followed shortly after by Australian blogger Geniaus, who after testing records, had some very interesting comments to say about it. Liz, from Yarra Plenty Genealogy also has had a go, and has also found that these databases are useful, but many records seem to be missing. So if using these records, check them with other sources. Just because the record isn’t there doesn’t mean that they’re not recorded.

Don’t forget that you can access the following records online already …
New South Wales Births, Deaths & Marriages
This index contains the births, deaths and marriage recorded in New South Wales between the years: births 1788-1909, deaths 1788-1979, and marriages 1788-1959.

Queensland Births, Deaths & Marriages
Index records are available for births registered up to and including 1914, deaths registered up to and including 1964 and marriages registered up to and including 1934.

Victorian Births, Deaths & Marriages
The Historical Index contains entries relating to births in Victoria from 1853 to 1908, marriages in Victoria from 1853 to 1942, deaths in Victoria from 1853 to 1985, and church baptisms, marriages and burials in Victoria from 1836 to 1853.

Western Australian Births, Death & Marriages
Free online searching of Western Australian birth, death and marriage indexes is available for the following ranges of years: Births 1841 to 1932, Deaths 1841 to 1965, and Marriages 1841 to 1936.

FamilySearch
The FamilySearch Pilot site keeps on growing, and now contains some records of Australian BDMs. You can find over 600,000 Australian Births and Baptisms, ranging in dates from 1792 to 1981. 170,000 Marriages are listed from 1810 to 1980, and their Deaths and Burials contain about 170,000 records at present from 1816-1980.
Births & Baptisms 1792-1981
Marriages 1810-1980
Deaths & Burials 1816-1980

This is a listing of new ‘Australian’ data added on to these online data websites recently.

ANCESTRY.COM.AU
Ancestry.com.au continue to add to their collection, by adding the following:
New South Wales, Australia, Applications and Admissions to Orphan Schools, 1817-1833

ANCESTRY WORLD ARCHIVE PROJECT
The World Archive Project, is a division of Ancestry.com which “lets you help us bring free historical record collections to the public. Contributors become the first to see new collections as they type in information that creates searchable record indexes.”  Keep an eye on this site, or better yet, register as an indexer, as there are LOTS of Australian records being worked on here. And the sooner they’re indexed, the sooner everyone has access.

AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPERS (NLA and TROVE)
The availability of the Australian newspapers continues at an amazing speed (though no doubt, just the one we want isn’t yet online!!), but still to even have these coming is a phenomenal resource for all. These newspapers appear both on the NLA Australian Newspapers website, as well as on TROVE.
Camperdown Chronicle (Vic, 1877-1954)
- From 1880-12-03 to 1882-04-29
- From 1883-12-01 to 1885-05-30
- From 1899-09-02 to 1900-08-30
- From 1903-07-02 to 1904-02-27
- From 1908-03-03 to 1908-10-31
- From 1911-07-01 to 1914-01-31
- From 1914-10-01 to 1915-05-29
- From 1917-06-02 to 1918-04-20
- From 1919-05-01 to 1919-12-30
- From 1931-07-02 to 1931-12-31
- From 1936-01-04 to 1937-06-29
- From 1940-07-02 to 1940-12-31
- From 1942-01-06 to 1942-12-29
- From 1953-01-06 to 1953-12-29

The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA, 1889-1931)
- From 1870-01-01 to 1871-12-30
- From 1889-04-01 to 1890-03-31
- From 1891-04-01 to 1892-03-31
- From 1892-04-01 to 1893-03-31
- From 1893-04-01 to 1895-03-30

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic, 1848-1954)
- From 1951-01-01 to 1951-04-30
- From 1954-01-01 to 1954-04-30
- From 1954-05-01 to 1954-12-31

The Mercury (Hobart, Tas, 1860-1954)
- From 1921-01-01 to 1921-12-31
- From 1922-01-02 to 1922-08-31
- From 1922-09-01 to 1925-06-30
- From 1927-10-01 to 1928-03-31
- From 1928-10-01 to 1929-03-29
- From 1929-04-01 to 1929-09-30
- From 1932-07-01 to 1933-12-30
- From 1934-01-01 to 1934-09-29
- From 1936-03-02 to 1936-08-31
- From 1937-03-01 to 1937-08-31
- From 1938-03-01 to 1948-06-30
- From 1949-01-01 to 1949-04-30
- From 1949-05-02 to 1949-12-31
- From 1950-01-02 to 1950-12-30
- From 1951-09-01 to 1952-04-30

The Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld, 1866-1939)
- From 1884-01-05 to 1884-12-27
- From 1897-05-01 to 1897-12-25
- From 1906-09-01 to 1907-04-27
- From 1908-09-05 to 1909-04-24
- From 1914-01-03 to 1914-12-26
- From 1916-01-01 to 1916-04-26
- From 1916-05-06 to 1916-12-30
- From 1920-01-03 to 1920-12-25
- From 1924-01-05 to 1924-12-27
- From 1925-01-03 to 1925-12-26
- From 1927-01-01 to 1927-12-29
- From 1937-01-07 to 1937-12-29

The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW, 1842-1954)
- From 1879-07-26 to 1880-03-12
- From 1880-10-28 to 1883-02-12
- From 1885-04-20 to 1886-03-31
- From 1886-09-27 to 1898-10-31
- From 1899-05-25 to 1907-07-20
- From 1908-01-13 to 1913-02-07
- From 1913-07-01 to 1913-11-19
- From 1916-01-26 to 1916-07-08
- From 1929-07-29 to 1929-11-12
- From 1930-04-07 to 1931-02-28
- From 1932-01-01 to 1933-02-28
- From 1943-01-01 to 1945-06-30
- From 1946-01-01 to 1946-04-30
- From 1946-09-02 to 1948-03-31
- From 1949-03-01 to 1949-08-31
- From 1951-09-01 to 1951-12-31

The West Australian (Perth, WA, 1879-1954)
- From 1901-03-05 to 1901-11-26
- From 1901-11-27 to 1902-08-13
- From 1903-05-06 to 1903-12-31
- From 1904-09-14 to 1906-07-07
- From 1906-11-01 to 1906-12-28
- From 1936-02-29 to 1936-05-15

FAMILY HISTORY SA
Family History SA, which is a site dedicated to South Australian records has recently added the following to their colelction:
South Australian Births 1836-54

FAMILY TREE OZ
This is a site dedicated to scanning old books, and publishing them online for free.
South Australian Motor Vehicle Registrations 1906-1920
Wise’s Tasmania Post Office Directory 1945-1946

FAMILYSEARCH
The FamilySearch Pilot Site continues to grow, and although not currently focussing on Australian records, the following has recently been added:
Australia, NSW and ACT, Masonic Lodge Card Indexes 1831-1930 (images only)
Australia, NSW and ACT, Masonic Lodge Registers 1831-1930 (images only)

QUEENSLAND STATE ARCHIVES
The Queensland State Archives has a long list of newly added records to their collection, you can see it here.

THE SHIPS LIST
Passengers:
– barque August, from Hamburg, to Port Adelaide 9th May 1855
– barque Johann Caesar, from Hamburg, to Port Adelaide 1st January 1855
– barque Wilhelmine, from Bremen, to Port Adelaide 1st October 1855
– ship Australia, from Hamburg, to Port Adelaide 4th March 1855
– ship Grand Trianon, from Liverpool to Port Adelaide 23rd April 1860
– ship La Rochelle, from Hamburg, to Port Adelaide 3rd September 1855
– ship Peter Goddefroy, from Hamburg, to Port Adelaide 18th November 1855

Happy searching – and keep an eye online for more good Australian data to come!!

FAMILYSEARCH
In amongst the 300 million new records that FamilySearch added to their Pilot Site a few weeks ago, were:
Australia Births and Baptisms 1792-1981
Australia Deaths and Burials 1816-1980

ANCESTRY
Ancestry.com.au continue to add to their collection, by adding the following:
Queensland, Australia, Passenger Lists, 1848-1912
Western Australia Post Office Directory 1910
Western Australia Post Office Directory 1926

FAMILY HISTORY SA
While not new, the following from Family History SA have been updated and extended:
South Australian Cemeteries Burials now includes Nailsworth North Road Anglican Cemetery – up to 1900
South Australian District Constables 1853 to 1920
South Australian Marriages 1836 to 1855
South Australian Naturalizations
South Australian Police 1838 to 1920

BDM REGISTRARS
New South Wales Births, Deaths & Marriages
This index contains the births, deaths and marriage recorded in New South Wales between the years: births 1788-1909, deaths 1788-1979, and marriages 1788-1959.

Queensland Births, Deaths & Marriages
Index records are available for births registered up to and including 1914, deaths registered up to and including 1964 and marriages registered up to and including 1934.

Victorian Births, Deaths & Marriages
The Historical Index contains entries relating to births in Victoria from 1853 to 1908, marriages in Victoria from 1853 to 1942, deaths in Victoria from 1853 to 1985, and church baptisms, marriages and burials in Victoria from 1836 to 1853.

Western Australian Births, Death & Marriages
Free online searching of Western Australian birth, death and marriage indexes is available for the following ranges of years: Births 1841 to 1932, Deaths 1841 to 1965, and Marriages 1841 to 1936.

Happy searching … and keep an eye online for more good Australian data to come!!

The steps to follow are:
1. Open your Family Tree Maker program.
2. Click Help > Activate Ancestry Subscription. The Welcome window opens.
3. Click Activate Subscription.
4. Enter the name and email address you use for your Ancestry membership and click Continue.
5. If you have more than one Ancestry account, you will need to choose the account you want to use.
6. Enter the password associated with your Ancestry account and click Continue.
7. Click Finish to complete the activation.