e-NEWSLETTER
January 2009
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QFHS Snippets - January 2009, Volume 9 No. 1 

January 2009
Welcome to 2009!

While you patiently wait for the QFHS library to re-open on 12 January, you can explore a diverse range of web sites from this month's Snippets. 

Do you have a few hours to spare once a month? Consider becoming a Library Assistant. You can learn about our fantastic resources whilst helping others.

Happy researching!

Remember to send your Snippets pieces to us at: snippets@qfhs.org.au

Table of Contents

  1. About This Newsletter
  2. QFHS Gaythorne Centre
  3. QFHS Dates to Remember
  4. Can You Help?
  5. Queensland State Archives
  6. SLQ Family History Networking Event
  7. Government House Open Day
  8. Queensland State Archives Research Seminar
  9. Queensland State Archives Immigration Card Index
  10. ACT Historical Death Index 1930-1973
  11. Public Record Office Victoria Wiki
  12. Public Record Office Victoria Probate and Shipping Indexes
  13. Irish Census Records
  14. Irish Transportation Database 1791-1868
  15. Images of England
  16. Non Parochial and Non Conformist records Online
  17. Yorkshire Family History Fair
  18. Online Magazine Launch - Discover My Past Scotland
  19. Battle of Trafalgar Website
  20. Scottish Handwriting Website
  21. Ellis Island
  22. 1852 New Year Resolutions solve genealogical mysteries
  23. Acknowledgements

1.    About this Newsletter

Snippets is a monthly publication of the Queensland Family History Society Inc. (QFHS). QFHS Website http://www.qfhs.org.au/

Please do not click on reply to contact Snippets - the 'click on reply' facility is strictly for 'un-subscribing' to the mailing list.

You are encouraged to contribute items which you feel would be of general interest to the family historian hunting for that illusive relative. Humorous items and items relating to the technology of using computers in genealogy are also welcome. Submit your BRIEF items supplemented by hyperlinks to additional details.

Snippets will rarely include items of a commercial nature and only then when they are likely to be of interest to a majority of our readers.

Submit your items to us here: snippets@qfhs.org.au   Top of page

2.    QFHS Gaythorne Centre

Our address is:
58 Bellevue Ave,
Gaythorne QLD 4051
QFHS library - (07) 3355 3369

For details about QFHS Centre, including location map, transport etc, click here: http://www.qfhs.org.au/location_hours.html#Library

A reminder that our library is closed for its end of year stocktake by Santa's elves. The library will reopen at 7pm on Monday, 12 January 2009.

The library will close for the Australia Day public holiday on Monday, l26 January 2009.   Top of page

3.    QFHS Dates to Remember

QFHS Monthly General Meetings are held on the third Wednesday of the month (but not in January and December), at the QFHS Library, and start at 7:30pm. Attendance is free, and visitors are welcome

Next Meeting: Wednesday, 25 February 2009.

Brian Ogden, Information Officer, Museum of Brisbane will talk on "Names behind the places".
________________________________________

QFHS Daytime Meetings are held on the first Monday of the month (but not in January and December) at 20 Marmont Street, Geebung from 10am - 12 Noon.

Next Meeting: Monday 2 February 2009.

Contact Maureen Mutton on 3265 4378 if you would like to attend.
________________________________________

Central European Group

Meetings are held 10am - Noon on the 4th Saturday of each odd-numbered month at QFHS Library. A $2 donation goes toward purchasing relevant records.

Next Meeting: 24 January 2009.

For further information, contact Eric Kopittke on (07) 3376 4339 or email kopittke@tpg.com.au OR centraleuropean@qfhs.org.au
________________________________________

 Educational Workshop

Cost is $5.50 per person which goes towards purchasing more research materials for the Library. Time - 10am to 12 noon at QFHS Library.
Workshop dates for 2009 are: 
* Sunday, 22 February - "Where to Begin"
* Sunday, 26 April - "How to Keep Your Records in Order"
* Sunday, 28 June - "Where to Begin"
* Sunday, 30 August - "How to Keep Your Records in Order"
* Sunday, 25 October - "Where to Begin"
 
For bookings - contact Desley Schafer - phone (07) 3204 4254 or email: educationofficer@qfhs.org.au
________________________________________

English West Country Group

This group researches the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Dorset. Meetings are held from 12 Noon - 2pm at the QFHS Library, on the fourth Thursday of the odd-numbered months.

Next meeting: Thursday, 22 January 2009.

For further information contact Robert Browning on (07) 3359 9801 or email: robertbb2@bigpond.com   Top of page
________________________________________

Family History Writing Group

These meetings are held from 9am - 11am at QFHS Library.

Next meetings: Saturday, 17 January 2009

For further information contact FHWriters@qfhs.org.au OR Robert Adamson on (07) 3266 8353 OR Sue Reid on (07) 3378 2278.
________________________________________

Family Tree Maker User Group

These meetings run from 10am - 11:30am venue at QFHS Library and are held on 1st Friday each month except January and last Saturday in each even-numbered month except December.

Next meetings are: Friday, 6 February 2009 and Saturday, 28 February 2009.

For further details, please contact Garth Elvery on (07) 3359 2853 or email: theboss@powerup.com.au
________________________________________

Irish Interest Group

Meetings are held from 10am - 12 Noon at QFHS Library on the second Saturday of the even-numbered months (not December).

Next meeting: Saturday, 14 February, 2009.

For more information about Irish Interest Group contact Mary King on (07) 3205 3353 or email irish@qfhs.org.au
________________________________________

Member Orientations - 'Old' & New Members Welcome

You will almost certainly learn new stuff about the Society, and helpful hints about using the Library and researching, all in a friendly atmosphere and informal setting. New members are especially welcome.

Upcoming orientations: Saturday, 21 February, commencing at 9:30am and Friday, 20 March 2009 at 10am.

Numbers are limited to allow full participation. BOOKING is ESSENTIAL. Please note: Sessions are usually fully booked, with a waiting list, so please advise the organisers as soon as possible if you find you are unable to attend when you have a booking.

Contact Bev Bonning on (07) 3355 7389 or Wendy Annand on (07) 3395 2530 or email them at welcome@qfhs.org.au   Top of page
________________________________________

Scottish Interest Group

Meetings are held from 10am - 12 Noon at QFHS Library. Donations to buy more Scottish resources are welcome.

Next meeting: Saturday, 14 March 2009.

For further information: Email scottish@qfhs.org.au OR phone Sam on (07) 3266 9131
________________________________________

Welsh Interest Group

This group meets on the fourth Sunday of the odd numbered months from 10am - 12 Noon at the QFHS Library.

Next meeting is: Sunday, 25 January 2009.

Contact Paul Wood on welsh@qfhs.org.au for further information.

4. Can You Help?

An invitation is extended to members who would like to volunteer their services as a Library Assistant, commencing from mid-January 2009.  Vacancies will occur on the following days each month:

First Saturday     1 pm - 4 pm
Fourth Monday   7 pm - 9 pm
Fifth Sunday       1 pm - 4 pm (Fifth Sunday occurs 4 times a year)

Members who are interested in becoming Library Assistants, please contact the Secretary.

5.    Queensland State Archives

The State Archives will be open from 9am to 4:30pm during 2009 on these Saturdays:

10 January
14 February
14 March
11 April
9 May
13 June
11 July
8 August
12 September
10 October
14 November
12 December

Further information contact the Manager, Public Access at info@archives.qld.gov.au or by phoning (07) 3131 7777   Top of page

6.    SLQ Family History Networking Event

The State Library of Queensland will be holding this workshop and information session on Saturday, 10 January 2009 from 10am to 12 Noon.  Representatives of Queensland Family History Society will join representatives from the Church of Latter Day Saints, the SLQ Family History Section, and Genealogical Society of Queensland.  The representatives will provide information on their resources and will be available afterwards for questions and discussions. 

The venue will be the State Library of Queensland Auditorium, level 2. Tickets are $9.50 which includes morning tea. Book your place at:    https://www.qtix.com.au/index.aspx or Telephone: 136 246.
 

7.    Government House Open Day

You're invited! The Governor of Queensland, Her Excellency Ms Penelope Wensley AO and Mr Stuart McCosker invite you to enjoy historic buildings, spectacular gardens and tranquil bushland - all in inner Brisbane.

The Open Day will be held on Monday, 26 January 2009 (Australia Day) from 10am to 3pm. Entry is free and you are welcome to BYO picnic on the lawns whilst listening to the military band.

Don't miss this opportunity to visit Government House at: 168 Fernberg Road, Paddington.

For more information go to: http://www.govhouse.qld.gov.au/   Top of page
 

8.    Queensland State Archives Research Seminar

This seminar provides new researchers with an introduction to the collection resources at Queensland State Archives.

It will be held from 10am- 11am on Wednesday, 11 February at Queensland State Archives - Lecture Theatre 2.
Entry is free! To book your spot telephone (07) 3131 7777.
 

9.    Queensland State Archives Immigration Card Index

Visitors to the Public Search Room of the Queensland State Archives (QSA) may have noticed that the Immigration Card Index has been reduced considerably. QSA Volunteers have re-indexed Series ID 13086 (Registers of Immigrant Ships' Arrivals 1848-1912). These indexes are now available on the QSA website and so entries from this series have been removed from the card index. Please remember to search both the new indexes and the card index when searching for immigrants.

Try your luck for immigrants at the QSA website here: http://www.archives.qld.gov.au/research/indexes.asp   Top of page
 

10.    ACT Historical Death Index 1930 - 1973

A little known listing of all the deaths that have occurred in the ACT from 1930 to 1973 is available for free on this site. Set out as an Excel spreadsheet, it isn't very user friendly, but it might help you find that elusive ancestor.

You might hit the jackpot at: http://www.ors.act.gov.au/bdm/WebPages/bdm_deaths.html

11.    Public Record Office Victoria Wiki

Public Record Office Victoria (PROV) is trialling its new wiki that will enable researchers to provide comments, extra information and their own linkages about and around records held by PROV. Like Wikipedia, the PROV wiki is on a website anybody can log into, contribute toward and edit. Its primary aim is to offer you the opportunity to contribute your knowledge of, and research into the collections held by PROV in order to enrich the information we can make available to the research community.

Instructions are included on how to participate and add your information to the wiki. The PROV wiki can be accessed at http://www.wiki.prov.vic.gov.au/index.php   Top of page

12.    Public Record Office Victoria Probate and Shipping Indexes

PROV's volunteers have been busy preparing the next instalment of the outwards immigration index 1887-1896 adding another 290,348 names to the index (total range now 1852 to 1896 with 797,460 outward passengers named). The volunteers are continuing to index the series which ends in 1923.

Volunteers from the Victorian Association of Family History Organisations (VAFHO) and FamilySearch have completed the first stage of a collaborative project with PROV to index probates in Victoria. The first stage 1841-1925 is now online and allows researchers to search for wills and probates by family name, place, occupation and date and then to link to the digitised image of the will and/or probate file. There are 214,545 names in the index and in 2008 the FamilySearch volunteers digitised 4,724,965 pages of will and probate files which are progressively being made available on the PROV website free of charge.

Both the shipping and probate indexes are available online at http://www.wiki.prov.vic.gov.au/index.php (see links under New Features) and also via the How Do I? section on the home page.
 

13.    Irish Census Records

The National Archives of Ireland has launched the next phase of an online census research tool for the Irish counties of Antrim, Kerry, and Down for 1911. The census records for all counties for 1911 and for 1901 will be made available online throughout 2009. Library and Archives Canada signed an agreement with the National Archives of Ireland in December 2005 and the two institutions have been working to make the censuses of Ireland for 1901 and 1911 accessible online, free of charge. Library and Archives Canada's contribution included digitizing microfilm reels, linking images to the database and making the records searchable by name.

Making these records accessible online will give genealogists and historians around the world the chance to explore the age, occupation, religion and marital status of individuals. It will also allow research on Irish society of the early 20th century.

To visit the Irish Census Online and the virtual exhibition on life in Ireland in 1911, go to: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/   Top of page
 

14.    Irish Transportation Database 1791 - 1868

The Irish Transportation Database 1791 - 1868 lists all convicts who were transported to the Australian colonies from Ireland and is available on the National Archives of Ireland web site at:  http://www.nationalarchives.ie/topics/transportation/search01.html
 

15.    Images of England

Images of England is a 'point in time' photographic library of England's listed buildings, recorded at the turn of the 21st century. You can view over 300,000 images of England's built heritage from lamp posts to public conveniences, phone boxes to toll booths, mile stones to gravestones, as well as thousands of bridges, historic houses and churches.

Access to basic and advanced searches is free with access to the advanced search facility requiring registration. Have fun at: http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/default.aspx   Top of page
 

16.    Non Parochial and Non Conformist records Online

The official U.K. National Archives site for Non Parochial and Non Conformist records has recently added over 600,000 records of birth, baptism, marriage and burial. These have not previously been searchable online and contain images of birth and baptismal records. Among the more extensive collections in this series are the registers of the British Lying-in Hospital at Holborn; these provide detailed maternity records covering the period 1749 to 1868.

The records can include the following information: The Date and order of admission, Woman's and Husband's Name, Occupation, Woman's Age, Parish, Time of Reckoning, Came in, Went out on leave, Returned, Delivered, Child Baptised, Woman Discharged, Recommender's Name.

Both the original record of the hospital entry and the baptism images can be viewed, printed or downloaded plus the details viewed and a small tree printed. In addition, there are further non conformist records of births and baptisms.

The rest of the series contains the archive of the Russian Orthodox Church in London, 1721-1927. The records include not only registers of births, marriages, deaths and conversions, but also comprehensive general records on the day-to-day workings of the church. The usual language is Russian, with some Greek; there are a few documents such as certificates, letters and passports in English, French and German.

These records are freely searchable on http://www.BMDregisters.co.uk/   Top of page
 

17.    Yorkshire Family History Fair

If you're lucky enough to be visiting York, England you might like to visit the Yorkshire Family History Fair.

It will be held on Saturday, 27th June 2009 from 10am to 4:30 pm at the York Racecourse (Knavesmire Exhibition Centre). Admission is UKpounds4.00 with free car parking and cafeteria facilities available. All the usual stalls with such a major event will be there.

Further details from: Mr A. Sampson, 1 Oxgang Close, Redcar, Cleveland, TS10 4ND, England. Telephone and Fax: (01642) 486615.
 

18.    Online Magazine Launch - Discover My Past Scotland

The Discover My Past Scotland publication is available exclusively online. This is the only available genealogical and historical reference resource dedicated to Scotland and its people.Uncover the lives of the people of Scotland and their place in history with this unique content rich online subscription. Find out how to trace relatives of Scottish ancestry abroad, discover information about clan history, traditional Scottish trades and interesting events across Scotland.

Subscriptions start from just UKpounds2.50 and a full year's subscription costs only UKpounds25.

More information can be found at http://www.discovermypast.co.uk/   Top of page
 

19.    Battle of Trafalgar Website

This site lists all of those who served in the Battle of Trafalgar (on the British side!) along with their service histories and any biographical details found. The service histories and biographical details are by no means complete - this is an ongoing project. Enjoy looking at: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/trafalgarancestors/
 

20.    Scottish Handwriting Website

This website offers online tuition in palaeography (reading old handwriting) for historians, genealogists and other researchers who have problems reading manuscript historical records written in Scotland in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.

The primary purpose of this site is to provide online tuition in palaeography in the context of early modern Scottish historical documents. It is aimed mainly at those whose research involves reading Scottish historical records written in the period 1500-1750, although some assistance is given with 19th century writing too.

Whatever your level of palaeographical ability, the interactive tutorials and weekly posers will help you study the characteristics of Scottish handwriting and improve or maintain your reading speed. There are also links to other online palaeography websites, and details of dictionaries, glossaries and other useful publications.

Learn all about it at: http://www.scottishhandwriting.com/   Top of page  

21.    Ellis Island

Between 1892 and 1924, more than 22 million people entered the US through Ellis Island, its famous immigration depot. Search the database for free on this site by passenger name or ship's name to see if your family name is listed.  Try your luck at: http://www.ellisisland.org/
 

22.    1852 New Year Resolutions solve genealogical mysteries

It is New Year's Eve 1852 and Henry Hydenwell sits at his desk by candlelight.

He dips his quill pen in ink and begins to writes his New Year's resolutions.
  1. No man is truly well-educated unless he learns to spell his name at least three different ways within the same document. I resolve to give the appearance of being extremely well-educated in the coming year.
  2. I resolve to see to it that all of my children will have the same names that my ancestors have used for six generations in a row.
  3. My age is no one's business but my own. I hereby resolve to never list the same age or birth year twice on any document.
  4. I resolve to have each of my children baptised in a different church - either in a different faith or in a different parish. Every third child will not be baptised at all or will be baptised by an itinerant minister who keeps no records.
  5. I resolve to move to a new town, new county or new state at least once every 10 years - just before those pesky enumerators come around asking silly questions.
  6. I will make every attempt to reside in counties and towns where no vital records are maintained or where the courthouse burns down every few years.
  7. I resolve to join an obscure religious cult that does not believe in record keeping or in participating in military service.
  8. When the tax collector comes to my door, I'll loan him my pen, which has been dipped in rapidly fading blue ink.
  9. I resolve that if my beloved wife Mary should die, I will marry another Mary.
  10. I resolve not to make a will. Who needs to spend money on a lawyer?
  11. I resolve to leave lots of family photographs, but never to inscribe the names or relationships of those in the pictures.
  12. In the above manner, I will enshrine myself and my progeny to the whims of all those descendants who wish me to be more like they believe they are.   Top of page

23. Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all those who have taken time out to send items of interest to our "Snippets" mailbox at: snippets@qfhs.org.au

The more we receive, the more frequently we can produce a Newsletter. If your submission does not appear in this issue, we will try to include it in a future edition. Please note that reference to any product does not imply endorsement. Members are cautioned to evaluate products prior to purchase.

Pauline Macfarlane

Disclaimer: This newsletter is produced in good faith, and information received is deemed to be accurate, but the editor takes no responsibility for incorrect information supplied. [Editor's note: The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Editor or of QFHS]

Permission to reprint articles from QFHS 'SNIPPETS' NEWSLETTER is granted unless specifically stated otherwise, provided: (1) the reprint is used for non-commercial, educational purposes; and (2) the following notice appears at the end of the article: "Previously published in QFHS 'SNIPPETS' NEWSLETTER" with the appropriate date and volume number (eg QFHS 'SNIPPETS' NEWSLETTER January 2009 Vol 9 No. 1). The last six months issues of Snippets are available from: http://www.qfhs.org.au/snippets.htm

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