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I just love history

~ Local and Family History

I just love history

Category Archives: Essentials

Essential items for local and family historians

Thank You RootsWeb!

20 Friday Jul 2018

Posted by Susie Zada in Database and Indexes, Essentials, Family History, Important news

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Ancestry, Anne Mitchell, Complainers, List Admins, Mailing Lists, Praisers, RootsWeb

Sometimes I have to bite my tongue again and again to refrain from an outburst but this morning I read an email that was the last straw and yes, this is an outburst.  BUT it will be a considered, thoughtful and polite outburst – I have no intention of naming and shaming anyone.  Because most of the people who make me bite my tongue probably wouldn’t subscribe to a blog site like this I may actually post a link to this blog on the List Owners Mailing List to which I’m referring.  (Gosh, the nuns at school – more than 50 years ago – would be smiling down on me for remembering ‘up with which I shall not put’!)

Back to the matter in hand.  There are some things we can look back on and reflect on ‘the good old days’.  With genealogy and technology it is sometimes much better to look forward and not complain about ‘what was’.

[Option 1] Who can remember trying to find a birth certificate (I’m talking Australian States here).  You had to come up with an actual date or as close as possible and pay for a search that was +/- n-years from that date.  Nope – you couldn’t go online and request and pay for this certificate.  You had to get a form – sometimes available through a Post Office, fill it out, include a cheque or Postal Note, and post it SNAIL MAIL to the relevant State Registry Office.  Then came the anticipation – waiting MONTHS for the envelope that either included the desired certificate or a ‘Dear John’ letter stating that it couldn’t be found.

[Option 2] Come forward a number of years and joy of joys – Microfiche INDEXES of the State BDMs.  You then had to go to a major library, record office (PROV) or larger genealogical society to search these indexes.  If you found the entry you wanted, you then had to follow the procedure above – fill out a form, post it off with your payment, (or visit the Registry Office), then wait a month or two for your certificate.

Things have progressed with a few more options in between.

[Option TODAY] For Victoria, Australia you can go to the Vic BDM Registry web site and search HISTORICAL Indexes, find the certificate you want, pay online and instantly download the certificate you wanted – fully digitised and immediate!

Which option would you prefer?

I know there are some who would still prefer to search the Digger CDs as they found them easier to search.  The problem is that the older technology Digger CDs didn’t function under new versions of Windows.  Yes, I know there are some technological work-arounds but these are outside the skill sets of the majority of people wanting to search the indexes.  The cost and effort to reproduce new versions of the Digger CDs that worked with the new version of Windows and continue to update them again and again just wasn’t a viable option.

So what has this got to do with RootsWeb – Mailing Lists, Web Sites etc.

It’s an example of some of the demands and rudeness appearing on the RootsWeb ListOwners Mailing List in response to the resurrection of the RootsWeb – they want everything they used to have but with the added advantes of today’s technology.

I won’t rehash all the history but from the mid 1990s there was a free service called RootsWeb.  It included Mailing Lists, Boards, Web Sites and various other functions.  It used emails to communicate with those subscribed and was a fantastic resource for family history and local history researchers around the world.  Personally I adminned a couple of Mailing Lists and still do.

RootsWeb was bought by Ancestry – and of course there were plenty of Ancestry critics who complained and said Ancestry would steal everything and charge us to access our own work.

What eventually happened was that the hardware and software used to run RootsWeb (on multiple different servers) became outdated and needed massive upgrades.  For some time we were without any of the RootsWeb functions.

All that has changed – RootsWeb is back up and running and is still FREE to us all.

That required new servers and new software to handle the myriad options previously available on RootsWeb.

Yes there were teething problems that were being worked on – some functions were suspended for a while as technical issues were sorted out.  They were brought back online but as you can imagine there were thousands of List, Board and Web admins wanting THEIR part of the system working the way THEY wanted.

Throw into the mix a wonderful RootsWeb / Ancestry person called Anne Mitchell.  I was in awe of the patience, clarity, support provided by Anne.  A lesser person would not have had the patience to put up with the abuse and complaints!

One of the guidelines of Admins is to ensure their area (Mailing List etc) remained polite and positive!  Unfortunately many of them didn’t apply those principles to their own behavious on the ListOwners Mailing List.

There are plenty of examples for those with access to the ListOwners Mailing List but basically some Admins DEMANDED functions that were previously available in obsolete software that was no longer available and at the same time DEMANDED new functions.  YOU CAN’T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS.

I can only guess at the difficulties that Anne had keeping on top of the messages pouring into ListOwners.  Even when she asked for examples it was sometimes like bashing your head against a brick wall.

And inflammatory subject lines – wow!

It was getting impossible to find messages relating to particular topics – there were so many agressive and me-too messages.

Anne made use of newer technology – a RootsWeb Blog that would be easier to manage and allow easier searching for specific items.

Well – the abuse started on the Mailing List about the Blog – complaints, don’t want to use, etc. etc. etc.

I shudder at emails from supposedly adult list admins saying just ‘dumb idea’.

It was encouraging to see many messages saying ‘Thank you Anne’ – there should have been more.

At one stage there was a war between UK and USA users – how each looked on things differently!

When the Blog was created to make things easier there were replies such as …

Have far far too many alerts popping in daily to accept anymore.
Not joining any blog. Your list you made for announcement was enough if it
is used it hits all those people with lists. Send it the notice we will get
it. Having this n that to watch is getting overwhelmed.

Then there was a question about Web Sites – some had been reinstated but not all.  On July 3rd, Anne explained that …

You will be able to request it [web site] to have it reinstated sometime early next week.  We will publish a form to fill out.

Today – July 20th – an admin on the ListOwners Mailing List said …

Anne

It’s been two weeks.  When will the form be available?

Another Admin politely referred them to the Blog – the Form had been implemented on July 5th!

RootsWeb users and Admins – you demand things from the past and won’t accept things that are NOW and easily available.

YOU CAN’T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS.

It is WONDERFUL having the Mailing Lists back again (and Web Sites etc) – there are a few issues still being sorted but they are working and all those wonderful archives are being restored – a HUGE asset for all Family History reasearchers.

Thank you Anne, RootsWeb and Ancestry.

Finding records on PROV website

27 Tuesday Mar 2018

Posted by Susie Zada in Database and Indexes, Essentials, Local History, Uncategorized

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Tags

PROV, Public Record Office Victoria, Search records

PROV Simple Search 01aPeople don’t welcome change but sometimes the NEW version is better than the OLD version.  That’s the case with the updated PROV website!

There is still more to be added but it’s definitely worth using the new version.

Learn some simple steps and start to really enjoy using it!

Do we belong here?

04 Saturday Nov 2017

Posted by Susie Zada in Essentials, Events

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Do we belong here, Graeme Davison, MUST read, Victorian Community History Awards

Sometimes you just have to read something!  It’s not very long – less than 1,670 words – in fact less than 4 pages.

I challenge anyone who has ever done any family or local history research to read this and not want to go back for more or to pass it on to others.

Graeme is well known for a number of books such as the Rise and Fall of Marvellous Melbourne.  On 16th October 2017 Graeme spoke at the 2017 Victorian Community History Awards at the Arts Centre in Melbourne – fortunately you can read his words in the Public Record Office Victoria blog.

I hope this blog never disappears as it deserves to be read again and again.

In fact if you ever find it missing, I’ve copied the text to a safe place and would not hesitate to ask for it to be reinstated.

Enjoy – it’s definitely worth reading.

It’s not too late for Adelaide and Perth!

21 Monday Aug 2017

Posted by Susie Zada in Essentials, Events, Personal History

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

DNA, Family History Research, German research, Irish research, Italian Research, My Heritage, Researching Intercosatal Shipping and Passengers, Researching Women

 

I’m back home after attending the full two days of ‘Researching Abroad’ in Melbourne – ONE major complaint!  I didn’t want it to end!

Friday was predominantly Chris PATON on Scottish, Irish, and English research.

Saturday was predominantly Dirk Weissleder on German and European research.

Which was best?  I just feel sorry for the people who had / have to choose between one or the other – I was lucky as Melbourne was a two-day experience and I absolutely loved both and learnt so much from them.

In addition to Chris and Dirk I really enjoyed the MyHeritage presentations, Part 1 and Part 2 with Rosemary and Eric Kopittke – definitely worthwhile.

I caught up with a number of friends and former colleagues and was delighted to meet up with my fellow ‘Official Ambassadors’ – Anne Young (left) and Jennifer Jones (middle).

Apart from my own German ancestry (New South Wales) there were a lot of German immigrants to my ‘local’ region – Geelong and District.  I’m definitely keen to follow up more with the German-Australian Genealogy and History Alliance and the International German Genealogy Partnership.

It was a great two days – you still have a chance to attend the Adelaide and Perth sessions so jump up and do it!

A WEEK full of family history – and a haircut!

14 Monday Aug 2017

Posted by Susie Zada in Essentials, Events, Personal History

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Tags

DNA, Family History Research, German research, Irish research, Italian Research, My Heritage, Researching Intercosatal Shipping and Passengers, Researching Women

From famine to feast!  I’m making the most of my newfound mobility minus the moon-boot and with wheels!

It all kicks off today with the first Family History talk I’m giving for some months – at the Wyndham Plaza Library in Werribee – TWO talks this afternoon – they’re free and you can still book.  I’m really hoping I’ll catch up with some old friends there.

Mind you I WILL have trouble seeing people there because my hair is SO LONG as I haven’t been able to get to the hairdressers for SO LONG.  I have to keep pushing the hair out of my eyes!

Things will improve by Wednesday as that is when I will get my hair cut – Yippee!

Then I am SO looking forward to listening and learning instead of talking on Friday and Saturday at the Unlock the Past Researching Abroad event at Bulleen in Melbourne.  It is just so great to be out and about but even more-so to get to this event.  Yes – I’m an ‘Official Ambassador’ and more than happy to promote the event because the two days are SO relevant to my own family history research:

  • I have German ancestors
  • I have French, Swiss and Italian ancestors
  • I have Irish and English ancestors
  • I’ll be catching up with Chris Paton who I haven’t seen for a number of years!
  • I’m a great fan of My Heritage
  • My brother and I have both done DNA tests
  • AND I’m sure I’ll be catching up with a number of friends.

Hope to see you at Werribee or Bulleen or both!

Less than 3 days – Vic BDMs

28 Wednesday Jun 2017

Posted by Susie Zada in Essentials, Events, Important news

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Increased cost, Price rise, Vic BDM Certificates

Read the details on my other blog – time to get a move on and save money!

Susie’s Five Faves Geneameme

20 Saturday May 2017

Posted by Susie Zada in Essentials, My Family, Research books

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Books, East End of London, German research, Irish Maps, Shipping and Passengers to Victoria, Squatters and Pastoralists Victoria

If there is one thing that GeniAus could really get me motivated about it has to be books – but what a challenge … FIVE????  … Five Faves Geneameme.

FIVE books?  My Library Catalogue contains 3,008 items.  Oh, I have heaps more – they’re just the ones that are catalogued at this stage!

How is it humanly possible to choose just FIVE from that collection?  Now that’s what I call a challenge.

I have other priority things I should be working on but decided doing this blog would get me in the right mood!  So here is how I reduced it from 3,008 to just 5!

First I tried the books I pulled off the shelves more often than others.

Then I looked at the books that weren’t fully available on the web.

Next I looked at the books that I used for ‘local’ research [VICTORIA] when I did research for others, and my own personal family research [NOT local].

Finally I tried to look for a real variety.

GeniAus I hope you realise the sleepless night(s) you caused!  So finally here they are …

Book No. 1
Title Pastoral Pioneers of Port Phillip
Author(s) R V Billis and A S Kenyon
Description From the foreword: In this work the names of the true pioneers of Port Phillip, and of the properties they held under depasturing licenses, are perpetuated.

It is in two main parts: Part I – Pastoral Licensees [the people]; Part II – the Port Phillip Runs [the property names].  And don’t skip the Notes at the end – additions to both Parts.

Details include the name of the District and potentially a number of different runs.  Other information could include: years / dates the run was held, arrival, birth or death, and sundry other data.

Cover

 

Book No. 2
Title Dielheimer Familienbuch 1648-1900 mit Horrenberg, Balzfeld, Unterhof und Oberhof
Author(s) Klaus Ronellenfitsch
Description If you don’t have German ancestors then you mightn’t be interested in this one.  BUT if you have any non-English speaking ancestors this may perhaps get you thinking and encourage you to tackle this type of research.

To ease you into the Familienbuch, have a look at ‘The Ortssippenbuch (OSB)‘; and the ‘Local Family Books (The OFBs of Germany)‘ on Family Search.  Then get a little more adventurous with the ‘Family Book‘; the Dielheimer Familienbuch 1648-1900 and the ‘Online Local Family Books‘.

How did I learn about these books?  Jenny Paterson from the Burwood and District Family History Group has written many excellent articles on (Australian) German research for their journal ‘Ances-tree’.

I can’t stress how important it is to follow every ‘lead’ – footnotes, references, sources and bibliographies.  This is the golden rule for every book, database, website etc. – you will learn so much doing this.

I believe that because of Jenny’s work, the Society of Australian Genealogists has the larges collection of Famillenbuch in Australia.

I was able to purchase the one relevant to my own family and location of Oberhof in Germany via the web direct from the author.  Using the book I was able to confirm a possible ancestor from Family Search adding siblings, parents and another generation to my family.  I can’t wait until someone produces the book for Epfenbach!

And don’t forget to use Google Translate and/or the browser Chrome to translate entire web pages and site.

Cover

 

Book No. 3
Title London’s East End: Life and Traditions
Author(s)  Jane Cox
Description How good does it feel – browsing through maps, sketches, history and lots of photographs from the East End of London where my French Huguenot Silk Weaver ancestors lived for so many years? From the various Censuses I know that for some years they lived in Brick Lane – 37, 43, 45-7, 49, 117, 120, 142, 147, 179, 186 – all entries from the index.

Using this book I can immerse myself into their world – an absolute joy that literally gives you goose-bumps.

Cover

 

Book No. 4
Title A New Genealogical Atlas of Ireland
Author(s) Brian Mitchell
Description  If you don’t love maps you are really missing something in your family history research.

Some people put Ireland in the ‘too-hard’ basket, however understanding the various geographical, ecclesiastical and administrative boundaries will help you with your research and selecting the right resources.

Bounties, Baronies, Poor Law Unions, Civil Parishes, Dioceses and Probate Districts are all important to your research.

It is also so important to become familiar with ‘the neighbourhood’ – those places that are so close to where your ancestors lived.

Cover

 

Book No. 5
Title Shipping Arrivals and Departures, Victorian Ports

Vol. 1 1798-1845

Vol. 2 1846-1855

Vol. 3 1856-1860

Author(s)  Marten A Syme
Description OK – I know there are three physical books but it IS one series – you just can’t separate them.

Just because you’ve found a digital copy of a passenger list which shows your ancestor you haven’t finished your family history research if you haven’t looked at the entry for that specific journey in Syme’s books.

What port did it come from, when did it depart, when did it arrive, and where did it go next and when.  What was the cargo?  Was it a special voyage for Assisted Immigrants? Who was the Master?  What was the source of the information provided?

And Volume 3 includes a huge amount on the minor ports of Victoria – you will learn so much from the cargo on arrival and departure.

Don’t rush – absorb and learn from this wonderful series!

Cover

Don’t forget to use your local library or inter-library loan to access these books!

Moving ahead – with your help

08 Wednesday Feb 2017

Posted by Susie Zada in Database and Indexes, Essentials, Events, Important news, My projects

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database, Geelong and District, help needed

reallysadThings are starting to happen and with your help I can get rid of the really really sad face.

Here’s how you can contribute.

How old is history?

19 Thursday May 2016

Posted by Susie Zada in Essentials, Important news, Personal History, Uncategorized

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Hobart, New home, Sunrise

Which bag is it in?I posted a blog a couple of weeks ago [ #sun7 ] lamenting the demise of Hobart on Sunrise in the order of weather on the info strip at the bottom of the screen.

History has been made in more ways than one!  I’m not sure if it happened earlier this week but I definitely noticed it this morning – Hobart is back in it’s rightful place.  I could be forgiven not spotting it earlier this week as Monday morning I picked up the keys to my new home [renting a lovely unit in South Geelong].  Needless to say I’ve been a tad busy but this morning I woke in my own bed in my new home and had a lazy lie-in watching Sunrise … and I nearly fell out of bed – Hobart came after Darwin and before Melbourne – exactly where it should be!  It really felt like all was right with the world … and Hobart.

BUT another bit of history is being made NOW as I type – this if the first blog I’ve posted from my new home.  I confess – the computer is all hooked up and working on my kitchen bench while I sort out the new office [spare bedroom] etc. but I can’t spend too long chatting – the list of chores is LONG.

I have separate pages on my dining room table to write on – complete with pen handy:

  • PU – OG [pick up from Ocean Grove – still emptying and cleaning out old place]
  • PU – Newcomb [while I was waiting 3 weeks to get the keys to here, every trip to Geelong meant a car loaded with boxes and items – the storage unit is only 5 minutes from here, so saving a lot of petrol and packing time]
  • FIND – I remember seeing it in … that bag or that box!  See the image at the top!
  • BUY – either essential items for the unit or perhaps some food!
  • TASKS – essential tasks here – cleaning or re-arranging before I bring in more things to trip over
  • TO-DO – essential things – like ring the Salvos for a pick-up, etc.

OK – TASKS and TO-DO items are yelling very loudly so this is enough blogging for now – I’ve created history so I must move on.

OH – and my pussy cat is yelling loudly – currently locked in the bathroom until I let him explore his new home further – probably tonight when I’ve stopped going in and out the doors every two minutes!  Best thing is that he was allowed to live with me in my new home.

Happy, tired, contented …

Searching BDMs in Victoria?

11 Wednesday Nov 2015

Posted by Susie Zada in Essentials, Events, Important news

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Free searching, Victorian BDMs

1894 Victorian Death CertificateIf you’re doing family history and looking for BDMs in Victoria then you MUST read my other blog – I don’t have time to repeat everything and you only need to read this in one place to appreciate it!

ENJOY!

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