Am I ready for a Do-Over?

I'm not sure that I am.

So many of my genimates have enthusiastically embraced Thomas MacEntee's Genealogy Do-Over activity that I feel a bit odd not rushing to join in. 

Of course with my voyeuristic tendencies I will tune in each week to see what is being suggested and I will no doubt take some of the suggestions on board. I think I will be like Jackie who in her blog post today when asking herself if she "can do it" has said "I'm not sure I can. Or if I want to do so. I may adapt and 'just' revisit my tree, One person at a time,"

I am going to keep all my precious stuff in my newly updated Family Historian Version 6 database

My policy from days gone by has been to continually evaluate my practices for whatever I do. Pauleen Cass described someting similar in her wonderful post My Three Rs of Genealogy Research: Review, Record, Revise.

So for my do-over I am going to keep puddling along reviewing work from years ago, revisiting and scanning some of the records I have stored away in folders (Mr Geniaus found some gems today that I had completely forgotten about), recording what I see with a pair of more experienced eyes and revising what I have already recorded. There are lots of Rs there!

Thanks to Pauleen Cass for permission to usse her 3R's graphic

I know my main enemies are lack of time, my inclination to practise tangential genealogy and leap into new projects without thinking things through but I'm enjoying myself.

I commend all those brave people who are lining up for the do-over - I will be following your progress on your social media.

We have a winner - Rootstech Competition

Thank you to all those who submitted entries in my recent competition to win a free registration to Rootstech 2015.

Congratulations go to the winner, Karla Robinett, who wrote an enthusiastic Geneapoem for her entry. If you feel like following Karla's example and writing a bit of Geneapoetry using the entries in the Geneadictionary please do. I would be delighted to publish your efforts there.

Here is Karla's entry:

I’m a Trogenealodyte holed up like a mouse.

 

Leafing through the Treetops in my Treehouse,

 

Decrapifying my Cousin’s Sourcey crap.

 

Sinking in a Tangential  Lineage Trap.

 

A Geneajaunt to Rootstech with Flying Monkeys will be

 

The true Genea – Jewel for a Geneafreak like me.

 

(I’ll be doing a Geneajigg!!!)

I hope Karla has her Dancing Shoes ready!

Trove Tuesday - Curry Family History

I have recently registered a Surname study for my maiden name, Curry, with The Surname Society and also started the CurryAus Blog to record the progress  of that study so today I turned to Trove.

My readers know that I am easily distracted so it's no surprise that, although I am not nearly ready to start delving into Trove's treasure for my infant study, I could not resist taking a look.

Firstly I set up a CurryAus Surname Study list in my Trove account for filing away all the interesting snippets about Australian Currys that might come my way ( these just fall into ones lap!). I found a couple of articles and added them to my new list - one can't have an empty list can one?

Then I searched for "Curry Family History" and I discovered that someone else has been tagging Curry articles with this tag. On examination I see that these refer to the Curry family from Emu Plains.  I popped these articles into my list for later use as I am trying to go about this study in an orderly fashion. I will, however, share one of these with you as it is Trove Tuesday.

Because of the poor imaage quality of the original I'm sharing a transcription. The wealth of information in this article demonstrates how valuable Trove will be for my surname study

1949 'Obituary.', Nepean Times (Penrith, NSW : 1882 - 1962), 20 October, p. 8, viewed 30 December, 2014, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article117914501

MR. W. CURRY

Mr. Walter Curry died at his resi-dence, Brougham Street, Emu Plains,on October 2, at the age of 64 years.

Mr. Curry was born at Emu Plainsand lived there all his days, greatlyrespected by the community. His fath-

er was killed in a railway accidentwhen he was only a lad. For someyears he was employed by Blue Moun-tains Shire Council, and afterward,for a lengthy period, by the Main  Roads Department, with the positionof ganger.

Mr. Curry was a keen cricketer and  captained Emu "B" team for someyears, and was captain of an Emu "B"team which defeated Penrith "A" in achallenge match in 1923. He was quitea good player.

He is survived by his wife, formerlyIvy Dukes, daughter of the late Mr.and Mrs. Thomas Dukes, of EmuPlains, and by two daughters and foursons - Ruby (Mrs. F. Smith, Penrith),Arthur (Emu Plains), Freda (Mrs. El-lison, Albion Park), Irwin, Edward,and Colin, all of Emu Plains.

The funeral took place on 4th instand was largely attended. The inter-ment took place in St. Paul's ceme-tery, Emu Plains, the last rites beingconducted by the Rector, Rev. W. A.Watts. The many wreaths includedtwo from the Main Roads staff andone from Emu Plains Cricket Club.

Accentuate the Positive 2014 Geneameme

Let's do it again!

In 2012 and 2013 I invited other family historians to take part in an Accentuate the Positive Geneameme because I felt that a lot of my geneablogging friends were too hard on themselves. Quite often  they lament that haven't achieved as much as they set out to do or that they haven't blogged with the frequency they envisaged.

Yesterday I read a post from Alona Tester that mentioned those geneamemes and that prompted me to run it again. Thanks, Alona.

Accentuate the Positive Geneameme 2014

I invite you to take part in this activity by responding to the following statements/questions in a blog post. Write as much or as little as you want or just answer a few questions.

Once you have done so please share your post's link in a comment on this post or to me via email to Jillballau@gmail.com. I will, in due course post a list of links to your contributions on this blog.

Remember to accentuate the positive 
Please delete the items that are not relevant to your situation.

1.  An elusive ancestor I found was

2.  A precious family photo I found was

3.  An ancestor's grave I found was

4.  An important vital record I found was

5.  A newly found family member shared

6.  A geneasurprise I received was

7.   My 2014 blog post that I was particularly proud of was

8.   My 2014 blog post that received a large number of hits or comments was

9.  A new piece of software I mastered was

10. A social media tool I enjoyed using for genealogy was

11. A genealogy conference/seminar/webinar from which I learnt something new was

12. I am proud of the presentation I gave at/to

13. A journal/magazine article I had published was

14. I taught a friend how to

15. A genealogy book that taught me something new was

16. A great repository/archive/library I visited was

17. A new genealogy/history book I enjoyed was

18. It was exciting to finally meet

19. A geneadventure I enjoyed was

20. Another positive I would like to share is

Better than a bundle of cookbooks

One of the new techtoys I acquired on my recent trip was a new mini tripod. I have an el cheapo model with very wonky legs so am delighted with this sturdy little replacement.

When I conduct GeniAus Hangouts on Air from my kitchen (so I can have a wired connection to the internet) I perch my webcam on a pile of coookbooks. When next I hangout I will be using my new Vanguard VS-86 Table Tripod with Ball Head.

I am most grateful to Mr GeniAus who braved the freezing conditions in New York City to fetch this item from one of my favourite stores, B&H Photographics.

The new toy

If you are suffering from Tripod envy you can order one online from B&H - they even ship to Australia.

AFFHO Congress 2015 Interviews

I have been neglecting my AFFHO Congress Official Blogger duties while I have been out of the country but now I am back I will take up the mantle once more.

My co-bloggers Pauleen and Shauna have been conducting interviews with several of the Congress presenters as I will be doing now that I am home.

In case you have missed some of the interviews here is a list of those posted so far:

Kate Bagnall  http://www.shaunahicks.com.au/interview-with-kate-bagnall-speaker-affho-congress-2015/

David Berry  http://www.shaunahicks.com.au/interview-with-david-berry-speaker-affho-congress-2015/

Pauleen Cass  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYQU-ohGrDs

Kerry Farmer  https://cassmob.wordpress.com/2014/12/14/meet-congress-2015-speaker-kerry-farmer/

Shauna Hicks  https://cassmob.wordpress.com/2014/12/17/meet-congress-2015-speaker-shauna-hicks/

Jenny Joyce https://cassmob.wordpress.com/2014/12/21/meet-congress-2015-speaker-jenny-joyce/

Seonaid Lewis  https://cassmob.wordpress.com/2014/12/18/meet-congress-2015-speaker-seonaid-lewis-from-nz/

Perry Mcintyre  https://cassmob.wordpress.com/2014/12/09/meet-congress-2015-speaker-perry-mcintyre/

Michelle Nichols  http://www.shaunahicks.com.au/interview-with-michelle-nichols-speaker-affho-congress-2015/

Jennie Norberry  http://www.shaunahicks.com.au/interview-with-jennie-norberry-speaker-affho-congress-2015/

Cora Num  http://www.shaunahicks.com.au/interview-with-cora-num-keynote-speaker-affho-congress-2015/

Richard Reid  http://www.shaunahicks.com.au/interview-with-richard-reid-keynote-speaker-affho-congress-2015/

Sue Reid  http://www.shaunahicks.com.au/interview-with-sue-reid-speaker-at-affho-congress-2015/

Robyn Williams  http://www.shaunahicks.com.au/interview-with-michelle-nichols-speaker-affho-congress-2015/

There are more interviews in the pipeline.

GeniAus Geneavlog - 20141227 - Back in the Geneacave

Having returned from my recent overseas trip I am looking forward to resuming my blogging activities. In this video I talk about a few geneactivities from the trip.


Having viewed the video I realise that I forgot to mention the wonderful half day seminar on death and disease I attended at The Society of Genealogists in London. Oops.

Christmas Wishes from an Old Girl

I previously posted this poem sent to me by an old mate "Carolyn" in 2010.  As I have several new readers I am posting it again as a Christmas Greeting to you all.

Merry Christmas To You.

If I were ol' Santa, you know what I'd do
I'd dump silly gifts that are given to you
And deliver some things just inside your front door
Things you have lost, but treasured before.

I'd give you back all your maidenly vigor,
And to go along with it, a neat tiny figure.
Then restore the old colour that once graced your hair
Before rinses and bleaches took residence there.

I'd bring back the shape with which you were gifted
So things now suspended need not be uplifted.
I'd draw in your tummy and smooth down your back
Till you'd be a dream in those tight fitting slacks.

I'd remove all your wrinkles and leave only one chin
So you wouldn't spend hours rubbing grease on your skin.
You'd never have flashes or queer dizzy spells,
And you wouldn't hear noises like ringing of bells.

No sore aching feet and no corns on your toes,
No searching for spectacles when they're right on your nose.
Not a shot would you take in your arm, hip or tummy,
From a doctor who thinks you're a nervous old granny.

You'd never have a headache, so no pills would you take.
And no heating pad needed since your muscles won't ache.
Yes, if I were Santa, you'd never look stupid,
You'd be a cute little chick with the romance of Cupid.

I'd give a lift to your heart when those wolves start to whistle,
And the joys of your heart would be light as a thistle.
But alas! I'm not Santa. I'm just simply me,
The matronliest of matrons you ever did see.

I wish I could tell you all the symptoms I've got,
But I'm due at my doctor's for an oestrogen shot.
Even though we've grown older, this wish is sincere,
Merry Christmas to you and a Happy New Year.

Trove Tuesday - Grandfather's car

I had heard that my grandfather, Frank Duncan, liked cars.  Recently as I was digging around in Trove I came across this article that tells of my grandfather's activity on this day in 1925.

1925 'MORE NEW CARS.', Western Age (Dubbo, NSW : 1914 - 1932) , 25 December, p. 2, viewed 18 March, 2014, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article137082487

From the Archives - A Dog's Christmas

I am resharing this Christmas post from 2009.

Ralph and Buddy are no longer with us but we have three new granddogs:   Freddo, Millie and Myelo.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Taking a rest from Christmas preparations I am thinking of friends. Dogs, man's best friends, have been an important part of our family history.

We have had a few pooches over the years - they have been 'orphan' dogs - either surrendered to the local council or purchased from the pound. Robbie was a deceased next door neighbour's dog given to me by one of my students. Each of these hounds has had a unique personality and has enhanced our family life.

Our first dog Thomas didn't stay with the family long, he was a little too energetic for our tiny courtyard and so went to live with some very good friends who had a much larger yard. Willy, a Border Collie cross, was a gentle and obedient larrikin who was scared of storms. The only time he ventured onto the carpeted areas of our home was when a storm was brewing and he was seeking refuge under a chair or table. When we moved to an acreage Willy became adventurous and was able to find his way out of our property. He was the victim of a car travelling along the road outside our house.

Robbie, an Australian Silky Terrier, was my dog. He followed me everywhere and snarled at anyone who came too close to me. The kids had enormous fun dressing Robbie in doll's clothes and parading him around. Mr Geniaus did not appreciate Robbie's over-protectiveness.

Marty, another fluffy dog, a cross Maltese Terrier/Shitzu wasn't blessed with a similar intelligence to the other dogs but he was another loyal companion who follwed me around the house. When we rescued him from the pound he would cower in the corner under a chair and was very timid. After a few months he realised that ours was a safe environment and he realised that he was in charge. Sadly Marty met a cruel end at the paws and jaws of a neighbour's German Shepherd. Until we can guarantee its safety by electrifying our fences or securely fencing off an area close to our house I will not have another dog. I do miss the company of a little four-legged friend.

We have three grand-dogs who regularly visit. Ralph, a Border Collie cross, is now an old man who likes to spend his day resting. Like Willy he is gentle and intelligent. Little Neuro is a bundle of energy who, although he is over five, still races round with the energy of a new pup. Buddy, a handsome red and white Border Collie, arrived last Christmas. He has boundless energy and enjoys digging up the garden.

A Dog's Christmas Poem by Shel Silverstein

Tonight's my first night as a watchdog,
And here it is Christmas Eve.
The children are sleepin' all cozy upstairs,
While I'm guardin' the stockin's and tree.
What's THAT now . . . footsteps on the rooftop?
Could it be a cat or a mouse?
Who's THIS down the chimney?
A thief with a beard - And a big sack for robbin' the house?
I'm barkin'. . . I'm growlin' . . . I'm bitin' his butt.
He howls and jumps back in his sleigh.
I scared his strange horses, they leap in the air.
I've frightened the whole bunch away.
Now the house is all peaceful and quiet again,
The stockin's are safe as can be.
Won't the kiddies be glad when they wake up tomorrow . . .
And see how I've guarded the tree.

Missing GAGs - GeniAus' Gems?

My regular readers will know that I have been out of action for the past eight weeks and that I have had limited access to the internet for both reading blog posts and posting my Gems compilations.

I have therefore been unable to post my GeniAus Gems compilations. I will be back in the saddle soon and will post the next edition of GAGs on January 2, next year.

May I introduce you to....

Thanks to my Genimate, Tessa Keough, for her invitation to be interviewed for the  Geneabloggers "May I introduce you to" series. I was rather chuffed when I received Tessa's invitation several weeks ago. It was published yesterday on the geneabloggers site.

You can read the inteview here:http://www.geneabloggers.com/introduce-jill-ball/ 

Tinsel Town

As I was looking for a cemetery photo to adorn a post on the Geneadictionary I came across this photo of Ben Hall the Bushranger's grave in Forbes Cemetery.  I snapped this image in April last year when visiting my Great-Grandmother's grave.

Tinsel Town!

I can't fathom why the grave was adorned with Christmas Tinsel in April.

Another grave photo

International Volunteer Day

International Volunteer Day was was established by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in  1985. It is celebrated around the world on on 5 December each year.

Today I salute all the volunteers in the genealogy world whose efforts help us in our search for ancestors.

Trove Tuesday - A Flight in Genealogy

It's a genealogy poem that I offer up for my Trove Tuesday post this week.

1927 'A FLIGHT IN GENEALOGY.', Windsor and Richmond Gazette (NSW : 1888 - 1954), 9 December, p. 14, viewed 1 September, 2014, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article85956077

Where GeniAus gets a chance to play Santa.

One of the nice perks of being a Rootstech Ambassador is that I get to give some lucky person a nice Christmas present. 

The kind folk at Rootstech have given me "One complimentary RootsTech 2015 3-day pass ($239 value) for one of your lucky subscribers." If you have already registered for Rootstech you can still enter this competition as I will supply a code to the winner and, if you have already registered, you will get a refund from Rootstech. If you haven't registered yet winning this competition might just change your mind about attending this premier event in Salt Lake City in February 2014.

This prize only covers your entry to the event, you will be responsible for all travel, accommodation and incidental expenses.

So what do you have to do to win this prize? 

You need to tell me in 50 words or less using as much Geneajargon as you can from my Geneadictionary http://geneadictionary.wordpress.com why you are or why you would like to attend Rootstech 2015. Of course you could use newly created geneajargon that can be added to the Geneadictionary. As a condition of entry you give permission for your entry to be posted in the Geneadictionary.

Please email your entries to jillballau@gmail.com by midnight (GMT) Friday 12 December.

I look forward to reading your contributions.

Trove Tuesday - Family Photos

I just came across this post from twelve months ago and as I liked the article so much I am reposting it.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This week finds me knee-deep in photos. My cousin lent me a small suitcase of photos belonging to her parents Thomas William Curry and Lillian Duncan who were my parents' siblings. In that case I have found many treasures.

I wondered what Trove had to say about family photos. The following is an article from the Australian Women's Weekly in 1971. You can view the article here http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page4890692.

1971 '[No heading].', The Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982), 23 June, p. 32, viewed 26 November, 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page4890692

Currys Downunder

My maiden name is Curry, I am descended from an Irish convict,  Patrick Curry, who was transported to the colony of New South Wales in 1825. In addition to collecting information on Paddy's descendants downunder I have gathered quite a few references to unrelated Currys.

Some Australian Currys 1970

Since joining The Surname Society recently I have registered a surname study for the Curry Surname in Australia. As I have never seriously undertaken a surname study before I am on my L plates, I have taken on board advice that has been shared in the Society's forums and information on the Guild of One-Name Studies site (I'm a member there too).

How will I go about this?

• I have opened a new project in my Family Historian software into which I have imported my Australian Currys. Several Society members already use  Family Historian for their Surname studies so there is much help available.
• I will add any new Curry references I fins to this project.
• I have set up a Wordpress blog through which I will share Curry stories, trivia and news as wll as reports on my research. This blog which is currently private will be launched early in 2015.
• I already have 8,000+ Curry references in an Excel spreadsheet. I am currently massaging this data so that I can use Colin's free XL to Ged utility to convert the data in the spreadsheet to a gedcom file that I can import into my Family Historian project.
• I will set up a few Google alerts that will hopefully retrieve some Curry news from the web. I will have to put some thoughts into crafting these so that I don't get lots of news about Indian cuisine.
• I will search the various databases at my disposal to find Currys.
• I will see what Mr Google can find for me on the web.
• I will promote my study on social media so that others will be aware of  the study. The hashtag will be #CurryAus and the URL of my blog will contain CurryAus.
• I will use Evernote as a tool to keep track of the blog and its posts.
• Apart from that I will just learn as I go.

If you have any Australian Currys in your tree or among your friends and neighbours I'd love to hear about them. 

GeniAus: GAGs - GeniAus' Gems - 21 November 2014

Apologies for this late posting of the 9th edition of GAGs. I have been travelling and suffering from dodgy internet conections.  My friends on social media will understand the difficulties I am presently facing with an unreliable satellite connection.  Hopefully I will be back on track for next week's edition.

I present for you reading pleasure in no particular order some selections from my RSS feeds up to 21/11/2014.

1.A fine family home.
https://conversationswithgrandma.wordpress.com/2014/11/17/corinya-home-of-the-callander-family/

2. Some guidelines for public behaviour.
http://mywdfamilies.wordpress.com/2014/11/18/trove-tuesday-donts-for-centenary-week/

3. My Mum always made coconut ice for fetes and fairs.
http://blogs.hht.net.au/cook/the-cocoanut-ice-challenge/

4. Oyster Saloons in Austalia.
http://localnotes.net.au/?p=3720

5. Georgie's is a new blog I am following.
http://georgiesgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-reyland-family.html

6. Jenny reconnects with a cousin.
https://caddyscrapbook.wordpress.com/2014/11/20/build-it-and-they-will-come/

7.  My Dad was a DA man too.
https://vkaystuff.wordpress.com/2014/11/20/my-dad-and-d-a-beer/

8. I wonder if Alex is considering a one-name study? 
http://blog.iwikiwi.com/2014/11/tunnicliffe-tunnecliffe-tonacliffe-surname-saturday/

9. http://familystoriesphotographsandmemories.blogspot.com/2014/11/sentimental-sunday-treasures-from-aunty.html

10. Thanks for this blogging idea Alona. 
http://www.lonetester.com/2014/11/my-first-job/

Beaut software is even better

It's hard for me to contain my excitement when I find something fantastic but I have exercised considerable restraint while Beta testing Version 6 of Family Historian software. As a Beta tester I committed to keeping mum about the new version and its features but now that the developer Calico Pie has announced the product's imminent release and discussed some of its new features I feel I can open my mouth. Here is a snip from the company's recent newsletter:

Family Historian 6 is due for release on December 9th. It will be a big and exciting release, packed with enhancements and great new features. There are far too many features to cover in a single bulletin (and in any case, we want to keep some surprises for the day), but just to whet your appetites, we are including a sneak preview of a just a couple of new features below – Map Windows and Witnesses.

As a tester I can confirm that it is big and exciting. When  I moved over from The Master Genealogist to Family Historian a couple of years ago I was delighted with FH except on a couple of  counts. The major one being that I lost all the witnesses to events that I had created. There was a work around in version 5 of FH but I couldn't be bothered with it. 

I was delighted when I found that a witness function had been added to Version 6. During the testing I put this through its paces on a copy of my database and it worked a treat. Now I will be able to reinstate all the ministers/priests who BMDed family members, all the guests at various family events, godparents, bridesmaids and so on. Calico Pie suggest:"For example, you could use it to record the fact that a group of people all lived together, if you wanted to. The practical effect is to provide richer and more fleshed-out reports, and a richer experience when browsing, because witness details can be accessed when viewing an event from the point-of-view of any of the participants."

Jane Taubman teaching FH 2014

If you are into maps then the new mapping facility is fantastic. There aare some other new features that really struck a chord with me but I must keep them under wraps for the moment.

Santa Jill will be delivering my update by download as soon as the package is released on December 9. I just need to find out how to place an advance order!

You may know that I recently undertook two days of Family Historian training with Family Historian guru, Jane Taubman. Jane and I are intending to show off FH version 6 in a Google Hangout in early January. I will share details when I have a time and date.

BTW. The only perk I receive from Calico Pie is the opportunity to test and comment on the beta version of their new release. I just happen to lke their product.