New Interactive Local Resource

Last night Mr GeniAus and joined several other local history history enthusiasts at a function at Hornsby Central Library where a new interactive online digital resource, Hornsby Shire Recollects, was launched. I was attending as a representative of the Hornsby Shire Family History Group.

The database claims to "provide easy online access to a rich store of heritage material relaitng to Hornsby Shire, its people, and events."

Hornsby Shire Recollects Home Page

The three speakers, Hornsby Mayor Phillip Ruddock, Associate Professor Carol Liston and Hornsby MP Matt Kean each spoke briefly about the importance of local history and heritage and then Mayor  Ruddock cut the celebratory cake.

Reference and Local Studies Librarian, Neil Chippendale, and Library staff member, Karen Richardson, then got to the good bit, a demonstration of this new tool which provides a user friendly platform to access Hornsby's collection of digital resources supplemented with new additions from community organisations and local history enthusiasts. The new platform certainly appeared easier to search than the collections it replaced but I needed to try it out myself.

This afternoon I gave the database a run through. Logging on and creating an account was a simple process. Navigating the site was a breeze and the search mechanism was intuitive. I give it a thumbs up. Having heard the presentation and tried out the tool I am keen to add some resources from our family collection to the database.

The promotional material for the resource states " you are also able to contribute your own knowledge and memories about the holdings, as well as create personal collections of your own." If  community members embrace this resource and share the photos and documents they have squirrelled away Hornsby Shire Recollects will be a valuable resource, not just for people from the Hornsby Shire but for many with an interest in Australian history and heritage.

Family History Society proposed for my District

Presently there is no Family History Society for my  Local Government Area, Hornsby.  I belong to groups in two neighbouring areas, Ku-ring-gai and Hawkesbury, and enjoy being a member of those groups. It would be a great asset to the Hornsby area to have a local group.

A few months ago I was approached by another Hornsby area family historian, David, with the idea of forming a group for Hornsby. David has been working with Neil Chippendale, our Local Studies Librarian, and a few other interested parties to investigate the feasibility of starting up such a group. I am pleased to let you know that an initial meeting has been set down for February. All interested parties are invited to attend as per this email from Hornsby Library.

"Dear Family History Enthusiast

Over the last, few months a small group of family historians have been having informal talks about re-starting a local Hornsby based family history society, discussions have been fruitful and it is hoped that a new society will be formed. It has been decided that a meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 25, 2015 for all interested parties with the idea of formally establishing the Hornsby and District Family History Society. Ideas about the formation and objectives of the society will be discussed, we hope that you will be able to attend.

The meeting will take place in the large meeting room at Hornsby Library on 25th Feb. at 2pm.

If you have, any queries please feel free to contact Neil Chippendale on 9847 6807 or nchippendale@hornsby.nsw.gov.au."

Should you have any ideas/thoughts on this proposal I'd also love to hear from you. 

Next talk at the local....

My mate Neil Chippendale from Hornsby Library has emailed with details of next month's family history talk at the library.

I haven't previously come across David Michel so I am keen to attend, it is always interesting to hear a new person's experiences in the field of family history.

Bookings can be made online from the link here:
http://www.hornsby.nsw.gov.au/library/activities-and-events/family-and-local-history-talks

I have already booked and was most impressed that Hornsby Library is now using an online booking and payment system with Trybooking. 

Australia's Unknown Soldier

Because I haven't been able to drive for a couple of weeks I dragged my chauffeur Mr GeniAus off to a talk at our local library in Hornsby this morning.

Hornsby Local Studies Librarian, Neil Chippendale and Mr GeniAus at the talk today.

The talk "Australia’s Unknown Soldier Returns Home" was delivered by Linda from local funeral directors T J Andrews. Linda related the story of how Rob Allison former Managing Director of the firm, helped to bring home Australia’s "Unknown Soldier" in 1993.

Prior to the talk we had a jolly time chatting with other folk we found there including my distant cousin Elva, friend Judy and several of Mr Geniaus's former workmates.

Once the talk commenced a stillness descended upon the room, The content was fascinating, the delivery was reverent and the attendees were respectful and attentive as they reflected on the content being presented. Linda included several readings including the eulogy delivered by then Prime Minister Paul Keating in the presentation. I have never encoutered such a silent group at any talk I have attended.

Linda from T J Andrews

Information leaflet from T J Andrews tells the story

Thanks to to Neil Chippendale from Hornsby Library and Linda from T J Andrews for organising such a moving talk during this special week.

Although this wasn't a #NFHM2014 event it caused me to reflect on the sacrifices made by my family members who served their country so selflessly. Mr GeniAus and I both enjoyed the talk and, on the way home, discussed taking a tour of the Western Front battlefields. We have previously visited the area independently but feel that we would benefit from a tour lead by a historian and military expert.

T J Andrews state on their website  "If your organisation would like a complimentary presentation about the Unknown Soldier then please call: 1800 386 372." I would commend this offer to genealogy and local history societies.

I'm up for this one

Thanks to Neil Chippendale from Hornsby Library for sending me notification of this talk in August.

A Hornsby Date for your Diaries

I have been notified that the next family history talk at my local library in Hornsby will be presented by Local Studies Librarian, Neil Chippendale.

Neil Chippendale worked as Local History Librarian for the London Borough of Hounslow for 14 years. He also operated a small family history business titled "Chippendale's Family History Research Service". He worked for the Cairn's and Maryborough Family History Societies and also did work for Janet Reakes. He moved to Australia several years ago and now works for Hornsby Shire Council in NSW running the local and family history sections of the library service.

Please contact The Library for Bookings

*****

Neil Chippendale

will talk on

An introduction to English & Welsh Family History

at

          Hornsby Shire Library,

28-44, George Street, Hornsby.

2077

on

Friday 30^th May 2014

at

2:00 PM

$5:00

To book please phone 9847-6614

For further information phone

Hornsby Local Studies: 9847 6807.

Linking Lives to Learning and Leisure

Lord Sydney

I was disappointed that I was unable to attend Andrew Tink's recent talk at Ku-ring-gai Historical Society so I was pleased to hear from Neil Chippendale from Hornsby Library that Andrew will be speaking there in September.

Andrew's talk "Lord Sydney: the life and times of Tommy Townshend" is part of NSW History Week celebrations.

My Big Day Out

There were three genealogy related events in my day yesterday and I traversed quite a bit of the northern part of Sydney to attend them.

https://maps.google.com/

My day started with a 9:15 departure from my home in Galston (E on map) to Hawkesbury Library (B on map) for 10:00am, then I drove for about 50 mins to my next destination, Ku-ring-gai Historical Society (C on map) after spending a few hours there I set out for Hornsby Library (D on map) where I arrived at 6:00pm. I finally reached home around 8:00pm. Google maps estimate that I drove around 98 km. and it was worth every centimeter.

So how did I amuse myself?

Siobhan and her book

At Hawkesbury Library  I attended the monthly meeting of the Hawkesbury Family History Group. The guest speaker was Dr Siobhan Lavelle whose talk was about the 1813 crossing of the Blue Mountains. The content of the talk was different from what I expected but was fascinating; I had expected to hear a straight history of the crossing by Blaxland, Wentworth, and Lawson but Siobhan put a different slant on her talk. She discussed the various celebrations that have been held to mark anniversaries of the crossing and demonstrated, with references to books, newspaper articles, pictures and other resources, the influences that society and members of the explorers' families at various periods had on shaping those celebrations. I was most impressed by Siobhan's presentation; she was a lucid and entertaining speaker with a dry and irreverent sense of humour.

I purchased and look forward to reading a copy of Siobhan's book, 1813 a tale that grew in the telling, that is available from the Royal Australian Historical Society and bookshops in the Blue Mountains.

After chatting with a few fellow group members and Michelle Nichols, the local studies librarian, I popped into my Bambino and headed for Ku-ring-gai Historical Society where I spent a pleasant few hours scanning historical photographs and adding them to the Society database. I also managed to have a chinwag with members of the Preservation Group who were beavering away at various tasks.

Because at talks I habitually sit behind tall gentlemen who block my view of slides on the screens I like to arrive early to snag  a seat near the front of lecture rooms. I arrived 30 minutes early for the talk at Hornsby Library and was able to catch up with Peter Booth, Kim and his wife from Ku-ring-gai Historical Society and Neil Chippendale the local studies librarian. Guest speaker at the Hornsby talk was one of my favourite speakers, Dr Carol Liston, whose topic was "The Links between Local and Family History". Carol was in fine form and gave a great talk.

What I found interesting in Carol's talk was that she covered some of the same themes that Joshua Taylor had addressed in his talk last Saturday particularly the importance of Place in family history research.

Thanks to  Michelle and Neil, two of my local history heroes, for organising these great Family History Month events.

One of my fave speakers coming to Hornsby

As someone who likes to attend lectures I have heard speakers who range from woeful to wonderful. Neil Chippendale, Local Studies Librarian at my Local Library at Hornsby has sent me through details of the next talk in the Library's Family History series.

I'll definitely be going along to hear Dr Carol Liston who is on the wonderful end of my speakers scale. Carol, an academic at The University of Western Sydney is a great communicator and entertaining speaker. 

Jeremy Palmer returning to Hornsby

I just heard from Neil Chippendale, Local Studies Librarian,  about the next Family History Talk to be held at Hornsby Library.  Unfortunately I won't be able to attend as I will be performing at the Unlock the Past Expo in Brisbane but I can recommend the talks at Hornsby as being good value. I attend them whenever I am able.

Jeremy Palmer at an earlier Hornsby talk

Jeremy Palmer will give a talk on English & Welsh Probate Records at Hornsby Shire Library, 28-44, George Street, Hornsby 2077 on Wednesday 27th June 2012 at 6:30PM $5:00.

It is important to prebook for these events as they often sell out.

To book please phone 9847-6614
For further information phone Hornsby Local Studies: 9847 6807.

From the Other Side of the Fence

My ongoing commitment to CGD sees me watching and listening to many presentations on genealogy related topics. Earlier tonight I stood on the other side of the fence.

Although I have presented to a number of audiences over the years I have never given a talk in my local area. I was thrilled when, last year, I was approached by Neil Chippendale the Local History Librarian at Hornsby Library to give a presentation in their series of Family History talks.

I was more nervous than usual prior to this talk as I felt I had to do really well for my local community. When Neil told me a few days ago that the event was sold out that made me even more nervous. My topic, Trove: a nation's treasure, was not one that I felt particularly confident in presenting but having given the talk I realise that I do know quite a bit about this fantastic resource. The good news is that techonology didn't fail, no-one nodded off to sleep and many people including a couple of librarians said that they had learned quite a few new tricks.

I got such a buzz from presenting to my neighbours who were such an appreciative audience. I thank Neil, a perfect host, who was there to greet me and help me set up; he made sure I had everything I needed and gave me a glowing introduction and vote of thanks.

Thanks also to Mark from Trove who took a look at my handouts and slides and suggested a couple of amendments. 

Family History Talks - Hornsby Library

I have received notification from my mate, Neil Chippendale, at Hornsby Library, about the next Family History talk to be held at the Library on Wednesday 22nd February at 6:30 pm.

The topic UK Criminal Records will be presented by genealogist, Jeremy Palmer, at the Library in George Street, Hornsby. The cost of thei lecture is $5.00 and includes a cuppa and a cookie.

These talks are quite popular and book out quickly so to nab a place please phone:  02 9847 6614

Further information is available from Hornsby Local Studies phone: 02 9847 6807.

On May 4th (time to be advised) I will be presenting a talk at the library "Trove - Access Australia's Treasure Online" in which I will give an introduction to the Trove website, show how family historians can use it as a genealogy resource and make contributions to enhance the resource.

School Records in the NSW State Archives

I heard from Neil Chippendale at Hornsby Library today, about their planned October Family History talk. It is advisable to book early for these talks as, at $5, they are excellent value. I'd  love to attend this function but it clashes with Mr. Geniaus' retirement dinner.

School Records

in the

NSW State Archives

a talk by

Emily Hanna

Senior Archivist, State Archives

Wednesday 12th October

6:30pm

at

Hornsby Shire Library,

George Street, Hornsby.

$5:00

To book please phone 9847-6614

For further information phone Hornsby Local Studies: 9847 6807.

FindMyPast at Hornsby

Just in this morning is an email from Neil Chippendale,Local Studies Coordinator, at Hornsby Library giving details of the next Family History Talk scheduled at the Library, 22-44 George Street, Hornsby.

On Thursday 9th June at 6:30 pm, 2011 Vicki Eldridge, Vice-President of SAG and professional family historian, will give a talk  "FindMyPast in Oz".

findmypast.com.au is the first site outside the UK for this well known pay-to-use family history resource provider and an enormous boon for researchers of Australasian families. 50 million records for Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands and Papua New Guinea" and growing every month. Vicki Eldridge,  will look at the range of records currently available, most of which are unique to this website; discuss how they can help you further your research and provide some tips to help you get the most from your searches.

These talks at Hornsby that are usually booked out in advance are great value at only $5 (including a cuppa).If you see me there please say g'day.

For bookings please phone 9847 6614. For further information phone 9847 6807

Details of activities and events at the Library can be found on the Activities & Events webpage

Full house at Hornsby

Tonight's was the best of the family history talks I have attended at Hornsby Library..

On phoning up to book a place this morning I was told that I was taking the last of the 60 places available. Arriving early I nabbed a front row seat and was soon joined by a lady who had sat near me at a previous session. There is a large group of regulars who attend the family history sessions organised by Neil Chippendale, the Local Studies Coordinator at Hornsby Library. At $5 including a cuppa or cordial and bikkies these represent excellent value. I wish Hornsby Library would host more of these events.

Although I had met Allan Murrin at Rootstech I had not heard him give a presentation. Allan was a relaxed, competent and down-to-earth speaker who engaged his audience with a natural warmth and touches of humour. His deep knowledge of his topic Familysearch was evident. Allan's use of Powerpoint was very good and his slides were attractive and easy to read.

Allan encouraged the audience to  "Move Forward" in their genealogy and specifically to embrace the new Familysearch. He recognised that change can be difficult but that by using resoources such as Familysearch we can find information quickly and have more time to analyse what we find.

Allan demonstrated with a couple of examples how to use both the ordinary and advanced search modes on Familysearch. He also pointed out that there is a huge number of resources available through the FamilySearch Library Catalog that are not yet indexed on Familysearch and that genealogists should look there for resources. He showed that there is a good number of Australian resources available in the catalog.

He also reminded us of the collection of Learning Resources  available from the site. This includes a wiki, online courses and a getting started guide. I only learnt a couple of new things but enjoyed the talk immensely as it helped me consolidate my knowledge and forced me  reflect on Familysearch and the wealth of resources they make available.

I take my hat off to Allan who demonstrated his "green" and "21st century genealogy" commitment by not handing out presentation notes but for giving the audience a URL from which they can download notes to their computer.

Congratulations to Allan and Neil for staging this event.

2010 History & Genealogy Expo at Parramatta - Saturday

Was it only four days ago that I retraced Friday's steps to Parramatta for the second day of the expo?

My Saturday started on a high note with  "Immigration from Ireland" by Dr. Perry McIntyre. After my initial shock in finding that Perry, whom I had read about for many years, was a girl not a boy I settled in for a most informative talk. Who said academics were boring? Kerry was the anthtihesis of boring as she spoke with passion and a depth of knowledge on this subject.  Kerry skillfully placed her talk, that was illustrated with images and statistics, in an historical perspective giving us an understanding of why our ancestors left the Emerald Isle. Kerry confirmed that finding traces of Irish ancestors can be a challenge but that with persistence one can sometimes be successful.

A silde from Perry's talk

In my second talk I went on a virtual tour of the treasure of the Mitchell Library with Paul Brunton. In his talk " The Mitchell Library and its collections" Paul,  after giving a short history of the library, focussed on some of the treasures of the library that are not what they seem. He talked about collection items that included, maps, letters, manuscripts, china and artworks. Paul indicated that looking at these old items in current often gave historians clues about social life and conditions of the times in which they were produced. Paul,a polished presenter who gave a talk laced with humour, demonstrated a passion for the Mitchell and its collections.

A 19th century cartoon from the Mitchell

I felt like I had won the trifecta after attending my third talk "The SAG Treasure Chest: how the Society's collections can help you" with Heather Garnsey, SAG Executive Officer. I had heard three competent, passionate and knowledgeable speakers in one morning.

An introductory slide from Heather

In her informative session Heather gave the audience a history of the Society and then outlined the items in the collection and how they can assist with one's research. She indicated the economic benefits of membership for those join up and use SAG's facilities. I am a longtime member of the Society who does not use these facilities nearly enough, Heather gave me a wakeup call.

Heather's conclusion

During the next two sessions I spent time volunteering on the TMG Sydney User's Group table. It was an honour to sit with these enthusiastic people who give of their time and energy so freely to promote the package about which they are so passionate. One thing users need to consider when purchasing software is the amount of support available. Apart from online support from the vendor members of the users group offer their expertise generously through a listserv and regular meetings at SAG.

There is no rest for the wicked so at 2:00 pm I found myself at the back of a crowded room for Chris Paton's talk "Discover Scottish Church records". Chris did his best to liven up this rather dry and confusing topic. My enjoyment suffered as I was unable to see Chris' slides on the screen and  seeing these visual prompts was vital  in following Chris. Additionally, as I could not see I was unable to record any of the URLs to which Chris referred. I hope I can find them in his book.

During the break I purchased a coffee and came across Neil Chippendale, Local Studies Librarian from Hornsby Library, who was scheduled to give a talk. I lamented that speakers had not been giving handouts; Neil promptly produced from his bag those he had prepared. Good on you, Neil, I didn't go to your talk but know that your participants would have been happy to get those notes of yours.

The last talk I attended certainly was the jewel in the crown of a fantastic day. Kerry Farmer presented a talk on "DNA and genealogy". I am scientifically illerate but came away from Kerry's talk feeling as though I had a basic grasp of the concepts she had outlined. Kerry was a calm and competentent speaker who was exceptionally well prepared. At the beginning of the talk she shared a wonderful handout, her many slides were attractive and informative and she made those of us in the audience who didn't have a clue about the subject comfortable enough to ask our silly questions.

Thanks again to the people from Unlock the Past and Gould Genealogy (it's hard to work out which is which or if they are one and the same) for putting together this event.

See my post for Friday's talks  here

Scottish Ancestors

Although Family History Week is over there still seems to be a good lot of genealogy events happening in and around Sydney. Last night I travelled to my local library at Hornsby for a workshop presented by Jeremy Palmer from Anzestry.

Family Historians at Hornsby

Jeremy Palmer

The Library's meeting room was packed for this fully subscribed event.  Jeremy gave a talk on "How to trace your Scottish Ancestry." As with his Irish talk Jeremy spent some time discussing Australian Records before moving on to Scottish Records.This appeared to affect the end of his presentation where he didn't have time to discuss in depth some of the resources listed on the handout distributed to the audience. Jeremy's presentation style has matured since I last heard him; he was confident and clear with a few touches of humour. His talk was supported with a few slides and screenshots.

Slide - Scottish Census Dates

Those present appeared to enjoy Jeremy's talk. It is very difficult, in an audience with a range of experience and expertise, to pitch a talk to all paticipant levels.   I think that if the title of the talk was "Introduction to Scottish Research" or  "A brief overview of resources for Scottish Research" the content of the talk would have been clearer to prospective attendees. Although I only learnt of one new resource from this talk (http://edina.ac.uk/stat-acc-scot/ Statistical Accounts of Scotland Online) I enjoyed the event. I would perhaps have mentioned the great value to be gained from using online collections of digitised newspapers,  added Chris Paton's new book, Researching Scottish Family History to the useful books list and given links to major Scottish genealogy blogs but one can't keep going ad nauseum!

Host, Neil Chippendale, chatting with visitor

It is always rewarding to attend an event for genealogists where there is an atmosphere of camaderie. I wish to thank Neil Chippendale who is responsible for local history at Hornsby Library and his colleague Niall who warmly welcomed all their visitors. Neil, as Hornsby's Local Studies Coordinator, works tirelessly for the local community in his role. Thankyou, Neil, for organising the series of Family History talks at the library, your efforts in pulling all this together within tight budgetry constraints is to be applauded. That the talks are fully subscribed is a testament to their usefulness.