Dear Jill ... Best Wishes Bill

I often get follow up questions from people who attend my webinars.

This week I heard from Bill who came along to the session I presented for The Society of Australian Genealogists on Online or E Books for Genealogy. Rather than answering Bill personally I thought that I would address his queries in a blog post. So here goes.

1. Which is your eReader of choice, for both being pleasant to use and for crossing the platforms?

 I currently use my Samsung Galaxy Note phone to read my eBooks but, as I have ramped up my reading of eBooks recently, I decided to take the plunge and purchase an eReader. 

I want something lightweight, that has a display that combats eye strain and is compatible with the apps I regularly use. I only need wifi access to the internet. My choice was a Kindle Paperwhite 32gig because it is light at about 190 grams, has a reasonable amount of storage, has a kind to the eyes display and is waterproof. However using it to download ebooks with the apps from my local library is a multistep process. These devices can be found online for under $AU200.

2.         For reading colour and larger format publications, which eReader suits?  For one example, the http://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/.

One of the reasons that I haven't committed to an eReader is that they don't yet deal with colour although I have read that this is coming to eReaders in 2020! See https://goodereader.com/blog/e-paper/will-you-buy-a-color-e-reader-next-year.

Although its screen is tiny I read colour magazines on my phone or during the day I read them on my laptop. Neither of these is ideal. I have a large heavy android tablet that I bought when I though Bigger is Better. It is too heavy and cumbersome for comfortable reading. 

I am now leaning towards buying a light 7" wifi only Android tablet that will cost only a few $$ more than an eReader. It won't solve the eyestrain problem but it will give me the flexibility to view in colour and use a range of eBook formats that I have with my Android phone. With a mini SD card inserted I will have enough space to store all my books on the device. My credit card is at the ready I just need to take the plunge!

3.         And on magazines, which do you access online for family history and easily readable?

I have to admit that I am not a great fan of printed mags in digital format. The only ones I browse are those from the local library's RBDigital collection. I still get the SAG journal in a printed format!

4.         Looking at the State Library, it seems their ProReader defaults to Adobe Reader.  OK?

Newcastle Library also provides these resources. I have downloaded the required app to my Android phone and I'm not aware of any issues. Adobe have a guide on their website. 

5.         Woollahra Library seems to have RBdigital for magazines and books, Overdrive, Bolinda, indyreads and EBSCO for books – haven’t researched them all!

I'm a member of three public libraries who each have different options available. I find some of their search functions difficult to operate. I'm currently fulfilling my reading for pleasure needs via the Libby app from Overdrive, I've used EBSCO resources widely over the years and am dabbling with others. 

6.         Seemingly a lot to take in

I hope these rambling are of some use Bill. Good luck with your eReading. 

Rescheduled

I was disappointed a few weeks ago when we lost our phone line and internet connection. I discovered this just a day before I was to present a webinar for The Society of Australian Genealogists on Online Books for Genealogy. Telstra managed to fix our issue in just under three weeks but that was too late for the webinar.

Online Books for Genealogy is topical for any time but is even more appropriate now that many of us are on self isolation. I'm thrilled that the webinar has been rescheduled as a lot of  time and energy went into its preparation. I hope to see may fellow members of SAG online for the webinar on April 9th. You can book on the Society website.

Here and there in National Family History Month

Aware that it's National Family History Month and that I am actually in Australia I threw myself into #familyhistory activities last week. Surprisingly I am not giving any talks this month so I've had a bit of time to play. Mr GeniAus does wonder what I am doing in my geneacave all day!

Piling system

From time to time I tear myself away from the more palatable geneactivities to do a little bit of tidying, scanning and think about filing. I'm very good at digital filing but a failure at physical filing. I have reorganised my cupboards but my piling system is still evident.

I continued to microblog via my GeniAus Facebook page and The Hornsby Shire FHG page. I contributed to many conversations on Facebook which I fine myself using more and more since the demise of Google+.
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Although I haven't written on this blog I have been blogging here  https://curryaus.wordpress.com/2019/08/07/avoiding-the-keyboard/ and here  https://hornsbysfhg.wordpress.com/2019/08/08/geneagala-day/ and  here https://ballau.blogspot.com/2019/08/inspection.html.

Monday was spent experimenting with data gathering and importing into my CurryAus project see blog post above).

On Tuesday I took myself to the monthly meeting of the Newcastle Family History Society, it's only the second time I have been to one of their meetings since joining. I'll try to do better. Sitting among the small audience of members who all knew each other I once again realised how lonely it can be as the newbie in a Group. It was disappointing to see such a small attendance at a meeting of a group with such a large membership. I wasn't sure that I would enjoy the talk by Marie Hughes who talked about her family and their business, Hughes Pottery which operated in the Merewether area for over 100 years. As a newcomer to the Newcastle Region I found the talk fascinating the story of the family business was interwoven with the family's genealogy. 

Hughes Pottery at Newcastle Family History Society

Two webinars were on my program for Wednesday. Firstly I watched Fiona Brooker's webinar on New Zealand  at Legacy Family Tree Webinars. I left this early to tune into the Newspapers webinar from the National Library of Australia which you can now view on their website or Youtube. I'm sorry that I didn't stick with Fiona's webinar as there was more for me to learn there than at the newspapers session which was a basic presentation aimed at new users and beginners.

On Thursday I made a rash decision to register for The Society of Australian Genealogists' Wikitree Challenge that was scheduled for the next day, Friday. This event organised by Veronica Williams and Danielle Lautrec aimed to improve Australian content, share our research, and promote the Society's collections all in one day. 

I failed on promoting the Society's resources but managed to share second place in the Challenge. I went way beyond the finishing time of 3pm so that I could complete my personal goals. My 16 Great-grandparents and many of their descendants now have sourced entries on the Wikitree. You can visit me here on Wikitree. 

My mother always taught me that if had a commitment one shouldn't back out if something else came along so on Saturday I missed the dedication of a new plaque on my descendant Elizabeth Phipps' grave at Richmond. Thanks to cousin Lynn Griffiths who organised the event to coincide with the 150th anniversary of Elizabeth's death.

Meanwhile I spent the day at Hornsby Library chairing the annual Geneagala day we at Hornsby Shire Family History Group host in conjunction with the library with special guest Emily Hanna from NSW State Archives and Records. It was a splendid day. You can see some photos and a report here in a Facebook post.

Genies at Gemeagala Day at Hornsby

While August has been a quiet month for talks presented by me September is busy so I have fired up Powerpoint and worked on my webinar and in person presentations. I spend way too much time preparing for these gigs; I am a serial reviser.

I spent quite a deal of time on my DNA Matches. I have used DNA Painter to map both my and Mr GeniAus' chromosomes. In the hope of finding new cousins to map I have repeatedly visited  Family Tree DNA, Gedmatch and MyHeritage but haven't had much joy. My greatest disappointment at the moment is the lack of matches to paint. If you only have your DNA at Ancestry and want to make more connections PLEASE upload to each of these sites. I have been able to keep up with new strong matches at Ancestry as they seem to be trickling in.

Mr GeniAus is smiling because I won a free pass for him  to attend #RootstechLondon. To win the prize I had to submit an interesting word that I had come across in my family history research. My winning word was Progonoplexia (I have a bad case - how about you?)

What did your week look like?

Attendees teach presenter

Before I signed out from the Six Feet Under Downunder webinar this afternoon I took host Geoff Rasmussen's advice and downloaded the Chat Log and Questions Log from the event. I have just sat down and read through all the comments made and questions asked.

When presenting one needs to concentrate on the job at hand so there is no time to monitor the conversation that is taking place concurrently. Thanks to Geoff, a marvellous moderator, who replied to your comments online and provided links and information.

Sometimes one's activities have unintended outcomes, today's webinar certainly did. Firstly I was surprised that so many people tuned in to hear an Aussie grandma spruiking online, I was pleased to hear that people from 18 countries logged on. THANKS to you all. My curiosity is piqued because to me the attendees are anonymous, I wonder who it was that was online from Augsburg, Germany and down the road from me in Newcastle, Australia. There was a good representation from various states in the US, I think all Australian States were represented and our cousins across the ditch in New Zealand had a fair representation. A big G"Day to you all.

Many of the attendees who made comments taught me things I didn't know so the webinar was a learning experience for me.  Thanks to those who provided answers about the content on Tasmanian death certificates that I was unable to answer:

DEATHS

Prior to 1897 particulars recorded were:

Name of deceased.

Date and place of death.

Age at death.

Occupation.

Cause of death.

In 1897 the birthplace of deceased was added.

In 1914 age at marriage and number of issue were added.

I was interested to learn this about Deaths at sea: "When ex-Navy people are buried, the location (GPS / Lat-Long) of the position at which the ashes were scattered is recorded.  Should be able to ask for these through defence records also." and "Queensland death cert for burial at sea of infant ancestor who died while rellies were immigrating to Aus late 1800s include longtitude/latitude so can pinpoint with accuracy location of this sea burial."

I'll take a look at the unanswered questions and will try to answer them in a future blog post.

Thanks to those who provided me with links to online cemetery records. I will add these to my new blog/site Six Feet Under Downunder once I finish setting it up. I'll let you know when it goes live.

You can view the webinar online here for a limited time.

Virtual Genealogy Association - New South Wales Chapter

I know that several of my genimates have joined The Virtual Genealogy Association  and are enjoying the educational program of webinars served out as part of their membership (Great value for $US20 per annum). Already there is an impressive library of a dozen webinars on a wide range of subjects given by an international team of experts.

What you may not realise is that there are closed Facebook Groups for Chapters within the organisation where members with shared interests can chat and collaborate. Most of the US States have Chapters for members with interests in a particular States.  International Chapters include those for BeNeLux, Canada, Ireland, Norway and South Africa. In Australia we have had Chapters for Queensland and Western Australia and now there is a Chapter for New South Wales for which I am an administrator.

If you are a member of the The Virtual Genealogy Association  how about joining me in The Facebook Group (please only apply if you are a financial member).

Just in - Free British Webinars from Familysearch

Dear British Family History Researchers:

We are pleased to announce the British class Webinars for the month of August. They are as follows:

British Case Study (Mark Gardner) – Tuesday, August 8^th at 1:00PM, B-2 Lab.   This webinar (and Your British Research Questions Answered) can fast-track your genealogical research knowledge and skills as few other learning venues and opportunities. This intensive collaborative class will teach you ways to solve difficult research scenarios by raising awareness for better steps to take that empower you to success, and which will clarify your thinking and provide some usable strategies for future research.

Tracing Ancestry in English Census Records (Todd Knowles) – Thursday, August 17^th at 1:00PM, B-2 Lab. This class illuminates many of the marvelous online sites which provide quick access to many of the available census records (1841-1911)  and the advantages of some of those sites, over others. There’s so many excellent choices, so watch Todd as he navigates through and empowers you towards greater success along the your research trails using these outstanding records.

Kissing Cousins or Not? Understanding Generations, Kith, Kin and Relationships (Craig Foster) – Tuesday, August 22^nd at 1:00PM, B-2 Lab.  This class explains differences between kith, kin, first and second cousins, as well as explains generations and why understanding this is so important.

Genealogical Treasures at Findmypast.co.uk  (Mark Gardner) – Thursday, August 24^th  at 1:00PM, B-2 Lab. This class addresses the rich English treasures and powerful databases this fast growing website has assembled which allows  you some of the best chances for success in locating your England ancestry. Come and participate as Mark demos the myriad resources at your perusal.

Your British/Irish Research Questions Answered (Phil Dunn) – Thursday, 31^st at 1:00PM, B-2 Lab. Have a brickwall line you haven’t worked on in years? Bring it and any others to this webinar and watch us help you break it down into manageable steps—be it, England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, or British subject abroad. Feel free to take advantage of this opportunity to gain direct access to one of the Family History Library’s professional genealogists to obtain answers to your brick wall ancestral research problem.

More free Online Offerings from Familysearch

In my mailbox today:

Here’s some important information on upcoming Webinars we think you all will be excited about. These include not just British (this time), but we are presenting a European Family History Conference series on the week of the 15^th of May, 2017. You’ll want to view these class titles for several European countries. Don’t miss out on this annual event, with classes for Beginners as well as Intermediate:  http://media.familysearch.org/free-5-day-family-history-conference-focuses-on-western-europe-research/

Here’s our monthly class Webinar offerings for your British ancestors:

Tracing Ancestry in Scotland’s Heritable (Land) Records (Raymon Naisbitt) – Wednesday, April 12^th at 1:00PM, B-2 Lab. This class illuminates the advantages and how to use Scotland’s heritable records. The Scottish made land conveyance a ‘science’ in that there are several record types which provide researchers with different perspectives on their ancestral lands and land conveyance over the centuries. Listen to what Raymon shares as he demonstrates how to use each record type in your Scottish genealogical research.

Scottish Naming Customs (Craig Foster) – Thursday, April 13^th at 1:00PM, B-2 Lab.  Tracing Scottish ancestry prior to about 1780 can be a bit tricky if you don’t know how the Scots used naming customs for naming their children. Come and learn exactly how to properly and accurately construct your Scottish family genealogies.

How to Trace Scotland’s Poor (Mark Gardner) – Friday, April 21^st at 1:00PM, B-2 Lab. This must-see webinar promises to provide all Scottish researchers with skilled knowledge, key records and resources for tracing the less-fortunate in lesser-used but important records. Come and learn about all those records he identifies that will give you the best chance for successfully locating your Scottish poor.

Your British/Irish Research Questions Answered (Craig Foster) –Thursday, 27^th at 1:00PM, B-2 Lab. Are you lost in your pre-1800 research in England, Ireland, Scotland or Wales? This is your big opportunity to gain direct access to one of the Family History Library’s professional genealogists to obtain answers to your brick wall ancestral research problem. Listen while Craig, and other researchers in-house and online provide some new, innovative ways that will be sure to help you along your more difficult ancestral trails.

Ready and Waiting...

With just 12 minutes to go I am sitting at my computer waiting for the first webinar from State Archives and Records NSW to commence. I am going to learn all about using their website. As is my practice I am early.

 If you hadn't heard the news that this institution will now be offering fre

Free Webinars from Familysearch

Pleased to share this news from Familysearch. Please note you will have to convert the times to your  current location.

 

 Free Family History Library Classes and Webinars for April 2017

Salt Lake City, Utah (21 March 2017), April is a great month to take a free family history class or webinar taught by specialists through the world reknowned Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. Attend in person or online. Beginner or intermediate skill level, we bet you'll find something of interest. British, Portuguese, Finnish, Scottish, French, Chinese, Dutch, and US records-related classes are on tap. Take the introductory DNA class to help understand all the genetic genealogy excitement. And there are quite a few classes about how to get the most out of all the features and content on FamilySearch.org.  Mark your calendars for events you want to join so you don't forget. Find and easily share this release online in the FamilySearch Newsroom. 

Online classes offered in the schedule below are noted as "Webinars". Webinar attendees need to click on the link next to the class title to attend the online class on the scheduled date and time. Those attending the Library in-person need to simply go to the room noted. Invite family and friends. All times are in Mountain Standard Time (MST). No registration is required.

Not able to attend a webinar live or in-person? Most sessions are taped and can be viewed later online at your convenience in the archive for Family History Library Classes and Webinars. 

DATE / TIME	CLASS (SKILL LEVEL)	WEBINAR | ROOM
Mon, 3-Apr,10:00 AM	Using the FamilySearch Catalog Effectively (Beginner)	M Lab
Mon, 3-Apr,1:00 PM	Overview of FamilySearch.org (Beginner)	Webinar | M Lab
Tue, 4-Apr,10:00 AM	Starting with the FamilySearch Family Tree: Navigating, Adding a Person, Standardizing, Views, Printing (Beginner)	Webinar | M Lab
Tue, 4-Apr,12:00 PM	British Research Case Study (Beginner)	Webinar | B2 Lab
Tue, 4-Apr, 2:00 PM	Chinese Genealogy and How to Start (In Chinese) (Beginner)	Webinar  | MFC - B
Wed, 5-Apr,11:00 AM	Ask Your United States Research Question (Beginner)	Webinar | MFC - B
Mon, 10-Apr,10:00 AM	Using the FamilySearch Catalog Effectively (Beginner)	M Lab
Tue, 11-Apr,10:00 AM	What’s New at FamilySearch.org (Beginner)	Webinar | M Lab
Tue, 11-Apr,12:00 PM	Starting Chinese Genealogy (In English) (Beginner)	Webinar  | MFC - C
Tue, 11-Apr,2:00 PM	Exploring Death Notices in Norway (Intermediate)	Webinar | MFC - B
Wed, 12-Apr,10:00 AM	French Language Records Indexing (1½ hrs) (Beginner)	Webinar  | M Lab
Wed, 12-Apr,12:00 PM	Tracing Ancestry in Scotland’s Heritable (Land) Records (Intermediate)	Webinar | B2 Lab
Wed, 12-Apr,2:00 PM	Marriage Customs and Records in Sweden (Beginner)	Webinar | MFC - B
Wed, 12-Apr,4:00 PM	Using the Online Pennsylvania Archives (Beginner)	Webinar | MFC - B
Thur, 13-Apr,1:00 PM	Scottish Naming Customs (Beginner)	Webinar | B2 Lab
Sat, 15-Apr,10:00 AM	Boy Scout Genealogy Merit Badge (1½ hrs.) To register go to http://bit.ly/2eDQGhD(Beginner)	2nd South
Sat, 15-Apr,1:00 PM	Conquistar la mitología: Usando fuentes (Beginner)	Webinar | B1 Lab
Mon, 17-Apr,10:00 AM	Using the FamilySearch Catalog Effectively (Beginner)	M Lab
Tue, 18-Apr,10:00 AM	Tips and Tricks for Using FamilySearch’s Historical Records (Beginner)	Webinar | M Lab
Wed, 19-Apr,10:00 AM	Dutch Language Records Indexing (1½ hrs) (Beginner)	Webinar  | M Lab
Wed, 19-Apr,1:00 PM	Beginning Finnish Research: A Case Study (Beginner)	Webinar | MFC - A
Thur, 20-Apr,11:00 AM	Starting Family Tree: Research Help and Searching Records (Beginner)	Webinar | M Lab
Fri, 21-Apr,1:00 PM	How to Trace Scotland’s Poor (Intermediate)	Webinar | B2 Lab
Mon, 24-Apr,10:00 AM	Using the FamilySearch Catalog Effectively (Beginner)	M Lab
Tue, 25-Apr,11:00 AM	FamilySearch Wiki (Beginner)	Webinar | MFC - B
Tue, 25-Apr,2:00 PM	Genetic Genealogy: An Introduction to DNA (Beginner)	Webinar | MFC -B
Wed, 26-Apr,10:00 AM	Portuguese Language Records Indexing (1½ hrs) (Beginner)	Webinar  | M Lab
Wed, 26-Apr,2:00 PM	New York City Passenger Arrivals (Intermediate)	Webinar | MFC - B
Thur, 27-Apr,10:00 AM	Genetic Genealogy: An Introduction to DNA (Beginner)	Webinar | MFC - B
Thur, 27-Apr,1:00 PM	Your British/Irish Research Questions Answered (Beginner)	Webinar | B2 Lab

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About FamilySearch

FamilySearch International is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources free online at FamilySearch.org or through over 4,991 family history centers in 129 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Free British Isles Research Seminar Online

Familysearch is offering this free event both in the Family History Library and online next week from 13th to 17th February March (thanks Kerryn for the proofreading) but registration is required.

Full details are here on the Familysearch Wiki andthe pdf brochure for the event can be viewed here.

Family History Library