E is for ...Esther : the extraordinary true story of the First Fleet girl who became first lady of the colony

 I've been researching my family history for over thirty years. Along this genealogy journey I have been supported by hundreds of books, many of which I have listed on my Librarything page. 

During the 2021 #AtoZChallenge I will be writing about two of my passions, books and family history. I'll be taking a trip down memory lane and revisiting some of those books that have enriched my genealogy experience.

Sometimes I read fiction to learn about the history and environment of the times in my ancestors lived. While the works in this genre of fiction based on fact may not be 100% accurate, if the author has researched her topic assiduously, they give one an insight into ancestors' lives and times. I like the sugarcoating this genre gives to learning history.

Ten of my direct ancestors including several women landed in Sydney Cove as convicts so I am most interested in reading works set in the early 19th century in New South Wales. 

In 2019 I attended a lecture by Jessica North at Toronto Library where she spoke about her writing and research for the book Esther : the extraordinary true story of the First Fleet girl who became first lady of the colony Jessica had consulted hundreds of diaries, letters, books, records, maps and journals to produce this her first novel. 

I borrowed the ebook version of this book from another local library. I enjoyed this book which told the story of a strong woman and expanded my understanding of the early years in the colony in Sydney, it was well written and very easy to read.

D is for...Ah, Dungog : a brief survey of its charming houses & historic buildings

 I've been researching my family history for over thirty years. Along this genealogy journey I have been supported by hundreds of books, many of which I have listed on my Librarything page. 

During the 2021 #AtoZChallenge I will be writing about two of my passions, books and family history. I'll be taking a trip down memory lane and revisiting some of those books that have enriched my genealogy experience.

My 3x Great-Grandparents Denis Tierney and Elizabeth D'arcy settled in Dungog NSW around 1840. As The Maitland Mercury newspaper ,which was first published in 1843, covered Dungog I have many stories about Denis and his family. Unfortunately I only have a couple of contemporaneous images from Dungog.

On a visit to The National Library of Australia back in 2015 I perused Ah, Dungog : a brief survey of its charming houses & historic buildings and enjoyed looking at the images within that gave me an idea of the environment in which my ancestors lived. 

My meanderings on the internet found a browsable copy of this book on the Living Histories site at the University of Newcastle.

Where do you buy a copy? 
https://ahdungog.pressbooks.com/front-matter/where-to-get-it/

The Chester Creek Murders

I published this review on my Librarything account and, this morning thought I should add it to Amazon, the place where I purchased it. Sadly I am not able to post a review there because I haven't reached the minimum spend to gain permission to write a review! As I am gagged on Amazon I am sharing my review here.

As a member of the Nathan Dylan Goodwin Fan Club with many other genealogists I have been anxiously waiting for the debut of this work. Now that I have read it I am disappointed that I will have to wait for Nathan to recharge his batteries and research and write another tale.

This book was Nathan's best work yet. It is an improvement on his other works on so many levels. I have been critical of the covers for Nathan's earlier books but I loved this one, it set the scene for a real page-turner that held my attention from the first to the last word.

Between the covers I found a believable story populated with interesting characters and many story lines that ended with a couple of cliff-hangers allowing for future works in the series. I felt for the main character Maddie, owner of a genetic genealogy firm who, in spite of issues in her personal life, was able to rally and support her team in identifying through DNA the serai killer in a cold case.

As a genealogist I appreciated the detailed description of the methodologies used to solve the case. Nathan who is an Englishman must have been on a steep learning curve as he learnt about all the resources during the research for the book. To his credit he deferred to some of the top genealogists in the US for assistance. For this Aussie with little knowledge of US resources reading this book gave me a sugar-coated way of learning more on that subject.

I loved that the work was set in the geneamecca of Salt Lake City, a place I have visited on many occasions. Nathan's descriptions of the weather and the areas around Salt Lake were spot on. I noted that he named one of his characters, Kenyatta. Was that a nod to US genealogist Kenyatta Berry? One of the homes he described in South Jordan sounded similar to a genealogists's home I have visited there! Those who haven't been to Salt Lake will get an accurate picture of the place from reading this story.

This work is easy to read with many descriptive phrases. Nathan's prose in US English lends authority to the story and made the characters more believable. Nathan's writing has certainly developed since his first novel.

This book was unputdownable, a riveting story combined with a lesson in genealogy research and a discussion of issues facing family historians.

Highly recommended for family historians, those who love a good mystery and people inquisitive about DNA.

I read the eBook version of this work from Amazon that was priced at just $AU7.50 - great value for 4 hours entertainment, I look forward to the arrival of my hard copy that I will read at a more leisurely pace.

A Mobile Library

At night time I indulge in an activity that is not family history. I can often be found taking to my bed directly after dinner to indulge in this passion. 

My Mum loved her Books

One of the genes that I inherited from my mother was a love of reading that continues to this day. My commitment to this activity has ebbed and flowed over the years but currently, as I am largely confined to quarters due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, I have more time to devote to the printed word.  

As a child I can remember accompanying Mum to a subscription library in Kings Cross where she borrowed books. When we moved to the Randwick Municipality we used to borrow from their mobile library which stopped at Maroubra Junction on a Saturday morning. That was when I got my first library card and became a regular borrower. As an adult a career working in public and school libraries afforded me easy access to large collections for no outlay.

Since becoming a retired old biddy I haven't made many visits to local libraries except for genealogy related activities. I have purchased many books and dropped so many hints for gifts of books or book vouchers on birthdays and other special occasions. As new books are rather expensive I have been able to pick up many near new books at op shops, charity book fairs and my favourite online charity bookstore, Brotherhood Books. I keep a list of recommended/wanted books and every so often check Brotherhood's catalogue to see if these are listed. 

I love physical books, the smell and feel of the paper adds a pleasurable and familiar element to the reading experience. During Covid time most of the places where I sourced my books dried up - op shops and libraries closed and no book fairs . I had to find some other way of satisfying my appetite for reading.

My Mobile Library

When going on holidays I had been in the habit of downloading a few eBooks from local libraries in case I read through the half dozen "read and ditch" books I usually pack. So Covid-19 made me turn to eBooks. After a few months of reading the books I had borrowed on my smartphone I decided that I needed some sort of eReader. I did a bit of research and decided to purchase a lightwieght inexpensive, Android tablet which would give me more flexibility than a Kindle or similar device.  Then I struck a problem as the Samsung tablet I wanted to purchase was out of stock in Australia. 

Finally around a month ago I found that some local retailers had the desired tablets in stock. I phoned the closest store, got them to match the lower price of another shop and quickly dispatched Mr GeniAus on a mercy mission to buy one. I am enjoying reading on the new device, it's not too heavy to hold up in bed, I can more easily see the text I am reading and I don't have to turn the pages so often. 

My tablet is set up with apps from several local libraries and vendors of eBooks like Amazon and Google. I have also copied all of the other eBooks I had on my hard drive to the device. I have installed just a few other apps: a browser, email and Facebook. My 21st century version of the mobile library is truly mobile and has access to more titles than were available on those Saturday mornings at Maroubra Junction.

The initial purpose of this post was to share my pride in having read 63 books in the first half of 2020 but I digressed. You can see what I have read this year here on the fabulous, free site Librarything https://www.librarything.com/catalog/GeniAus.&deepsearch=read+2020.

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.

Remembering Local Soldiers

On this Remembrance Day November 11 I am sharing a link to a work,  commonly known as The Argus War Book, that was published shortly after World War 1. I have known of the existence of the work for many years but had never handled or seen a copy.

As I was indulging in a bit of tangential research last week I came across a blog post (Please read it all) from Parramatta Heritage Centre that talked about the history of  "The Argus War Book: Parramatta and District Soldiers who Fought in the Great War" and mentioned the areas included in the book. 

I was surprised to find that all these places were included: "Parramatta, Granville and Clyde, Auburn, Lidcombe the book continues to include Liverpool, Marsden Park, Ingleburn, Hoxton Park, Cecil Park, Cabramatta, Canley Vale, St. John’s Park, Smithfield, Fairfield, Wetherill Park, Bossley Park, Guildford, Merrylands, Westmead, Wentworthville, Toongabbie, Seven Hills, Blacktown, Prospect, Plumpton, Schofield’s Siding, Sackvllle, Eastern Creek, Rouse Hill, Arcadia, Baulkham Hills. Castle Hill, Dural, Galston, Glenhaven, Glenorie, Kellyville, Kenthurst, Carlingford, Dundas, Ermington and Rydalmere, Waitara, Hornsby, Normanhurst, Thornlelgh, Pennant Hills, Beecroft, Cheltenham, Epping, Eastwood, Ryde, Meadowbank and Gladesville." Both Mr GeniAus and I have ancestors in one or some of these areas.

Great-Grandfather John James Ball

The exciting news conveyed in the blog post was that the publication has been digitised and it may be viewed from this link. I was finally able to get my (virtual) hands on this 271 page book which contains photographs and concise biographical information on military men and nurses from the district.

 I was particularly interested in  the Liverpool soldiers because I have been researching Mr GeniAus' Ball ancestors who were not mentioned in the recent Liverpool publication "Our Liverpool Boys". 

What I discovered were mentions and photos of  Great-Grandfather John James Ball,  Grandfather James Ball, Great Uncle Fred Ball and several cousins. Until we came across this digitised publication we had never  seen a photo of John James. 

Today as I reflect on the sacrifices made by our military ancestors I commend the people at Parramatta who have provided access to this valuable resource for local families.

We Will Remember Them

When an ebook is better...

As we prepare for our next holiday which includes a tour to The Western Front I thought that Mr GeniAus and I should do some background reading.

My son kindly offered to lend us his copy of the prizewinning book  "The Great War" by Les Carlyon which he says that although it's over 1,000 pages  it's an easy read. On the weekend he delivered this together with another 900 page tome for us to read. A strapping young lad like my son might be able to read these heavyweights with ease but his poor old Mum tried to bond with Les in bed the other night and I just wasn't up to the challenge.

The Great War is just too heavy for an old girl who snuggles up under the covers to read at night. Although I prefer 'real' paper books I thought that this was a case where an ebook would be better so I popped into the Playstore and bought myself a copy.

I am pleased to report that the book is now accessible from my phone and tablet  and that I have made a good start on reading it. Mr GeniAus who is stronger than I can have the printed copy all to himself.

Family History Through the Alphabet – R is for …Online (Reading that is)

Every day I read news items, press releases, articles and stories about genealogy, not in books or hard copy magazines, but on my laptop, netbook, my Android phone and my Android tablet.

I read just about everywhere.On the train, in the car (preferably when Mr Geniaus is driving), in the air, at sea, in waiting rooms, in bed, while hanging on the phone waiting to talk to a real person and in the bathtub (haven't given a device a bubble bath yet).

My reading of monographs has suffered as I find that I am reading more and more short online texts and less lengthy real paper tomes.

So what do I read online?

First stop with my morning coffee is Google+, followed by a quick browse of Twitter, then it's onto Google Reader that manages my RSS feeds; I read several hundred blogs and have a few news alerts set up. Lastly I turn to Facebook, my least favoured social networking site.

I dip into Zite when I have time to see what suggestions and links it has for me. The topics I follow on Zite are  Android, Genealogy, Social Media and Technology.

For the daily news I check out the Sydney Morning Herald (not much genealogy news there) but a girl needs to keep up with the world around her.

If I have a spare few minutes I may dip into Trove. Tonight I have spent some time reading articles about my old school and I discovered some juicy bits about nuns that I will share some time on Trove Tuesday.

I am not really into ebooks preferring the smell and feel of paper for reading long texts but I do have a few digitised books saved in my Google Books account.

I use Librarything to keep track of the genealogy and other books that I read. I love the social networking aspects of this site that allows me to connect with other genealogists and see what they have in their libraries.

Whenever I have a few spare minutes I sneak in a bit of reading but do I still qualify as a bookworm?

What is the pattern of your online reading?