Frustrated

Can you spot the problem with this advice on the State Library of NSW's Family History blog? 

http://statelibrarynsw-familyhistory.tumblr.com/post/154411792187/i-am-wanting-information-on-mabel-buchanan-or-any

I may be confused but I think that St James Church, Beaconsfield is in the Sydney Diocese ( http://sydneyanglicans.net/findachurch/st_james_south_sydney) so the advice given to anonymous is a bit off the mark.

Am I missing something here? If I am the one that is confused I'd love to be set straight.

Eyes on Ireland

It's been a long time since I've sat down and systematically revisited my Irish ancestors. As I have a trip to Ireland planned I thought it time to become reacquainted.

I found that much of my old research is unsourced or that I have sources listed in the notes field of my software ( a result of using an unsophisticated genealogy software program years ago). So as I go through the records I am doing them over.

So what have I done? I identified my earliest ancestors and wrote their names on a piece of paper then starting at the top of the list I started researching on the free digitised  Catholic Parish Registers at The National Library of Ireland. It wasn't long before I struck gold, I identified, using the FAN principle or Cluster Genealogy, the Regiment in which my 3xGreat-Grandfather, John D'Arcy served. I knew he was a Lieutenant in the army but for over 25 years had been unable to identify his regiment. I'm indebted to the priest who recorded this information on a baptismal record of an ancestor's sibling. It found it hard sticking to one resource as my discoveries threw up tangents I wanted to pursue.

This early success fired me up. I spent seven hours on that first day going through the registers. I found baptisms for a few more family members and a marriage in 1839 for Dennis Tierney and Eliza Darcy,  I had this recorded (unsourced) as 1834. It had always bothered me how Dennis and Eliza had avoided having children in the first five years of their marriage! I was surprised to learn that Eliza's name was recorded as Elizabeth on her baptismal, now I can tell my daughter that she is named for her 2x Great-Grandmother. I scribbled on my piece of paper details of the registers I had consulted. Discovering a new sibling, Michael, for Eliza/Elizabeth has given me a whole new line to chase down.

On waking with a clear head and a mighty resolve the next morning I realised that my scrap of paper just wasn't going to work. I opened up Google Drive and created yet another geneasheet. Down the left side are names and details of the ancestors and across the top columns are listed the resources I may consult during my hunt - this has morphed into a very wide spreadsheet. As I have trouble researching down a straight and narrow path this document allows me to Zigzag and follow whims and be organised at the same time.

I remembered that there was a more efficient way to search the Registers so I took out a one month subscription to Roots Ireland. As well as offering Registers searches this resource allows me to search other indexes.

Resources at Roots Ireland

Using this resource found a record I had missed when scrolling through the microfilmed Parish Registers late at night. It was 18GBP well spent.

State Library of New South Wales

As I was meeting genimate, Lilian, at The State Library yesterday I decided to use my time chasing up the Irish. I searched the library catalogue for my Irish surnames and also the towns in which the ancestors settled. I ordered around twenty promising resources which I perused in the hope of finding snippets of information on the ancestors. I found a few more family members (remember those FANS) in cemetery registers, one line in a printed genealogy but not much more. One of the resources I found will be of great assistance with my CurryAus study but that's a story for another day. I love visiting the State Library and have resolved to do so again before I travel.

Lilian and I settle in for a day of research

I need to repeat this exercise with the catalogues of The Society of Australian Genealogists. I have a busy few weeks ahead of me. Before I set off the catalogue of the National Library of Ireland will get the same treatment.

While I was jumping all over the place I found a few mentions of the Irish ancestors in Ancestry Member Trees  (much of which appears to be copied from my website) and one of these actually sourced a book, a printed genealogy. Trove tells me that there is a copy of this in the Newcastle Region Library so I'm planning a trip up there to see if it will verify the information in that Ancestry tree.

Discovering via a hint on another Ancestry Tree that my ancestor Bridget Ryan wasn't a swimmer after all was another high spot for me. I had a newspaper reference that said Bridget had travelled to New South Wales in 1847 with her brother, Michael Harrington Ryan. I have now verified that she actually travelled to Victoria on British Empire in 1849 with her sister, Anne.

Hopefully, with the support of my new geneasheet, I'll be able to give my Irish ancestors a good doing over.

Heroes

For some people rock and movie stars are heroes. I tend to save my admiration for thinkers, explorers and movers and shakers from many fields. I have a particular bias towards people from my fields of endeavour: libraries, education and information technology.

Yesterday, at the ASCCA Conference in Sydney I noticed that one of my heroes was on the program. As I was watching the passing parade from my perch (where I was demonstrating the Flip-Pal) I saw a tall gentleman wander past, I thought I recognised him. A quick Google image search told me I was correct, one of my heroes was within cooee.

Our State Librarian, Dr Alex Byrne, actually came up to me and I introduced myself to him as a lover of the State Library. We had a general chat and I congratulated him on the Library's newest online resource, a collection of WW1 diaries that the library has digitised and made available online. Dr Byrne then proceeded to give me a personal tour of the site (on my tablet); his enthusiasm for this resource reminded me of a Dad showing off his newborn. He was so proud as he showed me the resource; what I learnt about was the collaborative dimension of the collection. Readers are invited to add value to the collection by "adding your original stories, photos or records."  How cool is that!

GeniAus and Dr Alex Byrne

And why is this affable chap my hero? He has taken a venerable but staid institution and is making a huge effort to move it into the 21st Century. I imagine that this has not been an easy task. I thank you, Dr Alex Byrne, for your efforts in making The State Library of NSW and its resources accessible not just to those who are easily able to visit Macquarie Street but for the many of us in the State and beyond for whom a physical journey is not always possible.

State Library Workshop

On Monday I attended a workshop, Tracing Irish Ancestry, at the State Library of NSW, an

Fellow attendee, Sharon, with her booklet

institution that I love.

The blurb for the talk that was supported by the Consulate General of Ireland in Sydney stated:

Do you have Irish Ancestry? Join us for an introduction to resources for tracing your Irish roots including eresources, books and original materials. We will have some of this material on display. At the end of workshop we will take you on a tour of the family history area and the Mitchell Library.

I was prepared for a beginner level presentation and attended because I believe that one will always learn something new and be reminded of resources that one hasn't consulted in a while. 

The first hour of the talk was presented by a librarian who read from a script and didn't appear to know her topic. However, Nina, the librarian from the Mitchell Library, who presented the second half of the talk really knew her stuff. She spoke off the cuff and used her slides to illustrate her talk, it was evident that she loved her work. I was going to bail out after the first half of the workshop but am so pleased that I stayed. 

After the talk we were given an opportunity to look at a selection of the treasures available to researchers in the Mitchell Library. We were then taken on a tour to the Mitchell Library where Nina showed us some of the card catalogues there that have not yet been digitised and which contain a wealth of references to ordinary early Australians. A ride in an elevator took us down to one of the five underground levels where resources are housed in climate controlled comfort before we were brought back up to the Family History area of the library for an overview of the resource there. I noted that some changes had been made since my last visit earlier this year.

Thanks to the Irish Consul for supporting this event and for the useful booklet "Tracing your ancestors in Ireland" that was distributed to attendees. Thanks also to The State Library for making this event possible.

Nina, a Mitchell librarian

Treasures from the Mitchell

A convict's Ticket of Leave from the Mitchell collection

Free Irish Lectures at The State Library of NSW

The State Library of NSW website asks:

"Do you have Irish Ancestry? Join us for an introduction to resources for tracing your Irish roots including eresources, books and original materials. We will have some of this material on display. At the end of workshop we will take you on a tour of the family history area and the Mitchell Library."

I am over 50% Irish and am surrounded by a maze of Brickwalls. I need all the help I can get so I have booked in for one of the free workshops supported by the Consulate General of Ireland in Sydney to be held at the Library.

Everyone who attends a workshop will be entered into a draw to win a copy of the Atlas of the Great Irish Famine, kindly donated by the Consulate General of Ireland.

Places are still available with the first workshop being held this afternoon. For further details and to reserve your spot go to: http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/events/series/tracing_irish_ancestry.html.

The send an email with your details to the address given.  Maybe I'll see you on November 4th.

SLNSW

1969 was the year that I started using our State Library. My first visits were in my courting days with Mr Geniaus when we used go to the library, which was then in the historic Mitchell wing, to study together. As we both passed the courses we were studying the library must have had an atmosphere that was conducive to study.

I have continued to visit the library irregularly for 43 years although today most of my visits are virtual as I can use the library's eResources and online catalogue from home. In my career as a librarian I paid many visits to the Macquarie Street wing (opened in 1988) for professional development seminars, meetings and research. I love the State Library of New South Wales and enjoy my visits in person. I was thrilled last year to take part in a week long online forum that allowed me to comment on various aspects of the library's facilities and services. I even won a gift voucher for my traoubles. Today was my first visit to the library since that forum and the refurbishment of the library's spaces (my excuse being tht I have recently spent several months out of the country).

The library is looking pretty schmick with lots of white and pale grey with some red and dark gray accents and a bit of blonde timber. What is pleasing is that some of the things that were discussed in the forum have been implemented; this may have been going to happen anyway but when I looked around I felt that perhaps my contribution to the forum had helped the library powers with their planning.

Family History area

I was kicking myself because I didn't have a camera in my bag as I would loved to have taken some better photos for this post. The few I took on my tablet don't do justice to the library makeover.


Gone were the horrible blue lights from the toilets that made one look like a zombie and feel disoriented. There were plenty of powerpoints and free wifi at a decent speed, the new hard plastic chairs were surprisingly comfortable and there are lots of computers available. There is a new cafe on the ground floor near the library entrance where one can get a sandwich served on a plate from $5 - a bargain in the city. My fancy $7 toasted sourdough sandwich was great.

Library cafe - site of the super sandwich

The lockers have been replaced with new electronically operated ones that are accessed from a touchscreen. Mine locked on me while I was organising my things but reopening it from the touchscreen wasn't a drama. I dutifully put my large handbag in the locker but saw many people in the library with bags as big as mine. I need to check on their bag policy as I find it a nuisance having to leave some of my gear outside.

Lots of computers

As I had misplaced my library card (I have misplaced all my library and archives cards - put them in a safe place when I last went travelling - it's very safe)  I enquired at the information desk; the two librarians on duty there issued me with a new one on the spot after checking my ID and relieving me of a dollar (SLNSW you could charge a bit more for this).

My next stop was the family history section where I settled in for a few hours. I had a successful time there using the monographs and then the library's subscription to Findmypastau (I only have a sub to the UK version). My peace was disturbed towards the end of my visit by a student sitting near me and I was compelled to send out this tweet: Should I offer some tissues to the student sitting near me at@slnsw so he can blow his nose and stop sniffling?

Good old microfiche is still available

I sent out one other tweet while I was in the library: Tip for @slnsw staff - when in info desks please don't talk about other staff members especially when what you say isn't nice‪ #libraries‬. I am disappointed that no-one from the institution has responded to my tweet yet but maybe it is their policy to ignore cranks like me. While at the library I couldn't help hearing two staff at a service desk discuss fashion and compliment each other on their fashion sense (good for team building), they also discussed a conference (presume it was ALIA2012) but when they started talking about another person (presumably on the library staff) in a negative way I just had to tweet. I don't mind workers indulging in a bit of idle chatter on the job but they need to be aware of the fact they are in a public area and supposed to be working; they need to realise that others cannot help but hear what they are saying in the morgue like library silence. Perhaps there is a need for some ambient noise in the library.

Now I have that off my chest I must congratulate whoever is responsible for the changes at SLNSW, it's looking good. 


I'll be back next week with my camera.

Hitting the books

at the newly refurbished State Library of New South Wales Family History Section.

Q&As

I received a lovely email from one of the attendees at my Friday night talk at Hornsby Library in which Christine asked me two questions. I will reply to Christine's questions via this blog as my responses may be of interest to more than one person.

Hello Jill,
 
Thankyou for your very interesting talk last night. I had looked on Trove before briefly but I learnt a lot last night from you. I can see that there will be many pleasurable hours ahead on Trove.

I have two questions if you don't mind answering. They are:-
1. Is there a UK equivalent to Trove?
2. You mentioned in passing family history software & as I do not have any I was wondering if you could recommend some & tell me where I can get it.

Thankyou
Christine


1. Is there a UK equivalent to Trove?

Unfortunately there is not a free service like Trove available in the UK. There are, however, British Newspapers available online.
The British Newspaper Archive, http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/, is "a partnership between the British Library and brightsolid online publishing to digitise up to 40 million newspaper pages from the British Library's vast collection over the next 10 years."  While searching is free on the site one has to pay to view images of newspapers. It is a cheaper option than a 'plane ride to London!

If you have membership of The State Library of NSW you can search some newspaper databases online from home. This page gives details on how to apply for a library card: http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/using/access/register_card.html.  Once you have a card you can search the e-newspaper resources which include The Irish Times, The Scotsman, The Times Digital Archive and 19th Century British Newspapers for FREE.

The National Library of Australia, http://www.nla.gov.au, has a similar service for registered members.

2. You mentioned in passing family history software & as I do not have any I was wondering if you could recommend some & tell me where I can get it.

There are a number of excellent software programs available on the market although there are more for PCs than for the Mac platform. Genealogists that I respect swear by the various programs they use. So, if you asked six experts you might get six different answers.

The programs each have features that appeal to the particular needs of individual users but they will mostly do a good job. Some programs like Legacy Family Tree, http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/, have scaled down free versions that you can download from the internet and use for as long as you like. If you like these products you can then purchase the full version via download or from a retail source.  Some let you download a trial copy and try it out for 30 days before you have to purchase or dump it. 

If you do not wish to download and install a program from the internet (which can be the cheaper option) you can purchase boxed versions of leading programs from various retail outlets. Places like Harvey Norman have a limited range of software while specialist Gould Genealogy, http://www.gould.com.au, supplies most of the popular packages. Gould has a retail outlet near Adelaide and a thriving mail order business. Software packages are available from about $AU45 (Roots Magic).

Canadian Louis Kessler hosts Genealogy Software Reviews,  http://www.gensoftreviews.com/, that provides user submitted reviews of genealogy software packages. Australian Kerry Farmer wrote a booklet called "Which genealogy program?" updated in 2012 that provides guidance for software purchasers.

All that being said I would say that you will find that any of the following will suit your purposes: Family Historian, Family Tree Maker, Legacy Family Tree, Rootsmagic or The Master Genealogist. For Mac users Reunion seems to be the leading contender.

I only have recent personal experience with The Master Genealogist that I have been using for ages and TNG (The Next Generation of Genealogy Sitebuilding)  an excellent program that I love however, for TNG, one needs a bit of experience with technology and basic html. I am about to purchase Family Historian v5 (Mother's day gift to myself) as I have heard wonderful things about it. If it stacks up I may  switch to it. The Master Genealogist is a sophisticated program that can be used straight from the box or it can be customised by the user. I have barely scratched the surface with those customisations.

You will find that the major software packages have face to face user group meetings and online forums and webinars where you can get help from enthusiasts. Several of these groups meet at SAG in Sydney. Additionally I know an old girl in Sydney who is available, for a moderate fee, to help beginners set up and get going with their genealogy software.

4,584 Words

I was privileged this week to be invited to take part in a forum in which users of The State Library of New South Wales were asked to comment on a set of questions posed by an independent consultant each day.

I commend the Library on going out to its membership and seeking their opinions on their services. The terms of the forum prevent me from sharing the questions asked or the comments made. I can say that there appeared to be a range of respondents from librarians, to international students, a few genealogists,city and country folk, people with postgraduate qualifications and tose with little formal education. I recognised the Presidnet of a NSW family history society and a fellow member of  SAG. I was one of ten forum members who received a prize of a $20 voucher for my contributions.

Thank you to The State Library of New South Wales for allowing me to submit my 4,584 opinionated words to the forum. Is it any wonder that I didn't get much blogging done last week?

Great work, State Library of NSW

As an opinionated old girl I enjoy having an opportunity to "put in my pennies worth".

A week or so ago I received from my State Library a link to a short online survey about its services and performance. I duly completed the form and felt pleased that I had been given a chance to have a say. I also said that I would be willing to take part in further discussions.


I am just in receipt of an email that has invited me to take part in a forum  to be held "over a week, starting this Thursday 30^th June.  Each day we’ll cover a different topic relating to the State Library, all with a view to improving the services it provides for all of its clients and visitors. All you need to do is log-in each day for a few minutes and give us your opinions."

I often bang on about feedback being an important of any evaluation process. Congratulations to The State Library of  NSW for looking beyond its walls to seek such feedback. I will try to be a responsible and  balanced as I take part in the forum.

Planning a visit to SLNSW??

FYI I am forwarding this message that came through on the Aus-NSW-Hills-Hawkesbury-Hunter-Valley- Rootsweb list:

Please note if intending to visit the State Library of NSW for research over the next few months, that the Mitchell Library collection will have limited access from Monday 6 June to late July. This is due to the upgrading of fire sprinkler systems in the Mitchell stack storage areas, and some Mitchell Library items will not be available for use at different times over the next two months.

Before visiting or requesting an item please check http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/using/contact/index.html 

State Library of New South Wales

Macquarie Street

Sydney NSW 2000

Telephone (02) 9273 1414 

FAX (02) 9273 1255 

Email  library@sl.nsw.gov.au 

Want to learn about social networking?

If you have some genealogy mates who would like to get into Social Networking but are not sure what it is all about you could point them towards this event at The State Library of NSW next week.

Social Networking for beginners on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 10:00 AM is a workshop that will offer guidance to "Communicate with friends, family and make new contacts using two of the most popular social networking sites on the web: Facebook and Twitter."

Further details are on the library's website.

Oral history seminar Family and photographs | State Library of New South Wales

To be held at The State Library in NSW this event includes a practical workshop on recording oral histories.

Oral history seminar Family and photographs | State Library of New South Wales

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New South Wales: Who's in the frame?

New South Wales: Who's in the frame?

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Keneally's list turns up at the library

Read the Sydney Morning Herald's story of the amazing State Library of NSW find amongst papers it recently purchased.

Free women's history month event

From The State Library of NSW:

"To celebrate Women's History Month, we're opening our Members' Room to the public for a special open viewing of 16 rare and remarkable items relating to eight significant women in Australian history, including Ethel Turner, Nancy Bird Walton, Elizabeth Cook and Dorothea MacKellar. Library experts will be on hand to answer any questions about the intriguing treasures, such as Dorothea MacKellar’s hand-written first draft of her famous poem "Core of my heart" (later re-titled "My Country")
Tuesday 24 March, 10am - 3pm, Members' Room, Free"

New guide will help in tracing convict past - Local News - News - General - The Canberra Times

New guide will help in tracing convict past - Local News - News - General - The Canberra Times

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Have read this new guide, that is well written and logically sequenced, from the State Library of NSW and just need to find time to look at all the resources suggested.