Positive Reinforcement

When one receives a positive comment on a social media site it makes one feel good.

I have dived headlong into the world of Google Hangouts on Air and sometimes wonder if it was a wise move. This comment from Hazel on Youtube this morning  has given me the encouragement to persevere.

Hazel Meldrum "Keep doing these genealogy hang outs I listen to as many as possible on you tube there is not one that does not make me think I am not looking for perfection but inspiration."

My message here is that if you enjoy or agree with something you read or viewed online please let the author know.

Watch out - the Boat will be rocking

Because The Voyager of the Seas has stabilisers we should have a fairly smooth ride on the 4th Unlock the Past Genealogy Cruise  in February.

We will still be rocking along because The Top Six Rockstar Genealogists from Australia and New Zealand will be on board.  Last Year Canadian blogger, John D Reid, conducted a poll to identify Rockstar Genealogists from several countries. Based on votes cast by those who self-identified as living in Australia or New Zealand the top six were:

1. Jill Ball

2. Shauna Hicks

3. Chris Paton (Chris was also voted as number 1 for Canada)

4. Thomas MacEntee (Thomas was also voted as number 7 for Canada and 8 for the US)

5. Pauleen Cass

5. Sharn White

Kirsty Gray who was voted Number 1 for the UK and Ireland will also be on board.

Alan Phillips (Mr Unlock the Past) is to be congratulated on gathering together such a team of rockers.

It's all in the Numbers Geneameme

I have been slow to respond to Lonetester's "It's all in the Numbers Geneameme", http://www.lonetester.com/2013/12/its-all-in-the-numbers-geneameme/, because I have been trying to decide what approach to take.

I finally elected to look at a list view of persons in my database and to see which persons in the first 100 would have Record ID numbers ending in 5.

5   Ball, James William  Father-in-law
15 Pusell, Ethel Jane  Grandmother
25 Living, Nephew
35 Hamshere, Alice  Husband's Great-Grandmother
45 Clark, Elizabeth Ann  Husband's 2x Great-Grandmother
55 Homer, James  3x Great-Grandfather
65 Molloy, Michael  2x Great-Grandfather
75 Living, Aunt - Dad's sister - 90 years young
85 Tierney, John D'arcy Great-Grandfather
95 Living, Half Cousin

So there you have it! 

G'day from Downunder

GeniAus

This was first published on The Worldwide Genealogy blog on 2 January 2014

Thanks to the wonders of Social Media I have dear friends in many places up over the Equator. One of these whom I have yet to meet is Julie Goucher who came up with the idea of this "Worldwide Genealogy" collaborative project. Apparently she is blaming me for giving her the idea for this activity!

I am thrilled to be involved in this venture and look forward to sharing genealogy news from our great southern land. I am going to put modestly aside in my first post and tell you a little about myself.

My name is Jill Ball but I am also known as GeniAus in social media circles. 

I spend a lot of time searching for my ancestors

I am a procrastinator

I am a lifelong learner

My favourite social media tool is Google+ and I love hosting Google Hangouts on Air.

This year I was voted as Australia's Gold Rockstar Genealogist

I am a member of The Hawkesbury Family History Group, The Ku-ring-gai Historical Society, The Society of Australian Genealogists and the Society of Genealogists.

But that's enough about me!

You may be interested in some of my favourite free sites for Australian research, here are a few:

National Archives of Australia
NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages - Family History BDM indexes
Ryerson Index
State Records NSW
Trove

If you have any questions about genealogy in Australia I would be happy to answer them but, as I am an amateur, I may need to direct you to someone who is more equipped with answers than I.