Friday, May 24, 2013

Next week at the GSV


Events next week at the Genealogical Society of Victoria
 
Sat 25 May @ 10.00AM- 04.00PM GSV Seminar... Free online databases at the GSV – UK (Limited places left)
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Tue 28 May @ 10.00AM- 12.00PM Australian Family History
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Tue 28 May @ 02.00PM- 03.00PM Using findmypast TM & other commercial databases online
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Wed 29 May @ 10.30AM- 12.30PM Orientation Morning - Introduction to the Society and Research Basics
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Thu 30 May @ 12.30PM- 01.30PM John Batman: an inside story of the birth of Melbourne - Joy Braybrook
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Thu 30 May @ 02.00PM- 03.00PM Using ScotlandsPeople TM
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Friday, May 17, 2013

Next week at the GSV



Events next week at the Genealogical Society of Victoria
 
Tue 21 May @ 10.00AM- 12.00PM Australian Family History (part 3 of 4)
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Tue 21 May @ 02.00PM- 03.00PM Using Ancestry online
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Wed 22 May @ 12.30PM- 02.00PM Early English Genealogy Discussion Circle
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Thu 23 May @ 12.30PM- 01.30PM The history of Brighton Cemetery - Elizabeth Paine
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Thu 23 May @ 02.00PM- 03.00PM Using FamilySearch TM online
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Sat 25 May @ 10.00AM- 04.00PM GSV Seminar... Free online databases at the GSV – UK (Limited places left)
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Wednesday, May 15, 2013

He or she is not there!

Oh how I wish I had a dollar for every time I've heard that comment - and so often it's not a case of "they're not there" but "you can't find them"!

At the Genealogical Society of Victoria we hold classes on some of the subscription and other searchable databases but this is the first time we've created a seminar to focus on the things that will help you find those elusive ancestors.

There are still some vacancies for our seminar, Saturday 25 May 2013


 
Here is your chance to understand that every database is different and that to find someone you need to approach it differently.  Human nature demands that we see a box, enter a surname, and hit search without thinking about: 
  • Wildcards
  • Database scope
  • Search options
  • Mandatory fields
  • Date ranges
  • and a heap of other issues impacting your search.
Databases and searchable options being covered in this UK version of the seminar include: 
 
  • GSV library catalogue
  • GENUKI - UK & Ireland Genealogy
  • LDS / Family search
  • CoraWeb & Cyndi's list
  • Google
  • The National Archives [TNA - UK]
  • Findmypast UK & Ireland [FMP]
  • National Archives of Scotland and Scottish Archive Network [NAS and SCAN]
  • Ancestry
  • Origins Network [British, Irish, Scots and National Wills Index] and Burke's Online
  • TheGenealogist.co.uk
  • The British Newspaper Archive [BNA]
  • National Library of Australia - eResources and Irish newspapers [NLA]
  • National Archives of Ireland [NAI]
  • Public Record Office of Northern Ireland [PRONI]

And for an added bonus - one lucky attendee will win a one year world subscription donated by ancestry.com.au .

Don't miss out - book today through our Online Shop.

Monday, May 13, 2013

Volunteers - an amazing contribution

This week is National Volunteer Week and an appropriate time to say an extra special Thank You to the wonderful volunteers at the Genealogical Society of Victoria.

National Volunteer Week is a little like Mother's Day - we all know that we should not wait for Mother's Day to show our appreciation - and I hope we all say Thank You and show our appreciation to our volunteers throughout the year.  This week is an opportunity to say Thank You publicly.

At the GSV we are blessed with a range of volunteers who contribute to every aspect of our organisation.  Their roles include [in no particular order]:
  • Library maintenance, accessioning, cataloguing, bookbinding and journal indexing
  • Library Research Assistants
  • Research Team
  • Administration
  • Finance
  • Marketing and marketing planning
  • General maintenance
  • IT Team
  • Projects
  • Education team and planning
  • Catering
  • Funding planning
  • Ancestor journal editorial team and creative
  • Volunteer co-ordinating
  • Councillors
  • Web and IT planning
  • Special Interest Groups
  • Discussion Circles
  • Committee members
  • and any job that needs an extra pair of hands
I shudder at the thought of ending the list there because there are so many tasks done by volunteers that I'm sure some have been missed - oh, washing and ironing tea towels is one that comes to mind!

We should also say Thank You to all the volunteers involved with the many societies in our family history world who contribute to our search for our ancestors.

A heartfelt thank you to all our volunteers during your special week.

Friday, May 10, 2013

Next week at the GSV



Activities next  week at the Genealogical Society of Victoria
 
Tue 14 May @ 10.00AM- 12.00PM Australian Family History (Part 2 of 4)
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Tue 14 May @ 12.30PM- 01.30PM Durham, Northumberland & Cumberland Discussion Circle
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Tue 14 May @ 02.00PM- 03.00PM  Using the GSV library catalogue and databases
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Wed 15 May @ 10.00AM- 12.30PM Legacy Users Group
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Wed 15 May @ 02.00PM- 03.00PM Using Public Record Office Victoria [PROV] online
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Thu 16 May @ 12.30PM- 01.30PM English records 1500-1750: wonders await! - Alan Fincher
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Thu 16 May @ 02.00PM- 03.00PM Using the Internet for genealogy
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Sat 18 May @ 01.00PM- 03.00PM International Settlers Group Researching your Dutch Ancestors - Katy Urquhart

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Friday, May 3, 2013

Next week at the GSV



 Next  week at the Genealogical Society of Victoria

Tue 07 May @ 10.00AM- 12.00PM Australian Family History (Part 1 of 4)
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Tue 07 May @ 02.00PM- 03.00PM Using The National Archives (UK) online
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Wed 08 May @ 12.30PM- 01.30PM Cornwall Discussion Circle
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Thu 09 May @ 12.30PM- 01.30PM Did they swim? Passengers into Australia - Claire Johnson
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Thu 09 May @ 02.00PM- 03.00PM Using Digger TM for Australian BDMs, etc.
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Sat 11 May @ 01.00PM- 03.00PM Irish Ancestry Group
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Thursday, April 25, 2013

Two more GOLDEN opportunities in Ballarat

The Genealogical Society of Victoria will be at the VAFHO Conference in Ballarat - the 8th Victorian State Family History Conference - Under the Southern Cross: A Goldfields Experience.  The conference exhibition is on Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th May at the conference venue - the Australian Catholic University in Mair Street, Ballarat.

Thanks to Gould Books, Unlock The Past and Gould Genealogy & History, there are now two FREE bonus opportunities for everyone in Ballarat on Friday 3rd May, 2.00 pm - 9.00 pm.

  1. SPECIAL Ballarat history and genealogy exhibition - an associated event with the VAFHO State Conference.
    The Genealogical Society of Victoria will be participating in this exhibition as are many of the other conference exhibitors.
    The special exhibition is open to ANYONE - no registration required - and even better, it's completely FREE.
     
  2. The special exhibition is being held in the Minerva Space in the Mechanics Institute, Sturt Street, Ballarat.  This is your second "golden" opportunity - a chance to see this magnificently restored room in the 1860s Mechanics Institute.
You won't often get this sort of opportunity, so why not come along and visit us - you might even win one of the prizes on offer from the participating exhibitors!

See you there.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Anzac Day and family history

The Genealogical Society of Victoria is closed this Thursday which is a public holiday commemorating Anzac Day.  How appropriate is it that while reviewing some links on the web, I was distracted by the 'Australian First World War Record Finder'.

This amazing application comes from a suite of utilities from the 'Wragge Labs site' and the 'digital history workbench'.  Be prepared to spend some time on these sites and play, play, play!

Have a really good look at the Australian First World War Record Finder and be aware that you can use wild cards in this search.

An example
  • search for FUSSE* in the Family Name field - it will display various entries commencing with FUSSELL and FUSSEN etc.
  • once the results are displayed, pick one from the National Archives of Australia group
  • click on the '+' sign at the end of the entry
  • click on VIEW FILE and prepare to be amazed - the image above right will give you some indication but it's much more fun in real life
What you're seeing is one of the other utilities that can be used in different ways for National Archives of Australia digital files!  If you find a digital entry using the standard RecordSearch, just copy the BARCODE and paste it into this utility - you'll see the same 'wall' of images.  This is so much easier than scrolling through the pages of a digital file one at a time!

And because good things come in threes, what about this little gem based on data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics?  It's called the Population Browser.

Don't stop there!  Have a really good look around the Wragge Labs site - you won't regret it.

Bookshop Bulletin

Bookshop Bulletin has just been sent. If you would like to subscribe please email info@gsv.org.au

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Next week at the GSV



Events next  week at the Genealogical Society of Victoria
Tue 23 Apr @ 10.30AM- 12.30PM Beginning Writing Family History (Part 3 of 3)
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Tue 23 Apr @ 02.00PM- 03.00PM Using findmypast TM & other commercial databases online
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Wed 24 Apr @ 12.30PM- 02.00PM Early English Genealogy Discussion Circle
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Thu 25 Apr @ Closed - Public Holiday