Hello There! August is National Family History Month here in Australia, so it seemed fitting to dedicate a few posts (and videos) this month to genealogy! As you may be aware, I've been bitten by the genealogy bug - I blame my mother, because she was the original family historian, now it's me! I've previously made a few posts sharing a look into my own family tree, as well as sharing thoughts and resources that I use. Today, I'm going to rehash some of my previous content, sharing with you all my go-to online resources that have been invaluable in my research. Most of my research, at this point in time, has been very Australian based, and I've created a pretty good database of resources to use during my research. Of course, I will eventually get to delving into British, Scottish, Irish and Italian research, but for now, I'll stick to my home soil (mainly because it's been SUPER easy to uncover so many documents and stories). First up, we have my absolute number one - TROVE. I've talked about this before, but that's not going to stop me gushing about this absolutely FANTASTIC resource. In case you didn't know, Trove is a digitised newspaper database run by the National Library, allowing you to search and read through MILLIONS of newspapers, for FREE. Yep, this is 100% free, which is crazy considering how much time and money goes into digitising in the first place. There's so much you can uncover that you won't necessarily find in other records. Newspapers used to report on absolutely everything that went on in the district - you couldn't even leave town for a weekend getaway to the city without it appearing in the paper! Because of this, chances are you'll find little tidbits here and there that you wouldn't otherwise know. Your likelihood of finding your ancestors will of course depend on where they lived and when, what their name was (do you know how hard it's going to be to find your John Smith?), and, more importantly, what they would have gotten up to to warrant a mention in the paper. I've actually got a video going up next week that's going to show you how I use Trove, so stay tuned for that if you want more of an insight into this database. Also, Trove isn't just for newspapers, although that is the main thing it is known for. There's also databases for Government Gazettes, Journals & Articles, Books, Photos, Music & Video, Maps, Diaries & Letters, and Archived Websites. While all of these databases won't be relevant to your research, you never know what you might be able to uncover... And just for interests sake, I used Trove quiet heavily while researching for a local history book that I wrote in 2017, alongside newspaper microfilm. I definitely wouldn't have been able to find as many useful and insightful articles if I hadn't had Trove at my fingertips. Now, every state does have a Births Deaths & Marriages service, but the two that I use are the Victorian and New South Wales databases, simply because that's where my ancestors have resided. Both have sections dedicated to Family History and allow you to purchase copies of birth, death and marriage certificates. A big thing to note when diving into Births Deaths & Marriages is that not all records will be searchable. There are restrictions on when records are released - for Victorian records, births are over 100 years, deaths over 30 years and marriages over 60 years (for NSW this is over 50 years). I've only purchased one certificate at this point in time - my grandparents through the NSW registry - but I've recorded SO many records for other ancestors. The Victorian record is very helpful with the amount of information that is listed on their website for each record, meaning you don't necessarily need to purchase a certificate, especially if they are a distant ancestor. For NSW on the other hand, you aren't given too much information to go on, meaning you're more likely to require purchasing a certificate. Since new records are always being added as the restrictions are lifted off records, these indexes are ones you're going to want to continue coming back to. The National Archives of Australia is your one-stop shop for national records, predominantly war files. Most of us have military service in our ancestry, so you're sure to utilise the Archives a lot. We are super fortunate here in Australia to have our war records still available - anyone searching in the British war records will know that some have not survived. Not only that, but there is SO much to learn in these files. The National Archives have been working overtime in order to get all the war files digitised. Pretty much all files from World War One are freely available online, with a lot of World War Two records also available, with more and more added all the time. And if a record you want isn't available, you can purchase a digital or physical copy - I did this with my grandfather's files and it was so amazing to receive my scanned copies and feel that little bit more connected to him. It's not just war records that you can find in the National Archives, although they're certainly the records most people will be searching for. Migration, citizenship/naturalisation, licenses and government employment records can also be found in the archive. These are obviously not records everyone is going to be searching for, but will be amazing finds for those who find them. For me, I found my Great Great Grandfather's Naturalisation paperwork when he applied for Australian citizenship in 1908. To delve further into the archives and find even more records, you're going to need to get more specific... State Archives are a lot more detailed than the National Archives, covering a whole myriad of records covering pretty much everything - convicts, immigration, court & gaol records, probates, and so much more. There's a very high probability that your ancestor appears in one of the indexes, so it's very worthwhile diving down the rabbit hole and getting lost in the archives. Again, New South Wales and Victorian archives are where my research is contained, so I don't have any experience delving into other state archives. However, I'm sure they're all very similar to these two states. It's also important to note that not every record is available online, and not every index is actually searchable yet - so if you can't find something, don't give up all hope! Having used both New South Wales and Victorian archives, I do have to say I prefer PROV - there just seems to be more available to access online and it's easier to navigate. However, this is obviously dependent on the types of records you are searching for - you may find one archive is more successful for you during your research. Of course, both archives enable to you purchase physical or digital copies of records, as well as having references if you want to view the records in person. I've not utilised this a lot yet (there's a LOT of records I want, and I don't know where to start), but the few times I have it's been a really good service, so I do definitely recommend taking advantage of purchasing records, especially for direct ancestors. So many of us have military service in our trees and the Australian War Memorial contains so much information to help you learn a little more about the War, the battles your ancestors fought in, and your ancestors themselves. The online database for the AWM focuses mainly on World War One and pre-World War One conflicts (Boer War), but don't worry, I'm about to talk about the post-World War Two conflicts. Information that you will find and that is available depends on your ancestor and whether they returned home or not. For those killed in action, you will find out where they can be found in the War Memorial itself. You may also be fortunate to find photos and diaries of your ancestors. The AWM is a great place to start military research, but it obviously doesn't give you access to all conflicts, although it does link to where you can find those records. Post-World War One conflicts - World War Two, Korea, Vietnam and First Gulf War - can all be found on the Department of Veterans' Affairs' Nominal Roll website. Your experience with the Australian War Memorial will obviously depend on what information is available for your ancestor, but it will provide a great starting point before diving in the Archives. If possible, I do recommend visiting the War Memorial - I visited as a child (classic school excursion), and now that I know more about my ancestors who fought in the Wars, I really want to go back and experience it all over again. Continuing with the war-resources is the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. If you have an ancestor who died in combat and was buried overseas, this is a website you need to check out. The CWGC look after and maintain the graves of men and women of the Commonwealth forces who died in both World Wars, providing you with the opportunity to see these graves from the comfort of your own home (and giving you peace of mind that your ancestor's grave is in good hands, and also the opportunity to visit the graves in person). While not a resource I've had to use a lot, it has been a resource I'm grateful to have found. Only a couple of my ancestors were killed in action, one of which was my Great Great Uncle. Finding his records and getting a photo of his grave was a very sobering experience (I don't even know how I'd handle actually visiting his grave). The website gives you some interesting documents to download, from a commemorative certificate (above), to grave and headstone documents and information about the cemetery itself. And it's all for free. It's amazing to see all the work that the Commonwealth War Graves Commission team do, and the database showcases their commitment to honouring our war dead. While it's not going to be a resource you'll call upon often, it's a really special one. A burial website everyone will be able to utilise is Find A Grave - a community-contributed database for burials all over the world. Similarly, there's also the Australian Cemeteries Index, which is obviously Australian, but is also run by volunteers as well. We'd all love to track down and visit the graves of our ancestors, but sometimes that's just not possible, so both of these sites allows you digitally visit these graves and see what they look like. Find A Grave is actually connected with Ancestry, so you're sure to get hints for your ancestors thank link straight to the Find A Grave website. the Australian Cemetery Index is not as lucky in this regard, but both are super easy to search, especially if you know where you're searching. It's important to note that not every single burial in Australia and world are on these sites - the databases have been built by fellow family historians and local history enthusiasts who've added burials. So don't feel dejected if you can't find an ancestor - it more than likely means they haven't been added yet. So it's really important that you in turn add any burials that you know about or have visited, that way you can help others who are doing their own searches. In regards to Find A Grave, if you can't add a burial or photo, you can also help out by writing transcripts for burials - the more people that are willing to give just an hour of their time, the better the databases become for all of us! Obituaries Australia and People Australia is a more recent resource that I've started using, and it's certainly not going to be a resource that everyone can use. Both websites are connected, linking individuals to one another if they have records on both sites. Both websites predominately feature Australians "who have made an impact on Australian history", so you can't search for just anyone, but you will be surprised and who you can find and the information you can learn about them. One thing that is super helpful on Obituaries is linking back to Trove articles of the obituary, meaning you can save the original article - very helpful if you missed it in your original Trove search! Of course, these aren't resources that everyone can use - we don't all have ancestors who have made an impact to warrant inclusion on the websites. I'm super fortunate to have a bit of convict blood in me, so I've been able to find my pioneering ancestors on both Obituaries and People. Definitely do a quick search of your early ancestors, especially if they were pioneers - you never know what you could stumble upon! There are SO many more online resources that can help with family history research. I've definitely utilised a few more over the years, but the ones I've mentioned have certainly been the most helpful and insightful, as well as being really easy to use - I can only hope that international resources as just as easy to navigate when the time comes! If you've got an absolute go-to resource that I've not mentioned, pleas let me know below - I'd love to check out other resources and databases, and I'm sure it'll help others who stumble upon this post as well. I hope this has been a helpful list of websites to check out! Make the most of National Family History Month and dive back into your tree and research. I'll be back next week with another post delving into my family tree and sharing some of my ancestor's stories. See You Soon! Victoria :) |
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