U3A course: Opening the Door to Family History
Topics
1. Starting from nothing; Certificates (and informants)
2. Creating an overview; Family tree software, shipping lists, cemeteries
3. Convicts and colonials; Newspapers (Trove), State records, British newspapers
4. Family migration; Goldmining; The effect of a death on a family
5. Short articles and longer stories; travel and family history
6. Migrants: a special case; National Archives; genealogy societies
(Two outlines to come)
Session 1: Starting from nothing
Files for downloading
Template: Profiles of couples: Word document so you can amend layout.
Alternative five-generations chart
Session 2: Creating an overview and starting work
Sample of creating a person’s profile using PowerPoint: My father, Sydney James Martin
Samples of various certificates (births, marriages, deaths) over time, from 1700s to later 20th century
Explanation of types of cousins
Glenn’s search guides: Word file so you can click on links. Note, some sites will have updated their links. Use Google if necessary.
Hornsby Library’s guide for starting family history
Sources for family history (UTAS list)
Session 3: Mapping the lives of convicts
Files for this session are below. My apologies for not being the best on Thursday.
Session 4: Scottish migrants and gold in Melbourne
Various general files from this session. Two on copyright:
File from Australian Copyright Council website: Family History and Copyright
Notes from Copyright Council seminar
Guide on starting family history at State Library
Something for you to do
We talked about this topic: it’s a survey for yourself to create an overview of the key facts about your family members. We can discuss it the session after next: Creating a Family Overview
Session 5: Irregular migration and use of National Archives
We discussed Siegfried Hottelmann, who was a sailor who turned out to be a Baron back in Germany, and then he didn’t, according to the German researcher. Family history has its twists and turns. In the file containing the slides, check the slide called “The bigger picture” to think about what your ancestors thought was important in life.
Using National Archives of Australia (NAA)
