Guest contributor: Marie Hickey

Over the Christmas/New Year break many of you will have spent time with friends and family catching up on all the latest news and/or reminiscing about past events or people no longer with us, etc. Others will have done as I did and gone to visit family graves to give them a bit of a tidy - it was interesting to see how many were at Waikumete Cemetery, Auckland, on Boxing Day.

As family historians we often become fixated with the past and forget that our lives are of interest to the younger generation; young children often enjoy hearing about the "olden days". We may consider our lives to be ordinary but think of those things we have experienced during our lives that the younger generations will not. For instance, the thrill of the family getting its first television or car, milk being delivered to the house (perhaps you worked on the milk truck/cart). I know that my uncles and aunts sometimes wouldn't tell my grandad when there was a horse out in the street just so they didn't have to shovel the droppings to put on the garden.

It is important to write about our memories as we are the last with a memory of our grandparents or, if you are lucky, great granparents, uncles, aunts, etc, and if the memories of them are not noted then they will become a series of notes in someone's future research without having a personality. Having an idea of someone's personality can help when trying to work out why they took this action or made that decision. Think how pleased you would have been to find such a series of notes or stories when you started your research.

Writing your story need not be a daunting task. You could simply make notes about events and people in your life or you may decide to write a series of short essays. Given the current holiday season, you could write about Christmases past, or summer holidays - remember those essays you used to write when you returned to school, "What I did in the holidays?"

Some things in your life may bring back bad memories but do try to wirte about these as well as it could be healing for you. If you are concerned about the family reading it you could place that story in a sealed envelope with instructions that it is not to be opened until a particular time.

I hope this will encourage you to begin writing something about your own life as you may be surprised what you remember when you get started. If you want to go further with this you may find a course in writing available at your local night school or community centre.

Happy writing, and a Happy New Year!

• Crew lists 1861-1913
• Civil Service Evidence of Age 1752-1948
• GWR Shareholders 1835-1932 and
• Other records 1320-1996. 

• Army deserters 1828-40
• Bankrupt Directory 1820-43
• Corfe Castle and district 1790 census
• Dorset Flax and hemp growers (1783-91)
• Glamorgan Schools admission registers - covers 18 schools and includes WWII evacuees
• Lincolnshire settlement certificates
• Match Workers' Strike 1888

• Sign yourself up for a Facebook account if you haven't done so already, and sign into your account.
• You will see a link for "Groups" on the left hand side of your page.
• Click "Groups". Then on the right hand side of the screen, click the button that says "Create a Group".
• This takes you to another page, "STEP ONE" with a series of boxes that you need to fill in.
• The first box is your Groups name.
• Call it Genealogy - <name of people researching>

• In the description field, type as much about your research interest as you can. Include full names, dates etc.
• I also include a disclaimer stating that the group is open only to descendants/relatives and that if they request an invitation to join the group, they should state where they think they may be connected. It is important that your family feel that you are keeping their privacy safe.
• I select "Common Interest" and "Families" in the group type scroll down menus.
• The box "recent news", I reserve for my most up-to-date research breakthroughs, and try to keep updated.
• I leave "office:" box blank, but I fill in my email address, so that I can be contacted.
• If you have a family history website, then put the website address in the website box. I leave street address blank, but I do put my city in the town/city box.
• Click "CREATE GROUP" at the bottom, which then takes you to "STEP TWO"
• A series of options have been pre-selected. Read them carefully, but I leave them all as they are, EXCEPT the bottom subheading which says "ACCESS". I choose "this group is closed" for this option.

• Click SAVE, and it will ask you if you want to post the new group profile to your Facebook profile wall. I would say "Yes".
• Lastly, you get the opportunity to invite people who are already your Facebook friends, and also to invite people via email, who aren't on Facebook list.
• Keep your Facebook group up to date, with news. Use "Wall posts" to communicate with your family. Encourage them to post family pictures and anecdotes.

It's my experience that family history brings families together. Not just with the ones that have passed away, but also with the ones still very much alive. Its also a great way of meeting new family members too! 

Years ago, when I first started my family history, I was introduced to new family members in person - who then gave me information about their branch or twig. 

A wee bit later, I progressed to posting queries on RootsWeb message boards, and was tickled pink to get email responses from other people who were also tracing their family tree, and had found we had relatives in common. 

Eventually, closer relatives that I had never met also got in touch. I have spread my net wide, and have posted my "interests" as we family historians call it, on various genealogy websites. I am always excited and amazed when I get a response from a posting that I made 10 years ago. 

I thank goodness that I chose and maintain a webmail address, so that I would always be found, no matter what country I live in, and no matter who my Internet Service Provider is. 

In more recent years, I have made great use of Facebook. I started genealogy interest group pages in the names of the four main branches of my father's family, and the four main branches of my mother's family. Just this year, so far, I have "met" six new family members, and in turn, been introduced to their immediate families. 

Like so many families today, our geographic spread is far and wide: UK (Scot-Eng-Ire-Wales), Spain, South Africa, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. 

But the internet brings closer together and makes us neighbours . . . 

NEWSFLASH 
Also, a heads up to let you all know that the 1901 Census for Ireland is due to be launched on 3 June 2010 (UK time) and will be free. The site is fully searchable www.census.nationalarchives.ie . 

Along with the 1911, this is the only fully surviving pre-independence census for Ireland so is quite important for those with family in Ireland at the time.

Happy hunting to you all . . .
Seonaid

Guest contributor: Marie Hickey

When looking at some documents among the Newgate Gate Gaol Delivery Books (1785-1834) on microfilm at the Auckland Research Centre recently we found some records relating to Boards of Guardians that we had not realised we had. This is particulalry exciting given the recent apology of former British prime minister Gordon Brown to children who were sent overseas under the child migration scheme.

The records are for the areas covered by the Boards of Guardians for Brentford, Hampstead and Lambeth as well as minutes of the Central Unemployed Body for London (1905-11), all relating to emigration of children and families.

Some of the records of the Boards of Guardians relate to children who had been placed in schools having come from the workhouse eg Chase Farm School (run by the Edmonton Board Guardians). There are lists of children proposed for emigration to Canada and New Zealand (1891-1926), emigration consents and refusals (1925), and contracts and agreements to send children or families to Australia (c.1852-c.1855). Most of the material is unindexed but is quite legible and apart from names can include information such as: address sent to in the new country, school sent from, cost of emigration, date of emigration, and port of arrival.

Amongst the records is a booklet relating to the settlement of boys to Australia and a Handbook on the Dominion of New Zealand: containing information regarding openings for settlers, wages and hours of labour, cost of living, assisted passages, fares, etc (1925).

On another note, those who enjoy reading the Ancestors magazinepublished by TNA (the National Archives, UK) will be disappointed to learn that this has now ceased publication. It is envisaged that a different magazine will be produced, possibly later in the year.

Who do you think we are?  series 2 (Australia) UKTV Mondays 7.30pm. 
UKTV on Sky is currently repeating this series, if you missed it the first time around you may want to catch it this time. Auckland City Libraries has series 1 & 2 for the Australian Who do you think you are? and series1-4 for the UK version.

The Australian series is similar to the UK one but includes much more social history and perhaps slightly more insight into different records available in Australia. I really enjoyed this series and found it interesting as well as informative as the format follows the lines of how a family historian would work. Nick Barratt makes an appearance towards the end of the Ben Mendolssohn episode explaining how the ancestor probably came to be in the workhouse.

Also, we are now subscribing to the Who do you think you are? magazine and currently have the March and April 2010 editions available in the Auckland Research Centre.

Guest contributor: Marie Hickey

As Autumn approaches some of you will be looking forward to an overseas trip to the Northern hemisphere during their warmer months. For those who may be, including the Merseyside and Manchester areas, you may be interested in the following:

The People's History Museum at Left Bank, Spinningfields, Manchester M3 3ER. Admission is free and it is open Monday to Sunday.
Ancestor's Arms, Wallasey, Merseyside, is the first family history themed pub to open in the UK. Newton & Ridley (the well-known Coronation Street brewers) are said to be brewing two special ales for sale at the pub.

If you are intending to visit the Somerset Record Office records on micofiche and micofilm only will be available for consultation 6 April to 5th July. After this period the centre will be closed for at least two months while records are moved to the new Somerset Heritage Centre which is envisaged to open 6 September 2010. Further information can be found on their website.

Want to experience what a Family History Fair in the UK can be like? Then you may wish to attend one on 11 September 2010 at Newcastle Central Premier Inn, Newbridge Street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Check the website for further information.
Of course the 'big one' - Who do you think you are? LIVE- is now being held in London at the end of February. Check the Society of Genealogists' website for further information closer to the time.

If you are one of those lucky people travelling abroad and planning to do some research do go prepared (do you need identification? what are the opening hours & regulations?), your time will be more productive and more enjoyable.

Finally, those who enjoy reading the Ancestors magazine published by TNA (the National Archives, UK) will be disappointed to learn that this has now ceased publication. It is envisaged that a different magazine will be produced possibly later in the year.

Guest contributor: Marie Hickey

Those of you who enjoy reading Ancestor magazine published by The National Archives will be sorry to learn that the April 2010 issue is to be the last in the current format.  A new magazine is apparantly envisaged but as yet no details are available. For all those with London connections, the February 2010 issue is completely devoted to this City.

New databases are coming available all the time and it is hard to keep up with them all. Some recently added databases of interest are: -

New additions from findmypast:
Approximately 20,000 entries have been added to Essex Memorial Inscriptions bringing the total number of entries to 170,875 convering the years 1100-2007.

St John Wapping records for 1655-1707 and 1734-1780 have been added to the Docklands Christening records. Other areas included (but not necessarily comprehensively) are: Bermondsley, Isle of Dogs, Limehouse, Mile End, Millwall, Newington, Poplar, Ratcliff, Shadwell, Spitalfields, Stepney and Whitechapel. Unfortunately date range and parishes covered is not given.

Chelsea Pensioner Records: soldier's documents (W097) 1760-1913 and Militia Attestation Papers (WO96) 1806-1915 are being digitised and added to this site. The project is due to be completed in 2011. See findmypast for the proposed release dates. The first section to be released covers WO97/2172-4231 (1883-1900).

Ancestry has added Famine Relief Commission Papers (1844-47). These cover letters, minutes etc sent to the Royal Commission mainly from local relief committees, local clergy, lieutenants and concerned citizens from Cork, Galway, Clare, Mayo and Limerick counties. They are name searchable and provide good back ground knowledge of what conditions were like and steps taken to provide relief. The National Archives of Ireland website explains these papers.

Last but not least, for those of you who have not heard, the cost of certificates from the General Register Office (England and Wales) will increased on the 6th of April 2010 from 7.00 to 9.25. This fee is the same whether or not you quote the volume and page number reference or place your order online.

Historical Australian newspapers from every Australian state have been digitised, some more than others. Some of the 30 plus newspapers are the Sydney Morning Herald, from 1842 to1954, the Melbourne Argus, from 1848 to1954, Tasmania's the Mercury, from1860 to1954, the Brisbane Courier, from 1864 to1933, and the Northern Territory Times and Gazette, from 1873 to1927. Going on to About Us from the home page shows you a list of the newspapers and the years covered. You can browse these newspapers by title, search by state or click on to Advanced Search to limit your search to specific newspapers and a range of years.

Papers Past, the National Library of New Zealand's initiative, is also a work in progress and added to on a regular basis. New to the website is the Thames Star, from 1874 to 1900 (although in May they will be covering up to 1920), the Ashburton Guardian, from 1890 to 1920 (with some gaps), and the recently added colourful NZ Truth, from 1903 to 1930. The Manawatu papers are to be added this month, from1877 to 1886, as are the Waipu Church Times and Waipu Church Gazette, between them covering the years 1907 to 1920. The Lyttleton Times is to be introduced in May and issues of the Evening Post will carry on to 1920. In June the Otago Daily Times is to be launched, starting from 1861 with its period of coverage yet to be confirmed. The newspapers can be searched by title, region and year. Clicking on More search options though will allow a more specific search.

Historical newspapers are full of gems for genealogists with, for example, family notices, passenger lists, reports of accidents and lists of school prize winners.

Contributor: David Verran

We are thrilled to be able to announce the digitisation of our unique card index, known as the New Zealand Card Index and housed in the Auckland Research Centre. What is of particular interest to family historians is that this resource is available online through our website. 

The digital version of the New Zealand Card Index provides vastly improved keyword access to local history, biographical and family history references from sources such as: Auckland scrapbooks 1923 to 1994, New Zealand scrapbooks 1916 to 1975, Obituary scrapbooks 1933 to 1941 and 1949 to 1979, and the New Zealand herald, the Auckland star and Auckland area suburban newspapers before November 1996. Note that music references were at that time included in a different card index, which has now been entered onto Index Auckland.

Material was selected for inclusion in the scrapbooks because of its historical, or potentially historical, value. For the Auckland scrapbooks, this included the opening, demolition or history of any buildings, history or description of industries, suburbs, etc., new subdivisions and articles giving the origin of the name of a suburb or street. The articles selected were comprehensive rather than exhaustive. Those for the New Zealand scrapbooks were more of general historical interest regarding New Zealand as a whole. The Obituary scrapbooks covered any major obituaries from either the New Zealand herald or Auckland star, as well as some death notices which were not indexed.

The availability of microfilm reader printers from the mid 1970s allowed direct reference to issues of the New Zealand herald and the Auckland star and accordingly the various scrapbooks began to cease. The advent of Newsindex in 1979 and Index New Zealand in 1987 led to further refining of what was and wasn't indexed. Further, indexing from the non-Auckland City Council area suburban newspapers ceased from November 1989, the Auckland star ceased 31 July 1991 and increasingly the New Zealand herald left the local stories to the suburban newspapers. Nevertheless, as of November 1996 the New Zealand herald and Auckland City area suburban newspapers were still being comprehensively indexed. 

Index Auckland and the digitised New Zealand Card Index are available through the Digital library (the latter from the first quarter of the new year) on our website www.aucklandcitylibraries.com.

Links:

• Index Auckland
• New Zealand Card Index

Guest contributor: Anahera Sadler

The British Museum online photographic collection, which now includes thousands of Pacific (including Maori) images that have just been scanned as part of a long-term research project undertaken by the institution. The database is huge. From my quick search, the Pacific collection appears to be twice as large (3000+ images) than that offered on Matapihi (the NZ archived image database).

There are about 1850 Maori images (there are 11,500 on Matapihi). Many of the images are also available from NZ archives, but some of the British Museum copies are apparantly of a higher quality and there are many images that are not available here. Access to these photographs would once have been through browsing reference images over many days in a large set of ring-binders in the research library of the Museum. This is so much more user-friendly, faster and cheaper, although the larger issues of open access to indigenous images remains a tricky question!

Guest contributor: Marie Hickey

A gem of a resource with a remarks column that could have in it:
...first baker to bake bread for sale in Auckland
...born on the night of the High Street fire
...went to Tauranga & was there at the time of the Te Kooti scare
...father living in Sydney aged 85 years

This membership book covers the period 10 October 1919 to 16 November 1934.

It contains the following information:
Date of enrolment, badge no., address at time of enrolment, when & where born, date of arrival in NZ, name of ship, and miscellaneous remarks (examples of which were given above).

Membership was not limited to those who had immigrated as a number of members had been born in New Zealand but to either immigrant parents or grandparents.

All entries in this roll are indexed on to Index Auckland (accessible through our website in the Digital library) and the volume is held in Auckland City Libraries Sir George Grey Special Collections.

Guest contributor: Anahera Sadler, Pou Kohinga Matua (Maori Reference Librarian)

Website: http://www.maraedirectory.com

If you are looking to connect or reconnect with your whanau, hapu or iwi and think you are from the region of Tamaki Makaurau then this website is definitely worth a look in.

The Tamaki Makaurau Marae Directory is an initiative sponsored and maintained by Te Puni Kokiri (Ministry of Maori Development). The directory provides a listing of all marae in the greater Auckland region, enabling the local community, tangata whenua and visitors to easily find and visit local marae.

The website encompasses 75 marae from Warkworth in the north through to Pukekohe in the South. It is searchable either by name of marae or by region (North, East, West or South). A picture of the marae is viewable, a pepeha (a way to introduce yourself in a Maori context - waka, maunga, awa, iwi, hapu, marae) are recorded, contact details and google maps with driving directions are also listed to further aid the researcher to identify where the marae are and how to get there.

So, make the most of this resource...reunite with your whanau, strengthen your links, delve into these sacred places steeped in whakapapa, stories of days gone by, and learn about their relevance today!