Church of Ireland Parish Register List

The Representative Church Body Library (RCB Library), the main repository of the Church of Ireland (CofI), has released an updated list of CofI parish registers.  The new list, which can be downloaded, free of charge, from the Archive section of the Church of Ireland website is arranged alphabetically by parish name (with parishes within the main cities alphabetically listed under the name of each city).

Sir George Grey Special Collections,  Auckland Libraries, AWNS-19140326-42-1

It may be considered as the definitive list for registers in the Republic of Ireland.  The RCB Library is working with the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) in Belfast for material relating to parishes in the nine counties of Ulster.

For further information about the project please read the RCB Library Notes article by Dr Susan Hood.

Regards
Maureen

www.nzmusicmonth.co.nz

Mr Alfred Hill, composer. 1905. Sir George Grey Special Collections  AWNS-19050622-7-1

Music in Auckland Scrapbook, v.2, 1890-1930. Sir George Grey Special Collections.

Index Auckland, Record ID 69996.

Index Auckland, Record ID 69886.

Another excellent database that has material  from Special Collections is the Ephemera Index. For those of you not familiar with the word ephemera,  it is a term for printed material originally intended to have a limited life-span, such as programmes,  posters, tickets, flyers and cards - which are essentially the typical items that are associated with musical events.

Good luck with finding your family's musicians.

Karen

This week Auckland Libraries is celebrating Samoan Language Week starting today through to 1 June 2014. The nationwide theme is ‘Taofimau i au measina’ or ‘Hold fast to your cultural treasures’. We have found some Samoan family history treasure!

Many of you reading this will use the subscription database, Ancestry.com on a fairly regular basis but how many of you ever refer to the card catalogue?

There are probably quite a number of records “hidden” away treasures that we are unaware of, and an example of this is some select records of baptisms (1805-1910) and burials (1895-1970) for Samoa. To access these, click on “card catalog” which is in the lower left-hand side of the Ancestry.com Home Page.  Enter Samoa as a keyword and you will have a selection of record sets including these select baptism and burial records.

The entries on Ancestry are only transcripts but do give a (FamilySearch) film number and are included in the catalogue entries for films held at the Central Auckland Research Centre - the desk staff are always available if you require any assistance.

The Ancestry.com database it is accessible through Auckland Libraries Digital Library from within any of the 55 libraries for free.

Marie Hickey

     New records added to




If you have not looked at the website, findmypast recently, you may be unaware of their current scheme to add 100 record sets in 100 days.  This will cover parish registers,  military records, death and marriage notices from newspapers.  New record sets from around the world will be released weekly.

Image from www.findmypast.com.au website

To date, the following records have been added:

New York City marriage and death notices 1835-80
[USA] Civil War – soldiers, sailors, prisoners, medals of honour 1861-65
pre 1901 Irish census (some counties only)
Shropshire parish registers 1538-1900, Banns 1760-1900

Military
Malayan Emergency  - Commonwealth Deaths 1948-60
Welsh Guards 1914-18
Palestine Conflict British deaths 1945-48
Cyprus Emergency deaths 1955-60
Royal Artillery other ranks casualty cards 1939-47
Royal Artillery attestations 1883-1942
Australian Imperial Force – embarkation roll & nominal roll 1914-18
Royal Navy seamen & officers 1899-1919
Royal Marines 1899-1920
Royal Fusiliers – Stockbrokers Battalion 1914-18 & 23rd Battalion (1st Sportsman’s Battalion) 1914-18
South Down Battalions (11th, 12th & 13th Royal Sussex)
Salford Pals (15th, 16th, 19th & 20th Lancashire Fusiliers)
Liverpool Pals (17th, 18th, 19th & 20th King’s Liverpool Regt)
Glasgow Pals 1914-18
Edinburgh Pals 1914-18 (15th & 16th Royal Scots Regt)
1st Bradford Pals (16th West Yorkshire Regt)
Birmingham Employers’ Roll of Honour 1914-18
Birmingham Pals 1914-18

Sailors from the German naval ship Alexandrine which visited New Zealand in 1891. Sir George Grey Special Collections, 4-RIC176.

This looks as if it is going to be a very interesting and useful collection of records when the project is completed -- well worth checking on for new additions.

Next time you visit your local library, findmypast is accessible from the Family History eResources & databases in the  Digital Library.

Marie Hickey

www.nzmusicmonth.co.nz

May is New Zealand Music Month!


One of New Zealand's most prominent musical family's is the Eady family. Entrepreneurs, musicians, businessmen, instrument makers and supporters of the arts and culture - this year marks the 130th birthday of Lewis Eady Ltd.

Heritage Images contains a wide selection of over 100,000 digitised images from Sir George Grey Special Collections and includes photographs of shops run by Lewis R. Eady & Son Ltd. as well as their rival, brother and uncle - Arthur Eady Limited.

The future premises of Lewis R Eady & Son Ltd, 1927. Sir George Grey Special Collections, 4-454.

Arthur Eady Limited music store, 1938. Sir George Grey Special Collections, 4-2530

Subsequent generations of the Eady family have been involved in the music business since the brothers, Lewis R. and Arthur opened their respective shops.  Lewis's sons (Lewis "Alfred", Ernest, Cecil, Raymond and Sydney) worked for a time in the business and some of their children have also pursued careers related to music.

A keyword search of "Eady family" in the New Zealand Card Index returned several results including  the card below about Lewis Alfred Eady (1891-1965) which mentions that in 1926 ". . . the family presented a music section to the Public Library". 

New Zealand Card Index, NZCI000109317.

Another index entry is of Sydney's son Bruce, who manufactured and sold New Zealand's first guitar called The Jensen during the 1950's and 1960's. The index directs you to the information source, an article published in the July 1993 edition of North & South magazine.

New Zealand Card Index, NZCI000109308.

Another database to search is Index Auckland. This database focuses on history, art, theatre, film and music. Many of the reference sources are from Auckland area newspapers and journal articles. This database continues to have content added to it, so it is an ideal resource for contemporary artists.

Index Auckland has nine records for the Eady family. One of the records is an  article "Music in family" that highlights the family's history and their musical past, published in the Auckland Star on 24 November 1965.

Excerpt from article in the Auckland Star, 24 November 1965.

These Auckland eResources and databases are accessible to everyone through the Digital Library page of the Auckland Libraries website, click here to start searching for your musical ancestors!

Karen

A while ago I wrote about re-visiting old family history magazines; today I would like to bring your attention to a couple of local history magazine collections we have on our shelves n the Research Centre. They were published by the Auckland Historical Society which later became the Auckland – Waikato Historical Society and the Ohinemuri Regional History Journal.

If you have connections to Auckland, Waikato or the Thames, Wahi, Paeroa areas these will be of interest to you. The journals include articles about early days in the district, maps, many high quality photographs, lists of different historical society members with their addresses, material relating to both Maori and Europeans, early settlers etc.

For those of you unable to travel to Auckland you will be please to know that the Ohinemuri Regional History Journal has been digitised and is available on-line free of charge at http://www.ohinemuri.org.nz and extends from 1964-2012.

One of the photographs that caught my imagination is of the Waihi Golf Club members at Hollis Bush about 1913.

Image courtesy of the Ohinemuri Regional History Journal Journal 10, October 1968

Each person is named, including the boy milking the goat but what amused me was  the reference to No.1, “Cranwell’s Setter Dog.  (Had a gold tooth fitted by Mr. Cranwell, Dentist)…” 

Drawing identifying those photographed in the above image.

This brought to mind an image of the dog swanking it about town showing off his tooth or, alternatively, the modern incarnation of having attitude and going about nefarious deeds with his bling on display.

The Auckland – Waikato Historical Society Journal also covers a wide range of topics in its articles; some are about prominent people in the community, schools and places but there are also the more unusual.  There is a short article in issue 9, October 1966 about the Great Maori Bank; another in issue 6, April 1965 about a bed of 13,701 pieces that was given to Auckland Museum. One issue, No. 68 October/November 1996 is entirely devoted to St Stephens graveyard at Parnell.

If you have never used these journals, they are well worth considering.  You never know, the gem that breaks down the brick wall could be amongst the articles published within.

Marie Hickey

www.nzmusicmonth.co.nz

May is New Zealand Music Month!

This is part one of  a series of blog posts during May to celebrate New Zealand Music Month. Each week it will highlight Auckland Libraries heritage resources relating to New Zealand music, and its talented musicians, across all genres. So, if you have a "muso" in your family's history and are looking for information on them, these resources might just help you with your search.
Gareeb Stephen Shalfoon (1904-1953), "Epi"- a nickname from his family, was a jazzer who initially played piano but he taught himself how to play clarinet and saxophone  because he said at that time it was easier to hire a pianist than horn players. In 1924 he put together a band called the Melody Boys who went on to make New Zealand's first jazz recording. It eventually became a family affair - his daughter Reo, a very talented and popular singer in her own right, frequently performed with the band.

Epi Shalfoon and the Melody Boys, Filmcraft, 1930. Image from the Film Archive.

Sadly, Epi died at the young age of 48. He collapsed while dancing with his daughter at his favourite music venue, the Crystal Palace Ballroom.

Quackery Prevention
Pills & Potions at the Cotter Medical History Trust
By Claire Le Couteur
Otago University Press, 2014

This recent addition to the Central Auckland Research Centre's collection shares some of the bizarre and miraculous-sounding medicines sold in New Zealand before the 1942 Medical Advertisements Act restricted excessive advertising and false testimonials.

Medicine time in the Kindergarten, 1938  Sir George Grey Special Collections, AWNS-19381116-53-3.

Rather than gain a patent, manufacturers of the time trademarked their products in order to conceal their ingredients and method of production from competitors. When the 1904 government tried to curb their extravagant claims they were defeated by both the manufacturers and newspaper owners – who would have lost advertising revenue as a result.

Advertisement for Dr Ensor's Tamer Juice New Zealand Herald, 6 July 1911

Auckland Star, 1 April 1938

Wanganui Chronicle, 16 January 1907

Although the 1908 Quackery Prevention Act tried to restrict advertising, it too failed. It wasn’t until the 1942 Act that excessive claims had to be proved before being advertised, and fictitious endorsements ceased. Consequently, many remedies were taken off the market.

Fortunately, The Cotter Trust in Christchurch has a collection of these remedies whose history has been beautifully documented in this book.

Leanne

Happy Easter!


The New Zealand Woman's Weekly Cookbooks by iconic cookery editor Tui Flower were highly popular in the 1970s resulting in multiple reprints.  Because there has been a bit of a resurgence of  home cooking/baking and eating 'whole foods' lately, I thought I'd share a  recipe for hot cross buns. Perhaps you'll be inspired to make one of your own family's recipes or plan a 'retro dinner' as part of your Easter celebrations.

This recipe for hot cross buns is from pages 192 & 196 of April 1976 reprint of The New Zealand Woman's Weekly Cookbook.

Auckland Libraries holds in its collection The New Zealand Woman's Weekly magazine on microfilm in the Central Auckland Research Centre. Some of the more traditional cookbooks are real gems, and are borrowable as well.

Easter vacation, 1932, Auckland Weekly News,  Auckland Libraries, AWNS 19320330-42-5.

If baking is not your thing, then decorating a few eggs with your children or grandchildren for an egg hunt is a nice nod to another longstanding Easter tradition.


Early last year Joanne wrote a wonderful blog on 'Kiwi style' cooking, if you haven't read it then I suggest you click here.

Relax and enjoy your family time.

Karen

In the lead up to ANZAC Day, an intriguing selection of books related to both world wars have come on to our shelves here in the Central Auckland Research Centre.

In particular,  I've been drawn to books written about women and their roles in the war, and one such role in particular. An estimated one and a half million women took part, it was highly secretive and every day  they faced the threat of injury or even death – the job of making the ammunition.
“Bomb Girls,” subtitled, “Britain’s Secret Army: The Munitions Army of World War II” relates the real life stories of these girls and women, called up to the munitions factories during the labour shortage. The work was dirty and boring, the hours long. Because the factories were away from towns in the countryside, the girls were often forced to go miles away from home to live in hostels or lodge with strangers. But most of all, the work was dangerous. One woman recounts working on the production line with the bomb detonators, “picking up the detonator – half the size of an aspirin tablet –   with a pair of tweezers one tiny mistake, the slip of a hand, could be fatal. And if the munitions were to leave the factory incorrectly assembled, the consequences for the front line troops could be fatal, too.” Another relates working in what she called “nitrates” – soaking cotton in pans of nitric acid. “They kept a big barrel of water in the shed. This was because of the acid in case someone got badly burned. If that happened they had to throw themselves in to it to save their skin. But usually the acid just splashed you in the face and you’d have to run like bill-o to get the stuff on to your face to calm it down.”

And of course there was living with the day-to-day threat of being bombed by the Luftwaffe.  The Swynnerton, Staffordshire factory, for example, was targeted several times by the Nazis, albeit unsuccessfully.

Photograph from Bomb Girls, (c) Getty Images

Besides the fascinating stories, there are photos of the women at work. There’s Queen Elizabeth and King George at an ammunitions factory which must have given a much welcome morale boost to the workers, and there are photos of the girls and women themselves working with bombs and bullets.  Of added interest, the final chapter lists the munitions factories with detail, how long they operated, and what they produced.

Bomb Girls is by Jacky Hyams and there are borrowable copies at Auckland Libraries.

Exciting news from ...

Findmypast has recently made changes to their search engine and project manager Paul Dunlop says they have made some improvements and along with that is a bit of a "learning curve". So, before you plan your next trip into Auckland Libraries to access findmypast you may want to watch this short video or read the article Your handy guide to findmypast’s new search on their website.

Image from findmypast news published 21 March 2014.

The video introduces the new search platform that will provide the user with a "flexible approach" to searching the collections.

As of the beginning of April, the library edition of findmypast is allowing users to start their own accounts similar to the how customers access The British Newspaper Archive website within the library -- "this means they'll be able to use our personalised services and save their own family trees." If you already have an account with findmypast, you will now be able to log in to your own profile on the library computers. For those customer who don't want to set up an account, you will still be able to continue to access records as a guest by using the search all records option on the new-look homepage.

A preview of  findmypast's new homepage.

On an entertaining note, if you are an iPhone user findmypast has introduced an app, I Once Was, according to the developers "it is a fun take on what your job might have been in the past and what you would have looked like." Simply answer two questions and upload an image of yourself, so I gave it a go. Hmm, present day librarian but historically . . . a sailor! Ships ahoy everyone.

Karen

POSTSCRIPT:
We encourage interaction and feedback on all Auckland Libraries' blog. However, apart from that one comment below, we won't be posting any further responses that are complaints about Findmypast. 

While we understand and sympathise with people's frustrations with the current difficulties, this is not the best place for people to vent their concerns. These should more properly be directed to Findmypast's customer services team.

We have been reassured that issues are being prioritised and dealt with accordingly, and hope to see a much improved new Findmypast website in the near future.

We are very excited by the new datasets that Findmypast have released recently, and are waiting in eager anticipation in what is going to come soon.

Kind regards

Seonaid Lewis
family history librarian, Central Auckland Research Centre, Auckland Libraries

Stone’s New Zealand directories were compiled from a comprehensive house-to-house canvas of all streets in a district. They included the full name and occupation of the head of the household, as well as male lodgers aged over 18 years (21 years in some cases). However, spouses were excluded (unless he or she owned property on his or her own account), as were children over the age of 15 even if they were in the workforce, and generally people who rented property.

A typical entry in the Street and Country Directory reads as:

Abberley Road
Right side from St Albans lane
6– Rutherford, Mrs Amelia, ladies’ nurse

Stone’s historic books contain detailed sections such as the Alphabetical Directory and a Trades Directory. The Pastoral Directory includes the names and addresses of all holders of 1,000 or more sheep, for example:

Sounds County
1,198 Beauchamp, Mrs. H. Grove.

The Educational and Ecclesiastical Directory lists education boards, schools and colleges. A typical entry being:

Christchurch Girls High School
Opened 13th September 1877
Lady Principal – Miss M.V. Gibson

followed by a list of all of her assistants and subject mistresses, the school’s calendar terms and daily timetable.

All religious denominations, places of worship and ministers are likewise listed; along with many items of useful information such as how to register births, deaths and marriages - and dogs.

Stone’s Directories have a lot more to offer researchers than just their street, alphabetical and trade directories. As well as the information outlined above, there are maps, distances between towns and what rail passages were open for traffic.

Central Auckland Research Centre has a growing collection of Stones Directory’s. At present we offer fully searchable CD-Roms of the following:

Stone’s Otago and Southland Directories, 1884-1933

Stone’s Wellington, Hawkes Bay and Taranaki Directories, 1891-1900

Stone’s Canterbury, Nelson, Marlborough and Westland, 1902-1914

and Stone’s Nelson, Marlborough and Westland, 1899-1901

LR

For those of you with an interest in Scotland, you may have noticed in recent months an increase in material appearing on the shelves in the family history section at Central Auckland Research Centre. However, those of you who may not visit the Research Centre as frequently or the check the catalogue regularly from afar will have missed what we have been adding to the collection.

Auckland Libraries, Sir George Grey Special Collections, 601-2835A.

A number of local histories have been added to the collection which range from picture books to stories about a street in a town, a guide to closes, squares, lanes etc in old Dundee and a small work on the Kirk Yetholm gypsies are among the works added to local histories.

We have also purchased transcripts of parish registers, amongst which is the Lady Glenorchy Free Church baptisms 1843-1856; monumental inscriptions (gravestones), several family histories, items relating to occupations such as two on fishing in Fife.  There is also the Records of Glenprosen [Glenprossan], Angus which includes christening extracts, monumental inscriptions, entries for marriages and deaths, communion rolls and a list of subscribers to the library from 1841.  Not to be outdone, there is also the two volume work of Scottish Studio Photographers to 1914 which gives details not only of different addresses the photographers worked from but potted biographies that can include other members of the family, census returns and value of estate on death.

So if it has been a while since you checked out our Scottish collections (call number - 4 SCT) take a little time to do so and you may be lucky and find that entry that has been eluding you.

Marie 

If you would like to search the 1841-1911 UK Census records they are easy to access for free at any of the Auckland Libraries through the Ancestry and FindMyPast databases in the Digital Library.

For some useful hints on using census records you may want to check out a new book in our family history collection by  Emma Jolly, 'Tracing your Ancestors Using the Census: A Guide for Family Historians', which is packed with advice on how to explore and get the most from these records.

Karen

With the ever rapidly approach of 2014 and the start of the WWI commemoration events it is perhaps timely that a book recently received in Auckland should be about New Zealand’s hospital ships.  It is titled The White Ships: New Zealand’s First World War Hospital Ships by Gavin McLean.  There is a reference copy in the Central Auckland Research Centre but there are borrowable copies throughout Auckland Libraries.

This book is very well presented with many photos of ships, crew and some records.  There is a list of their movements 1915-19 as well as what happened to them after the war.

Image from color plate, page c.4.

While I have not read this yet myself, I think that anyone with a connection with these ships will find it invaluable as a matter of interest or to add to their research.

Marie Hickey