We have Fijian birth, death and marriage records on microfilm on permanent loan from the LDS in the Central Auckland Research Centre. They are divided into the categories General, Fijian, Indian and European and are helpfully indexed.

This is an example of an index, taken from Fiji births, general index 1876-1960.

A birth record may give you date, name, sex, parent’s names and ages, whether married, previous children, profession and parents’ birth place, with signature or their ‘mark’. This example is from Births general 1883-1891.


This example is from Births general 1911 in Fiji (although the child was born in 1888 the birth wasn't registered until later, along with two of his other siblings).

a series of tips on getting started . . . .

3/4 group portrait of Jonkers family with Private Cyril Gladwin Jonkers, Reg No 12/3372, of the Auckland Infantry Regiment, 8th Reinforcements. The older woman is possibly his mother Agnes Campbell Jonkers. Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 31-J1890

Start with what you know and work backwards

• Yourself
• Siblings
• Parents
• Parents siblings
• Grandparents
• Grandparents siblings
• Great-grandparents

Write down names, and any birth, marriage or death dates that you know of.

If you have any certificates or other documents that prove these details for each person, make a note of this also.

• Interview your relatives to fill in any blanks - collect any anecdotal family stories as well as any facts
• Ask your family if anyone else has done any previous research
• Take all information you are given with a grain of salt, till you've proved it
• Ask for copies of any family documents they might have 
• Record women with their maiden names
• Surnames are recorded in CAPS. This is so you can easily identify first name and surname - many names are interchangeable
• Date format: 7 Jun 1876 - genealogy is an international pursuit, and 07/06/1876 means 6 Jul 1876 in some countries like the States
• If you only know an approximate year, note it as c1876 or abt 1876 
• Place format: Ellerslie, Auckland, New Zealand or London, England, UK.
  If you just write London - someone might think you mean London, Ontario, Canada, or somewhere else
• Verify, check and double check all information
• View original or official sources
• Cite your sources: where did you get your information from?
• Concentrate on one line at a time – retain focus!
  
  
  Happy hunting
  
  Seonaid

Genealogy is a study of pedigrees, a collection of names and dates, which trace a family line back through the past. 

• When were they born? 
• Who and when did they marry? 
• How many children did they have and when were they born? 
• When and where did they die? 

It's about establishing and proving relationships.

For some people genealogy is enough, their challenge is to go back as far as they can, but they know comparatively little about the people they are researching other than the facts.

Family history is a continuation of genealogy, in that it is also the research into the social history of the family. 

• What did they do for a living? What was involved in their job?
• What schooling did they have, and where? 
• What events were happening around them during various periods of their lives? 
• Why, when and how did they emigrate? 
• Where are they buried?

- Its all about social, political, military, religious and cultural history.

Family history is about the stories.

Your library will have copies of “how to guides” that can get you started.


Genealogy is the skeleton
Family history is the flesh on the bones

Setting up your research
Note what you know in a pedigree chart - download our free Pedigree chart from our Resources page. 

Charting what you know allows you to spot the gaps.

Choose a genealogical software program that suits you.

Genealogy software programmes are complex database software programs that use a language called GEDCOM (GEnealogical Data COMmunication). 

Because genealogical programs use a common language, this makes sharing of information really easy.

Choices depend on budget and circumstance.
No computer? Try an online one, via a website.

Pros:

• Portable, you can access where ever you have internet access
• Other people can usually search your Family Trees to see if you have common ancestors (but don’t forget to verify other people’s research)
• Usually free, with upgradeable options if you decide to spend money later
• Uses GEDCOM so if you later decide to download your family tree to your own software program you can

Cons:

• Its the internet, so things like privacy and control of your own info could be an issue
• You need to be sure that the website you are going with is one that is going to be around for a while, and what will it mean to you if they start charging for access or decide not to run their site any more

However, people wanting to undertake this hobby seriously, will need a computer.

For your own software, whether free or purchased, you will need to do your own research to decide what’s right for you.

Read some reviews and decide which to invest your time (and maybe money) into. Remember, though the old “you get what you pay for” is often true. Although you don’t need to spend big bucks necessarily, it would do to remember that “free” products are usually limited in some way.

Cyndislist.com is a good resource for all things genealogical, so try this page for software reviews: 
http://www.cyndislist.com/software.htm or
http://www.ancestry.com.au/
http://genealogy.about.com/od/publishing/tp/web_sites.htm

Keep a research notebook, note the person you are researching, where you have looked, and what information you found. Transfer this into your genealogical database.
Filing your paperwork is immensely important. Number your subjects:-

• your most recent subject is number 1,

father = no.2, mother = 3,

• fraternal grandfather = no. 4, fraternal grandmother = no.5;

• maternal grandfather = no. 6, maternal grandmother = no. 7Keep a master folder for each branch with family group sheets inside, to act as your index.


Create another folder for each family member once they get married, and start collecting their info as they create their own family groups.

Colour code your stationery (folders, document wallets, boxes etc) for each branch so you can tell which line they belong to at a glance (blue, red, green, yellow for example).

Keep very good notes, and make sure you record where you got the information from, recording volume number and page/folio numbers etc.

If its anecdotal information, cite who that person is and how they say they came across the info. Try to prove or disprove the story.

What to do with the information?


Share your research with your family.

Consider publishing your family tree online.

Even if you’d decided not to assemble the information online via a website when starting out, consider uploading the GEDCOM information when you are a bit more experienced.

There are many websites out there that encourage you to share your data.

• www.Ancestry.com
• www.findmypast.com.au
• www.Tribalpages.com are but a few.

If you are comfortable enough with this idea, then it is a splendid way of finding relatives, by having them find you.

Consider also sharing via Facebook. Which is a whole other session by itself.

Consider publishing your research in a book. - Remember to donate a copy to your library!

Happy hunting

Seonaid