Are you a genealogist or a family historian?

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People often don't realise that there is a difference between genealogists and family historians.

In the simplest terms, genealogists collect names and dates for a family tree and family historians flesh out the family trees, adding leaves and flowers by researching information about individuals on the family tree.

Like most people I started out as a genealogist, collecting names and dates until I started to hit brickwalls. Once the adrenalin rush, of discovering new ancestors started to calm down a bit - I started to become curious about them.

What did they do for a living? Alot of occupations don't exist today. Improvements in technology has meant that seventy per cent of jobs that existed 50 years ago no longer exist today.

Gorgeous books like Mastercrafts and The River Hobbler's Apprentice: Memories of Working the Severn and Wye, can give you an excellent insight into what your ancestors did for a living.

Books like the "Tracing Your" series can give you clues to finding more information out about your Railway, Pauper, Labour Movement,Criminal and Air Force Ancestors.

Those researching ancestors around the 1830s period could look for their ancestors in the Machine Breakers series of books. Machine Breakers were "Luddites", who's protests about the mechanisation of their jobs in the textile industry culminated in their breaking up of machines during the 1830s riots.

These "Machine Breakers" are well documented in books by county, with names and often family details, of those that were arrested, tried and often transported. Newly arrived we have:
What was life like for them? Invaluable books that can tell you about historical events like the newly arrived On the Home Front: Melbourne in Wartime: 1939-1945 and The Great War Handbook.From East End to Land's End will tell you about the evacuation of Jews' Free School, London, to Mousehole, Cornwall during World War Two. There is even a list of the children's names in the book.
The Auckland Research Centre has many such books purchased specifically to assist you in putting the leaves on the trees. Online indexes and databases, CD-Roms, microfiche and microfilms are excellent resources for dates and names - they provide the branches and twigs.
But don't forget the books . . . they are your leaves and flowers.

Hope to see some of you at the Family History fair in Hamilton this weekend: http://nzfhf2010.dnserver.net.nz

Using Facebook to unite your family

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I have had a number of enquiries about my previous blog, where I have mentioned what a boon Facebook has been to me, in uniting me with lost or unknown family members, and assisting me in my own family history research.
So this is a brief tutorial on how to get your family interest group page started.
  • 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>
I have called mine for example:
Genealogy: HARVEY, POTTLE, SNOW, NOEL/NEWELL - NEWFOUNDLAND
and
Genealogy: Alexander McKENZIE (b Feb 1865) m Georgina SWANSON (b Apr 1869): ABERDEEN 
  • 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.
This means that your group will be able to be found by someone doing a search, but they won't be able to view anything other than brief details about the group, and they won't be able to post. If they want to join then they will have to request an invite.
  • 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.
I hope people find this useful. If there is enough interest in this subject, I may hold a workgroup in the near future.

Good luck, and have fun!

Regards
Seonaid

Family Reunions

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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

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