In September I found 40+ useful places on the Internet that could help with your family history research. These were first shared with the Caloundra Family History Facebook Page.
I do not repeat everything from the Caloundra Family History Facebook page on this blog. I save links I might want for future research. Items omitted are usually the more time-relevant notices. So LIKE the Caloundra Family History Facebook page so you do not miss other posts. Don’t miss out on notices about free access to the paid genealogy sites. Or miss society notices like the interest groups and general meeting reminders and library hours updates.
I do include Friday Flashbacks, where I have found interesting items at the Caloundra Family History Library. And, of course, the Genie Jokes. Keep reading to see more links to help your family history research.
Looking for the link, click images when text links are not available for a post.
40+ Family History Research Helpful Links
Did you know that Ancestry searches around 220 websites outside Ancestry’s own and contracted databases? And you can search this material for free if you aren’t an Ancestry member. Find out more at Genealogy Gems Blog. 
A guide to unfamiliar judicial and historical terms from the Old Bailey Online. Also a searchable site. Find the search link in the menu. The search allows you to search the whole of the Proceedings and all published Ordinary’s Accounts (for the period 1679 to 1772). You may combine keyword searches with queries on tagged information including surname, crime, and punishment.
New Australian TV Show Reunites Long-Lost Relatives via Gould Genealogy
Source: Twisted Twigs On Gnarled Branches Genealogy
A collection of Scottish Family History Societies collected on Pinterest by Chis Paton. He is planning to add Boards for the rest of the British Isles.
The discussion has been taking place in the Using DNA for Genealogy Australian (& NZ Facebook) group about the lack of responses to match emails. This link was provided to help with the email writing.
E-JOURNALS – all electronic journals received from other groups are loaded on the desktop of all computers/laptops at our Caloundra Family History Library.
Next weekend some of us from Caloundra Family History will be listening to Shauna Hicks’s Keynote Speech at the In Time and Place, Queensland State Conference – Local History, family history, social history. (Link to Shauna’s Blog – Diary of an Australian Genealogist.)
Early Sunday smile time?
Sources from Twisted Twigs On Gnarled Branches Genealogy Facebook Page
PROSECUTION PROJECT – is a project to digitise and transcribe court records across Australia. Details of 45,000 trials from the 1830s to 1960s are now on their database but they are seeking volunteers to help with the transcription of records. If you are interested in helping, see the website: https://prosecutionproject.griffith.edu.au/
New Storage Facility for the Australian National Archives to be the Last of its Kind, from Dick Eastman.
Friday Flashback: “Commonwealth Electoral Roll-
Since the announcement of legislation changes in mid-2004…..the Commonwealth Electoral Roll is now available for searching at the National Library of Australia and State Libraries in capital cities.” Found in The Australian Family Tree Connections Magazine, March 2005.
Exciting news at the time about data we newer genealogists just assume is available (on the Internet).
If you have not been to Ancestry lately you may not have noticed they are working on new features as part of a site update. One of the changes is with the new image viewer. On the surface, it looks like it is missing details like sources and more. Here is a great post showing the hidden features of Ancestry’s new image viewer. (Found via Jana Last)
Includes a short video showing the features.
Many say Irish Family History is difficult and expensive. However, there is freely available information you should check out first. Irish Genealogy Toolkit has published a 20-page e-booklet providing brief details of new and upgraded Irish genealogy resources released in 2014.
See more at: 
This booklet is no longer available however there are loads of useful links at the Irish Genealogy Toolkit sitemap.
When you join up Caloundra Family History you receive a folder packed with useful information to get your research underway. One sheet is the Chapman Codes. Find some useful links here (between the course promotion details) – Chapman codes and why do they matter for English genealogy research?
(Link no longer available on the Ancestry blog.)
#trovetuesday
” Caloundra is one of the pleasantest and prettiest of South Queensland watering Places…”. 
(Don’t know about Trove Tuesday? This is when family historians and genealogists share something they have found on Trove. Check out the hashtag: #trovetuesday on social media.)
Vision Statements: what are they and why do genealogical societies need them, Federation of Genealogical Societies.
(Update: Link no longer available)
Copyright is something I often consider if collecting information and images online. There is much to understand. Here is some Copyright Resources that might help. (From Family Tree Frog.)
Registration is now open for the biggest family history conference at Rootstech, 2016, Utah, USA. Many Aussies attend. There will be online videos of keynote speeches and popular presentations. In 2015 over 23,000 registered attendees from 49 U.S. states and 39 countries
Estimated 150,000+ live-streaming viewers on RootsTech.org.
Browse or search the 1908 City of Auckland map (I had a good go trying to find the place my Grandfather lived.)The 1908 map is a significant and unique record of Auckland City’s history and early infrastructure. The map portrays an exciting period in the city’s development and documents the progress of a growing city.
UPDATE: The initially provided search links no longer work so this link might help.
(found via Auckland City Library)
(I often get caught up testing the search on sites I have found to share. Got stuck on this one checking our my Paternal Grandfathers place of residence.)
Sunday Smile: Are you doing it right?
From the favourite place I find these funnies: Twisted Twigs On Gnarled Branches Genealogy FB Page
A collection of things GeniAus was reading this week from Australia and family history and more. GAGs – GeniAus’ Gems – 18 September 2015
Do you have ancestors’ names that are misspelt? Find out how to Use Wildcards in FamilySearch.org Searches from the Genealogy Insider Blog. (Link no longer exists.)
Friday Flashbacks: “Rosewood School Golden Jubilee” Checking society newsletters and journals can help lead to new research paths. The Bremer Echoes from the Ipswich Genealogical Society, Vol 23 No 2 July 2005 had an extract from The Rosewood Register and Marburg Mail for 13 February 1925 about the Rosewood School Golden Jubilee. Often schools publish material for reunions. Local Libraries or even the school might have a copy.
An interesting case study of how one photo leads to a number of research finds. Read about “How Bad Photos Can Make Good Genealogy” to find out more. (Link no longer available on the Ancestry blog.)
Search through the London Metropolitan Archives image database containing over 130,000 works including People, Archaeology & Architecture, History, Society, Military & War, Trade & Industry and more. The collection runs from 1500 to the present day.
Remember some images online are not to be reproduced in media. Check copyright and usage information.
The German Federal Archives digital picture database contains a continually growing selection of the approximately 11 million pictures, aerial photographs and posters on German history that are kept in the Federal Archives.
Tips: Many parts of the website have an English version.
PhotoSearch at the National Archives of Australia allows you to search an online image bank of 110,000+ photographs that have been digitised from the National Archives collection. By searching for a place or town you may find historic events or photos that can add context to your research.
(Link no longer available on the Ancestry blog.)
Something a bit different – a collection of web links that might be useful for costume and textiles research with historic photos. 
Learn to Recognize 5 Types of 19th Century Photographs from the Olive Tree Genealogy. It’s a video showing early 19th century photographs and explains how to recognize each one.
Interested in seeing how the Ancestry.com Home Page has changed over the years Years 1996 to 2015…. Randy Seaver does this with the Wayback Machine on the Internet Archive website. A site you can use to check out old websites. Useful if a website has disappeared and you are trying to check out the sources. (Click image to see Randy’s Blog Post with various Ancestry images Home Pages over time.)
Sunday Smile Time:
Sometimes I pretend to myself that I have insomnia what I really have is a lot of genealogy to do and inadequate respect for tomorrow. From Some Ecards
National Library of Australia has been helping family historians on Facebook with a Q & A trial. (Link no longer available.)
Ancestry: “Have you ever wondered about the places where your ancestor lived? What did their street look like? The church they attended? What was the view as your ancestor went into town or to the market? Thanks to Francis Frith, many of us can now get a glimpse of ancestral towns and cities as they looked back in the day.” Read more at: (Link no longer available on the Ancestry blog.)
This new feature is coming on Ancestry – “Photo Cropping – this new feature will enable you to upload a picture once and digitally crop the image for multiple people. Also, this will prevent you from cropping pictures and uploading multiple versions of a picture.” (Link no longer available on the Ancestry blog.)
Friday Flashback
” NEWS FLASH!!!!!
All Queensland wills (up to the present), from the Supreme Court, are now available on the open-access at the Queensland State Archives at Runcorn.” Up to the present was August 2002. As found in Volume 18, Number 3, page 11, the Southern Suburbs Scroll, Quarterly Journal of the Southern Suburbs Branch of the GSQ Inc.
Leave a comment if you know if these wills are still available in the archives.
Helen Smith left useful comments. “Probate files from the Public trustee are closed for 75 years.”
And that she had “recently accessed a will at QSA from 2012 from the Supreme Court.”.
Shared a post about “Findmypast Announces WWII Prisoners of War Records Published Online as Britain Marks 70th Anniversary” from Dick Eastman.
Shared a post about the NSW & ACT Association of Family History Societies Inc, Annual Conference 2015 at Port Macquarie.
What to do if there is no one in your family that wants your years of Family History Research? A possible solution……Find out more
Update: The site no longer available
Webinars:
Did you know there is a website that runs a calendar with news about upcoming hangouts, meetings and webinars offered throughout the global online genealogy community? There are so many to pick from. Some are free and others charge. Don’t forget that webinars can be data-hungry if you are on a limited package. You usually have to download an app or software to run the webinar.
Bookworm Genealogy: How to Find Digitized Books on FamilySearch.org with the Genealogy Insider Diane Haddad.
Update Aug 2022 – this has become premium content at FamilyTree Magazine however you can freely and directly access the FamilySearch digitised books online.
Free Legacy Family Tree Announced on Friday that they had an update now available (version 8.0.0.515). I don’t use this so I’m not sure how good is it. As it is a free version it might be good for anyone wanting to start a tree at a very low cost. Does anyone have any experience with Legacy Family Tree?
A collection for your Sunday Smile time from Genetoons: Genealogical Cartoons. (Click image to view genie jokes.)
GAGs – GeniAus’ Gems – 3 September 2015 – looking for some reading on our favourite topic. Sit back with a cup of tea or coffee and check out Jill’s recent finds in the Blogsphere.
Friday Flashback – Hints from old documents from our CFH Library: “Workhouse Records
From the mid-1830s, and until well into the 20th century, it was not unusual to be orphaned, abandoned or unwanted illegitimate children to be handed over to the board of guardians of the local union workhouse and placed there for their upbringing. Under these circumstances workhouse records (where surviving they are usually deposited in the appropriate county record office) may occasionally be a worthwhile research source.”
Family History News and Digest, Sept 2006 Vol 15 No 4 from the UK.
Caution Notice…..
Twisted Twigs permitted me to share images on Facebook. I have added this one to my blog to highlight the wonderful memes from Twisted Twigs. You can find these on numerous social media platforms.
I am wondering if I should join the Surname Study. You do not have to study every occurrence of a name and the size of the study and the aims of the research can vary with each study. Might be good to break down a brick wall. There is a cost to join and they have the School of Surnames to help you with your studies.
Tip: How to search for ancestors’ photos online from Genealogy’s Star blog post. Make sure you read down to get the link for Google image search. ( By James Tanner)
Has your loved one’s final resting place been disturbed?
Do you know where your ancestors are buried? Has your loved one’s final resting place been disturbed? Did you know that in most places the cemetery only needs to send a letter about changes to the address they have and they have no responsibility to confirm if this address is still current? Read about Saving Graves work in South Australia.
http://www.saving-graves.com/ – website
https://www.facebook.com/NoGraveReuseSouthAustralia – Facebook Page for Saving Graves Australia
Randy Seaver Answers Queries:
Dear Randy – What is the Most Important Skill for Finding Digital Records Online? What does the retired aerospace engineer/genealogist say?
Check back next month for the October links. Or visit older blog posts for links shared on Facebook, now.