Family History Expo

This weekend I took the trip to Parramatta to attend the "unlock the past".com.au expo.
What a fantastic event! The entry price was reasonable so allowed me to not only travel but stay overnight so that I could attend day 2! The talks were many and it was nice to see the State Library Mitchell Library and National Library represented!! There were also a good amount of family history groups, experts, fibis (families that have British/India connections) and Society of Australian Genealogists!
And it is the last group that I will write about today. I think that they and the work they do are no where near publicised enough not only as a resource but also as a beneficiary!
I went to a talk that they did during the expo on the information that they have and I am now sorry I have never bothered to check them out more fully!!
My advice to all people even considering doing anything historically based in NSW/Australia go to SAGS!! they are online so you can start here http://www.sag.org.au/

Which leads me to my other thought what will happen to all your research when you pass away?! Have you ever really considered this? Why not organise a

Genealogical Codicil to my last Will and testament
To my dear partner, children, guardian,administrator and/or executor:
Upon my death it is requested that you DO NOT dispose of any or all of my genealogical records,both those prepared by me and those records prepared by others which may be in my possession, including but not limited to books,files, notebooks computer programs, files, and data storage for a period of two years. During this
time period, please attempt to identify one or more persons who would be willing to take custody of the said materials and the responsibility of maintaining and continuing the family histories.
In the event you do not find anyone to accept these materials, please contact the Society of Australian Genealogists, and determine if they will accept some parts or all of my genealogical materials.
Please remember that my genealogical endeavours consumed a great deal of time, travel
and money. Therefore, it is my desire that the products of these endeavours be allowed to continue in a manner that will make them available to others in the future.
Signature.
Date Witness.
Date Witness.

Woohoo!

So, from all the contacts I contacted I hit the jackpot with one who even had photos of my husbands great grandparents and could answer the question over the "adopted" child they had!
He has been most gracious sharing and it is great to have another link in the family. The cousins, who were friends, have also been generous sharing a marriage certificate and a couple of photos!
My advice to all - if someone has the same person on their tree as yours on any website eg ancestry - send them a message, it cannot hurt and you may be surprised at what you receive in return.
I am still awaiting some responses (fingers crossed!)they too will be fruitful!

'People will not look forward to posterity, who never look backward to
their ancestors.'

Edmund Burke

When it comes - it can be too much at once!

After deciding to get organised for my plan of attack - I did! But not just with one line I decided to write down information on a couple of lines I am researching to see what I had and what I needed.
Well unexpected success has arisen from one of these lines! I actually felt like I was bombarded all at once and had too much information.
Now I know I need to verify all the information that I get from other peoples research and will now, over time go ahead and do that but Wow I got from 1906 to 1764 in less than a week. A lot of luck and also because I had the information I knew in front of me.
When I first discovered one generation back from my 1906 a call to relatives revealed confirmation of what I thought I had now discovered which was enough encouragement for me to continue on. Twenty four hours later I discovered that people I thought were friends of the family were in fact 2nd cousins! From that point on the information just seems to be fitting together like a jigsaw puzzle!
I've contacted all contributors involved and am anxiously awaiting responses!

The difference an hour makes

Well I was up for half an hour and found 3 possible relations on ancestry.com.au now waiting patiently for their answers. But I did look at their trees and can now go back to the 1700's on one line (do not know if all sourced but at least it will be a start)
Amazing to me how one small piece completes a chunk!

It's all about timing

It never ceases to amaze me how we find the information at what seems to be pre determined times. Yell at an ancestor if you hit a brick wall you will be amazed at how the answer comes to assist.
I ordered some transcripts from Marilyn Rowan in June as she had a 'special' advertised, which I only found out about through doing the Research: Australia and New Zealand Ancestors(online course) I did with the National Institute for Genealogical Studies with Kerry Farmer
I knew I would have to wait as the orders for 'cheaper transcripts' would be high.
I decided to order some transcripts on my mothers side - to see if I could unlock some information about where they were born, married, buried. Actually I was hoping for anything on the transcripts that would confirm they were my people....links in my chain.
I had not finished organising the course printouts so that I have a reference book for all future searches and sat down with my laptop and printer this evening determined to complete it - whilst all children were asleep and out of my way! I finish printing all the course work and to finalise the "book" I decided to print out all the emails relevant to the course.
I log in to my email and what is there?! Marilyn's email with my transcripts attached! As if my ancestors knew what I was up to this evening and had decided to either reward me for my efforts or were allowing me to now have this information now the course was complete.

So did the transcripts help? Can I now claim them as my links?!
OMG YES..... they all had more information on them than I could have wished for! and I can claim them!

Now at 4.26am here I know I should log off, pack up and sleep - but I will allow myself a quick 15mins to look at some UK records.....

So It Begins.....

The initial post - I've decided to begin a blog to record the surnames I am researching and to diarise my progress...we will see how successful it will be.

Ultimately I want this blog to not only be a record of what I am doing but also to be a connection in cyberspace to other possible relatives and perhaps even a learning space for others just beginning.....

Why Links in a Chain....well I believe that we need to be linked to past and future generations - sometimes the chain gets broken and researching the past enables us to repair the chain and makes it stronger...we can see the journey the chain has taken and where other chains have linked to it over time.....