Lilian's Tree

I had a great time, yesterday, at the NSW State Records Open Day.  There were talks, tours, displays, workshops and stalls. I went to 2 workshops and found them both to be very interesting. One was on Digital Recordkeeping and the other was on Conservation of our documents etc. The talk I attended was called Sentenced Beyond the Seas and highlighted the Convict records held by the repository. The Behind the Scenes tour was fascinating as we were taken into the stacks, conservation room and other areas that the public don't get to see. I came home with information overload but it was well worth going too.

I've just searched through the Electoral Rolls on Ancestry and found myself. Does anyone else find it a bit strange that they have released the rolls up to 1980? While it doesn't give addresses it gives enough information to be found. While I know people can search the White Pages, I'm not listed, have the rolls out there is uncomfortable.

Well the Laundry is done! I've moved everything back into it and have cleaned my sewing room/study. Now to get stuck into more research. I did find, on Ancestry a Palaeography guide to help with the documents I want to transcribe. I also picked up a copy of  "Cracking the code of old handwriting" by Graham Jaunay. It is published by Unlock the Past and I got mine through Gould Genealogy. It will a really useful tool.

Well the work on the laundry happened, Wednesday (1/2 a day), then Thursday and Friday but I still don't have a light. That is tomorrow and the machine taps leak! I have spent time gardening, reading and doing assignments.

In the course I'm studying, we are transcribing old documents and sometimes the handwriting is hard to understand. Does anyone know of a good site that has tips etc for working out old handwriting?

I spent this morning at Parramatta RSL listening to Joshua Taylor speak on  Successful Searching Online; Making the Most of Your Time Online  and after a short break, Beyond the Names and Dates; Records to Expand Your Family Tree. Joshua is associated with the family tree site Find My Past. His talks were great and even though I've been 'doing' my family tree for nearly 30 years I came away with ideas and hints on how to make research easier. He talked of keeping a Log of what you search, be it a book or a web site. He also recommended keeping a note of exactly what you searched for, so you don't repeat yourself. Joshua also suggested that you keep a 'to do' list so that you know what you want to do be it when you sit at the computer, visit a repository or a library. In the second talk he said that we should develop a Historical Context of the time our Ancestors lived. I do this, sometimes as it helps to know what was going on at certain times. I had a reall...