Keeping up to date

 

Keeping up to date with what is new and what's coming in the genealogy world, one can become overwhelmed with the availability of incoming material.

Here are some simple ways to keep up to date via newsletters, apps and RSS feeds from websites.

Newsletters

Subscribe to those that interest you and set aside 5 to 10 mins a day to flick through their offerings, then delete. That way one's email box does not become filled with unread emails. Here are a few for you to consider.

• Queensland Family History Society Send your name, address, and preferred email to Snippets
• Family Tree Magazine has a variety of newsletters delivered daily or weekly depending on the content you prefer to read.
• The Society of Australian Genealogists send out regular newsletters highlighting upcoming events most of which are all available through Zoom.
• The Federation of Australian Historical Societies biannual Newsletter is full of stories from FAHS member societies around Australia that show how diverse and active is our history community.
• National Library of Australia covers the latest in the collections and Trove Treasures,
• Sign up for LegacyNews a weekly email newsletter that will keep you informed about Legacy,  MyHeritage and other Genealogy news.

Many individual genealogy and family history bloggers also have newsletters. The subscription option often appears as a pop-up when reading a blog post. Subscribe wisely and use Unsubscribe often in very small print at the bottom of many newsletters.

Apps

Download the Libby app to your tablet or phone. 

• Search for Noosa Libraries then sign in with your library membership card.
• Choose Search then narrow to Magazines.
• Search Family Tree - this will reveal issues of both the UK and US magazines
• Tap to borrow for 14 days

Try a genealogy search while in the app.

You may also like to try the app Internet Genealogy Magazine available for both iOS and Android.

RSS from Websites

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a web service that lets the reader accumulate web content into one simple reader space.

Many websites and blogs have RSS which facilitate adding their blog or website to a feed reader.

Two popular feed readers are Feedly and Inoreader . Both of these companies have a free service and can be used on computers, tablets and phones. 

Simply select the web address of the site you would like to read frequently and add it to the reader. Whenever that site publishes new content it will appear in your Feedly or Inoreader. 

More convenient than email in many cases as one can either view just headlines or a summary or full articles. 

Some blogs you may like to add to an RSS feed reader

The Legal Genealogist Judy Russell USA

Generations Genealogy Danielle Lautrec, Sydney

Diary of an Australian Genealogist Shauna Hicks, Qld

Genealogy's Star James Tanner USA

Genealogy tip of the day Michael O'Neill USA

Organize your Family History Janine Adams

Campaspe Genealogy Campaspe Library, Victoria

Tales from the Grave Samantha Elley, Australia

This screenshot shows some of today's articles appearing in my Feedly. There are plenty of YouTube videos to get you started using either Inoreader or Feedly. Here's a comparison of seven free feed readers to help. 

Happy reading!

Hidden gems in local records

 

Where do you start when researching a local area?

Our local history expert shares her expertise widely and with more than 30 years of experience in the field she provides guidance for those approaching a local history research question. These aspects are the basis of any genealogical research question.

• Determine and record what is already known
• What surnames are involved in any query?
• What time period is appropriate?
• Where might the ancestor have lived? 
• What may have been his/her occupation?
• Did the person serve in the military?
• Are there any school records for the found area?

These are just starting points that may well lead to a broader focus. Our workshop led by Bev this morning posed several local research puzzles for the participants to solve.

Some examples of the resources we used to find the answers to the questions posed included:

Electoral rolls to determine where the person may have lived and occupation - search via Ancestry

Local resources located through the library catalogue, - books and copies of school records

Local maps housed in the Heritage Centre

Local databases housed on the members' website

• General Local History Index a large collection covering many of the newspaper clippings in folders and some archival material
• Index to Agricultural organisations, includes fruitgrowers and the agricultural and industrial society.
• Index to local sports clubs -  Specific to sports clubs their memberships and activities. Further entries about sport related activities may also be located in the general index.
• Index to early land records and ratepayers
• Index to Sunshine Coast Daily BDM notices : Oct 2004 - Feb 2005
• Noosa Hospital Auxiliary Roll and meeting attendance records 

Newspaper notices available through Trove

Other useful resources for our local area include but are not limited to:

• Heritage Noosa A wonderful collection of local photographs and documents as well as oral history recordings and transcripts
• Noosa Shire Museum - Family histories
• Noosa Libraries - Heritage
• National Archives of Australia for military records
• Queensland State Archives
• State Library of Queensland Family History collection

Need some photos from the past? 

Queensland State Archives on Flickr

State Library of Queensland on Flickr

If you require assistance with an enquiry into local history in and about the Noosa Shire please visit the Heritage Centre in Cooroy or fill in this research request form and our local experts will endeavour to help.

Procession SportsDay - Cooroy

A unique museum

 The Mount Isa Underground Hospital Museum

After the bombing of Darwin in 1942, there was a real fear that Mount Isa with its rich mineral resources would be next. Over a period of 15 weeks, miners drilled, blasted and dug out a series of tunnels into the side of the hill.

Following restoration work by volunteers, the Underground Hospital was opened as a museum in 1999.

On Saturday February 11th at 1pm in the Heritage Centre, guest speaker Margaret Medley will present a detailed background to the restoration of this unique hospital museum which today has become one of Mount Isa’s major tourist attractions.