NZ society of genealogists South Canterbury Branch Newsletter September/october 2014 - Volume 18 No. 5 From the editor Carol Bell ItвЂ™s a busy month in October with the NZSG computer roadshow on 4th and the public launch of SCRoll on 16th. November has a couple of events as well - a public library information day and a cemetery walk both taking place on 11 November. I hope you all find time to support at least a few of these. The roadshow is over now but if you havenвЂ™t volunteered for the SCRoll project yet please do, and try to find some time on 11 November for the other events. IвЂ™m looking forward to the cemetery walk. In true genealogistвЂ™s fashion I like cemeteries and a wander along the rows of headstones on a pleasant day always brings comfort and pleasant memories. Contradictory I suppose, but there it is. And again, itвЂ™s all about supporting your club and taking advantage of the varied pursuits arranged on your behalf. See you there! ConvenorвЂ™s report from Liz Shea http://www.genealogy.org.nz/ http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nzlscant/resources.htm Last weekend was busy for the branch committee with the presentation of a Genealogy Roadshow with the GCG group. On the Friday we had entertained our four presenters at dinner preceeded by a huge snow and sleet downpour. Luckily we were all inside and the weather soon cleared. Saturday dawned bright and sunny but cold with hail still on the ground around the school where the presentation was to be held. We got off to a late start due to wifi issues but a good audience of about 50 people were keen and ready to learn. The presenters covered such topics as census searching online, how to set up Gedcoms and use them to best advantage, Ancestry and how to set up a family tree and setting up family trees off line. The presenters kept us entertained with interesting snippets of information from their own family trees along with other handy hints. Thanks again to David Bryant, Mark McKinney, Christine Clement and Neville Thomas for taking the time to come to Timaru. We have had lots of positive feedback and gained a couple of new members as well. Also thanks to the committee for making this roadshow come together. The branch has also decided to advertise our services and meetings a lot more to generate interest in genealogy. Currently the branch run an advice service at the South Canterbury Museum archives every Sunday afternoon. Sometimes it is busy and other times not so busy but there are some interesting family trees that turn up on the day. The branch has also been involved in the Scroll project led by the SC Museum. Many volunteers have spent the last year researching the soldiers whose names are inscribed on the Memorial Wall in Queen Street, Timaru. Many of the names are also on other local memorials. It has been an interesting exercise with many fascinating tales being discovered. The volunteers have also found a number of errors, several names have been omitted and some names have no apparent connection with South Canterbury. All this information is to be released on 16th October on a website sponsored by the SC Museum. The 16th was chosen as this is the date the first fleet of ships left New Zealand for the First World War. Hard to believe that 100 years ago, these young men sailed off to a great adventure that many would not return from. Sadly the world is still at war and if you look at the last 100 years, there has been precious little peace so you do wonder if the loss of life was really worth it ! Happy researching Our 35th birthday party Roadshow with the Genealogical Computing Group of the NZSG About 45 people attended the genealogical road show held by members of the NZSG computing group in Timaru on 4 October. As is usual with these occasions participants got a huge amount from the event and almost as much from chatting to one another during tea and lunch breaks. It's amazing how much we can learn from each other. There were several very interesting sessions - these are my notes from the day. Mark McKinney was the first to talk about creating your own spreadsheets to display work and the use of URLs and hyperlinks within displayed work. Fortunately, detailed instructions on how to create a hyperlink were included in his handout. This group is very big on spreadsheets and their examples made it easy to see why - clear, concise trees easily understood by the uninitiated family we all try to keep informed, and all they have to do is click on a hyperlink to get further detail. Everybody but me seemed to already know that ctrl ; puts today's date into a spreadsheet field ... Mark also, later in the day, discussed the presentation of data and talked about different programs that can help with this ScionPC and the Family History Jefferson Project were two he mentioned. The online blurb says ScionPC is free, fully-featured, genealogy software with a modern, easy-to-use interface, ideal for both the novice and the experienced genealogist. Databases from other family tree programs can be imported into ScionPC using its Gedcom import facility. Just export your data from your old program as a Gedcom file and then import that file into ScionPC - it's that easy. ScionPC uses a fully-documented, "open" XML database file format. The program has been written in a totally secular manner, has no checking on sex (to allow for "unconventional" relationships), and has no naming constraints (to allow for adopted children). The partners of a family group (or marriage/union) are referred to as "Prime" and "Partner" rather than "Husband & Wife" or "Father & Mother". Either partner can be the Prime. Free-form notes and sources can be created and viewed, and any files may be attached to any person or family. The Jefferson Project provides the average Windows computer user the tools to document their computer Gedcom files and publish them in a professional format for CD-ROM/DVD-ROM or slide show movies playable in a DVD player. So a lot can be done with the information we collect conventional family history programs are just the beginning! Mark also took the hyperlinked spreadsheet to another level with the inclusion of photos and maps. Neville Thomas talked further about Gedcom files. He explained the structure of a Gedcom file and said that .ged files can be opened by any text file. He talked about GENViewer Lite, a Windows based application that is used to view and analyse Gedcom and PAF 3, 4, 5, Legacy 3, 4, 5 and 6, TMG 4.x, 5.x, 6.x, RootsMagic 2 and 3 and now Family Tree Maker 2006 and previous versions genealogy files. Gedcoms are often used these days to share information or upload to websites like Genes Reunited or Ancestry. They are also useful for backups. He did issue a warning, though, about importing gedcoms into your main database. This could compromise your base data, so always put incoming Gedcoms into a new file and evaluate, then add what information you need to the main database. Neville also talked about census records - he had a useful handout on free census sites and also discussed subscription sites like Ancestry and Findmypast. Christine Clement talked about the Ancestry website. She says that currently Ancestry has 10 billion records, far surpassing Family Search which has two billion. She outlined how useful NZ electoral rolls can be in the absence of census information and suggested the use of an electoral atlas to keep track of boundary changes, and a look at Maori and Canterbury Provincial rolls. She pointed out that there is no "Australian" information before federation in 1901. The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British selfgoverning colonies of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, and Western Australia formed one nation, so before 1901 records were held and created by these separate states. South Australia is now the only state with no unique records in Ancestry - SA records are held by the state government on their own website. Christine also made repeated mention of the ability on Ancestry to add notes to all entries. She shared her list of the 10 most common research mistakes. 1. Forgetting to record information 2. Ignoring ancestor's siblings and looking for ancestors/ancestors through the eldest children. Remember that the youngest children in the family were often the recipients of mother's memories. 3. Using married names instead of maiden names in trees and databases 4. Assuming you are related to a famous person with the same name. 5. Skipping a generation 6. Assuming a family name is only spelled one way. 7. Jumping to conclusions. 8. Researching the wrong family. 9. Relaying on data from an online family tree 10. Failing to document your source. David Bryant, chairman of the computing group, showed us how to create a partial Gedcom for export or for display and explained how to be very specific with requirements. He also talked about getting the best out of Family Search - still the world's largest free genealogy organisation. Progressive upgrades have caused search confusion among many and David helped to explain research techniques. He also finished the day by hosting a discussion forum. This was a great opportunity to touch base with members of the computing group. There can't be many of us now whose research and data collection is completely computer free so it's invaluable to know about latest trends and anything that can make our research lives easier. The group's website is at http://www.gencom.org.nz/ and membership is only $15. They have a magazine three times a year, allegedly offering an enviable list of genealogical websites. I'm tempted, so I'll keep you posted. BNZ historian Paul Hickford has been visiting the Northern Hemisphere over the last few months. He sends these photos: The Tower of London (left) with their display of ceramic poppies representing each British soldier who fell in the First World War; and (centre) the memorial wall for the Canterbury Infantry Regiment at Tyne Cot, 9km north-east of Ypres in Belgium, with a poppy against the name of F.E. Letford, a Hickford family friend; and (right) a second plaque at Tyne Cot. Canterbury branch meetings The Canterbury branch has a new meeting venue (it also includes their Library) Parkview Community Lounge - Hall 75 Queenspark Drive Parklands Christchurch To find them check the branch website http:/ canterburygenealogy.wordpress.com/ for directions maps, bus routes etc Upcoming events in Timaru 11 November - Cemetery walk with branch member and local historian Alan McKenzie. Meet 7pm at the main Domain Avenue gate of the cemetery. Please note earlier time. Bring warm clothing just in case! Also 11 November - Timaru Public Library information day 10am - 4pm. December - Christmas lunch Dave JackвЂ™s Scottish websites From a talk given to the Timaru group in September http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk From Scottish census records, Scottish wills, birth certificates and death certificates, we have a comprehensive choice of Scottish records to bring your Scotland ancestry to life. Build the complete picture of your Scottish ancestry with ScotlandsPeople. - Pay for credits http://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk Historical Tax Rolls When the Crown collected taxes, it collected information about its subjects. Most taxation was levied from landowners until the late 18th century when government sought to broaden the tax base by taxing other forms of property. A by-product of this is a useful series of records for historians, listing different types of people in each of Scotland's parishes and burghs. Carriage Tax, 1785-1798, (20 volumes) Cart Tax, 1785-1798, (14 volumes) Clock and Watch Tax, 1797-1798, (2 volumes) Consolidated Schedules of Assessed Taxes, 1798-1799 (32 volumes, COMING SOON) Dog Tax, 1797-1798, (2 volumes) Farm Horse Tax, 1797-1798, (13 volumes) Female Servant Tax, 1785-1792, (28 volumes) Hearth Tax, 1691-1695, (43 volumes) Horse Tax, 1785-1798, (33 volumes) Inhabited House Tax, 1778-1798 (64 volumes) Land Tax, 1645-1831, (129 volumes) Male Servant Tax, 1777-1798, (27 volumes) Shop Tax, 1785-1789, (8 volumes) Window Tax, 1748-1798, (218 volumes) http://www.scottish-monumental-inscriptions.com Are you trying to find the burial ground of your ancestors or looking for the information recorded on the headstone? Then Scottish Monumental Inscriptions might be able to help you. http://www.deceasedonline.com The central database for UK burials and cremations http://www.scottishgraveyards.org.uk/index.shtml Supporting the recording and conservation of Scotland's historic graveyards http://www.scottishchurches.org.uk A national record for educational use by local communities, schools, congregations, local societies, family historians and researchers,in fact anyone with an interest in Scotland. http://www.heraldry-scotland.co.uk http://www.spns.org.uk The Heraldry Society of Scotland Scottish Place-Name Society http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk http://www.scotfot.com Scotland's Census website A series of image galleries of Scottish graveyards. http://www.dsl.ac.uk Comprises electronic editions of the two major historical dictionaries of the Scots language: the Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (DOST) Older Scots - 12th century - 1700 and The Scottish National Dictionary (SND) Modern Scots - 1700 - 2005 http://scan.org.uk Scottish Archive Network SCAN has digitised and indexed all testaments registered in Scotland between 1500 and 1925. http://www.scottishhandwriting.com This website offers online tuition in palaeography for historians, genealogists and other researchers who have problems reading manuscript historical records written in Scotland in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. http://www.jacobboerema.nl/en/Freeware.htm Download Transcript 2.4 for Windows: makes transcribing easier (freeware) http://t-pen.org/TPEN T-PEN is a web-based tool for working with images of manuscripts. Users attach transcription data (new or uploaded) to the actual lines of the original manuscript in a simple, flexible interface. http://www.nls.uk National Library of Scotland - use this link to search http://main-cat.nls.uk/vwebv/searchBasic?sk=nls_en http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk As from 1 April 2011, the General Register Office for Scotland merged with the National Archives of Scotland to become the National Records of Scotland (NRS). This website will remain active until it is replaced in due course by a new website for NRS. http://www.nrscotland.gov.uk They perform the registration and statistical functions of the Registrar General for Scotland, including responsibility for demographic statistics and census, and the archival functions of the Keeper including maintaining the archives as one of ScotlandвЂ™s five National Collections, and providing a leadership role for Scottish archive and record professionals. We are also responsible for the service for family history provided under the highly successful ScotlandsPeople brand. ScotlandsPeople is available online, in our offices in Edinburgh and, increasingly in Local Family History Centres. http://www.nas.gov.uk/onlineregister This database contains the fully searchable details of all items in the catalogue of the National Register of Archives Scotland. http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/advanced-search Search the UK National Archives http://histpop.org/ohpr/servlet The Online Historical Population Reports (OHPR) collection provides online access to the complete British population reports for Britain and Ireland from 1801 to 1937. A great place to look at documents related to Census http://munksroll.rcplondon.ac.uk/Biography/Search If you are researching family history and your relative was a fellow, FRCP or physician, we are likely to have published a biographical entry for them. If your relative was an apothecary, GP, LMSSA, LRCP(since 1825), MRCP, MRCS or surgeon, we are unlikely to have an entry on them. (For more information on abbreviations, see the common abbreviation glossary below) But we may hold other resources, such as papers or correspondence in the archive collections. MembersвЂ™ Interests from Carole Cowan BUCK ENGLAND Cornwall Churchbridge/Duloe 1860-1873 BUCK IRELAND Cork Coolkelure 1830-1860 BUCK NEW ZEALAND Sth Canterbury Rangitata 1874+ BUCK NEW ZEALAND Sth Canterbury Temuka/Timaru BURNS IRELAND Down Banbridge 1840-1870 BURNS NEW ZEALAND Canterbury Kaiapoi 1870+ BURNS NEW ZEALAND Sth Canterbury Timaru/Temuka DAWE ENGLAND Cornwall Alternun 1830 DAWE NEW ZEALAND Sth Canterbury Washdyke 1870+ TAYLOR ENGLAND Gloucestershire Barnsley pre1874 TAYLOR NEW ZEALAND Sth Canterbury Winchester/Temuka 1874+ WRIGHT ENGLAND Cornwall Churchbridge/Duloe 1860-1873 WRIGHT IRELAND Cork 1830-1860 WRIGHT NEW ZEALAND Sth Canterbury Rangitata WRIGHT NEW ZEALAND Sth Canterbury Temuka/Timaru 1874+ Coolkelure 1874+ 1870+ 1874+ Contact: Irene Burns, 14A Donegal Street, Belfast, Christchurch, 8051, -phone 03 323 6147 Email: sally.irene.kelly@gmail.com. BLEASE NEW ZEALAND Otago Dunedin 1887+ CUTHBERTSON NEW ZEALAND Otago Dunedin 1863+ CUTHBERTON Otago Hilderthorpe, Oamaru 1863+ CUTHBERTSON ENGLAND Yorkshire Topcliffe All GREIG Otago Dunedin 1886+ JOHNSON ENGLAND Yorkshire Pocklington All RAINTON NEW ZEALAND Otago Dunedin 1890+ WATTS Otago Dunedin 1886+ NEW ZEALAND NEW ZEALAND NEW ZEALAND Contact: Janette Clarke, 214 Otipua Road, Timaru 7910 - phone 684 5327 Email: rejanz@xnet.co.nz Any member wishing to have their surname interests published in this newsletter, which is distributed to branches of the New Zealand Society of Genealogists all over New Zealand, or who wishes to add or delete names from their present list, please contact Carole Cowan, phone 03 684-5491. Library report from Teresa Scott South Canterbury branch library - recent accessions include: * Branch newsletters 2014: Ashburton вЂ“ August-September Cambridge GG вЂ“ September Feilding вЂ“ August Hibiscus Coast вЂ“ September Kapiti вЂ“ August, September New Plymouth вЂ“ August, September Papakura вЂ“ August Riccarton вЂ“ September Wairarapa вЂ“ September Wellington вЂ“ August, September Dunedin FHG вЂ“ September Blenheim вЂ“ August, September Canterbury вЂ“ August Gore вЂ“ August, September Hutt Valley вЂ“ August, September Kilbirnie вЂ“ August, October Oamaru вЂ“ August Papamoa вЂ“ August, September Southland вЂ“ August Wanganui вЂ“ August FamNet вЂ“ July, August * Family Tree Magazine вЂ“ September 2014, October 2014 Please note February 2010, Autumn 2010, April 2012, September 2013, October 2013, November 2013, Christmas 2013, January 2014, February 2014, March 2014, April 2014, May 2014, June 2014, July 2014, August 2014, September 2014, October 2014 Family Tree magazines have gone out on the 'round-robin' and will not be on the library shelves for some time. As each new issue is received it will be dispatched to readers. * The Timaru Herald: The 150th Anniversary [DH128] [donated] * NZSG Conference Proceedings, 2014 (USB вЂ“ in CD cabinet) [CP24] (conditions apply. Discuss with librarian) * 1939-1945 The War Dead of the British Commonwealth and Empire: Italy 12 вЂ“ Sangro River War Cemetery, Part I [MR39] [donated] * Sussex Family Historian вЂ“ June 2013 (Vol. 20 No 6) Sussex Family Historian вЂ“ September 2013 (Vol. 20, No 7) Sussex Family Historian вЂ“ December 2013 (Vol. 20, No 8) [ENG:J280a, b, c] [all 3 donated] * CDs, microfiche & hardcopy records вЂ“ many assorted вЂ“ still to be sorted & catalogued [donated] Museum Sunday roster South Canterbury Museum research room Sunday roster 1.30pm - 4.30pm NOTE: If you are unable to do your duty please arrange for another on the roster to do it for you and advise your partner who your replacement is. Any queries please ring Janette Clarke 684-5327 - email : rejanz@xnet.co.nz Maree Bowen 12 October 686 0584 Janette Clarke 684 5327 19 October Lois White 684 4173 Robyn King 688 4522 26 October Teresa Scott 688-9034 Liz Shea 684-7790 2 November Dave Jack 021 770000 Janette Clarke 684-5327 9 November Lois Shears 688-1655 Maree Bowen 686-0584 16 November Lois White 684-4173 Robyn King 688-4522 23 November Carole Cowan 684-5491 Jeanette Cooke 684-6827 30 November Teresa Scott 688-9034 Liz Shea 684-7790 7 December Dave Jack 021 770000 Janette Clarke 684-5327 Local contacts SC Branch NZ Society of Genealogy - Officer Bearers Convenor: Liz Shea sheafamily@farmside.co.nz 03 684 7790 Branch Contact Minute secretary: Lesley Tennent 03 612 6759 Committee: Teresa Scott 03 688 9034 Library Lois Shears 03 688 1655 School Rolls Ann Munro 03 684 8585 Research Maree Bowen 03 686 0584 Carol Bell 03 684 7733 Newsletter Editor Off Committee: Carole Cowan Treasurer: Carolyn Johnston 684-5709 03 684 5491 Members Interests Branch email: SouthCanterbury@genealogy.org.nz carolbel@es.co.nz