In a generation where most Australian’s live in extended families, quite often a lot of history that used to be passed down is lost. Well, the internet is helping to resolve this - bringing family history closer to home simply by the click of a mouse. To explain some easy steps to finding your own family tree, Heather Garnsey from the Society of Australian Genealogists joins us in the studio.
Thanks to the internet, the world of genealogy has undergone a tremendous amount of change over the past ten years. The quantity and quality of research material that's available online has grown dramatically. Almost all research is now done on the net to trace their family history and keep in contact with each other. The internet has made it easier to do the research - it's now faster, more affordable and you no longer need to travel to archive banks in order to pore over census records.
If you have an interest in genealogy, a wealth of information is at your fingertips, but while having so many resources available on the internet is great, you have to be careful to not overload yourself and so your interest in genealogy becomes a burden.
Heather says we are more likely to live in extended families and as such a lot of history that used to be passed down has been lost. Tracing your ancestry helps to create a sense of belonging Heather says researching your family is a more interactive activity these days. There are thousands of sites where you can swap information and collaborate on trees.
Heather Garnsey is the Executive Officer for the Society of Australian Genealogists (also known as SAG). She co-authored ‘Tracing your family history online for dummies’ on behalf of the Society of Australian Genealogists.
Top tips to tracing your family tree
- Start with yourself
- Stay organised
- Buy useful documents
- Research all avenues
- Check and double check
About the Society of Australian Genealogists (SAG)
- SAG was founded in Sydney 1932
- SAG helps thousands of Australians to trace their family history each year
- SAG maintains an extensive genealogy library at its Sydney library and regularly runs workshops around the country
- SAG is online at www.sag.org.au
- Heather is a Fellow and Diplomat of the Society, regularly lectures on genealogy both in Australia and overseas, and writes a monthly genealogy column for an Internet magazine
Steps to the dummies guide of finding your history online
Part 1 – Getting your act together
- You need to have a good foundation before starting your inline genealogical research
- This part explores the fundamental family information that you need to collect first, how to form a research plan, and how to start searching the internet for information about ancestors and geographic locations
Part 2 – Finding the elusive records
- Searching online for a specialised type of record or for information about ancestors in government records both here and overseas can be challenging even for the most skilled genealogist
- For this reason, Part 2 examines resources that are available online to help you find those elusive ancestors
Part 3 – Keeping your ancestors in line: Organising and presenting your finding
- What you do with the information that you find is just as important as finding it in the first place
- So, in this part, the book looks at how to store and organise your documents and photographs, as well as how to store research results in a genealogical database
- It shows methods on retrieving that information through reports that can help you with your future research
Part 4 – Share and share alike
- One of the most important aspects in genealogical research is using a co-ordinated effort to achieve success
- This part takes a look at what goes into this effort, including using all available online resources, cooperating with other researchers, coordinating groups and societies, and sharing the fruits of your research with the online community
Ten websites for genealogy beginners
For more information call 02 9247 3953 or visit www.fag.org.au.
Tracing your family history online for dummies
Available from all leading book shops for $39.95.
