Genealogy – Getting Started

25 genealogy
25 genealogy

It's a fascinating subject and process to trace our ancestry. Here are a few helpful links and downloads which we hope will be of interest top get you started. Click here to go to our download page to get a PDF Ancestry Chart which you can use to map your family tree.

If you have other links and comments of interest, then please do contact us.

If you have a story of interest or wish to ask questions of other GrownUps members, please Discuss them.

Best wishes.

New Zealand | UK | Australia | USA

NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand Society of Genealogists Inc. www.genealogy.org.nz

Online Catalogue and Family Research Centre.

Getting started http://www.genealogy.org.nz/resources/researchnz.html

Newspapers

Many older newspapers were not published daily and thus it is not too difficult to search all issues for a three-month period to find a birth notice. Many will contain parent’s names or state the birth of a child (name) to the wife of Mr. (name) of (location) on date.

Many NZSG branches, local historical groups and local museums have indexed their local papers. Check you local NZSG branch for these indexes.

Public libraries often hold local newspapers on microfiche or film. Many Maori newspapers published between 1842 and 1932 can now be searched on line at the Maori Niupepa Collection.

The Alexander Turnbull Biographical Index should be checked. This is available in many public libraries.

Church Records

Check the Church, School and District History section of the NZSG library that will be available to NZSG members from March 2002.

Local church registers for many parts of NZ still exist and are available from the church, its archives or libraries and local branches of NZSG. They will give you dates and parent names and perhaps in some cases names of other family members.

Intentions to Marry

The intentions to marry have been indexed by the names of both bride and groom up to 1880, and later dates can be checked using the indexes at Archives NZ, Wellington. These records often hold more information than a marriage certificate.

School Records

The national NZSG School Records project is currently underway. These records often provide birth dates, parent or guardian name, last day at school and destination if the student was moving to a new location. Brothers and sisters are often in the same school roll, perhaps in sequential entries if they all enrolled together. The beginning of this index, up to 1940, is now on the NZSG Index. The next issue will have significantly improved coverage, around 3500 schools. This index is available only to NZSG members and observes a 60 year closure rule on availability of records.

Check with the local NZSG branch to see if they have indexed the records for the area that is being researched.

Perhaps you may find your nearest archives, library or school still retains copies of school rolls and will allow you to search them.

NZ probates

Most NZ probates have been indexed. The indexes are available on the NZSG Index, some portions on microfiche, and in hardcopy form in many Archives NZ regional offices. The index identifies the date of the probate of the wills in New Zealand courts and are held by Archives New Zealand. Not all probate index records contain a death date, but often the will or other supporting documentation obtainable from Archives New Zealand will reveal more about the deceased person. You will be able to identify the full name, place of death, occupation, death date (if recorded), court, the probate number (to allow the documents to be found), the filed date (usually shortly after the death date), type (whether there is a will or the person died intestate), and where the documents can be viewed.

Electoral Rolls

These often show all family members of voting age at an address. Search forward and backwards to other years once you have found your family.

The 1893 electoral roll. This was the first opportunity for women to vote and a very high percentage did. Their names, residence and occupation (for example "wife") are also shown. This index is on the NZSG Index.

Become a member: http://www.genealogy.org.nz/about/join.html

Special interest Groups within NZ: http://www.genealogy.org.nz/sig/index.html

Includes Australia, Channel Islands, Cornish, East Anglia, East India, European, Greater London, Irish, Hugenot, Isle of Man, Maori, Midlands/Northwest England, North America, North East England, Pacific islands, Scottish, Southern England, Welsh

Brides and Grooms Index: http://www.genealogy.org.nz/services/match.html

NZSG has a matching brides and grooms index. Once you know the Folio (reference) number and year for the marriage you will be able to find the marriage partner's name without needing to search hundreds of microfiche frames. Knowing both partners' names also makes other records easier to search eg, probates, burials, and electoral rolls. This, in turn, will identify more family information.

NZSG Look Up index http://www.genealogy.org.nz/services/CD%20Rom/cdrom_nzsgindex.html

Pre 1856 NZ Marriage Records Collection Service http://www.genealogy.org.nz/services/pre1855m.html

This is a collection of over 90,000 surnames taken from the pedigree charts that members have sent in. Every surname on the chart is entered into a computer index. Surnames may be cross-referenced to pedigrees of other members.

Pedigree Collection http://www.genealogy.org.nz/services/pedigree.html

NZ First Families Service http://www.genealogy.org.nz/services/First%20Families/nzsgfamilies.html

NZSG Library http://www.genealogy.org.nz/library/index.html

Passenger Ship lists http://www.genealogy.org.nz/services/passship.html

There is an incomplete alphabetical list of ships that arrived in New Zealand. It does not include details of every passenger arrival to New Zealand. Copies of passenger lists for some ships are held.

You can seek information on the arrival of passengers or ships. You might not receive the exact information you are seeking unless a passenger list is held. In many instances the response to your request will be advice or suggestions on where you might be able to find the information you are seeking.

Before using this service, try to define the arrival date and place from the following sources:

  • Oral tradition – family stories, diaries, bibles, letters, etc
  • First New Zealand event – date of first birth, marriage or death,
  • First new evidence of enrolment at school, membership of an organisation, electoral roll registration, or similar
  • New Zealand death certificate entry – "How long in NZ?"
  • New Zealand "Intention to Marry" entry – "Length of residence"
  • Obituaries in newspapers
  • Headstone inscriptions
  • Location of first known NZ residence
  • Mini biographies in Cyclopaedia of New Zealand
  • Name of ship – was a child named after the vessel?
  • Archives New Zealand Offices: www.archives.govt.nz, www.archway.archives.govt.nz

Has Family History – A research reference guide PDF file, with information on what marriages, divorces, births have been recorded and where one might find information on them.

Provides information on Births, Deaths, Marriages, Civil Unions and includes a Family History Records section. In the Family History Records section you can request something (e.g. a birth certificate) and receive it for a fee.

Other useful links

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UK

  • Society of Genealogists – Family History Library and Education Centre (UK) www.sog.org.uk

    Have their own physical library as well as an on-line library catalogue (SOGCAT)

    They also have updates on UK events, lectures and news

  • FamilyRecords.gov.uk (UK) records www.familyrecords.gov.uk

    Has a list of topics (census, births etc) and links to where you can search for them.

    They provide a few guides for genealogists (such as Beginners’ Guide and Internet Guide)

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AUSTRALIA

Australasian Association of Genealogists and Record Agents www.aagra.asn.au

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US

  • Cyndi’s List (US) www.cyndislist.com

    Provides 262,500 + links for family history

    A categorized and cross-referenced index to genealogical resources on the Interne

  • Ancestry.com (US) www.ancestry.com

    The World’s largest online collection of U.S. immigration records

    Search engine for birth, marriage, death, census records and more.

    Provides a start your family tree section, which takes you through the steps to a personalised family diagram, starting with one name and leading on from there.

    Alternatively you can search a particular family tree.

    The Ancestry Community section allows members to share research and ideas with other Ancestry members. You can create your own profile and search for other members with similar interests to yours.

    The learning centre provides helpful information and interesting facts about your family name, as well as articles with advice for genealogists.

    They also have a Research Calendar that gives you an account of every record source you have searched, Research extract which summarizes information which may be time-consuming or difficult to reread quickly, Family Group Sheet which enables you to compile complete, correct and connect families and Source Summary, which provides quick reference to information and sources you have found for a particular family.

  • FamilyTree.com (US) www.familytree.com

    Provides direct links to ancestry.com to use their ancestral chart, research calendar, research extract, family group sheet etc.

    Doesn’t have much of its own content, mostly uses content from other sites.

  • About: Genealogy (US) www.genealogy.about.com

    Covers a whole range of topics, includes a genealogy section under the family life heading.

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