A concise list of hints and tips

In no particular order...I hope you find these useful.

GETTING STARTED SERIES:
PICTOGRAPH http://barbs01.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/how-to-get-started-in-genealogy.html

STEP 1 - WHAT DO YOU KNOW? http://barbs01.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/what-do-you-know.html

A BIT ABOUT SOURCES http://barbs01.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/a-bit-about-sources-and-mistakes.html

WHAT COMPUTER PROGRAM TO USE  http://barbs01.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/get-with-program-sounds-easy-doesnt-it.html

OLD OCCUPATIONS  http://barbs01.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/old-occupations.html

FINDING BIRTH RECORDS  http://barbs01.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/finding-birth-records.html

SEARCHING FOR NAMES  http://barbs01.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/whats-in-name.html

AUST. CENSUS  http://barbs01.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/catch-that-aussie-census-taker.html

UK CENSUS http://barbs01.blogspot.com.au/2014/08/if-your-family-came-from-uk-you-hit.html

AUSTRALIAN IMMIGRATION RESOURCES -  http://barbs01.blogspot.com.au/2014/11/they-came-from-far-and-wide-to-australia.html

- http://barbs01.blogspot.com.au/2014/11/continuing-series-on-getting-started.html

IMMIGRANTS FROM IRELAND - http://barbs01.blogspot.com.au/2014/11/irish-immigrants-little-add-on.html

U.S. IMMIGRATION - http://barbs01.blogspot.com.au/2014/12/waving-at-statue-of-liberty.html

DEATH RECORDS - http://barbs01.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/tracking-down-dear-departed.html

AUSTRALIAN MILITARY RECORDS - http://barbs01.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/australian-military-records.html

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HOW TO OPEN A GOOGLE ACCOUNT & HOW TO SET A GOOGLE ALERT
http://barbs01.blogspot.com.au/2011/02/i-google-you-google-we-all-google.html

TIPS FOR USING ANCESTRY.COM

http://barbs01.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/i-have-only-1-month-left-of-my-ancestry.html

TIPS FOR USING NATIONAL ARCHIVES AUSTRALIA SITE

1. Firstly, book in a day every couple of months in your diary to re-do your searches, as information is being put up every day.
2. Secondly, don't be afraid to apply to have information put online or sent to you - the forms can be a bit intimidating and timelines seem long, but it is worth it.
3. Try searching with different spellings of names, for me Kernos was listed as Kirnos.
4. Even with the printed documents, the online can be really useful for blowing up handwriting and making it easier to see just what was written. 
5. You can save each page to your computer by - right mouse click - save as picture.
6. Pay attention to any handwritten clues in pencil - these may be vital clues, and are often written by Australian officials.
7. And lastly, tell or ask the family about it, some of these documents can contain very sensitive information, and it is best to let everyone know about it before you do your request.

GOOGLE SEARCHING

Click here

HOW TO GOOGLE ONE SITE ONLY FOR A NAME

Here is how you do it:

1. Copy the HOME PAGE url.  (for this one it is: http://www.epsomandewellhistoryexplorer.org.uk/)

             Note: you need  from the http up to the /

2. open a google search

3. type in the information you want (eg. Lafarre)

4. Space

5. Type in site: 6. Paste in the Url

So a search for the name Lafarre on the Epsom history site will look like this:

Lafarre site:http://www.epsomandewellhistoryexplorer.org.uk/ This will bring up any instances of Lafarre on that particular site only. 

HOW TO SEARCH FOR OLD PAGES OF INTERNET SITES, BOOKS AND MORE...  http://archive.org/index.php

This is a great site, it has the wayback machine, and over 4 million books digitised.

What is the wayback machine?  This can give you access to old versions of internet pages.

You can download books and search books for your ancestor.  I've only just begun to use this site, but I think it will end up being an important part of my research. 

You can also upload your own book to the site!

To use it, just search on the top left hand corner search box.

One function I love is Post it Notes that you can add to pages as you go through a book.

USING PINTEREST FOR RESEARCH

http://barbs01.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/how-i-use-pinterest-for-research.html

HOW TO SEARCH19TH CENTURY BRITISH NEWSPAPERS

Using the NSW State Library and the Gale collection, also includes how to save the whole newspaper.

http://barbs01.blogspot.com.au/2014/03/belfast-was-buzzin-in-1876.html

GREAT APP TO DOCUMENT GRAVESITES

 Billion Graves have a great I phone ap that allows you to take a photo of a gravesite, it will GPS it, and upload it to billiongraves.  You need to register on the website so that you can use the app

HOW TO PUT YOUR OWN BOOK ONLINEhttp://www.scribd.com/  is a fantastic site that allows you to put your own family history online.   I just uploaded the military history of the Clark and Heard extended families.  The great thing is you can revise the book and upload the latest version as you find more information etc.

A LIST OF RESOURSES FOR DATING PHOTOGRAPHS:



http://barbs01.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/some-resources-for-dating-photographs.html

http://barbs01.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/wedding-gowns-are-prettiest-of-all.html

HOW TO DELETE A PERSON FROM YOUR ANCESTRY TREE

On Ancestry:  Open your tree, then open the <list all people> view.  Go to the person you want to delete and click on the little person icon (sell below)

Then click on the pencil when the shortcut appears.

The <quick edit> box will appear, just click on the <Delete this person> in the bottom right hand corner and you will have deleted them.

HOW TO DELTE A PERSON IN LEGACY

In Legacy I go to the Index of names, find the person you want to delete, right click and hit delete. Easy!

HOW TO GET PHOTOS & PICTURES FROM THE NETT http://barbs01.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/snipit-snagit-copy-paste-or-save-it-may.html

RATABASTOR

Here is the ratbastor site - http://rasterbator.net/

Check out this blog, which has a project around ratabastor - ing! 

http://www.designscouting.com/2007/07/30/heres-a-quick-way-to-hang-art-in-your-home

SNAG IT

Its available here: http://www.techsmith.com/download/snagit/.  SnagIt has a lot of editing options so you can get something just right.  It also keeps things you have snagged in the editor for future use or to be worked on.

ROOTSCHAT FOR PHOTO RESTORATION

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/board,298.0.html  who will help you with restoration tips for old photos, called photo restoration and dating.  Read the instruction posts first to make it a lot easier.

CARING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS

 http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/recreation-heritage-and-culture/archives-and-history/surrey-history-centre/surrey-history-centre-conservation-section/caring-for-your-photographs. 

FINDING HISTORICAL ADDRESSES

I have a list for when you are trying to find an historical place, here it is:

1. Search google maps for the exact address - Use Snip It to get a photo!
2. Look for the local historical society and contact them.
3. Look for the local geneology society and contact them.
4. Search on facebook  for "town" history and see what groups you can find.
5. Check the local library for help.
6. Search google images for old photos of the street or town - you may find an old may here.

POSTING ON ANCESTRY FORUM
I posted on the Australian Ancestry, which I found a bit frustrating until I found a button on the bottom left :Change to flat view.  Use this to see all the comments on one page, much easier!

SEARCHING ON TOVE
To find A marriage, rosball (many thanks to this person) searched for
"fisher stanway"~4
(within 4 words).

HOW TO SEE INSIDE HOUSES

My Great Grandfather, Edmund Charles Clark, was a builder in Bendigo, and many of his houses still stand in Wattle Street Bendigo today.  I cannot go up and knock on all the doors however!  So I have a cute way of finding out just what those houses look like today.  I have a search in Google for "Wattle Street, Bendigo"  and it works a treat.  Every so often one of the homes goes up for sale or rent, and one of the real estate websites has pictures of both inside and outside.  These come up on my search and I get to see inside the homes that are still standing.

A TIP FOR A CEMETERY TRIP

don't forget your camera and a small spray bottle of water.  This will not hurt any gravestone, but will make it easier to see the writing for a photo when sprayed on.

SEARCHING GOOGLE BY DATES

A quick tip, when searching in google for a date range use ".." as the 'to'.  By this I mean, if I was looking for Joseph Clark from 1910 to 1956 it would look like this:

Joseph Clark 1910..1956

PEARLTREES -organise your 'favourites'

 Pearltrees is really a big favourites organiser - but a powerful one.  It allows you to organise every website you want visually.  I love it.  No more trawling through favourites, I just use pealtrees.  I organise my geneology sites by geography, plus a couple of other bits, called worldwide. 

To use this site, just sign up and then start adding sites, you will soon see they group together, and its quite easy to then start a new pearltree in your original pearltree.

But here is the great bit......you can steal other peoples pearls!  and it's OK!

Be sure to name your pearl trees something relevant - like genealogy or interior design.  Then go to the top left of the site and you will see "related interests"  click on this and you will find other trees with the same interest.  You can then just right click a pearl you are interested in, and "pick" it to put it into your pearltree.

Simple as that, you steal other peoples pearls.  Of course, they will steal yours too, its a great community.  I have even had people steal a whole tree full of my links.

Is a great way of organising websites, and sharing them with lots of people.

 PRESERVATION OF DOCUMENTS

Here is a good link I found which has some great tips on preserving your family information: http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/collections/family.html

 WHAT TO DO WITH PRINTED DOCUMENTS

• Go through your saved documents that you have not printed - print them all off and put into plastic sleeves in a folder - in order so you know who they are referring to.
• Take each one and highlight the information on it, check you have it recorded correctly.
• Do a bit of research on the interesting bits.
• Hope you enjoy it - and good luck

RULES I USE WHEN POSTING ON FORUMS:

Never give out identifying information such as your address, phone number, town, etc. in chat rooms, forums, forms or questionnaires.
Never agree to meet anyone in person that you have met online.
Never reply to any email, chat messages, or forum items that make you feel uncomfortable.
Never send personal information or pictures to anyone over the Internet that you do not know.
Never give your password to anyone.
Be aware that people may not be who they say they are. Someone who says she is a 10-year old girl may really be an older man.
Never click on links in emails from people you don't know.
Don't order anything or give anyone credit card information.

 

USING EXCEL FOR GENEALOGY

http://barbs01.blogspot.com.au/2015/11/some-advanced-excel-magic.html

http://barbs01.blogspot.com.au/2015/11/have-some-fun-with-excel.html

NEWSPAPERS

http://barbs01.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/where-are-all-newspapers.html

http://barbs01.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/free-e-book-getting-most-out-of-trove.html

 

MILITARY RECORDS

http://barbs01.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/australian-military-records.html

WHAT IS A SENIOR NEXT OF KIN?

For a definition: http://barbs01.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/the-coroners-court-hides-many-secrets.html