Success when you search again!

For those who have been following me the name George Howard Busby will be very familiar!

He is my great-grandfather and was the reason I started researching my family history back in 1986 trying to answer a query from my Mother. 

There had been a family split and she had never known her grandfather and she wanted to see a photo of him . 

His funeral notice seen two hours after his funeral showed he had been living for the previous twelve months within 20km of the family.

I have written about him a number of times before: here, here and here as he was a very interesting person who seems to know I am looking for him. He drop hints and snippets of information here and there to keep the chase interesting.

I did manage to find a picture of George in the Queenslander. 

This was back in the days before we had our wonderful digitised papers on Trove.


It was thanks to the fantastic Library staff at the John Oxley library in Brisbane. They had indexed the photos of servicemen leaving for World War 1 in the Queenslander and had written them up on a card index. 

I had come across another photo of George in a group shot of the Queensland Ambulance transport Brigade but George was not able to be distinguished as he was standing in the shadows.


I have a Google alert for George and regularly run searches for him.


Luckily Busby is not that common a name so searching as Busby, GH Busby, Busby GH, Busby G, G Busby, George Busby isn't that difficult.
(Remember to search all variations of the name as names can show differently in lists,)

Today I struck pure gold as TWO images showed in a search.

15th Battalion 4th Brigade Military Band Ennogera Camp 1914

The image had the  names listed but not in any particular order. So I reviewed the image and picked this gentleman out as my George


In a newspaper report which mentioned that George was a drum-major in the 15th Battalion.


I was pretty happy about this and then looked at the second image.

This one is not as sharp but has a major advantage as the individual names had been written around the photo.

15th Battalion 4th Brigade Military Band Ennogera Camp 1914

 

So the next thing to do when I can get an afternoon off is to visit the John Oxley Library to see the originals and buy good copies.

These are both wonderful finds and prove the old adage of never giving up!

It is a shame that my Mother passed on last year and wasn't here to share in the joy of this discovery but I am sure she is observing from above. Maybe she has even had a chance to meet her Grandfather at last.

Snowing in Salt Lake City!

Well today there were snow showers in Salt Lake City.

Now before you all start laughing at me for being a bit excited, please remember I come from a sub-tropical climate and I don't ever see snow! So it was quite exciting to see it. This is about the right amount. Yes I know you hardened types routinely manage to deal with many feet of snow but I see it on Christmas cards and the TV!

Snow showers in Salt Lake City

Helen all rugged up!

The snow didn't stay around once the sun had come up.

We were on our way to RootsTech for the Blogger meet-up and show around the Exhibition Hall of over 100 exhibitors.

Association of Professional Genealogists Professional Management Conference

Today I had the pleasure of attending the second day of the Association of Professional Genealogists Professional Management Conference in Salt Lake City.

It was an excellent conference which was well run and a good range of topics.My problem was that I really wanted to split myself in two so I could attend both pf the afternoon streams.

In the morning session Judy G. Russell known to us all as "The Legal Genealogist" whose blog is one I would suggest everyone should read gave an interactive workshop titled "Order in the Court: Hands-on with legal Records". Even though these were all US records I found it extremely interesting as Judy brought the records and times to life. 

I definitely have to buy myself a copy of Black's Law Dictionary edition 1 or 2 being the best with anything prior to the 1930s still having all the old terms. Judy says that as the USA based their common law on the UK system as did Australia, New Zealand and the Commonwealth countries that the dictionary would be equally suitable for us to use to determine what is meant by those old terms.

Then a luncheon and networking session. I met Rosemary Morgan an online friend from Facebook and Twitter and it was lovely to meet her in person.

In the afternoon session I listened to Thomas MacEntee talk on Launching an Effective Marketing Campaign. This was a fascinating talk and very applicable both for me and for my other role as President of Southern Suburbs Branch of the Genealogical Society of Queensland. 

I think that listening to Thomas' presentation should be mandatory for any Genealogy Society committee as it gave such clear directions on how to launch an effective campaign and even more importantly how to monitor the effect of each of your advertising and promotion spots.

Then I heard Lisa Louise Cooke who I have long known for her Genealogy Gems podcasts. I have listened to her free podcasts for a number of years and am also been a Premium subscriber so I knew her presentation on Video Marketing: Killer You Tube Strategies would be entertaining and informative. It was indeed! 

Lisa showed how to set up a You Tube channel and inspired her audience. Video information is here to stay and is a great way of presenting information to people as it allows for a variety of learning styles.

Lisa Louise Cooke and Helen V. Smith

Then Jean Wilcox Hibben gave an informative presentation on "Organisation for Genealogy Speakers" Again and excellent talk for me as a speaker and also in my other role when we organise our monthly speakers. It is so much easier to clarify every point well in advance to prevent any issues arising!

All in all I was very pleased to be able to attend. The talks were all suitable for international members and I found everybody to be very friendly and helpful. I definitely hope to be able to attend further APG Professional management Conferences in the future. 

This year the organisers also organised live streaming of some sessions and this is an excellent idea for the international members and also Northern American member who are unable to attend. My attendance may only be virtually although I will try and get there in person from Australia.

Days 5 & 6 Unlock the Past Cruise

As we  remained in Noumea due to the electrical fault it was decided to switch the program around so Thursday became Friday as Friday was when we were meant to have a shore day in Fiji. Royal Caribbean has stated they will give a reduction in the cost of people's next cruise to make up for missing Fiji. (40% of the cost what was paid for the current cruise will be discounted from the next Royal Caribbean cruise).

Anyway the Friday program meant a free day with people needing to be back on board by 3.30pm ready for departure at 4pm. The talks started at four with Jill Ball speaking on the Flip Pal scanner. This is a neat scanner as it is about the size of a trade paperback book that has a reasonable depth of field that will allow you to scan coins, medals, photos behind glass (as long as it is not too deep), fabrics such as quilts and of course photos and documents. You are able to scan large documents by doing multiple scans and then using the stitching software to join the images together. Large newspaper pages, certificates, quilts are able to be scanned using this method. 

Jill also spoke on using Picassa for organising your photos.

Paul Milner spoke on Finding your Welsh Ancestors, which unfortunately I missed but luckily Paul has put a handout on his website. Paul has put handouts to all the presentations he is giving which is fantastic as he gives a very detailed presentation with lots of really good information. It would be a major shame to miss a key point because you were trying to scribble down notes.

The Unlock the Past website will have handouts from many of the presenters or links to the presenters' notes on their pages after the cruise (just allow a little time please before you chase us for our notes!)

Then onto dinner where I splurged and had lobster!

And yes, it was very nice thank you.








After dinner Paul gave us a talk on Irish Land Records. Paul's talks have been very good for reminding people that Irish research while different to English, Welsh and Scottish research is not impossible. Yes it is difficult and as Paul says you may spend more time determining what records survive for you to use in your research than you actually do, doing the research!

Then with our heads all a-spin with all the information Paul had given us we went off to bed.

Then we started the Thursday program Friday morning.  First up was a case of mistaken identity with Stephen Dando-Collins. It was an interesting talk. People forget that people went from the Australian colonies to the San Francisco gold rush as well as from America to t he Australian and New Zealand gold rushes.

Paul Milner then spoke on Finding your Ancestors in Ireland that ran very well off the talk from the night before, I am very pleased that he has provided some notes to act as memory joggers for his presentations. Just reading the notes will not give you all the information but will help you to recall the wonderful examples he gives during his presentations.

Then I gave my talk on Friendly Societies and their impact on our Ancestors. Depending on area around 50% of our ancestors were direct members or were family members of a Friendly Society. I had good feedback which is always good to hear.

After lunch Shauna Hicks gave her presentation on Behind Bars: convicts and criminals. I really wanted to hear this presentation but decided I would have more chance of hearing it in the future than  being able to hear Bob Velke show me how to customise reports in The Master Genealogist so I attended his presentation instead.

Jan Gow was also speaking at this time on Tracking Sibling's footprints in New Zealand . At times you really want to be able to clone yourself!

Then Alan Phillips showed a webinar given by Geoff Rasmussen on Digital Imaging Essentials. I have heard this before and have a copy of his Geoff;'s book so attended Diane Foster talking on "Preserve or Perish". Diane worked for many years in libraries and archives and has a strong involvement in preservation.It was good to her about the materials you can use and what happens if you don't to those precious records.

Bob Velke then gave his final workshop on customising charts and forms in The Mast Genealogist. I really need a few months now to go through everything he has shown me!

Louis Kessler helping someone with their research

I was not able to attend Geoff Doherty's presentation on 'The Disappearing Dunnes' but he is speaking at the Southern Suburbs Branch of the Genealogical Society of Queensland in April so I will be able to hear him present there (not totoally sure what he is presnting on but as Geoff is a Queenslander I should be able to catch up on the talk I missed.

Alan Phillips speaking with Natalya from Clean Cruising ensuring the smooth running of the cruise

Rosemary Kopittke gave a presentation on the Findmypast World collection. There is so much happening with the constant addition of new records. Findmypast are in the process of instituting a new search process for text in digital images and it looks good. I need to spend some time to see if I can find some of my missing people with the new searches.

There has been lots to absorb and people's head are feeling a bit full but there is always room for a bit more family history!

Paul then gave us the tour of English Probate Records and how to find the wills of our ancestors pre and post 1858. 1858 was the year that England introduced a national probate system. Prior to that the Church of England were responsible for the probating of wills. To find your ancestor's will you need to know the church court in which it was probated. The level of court depended on what jurisdiction your ancestor owned property. Was it proved in the local courts, the Bishops' court, Prerogative Court of York or Canterbury?

A number of county record offices have indexed their probate records and this has made it easier to find the wills. The Death Duty registers are also a great help in determining the court as a tax was paid but the court where the will was proved is listed in the index and you can then find the will.

We had a free evening as it had been kept spare to allow people to see the Ice Show on the ship.  This was well worth seeing. I have loved Ice dancing since the days of Torvill and Dean and their amazing dances at the Olympics and World titles.

The ship is pretty amazing and much care is taken to make it an experience for all aboard.

Aren't these an amazing use of watermelon? I am not artistic and have great admiration for anyone who is creative.

I am on level two which is just around the corner from the Conference Centre. It is very convenient! It is a nice room and the porthole, which from the outside on the shore looked quite tiny is actually quite large when you look out.

The ship is very large, how large, you don't appreciate until you see it in context.

It is amazing that although there are many people on board, around 3000 passengers and over 1000 staff , you don't feel crowded. What is even more amazing is how quiet it is. There is very good sound-proofing around the conference centre.

There are a number of quiet lounges around the ship. The one above is in the Champagne Bar where I was sitting last night drinking lemon lime and bitters with some friends talking about the cruise and the cruise in 2014 which is going around the southern capitals again on this ship and the proposed Baltic cruise leaving from Southampton in 2015.That is my holidays for the next two years sorted!

Then it was off to bed at 11.30pm so we could let the information we had been given settle into our brains and be assimilated so we could wake up and  be ready for another day of talks and more information.

Day Four Unlock the Past Cruise Noumea

We arrived in Noumea quite early and were greeted on the docks with some dancers and drummers. As it is a large ship we are berthed at the container terminal. It is a bit cloudy but a comfortable 25 degrees.

Noumea is a French island so signs are in French. 

There are also a lot of English spoken though it is nice to listen to the melodic tones of the French language.

Being a tropical island there are many bright colours and flowers.

These were quite a bright splash of colour in the gardens.


We saw a few older buildings such as this one which has been used as a prison and other things during its history.

                                                                         

Alona, Anthea, Rosemary and I wandered around the city centre for  while and I dragged them into an iStore to see the iPad mini. I am not sure about that as it looks a bit small for my needs but maybe.

Then walking back to the drop-off point there was a French patisserie and of course we had to at least drop in for a look-see!

Although we were good and didn't buy anything!
 .

Then an amble back to the pick-up point and a walk along a bit of the harbour front and a look at the ship towering above the containers on the other side of the container terminal. Even though the day was a bit gray the harbour did look nice. Although the below statue was a bit scary!

Then back on board ready for the afternoon talks.

Today was Shauna Hicks speaking on 'Finding your Ancestors in Church Records'. These are at the other records associated with a church rather than the standard baptism, marriage and burials. These include centenary celebrations, newspaper reports of church activities, church newsletters, Religious newspapers and so much more. There was a lot more church attendance among our ancestors than today so these are a neglected resource.

Jill Ball gave a presentation on A Genealogist's Toybox - gadgets and tech toys. The interesting thing of course is that pretty much any tech toy can be used for family history. It just takes some imagination.Tablets, cameras, digital recorders, laptops scanners, flip-pals are just a few of the nice things we can use.

Then there was the announcement that due to a problem with the electrics the ship would not be departing Noumea as scheduled but would be staying overnight. The means we miss Fiji but better to be safe. Doesn't really make a difference to me as it won't affect the conference except we changed the days around (made Thursday Friday) to allow for the extra day of sightseeing possible on Noumea.
 
Then dinner and back for  Paul Milner talking on Scottish Kirk Sessions and Poor Relief Records. The Scots were a pretty judgmental lot but this trait is great for family historians who can find out a huge amount of detail about the village life by reading the Kirk session records. You really want someone who is up before the session to add the life to your family history. I am not sure how effective it was at keeping people "behaving" as there seemed to be a lot of records relating to pre-nuptial fornication!



 

3rd Unlock the Past Cruise Tuesday continued

The weather today was sunny and a very nice 25 degrees Celcius. It was quite windy walking around the top of the ship as it is heading towards land at 35 kms/hour.

As mentioned in the last post Paul's talk on the Parish Chest was great. 

Next I attended Carol Baxter's very good presentation on Writing: Structuring a Family History. Carol is a very well known writer and a goo speaker who is able to inform and entertain at the same time. She has published a number of books lately Captain Thunderbolt and his Lady: the true story of bushrangers Frederick Ward and Mary Ann Bugg (2011), also Breaking the Bank: an extraordinary colonial robbery (2008) so is very well suited to talk about how to plan and write your family history.Unfortunately the writing style of many people is of the style a la Dog's Dinner rather than any planned structure. Depending on your particular research results you have a number of ways of presenting your data for example if you don't know a whole lot about the back generations but do know a lot about the current generations deal with it by using a structure shaped like a broom etc.

Carol has also written a book Writing Interesting Family Histories and will be talking more about this later in the cruise.

I did two session today with Bob Velke talking about citations and different ways of adding data. Having this stream has been valuable for me and there are another two sessions on Thursday (tomorrow is a shore day in Noumea).

I gave my talk on One Name studies, what they are and why people do them. There are six Guild of One Name Studies members on the cruise and there were a number of other interested people attending the presentation. After the talk I showed maps of surname distributions based on the 1881 census using the Surname Atlas. This will show the distribution down to Poor Law Union districts which is of course also the Civil Registration and Census districts. It is a good way to get a feel for how prevalent your surname is in 1881.

Tonight I'll be listening to Paul Milner talking on English Parish Registers: how to use, use and interpret which should be very interesting.

Buried Treasures of the Parish Chest on the 3rd Unlock the Past Cruise

Paul Milner speaking on 3rd Unlock the Past History and Genealogy Cruise

I loved this presentation. 

I have done some research in Parish Chest material and have had some great finds in Kent particularly with my Smith family who were removed from one parish to another ( I still haven't managed to find out why they were sent there as unfortunately the Settlement Examination has not survived. He was not born in that parish and was an agricultural labourer so unlikely to have gained settlement that way. Oh well maybe one day!)

Everybody knows about the baptism, marriage and burial registers held by the parish. Not that many are aware of the other treasures held in that strong, solid parish chest. They had to be strong and solid as after all they were the repository of the parish wealth.

Paul gave an excellent talk showing many document examples and how they related to each other.

Parishes were basically a kingdom within themselves looking after their own people for poor relief, maintaining the roads, the Church and it grounds, tithing to the Minister, collecting the taxes which were used to maintain the parish, doing the ballot for the militia and so much more.

Paul showed us some of the treasures he had found in the parish of Leeds in Kent relating to his family. I am sure he did the genealogy Happy Dance when he found these.

Documents evolve due to recording money collections and disbursements as there were responsibilities to the parish population to account for money collected and how it was spent.

We are very lucky when these survive. Unfortunately not all survive however as Paul showed so well there is not usually just one document relating to the event. For settlement you have your Settlement Certificate, perhaps a Settlement Examination if they could not produce a certificate, the Removal Order to send them back to their parish, maybe something at the Quarter Sessions if their parish is appealing the decision. 

For my Smith family there was also a document surviving which gave a grant of stay for a month as the wife was too ill to move (although they forced their parish to pay for their upkeep during that month!)

If you ever get a chance to hear Paul talk on this topic definitely go as you will learn so much and you will be excited and enthused to research Parish Chest material. I hope that Paul might be persuaded to write some books on this topic.

Paul is talking in Perth and Adelaide on this topic and others after the cruise. He is also speaking in Brisbane, Melbourne and Canberra on other topics. Paul's Tour dates and talks.

Paul is now slotted in as a must-hear speaker in my book.