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Genealogy Resources on the Web

By Glenda: First published in Online Currents – Vol.19 Issue 5 & 7, June & September 2004

1. General Resources

The more technological our society becomes, the more people seem to be interested in linking with the past.  One of the most personal ways to do this is by researching one’s own family.  There are vast family history resources available in print, microfiche and CD-ROM formats, with a smaller but rapidly growing number on the Internet.  These provide from-home access to international tools for genealogical researchers.

The basic rules of genealogical research are:

  •  Start with yourself and work backwards to parents, grandparents and others.  Find out as much as you can from living relatives.
  •  Start with verified facts.  Be wary of following leads of doubtful quality.  Primary sources (original documents) are likely to be more reliable than secondary sources, such as indexes, where the original information has been transcribed.  (On the other hand, I am amazed at the number of incorrect original documents, caused by parent forgetfulness when filling in forms  – e.g. `Is Mary-Jane my 12th or 13th child?’ – and deliberate misrepresentation).
  • Always write down sources of information so you can go back and check facts if necessary.  Write important details clearly – e.g. `Newcastle, New South Wales’ not `Newc.’ Keep a record of steps that you tried and failed, so you don’t repeat negative searches.

After talking to relatives, research can take the following steps:

  • Start with your local library (or State library).  Use the specialised local expertise and the selected resources which are likely to be useful for a beginner.  Some libraries and government organisations have publications describing their resources and offering suggestions for their use.  For example, Penrith Library has published a small book called `Researching your family tree at Penrith City Library’ (Penrith City Council, 1986), which starts with the basic rules of genealogy which have been adapted above, then lists library resources under specific categories (e.g. land grants, shipwrecks, cemeteries) and also provides contact details for other relevant organisations, and lists of resources in other Western Sydney libraries.
  •  Join a group of fellow searchers, and share hints and tips.  There are state-wide, nation-wide and local genealogy groups.
  • Use the Internet for its wealth of information and communication options (e.g. there are 28,000 genealogical mailing lists).  If you do start your search on the Web, there are some sites that offer good guidance for genealogy research in general, and notes on use of their own site in particular.  Internet resources range from general genealogical and archival sites, to sites focusing on specific groups of people (e.g. medical pioneers; indigenous Australians; soldiers) and specific types of information (e.g. DNA records; `stray’ findings that don’t seem to fit).  Many of the resources are indexes or pointers to information only, so you may have to go elsewhere to retrieve the original documents.

Societies/Support Groups
There are a number of national and state-based genealogy and family history organisations in Australia, as well as many local groups.  The Penrith area alone has four historical societies! These organisations often have extensive collections of records on microfiche and CD-ROM, as well as a number of books.  Many also publish newsletters and periodicals and offer courses in family history research (usually face to face).

National Organisations

The New Zealand Society of Genealogists Inc (http://www.genealogy.org.nz ) provides news, an introduction to genealogy, services (e.g. research and overseas cheques) and access to the NZSG library catalogue.  It also offers forms and charts, including a family group sheet and pedigree chart for free download for personal use.

The Society of Australian Genealogists (http://www.sag.org.au/index.htm ) is based in NSW.  Its Web site includes services (e.g. research and overseas cheques), Australian and overseas sources (guidance and links), access to the library catalogue and sales of books, microfiche, software and CD-ROMs.  It has a guide to civil registration sources (http://www.sag.org.au/ozsources/civil.htm ) and details on electoral rolls and Sydney Street Names from 1903 to 1984 (http://www.sag.org.au/ozsources/electsyd.htm).

The Australian Institute of Genealogical Studies Inc (http://www.aigs.org.au ) is based in Blackburn, Victoria.  It has an extensive library and a quarterly journal called The Genealogist.

The Australasian Federation of Family History Organisations (http://www.affho.org ) is the umbrella organisation for family history societies in the region.  It campaigned successfully for the retention of the 2001 Census data on microfilm (which would otherwise have been destroyed after data was extracted) and is currently campaigning for retention of 2006 Census data; no government decision has yet been made on this.  AFFHO also has a `Strays Clearing House and National Strays Index’ Web page, which records information about strays – i.e. `individuals found away from their place of birth or residence’.  The thinking is that, if you record information about people who are found where they are not expected to be, this could help people who are unable to find records where they expect them.

State-based Organisations
State-based organisations include:

  • WA: Western Australian Genealogical Society (http://www.wags.org.au ).  Volunteers from societies such as WAGS contribute many hours to indexing projects.  Diane Jarvie, from the Rockingham Branch of WAGS, described the establishment of a project for the indexing of school records in an article titled `Is there an easy way to embark on an indexing project?’ [the answer appears to be `NO’] in the Australian Society of Indexers Newsletter v.22 n.4 May 1998.
  • Vic: Genealogical Society of Victoria Inc (http://www.gsv.org.au ).  The GSV has extensive Australasian and British collections and many records from other countries.  They publish a quarterly journal called Ancestor.
  • ACT: Heraldry and Genealogy Society of Canberra (http://www.hagsoc.org.au )
  • Tas: Tasmanian Family History Society (http://www.tasfhs.org)
  • Qld: Queensland Family History Society (http://www.qfhs.org.au )
  • NT: Genealogical Society of the Northern Territory (http://www.octa4.net.au/genient )
  • SA: South Australian Genealogy and Heraldry Society (http://www.saghs.org.au )

There are also `Dead Persons Societies’ (DPS) in several states.  These provide support to genealogists using the Internet and computers in their research.  The most active are in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, although others have Web sites.

The Sydney DPS `is an informal self-help group of amateur family historians and genealogists who use (or are thinking of using) the Internet.  The members are engaged in swapping indexes and genealogical resources and learning how to access and retrieve genealogical information by computer’ (http://members.ozemail.com.au/~johngrah/dps.html ).

The Dead Persons Society Melbourne (http://home.vicnet.net.au/~dpsoc/welcome.htm ) provides information about Victorian databases.

I get the feeling the DPS societies take themselves less seriously than some of the other societies.  This Web site has an animated graphic of three dancing skeletons in pink top hats and a quote from George Bernard Shaw: `If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance’.

Figure 1: Home Page of the Melbourne Dead Persons’ Society Volunteers from societies such as WAGS contribute many hours to indexing projects.

 

There are also `Dead Persons Societies’

The Sydney DPS `is an informal self-help group of amateur family historians and genealogists who use (or are thinking of using) the Internet. http://members.ozemail.com.au/~johngrah/dps.html ).

The Dead Persons Society Melbourne (http://home.vicnet.net.au/~dpsoc/welcome.htm ) provides information about Victorian databases.

I get the feeling the DPS societies take themselves less seriously than some of the other societies.

Figure 1: Home Page of the Melbourne Dead Persons’

Other Dead Persons Society Web sites are:

Professional Organisations
You can find professional genealogists through sites such as the Australasian Association of Genealogists and Record Agents (http://www.aagra.asn.au ) and GenealogyPro (http://genealogypro.com/directories/Australia.html ).

Online Genealogy Courses
Cathy Dunn offers the Internet Family History Association of Australia genealogy course on the NSW South Coast (http://www.shoalhaven.net.au/~cathyd/austmenu.html ).  The Web page says a new course is being developed, but details are not yet available.

Genealogy.com provides a free online course in `Internet Genealogy’ at Beginning and Intermediate levels (http://www.genealogy.com/uni-internet.html ).  Topics include `Conducting an oral history’, `GEDCOM mysteries revealed’ and `Genealogy files online’.

Genealogy.com also hosts an article titled `Genealogical education: online and home study courses’ (http://www.genealogy.com/genealogy/57_kathy.html ), which lists various courses, including formal university certificates.  The `Genealogy Web Site Watchdog’ warns readers about online courses of poor quality.

Newsgroups and Mailing Lists
There are 20 newsgroups for genealogy listed at Google Groups under `soc.genealogy’ (http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&group=soc.genealogy ) including soc.genealogy.australia+nz, soc.genealogy.slavic and soc.genealogy.computing.

RootsWeb has an indexed list of more than 28,000 mailing lists for genealogy http://lists.rootsweb.com .

Figure 2: The Home Page of RootsWeb.com

Archives Offices
The Archives of Australia Gateway (http://www.archivenet.gov.au ) lists national, State and Territory archives and archive organisations.

National Archives
The National Archives is the archives of the Commonwealth government, and therefore contains a small number of records from the colonial period and a much larger collection from the twentieth century (after Federation in 1901).  The States hold most of the colonial records, and modern records to do with State government functions, such as recording births, deaths, and marriages.

The National Archives Web site provides an introductory page for family history research, as well as a list of family history events run by government agencies or community organisations throughout Australia (http://www.naa.gov.au/the_collection/family_history.html ).  They also recommend purchase of their publication `Finding Families: the guide to the National Archives of Australia for genealogists’, which can be purchased online for $34.95 (go tohttp://shop.naa.gov.au and search for `Families’ – searching for `Finding Families’ failed to retrieve the book when I tried on 24/3/04 and 14/04/04).

State Records (NSW)
The State Records Authority (http://www.records.nsw.gov.au ) is the NSW government’s archives and records management authority.  Its Web site describes the content of the State archives and provides general advice on tracing your family history (http://www.records.nsw.gov.au/publications/aibs/007/page01.htm), as well as search access to online indexes of the archives.

It is possible to do a quick search of census, convict, court, gaol, immigrant and naturalisation records, or to do specific searches in indexes including:

  • 1841 Census
  • Assisted immigrants, 1839-96
  • Bench of Magistrates cases, 1788-1825
  • Gaol photographs
  • Land records
  • Shipping
  • Randwick Asylum for Destitute Children.

Archives Investigator (http://investigator.records.nsw.gov.au/SearchTips/Info.htm) is a tool used by State Records to assist access to archival records.  It provides information about which records are in the archives, and the context in which the records were created and used.  The search tips on the Archives Investigator also provide excellent background information on archives and records, including definitions and examples of concepts such as `Ministry’ and `Portfolio’ (e.g. `Greiner/Murray Ministry I, 1988-1991′ and `The Arts’ respectively).

UK – Public Record Office
In the UK, the Public Record Office (PRO) and the Historical Manuscripts Commission (HMC) have been joined together as The National Archives, with a gateway site athttp://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk .  The gateway links to the National Archives (PRO), and the National Archives (HMC).

The Public Record Office hosts the 1901 Census of the British Isles.  The Web page, at http://www.pro.gov.uk/online/census.htm , provides an overview and a link to the census site itself, athttp://www.census.pro.gov.uk .  The census went online in 2002 and immediately crashed due to the number of people trying to search it.  The initial problems appear to have been fixed.

Births, Deaths and Marriages
Births, deaths and marriages records are one of the fundamental sources of information for identifying genealogical facts.  Records are kept by individual states and territories, although ACT records before 1930 are held by NSW.  Some states have searchable records online, while most take requests for certificates and include some searching in the fee for the certificate.

The New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs (http://www.bdm.govt.nz ) holds information about New Zealand births, deaths, and marriages from 1848.  The records are being computerised but are not yet available online.  The site also provides an 8-page PDF document called `Family Record Research’ (1997) for free download (http://www.bdm.govt.nz/pubforms.nsf/URL/Family.pdf.PDF/$file/Family.pdf.PDF).

In NSW (http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au ) civil registration began in 1856; however, the registry has records dating back to 1788, including some church records.  Information on births up to 1905 and deaths and marriages up to 1945 can be searched online.  Select the `Family History’ link at the left of the home page and follow the instructions for searching.

Queensland State Archives (http://www.archives.qld.gov.au/resserv/bdm.html ) keeps records from 1829-1889 (an index is available in the archives reading room) while the Queensland Department of Justice and Attorney-General (http://www.justice.qld.gov.au/bdm/research.htm ) keeps records from 1890.

In Victoria, the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages database records births from 1853 to 1924, marriages from 1853 to 1942, and deaths from 1853 to 1985.  There are also records of church baptisms, marriages and burials from 1836 to 1853.  The Registrar has recently moved from the Department of Justice to the Department for Victorian Communities, although it still seems to be on the Justice Web site (select `Register of Births, Deaths and Marriages’ at http://online.justice.vic.gov.au ).  The emphasis is commercial – the site is called the `Births Deaths and Marriages Online Shop’.  After searching you can:

  • Purchase and download an uncertified image of a record to your own printer or computer (not suitable for legal purposes)
  • Apply online for a certified certificate
  • Apply by mail or in person for a certified certificate by downloading an application form.

The Northern Territory Attorney-General’s Department (http://www.ntag.nt.gov.au/justice/ntag/bdm/bdm.htm ) keeps records from 1870, and the ACT Registrar, BDM (http://www.rgo.act.gov.au ), keeps records of events occurring in the ACT since 1930 (earlier records are held in NSW).  The WA Department of Justice (http://www.justice.wa.gov.au ) has records from 1841 and the Tasmanian Department of Justice and Industrial Relations (http://www.justice.tas.gov.au/bdm ) has civil records from 1839, and some copies of church records from before 1839.

The South Australian Office of Consumer and Business Affairs Births, Deaths & Marriages site (http://www.ocba.sa.gov.au/bdm/ ) allows online application for records from 1842.  Access and Proof of Identity policies have to be followed in applying for certificates.

Probate records, census records and cemetery transcriptions are other good basic sources of information.

General Information and Links Sites
RootsWeb
RootsWeb (http://www.rootsweb.com ) is a free site supported by Ancestry.com (which provides paid services).  It provides a range of information and links, including:

  • a list of 28,000 mailing lists on topics, surnames, and places
  • a list of abbreviations athttp://www.rootsweb.com/~rigenweb/abbrev.html
  • the RootsWeb Surname List (http://rsl.rootsweb.com ), where you can search for all details on one surname, and submit your own research.
  • three free genealogy newsletters: RootsWeb Review (news about the site); RootsWeb Product Watch Review (product updates) and Ancestry Daily News (daily column on family history practices and events)

Cyndi’s List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet
Cyndi’s List (http://www.cyndislist.com ) is a well-organised portal to over 100,000 sites.  Access points include a box for searching the site, and another for searching Ancestry.com, as well as 5 indexes – the main index, topical index, alphabetical index, `no frills’ index and text-only index.  The home page proudly notes: `Fellow genealogists have used this main index page 37071126 times since March 4, 1996!’

The topical (category) index includes localities, ethnic groups, immigration, religions, records, research tools, military and occupations (http://www.cyndislist.com/topical.htm ).  The localities index leads directly to some countries (e.g. Canada and its individual provinces) and refers the user to a broader term for others (e.g. `American Samoa – See: Territories & Possessions (U.S.)’.  It also includes groupings that are not countries (e.g. `Bessarabia – See: Germans from Russia’).

Other broad-ranging sites include Genuki (http://www.genuki.org.uk ), which provides hints on researching UK and Irish genealogy from abroad, as well as a FAQ list, events list, and newsletter, and Genealogy Home Page, which is similar to Cyndi’s List, but smaller (http://www.genhomepage.com ).

Judy Webster
Judy Webster’s Genealogy Advice for Australia, especially Queensland (http://www.judywebster.com.au ) is a source of `advice, indexes and services for family history research’.  The indexes are mainly for Queensland State Archives records, especially `unusual and neglected sources that are valuable for problem solving.’ For example, mental asylum records are useful for finding people who `vanished’.  Judy Webster has published a book `Specialist Indexes in Australia: a genealogist’s guide’ (1998).  It is out-of-print, but she can provide a photocopy for $28.

Genealogy Resources Center
The Genealogy resources center (http://www.xroyvision.com.au/genlinks/australia.htm ) has a large collection of links to Australian genealogy Web sites, including a number of local history groups.

Databases/Searching
FamilySearch.org (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the Mormon church) has established a huge online genealogical database, as identification of ancestors is important to their religion.  Their site (http://www.familysearch.org ) provides an introduction to family history research, and free search of their records (http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/frameset_search.asp ) with step-by-step guidance on the way.  It also provides maps, forms, guides and other research aids.  In addition to the online service, the LDS church provides physical libraries around the world.

To search you need a first and last name, and you can use drop-down boxes for events such as births, for years, and for countries of origin.  A successful search returns a pedigree chart as far back as there are records in the database.

Family History Online: Pay-Per-View Databases for England and Wales
Family History Online publishes records compiled by Family History Societies and makes them enealogical Data Communications Standard
GEDCOM (Genealogical Data Communications) is a universal standard developed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for transmitting genealogical data between researchers.  Nearly all genealogy products support GEDCOM, although there are some differences in the way the data is handled, and many programs track more data than can be stored in a GEDCOM file.  Most programs therefore also support the data formats of their competitors.  The Sydney Dead Persons Society (http://members.ozemail.com.au/~johngrah/dps.html#Downs ) links to a Word document explaining the workings of GEDCOM.

GEDCOM is important in large-scale online data collections to which people contribute information and from which they download information that others have contributed.  These include:

Part 1 of this series has provided an overview of general genealogy information on the Internet.  Most of these sites link to many other sites.  There is no shortage of information – the challenge is choosing the best sources for the question at hand.

Part 2 of this series will cover special issues: Indigenous families, convicts, non-British ancestors, war records, adoptions, and DNA testing and recording services.

Web sites discussed in this article were accessed on April 14, 2004.

2. Special Issues

Part 1 of this series covered general genealogical information on the Web.  This part looks at some special issues: indigenous families, convicts, non-British ancestors, war records, adoptions, female ancestors, and DNA testing and recording services.

Winanga li (`to remember’)(1): Records About Indigenous Australians
The National Archives of Australia contains records on Indigenous Australians from 1968 (when the Constitution was amended to pass the power to legislate for Aboriginal people from the States to the Commonwealth).  The Archives also provides online information on the `Bringing Them Home’ project, the Memorandum of Understanding with NT aboriginal people, and the Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Royal Commission (http://www.naa.gov.au/the_collection/indigenous_records.html ).

ATSIC provides a Link-up service to help Aboriginal people from the Stolen Generations find family members separated from them by government policies (http://www.atsic.gov.au/issues/law_and_justice/bringing_them_home_report/task_force/about_linkup.asp).  The Link-up service is complemented by a service from the Family History unit at the AIATSIS (Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies) library (http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/lbry/fmly_hstry/fmly_hstry_lbry.htm).  This library and its catalogue (http://mura.aiatsis.gov.au ) were discussed by Barbara Lewinkamp  in the June 2004 issue of Online Currents.  The AIATSIS site also provides links to other Web sites with information on Indigenous Australians (http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/lbry/fmly_hstry/fmly_hstry_links.htm).

The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission’s report on the Stolen Generations `Bringing them Home: Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families’ (1997) is available from the AustLII site (http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/special/rsjproject/rsjlibrary/hreoc/stolen).

State Records NSW provides `A Guide to New South Wales State Archives relating to Aboriginal People’ (http://www.records.nsw.gov.au/publications/aboriginalguide/aboriginalguidetoc.htm) which includes information on where to look at the relevant records, and how to gain access to records from the Aborigines Welfare Board, Aboriginal Lands Trust and Department of Community Services records.  The list includes the following archives of the Aborigines Welfare Board:

  • Minute books, 1890-1901, 1905-1906, 1911-69
  • Card index to Aborigines Welfare Board correspondence, 1950-1969
  • Ward registers, 1916-28
  • Stations reports and returns, 1942-1948

State Records of South Australia (http://www.archives.sa.gov.au/aboriginal ) has an Aboriginal Services page with information on Aboriginal history, access to records, and the Aboriginal Name Index (searches are only available via the Aboriginal Access Team).  It complements information held in the Norman B. Tindale archives managed by the Museum of South Australia (http://www.samuseum.sa.gov.au/tindale/HDMS/Tindale.htm ).

The Battye Library (http://web.liswa.wa.gov.au/waaborrec.html ) and State Records Office (http://www.sro.wa.gov.au/community/aboriginalhistory.html ) in Western Australia have extensive records of Aboriginal people.  Similar records are held in other states.

Cathy Dunn operates a mailing list on the topic of aboriginal history called AUS-KOORI (http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/intl/AUS/AUS-KOORI.html )

Other Indigenous Australian sites include:

Maori Records
The New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs (http://www.bdm.govt.nz ) holds information about New Zealand births, deaths, and marriages from 1848.  The records are being computerised but are not yet available online.  The site also provides an 8-page PDF document called `Family Record Research’ for free (but very slow) download (http://www.bdm.govt.nz/pubforms.nsf/URL/Family.pdf.PDF/$file/Family.pdf.PDF).  Separate Maori registers of births, deaths, and marriages were kept from 1911-1961. These are available on microfiche for NZ $150.

Convicts
Many of the standard research procedures can be used to trace convict ancestors.  There are also a number of Web pages that offer specific assistance.

Figure 1: Convict Central

Non-British Ancestors
The National Archives of Australia holds information on immigrants from 1924 (http://www.aa.gov.au/The_Collection/Family_History/immigrants.html) including:

  • passenger lists
  • citizenship and naturalization records
  • migrant selection documents
  • migrant case files
  • migrant accommodation records

The main page links to fact sheets and to the catalogue, Record Search (http://www.aa.gov.au/The_Collection/recordsearch.html ), from which you can search the collection and view and order some documents.

For earlier records you usually have to look at the archives of the different states, and each state has between 10 and 15 indexes covering arrival schemes to attract different categories of applicants.  `Assisted’ migrants left a paper trail so can be easier to trace than those who paid their own way.  Note that immigrant arrivals may have been recorded at an intermediate port (e.g. Fremantle) rather than at their final destination.

Cyndi’s List also has links for shipping information and passenger lists athttp://www.cyndislist.com/austnz.htm#Ships andhttp://www.cyndislist.com/newzealand.htm#Ships (a new page specifically for New Zealand).

Cora Num’s site (http://www.coraweb.com.au ) lists many resources, including  Graham Jaunay’s Online Sourcing of Australasian Passenger Lists (http://www.users.on.net/~proformat/auspass.html ); this provides contact details of people who hold paper copies of passenger lists, which they may consult or photocopy on behalf of others.

Genseek Genealogy links to ship lists, emigration schemes and passenger lists (http://www.hotkey.net.au/~jwilliams4 ).

The National Maritime Museum has ships’ names and pictures athttp://www.anmm.gov.au .

Once you have identified the arrival of an ancestor from overseas you may wish to do research in their country of origin.  The National Archives of Australia Fact Sheet 193 lists Web sites for many national archives institutions (http://www.naa.gov.au/publications/fact_sheets/fs193.html ), as does the Web site of the International Council on Archives (http://www.ica.org ; search the Membership List by country).  Portal sites, such as Cyndi’s List (http://www.cyndislist.com ), note genealogical resources in many countries, and the RootsWeb list of mailing lists (http://lists.rootsweb.com ) includes place-based lists for 147 countries, including Vatican City State, Venezuela and the Virgin Islands.

War Records
Defence Services records from colonial times to World War II are described by the National Archives athttp://www.aa.gov.au/the_collection/family_history/armed_services.html.  Searches can be based on location of the record, dates, keywords (a thesaurus is used) and reference numbers.  Records from after World War II are often held by the Department of Defence and case files are held by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA).

The Australian War Memorial’s Family History home page links to resources on the site that could be useful for tracking individual family members (http://www.awm.gov.au/research/family.htm ).  The biographical databases (http://www.awm.gov.au/database/biographical.asp ) include Roll of Honour (Australians who died on active service), Nominal Rolls (Australians who served – some are hosted on the DVA Web site), Honours and Awards, and Prisoners of War.  The World War II Nominal Roll (http://www.ww2roll.gov.au ) is provided by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) and can be searched by name, service number, honours or place.

You can also search for war memorial photographs, film, and private records at http://cas.awm.gov.au .  These start with New Zealand in 1860 and the Sudan in 1885, and go to East Timor in 1999 and Iraq in 2003.  Cyndi’s list notes many other war-related Web sites, many of them quite specific, including the Australian Service Nurses National Memorial (http://members.optushome.com.au/lenorefrost/nurses.html ), which lists nurses who have died in war since the Boer War, and War Memorials in Australia (http://www.skp.com.au/memorials ).

Figure 2: War Memorials in Australia

Adoptees
Much information about adoptees’ families can be obtained through government agencies and standard genealogical resources.  Difficulties may be experienced due to legal limits on information provision and inadequate recordkeeping, particularly with transracial adoptions.  There are, however, many Web sites with advice on seeking birth families as well as general information on adoption.

Official paperwork and information can be obtained from government agencies.  For instance, the Adoption and Family Information Service of South Australia (http://www.adoptions.sa.gov.au ) provides information in 19 languages, including Persian, Kurdish and Korean, while in NSW adoptees over 18 can apply for information about their birth parents through the Department of Community Services (http://www.community.nsw.gov.au/html/adoption/adoption.htm).

Two Web sites with a range of links are: the international Adoptee Searcher’s Handbook, which includes Australian and New Zealand links to sites about child migration, British Home Children and the NSW Adoption Act (http://www.ouareau.com/adoptee/foreign.htm ); and Adoptions Australia Origins Inc (http://www.angelfire.com/or/originsnsw ), which provides links to practical information and discussions on issues surrounding adoption.

The Benevolent Society Post Adoption Resource Centre has information on `Search and Reunion’ for adoptees.  This contains advice on transracial intercountry adoptions from orphanages and other institutions where research is difficult (http://www.bensoc.asn.au/parc_search/transracial_searchandreunion.html).  Intercountry adoptees are advised to seek information through the agency which organised their adoption or through a specialist intercountry adoption organisation.

There are also sites at which you can post queries about missing family members; these include the Armchair Web Detective (http://members2.boardhost.com/armchair ) and the Genealogy.com Adoption Forum (http://genforum.genealogy.com/adoption ).

Women
One special group I hadn’t considered when I started this article was women, but I discovered there are difficulties in researching female ancestors that are not encountered so much in searches for male ancestors.  Lenore Frost writes on her Australian Women’s History page: `Trying to discover information about our Australian women ancestors is a difficult task.  They were seldom listed in Post Office Directories, they didn’t appear on most Electoral Rolls until after Federation, and they tended to get left out of history books.  My interest in this area led me to try in my own small way to redress the balance’ (http://www.members.optushome.com.au/lenorefrost/women.html).  This page leads to an eclectic range of sites including itinerant female lecturers in Melbourne from 1880-1905 (http://members.ozemail.com.au/%7Ehdharris/lecturers.htm ), women convicts in Governor Hunter’s assignment report (http://www.shoalhaven.net.au/%7Ecathyd/WC1798.htm ), and the Australian Women’s Archive Project (http://www.womenaustralia.info/register_home.htm ), which maintains a browseable biographical database of women, events and organisations.

DNA Analysis and Search Engines
In a modern development where cutting edge science meets ancient history, commercial services are now available to test your DNA and assess your relatedness to possible ancestors.

The science behind DNA testing has been described by Bentley Atchison from the Department of Forensic Medicine, Monash University (`The use of DNA testing in genealogical studies’. Ancestor v.24 n.8 pp17-18).  Dr Atchison provides an overview of the three types of DNA analysis used to evaluate family relatedness: autosomal DNA, Y-chromosomes, and mitochondrial DNA.

Most DNA tests use markers on the autosomes (non-sex chromosomes) to determine genetic relationships between people (e.g. in cases of disputed paternity).  These tests work well in determining parentage; however, the procedure becomes complicated when trying to determine relationships over several generations.

For analysis of family lines beyond two generations, the alternative methods of Y-chromosome markers and mitochondrial DNA analysis are used.  Markers on the Y-chromosome are passed through the male line of a family essentially without change, while mitochondrial DNA is passed through the female line.  Y-chromosome markers have been used to identify `Y-chromosomal Adam’, a hypothetical single male human ancestor from whom all males are descended (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y-chromosome_Adam ), and mitochondrial DNA has been used to identify `mitochondrial Eve’, the only female of her day who produced an unbroken line of daughters that persists today (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitochondrial_Eve ).  Mitochondrial Eve lived about 150,000 to 200,000 years ago.

From about 45,000 years ago, European `clans’ were established.  These are groups of people who are descended from the same ancestor – there are seven in Europe, known as the `Seven Daughters of Eve’ (or the `Seven Maids of Europe’).  You can send an inner cheek swab (which contains your DNA) to Oxford Ancestors (http://www.oxfordancestors.com ) to find out which of the seven groups you are descended from.  Similar groups have been identified for Native Americans (four groups), Japanese people (nine groups) and so on.  Genelex (http://www.healthanddna.com/ancestry.html ) is another company offering a DNA testing service.  On provision of a cheek swab they can identify the major population groups that make up your ancestry.  This can be financially important in situations where government payments are dependent on ethnic origins.

FamilyTree DNA is a company providing Y-DNA testing commercially.  YSearch (http://www.ysearch.org ) is their free service allowing people to make their own DNA results publicly searchable, and to search other people’s data for potentially related DNA.  You can search by last name or by haplogroup, or you can search for genetic matches.  A search for `Last Names Matching Browne’ retrieved six hits, with last names Broun, Brown and Browne.  Presumably, the site will have to grow substantially before there is a good chance of a related match.  To search by DNA information requires a user ID, which is available free when you register DNA and other information.

From mitochondrial Eve, through the Maids of Europe to First Fleeters, your soldier grandfather, or your birth parents – the Web has a huge amount of information for family history searchers.

Information for this article was discovered through Internet searches, a FreePint article `Net the ancestors: the Internet and family history’ by Jonathan Crowhurst (http://www.freepint.com/issues/150503.htm#tips ; featured in Online Currents, v.18 (7) September 2003), Ancestor and Genealogist magazines, and The Australian Guide to Online Genealogy by Nicole Manktelow (Prentice Hall, 2002).

Web sites discussed in this article were accessed in July 2004.

(1) Winanga li is the name of a six-part `Moree Mob’ series of books published by the Northern Regional Library Service dealing with the Kamilaroi people.