At our 'First Thursday' session in July we had three apologies, three mentors and one already very wise participant.
Val reported working on a French born great great grandfather who seems to have been an inveterate liar, schemer and bigamist. Finding around 1000 articles mentioning him in Trove, Val found herself speculating whether they were based on a 'truth or a lie'. We tried to help her establish the truth of one of these stories, but this proved difficult! Val is also keen to find out more about 'sustenance', an apparent benefit available in the early 1920's to impoverished families.
Val reported working on a French born great great grandfather who seems to have been an inveterate liar, schemer and bigamist. Finding around 1000 articles mentioning him in Trove, Val found herself speculating whether they were based on a 'truth or a lie'. We tried to help her establish the truth of one of these stories, but this proved difficult! Val is also keen to find out more about 'sustenance', an apparent benefit available in the early 1920's to impoverished families.
Stories were shared of finding mentions in Trove of forebears being SP bookies, often when hotel or general store owners, We reminisced about fathers, grandfathers, great aunts and retired priests reading form guides and placing bets, and our own 'pre-TAB' memories of family members heading out to surreptitiously to place bets with the local SP bookie!
Mentors also have pains, gains and problems to be solved, and this month Deb appreciated the opportunity to draw upon Judy's knowledge of resources available through the Melbourne Library and the State Library of Victoria. They also had a good scout around the PROV website searching for Wills and more. Judy shared the knowledge of Land Titles based on 30 years working in the Titles Office, demonstrating where to find title information; planning documents, maps and more on the internet. The screen in the small room 'comes into its own' at times like these!
With fewer beginners attending this semester, we have decided to reduce the session time from three to two hours, with the new time slot 2 to 4pm. Sessions will continue to provide support with problem solving and hands on tasks, with Judy Barry mentoring on the 1st Thursday from 2 to 4pm and Deb Saunders mentoring on the 2nd Thursday from 2 to 4pm.
With fewer beginners attending this semester, we have decided to reduce the session time from three to two hours, with the new time slot 2 to 4pm. Sessions will continue to provide support with problem solving and hands on tasks, with Judy Barry mentoring on the 1st Thursday from 2 to 4pm and Deb Saunders mentoring on the 2nd Thursday from 2 to 4pm.
In the meantime, the three posts which follow this post provide useful information on topics which have come up this year and could be be useful for future reference:
- DNA - three videos recommended by Deb Saunders
- GED.com Files
- Historical Societies and Family Research Groups
Bev Lee