Missing Queensland birth, marriage and death index entries

(Image by Danilo Rizzuti, freedigitalphotos.net)

If you were unable to find an index entry for a Queensland birth in 1921, marriage in 1946 or death in 1991, try again!

A relative sent me a certificate for which there wasn't an entry in the online index. Puzzled, I contacted the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, who responded promptly.

• Me: 'A relative sent me the attached birth certificate (Isabel Mary RIENECKER, born 4 Aug 1921). I have been unable to find this registration in the online index. Any thoughts?'


• Registry: 'Great news! The issue behind why this record wasn't appearing in the Family History Research Service has been found and resolved.'


• Me: 'Thanks very much for your prompt and efficient service. May I ask whether the same issue (whatever it was) is likely to have caused other index entries to be 'invisible'? I'm wondering how much time I should spend on repeating searches that were previously negative (which at the time I thought must be because the event was registered in the following year)?"


• Registry: 'As a result of your email, we did discover a number of other records exported on 01/01/2021 are missing and need to re-export them. So thank you VERY much!'

When I checked a few hours later, I found another 1921 birth, plus my aunt's 1946 marriage, neither of which had previously appeared in search results. Now I'm off to look for missing 1991 deaths!

(More research tips are on my main website. This post first appeared on https://qld-genealogy.blogspot.com/2021/07/missing-queensland-birth-marriage-and.html.)

Queensland Births Index up to 1919

Image by 'africa', FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Despite the fact that Queensland's Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages currently (in 2016) only lets you search for births up to early 1916 (due to its 100-year access restriction), there is now another way to find births up to 1919!

To the delight of those with family history research here, indexes to Queensland births registered up to and including *1919* can now be searched online at Findmypast (that link takes you to the search page).

View the transcription there to get the exact date of birth plus parents' names including mother's maiden surname.

(This post first appeared on http://qld-genealogy.blogspot.com/2016/04/queensland-births-index-up-to-1919.html.)

Hospital Admission Registers as a Source for Family History

A typical hospital admission register

Hospital admission registers provide a solution to many genealogical dead ends and brick walls!

People born in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, America, Canada and other parts of the world appear in Queensland hospital admission registers. Biographical details supplied by the patient are often more complete and more accurate than those on certificates. A hospital register is sometimes the only surviving source of information about the ship on which a person arrived.

Many people spent time in a hospital far from their home. This applies especially to Brisbane (a large hospital capable of handling difficult cases), Cooktown (with many miners and sailors from ships in port) and Croydon (people came here from everywhere during the local gold rush).

The registers for Brisbane General Hospital, Brisbane Prison Hospital, and hospitals at Burketown, Cooktown, Croydon, Ingham, Muttaburra and Roma, are printed volumes with space for these details:

• name
• date admitted
• age
• birthplace (town, State/county and country)
• occupation
• religion
• ship of arrival
• how long in the colony
• last place of residence
• marital status
• place of marriage, at what age, and name of spouse
• names and ages of children living; number and gender of children deceased
• father's name and occupation
• father's present residence if living (or 'father dead')
• mother's maiden name
• disease or reason for admission
• date of discharge, or date and cause of death
• remarks (which may include medical history, social circumstances etc.)

Some Brisbane registers also give details of employment, wages, other sources of income, other wage-earners in the family, property, membership of clubs or benefit societies, and names and addresses of relatives or friends.

Note the provision for ship of arrival, place of residence, marital status, and father's present residence - details not found on a Queensland death certificate.

A few hospital records exist for other towns such as Mackay and Toowoomba, but they are less informative.

Dates of surviving registers and where to find them, plus thousands of names from my indexes to hospital records, are on my main Web site. Even if you don't think your family were ever in Queensland, follow this link to check the lists of names from Queensland hospital admission registers. Many people have been surprised by what they've found!

Improved Searches for Births Deaths and Marriages (Queensland)

The Queensland Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages has today (16 October 2013) released an improved version of its search engine. Features include:

• It is no longer necessary to enter information in the 'Last name' field. You can leave that blank and just enter the person's first name, the first name of their father or mother, or any combination of these. You can also use the wildcard feature on all of these search fields.
• Mother's maiden surname is once again shown in results for death index searches. (This wasn't mentioned in the press release, but I was pleased to see it. We've been waiting a while for that to be fixed - see 'Maiden Names missing from Qld death indexes online'.)

In the field labelled 'Mother's first name', you can enter the first name plus surname to narrow down the results, but beware of spelling variants.

Now that you can omit the surname:

1. Enter 'father's name + mother's name' to find deaths of daughters whose married surname you do not know.
2. That technique may also find:
   • previously unknown siblings
   • events registered under weird spelling variants.
3. Enter 'mother's name' only to find illegitimate births.

You will find that some illegitimate births are registered under multiple surnames. In this example the birth is registered under DREW, DENMAN and SOLWAY.

Some illegitimate births are registered under multiple surnames

My main Web site has an index and advice for family historians who are trying to identify the father of an illegitimate child. I have also created a mini-guide, Researching Illegitimate Children.

Did you know that Victorian birth, death & marriage indexes are now on FindMyPast?

Maiden Names missing from Queensland death indexes online

I recently (Sep 2013) sent this question to the Queensland Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages:

'Since your recent changes to online historical indexes, the mother's maiden surname has disappeared from many death index entries. Why is that, and will the matter be rectified in the future?'

Their reply was (I quote):

'If the Mothers maiden name (or Parents names) had been included on a Death Certificate than it will also be included on the historical index. Any details and information included on a Death Certificate does vary and is dependent on the amount of information provided by the Informant at time of death. All details we have are included on the index.'

Umm... WRONG!

Example 1 (death of Frederick William STEVENS, 1882):

Queensland Registrar-General's Pioneers Index 1829-1889 (on CD-ROM) shows the mother's maiden surname (GIBSON), but the online index at www.bdm.qld.gov.au does not.

Example 2 (death of John PERRON, 1911):

Queensland Registrar-General's Federation Index 1890-1914 (on CD-ROM) shows the mother's maiden surname (BERBACCI), but the online index at www.bdm.qld.gov.au does not.

I sent this information to the Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages. Their response was:

'We are aware of this and it will be rectified in the new release which will be in October.'


My main Web site has more tips about Queensland BDM indexes and certificates.
~ ~ ~

Burials at Geraldton (now Innisfail), North Qld

Innisfail, 2013 (photo by Judy Webster)

Cassowary Coast Libraries want to fill the gaps in their local burial registers. If you have a death certificate or other information for someone buried at Geraldton (now called Innisfail), either in the cemetery or elsewhere, contact:

Natasha Lavell
Cassowary Coast Libraries
PO Box 887
Innisfail QLD 4860

Email: natasha.lavell [at] ccrc.qld.gov.au

Phone: (07) 40302246

Please forward this request to family history societies, genealogists on social media, etc. The URL for this post is http://qld-genealogy.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/burials-at-geraldton-now-innisfail.html.

The photograph, which I took earlier this year, shows two of the Art Deco buildings for which Innisfail is renowned (the Bluebird Cafe and Robertson Brothers).

Some Queensland Certificates as Images

It is now possible to save money by downloading some Queensland birth, death and marriages certificates as images. Whether you receive an image or a certificate on paper depends on the date and type of event.

At the moment the Registry's Web site says:

* Births: 1825-1890 available as images or certificates; 1891-1913 available as certificates only.

* Deaths: 1825-1890 & 1965-1979 available as images or certificates; 1891-1964 & 1980-1983 as certificates only.

* Marriages: 1825-1889 as images or certificates; 1890-1938 as certificates only.

Before you buy certificates, see the advice in 'Free Certificates in Archives Files.'

For more tips about births, deaths and marriages in Queensland, see my Web site.

Problem with recent Queensland death indexes

Following on from my hasty post ('More Queensland death indexes online') a couple of days ago... and before we all get too excited about the release of Queensland death indexes up to 1983...

My grandfather died in Queensland in 1967. Yesterday I noticed that his parents are not shown in the online death index entry, but their names are on his death certificate. I also noticed that in Grandad's index entry, columns for 'father' and 'mother' had blank spaces (not the dash that usually appears in the index when a death certificate does not include a parent's name).

An experiment with a common surname revealed that certain years seem to be worse than others. For example, there are 371 SMITH deaths in 1975-1976, but only 10 of them list the parents.

I don't want to waste time doing what someone has already done, so if you have asked the Queensland Registry of BDMs why they omitted parents' names from many of the later death index entries, please let us know the answer by leaving a comment here.

More Queensland death indexes online

Queensland Registrar-General's indexes to births to 1914, marriages to 1938 and deaths to 1983 are now online - but note that some indexes (births to 1919 and marriages to 1939) are available on microfiche but not online.

Once you know a year of death, it's much easier to search for a recent Supreme Court probate file - which, if it exists, will include the death certificate, thus saving you a lot of money.

There are other tips about Queensland birth, death and marriage records on my Web site and in the book Tips for Queensland Research. See also 'Free certificates in Archives files'.

SCHOLEFIELD and CHARLES: Birth Certificates in Land Files

In 'Free Certificates in Archives Files' I mentioned some record series in which I had found birth, death and marriage certificates. I recently came across another example.

Birth certificates for Edward George SCHOLEFIELD (1906) and Ethel Irene Rose CHARLES (1904) are in a 'dead farm' (land selection) file.

The source location is Queensland State Archives item ID 73066, file no. 6297. If you can visit the Archives and inspect the file (which is quite large), you can take digital photographs of the certificates.

A friend and I are creating an index for certificates that we find in odd places (land selection files, Colonial Secretary's Office correspondence, etc). In the future (perhaps 2014 or 2015) the names from that index will be added to my main Web site.

J is for Jurors and Justice Department

This week's 'Family History Through the Alphabet' challenge focuses on the letter 'J'.

J is for...

• Jurors.  Yesteryear Links published an index to jurors and witnesses in cases heard at Charters Towers (Queensland), 1920-1937, in the Circuit Court, District Court, Criminal Court, Police Court, Coroner's Court etc. The index gives names, addresses and often occupations of jurors and witnesses, and it states whether the original document includes that person's signature.


• Justice Department.  Queensland State Archives hold many series of Justice Department records for which there are indexes. They include Registers of Criminal Depositions, Inquests (magisterial enquiries), and Preliminary Enquiries. For one series of Preliminary Enquiries (1931-1961) there are separate indexes to the deceased and other people mentioned. If there was also an inquest, the Preliminary Enquiries file gives extra details.

You can find out more about all of these indexes by referring to my books Specialist Indexes in Australia: a Genealogist's Guide and Tips for Queensland Research, which are held by many libraries.

More tips for family history are in my other articles in this series. If the information and advice is useful, have a look at this page.

D is for Dunwich Benevolent Asylum

Continuing to the next letter, 'D', in the 'Family History Through the Alphabet' challenge... D is for Dunwich Benevolent Asylum.

Dunwich was established on North Stradbroke Island, Moreton Bay, Queensland, in 1865. When it closed in 1946, inmates were gradually transferred to Eventide at Sandgate. The function of Dunwich (as defined by the Benevolent Asylum Wards Act of 1861) was to provide for poor people who because of age, accident, infirmity or otherwise were unable to care for themselves. The inmates thus included not only the elderly but also younger people.

Sources (many of which are held at Qld State Archives) include:

1. Index to Colonial/Home Secretary's Office applications for admission to Dunwich with associated correspondence, 1890-1922.


2. Typed index to many Dunwich sources for various dates between 1859 and 1971.


3. Card index to Dunwich records.


4. Immigration Department register of applications for admission to Dunwich 1902-1904.


5. Index to Dunwich weekly returns from Qld Government Gazette notices, 1885-1907.


6. Index to Eventide (Sandgate, Qld) registers of deaths 1954-1959.


7. Index to selected names from 1860s/1870s Colonial Secretary's Office in-letters.


8. Home Secretary's Office: registers of letters received.


9. Indexes to various series of mental asylum records.


10. Index to old age pension records.


11. Police Station watchhouse charge books.


12. Books:  Brisbane: Moreton Bay Matters and Moreton Bay People, vols. 1-3.


13. Brisbane Courier, 25 Oct 1927, p.9: detailed article that includes photographs of the matron, nurses and other staff, Private WILKINSON aged 99, Mrs ROWE aged over 90, and other elderly residents.

Some of the Archives sources give excellent biographical details. These may include address, age, country of birth, religion, occupation, length of time in Qld; married or single; names, addresses and circumstances of applicant's sons and daughters; names, addresses and circumstances of other relatives; names and addresses of employers during the past 2 years, and length of time with each; real or personal property; aid received from hospitals or other charitable institutions during the past 2 years; reasons for desiring admission; through whom applying; and applicant's signature.

For a detailed explanation of the sources available (with Archives location numbers where applicable) and access restrictions that apply to some records, see the most recent edition of my book, Tips for Queensland Research. It is described on my Web site.

You will find more tips for family history in my other articles in this series. If the information and advice is useful, have a look at this page.

Queensland genealogy news

For those who didn't see them on my Twitter page, here are some Queensland 'items of interest'. Links open in new windows so you won't lose your place on this page.

• Ryerson Index now includes 150 years of death notices in the Maryborough Chronicle (now Fraser Coast Chronicle).


• Collinson Index, a unique source for Queensland history and genealogy, also fills gaps in Trove.


• Other news that is relevant to Queensland is in today's edition of Updates Genie.

Some of these tips originally came from other people, whom I have acknowledged on my Twitter page.

Index to Funeral Records 1972 - 2010

Would you think to look in Queensland for records of a burial or funeral service that took place overseas, including New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Fiji, Sweden, Greece, Hungary, Austria or the Netherlands?

Cemeteries and crematoria from all of those countries (plus all parts of Australia) are mentioned in records of Gregson and Weight, funeral directors at Caloundra, Maroochydore and Nambour on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.

I recently bought Caloundra Family History Research Inc.'s new index (on CD-ROM), Gregson and Weight Funeral Directors, Caloundra, Maroochydore and Nambour - Index to Funeral Records 1972-2010. It lists (in PDF format) about 20,000 names (in two sections, 1972-1999 and 2000-2010), with surname, given name, age, death date or funeral date, place of burial or cremation, and a reference number. Aliases or nicknames are sometimes shown. Appendix 1 lists all cemeteries/crematoria mentioned, and explains how to contact them. Appendix 2 lists hyphenated or 'double-barrelled' surnames, which were not always recorded correctly in the index.

This very affordable index will be invaluable for finding deaths that are too recent to be in online civil registration indexes. There is a good explanation of abbreviations and the arrangement of entries, and a contact address for Gregson and Weight; but although the introduction says, We would be pleased if researchers would advise us of any inaccurate information, the author/publisher's address is not shown. The publication also lacks a proper title page (which should show title, author, publisher, date and place of publication, copyright notice and ISBN).

For more details about the index, contact Caloundra Family History Research.

Postscript, 2014: There is now an online database for various other Queensland funeral directors' records including Alex Gow, K.M. Smith, Cannon and Cripps, Metropolitan, Tucker and Nankivel, Lorisch, and Le Grand.

Orders to administer: inventories 1953-1978

Supreme Court (Southern District) orders to administer - inventories, 1953-1978 (Queensland State Archives series ID 17985) consists of only a small number of files, but they include some persons whose intestacy file was lost in a fire.

The 'orders' give deceased's name, residence, occupation, date and place of death, and an inventory. The file number in this series corresponds with that in the index to Public Curator orders and elections.

(This is an extract from my book Tips for Queensland Research.)

Free Certificates in Archives Files (Thrifty Thursday)

Before buying certificates, check whether there is a free alternative!

The sources mentioned below are in Queensland, but similar records exist in many interstate and overseas repositories.

Before buying a certificate from the Queensland Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages, check whether that certificate is included in a file at Queensland State Archives. If it is, you can either take a digital photograph or save an image to a USB memory stick free of charge. (The Archives keep changing their Web site, so use Google to find the current URL.)

At the Archives you can often see certificates that you cannot buy from the Registry (because of differences in access restrictions). Certificates in archival files are often more accurate than typed copies issued by the Registry now.

From about the mid-1890s onwards, most Queensland Supreme Court 'will' files, and some 'intestacy' files, contain the death certificate. There are also probate files in Queensland for many people who died in other States and countries.

I sometimes find that the information on the death certificate in a probate file and the information on the certificate you bought from the Registry are significantly different! In one case the certificate in the probate file listed children who were not mentioned on the copy my client had bought from the Registry. In another case the probate file's copy showed that a person had lived in both the Northern Territory and Queensland (and how long in each place), but a more recent typed certificate from the Registry did not mention that.

I have seen birth, death and marriage certificates (including some from overseas) in many series of records. They include (but are not limited to):

• Supreme Court probate files ('wills' and 'intestacies'), divorce files and equity files
• Public Curator insanity files and Supreme Court insanity files
• Lands Department selection files
• Colonial Secretary's Office correspondence
• Police staff files
• Court of Petty Sessions maintenance records
• Police watchhouse records.

More information about those sources is in the book Tips for Queensland Research. For wills and probate records see also Queensland Genealogy and Archives Research Tips.

Postscript 1:  For the rest of Australia, see Kerry Farmer's suggestions re certificates.

Postscript 2:  A friend and I are creating an index for certificates that we find in odd places in Archives files. In the future, names from that index will be added to my main Web site.

Supreme Court equity files

I chose this week's topic, Queensland Supreme Court equity files, in honour of Marianne Eastgate, who passed away on 5th September. Marianne was the driving force behind the Pre-Separation project that indexed virtually all records of the Moreton Bay District of New South Wales before it became Queensland in 1859.

Marianne's many other contributions to family history include an index to Queensland's Supreme Court equity cases 1857-1895. The cases include gold miners' disputes; rights of minors, incapacitated persons, lunatics and inmates of asylums; disputes over wills; liquidation of companies; and people with money in a bank. The files contain many birth, death and marriage certificates (including some from overseas), land records, powers of attorney etc. The index, which includes names of most plaintiffs, defendants and witnesses mentioned in the files, is in the Public Search Room at Queensland State Archives.

Qld BDMs: recent changes

Searches in Qld Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages online indexes have been improved. You can now use wildcards and variable date searching, and registration numbers include district identifiers (Brisbane/country). Be sure to read the 'Search Tips' on the Registry's Web site.

Note that microfiche indexes are available for Qld births 1915-1919 and marriages 1935-1939, which are not online.

The price of Queensland certificates has risen again. Before buying them, look for certificates (especially death certificates) in State Archives sources as explained in the 2008 edition of Tips for Queensland Research.

Ancestry's recent announcement re Australian birth, death and marriage indexes is misleading. They do not have complete coverage for all States for the date ranges quoted, and many names are missing. I suggest that you check what indexes can be searched (usually free of charge) elsewhere.

ZISCHLER death (Laidley Qld)

The 'Courier Mail' newspaper, 8 Jan 1915 page 4 column 3, has an article about the death from tetanus of Annie, daughter of G. ZISCHLER (Laidley, Queensland).

Matilda JESSUP, 1870s

Queensland State Archives hold documents (dated 1878) about Matilda JESSUP. They give details of her arrival on the Scottish Hero with her husband; his death from typhoid (which she also had); her mother-in-law's death from burns suffered when she fell in a fire; and a passage back to England for Matilda and five children on the Windsor Castle.

If you need my help to obtain a copy of this document from Queensland State Archives (the cost would be about $15), email me at the address shown in the sidebar here.

If you are not familiar with in-letters, see:

• I is for In-Letters and Invalid Pensions (opens in a new window)


• more examples of information in Col.Sec. in-letters (scroll down on that page).