It's Now or Never - save 75% on pension register copies

Register of old age pension applicants

Until 15 Nov 2020 you have a once-only, never-to-be-repeated opportunity to save a massive 75% on the cost of digital images of entries in Old Age Pension registers 1908-1909. Most people listed in these registers were born in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany or Scandinavia. A few were born in other parts of the world, including Australia. All of them later lived (at least for a while) in Queensland.

These registers give information about people who received the pension, plus hundreds whose applications were rejected. Most rejections were on the basis of age, period of residence or annual income, but some of the other reasons provide a clue to the applicant's character. Although many applicants were under the required age, pensions were only granted to those aged at least 65 years (that is, born before about 1843-1844).

In 1908-1909, electoral enrolment was not compulsory in Queensland. Old age pension registers give the place of residence of many people who were not on electoral rolls. This includes some applicants who were not British subjects and not naturalised (and thus not eligible to vote) but who applied (though in vain) for a pension.

The vast majority of register entries give the claim date; surname; given name; country or Australian State of birth; alleged age; total number of years in Queensland; town or suburb of current residence; whether the application was approved or rejected; if approved, the amount of pension payable, date payment commenced and town where paid; if rejected, the reason for rejection; and sometimes other remarks such as 'sent to Dunwich Benevolent Asylum', 'intemperate', 'deserted his wife', etc. For many residents of Ravenswood and Townsville, a second register gives extra details (marital status, spouse's name, full address and exact birth date).

Names of over 9,200 pension applicants are on my Web site. There is also an explanation of the Old Age Pensions Act of 1908 and its implications for family history research, and advice about pension records and related sources before and after 1908-1909.

If you email your request (no later than 15 Nov 2020)... (snipped - this offer ended on 15th November 2020 AEST)

Step 1: Search the names (opens in a new window).

Step 2: Make a payment and email your request as explained above.

As I said, this is a one-time offer. I've started to wind down towards retirement, so my copying service (even at full price) will not be available forever.

You may also be interested in my indexes to other historical records.

(This post first appeared on https://qld-genealogy.blogspot.com/2020/11/its-now-or-never-save-75-on-pension.html.)

Passport Records

It's great to see more Queensland records being added to Findmypast - for example, the indexes to passport registers 1915-1925 and passport registers and receipts 1926-1939. Most applicants lived in Queensland but some gave an interstate or overseas address including England, Canada, Papua, Ceylon, Fiji and China.

The National Archives of Australia and Queensland State Archives hold various series of passport records. They include:

• Immigration Department: passport clearance register 1926-1935 (Qld State Archives series 7149; one item). This register gives the passenger's name, ship and date of arrival, State of disembarkation, ship and date of departure, passenger's reason for returning overseas, and whether he/she was planning to return to Australia.


• Immigration Department: passport receipts 1930-1939 (Qld State Archives series 10222; thirteen items). These are duplicates of passport clearances issued to assisted immigrants. They give the passenger's name, ship and date of arrival in Australia. Some also give the ship and date of departure and how long the person expected to be away.


• Passport registers 1915-1974 (National Archives of Australia, Brisbane Office). After the Passports Act 1920, Australian residents over sixteen years of age needed a passport if they left the country. This did not apply to those going to New Zealand, Papua or Norfolk Island. Others who were exempt included merchant seamen and defence force personnel on duty. The National Archives Brisbane Office holds passport registers 1915-1974 and various other records of people departing Australia. Some of those passport registers have been indexed in the Queensland Passports Index 1915-1925.

If a person 'vanished' (either temporarily or permanently), passport records are definitely worth a look. They can also reveal interesting information about overseas holidays or trips to visit relatives.

NOTE!  The transcription on Findmypast is a useful finding aid, but it does not include all details, so it is essential to get a copy of the original document. If you can't go to the Archives yourself, ask about my copying service.

For other countries, these links take you to lists of passport records on:

• Findmypast (including the British Index to Register of Passport Applications 1851-1903)


• Ancestry (including records for the USA, France, Portugal, Latvia and other countries).

(This post first appeared on https://qld-genealogy.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/queensland-passport-registers-1926-1939.html.)

My Web site has moved

Please spread the word...

Judy Webster's Web site has moved!

The site has advice and indexes that help genealogists to research local, interstate and overseas folk by using historical records. The emphasis is on unusual sources that are superb for problem solving.

Features of the new site include:

• 135 pages, and more than 53,000 names (including tens of thousands of people from other States and countries, especially the UK, Ireland, Germany, Scandinavia and New Zealand) from Judy's indexes to original records in Queensland State Archives.


• Additional names from certificates, headstones, church plaques, published local histories, etc.


• Tips on how to research 'black sheep of the family' and people who 'vanished'.


• Unusual sources that are superb for problem solving (including records of asylums, hospitals, Police, Justice Department and Courts).

The site is now easier to use, with a different font, a new 'main menu' navigation bar, and 'breadcrumb' navigation links. Many pages have a section called 'Other Suggestions'. Before using the customised search box, read the search/navigation tips.

The new Web address is www.judywebster.com.au.

Please update your bookmarks and ChangeDetection settings, and notify family history groups, genealogy mailing lists etc.

Can't find a death? Maybe he/she died overseas. Check indexes on FindMyPast.
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Brisbane's History and Genealogy Expo: a Warts-and-All Report

Genealogists for Families team T-shirt

During Unlock the Past's history and genealogy Expo in Brisbane this week, a friend sent me this email: "The propaganda of excitement in some tweets, blogs etc is anything but convincing. Excessive use of words like 'fantastic', 'amazing', 'fabulous' and 'brilliant' really puts me off. Are the writers being paid to rave on like that?! I challenge you to write an honest, warts-and-all report."

OK - here is my report - but first I want to thank Unlock the Past for all their hard work in organising such a big event. (Disclosure: Unlock the Past will pay me for the talk I gave on Tuesday, but that will not influence my comments here.)

I have previously talked about why I like genealogy conferences. During the Expo I heard many people say that they were having a great time and learning a lot. One lady even met two relatives whom she didn't know existed! Everybody enjoyed seeing old friends and meeting new ones. But were all the exhibitors happy? I suspect not, because attendance numbers were disappointing. Could local societies have done more to promote the event? I don't know. If I could turn back the clock, would I personally change what I did at the Expo? Definitely!

A few weeks ago I emailed hundreds of my clients in southeast Queensland and northern NSW to tell them about the Expo. Many replied that they would have come on a weekend, but not Monday to Wednesday because they work full-time. On Monday evening the Expo was open until 9:15 so people could come after work; but as far as I could tell, not many did. Maybe the weather had something to do with that. (Brisbane in June/July is usually gloriously sunny, but unfortunately this week was wet and cold.) Tuesday and Wednesday were busier, but some exhibitors still spent a lot of time trying to keep warm while waiting for people to visit their display.

The venue was better than I expected. The hall was set up with lots of space between the exhibits, and people could move around without bumping into others or knocking books off tables. With a large room and a high roof, noise levels were not a problem, so (thankfully) I did not lose my voice!

I may have been busier than some exhibitors because my table was at one end of the popular Research Help Zone. I thoroughly enjoyed helping people with their research problems, but it was quite challenging at times. My area of expertise is Queensland records, but about 30% of the questions I was asked involved New South Wales or Victoria. Having done some research in those States, I could at least offer a few suggestions and recommend various indexes, Web sites and professional genealogists. Occasionally I could send the enquirer around the corner to Kerry Farmer or Carole Riley, but they had other commitments most of the time.

Being on my own was not easy. Kerin Stinear and Sharn White (bless them) came over occasionally and kept an eye on my table while I dashed out for a bathroom break or a toasted sandwich. When it was time for my own talk, I had to politely abandon a lady who had just arrived with a long list of questions. In the lecture room, after I found my Powerpoint presentation on the computer, figured out how to turn on the projector and asked someone to put batteries in the remote control, I finally got underway. By then I was feeling a bit rattled, and my presentation of 'Black Sheep and Vanishing Relatives' was not up to my usual standard.

I don't know about the other exhibitors, but for me, from a business point of view, the Expo was not a success. With so many stands selling so many interesting items, competition was tough. I barely sold enough books to cover expenses for the three days.

From a personal point of view, I did enjoy the Expo, but I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I had not been an exhibitor. I bought a Gold Ticket because I wanted to attend a few talks, but in the end I only made it to two. I could not bring myself to walk away when people were waiting to ask me questions!

The talks I did hear (both by Audrey Collins) were entertaining and informative. Audrey said that her blog, The Family Recorder, will soon have a page with links to hard-to-find UK newspaper sites. I envy those of you in southern States who can attend Audrey's seminars in the next few days.

It will be interesting to hear what others thought of the Expo. I know I missed some good talks, but it was fun to catch up with friends and colleagues, even if we only managed a quick chat. (Next time I'll do things differently so I have more time with you!)

Last but not least, a message for members of Genealogists for Families: If you meant to buy a team T-shirt but forgot, please email me!

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.