Mental Patients - One List or Separate Lists?

I've used 25 different series of historical records to create various indexes to mental asylum patients and people who were suspected of being of unsound mind. Names from some of the indexes are already on my Web site, but many more will be added soon.

QUESTION (it only applies to those series, not my other indexes):

Would you like me to put those names on my Web site in one alphabetical list, with separate Web pages for names beginning with each letter of the alphabet?

Or should I leave things as they are, with separate indexes for different 'mental' series, and (on my Web site) separate lists of names?

(Comments are now closed. This post first appeared on https://qld-genealogy.blogspot.com/2017/10/mental-patients-one-list-or-separate.html.)

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?

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.
~ ~ ~

Illuminating Blogger Award

I was surprised and honoured when two of my blogs received multiple nominations for the Illuminating Blogger Award. At what was a sad and chaotic time in my life, these comments were a comfort.

Fiona said:   Queensland Genealogy was the first geneablog I found, and Judy has flung open so many doors for me. Judy also runs the Genealogists for Families Kiva group which has done so much to help so many.

Alona said:   Judy has a number of different blogs, but I've chosen to nominate her Queensland Genealogy blog because since she took up the 'Family History Through the Alphabet Challenge' she has been highlighting various Queensland records – and every one of them has taught me something new.

Helen said:   Judy Webster is a well known Queensland professional researcher and a personal friend. Judy is very generous with her knowledge. Her website is full of useful information for anyone doing Queensland research. Her latest entries in Alona's 'Family History Alphabet Challenge' showcase fascinating records. Judy does a number of blogs including one about her father's early life. In honour of her father she started the Genealogists for Families project where people make micro-loans via Kiva enabling other families to make a better life for themselves.

Jill nominated the Genealogists for Families blog:   'Genealogists for Families' Project team leader and blogger, Judy, is an inspiration as she encourages genealogists to reach out and help families in third world countries with micro-loans. Judy's enthusiasm for this project and her personal generosity know no bounds.

Having received the award, it is now my duty to tell you one random fact about myself (my hobbies include paper-making and collecting postcards) and to give the award to five other blogs with illuminating content. They are (in no particular order):

• The Legal Genealogist: The author is a certified genealogist with a law degree. She writes about 'genealogy, the Law, and so much more'. Categories include Constitutions, Copyright, Court Cases, DNA, Legal definitions, Methodology, Primary Law, Resources, Statutes, Terms of use.


• Historical Medical Miscellany: I find this blog both interesting and informative, especially as I am a medical scientist and an indexer of hospital and mental asylum records.


• Sassy Jane Genealogy: Practical advice from a genealogist who is also an archivist.


• London Roots Research: I have lots of London ancestors, and Rosemary writes about both basic and unusual sources (for example, Fire Insurance records).


• Dance Skeletons: Fiona's sense of humour is often a ray of sunshine in an otherwise dull day. Thank you for making me smile!

Qld State Archives web address change

Queensland State Archives have changed Web addresses. The main search page is now www.archivessearch.qld.gov.au/Search/BasicSearch.aspx and www.archivessearch.qld.gov.au opens an image search screen.

Cunnamulla in Google Scholar

In Google Scholar, I searched for 'Cunnamulla' (my home town). Results ranged from 'The Role of the Church in the Rural Communities of South West Queensland' to a study guide for the film 'Cunnamulla'. The book 'Cunnamulla, a brief history of the Paroo Shire' has been cited in several articles. Other titles cited include 'The Geology of the Quilpie, Charleville, Toompine, Wyandra, Eulo and Cunnamulla'.

I also found a United States patent issued to inventor William Stewart BENTLEY, Mooning, Cunnamulla.

For the full text of this article see 52 Weeks to Better Genealogy, no.27: Cunnamulla in Google Scholar.