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'.
Showing posts with label probate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label probate. Show all posts
21 March 2013
22 March 2012
New Records at Queensland State Archives
Queensland State Archives 'New Records' page has moved. [UPDATE 2020: It has now vanished. Sigh.]
Instead of saying 'partially open' for some series received recently, it now specifies the restricted period (30 years, 65 years, 100 years or whatever).
Click through to the series and then 'View Items' to see dates and other details for individual volumes, bundles, boxes, files etc within a series. For example, see series 6339 (another source for wills):
Instead of saying 'partially open' for some series received recently, it now specifies the restricted period (30 years, 65 years, 100 years or whatever).
Click through to the series and then 'View Items' to see dates and other details for individual volumes, bundles, boxes, files etc within a series. For example, see series 6339 (another source for wills):
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| Originating summonses - another source for wills |
16 September 2010
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):
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.
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.
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