How to influence my indexing plans

After almost 40 years as a professional genealogist, I'm now winding down towards retirement, and I need to be selective with my indexing projects.

I've created a new webpage showing the simple steps to take if you want to ask me to consider indexing Queensland records for specific towns/years. It's FREE to send such an 'expression of interest', and it doesn't commit you to anything. I may occasionally change or add to the offers on the webpage (https://www.judywebster.com.au/plans.html).

(This post first appeared on https://qld-genealogy.blogspot.com/2024/08/how-to-influence-my-indexing-plans.html)

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.)

70,000 names: 'Series/Quote' service for Document Copies

Example of file cover (list of contents)

My Web site lists more than 70,000 names from original historical records that I've indexed. The Web pages include 'Insanity and Unsound Mind index' and 'Identifying a Child's Biological Father'.

The 'Record Series and Quote' services described on those pages are designed to help clients avoid wasting money on copies that will not be relevant. Let me give you an example.

I've changed the names here to preserve client confidentiality. In my first email ('Record Series and Quote' report), I told the client which record series was involved (files for mental asylum patients) and I gave an estimate of the cost.

Client's final email:

I would like a digital copy of the record for Mary BLOGGS.

My final reply:

I retrieved our correspondence from my computer's deleted files, and it showed:

On 5 May 2021, you wrote, '...born Mary JONES in 1909, married Joe BLOGGS 1928'.

My report said: 'Mary BLOGGS... admission date in or about 1908'.

So... this file, for Mary BLOGGS admitted in about 1908, cannot be for your Mary JONES, who wasn't even born then, and didn't marry BLOGGS until 1928.

My 'Record Series and Quote' service is designed to help clients avoid wasting money on copies that will not be relevant. A less ethical researcher would have simply taken your $40 and sent the file. I chose not to do that.

I hope this example will convince you that it's worthwhile (1) following the instructions on my Web pages, (2) using my 'Record Series and Quote' service when it's available, and (3) reading my reports carefully.

(This post first appeared on https://qld-genealogy.blogspot.com/2021/05/70000-names-seriesquote-service-for.html.)

Have Your Family History Records Been Destoyed?

Image courtesy of 9comeback at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I know that some of my clients have digital backups of family history documents and files, either in the Cloud (for example, in a free account at Dropbox), or on external hard drives or USBs - but some don't.

After the 2003 Canberra bushfires, and after Hurricane Katrina in the USA, I was contacted by clients who had lost everything. I was able to send them a copy of my report with the results of the family history research that I'd done for them.

If you've lost your home in the current bushfires, don't be afraid to contact me (at the address on my main genealogy Web site) to ask whether I have a backup copy of the information I sent to you. If I do, I can email it (FREE) on request.

If a natural disaster occurred in your area today, would your family history records survive? Some simple and practical suggestions are in Natural Disasters and Family History.

(This post first appeared on https://qld-genealogy.blogspot.com/2020/01/have-your-family-history-records-been.html and family history societies are welcome to share that link with their members.)

3 Reasons to Use Archives Previous System Locations

A section of  the search room at Qld State Archives

Family historians make a note of source references so we (or someone else) can find an item again. There are 3 reasons why you should know the 'Previous System location' for records you use at Queensland State Archives, as well as the newer 'item ID' number.

1. Typos and misinterpretation are less likely with Previous System location numbers. For example, the immigrant file for Agnes Adamson AITKEN is item ID 1111111. Its Previous System location is IMM/5. I know which one I am more likely to get wrong when I read it or write it!


2. Even if there is a typo in a Previous System location number, the letters at the beginning often indicate the agency. With that, it may be possible for you to eventually find the record (perhaps with help from the archivist on duty). For example, IMM means Immigration Department; SCT means Supreme Court; CPS means Court of Petty Sessions; JUS means Justice Department; and so on.


3. If the computer system crashes while you are in the Public Search Room, staff may be able to retrieve documents from the repository if you can quote the Previous System location, because it often indicates the shelf position. If you only have item ID numbers, you may have to give up and go home. I can always keep working because I know the Previous System locations for records that I've already located in the catalogue.

In the Queensland State Archives' catalogue (on the Internet and at the Archives), the 'Item Details' screen shows the Item ID and (if applicable) the Previous System location and Departmental numbers. The latter often point to a specific file in a bundle.

From your own experience at Queensland State Archives, what other tips can you share?

This post first appeared on http://qld-genealogy.blogspot.com/2016/09/3-reasons-to-use-archives-previous.html.)

Lifeline Bookfest

Brisbane Bookfest - part of one of the three halls
(photo by Judy Webster)

Books relevant to family history are lurking in secondhand shops, markets and book fairs. One of the best places to find them is at a Lifeline Bookfest.

Bookfests are held at various times throughout the year in Brisbane, Bundaberg, Gold Coast, Ipswich, Mackay, Maryborough, Rockhampton and Sunshine Coast.

The Brisbane event is held in January and June each year, in the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre at South Brisbane. It's on right now and continues until 26 Jan 2015.

There are three separate halls: 'High Quality (prices as marked)', '$1 Section' and '$2.50 Section'.

Within each hall, books are arranged by category (Australiana; History; Biography; Reference; Paperback Fiction; Hardback Fiction; Children's; Humour and Oddities; Literature and Classics; Textbooks; Travel; Health; Science Fiction; Art and Music; Cooking; Computers; Hobbies; Sport; Gardening; Religion; Foreign Language; Vehicles and War Craft; Animals; Penguins and Pelicans; Economics; Sociology; Philosophy; Science). Each section also has magazines, stationery, videos, CDs, cassettes and records.

You may want to stock up on stationery items such as ring binders and lever arch files, which sometimes cost less than a dollar.

The real treasures for family historians are usually in the Australiana and History sections. Look for books about the history of regions, towns, schools, churches, businesses and organisations, and published family histories.

The Reference section has atlases, street directories, medical dictionaries, and sometimes unexpected items like a complete set of The Public Acts of Queensland 1828-1936.

With luck, you may find some of the titles listed on 'Suggested Reading (Genealogy and History)'.

Another money-saving tip? If you are on a very tight budget, wait until the last day when the (already affordable) prices are usually reduced.

I strongly advise you to bring a suitcase on wheels, as books soon get heavy when you are browsing. Local street parking is limited and fills very early. Undercover parking is available, but it costs about $17. You can travel by train to South Brisbane station or by bus to the Cultural Centre bus stop.

To find out more about Lifeline Bookfests in Queensland, do a Google keyword search to find the current Web page.

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.

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.

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.

Illegitimate child's father named in inquest

An illegitimate child who is in the Registrar-General's index under the mother's surname, with no father's name shown, may appear in Justice Department inquest indexes/files under the father's surname.

Actual examples are:

'William SMITH, son of Catherine, father's name BROOM'

'Mary Anne DOBIKIN, daughter of Margaret, father's name Thomas JENYNS'.