Family History -- Getting Started
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| 1 | The member deleted this message. kiwileprechaun - 2012-09-09 14:56:00 |
| 2 | Tips for posting a thread to ask for help: Don’t forget to include any dates or locations you already have. Other useful information includes parents’ names, names of any/all spouses and/or children. Also let us know what information you would like help finding. kiwileprechaun - 2012-09-09 14:57:00 |
| 3 | One really important website is the NZ Historical Births, Deaths and Marriages: https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/home/ You can order birth, death and marriage printouts from here, which can help you get further in your tree. The information available for the event depends a lot on when they event occurred. For example, marriages registered prior to 1880 did not name the parents. The following link will tell you what information is available for different events: https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/dataCollected/ When ordering a birth/death/marriage record from the historical indexes ALWAYS order the "printout" option, not the certificate. Printouts generally have more information and are usually a photocopy of the actual entry which means you aren't relying on someone else to decipher the handwriting for you. Also, printouts are cheaper! If you require a printout that is more recent that the historical ones available via the website, your best option is to contact BDM by phone on 0800 22 52 52 and talk to them directly. With the BDM website you can find the exact date of event by using the following steps: Be warned that this may not work well on earlier (often pre-1875) dates as these events have been entered as a year, not a specific date, on the indexes. However BDM are updating these entries to give the specific date also, so over time you will be able to narrow these ones down as well. kiwileprechaun - 2012-09-09 14:58:00 |
| 4 | Archives NZ Archives holds the records of the NZ government. This includes: Archives also produces some excellent guides that can help you in your research, and are well worth reading: Archway is the search system for Archives. Be aware that NOT everything held by archives is listed individually on Archway: kiwileprechaun - 2012-09-09 14:59:00 |
| 5 | to save everyone trying to find the favourite websites thread, here's the link to it http://www.trademe.co.nz/Community/MessageBoard/Messages.asp crab2 - 2012-09-09 16:36:00 |
| 6 | what's a sticky thread? mimi1 - 2012-09-09 17:02:00 |
| 7 | It stays on top of the Genealogy page. poce - 2012-09-09 17:05:00 |
| 8 | Don't forget to write down anything you can remember being told by older ones about perhaps coming to NZ or where they lived previously. Put these stories in an exercise book or on a file on PC. Several of these stories about 'when Granny was little' have been useful in pinpointing some places in Northern Ireland where I am looking. Even though they may years old and told many times often they have a little piece of useful info in them. Even if you can't directly use them in your genealogical research the stories add colour to our ancestors lives. shanreagh - 2012-09-09 18:53:00 |
| 9 | Can we please keep this thread to tips for new researchers and useful websites. If you wish to discuss anything else or ask questions please start a new thread. Thanks mackaa - 2012-09-09 18:56:00 |
| 10 | Two really useful resources can be: Death notices often name the relatives of the deceased, sometimes even giving their married names. The names of funeral directors are often listed in cemetery database entries. Funeral directors are sometimes able to provide quite a bit of information regarding the deceased, similar to what is available on the death registration. kiwileprechaun - 2012-09-09 22:47:00 |
| 11 | Tips for searching - these tips will apply to most search engines and also to the search function on many websites. Many thanks to cafc2012 for putting us on to these: Boolean search operators! Type in the word you want to search and cut the results down by excluding works you don't want. In your case try searching (without the brackets) (Steer -sale) or (Steer -yards). It will be a bit trial and error, but should help reduce the results return by excluding words associated with Cattle sales) The "+" works too, you could try searching for (Steer +wedding) for example. If you put " " marks around a search term, it will return only articles that exactly match that "Mouldy Steers" for example. kiwileprechaun - 2012-09-09 22:47:00 |
| 12 | It is worth keeping notes of where you search, even when you don't find anything there. It will keep you from wasting time looking at the same cd/microfilm/book that you have already looked at (like I did today!). However, when it comes to online databases (like Ancestry, Family Search, FindMyPast etc) it often pays to re-search the databases every 6 months as new data is added to these on a regular basis. kiwileprechaun - 2012-09-09 22:47:00 |
| 13 | There are lots of blogs, videos and webinars that will help you learn more along the way. One source of good webinars is the Legacy website. You can register (for free) for the live webinar, or they have them available for free for at least 10 days following the initial presentation. http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/Webinars.asp Researching Family History Use this guide if you’re beginning to research your family history or whakapapa: http://www.natlib.govt.nz/services/get-advice/family-history kiwileprechaun - 2012-09-09 22:48:00 |
| 14 | There may be cases where you have a document or picture you need help with, in which case others here will need to see it. Follow the steps below to share a photo/image: To post a picture on here follow these steps: Go to the "My Trade Me" tab kiwileprechaun - 2012-09-09 22:49:00 |
| 15 | Q: Do you need to join up with Ancestry? A: The site that holds the NZ records is the Ancestry.com.au site, but if you put in the .co.nz address it will just redirect you anyway. No, you do not need to join up to Ancestry, or any other site for that matter. Many researchers do, and I myself sometimes join but currently I don't have a subscription to it. It is also important to realise that many public libraries have Ancestry available for use for free. Some libraries also have access to other websites such as FindMyPast. If you do decide to join Ancestry (or another site), it is worth comparing the costs and packages between the different sites (eg .au, .com, .co.uk) as the costs very quite a bit once you convert the currency. kiwileprechaun - 2012-09-09 22:51:00 |
| 16 | From mackaa: My thoughts ..... kiwileprechaun - 2012-09-09 22:52:00 |
| 17 | One very important piece of information is to check, check and check over and over again You must purchase printouts to prove you have the correct person, best one to purchase is the marriage as you get the bride's parents and the bridegrooms parents depending on which country your buying from and which years, ie if before 1800 the parents may not be listed and after 1800 there is also a chance they may not be listed, reason for this, the information on the printout is usually the couple who give the information themselves as a birth and death printout are usually provided by an informant, remember that all could have possible mistakes. When buying for New Zealand printouts only ever get the printout as it is a copy of the original and cheaper to purchase If buying from United Kingdom try the local county council office before buying from GRO as is it possible you can get it by email, it may cost a couple of pounds more but worth it to get it faster, it is possible you can get a scan of the original this way Edited by crab2 at 7:38 am, Mon 10 Sep crab2 - 2012-09-10 07:35:00 |
| 18 | I have just been watching some very basic info clips on You Tube put out by family search.org. They are extremely helpful for beginners! Google search, family search and you will see the You Tube link. mb5bass - 2012-09-10 14:20:00 |
| 19 | One very important piece is missing We don't search for living people and prefer that living people's names are not Published for privacy reasons and also to protect them Edited by crab2 at 9:22 am, Tue 11 Sep crab2 - 2012-09-11 09:21:00 |
| 20 | some tips on ways to search Census records to find that elusive family member from Ancestry(hopefully it will work as it was through my email I got this) http://c.mfcreative.com/email/us/guides/10_census_tips_v3.pd crab2 - 2012-09-12 08:09:00 |
| 21 | Tips on using google for genealogy searches mackaa - 2012-09-12 08:19:00 |
| 22 | Tips on an easier way to search Ancestry 1. click on the Search button on the coloured bar then on the right hand side you will see under the wording 1940 census records the words, go to old search if your using the new search function then click on advanced search 2. fill in the boxes of what your wanting to search, ie just births or just deaths, pick country, pick county 3. residence pick country and I usually just leave the county to all counties 4. Categories, open this up and you can tick and untick what you want to search , ie, millitary, immigaration etc Also when you click the Search button on the coloured bar scrowl down and you can search by country ie England, Europe, Scotland etc and this will give you all the sections ie Census, Births, marriages, deaths etc Hope this helps making searching ancestry easier crab2 - 2012-09-13 07:34:00 |
| 23 | Bump maxrevs - 2012-09-14 10:47:00 |
| 24 | no need to bump this max as it stays there crab2 - 2012-09-14 10:59:00 |
| 25 | Some NZ probate files are available for free on FamilySearch.org The collection currently contains probates that went through the following High/District Courts - Napier, Gisborne, Timaru, Masterton, Wanganui, Palmerston North, Nelson and Blenheim (as at 15 Sep 2012) How do I find if a probate file I want is available on FamilySearch? Firstly you will need to find the probate file listing on Archway. Use the simple search and enter the name you are after: (for a demonstration I will use the probate of Roy Godfrey Paget d. 1924) By searching on Roy Godfrey Paget, I get two entries, one for his WWI file and one for his probate. In the probate file, the "Last Department Responsible" is listed as Wanganui District Court. I then click on "Order Details" for the probate file and note the "record no.", in this case being 1924/79. Now you need to go to the NZ probate collection on FamilySearch.org: Click on "Browse through images" (if you are on the familysearch.org front page, select "Australia and New Zealand" from the Browse by Location list, then select the probate collection that is last on the collection list.) Select the appropriate court for the file you are after (in this case, Wanganui). Scroll down to find the right year (there may be more than one listing for each year) and then match the record number you got from archway to the listing of records in the group. In this case, we are looking for the following listing: (the /24 on the entries relates to the year) Once you have found the right entry, click on the link and a collection of images will open up. You will need to work your way through the images by changing the number in the box on the top right labelled "Image xx of 622". Probate sizes vary but are often between 8 and 15 images long. If the number you are after is about halfway through the group, then start looking about halfway through the number of images (eg enter 300 as the image number). You can then use the arrows to navigate back and forth until you find a page with a record no. written on it, to allow you to figure out whether your need to work further forward or backward. In the case of Roy Godfrey Paget, his probate file begins on image 316. Please note that not all probate files for a court are available, but as more and more are added, any gaps are getting fewer and fewer. A big thanks to those volunteers who are working hard to digitise these probate files, making research easier for all for us! kiwileprechaun - 2012-09-15 17:53:00 |
| 26 | If you find a Family Tree on Ancestry with your family member on it please take it with a grain of salt until you have researched yourself as often these trees are bits added from another tree and not been sourced therefore do NOT rely on it being correct crab2 - 2012-09-18 07:48:00 |
| 27 | Is there actually a family tree builder that is totally free, even after you have gone to the trouble of entering 250 names then find out you have to pay for more? Also more interested in printing in book format than poster, who does that apart from myheritage who want money after 250 names. Edited by myself001 at 1:58 pm, Tue 25 Sep myself001 - 2012-09-25 13:57:00 |
| 28 | There are a large number of different online and software options for storing your family tree. If you are looking at using an online website to store your tree, it is very important that you consider 1) that the website has privacy options that allow you to restrict access to a level that suits your needs and 2) you read the rules regarding "ownership" of the information you post. Also look at any limitations that "free" membership has compared to "paid" to see whether this will affect you. This website has a few sites listed for comparison: If you are considering installing software locally on your pc, then again there are a number of options. Some of the most popular are: I have also found the following list of software with a lot of useful comparative info: The advantage of having your data stored on your computer is that you have much better control over access to the information. The downside is that you *must* back it up regularly or risk losing a lot of work if your hard drive dies. kiwileprechaun - 2012-09-26 13:33:00 |
| 29 | You may see mentions in threads of certain CDs such as the Burial Locator or NZSG Marriages CD. These CDs (and many others) are available for purchase from the NZ Society of Genealogist. You don't need to be a member to purchase these either, you can simply order them from the website. http://www.genealogy.org.nz/Sales_11.aspx kiwileprechaun - 2012-09-26 13:36:00 |
| 30 | the CD's are also available on Trademe under the name of officemanager4 crab2 - 2012-10-19 08:33:00 |
| 31 | Hi there can anyone help my mum find her grand son. Born Taupo ?/10/1992 by the name of YOSHIDA first name Joe after my late father not sure if its Joseph or Jo. Apparently straight after his birth the Japanese grandparents flew out to Japan and have never been seen or heard of since. The baby boys mum goes by the name of Jasmine once again not too sure on the spelling. The mum was approx 17 at the time of giving birth to my nephew. Thanks gruff51 - 2012-11-18 21:41:00 |
| 32 | There is a website called "Slideshare" where people can post presentations that they have created. By searching on "genealogy" you get a whole selection of genealogy related presentations on a wide variety of topics, all free to view. Topics include getting started, advanced searching in google, top Irish websites, resources in Nebraska and so on! kiwileprechaun - 2012-11-19 14:30:00 |
| 33 | gruff51 wrote: gilligee - 2012-11-20 17:34:00 |
| 34 | Always prove what you know past yourself or your parents/grandparents!..my first family errors started 3 generations back. mtbotrev - 2012-11-27 21:19:00 |
| 35 | and update on which regions for Probates are online on Family Search Blenheim Supreme Court crab2 - 2012-12-05 16:18:00 |
| 36 | Buy birth/death/marriage certs as proof you have the correct people, you need to get these and always check check and double check when researching to have the correct family tree. There is alot of hard work, you can read books to find information on them, passenger lists if you know they went to another country, newspapers articles and books/websites to find out about the town they lived in, google streetview or showmystreet to see if the house they lived in is still there and has it been turned into something else, you can try and find out the history of the house, military sites crab2 - 2012-12-29 07:36:00 |
| 37 | Just a wee tip...or words of advice. cmg11 - 2012-12-30 17:53:00 |
| 38 | My Dad was English and came to NZ in the about 1952. I am wanting to make contact with this part of my family in England - I have some names and spend time ringing up people who have names that could be my relatives (I find through looking at phone books through goggle searches) but have had no success.I seem to get leads and then if I want more info I need to buy credits which I would rather not do.There must be some way to find my family. I'm planning to go to the UK this year and it would be so good if I could meet up with my English family. My Dad came from Gloucestershire.Can anyone out there help me out.Thanks. Jean. iam1 - 2013-01-12 22:47:00 |
| 39 | iam1 wrote: smoocherpete - 2013-01-13 22:00:00 |
| 40 | Can someone tell me how to go about getting New Zealand Death certs. frances1266 - 2013-02-06 18:33:00 |
| 41 | When searching are you able to get medical history of a deceased parent? redhead96 - 2013-02-26 12:30:00 |
| 42 | This message was deleted. davie57 - 2013-03-31 17:35:00 |
| 43 | This message was deleted. liggy2 - 2013-04-10 18:55:00 |
| 44 | Not sure what site to sign up for then compare them using this handy guide http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/images/index/wdytya_compare_ crab2 - 2013-05-26 16:19:00 |
| 45 | Geni.com..has been excellant for me...now connected to millions to massive online tree..Found much info and connected to distant whanau from all over the world. Has been a while since I've logged in though. Has been changes costs etc. Was a great way to find my connections to Croatian community here, Aussie. Have been researching Latvijan side as well. rexavier - 2013-07-13 19:14:00 |
| 46 | The member deleted this message. liggy2 - 2013-07-22 19:56:00 |
| 47 | hello everyone,I am tracing my family history from London to Wellington New Zealand. Looking for records , stories and photos of Lawrence family. William Lawrence came to New Zealand on The Southern Cross 1857. William Lawrence married Mary Ann Robinson in Wellington. They settle in the Wairarapa area. If any one out know or are researching this family I would love to hear from you , its good to have others to help put things in correct or near too. Thank you for your time keithar - 2013-07-28 10:59:00 |
| 48 | How would I go about getting a copy of my father's immigration records. He immigrated to New Zealand after WW2 from Europe. I did phone Archives New Zealand a few months ago and they said that they did hold his records which I would be able to view provided I got a letter of approval from the Immigration Department. Has anyone else gone through this process. Apparently I need to prove to Immigration that my father has passed away first. I did try and phone Immigration but was unable to link with the right person who could give me the exact details of what was required. Would appreciate hearing from anyone here that knows exactly what is required. Look forward to hearing from you. Thank you for your time. gelanna - 2013-09-15 20:39:00 |
| 49 | Is there an equivalent of Papers Past in Great Britain? http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/search/results? Yes, it wasn't hard to find! Other people may have different suggestions, though. Edited by venna2 at 7:49 pm, Fri 14 Feb venna2 - 2014-02-14 19:46:00 |
| 50 | Some advice about printouts or actual certificates and what they contain from NZ BDM from Elaine231 and carbs51. A printout is a copy of the entry in the register and is not a legal document where as a certificate has transcribed information and is a legal document What is a printout? Generally a scanned image of the record. Is an official document containing registered information. And from me - the point about it being a transcription is a key point. You want the original so you can see what was written down rather than a latter day transcription. Many people today are less familiar with older styles of writing. When you see what was there you can make your own decision about what the writing may say. Having had at three instances from NZBDM where the transcriptions have been incorrect, mother's maiden name and the surnames of the two grooms in two different marriage certificates a printout is the best way to go. So even if the printout does not contain more information than a transcription the printout is more likely to have the information as the official wrote down at the time rather than an interpretation from today. shanreagh - 2014-02-17 08:12:00 |
