Otaki Branch
(NZ Society of genealogists)
Newsletter
OCTOBER 2016
Convener: Len Nicholls Phone: 364 7638
email: [email protected]
Meetings are held on the 4th Thursday of each
month (February to November) at 7.30 pm,
in the Dr Gertrude Atmore Supper Room
of the Otaki Public Library,
corner Aotaki and Main Streets, Otaki.
Secretary: Anne Smith Phone: 364 3235
email: [email protected]
Treasurer: Gail Hall Phone: 364 5865
email: [email protected]
Speakers: Gail Hall Phone: 364 5865
email: [email protected]
Please Note: When the Branch has a guest
speaker we have a gold coin collection.
Newsletter Editor: Anne Coury Phone: 3647570
email: [email protected]
Committee members:
Hanna Wagner-Nicholls Phone: 364 7638
email: [email protected]
Carol Moore Phone: 364 7159
email: [email protected]
Glennis Balloch Phone: 364 5825
Email: [email protected]
NEXT MEETING IS ON
27 October 2016
Stories of Christmases Past
Bring your memories
or family stories about Christmas
FROM THE COMMITTEE:
October meeting: Share your memories or stories from your family or ancestorsjust a few
minutes each please, so everyone has a chance to talk.
November: End of year fun gathering
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CHRISTMAS RAFFLE 2016
Our Christmas raffle will be held in Otaki from 29 November to
11 December with selling points at Countdown, the Post Office and
the Sunday Fair (opposite New World)
Please bring donations of food items to the October and November
November meetings.
You can also drop off items at Travelsmart on the Main St opposite the Memorial Hall.
Please – NO perishable items and no “smellies” i.e. bathroom items!
This is our main fundraiser for the year and is always very successful.
From Alba to Aotearoa : Profiling New Zealand's Scots migrants, 1840-1920
Author: Rebecca Lenihan, Dunedin : Otago University Press , 2015
Scots made up nearly 20 per cent of the immigrant population of New Zealand to 1920, yet until the past
few years the exact origins of New Zealand's Scots migrants have remained blurred.
From Alba to Aotearoa establishes for the first time key characteristics of the Scottish migrants arriving
between 1840 and 1920, addressing five core questions: From where in Scotland did they come? Who
came? When? In what numbers? and Where did they settle? In addition, this important study addresses,
through statistical analysis, issues of internal migration within Scotland, individual and generational
occupational mobility, migration among Shetland migrants, and return migration.
This book is available in The Kapiti Libraries system.
New material on the computers
Go to the UK/Ireland page for ‘Finding Your Irish Immigrant Ancestors’, an article from Ancestry – USbased, but it contains some good general hints.
Also accessed via this page, bonus material from recent WDYTYA magazines has been added for
Leeds, Isle of Man, Shropshire and Southampton, expanding the list to 15 regions. The next update will
include links to historic images for each region.
On the ‘Help and Tips’ page, ‘Getting around the Otaki Menu’ and ‘Members and their interests’ have
both been updated
Look for Worldwide District Codes; and under Magazine Articles you’ll find: 10 Search Tips, Debtors &
Bankrupts, Facebook in Genealogy, Genealogy programs compared, Irish Immigrant Ancestors and
Latin for Genealogy.
And don’t forget our latest DVD, NZ Land Transactions Index, now available for searching. It contains
almost 210,000 records from over 150,000 documents in the Land Districts of Auckland (North & South)
and Taranaki, including people with connections to many other regions. A useful index of referenced
names, events and dates (but does not include the actual documents).
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.
Records cover a date range from 1871 to 1991. Details will usually include Surname, Given Name, Place
of death or residency, Occupations, Event, Repository and the Document number.
Despite Land District boundaries, records include people with connections to most regions of New
Zealand and overseas. With any resource of this nature, there is a limit to what information can be
extracted. We recommend that you obtain a copy of the land document itself because most contain
identity certificates and references to the Land Titles affected.
Shutting down computer 3
Shutting down computer 3 is a little different to computers 1 and 2. The Windows button (bottom left)
brings up a power button (below ‘Help and Support’), which should shut the computer down - but on this
computer merely puts it to sleep. All attempts to correct this unfortunate behaviour have failed, so please
click to open the menu, and select ‘Shut Down’.
Good use is being made of the printer on computer 3. You’ll find it has a blue swing-out paper tray with a
flip-out extension. To avoid damage by casual visitors (just passing, or sitting at our desks – people do),
please ensure the tray is closed before you leave. Thanks.
Day trip to National Library, Wellington
Now arranged for Thursday 10 November. See the separate flyer for details
Reading and transcribing old documents (Hints from the Porirua Genealogy newsletter)
• Make sure you have a clear copy of the document
• Make sure you read it in good light
• Transcribe, don’t translate
• Write exactly what is written, what you read
• Don’t change spelling
• Don’t add comments
• Put a question mark if you can’t understand something, then read on. Often you’ll find the question
mark will make sense in the context of the rest of the document
• Read the document aloud. It’s amazing how much this really does help.
It’s one of those things that once you “get your eye in” it becomes easier. A bit like remembering and
speaking a foreign language.
Two places (amongst many) to go for further help in reading and transcribing old documents are:
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The National Archives (TNA) website: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-yourresearch/reading-old-documents/
and Nottingham University:
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/manuscriptsandspecialcollections/researchguidance/medievaldocu
ments/introduction.aspx.
Both of these sites are excellent with tutorials and interactive exercises.
Searching for Tithe Records on “The Genealogist” Website
(available on our Library computers)
While researching my mother’s family from Cornwall I become intrigued by the changing addresses for
my ancestors on the different censuses. The addresses were similar and they remained in the same
location. The locations were farms and my relatives occupations were Ag Labs or farmers. My 3 times
great grandfather Pascoe and his brother Richard are each shown on a number of censuses to be
occupying land holdings from 1841 and descendants of them both continued to be located at the same
addresses through to the 1911 census. In fact I know that family lived in those same places until well
into the 1930’s. Were they tenants, leaseholders or owners ?
I searched the Tithe and Landowner records on “ The Genealogist” website and found answers.
On opening the home page for this website you see the usual search box for name details for a person
search and another box headed Record Collections with “ All Records” ; use the drop down arrow at the
side until you come to Tithe and Landowners. Enter the name details you require and search. I did not
enter any other details other than the name. For my 3 times great-grandfather Pascoe I receive 30
“hits” and for his brother Richard there was 99 “hits” some of which were for other people in parishes not
of interest to me. The “hits” will give you the person’s name, Parish, County, and Tithe Apportionments
with another box on the right with “ view further details.” When this is opened it gives details of name,
parish, county, type and plan number and Tithe Apportionments as well as 4 small red boxes on the
right. These can be opened. The first one will give you Landowner Party, Relationship to Landowner,
Landowner, Occupier, Parish County ,Original date, Description of Land, Quantities in Statute Measure,
Plot, and Reference; this page can be printed. The second of the red boxes will give you a map showing
the location of the numbered plots, this too can be printed but make sure you have the printer on
Landscape! You will need to open all the hits to get a full coverage of your ancestors’ holdings.
This site certainly provided an explanation for the varying addresses for my ancestors as their many
plots of land were not adjacent to each other. Further research on the Cornwall Records Office site gave
me information relating to the conditions of the leases, they were in fact hereditary leases for 99 years,
again an explanation as to why the descendants of Pascoe and Richard continued to live and occupy
the same lands.
Carol Moore
Used Printer Cartridges
Please bring any used printer cartridges to the meeting and give them to SUE CARROLL
A worthwhile fundraiser
Library Duty
Gail Hall
Frances Milne
2 November
9 October
Carol Moore
Noeline Moore
Len Nicholls
16 November
23 November
30 November
These will be the last Wednesday duties until February 2017
If you cannot do a duty day, please contact one of these members listed below to swap:
Sue Carroll 364 7263
Lois Coles 364 6011
Glennis Balloch 364 5825
Carol Moore
Noeline Moore
Len Nicholls
364 7159
364 8135
364 7638
Anne Williams 364 2300
Frances Milne 06 927 9053
Gail Hall 364 5865
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Research items of interest
For our new members, Findmypast.com, Ancestry.com, and The Genealogist are freely available on our
computers at the Otaki Library. Just remember NOT to sign out of Findmypast OR The Genealogist, just
click on the red cross at the right top of the screen, rather than Sign Out symbol.
If you find that Findmypast or The Genealogist has been signed out and you can’t get into it, contact a
committee member..
SCOTLAND
A major new resource for those with connections to Scotland's largest city, Glasgow, has just been
added to Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) in the form of the city's electoral registers from 1857-1962.
From the site:
About Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland, Electoral Registers, 1857-1962
This database contains yearly registers listing names and residences of people in Glasgow, who
were eligible to vote in elections. These year-by-year registers can help place your ancestors in a
particular place and possibly also reveal a bit about property they owned.
Historical Background
Electoral registers are lists of individuals who are eligible to vote during the time the register is in
force (usually one year). Registration for voters in Scotland has been required since 1832, and
registers were typically published annually. Restrictive property requirements denied the vote to
much of the population for years, though these were eased somewhat in 1867 and 1884 through the
Second and Third Reform Acts. There were also requirements when it came to local elections that
varied from burgh to burgh (e.g., residency), and voters had to petition to be added to the electoral
registers.
Property restrictions were finally removed for men in 1918, when most males age 21 and older were
allowed to vote. The franchise was extended to some women over age 30 in 1918, but it was not
until 1928 that the voting age was made 21 for both men and women. Thus, the number of names
listed in the registers increases with the expansion of suffrage in Scotland.
Searching the Registers
Electoral registers typically provide a name and place of abode, and older registers may include a
description of property and qualifications to vote. Registers were compiled at a local level, with
names appearing alphabetically within wards/districts. Many of the registers in this database have
been indexed electronically, which allows you to search them by name, but if you’re searching for a
somewhat common name it will be helpful to know the area in which your ancestor lived to narrow
your results.
It is worth noting that Parliamentary Division boundaries may have changed over time. If you are
looking for a particular parish or place, you may find it useful to search using the key word field rather
than try to browse the image sets which are listed by Division.
Note: This index was created using text recognition software. Records were not transcribed.
Chris Paton
The Scottish website ScotlandsPlaces has done something rare in the world of genealogy. They
have decided to switch from being a subscription website to one that is completely free
For those who are not familiar with the website, it organizes genealogy records by county. Pick a
county and it will provide a list of all the free genealogy records for that region. The website is
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particularly strong on ordinance survey records, tax rolls and unusual records such as window tax
rolls and dog tax rolls. Access is free. [ScotlandsPlaces]
NEW SCOTLANDSPEOPLE WEBSITE LAUNCHED BY NATIONAL RECORDS OF SCOTLAND
ScotlandsPeople - the website which helps people search for their Scottish ancestors online - has been
revamped and relaunched with a new look and a number of new features.
As part of the most extensive upgrade to the service since 2010, users will be able to search statutory
record indexes including birth, death and marriage certificates for free for the first time. Users will now
only be charged if they wish to view or download a record image
Customers will not be charged as they formerly were - to search an index relating to the Birth, Death and
Marriage Register, Old Parish Register or Open Census records. Customers will not be asked to pay a
fee until they wish to view an image.
The cost has increased from £7 for 30 credits to £7.50 for 30 credits. Thirty credits will enable customers
to purchase 5 images at cost of £1.50 per image of a document.
The new charging structure allows free access to the record indexes for everyone.
First up, the new records:
•
•
•
•
Divorce record (indexes)
Civil partnership records indexes
Civil partnership dissolutions indexes
Non-conformist presbyterian denominations indexes and images
The biggest is of course the last, with over 150,000 records added from the following denominations:
• The Reformed Presbyterian Church
• The Original Secession (or First Secession) Church
• The Associate Synods (Burghers and Antiburghers, and the Auld Licht Burghers, New Licht
Burghers, Auld Licht Antiburghers and New Licht Antiburghers)
• The Relief Church
• The United Secession Church
• The United Presbyterian Church
• The Free Church
IRELAND
Findmypast has released four free Irish record sets in partnership with the National Archives of
Ireland and FamilySearch . These records are also free to search on the National Archives of
Ireland.
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The Valuation Office books record over two million names, and provide details about the rental value of
Irish lands and property from the mid-1820s to the mid-1850s
Fully searchable, users can access 181,000 Original Will Register entries (1858-1920), 52,000
Qualification and Convert Roll records (1701-1845), and over two million names listed in the country’s
Valuation Office books (1824-1856).
Also included in the tranche is a series of Crew Lists, recording the details of over 832,000 men and
women who served in the Merchant Navy between 1857 and 1922. These records not only cover Irish
sailors, but include natives of Norway, Russia, Sweden, American and Germany.
As part of the release agreement, all four of the sets will be made available "free forever",
meaning genealogists will not need to purchase a Findmypast subscription or credits to access
them (so you can look them up at home, instead of at the library!).
This site is an amazing resource to connect with anyone with Irish roots: New Zealand Ireland
Connection (University of Otago) bit.ly/2e9IswV
ENGLAND
The website TheGenealogist has added some 450,000 new parish records from North Warwickshire,
particularly around the town of Nuneaton. Included in this collection are some 300,000 baptism
records, some 90,000 marriages and some 60,000 burial records. The date range for this collection
depends on the parish, but generally goes from 1813 to 1911. [TheGenealogist]
NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand Tunnellers in WW1 –after the September presentation on this, follow up with some
film clips.Scroll to the bottom of page and click on Film - once started it will lead on to some
clips which have the most fascinating footage of the tunnelling, war and diary notes.
http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/war/arras-tunnels/further-information
Thanks to Hanna
The Otago Benevolent Institution Trustees were responsible for the administration of the Otago
Benevolent Institution, and until 1907 were also responsible for decisions regarding charitable
relief. The Dunedin Office holds 9 volumes of Casebooks (1 in the sequence is missing), and all
are digitally available through Archway. Entries give the reason for the relief being sought, some
personal and family detail, and the amounts awarded (if successful). Scroll to the end of the
volumes to find the indexes. #ArchivesNZDunedin
Thanks to NZSG on Facebook
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AUSTRALIA
New on Family Search
• Australia Tasmania Civil Registration of Births 1899-1912
• Australia Cemetery Inscriptions 1802-2005
Trove is still in business! Check out the newspapers they are working on right now.
https://www.nla.gov.au/content/new-titles-coming
NZSG Facebook
OTHER:
DENMARK
FamilySearch.org has put online the name index for the 1911 Danish census. This collection consists
of some 2.8 million records and approximately 450,000 images. The 1911 census was the 13th
census conducted in Denmark (the first one dates back to 1787). Please note that three different
forms were used in this census: one for the capital of Copenhagen, one for other cities and one for
rural areas. The information you get from this census will depend on where your ancestor lived. This
collection can be searched by first name and last name. Access is free. [Denmark 1911 Census]
EUROPE
FamilySearch has added the following content to its Continental European databases
Sweden, Jönköping Church Records, 1581-1935; index 1633-1860
Sweden, Kalmar Church Records, 1577-1907; index 1625-1860
Hungary Civil Registration, 1895-1980
Sweden, Kopparberg Church Records, 1604-1900; index 1628-1860
Sweden, Västernorrland Church Records, 1501-1940; index 1650-1860
Sweden, Södermanland Church Records, 1604-1900; index 1640-1860
Denmark Census, 1911
Germany, Schleswig-Holstein, Kreis Schleswig, Civil Registration, 1874-1983
Czech Republic Church Books, 1552-1963
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AMERICA
TheGenealogist, the well known website for UK genealogy records is expanding in a big way into US
ancestral records. They are releasing over 220 million US records. Some of the highlights include 90
million Social Security Death Records (1935 to 2014), 132 million records from the 1940 US census
and immigration records of some 600,000 Irish citizens who arrived in New York between 1846 and
1851.
One nice thing about how TheGenealogist has organized the 1940 census records is that they are
linked to the enumeration maps. This makes it much easier to find your ancestors, who can be
searched by address.. [US 1940 Census Records]
The NYC Marriage Index
Welcome to the first searchable database of the 3,124,595 marriage licenses filed in New York City
between 1950-1995. It's free, public, open data. http://www.nycmarriageindex.com/
WALES
FindMyPast has put online a collection of workhouse registers from Monmouthshire. This
collection of some 138,000 records comes from the Abergavenny workhouse and spans the
years from 1837 to 1929. Included in the collection are admission records, medical notices,
religious creed (oath) records and school admission records.Each record contains a transcript
and an image of the original record. Typical information listed in a record include name, year of
birth, residence and admission date to the workhouse. These records come from the Gwent
Archives. [Abergavenny Workhouse Records] Genealogyintime
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