Tips for Searching the Web

There are a variety of search engines out there and I tend to use Google.
If you are getting to many hits when you are trying to search for your surname try these simple search tips.
Search by putting the name "Joe Bailey" in quotation marks.
Use quotation marks to keep a string of words together when performing a search.
Add the word AND in capitals and the words family history OR a place name
"joe Bailey" AND family history
See how many results you get.
Try your surname combined with a place name
"joe bailey" AND somerset

Remember if an index or database is sorted by surname first you won't find the entry using the forename first when searching. Try reversing the order by putting the surname first folllowed by the forename when searching. "Bailey Joe". Other useful tips can be found at  Search Tips & Tricks

Last Resting Place

A friend sent me this interesting website called Final Resting Place. This is the website of David Hamilton a semi-retired serviceman who is a keen genealogist and local historian from Durham. The database includes details of 18th and 19th century headstones and memorials in and around Durham.
For anyone with an interest in Durham visit Last Resting Place

Sandgate Cemetery, NSW

Sandgate Cemetery services the Newcastle area and opened in 1881. The new website is
Sandgate Cemetery You can search our virtual records for details of burials and grave locations. Click on the surname to view a map of the grave location.

Aylesbury Gaol Prisoners

Buckinghamshire County Council website
Database of prisoners admitted to Aylesbury Gaol in the 1870s. Includes some photographs and details of crime and punishment.  Aylesbury Gaol Prisoners

Berwick & Merton Cemeteries

The following Victorian cemeteries have recently been added to this project to photograph memorials.
Berwick Cemetery and Merton Cemetery index. Photographs of memorials available by email.
Berwick Cemetery

Inveraray Jail, Argyll Scotland

Inveraray Jail and County Court
Select the tab jail's history to find the index to the prison records. Includes details of the crimes committed by 4,345 prisoners including those who were transported to Australia. The records range from 1820 to 1889. Inveraray Jail

Lincolnshire History

Lincs to the past lincs to the past
Search for parish records, maps, probate records and regimental rolls. Purchase images of historical records online.
Lincolnshire Convicts Transported
Nearly 2000 convicts were transported from Lincolnshire between 1788 to 1868. The database includes name, alias, age, date and place of trial, crime, sentence, date of transportation and ship.
Also includes a database listing the names of victims. lincolnshire convicts transported

Australian Birth, Death & Marriage Certificates

I recently came across this new website which is collecting birth, death & marriage certificates and transcriptions. You can search a pdf document to locate an entry and contact the owner via email for a transcription of the record. The details are FREE. This site compliments a number of websites offering to share details from unwanted certificates or certificates that have been purchased in error. Australian Birth, Death & Marriage Certificates

FamilySearch.org

The new FamilySearch.org website has lots of new material including images of original documents. Recently the (IGI) International Genealogical Index was added and this FREE website continues to bring many surprises. For those of you who have Australian interests see the latest additions for Queensland and Tasmania FANTASTIC STUFF!
If you are having trouble navigating this new site and want to search for the (IGI) International Genealogical Index follow the below steps.

1. Click on 'All Record Collections'
2. In the search box type 'international' and a link to the IGI will appear
OR under 'Collections'
select 'other' from the table
scroll down the alphabetical list to I for International to find the IGI.
Don't forget to check out  the heading 'Availability' (at the bottom of the page)  click on the box to view only collections with images
A large amount of records have been digitised and you can see images of the original documents.
familysearch.org/search/collection/

Scottish Wills & Testaments

Recent changes to the  ScotlandsPeople website has made it easier to view and download Wills and Testaments 1513-1901. The changes have also brought about a change in the payment method. Images of the Wills and Testaments can now be viewed using ScotlandsPeople credits. The price has also been reduced from £5 to the introductory price of 10 credits. In the near future the wills database will be expanded and you will be able to purchase Wills and Testaments from 1902 to 1925. Read full article Scotlandspeople.gov.uk

GenealogyInTime

Some interesting articles can be found in GenealogyInTime Magazine. GenealogyInTime is a free online family history magazine. An article titled top trends in genealogy includes a list of the top 100 most popular family history websites. Also an interesting article on tips to create and maintain an interesting family history Blog. If you are interested in storing information 'in the Cloud' Google has launched a service called Google Drive and is similar to Dropbox read more...
GenealogyInTime Magazine

Beaconsfield & Tamar Cemeteries, Tasmania

The West Tamar Council has an online index to the following cemeteries Auld Kirk Uniting, Beaconsfield, Frankford, St Canice RC Glengarry, Supply River Uniting Winkleigh & Winkleigh Cemeteries. Details may include name, date of death, religion, grave location, section and number.
West Tamar Council Cemeteries

Leongatha Cemetery, Victoria

Index and photos of memorials in the Leongatha cemetery are available online. The cemetery is located on the corner of McCartin and Begg Streets Leongatha. Leongatha Cemetery

Victorian & Edwardian Portrait Photography

The RootsChat Collection of Victorian and Edwardian Portrait Photography. Genealogists are always in search of family photos and this website aims to reunite long lost or unclaimed photos and albums containing family portraits. The collection is divided into 4 sections, UK, non UK, Harris Album & Jerome Collection. Can you identify a family member amongst these collections? Help reunite family photos. Contact the website owner for further information about the photos. The RootsChat Collection of Victorian & Edwardian Portrait Photography

South Australian Obituaries

Search for South Australian Obituaries by simply selecting a letter from the alphabetical table on the home page. Details include transcriptions of obituaries and some entries have photos of the deceased or a photo of their memorial. South Australian Obituaries

Australian Theatre

If you have an ancestor that was performing on stage you may find this website about the History of Australian Theatre (HAT) of interest. The History of Australian Theatre Archive includes a database of 18,500 names associated with the theatre along with brief biographies and a photo archive.
Hat Archive

Australian maps

Visit Mapco to view old maps including Australian states and cities. The earliest NSW map dates from 1796. The site also has photos of historical interest including early Australian cities. Also of interest are several 1915 maps of Gallipoli. http://archivemaps.com/mapco/aust.htm

Tasmanian Cemeteries

If you are looking for a cemetery in Tasmania below is a link to the Tasmanian Family History Society's list. Headstone inscriptions are available on TAMIOT (Tombstone & Memorial Inscriptions of Tasmania) available on microfiche & CD-rom Tasmania Cemeteries

Dictionary of Sydney

The Dictionary of Sydney explores all aspects of Sydney's history and makes it available online. You can view articles on people, artefcts, buildings, places & events. Dictionary of Sydney.org

English Parish Registers

Another website which may help you locate English parish records is DustyDocs. The site is a gateway to pre 1900 English baptisms, marriages and burials. Check out Phillimores English county map and 'What are Parish Registers' The site has links to churches, FreeREG and more. Dustydocs

Historical Societies

Your local historical society may hold resources including photos and memorabilia which may help or add to your family history. The Melville History Society in Perth Western Australia maintains Millers Bakehouse and conducts regular tours of Millers bakehouse museum. The bakehouse harks back to when horse drawn carts were delivering loaves of bread around Fremantle and Bicton in the 1930s. Visit the societies website for further details
Melville History Society

Valuation Rolls

Scotlandspeople.gov.uk has indexed the 1915 Scottish Valuation Rolls. The index contains the names of the owners and occupiers along with the address, parish and county. The images may contain further information e.g. occupation. The Scottish Valuation Rolls were used as an assessment for rates to provide funds for education, drainage and street lighting.
The assessors recorded the name of the owner, tenant and occupier. Unlike a census it only contains details for the head of the household and doesn't list other members of the household.
The valuations were carried out during 1914 and published in May the following year. It gives a valuable snapshot of who was the head of the household, where they lived and who owned property. For further details visit scotlandspeople
1915 Valuation Rolls for Scotland
Valuation rolls (also called assessment rolls) were also carried out in some states of Australia. These records were annually published in Government Gazettes and contain valuable information for the family historian. They can be used to trace a families movements and property ownership.

Westminster Church Registers

Findmypast has published over 1.3 million records from parish registers from over 50 Westminster churches. The earliest records date from 1538 and span until 1945. The Westminster collection also includes rate books, settlement examinations, workhouse registers & wills. These records will become available over the coming months. Read about the Westminster collection at
findmypast.co.uk news westminster

Norfolk Sources

Norfolk Sources has a variety of records you can search including books, Trade Directories 1851 to 1925 and Probate records 1800-1857 Norfolk Sources

City of London burials

For information on the City of London Cemeteries City of London Cemeteries
New search the burial registers online

Burial Registers

Old Maps Online

The Old Maps Online portal will help you to discover web sites containing historical online maps. Several British and Scottish sites are linked. For example the David Rumsey collection includes 30,000 historical maps. The collection focuses on North America and South America although other countries are represented.
In 2012 Old Maps Online will be adding additional collections from around the world.
Old Maps Online

Mercantile Navy List & Trinity House pilots

An interesting selection of books are available online at books.Google.com. A series of Naval books with lists of officers and officials are available to read and search online. The following title included a detailed listing of Trinity House pilots for 1857. Mercantile Navy List and Appendage to the Commercial Code for All Nations by JH Brown.  The details include the names of the channel or place the pilot was licensed to work and the draught of the vessel they could pilot.
THE MERCANTILE NAVY LIST

New Zealand Cemeteries

If you are looking for a cemetery in New Zealand this page will get you started. Local Government Online has a detailed list of cemeteries, photos and links to online databases. New Zealand Cemeteries

Welsh Parish Registers

 The latest release from findmypast.co.uk includes 4 million Welsh parish registers. The baptism & marriage registers range from 1538-1926 & burials to 2007. The following areas are covered Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Glamorganshire. Records for other counties will be added in the future. Welsh Parish Records

Greenwich In-Pensioner Register

The Asplin Military Resource is is an interesting web site for the person with an interest in Victorian British military history.  An index to the register of in-patients at Greenwich is also available for the years 1824-1853. The index gives name, age, birthplace and last residence. The register is held by the National Archives.
Greenwich Register
Details of campaign medals along with a variety of nominal rolls can also be viewed.

South Australian Cemeteries

The South Australian Cemeteries page is a good starting point if you are searching for a burial place or cemetery in South Australia.
The database contains death details extracted from burial registers and headstone inscriptions from various cemeteries. You can search by surname or search by the name or locality of a cemetery. A brief description of each cemetery along with location map is provided. Links to other SA cemeteries with online databases are included.
 South Australian Cemeteries

Wills & Probate Records for Wales

Recent additions to FamilySearch include Welsh probate records 1544-1858. Abstracts and original wills for the Diocese of Llandaff, St Asaph & St David. The collection contains over 71 thousand images. FamilySearch

London Electoral Registers

London Electoral Registers from 1835-1965 are now available to search on Ancestry. Registers were not published during the war years 1916-1917 and 1940-1944. From 1928 men and women  over the age of 21 were registered. Ancestry.co.uk

British Merchant Navy Seamen's records

Merchant seaman's records 1835-1857 have been digitised and are now available to search on findmypast.co.uk. This valuable resource to 19th century Merchant Navy seamen will allow you to trace your seamen's voyages. The records may contain name, age, birthplace, physical description, ship and dates of voyages. 
merchant navy seamen

Convict Brick Trail Campbell Town, Tasmania

The Northern Midland Council has recently put the Convict Brick Trail database online. You can search the database by surname to find the location of a convict's brick. The bricks were placed in the footpath along High Street Campbell Town. Select the tab titled Community to locate monuments, memorials & artwork Convict Brick Trail

Register of War Memorials in NSW

The NSW Government and the RSL (NSW branch) are recording details of over 3,000 War Memorials across NSW.  The details are being made available in an online database.  You can search by name, place or postcode to locate a  Memorial.
NSW War Memorials

ACT Memorial

The ACT Memorial honours people associated with the ACT who served in a conflict or peacekeeping mission. The memorial is located opposite Civic Square on London Circuit. The database contains the names of the people honoured on the memorial. ACT Memorial

WA Soldiers In Memoriam Cards

The State Library of WA has added digitised images of In Memoriam cards of Western Australians killed during the First World War. The cards contain a photo and brief biographical information. Search the catalogue section titled 'State Library Pictures', use keyword in memoriam 
State Library WA catalogue SLWA catalogue

Map of Ballarat Gold fields

The State Library of Victoria has an online 1917 geological survey map of the Ballarat gold fields. Click on the link to view Ballarat gold fields

South Australian Family History

The South Australian Genealogy & Heraldry Society Inc. has recently launched a new website, Genealogy SA with a searchable database containing indexes to birth & death notices, cemetery records, birth, death & marriage certificates. Click on the link to visit their new website
Genealogy South Australia

Gawler World War 1 Honour Roll

A new website dedicated to soldiers from Gawler South Australia is hoped to be completed by the 100th anniversary of the First World War. Brief biographical information and photos of memorials and soldiers to be added if available. Gawler World War 1

Bonnie Doon & Mansfield Cemeteries

Visit Cemetery index for Victoria to see recently added inscriptions for Bonnie Doon & Mansfield cemeteries. Photos of memorials are available on request.
Bonnie Doon & Mansfield Cemeteries

Jamieson Cemetery, Victoria

Jamieson cemetery, headstone transcriptions and photos available at Jamieson Cemetery, Victoria