Hi everyone Wonderful response to this request and I have compiled the offerings and if anyone wishes to receive the list as a word doc - abt 6 pages - I will send it off-list. I will leave the challenge open until Wednesday, finish compiling and then send out after that. Thank you everyone Ros List Admin

Hi all, Here is Faithe Jones' latest web interest, I ask all who can to support this wonderful venture. http://www.ww1sa.gravesecrets.net/index.html If you are on other mailing lists - please post for their information. Thanks Ros

Thanks - about 40 of our listers responded to this challenge. Here are a couple more: Ballarat & District Genealogical Society Inc. has absolutely heaps of links to interesting website. www.ballaratgenealogy.org.au CENSUS Ireland I'm afraid there are no surviving pre 1901 censuses for Ireland, other than a very few fragments of 1851 for County Antrim. The main Irish resources for this period are the births, marriages and deaths, the indexes have recently been made available online by the LDS at www.familysearch.org/s/collection/list and some of the actual birth and marriage details are online in the IGI. If you can get back to about 1850, there's the Griffiths Valuation, a national survey available at http://askaboutireland.ie though this includes only names and land ownership. Christine Tillett [Genie], Julie, Ros and others have gathered lots of SA resources. This AUS-SAGEN website is really worth a look - http://aus-sagen.blogspot.com/ Ros has indicated she is gathering the information in the My Favourite Websites Challenge, and shall make the list available to our listes. Ros - perhals you could add the info to this webpage - http://aus-sagen.blogspot.com/ and perhaps a link to my webpages as well. Cheers from Di Cummings of Melbourne http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/fh/passengerlists/BoundforSouthAustralia.htm

On Thu, 06 Jan 2011 21:04:28 -0500, dicummings2003@email.com wrote: > > So - 393 still to reply. and you will, of course, wont you. > Ian from NZ, Siggy from QLD, Peter and Alan from Melbourne - and all the > rest. > My favourites are Google and Google Maps, with Google I can usually find several web pages with the information I am looking for. Ian Westergaard (from NZ)

Having posted often I can not let Di's challenge go unanswered Can I suggest someone consolidate the offerings into a master list at some point? Alan Melbourne 1. Google structured genea search format at http://www.genealogy-search-help.com/ 2 Again Google....but this time look using the book tab....there are so many public domain bookts there that can be searched. Tip ... when using google a. "quotation marks" causes google to treat this as a quote b. the +sign causes google to treat this as a requirement c. the -minus sign causes google to ignore this d. the addition words at the end limit the search to an area.... eg site:edu.au or site:co.uk e. a ? replaces one letter...good for instances of not sure it if it is eg mick or mack so use m?ck f. a * replaces one or more works ...eg m*cdougall example +"geneaology search" -ancestory +"south Australia" site:sa.gov.au 3 http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/ Good for bankruptcy, government and miiltary appointsments throughout the UK 4 London Jewish Poor Shelter - Although London based one must remember "Britain ruled the waves at the turn of the 1900's. Much European migratoin to the US, South Africa and Australia went through UK shipping ports. This data base lists many transient Jews enroute to the "new world" http://chrysalis.its.uct.ac.za/shelter/shelter.htm 5 http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/explore/research-tools/access-eresources-home/ For Victorian based readers only - free on line (ie from home) searching of various data bases * Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people eresources * Architecture eresources * Arts eresources * Business eresources * Encyclopedias, dictionaries & ebooks online * Genealogy & biography eresources * Health & medicine eresources * History eresources * Humanities & social sciences eresources * 'In print' directories * Law & government eresources * Literature & review eresources * Newspaper eresources - including 19th century English newspapers including the London Times * Science & technology eresources * Sport eresources * Statistics eresources

Greetings all this of course http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/passengerlists/index.htm these from Graham Moad http://homepage.mac.com/graememoad/Family/WC_IDX/IDX001.HTM#A http://homepage.mac.com/graememoad/Menu2.html http://web.me.com/graememoad/Ancestors/Ships_Index.html German headstone in AU http://www.familienarchiv-papsdorf.de/ozcemeteries.htm Trove of course as an invaluable resource http://trove.nla.gov.au/ Barry's site http://www.familyhistorysa.info/ State records SA http://www.archives.sa.gov.au/index.html State Library SA SLSA http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/manning/ AMPI http://www.medicalpioneers.com/ Burra Resources http://www.burrahistory.info/BurraResources.htm#Online%20Databases Ancestry has german passenger list from 1850 onwards www.ancestry.com looking forward to the list later this week Regards Robert, Adelaide Important: This communication is intended for the use of the addressee and may contain information that is confidential, commercially valuable or subject to legal or parliamentary privilege. If you are not the intended recipient you are notified that any review, re-transmission, disclosure, use or dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited by several Commonwealth Acts of Parliament. If you have received this communication and are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately and delete all copies of this transmission together with any attachments. Research data online with theshiplist at this address http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/SAassistedindex.htm http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/SAgermanindex.htm

A few more Hope you have lots of spare time before venturing into these first two...smiles http://www.wartimememories.co.uk/ http://www.old-merseytimes.co.uk/snippetsmain.html Free Scottish names database... sometimes overloaded and slow, but it does work.. if you can't get in to it be patient and try again  later. Tony loves people to correct or add to his info..feel free to contact him personally. www.bayanne.info/Shetland/ Germans in Australia? This lot ask for donations for info but Have been known to swap som e of what they have for something you have that they dont. http://www.wendishheritage.org.au/wends/families.php Cheers Genie http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=295203197016 http://geniesgenealogyhelp.blogspot.com/ --- On Sun, 9/1/11, Ian Westergaard <ian.westergaard@ihug.co.nz> wrote: From: Ian Westergaard <ian.westergaard@ihug.co.nz> Subject: Re: [AUS-SAGEN] SA Challenge To: AUS-SAGEN-L@rootsweb.com Date: Sunday, 9 January, 2011, 4:32 On Thu, 06 Jan 2011 21:04:28 -0500, dicummings2003@email.com wrote: >  > So - 393 still to reply. and you will, of course, wont you. > Ian from NZ, Siggy from QLD, Peter and Alan from Melbourne - and all the > rest. > My favourites are Google and Google Maps, with Google I can usually find several web pages with the information I am looking for. Ian Westergaard (from NZ) Advertising on AUS-SAGEN is forbidden by Rootsweb Rules. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to AUS-SAGEN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

On Wednesday 05 January 2011 22:47:56 dicummings2003@email.com wrote: > Soooo - I am now issuing you all - with a CHALLENGE - to all 400 of you. > During this next month, I would like you all, to tell us about FIVE of your > favourite websites - and why, of course. > I don't have "favourite" websites, only useful ones. And there are many more than 5 that I find useful. I have around 100 family history related URLs in my bookmarks. The ones I find very useful include all my specifically Cornish ones, my Cumbrian ones and the generally useful free lookup ones such as FreCen, FreeBMD, FreeReg, NSW BMDs, Qld BMDs, Trove, War Memorial, Australian Cemeteries. Then there is GENUKI which is invaluable as a resource. -- ==== Michael Lightfoot Canberra, Australia michael.lightfoot@pcug.org.au ====

Did anyone mention this site? http://www.genealogyintime.com/index.html I also have had a lovely time looking at the war diaries of my husbands grandfather's battalion in the first World War which can be found on the Australian War Memorial site. Chris.

If you want to find out what is on your `Family land' now google nearmap Lyn Schryver Western Australia

My favourite sites are: Aust Cemeteries http://www.australiancemeteries.com Grave Secrets http://.gravesecrets.net/index.HTML Public records of Victoria http://www.prov.vic.gov.au Australian War Memorial http://www.awm.gov.au Being a bit cheeky here as its mine Circle of Life http://sabdmsonline.weebly.com Regards Beth

Also, a couple of others I might have missed seeing: http://www.freebmd.org.uk/ http://www.freereg.org.uk/ http://www.freecen.org.uk/ CheersChris

Greetings all. I know I've been posting a few more messages than usual, but am currently suffering from avoidance. ie. - dont want to do this, and dont want to do that, or that either....vbg PHOTOMAPS was mentioned - but no link. www.nearmap.com/ ======================== Found the following: this may answer some questions. A bit long, but worth it. BURNT DOCUMENTS AT THE PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE Introduction The impact of the First World War is such that there can be very few British family histories that are not touched by it in some way. In my own case, three out of four of my grandparents' families had young men who fought in the war and the fourth family's business was radically changed by war work. Unfortunately the service papers of non-commissioned WW1 servicemen -- perhaps the most important source for family historians with WW1 connections -- were severely damaged by a bombing raid during WW2. Many records were destroyed and those that survived were badly damaged by fire and water. These 'burnt documents' are too fragile to be widely consulted by the public and have been kept in closed storage in class WO363 at the Public Record Office (PRO). Until now that is; with the help of funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the PRO have been able to undertake a project to microfilm the surviving documents and release them for public inspection. It is estimated that the surviving documents contain the service records of approximately 2 million men so, quite obviously, this process is taking some time. The filming started at each end of the alphabet and is working inward; at the time of writing, surnames beginning with A-F, N, O, Q and S-Z had been filmed and are available at the PRO. An up-to-date status of the microfilming project is available at the PRO website, from where more information on WW1 service records is also available. I am fortunate in two ways. Firstly, I live within an hour of the PRO and I can get to it relatively easily. Secondly, my close surname interests with known WW1 connections are Senior, Strangward and Frost -- all names that have survived and been released. The remainder of this article uses examples from each family to illustrate the sort of information that you may find in class WO363 if you were to visit the PRO. I should stress that these are examples only; you may find more or less about your particular subject or you may be unlucky and find nothing. The Examples The three soldiers, on whose service documents this article is based, are: Thomas William SENIOR (1895-1961) Gunner 68431, 30th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery My grandfather, Thomas William Senior, joined in February 1916 and was posted to France in July. He served as a signaller on the battlefields of the Somme and later at Menin and Ypres. He returned to the UK in 1919, becoming caretaker of Pontefract racecourse and stables in 1931 until his death in 1961. Oliver STRANGWARD (1895-1917) Private 30285, 8th Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers Oliver Strangward, my great-uncle, joined the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry in December 1915 but was immediately transferred to the Royal Welsh Fusiliers to cover losses. He was posted to the eastern front in Mesopotamia in July 1916 and was killed in action in April 1917. Oxley J. FROST (1893-1917) Corporal 7430, 12th Battalion, King's Royal Rifles Oxley Frost was my first-cousin, twice-removed. He joined in November 1914 and was posted almost immediately to France as part of the British Expeditionary Force. Oxley was killed in action in March 1917 in the northern Somme. The Documents Attestation Papers Army Form B.2512 - "Short Service, Attestation Of", is the sign-up paper for war service where the recruit confirmed his personal details and signed an oath of allegiance. The information to which he attested included: * Corps & Regimental Number * Date * Name & address * Nationality * Age * Trade * Marital status * Previous military service The oath that he signed reads as follows: I ... swear by Almighty God, that I will be faithful and bear true Allegiance to His Majesty King George the Fifth, His Heirs and Successors, and that I will, as in duty bound, honestly and faithfully defend His Majesty, His Heirs and Successors, In Person, Crown, and dignity against all enemies, and will observe and obey all orders of His Majesty, His Heirs and Successors, and of the Generals and Officers set over me. So help me God. The reverse of the Attestation includes information such as: * Age * Height * Chest measurement * Distinctive marks * Name, address & relationship of next of kin * Spouse & prior condition, place & date of marriage * Children, including dates and places of birth Another section on the reverse, of which there are at least two different versions with different amounts of information, includes information about the service period from the following: * Transfers * Promotion, reductions & casualties * Training* * Campaigns* * Wounds & injuries* * Gallantry & decorations* *Not included in the shorter version I found these papers for all three of my subjects. Apart from Oxley Frost, who is a distant cousin, I knew most of the information on these papers already. However they did give me addresses for next of kin that are not readily available from other sources. The information on the back of the papers was generally disappointing, with no more details than "France" as a posting in the case of my grandfather Thomas William Senior (photo above, front row, third from right) and, in the case of the more detailed service form for my great-uncle Oliver Strangward, no information supplied. Medical History Army Form B.178 - "Medical History", is another form that was completed for my examples at enlistment, following medical examination. It includes information such as: * Place of birth * Age * Trade or occupation * Height & weight * Chest measurement, physique * Vaccination marks * Eyesight * Signs of previous disease or defects * Date and place of enlistment * Corps and Regimental Number I found medical histories for all my three examples and these provide revealing information about their physical attributes. For example, Oliver Strangward, killed defending a position in Mesopotamia in April 1917, was just 5'3" tall and weighed nine stones at enlistment. Oxley Frost was the same height but weighed even less -- just eight stones. Enlistment Ephemera Along with the official forms completed for a soldier at enlistment, there may be supporting material: In the case of Oliver Strangward (photo right), there are two items of correspondence relating to his trade. The first is a letter from the recruiting officer to Oliver's employer -- John Lumb & Co. Ltd. of Castleford -- enquiring about Oliver's qualification as a machine fitter. The response from Lumb & Co suggests that, to their knowledge, Oliver was not suitably qualified. In the case of Oxley Frost, there is a letter from Methley Rectory, requesting that Oxley be allocated to the same battalion of the King's Royal Rifles as his close friend Pte 6224 Harry Sawyer. Oxley had apparently been keen to join up but was delayed in doing so by work commitments. Judging by Oxley's subsequent records, this request was granted. Casualty Forms Army Form B.103 - "Casualty Form, Active Service" provides a detailed account of postings and casualties. As well as the usual details of name, regimental number, qualififcation, etc. the form includes a table with the following columns: * Date * Reporter * Record of promotion, reduction, transfers, casualties, etc. * Place * Date of Event * Remarks In all three cases, the burnt documents included casualty forms. The most extensive of these is that of Oliver Strangward, who served in Mesopotamia (now Iraq). The record shows that he spent two periods in hospital in 1916; in the first case the ailment is not described, but in the second case as a result of a sprained ankle sustained in the field. Oliver rejoined the unit in February 1917, two months before he was killed. The casualty form was not just used for injuries. As the column list above indicates, promotion and other events were also recorded. In April 1916, Oxley Frost was appointed assistant shoemaker for the 12th Battalion of the King's Royal Rifles and received an increase in pay of one shilling per day. Discharge Documents The nature of the discharge documents depends on whether the soldier survived the war. In the case of Thomas William Senior, who survived, the batch of documents includes Army Form Z.11 - "Protection Certificate and Certificate of Identity". According to the instructions on the form, this was required if applying for unemployment and other benefits after discharge. Details on the form include: * Name * Regiment, rank and number * Address for pay * Signature * Theatre of war * Year of birth * Medical category * Place of rejoining in emergency * Military qualifications * Date issued (date discharged) For Thomas William Senior, there is also Army Form Z.22 - "Statement As To Disability". This form includes the following information: * Name * Unit * Regiment * Rank and number * Address * Age * Enlisted date and place * Medical category * Confirmation of medical category by soldier * Previous service I also have a copy of Army Form Z.18 - "Certificate of Employment During The War". In the case of Thomas William Senior, this is in family possession rather than in the burnt documents but I include details here as similar documents may exist in the PRO records for other soldiers. The contents are: * Regimental number and rank * Name * Regiment and unit * Nature of employment, with dates * Previous trade * Courses of instruction * Military qualifications * Signature In the case of Oliver Strangward and Oxley Frost, who were both killed, the batch of documents includes Army Form W.5080 - "Statement of Names and Addresses of Relatives". The front side of the form is a letter addressed from the Officer in Charge of the Records to the next of kin: In order that I may be enabled to dispose of the plaque and scroll in commemoration of the soldier named overleaf in accordance with the wishes of His Majesty the King, I have to request that the requisite information regarding the soldier's relatives now living may be furnished on the form overleaf in strict accordance with the instructions printed thereon. The declaration thereon should be signed in your own handwriting and the form should be returned to me when certified by a Minister or Magistrate. The reverse of the form is completed by the next of kin and includes names, ages and addresses of the dead soldier's immediate family or closest living relatives. The form is signed, as directed by the next of kin. In Oliver's case this is a very useful document since it gives addresses for his brothers and sisters that would otherwise be difficult to find. It also has Oliver's father's signature. Miscellany Some other documents found in the batches relating to Oliver, Thomas and Oxley include: * Receipt of campaign medals , signed by former soldier/next of kin * Receipt of military scroll and King's Message (for those killed) * Regimental conduct sheets (in these cases blank) * Correspondence between next of kin and War Office regarding death * Army Form 118a - "Effects, Address for Despatch" (address only, does not list effects). Combining Sources As the examples above illustrate, the burnt documents contain a wealth of information about a soldier's service but also about their immediate families and lives before and after the war. By combining these newly released service records with other WW1 sources, it is now possible to build up detailed picture of a soldier's career, even if they were non-commissioned servicemen. Cheers from Di Cummings of Melbourne http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/fh/passengerlists/BoundforSouthAustralia.htm

5 of my favourite sites are: Trove http://www.trove.nla.gov.au/ Public records of Victoria http://www.access.prov.vic.gov.au/public/PROVguides/PROVguide023/PROVguide023.jsp Archives Tasmania http://www.archives.tas.gov.au/ Wart Memorial www.awm.gov.au National Archives www.naa.gov.au Google Regards Rosemary ____________________________________ Rosemary Bruce-Mullins Wattle Hill, Tasmania, Australia rgbm@gumnutcakes.com.au Mobile: 0417 039 100 Ph & Fax: 03 6265 8947

Hi I have tried a couple of the websites that I did not know about from the 20 already published and they were great! I like and use: Trove-my favourite!!!! all the BDM 's online the different state libraries Australian cemeteries CWGC AWM the National Archives national Archives of the UK (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk) Jewish Encyclopedia (http://jewishencyclopedia.com) Great Ormond St Hospital for Children (gives some medical details- www.smallandspecial.org) great idea! regards Lyn

Here are a few of mine cheers Lyn The Ryerson Index http://www.ryersonindex.org/ Geoscience Australia ..to find places in Aust http://www.ga.gov.au/place-name/ Oz Mariners Mariners and Ships in Australian Waters http://www.ozlists.com/ RAOGK Random acts of genelogical kindness http://www.raogk.org/index.html Australian Cemetery Geolocations http://www.auscem.com/auscemlist.php

thanks Mary Ann, have used Tasmanian Archives a lot, and it is so good, but have always forgotten how I got there, now I know it's through Tasmania State Library, http://www.archives.tas.gov.au/nameindexes Jan > From: kevnan@netc.net.au > To: aus-sagen@rootsweb.com > Date: Fri, 7 Jan 2011 20:13:31 +1100 > Subject: [AUS-SAGEN] Favourite Sites > > Hi List, > > > > Some sites I use are; > > > > Australian War Memorial ; The A.I.F. Project; S. Australian Gen. & > Heraldry Soc; Public Records Victoria; Tasmanian State Library; New > Zealand Historical BMD; > > Plus lots of those already mentioned. > > > > Mary Anne, Myrtleford, Vic. > > > > Advertising on AUS-SAGEN is forbidden by Rootsweb Rules. > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to AUS-SAGEN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Hi List, Some sites I use are; Australian War Memorial ; The A.I.F. Project; S. Australian Gen. & Heraldry Soc; Public Records Victoria; Tasmanian State Library; New Zealand Historical BMD; Plus lots of those already mentioned. Mary Anne, Myrtleford, Vic.

Nikki - you have my vote! This is exactly what I was going to say!CheersChris ---------------------------------------- > Date: Fri, 7 Jan 2011 14:39:25 +1030 > From: nikkikoop@gmail.com > To: aus-sagen@rootsweb.com > Subject: Re: [AUS-SAGEN] 'My Favourite websites' CHALLENGE > > Besides the ones like Trove that others have mentioned, one I have > gotten a lot of information from is the Cornwall Online Parish Clerks > Search facility at http://www.cornwall-opc-database.org/ . I wish all > English counties had as much information online! Another is the > National Archives of Australia site. > > Cheers, > Nikki > Advertising on AUS-SAGEN is forbidden by Rootsweb Rules. > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to AUS-SAGEN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Hi I couldn't open the last digest to find out what NSW Indexes Online were that was mentioned in it. Could someone please let me know? Was it NSW BDM being increased by one year or something else? I noticed QLD BDM hasn't changed for this year at all. Hopefully they will soon Thanks and enjoy your day Julie