GSV News

Seven events in seven days! There is a lot happening at the GSV in the next few weeks. Here are the next week’s offerings:

Saturday 18^th

International Settlers Discussion Circle 1-3pm (Zoom)

Special guest author and journalist Alek Schulha will speak about his book ‘Beneath the Shadows of Mount Molly Morgan: History and Stories of Greta Camp 1939-1960’. Alek’s book shares the stories of 130 people who passed through this army training camp turned migrant camp. Join in to hear how Alek has acknowledged and documented for future generations the contribution of these ‘New Australians’ to the cultural fabric of our country.

Tuesday 21^st

How to Research and Use Australian Marriage, Divorce and Bigamy Records 10:30-11:30 am (Zoom)

Rod Armstrong wowed the crowd earlier this year with his Australia Death Records presentation. It was an hour thick with recommended sources, overlooked resources and hints on how to use them. He’s back tackling the sources of marriage related records. Don’t miss this one.

British India Discussion Circle 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm (Zoom)

Part of this session will focus on discussing the BIDC’s program for 2024. Join in to have your say. Also hear from Mary-Ann about the Families in British India website and from Clare who will explain why you should read about the last Prince of Bengal.

Wednesday 22^nd

Family History Tips and Tools 10:30 am – 12 pm (Zoom)

The last session of FHTT for 2023 will focus on The National Archives (of the England, Wales and the United Kingdom, that is). Rebecca Landy will provide an overview of the archive’s holdings, help you navigate its website and encourage participants to share their hints to help you too make discoveries via this important source of historical records.

Thursday 23^rd

London and South-East Counties Discussion Circle 10:30 am – 12 pm (Zoom)
The River Lea has provided a boundary between territories since at least the Iron Age, but for Jenny Redman’s ancestors, and possibly yours too, it was the vehicle for transporting their trade goods to London. Join Jenny at 10:30 to hear their story, and learn about transportation and trade along this key English river.   

Irish Day in the Library   (In person, but fully booked)

Because this event is fully booked, this is simply a notification that the Library will be very busy on Thursday. Members and visitors are welcome to visit the Library, but should note it will be a hive of activity and not a place of quiet investigation on this occasion.

Friday 24^th

Vic Tas Discussion Circle 10:30 am – 12 pm (Zoom)

After a jam packed year, the Vic Tas Discussion Circle are also meeting for the last time for 2023. Join in on their celebratory quiz and, in particular, their agenda setting for 2024.

All events can be booked via the events page on the GSV website once members have logged in. If you are not a member but would like to join to attend some of these events, you can sign up here or call the GSV on +61 3 9662 4455 to join.

Researching Your Irish Family History Seminars

Bookings open on Tuesday 21 November

for GSV and FHC Members ONLY

Visit the GSV Event pages to register

The Genealogical Society of Victoria (GSV) and Family History Connections (FHC) are proud to present two full-day seminars delivered by Fintan Mullan and Gillian Hunt, two internationally renowned experts in Irish research from the Ulster Historical Foundation.

The seminars will be conducted on Sunday 18 February 2024 at the Docklands Library and Monday 19 February 2024 at the Blackburn RSL. Both seminar days are for in-person attendance only.

The programs are different each day but complement each other. The topics to be presented will include:

Bookings are essential. GSV Members should book through the GSV Events system

Pricing for GSV and FHC Members:

$90 for a single day or $150 to attend both days.

Tea, coffee and water will be provided. Bring your own lunch

Venues:

Library at the Dock, 107 Victoria Harbour Promenade, Docklands

Blackburn RSL, 2 Diggers Way, Blackburn

It is possible to catch public transport to both venues. Please consult the Public Transport Victoria website.

Book to ensure your place at this exciting seminar program. More information about the Ulster Historical Foundation may be found on their website: ancestryireland.com

What has been your journey in family history since 1990?  Some have been researching long before then, others have started much more recently.

In 1990 some GSV members began the Scottish Ancestry Group and we are now celebrating its 30^th birthday.

We know we are a bit late, but it was originally scheduled for 20 March 2020 – and we all know when Covid reared its head, so the celebration did not occur.

Now, we have another opportunity. On Saturday 25 November 2023 we will have a party, 2-4pm. Some of us will be at The Kathleen Syme Library, 251 Faraday St Carlton – actually meeting in person. Others will be online through the hybrid format.

Our speaker is Linley Hooper FGSV who will share something of her learnings along that part of her research relating to Scotland. Then we will all have opportunity to contribute, to listen and to learn in a conversation.

A couple of special activities will help us to celebrate.

The Scottish Ancestry Group is in process of transitioning from a service group of the GSV to a Discussion Circle. We are open to all members of the GSV – any of you can use the normal methods through the Members Only section of the GSV website to add your name to the mailing list. Everyone on the mailing list will receive a free digital copy of our magazine Thistle 4 times a year.

We hope you can join in.

You are invited to our celebration on Saturday 25 November by registering for the hybrid event through www.gsv.org.au or by registering to attend in person by email to scotland@gsv.org.au or by phoning the editor of Thistle, Eric on 0400 638 936.

Having trouble find information about the marriage or divorce of your ancestor in Australia? Have you consulted all possible sources of information?

Come along to our Zoom talk ‘How to Research and Use Australian Marriage, Divorce and Bigamy Records’ on Tuesday 21 November commencing at 10.30 am and learn about possible sources you can access. The talk will examine some of the ways that you can find out about the sources relating to marriage, divorce and bigamy to help research your Australian ancestors.

During the talk we will discuss:

• GSV databases
• sources of Australian State BDMs
• State Archives and Record Offices
• Commercial databases
• FamilySearch
• TROVE

There will be time for discussion and questions. Those who are not GSV Members may join this event for a fee of $20 which will be credited against your joining fee if you become a Member of the GSV prior to the end of November.

To join in the event Members should register through the GSV Event system and Non-Members should contact the GSV Office on +61 3 9662 4455 during business hours.

Rod Armstrong and David Down

SPECIAL EVENT

The Irish Ancestry Discussion Circle together with GSV library staff and research assistants are planning an Irish Day in the GSV library on Thursday 23 November 2023. It is proposed that those who wish to seek support with their research, or who value a catch up with other like-minded investigators can come together and seek direction or guidance in their Irish genealogy.

The library space is limited, so members and non-members need to book to attend. It is a free event for members or $15 for non-members. Members can indicate their attendance by signing into the members section on the GSV website, then clicking Events Booking Page or via this link. Participants can select which timeslot they would like to attend: Morning (10am-12pm), Midday (12pm-2pm) or Afternoon (2pm-4pm). Non-members can call the GSV office to register. Bookings are based on a first come, first allocated basis.

All the usual digital resources will be available in the library, as well as access to GSV printed and film materials. Kindly bring along your supporting information to assist the library research assistants so they can offer their best support. An email containing further information on how best to prepare for the day will be sent to those who register.

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A café is located on the ground floor of 10 Queen Street and it is hoped that on the day a group coffee/refreshment session can take place with participants exchanging information and camaraderie.

Looking forward to seeing you on the 23 November!

IADC Committee and GSV Library staff and assistants

GSV Members: Free event, and register here. (Log into the website before booking.)
Non-members: Cost $15, and register by calling +61 3 9662 4455  

REMINDER: Applications for the GSV/UTAS 2024 Family History Diploma Scholarship close on 31 October 2023. GSV members interested in applying should lodge or complete the online application ASAP

You may have read on the inside front cover of the latest edition of Ancestor that the University of Tasmania is again offering a scholarship for a GSV Member to study their Diploma of Family History. The article outlines the details of the scholarship that commences in February 2024 and the application requirements.

Alan Rhodes, the inaugural recipient of the GSV/UTAS Diploma Scholarship, has commented that he believes ‘the course is well suited to GSV members who are familiar with the essentials of doing family history research and have made a good start on researching at least some branches of their family history.  The Diploma will stimulate your interest further, provide lots of ideas and resources, and develop your skills to continue your research and writing about family history.’

He writes that whilst the workload is not onerous, ‘it is important to keep up with the readings and activities in the weekly units so that you have a chance to make good use of the resources and to explore the topics fully. The units and resources are broad-ranging, interesting and useful and you also have access to the UTAS library resources and databases of journals and books that you can explore for in-depth research.  The lecturers and tutors are highly knowledgeable, friendly and very responsive to any questions.  You also have access to discussion groups with other students.’

Applications are now open for the 2024 Diploma Scholarship and can be made online through the University’s Scholarship Office: https://www.utas.edu.au/study/scholarships-fees-and-costs/domestic-scho…

This is an excellent opportunity to develop your family history research skills and to expand your knowledge in finding and interpreting information about families in the past and sharing family stories with others.

Do you wish there was an easy place to go for help with your Welsh research, the language, the place names?

At GSV we have many interest groups and discussion circles but nothing covering Wales (so far).

We are looking for expressions of interest at this stage. Would you attend if we started such a group?

If we have enough interest then we can look at the frequency of meetings, who can help with the group, and who might have special knowledge they can share.

Please email education@gsv.org.au if you are interested.

The Annual General Meeting will be held on Saturday 7th October at 2pm, and we hope to see as many of our members as we can accommodate. Included on the agenda are the awarding of the GSV Writing Prize (with a report from the judges) and a nomination for the award of a GSV Fellowship, the Society’s highest honour.

We still have a couple of Council vacancies that we hope to fill, so nominations will be taken ‘from the floor’. This could be your chance to become involved.

In particular, we are looking for a member to join Council as Honorary Secretary for the Society.  If you have experience in the role of Secretary for another society, club or company, we'd love to hear from you.

The GSV's Annual Report and Financial Report will be available under the GSV Council tab in the Members area of the website for your information.

Please book online if attending by Zoom, or contact the Society (gsv@gsv.org.au) if you wish to attend in person. For those unable to attend, a form for you to nominate a proxy is available under the GSV Council tab as above.

This month's Family History Tips and Tools will be a chance to quiz a panel of GSV members about how they research. Partly a discussion of research strategies, partly a good stickybeak into what others are doing, the session will ask each panel member a series of questions about how they build their family trees and why they do it that way.

GSV members Penny Mercer, Jenny Redmond and Claire Johnson will be there to answer questions like:

• How do you decide what to research next?
• How do you decide who to include on your tree?
• What information or records might we typically find on a person in your family tree?
• How do you judge that a particular line of inquiry is 'done' (for now at least)?
• How thoroughly do you flesh out an individual's history before moving on to someone else?
• How do you determine the validity of a piece of evidence?  
• How do you use publicly available trees in your research?

If you have questions you would like answered, bring them along with you on Wednesday 27th September at 10:30am. Don't forget to log in before you register here:

https://www.gsv.org.au/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=2424

We are very pleased to announce that the Genealogical Society of Victoria is partnering with Family History Connections and the Ulster Historical Foundation to hold a seminar on Irish family history research in February 2024.

The seminar will be held over two days, Sunday 18th and Monday 19th February, with the option to register for either or both days.

Sessions will be presented by expert speakers from the Ulster Historical Foundation on a range of topics covering all of Ireland.

The seminar is open to anyone interested in researching Irish family history.

To ensure the content of the seminar aligns with the research interest of possible participants, we have created a survey to garner opinions. Please have your say on which topics should be covered over the two days. We appreciate your assistance.

The survey is completed online and accessed via the link below. The survey should take under 10 minutes to complete.

If you are keen don't forget to save the dates in your diary.

https://forms.gle/HX2qDULND6Fc8SNY8