Family History Association of North Queensland Inc.

07/06/2025

Imagine the hours and costs involved in digitising our records.
Being able to access digital records online is a bonus when researching. It can save vast amounts of money in travel and accommodation costs to have to visit the repository in person.
Records online also can allow you to research at anytime of the day you have the time.
Don’t forget however you should be recording the source of these inline records as the link can be archived and not so easily found next time.

18/03/2025

Due to the current rain event the Library will be closed Wednesday and Thursday this week.
Stay safe everyone.

18/03/2025

This is a great place to visit to discover more about pre Colonial, world Wars 1 and 2 and Vietnam Wars. Generally opened Wednesday, Friday and Sunday from 9 am until 1 pm.
However it is closed today due to the rain overnight I suspect.

Send a message to learn more

18/03/2025

More on our history.
Did you know that the JCU library has microfilm of North Queensland newspapers that go beyond what are available on Trove?
You can make a booking for 2 hours at a time to view these papers using their microform reader.
Take a USB with you do you can save a digital copy of the items you want.

Uncovering the wild history of the North🧐🤠

In an interview for ABC North Queensland's Saturday Breakfast's new 'True Tales' segment, JCU Library Special Collections Officer and historian Trisha Fielding sat down with host Jess Naunton to discuss the literary transformation of Kiwi communist and author Jean Devanny as she spent her later years living in North Queensland.

Listen to Trisha's interview from 7:06mins here📻👉https://shorturl.at/4aFj8

And stay tuned for more 'True Tales' from our JCU historians over the coming weeks and months.

18/03/2025

Do you remember these places?
Check out this site for information on Townsville and its past.

02/02/2025

The family history research rooms will be closed for this week due to the weather. At this point there is no flooding in the rooms.
We need to keep out members and volunteers safe.
Stay safe everyone.

06/11/2024

Thank you Queensland QLD Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages
Are you using this site to check on your ancestors’ births, deaths and marriages?
The actual date is given for the event, parents’s names for births and deaths so connections can be assessed. Purchasing a historical image online means instant receipt of the document complete with any changes that may have been made to the record.

Discover your family history. It’s free and you can do it online at www.qld.gov.au/familyhistory

State Library of Queensland
National Library of Australia
Genealogical Society of Queensland - GSQ
AFFHO Family History Month
Queensland Family History Society
Family History Association of North Queensland Inc.
Cooroy Noosa Genealogical & Historical Research Group Inc
Just Wondering About Your Family Tree?

02/10/2024

Workshop this Saturday!
Basics of Genealogy
Saturday 5 October 10 am – 12 pm
Are you:
• new to researching your family history?
• having problems with researching?
• wanting to improve your research productivity?
This workshop will help you navigate and remain focused while researching.
Bring along note taking items to record your own extra notes.
Cost $5 for members OR $15 for non-members.
Handouts will be provided.

Send a message to learn more

05/09/2024

More new records available.

05/09/2024

Have you seen the new look Scotland’s People site yet?

Accessing Scotland’s records is easier than ever with quick, simple searching

17/08/2024

This is an interesting read. Lesson - don’t ever assume something has happened without proof.

Missing pre-1855 birth, marriage and death records.

The last few posts in our have looked at using the pre-1855 birth marriage and death records. The elephant in the room, however, is that there are gaping holes in this record series.

After 1855 the huge majority of birth, marriage and deaths are recorded in the statutory records. For the period before 1855 we rely on church records. Sadly, these records have been on quite a journey.

First of all, although every birth, marriage and death was supposed to be recorded by the Church of Scotland, this did not always happen.

Also, water, mould, rats, fire etc. have all eaten away at the records. This has led to portions being missing. Also, as ministers and clerks moved from parish to parish, some took the registers with them.

In some parishes, the church baptisms, banns, burials, accounts and minutes were all kept in the same volume. This means some BMDs are now within the Kirk Session records.

The first thing we need to do is assess whether the records for the parish we are interested in have survived. The basic easy way to do this is head to ScotlandsPeople, leave the search form blank and just select the county and parish. Try this by going to Church of Scotland's deaths and burials, select county Dumfries and parish/congregation Annan. Make a search and you will see no results. This is because the parish register has not survived.

You can dig into this more by consulting the ‘Coverage of the Old Parish Registers’ on the website of the National Records of Scotland. These tell you the precise coverage years and also note when there are very few entries during certain periods.

Why is all this important? When we don’t find an entry we can’t draw any conclusions unless we know what it is that we are searching. For example, did our ancestors die, or did they move? If we search the parish register and there are no results we may incorrectly conclude that they have moved.

When searching for a baptism we may see that the coverage stops part way through the time our ancestor was having children. That can explain why some are registered and others are not.

Working out the coverage is very important, but what can we do if the records are missing? Keep your eyes open for for more tips.