Family Tree

Genealogical Research

 

 

The Salvation Army’s Family Tracing Services are dedicated to the reunification of families.  We do not provide genealogical research.

If you are an experienced genealogist, we recommend that you pursue your normal research options.

If you are new to building your family tree, then here are some suggestions to help you get started.

 

• When tracing your family, begin with what you know as fact and work back.  The first person on your tree should be you.  Then you parents, then your siblings, and keep working outward.
• Another important thing to remember is the golden rule.  If you did not see the original document yourself, don’t assume the information is guaranteed to be correct.
• Do not believe all that you hear.  Word of mouth recall should always be considered questionable.  Just because your surname is Armstrong, doesn’t mean you are related to one of NASA’s finest.  Look for hard evidence, but remember that even the best and most reliable records may have incomplete or incorrect information.
• As you get further into your research, you will make contact with people and you will have to rely on their memories for information.  If your grandmother tells you that her aunt was married to Einstein, don’t assume that it is correct and just add Albert to the tree.  If you are confident, make a small 2nd tree around him and keep it separate until you have factual evidence to back up the claim.  It is easy enough to add the two trees together later.
• In Australia, the records are well kept and resourcing information on family history can be relatively easy.  In other countries, the records may have been damaged or lost.
• Prior to 1940, the British records were kept in a city called Coventry.  During the bombing of Coventry in November, 1940, many of the UK records were destroyed.  In some 3rd world countries, no records are kept at all.
• There is a set design for genograms (family relational diagrams).  It is best that you become familiar with the layout and symbols early in the process.
• You should check out a few of the many genealogical programs that are available.  Do this before you have put too much effort into collecting names, dates, etc.
• Construct a small tree based on your immediate family.  Use this to trial a few different programs.  You will soon work out which one you are most comfortable using.
• Some genealogical web sites charge to use their sites, while others are free.  It is worth learning a bit before you start paying money.  You can easily spend a nice little fortune on programs and subscriptions and have nothing to show for it.  Make certain that you only pay for what is useful to you.
• Learn the terminology.  Gedcom is a format for genealogy files.  Most genealogical programs will open and save Gedcom files.   This will allow you to email files to relatives so that they can open them into whatever program they use.
• The Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS – Mormons) has developed a massive genealogical system where you are able to search for matching names.   Be aware that the information may not be posted by professionals and may not be accurate.

The true challenge of genealogy is working out a filing system that can cope with odd conversations with people who you have never met and random notes that may have meaning at a later date.

Below, you will find a number of links to various genealogy related sites.  There is no prejudice or preferrence, they were just the first sites that came to hand.  We recommend that you begin there and wish you the very best success with building your family tree.

 

Links 

 

Genopro Links Page

http://www.genopro.com/genealogy-links/

This page has links to many genealogical sites and is well worth surfing to see if it is of any help to you.

Births, Deaths & Marriages

http://www.australia.gov.au/Births,_Deaths_&_Marriages_Registries

Australian Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages.
Some states make their archived records of BDM available on their websites.  This in not guaranteed for all states and it is up to you to check out what is available in the states you are interested in.
Keep in mind that you will not be able to access records later than 30 years ago.  The Australian privacy laws protect the records with the intent of protecting the privacy of people still living.

Genealogy Site

http://www.caslon.com.au/registersnote1.htm

This site has some interesting links and puts forward some interesting ideas.

National Archives of Australia

http://www.naa.gov.au/services/family-historians/index.aspx

The National Archives of Australia has valuable information for researchers.  It is worth surfing the site for gems of information and advice.

School friends / friends reunited

http://www.schoolfriends.com.au/

This is a site that caters for friends to reconnect by listing their names against the school / university they attended.  Once you create a profile on this site, you are able to view the other people who have registered against the school.

Australian Newspaper (1803 to 1954)

http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper

This is a site that contains historical information as well as Birth, Death, Marriage notices.

 

 

Recommended Reading:

(Some of these publications may be out of print but available in libraries or through support services and groups)

Chambers, Margaret. (1998). Finding Families: The Guide to the National Archives of Australia for Genealogists. The National Archives of Australia with Hale & Iremonger.

Reakes, Janet, 1986,A Janet Reakes guide – How to trace your missing ancestors whether living, dead, or adopted, Southwood press pty Ltd, Marrickville, NSW, Australia.

 

 

 

Contact Us

If you reside in NSW or ACT regarding a search, please use the email below-

familytracingservicensw@aue.salvationarmy.org

(02) 9211 0277