Genealogy in 2013 - Accentuate the Positive

My response to the latest 'Accentuate the Positive' geneameme will be shorter than most. During 2013 I chose to spend more time with my nearest and dearest, and less time doing my own family history. I also began to change the focus of my work as a genealogy professional. Noteworthy events during 2013 included:

• After many months of hard work, I finally finished revamping, expanding and moving my main Web site. All 135 pages are now at www.judywebster.com.au (my own domain name). The site has advice and indexes that help genealogists to research local, interstate and overseas folk by using historical records. The emphasis is on unusual sources that are superb for problem solving. (Read about the features of the new site.)


• More than 16,000 names from three of my indexes (hospital admission records for Croydon and Brisbane, and old age pension records) were added to the Australasian collection at FindMyPast.


• I had an article published in Inside History magazine ('The Case of the False Identity'). To the amazement and delight of one reader, an example I quoted in my article revealed that her great-grandfather was one of several people who used someone else's identity to emigrate to Australia.


• Statistics showed that there was an exceptionally good response to two of my blog posts, Tips on Using FindMyPast for Genealogy and Improved Searches for Births Deaths and Marriages.


• I created a Web page with a reading list to highlight some of my favourite books plus others that I want to read during the coming year. The list includes genealogy, history and fiction titles.


• In addition to my usual genealogy talks, I experimented with private face-to-face consultations and informal group sessions (which, thankfully, were a great success).


• I started using DNA testing for genealogy.


• I visited relatives in outback Queensland, and my cousin let me copy family photographs and WW2 letters that I had never seen.

I wonder what 2014 will bring!
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