Finding Broken Links (Tuesday's Tip)

This is how I tackle the problem of finding links that need to be changed:

1. I periodically use W3C's free link checker to identify broken links in my blogs and Web pages.


2. I have downloaded and sometimes use Xenu's Link Sleuth.


3. The HTML code for each of my Web pages is saved in a folder on my hard drive; and the HTML code for my blog posts (copied and pasted from the HTML tab while editing in Blogger) is saved in the nifty little programme Treepad. If someone tells me that a domain address or specific URL has changed, I can easily find out exactly where that link appears in my blogs or Web pages. I simply use the powerful search functions in Treepad (for my blogs) and Powerdesk (for text files with the HTML code for my Web pages).

Have you found other ways to tackle the problem?

(You can see more of my tips here. 'Tuesday's Tip' is a theme used by 'Geneabloggers'.)
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Headstones and Distant Burials (Tuesday's Tip)

George Hudson is William's son

The fact that a person's name appears on a headstone does not necessarily mean that he or she is actually buried there. Many headstones include the name of a family member buried in another town or another country. Sometimes the inscription makes that clear, but in many cases it does not.

There is a headstone for my great-great-grandfather, William HUDSON (1806-1882) in the churchyard at Crambe, North Yorkshire, England. I had no idea that he was actually buried in Linthorpe Cemetery at Middlesbrough - until I found a funeral card among family documents.

Depending on the geographical location, records that may specify the place of burial could include a death certificate, will, inquest file, newspaper notice, memorial card, or a church, cemetery or local government burial register. (Indexes to many headstones and burial registers are now on Findmypast.)

Records created by undertakers and funeral directors are another source of information about the place of burial. In Australia, many genealogical groups have indexed such records for their local area. Some are listed in Specialist Indexes in Australia: a Genealogist's Guide.

The records of Gregson and Weight (funeral directors in Queensland, Australia) refer to burials or funeral services that took place as far away as New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Fiji, Sweden, Greece, Hungary, Austria and the Netherlands.

Have you found other sources of information about distant places of burial?
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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!
~~~

Italian, Swiss and Austrian Genealogy

I have no personal experience with Italian, Swiss or Austrian genealogy, but in response to a question about research in those areas, I came up with the following suggestions. If you can add to this list, please do so in a comment below.

Italy

• Getting Started with Italian Genealogy


• Italian genealogy records on Ancestry.com


• 'Italian Genealogy' Quick-Guide from Legacy Family Tree


• ItalianGenealogy.com


• Rootsweb's Guide to tracing Italian family trees


• Italian town names


• 'Researching in Italy' (Lener) in A Selection of Papers: First International Congress on Family History and Fifth Australasian Congress on Genealogy and Heraldry. Australasian Federation of Family History Organisations and Society of Australian Genealogists, Sydney, 1988. ISBN 0959394044.


• 'Italian Immigration of the 19th and 20th Centuries' (Lener) in Our Heritage in History: Papers of the Sixth Australasian Congress on Genealogy and Heraldry. Genealogical Society of Tasmania, Launceston, 1991. ISBN 0646037846.

Switzerland

• Swiss genealogy records on Ancestry.com


• Rootsweb's Guide to tracing Swiss family trees

Austria

• Austrian genealogy records on Ancestry.com


• Rootsweb's Guide to tracing Austrian family trees

The person who asked me this question will be delighted if you can add other suggestions in a comment below.

Are you getting fewer blog comments?

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20% discount for FindMyPast world subscriptions

Findmypast periodically offers discounts and 'free access' days, which in future I will list on the Discounts and Freebies page on my main Web site. You may also want to read why I use and recommend FindMyPast.

The 2013 'Family History Month' promotional offer has been extended. Until 30 Sep 2013 you can get a 20% discount off a 12 month World subscription to Findmypast. This gives you full access to 1.8 billion world records including British newspapers.

I am a big fan of Findmypast for genealogy research. For records that are on Findmypast and also other sites, Findmypast's indexes and transcriptions are (in my experience) much more accurate. This is particularly obvious with British census records.

Findmypast are constantly adding new records for Australia, New Zealand, UK, Ireland, United States and Canada. The World Records page lists categories and all the record sets available within them. Follow the links to read descriptions of what each record set contains and the detailed information that you can expect to find. To narrow your search to a specific record set, use the search box at the top of the page that describes it.

(Revenue from ads goes to Kiva)

Most Popular Genealogy Blog Posts

Queensland Genealogy - most popular blog posts as at 17 May 2013

Yesterday someone asked me about my most popular blog posts. According to the stats for each of my genealogy blogs, the posts with the highest number of page views are:

• Queensland Genealogy: J is for Jurors and Justice Department
• Genealogy Leftovers: How to Become a Paid Genealogy Researcher
• UK / Australia Genealogy: CuriousFox
• Updates Genie: No.18 (genealogy worldwide) (FindMyPast; Births, Deaths and Marriages; Gazetteer of British Place Names; Society of Australian Genealogists manuscripts index)
• Jottings Journeys and Genealogy: Our Family Christmas - Then and Now
• Genealogists for Families project: A Milestone
• Yorkshire Genealogy: Borthwick Institute Research Guides
• Outback Story: Alternative Medicine

Memoirs of a WWII Airman and Prisoner of War

If someone in your family served in the RAF, RAAF or RCAF during World War 2, you may want to read Of Stirlings and Stalags: an air-gunner's tale, a first-hand account of a young man's wartime experience. William 'Bill' GOODMAN's memoirs include references to airmen from Australia, Canada, South Africa and Britain.

Bill describes his service with 7 Squadron at Oakington; the terrifying events of the night their Stirling was shot down over Holland; his subsequent incarceration at Stalag Luft 3 (of 'Great Escape' fame); periods in other camps; and the long, debilitating march back home. With fascinating commentary, vivid description and the intimacy of his experience, Bill writes about his fellow airmen and POWs, the man who shot down their Stirling on that eventful night, the heroes of the Dutch resistance and, surprisingly, a kindly and caring guard in Stalag Luft 3!

Of Stirlings and Stalags: an air-gunner's tale is available in paperback from Lulu or as an e-book from Amazon.

The book's editor is Gill Chesney-Green, Bill's daughter, who is a member of the 'Genealogists for Families' project.