Unlock your family secrets this Christmas

Posted by Web Operations on December 18, 2012 in Convicts

Over 1.8 million NSW crime and law records now available on Ancestry.com.au We recently added the New South Wales Police Gazettes 1854-1930 collection and 120,000 new records to the New South Wales, Gaol Description and Entrance Books, 1818-1930 collection. These collections offer a window into the lives of people on both sides of the law, from lists of police officers, Read More

Guide to Convict Records

Posted by Web Operations on November 30, 2012 in Convicts

The founding of Australia as a penal colony for the transportation of convicts from Britain is of course well known. The First Fleet arrived in New South Wales on 26th January 1788 and over the following 80 years approximately 160,000 convicts were transported to various locations in the country to serve their sentence. In the Read More

Who would name their daughter Halloween? Just check the records.

Posted by Web Operations on November 1, 2012 in Content

Originally authored by Paul Rawlins, Ancestry.com Who would name their daughter Halloween? According to the 1920 (and 1930) U.S. census, that would be John and Ollie Hildebrand of Freeborn Township, Missouri, for one — or two. In case you think maybe the enumerator got it wrong — twice — it’s right there on Halloween’s marriage Read More

New NZ Collections

Posted by Web Operations on November 1, 2012 in Content

New on the site this week are New Zealand Local Histories with indexes ranging from 1840 to 1950. The  Cyclopedia of New Zealand, 1897-1906 provides information about the colonization of New Zealand with details on businesses, residents and professions in the provinces. New Zealand Index, 1899, 1908, 1915 and 1939 are four books which contain detailed information Read More

Haunting Historical Tales

Posted by Web Operations on October 30, 2012 in Deaths

The New South Wales, Australia, Registers of Coroners Inquests and Magisterial Inquiries, 1796 – 1942  contain over 173,000 records and provides a fascinating insight into some of the more unusual causes of deaths of many Australians in colonial times. The collection reveals that the most common causes of death were by drowning, apoplexy (or stroke) and ‘visitations Read More

New Lancashire Parish Records Added

Posted by Web Operations on July 31, 2012 in Births

We have added over 2.3 million Lancashire parish records to the site this week, including baptisms, marriages and burials ranging from 1538 to 1986. These records reveal the past residents of one of England’s most historic counties. What’s New – Lancashire, England, Births and Baptisms, 1813-1911 Lancashire, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1936 Lancashire, England, Deaths and Read More

Anzac Stories – Was Your Ancestor a Military Hero?

Posted by Web Operations on February 24, 2012 in Content

Was your ancestor a military hero? We are on the look-out for stories from our members in time for Anzac Day.  If you have traced your family history and discovered a military hero, we want to hear from you. Have you discovered an Anzac in your family’s story? Perhaps you have uncovered their service and Read More

Memories of the Darwin Bombing

Posted by Web Operations on February 17, 2012 in Military

  From Brad Argent, Content Director at Ancestry.com.au February 19th marks the 71st anniversary of the bombing of Darwin in 1942.  I asked my nan, Nita (shown in the photo above), what she remembered of the day. At the time of the bombing – just two days after her 23rd birthday – she was pregnant with my Read More

130 Years of London Electoral Registers Released Today!

Posted by Web Operations on January 12, 2012 in Content

AUTHORED BY RUSSELL JAMES (ANCESTRY.CO.UK) Our NEW London, England, Electoral Registers, 1835-1965, take you back through the history of Britain and London’s democratic system. More than that, they let you trace your English ancestors’ movements between census years and well into the 20th century, giving you far greater precision in your timeline of their lives. Electoral Read More