Royal Prince to inspire 1400 extra Georges

Posted by Web Operations on July 25, 2013 in Famous Faces

George is set to be the fourth most popular baby name of 2014 in the UK, with an additional 1,400 predicted to be born next year compared with 2013. If Australia continues its trend of taking baby name inspiration from the UK Royals, there could be a sharp rise in the popularity of George locally. Read More

Great Gatsby Family Trees

Posted by Web Operations on May 22, 2013 in Famous Faces

We’ve been doing some research into the 2013 character of the hotly anticipated film, The Great Gatsby. Through some careful digging it appears that life, or family history in this case, imitates art for some of the lead characters. Leonardo DiCaprio’s (Gatsby) great grandfather went from a street sweeper in 1900 (shown in the 1900 U.S. Read More

Never Mind ‘Elizabeth’ – Royal Baby Could be a ‘Lancelot’, ‘Boniface’ or ‘Grissel’

Posted by Web Operations on December 10, 2012 in Famous Faces

If Prince William and Kate Middleton decide to take baby-name inspiration from their forebears, the royal baby could be born a ‘Grissel’, ‘Boniface’ or even ‘Lancelot’. New research from Ancestry reveals that while ‘Elizabeth’ and ‘John’ are the most common boys and girls names in both family trees, there are several more unusual choices the young Read More

Real James Bond Uncovered in Historic Archive

Posted by Web Operations on October 23, 2012 in Famous Faces

Sidney Reilly, the secret agent widely believed to be the inspiration for Ian Fleming’s legendary character James Bond, has been uncovered in an online archive available at Ancestry.com.au. The record (shown above) was found in the British Army WWI Medal Rolls Index Cards, 1914-1920 collection, which details the medal entitlement of more than 4.8 million Read More

4 out of 5 Aussies want Prince William to be declared King

Posted by Web Operations on June 8, 2012 in Famous Faces

Over two billion[i] people are expected to have watched the televised Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations marking the Queen’s 60 year reign, and with the Queen’s birthday weekend quickly approaching in most states, we are honouring the occasion by making 236 million UK records free to access for the whole weekend, starting 12.01AM on Friday 8 June Read More

Famous faces in the 1930 US Census

Posted by Web Operations on February 17, 2012 in Famous Faces

What do funny man Mel Brooks, quizmaster Bob Dyer, and Winifred Patty Christensen all have in common?  They’re all in the 1930 US Census. Many of you will be familiar with actor and producer Mel Brooks (born Melvin Kaminsky in 1926) and you can see him appearing in the 1930 US Census (shown below), living at 365 Read More

Who Do You Think You Are? Is Back!

Posted by Web Operations on September 12, 2011 in Famous Faces

We have good news for fans of the genealogy show Who Do You Think You Are? The second US series begins this Wednesday on Channel 9. Over the coming weeks, some of the biggest stars in the US will trace their family tree and make discoveries about their ancestors. The celebrities in this series include Read More

Search 200 million travel and immigration records free!

Posted by Web Operations on August 30, 2011 in Famous Faces

It’s Free Access Week at Ancestry.com.au! From 29 August – 6 September 2011, we are giving you free access to all our immigration and travel databases from around the world. You can search 329 databases and more than 122 million records from the mid-1500s to mid-1990s to unlock the clues to your ancestor’s immigration. If Read More

Australian Immigration Collection Launch

Posted by Web Operations on July 14, 2011 in Famous Faces

We are very excited to announce the launch our new Australian Immigration Collection, 1788 – 1923, the largest online collection of historic Australian immigration records in existence. The new collection documents the names and journeys of more than 14.5 million people who travelled to Australia between 1788 and 1923 in search of a new life. Read More

Entrance Books for the Vernon and the Sobraon 1867-1911

Posted by Web Operations on March 3, 2011 in Famous Faces

This collection contains records for destitute children and vagrants that were sent to the Vernon and Sobraon, between 1867 and 1911. The Vernon and Sobraon were ships that served as all-boy public industrial schools and reformatories. The Vernon was replaced by the Sobraon in 1892 and both were moored in Sydney Harbour during their use Read More