What happened when two couples, one at the pinnacle of society and one working-class, celebrated their nuptials in historic Sydney? Cassie Mercer speaks to Margot Riley, curator at the State Library of New South Wales, to find out. On Wednesday 7 August 1878 the city of Sydney came to a standstill. Around 10,000 people gathered Read More
Family trees reveal love stories that show how romance was born before dating evolved into swiping right on an app Back in the day, lovebirds used to court, woo and express their heart-felt emotions in thoughtful romantic gestures. This is a stark contrast to today’s dating world, where the poetic, hand-written love letter has Read More
Family history continues to boom around the world, as more people want to understand their heritage, culture and even their DNA. Cassie Mercer lists 10 reasons to fall in love with family history. 1 You’re preserving your family’s history An obvious reason to start with, of course. But in my experience there’s usually Read More
For anyone with ancestors from Sydney, Rookwood General Cemetery may hold clues vital to your family research. Why? Because it’s the largest cemetery from the Victorian era still in operation in the world, with more than one million burials spread across its 200 hectares. Its vast landscaped gardens have become the last resting place for Read More
Parish registers of baptisms, marriages and burials are one of the main staples of the family historian. Anyone tracing their family tree back further than civil registration and the census in England will almost certainly look at these sources. Indeed, many of you will have spent hours scrolling through microfilms of registers in the pursuit Read More
If you are new to the world of family history and DNA, you might not be aware of one of the best offline resources at your disposal – family history societies. Societies have been around for decades and have always been a haven for those of us looking for our ancestors. Prior to the boom Read More
Family historians know the value of a good murder. A death and some intrigue in colonial Australia often left a great paper trail in the records, one that can reveal all sorts of details when you know where to look. Historian Catie Gilchrist, from the University of Sydney is one such person. Catie has always Read More
This month, Ancestry launched 73 new and updated AncestryDNA communities for the UK as part of a global release of over 225 new regions. This is an exciting next step in the journey we are taking with our customers, as we continue to discover more about how our DNA can add to our knowledge and Read More
There are lots of family history societies around Australia and New Zealand and they play a key role in genealogy research. Membership fees are typically very reasonable, so here are some great reasons why it’s worth joining up. 1. They can help you get started. If you’re new to family history, joining a family history Read More
Richard Dutkiewicz had always wondered about his father. He’d never known him – his mother had said he was killed in action in the Pacific at the end of World War II. “I was born in Germany in 1946,” explains Richard, who now lives in Canberra. “My mother was German, my father an American marine Read More