Category Archives: genealogy research

Researching a female convict of Van Diemen’s land: Ann Simmons, a convict mother.

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I wrote a blog for GSQ in 2023 titled The Gift of Resilience about Ann Simmons, my three times great-grandmother, who was transported to Van Diemen’s Land in early 1823. Researching Ann was a slow process and at times more difficult than I expected because hardly anything had been written about her. Ann is mentioned in Peter Tardiff’s Notorious Strumpets and Dangerous Girls on page 600, but the information was minimal: the date and nature of her conviction, the ship … Continue reading

Metaphors We Live By: Phrases That Capture the Genealogical Journey.

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Family history isn’t just about names carefully plotted on a chart—it’s a lived experience, rich with mystery, challenge, and moments of delight. It’s the thrill of uncovering a long-forgotten story, the frustration of chasing a record that seems to vanish into thin air, the quiet satisfaction of piecing a life together from scattered fragments. Along the way, family historians—whether seasoned researchers or curious beginners—adopt a unique language. We find ourselves speaking in phrases steeped in metaphor and meaning, a kind … Continue reading

18th Unlock the Past Cruise roundup

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With the Connections 2025 Early Bird closing date behind us, my thoughts are now on another conference which I’m currently attending. This one is rather different to our big one next March which is at Eight Mile Plains in Brisbane, as we’re now at sea onboard Celebrity Edge, and the conference is run by Alan Phillips under his Unlock the Past (UTP) banner. With these UTP cruise conferences, there are sessions during sea days and every night, one at 8pm. … Continue reading

Broaden your horizons.

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One of the topics I’ve presented to a few societies is “The marriage of family and local history”. By broadening our research focus to our family’s geographic context to the place(s) where they lived, we can learn so much more about their engagement with their local community and the successes and trials of that community. I don’t know about you, but when I drive through a small country town, I wonder how it came to be – what brought it … Continue reading

Birds of a feather flock together at Congress.

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By Jill Ball. As a friendly flock we genies love to gather in person. The high spot on the genealogy calendar for family historians downunder is the triennial Congress or, to give it its proper name, the Australasian Congress on Genealogy and Heraldry of the Australasian Federation of Family History Organisations Inc. (AFFHO) “The four-day festival of learning and laughing and loving” – Judy G Russell 2018 (11) Next year’s Congress, Connections2025, to be held in Brisbane in March 2025 will … Continue reading