Genealogy: Generation & Knowledge + some tips

Posted by Fannie T on July 21, 2012 · 2 Comments 

Genealogy (from Greek: γενεά, genea, “generation”; and λόγος, logos, “knowledge”) is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history.

What I like is the etymology of Genealogy; the combination of the notion of the words Generation and Knowledge. More than the study of family history for me this notion is not in fact time -limited, but if you think about it, its more that ideas, memories, connections continue to exist and we build on them, change them, adapt. So rather than title this section family history, I shall stick with genealogy.

Tips and Technology

This blog is a journey really (I’m sure we all say that!). What I mean is I intend to explore ways of using modern and traditional technology to discover connections across the centuries as I explore the past, the present and the future. Frances Trudgett is my research touchpoint. I’ll use her  life as a way to discover connections across art, design, politics, technology, even food and explore new ways of interpreting our place in the world. In my research I will highlight tips on how to use some fantastic digital technologies to explore those dark and mysterious stories that exist in researching the history of a person, a place, and event, or current dialogues on a topic.

I’ll try and do this each time I use a new way of researching a topic.

TIP #1

If you live in Tasmania, then I here is a tip for you. No matter what you are interested in, I recommend you get a library card. Great, I hear you say, and when is the last time I used one of them. Well guys, in Tasmania, unlike anywhere else in Australia, all public lending libraries, the State Research Library, the Archives Office, Heritage collections, Adult Education and what are called online access centres are combined in to one service called LINC Tasmania. Whoopee I hear you say, what’s in it for me? Good question. Here’s the answer. Even if you never find the time to walk physically into your local library/LINC what you have at your fingertips, available 24/7 is worth the effort of getting yourself a library card. LINC Tasmania has all an incredible online digital archive available to ANYONE, even with out a card. From Convict records to Wills, photographs, and links to helpful sites too, its one of the best digital archives in the country if not in the world. In fact TAHO’s convict records (along with those of New South Wales and Western Australia) have been added to the UNESCO Memory of the World International Register. The register is the equivalent for documents of the World Heritage List for built and natural sites.

Great, so why the library card? Well some of the online resources through LINC Tasmania can only be accessed with your library card. But you can do that from any computer or iPhone etc.  One of the most amazing is the ability to access full texts of British Newspapers from 1600 to 1900, all for free if you have your library card at hand. Which is how I found that little reference to Fannie T in the Bury and Norfolk Post 1828

Enough on this one. Hope this tip has been helpful.

Fannie T

Filed under Genealogy · Tagged with genealogy, research, tips