DESCENT SAGS June 2024
Harnessing the power of ChatGPT: A versatile tool for family historians… “In November 2022, Open AI (“artificial intelligence”) launched ChatGPT, a chatbot and virtual assistant which amassed one million users within just five days of its launch.” “ChatGPT offers a wide range of applications, from assisting in writing engaging narratives to aiding in data analysis, organisation, transcriptions, translation, and more.” The article goes on to explain the seven key principles for effectively utilising ChatGPT.
The Twisted Olive Branch …… “…my maternal great-grandmother Olive…. a tangled web of stories Olive wove throughout her lifetime: stories that were inconsistent, just didn’t add up, and frustrated myth family for decades.”
Genealogical Serendipity …. research on John Bland (1815-18655) and Mary Bland (1832-1909) done by Kathryn van de Mei and Vanessa Cassin.
DESCENT SAGS March 2024
In Search of Convicts …. An over-view of the penial British colonies from the 1600s through to the 1800s…. then “the changing perceptions of Convict ancestry in Australia…. there is access to an open article “Genealogies of Enslavement and Convictism: Family Histories and their Legacies k n Barbados, Mauritius, and Australia”
IN SEARCH OF CONVICTS
The Convict and the Copper … In search of Convicts …. The case of Richard Bailey ILLIDGE… a stolen watch …. tried in court …. imprisoned on a hulk … arrival in Australia ….
Shadrach was a (Penton) Villain! …. The name given by Melbournians to a group of “Penton villains……
The Decisions a Poor Shephard … the story of John Bollard …. he died on 22 June 1849.
Bryan O’Connor. Doctor, Rebel, Convict, Free….
The Genealogy of Father John Joseph Therry …. “Family embarrassment” …. Information drawn from the Therry Papers held at the State Library of New South Wales
What’s in a Name? the article shows how family names are common through one generation to another
ON THE RECORD…. The State Archives …. researching Convicts in the State Archives Collection … webinar program …. new copy service …
Also … heaps of information in LIBRARY NEWS and LIBRARY UPDATES
HISTORY RAHS June 2024
The Cinderella of Primary Sources
“What source of historical evidence is the most unappreciated? I suspect the answer is business records. … example Catherine Bishop’s use of insolvency, bank and other records to open our eyes to how many businesswomen there were in colonial Sydney.”
‘White’ or wrong – it was the kindest thing to do. … Nathan White … his trouble with the law … the key points from the trial records …
The Sawyers Strike at Pennant Hills 1819. Governor Macquarie … tightening up the convict system …. Hyde Park Barracks …
The Convict Trail Project: Caring for the Great North Road … a 240-kilometre convict road constructed between 1826-836 to connect Newcastle and the Hunter Valley with Sydney.
The Chalmers Street Fires …..
“At around 4.30pm on Wednesday 25 May2023, the Henderson Warehouse building in Randle Street, Surry Hills, was gutter in a massive and spectacular fare …..
Book Reviews … Mosman, times gone by/Rowdy Voices & Quiet Whispers: Female Convicts-Port Macquarie/Vacy to Gresford, people and places
HISTORY RAHS September 2024
The Mawson of Mawson Park, Campbelltown “the park where Gov. Lachlan Macquarie named the township of “Campbell Town” The Curious Case of Captain James’ Ostrich Farm … “the start of the 20th century ostrich feathers were valuable and a sought after commodity …
War Comes to Australia: A Regional Response … National Emergency Service (NES) was established in 1939 …
Exploring people and places through the City of Sydney Assessment Books …The City Archives …. what assessment books reveal….how to locate information in the assessment books …. searching ward boundaries …. searching collective title … and more
Liverpool Street, Darlinghurst: One street, one hundred years …. “1851 assessment books recorded sixteen structures in Liverpool St., by 1858 that number was ninety-five.”
Parallel Lives: Jane Binks and Una Falkiner, women diarists on the land
All the above journals are available in our rooms for you to read. Please come in and enjoy the articles…the Librarians or the Duty Staff will assist you locate them. jgs