10th Unlock the Past Cruise: Days 12-14 Genealogy, Friends and More Genealogy
In case you haven’t gathered from my previous posts, geneacruising (aka genealogy conferencing onboard a cruise ship) is a whole lot of fun. You get to see great places, you get to make wonderful new friends, and you get to do a whole lot of learning – to the point where no some are already wanting to go home and restart researching, they’re so enthused. And that’s without mentioning that the food is there for you, your room is tidied twice a day, and the laundry service (although expensive) is invaluable. So let me continue with my reporting on the 10th cruise for you …
Day 12 – at Sea (Thursday 25 February 2016)
The second half of Day 12 for me was spent in the Conference room. After walking out on lunch at the Silk Harvest Restaurant, I grabbed a snack and headed straight for the Conference room, and sat in on the next six talks that were scheduled for the rest of the day:
– Document analysis workshop part 1 (Helen Smith)
– Document analysis workshop part 2 (Helen Smith)
– DNA and the golden rule: the law and ethics of genetic genealogy (Judy G. Russell)
– Online trends in family history (Shauna Hicks)
– Future Unlock the Past cruises (Alan Phillips)
– Asylum records: a place to look for missing ancestors (Shauna Hicks)
Louis Kessler was scheduled to do two talks today, but due to feeling unwell, so they were rescheduled and will be heard later on the cruise.
Helen’s talks on document analysis went indepth showing all the information that you can (and should be) gleaning from various records. Too often people simply looks for the names in the middle, and miss the many other valuable clues.
Judy reminded us that there are laws and ethics that we should keep in mind when we are dealing with family and DNA testing. An absolute no no is bullying!! You cannot bully anyone into taking a test. And no sharing of results publicly, unless your family member approves. They are NOT your results.
Shauna talks on online trends with genealogy and social media and the ways you can utilise these tools to advantage.
Shauna’s second talk was on Asylums and covered what are the records, where are the records, and finding aids. A couple of tips from this talks: old newspapers sometimes lists people who were in asylums, so be sure to check Trove. And also there was a large number of women whose husbands went to the goldfields, and they ended up destitute in asylums. I thought they were useful tips.
Helen Smith discussing document analysis
Judy G. Russell talks on DNA, the law and ethics
Shauna Hicks talks about Asylum Record
the view out the window when having dinner
Day 13 – Melbourne (Friday 26 February 2016)
Melbourne was an early start for me, as I decided to join the rest of the UTP team on the shore seminar. So we were up and off the ship by about 8am, and headed to The Celtic Club. There was an enthusiastic group of people who turned up to hear talks by Louis Kessler and Paul Blake. Covering topics such as sourced-based genealogy, English and Welsh protestant nonconformist records, British probate records, and the origins of your Irish ancestors. Together with the great topics, attendees were treated to displays from the Genealogical Society of Victoria (GSV), VicGUM, and us (aka Gould Genealogy & History with lots of goodies available. It was fabulous to catch up with my dear friends Lee-Anne and Rob Hamilton who made the triip to Melbourne for the day. While the talks were on I utilised the fast (aka non-ship-speed) internet, and was able to finish off one of my earlier posts, so I was pleased about that. To top off our day in Melbourne, we were treated to Irish music as we left the Celtic Club, which was lovely.
Louis Kessler, Helen Smith and (moi) Alona Tester heading to the seminar in Melbourne
Rob and Lee-Anne Hamilton, Helen Smith and Rosemary Kopittke
Lee-Anne Hamilton, Helen Smith, Rosemary Kopittke and Alona Tester
[used with permission from Lee-Anne Hamilton]
some of the many Unlock the Past guide books
Day 14 – at Sea (Saturday 27 February 2016)
Another sea day, and it was another great day of learning, and I made it to five or the eight talks schedule for the day. Apart from the talks below, the big news of the day was that some people saw dolphins. Sadly I didn’t. Oh well, maybe later. So the talks …
– What test for me? Targeted DNA testing (Judy Russell)
– Making the most of your genealogy software (Louis Kessler)
– TheGenealogist.co.uk: What’s the difference? (Rosemary Kopittke)
– Sporting ancestors (Shauna Hicks)
– A brief history of the photograph (Paul Blake)
Judy’s talk on “What test”, highlighted how to use DNA testing when records simply don’t exist. And how she reconstructed a family through it.
I have heard Louis’ talk on making the most of your genealogy software before, but it’s always good to hear. Just a few of tips from it: you need a program that you find enjoyable, and that you are happy with. And one of the best things you can do for yourself is to take a typing course. The quicker you type, the quicker you can type in your family tree, saving you an immense amount of time – that;s makes sense, and one more … NEVER merge your tree, keep any files that you are sent separate. This one I agree with thanks to hindsight. Sadly I have done this in the past and it made a mess of my tree, as their style of entering is different to mine. So I have made a rule that I will never do it again, and if I want the info in my tree, I will simply retype it!
Shauna’s “sporting ancestors” is a good one, and highlights all the possible records you could find relating to your sporting ancestors. And she’s not meaning just professional sportsmen and women, but even the local town clubs, tennis, bowls, cricket, football, duck shooting, cycling, school sports days and everything else in between. You might be surprised at what you ancestors took part in.
Rosemary Kopittke talks about TheGenealogist
Paul Blake talks on the history of photographs
lounge chairs in the indoor pool area
deck chairs in the indoor pool area
sunset
evening drinks
Fourteen days down, and still another four to go, so there’s more adventures to come ….
Related Posts:
10th Unlock the Past Cruise: Days 1-3 Embarking, Roses and Glow-worms
10th Unlock the Past Cruise: Days 4-6 Genealogy, Crazy Wind and Step Record
10th Unlock the Past Cruise: Days 7-10 Chocolate, Bagpipes, Mountains and Talks Galore
10th Unlock the Past Cruise: Day 11 Hummer, Didgeridoos, Sunshine
10th Unlock the Past Cruise: Day 12 Behind the Scenes
2 Responses to “10th Unlock the Past Cruise: Days 12-14 Genealogy, Friends and More Genealogy”
Leave a Reply
Sounds wonderful. Wish we’d had some of the speakers in Adelaide
loved it Alona. I learnt so much about family history, loved the speakers, loved the friendly atmosphere and the cruise ship was an experience I will never forget. Two things off my bucket list this year! Thank you for your help, and thank you to UTP for their supreme efforts for putting it all together. Fingers crossed (and good health) I hope to experience it all over again in the future. Thank You.