Moonee Valley Family & Local History Blog

Back in May we were happy to announce that remote access to Ancestry.com had been extended until September 2021. Now we’re even happier to announce that this access has been extended further, to December 31, 2021! This means you can access all the records found in the library edition of Ancestry from home until the end of the year, just by logging in with your library card details. Three Boys with Train Set & Teddy, Backyard, Strathmore, 1949 , photograph courtesy of Museums Victoria Ancestry is always adding new records to their database (such as Paris, France, Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1792-1902 ), and updating the collections that have already been uploaded (like Canada, Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current ). So even if you’ve searched Ancestry before and haven’t found the information you were looking for, there’s a chance new records that might help with your research have been added in the meantime. It’s always worth having another search! If you haven’t accessed...

Research your family history with Ancestry, you might discover something like this-  The exterior of 45 Finsbury st in Newmarket from the 1880s, with occupants- mother and child. Good news for all those who have been getting stuck into researching their family history from home- Ancestry Library Edition remote access has been extended! ProQuest, who we thank for providing remote Ancestry access to our library members, issued this statement last week- “Access to Ancestry Library Edition has been temporarily expanded to library cardholders working remotely, courtesy of ProQuest and its partner Ancestry.  Remote access will be available until  September 30/2021 and will continue to be re-evaluated.” This means you can access all the records found in the library edition of Ancestry from home, just by logging in with your library card details. Visit our library catalogue here , and you’ll find Ancestry under the Research tab, in the Family History in the Library list of res...

This year the annual RootsTech conference about researching family history, hosted by FamilySearch each year in Salt Lake City in the US, is being held completely online and access is free. Save the dates: 25 - 27 FEBRUARY, 2021. And register online to save your space at the online conference:  https://www.rootstech.org There will be over 150 sessions including celebrity keynote speakers, varied classes hosted by family history specialists from all over the globe, cultural activities, an online marketplace and even opportunities to potentially connect with distant family members.

As it is Family History Month, and we're still locked down with Stage Four restrictions, here’s a list of family history things that can be done without leaving the house. Ten Family History Things To Do From Home: 1. Write your own memoirs – there’s no time like the present to preserve your memories. You could record them too, especially if writing is not your thing. 2. Connect with family members via phone or online to collect their stories as well. If you want to use video chat (like Zoom or something similar) to do this, but you're not sure how, this how-to video from State Library Victoria might help. 3. Document your photos. Note down everything you know about who is who, and when and where. Everything. And a bonus: document that you were the one who did this and you’re pretty much guaranteed to be a favourite ancestor of any family history loving descendants for generations to come!  4. Keep researching. Although libraries and archives are closed the...

We might be spending a bit more time at home at the moment, so what better time to get stuck into researching your family history! Tracing your family tree and recording your family history is one of the world's most popular pass times, and many of the resources to get you started are available online. Moonee Valley Libraries has created a handy guide to tracing your family history, which will introduce you to the resources available to help you with your research. The guide includes tips to think about before you get started, how to make the most of Ancestry Library Edition and Find my Past, and links to a lot of useful websites and organisations to help you dig out information about your family history. Click here to access the guide and get started discovering your history. Once you’re familiar with how to use these online resources, a world of information awaits you. Dive in and you may be amazed with what you discover- royalty, perhaps? Royal Family Tree - image courtesy ...

Anzac Day in 2020 will be very different. Marches and other gatherings may  have been cancelled but you can still honour those who served in other ways by doing a little research and sharing the information. The starting  point is the  Australian War Memorial (AWM) which has a number of records available online including the poignant Red Cross Wounded and Missing Files. AWM also provides useful links to other sites such as the National Archives of Australia (NAA)  and the Commonwealth War Graves .  Both NAA and AWM have research guides to assist you. Memoriams are another poignant reminder of the cost of war and they can be found by searching through Trove , particularly in local newspapers. Most newspapers from 1914 to 1918 have been digitised and are available to view in full. They are a valuable reminder of that period in our history. Record the information you gather so that you can share it with others. There are many digital platforms avail...

"We're pleased to announce that the online resources, Ancestry Library Edition and Find My Past, usually accessible only in our libraries  can now both be used from home! This access is available to Moonee Valley Libraries members through the Library Catalogue. Please note that for Ancestry the preferred browsers are  Internet Edge or Explorer. If you have any difficulties with access please call library staff on 9243 1900 between 9am - 5pm Monday to Friday. A massive thanks to Ancestry and Find My Past for making these great resources available for the community to use from home at this time."

There's still a few spots left for our "What's it worth?" valuation event, coming up this Saturday. Do you have a family heirloom? Ever wondered what it's worth? Have your old treasures valued by a professional with over 30 years experience. No watches, gold or jewellery. This session will be happening at Sam Merrifield Library on Saturday 22nd July, from 10am-12pm. A non-refundable fee of $5 per item (maximum of 2 items per person) can be paid online or in cash at any branch at the time of the booking. Bookings necessary - book online here .

Coming up:  Family History events at the library in February and March..... Online Family History Avondale Heights Wednesday 22 February, 1pm-3pm Begin investigating your own family history with this introduction to the online databases Ancestry, Find My Past and Trove. Learn the skills and techniques needed to discover the details of your family’s past. Free, bookings necessary via Eventbrite or phone 8325 1940 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tracing your World War I ancestors Niddrie Library Thursday 16 March 2017 11am – 12pm Uncover the truth about the soldier in your family. Learn how the smallest piece of information is enough to begin your journey of discovery. Free, bookings necessary via Eventbrite or phone 8325 1925  

Essendon Gazette, November 12, 1975 (p. 22), While researching something else entirely, I stumbled across this article and photo from the Essendon Gazette , showing the family reunion in Essendon of 150 descendants of Pauline and Wilhelm Noshe, who migrated from Germany to Australia in the early 1850s. The photo shows some of the family who attended the big Noshe family reunion forty years ago, back in 1975.

If you have been on our catalogue in the past few hours you might have noticed that it isn't working. Like many public libraries in Melbourne at the moment our catalogue has been suffering from problems from our providers end. What this means is that the catalogue currently won't load. Image sourced: State Library of Victoria. Original image by Dennis Mayor But don't worry! If you were looking at getting some Family or Local History research done today or over the weekend you still can. It might not look pretty, but our classic catalogue is still running and has links to Ancestry, Find My Past and all the other History resources in our collection. To access the catalogue visit: www.classiccat.mvcc.vic.gov.au We'll keep you updated as to when things get back to normal. NB: The catalogue is back up and running!

Did you go to this years Family History Feast at the State Library of Victoria? Don Grant Memorial Lecture Speaker Susie Zada delivered a great speech about 'Grannie' Ferris and highlighted the importance of using Government records to find information about your ancestor. If you are interested in reading more about Susie and her work, follow her blog  https://justlovehistory.com/author/susiezada/

August is National Family History Month and to celebrate all things Family History were running a number of events. With most events free, there has never been a better time to discover more about your families past. Events this year include: Family history online: Begin investigating your own family history with this introduction to the online databases Ancestry, Find My Past and Trove. Learn the skills and techniques needed to discover the details of your family’s past. Free session Sessions: Avondale Heights Library and Learning Centre Friday 12 August, 9.30am-11am To book call 8325 1940 or click here Niddire Library Thursday 18 August, 2pm-4pm To book call 8325 1925 or click here Stories from an Italian family cookbook Laurie and Hilda Inglese talk about traditional Italian cooking from the Abruzzo region and share family recipes handed down across generations. Includes live pasta making demonstration. Free session. ...

National Family History Month is back for 2016! Happening in August, this national event aims to highlight and promote family history research. Along with getting research tips on how to find that long lost uncle, learn how to better tell your family story and present your findings to the world. To find events near you visit:  http://familyhistorymonth.org.au/ For those who live close to Moonee Valley, visit our Eventbrite page here .

Item source: Moonee Valley Libraries Begin investigating your own family history with these classes which will give you an introduction to the online databases Ancestry, Find My Past and Trove. Learn the skills and techniques needed to discover the details of your family’s past.  The best part, it's free! Classes will run: Tuesday, 7 June 2016 from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM Sam Merrifield Library - 762 Mount Alexander Road, Moonee Ponds, VIC 3039 To book for this class click here  or call 8325 1950 Thursday, 16 June 2016 from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM Niddrie Library - 483 Keilor Rd, Niddrie, VIC 3042 To book for this class click here  or call 8325 1925 Friday, 15 July 2016 from 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM Avondale Heights Library and Learning Centre - 69-79 Military Rd, Avondale Heights, VIC 3034 To book for this class click here  or call 8325 1940

You’ve done the research, now learn how to write up the results. Over two workshops, Hazel Edwards, author of 'Writing a Non Boring Family History' , will teach you how to interview relatives and shape their stories. Various publishing formats such as e-stories, photographic and audio stories are covered. Leave a lasting legacy for future generations.   The first class is on Monday 2 June and the second and final class is on Monday 9 June. Classes run from 6:00 pm for 2 hours. A non-refundable fee of $40, which covers both sessions, can be paid online or in cash at any branch at the time of booking. This program is aimed adult-learners. For concession holders this is free. Please call the library to book on  8325 1950. To book online, click here.

Trove is changing! The National Library of Australia online resources database is getting a facelift and will get some improvements. To do this Trove will be shut down from 5pm AEDT on Monday 22 February until Thursday 25 February. This means that Trove will not be working for a few days while the update takes place. Some of the new features that will be coming include a simplified interface to make finding items easier, customisable viewer displays to help you see items the way you want to see them and a new browse feature to netter display results. If you are looking for help with finding resources during this time, ask the staff at any Moonee Valley Library branch to see if they have something that might help with your historical research, or you can go directly to the sites that Trove gathers it's information from. For more information about the update to Trove visit here. Trove logo sourced from National Library of Australia website: http://www.nla.gov.au/media/trove...

Image from Sam Merrifield Collection The Family History Group are back for 2016 and the first meeting is Tuesday 02/02/16 at the Sam Merrifield Library at 2:00pm.  Join with other people from the Moonee Valley area to discuss the shared joys and problems of researching  your own family history.  So come along and bring any genealogy questions you're having trouble with to hopefully get the answer you need.

Image sourced from the Sam Merrifield Collection A big thanks to everyone who came along to the Family History Group meetings throughout the year. I hope you were able to learn something interesting about your own past and make some new friends along the way. Just a friendly reminder that regular meetings will begin on 2 February 2016 at the Sam Merrifield Library.  Wishing your a Happy Holiday and a safe New Year. 

As part of Family History Month 2015 the Moonee Valley Libraries Family History Group were asked to share some items and stories associated with them. These items hold significance for the stories they tell. They provide insight and helpful hints to those who wish to discover their own family history. This is the final of a three part display. A huge thank you to all the members of the group who helped with this project and to everyone who came out and viewed the installation.