5 July 2012

I is for In-Letters and Invalid Pensions

The 'Family History Through the Alphabet' series is now up to the letter 'I'.

I is for...
  • In-letters.  Queensland State Archives' Brief Guide to Colonial Secretary's Correspondence 1859-1903 explains how to search the series called In-letters (letters received). This can be slow and frustrating but it is often very rewarding. About eight hundred names from in-letters are on my Web site. Thousands more will be added when I have time! The emphasis is on items of interest for family history, such as correspondence about women, children, certificates, naturalisations, requests for assistance, missing friends, orphans, inmates of mental and benevolent asylums, etc.

    Postscript: Registers (and indexes to the registers) for 1859-1896 have been digitised and are on the Queensland State Archives Web site (series ID 11936).

  • Invalid Pensions.  I have created a partial index to Police Department correspondence 1908-1952 that mentions hundreds of invalid pensioners and old age pensioners. Some lived in New South Wales and Victoria but most were in Queensland.

You will find more tips for family history in my other articles in this series. If the information and advice is useful, have a look at this page.

6 comments:

  1. Gosh you've been busy, Judy! You're racing through the alphabet :)

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    1. A to I in one week! It was only possible because (1) I have been waking up at 4am, and (2) unlike client reports, blog posts are something I could do while I was being interrupted at regular intervals or hanging about waiting for tradesmen.

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  2. I'm going to have to have a look at your indexes - those in-letters and invalid pensions sound fascinating.

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    1. There are lots of interstate and overseas residents mentioned in Queensland records. You never know who you might find in my indexes! Over 51,000 names from archival sources are on my Web site, and I have thousands more to add when I get time.

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  3. Well Done Judy. Great Work.

    I enjoyed looking at your indexes too, although my family are from Victoria.

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    1. Thanks Sharon. I hope you checked my indexes to Cooktown and Croydon hospital admission registers. During the early years, about 15% of those admitted to Croydon Hospital were born in Australia's southern states, especially Victoria. Some went home after only a short time in Queensland, and their descendants might have no idea that they were ever up here. Some people on the gold fields in North Queensland moved on to Western Australia when gold was discovered there.

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