Why I Recommend LostCousins.com

LostCousins logo

LostCousins.com is probably the only web site that identifies (with virtually 100% accuracy) people who share the same ancestors. You do not waste time corresponding with people who are not related to you! I have found several new relatives here; and the free email newsletter has lots of useful tips.

To use LostCousins you need to find your relatives in the census for England and Wales 1841, 1881 or 1911; Scotland 1881; Ireland 1911; United States 1880 & 1940; Canada 1881; or Newfoundland 1921 (and access to seven of those censuses is free). Then at LostCousins, enter the census source/page details for those names. Before gathering and entering data, read the instructions carefully, because requirements for each census are different. If you prepare well, entering the data is a lot quicker. From the LostCousins home page, go to 'Census links' and 'Information - Read this first'.

Be sure to enter data for brothers and sisters of your direct ancestors, because it is their descendants who are the 'cousins' you want to contact.

After entering some relatives, click 'Search', and the system checks whether someone else has entered identical data. Remember to log in periodically, go to your 'My Ancestors' page and repeat the search.

It is FREE to join LostCousins and enter your data, but I choose to pay a small annual subscription (about $10) so that there are no restrictions on contacting my distant cousins when they are identified by the extremely accurate matching system.

The more people who enter census data for direct ancestors and their siblings, the greater the chances of finding our 'lost cousins'. Maybe you are my distant relative! I want to find you - so please... start adding your ancestors and other relatives to LostCousins!

(This post first appeared on https://uk-australia.blogspot.com/2020/01/why-i-recommend-lostcousinscom.html.)

Will Books 1800-1952

Archives in a particular region usually hold wills or probate records for many people who lived or died in other regions. That's why I deliberately chose not to mention a location in the title of this post.

I've found an amazing amount of information about people in other States and even other countries in NSW Will Books 1800-1952. Countries mentioned include England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, New Zealand, Canada, USA, South Africa, Germany, Fiji, Mexico, India, Holland, China, Papua, New Guinea, etc.

The original books are held by State Records New South Wales. Before 1924 they contain handwritten copies of the wills. Between 1924 and 1952 the copies were typed.

Images of the Will Books are on FindMyPast. Searches are free (you only pay if you want to see an image or transcription). My search tips are shown below. Start with strategy no.1, then try no.2, and so on.

Search screen for NSW Will Books 1800-1952

1. Search for a name in 'Who' (you can use asterisks as wildcards). 'Death year' is optional, and you can select 'give or take' (+/-) up to 40 years. For now, ignore the 'Residence' field.


2. In the separate field called Heirs' or executors' last name, enter a surname (you can use asterisks as wildcards), but leave both of the Who fields empty.


3. If you use the Residence field, use wildcards. You'll understand why if you search for *Brisbane*, with asterisks before and after, and note the residences shown in results! Data in the Residence field is not entered in any set format. It may be just a town, or just a State, or just a country, or town+State, or State+country, etc (with or without punctuation, which makes a difference to the results). Sometimes places are abbreviated (eg, Queensland / Qld).


4. Experiment with other variations and combinations. Keep a list of the search criteria that you use, because you may later think of other ways to search.


5. When you use the Heirs' or Executors' Last Name field, be aware that the results may be incomplete. For example, you won't find heirs and executors of Julia COUTTS because (although they are shown in her Will Book entry) the names have not been included in the transcription. Presumably you could add them to the database by clicking 'Report an error in this transcription' and entering the names in the appropriate fields.


6. It is essential to view images of the original Will Books, because a 'transcription' does not include the will itself.


7. Click 'Learn' above the search boxes to find out more about the collection.

Although only a few of my ancestors were in New South Wales, I've already found fifteen wills - and that's just from random searches 'off the top of my head'. Imagine what I might achieve if I get organised and do systematic searches in Will Books 1800-1952!

(This post first appeared on http://uk-australia.blogspot.com/2016/04/will-books-1800-1952.html.)

I use and recommend...

Why I Use and Recommend FindMyPast

Updated 16 Sep 2019

I am a big fan of Findmypast for genealogy research. For records that are also on other sites, Findmypast's indexes and transcriptions are (in my experience) more accurate (and this is particularly obvious with British censuses). I also love the fact that Findmypast lets us sort the search results. Searches are free, so give it a try!

Findmypast includes an especially good collection of Queensland records, and I have also been using their British census records and parish registers for many years. Recently I made exciting discoveries in NSW will books 1800-1952 (which include information about many non-NSW people), passenger lists, Royal Household records, the 1939 Register, East India Company and civil service pensions, and non-conformist baptisms, marriages and burials. For example, UK outwards passenger lists showed that between one British census and the next, some of my families went to South Africa and Canada and then returned to England.

See the updated version of my article Why I Use and Recommend Findmypast, which highlights some of the most outstanding features of the site.

FindMyPast or a Coffee?

I recently wrote about why I like using FindMyPast. My world subscription is through their UK site, but I have also registered (free) with the Australia / NZ site because I want to receive their newsletter. (In 'My account - Personal details', tick the box beside 'Please send me an occasional newsletter'.)

The newsletter often has competitions and special offers (discounts, free pay-as-you-go credits, etc). Today's newsletter offered 20% off subscriptions if you join by 30 Nov 2013.

Depending on which subscription you choose, the cost (without discounts) ranges from about $5 to $25 per month. In other words, going without one takeaway coffee per month would save you almost enough to pay for an Australia/NZ subscription. Most people reading this blog probably have British ancestry, and for you the Britain & Australia/NZ subscription may be better value. I chose a world subscription because some branches of my family were in Ireland and Canada.

Not sure whether they have records that will be useful to you? Have a look at the full list (worldwide). More datasets are added each month. Note the inclusion of the British Newspaper Archive and various other digitised newspapers.

If you are thinking about getting a FindMyPast subscription (or if you already have one), see my tips on using FindMyPast for genealogy.

Update re Obituaries of Civil Engineers

After reading my question about an index to obituaries in Minutes of the Institution of Civil Engineers (Great Britain), Darryn emailed me with details of a Web site that I somehow missed. (Was I blind? Did I do something stupid in my Google search? All I can say is 'Oops' and 'Thank you, Darryn'.)

For some unknown reason, the Web page with the Obituaries Index says it only covers 1880-1904, but the lists of names do in fact include entries for deaths up to the 1930s.

Unfortunately the link to L-M surnames was not working when I tried it.

The Web site says that the obituaries "contain very full descriptions of the life and work of the individual, and often list names of parents, and occasionally wives and children. Although the majority of them are British born, there are those born in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and India, as well as other distant places. Many of them worked and died in these countries and left family there."

Thrifty Thursday: This Week's Freebies

There are some interesting freebies and discounts available at present (and, in the future, more will be listed on a Discounts and Freebies page).

• LostCousins is totally free to 2 May 2011. This is probably the only web site that has virtually 100% accuracy in matching people who share the same ancestors. You do not waste time corresponding with people who are not related to you. To use LostCousins you need to have found relatives in one of these censuses: USA 1880 or 1940; Canada 1881; Scotland 1881; Ireland 1911; England and Wales 1841, 1881 or 1911. Be sure to enter data for brothers and sisters of your direct ancestors, as it is their descendants who are most likely to have letters or photos from your line. Start by reading the LostCousins 'How-to' page. Remember to log in periodically, go to your 'My Ancestors' page and click 'Search'.
  
  
• Free access to Gale's historical newspaper and periodical collections, including more than 10 million digitised pages, to 24 April 2011.
  
  
• In honour of ANZAC Day, free access on Ancestry during this Easter long weekend to 40 million military records for Australia, New Zealand, UK, Canada and USA.
  
  
• England & Wales marriage indexes 1837-2005 on Ancestry are free to search to 30 April 2011.
  
  
• Until 5pm AEST 27 April 2011, order a New South Wales full certificate transcription for just $16.

When I hear about more offers, I will list them on the Discounts and Freebies page on my main Web site.