9th cruise home – program – presenters – ship – itinerary – pricing and booking
Eric Kopittke (Queensland) – Germany and Denmark
Eric has been researching his family history in Australia, Germany, England and Wales since 1985. In the same year he joined the Queensland Family History Society where he has been convenor of the Central European Group for over 20 years. He is also President of the Baptist Historical Society of Queensland.
Academically, he studied at the University of Queensland where he was awarded a Bachelor of Science (Physics and Mathematics), a Bachelor of Arts (Geography and Computer Science) and a Diploma of Education. He recently retired after teaching Physics and Mathematics at St Peters Lutheran College, Indooroopilly.
He regularly speaks at family history societies and at other events. In June 2012 he spoke on German research at the New Zealand Society of Genealogists Conference.
Eric has received the Queensland FHS Award for Services to Family History (1990); was made a Fellow of the Queensland FHS (2000); and in 2006 was awarded the AFFHO Award for Meritorious Services to Family History.
Eric’s talks
- Locating your ancestor’s place of origin in Germany
Finding your German immigrant ancestor’s place of origin is essential if any research into his or her forebears is to be undertaken. This presentation looks at the use of records from Australia and elsewhere to determine your German ancestor’s place of origin. - Early Germans in Brisbane
Germans have been influential in the development of the Brisbane region. In this presentation a number of these nineteenth century influences are described. - Maps and gazetteers for German research
Maps and gazetteers are important in any family history research. This presentation describes how to access a number of such resources relevant to modern day Germany as well as to the historical German Empire.
Rosemary Kopittke (Queensland) – online databases and Australian records
Rosemary has been tracing her family history since 1985. A statistician by training, she has worked in that field as an hydrologist, teacher and biometrician.
Her tertiary qualifications include a BSc (Mathematics) and BA (Computer Science) both from the University of Queensland. More recently she has completed the Certificate in Genealogical Studies (English Records) with the National Institute for Genealogical Studies. She currently works as a consultant for Gould Genealogy & History, is regularly invited to speak at events in Australia and New Zealand and has presented on all the Unlock the Past cruises.
She has published numerous indexes to cemeteries and government records though is probably best known for her work with husband Eric on the Emigrants from Hamburg to Australasia 1850-1879 publication. She is editor of Unlock the Past publications and author and contributor to several.
A member of the Australasian Federation of Family History Organisations (AFFHO) Council from 2009 to 2013 and a current member of the Queensland FHS Management Committee, Rosemary is a Fellow of the Queensland Family History Society and in 2006 received the AFFHO Award for Meritorious Services to Family History.
Rosemary’s talks
- Beyond just indexes
Too often researchers construct much of their family trees just using indexes instead of examining the original documents which gave rise to the indexes. This presentation examines some of the critical information lost when we don’t bother to do the research fully and follow through the hints given to us by the indexes. - Directories and almanacs
This presentation looks at the wide range of directories and almanacs available in Australia and overseas and why you should use them when compiling your family history. - Electoral rolls: tips and traps
When doing research electoral rolls can be very useful but we need to be aware who was eligible to vote at various times and the traps that can catch us out.
Stephanie Ryan (Queensland)
Stephanie has been the Senior Librarian in Family History at the State Library of Queensland for over 18 years. Previously she was a high school teacher and teacher-librarian. She has participated in radio and television programs and been interviewed for newspaper and magazine articles in this capacity. She contributes to the State Library of Queensland’s blogs and writes articles on family history from time to time. The family history staff run presentations for societies, libraries and the general public, manage several dozen information guides available on the web as well as a collection of Useful websites for family historians, produce specialist indexes available on the family history home page and provide a free enquiry service of up to 2 hours per enquiry for Queenslanders backed by the extensive collections of the state’s main library. Increasingly the State Library’s resources are being digitised and made freely available. Check the website www.slq.qld.gov.au/resources/family-history for further information on this service.
Stephanie’s talks
- Life and death in the newspapers
newspapers available including, but also beyond, Trove; databases such as the British Newspaper Archive, 19th Century newspapers and the Times Digital Archive; the value and problems associated with particular notices including obituaries, golden anniversaries and other biographical pieces. - Aspects of migration
Chain migration: shipping lists including interstate; newspaper records; Trove and the British Newspaper Archive; overcoming problems using a comparison of Findmypast record and state records; some Irish and German issues. - Stories from the records
building a picture of a family and overcoming research problems using various records including some which are unexpected. - Finding WW 1 soldiers
Basic strategy with some problems to solve.
Helen Smith (Queensland) – Australia, England, medical and general
helenvsmithresearch.blogspot.com.au
Helen has been researching her family since 1986 when her mother lamented the fact she had never known her grandfather, George Howard Busby. Helen found some information and a newspaper photo of him, was hooked and has been addicted ever since with research in Australia, England and Ireland.
She is researching the surname Quested anywhere, anytime and has registered the name with the Guild of One-Name Studies.
She is the author of Death certificates and archaic medical terms and has written for Inside History, Australian Family Tree Connections and other family history journals as well as scientific publications. She is the author of a number of blogs which can be accessed via http://helenvsmithresearch.blogspot.com.au and you can follow her on Twitter @HVSresearch
She has spoken to a wide variety of audiences including Genealogical Society of Queensland Day Conferences, Library Technician Conference, all the Unlock the Past cruises, Unlock the Past Expos and Roadshow and numerous family history society meetings.
Professionally, she is a Molecular Epidemiologist specialising in Public Health Microbiology and has a strong interest in infectious diseases and Public Health through the ages.
She has a Graduate Diploma in Public Health, Bachelor Applied Science: Medical Laboratory Science and Associate Diploma in Clinical Laboratory Techniques. She is currently studying with the National Institute for Genealogical Studies towards the Certificate in Genealogical Studies: English Records.
Helen’s talks
- Google the genealogists friend
As family history researchers we all use at least the Google search features. There are a number of helpful extra search features but Google is not just a search engine with a suite of tools just right for the family history researcher. - Researching your health history
We all have a family history and we all have a history of health within our family. Having a knowledge of any health issues that have arisen in your blood relatives in the past may help you and your descendants have a healthier future. The life you save may be your own. - Fishing for cousins: using blogs as bait
As genealogists we research our family history and want to contact people who are interested in our families as they may have the letters and photos of shared ancestors we don’t possess. How to attract those cousins? Write a blog! Getting started is easy and we’ll talk some tips and tricks to writing “cousin bait” posts. - I want to be a widow woman
A light hearted look at why it was better to be a widow than married in England in the mid 1800s.
