George Fletcher and family, Gosford, 1929.

Researching your family history

• Do you want to research your family history?
• Where is the collection located? 
• What does the Library hold?
• How do I access the collection?
• What if I need assistance or guidance?
• Where do I start?
• Useful contacts and web addresses

Do you want to research your family history?

Have you ever wondered where your family's origins lie? Do you have free men or convicts, scoundrels or saints lurking in the family cupboard? People research their origins for a great variety of reasons, ranging from idle curiosity to health matters to scrapbook memories.

Whatever the reason, Gosford City Library holds resources that can help start you off on a fascinating journey of discovery. Be warned - once you start, family history research is highly addictive!

Using the Australian resources available at Gosford City Library, combined with a fair degree of patience, much research, lots of luck and a little spare change for certificates (available elsewhere), you should be able to work your way back to your first arrivals in Australia.

William Rogers and family, East Gosford, circa 1900s

Where is the collection located?

The Family History Collection is located on the Mezzanine Level of Gosford Branch Library, 118 Donnison Street, Gosford. Access is by two short flights of stairs from the main ground level.

What does the library hold?

The Gosford City Library Collection specializes solely in Australian records. The main emphasis is on New South Wales, with some Queensland and Victorian Immigration records.

Please note that we do not hold overseas records, as other groups on the Central Coast specialize in these. 

Here is a detailed index to the microfilm & microfiche resources we hold, and their locations at Gosford Branch: Local & Family History Resource List (pdf)

Ryan children with grandfather Neil Andersen's phaeton, Narara

A large selection of family history books, guides etc. are available for reference use within the Library in our Family History (FH) collection. Search our Library catalogue here to find useful resources:  http://webopac.gosford.nsw.gov.au/libero/WebOpac.cls

Ship's pictures in the Alfred & Roy Dufty Collection
Did your family come to Australia by ship? Did they work on coastal vessels, sailing ships, ferries or tugboats? Search this fantastic maritime art and photography website from Gosford City Library for ships connected to your family history!
http://www.gosford.nsw.gov.au/library/alfred-roy-dufty-maritime-heritage-collection

How do I access the collection?

To access the collection, please phone 4304 7500 and book a time on the resource you require.   Bookings are taken for 1 hour sessions for microfilm and microfiche machines, beginning on the hour.

Use of the collection is conducted on a learn-it-yourself basis.  The family history collection is available for use during Library opening hours.

What if I need assistance or guidance?

Gosford City Library offers limited support and guidance for family history research.

Usually a library volunteer or staff member is available on Tuesdays.  At other times family history assistance is by prior appointment only.

Please remember to phone 4304 7500 and book a resource.

Where do I start?

In family history, the place to start is with your own story. You are just as important to the family history as your ancestors.

Get organized in your record-keeping…early! A range of basic forms and tips can be found at: www.familysearch.org

Most people start with the Birth, Death and Marriage Indexes for their chosen state. More Internet- based indexes are being released for event Post World War 2, but birth indexes lag behind marriages and deaths in availability.

Work backwards in time slowly from the known to the unknown, and seek to verify your information from several sources if possible. Failure to do so can result in your following someone else's family line, and this costs time, money and creates a false impression of your family history.

Remember that there is no such thing as a "correct" way of spelling particular surnames, only "your way".  Always check variations in spelling when looking for ancestors.

Be prepared to spend money in purchasing copies of key birth, death or marriage certificates. It is false economy to try to research family history without referring to key primary documents. Use of indexes on their own can often be highly misleading.

Talk to living relatives. Record stories on tape if possible. Family stories are seldom 100% true, but offer important clues as to where to begin your search.

Collect photographs and memorabilia to make your family history lively and interesting.
Never trim or laminate anything precious!

Never use original items when scrap-booking.

Seek professional guidance to preserve original items.

If you want something researched correctly, do it yourself.

Join a family history group, or ask our volunteers for guidance.

Look on the Internet to see if indexes and databases are available to search for:

• Births, Deaths, and Marriages
• Convict & Immigration records
• Photographs 
• War service and war grave records
•  Overseas genealogical records

Searching for these indexes, of which there are now many on the Internet, will help you in your research. Look for other resources on microfilm, microfiche, or in original printed formats in libraries, archives and museums.

William Weatherill's headstone, St. Paul's Church of England, Kincumber

Useful contacts and web addresses

There are many special interest groups and websites catering for Australian and overseas research.

Here are a few that may be useful...

Australian Births, Deaths and Marriages

NSW Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages
http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/familyHistory/familyHistory.htm

ACT Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages
http://www.ors.act.gov.au/community/births_deaths_and_marriages

Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages
http://www.bdm.vic.gov.au

Queensland Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages
http://www.justice.qld.gov.au/justice-services/births-deaths-and-marriages

Tasmanian Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages
http://www.justice.tas.gov.au/bdm/family_history

Western Australian Births, Deaths & Marriages
http://www.bdm.dotag.wa.gov.au/

Northern Territory Births, Deaths & Marriages
http://www.nt.gov.au/justice/bdm/index.shtml

Ancestry.com (Australia) free trial then fee-for-service
http://www.ancestry.com.au/

Australian War Memorial Databases
www.awm.gov.au/database/index.asp

Commonwealth War Graves Commission
www.cwgc.org

The First Fleet Fellowship
home.vicnet.net.au/~firstff/

Hawkesbury on the net cemetery register
http://www.hawkesbury.net.au/cemetery/index.html

Australian Newspaper archive - National Library of Australia
http://newspapers.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/home

Railway Resource Centre
http://home.iprimus.com.au/bexleyboy/arhs/unofficial.htm

The Ryerson Index to Contemporary Death Notices and Obituaries in Australian Newspapers
http://www.ryersonindex.org

Society of Australian Genealogists
http://www.sag.org.au/

State Records of New South Wales Indexes online
http://www.records.nsw.gov.au/state-archives/indexes-online/indexes-online

World War Two Nominal Roll
www.ww2roll.gov.au

Some Australian photograph databases

Ship's pictures in the Alfred & Roy Dufty Collection
Did your family come to Australia by ship? Did they work on coastal vessels, sailing ships, ferries or tugboats? Search this fantastic maritime art and photography site from Gosford City Library for ships connected to your family history!
http://www.gosford.nsw.gov.au/library/alfred-roy-dufty-maritime-heritage-collection

Pictureaustralia (Gateway to many large Australian photograph databases)
http://www.pictureaustralia.org/ 
(this gateway to Australian photograph databases has been absorbed into Trove)

Gosford and district in pictures 
http://photosau.com/Gosford/scripts/home.asp

Hunter photobank
http://collections.ncc.nsw.gov.au/keemu/pages/nrm/index.htm

Illawarra images
http://illawarraimages.wollongong.nsw.gov.au/illaweb/scripts/

Blue Mountains Library
http://photosau.com/BlueMountains/scripts/home.asp

Overseas Genealogical resources

Ancestry.com (free trial then fee-for-service)
http://www.ancestry.com/

Ancestors on board: Outward passengers from England 1890-1960
http://www.ancestorsonboard.com/

Central Coast Family History Group
Research Centre, Lot 1, Russell Drysdale Street
East Gosford
Phone 4324 5164
www.centralcoastfhs.org.au

GENUKI: UK & Ireland Genealogy
www.genuki.org.uk

Latter-Day Saints (Mormon) Church
www.familysearch.org

The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, London 1674 to 1834
www.oldbaileyonline.org

Sources of Gosford District Genealogy and local history

Gosford City Library Local History gateway
Web pages devoted to Gosford district history resources. Find photographs; subdivision maps; scanned early tourist guides and family history resources. Resources are added regularly, so come back soon!
http://www.gosford.nsw.gov.au/library/local_history

Early Gosford region population
These pages include district resident lists from census; electoral rolls; Post Office directories, and many other sources. Keep watching this space, as there is much more to come, and it is free, courtesy of Gosford City Library and our volunteers!
http://www.gosford.nsw.gov.au/library/local_history/population/index_html

Central Coast Family History Group
Research Centre, Lot 1, Russell Drysdale Street
East Gosford
Phone 4324 5164
www.centralcoastfhs.org.au

Looking for a present for that hard-to-buy-for friend or relative?

Look no further, we have local history books for sale! Quality books on local ferries; shipbuilding; war memorials; general histories…find something different for that special someone!
 http://www.gosford.nsw.gov.au/library/local_history/local-history-books-for-sale

Recommended reading

Society of Australian Genealogists
Compiling your family history (latest edition)

This work is constantly being updated. It will take you step-by-step through the first stages of compiling a family history. This book is full of useful tips, hints, addresses etc. Keep it with you when doing research. This title is generally available from the Central Coast Family History Group.

Australian Family Tree Connections Magazine

This magazine is full of fantastic hints and tips, interesting articles etc. It has a useful list of addresses and costs for certificates in each issue. You should find this at larger newsagents.

Here is a quick guide to types of resources available in libraries, archives and museums that may be useful for genealogy…

• Birth death and marriage indexes
• Convict records
• Immigration records
• Probate Indexes
• Newspapers
• Funeral records
• Commercial Directories
• Telephone books
• Electoral rolls
• Maps (Subdivision; Parish; local; etc.)
• Aerial Photographs
• Photographs
• Organizational records (Sporting groups; Church groups; Interest groups; etc.)
• Occupational records
• Local histories
• Family histories
• School histories
• Cemetery transcripts
• Military records
• Vintage tourist guides for advertisements
• Business records
• Theatre programs; posters etc.

Use your imagination in researching your family history…sometimes the least likely resource yields gold!  Try a variety of resources to help bring your family history to life! Best wishes for your research!  Lastly, a money saving-tip… consider enlisting the services of a transcription agent to save money when ordering birth, death or marriage certificates.