Media: BOOK - paperback, 272 pages
Author: C. & S. Gilmartin
Year: 2024
ISBN: 9781742237824
Publisher: NewSouth Books

Do you wonder if that family legend your grandparents told was true? Or have you never known much about your family history and would like to find out more?

The Family History Book takes you through the steps of researching and building a family tree, finding records of births, deaths and marriages, looking up newspaper archives and probate records, researching immigration and shipping, examining military records, as well as discovering your story through DNA testing. Whether you’re just beginning or have already made a start, this book guides you through all the places you can learn about genealogy in Australia.

Filled with tools, tips and tricks, and featuring interviews with experts in the field, Cassie and Shaun Gilmartin share everything you need to unlock the story of your past.

Contents

A note from the authors
Golden rules of family history

chapter 1 How to start in three easy steps
chapter 2 The ‘who. what and where’ of family history records
chapter 3 Building a family tree
chapter 4 Birth, death and marriage records
chapter 5 Wills and probate
chapter 6 Cemetery and church records
chapter 7 Convicts
chapter 8 Immigration and shipping records
chapter 9 Newspapers and gazettes
chapter 10 Military records
chapter 11 Who’s in your DNA?
chapter 12 Land records, censuses and electoral rolls
chapter 13 Oral, film and photographic archives

Things our experts wish they’d known when starting out
Further resources
Acknowledgements
Index

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‘Now your frequent cry, “I’d write the family history if I knew where to start”, is silenced. This book is so rich in example and so charming that it will not only tell you exactly where to start and proceed but will also entertain and enthuse you. Your descendants in 2524 are crying for you to follow this guide and leave them a history that makes their forebears enchanting.’ – Tom Keneally

‘An invaluable resource. This is a book guaranteed to inspire, educate and support experienced and budding family historians alike. It’s gloriously user-friendly – not least because the Gilmartins are so friendly – not only keeping up with all the modern trends in digital research, but also staying true to the timeless, compulsive motivations of family history: curiosity, creativity and love.’ – Clare Wright

‘An extraordinarily helpful guide – up to date on techniques and sources that simply weren’t available a decade ago. Cassie and Shaun are lively and reliable guides to an absorbing and popular historical endeavour that can so easily trick and mislead the unwary.’ – Peter Stanley

‘A very accessible guide on how to get started – and keep going – with your family history.’ – Brad Argent, Ancestry Studios

‘An exceptional level of detail on the records and sources for each chapter. Cassie and Shaun should be congratulated on an excellent work.’ – Ruth Graham, Society of Australian Genealogists

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Authors

Cassie Gilmartin has 20 years of experience in writing and editing family history, including eight years as the publisher and editor of the award-winning magazine Inside History. She is co-host and producer of the Portrait Detective podcast in collaboration with Margot Riley from the State Library of New South Wales. Cassie’s fascination with family history started when her mum told her she was descended from an Irish highwayman and a madam of a brothel, of the Lower Sort.

Shaun Gilmartin has specialised in history and science programming as a TV executive producer and writer for more than two decades, working for broadcasters across the globe. His documentaries have won awards in the UK, the US and Europe. It has taken him all these years to discover more about his father, who died when he was just two.