Canada, Australia, New Zealand etc

Jellybaby1

Great thread/sticky for genealogy in USA by Coolnabacky1873 and I will be going though it all as soon as I get the time. However, can anyone do something similar for other countries where the Irish diaspora ended up i.e. Canada, Australia, New Zealand? I know about Trove for Australia but I don't know anything about genealogy in Canada. My ancestor in Canada is too recent and I can't get any documentation because I am not a direct relative unfortunately and I am wondering how I can further my enquiries.

pinkypinky

Good idea, Jellybaby1. Very happy to sticky something like that.

I asked Coolnabacky1873 to write the US sticky as he is our resident expert. If we have an antipodean expert, please send me a pm and we can have a chat first.

jos28

Definitely something I'd be interested in. I've just discovered an ancestor that I never knew existed. He ended up in Australia in the 19th century and became very wealthy. I've a thread going about him. I'd love some tips on where to start searching. Great idea Jellybaby !

KildareFan

I've found the following useful:
Tasmania's heritage http://search.archives.tas.gov.au/default.aspx?search=1
TROVE - http://trove.nla.gov.au/ - the newspapers are particularly useful; search for family notices
Australian cemetery index http://austcemindex.com/

shanew

limited experience with Australian Civil records, but for what it's worth

Civil records are by State, and each has separate registers and index - e.g. New South Wales (birth 100 year ago, marriages 50 years ago and deaths 30)

certs are often more detailed than ours, but they can be expensive. There are often transcription agents who can view the register for you and transcribe the details.

There are very few census returns available, but there are voters lists and directories.

Passenger lists - arrivals on Australia, or departing UK after c1890

Transportation and free arrivals, tickets of leave for prisoners

KildareFan

Free access to New Zealand newspapers at http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast

I have found that notices in the New Zealand and Australian papers for events taking place in Ireland, including births, marriages, deaths, and scandals.

pedroeibar1

+1 on Trove, it has been a huge help to me.
If there are any ‘criminal’ emigrants, our NAI Transportation site is very useful.
There is a linked article, ‘Sources in the National Archives for research into the transportation of Irish convicts to Australia (1791–1853)’ by Rena Lohan, Archivist, National Archives, which is most helpful.

There was a huge flood in Brisbane in 1893 that destroyed many records – I was able to get around this by using land grant records.
The BMDs of Queensland, Australia can now be ordered online – certs can be mailed or images can be downloaded in PDF format (cheaper at AUS$20).

Queensland Births

Queensland Marriages

Queensland Deaths

Some time ago I bought the Queensland 1870’s marriage cert of my gg granduncle. A painless experience, immediate result – I input his name, his wife’s Christian name and a date range. It popped up immediately; a click on the reference number and it walked me through the payment process. The details it contains are : marriage date & place, spouses’ names & status & birthplaces, occupations, ages, places of residence, names of parents (including their mothers’ maiden names!) parents’ occupations, minister/registrar and witnesses.

New South Wales guide is [URL="[B][url]http://www.records.nsw.gov.au/state-archives/guides-and-finding-aids/short-guide-8[/url][/B]"]here[/URL]

It is helpful to bear in mind what was happening economically in the country also – a person disappearing from Tasmania in the 1850’s could possibly mean he went to the mainland, to take part in the Bendigo gold rush. In later 19c decades it is worth looking at railway projects.