A guide to family history research using the major Victorian resources
At some stage you are bound to hit a barrier or a dead end with your research. There are a number of reasons why this can happen - the relevant records may have been lost or destroyed, incorrect details might have been recorded on documents, the names of places and locations may have changed, or perhaps you simply do not know enough details about a person or an event to be able to research them.
On this page we've listed some of the main obstacles researchers face and we've made a few suggestions on how to break down these elusive "brick walls’. We hope this helps you with your research.
Spelling variations and spelling mistakes are common occurrences which can often be found in such family history resources as birth, death and marriage records, immigration documents, newspaper articles and online indexes.
The reasons for this vary. Perhaps the person who provided the information couldn't spell, or the official who recorded the details either misheard or misspelled what was being said. If the documents have been transcribed or indexed at a later date, there's the added risk of more errors occurring - due to either typing mistakes or problems with deciphering illegible handwriting.
This example for Hannah Bellingham (nee Bourne) shows just how varied and incorrect the spelling of a name can be. Taken from the index to the Victorian registry of births, deaths and marriages, you can see how her maiden name was recorded in five different ways.
Another problem that sometimes occurs is when a form has been filled in incorrectly. Perhaps the given name and surname were accidentally entered into the wrong categories, or the names of family members were entered in the wrong fields i.e. father of the groom entered under the father of the bride column.
Begin by writing down a list of every possible spelling variation of the name, including names that sound similar. Then try rearranging the order of the names and writing them down. Once you've compiled a list of names and combinations, search each one separately, and be sure to mark them off, as you work through the list.
Most databases include a range of search features designed to help you get the most out of your searching.
One of the most useful search features is the use of the wildcard character - which is great for searching for name variants. By replacing a letter or letters with a wildcard character, you can retrieve variations of that word.
Most databases (including Ancestry and FindMyPast) use the asterisk (*) as their wildcard. If you do a search for the surname Johns*you would expect to retrieve such surname variations as Johnston, Johnson and Johnstone. A search for the given name Mary* could retrieve Mary, Maryanne, Maryann, Marybeth etc.
The asterisk (*) can also be used to find the first letter or letters of a name. If you enter *atherine you should retrieve results for both Katherine and Catherine. Or a search for *aralambou could retrieve both Haralambou and Charalambou.
The question mark (?) wildcard can be used to to replace a single character and search for spelling variations within a word. For instance Su?anne could retrieve both Suzanne and Susanne.
You can also use a combination of both the asterisk and question mark wildcards, to expand your search. A search for Su?an* could help to retrieve such names as Suzanne, Susanne, Susan, Susannah and so on.
For more information on using wildcards and other search functions in databases, please go to the Ancestry, FindMyPast and FamilySearch help pages.
If you still have no success in finding records for a particular person, try searching for a sibling or a parent instead. Any information that you find for them, such as where they lived, relevant dates etc, might provide the necessary clues to help you find your missing person.
There are several reasons why names can be hard to trace, including:
Alternate spellings
Many given names and surnames can be spelled more than one way, i.e. Geoffrey or Jeffrey, Katherine or Catherine or Kathryn, Thompson or Thomson, MacDonald or McDonald.
Given names can be contracted i.e. Samuel to Sam, Benjamin to Ben, Rosemary to Rose or Katherine to Kate.
Given names can altered by the addition of a y or ie, such as, Jennifer to Jenny, Ronald to Ronnie or Daniel to Danny.
The spelling of a surname can slowly change over time. For instance, Caplin may become Coplin and then change to Coplen and eventually become Copeland.
Nicknames
Many popular nicknames are variants of a person's given name which, over time become their (unofficial) preferred name.
Some common nicknames include - Jack or Jock being derived from John, Mickey derived from Michael and Harry from Henry. Then there's Margaret, which has many popular variations including - Marg, Marge, Meg, Maggie, Madge, Peg and Peggy.
Anglicised names
Migrant ancestors may have shortened or anglicised their names or had them anglicised by government officials.
For instance the surname Rosenberg may have been shorted to Rose or Rosen, the given name Panayiotis may have been translated into Peter and the surname Schmidt may have become Smith.
Abbreviated names
Several official family history records and indexes use abbreviated versions of popular given names, rather than the full name. Common abbreviations include - Wm for William, Jno for John, Jas for James, Margt for Margaret and Elizth for Elizabeth.
See the Common abbreviations for English given names webpage for a list of names.
Write down what you know, whether it's just a nickname or the name given at birth. Then compile a list of possible name and spelling variations, and search each one of these.
If you think a name may have been anglicised try searching our catalogue for books on surnames or surnames for specific countries e.g. German surnames or Jewish surnames. This may help you identify the origin of the name you are researching. Or browse the internet for sites that focus on the Anglicisation of names. We also recommend that you look for the immigration or naturalisation documents for the generation of ancestors who migrated to Australia, as these documents may contain such important information as their original name, names of their parents, country of origin etc.
Most databases include a range of search features designed to help you get the most out of your searching.
One of the most useful search features is the use of the wildcard character - which is great for searching for name variants. By replacing a letter or letters with a wildcard character, you can retrieve variations of that word.
Most databases (including Ancestry and FindMyPast) use the asterisk (*) as their wildcard. If you do a search for the surname Johns*you would expect to retrieve such surname variations as Johnston, Johnson and Johnstone. A search for the given name Mary* could retrieve Mary, Maryanne, Maryann, Marybeth etc.
The asterisk (*) can also be used to find the first letter or letters of a name. If you enter *atherine you should retrieve results for both Katherine and Catherine. Or a search for *aralambou could retrieve both Haralambou and Charalambou.
The question mark (?) wildcard can be used to to replace a single character and search for spelling variations within a word. For instance Su*anne could retrieve both Suzanne and Susanne.
You can also use a combination of both the asterisk and question mark wildcards, to expand your search. A search for Su?an* could help to retrieve such names as Suzanne, Susanne, Susan, Susannah and so on.
For more information on using wildcards and other search functions in databases, please go to the Ancestry, FindMyPast and FamilySearch help pages.
If you still have no success in finding records for a particular person, try searching for a sibling or a parent instead. Any information that you find for them, such as where they lived, relevant dates etc, might provide the necessary clues to help you find your missing person.
Birth, death and marriage records are a valuable family history information, but unfortunately they do not always contain specific details relating to an event. For instance, marriage and death certificates list the age of an individual at the time the event was registered, but they don't actually include a person's exact date of birth. This can mean that the date listed in an index is often only an estimate, calculated from the age that was given at the time of registration and it may be a year or two out.
Another problem that sometimes occurs with birth, death and marriage registrations is that a event might have occurred late in one year, but not fully registered until early in the next calendar year - which means that the year listed is accurate.
We have also found that people frequently lied about their age. They may have raised or lowered their age to seek employment, to register for military service, to be eligible to marry, or to make themselves a more suitable age for migration. It was also common for parents to exaggerate the age of a child so that they received higher wages.
There are several ways that you can tackle these problems.
Try expanding your search to cover a broader date range (try 10 years) and view all possible records. Don’t rely solely on the information provided in the indexes, as they are often just estimates. If possible, try and obtain the original documents and look for other records that might confirm the event and date.
If you still can’t find the age of the person you are researching, try focusing on other family members, especially siblings. By collecting and evaluating family records you may be able to limit your results to a fairly accurate time period.
You may also find the information you require in other sources, such as obituaries, birth notices, wills and probate records, headstone inscriptions, military and employment records.
Researchers can often have trouble researching the places where their ancestors lived.
When using an index to births, deaths and marriages (BDM’s) it’s worth remembering that an event may have occurred in one town, but been registered in another. So always check neighbouring towns and cities for records. With birth, death and marriage records the information is only as reliable as the informant who provides the details. This can be an issue with death certificates, where the informant may have been a doctor or a neighbour, who did not know many details about the deceased. If in doubt, check other sources for clues, such as marriage and birth certificates, electoral rolls, obituaries, wills and probate records, headstones and military records.
A common problem that many Victorian family historians encounter is when an index only gives an abbreviated place name, rather than the full name. A recent search of the Victorian Registry of births, deaths and marriages listed the place of death as K’TON. Was this Kensington, Kingston or Kyneton? If we'd obtained a copy of the original certificate we probably would have found the full place name listed, but we were lucky enough to find a death notice on the Trove Digitised Newspaper database, which verified that the place was in fact Kyneton.
For tackling the place name abbreviations that appear on the Victorian Registry of births, deaths and marriages, we suggest you look at this useful guide - Victorian Place Name Abbreviations and Alternative Names - a Genealogy Research Aid.
If you’re trying to locate the name and location of a Victorian town, search the Victorian Register of Geographic Names, VICNAMES site.
If you have trouble finding the name of a street or town, it could be because the name has changed or the location has disappeared. Place names of Victoria by Les Blake, is a terrific book that can help you identify obscure locations. Or try looking at the Victorian places website, which includes the history of every town, village and settlement in Victoria. To confirm street names we recommend that you consult old street directories or directories from the region.
If you still can't find specific records it could be because the records haven’t been indexed or digitised, they are not publicly available, they have been lost or destroyed, or perhaps no record was ever created for the event you are researching. If this is the case, then your next step would be to try and locate a different source of information.
For instance, if you haven't been able to locate a death certificate, then try and locate records that contain similar pieces of information. For instance, a burial register for the relevant parish church should include their name, age, occupation, address and possibly their cause of death. A will or probate document would include their name, address, occupation, details of beneficiaries (children). A death notice or obituary might include key biographical information and a cemetery headstone may include relevant dates and the names of their partner and children.
If you’re trying to find details of the passenger ship your ancestors sailed on, but the shipping record no longer exists, try looking for recorded shipping information, consult historical newspapers, or look for a ships log or a journal or correspondence that reports on the voyage. A newspaper obituary for the person you are researching, may include details relating to their arrival in Australia and a death certificate might record the amount of years spent in Australia or the year they arrived.
If you still have no luck then it might be time to take a break and move on to another ancestor. Many records are still to be indexed and digitised, so try waiting a year or two until further collections become available.
We have many books in our collection that focus on solving genealogy research problems.
You can browse through a list of relevant titles here.
