Queensland, Australia: Genealogy Indexes / Advice

Judy Webster's Genealogy Advice
for Australia, especially Queensland
© Copyright Judy Webster. Updated 28 Aug 2008.

Genealogy and family history advice, indexes and services, with the emphasis on Queensland - but much of the advice also applies elsewhere, and the indexes include many people from other States and countries. Over 40,000 names are listed, mainly from Qld State Archives records, especially unusual and neglected sources that are valuable for problem solving. Also on this Web site are photographs and my own family tree.

What's New on this Web site. Major changes only.

Tips for Queensland research. Articles and advice about sources: births, deaths and marriages (certificates and cheaper alternatives); immigration; electoral rolls (and how the three series of rolls differ); wills and intestacies; inquests and 'no inquest' records; Benevolent Asylum records; people who 'vanished'.

My indexes to sources at Queensland State Archives:

NEW! Illegitimate children and/or their mothers: the child's father is named in an archival source.
NEW! Supreme Court insanity files 1885-1901 (different from Public Curator insanity files).
NEW! Undertakings re fares for travel by rail or ship (mainly interstate but some international).
Cooktown Boys' School admission register.
Cooktown residents who signed a petition in 1874 (with the original signatures).
Dentists and dental apprentices. Includes women.
Hospital admission registers. Often more useful/accurate than certificates. May give ship of arrival.
Mental asylum patients, including people suffering from epilepsy, depression and alcoholism. Look here for people who 'vanished'. There are separate indexes to several different series of records about mental asylum inmates (Public Curator insanity files; Supreme Court insanity files; Colonial Secretary's in-letters; Annual Reports).
Nurses and masseurs (male & female).
Old age pension records. Includes many people who were not on electoral rolls.
Police station watchhouse records. Persons arrested and victims of crime (including children).
Prison records. Many give ship of arrival, physical description etc.
Qld Police Gazettes. Friends and relatives sought, missing persons, alleged offenders, prisoners, wife/child deserters, victims of crime, complainants, etc. Some Gazette notices include a photograph.
Various sources. Selected names from various sources including Grammar School records, registers of maintenance payments and protection orders, police correspondence and newsclippings re shootings, etc.
Women granted protection orders, 1888-1904.

My indexes to other sources:

Cemetery headstones.
Miscellaneous Australian Certificates Index. Most were donated because they were for the wrong person.
South-west Queensland. Names connected with Cunnamulla, Eulo, Thargomindah, Wyandra, Hungerford and Wooroorooka (some from Qld State Archives sources including court, council and school records, and others from newspapers, churches etc.)

Other indexes that I can search. Various published and unpublished indexes.

Specialist Indexes in Australia: a Genealogist's Guide. An index of indexes. It helps you find resources for all parts of Australia and some overseas areas.

My publications and 'online shop'. Descriptions and book reviews for my genealogical guides and indexes. Some secondhand books and microfiche are also for sale. Various payment methods are available to individuals and libraries.

Professional family history research in Queensland. I am an accredited professional researcher specialising in Qld State Archives records and tracing living relatives in Qld. This page explains my qualifications, services and fees, and gives advice on how to save money and increase the chances of success when employing a genealogist.

Published papers from genealogy conferences. These provide historical context and give advice on sources, research methods, preserving your records, etc., and lots of information that is not on the Internet.

Queensland Newsflash! What's happening in Qld genealogy and local history circles. New indexes or addresses, price rises, record closures, family history fairs, seminars, etc.

Genealogy 'Updates' Newsletter. More detailed than 'Newsflash', and includes items on interstate and overseas research.

Using and compiling indexes. Examples of how names may be incorrectly indexed, and other pitfalls involved in using indexes. Advice on compiling and publishing an index.

Basic Advice on research techniques, privacy and copyright issues, using email effectively, recommended reading and Web sites, etc. For beginners and more experienced researchers.

Answers to frequently asked questions.

Feature article. The current topic is local government (Council) records.

Photographs. The current selection features Yorkshire churches, Ireland, and Maryborough (Qld).

Families I am researching. Names and charts from my own family tree.

Links to Web sites that I use regularly.

Other people's Web pages that have a temporary home on my site (these open in new windows):

History Queensland (local history / family history societies).
John Kehrer's index to certain non-Caucasian labourers ('coloured labour and Asiatic aliens').

Please follow the links and read the relevant pages carefully before contacting me.

Postal address: Judy Webster, PO Box 5043, Algester QLD 4115, Australia.
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