J is for Journals and Jaunts #AtoZchallenge
Welcome to Day 10 of the #AtoZChallenge. Don't know what the AtoZChallenge is? Find out more here.
My theme is about Family History Societies. What they are, How they work, Who is in them, Why they exist.
And which ones begin with J ! Please feel free to add any others you know of in the comments below.
Societies beginning with J
Australian
FFHS Membership Page
Family Search Wiki
Journals
Perhaps your Society is too small for a journal but even a newsletter is an important way of communicating with your members and also giving them a voice. QFHS' journal invites contributions. The deadlines are 15 March, 15 June,
15 September and 15 December. You can read more about the guidelines for submissions here. We digitized our journal a few years ago and encourage all members to access it that way. I know it's nicer to read something in hard copy
(I tend to absorb the content better that way) but it does cost a lot to print, then there's postage and the cost to the environment.
One of the great boons of the digital age is that now, many of the journals we receive from fellow societies are also digitized. This means that you can read the journals from the comfort of your own home without having to go into the library. It also frees up some shelf space for us or just even physical space so that our members can actually pull up a chair and read something in comfort.
We've put a couple of links on our website to some free ones here.
You need to be a member of our society to access the other ones digitally. These are journals from societies in Australia and abroad.
The Society's members also created a name index for the Queensland Family Historian journal from 1979-2019 as per this on our website:
This dataset was an initiative of Queensland Family History Society as a project to keep members active and connected during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. The dataset comprises over 15,000 names in members’ family stories, obituaries, awards, and other significant items featured in the publication.
From 1979 to 1982, QFHS produced a Newsletter for members. Early editions focused on aiding members to start family history research and providing sources of information. In 1983, the Queensland Family Historian (QFH) was born. From 1983 to 1992, the Historian was published up to 6 times per year. The Society now publishes the Historian quarterly. The original newsletters were typed and duplicated; our journal is now provided in printed and electronic versions. The electronic version is called the eHistorian.
Some editions of the Queensland Family Historian include lists of names or information transcribed by QFHS members derived from repositories such as the Queensland State Archive or National Archives of Australia. Some of these lists will be made available as separate datasets on QFHS website. An example of such a list is the Orphans attending Townsville Central School.
To find out more about our datasets look here.
Jaunts
Who hasn't hankered for the open road of late? COVID is a bit of a pest, that's for sure.
I have many fond memories of bus trips with various societies over the years.
When I was a member of the Australian Cinematographers' Society years and years ago (and not an accredited member I hasten to add, just a friend) we went on a bus trip up to the Sunshine Coast to see a silent movie at the Pomona Majestic Cinema. So much fun!
We've got a group coming down to the QFHS library from the Sunshine Coast next month to check it out. It's nicer going to visit archives etc as a group because you learn from each other's questions. When I worked for Moreton Bay Libraries, they would organise a bus trip to the Queensland State Archives from time to time. It's so nice just to sit on a bus and let someone else worry about the traffic for once. I understand the morning teas on that particular bus trip were stupendous. :)
If you can think of some other important J words that relate to genealogy or family history societies and what they do or how they run, do let me know. We're almost half way through the alphabet and I'm beginning to feel a bit jet-lagged. How about you?
Thank you for dropping by. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Comments
You’ve reminded me that, post-covid, I should venture to Pomona.
Dear Pauleen - I was going to say that I hadn't been to Pomona for years but I think I did WALK through there on some great hike I did a few years ago with a friend. Yes its called the Great Noosa country trail walk. We gave up after the first day. It was the most amount of steps in one day I've ever done in my life. I don't know why they do it so late in the year. It is way too hot. I see they did it in May last year which is much more sensible. Seems to be set for October this year https://nationaltrustqld.org.au/whats-on/great-noosa-trail-walk At any rate I thoroughly enjoyed the silent movie at the cinema. It could be a fun outing. I see there is a distillery there and a museum and an antiques barn. Fab.
Dear Sue - we'll get there. Perseverance and fortitude are the most famous qualities of a genealogist. :)