Helping one another

Report and pictures by Penny Evans

 The meeting held on 15 October 2011 took the form of a workshop. Members were divided into groups with a facilitator to guide the discussion. Each person was asked to discuss the areas where they were having problems with their research. It was hoped that the facilitator and group members could give advice.

Richard Ford (left) and Louw du Plessis.

For some people the problem was limited access to the internet. New members needed advice regarding which websites to look at, as well as how to navigate around genealogical websites. Members needed to know where to find passenger lists, what to do if you could find no records at all, where to find the Dutch Reformed Church records in Zimbabwe, as well as records in Holland.
 
A useful tip for those who were struggling to trace farm gravesites, is to go to the undertaker in the village or town and ask for information.

Louise Dick (left) and Elsabé Calitz.

Several members are still not using a genealogical program to record their information. There is a need for personal assistance, on a one to one basis. A suggestion for future workshops of this sort, is to have a laptop with internet access. This would be an excellent way of assisting a beginner.

Some members were able to exchange information with others, especially where they were researching the same family name. The workshop gave members a chance to chat and get to know each other a little better.

From left:  Lindsey Goslin, Margaret Humphreys and Elizabeth Lawrence.

Our vice-chairman, Bob Saunders, thanked the committee and facilitators for their assistance. Our chairman, Lucas Rinken, was unfortunately not able to attend the session due to ill health.

 How Petro Meyer solved her problems

Ten minute talk Petro Meyer told her story, and what an interesting story it was! After Petro’s son and family emigrated to Australia she decided to make a heritage scrapbook for her grandchildren. It soon became evident that she did not have enough information about her forebears.

Fortunately her father had researched the Oberholster family. The progenitor Hans Oberholster had left Wald in Switzerland and arrived in the Cape in about 1696. One of his descendants, owner of the farm Wonderfontein, donated some ground to the Nederduits Zuid-Afrikaanse Spoorwegmaatskappy. The station, Oberholzer still exists today.

Petro and Andrew struggled to research the Meyer family. It was after a visit to Hobby-X to buy scrapbook paper that Petro came across the GSSA stall. With the help received at the monthly meetings they were able to make progress. They organized a family gathering of the Meyers in 2010 and this enabled her to fit together many pieces of the “puzzle”.

Petro is writing a book for her grandchildren telling the intriguing family stories and recording the results of her research. She hopes that when they visit their homeland one day, that they will have compassion for the many generations of forebears who lived and died here.

Introductory Genealogical Training Course

 Invitation to a three-hour introductory training course in genealogical research

Date: Saturday 22 October 2011 

Time: 14:00 to 17:00 

Venue: Dutch Reformed Church – Ontdekkerskruin, Phillips Avenue, Discovery 

Cost: Members: Individual R95 or R155 for a couple (bring your partner)

Non-members: Individual R125 or R195 for a couple (bring your friend)

(Includes your own copy of the workbook and refreshments)

This course, produced by the Genealogical Society of South Africa and brought to you by the West Gauteng branch, offers an introduction to genealogical research in eight modules. It is ideal for newcomers to genealogical research and for those who have made a start but who feel they need help with their research: where and how to find information; how to capture the information; and how to present it. Every participant will receive a certificate on conclusion of the course.

Program
Module	Title	Time	Presenter
1	Background	14:00 to 14:20	Dennis Pretorius
2	Working documents	14:20 to 14:45
3	Unpublished sources	14:45 to 15:05	Richard Ford
4	Internet sources	15:05 to 15:30	Lucas Rinken
Refreshment break	15:30 to 16:00
5	Formal sources	16:00 to 16:20	Dennis Pretorius
6	Interesting facts	16:20 to 16:40	Lucas Rinken
7	Presentation	16:40 to 17:00	Richard Ford
8	Your own Family History

Contact Richard Ford by not later than 14 October 2011 at:  

Cell: 073-250-6208; Fax: 086-515-8128 or e-mail ryford@iafrica.com

Preserving Your Family History Records Digitally

Nearly a year ago, I published an article about Gary Wright's definitive whitepaper on preserving your family history records digitally, writes Dick Eastman in his online newsletter.

Gary is an employee of FamilySearch. In his paper, he explained the many issues involved with digital archiving, including the pitfalls of digital storage of priceless paperwork and of old family photographs that have been digitized.

As he explains, if done right, digital archives will last for decades. If done wrong, they may not last three years. 

Gary has now updated his white paper. Changes in the new version include:

1. Recommendations about using flash drives and cloud backup to preserve family history records 
2. Important and exciting news about a new industry partnership that has the potential to create a new de facto standard for archiving storage media
3. Removal of the internet service offering for personal archiving since its launch has been delayed 

 You can read this important analysis HERE.