Family History Expo -Follow-up!

I'm home again after a very interesting weekend in Auckland, learning so many things about how to research more about my family history.

I'd barely unpacked before I had visited Fiona Brooker's website, to downloads her Leeds method worksheet. Can't wait to go out and buy some coloured pencils to doodle on it. There's just the small matter of having to do a DNA test first!!! (Waiting for an Ancestry special.)

And if I hadn't heard the talk by Cyndi about how to build a digital research plan, I would have had no idea about her evernote templates- there is just so much info on her site. And after a bit of exploration, I can see that I need to bookmark her categories page for frequent use.

Another key resource. Patient Genie has redone Cyndi's resource checklist for us downunder. 

Have already decided that my first use of a strategy à la Cyndi will be to try and learn more about one or two mysterious John Riordan's in my tree. There was a John Riordan, brother-in-law, who was a witness who signed Mary Burke's death registration in 1892. His residence was "Christchurch". but I really know nothing more about him yet.

There was a death of a John Riordan in Christchurch, but the age seemed wrong. It's time I got a better strategy underway to identify my John Riordan and find him. Having listened to Fiona Brooker's Legacy webinar just last week, I now know about using electoral rolls on Ancestry- will just have to get down to the Palmy library to use their computer.

But there's more....  In January this year I was blindsided by the advent of a previously unknown John Riordan from Mosgiel, via Papers Past- or could he be a very old version of the first one? In 1931 this John from Mosgiel had travelled all the way from Mosgiel to Tututawa, in the backblocks of Stratford, to help my great-aunt Bridget Norris (nee Malone), while her husband was in hospital with a broken leg. (Doesn't actually sound like something an old man would do...)

So, time to get more methodical as I search to 'flesh out' the story/ies of these two (?) John Riordans!

But for now, it's just gone 7am on a Monday morning and genealogy needs to be put aside as the teaching week calls!

Sincere thanks to the Auckland Council Libraries, the NZ Genealogical Group, and the many volunteers for all the work involved in organising and running such an event.