What can we find out about your family?

Content:

We have a number of databases and records that we use in our research.

Our starting point is our family tree database, created using information from birth, death and marriage indexes for families known to have been in Malmsbury. To this has been added any known local burials, baptisms and marriages.

Once we have established a time period in which the family was present in the district, we consult rate books (and other council records), land records, electoral rolls, certificates, newspapers and photographs, as well as any existing files on the family which contain materials donated to us.

We have a check list of records which are generally used to find information for family reports and we work through this list to find any relevant details.

The Family Report presents the information in a family-tree format with the additional information added in as memos and miscellaneous notes, all with references.

 

Once the report is collated, we provide some degree of interpretation to help you understand the information and where it has come from. If there were two families in the town of the same surname, for example, we may include all the information on the surname and then point out which records we believe belong to which family. We may even uncover a new branch of the family you did not know about.

After you have received your report, if you have any specific questions on the content, we are happy to explain things to you by phone or email, but we do not do "further lookups" of information for free.

 

As the indexing and digitization of our collection continues, we can locate more information in a shorter period of time, so what we send you today may double in 2 years time.

Family Research

Malmsbury Historical Society Inc.

We Serve To Preserve

WHAT SHOULD YOU SEND US:

Please print and complete the RESEARCH REQUEST FORM and post or email it to us.

If you have a SPECIFIC QUESTION (see below) that you want answered, please let us know. If we need to consult land records to locate where your ancestor lived, in preference to court reports in the newspapers to find out why your ancestor was sent to jail, we will tailor the report to suit your requirements. We are unable to do an exhaustive search for all information in the time allocated to each customer. However new leads can be followed up in a subsequent report for an additional fee.

 

WE DO NOT REQUIRE ANY PAYMENT UP FRONT:

We will contact you when the report is completed and forward the report when payment is received.

If you are paying by CHQ or Money Order, then you may wish to pay up front to save postage on the CHQ

NOTE: The more background information you can provide, the easier it is to begin your request.

Maiden names of spouses, known dates of events (not just years) and a date range in which the family was in the area or a details and dates from a certificate or land title, all help us to spend more time giving you new information, rather then looking up BDM indexes and repeating what you already know.

 

Sending us an email which says " do you have any information on my great grandfather, his name was John Smith?" is not very helpful.

 

If we spend 5 hours looking through the rate books from 1863 onwards, when John Smith first arrived in 1894, we have wasted our time and your money.