Sometimes we take things for granted and don’t realise how many people are not aware of the myriad of different places they can find a person’s date of death – cemetery records and newspaper notices to name just a few. Probate files also provide this information and in Victoria we are spoilt with the online Probate indexes to 2009 as well as the option to download digital copies of Probate files up to 1925.
When I was thinking about additions to the Geelong and District database I realised that extracting “local” entries from the PROV Index would assist people researching in our region. Not only does it give an alternative method of searching [text string searching in our database] but would also remind or teach researchers that there is more than one way to skin a cat!
The PROV links and file IDs are not included as people should always go back to the original source to ensure they get the correct file, however extracting the name, occupation, residence and date of death would definitely benefit our local researchers. Of course there will always be missed records as they have been extracted by place of residence – and we know how many place names have changed over the years. Methodically working through possible place names, using the Geelong and District Towns, Places and Parishes file, so far I’ve covered most of Geelong, the Bellarine Peninsula, and the road to Ballarat. There are heaps more to come so there should be no doubt that the target of 1,600,000 entries in the database will be achieved before the end of 2014.
We now have 1,582,738 records in the Geelong and District database. This is what’s been added since the last major update on 22 September 2014:
- Geelong Infirmary & Benevolent Asylum: Annual Report 1908 – 3,009 entries
- The Drysdale Boys and One Girl: remembering those who fought in the First World War [Book] – 185 entries
- Geelong and District: PROV Wills and Probates 1841-2009 – 52,354 entries
- Old Ocean Grove land titles: sellers and purchasers – 185 entries
Details on these indexes can be found in the Geelong & District Potpourri pages and the Geelong & District List of Books.
And don’t forget to search again for your ancestors in the Geelong & District Database – they could have been in the last load of additions!
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