Wednesday 5 February 2014

Death by Genealogy

Death, graves and genealogists
I'll admit it. During the last six months I've become obsessed with genealogy. With the ability to use the wonderful resources of Trove for free and find so many birth and death notices as well as stories of days gone by in Australia, there's a wealth of free material available for the beginning genealogist.

At this stage I'm really only a family historian but with the intention of improving my skills and credentials I headed off to Brisbane on Saturday to attend the Unlock the Past seminar. The major speakers Chris Paton and Thomas MacEntee are worldwide recognised experts in their respective fields and both very entertaining speakers so a good day was had and much new learning taken on board.

Genealogy requires dedicated hours of research and critical analysis of sources, this is excellent brain food for stimulating minds. Sitting in front of computers for hours on end however does not care for one's body and I fear many of the family historians and genealogists in the audience, failed to care for their living bodies the way they care for the dead. Warning: death by obesity may well be the most common cause of death listed on death certificates of so many this century. Future genealogists may be forced to search for the relationship between hobbies, occupations and causes of death.

Let's all get up, get about and do our bodies a favour by eating a balanced diet and engaging in regular exercise. In the meantime, back to those graves.... You can head over to my family stories blog at Earlier Years if you have any interest in this field.

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