Durban & Coastal Newsletters

In this, the first newsletter of 2017, there is a write up on a talk by Donald Davies on "Durban Aflame: The burning of German-owned businesses following the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915"; 6 Google Search tricks; "A 6-Generation Family"; the History of Mothers' Day, and there are the usual web links and genealogy humour. At the end, there is a list of the "Contents" of the newsletters of 2012 and 2013 should anyone like to look up any specific article."

"The last newsletter of the year includes some ideas for interesting the younger generation in genealogy, a "peep" into the past in Shakespeare's time, and the humourous legacy left by the Reverend William Archibald Spooner."

"A write-up on the most entertaining talk given by Prof. Donal McCracken on "The Irish in South Africa; an article on how to tell if your "Tree" is correct; a list of genealogical "Blogs" to follow; and the usual Memory Lane and humour"

"This newsletter gives feed back on our last two really instructive meetings. We have some very knowledgeable members who have helped by sharing their experience, tips and genealogical expertise. There are several interesting articles which make a great deal of reference to FamilySearch, and a new regular called "From our Library Shelves" which includes small precis on some of the books in our Library. Then, who remembers the "man with the golden banana - the NBS! "

Our newsletter is a pot pourri of fact and fun. There is a write-up on our last 2 talks - Prof Ken Knight's remarkable genealogical "journey" inspired by a trip to the Cathedral in Grahamstown; and the story behind Duncan Du Bois' book "Sugar and Settlers - A History of the Natal South Coast 1850 - 1910". There is advice on the kind of personal information we should be leaving for our future generations; "Murphy's Law" for genealogists, and a short article in Down Memory Lane about the arrival of the Indentured Indians."

" Eleanor Lea, our new Chairman, gives us feedback from the recent National AGM; Christelle Horne's talk on "My journey with Family Tree DNA" proved to be fascinating, and her discoveries, to date, have revealed quite a few mysteries; there is an article on Common Family Photo Scanning Mistakes, and also a "tongue-in-cheek" list of How to fail at Family History in 10 Simple Steps .... and more"

Read what the newly elected chairman of the Durban and Coastal Branch has to say in Chairman's Natter. There is a report on progress with the Stallawood Cemetery Photography Project. New devlopments in DNA Research i.e. Scientists have found that memories may be passed down through generations in our DNA. New research from Emory University School of Medicine, in Atlanta, has shown that it is possible for some information to be inherited biologically through chemical changes that occur in DNA. And more.....

"The final edition for 2015 includes a report back on Ken Gilling's talk on "WW1 comes to the Northern Cape - the Battle of Kakamas"; debunking some genetic genealogy myths; an extract from "Natal Settler-Agent" about the ships "Ina", "Conquering Hero" and "Unicorn" which brought some of the Byrne's Settlers; and further entertaining / informative snippets"

"Our latest newsletter offers explanations about why we may not be able to find our ancestors online; there are also genealogical resources on YouTube - it's actually amazing what one can find on the internet's social media; our "Memory Lane" is about the original Bluff Lighthouse which was built in 1864, was the 1st lighthouse on the Natal coastline and the only lighthouse, at the time, on the east coast of Africa ... and more."

"This latest newsletter has a write-up on our June speaker, Donald Davies, who was talking about "Fighting Disease in S.E. Africa during WW1" ,and also our July Speaker, Adrian Rowe, who gave us an inside view of the Natal Marriages Index Project; there are the usual interesting and informative websites plus an article on The 10 most important characteristics of a Good Genealogist... and more."