There now exists a large number of published family history books which
provide a valuable source of information for family history
researchers. But the problem is – how to find them and, more
particularly, how to find those that might apply to the particular
family line or lines being researched. Most of the major libraries and
family history organisations now provide on-line access to their
catalogues but, unfortunately, the standard methods of subject indexing
provide only a basic amount of information as to which families are
documented in a catalogued work. For example – a book might have a
title such as 'The Blossom family over seven generations in Australia'
and be assigned a subject heading that says simply 'Blossom family'
whereas in fact 1,000 or more family names might be mentioned in the
familial relationships described in it. What is needed is a
comprehensive index to the contents of the publication. This is what
this new reference work provides.
Divided into two sections.
The first section provides information on over 3400 published
Australian family histories. Information that is given is: title,
author/s, publisher's name, where published, date published, number of
pages, whether it contains particular types of information
(bibliopgrahy, fascimile/s, genealogical charts or tables,
illustration, maps, portraits, and an index) and it's ISBN where
applicable.
Part two is amazing. It consists of an
alphabetical list of family names (over 59,000 surname occurences are
listed), and for each one, provides a reference to the title/s in which
that surname is mentioned.
For example, a researcher interested
in the family name 'MARTIN' would find listed in the family names
section more than 80 titles in which that name forms a part of the
family tree relationships being described – of course, none of them
might apply to the particular Martin line being sought, but then again
the researcher now knows of 80+ more potential sources of information,
and potential contacts.
This is a major compilation, and
really is a MUST for all Australian researchers. Nothing of this extent
has ever been produced before on Australian family histories. If you
want to know if a history has been written (and produced) on any
particular Australian family - this is the book for you. But please
note, that just because a particular family history title is mentioned
in this publication
