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Archiver > AUS-QLD-SE-Germans > 1999-01 > 0917594189


From: "Beverly Markham" <>
Subject: Re: Whereabouts
Date: Fri, 29 Jan 1999 07:16:29 -0000


Dear Lorrae, Since this list was started (before the end of last year) we
have had enquiries from England, USA, Germany and from other parts of the
Australian continent. I presently live here in Mesa, Arizona, USA. The
internet knows no bounds.
I am glad to hear that you have had success in contacting the church from
which your ancestor may have come. My ancestors were either christened,
married or died from the Highfields Lutheran Church, just outside of
Toowoomba. I have been to visit this church and received limited access to
its records (because I was not raised Lutheran and am not a practicing
Lutheran, I was asked to leave and not come back). I wrote to the Lutheran
church in Toowoomba for other records and received no answer. I was raised
Church of England and wrote to St. Lukes church in Toowoomba and received no
answer to my requests.
My best success at tracing the family has been to contact family members and
ask or the better option was to visit Toowoomba and go to the Darling Downs
Family History society on Lindsay Street. They had the church registry from
the St. Pauls Lutheran Church in Toowoomba and I was able to gather many
records from their library.
With the latest microfiche of the Queensland BDM now available, it is much
easier to find ancestors who were born , married and died in the early part
of this century. I personally am grateful for small libraries like the
DDFHS in Toowoomba and the dedicated staff of volunteers that they retain.
I have written to many small historical societies and have found them very
helpful in giving me direction to search in specific areas. In particular I
wrote to the Laidley Historical Society and they forwarded my letter to
another society which in turn forwarded my letter to the Rosewood Scrub FHS
who replied to my enquiry.
I learned that the Rosewood Scrub FHS has an ambitious project in hand.
They are gathering all the German records they can for their area. It seems
that in the Minden/Marburg area there was a heavy concentration of Germans
and the documentation of these families is consuming the interests of the
Rosewood Scrub society. They did not have the information I needed, but I
was able to supply them with the records of a family that lived on the
outskirts of their area of interest.
Networking in this manner allows the wider availability of records for
others who may not know just where to start but once started may unearth
records previously unavailable to myself or to others.
I just love doing family history. It makes my ancestors take on real
identities and they are not just a name with a reference number on a page in
my notebook. Cheers, Beverly.
-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Johnson <>
To: <>
Date: Friday, January 29, 1999 7:57 AM
Subject: Whereabouts

Hello Every-one,
I just joined and I see from Beverley that people from all over the
world are joining, searching for their Ancestor in the area where I
live. I have many German ancestors, and I will post them separately.

However, I am confused by some of the items I have seen. Some of the
surnames are common in this area, and a link with the right Church
would have your answers in very short time.

For example, I tried to trace my ancestors a few years ago from
outside the church, and I got very few answers. Recently, my 2nd
cousin (a member of the church) helped me and I was very surprised
with the information she was given. "One of our own".

My purpose for this email, would you be able to identify which region
of the world you are writing from. I would feel very self conscience
to reply to someone who lived in the area and knows me and my
referrals already.

So thank you and great hunting. If you don't live in the area, can I
help you with contacts?!. I am limited in my time, but I may be able
to point you in the direction, with help from my 2nd cousin.

Lorrae
Plainland via Laidley
S E Qld

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