GSQ would like to invite anyone interested in Genealogical Research to attend the

2nd and 4th Wednesday nights, via Zoom

If you cannot get to GSQ; or working during the day; unable to attend the other Zoom meetings; and just want a bit of help with your research, then the Wednesday nights might be just what you are looking for.

Family History: Motives and Emotions

What drives us as family historians to be so passionate about our hobby – many of do not regard it as a hobby but something we just and must do.

Susan Moore, Emeritus Professor of Psychology; Swinburne University of Technology will in this presentation use a psychological perspective to discuss some of the results from a survey of 775 Australian hobbyist family historians. The focus will be (a) the emotions experienced as ancestral stories are uncovered, particularly distressing emotions, and how these might be dealt with constructively, and (b) the major psychosocial motives that drive family historians to be so passionate about their hobby – self-understand, generativity/altruism, and cognitive challenge.

Emeritus Professor Susan M Moore is a retired academic psychologist whose major research interests encompass key transitions across life stages, including parenting, adolescence, grandparenting and retirement. She has successfully supervised 25 doctoral theses, as well as authored and co-authored over 100 journal articles, many book chapters and ten books, some of which have been translated into other languages. Since retirement, Susan has turned her attention to family history and the nexus between genealogical research and life span psychology. As part of this interest, she published several articles in the academic journal Genealogy, co-edited a Special Issue of that journal (“Focus on family historians: How ancestor research affects self-understanding and well-being”), and co-authored a 2021 book, The Psychology of Family History, with Doreen Rosenthal and Rebecca Robinson. Susan completed the UTAS Diploma of Family History in 2018 and enjoys researching and writing about some of her own and her husband’s ancestors.

The meeting is hosted by Ailsa Corlett and Fleur Creed, and it is a self help group in which you pose your questions or problems and others within the group offer their ideas, web sites, books and knowledge on where next you might go to find your answers.

Ailsa has always been interested in family history, starting in 1989 after a trip to Central Otago and seeing photos and dresses of her Paternal ancestors in the Cromwell Museum. Being the eldest grandchild, her grandmother also told her stories and she obtained many of those wonderful little trinkets that get handed out.
Worked as a professional genealogist in the 1990’s specialising in NZ research for Australians. She was accredited under AAGRA. Now retired is very involved with GSQ and helps to run the website, the Monday and Wednesday Zooms as well as the FHTech group.

Fleur developed an interest in family history from her father, who was active in family history research, also writing books about the early settlers of the Queanbeyan, NSW district prior to the selection of the Limestone Plains as the site for the Federal Capital. Her ancestors came from England, Scotland and Ireland, and Africa via America, and include convicts, assisted immigrants and some free settlers. She is currently working on the SAG Certificate of Genealogical Studies, and has completed the Diploma of Family History at UTAS. Fleur has a PhD on the topic, “Australian churches building social capital in their local communities” and currently works part-time as an academic researcher. She also operates a Facebook group about the history the early settlers of the tiny town in the North Burnett where she and her husband are turning a little timber church into their home.

The 4th Wednesday Night is for you to come and listen to a Guest Speaker – please come as they are very enjoyable and knowledgeable people sharing information with us all.

Please send your name, email and any questions to wedpmzoom@gsq.org.au so that a link can be sent to you.
The link will be sent out on the Monday night.