Special Collections

Over the past 30 years GSQ has collected many items, much of it unpublished, which were thought useful to family historians. Many of these are outputs from our projects. These may be in formats other than book, film or CD and are managed separately. These special collections include:

  • Crosse-Dunleavy Index
  • General Index File
  • Vertical File
  • Pedigree Charts
  • Unrelated Certificates
  • Queensland Muster Roll
  • Australasian Record
  • Family Tree Charts
  • One-name Society Journals/Newsletters
  • Genealogy and Family History Societies Journals
  • Maps

 

The Crosse-Dunleavy Index is a  family name index of all birth, death, marriage, funeral and other notices that appeared in the Moreton Bay Courier, the Brisbane Courier and the Courier Mail from 1846 to 1900 and though not complete the indexing was then continued up to 1912. Marriages are cross-indexed making research easier. Although this index is comprised from notices in Brisbane papers the entries are not only from this area but also from other regions of Queensland as well as a sprinkling from interstate and overseas.

The General Index File was commenced in the early 1980's and contains a vast array of information from many sources and is displayed on 5 x 3 cards. Material may have been collected from almost anywhere as long as it was thought to be useful to family historians. Contained within this index are the references for the Vertical File and the Pedigree Charts.

The Vertical File is similar to the General Index File but is made up of items that are larger than the filing cards. The entry on the card within the General Index File identifies the subject and/or person and its place within the Vertical File and is indicated by an alphabetical letter plus a number eg. E4. The relevant articles are arranged in the Vertical File filing cabinet within manilla folders that are identified in alphabetical order. The individual items are then placed in the folders in numerical order and a list of contents is printed on the inside cover.

Many newspaper cuttings report golden and diamond weddings, one hundredth birthdays and centenary celebrations of churches, halls, towns and schools to mention a few. Family group sheets, pedigree and obituaries are quite common. Two examples are:

  • Number M150A is a folder of research papers including the names McAvoy, Kinnane, Culhane, Doolan and Davern in Ireland, Ohio USA and Australia.
  • Number H194 is a blue photo album with a collection of headstones in various cemeteries in New South Wales and Queensland, with the family names of French, Goschnick, Schafferius, Nissen, Casey, Porter, Hagen, Giles, Judge, Dan, Humphries and Goodman.

Pedigree Charts are filed in folders in numerical order and are easily identified in the General Index File by a numerical reference.  Members have always been encouraged to submit five generation charts of their family research to the Society in the hope that they will connect with other descendants of their ancestors and assist them in their research.

Unrelated Certificates are certificates given to GSQ to become part of the research material. Most researchers will at some time order a certificate to confirm a fact and find it is not the correct person. Where a member agrees, GSQ will keep a copy of certificates ordered through our certificate service, to add to our research material.

The Queensland Muster Roll was an Australian bicentennial project in 1988, which collected biographical data on over 20,000 people living in Queensland between 1859 and 1901. This project was updated as a Queensland 150th anniversary project in 2009. Many of the data sheets have been retained as a special collection. See here for more information on the updated Muster Roll.

Australasian Record  is the journal of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, published for its members in Australasia and the Pacific. Entries are not confined to church members. Personal notices have been collected with many of these giving extensive family detail. An example of this is in the death notice as follows:

ABBOTT, Beryl Lucille, born 6.12.1898 at Hamilton, NZ, died Corranbong NSW. On 28.3.1939 she married Bob, who predeceased her in 1988. She was predeceased by her daughter Lindley, in 1950. She was survived by her daughters Glenda Harker, Neroli Douglas (both of Sydney), Winsome Abbott (Brisbane Qld); her eight grandchildren; her three great-great-grandchildren. Her brothers Ron, Howard, and Cecil Rampton; her sisters Ruby Harker, Olive Coso and Coral Grogan. Beryl was a quiet and gracious lady.

Family Tree Charts that have been designed in a format larger than A3 are located in the book area. There are 110 in number and all are indexed.

Our collection of One-name Society Journals/Newsletters is a small and somewhat select holding of journals and newsletters with varying amounts of information of the family names covered. However this may be the place you find that unexpected clue.

Genealogy and Family History Society Journals/Newsletters are identified by the subject call number .../425/... and can be found in the relevant geographical sections of the Library. Each society publishes its own journal or newsletter much the same as our own Generation. They can consist of a great variety of information on the people and the history of the area, latest publications produced by the relevant society, events, members’ stories, latest acquisitions to their holdings and much more. There are also those journals that cover genealogy and family history in general such as the Family Tree Magazine or Practical Family History which can be found in the Worldwide section (WW).

The Society has an extensive collection of maps which can be found in the map drawers and Vertiplan cabinet near the card file drawers. Each drawer covers a geographic area and has a listing of its contents maintained in a manilla folder relevant to that drawer.