Liz Pidgeon

Australian librarian, Liz Pidgeon, is involved in family and local history in both her personal and working life. I have been following Liz's tweets and blogs for a couple of years and also know her through her membership of GenealogyWise.

 

From reading her posts and contributions I surmise that Liz is a very modest lady who has a breadth of experience in her fields of expertise.

 

I am so pleased that she was able to take time out of her busy schedule to submit a profile to Genimates. I hope that, one day soon I might meet her in the flesh.

 

Thanks, Liz.

Date  March 1, 2011

Name  Liz Pidgeon

Hometown Melbourne, Australia

Are you a Hobbyist or Professional Genealogist? Hobbyist

What, if any, formal or informal studies have you undertaken that are relevant to genealogical research?

Bachelor of Arts (Major Studies in Librarianship)
Introduction to Archives
Answering Family History Enquiries in Libraries and Information Centres (online course)
Learning 2.0 AKA 23 things (online course relating to Web 2.0) and part 2 of same course
Attended various speakers and conferences

How did you get hooked on genealogy?

I was always interested when I was younger and enjoyed talking to my maternal Grandmother about her life. It was not until I was on maternity leave with my third child and I got the internet at home and my husband also became interested in his family history that I then got hooked.

What is your day job?

Local and Family History Librarian

How long have you been chasing ancestors?

13 years officially

What are your areas of Expertise in Genealogy?

I do not claim to have any expertise, but if pressed I would say the state of Victoria.

Please outline your involvement in Genealogy Societies and Groups

I am a member of the Genealogical Society of Victoria, the Royal Historical Society of Victoria and other local history groups, of which one I maintain the website : www.kilmorehistory.info

What are the lands of your ancestors?

My pioneer ancestors hail from England, Scotland and Ireland. I also have relatives in New Zealand.

What Family Names are you Researching?

ALBINS/ALBANS 1822 + Lincoln, England
ALBINS/ALBANS 1852+ Timor, Vic.
BYRNE 1880 Vic.
CAMM Tas & Vic.
CHARKER/CHALKER 1797+
COMANS, 1850+ Bylands, Vic.
FREEMAN, 1780+ Kent, England
GOOD 1835+ MLN, Scotland
GOOD 1886+ New Zealand
GROSE Pre 1873 Cornwall, England
GROSE 1873+ Qld & Vic.
HOLMES 1903 + Birchip, Casterton, Vic.
HUMPHRIES 1915+ Casterton, Vic.
JAMES 1827+ CON, England
KEANE 1830 + Limerick, Ireland
KENNEDY, 1852+ Bylands, Vic.
KENNEDY 1942 Lockhart, NSW
KOEHLER 1790 + Ireland
LEES, 1787+ Stafford, England
McANDREW 1865+ Tourello, Vic
NEWBORN 1924 Northcote, Vic.
NORRIS 1818+ Kent, England
O'BRIEN 1854+ Kilmore, Shepparton, Vic.
O'GRADY 1793+ Dublin, Ireland
O'MEARA 1860+ Geelong, Vic.
OVER 1906 England and India
PARSONS 1776+ Surrey, England
PIDGEON 1770+ Wicklow, Ireland
PIDGEON, 1841 + Australia
POPE 1820+ Devon, England
PROUD 1850+ NY, USA
ROBERTS, 1788+ YKS, England
ROBERTS 1855 + Castlemaine, Vic.
RYAN 1860+ Geelong & Donald, Vic
RYAN 1862+ Pyalong, Birchip, Mildura, Vic. Some unconnected families
SCOTT 1780+ Hull, Yorkshire, England
SIM 1887+ Corack & Geelong, Vic.
SQUIRES Bef 1809 Surrey, England
SQUIRES, 1830 + Tas & Vic.
STEVENS, 1898+ Dunedin NZ
STEVENS 1857+ Fryerstown, Vic
TURNBALL/TURNBULL 1888+ Tas, Aus & NZ
WEBBER, 1802+ DEV, England
WHITE, 1800-1850, East Looe, Cornwall 1800 - 1850
WHITE, 1852+ Te Aroha & Hawera, NZ

Who is your favourite ancestor? Why?

My maternal Grandmother Annie Murray COMANS (nee GOOD). My Nana, she is my favourite because aside from my parents she is one ancestor I knew. Her family have been interesting to research, with origins in Scotland. Annie herself was born on the WA goldfields and her twin siblings were later born in Pretoria South Africa. Before her Dad married he had also spent time in NZ.

What ancestral city or town would you like to visit? Why?

Edinburgh, Scotland. It looks like a beautiful city. My GOOD and RAE ancestors were from there and there is a still an area (signposted) known as "Good's Corner" which I would love to visit one day.

What is your favourite resource for genealogy?

I love the TROVE website the gateway out of the National Library of Australia at http://trove.nla.gov.au/. In particular the "digitised newspapers and more" database. It has more Victorian content in recent weeks and my husband's father illustrated for "The Australian Women's Weekly" which has also been digitised. We are very fortunate in Australia to have so many wonderful resources online to explore.

Do you keep your genealogy files on paper?  Yes

Do you keep your genealogy files on a computer? Yes

What genealogy software do you use to record your family tree?

I use and recommend Legacy.

The standard editon is available as a free downnload at http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/
 

Do you have your tree posted on the internet? Yes

If Yes What is the URL?

http://www.wepidgeon.com/home.htm

What Social Networking Sites do you use for genealogy?

Ancestry, Facebook, GenealogyWise, LinkedIn, Twitter @infolass, @genelass

Do you have a blog? Several

What are your blogs' URLs?

http://ypgenealogy.blogspot.com/ http://yplocalhistory.blogspot.com


What are your Other Hobbies, Activities, Interests?
I am a Creative Memories consultant and facilitate workshops for people to work on their album projects, which I also enjoy doing myself.
I collect postcards (www.postcrossing.com) and enjoy "op shopping"
I enjoy reading and movies.
I am also a Mum to three teenage children.

What is your favourite lesiure time activity apart from genealogy?

Scrapbooking

What is your favourite (non genealogy) book?

Too many. I enjoy biographies and autobiographies but I suppose that it related to genealogy! This charnges all the time. I would recommend "Bridie's Fire" by Kirsty Murray although again genealogy related because it is fiction set in historical Melbourne.

What is your personal philosophy in a few words ?

Be the best person you can be.

If you have anything else to share please add it below
I am fortunate to get paid for my love of family history research in my role as a family and local history librarian, I enjoy helping new researchers and providing advice when I can.

Talk to all and any elderly relatives today!
Identify - and tell the story behind your photos.
Document your own life story.
Share you research with others - tell the story
Do not presume that your descendants will not eventually be interested in your research - identify a young family member who can eventually be a custodian for your research and document that.

Enjoy the journey and connect with other researchers.