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We are discussing Tracing family history
With Antoinette Buchanan, Stephanie Ryan and Jennifer Higgins

Question:
I traced my great grandfather Robert James Mitchell who was born in Dunedin, New Zealand around 1867. There is no record that his birth was registered, so it’s hard to get his parents info and if they came from Scotland and at what time. Could you please suggest a direction to follow up on?

Answer:
Stephanie - A website with clear, useful advice for researching New Zealand ancestors is New Zealand Family History @ Christchurch Libraries

Check the following:

Birth information

* The accuracy of the date of birth. It may be worth checking five years before and after the estimated date. Perhaps tracing the birth of a known brother or sister might be an option.

* Church records. Sometimes parents had their children baptised while civil registration seemed less important.

* Death information

* The death certificate. It should have the place of birth and length of time in New Zealand, the names of the deceased's parents, father's occupation, and mother's maiden name.

* Church record. This is helpful in supplying some detail if a death certificate cannot be obtained.

* Newspaper notices including those for a death, funeral and obituary. There is a list of newspaper indexes at the Christchurch site These can provide information about parents, brothers and sisters. Sometimes in obituaries, the name of the ship of arrival as well as the time of arrival may be mentioned. Perhaps, as a result, you can trace the parents by finding a birth record for the brothers or sisters. Special events such as a significant birthday or wedding anniversary may also be found in news items.

* Wills and probate. These can be a source of finding a death certificate and death notices.

Other possibilities include inquest and accident records. The Christchurch Library has further possibilities.

* Passenger lists.

* Shipping and passenger information. The Christchurch Library website has a list of sources.

Other sources

* Local histories, biographical indexes, education and employment records are some of the other materials which can provide leads to age and place of birth, religious sources, other family members, date of arrival and place of origin in Scotland. They may be useful for confirming whether or not you are on track.

Did they stay in New Zealand? If your ancestor moved to Australia, the role of Australian marriage and death records is important. Parents’ names may be recorded, as well as length of time in Australia (in the case of death), age and place of birth.

Finding records

* Online catalogues, information leaflets and emails of libraries and archives can be a quick way of identifying what the sources are and how to use them.

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