TheGenealogist has a 30 day free trial of its Diamond subscription package. There is also a reduced subscription fee, if you choose to subscribe at the end of the free trial. The free trial and reduced subscription is available until 31 January 2026.
All the details, plus a link to TheGenealogist offer, can be found in this Genealogy a la carte blog.
FindMyPast has another special on its Everything package. The details are spelt out on this Lost Cousins newsletter. The special is only available for a couple of weeks & only for new subscribers.
Happy New Year to members!
AncestryDNA is again on sale. This sale ends at 11.59 pm (AEDT) on 2 December 2025. Details are here. Very attractive pricing this time.
MyHeritage has a subscription special, for members of family history societies. The special represents a 50% discount on the usual fee. It is only available until 7 December 2025. Here you will find the details.
TheGenealogist has another subscription special - its Diamond Package for GBP114.95. The special expires on 30 November 2025. Go here for details.
The latest LostCousins newsletter has news of another FindMyPast subscription special. The special is only available for a 'limited time', no end date was included.
All the details are in the LostCousins newsletter.
FindMyPast has free access to all of its military records until 13 November 2025. Read about it in the latest newsletter from LostCousins - it's the second item.
Lost Cousins' Peter Calver has just sent this urgent email:
Cost of wills to increase by 966% BREAKING NEWS
When the cost of post-1858 wills dropped by 85% from £10 to £1.50 in July 2019 it was a very pleasant surprise – and I suspect that, like me, you’ve ordered all the wills you want. At least, I hope you have….
From Monday 17th November the cost is going up by 966%, from £1.50 to £16, a price that – according to paragraph 5.16 of the explanatory memorandum published by the government – is closer to the actual cost. Frankly, whether it is or whether it isn’t will depend entirely on whether someone else has ordered the will in the past 6 years, ie since the service went digital – if they have, then I doubt it costs more than £1.50 to process the order but, if they haven’t and the document(s) need to be located and digitized, then £16 is a much more realistic figure.
Some people will see this swingeing increase as a response to the almost universal rejection of the Ministry of Justice’s plans to digitize all of the wills and destroy the originals. Whether or not this is the case, the best thing we can do right now is fill any gaps in our collection of post-1858 wills.
TheGenealogist website has discounted its Diamond subscription to GBP129.95 until 14 November 2025. Go here if you're interested.
One sale finishes, another starts! AncestryDNA is again on sale, this one expiring on 20 September 2025. Go here for the details.
This Halloween, MyHeritage is offering free access to over 1.5 billion death, burial, cemetery, and obituary records until 2 November 2025.
Go here to start searching.
More British Army WW2 service records have been digitised and will be available on Ancestry.com from 6 November 2025. From that date until 12 November 2025, access to the records will be free.
More details can be found on this Who Do You Think You Are article.
AncestryDNA is once again on sale, this time until 11.59 pm on Tuesday, 28 October 2025. The details can be found here.
The latest LostCousins newsletter has advised that FindMyPast has extended its offer of discounted subscriptions until 30 September 2025. The LostCousins newsletter also includes a couple of other specials, which may interest some.
We will be holding our next workshop for members on 15 September 2025, commencing at 10am, in the Research Room. Subject for this workshop will be cemetery records.
Numbers are limited. Email to tweedfhs@hotmail.com if you are interested in attending.
The 50% discount offered by FindMyPast on its 12 month subscription has been extended until 15 September 2025. This LostCousins newsletter has all the details.
Legacy Family Tree Webinars is holding its annual Webtember, starting on 4 September 2025. Each Wednesday there will be a selection of webinars to view. Here you will find all the details.
LostCousins has negotiated a 50% discount on the 12 month 'everything' subscription at FindMyPast.
At present, the discount will expire on Monday, 1 September 2025. See the LostCousins newsletter for details & the appropriate link.
The Blayney Shire Local & Family History Group is updating its Blayney Shire Pioneer Register, which was originally published in 2010.
The Group is inviting contributions from interested people. Closing date for contributions is 30 October 2025. More details can be found here.
MyHeritage has its US and Canadian census records on free access until 2 September 2025.
Here is the MyHeritage blog with the details.
TheGenealogist has a summer special on its Diamond Subscription at the moment, a 30% discount. Details are here.
The Australian Copyright Council is running a webinar on Wednesday, 27 August 2025, from 1 to 2 pm. The webinar explores how copyright law relates to the chronicling of family histories. More details of the webinar can be found here.
The Tweed Heads Historical Society currently has a historic photographic display at the Old Tweed Heads Courthouse, 230 Kennedy Drive, Tweed Heads (Pioneer Park). Hours of opening: 10 am to 2.30 pm, every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, until 22 August 2025. Entry is free.
MyHeritage DNA kits are currently on sale for $52 plus shipping. The sale is only for a limited time.
Go here for details.
In celebration of US Independence Day, MyHeritage is allowing free access to US newspapers on OldNews.com, until 5 July 2025. MyHeritage's blog has all the details.
MyHeritage has 2 specials at present:
MyHeritage DNA - 60% off
MyStories - 25% off
Both specials end on 15 June 2025.
Another sale of AncestryDNA to consider. This one expires at 11.59 pm (AEST) on 7 June 2025.
Details are here.
We will be holding our second workshop for members on 16 June 2025, commencing at 10am, in the Research Room. Subject for this workshop will be the Australian birth, death and marriage indexes.
Numbers are limited. Email to tweedfhs@hotmail.com if you are interested in attending.
This is a non-family history post. The Friends of the Pound will be holding a Trivia Night at South Tweed Sports Night on Friday, 30 May 2025.
If you are interested, all the details are here.
mackiev.com has released Family Tree Maker 2024. There is an introductory offer for upgrades. The offer is only available for 3 days, so don't delay if you are interested.
Details are here.
AncestryDNA is on sale again, until 11 May 2025. Here are the details.
Apologies for this rare post which is promoting a non-family history event.
Ashton's Circus will be in town (Jack Evans Boat Harbour, Tweed Heads) for the first time in 10 years. Member, Jenny's granddaughter, Jemima, is a descendant of James Henry Ashton, the founder of Ashton's Circus in Australia. Jemima will be appearing with her Ashton cousins in the 7 pm show, this Saturday, 19 April 2025. Ashton's are discounting tickets to that show by 15% as it is World Circus Day. Tickets can be purchased at the door or online
FindMyPast has a 50% discount on subscriptions at the moment - an excellent offer. The latest Lost Cousins newsletter has all the details & a link to the offer. It is only available for a limited time.
Also in the Lost Cousins newsletter is a link to a 40% discount on a Newspapers.com subscription. This special is only available until 11.59 pm, 14 April 2025, US Mountain Time.
The annual 24 hour genealogy webinar marathon by Legacy Family Tree Webinars has now finished. The videos are now available to view for free for several days. Go here to watch the videos
Fold3 is allowing free access to its US Civil War records until 14 April 2025 (US MT). Here are all the details.
The NSW & ACT Association of Family History Societies has negotiated a special subscription price with MyHeritage - a discount of 60%. The special is available until 18 April 2025.
Here are the details.
To celebrate St Patrick's Day, AncestryDNA is on sale until 11.59 pm AEDT on 17 March 2025.
Here are the details.
To celebrate Women's History Month, Ancestry is allowing free access to the 1921 Census (& some other records) until 11.59 pm (AEST) on 9 March 2025.
Registration is required. Go here for more details.
MyHeritage DNA is on sale again, but for a very short period. If you're interested, go here.
Newspapers.com has one of its occasional free access periods at the moment. The free access expires at 11.59 pm on 17 February 2025 (US MT), which translates to 5.59 pm on 18 February 2025 to us in NSW.
Go here to start searching.
Ancestry.com.au has a sale on subscriptions at present:
UK Heritage Plus - $40 for 4 months
World Heritage - $80 for 4 months
The sale expires at 11.59 pm (AEDT) on 11 February 2025.
The sale prices only apply to new subscribers. Remember to read the fine print! Go here if you are interested.
In celebration of Australia Day, MyHeritage is allowing free access to its Australian records from 25 to 28 January 2025.
Read about the free access here.
The schedule for RootsTech 2025 is now available for perusing. At present there are 283 sessions, commencing on 7 March 2025. If you have a FamilySearch account, your own personal schedule can be created.
Go here to start.
The Family History Show is to be held online on Saturday, 8 February 2025, from 10 am to 4 pm (UK time).
Early bird tickets are now available at GBP7.00.
Full details of the show, and to buy tickets, can be found here.
East Surrey Family History Society is holding a virtual family history fair on Saturday, 25 January 2025. It is FREE to attend. There are quite a number of other family history societies and organisations taking part.
If you are interested, here is where you can find the details & register your attendance.
