The GLAM Name Index Search brings datasets from 10 Australian GLAM organisations together into a single search interface. All these datasets index collections by people’s names, so with one search you can find information about individuals across a broad range of records, locations, and periods. It was created as an experiment during Family History Week in 2021, so I thought I’d update it for Family History Week 2024.

The update added 18 new datasets, so the GLAM Name Index Search now includes 279 datasets from 10 organisations – almost 12 million rows of data!

Start exploring now!

Most of the datasets come from government open data portals, so the GLAM Name Index Search is also a demonstration the value of data sharing. By making these datasets openly available, GLAM organisations support the development of new tools and resources that work across institutional boundaries.

As well as updating the datasets (details below), I took the chance to tweak the interface a bit. In particular, there’s now a new, svelte dark mode for people (like me) who struggle with screen glare.

The GLAM Name Index Search is created using Datasette with a custom theme. For more information on the how I compiled the data, see the GLAM data portals section of the GLAM Workbench.

New datasets

Queensland State Archives

• Book of Trials 1835-1842 (created 2024-01-08)
• Brisbane Gaol Prisoners 1850-1898 (created 2022-08-30)
• Brisbane Passenger Arrivals 1913-1915 (created 2023-11-14)
• Gympie Mining Claims 1868-1901 (created 2023-01-30)
• Immigrant Remittances, IMA Maryborough 1864-1905. (S13055, S13060 & S13061) (created 2022-08-30)
• Immigrant Remittances, Nanango 1863-1901 (created 2024-08-13)
• Index to Deed Polls (Change of Name) 1889 - 1920.csv (created 2024-01-08)
• Index to Immigrants and Missing Immigrants cards 1920-1945 (created 2024-01-08)
• Index to Inquests 1859-1905 (digital) (created 2023-11-20)
• Index to Register of Immigrants, Maryborough 1871-1915 (created 2023-11-17)
• Land Orders 1861 - 1878 (created 2022-11-30)
• Records on Frontier Wars and violence in Queensland (created 2023-05-29)
• Reformatory School for Boys 1871-1906 (created 2022-09-05)
• Teachers in the Education Office Gazettes 1926-1952 (created 2022-08-30)

NSW State Archives

Most of the NSW State Archives indexes are harvested from their web site. I last updated them about a year ago, but there have been some additions since then.

• Assisted immigrants digitised shipping lists 1828-1896
• Governor’s Court Case Papers
• Small Debts Registers Index
• Wages paid to orphans

Updated datasets

Libraries Tasmania

• Bankruptcy - CSV (modified 2024-08-14)
• Colonial Secretary correspondence - CSV (modified 2024-08-14)
• Court - CSV (modified 2024-08-14)
• Education - CSV (modified 2024-08-14)
• Employment - CSV (modified 2024-08-14)
• Hotels & Properties - CSV (modified 2024-08-14)
• Land Records - CSV (modified 2024-08-14)
• Miscellaneous - CSV (modified 2024-08-14)
• Tasmanian Arrivals - CSV (modified 2024-08-14)
• Tasmanian Births - CSV (modified 2024-08-14)
• Tasmanian Census - CSV (modified 2024-08-14)
• Tasmanian Convicts - CSV (modified 2024-08-14)
• Tasmanian Convicts - permission to marry - CSV (modified 2024-08-14)
• Tasmanian Deaths - CSV (modified 2024-08-14)
• Tasmanian Departures - CSV (modified 2024-08-14)
• Tasmanian Divorces - CSV (modified 2024-08-14)
• Tasmanian Health & Welfare Records - CSV (modified 2024-08-14)
• Tasmanian Immigration - CSV (modified 2024-08-14)
• Tasmanian Inquests - CSV (modified 2024-08-14)
• Tasmanian Marriages - CSV (modified 2024-08-14)
• Tasmanian Naturalisations - CSV (modified 2024-08-14)
• Tasmanian Prisoners - CSV (modified 2024-08-14)
• Tasmanian Wills - CSV (modified 2024-08-14)
• World War One Tasmanian Photographs - CSV (modified 2024-08-14)

NSW State Archives

• Inquest index 1851, 1916-1963

Queensland State Archives

• Assisted immigration 1848 to 1912 - combined (modified 2023-08-28)
• Australian South Sea Islanders 1867 - 1948 (modified 2023-08-11)
• Book of Trials 1835-1842 (modified 2024-07-12)
• Brisbane Gaol Prisoners 1850-1898 (modified 2024-05-28)
• Brisbane Passenger Arrivals 1913-1915 (modified 2024-07-12)
• Civil servants 1851 - 1867 (modified 2023-02-10)
• Consumptive patients 1897 to 1903 (modified 2023-07-24)
• Criminal Depositions 1861-1900 (modified 2024-08-02)
• Farm Lads 1922-1940 (modified 2023-10-24)
• Female prisoners admitted, Toowoomba 1887-1891 (modified 2023-08-14)
• Gympie Mining Claims 1868-1901 (modified 2023-01-30)
• Immigrant Remittances, IMA Maryborough 1864-1905. (S13055, S13060 & S13061) (modified 2022-08-30)
• Immigrant Remittances, Nanango 1863-1901 (modified 2024-08-20)
• Immigrants 1909-1932 (modified 2024-06-13)
• Immigrants and Crew 1860 - 1864 (modified 2024-06-12)
• Immigrants landed Bowen 1888-1896 (modified 2024-06-13)
• Immigrants nominated for passage, Maryborough 1884 to 1907 (modified 2023-02-10)
• Immigration 1922 to 1940 (modified 2023-05-30)
• Index to Deed Polls (Change of Name) 1889 - 1920.csv (modified 2024-01-08)
• Index to Immigrants and Missing Immigrants cards 1920-1945 (modified 2024-02-15)
• Index to Inquests 1859-1905 (digital) (modified 2024-07-09)
• Index to Outdoor Relief 1892-1920 (modified 2023-08-07)
• Index to Register of Cases and treatment at Moreton Bay Hospital 1830-1862 (modified 2023-02-13)
• Index to Register of Aliens 1922-1923 - Sugar Exemptions (modified 2023-02-13)
• Index to Register of Immigrants, Maryborough 1871-1915 (modified 2024-07-04)
• Inquests 1859 to 1905 (non-digital) (modified 2024-07-09)
• Justices of the Peace 1857 to 1957 (modified 2023-10-26)
• Land Orders 1861 - 1878 (modified 2022-11-30)
• Land Selections 1885-1981 (modified 2024-06-13)
• Land orders 1861 to 1874 (modified 2022-11-30)
• Land orders 1862 to 1878 (modified 2022-11-30)
• Land orders 1865 to 1866 (Lands Dept) (modified 2023-02-10)
• Mackay Hospital admissions 1891 to 1908 (modified 2023-07-24)
• Miners rights 1874 to 1880 A-Z (modified 2022-09-06)
• Nominated immigrants 1905-1928 (modified 2024-07-05)
• Nurses examinations 1912 to 1925 (modified 2023-08-14)
• Passport clearances 1923-1940 (modified 2024-02-16)
• Prisoners admitted, Toowoomba 1895-1906 (modified 2023-08-11)
• Prisoners discharged, Toowoomba 1869-1879 (modified 2023-07-31)
• Prisoners tried, Toowoomba 1864-1903 (modified 2023-07-31)
• Records on Frontier Wars and violence in Queensland (modified 2023-05-29)
• Redeemed Land Orders 1860-1906 (modified 2024-06-13)
• Reformatory School for Boys 1871-1906 (modified 2022-09-05)
• Register of Court Fees Marburg 1885 to 1908 (modified 2023-09-05)
• Register of Lands Sold 1842-1868 (modified 2022-08-30)
• Register of immigrants 1864 to 1878 (modified 2023-09-01)
• Register of immigrants, Toowoomba 1880 to 1888 (modified 2023-08-30)
• Register of the Engagement of Immigrants at the Immigration Depot - Bowen 1873-1912 (modified 2023-09-05)
• Registers of immigrants 1882 to 1938 combined (modified 2023-08-11)
• Seamen 1882 to 1919 (modified 2022-11-30)
• South African (Boer War) service records 1899-1902 (modified 2023-05-30)
• South African (Boer) War Paybooks 1899-1902 (modified 2023-08-14)
• Teachers in the Education Office Gazettes 1926-1952 (modified 2022-08-30)
• Toowoomba Prisoners 1864-1906 (modified 2023-07-31)

State Library of Queensland

• Queensland railway appointees 1890-1915 (modified 2024-07-25)
• Queensland railway removals 1890-1915 (modified 2024-07-25)
• Southern and Western Railway appointees 1866-1876 (modified 2024-07-25)
• Southern and Western Railway removals 1866-1876 (modified 2024-07-25)

Related updates

• 2023-05-08: Updated harvest of NSW State Archives indexes – more than 2 million rows of data!
• 2021-10-18: More GLAM Name Index updates from Queensland State Archives and SLWA
• 2021-09-29: More records for the GLAM Name Index Search
• 2021-08-23: A Family History Month experiment – search millions of name records from GLAM organisations