PRONI to open its doors on Sat 8th September

From PRONI in Belfast (www.proni.gov.uk):

PRONI will be opening its doors to visitors on Saturday 8th of September, from 10am until 4pm, as part of the ever popular European Heritage Open Days. European Heritage Open Days take place all over Europe during the month of September each year. Everyone gets an opportunity to visit historic buildings, many of which are not ordinarily open to the public, and take part in a wide variety of events.

As part of the Open Day, PRONI will be providing introductory talks and tours of our exhibition and building, offering visitors a behind the scenes look at what we do here. Newcomers to PRONI will be given a real flavour of the records we hold, which range from government files to private archives such as church registers.

At noon, visitors will have the chance to meet Lord Carson, as actor, Paddy Scully, performs a one man performance in the building, a must see for drama and history enthusiasts.

Itinerary:
11am Introduction to PRONI talk
12pm Meet Lord Carson
2pm Introduction to PRONI talk

There will be tours of both the building and the current exhibition, Conflict, Change and Transformation 1911-2011, throughout the day.

WHEN: Saturday 8th September 2012
HOW MUCH: Free
WHERE: PRONI building

Visitors are asked to bring photographic ID with them when they attend the Open Day.
Please be aware that, due to availability, visitors wishing to see the 'Meet Lord Carson' performance, are advised to inform us beforehand.
Email PRONI at proni@dcalni.gov.uk .
Telephone: (+44) 028 90 534800

(With thanks to Gavin McMahon)

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

London Metropolitan Archives news

I've just received the latest quarterly newsletter of the London Metropolitan Archives (www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/archives-and-city-history/london-metropolitan-archives/Pages/default.aspx), with a few stories of note:

The new LMS catalogue will be launched soon - see www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/archives-and-city-history/london-metropolitan-archives/visitor-information/Pages/New-LMA-online-catalogue.aspx for an overview on how it will work.

LMA is now open three nights a week - on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays until 7.30pm. Also the following Saturdays - 8 SEP, 13 OCT, 8 DEC (none in November)

The index to the Sun Insurance Office fire policy registers, available on the National Archives’ ‘Access to Archives’ database, will soon be added to LMA's own online catalogue.

The temporary limited access service to the Hammersmith and Fulham Archives Centre has now been handed over to Westminster City Archives, as of June 1st 2012.

LMA is currently engaged in a major conservation, digital reconstruction and online publication project on the Great Parchment Book which records the results of a survey of the estates of the Irish Society and City livery companies in Ulster in 1639. Further details are at a dedicated blog on the project at http://greatparchmentbook.wordpress.com.

Some fascinating insights into Africans in early modern London can be read at www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/archives-and-city-history/london-metropolitan-archives/news-and-events/Pages/Africans-in-London.aspx.

Caroline De Stefani describes the conservation of the Bowen Collection of photographs of Second World War bomb damage in the City of London - see www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/archives-and-city-history/london-metropolitan-archives/news-and-events/Pages/Bowen-photographs.aspx.

The Archives of Eagle Star Insurance have recently been added to LMA’s electronic catalogue, whilst cataloguing of the records of Wallace Brothers and Company (Holdings) Limited, East India merchants, and E D Sassoon Banking Company Limited, has been completed.

Records from Christchurch in Spitalfields, intended to serve the prosperous community of Huguenot silk weavers who had settled in the area in the early 18th century, have been added to the catalogue under P93/CTC1 - there's a description of the collection at www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/archives-and-city-history/london-metropolitan-archives/news-and-events/Pages/Christ-church-spitalfields.aspx.

(With thanks to the LMA)

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Wellcome History magazine

The Guild of One Name Studies has just alerted me via Twitter about a magazine I have not come across before entitled Wellcome History, from the Wellcome Trust. The magazine is "for academics, students and anyone else interested in the history of medicine. Each issue, researchers in a range of fields write about their latest work."

Each issue is free and downloadable in PDF format. Amongst the articles in the current issue are one on the prevalence of physician suicide in the past and another on dietary reform in Ireland following the mid-19th century famine. Some great stuff!

To access the magazine visit www.wellcome.ac.uk/About-us/Publications/Wellcome-History/index.htm

(With thanks to @GuildOneName)

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

FindmyPast Pioneer subscription offer ends soon

The American FindmyPast site at www.findmypast.com is to cease offering its new Pioneer annual subscription for just £38 on September 9th 2012.

The US site offers most of the UK records, though there are some gaps, such as merchant seaman records, death duty registers and others. It does offer complete access to all BMD registers, parish records, passenger records, military records and more, not least of which the offerings of both FindmyPast Ireland and FindmyPast Australasia. For professional genealogists it importantly offers access to these records via the basic subscription (as Ancestry does with its holdings), rather than the system of having to pay for credits if using the UK, access via subscription not being allowed (despite being the same records on the US site - don't ask!).

The search set up is different to the UK site, and is now equalled by the same system on the Irish and Australasian sites. The US site will also be adding more US material (obviously!) - including WW1 military draft records just released - and forthcoming parish records material.

(With thanks to Kathryn Hughes @WYorkshireLives)

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Don't look under the floor boards!

If you suffer from vertigo, it might be best not to have a look at what might be under your floor boards!

The Steer family from Plymouth did just that - and found a medieval well that sank to some 17 feet underground. The New York Daily News has the story with some photos at www.nydailynews.com/news/world/british-family-digs-medieval-living-room-article-1.1147901.

I'm not a hundred per cent sure where the Sir Francis Drake link popped up from - possibly worth getting a pinch of salt ready! Amazing discovery though...

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Free FindmyPast credits

The UK FindmyPast site (www.findmypast.co.uk), in association with Radio Times, is offering £5 worth of free credits (40 credits) until October 2nd. To take part in the promotion visit www.findmypast.co.uk/content/radio-times/offer

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Scottish Monumental Inscriptions update

News from Helen Grant of Scottish Monumental Inscriptions (www.scottish-monumental-inscriptions.com) concerning cemeteries currently being worked upon and new CD releases:

Currently being indexed:
Dunbarney Estate burial ground and Old Churchyard - Perthshire
Torryburn Churchyard - Fife
Torryburn Cemetery - Fife
Tulliallan Cemetery - Fife
Cupar Cemetery- Fife
Coupar Angus - Abbey Churchyard - Perth and Kinross
Dunfermline Cemetery - Old Part- Fife

Due Soon:
St Andrews Western Cemetery - CD1- Fife.
Wanlockhead Old & New Cemeteries - Dumfries and Galloway.
Leadhills Cemetery - Lanarkshire
Elvanfoot Churchyard - Lanarkshire
Kirconnell Church - Dumfries and Galloway.
Kirkton Old Churchyard - Nr Crawford Lanarkshire.
New Cumnock Old Church - Cemetery - Ayrshire

New on CD Now:
Crosbie Churchyard - Ayrshire
Abernethy - St Brides Kirk - Perthshire
Rhynd Churchyard - Perthshire
Coylton Old - New Cemetery - Ayrshire
Kirkton of Mailer Church - Perthshire.
Abertnethy Cemetery - Perthshire.
Dunbarney Cemetery & Extension Perthshire.
Johnshaven Cemetery - Kincardineshire
Kinglassie Church & Cemetery - Fife

(With thanks to Helen)

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Deaf History - a Welsh Perspective

The following is an event taking place at the National Library of Wales (www.llgc.org.uk) on September 12th:

Deaf History - A Welsh Perspective (Gareth Foulkes)

Discover more about the deaf community from a Welsh perspective. Who was the 17th century deaf Spanish nobleman who learnt to lip-read Welsh in the Spanish Court? Why is Aberystwyth significant in the history of deaf education? What do the Triads of Welsh Medieval Law say about deaf mutes? Who was Eliza Pughe and why is she significant?

*** Sign language translator present. ***

English

Dates and times
12 Sep 2012 13:15 - 14:15

To book please visit http://drwm.llgc.org.uk/cgi-bin/go.pl/show_event.html?uid=1680;LANG=en

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Preserving early Irish Cabinet minute books

Some of my favourite online reads are the occasional postings by the National Archives of Ireland on the conservation issues that it regularly faces in various collections. The latest concerns the preservation of three Cabinet minute books from the early Dail of 1922-23, with original pages of minutes crudely pasted into volumes of very poor quality acidic brown paper. Have a read of the short two page guide on how the damage was repaired at www.nationalarchives.ie/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/CabinetMinuteConservation.pdf.

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

PRONI lecture series

From the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland (www.proni.gov.uk):

A Decade of Change, Conflict and Transformation Lecture Series

Throughout September, PRONI will be hosting an exciting series of lectures on this turbulent period of Irish history as part of the Decade of Centenaries. In keeping with the 100 year commemorations, there will be particular focus on the impact of both the Ulster Covenant and the Third Home Rule Bill. Talks will be delivered by the following speakers:

6th September -
‘Raiders of the Lost Archives: Covenant records at PRONI’
Stephen Scarth

13th September -
‘Nationalism 1900-1922'
Dr Eamon Phoenix

20th September -
‘The Ulster Covenant and Ulster Unionist resistance to Home Rule, 1912-1914’
Dr Tim Bowman

27th September -
‘The Story Arc Of The Covenant: from signature to screen’
William Crawley and Brian Henry Martin

WHERE: PRONI Building
WHEN: Thursdays 6:30 pm throughout September
HOW MUCH: Free

(With thanks to Gavin McMahon at PRONI)

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Ancestry.com - free access to US census records

The American branch of Ancestry (www.ancestry.com) is offering free access to its US census holdings from 1790-1940, as well as other related US census collections. The offer continues until September 3rd.

You'll find the census page at http://search.ancestry.com/search/category.aspx?cat=35

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

National Archives museum to close for four weeks

The National Archives has announced it will be closing its museum for four weeks in the autumn to make some changes to its museum, with some further disruption happening until changes are complete in January 2013. Further details are available at http://nationalarchives.gov.uk/news/757.htm

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Patrick Stewart on WDYTYA - review

* Warning - if you have yet to see the third episode of Who Do You Think You Are, with Patrick Stewart as the subject, then the following will contain spoilers.*

Last week's episode of Who Do You Think You Are with Greg Wallace was a very enjoyable programme, and suggested that the low standards of the first episode might have just been a blip. Last night's episode, however, is probably the first edition that I thought worked as brilliantly as the very first episode with Bill Oddie, all those years ago when the series first started.

Like Bill Oddie's episode, this wasn't so much an episode of some half-baked celebrity on a quest for some CV enhancing family history package, but a story of one man on a quest for a simple thing - an explanation. As a lifelong Trekkie I went in hoping for the best from Captain Jean-Luc Picard, but this episode wasn't about a seriously famous actor (yes, WDYTYA does occasionally get them), this was about a young lad from Yorkshire who as a child had to stand between his mother and father to stop his father beating up his mother; a young boy who often wondered if his elder brother was a brother or a half-brother, and a young lad who heard many war stories from his father but who never twigged that his father's service time contributed towards the violent man he became in the home. Patrick Stewart wasn't looking for lost fortunes, claims to nobility, or even extraordinary periods of history - he was looking for his father, a man he had often been with but never really known.

The surprises were constant throughout, and it showed - a sudden promotion to sergeant for his father was news to the actor, as was his decision to join the Paras at the age of 38 and to help secure Allied victory through Operation Dragoon in France. But his father was also in other ways no hero at all - a man who joined the army to run away from fatherhood, and who had to be dragged before a court to acknowledge the same. In other respects his father was also a victim - the shell shock of the Second World War still as much of a stigma as that of the First World War. He was a thousand different things; in short, he was a human being, and as complicated a person as many.

There was no happy clappy ending. Patrick Stewart could not forgive his father for the violence towards his mother, but he had now gained an understanding that the man who became his father may well have been a very different man before the war than after it. Even his brother stated that he would have to go away and think about what he had been told of their father. But this brief forage into their family history touched upon the one thing that I think always works well on the series - the story of Patrick Stewart's father was as much about the story of Patrick Stewart himself, with one having a direct impact on the other. It was a story where the subject was not separated from his history by centuries and generations, but simply by a lack of understanding. To watch as he gained some of that understanding was a real privilege, in what may well turn out to have been the best ever episode of Who Do You Think You Are - Bill Oddie's episode aside of course!

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Forthcoming events at LMA and the Guildhall

Some forthcoming events in London of family history interest:

Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker: 850 Years of Livery Company Treasures

From the rare to the curious, this major exhibition brings together highlights of the collections held by London’s Livery companies, usually not on view to the public. Find out more about the Companies and their ongoing encouragement of British craft and trade.

This exhibition held at Guildhall Art Gallery from 22 June to 23 September is £5/£3 concessions. FREE to under 16s, FoGAG, Art Fund, City Residents with proof of address.


LGBT History Club

A regular monthly meeting to explore and share Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans (LGBT) histories.

This event held at London Metropolitan Archives on Wednesday 5 September from 6 to 7.30 pm is FREE – drop in.


Focus on Family History

Starting your family history? Come along to this workshop and learn how to get the most out of digitised family history sources, including our records on Ancestry.co.uk. This workshop is aimed at beginners.

This workshop held at London Metropolitan Archives on Wednesday 12 September and Wednesday 26 September from 2 to 3 pm is FREE. Booking essential – call 020 7332 3851. Visitor information is available here.


Explore the Epping Forest Archives: Introduction to New Users

Interested in the history and heritage of Epping Forest? Discover our archive collection, see some original documents especially selected for their interest and charm and find out how to access the collection for yourself.

This talk held at London Metropolitan Archives on Thursday 20 September from 2 to 3 pm is FREE. Booking essential – call 020 7332 3851.


Organise Your Family History

Overwhelmed by papers, photographs, notes and trees? This workshop will help you get organised with advice on how to keep track of your research and original documents.

This workshop held at London Metropolitan Archives on Monday 24 September from 2 to 4.30 pm is £8 (or book a course of four skills sessions for £25). Booking essential – call 020 7332 3851.

Visitor information for all events is available via www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/archives-and-city-history/Pages/default.aspx.

(With thanks to City of London)

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Tax records and OS Name Books added to ScotlandsPlaces

From the RCAHMS:

Historical documents, including Ordnance Survey (OS) Name Books and Scotland’s Servant and Hearth Tax rolls dating back some 300 years, are now available online on the Scotland’s Places website. The records are among new additions to a treasure trove of historical information held on the site, which brings together records from three of Scotland’s national collections: RCAHMS, the National Records of Scotland (NRS) and the National Library of Scotland (NLS).

The Hearth Tax rolls date from 1691 to 1695, and represent the first comprehensive survey of all towns, villages and other inhabited places in Scotland. The Servant Tax rolls date from 1777 to 1798 as a tax on wealthy households who employed non-essential servants like butlers and coachmen. OS Name Books for Stirlingshire, Nairnshire, Inverness-shire, Clackmannanshire, Buteshire, Berwickshire and Ayrshire have also been digitised – with the remaining counties to be added by 2013. The Name Books outline all of the place names within their counties during the latter half of the nineteenth century and include variant spellings, details of where places are situated, descriptive remarks and general observations, as well as references to corresponding OS sheet maps. These specific records can be now accessed as a part of a subscription service. At the same time, new free-to-access materials made available online include 25,000 Second and later edition OS maps – made up of 7,486 6-inch maps dated 1892-1960, and 17,466 25-inch maps dated 1892-1949.

Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, said, ‘This data gives us an insight into Scotland's history dating back 300 years. The result of an innovative collaboration between RCAHMS, National Records of Scotland and the National Library of Scotland, this project provides rich historical detail about our buildings, our communities and our people. Viewed together, this data provides a fascinating picture of Scotland's past.’

For more information on the new material and the subscription package, visit Scotland’s Places at www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk.

UPDATE: the subscription for these new records is £15 +VAT for 3 months access, so basically £18. That is a serious amount of money for what is being made available at present, so I think I will personally wait for a bit until more is made available before subscribing. The records that were previously available for free continue to be so offered.

Also: Upcoming resources
The ScotlandsPlaces team are currently working on conserving and digitising more archival resources to be added to the website. Upcoming subscription resources to be added in the near future will include:
* Ordnance Survey name books for the remaining Scottish counties
* 17th and 18th century tax rolls


Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Kent based family history course

From genealogist Celia Heritage, details of a family history course in Kent:

BUILDING YOUR FAMILY TREE
Highbury Hall, Highbury Lane, Tenterden, Kent TN30 6LE
7.30 pm – 9.30 pm

Thursday 27th September - Starting Out and Civil Registration
Thursday 4th October - Census Records
Thursday 11th October - Practical Exercise
Thursday 18th October - Parish Registers
Thursday 25th October - An Introduction to Other Sources

Cost £68 (includes a year’s support service for your own research). Missed sessions may be made up by prior arrangement ~ ask for details. Please note places must be booked in advance.

Family History looks easy when you see it on TV, but in reality things can be quite different and it can be a bewildering subject for the uninitiated. Even if you have made a good start and feel fairly confident there is much more you can do to take your research to areas you have never thought of and really start bringing your ancestors to life! In this five-week course we will look not just at how to start, but at the tips and pitfalls of searching, at some of the lesser known sources you can use and also how to surmount those family history brick walls. This course is suitable for beginners and also for those with some experience behind them and is run by genealogist Celia Heritage. Celia is a regular lecturer for the Society of Genealogists in London, at the Who Do You Think You Are show at Olympia and at the Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies. She also writes for various national family history magazines.

Booking and further details at www.heritagefamilyhistory.co.uk

Thursdays 7.30 - 9.30
27th September
4th October
11th October
18th October
25th October

Missed sessions can be made up by prior arrangement

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Scots Origins loses IGI interface

The Scots Origins website at www.origins.net/sowelcome.aspx continues to suffer the death of a thousand cuts. Once the main platform for online access to Scottish censuses, working in partnership with the Scottish Government, it lost the contract to continue the service many years ago to Brightsolid, which formed ScotlandsPeople as a replacement service. A look-up service was introduced in its place on Scots Origins, for records to be consulted at the GROS in Edinburgh, which soon became redundant as the pace of digitisation increased. One thing the site did retain, however, was a useful free tool to access the baptism and marriage records of the old International Genealogical Index at parish level, rather than at county level (as used to be the case on the old FamilySearch site). Sadly, this now seems to have gone to the great genealogical graveyard in the sky also.

Where before there were two search interfaces to the IGI, there is now a single link inviting people to 'Please click here to go to the Family Search site'. A message is then given, stating 'We hope to have an integrated search facility available on the Scots Origins site again very shortly'.

The last tool still on the site is one that allows you to try to locate a place name if you can only make part of it out.

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Ulster Historical Foundation news

Some news from the latest Ulster Historical Foundation (www.ancestryireland.com) newsletter:

Free Ulster-Scots Visitor Experience Android and iPhone app
A new app that provides information on 200 locations across the north of Ireland including towns, villages, castles, churches and graveyards that form an integral part of the Ulster-Scots story during the last 500 years. Search iTunes or the Android market. (Comment - not sure if this is the same app that was updated in April, as I can't see a newer one yet on my iPad)

10 week family history course at Stranmillis University College
A 10 week course taught at Stranmillis University College, Belfast on Tuesdays from 7pm to 9pm, which looks at census, church and civil records as well as wills, estate papers and valuation documents. The course also includes a visit to the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI). Price £55.00 (£45.00 concession). For further information and booking please contact lifelong@stran.ac.uk or 028 9038 4345.

Library catalogue online
The Foundation's catalogue of 3500 books in its research library is now available online at www.ancestryireland.com/index.php?ai_library.

(With thanks to the Ulster Historical Foundation)

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

WW1 War Diaries project update

The National Archives at Kew has announced an update to its project on the digitisation of First World War war diaries from the WO95 collection. The full announcement is at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/news/756.htm but the key point is the lack of availability of certain materials over the coming months due to their conservation and digitisation. The record series within WO95 to be affected over the next while will be as follows:

1096-1934: variable*
1935-2071: currently unavailable, due to return 30/9/12
2072-2292: currently unavailable, due to return 31/10/12
2293-2592: will be unavailable from 1/9/12, due to return 30/11/12
2593-2992: will be unavailable from 1/10/12, due to return 31/12/12
2993-3948 (excluding 3155-3910): will be unavailable from 1/11/12, due to return 30/1/13

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Can't find your favourite family history magazine?

I was in Glasgow Central Station on Saturday, and for the third time in about four months ended up helping somebody who asked a staff member "Where are the family history magazines?", and who received no help, the attendant not knowing himself. The problem is that they are located right on the bottom shelf, and right at the back of a set of three raised tiered shelves within, completely out of view even from the ground level based canine genealogical fraternity. Here's a pic to show you where to look:

I suspect Glasgow Central is not the only place in the UK that puts such a low priority on displaying family history magazines. They say that pornography and genealogy are the two biggest areas of interest on the internet. You'll find the porn mags in most newsagents easily enough...

Don't forget that you can subscribe to your favourite genealogy magazines - for details on their websites, visit the GENES Links section on this blog (see menu bar at the top).

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

1831 census of Jedburgh transcribed

Maxwell Ancestry has transcribed the 1831 census for Jedburgh in Roxburghshire, in the Scottish Borders. For further details visit http://scottishgenealogyblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/the-1831-census-of-jedburgh-is-now.html

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Knowles Collection updated

The Knowles Collection, a major online resource for Jewish based genealogy, has been updated, As well as a regular update of several long standing collections, a new one has also been created entitled the Jews of the Southern Pacific, with some 15,750 entries. The Jews of the British Isles collection currently contains 145,000 records.

For further information visit http://knowlescollection.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/knowles-collection-updated.html

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

MyGenShare launches

A new American based web portal has launched entitled MyGenShare at www.mygenshare.com. From the press release:

MyGenShare.com is a comprehensive digital library for genealogists. The digital library's million-plus indexed resources includes articles, eBooks, ePeriodicals, historical maps, podcasts, slideshows, videos, a genealogy links directory, and genealogy search engines.

MyGenShare is not a database full of records and names. It is the most extensive collection of genealogy how-to resources anywhere on the internet.

The site does proclaim that you can sign up for a free seven day trial - unfortunately, having done just that, many genealogical resources I have clicked on to view so far have told me I need to have a paid for subscription of some sort before I can access them. There are several free how-to guides though, seemingly sourced from FamilySearch, but some of those I have checked are well and truly out of date - e.g. I've just looked at one entitled Scotland, How to Find Maps: Introduction, published in 2001. A few may be of interest, however, though they are heavily geared to what you can source through the Mormons' collated family history resources, and about eleven years ago.

One useful resource I've found is a 32 part series of free-to-access tuition videos on digitisation of family history resources, and a links section, though again a few dead links are included. Amongst the subscription based resources available are an e-library of content from the Genealogical Publishing Company in the US, and a back catalogue of an American publication entitled Everton Genealogical Helper.

The site is still in Beta, so there may well be many further additions, but I've not seen too much to get too excited about just yet, at least from this side of the Atlantic. Possibly one to keep an eye on though.

UPDATE: From Barry Ewell, site organiser:

I have received several questions concerning the MyGenShare.com 7-day free trial such as:

"Why can't I see all of the MyGenShare content? Isn't there a 7-day free trial?"

If you have the same question, here is the answer:

There is a 7-day free trial. When you make a choice of a subscription level other than the "free subscription" you are given a 7-day free trial to view more content. This is an industry standard for subscription based websites. The Premium Subscription gives you access to all content on MyGenShare.com. You will be asked for a credit card number. You will have 7-days to view content before your credit card is charged. If at any time during that period of time you desire to cancel, it is very simple for you to go into your 'My Account' and click cancel.

If you choose to sign up for the MyGenShare.com Free, then you will only have access to the free content. The 7 day free trial begins only with paid subscriptions. Thank you for supporting MyGenShare.com

COMMENT: It's also an industry standard to explain such things on subscription based websites - there is no reference to this on the site's subscription page at www.mygenshare.com/subscription_levels that I can see.

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

TNA podcast - War of 1812

The latest podcast from the National Archives in England is a talk from Audrey Collins entitled The War of 1812: from the British side, and is just under 53 minutes long.

To access the recording visit http://media.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php/the-war-of-1812-from-the-british-side/ or download free of charge from iTunes.

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

250 years of Merrion Square exhibition

The National Archives in Dublin is hosting an exhibition on the creation of Merrion Square 250 years ago, with material drawn from the Irish Architectural Archive. The exhibition runs in the Architectural Gallery at the Irish Architectural Archive from August 25th to October 12th 2012 and is accompanied by a lecture series. Further details are available at www.iarc.ie/exhibitions and www.failteireland.ie/Utility/Media-Centre/Public-Unveiling-of-Rare-Merrion-Drawings-Launches.aspx.

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Scottish Genealogy Network visit to Perth

The newly established Scottish Genealogy Network met yesterday in Perth for its sixth meeting and had a fantastic time with its largest attendance yet. At our previous meeting in Stirling it was decided to try to take better advantage of the locations of our future gatherings, and if possible to put in a visit to an archive or a library to perhaps help with our continuous professional development. On that basis, we contacted the team at Perth and Kinross Archives and asked if it might be at all possible for us to visit the archive, even though the facility is usually shut on a Saturday (you know the old genealogical adage, God loves a trier!). To say the team was more than accommodating would be the biggest understatement of the year!

A. K. Bell Library

Locally based archivist Christine Wood very kindly agreed to come along and open up the archive for us, whilst her colleague Steve Connolly had also informed the local studies department, which is based on the same floor, that we would pop along for a few minutes after for a look around. We arranged to meet Christine at 1pm, and were extremely grateful for the chance to perhaps spend twenty minutes at each of the facilities, to learn a bit about their offerings and some of the challenges faced by both the archive and the local studies department. In fact both Christine and Anne Carroll (in the local studies area) were absolute troopers, and we spent almost two hours in the building.

Christine had laid out a wonderful assortment of document types and registers for us to look at in the search room, ranging from some of the more common types of records used in genealogical research, such as valuation rolls, to some lesser known gems, such as 19th century prison charge books with photographs of  criminals, early cess books and more. It was a fantastic opportunity to not only see such examples but also to be able to learn how the archive operates, including its procedures for researchers when attending to how materials are actually gathered by the archive in the first place. We also learned about how the archive's contents are catalogued, and how Christine's fellow staff member Jan Merchant is continuing to fight the good fight to get the collection completed!

However, as if we had not been spoiled enough, we were then given an opportunity to see the temperature controlled archive storage facility and to explore how it works. We were kindly allowed to have a look around, and at one point I noticed a series of books on a shelf concerning the High Constables of Perth - out of curiosity I took a look and discovered an entry from 1866 concerning the execution of murderer Joseph Bell, the subject of Scotland's penultimate public execution, and a story I have recently recounted in my book about the Mount Stewart Murder. It was an account listing fines for various people who had been fined for not attending the execution - a great wee find that just added another detail to a story I already thought I knew well! There was also a bit of hilarity when we found a series of boxes marked the Eureka Files, clearly something every genealogist strives to find!

Having had such privileged access to the archive we then walked over to the local studies area and caught up with Anne Carroll, who had also arranged for us to see a selection of holdings from the facility's collections. These included such wonderful items as a fully indexed set of prints from Stobie's 1783 map of Perthshire, with every single settlement depicted indexed and given a grid reference - something that even the National Library of Scotland's maps folk have been impressed by on a recent visit. We also saw a wonderful  album of photographs showing nurses and homes that were turned into military hospitals in the First World War, local directories, parish guides, Free Church of Scotland material and more. This was then followed with a few minutes looking around the library itself to gain an understanding of the variety of materials on public display.

From our visit I think it is fair to say that we all gained an appreciation of how connected both the archive and the local studies areas are, even though they are officially separate entities, and that absolutely the name of the game when using them is to ask for help!!! There is so much behind the scenes not openly available to the public that can be produced if you just ask for assistance, bearing in mind also that not everything is catalogued or listed online. It was amazing to hear both Christine's and Anne's enthusiasm for their work and their holdings, and to both of them, as well as to Steve who helped to arrange things for us, I would like to publicly thank them on behalf of the group. We had no idea that you would be so generous with your time and enthusiasm, and we all came away absolutely singing to the heavens with praise for such a wonderful facility! Thank you so much!

For more on Perth and Kinross Archives visit www.pkc.gov.uk/archives, and for the Local Studies department at the A.K.Bell Library visit http://tinyurl.com/PerthLocalStudies.

Next month, the group will be meeting in Edinburgh on Saturday 29th, with further details announced in due course. If you are a professional genealogist, or work professionally within the field of genealogy, e.g. at an archive or library, we would love to see you! Drop myself a note to express an interest at christopherpaton @ tiscali.co.uk and I can add you to the email list to keep you up to date with future plans!

Christine Wood, left, & SGN members visiting Perth and Kinross Archives

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Prevent the Mendham Collection's break up

An update from Alixe Bovey of the University of Kent about the campaign to prevent the selling off and splitting up of the Mendham Collection (see http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/save-mendham-collection.html):

Dear fellow petitioners,

More than 3,500 people have signed the petition entreating the Law Society of England and Wales to reconsider their decision to break up the historic collection of Joseph Mendham. It is remarkable to have the support of people from all over the world, and with diverse interests in the material contained within the collection. Petitioners’ comments about why the integrity of the Mendam Collection matters makes for powerful reading.

The petition has caught the attention of the UK media, and the plight of the collection has been covered in such diverse publications as Private Eye, Country Life, the Independent, and the Sunday Times, as well as on the radio and TV news. Twitter and bloggers have played an important role in getting the word out, and in keeping the campaign in the public eye. A recent example is Michael Caines’s excellent post on the TLS Blog.

We believe that the petition and the media campaign has caught the attention of the decision makers at the Law Society, but we are still some way from achieving our goal of securing the future of the Mendham Collection in perpetuity.

I therefore hope that we can maintain or even increase the petition’s momentum, and I would be grateful if you could alert your personal and professional networks about the situation. The more signatures and comments that our petition attracts, the harder the campaign will be for the Law Society to ignore.

Our collective expression of the value of this collection as a public resource is proving to be a vital part of our argument to save it.

Thank you for your support,

Alixe Bovey

a.bovey @ kent.ac.uk

Chair, Mendham Task Force

University of Kent


To view the petition and all that it hopes to achieve, please visit www.change.org/petitions/the-law-society-of-england-and-wales-stop-the-break-up-and-sale-of-the-mendham-collection?utm_source=supporter_message&utm_medium=email and sign up.

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

British electoral registers launch delayed until 2013

Peter Calver's latest Lost Cousins newsletter at http://www.lostcousins.com/newsletters/lateaug12news.htm is reporting that the launch of the British electoral registers collections, currently being digitised in a partnership between FindmyPast and the British Library, have been delayed until February 2013. The collection will contain about a century worth of material from 1832 onwards.

(With thanks to Peter)

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

National Library of Scotland workshops

Some useful workshops in the National Library of Scotland (www.nls.uk) in September:

Reader workshops
Getting started at NLS
7 September 2012, 10.30am

Learn how to register as a reader, find your way around the Library, request material and find out about our other services. The workshop also includes a tour of the Reading Rooms.

If you are planning to register to use the Library after the workshop, please bring evidence of identity such as a current driving licence or a recent utility bill.


Discovering family history
3 September 2012, 2pm

Ever been interested in researching your roots, but unsure of where to start? Find out what resources the Library holds to help you with your family history research. The workshop also includes some practical information on how to become a reader.


Read all about it!
11 September 2012, 6pm

This workshop provides an introduction to the online newspaper resources available at the Library. The session includes demonstrations of a selection of resources and tips on how to search and discover the information you need.


Introduction to maps at NLS
18 September 2012, 2pm

NLS is home to one of the largest map collections in the world. Our shelves hold everything from town plans to world atlases, railway maps to star charts. Learn about the range of maps available and view a selection of highlights from the collection. Includes an introduction to the Maps Reading Room.

This workshop will take place at the Map Reading Room at the Library's Causewayside building: 159 Causewayside, Edinburgh, EH9 1PH.

Our free workshops fill up quickly so please book your place online today, or call 0131 623 3918.

(With thanks to the NLS newsletter)

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Rugby and Southam parish records online

FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) has added new parish records for Warwickshire, for both Rugby and Southam.

For further details visit www.findmypast.co.uk/content/news/warwickshire

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Nearly time for National Family History Fair 2012

Time to get in another quick plug for the National Family History Fair in Newcastle on Saturday September 8th 2012, which takes place in the Tyne Suite, Newcastle Central Premier Inn, Newbridge Street, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 8BS, from 10am-4pm.

Organised by Bob Blatchford, who also produces the Family and Local History Handbook (and the new Irish Family and Local History and book, new edition coming soon!), this year's vendors will include many of the great and the good from the UK genealogy scene, with a full list available at http://nationalfamilyhistoryfair.com/The_National_Family_History_Fair_2012.html.

In addition there will be a series of talks (including one from yours truly!):

12.00.p.m. (Noon) to 1.00.p.m.
Researching Your Irish Ancestry
Dr William Roulston

1.15.p.m. to 2.15.p.m.
Using The National Archives Website for Family History Research
Gerry Toop

2.30.p.m. to 3.30.p.m.
Discover Scottish Family History
Chris Paton

Tickets can be pre-purchased for £3 +£1 admin and postage, or can be purchased on the day. I'm looking forward to helping out again this year, usually I've been on the floor or introducing talks etc, so great to have a chance this year to be able to share a few tips about Scottish research. I've heard William's talk before, which is excellent, though not Gerry's - but if ever there was a time to listen to someone talking about the National Archives site, now's it, with many major changes having taken place over the last few months.

Look forward to seeing you there!

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

The Genealogist August update

Records updates from TheGenealogist (www.thegenealogist.co.uk):

Added for Diamond subscribers:

Parish Records

We have added over 370,000 records to our Parish Record Transcripts, exclusively available to our Diamond subscribers. These include the following:

Baptisms - over 155,000 records

• Cornwall
• Dorset
• Hertfordshire
• Northumberland
• Somerset

Marriages - nearly 100,000 records

• Cornwall
• Hertfordshire
• Northumberland
• Somerset
• Sussex

Burials - over 115,000 records

• Cornwall
• Dorset
• Hertfordshire
• Northumberland
• Somerset

Added for Gold and Diamond subscribers:

Birth Transcripts 1850-2005

We have now added another two decades to our Birth Transcripts, which is nearly 14 million records. This brings the total to over 126 million records! These transcripts can be used with a tool that lets you search across all our Birth, Marriage and Death transcripts, with built in SmartSearch technology, automatically showing partners full name where available, and enabling you find potential parents from a birth, potential children to a marriage and potential birth records from a death record.

Worcestershire Parish Record Transcripts

We have added over 61,000 individuals to our Parish Transcripts for Worcestershire in partnership with Malvern Family History Society, expanding our coverage and bringing the total to over 1 million records. With years ranging from 1700-1840.

London Parish Records

We have added the over 22,000 records to our Diamond and Gold subscriptions. These include Marriages and Marriage Banns.

The full newsletter is available at www.genealogysupplies.com/email_news.htm

(With thanks to S&N Genealogy Supplies)

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Blue plaque for Oxford's first female professor

From English Heritage (www.english-heritage.org.uk):

ENGLISH HERITAGE BLUE PLAQUE FOR DAME IDA MANN

– First female professor at Oxford and pioneering ophthalmologist to be honoured –

Dame Ida Mann (1893-1983), a pioneering ophthalmologist and trailblazer for women in medicine, is to be commemorated with an English Heritage blue plaque at 13 Minster Road, West Hampstead, her childhood home. The plaque will be unveiled by the eminent Australian optometrist who worked with Mann, Donald F. Ezekiel, AM, on Wednesday 5th September at 12 noon.

Born in West Hampstead, Ida Mann was destined to follow her father into a career in the Post Office until a charitable donation led to her being invited to visit Whitechapel Hospital. Mann returned home “in an ecstatic daze” intent upon a medical career and from that moment on she was destined to become one of the most important women in medicine of the twentieth century. In the words of one her successors at Oxford she was “a woman of outstanding intellect, and with a formidable and charismatic personality.”

Donald Ezekiel, who knew Mann when she moved to Western Australia in 1949, said: “I was privileged to have known Ida Mann both professionally and personally while she was working as an ophthalmologist in Perth, Western Australia. Ida was instrumental in the advancement and development of contact lenses and it was due to her foresight and passion in the visual health of patients that millions of patients have benefited from better vision and healthier eyes.”

Mann began her medical studies in 1914 and after training in several London hospitals she gained her DSc in 1924. By 1927, after a spell at the London Eye Hospital, she was made senior surgeon at the Moorfields Eye Hospital. This was the first time a woman had been given the post and she beat her friend and rival Stewart Duke-Elder – also honoured with a blue plaque – to the position. Mann went on to introduce several pioneering techniques that improved the eye health of many and published several seminal texts on ophthalmology, including The Development of the Human Eye (1928), which became a standard text.

The Second World War was to have a great impact on Mann’s life. In 1937 she sprung the Hungarian contact lens pioneer Josef Dallos from the imminent Nazi threat in Budapest, having forcibly argued the need for exile during a long taxi ride around the city. Under her direction, patients at Moorfields were fitted with lenses as part of the early trials of Dallos’ work. The evacuation of Moorfields to Oxford during the war led to Mann’s appointment to a Fellowship at St Hugh’s College and in 1945 she was made Professor of Ophthalmology, so becoming the first woman to hold a Professorship at Oxford in any discipline. During her time at Oxford she overhauled the running of the Oxford Eye Hospital, treated numerous injured soldiers and was the first to use penicillin to treat eye infections.

It was also during the war that Mann married Professor William Gye, Director of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, and emigrated to Australia with him in 1949 where she would stay for the rest of her life. It was here she undertook groundbreaking studies of eye problems among Aboriginal people as part of the World Health Organisation. By 1966 she had published Culture, Race, Climate and Eye Disease and she was also writing travel books under the name Caroline Gye, including The Cockney and the Crocodile. Mann was given a CBE in 1950 and made a Dame in 1980. In 1983, while at her desk at her home in Perth, she died. Mann continues to be revered in her field of medicine and there are honorary lectures in her name in London, Oxford and Australia.

Mann was born and lived for 41 years in West Hampstead and 13 Minster Road was her family home for most of this time. Among Mann’s childhood memories, she recalls the antics of her pet canary Spotty: “I was interested in his reflexes and remember his frenzied aggression before the mirror.” Even when studying in central London she remembers “any spare moments I had were spent tearing up the Edgware Road in a No 16 bus to get a good meal from Mother.”

Howard Spencer, blue plaque historian, said: “As the first female professor of any subject at Oxford, she epitomised the kind of strong, single-minded woman who could achieve success despite the chauvinistic atmosphere of the era. Her work undoubtedly led to healthier eyes for the masses, most notably through her promotion of contact lenses, and she cut a path for women in the wider field of medicine to follow.”

(With thanks to Ellen Harrison at English Heritage)

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Who Do You Think You Are - Greg Wallace

Last night's edition of Who Do You Think You Are was a considerable improvement on the opening episode. It featured Greg Wallace, who presents a BBC based cookery competition show, but had everything last week's story didn't - an interested subject, an interesting story, a dash of humour and for this viewer, some familiar terrain!

*There's a few spoilers following if you have yet to see it*

The story essentially looked at what happened to Greg's great grandfather Henry and great great grandmother Selena, and showed only too well how possible it is to jump to conclusions about people when you don't have the full facts - and with every new fact, there was a lot of constant re-evaluation, something family historians are only too well aware of. A ridiculously oversized portrait of Selena accompanied him on his travels - even being seat-belted in on one trip! (Good advert for the camera abilities of an iPhone!).

What made this work as a programme was that nothing was quite as it seemed - not even the photograph of Selena - making the story one that gripped throughout. The opening was a bit stage-managed and felt a bit flat, but trust me, if you have yet to view it, just bear with it, all will soon click into place!

For me personally, there was lots of indirect familiarity with the subjects featured - discussions of submarine warfare (my father was a submariner), connections to the port of Larne in Northern Ireland (where I was born), a tragedy in Glynn (where I drove through just over a week ago!), life in an asylum (one of my lot ended his days in one), and even a Zion Methodist church (I attended one in Plymouth for 2 years as a kid - have never heard of any others since then!). The visual landscape was therefore very comfortable territory to watch.

Were there any major faults with the presentation? Not with the programme as such - but the schedulers certainly need some re-education. Apart from the fact that one featured story was very similar indeed to a story featured in last week's edition (except this time, you really feel the tragedy as a viewer), there is also the simple fact that this was ten times better as a programme. Why last week's was considered strong enough to be a series opener, still defies me - thankfully though, it does not seem as if it set the standard for the series ahead by the looks of it.

Next week - Patrick Stewart. They made it so! Hoping they do a DNA test and show that he has the power to lead a race of mutants in the fight against evil. Fingers crossed...! :)

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Hiccups with Ancestry sale

American blogger Dick Eastman has reported that Reuters has said that the deal to sell Ancestry is off because "nobody would bid enough money to satisfy the company's expectations" (see http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2012/08/ancestrycom-bids-may-have-fallen-short-of-expectations.html).

The story apparently comes from the Orlando Sentinel, but the deal may not be quite off just yet - the paper states that "buyout firms, including Permira Advisers LLP and TPG Capital LP, are now considering whether they should increase their offers", following the rejection of first offers by Ancestry. Ancestry itself has not commented on the issue - so a sale may well be still on. The Sentinel story is at http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-08-22/features/sns-rt-us-ancestry-privateequitybre87m02k-20120822_1_family-history-research-website-ancestry-com-private-equity.

(With thanks to Dick Eastman)

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Sulgrave Manor family day

It's a bank holiday in England next Monday 27th August, and as such Sulgrave Manor will be hosting a special family day, which will include dressing up for children, family tours, outdoor activities, trails, old-fashioned games, brass rubbing, colouring activities, and a chance for visitors to dig deep into their own pasts with members of Northamptonshire Family History Society. Further details are available at www.sulgravemanor.org.uk.

(With thanks to the Banbury Guardian)

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

New Irish police museum to be built in Belfast

A new museum is to be built in Belfast to tell the history of the police in Ireland from 1814 to the present day. The museum, which will recount the history of the Peace Preservation Force, the Royal Irish Constabulary, the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the modern Police Service of Northern Ireland, is to be based in a new purpose built two floored building. It will be free to the public when it opens in two years in time for the 200th anniversary of policing in Ireland, telling the story of the oldest police force in the British Isles (London's Met was not formed until 1829).

I have no police ancestry in my tree, but I can't wait for this to open - from the sounds of things, it's going to be brilliant! The full story is at www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-19348741.

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Balbriggan Town Council minutes online

Balbriggan Town Council, in the north of County Dublin, has launched an online archive holding all council minutes from 1860 to 2010. To access the digitised collection, produced in partnership with Fingal County Council Archives, visit www.digisearch.ie/balbriggan/menu.asp.

For details on the initiative to create the online archive visit http://northcountyleader.ie/index.php/component/content/article/34-front-page/2205-balbriggan-council-launches-on-line-archive.html

(With thanks to @archivesireland on Twitter)

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Competition winners

We have two winners in the latest British GENES competition!

Up for grabs were two copies of my latest book, Discover Scottish Land Records, and the question was to name the Scottish villages that make up the Barony of the Four Towns of Lochmaben - the answer was Greenhill, Heck, Hightae and Smallholm.

My trusty sidekick, number one son Calum, was home a few moments ago for his lunch break, and drew the winners from an impromptu drum which is in no way at all my other son's Blues Brothers hat! :)

The winners then...

• Catherine Christie from Arroyo Grande in California, USA
• Susan Berry, Leigh in Lancashire, England

Congratulations to both of you, and I'll get the books to you in the post in the next couple of days!

You'll note Calum has two arms in bandages, by the way - he decided last week to celebrate gravity by falling out of a tree and fracturing both wrists! (He's fine now, after a crazy week last week with several hospital appointments etc)

I'll hopefully run another competition soon!

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Google Street View in 3D

It's amazing the things you discover by accident! Whilst looking over the Google Maps facility (https://maps.google.co.uk) for the maps section of my next book on online Irish resources, I've inadvertently stumbled across the fact that Google Street View offers a 3D mode! I have no idea how long this has been available - it may have been for years! - but it provides ridiculously silly fun. The image below is of Synnott Row in the north of Dublin, where my three times great gran used to live many moons ago.

To make an image 3D, right click on the image with your mouse and tick '3D mode on'. You'll need the weird red and green glasses to view. Lots of fun!

Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet - coming soon, and in 3D :)

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Dallas versus WDYTYA

Interesting news just caught there on ITV. The new series of Dallas returns on Wednesday 5th September on Channel 5 at 9pm - meaning it will be going head to head with Who Do You Think You Are on BBC1. It will be interesting to see which wins in the overnights! (It should be noted overnights don't quite have the impact they used to, with 'time-shifted' viewing also used these days to judge a series success - ie. viewings on the BBC iPlayer)

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Updates on FamilySearch

Two databases have been updated on FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org) in the last week.

Great Britain Births and Baptisms, 1571-1977 is a collection of 21,150 vital records sourced from the International Genealogical Index. Quite why it is a standalone offering from the IGI, or how extensive it is for each of the UK's four countries, I have absolutely no idea, and the wiki page at https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Great_Britain_Births_and_Baptisms_(FamilySearch_Historical_Records) doesn't add any clarity. Nevertheless, it may be worth a look.

The England, Northumberland, Miscellaneous Records,1570-2005 database of browsable images has also been updated.

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Midlands Family History Fair

Thanks to Christine Hancock for the following:

The Midlands Family History Fair
25th August, Warriors Rugby Club, Sixways Stadium, Worcester

Come along and meet members of local family history societies and find out how they can help you! Listen to talks by Dr. Nick Barratt (President of FFHS), Mark Bayley of S. & N. Genealogy Supplies and Frank Townsend from Malvern FHS.

Further Information from www.herefordshirefhs.org.uk/events/31

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

National Library of Ireland talks this week

This week's free lunchtime family history talks at the National Library of Ireland continue with:

• Carmel Gilbride, Eneclann, speaking on using Valuation Office records to trace your family
• Jim Herlihy, author of The Royal Irish Constabulary, on the records of the Royal Irish Constabulary and the Dublin Metropolitan Police
• Cliona Weldon, Findmypast.ie, speaking on using Findmypast to trace your family history
• William Roulston, of the Ulster Historical Foundation will be talking about Scots-Irish emigration from the 17th to the 19th centuries
• Catriona Crowe, National Archives of Ireland will be giving a talk on ‘National Archives of Ireland: sources online’

Further information can be found either the Eneclann website at www.eneclann.ie/2012/07/summer-lunchtime-series-2012/ or the NLI’s events page at www.nli.ie/en/list/current-events.aspx.

(With thanks to Vicky McAlister)

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Scottish Local History Forum Conference in Perth

The next Scottish Local History Forum Conference will be entitled For Reliefe of the Pure and Impotent: Welfare in Scotland before the Welfare State. It takes place on Friday October 26th 2012 in the A. K. Bell Library, Perth. For further information visit www.slhf.org or read the conference leaflet at www.slhf.org/images/slhf/PDFs/slhf%202012%20conference%20leaflet.pdf. The talk on Thomas Chalmers' experiment in the Barony parish of Glasgow looks particularly interesting!

(With thanks to SAFHS)

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Home Guard records for Durham released

The National Archives has released some 80,000 2 page long enrolment records (and some additional material) relating to Home Guard participation in the Second World War in Durham. Surprisingly the project to present the records online has discovered that some 50% of those who served were under 27 years old, with some 28% in 1940 being under 18 - not quite the Dad's Army generally presumed. Located within WO409 at the archive the records were selected as a sample of what still exists, but there is no news as yet as to whether any further records will be so digitised. The National Archives only holds the Durham records, with the Veterans Agency holding the rest.

For more information on the project visit http://nationalarchives.gov.uk/news/755.htm. Note that if a person's date of birth is less than one hundred years ago, the record is still closed to access and you will need to make a Freedom of Information request to access it. Full details at http://nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/durham-home-guard.htm.

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Scottish commemorative plaque scheme

Scotland is to get its own commemorative plaque scheme, with nominations open to the public until October to decide on who should be celebrated. The scheme will commemorate "the life and achievements of significant persons, through the erection of a plaque on their home where they lived, or the building that was particularly synonymous with their achievements".

To make your nomination visit www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/index/places/commemorativeplaques.htm.

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Updated Ancestry app

Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) has updated its free interactive app for use on the iPad and other Apple devices. As well as now displaying trees vertically from bottom to top, instead of from left to right, it also now includes a new dynamic tree view option that allows you to show extended families as well as an option to see direct ancestors only.

I upgraded my iPad last night, and although initially a little disappointed to see the change in direction for the charts, it's really grown on me, and is definitely a significant improvement. I have two tree displaying apps on my device, that of Ancestry and the Heredis free edition, and still finding it hard to make a final decision on which one to keep as they are both very good!

The app is available from iTunes at http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/ancestry/id349554263?mt=8

Chris


Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Family Tree - the BBC mockumentary

A new eight part comedy series entitled Family Tree is discussed on the BBC website today at www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-19293834. Featuring Irish actor Chris O'Dowd the series is being made by Christopher Guest, the man behind the This is Spinal Tap movie which poked fun at the music industry, and will apparently be in the same tongue in cheek 'mockumentary' style - though quite who or what it will be 'mockumenting', and how, is yet to be revealed! As well as appearing on the BBC, the US will also see the series on HBO, but transmission dates have yet to be announced.

Should be interesting when it surfaces...!

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

RIC fallen to be commemorated in Dublin

Plans for an unofficial service to commemorate the lives of the 493 members of the Royal Irish Constabulary that were lost in service look set to go ahead next week at Glasnevin Cemetery in time for the 90th anniversary of the disbandment of the force. The service has the support of the Garda Siochana Retired Members Association and the Royal Ulster Constabulary George Cross Foundation, though it seems has no state backing. The full story is at www.independent.ie/national-news/unofficial-ceremony-for-ric-dead-at-glasnevin-cemetery-3203554.html

(With thanks to @CemeteryMan1 on Twitter)

UPDATE: Just to contrast, it looks like Enda Kenny will be the first serving Taoiseach to address an annual service in memory of Michael Collins, general of the Republic's first army, who negotiated the original treaty towards independence from the United Kingdom, and who lost his life as a consequence. The story is at www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19310981

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Highland Memorial Inscriptions

I've just found a mention on Twitter to a website for Scottish headstone inscriptions that I've not come across before, and it is a bit of a cracker. Highland Memorial Inscriptions is located at https://sites.google.com/site/highlandmemorialinscriptions/home and offers indexes to inscriptions from headstones from the Highlands and Western Isles, including, I am delighted to note, the massive sprawl in Inverness that is Tomnahurich Cemetery, where my great grandmother's family were all buried (the McFarlanes). Previously to look for more recent inscriptions there I've had to go to the local crematorium office for information on the location of the lairs.

One tip on that - the headstone for the grave of my great grandmother Jessie McFarlane is no longer standing at Tomnahurich, but at the crematorium office a few years back I did discover that there is a set of photographs of headstones kept there which no longer stand or have been removed - and sure enough, an image of Jessie's stone was amongst them, which also noted the passing of my great grandfather in Belgium in 1916. I was thankfully allowed to take a copy of the image with my own camera.

The site is a great addition, and I'll have a bit more fun playing with it tonight! If you find an entry, you can request an image of the photo from the organisers of the project.

(Thanks to Janet Wildig @YrTreeSearcher)

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)