History of Salvation Army in Peterborough - talk

A talk will be given on the first fifty years existence of the Salvation Army in Peterborough on February 6th at Westgate Church, posted by Peterborough and District FHS. Further details at www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/community/community-news/westgate-church-is-venue-for-talk-on-salvation-army-1-4735480

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

Potential doom and gloom over America's SSDI

At the start of the week I wrote an article for next month's UK based Family Tree magazine (http://family-tree.co.uk) about privacy, and cited various examples of some bad news coming the way of the genealogical community on that front. One of the examples I quoted was the recent shenanigans last year in the United States concerning an important records collection called the Social Security Death Index, or SSDI for short, which many in the US use for genealogical purposes. It's kind of like our national insurance number, but there's an accessible database in the States that when consulted allows you to work out when a person was born and where registered for a social security number (and much more besides - see my article next month!). Ancestry has it online, FamilySearch has it online - and several US politicians are gunning for it big time.

Judy G. Russell has just posted an update on her The Legal Genealogist blog on what is happening on the SSDI front, and it's all looking increasingly gloomy. You can read Judy's post at www.legalgenealogist.com/blog/2013/01/30/news-from-the-ssdi-front/.

(With thanks to Judy)

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

York Explore Centre mutualisation

An interesting development in York, with the proposed mutualisation of the city's York Explore Centre (archive and libraries), and funding to the tune of £100,000 from the Cabinet Office Mutuals Support Programme for the project's development. The Cabinet Office press release on this is at
http://mutuals.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/first-staff-led-mutual-library-receives-%C2%A3100000-backing

(For more on mutuals see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutual_organization)

(With thanks to Wendy Archer and Richard Taylor, from the Archives-NRA list)

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

Archives promotion campaign

From Beryl Evans at the Federation of Family History Societies (www.ffhs.org.uk):

The National Archives and The Records and Archives Association (ARA) are thrilled to announce that we will be launching a new and exciting campaign this year, for the promotion of archives across the country.

The new campaign, a successor to the Archive Awareness Campaign (AAC), will increase public awareness of, and pride in, the work of the archive sector. It will raise the profile of national institutions, local authority record offices, universities, community and private archives. It will highlight the benefits archives bring to communities, the impact they can have on peoples’ lives and seek to encourage a wide range of people to connect with their local history and culture.

To support the delivery of the campaign, ARA has appointed Forster Communications to research and develop a creative concept to inspire everyone – those who already know, those who partly know, and those who know nothing about the essential and inspiring role of archives.

Forster is working with archivists, users and non-users to develop the ideas for the campaign. Forster will produce a creative framework and toolkit to make sure that those who work in archives of all kinds can easily take part in the campaign.

The National Archives and ARA will announce full details of the campaign and how you can get involved in spring 2013. The main thrust of the campaign will take place in the autumn with activities and promotion at a local and national level.

(With thanks to Beryl and to Angela Owusu of The National Archives)

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

Coronation Street actor to appear at WDYTYA Live

Actor William Roache, who appears in the soap series Coronation Street, and who featured in the recent series of Who Do You Think You Are, will be appearing at the Who Do You Think You Are Live show in London on Sunday 24th February, in a session in the SoG 3 theatre.

Details are at www.whodoyouthinkyouarelive.com/news/special-sunday-guest-%E2%80%93-corries%E2%80%99s-william-roache

(With thanks to WDYTYA Live)

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

Bloomsbury Institute family history talks event

The Bloomsbury Institute in London in association with the National Archives at Kew, is holding a family history talks event on Thursday 7th February 2013, with speakers Audrey Collins, Peter Christian and Andrea Stuart. Full details are available at http://nationalarchives.gov.uk/news/807.htm.

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

Scottish Legal History Research Guide

I came across a page last night on the Georgetown University website concerning Scottish legal history, which may be of interest to those carrying out family history research. The Scottish Legal History Research Guide site is at www.law.georgetown.edu/library/research/guides/scottishlegalhistory.cfm and provides an interesting historic overview of the Scottish law system and courts, with links to details of various printed resources.

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

US Citizens & Immigration Services genealogy site

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services has launched a new genealogy page that may be of assistance if your ancestors crossed the pond - the site can be found at http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=499b0b520d088310VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=499b0b520d088310VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD (short and sweet!)

(With thanks to the National Genealogical Society blog)

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

Scottish 1905 Valuation Roll now online

The 1905 Valuation Roll for Scotland has now been added to the ScotlandsPeople website (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk). The valuation rolls were returned on an annual basis for the whole country from 1855 onwards, and gave details of proprietors, occupiers and tenants of property in Scotland, and additional details such as rateable value, feu duties etc. ScotlandsPeople has already released the returns for 1915, and will continue with every tenth year back to 1855.

There's more on the release at http://media.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/vr1905_pressRelease.html

(With thanks to Chris Halliday @scotsgen)

NB: Information on these and other Scottish house and land records are explored in detail in my book Discover Scottish Land Records, available from Unlock the Past at www.gould.com.au/Discover-Scottish-Land-Records-p/utp0283.htm

James Keir Hardie's return from 1905, Old Cumnock (by kind permission of the Registrar General for Scotland)

UPDATE: By the way, don't think of these records as one hit wonders every ten years - they were compiled on an annual basis. They have been digitised from 1855/56 to 1955/56, and indexed every tenth year up to 1915/16, and then every 5th year thereafter. After 1958 many rolls have not been microfilmed, and original volumes still need to be consulted. They can all be consulted at the National Records of Scotland, and on a local basis copies of many holdings are also kept in the relevant regional archive. They were eventually replaced by the political disaster that was the Poll Tax. Not every collection is complete in local archives (in Glasgow, for example, they are held from 1913 onwards), but you may find useful substitutes such as burgh assessment rolls, which were similar in what they recorded. Looking up valuation rolls is one of the services I offer, and full details on these and other records can be found in the above-mentioned book!

UPDATE: Additional coverage - www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-21234335 (BBC); www.thecourier.co.uk/news/scotland/scotlandspeople-adds-1905-property-records-to-help-trace-scottish-ancestry-1.66273 (Courier); and www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/scotland-property-records-released-1561515 (Daily Record).

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

The Indentured Man - new book

I've had an email from Stephen Ward, who has just had a go at telling the story of an ancestor in his new book, The Indentured Man - the story of William Gaze Pioneer Settler to Australia. Having had a go myself at writing up a family tale recently for a book, and knowing the effort it takes, I'm only too happy to give him a plug! Here's a description of the book from Stephen himself:

William Gaze is a distant ancestor of mine and was born in the small village of Churchdown near Gloucester in 1801. Growing up in the shadow of Napoleonic England, with the growing development of the Industrial Revolution, he realised that the rural craft of wheelwright and carpenter was steadily coming to an end. In 1829 he became indentured to a Thomas Peel and sailed for the newly founded Swan River Colony in Western Australia. The first ship load of Peel's settlers found the Swan River to be an inhospitable area. They faced exposure, disease and starvation in the sand dunes south of Fremantle. Peel did not pay his workers in cash, only promisory notes and in 1830 William Gaze took Peel to court to be freed of his indentures. He succeeded and became a free man - only to meet an untimely end at the hand of an aboriginal freedom fighter.

The book is available from Amazon at www.amazon.co.uk/The-Indentured-Man-William-Australian/dp/148018425X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1359394749&sr=8-1 with a free preview. There is a Kindle edition or paperback - sounds a great read!

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

University of Strathclyde WW2 Reserved Occupations project

Borders Family History Society has posted details of a University of Strathclyde oral history project looking at reserved occupation status in the Second World War. The university is looking for people who had a reserved occupation during the conflict, who may wish to be interviewed about their experiences. The society's blog post is available at http://blog.bordersfhs.org.uk/2013/01/reserved-occupations-during-second.html.

(With thanks to Borders FHS)

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

TNA podcast - Rawdon Brown's Venetian calendar

The latest podcast from the National Archives at Kew concerns a gent called Rawdon Brown who worked as Master of the Rolls in Venice, and who compiled a 19th century calendar identifying many records concerning the relationship between Venice and the British Isles, now held at the archive. To listen to the podcast visit http://media.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php/rawdon-brown-and-the-brown-archive-in-the-national-archives/ or download for free at iTunes.

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

WW1 Holzminden & Ruhleben POWs

Yesterday I posted a short story on my other blog about a young British boy who was arrested in Berlin at the outset of the First World War for having defamed Germany, and British Foreign Office attempts to have him freed with the help of the American Embassy in Berlin. The story emerged from some Foreign Office documents that I am currently working through for my Ruhleben Project website (http://ruhleben.tripod.com), in which I am trying to produce short biographical extracts for some 5500 British civilian and merchant seamen POWs who were interned at the camp on the outskirts of Berlin - it can be read at http://walkingineternity.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/youthful-indiscretion-in-first-world-war_27.html.

On the back of this post, I have just had another useful site pointed out to me by reader Brenda Merriman, concerning the POWs who were interned in another camp at Holzminden. Mostly military prisoners, some merchant seamen were also included. The site is at www.facesofholzminden.com and includes a downloadable PDF document with the names of some 500 or so individuals known to have been interned there.

Elsewhere on the Ruhleben front, Marcus Bateman has also been in touch to let me know that his current website on British Merchant Seamen interned at Ruhleben (and elsewhere) is soon to be deleted, and instead replaced by a new site at www.spw-surrey.com/mt9/. Amongst new content recently added he has a new page with names extracted from a National Archives document reference MT 9/1094, for surnames beginning A and B in September 1916. Well worth a look.

Meanwhile I am ploughing on with extracting names from a few other sources, including the Ruhleben Football Association Handbook from 1915 and files from TNA FO 369/710. I've added 70 short biographical extracts over the last 2 days, with plenty more to get on the site. With the anniversary of the war set to happen next year it's an ambition of mine to try to get the name of Ruhleben and its many stories as well known again as it once was throughout the conflict, as a tribute to my civilian great uncle who was interned there, and my civilian great grandfather who died after hiding for 16 months in Brussels to avoid arrest. Many people have been in touch in recent weeks and months with new material for the site - thanks for this, and I'll try to get through it as quickly as I can!

(With thanks to Brenda Merriman, Marcus Bateman and Simon Fowler)

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

University of Glasgow's Darien papers

Scotland may vote to leave the United Kingdom next year - but if you've ever wondered what led to Scotland and England uniting in the first place in 1707, one of the key factors was Scotland's failed Darien colony scheme in 1698 and 1699, which virtually bankrupted the country's so called nobles. Only a couple of months ago I researched the story of one of these investors from Ayrshire on behalf of a client - this investor was ironically already getting heavily into debt in the 1690s and so speculated on the scheme in the hope of clearing his burden - a tragic tale.

If you want to know more about the scheme, the University of Glasgow has an interesting post at http://universityofglasgowlibrary.wordpress.com/2013/01/24/scotlands-failed-colony-the-darien-scheme/ outlining papers that it holds within its Spencer Collection. An interesting read.

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

Missing - presumed Canadian

If your Scottish ancestors emigrated to Cananda then the country's national archive, Library and Archives Canada, has posted a link in its blog to a dedicated page at www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/022-905.014-e.html which itemises sources that might help with your research.

There are some real gems there, for example, a huge series of Immigration Branch: Central Registry Files (RG 76), with items such as returns from the Glasgow Juvenile Delinquency Board - Girls Industrial School, Glasgow (RG 76, volume 119, file 22468, microfilm C-4782) which includes a list of children sent to Saint John, New Brunswick, between 1895 and 1906. Many, many other examples - well worth a look.

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

Find My Past TV episodes now available in US

The American based FindmyPast website (www.findmypast.com) has announced that episodes of the British TV series Find My Past can now be viewed by subscribers a week after their initial transmission in the UK, along with past episodes. The full details are outlined in a blog post at http://blog.findmypast.com/2013/01/25/find-my-past-tv-episodes-now-in-the-us/.

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

Isle of Man newspaper archive online

Thanks to the Genealogy in Time newsletter for the heads up on another important online newspaper resource, this time for the Isle of Man. The Manx Museum has placed online a fully searchable database via the Manx National Heritage page at https://www.gov.im/MNH/services/ containing some twenty seven Manx newspaper titles from 1792-1960. The service is not free, but is structured in a similar way to the Irish Newspapers Archive website, for those who have used that site - subscriptions are as follows:

24 Hour Pass - £7.00
7 Day Pass - £10.00
30 Day Pass - £30.00
365 Day Pass - £100.00

I've found the navigation around the site a little confusing, so do stick with it if you encounter the same, as there is some good stuff there.

Incidentally, the Genealogy in Time newsletter has classed this as a UK collection in its announcement - but the Isle of Man is not in the United Kingdom! Although based in the Irish Sea the island is an independent self-governing British Crown Dependency, like Gibraltar and the Channel Islands, though the British Government is responsible for its foreign policy and defence. It has its own parliament (the Tynwald), its own dialect of the Gaelic language (Manx Gaelic) and more.

(With thanks to Genealogy in Time)

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

National Library of Ireland research booklet

There's a new blog post by Ciara Kerrigan of the National Library of Ireland's Research Services about a booklet called Family History Research: Sources at the National Library of Ireland that has been launched by the facility to help people get underway with genealogical research - you'll find it www.nli.ie/blog/index.php/2013/01/25/family-history-research/, with the leaflet itself available at www.nli.ie/en/family-history-introduction.aspx

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

Forthcoming events at Essex Record Office

Essex Record Office has posted a list of forthcoming talks and events at the facility at www.essexrecordofficeblog.co.uk/events/, starting February 5th with a talk on the Bethnal Green Tube Disaster of 1943.

(Thanks to @essexarchive and @MIEC2012)

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

Lewis records on HebridesPeople

More from HebridesPeople:

Northton Heritage Trust are happy to announce that the next instalment of their hebridespeople database is now available on www.hebridespeople.com The first stage was the publication of the emigrant database, and this was followed with the database for families connected with the Isle of Harris, including Berneray and St Kilda. Now it is the turn of the Point area of Lewis.

The site works on the principle of purchasing credits, which will be familiar to those who have used the scotlandspeople website. Entering a name will show all persons of that name on the database, their date of birth and parish of birth, and by choosing the appropriate entry you can find access directly to place of birth, parents (where known) date and place of marriage and death, together with a note of where that person appears in the census records from 1841 to 1901. Dates are only shown as years, but with this information exact dates and certificates etc. can be accessed from scotlandspeople if desired.

The database also allows access to two further unique features - family notes and family sheets. These take the researcher beyond research into individual persons to research into whole families. The family notes give a summary of the family history. They are based on the 1851 census as a datum-line, working back as far as possible – usually to the generation born in about 1750/60, and forward as far as 1920. The family sheets are hand-written work-sheets, compiled by Bill Lawson for each family, showing the lines of descent in the male line, together with cross referencing of the female line to their spouses’ family sheets. There is also a gazetteer available, with a summarised history of each township for those less familiar with Harris.

So there we have stage 3 of the database containing 12,000 records of people connected with the Point area. It is hoped to gradually add all the other parishes of the Outer Hebrides over the next few years.

The project has been funded by HIE, LEADER Innse Gall, Comunn na Gaidhlig, and the Heritage Lottery Fund and the website design and genealogical application is by Reefnet Ltd.

(With thanks to Bill and Chris Lawson)

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

Friends Of Bradford Archives and Local Studies launches

From FOBALS:

A new group FOBALS – Friends Of Bradford Archives and Local Studies - has just been established to support and help promote the archive and local studies services in central Bradford and to ensure the maintenance of those services and their collections as centres of excellence.

Bradford Central Library is currently closed for refurbishment which is expected to last 20 weeks and FOBALS is eagerly looking forward to seeing the new look building. We are fortunate that the Council is investing the money to refurbish the library and supporting the provision of local studies and archive services during such difficult economic times.

A proportion of the refurbishment funds are required to ensure that fire safety standards over all eight floors is met so that the upper floors can be brought back into use. Investigations into possible uses for the upper floors are ongoing.

The local studies library and West Yorkshire Archive Service will occupy the second floor and will have a similar amount of public space as they did prior to the access restrictions which were in operation from Oct 2011. Many records are now available digitally and can be accessed from ANY Bradford library for example many West Yorkshire Parish Registers are now on Ancestry and the British Newspaper Archive on Find my Past both of which the Library service has subscriptions to. This has changed the requirements of the Local Studies and Archive Service to focus on those records which are not available online for example maps, other local newspapers and their extensive hardcopy collections. These will continue to be maintained in good condition and made available to the public.

The local studies library is fortunate to have an extensive collection of maps, documents and books not just on Bradford and the surrounding districts but on the whole of Yorkshire. It is hoped that this will attract users to the city from a wider area as other libraries in the region are increasingly focussing only on their own locality.

Membership to FOBALS is open to all individuals and groups who support its aims. Members will not be required to pay any subscription, however, an annual voluntary donation would be gratefully received to defray expenses. If you are interested in becoming a member please contact membership.fobals@hotmail.co.uk.

FOBALS cannot respond to local or family history enquiries.

Follow us on twitter - http://twitter.com/FOBALS_Bradford
Follow us on facebook - www.facebook.com/Fobals

FOBALS committee:

Dr Christine Alvin - Chair & Minutes Secretary
Janet Senior - Treasurer & Membership Secretary
Dr Kathryn Hughes - Publicity Officer & Secretary [pro tem]
Tish Lawson - Secretary [April onwards]
Dr Bob Duckett
Derek Goff
Ken Kenzie
Mary Twentyman
Dr Eileen White
Derek Barker

(With thanks to Kathryn Hughes)

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

Forthcoming events National Library of Scotland

Some forthcoming talks and workshops at the National Library of Scotland (www.nls.uk):

Scottish LGBT History: 20 years after Footsteps and Witnesses
4 February, 6pm
When Footsteps and Witnesses was published in 1993, it was the first opportunity for Scottish lesbians and gay men to tell their own life stories. But it was no more than the tip of an iceberg of unacknowledged history. Twenty years later, Bob Cant, the book's editor, and other historians explore continuing developments in this area of historical study.

Treasures for Presidents' Day: Illustrated talk
18 February, 6pm
Presidents' Day commemorates the birthday of George Washington, the first President of the United States of America. To mark the celebrations, NLS Curators Chris Taylor and Dora Petherbridge present a fascinating selection of items from our United States collections that relate to American politics and culture. Unique George Washington material and letters from the Founding Fathers and literary figures such as Ralph Waldo Emerson will evoke significant moments from American history.

Researching Scottish Subscription Libraries - and English, Irish and Welsh too
21 February, 5.45pm - 7pm
This event celebrates the publication of Keith Manley's Books, borrowers, and shareholders: Scottish circulating and subscription libraries before 1825, a survey and listing. Dr Manley works for the National Trust at Castle Drogo on Dartmoor, and has recently catalogued the library of Agatha Christie. He is joint convenor of the Seminar in the History of Libraries which is held at the Institute of English Studies, University of London.
A joint Edinburgh Bibliographical Society and NLS event.


Reader Workshops

Discovering family history
5 February, 6 - 7.30pm
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.

Getting started at NLS
6 February, 6pm
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.

Read all about it!
20 February, 2pm
An introduction to online newspaper resources available via NLS.
The session includes demonstrations of a selection of resources and tips on how to search and discover the information you need.

Booking details are available at www.nls.uk/events

(With thanks to the NLS)

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

Burns birth record on show

Robert Burns' birth record is on display at the National Records of Scotland until February 14th. The bard was born on January 25th 1759, just down the road from me here in Ayrshire in the wee village of Alloway. The record has also been placed online at www.nas.gov.uk/about/130123.asp.

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

Colonial Office Australasian photos released

The National Archives at Kew has released thousands of early Australiasian photographs online, as sourced from its Colonial Office files. The images concern early photographs and drawings of Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga and other Pacific Islands. There is a dedicated platform to view them at http://nationalarchives.gov.uk/australasia/.

The original news story can be found at http://nationalarchives.gov.uk/news/805.htm, and a blog entry giving more on the collection at http://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/blog/in-flickrs-page-let-every-stage-advance-australia-fair/.

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

More Fife headstones on Deceased Online

Twelve more cemeteries have been added to the Deceased Online collection of records concerning graveyards in Fife, as photographed and indexed by Scottish Monumental Inscriptions. The full list of holdings for Fife is available at www.deceasedonline.com/servlet/GSDOSearch?AcctView=Login&SrchView=Basic&DetsView=Content&ListSource=Contributors&section=CONTRIBUTORS&context=SMI_FIFE&lang=E

(With thanks to Deceased Online)

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

TheGenealogist update

From The Genealogist (www.thegenealogist.co.uk)

We have added the following books to our Diamond subscription:

• History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland 1835
• The Court & City Register 1783 together with The Companion to the Royal Kalendar
• The Royal Calendar 1801
• The Royal Calendar 1879
• The Royal Kalendar and the Court and City Register 1825

Death Transcripts

We have added over 10 million individuals to our Death Transcripts - this brings the total to over 52 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 the partner's full name where available, and enabling you to find potential parents from a birth, potential children to a marriage and potential birth records from a death record.

The full newsletter is at www.GenealogySupplies.com/email_news.htm - including news of Bracknell Family History Fair this coming Sunday 27th and a chance to win an iPad.

(With thanks to TheGenealogist)

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

Irish BMD certs suddenly double in cost

At present it is possible to order birth, marriage and death records in Ireland from 3 sources. From 1845 to the present day you can obtain records for what is now the Republic of Ireland from the Irish GRO in Roscommon (www.groireland.ie). This also offers records for the north from 1845-1921. The beauty with this site is the fact that you can order photocopies for genealogical research for just four Euros each, if you know the details of when and where an event happened. You can also get records for the north from 1845 to the present day from the GRO for Northern Ireland in Belfast, but at a whopping £15 per certificate.

There is a third way to obtain records, if you wish to do so online, and that is through the Republic's Health Services Executive site at www.hse.ie/eng/services/find_a_service/bdm/certificates_ie. Coverage is partial however - all Ireland births from 1864-1921, and from the Republic from 1922 onwards; all Ireland marriages from just 1920-1921, and for the Republic from 1922 to the present day; and deaths from 1924 for the republic only.

Unfortunately, both the HSE and the GRO in Roscommon have just DOUBLED the costs of their official certs to 20 Euros each. In Sterling that is £16.94 each - even higher than Belfast's costs of £15, the highest in the UK. However, the GRO's 4 Euro charge (£3.39) for an uncertified and photocopied extract remains the same.

Is this just blatant profiteering to coincide with the launch of the Irish indexes for such records on FindmyPast? Who knows - but never has a photocopy looked so beautiful...

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

Catholic National Library in Farnborough

The Catholic Family History blog has a short but useful article on the Catholic National Library in Farnborough - well worth a read at http://catholicfhs.wordpress.com/2013/01/23/the-catholic-national-library/

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

North Nottinghamshire Register of Voters 1885

Ancestry's World Archives Project has added a new collection for those wishing to participate with its indexing - North Nottinghamshire Register of Voters 1885. Full details on the collection can be found at www.ancestry.com/wiki/index.php?title=World_Archives_Project:_North_Nottinghamshire_Register_of_Voters_1885

(With thanks to the project's blog at http://blogs.ancestry.com/worldarchivesproject/?p=1646)

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

Durham Records Online update

What's New at Durham Records Online (www.durhamrecordsonline.com):

Ryhope burials 1879-1937
2,902 burials at Ryhope St. Paul in Sunderland district, covering 1879-1937, joining the burials we already had here for 1828-1878.

Hartlepool North Cemetery burials 1856-1880
10,396 burials at Hartlepool North Cemetery, also known as Hart Lane Cemetery, from the opening of the cemetery in May 1856 to the end of 1880.

1851 census of Heworth
Added 8,867 people from the 1851 census of the civil parish of Heworth in Gateshead district, completing piece number 2401. This covers Heworth, Bill Quay, Felling, and Windy Nook.

Kelloe marriage witnesses 1813-1837
Added 272 witnesses to our existing 132 marriages at Kelloe St. Helen in Easington district, covering 1 Jan 1813 to July 1837.

Chester-le-Street burial index updated with full details for 1583-1749
Replaced the Chester-le-Street burial index for 1583-1749 with full entries so those 8,079 burials are now instantly available, including 18 new burials that we missed the first time around. The following periods are missing from the register:
29 Dec 1664 to 1 Mar 1674
16 Sep 1678 to 27 Mar 1708

Files in the processing queue, not necessarily to be released in this order:
Etherley baptisms & burials 1834-1862
Shotley Primitive Methodist Circuit baptisms 1878-1924
Earsdon marriages 1837-1844
Earsdon baptisms, marriages, and burials pre-1813
Hartlepool North Cemetery 1881-1901
Monkwearmouth Venerable Bede baptisms 1877-1885
Gateshead St. James baptisms 1865-1879
Lumley baptisms & burials 1861-1867
Sacriston baptisms 1866-1875

Further down the road: records from Hexham, Hartlepool St. James and St. Oswald, Newcastle All Saints, Longbenton

(With thanks to Durham Records Online)

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

100 free credits on FindmyPast Ireland & US

Two of the FindmyPast platforms are today celebrating the launch of the site's new Irish indexes for civil registration records of birth, marriages and deaths, with a promotional code that allows for 50 free credits. FindmyPast Ireland (www.findmypast.ie) and FindmyPast US (www.findmypast.com) are both utilising the code FMPIEBMD to provide the credits, which can be redeemed at the following links:

www.findmypast.ie/content/irish-family-history-day (Ireland)
www.findmypast.com/voucher (USA)

You need to be registered with the site before you can redeem the credit vouchers.

100 free credits - go get 'em! :)

NB: The British and Australasian FMP platforms don't appear to be participating on this one.

For more on the release, and what it contains, see http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/findmypast-to-launch-irish-bmd-indexes.html

UPDATE: FMP UK has confirmed that this is a promotion for the US and Ireland only, as it recently gave credits away for its Start Your Family History Week promotion after Christmas (with thanks to @findmypast).

UPDATE 2pm Jan 24th - please see http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/irish-bmd-certs-suddenly-double-in-cost.html for a shock development from the Irish Government concerning these records.

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

Ancestry adds search tool for Honours and Awards index

Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) has added a third party database UK, Recommendations for Honours and Awards Index, 1935-1990, as sourced from the National Archives at Kew. If an entry is found, you are the directed to the archive's Discovery portal.

Not sure if I am correct, but I think this is the first collection I have seen on Ancestry that links to Discovery, though Ancestry has several other third party databases on its site that work in a similar way. The collection is searchable at http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=5845.

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

John Barnes to attend WDYTYA Live

Former footballer John Barnes has been announced as the third celebrity attending Who Do You Think You Are Live in London next month - full details at www.whodoyouthinkyouarelive.com.

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

Ann Watters MBE

Fife Family History Society has posted a tribute to Ann Watters MBE, who has passed away at the age of 86. Originally from Surrey, and a prominent member of civic society in Fife for many years, Ann was also involved with both Fife FHS and the bi-annual Gravestones Conference since 2004. You can read the tribute at www.facebook.com/pages/Fife-Family-History-Society/516920995014100.

(With thanks to Fife FHS)

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

Australian based Irish Famine orphan girls database

Thanks to Irish Roots magazine for an interesting site I've not come across before. The Irish Famine Memorial site at www.irishfaminememorial.org is an Australian site commemorating those who sailed down under between 1848 and 1850 to escape the famine. Amongst its holdings is a useful database listing orphan girls who were sent from Ireland's workhouses, located at www.irishfaminememorial.org/en/orphans/.

(With thanks to Irish Roots on Facebook at www.facebook.com/IrishRootsMag)

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

Mortonhall Crematorium investigation

An investigation has been launched into the disposal of deceased babies' ashes at Mortonhall Crematorium in Edinburgh between 1960 and 2011, following the discovery that they had been buried in a Garden of Remembrance without their parents' knowledge. The BBC has the story at www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-21147676, with STV also providing coverage on the original story at http://local.stv.tv/edinburgh/209373-mortonhall-police-called-in-to-investigate-the-crematorium/.

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

English/Welsh tithes maps descriptions on Discovery

The National Archives at Kew has added detailed descriptions of some 12,000 tithe maps from England and Wales (from the 1840s) to its Discovery catalogue, thanks to a collaboration with Exeter University.

The full story is at http://nationalarchives.gov.uk/news/802.htm.

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

British Newspaper Archive - recent additions

Recent additions to the British Newspaper Archives (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) in the last 30 days:

• Aberdeen Evening Express 1883 - 1893
• Aberdeen Journal 1902, 1904, 1906 - 1908, 1910 - 1914, 1916 - 1925, 1928 - 1929, 1931 - 1933, 1936, 1939 - 1946, 1948 - 1950
• Berkshire Chronicle 1825, 1828, 1830, 1832, 1834, 1836, 1838 - 1840, 1845, 1850 - 1851, 1857, 1860, 1865 - 1870
• Carlisle Patriot 1897
• Chester Courant 1818 - 1821
• Coventry Herald 1830, 1839, 1843, 1846, 1854, 1856, 1858, 1860, 1862, 1911
• Dublin Evening Mail 1854, 1871
• Dundee Advertiser 1881
• Dunfermline Saturday Press 1887
• Essex Newsman 1889, 1899, 1922, 1950
• Gloucester Citizen 1915 - 1917, 1919 - 1920, 1950
• Isle of Wight Observer 1852
• Luton Times and Advertiser 1895, 1898, 1900, 1904 - 1907, 1909 - 1910, 1912, 1914
• Post., The 1949
• Stamford Mercury 1716, 1783, 1839, 1883, 1886 - 1887, 1890 - 1892, 1896 - 1900, 1904, 1906 - 1907, 1910, 1912
• Surrey Mirror 1915
• Taunton Courier, and Western Advertiser 1958, 1960 - 1963
• West London Observer 1953, 1956 - 1957

Particularly interested to see the Dublin Evening Mail additions and the coverage of the Aberdeen Journal up to 1950. Keep it coming!

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

South African genealogy site to close

I've just read on Dick Eastman's blog that the South African focussed genealogy site Ancestry24 (www.ancestry24.com) is about to close its doors for good. From the site:

We regret to advise that the Ancestry24 business will close on 28 February 2013. After this date, the web-site www.ancestry24.co.za will cease to function.

With regard to any premium subscription, which was planned to continue past 28 February 2013, we will be refunding the entire subscription amount that you paid to us. This effectively means that you will have been able to utilize the premium access at no charge during the portion of your subscription that is expired at 28 February 2013. We trust this relieves the inconvenience.

It's very unfortunate, because this was such a good site, with many records of value to those from a British background who settled there, including many parish registers, school magazines, photos, immigration records and more. No new content is to be added for the remainder of its existence, or new subscribers taken on, but content will remain available until February 28th. What will become of the data on the site is equally unclear.

The full announcement is at http://ancestry24.com/closure-of-ancestry24/.

If you do have African connections, I have an article appearing in a forthcoming issue of Your Family Tree magazine on some useful resources that might help, including additional resources for South Africa.

(With thanks to Eastman's Online Genealogy newsletter)

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

Secrets in family history

The Guardian has an interesting selection of seven photographs on the theme of secrets that have been kept within family history - subjects covered include illegitimacy, disability, homosexuality and adoption.

It's a short feature entitled Family history: the shifting secrets of our genealogies – in pictures, but fascinating reading - well worth a look at www.guardian.co.uk/books/gallery/2013/jan/21/family-history-secrets-genealogy-pictures.

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

IWM withdraws from War Memorials Online

From Frances Moreton of War Memorials Online (www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk)

Between January 2012 and January 2013, War Memorials Trust, IWM’s War Memorials Archive and English Heritage worked together to develop War Memorials Online, by sharing information, data and expertise.

Following IWM’s concerns about the unmediated editing of data it was decided that, in the interests of compiling the national register which is under its care, IWM’s War Memorials Archive would withdraw from the current project and remove its data.

War Memorials Online remains as a project focussed on obtaining information related to the condition of war memorials in the UK. The information gathered on the War Memorials Online website will help build a picture of the condition of Britain’s war memorials as we approach the First World War Centenary and it will contribute to ensuring adequate resources are available to make certain our war memorials are in good repair for centenary events.

IWM’s data will be removed from the website by the end of January 2013. Content checked or submitted by Third Parties (the public) or that provided by War Memorials Trust or English Heritage will remain on the website. War Memorials Online has benefited greatly from the contribution of IWM’s War Memorials Archive and will continue to be run by War Memorials Trust with the support of English Heritage. Information on war memorials submitted to War Memorials Online is accessible to the public and will be made available to the IWM’s War Memorials Archive, Historic Environment Records and other heritage bodies to support the protection and conservation of the nation’s war memorial heritage.

Any queries on the above should be directed to Kevin Redgate, War Memorials Online Administrator on info@warmemorialsonline.org.uk.

(With thanks to Francis Moreton)

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

We're all inbreds - review of Steve Jones talk

Geoff Swinfield has written an interesting review of a talk he attended last Thursday at Gresham College, London, given by geneticist Steve Jones, which was called Incest and Folk-Dancing: Two things to be Avoided.

It's a good write up, and from what I can gather an enjoyable talk. The bottom line is we're all inbred genetically! Have a read at Geoff's blog at http://researchlondon.info/genealogical-research/incest-and-folk-dancing.

(With thanks to Geoff)

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

Heraldry talk in Dunleer

The Dunleer and District Historical Group are hosting a talk in Dunleer on Thursday February 28th at 8pm, providing an introduction to Heraldry in Ireland, with a particular focus on mid-Louth. The speaker is Seamus Bellew, the venue is Dunleer Parish Hall. Further details at www.midlouthhistory.com.

(With thanks to the Press Display website at www.pressdisplay.com)

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

New TNA starter guide

The National Archives at Kew has a new online starter guide for those wishing to dabble for the first time into the dark arts of family history and archive based research - the guide is at http://nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/start-here.htm.

May God have mercy on your soul! :)

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

Canterbury Cathedral Archives reopening

Canterbury Cathedral Archives will be reopening once more on Tuesday 22nd January. For details of opening hours, and other information, visit www.canterbury-cathedral.org/history/archives.

(With thanks to Wendy Archer and Cressida Williams)

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

The Original Record update

Records added this week to the Original Record website at www.theoriginalrecord.com:

1647-1651
Purchasers of Bishops' Lands
16 November 1646 Parliament ordained the sale of all the lands and estates of the bishops and archbishops for the service of the Commonwealth. This account, printed in 1834, is a transcript from a manuscript presented to the British Museum by William Bray (Add. 9049). It gives in tabular form the details of the conveyances of the lands to private individuals, showing the name of the bishopric; the date of the conveyance; county; description of the lands; purchaser; and purchase money. A total of over £624,158 was raised: after the restoration of the monarchy these estates were returned to the Church, with compensation.

1768
Subscribers to Samuel Chandler's Sermons
Subscribers to 'Sermons on the Following Subjects, Viz. The Religion of Christ. Christian Morality. Excellence of Christ’'s Doctrines. The Possibility of Miracles. Character of Christ and his Apostles. Design of their Miracles. Certainty of the Miracles. Resurrection of Christ; and Consequences of it. His not appearing to all the People. Of Christ’'s Ascension. The Descent of the Holy Spirit. The Doctrine of a Resurrection explained. The Change made by it in the Saints. Objections against a Resurrection answered. By the late Reverend Samuel Chandler, D.D. and F.R. and A.S.S. Published from his Manuscript; with A Preface, Giving a Brief Account of the Life, Character and Writings of the Author. By Thomas Amory', published in London in 1768.

1798
The Nore Mutiny: Witnesses for the Crown
At the State Trial following the Nore mutiny of 1797, 101 witnesses were called for the Crown. This is a copy of the list as endorsed on the indictment, and delivered to each of the prisoners confined in Maidstone gaol for high treason.

1850
Inhabitants of Liverpool
Over 1600 inhabitants of Liverpool signed this petition to the Mayor, 14 November 1850, to 'call a Public Meeting, for the purpose of adopting an Address to the Queen, praying her Majesty to take such steps as may be deemed necessary to maintain the prerogative of the Crown against all Papal aggression.'

1860
Queen Victoria's Household
This list of the Queen's Household comprises: The Lord Chamberlain's Department; Office of the Robes; Medical Department; Chapel Royal, St James's; Chapel Royal, Whitehall; Windsor; Hampton Court; Kensington; The Lord Steward's Department; Board of Green Cloth; Pay Office; Ewry; Wine and Beer Cellars; Kitchen; Confectionery; Pastry; Bake House; Coffee Room; Table Deckers; Silver Pantry; Coal Yard; Lamplighters; Gentlemen Porters; Porters; Stewards' Room; Servants' Hall; State Porters; Marshalmen; Coroner; Almonry; Gardeners; Yeomen of the Guard; Gentlemen-at-Arms; Master of the Horse's Department; and The Royal Hunt.

1916
Military Medal for Bravery in the Field
King George V awarded the Military Medal for bravery in the field to these Non-Commissioned Officers and Men 11 November 1916.

1952
Aviators' Certificates
Lists of certificates granted by the Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom to newly-qualified aviators of powered aircraft: giving certificate number, full name, and name of his or her aero club, R.A.F. station, &c. Certificate numbers 27783 to 28078, issued from 30 November 1951 to 19 June 1952. This system of certification ended 24 March 1952, being replaced by pilots' certificates, in four classes.

(With thanks to The Original Record)

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

Second World War Glasgow street directories online

The National Library of Scotland's trade directories holdings on its Internet Archive page has added one more directory for Aberdeen and several from Glasgow during the Second World War:

• Post Office Aberdeen directory (Volume 1931-32)
• The Post-Office annual Glasgow directory (Volume 1941-42)
• The Post-Office annual Glasgow directory (Volume 1940-41)
• The Post-Office annual Glasgow directory (Volume 1939-40)
• The Post-Office annual Glasgow directory (Volume 1938-39)

The NLS pages on the site can be found at http://archive.org/details/nationallibraryofscotland - including 987 trade directories (compared to just over 700 on the library's own site at www.nls.uk)

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

Famous People of South Yorkshire talk

From The Star (in Yorkshire) at www.thestar.co.uk/news/news-in-brief-1-5327320:

Doncaster and District Family History Society will be hosting a talk by Frank Morley entitled: Who Do We Think They Are: Famous People of South Yorkshire, at the College for the Deaf on Leger Way, Doncaster, at 7.30pm, on Wednesday, January 30th. Non-members are welcome to attend. Admission is £2.

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

Chorley Remembers workshops

The Chorley Remembers project will be holding two workshops on March 11th and April 8th, at 6pm, in the community history section of Chorley Library. Further details at www.chorleycitizen.co.uk/news/10166262.Family_history_research_project_in_Chorley/.

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

Derry Jewish history talk

Foyle Family History Society in Derry is holding a talk by Phillippa Robinson on February 4th 2013 at Derry Central Library on the Jewish Communities of Derry – the stories of the Londonderry Hebrew Synagogue and the Derrycraft workers from Vienna.

For further details visit http://hmd.org.uk/events/find/northern-ireland/12932-foyle-family-history-society-derry-n-ireland-talk-on-local-jewish-community-history.

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

Geneabloggers celebrates 4 years

Congrats to Thomas MacEntee on today's fourth anniversary for the Geneabloggers blog, the blog that blogs about our blogs! A quick overview on how to use the site for your research, and how to get listed, is available at http://geneabloggers.com/geneabloggers-celebrates-years/.

(With thanks to Geneabloggers)

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

Free access to Irish BMD indexes on FindmyPast.com

Following the announcement earlier today of the new searchable Irish civil BMD indexes on the various FindmyPast platforms (see http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/findmypast-to-launch-irish-bmd-indexes.html), the US version of the website at www.findmypast.com has just announced that it will be providing free access to the indexes on the company's newly designated Irish Family History Day on January 24th (next Thursday), via a code that will be announced on its blog.

Further details at http://blog.findmypast.com/2013/01/18/new-records-21-million-irish-birth-marriage-and-death-records/.

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

Second issue of Discover Your Ancestors on the way

A second issue of the Discover Your Ancestors "bookazine" is on the cards, due to be published next month. Here's the blurb:

The long awaited second issue of Discover Your Ancestors bookazine is being compiled right now. We'll be lifting the lid on many aspects of social history that help contextualise family history research, including:

• Schools and prisons
• Researching non-conformists
• Military research and resources
• Maps
• Photos
• Bygone fashion and costumes
• Medical
• Cooking through the ages
• Exclusive! A mystery celebrity starts on his journey of discovery
• Regional focuses on Wales, Ireland and Scotland
• Federation of Family History Societies directory
• Professional Services to help budding genealogists
• Guidance on getting started on the family tree

Aimed largely at the newcomer to genealogy, but equally helpful and inspirational to the more experienced family historian, Discover Your Ancestors issue 2 will be launched at the Who Do you Think You Are Live! Show, 22-24 February 2013 at London Olympia.

Copies will immediately be available at all good newsagents in the UK and from March 2013 at selected premium newsagents overseas. The on sale period is 1 year or until fully sold. 25,000 copies will be circulated to fulfil demand.

A media press pack is available at http://dmgpublishing.co.uk/discoveryourancestors.pdf

(With thanks to Andrew Chapman)

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

Heraldry talk in Tudhoe

A heraldry talk will be given at the Tudhoe and Spenymoor Local History Society on January 28th by Ollie Burton. Further details at www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/10171758.Historian_s_talk_on_heraldry_and_North_East_families/

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

TNA podcast - probate records

The latest podcast from the National Archives at Kew is entitled Where there’s a will…: probate records for family history at The National Archives and beyond. It is accessible at http://media.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php/where-theres-a-will-probate-records-for-family-history-at-the-national-archives-and-beyond/ or freely downloadable from iTunes.

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

National Archives at Kew closes due to weather

An urgent note if you are planning to visit the National Archives at Kew tomorrow (Saturday) - it will be closed due to the severe weather in England just now. Further details at http://nationalarchives.gov.uk/news/999.htm

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.