From the Federation of Family History Societies (www.ffhs.org.uk), a note sent by Hillingdon Local Studies, Archives and Museum Service:
Hillingdon Local Studies, Archives and Museum Service will be closing to the public on 28 March as Uxbridge Library is closing for refurbishment. We will be in temporary accommodation with no public access for at least 9 months (possibly longer). We hope to be able to run a limited enquiry service, but will not have access to all our collections. Please ask anyone who wishes to use our collections to contact us by email at archives@hillingdon.gov.uk
(With thanks to Beryl Evans and Carolynne Cotton)
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.
Thursday, 28 February 2013
ScotFamTree March offer
The ScotFamTree forum is offering all members free access to look-ups from its resources throughout March, no matter which tier of membership has been signed up to, including Tier One (free membership). From the forum:
All Mad March Tier One members are entitled to 4 specific enquiries per person throughout the month of March......but please feel free to use all available look ups on the site
The forum itself is accessible at http://scotfamtree.b1.jcink.com - further details on how to subscribe are available at www.thesft.moonfruit.com.
(With thanks to Evelyn at SFT)
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.
All Mad March Tier One members are entitled to 4 specific enquiries per person throughout the month of March......but please feel free to use all available look ups on the site
The forum itself is accessible at http://scotfamtree.b1.jcink.com - further details on how to subscribe are available at www.thesft.moonfruit.com.
(With thanks to Evelyn at SFT)
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 - Convicts Petitions 1819-1858
The latest podcast from the National Archives at Kew is entitled Reckless, Rash and Repentant: Convicts Petitions for Mercy 1819-1858. The speakers are Briony Paxman and Chris Heather, and it runs at just under 45 minutes. To listen visit http://media.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php/reckless-rash-and-repentant-convicts-petitions-for-mercy-1819-1858/ or download for free 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.
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 Scotland adds 19th Century gazetteers
The National Library of Scotland (www.nls.uk) has added 20 volumes of gazetteers from across Scotland published between 1803 and 1901. Access is once again entirely free - from the NLS newsletter:
The gazetteers provide a comprehensive geographical encyclopaedia of Scotland and are of great value for local and family history. Principal places in Scotland - including towns, counties, castles, glens, antiquities and parishes - are listed alphabetically. The entries include detailed historical and geographical information about each place. The text from the gazetteers has been transcribed and can be searched by keyword.
The collection can be browsed and searched at http://digital.nls.uk/gazetteers-of-scotland-1803-1901/pageturner.cfm?id=97491608 - you will also find them on the Internet Archive at http://archive.org/details/scottishgazetteers.
The volumes date from 1803, 1806, 1825 (?), 1828, 1838, 1842, 1846, 1848, 1868, 1882, 1884-85, and 1901. Don't forget to also look up the Statistical Accounts of Scotland from the 1790s and 1830s/1840s at http://edina.ac.uk/stat-acc-scot/.
(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.
The gazetteers provide a comprehensive geographical encyclopaedia of Scotland and are of great value for local and family history. Principal places in Scotland - including towns, counties, castles, glens, antiquities and parishes - are listed alphabetically. The entries include detailed historical and geographical information about each place. The text from the gazetteers has been transcribed and can be searched by keyword.
The collection can be browsed and searched at http://digital.nls.uk/gazetteers-of-scotland-1803-1901/pageturner.cfm?id=97491608 - you will also find them on the Internet Archive at http://archive.org/details/scottishgazetteers.
The volumes date from 1803, 1806, 1825 (?), 1828, 1838, 1842, 1846, 1848, 1868, 1882, 1884-85, and 1901. Don't forget to also look up the Statistical Accounts of Scotland from the 1790s and 1830s/1840s at http://edina.ac.uk/stat-acc-scot/.
(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.
1922 Irish Military Census now fully searchable
The census carried out by the Irish Free State's army during the civil war in November 1922, which has been online since November 2012 in a browsable format (see http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/1922-irish-military-census-to-be.html) , is at long last fully searchable. For more information on the history of the census, visit www.militaryarchives.ie/collections/online-collections/military-archives-irish-army-census-records - to search, visit http://census.militaryarchives.ie.
I can't find the reference now, but I believe it contains some 30,000 names in 10 volumes (though will correct that if I've misremembered!). And just to add - they've done a beautiful job of the digitisation! Keep an eye out for further records coming soon from the War of Independence and Civil War period - including a great record set from Eneclann. More soon.
For a moving video on the war, see http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/irish-civil-war-video.html
UPDATE: The digitisation is superb - but some big clangers with the indexing. Monaghan spelt as Monaghen, and Carrick on Suir is apparently in County Roscommon, when it is actually in County Tipperary. Not a hundred per cent sure what's gone wrong, but some very odd errors!
UPDATE: If you can't find a name you are looking for, you can reorder the names when presented in the returns by clicking on the headings boxes - so making them rearrange into alphabetical order etc. That way you can look for surname variants, which may help.
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.
I can't find the reference now, but I believe it contains some 30,000 names in 10 volumes (though will correct that if I've misremembered!). And just to add - they've done a beautiful job of the digitisation! Keep an eye out for further records coming soon from the War of Independence and Civil War period - including a great record set from Eneclann. More soon.
For a moving video on the war, see http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/irish-civil-war-video.html
UPDATE: The digitisation is superb - but some big clangers with the indexing. Monaghan spelt as Monaghen, and Carrick on Suir is apparently in County Roscommon, when it is actually in County Tipperary. Not a hundred per cent sure what's gone wrong, but some very odd errors!
UPDATE: If you can't find a name you are looking for, you can reorder the names when presented in the returns by clicking on the headings boxes - so making them rearrange into alphabetical order etc. That way you can look for surname variants, which may help.
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.
Yorkshire OPC gets underway
The latest Online Parish Clerk site has got underway, this time for Yorkshire at www.yorkshire-opc.org.uk.
For additonal OPCs - with free look-ups and parish records transcriptions - see www.onlineparishclerks.org.uk (covering Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Essex, Hampshire, Lancashire, Somerset, Sussex, Warwickshire, Wiltshire)
(With thanks to @IanHartas)
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.
For additonal OPCs - with free look-ups and parish records transcriptions - see www.onlineparishclerks.org.uk (covering Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Essex, Hampshire, Lancashire, Somerset, Sussex, Warwickshire, Wiltshire)
(With thanks to @IanHartas)
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.
Wednesday, 27 February 2013
Longford Reaching Out
The Longford Reaching Out project kicks off from March 5th 1013 from Longford Library - it's the latest development from the Ireland Reaching Out (www.irelandxo.com) reverse genealogy initiative.
For further details read the Longford Leader's story at www.longfordleader.ie/lifestyle/your-life/initiative-that-helps-longford-people-to-reach-out-to-descendants-1-4831980
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.
For further details read the Longford Leader's story at www.longfordleader.ie/lifestyle/your-life/initiative-that-helps-longford-people-to-reach-out-to-descendants-1-4831980
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.
Brief suspension of Society of Genealogists look up service
I have had a note from Else Churchill, genealogist for the Society of Genealogists in London, to say that the society's enquiry and look up service is closed for six weeks whilst it is under review. You can still seek advice from the organisation's telephone advice service, details can be found on www.sog.org.uk.
Else has also stated that if you have an order for hard copy from data found on Findmypast or SoG Data online, please forward it to events @ sog.org.uk. All other queries will still be dealt with.
On another front, I've also noticed that the society's index of data available online has been updated on February 20th, and can be viewed on a PDF file at www.sog.org.uk/online/datsets.pdf.
(With thanks to Else)
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.
Else has also stated that if you have an order for hard copy from data found on Findmypast or SoG Data online, please forward it to events @ sog.org.uk. All other queries will still be dealt with.
On another front, I've also noticed that the society's index of data available online has been updated on February 20th, and can be viewed on a PDF file at www.sog.org.uk/online/datsets.pdf.
(With thanks to Else)
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.
Legacies of British Slave Ownership
I've just picked up an interesting tweet from none other than the Labour Party's Diane Abbott MP (thanks to a retweet from Pam Smith!), about an online resource from University College London called Legacies of British Slave-Ownership. The site has a searchable database of former slave owners from Britain - from the home page:
"Colonial slavery shaped modern Britain and we all still live with its legacies. The slave-owners were one very important means by which the fruits of slavery were transmitted to metropolitan Britain. We believe that research and analysis of this group are key to understanding the extent and the limits of slavery's role in shaping British history and leaving lasting legacies that reach into the present. The stories of enslaved men and women, however, are no less important than those of slave-owners, and we hope that the encyclopaedia produced in the first phase of the project, while at present primarily a resource for studying slave-owners, will also provide information of value to those researching enslaved people."
You can search the database by individuals or firm's names, or by info on addresses or within notes. The site is freely accessible at www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/.
I've just checked, and have found 72 slave owners from Glasgow, 3 from Belfast and 35 from Dublin - London returns 689 names.
(With thanks to Diane Abbott and Pam Smith)
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 slavery shaped modern Britain and we all still live with its legacies. The slave-owners were one very important means by which the fruits of slavery were transmitted to metropolitan Britain. We believe that research and analysis of this group are key to understanding the extent and the limits of slavery's role in shaping British history and leaving lasting legacies that reach into the present. The stories of enslaved men and women, however, are no less important than those of slave-owners, and we hope that the encyclopaedia produced in the first phase of the project, while at present primarily a resource for studying slave-owners, will also provide information of value to those researching enslaved people."
You can search the database by individuals or firm's names, or by info on addresses or within notes. The site is freely accessible at www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/.
I've just checked, and have found 72 slave owners from Glasgow, 3 from Belfast and 35 from Dublin - London returns 689 names.
(With thanks to Diane Abbott and Pam Smith)
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.
Tuesday, 26 February 2013
Coming soon - Lord Viscount Morpeth's Testimonial Roll
I've had the privilege this evening to preview a beta version of Ancestry's forthcoming major database - Ireland, Lord Viscount Morpeth's Testimonial Roll, 1841. Without giving the game away, all I will say for now is that how researchers use it will be very different to other collections available on the site. Ancestry has done a superb job both digitising and indexing the 412 metre length roll, and extracting its thousands of names through its World Archives Project - watch this space for more news soon!
In the meantime, what exactly is Lord Viscount Morpeth's Testimonial Roll? The best places to find some answers are on a blog post at http://russellpractice.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/lord-morpeths-roll-pre-famine-census-in.html, but also the December 2012 issue of Irish Lives Remembered, which has some wonderful images from the document - you'll find that at http://interactivepdf.uniflip.com/2/71043/289561/pub/ (the main mag is at www.irishlivesrememberd.com). Dan Jones' post on the Ancestry blog in 2010 is also worth a read at http://blogs.ancestry.com/uk/2010/04/26/is-this-the-worlds-longest-document/.
(With thanks to Ancestry)
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.
In the meantime, what exactly is Lord Viscount Morpeth's Testimonial Roll? The best places to find some answers are on a blog post at http://russellpractice.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/lord-morpeths-roll-pre-famine-census-in.html, but also the December 2012 issue of Irish Lives Remembered, which has some wonderful images from the document - you'll find that at http://interactivepdf.uniflip.com/2/71043/289561/pub/ (the main mag is at www.irishlivesrememberd.com). Dan Jones' post on the Ancestry blog in 2010 is also worth a read at http://blogs.ancestry.com/uk/2010/04/26/is-this-the-worlds-longest-document/.
(With thanks to Ancestry)
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.
SAFHS 25th anniversary conference - A Matter of Life and Death
The Scottish Association of Family History Societies has announced that its 25th anniversary conference - entitled A Matter of Life and Death - is to be held on April 26th 2014 at the Carnegie Conference Centre in Dunfermline. The full talks programme will be announced later in the year.
Meanwhile, the 24th conference, being organised by Borders FHS, is to take place in Galashiels on Saturday 11th May 2013.
Full details for both events can be found at http://safhs.org.uk/conference.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.
Meanwhile, the 24th conference, being organised by Borders FHS, is to take place in Galashiels on Saturday 11th May 2013.
Full details for both events can be found at http://safhs.org.uk/conference.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.
Southern Family History Day in Wilton
Wiltshire Family History Society is organising a Southern Family History Day on Saturday June 15th 2013, at Wilton Community Centre, Wilton.
Full details of the event are available at www.wiltshirefhs.co.uk/index.php/component/content/article?id=4121.
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.
Full details of the event are available at www.wiltshirefhs.co.uk/index.php/component/content/article?id=4121.
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.
Ireland's Family History Year
Tourism Ireland has announced that this year has been designated as Ireland's Family History Year, as part of plans for this years's Gathering on the island. Amongst the offerings will be a drop in centre in Dublin for people to carry out their family history research, which will get up and running throughout the Saint Patrick's Festival, and there's a dedicated Facebook page at www.facebook.com/IrelandFamilyHistory.
For the full story visit www.travelandtourworld.com/2013-announced-as-irelands-family-history-year/.
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.
For the full story visit www.travelandtourworld.com/2013-announced-as-irelands-family-history-year/.
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.
Military history and genealogy talk in Coleraine
Coleraine Family History Society (www.coleraine-fhs.org.uk), part of the North of Ireland Family History Society, will be hosting a talk by Richard Doherty called “Military History and Genealogy”, in the Guide Hall, Terrace Row, Coleraine, on Tuesday, February 26th at 8pm.
(With thanks to the Coleraine Times)
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.
(With thanks to the Coleraine Times)
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.
Discover Your Ancestors - new bookazine and magazine
News on the second edition of the annual Discover Your Ancestors bookazine - and the new monthly online version, from April:
Discover Your Ancestors issue 2 now on sale
Discover Your Ancestors Periodical launches in April
After a very successful launch issue of Discover Your Ancestors annual bookazine, we are delighted to announce the publication of the second issue.
Both helping newcomers to family history research and reinspiring the more seasoned researcher, the long awaited Discover Your Ancestors issue 2 is available from WHSmith and other quality news outlets both here in the UK and overseas.
“We are told that Discover Your Ancestors plays a vital role for budding family historians as it welcomes and encourages the next generation of family history researchers” says magazine publisher, Mark Galbraith. “For many of us family history research is interesting and can be made all the more so through really understanding how our ancestors lived their lives ” he continues. “It is time to show the uninitiated just how much pleasure can be had from growing one’s tree with the myriad resources now available”.
“In response to overwhelming reader enquiries and demand, we are very excited about the launch of our new online magazine – Discover Your Ancestors Periodical. This monthly online magazine has been developed in response to the many readers who would like to see more, but wish to read their favourite magazines using a variety of formats, Mr. Galbraith continues. “We launch this brand new service in April 2013, and will bring our readers a top quality digital magazine every month for just £1 per month on subscription. The subscription price has been kept low in order to encourage as many people as possible to sign up, whilst still retaining the high quality of absorbing content produced in print. We invite everyone - past print readers and brand new readers - to pre-register their interest at www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk “
For back issue enquiries of Discover Your Ancestors please call 01296 631273.
(With thanks to editor 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.
Discover Your Ancestors issue 2 now on sale
Discover Your Ancestors Periodical launches in April
After a very successful launch issue of Discover Your Ancestors annual bookazine, we are delighted to announce the publication of the second issue.Both helping newcomers to family history research and reinspiring the more seasoned researcher, the long awaited Discover Your Ancestors issue 2 is available from WHSmith and other quality news outlets both here in the UK and overseas.
“We are told that Discover Your Ancestors plays a vital role for budding family historians as it welcomes and encourages the next generation of family history researchers” says magazine publisher, Mark Galbraith. “For many of us family history research is interesting and can be made all the more so through really understanding how our ancestors lived their lives ” he continues. “It is time to show the uninitiated just how much pleasure can be had from growing one’s tree with the myriad resources now available”.
“In response to overwhelming reader enquiries and demand, we are very excited about the launch of our new online magazine – Discover Your Ancestors Periodical. This monthly online magazine has been developed in response to the many readers who would like to see more, but wish to read their favourite magazines using a variety of formats, Mr. Galbraith continues. “We launch this brand new service in April 2013, and will bring our readers a top quality digital magazine every month for just £1 per month on subscription. The subscription price has been kept low in order to encourage as many people as possible to sign up, whilst still retaining the high quality of absorbing content produced in print. We invite everyone - past print readers and brand new readers - to pre-register their interest at www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk “
For back issue enquiries of Discover Your Ancestors please call 01296 631273.
(With thanks to editor 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.
Monday, 25 February 2013
National Strategy for Business Archives in Scotland - 2 years on
The Business Archives Scotland blog has prepared a review of the National Strategy for Business Archives in Scotland after the second year of its implementation, along with an action plan for the year ahead. Full details are at http://businessarchivesscotland.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/2012-implementation-review.html. (Keep up the good work!)
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.
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 additions to The Original Record
From The Original Record (www.theoriginalrecord.com), the latest additions:
1809
Ordnance Staff
'An Account of the Establishment of the Office of Ordnance, as it stood at Midsummer 1809; with the Names of the Persons holding the several Offices; and the Salaries or Emoluments arising therefrom.' The return is set out in tabular form, on facing pages, giving: office; full name (or occasionally surname and initials); salaries and emoluments by His Majesty's warrant or by order of the Master-General and Board of the Ordnance - with separate columns for salaries by quarter books, by bill and debenture, and gratuities, house rent, coals and candles, stationery allowance, and pay of assistant clerks at the Tower and Pall Mall. There are returns for barrackmasters, clerks, porters, doorkeepers and messengers, senior officers; the gunpowder manufactories at Faversham and Waltham Abbey; the gunpowder magazines at Gravesend and Tilbury, Hyde Park, Keyham Point (near Plymouth), Picket Field (Hungerford), Priddy's Hard (Gosport), Purfleet, Tipner Point (near Portsmouth) and Upnor Castle (near Chatham); the Inland Depot at Weedon Beck; the Office of the Inspector of Artillery; the Royal Carriage Department; the Royal Laboratory; the Royal Military Academy; the Royal Military Repository; the Depots for Small Arms at Brecon, Briston, Bury St Edmunds, Chelmsford, Derby, Horsham, Lincoln and Shrewsbury; the Small Gun Department; and for the local staff at Antigua, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Cape of Good Hope, Carlisle, Ceylon, Chatham, Chester and Liverpool, Curacao, Demerara, Dominica, Dover, Gibraltar, Greenwich, Grenada, Guernsey, Halifax (Nova Scotia), Hampton and St James's, Hull, Isle of Man, Jamaica, Jersey, Landguard Fort and Harwich, Malta, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Pendennis Castle, Portsmouth, Quebec, Scarborough Castle, Scilly Island, Scotland, Sheerness, St Christopher, St Croix, St Lucia, St Thomas, St Vincent, Surinam, Tinmouth Castle and Clifford's Fort, Tobago, Trinidad, Windsor, Woolwich and Yarmouth.
1818
Ashton-under-Lyne Directory
'The Commercial Directory, for 1818-19-20, Containing the Names, Trades, and Situations of the Merchants, Manufacturers, Tradesmen, &c. in Ashton, Barnsley, Beverley, Bilston, &c. Birmingham, Blackburn, Bolton, Bradford, Burnley, Bury, Chester, Chesterfield, Chorley, Colne, Congleton, Coventry, Derby, Dewsbury, Doncaster, Dudley, Halifax, Heckmondwike, Huddersfield, Hull, Kidderminster, Lancaster, Leeds, Leek, Leicester, Liverpool, Macclesfield, Manchester, Newcastle and the whole of the Potteries, Nottingham, Oldham, Prescot, and St. Helens, Preston, Rochdale, Rotherham, Saddleworth, Selby, Sheffield, Stockport, Stourbridge, Tadcaster, Wakefield, Walsal, Warrington, Wigan, Wolverhampton, Wrexham & York. Together with A List of the London, Country, & Irish Bankers, Tables of the Current Coins of Twenty-eight Countries, With their relative value in British Money. Embellished with a New Map of England and Wales' was published by James Pigot, in Manchester, in 1818. The section for Ashton-under-Lyne is divided into: Attorneys; Auctioneers; Bookseller and Stationer; Boot and Shoe Makers; Cabinet Makers; Calico Printers; Canal Agents; Carriers to Manchester; Cloth Dressers; Clothes Dealers; Coal Merchants; Confectioners; Corn Dealers; Cotton Spinners; Cotton Spinners and Manufacturers; Drapers and Hosiers; Druggists; Fire Insurance Agents; Flour Dealers, Bakers, &c.; Grocers; Hat Manufacturers; Innkeepers; Ironfounders; Ironmongers; Joiners; Linen and Woollen Drapers; Liquor Merchants; Machine Makers; Miscellaneous; Muslin Manufacturers; Plumbers and Glaziers; Reed Makers; Saddlers; Straw Hat and Bonnet Makers; Surgeons; Tallow Chandlers; Taverns and Public Houses; Timber Merchants; Tinplate Workers; Wheelwrights; and Woollen Manufacturers. In most cases full name is given (surname first) and address.
1820-1824
Vagrants imprisoned in Essex
The return of persons committed under the Vagrant Laws to the Prisons and Houses of Correction in Essex includes lists of vagrants committed to the Houses of Correction at Barking, Chelmsford, Colchester and Saffron Walden, the Borough Gaol at Colchester, and the Gaol of the Liberty of Havering atte Bower. Full names are given, with a brief description of the acts of vagrancy, such as wandering abroad, begging, prostitution, abandoning family, idle and disorderly, &c. January 1820 to January 1824.
1837
London, Salisbury, Exeter, Plymouth and Falmouth Railway Shareholders
The return of the railway subscription contracts deposited in the Private Bill Office lists the shareholders in the London, Salisbury, Exeter, Plymouth and Falmouth Railway, subscribers to shares amounting to £1,410,865 towards the £1,700,000 estimated expense of the project. The list gives full name of each subscriber (or surname with initials), residence, addition (occupation), and sum subscribed.
1843
Subscribers to Willcolkes and Fryers' Arithmetic
'The United New and Much Admired System of Arithmetic and Mental Calculations, of Doctor Willcolkes and Messrs. T. and T. W. Fryer; Being the Result of Many Years’ Study. Eighth Edition, Much Enlarged and Carefully Revised' was published in 1843 in Derby. The list of subscribers includes sections for Ashton, Beverley, Boston, Dewsbury, Doncaster, Grantham, Halifax, Heckmondwike, Huddersfield, Hull, Ireland, Leeds, Lincoln, Liverpool, Manchester, Newark, Oldham, Rochdale, Rotherham, Sheffield, Stalybridge, Stamford, Stockport, Wakefield, Warrington, as well as separate lists of bankers and principals of seminaries. More precise addresses are rarely given, christian names hardly ever.
1855
Killed and Wounded before Sebastopol
The Adjutant-General's return of British officers and men killed and wounded before Sebastopol in the final days before the fall of the city, 3 to 6 September 1855. The lists of wounded generally specify whether 'slightly', 'severely' or 'dangerously'. Full names are given, with regimental number and rank. There are separate returns for the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 7th, 9th, 14th, 17th, 18th, 21st, 23rd, 28th, 30th, 31st, 31st, 33rd, 34th, 38th, 41st, 46th, 48th, 49th, 55th, 56th, 62nd, 63rd, 68th, 77th, 88th, 89th, 90th, 95th and 97th regiments of Foot, the 1st and 2nd battalions Rifle Brigades, the 1st battalion Coldstream Guards, 1st battalion Scots Fusilier Guards, 3rd battalion Grenadier Guards, the Royal Naval Brigade, and the Royal Sappers and Miners, all of which have been indexed separately.
1890
County Court Judgments: England and Wales
Extracts from the Registry of County Courts' Judgments. These judgments were not necessarily for debt. In some cases they were for damages on properly disputed causes of action, but no distinction was made on the Register. Judgments settled otherwise than through the Court may appear, unless 'Satisfaction' was entered up within the fourteen days allowed for that purpose. These printed extracts include occasional notes giving more detail about certain cases, and also list Satisfactions entered on the Register.
Surname Source Books
13,830 Surnames Available
www.theoriginalrecord.com/database/ebooks
Collections of entries for individual surnames from historical records from the British Isles and colonies from the 11th to the 20th centuries, hand indexed and extracted by surname, and available as ebook (£75) or DVD (£90). Each ebook contains the full set of descriptions and matching scans for the particular surname from the 10 million and more records hand indexed by Theoriginalrecord.com. All scans are in PDF format.
www.theoriginalrecord.com/database/ebooks
Each Surname Source Book contains the records relating to the surname in question, gathered from the archives of theoriginalrecord.com as of the time of purchase. These archives contain over 10 million surname-indexed items from the British Isles and the colonies, dating from the time of the first heritable surnames in the 11th century, through to 1958.
(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.
1809
Ordnance Staff
'An Account of the Establishment of the Office of Ordnance, as it stood at Midsummer 1809; with the Names of the Persons holding the several Offices; and the Salaries or Emoluments arising therefrom.' The return is set out in tabular form, on facing pages, giving: office; full name (or occasionally surname and initials); salaries and emoluments by His Majesty's warrant or by order of the Master-General and Board of the Ordnance - with separate columns for salaries by quarter books, by bill and debenture, and gratuities, house rent, coals and candles, stationery allowance, and pay of assistant clerks at the Tower and Pall Mall. There are returns for barrackmasters, clerks, porters, doorkeepers and messengers, senior officers; the gunpowder manufactories at Faversham and Waltham Abbey; the gunpowder magazines at Gravesend and Tilbury, Hyde Park, Keyham Point (near Plymouth), Picket Field (Hungerford), Priddy's Hard (Gosport), Purfleet, Tipner Point (near Portsmouth) and Upnor Castle (near Chatham); the Inland Depot at Weedon Beck; the Office of the Inspector of Artillery; the Royal Carriage Department; the Royal Laboratory; the Royal Military Academy; the Royal Military Repository; the Depots for Small Arms at Brecon, Briston, Bury St Edmunds, Chelmsford, Derby, Horsham, Lincoln and Shrewsbury; the Small Gun Department; and for the local staff at Antigua, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Cape of Good Hope, Carlisle, Ceylon, Chatham, Chester and Liverpool, Curacao, Demerara, Dominica, Dover, Gibraltar, Greenwich, Grenada, Guernsey, Halifax (Nova Scotia), Hampton and St James's, Hull, Isle of Man, Jamaica, Jersey, Landguard Fort and Harwich, Malta, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Pendennis Castle, Portsmouth, Quebec, Scarborough Castle, Scilly Island, Scotland, Sheerness, St Christopher, St Croix, St Lucia, St Thomas, St Vincent, Surinam, Tinmouth Castle and Clifford's Fort, Tobago, Trinidad, Windsor, Woolwich and Yarmouth.
1818
Ashton-under-Lyne Directory
'The Commercial Directory, for 1818-19-20, Containing the Names, Trades, and Situations of the Merchants, Manufacturers, Tradesmen, &c. in Ashton, Barnsley, Beverley, Bilston, &c. Birmingham, Blackburn, Bolton, Bradford, Burnley, Bury, Chester, Chesterfield, Chorley, Colne, Congleton, Coventry, Derby, Dewsbury, Doncaster, Dudley, Halifax, Heckmondwike, Huddersfield, Hull, Kidderminster, Lancaster, Leeds, Leek, Leicester, Liverpool, Macclesfield, Manchester, Newcastle and the whole of the Potteries, Nottingham, Oldham, Prescot, and St. Helens, Preston, Rochdale, Rotherham, Saddleworth, Selby, Sheffield, Stockport, Stourbridge, Tadcaster, Wakefield, Walsal, Warrington, Wigan, Wolverhampton, Wrexham & York. Together with A List of the London, Country, & Irish Bankers, Tables of the Current Coins of Twenty-eight Countries, With their relative value in British Money. Embellished with a New Map of England and Wales' was published by James Pigot, in Manchester, in 1818. The section for Ashton-under-Lyne is divided into: Attorneys; Auctioneers; Bookseller and Stationer; Boot and Shoe Makers; Cabinet Makers; Calico Printers; Canal Agents; Carriers to Manchester; Cloth Dressers; Clothes Dealers; Coal Merchants; Confectioners; Corn Dealers; Cotton Spinners; Cotton Spinners and Manufacturers; Drapers and Hosiers; Druggists; Fire Insurance Agents; Flour Dealers, Bakers, &c.; Grocers; Hat Manufacturers; Innkeepers; Ironfounders; Ironmongers; Joiners; Linen and Woollen Drapers; Liquor Merchants; Machine Makers; Miscellaneous; Muslin Manufacturers; Plumbers and Glaziers; Reed Makers; Saddlers; Straw Hat and Bonnet Makers; Surgeons; Tallow Chandlers; Taverns and Public Houses; Timber Merchants; Tinplate Workers; Wheelwrights; and Woollen Manufacturers. In most cases full name is given (surname first) and address.
1820-1824
Vagrants imprisoned in Essex
The return of persons committed under the Vagrant Laws to the Prisons and Houses of Correction in Essex includes lists of vagrants committed to the Houses of Correction at Barking, Chelmsford, Colchester and Saffron Walden, the Borough Gaol at Colchester, and the Gaol of the Liberty of Havering atte Bower. Full names are given, with a brief description of the acts of vagrancy, such as wandering abroad, begging, prostitution, abandoning family, idle and disorderly, &c. January 1820 to January 1824.
1837
London, Salisbury, Exeter, Plymouth and Falmouth Railway Shareholders
The return of the railway subscription contracts deposited in the Private Bill Office lists the shareholders in the London, Salisbury, Exeter, Plymouth and Falmouth Railway, subscribers to shares amounting to £1,410,865 towards the £1,700,000 estimated expense of the project. The list gives full name of each subscriber (or surname with initials), residence, addition (occupation), and sum subscribed.
1843
Subscribers to Willcolkes and Fryers' Arithmetic
'The United New and Much Admired System of Arithmetic and Mental Calculations, of Doctor Willcolkes and Messrs. T. and T. W. Fryer; Being the Result of Many Years’ Study. Eighth Edition, Much Enlarged and Carefully Revised' was published in 1843 in Derby. The list of subscribers includes sections for Ashton, Beverley, Boston, Dewsbury, Doncaster, Grantham, Halifax, Heckmondwike, Huddersfield, Hull, Ireland, Leeds, Lincoln, Liverpool, Manchester, Newark, Oldham, Rochdale, Rotherham, Sheffield, Stalybridge, Stamford, Stockport, Wakefield, Warrington, as well as separate lists of bankers and principals of seminaries. More precise addresses are rarely given, christian names hardly ever.
1855
Killed and Wounded before Sebastopol
The Adjutant-General's return of British officers and men killed and wounded before Sebastopol in the final days before the fall of the city, 3 to 6 September 1855. The lists of wounded generally specify whether 'slightly', 'severely' or 'dangerously'. Full names are given, with regimental number and rank. There are separate returns for the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 7th, 9th, 14th, 17th, 18th, 21st, 23rd, 28th, 30th, 31st, 31st, 33rd, 34th, 38th, 41st, 46th, 48th, 49th, 55th, 56th, 62nd, 63rd, 68th, 77th, 88th, 89th, 90th, 95th and 97th regiments of Foot, the 1st and 2nd battalions Rifle Brigades, the 1st battalion Coldstream Guards, 1st battalion Scots Fusilier Guards, 3rd battalion Grenadier Guards, the Royal Naval Brigade, and the Royal Sappers and Miners, all of which have been indexed separately.
1890
County Court Judgments: England and Wales
Extracts from the Registry of County Courts' Judgments. These judgments were not necessarily for debt. In some cases they were for damages on properly disputed causes of action, but no distinction was made on the Register. Judgments settled otherwise than through the Court may appear, unless 'Satisfaction' was entered up within the fourteen days allowed for that purpose. These printed extracts include occasional notes giving more detail about certain cases, and also list Satisfactions entered on the Register.
Surname Source Books
13,830 Surnames Available
www.theoriginalrecord.com/database/ebooks
Collections of entries for individual surnames from historical records from the British Isles and colonies from the 11th to the 20th centuries, hand indexed and extracted by surname, and available as ebook (£75) or DVD (£90). Each ebook contains the full set of descriptions and matching scans for the particular surname from the 10 million and more records hand indexed by Theoriginalrecord.com. All scans are in PDF format.
www.theoriginalrecord.com/database/ebooks
Each Surname Source Book contains the records relating to the surname in question, gathered from the archives of theoriginalrecord.com as of the time of purchase. These archives contain over 10 million surname-indexed items from the British Isles and the colonies, dating from the time of the first heritable surnames in the 11th century, through to 1958.
(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.
Tayroots Family History Day - events programme
From Angus Council, some news of its Tartan Day event in Dundee on April 5th, at which I will be one of the speakers:
Tayroots Family History Day as part of this year’s Tartan Day Scotland Festival
Discovery Point Antarctic Museum, Dundee
Friday 5 April 2013, 10am – 4pm, Free
Visit the Tayroots Family History Day and enjoy an event devoted to local and family history at the unique Discovery Point, one of Scotland’s most exciting and innovative visitor centres, situated on the banks of the River Tay.
Programme:
10.00am Doors Open
10.15am – 11.15am “The Godly Commonwealth" with professional genealogist Chris Paton. Understanding the Kirk's role and history in Scottish society, and its many splits, is crucial to understanding how to locate its records to help with family history research prior to the implementation of civil registration in 1855.
10.30am – 12.30pm “Introduction to Tracing Your Family History Workshop” with Marie Dougan, ancestral consultant. If you’re just getting started, then this workshop is for you. It will provide you with the knowledge and skills to start building up your own family history and a family tree. It will begin with an overview of the information you should collect from relatives to get you started and will also look at how you can find a variety of records online, as well as suggest places to visit to help build up your family information. There will be activities to help you start recording your information and to help you extract information from different records.
11.30am – 11.45am “The Scottish Local History Forum – Who are they?” with John Irvine, genealogist and local historian. A useful insight into the Forum’s history and its future, with an overview of how their publications can help researchers.
12.00pm – 1.00pm “Family Treasures – Worth Researching?” Pictures, jewellery, ceramics – even teddy bears – are passed from generation to generation and may have an important bearing on a family’s history – and a value! The Courier’s antiques columnist and well known historian Norman Watson will discuss how to identify, investigate and care for your precious family treasures.
1.30pm – 3.30pm “Taking Your Family History Further Workshop” with Marie Dougan, ancestral consultant. This workshop is ideal for those who have already started building their family tree and are looking for suggestions to help build this further. It will look at various sources of information online and also explore sources beyond the records for births, marriages, deaths and censuses. It will cover aspects of recording and organising your information, including the use of family history software. Case studies and some hands-on activities will be included.
1.45pm – 3.45pm “Discovering Photography, People and Places” with Malcolm and Andrew Valentine, descendants of one of Dundee’s famous publishing families. Enjoy a brief history of Valentine’s, with examples of local views from the 1890s to 1960s, followed by a workshop which will provide advice on the research of photographs and the part they can play in your family history research.
All Day “Ask the Experts”. There will be a number of expert groups on hand to offer help and advice, including a Helpdesk with John Irvine, who will available throughout the day to answer all of your family history and local history queries.
Participants at the Tayroots Family History Day can also visit the Discovery for the reduced rate of £5.25 and enjoy a 10% discount in the café. Places for the workshops and talks are limited so please visit www.angusheritage.com/tayrootsday to book or call 01307 473226.
[I look forward to seeing you there!]
(With thanks to Gillian Black)
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.
Tayroots Family History Day as part of this year’s Tartan Day Scotland Festival
Discovery Point Antarctic Museum, Dundee Friday 5 April 2013, 10am – 4pm, Free
Visit the Tayroots Family History Day and enjoy an event devoted to local and family history at the unique Discovery Point, one of Scotland’s most exciting and innovative visitor centres, situated on the banks of the River Tay.
Programme:
10.00am Doors Open
10.15am – 11.15am “The Godly Commonwealth" with professional genealogist Chris Paton. Understanding the Kirk's role and history in Scottish society, and its many splits, is crucial to understanding how to locate its records to help with family history research prior to the implementation of civil registration in 1855.
10.30am – 12.30pm “Introduction to Tracing Your Family History Workshop” with Marie Dougan, ancestral consultant. If you’re just getting started, then this workshop is for you. It will provide you with the knowledge and skills to start building up your own family history and a family tree. It will begin with an overview of the information you should collect from relatives to get you started and will also look at how you can find a variety of records online, as well as suggest places to visit to help build up your family information. There will be activities to help you start recording your information and to help you extract information from different records.
11.30am – 11.45am “The Scottish Local History Forum – Who are they?” with John Irvine, genealogist and local historian. A useful insight into the Forum’s history and its future, with an overview of how their publications can help researchers.
12.00pm – 1.00pm “Family Treasures – Worth Researching?” Pictures, jewellery, ceramics – even teddy bears – are passed from generation to generation and may have an important bearing on a family’s history – and a value! The Courier’s antiques columnist and well known historian Norman Watson will discuss how to identify, investigate and care for your precious family treasures.
1.30pm – 3.30pm “Taking Your Family History Further Workshop” with Marie Dougan, ancestral consultant. This workshop is ideal for those who have already started building their family tree and are looking for suggestions to help build this further. It will look at various sources of information online and also explore sources beyond the records for births, marriages, deaths and censuses. It will cover aspects of recording and organising your information, including the use of family history software. Case studies and some hands-on activities will be included.
1.45pm – 3.45pm “Discovering Photography, People and Places” with Malcolm and Andrew Valentine, descendants of one of Dundee’s famous publishing families. Enjoy a brief history of Valentine’s, with examples of local views from the 1890s to 1960s, followed by a workshop which will provide advice on the research of photographs and the part they can play in your family history research.
All Day “Ask the Experts”. There will be a number of expert groups on hand to offer help and advice, including a Helpdesk with John Irvine, who will available throughout the day to answer all of your family history and local history queries.
Participants at the Tayroots Family History Day can also visit the Discovery for the reduced rate of £5.25 and enjoy a 10% discount in the café. Places for the workshops and talks are limited so please visit www.angusheritage.com/tayrootsday to book or call 01307 473226.
[I look forward to seeing you there!]
(With thanks to Gillian Black)
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.
Bell tolling for the US based SSDI?
Judy G. Russell has another post on the developing saga surrounding the US based Social Security Death Index or SSDI, an immensely useful tool for those with American based genealogical connections - the post is at www.legalgenealogist.com/blog/2013/02/25/now-there-are-three/.
Essentially, three bills have now been introduced to restrict access to its contents to prevent fraudulent misuse of the data - read why American politicians seem unable to grasp the plot on Judy's post!
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.
Essentially, three bills have now been introduced to restrict access to its contents to prevent fraudulent misuse of the data - read why American politicians seem unable to grasp the plot on Judy's post!
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 Naturalisation and Denization records online
From The Genealogist (www.thegenealogist.co.uk):
NEW Naturalisation and Denization Records
Did your ancestor move to Britain? Did they become a British citizen like the late celebrity food critic Egon Ronay or Nobel Prize Winner Elias Canetti? Find them in the new records on TheGenealogist!
Over 150,000 unique Naturalisation and Denization Records are now available on TheGenealogist with records ranging from 1609 to 1960, over 300 years worth of rare and hard to find records that are now available for family historians.
With over 145,000 records of overseas nationals achieving British Naturalisation plus over 5,000 Huguenot records now added as well, there’s a wealth of unique information to access. Combined with the latest search technology, it’s now possible to search and discover these records quickly and easily.
Before 1844, naturalisation was granted by a private act of parliament. This process of naturalisation was expensive and only a few could afford it. Denization on the other hand, although requiring a payment was a more affordable option.
Naturalisation records are an invaluable way of tracking down an ancestor who was born abroad and then settled in the UK. With the political and social upheavals over the last few centuries, many people have made the journey to the UK to start a new life.
There’s a substantial chance that many family history researchers will discover they have ancestors who originated from overseas.
As well as providing the date an ancestor may have received British Naturalisation or Denization, other details are provided such as changing their name when they arrived in the UK, for example Jonas Kaluzevicius in our records changed his name to a more English John Smith! It’s all listed within the extensive records of TheGenealogist.
For those researchers who knew their ancestors originated from abroad, or if it’s a brand new surprising discovery, the new set of records provide more information on those previously hard to find records.
(With thanks to David Osborne)
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 Naturalisation and Denization Records
Did your ancestor move to Britain? Did they become a British citizen like the late celebrity food critic Egon Ronay or Nobel Prize Winner Elias Canetti? Find them in the new records on TheGenealogist!
Over 150,000 unique Naturalisation and Denization Records are now available on TheGenealogist with records ranging from 1609 to 1960, over 300 years worth of rare and hard to find records that are now available for family historians.
With over 145,000 records of overseas nationals achieving British Naturalisation plus over 5,000 Huguenot records now added as well, there’s a wealth of unique information to access. Combined with the latest search technology, it’s now possible to search and discover these records quickly and easily.
Before 1844, naturalisation was granted by a private act of parliament. This process of naturalisation was expensive and only a few could afford it. Denization on the other hand, although requiring a payment was a more affordable option.
Naturalisation records are an invaluable way of tracking down an ancestor who was born abroad and then settled in the UK. With the political and social upheavals over the last few centuries, many people have made the journey to the UK to start a new life.
There’s a substantial chance that many family history researchers will discover they have ancestors who originated from overseas.
As well as providing the date an ancestor may have received British Naturalisation or Denization, other details are provided such as changing their name when they arrived in the UK, for example Jonas Kaluzevicius in our records changed his name to a more English John Smith! It’s all listed within the extensive records of TheGenealogist.
For those researchers who knew their ancestors originated from abroad, or if it’s a brand new surprising discovery, the new set of records provide more information on those previously hard to find records.
(With thanks to David Osborne)
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.
War Memorial Records on The Genealogist
From The Genealogist (www.thegenealogist.co.uk):
Fully searchable War Memorial Records launched with images of each name!
The Genealogist has launched a unique service that allows you to find your ancestor on the largest collection of combined War Memorial records and images currently available anywhere.
With 100,000 records at the launch at WDYTYA Live and a fast growing coverage it could quickly find those ancestors with a memorial.
Records ranging from soldiers lost in the Boer War in 1901 to more modern day conflicts such as in Northern Ireland, there are a number of records to access in our War Memorial collection.
Using the sophisticated search technology, with just the basic details, you can locate full information on where a soldier is commemorated, find out more details such as the regiment he was in and full location of the War Memorial and even see images of the war memorial itself to view the name of your ancestor!
This is the first time that a fully searchable database of war memorials, complete with images has been made available online. It’s also the first time genealogical records have been linked in with other services to provide a great wealth of information.
Each transcript brings up details of the memorial with overview images of the entire memorial and is connected to Google Maps with StreetView to see the precise location of the memorial. The memorial is in turn linked to the Imperial War Museum’s Memorial Archive, giving you further details about the memorial, such as who built it, when it was built, who paid for it and more.
Find your ancestor using just their name, locate their memorial and add the images and information to your family history records or even plan your visit!
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.
Fully searchable War Memorial Records launched with images of each name!
The Genealogist has launched a unique service that allows you to find your ancestor on the largest collection of combined War Memorial records and images currently available anywhere.
With 100,000 records at the launch at WDYTYA Live and a fast growing coverage it could quickly find those ancestors with a memorial.
Records ranging from soldiers lost in the Boer War in 1901 to more modern day conflicts such as in Northern Ireland, there are a number of records to access in our War Memorial collection.
Using the sophisticated search technology, with just the basic details, you can locate full information on where a soldier is commemorated, find out more details such as the regiment he was in and full location of the War Memorial and even see images of the war memorial itself to view the name of your ancestor!
This is the first time that a fully searchable database of war memorials, complete with images has been made available online. It’s also the first time genealogical records have been linked in with other services to provide a great wealth of information.
Each transcript brings up details of the memorial with overview images of the entire memorial and is connected to Google Maps with StreetView to see the precise location of the memorial. The memorial is in turn linked to the Imperial War Museum’s Memorial Archive, giving you further details about the memorial, such as who built it, when it was built, who paid for it and more.
Find your ancestor using just their name, locate their memorial and add the images and information to your family history records or even plan your visit!
Chris
(With thanks to David Osborne; also to Nigel and Mark Bayley for the personal demo on Sunday before the event opened!)
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 Genealogist - WW1 Casualty Lists database
The first of three press releases from The Genealogist (www.thegenealogist.co.uk):
According to War Office statistics, the First World War claimed the lives of over 700,000 British soldiers. 170,000 were captured as prisoners of war and a staggering 1.6 million soldiers were injured. Now with the new collection of Casualty Lists, you can see the names behind the figures!
This unique resource is available as a fully searchable database for the first time.
TheGenealogist is launching at ‘WDYTYA Live’ a major new military collection to help you find more out about your ancestors that fought in The Great War. The collection is a list of soldiers of all ranks who were reported as injured, missing or prisoners of war by The War Office.
The coverage at launch covers the War Office’s ‘Weekly Casualty Lists’ from 1917-18 and this will be expanded by the daily casualty lists to cover from September 1914 to the last reports of 1919, as reports were still being published well after the war had officially ceased.
There are over 600,000 records available at launch which will grow to cover the entirety of World War One. From the first records of British losses through to early 1919, there’s more information than ever for family historians to access, to find out what their ancestors did in the Great War. With casualty lists listing all ranks from war office published lists, rolls of honour and other reports of the time, it’s all on TheGenealogist.
Using the sophisticated search features, it’s now possible to just add the basic details and go straight to a record of your ancestor if they were wounded or classed as missing in the Great War.
(With thanks to David Osborne)
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.
According to War Office statistics, the First World War claimed the lives of over 700,000 British soldiers. 170,000 were captured as prisoners of war and a staggering 1.6 million soldiers were injured. Now with the new collection of Casualty Lists, you can see the names behind the figures! This unique resource is available as a fully searchable database for the first time.
TheGenealogist is launching at ‘WDYTYA Live’ a major new military collection to help you find more out about your ancestors that fought in The Great War. The collection is a list of soldiers of all ranks who were reported as injured, missing or prisoners of war by The War Office.
The coverage at launch covers the War Office’s ‘Weekly Casualty Lists’ from 1917-18 and this will be expanded by the daily casualty lists to cover from September 1914 to the last reports of 1919, as reports were still being published well after the war had officially ceased.
There are over 600,000 records available at launch which will grow to cover the entirety of World War One. From the first records of British losses through to early 1919, there’s more information than ever for family historians to access, to find out what their ancestors did in the Great War. With casualty lists listing all ranks from war office published lists, rolls of honour and other reports of the time, it’s all on TheGenealogist.
Using the sophisticated search features, it’s now possible to just add the basic details and go straight to a record of your ancestor if they were wounded or classed as missing in the Great War.
(With thanks to David Osborne)
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 WDYTYA Live news
I'm back in good auld Alba after a fairly exhausting few days down south at the Who Do You Think You Are Live event in London. I have previously blogged about the first two days of the event at http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/who-do-you-think-you-are-live-2013-2.html - here's the final instalment!
The two talks that I gave on Friday and Saturday, concerning Scottish marriage and online Irish resources were both sell outs, and thankfully went down well - I like to do talks on serious subjects, but not necessarily in a serious way! Sunday, however, was a much quieter affair, with just a book signing to do for my Irish book, which sold out by 11am. Thanks to all those who purchased a copy - I've had a lot of great feedback so far, and the book will be formally published in April. If you pre-order a copy it will be sent out to you at the start of the month, I've been told, despite the website stating April 30th as the official publishing date (all Pen and Sword Books have the 30th as a date of publishing apparently, but it is only a rough estimate).
The show itself was considerably quieter on Sunday, taking the event back to the same sort of pattern as experienced in most years (with last year being something of an exception). I was able to meet and greet a few more of the vendors, and thankfully discovered some useful releases. Here's a quick run down...
In my previous post I mentioned that there seemed to be no major launches on the records front, other than FindmyPast's new court records, but in fact the vendor really going to town with new material was The Genealogist (www.thegenealogist.co.uk) with several new collections. The site has just released 150,000 Naturalisation and Denization Records covering the period from 1609-1960 - these break down to 145,000 naturalisation records and 5000 Huguenot records. They show when foreigners formally became British citizens (by an Act of Parliament prior to 1844) and include details of any name changes that may have been undertaken by the applicant. The site also has a new War Memorials section, with well over 100,000 names, based on a project from Mark Herber, which allows you to search by name, find the war memorial, a photograph of the name on it (including a nifty Google Street View link at the cemetery itself), and with links to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website and more - this is a project that will continue to develop and grow. A third collection launched was that listing First World War casualties, both wounded and killed (from published War Office Weekly Casualty List returns), another major useful resource. I'll bring you more on these when I get the formal press releases, but I have had a play with the latter in particular, and it is brilliant.
I've finally joined the North of Ireland Family History Society (www.nifhs.org), which now has a new library facility in Newtonabbey in County Antrim, near the Abbey Centre - the Newtonabbey branch itself also now has a new Facebook page available at www.facebook.com/NewtownabbeyFHS. The main group itself has now published its first in a series of guides on Ulster, entitled "Researching Your Ancestors in the North of Ireland: County Monaghan". It's a handy wee guide with detailed breakdowns of the existence of parish records, microfilm numbers and location, and coverage, as well as for other records - well worth obtaining.
On the Scottish front, I caught up with Dee Williams of ScotlandsPeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk), and the next item up soon for release is the 1895 Valuation Roll for Scotland. Attention is also once again being turned to getting the long promised and already digitised kirk session records online, though discussions on exactly where and how that will be made available are ongoing - Scottish soldiers wills from the First World War is another project on the cards. I also caught up with the Deceased Online team (www.deceasedonline.com), and there are more records coming soon, with more material for Aberdeenshire (I had not realised the whole county was not yet online), and for one other authority in the Highlands in the near future - more on that in due course.
I've been asked to plug a couple of events and releases, which I will do via separate posts in the near future.
Overall, this year was a busier event, with fewer vendors in attendance, notably on the southern Irish and military areas, meaning stalls were slightly further apart this year, making it much easier to get about! The same energy was there as usual, and lots of people left as very happy bunnies. I look forward to the next event in 2014! A big thank you to Bob and Liz Blatchford, with whom I worked on the Family and Local History Handbook stall - very shortly I will be running two competitions on this blog, the prizes for the first being copies of both the new Irish and UK handbooks, and the prize for the other being my very own new book on Irish research online. Stay tuned!
Finally, just to show that it truly is the case that eventually the law gets us all - geneablogging can be a dangerous game at times....!
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 two talks that I gave on Friday and Saturday, concerning Scottish marriage and online Irish resources were both sell outs, and thankfully went down well - I like to do talks on serious subjects, but not necessarily in a serious way! Sunday, however, was a much quieter affair, with just a book signing to do for my Irish book, which sold out by 11am. Thanks to all those who purchased a copy - I've had a lot of great feedback so far, and the book will be formally published in April. If you pre-order a copy it will be sent out to you at the start of the month, I've been told, despite the website stating April 30th as the official publishing date (all Pen and Sword Books have the 30th as a date of publishing apparently, but it is only a rough estimate).
The show itself was considerably quieter on Sunday, taking the event back to the same sort of pattern as experienced in most years (with last year being something of an exception). I was able to meet and greet a few more of the vendors, and thankfully discovered some useful releases. Here's a quick run down... In my previous post I mentioned that there seemed to be no major launches on the records front, other than FindmyPast's new court records, but in fact the vendor really going to town with new material was The Genealogist (www.thegenealogist.co.uk) with several new collections. The site has just released 150,000 Naturalisation and Denization Records covering the period from 1609-1960 - these break down to 145,000 naturalisation records and 5000 Huguenot records. They show when foreigners formally became British citizens (by an Act of Parliament prior to 1844) and include details of any name changes that may have been undertaken by the applicant. The site also has a new War Memorials section, with well over 100,000 names, based on a project from Mark Herber, which allows you to search by name, find the war memorial, a photograph of the name on it (including a nifty Google Street View link at the cemetery itself), and with links to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website and more - this is a project that will continue to develop and grow. A third collection launched was that listing First World War casualties, both wounded and killed (from published War Office Weekly Casualty List returns), another major useful resource. I'll bring you more on these when I get the formal press releases, but I have had a play with the latter in particular, and it is brilliant.
I've finally joined the North of Ireland Family History Society (www.nifhs.org), which now has a new library facility in Newtonabbey in County Antrim, near the Abbey Centre - the Newtonabbey branch itself also now has a new Facebook page available at www.facebook.com/NewtownabbeyFHS. The main group itself has now published its first in a series of guides on Ulster, entitled "Researching Your Ancestors in the North of Ireland: County Monaghan". It's a handy wee guide with detailed breakdowns of the existence of parish records, microfilm numbers and location, and coverage, as well as for other records - well worth obtaining. 
On the Scottish front, I caught up with Dee Williams of ScotlandsPeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk), and the next item up soon for release is the 1895 Valuation Roll for Scotland. Attention is also once again being turned to getting the long promised and already digitised kirk session records online, though discussions on exactly where and how that will be made available are ongoing - Scottish soldiers wills from the First World War is another project on the cards. I also caught up with the Deceased Online team (www.deceasedonline.com), and there are more records coming soon, with more material for Aberdeenshire (I had not realised the whole county was not yet online), and for one other authority in the Highlands in the near future - more on that in due course.I've been asked to plug a couple of events and releases, which I will do via separate posts in the near future.
Overall, this year was a busier event, with fewer vendors in attendance, notably on the southern Irish and military areas, meaning stalls were slightly further apart this year, making it much easier to get about! The same energy was there as usual, and lots of people left as very happy bunnies. I look forward to the next event in 2014! A big thank you to Bob and Liz Blatchford, with whom I worked on the Family and Local History Handbook stall - very shortly I will be running two competitions on this blog, the prizes for the first being copies of both the new Irish and UK handbooks, and the prize for the other being my very own new book on Irish research online. Stay tuned!Finally, just to show that it truly is the case that eventually the law gets us all - geneablogging can be a dangerous game at times....!
 |
| Guilty, m'lud... |
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.
Sunday, 24 February 2013
Canterbury Collection update
Another wee bit of news, thanks to David Wharton of Folkestone and District FHS - FindmyPast UK (www.findmypast.co.uk) has added indexes and links to images for the Canterbury Collection of parish registers for east Kent.
(Thanks to David)
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.
(Thanks to David)
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.
Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 - 2 days in, 1 to go...
It's been a mad couple of days so far at Who Do You Think You Are Live in London, in what has been one of the busiest events I can remember. I have no idea what the footfall is just yet, but having worked at the show every year bar the first one, this year has felt absolutely manic - both by myself and by most vendors I have spoken to. Hopefully that means good returns for all in attendance!
From a news point of view, it is an odd year, in that there are no major new vendors seemingly here, and little by way of major announcements (bar the news from last night's Brightsolid bash, as reported yesterday) - in fact, one of the things notable is those who are not here. As an Ulsterman, it's great to see Ireland so well represented by PRONI, the North of Ireland FHS, Eneclann, the new Irish Family and Local History Handbook, and other vendors, but two major Irish vendors are not here this year - Roots Ireland and the National Archives of Ireland. In a year when the Gathering is Ireland's big project, their absence seems bizarrely self-defeating. From a personal POV, it does mean that I have been inundated with Irish research requests, which I've had a lot of fun in dealing with, whilst my Irish talk today was packed out (as was my Scottish marriages talk yesterday - thanks to all who attended, hope they helped!), and my new Irish book almost sold out - there's about 4 copies left in London, so if you want one on Sunday, best to get in quick! If you can't get a copy at the show, you can pre-order now and it will be despatched first week in April (I have been reliably informed).
Other news - had a brief chat with the FindmyPast team, and it looks like some improvements may be coming to the search system in due course. I also had an update from Ancestry on Lord Morpeth's Roll, the big Irish release this year, with some 250,000 names from 1841 recorded. The full detail on this is embargoed for now, but it will be an extraordinary document with some interesting research challenges for researchers when uploaded - watch this space! In terms of a release, there is only one date when Ancestry could even possibly consider doing so, and it is fairly imminent...!
In the evening I caught up for a quick bite with several genies at Pizza Express, then met up with Scottish Genealogy Network (http://scottishgenealogynetwork.blogspot.co.uk) chums for a meet at the Hand and Flower pub to mark our first anniversary as an informal networking group still meeting on a monthly basis - also managed to catch up with some of the great and the good from England, including Geoff Swinfield, Roy Stockdill and John Hanson!
Quick final note - there is a blur that appears each year at the event, in the form of Else Churchill. A very public thank you Else for all your input in getting the SoG side of things organised, and to all at the SoG for what I think will be one of the best events yet when history comes to record the impact on the genie scene of WDYTYA Live in the 21st Century!
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.
From a news point of view, it is an odd year, in that there are no major new vendors seemingly here, and little by way of major announcements (bar the news from last night's Brightsolid bash, as reported yesterday) - in fact, one of the things notable is those who are not here. As an Ulsterman, it's great to see Ireland so well represented by PRONI, the North of Ireland FHS, Eneclann, the new Irish Family and Local History Handbook, and other vendors, but two major Irish vendors are not here this year - Roots Ireland and the National Archives of Ireland. In a year when the Gathering is Ireland's big project, their absence seems bizarrely self-defeating. From a personal POV, it does mean that I have been inundated with Irish research requests, which I've had a lot of fun in dealing with, whilst my Irish talk today was packed out (as was my Scottish marriages talk yesterday - thanks to all who attended, hope they helped!), and my new Irish book almost sold out - there's about 4 copies left in London, so if you want one on Sunday, best to get in quick! If you can't get a copy at the show, you can pre-order now and it will be despatched first week in April (I have been reliably informed).
Other news - had a brief chat with the FindmyPast team, and it looks like some improvements may be coming to the search system in due course. I also had an update from Ancestry on Lord Morpeth's Roll, the big Irish release this year, with some 250,000 names from 1841 recorded. The full detail on this is embargoed for now, but it will be an extraordinary document with some interesting research challenges for researchers when uploaded - watch this space! In terms of a release, there is only one date when Ancestry could even possibly consider doing so, and it is fairly imminent...!
In the evening I caught up for a quick bite with several genies at Pizza Express, then met up with Scottish Genealogy Network (http://scottishgenealogynetwork.blogspot.co.uk) chums for a meet at the Hand and Flower pub to mark our first anniversary as an informal networking group still meeting on a monthly basis - also managed to catch up with some of the great and the good from England, including Geoff Swinfield, Roy Stockdill and John Hanson!
 |
| Scottish Genealogy Network, 1st anniversary |
Quick final note - there is a blur that appears each year at the event, in the form of Else Churchill. A very public thank you Else for all your input in getting the SoG side of things organised, and to all at the SoG for what I think will be one of the best events yet when history comes to record the impact on the genie scene of WDYTYA Live in the 21st Century!
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.
Saturday, 23 February 2013
Manor Park Crematorium records, London
From DeceasedOnline (www.deceasedonline.com):
All records for Manor Park Crematorium now available
Manor Park Crematorium, located in Forest Gate, East London, has now made all records available through www.deceasedonline.com
Register scans from the opening in 1955 until 1991 are available together with computerised records from 1991 to 2010
There are now 145,000 records available for Manor Park Cemetery and Crematorium and all 420,000 records will be on Deceased Online within the next few weeks
(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.
All records for Manor Park Crematorium now available
Manor Park Crematorium, located in Forest Gate, East London, has now made all records available through www.deceasedonline.com
Register scans from the opening in 1955 until 1991 are available together with computerised records from 1991 to 2010
There are now 145,000 records available for Manor Park Cemetery and Crematorium and all 420,000 records will be on Deceased Online within the next few weeks
(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.
Brightsolid developments
Some news from the front! Last night saw a bash hosted by Brightsolid, the company behind FindmyPast UK and GenesReunited, and in partnership with the Scottish Government for the ScotlandsPeople site, and with Eneclann for the Irish version of FindmyPast. Before the main meal, the CEO, Dundee's Chris van der Kuyl, outlined some developments coming very soon. Brief headlines to follow...
For those interested in the First World War - watch this space! Brightsolid is in partnership with the Imperial War Museum for something major coming our way soon. There is also work in hand with the Families in British India Society, a project with the National Archives at Kew to place the Royal Flying Corps records online, and a new initiative called Working Together to cater for smaller collections of records to be placed online.
Stay tuned for more news when I get it... :)
(A big thanks to the Brightsolid team)
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.
For those interested in the First World War - watch this space! Brightsolid is in partnership with the Imperial War Museum for something major coming our way soon. There is also work in hand with the Families in British India Society, a project with the National Archives at Kew to place the Royal Flying Corps records online, and a new initiative called Working Together to cater for smaller collections of records to be placed online.
Stay tuned for more news when I get it... :)
(A big thanks to the Brightsolid team)
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.
Friday, 22 February 2013
FindmyPast to publish Yorkshire parish records
From FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk)
FINDMYPAST.CO.UK TO PUBLISH YORKSHIRE PARISH RECORDS ON THE WEB
· Project announced to increase access to millions of Yorkshire’s baptism, marriage and burial records dating back to 1538
· First time that images of the original parish records from six Yorkshire Archives will appear online
Leading UK family history website findmypast.co.uk has today announced at the Who Do You Think You Are Live Show at London’s Olympia that it has been awarded a contract by Yorkshire Digitisation Consortium. This significant new project will lead to the publication online for the very first time of millions of historic records from archives across the whole of Yorkshire.
The Yorkshire Digitisation Consortium comprises the East Riding Archives and Local Studies Service, the Borthwick Institute for Archives (University of York), the North Yorkshire County Record Office, Teesside Archives, Sheffield Archives and Local Studies, and Doncaster Archives and Local Studies.
Together these services hold the parish registers for a large proportion of Yorkshire, England’s largest historic county.
Spanning the years from 1538 into the twentieth century, the records cover parish church registers and bishops’ transcripts from most of Yorkshire, including entries relating to:
Notable people:
· Captain Cook the explorer baptised at St. Cuthbert's Church, Marton on 3 November 1728
· William Wordsworth the poet who married Mary Hutchinson at All Saints, Brompton by Sawdon on 4 October 1802
· William Wilberforce, campaigner for abolition of the slave trade, baptised at Hull Holy Trinity Church in September 1759
Strange deaths:
· Burial in 1689 of two Danish soldiers in Beverley St Mary, one died as a result of a fight, the other was beheaded by sword, which was the punishment under Danish law - the last beheading in the country.
· Burial at Yarm Parish Church on 18 January 1746 of Thomas Brown, Dragoon (known as the man with the silver nose from injuries received at Battle of Dettingen) the register contains an illustration of him.
· Burial at Thirsk in 1789 Thos, son of Thos Lee, died with drinking gin, aged 13.
· Burial at Kirby Wiske on 7 July 1791, Richard Sturdy, John Cartman & Richard Sturdy all poisoned by neglect of a servant girl in making a pudding.
· Burial at St. Mark's, Marske 23rd October 1918 Major Leslie Peach Aizlewood of Rotherham, age 23 (commander No 2 Flying School, Marske - killed making a training film).
Details of social history
· Baptism at Topcliffe in 1579 of Ellen, no other name known, ‘born of some foolish girl of Baldersby’
· Burial at Thirsk on 18 August 1587 of an illegitimate child of bouncing Elizabeth
· Baptism at Kilburn in 1702 of Thos Hill, son of Edward Hill ‘who was infected by the dogma of those commonly called Quakers’
· Baptism in Sheffield of Thomas Pompey of Guinea, Africa, 1725
Paul Nixon, Content Licensing Manager at findmypast.co.uk, said: “The addition of these historic records from Yorkshire Digitisation Consortium to findmypast.co.uk will be keenly anticipated by family and local historians alike, and will undoubtedly reinforce the website’s position as the place to go for UK parish records.”
Keith Sweetmore, Archives Development Manager at North Yorkshire County Record Office, added: "This is a tremendously exciting new development which will transform the way that parish registers are consulted in the future, and will open up Yorkshire’s Archives to a new and growing worldwide audience.”
The joint announcement by findmypast.co.uk and Yorkshire Digitisation Consortium was one of a number made by the rapidly expanding family history website at the 3 day Who Do You Think You Are Live Show, where it has a major presence. There they will be showcasing the many record collections on the site, including parish records from Manchester Archives, Cheshire Archives and over 40 million parish records from family history societies throughout the UK, in partnership with the Federation of Family History Societies.
Anyone wishing to be notified when the Yorkshire Collection becomes available can register online at findmypast.co.uk to receive a 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.
FINDMYPAST.CO.UK TO PUBLISH YORKSHIRE PARISH RECORDS ON THE WEB
· Project announced to increase access to millions of Yorkshire’s baptism, marriage and burial records dating back to 1538
· First time that images of the original parish records from six Yorkshire Archives will appear online
Leading UK family history website findmypast.co.uk has today announced at the Who Do You Think You Are Live Show at London’s Olympia that it has been awarded a contract by Yorkshire Digitisation Consortium. This significant new project will lead to the publication online for the very first time of millions of historic records from archives across the whole of Yorkshire.
The Yorkshire Digitisation Consortium comprises the East Riding Archives and Local Studies Service, the Borthwick Institute for Archives (University of York), the North Yorkshire County Record Office, Teesside Archives, Sheffield Archives and Local Studies, and Doncaster Archives and Local Studies.
Together these services hold the parish registers for a large proportion of Yorkshire, England’s largest historic county.
Spanning the years from 1538 into the twentieth century, the records cover parish church registers and bishops’ transcripts from most of Yorkshire, including entries relating to:
Notable people:
· Captain Cook the explorer baptised at St. Cuthbert's Church, Marton on 3 November 1728
· William Wordsworth the poet who married Mary Hutchinson at All Saints, Brompton by Sawdon on 4 October 1802
· William Wilberforce, campaigner for abolition of the slave trade, baptised at Hull Holy Trinity Church in September 1759
Strange deaths:
· Burial in 1689 of two Danish soldiers in Beverley St Mary, one died as a result of a fight, the other was beheaded by sword, which was the punishment under Danish law - the last beheading in the country.
· Burial at Yarm Parish Church on 18 January 1746 of Thomas Brown, Dragoon (known as the man with the silver nose from injuries received at Battle of Dettingen) the register contains an illustration of him.
· Burial at Thirsk in 1789 Thos, son of Thos Lee, died with drinking gin, aged 13.
· Burial at Kirby Wiske on 7 July 1791, Richard Sturdy, John Cartman & Richard Sturdy all poisoned by neglect of a servant girl in making a pudding.
· Burial at St. Mark's, Marske 23rd October 1918 Major Leslie Peach Aizlewood of Rotherham, age 23 (commander No 2 Flying School, Marske - killed making a training film).
Details of social history
· Baptism at Topcliffe in 1579 of Ellen, no other name known, ‘born of some foolish girl of Baldersby’
· Burial at Thirsk on 18 August 1587 of an illegitimate child of bouncing Elizabeth
· Baptism at Kilburn in 1702 of Thos Hill, son of Edward Hill ‘who was infected by the dogma of those commonly called Quakers’
· Baptism in Sheffield of Thomas Pompey of Guinea, Africa, 1725
Paul Nixon, Content Licensing Manager at findmypast.co.uk, said: “The addition of these historic records from Yorkshire Digitisation Consortium to findmypast.co.uk will be keenly anticipated by family and local historians alike, and will undoubtedly reinforce the website’s position as the place to go for UK parish records.”
Keith Sweetmore, Archives Development Manager at North Yorkshire County Record Office, added: "This is a tremendously exciting new development which will transform the way that parish registers are consulted in the future, and will open up Yorkshire’s Archives to a new and growing worldwide audience.”
The joint announcement by findmypast.co.uk and Yorkshire Digitisation Consortium was one of a number made by the rapidly expanding family history website at the 3 day Who Do You Think You Are Live Show, where it has a major presence. There they will be showcasing the many record collections on the site, including parish records from Manchester Archives, Cheshire Archives and over 40 million parish records from family history societies throughout the UK, in partnership with the Federation of Family History Societies.
Anyone wishing to be notified when the Yorkshire Collection becomes available can register online at findmypast.co.uk to receive a 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.
Thursday, 21 February 2013
'Twas the day before Who Do You Think You Are Live...
It's the day before Who Do You Think You Are Live, and I am already exhausted! I arrived in London yesterday evening, and met up with an Australian genealogy tour group for dinner and an informal chat, organised by Liz Doyle of Customised Heritage Tours (http://customisedheritagetours.vpweb.com.au). This morning we then had a formal session to discuss the best ways for them to maximise their time at the Who Do You Think You Are Live event, and to do some basic prep work, with Gill Blanchard also on hand to offer advice. I was asked at dinner last night if I knew anything about Portuguese genealogy, which slightly threw me, but I've always maintained it is not my job to be an expert but to simply be able to find answers - so I dived in and within a few minutes was able to establish not only that one of the group's Portuguese ancestor moved to London in the early 1800s, but also the history of his business with two previously unknown brothers, which was based in Portugal, London and Liverpool between 1814 and 1818. He who dares Rodney....!
This afternoon I then visited the National Archives at Kew, with a particular mission, to establish if my great great grandfather had served with the Royal Marine Labour Corps in France from 1917-1918 - and he had! Magic. I also looked up some muster rolls from the 1860s for another ancestor that I was unable to consult on a previous visit. During my visit I managed a quick catch up with Audrey Collins and Nick Barratt, who will also be at the main event over the next three days.
This evening I then met up with my fellow tutors and students from the University of Strathclyde postgraduate genealogy programme, chatting in particular with Frank from the Fermanagh branch of the North of Ireland Family History Society, with whom I had a great banter about all things Norn Iron. Great chat, great food at the Rose and Crown near Kew, and a great taxi ride back to Olympia, with special thanks to Tahitia McCabe for finally explaining what grits are made from in the US - it's corn apparently. So there is food involved - who knew?!! (With apologies to American readers! lol)
Raring to go tomorrow now - atomic batteries to power, turbines to speed...!
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.
This afternoon I then visited the National Archives at Kew, with a particular mission, to establish if my great great grandfather had served with the Royal Marine Labour Corps in France from 1917-1918 - and he had! Magic. I also looked up some muster rolls from the 1860s for another ancestor that I was unable to consult on a previous visit. During my visit I managed a quick catch up with Audrey Collins and Nick Barratt, who will also be at the main event over the next three days.
This evening I then met up with my fellow tutors and students from the University of Strathclyde postgraduate genealogy programme, chatting in particular with Frank from the Fermanagh branch of the North of Ireland Family History Society, with whom I had a great banter about all things Norn Iron. Great chat, great food at the Rose and Crown near Kew, and a great taxi ride back to Olympia, with special thanks to Tahitia McCabe for finally explaining what grits are made from in the US - it's corn apparently. So there is food involved - who knew?!! (With apologies to American readers! lol)
Raring to go tomorrow now - atomic batteries to power, turbines to speed...!
 |
| Working with Customised Heritage Tours group to plan for 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.
Women in Science talk at LMA
From London Metropolitan Archives:
Women in Science
A day of talks, presentations and documents which explores the lives and contributions of women to scientific progress.
Science is found throughout the collections at London Metropolitan Archives. We have engineering designs for Tower Bridge and food science in the Lyons collection. On this day, we will be looking at the female scientists represented in the archives and displaying some of the original documents from the collections.
We have two guest speakers who are experts in their fields.
Rebekah Higgitt, is Curator & historian of science at Royal Observatory Greenwich & National Maritime Museum and blogger for The H Word, the Guardian Science Blog. She will be talking about “Finding women in the history of science.”
Heather Couper is a broadcaster and writer on astronomy, space and science. She has written and produced numerous books, TV and radio programmes. Along with her work, she is Professor of Astronomy at Gresham College in perpetuity, was awarded the CBE for 'Services to Science', and the International Astronomical Union has named asteroid number 3922 "Heather". Her talk will be “The Sky's the Limit.”
This event on Friday 8 March from 10 am to 4 pm at London Metropolitan Archives is £10. Please book in advance on 020 7332 3851.
(With thanks to LMA www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/visiting-the-city/archives-and-city-history/london-metropolitan-archives/visitor-information/Pages/default.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.
Women in Science
A day of talks, presentations and documents which explores the lives and contributions of women to scientific progress.
Science is found throughout the collections at London Metropolitan Archives. We have engineering designs for Tower Bridge and food science in the Lyons collection. On this day, we will be looking at the female scientists represented in the archives and displaying some of the original documents from the collections.
We have two guest speakers who are experts in their fields.
Rebekah Higgitt, is Curator & historian of science at Royal Observatory Greenwich & National Maritime Museum and blogger for The H Word, the Guardian Science Blog. She will be talking about “Finding women in the history of science.”
Heather Couper is a broadcaster and writer on astronomy, space and science. She has written and produced numerous books, TV and radio programmes. Along with her work, she is Professor of Astronomy at Gresham College in perpetuity, was awarded the CBE for 'Services to Science', and the International Astronomical Union has named asteroid number 3922 "Heather". Her talk will be “The Sky's the Limit.”
This event on Friday 8 March from 10 am to 4 pm at London Metropolitan Archives is £10. Please book in advance on 020 7332 3851.
(With thanks to LMA www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/visiting-the-city/archives-and-city-history/london-metropolitan-archives/visitor-information/Pages/default.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.
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
FindmyPast releases English and Welsh criminal records
The British FindmyPast site (www.findmypast.co.uk) has released over half a million records concerning criminals in England and Wales, and their victims, as sourced from the National Archives at Kew (www.nationalarchive.gov.uk). This initial collection covers 1817-1931 - two million more records will follow, to take the collection from 1770-1934.
For further details visit www.findmypast.co.uk/content/news/crime-prisons-punishment.
(With thanks to Amy Sell from FindmyPast @amy_sell)
UPDATE: I've found that there are some Scots cases also in the Admiralty records, and thanks to Audrey Collins for flagging up some Scottish criminal petitions are also included (see http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/Details?uri=C8881)
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.
For further details visit www.findmypast.co.uk/content/news/crime-prisons-punishment.
(With thanks to Amy Sell from FindmyPast @amy_sell)
UPDATE: I've found that there are some Scots cases also in the Admiralty records, and thanks to Audrey Collins for flagging up some Scottish criminal petitions are also included (see http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/Details?uri=C8881)
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.
Tuesday, 19 February 2013
National Library of Scotland news
News from the National Library of Scotland (www.nls.uk):
Exhibitions and Displays
Putting Scotland on the Map: The world of John Bartholomew and Son
Until 7 May 2013
Our spring exhibition tells the story of one of Scotland's most influential mapmaking firms, John Bartholomew and Son.
We bring the firm's Duncan Street building back to life, with an Edwardian factory feel. Visitors will be able to discover key stages of the Bartholomews' map making process; from the collection and compilation of source material to the skillful colourists, to the upside down, back to front world of the copperplate engravers and their handmade tools.
Told though spoken word recordings, photographs, tools and some of the unique manuscript maps from the Bartholomew Archive, this is the fascinating story of a firm who really did put Scotland on the map.
Free admission
Scottish Women of Science: Celebrating trailblazers from our past
1 March - 30 April 2013
In this new display to mark Women's history month and the Edinburgh International Science Festival we celebrate the lives and work of Scottish women of science.
It features items celebrating the discoveries of 19th century astronomer Williamina Fleming, geologist Maria Gordon and genetics research pioneer Charlotte Auerbach among others. Step into our George IV Bridge visitor centre and be inspired.
Free admission
Workshops
Getting started at NLS
7 March, 10.30am
Learn how to register as a reader, find your way around the Library, request materials 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!
11 March, 6pm
An introduction to online newspaper resources available at NLS.
The session includes demonstrations of a selection of resources and tips on how to search and discover the information you need.
Please note spaces are limited at our free workshops. To reserve a place visit our website or call 0131 623 3734.
(With thanks to the NLS - full newsletter at http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=f9gw5rcab&v=001CYMvdQv4AOjf1SdY_O9xaiGRXrpic_vTBpSglS6cUucSnEHbMxl3JO49t1tkDx5iy8NY2B4zBOKbD3xqpLAG7DAWEdzHaK6Yg72yLIvhmab27e9VMTl0_Ce7V10Flr5SlK_b2mOcL5E%3D)
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.
Exhibitions and Displays
Putting Scotland on the Map: The world of John Bartholomew and Son
Until 7 May 2013
Our spring exhibition tells the story of one of Scotland's most influential mapmaking firms, John Bartholomew and Son.
We bring the firm's Duncan Street building back to life, with an Edwardian factory feel. Visitors will be able to discover key stages of the Bartholomews' map making process; from the collection and compilation of source material to the skillful colourists, to the upside down, back to front world of the copperplate engravers and their handmade tools.
Told though spoken word recordings, photographs, tools and some of the unique manuscript maps from the Bartholomew Archive, this is the fascinating story of a firm who really did put Scotland on the map.
Free admission
Scottish Women of Science: Celebrating trailblazers from our past
1 March - 30 April 2013
In this new display to mark Women's history month and the Edinburgh International Science Festival we celebrate the lives and work of Scottish women of science.
It features items celebrating the discoveries of 19th century astronomer Williamina Fleming, geologist Maria Gordon and genetics research pioneer Charlotte Auerbach among others. Step into our George IV Bridge visitor centre and be inspired.
Free admission
Workshops
Getting started at NLS
7 March, 10.30am
Learn how to register as a reader, find your way around the Library, request materials 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!
11 March, 6pm
An introduction to online newspaper resources available at NLS.
The session includes demonstrations of a selection of resources and tips on how to search and discover the information you need.
Please note spaces are limited at our free workshops. To reserve a place visit our website or call 0131 623 3734.
(With thanks to the NLS - full newsletter at http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=f9gw5rcab&v=001CYMvdQv4AOjf1SdY_O9xaiGRXrpic_vTBpSglS6cUucSnEHbMxl3JO49t1tkDx5iy8NY2B4zBOKbD3xqpLAG7DAWEdzHaK6Yg72yLIvhmab27e9VMTl0_Ce7V10Flr5SlK_b2mOcL5E%3D)
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.
Eton College catalogue online
News on Eton College's online catalogue from librarian Lucy Gwynn:
We're delighted to be able to announce that Eton College Collections now has its own online catalogue, which includes the records of all books and manuscripts which have been electronically catalogued. The catalogue also includes records of archives, photographs, antiquities and scientific specimens belonging to Eton. You can search the catalogue here:
http://collections.etoncollege.com
Creating electronic records is ongoing, so please contact us if you can't find what you're looking for.
And our blog is still running, and currently features a Valentine's Day present - you'll find it here:
http://etononline.net/collegelibrary/2013/02/14/a-binders-valentines-day-gift/
(With thanks to Wendy Archer)
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 delighted to be able to announce that Eton College Collections now has its own online catalogue, which includes the records of all books and manuscripts which have been electronically catalogued. The catalogue also includes records of archives, photographs, antiquities and scientific specimens belonging to Eton. You can search the catalogue here:
http://collections.etoncollege.com
Creating electronic records is ongoing, so please contact us if you can't find what you're looking for.
And our blog is still running, and currently features a Valentine's Day present - you'll find it here:
http://etononline.net/collegelibrary/2013/02/14/a-binders-valentines-day-gift/
(With thanks to Wendy Archer)
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 Genealogy Society news
From the Scottish Genealogy Society (www.scotsgenealogy.com):
At a loose end on a Saturday?
We are experiencing difficulties staffing the library on Saturdays, particularly in the afternoons. Anyone who would like to volunteer to be a helper is very welcome to come along. Please call our Librarian (Moira Stevenson) on 0131 220 3677or e-mail: enquiries@scotsgenealogy.com
Next Meeting
Our next meeting will be our AGM on Monday 25 February. This is your opportunity to come along and meet members of the Council and put forward any suggestions (or grievances!) you may have. The AGM will be followed by a talk by Richard Torrance on the history of 15 Victoria Terrace and the surrounding area. As always, the meeting starts at 7.30pm at the Augustine United Church Centre at 41 George IV Bridge (with tea, coffee and biscuits afterwards).
Family History Workshops
The next class in our Family History programme will take place on Saturday 2 March. Joy Dodd will give a talk on Taxation Records and how they can help with your research. As before, the class starts at 10am and lasts approx. two hours. There is a charge of £10 for the class.
Spring Fling! Arts Fair for Older People
Organised by the South Edinburgh Arts Fair Association, the Spring Fling! Arts Fair for Older People will take place at Polwarth Parish Church on Saturday 9 March 2013. This is a free event and will have exhibitors showing off their arts/crafts etc. The SGS has taken a table to publicise the Society and will also be giving a short talk. I hope many of you will come along to support this worthwhile event.
Having problems with the new www.familysearch.org set up?
Anyone who has been researching their family tree for a few years will be more than familiar with familysearch.org. However, over the past year or two the set-up of this website has changed substantially and is not quite as 'user friendly' as before. We still have the familysearch.org discs here in the library, which can offer better results when searching for family relationships.
Edinburgh City Libraries
Edinburgh City Libraries has e-mailed us regarding its 'Our Town Stories' and 'Capital Collections' websites:
Our Town Stories (www.ourtownstories.co.uk is an attractive new interactive website from Edinburgh Libraries. It explores the history of Edinburgh through images, maps and stories from 1700 to the present day. Users can access heritage material from our own rich collections but also the online resources we offer for local and family historians, including SCRAN and the Scotsman Digital Archive. Our Town Stories will appeal to anyone interested in the history of Edinburgh. You can:
You might also want to take a look at Capital Collections www.capitalcollections.org.uk
www.capitalcollections.org.uk which has recently changed. It still has the same amazing images of Edinburgh and beyond but there are now more ways to enjoy them. You can explore images of Edinburgh by date or on a map interface. Capital Collections has always had fabulous exhibitions but now you can scroll through all the images in an exhibition with ease.
For anyone supporting learning, Whose Town? Edinburgh Past and Present, our interactive resource for schools (www.edinburgh.gov.uk/whosetown tells the story of Edinburgh through the real life stories of 14 people who lived in Edinburgh from 1850-1950. It is available as a free CD or on Glow. Contact informationdigital@edinburgh.gov.uk for more information.
(With thanks to Ken Nisbet)
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.
At a loose end on a Saturday?
We are experiencing difficulties staffing the library on Saturdays, particularly in the afternoons. Anyone who would like to volunteer to be a helper is very welcome to come along. Please call our Librarian (Moira Stevenson) on 0131 220 3677or e-mail: enquiries@scotsgenealogy.com
Next Meeting
Our next meeting will be our AGM on Monday 25 February. This is your opportunity to come along and meet members of the Council and put forward any suggestions (or grievances!) you may have. The AGM will be followed by a talk by Richard Torrance on the history of 15 Victoria Terrace and the surrounding area. As always, the meeting starts at 7.30pm at the Augustine United Church Centre at 41 George IV Bridge (with tea, coffee and biscuits afterwards).
Family History Workshops
The next class in our Family History programme will take place on Saturday 2 March. Joy Dodd will give a talk on Taxation Records and how they can help with your research. As before, the class starts at 10am and lasts approx. two hours. There is a charge of £10 for the class.
Spring Fling! Arts Fair for Older People
Organised by the South Edinburgh Arts Fair Association, the Spring Fling! Arts Fair for Older People will take place at Polwarth Parish Church on Saturday 9 March 2013. This is a free event and will have exhibitors showing off their arts/crafts etc. The SGS has taken a table to publicise the Society and will also be giving a short talk. I hope many of you will come along to support this worthwhile event.
Having problems with the new www.familysearch.org set up?
Anyone who has been researching their family tree for a few years will be more than familiar with familysearch.org. However, over the past year or two the set-up of this website has changed substantially and is not quite as 'user friendly' as before. We still have the familysearch.org discs here in the library, which can offer better results when searching for family relationships.
Edinburgh City Libraries
Edinburgh City Libraries has e-mailed us regarding its 'Our Town Stories' and 'Capital Collections' websites:
Our Town Stories (www.ourtownstories.co.uk is an attractive new interactive website from Edinburgh Libraries. It explores the history of Edinburgh through images, maps and stories from 1700 to the present day. Users can access heritage material from our own rich collections but also the online resources we offer for local and family historians, including SCRAN and the Scotsman Digital Archive. Our Town Stories will appeal to anyone interested in the history of Edinburgh. You can:
- Use the map to find images of Edinburgh both past and present
- Discover how familiar places like George Street, the Meadows and North Bridge have changed through Then and Now images
- Explore historical maps tracing Edinburgh's development since 1700
- Read stories of Edinburgh's people, places and city life; including the story of Greyfriars Bobby; the hidden gems of Edinburgh's literary connections and the stories behind some of Edinburgh's famous landmarks and monuments.
You might also want to take a look at Capital Collections www.capitalcollections.org.uk
www.capitalcollections.org.uk which has recently changed. It still has the same amazing images of Edinburgh and beyond but there are now more ways to enjoy them. You can explore images of Edinburgh by date or on a map interface. Capital Collections has always had fabulous exhibitions but now you can scroll through all the images in an exhibition with ease.
For anyone supporting learning, Whose Town? Edinburgh Past and Present, our interactive resource for schools (www.edinburgh.gov.uk/whosetown tells the story of Edinburgh through the real life stories of 14 people who lived in Edinburgh from 1850-1950. It is available as a free CD or on Glow. Contact informationdigital@edinburgh.gov.uk for more information.
(With thanks to Ken Nisbet)
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 National Archives at WDYTYA Live
The National Archives based at Kew (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk) has place a schedule of its activities at the forthcoming three day WDYTYA Live event in London this Friday-Saturday, including its talks programme. Full details are at http://nationalarchives.gov.uk/news/812.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.
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.