Archives at Dusk event in North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire's County Record Office is opening its doors late for the fourth Archives at Dusk event next month on Thursday May 15th. It's a chance to see archives and to view an exhibition on North Yorkshire clubs and societies.

For further details visit www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/11181319.County_record_office_to_open_its_doors_to_the_public/.

(With thanks to Anne Outterson by email)

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

Irish census fragments now available on FindmyPast

The digitised records for pre-1901 Irish census fragments and extracts from 1841 and 1851 Irish censuses that were used to support Old Age Pension applications from 1909 onwards, launched a couple of days ago on the National Archives of Ireland website (see http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/irish-census-search-forms-1841-and-1851.html), are now also available to search on FindmyPast (all platforms) free of charge.

I've done a few test searches on the FindmyPast site, and despite the recent disastrous redesign of the platform, this part of the site at least seems to be working fine. FindmyPast was involved in the indexing of the records, along with FamilySearch, which digitised them. The records will also be appearing soon on FamilySearch.

FindmyPast has a blog post outlining the new records at http://blog.findmypast.com/2014/pre-1901-irish-census-records-online-for-the-first-time/.

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

Mortonhall Crematorium baby ashes scandal report published

The report into the scandal at Mortonhall Crematorium in Edinburgh, which from 1967-2011 secretly buried the ashes of more than 250 cremated babies, and refused to tell their parents of the existence of such ashes, has been published.

The BBC has the full story at www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-27211583.

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

The West Yorkshire Collection now available on Ancestry

From Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk), news of several new collection from Yorkshire. I've abridged the press release:

VICTORIAN YOUTH OFFENDERS REVEALED ONLINE

Tattoos, pigeon theft and financial fraud all detailed in newly digitised collection – Ancestry.co.uk

* More than 9,000 reformatory school records reveal criminal behaviour of kids as young as five

* Collection includes information on each crime, newspaper clippings and ‘mugshot’ photographs

* Records also detail nearly 400,000 adult convicts, with offences ranging from petty theft to cold-blooded murder

Thousands of 19th century child criminal records have been published online for the first time – shedding light on the delinquent and destitute children of Victorian Britain.

Digitised by Ancestry.co.uk, The West Yorkshire Collection 1779-1914 details the crimes of thousands of boys admitted to Calder Farm Reformatory, East Moor Community Home School and The Shadwell Children’s Centre. Close to 400,000 adult offenders in the West Yorkshire area are also featured within the records. Crimes range from gambling and petty criminality through to forgery, burglary and violent assault.

The first reformatory schools were established in the UK following the passing of two Youth Offender Acts in 1854 that required the Home Office to certify certain institutions in which to place not only juvenile offenders but neglected or abandoned children.

In addition to child criminals, the details of nearly 400,000 adult offenders are also included within The West Yorkshire Collection 1779-1914. Each record contains the prisoner’s name, age, occupation, nature of the offence, sentence, and dates of admission and discharge. Selected records also give background information and physical descriptions.

Physically located at the West Yorkshire Archive Service, The West Yorkshire Collection 1779-1914 collection is now available exclusively online at Ancestry.co.uk.

Also launched today as part of The West Yorkshire Collection 1779-1914 are over 32,000 historic Police Records and nearly 3,000 registers pertaining to local Militia.

Reformatory school records are available at http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=8633
Prison records at http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=5085
Police records at http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=5105
and
Militia records at http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=8545

(With thanks to Bryony Partridge)

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

Ontario Genealogical Society conference: Genealogy Without Borders

On Thursday I am flying to Ontario to participate in the Ontario Genealogical Society's Annual Conference (www.ogs.on.ca/conference2014/index.php) at Brock University in St. Catharines, as hosted by the Niagara Branch of the OGS, and I'm very much looking forward to it!

I will be giving a few talks at the event, including the Houston Memorial Lecture Genealogy Without Borders (Friday), The Godly Commonwealth: The Kirk's History and Finding Scottish Church Records (Saturday, being streamed live) and Scottish Marriage: Instantly Buckled for Life (Sunday), as well as participating in a social media panel session early on Saturday morning hosted by John Reid of Canada's Anglo-Celtic Connections blog (www.anglo-celtic-connections.blogspot.ca), which will be streamed live also. There are many other speakers, including several from Canada and the UK - for the full conference programme, visit www.ogs.on.ca/conference2014/OGS%20Conference%202014.pdf.

For the live-streamed webinars, please email register2014@ogs.on.ca

It should be a great event, and although I'll be busy I will try to keep up with news output whilst away, and bring a report on the proceedings after I get back.

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

Scotland 1750-1850 - Beyond the Old Parish Registers course

The next Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course from Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd (www.pharostutors.com) starts in a couple of weeks time on Wednesday May 14th 2014, and will run for five weeks. The course costs £45.99 and covers the following slightly more advanced topics than the previous Scottish Research Online course:

• Kirk Sessions records and parish poor
• Burgh records and town poor
• Occupations, taxation and early lists
• Land transfer and the value of sasines
• Land, inheritance and estates

There's a more full description at http://pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302 where you can also sign up. To give a flavour of what to expect, here's the video I recorded before the last course was run in November last year (so ignore the dates!):

(Also available at http://youtu.be/fs6APm67x2Y)

It's usually a lot of fun, and definitely informative if you're looking to progress your knowledge of he Scottish records a bit further -  hopefully I'll see a few of you there!

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

Wight at War conference

I mentioned it a couple of weeks back, but a quick reminder that the The Wight at War 1914-1919 conference takes place this Saturday 3rd May.

There's an article on the conference at http://iwcp.co.uk/news/news/the-wight-at-war-to-focus-on-islands-wartime-history-57357.aspx, plus my original blog post about it is at http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/isle-of-wight-first-world-war-conference.html

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

Northamptonshire Hearth Tax Abstracts 1673-1674

From Origins Network (www.origins.net):

Northamptonshire Hearth Tax Abstracts 1673-1674 on British Origins

A major census substitute resource for local and family historians

Hearth Tax returns of the second half of the 17th century are a major census substitute resource for local and family historians, providing lists of names midway between the period of surname formation in the Middle Ages and the present day.

This collection includes all legible details relating to over 22,500 individuals found in the original Hearth Tax lists 1673–1674 for the whole of Northamptonshire

Why use Hearth Tax records?

Hearth Tax records can provide firm evidence of a family’s residence at a certain place in time. For those seeking lost ancestors the distribution of a surname in a specific area may be determined very easily and the location of a particular family quickly revealed. It is also invaluable when researching a specific place, undertaking house history, population movements, patterns of employment, and early modern local government jurisdictions.

The number of hearths in a household is also a clue to a family’s wealth and status.

History of the Hearth Tax
With a need to raise revenue after the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the restoration of Charles II as King, it was decided in 1662 to levy hearth money (or chimney money). This was a property tax on buildings worth more than 20 shillings a year in rent. The number of hearths, fires and stoves there were in a building calculated the tax. However there were some exemptions. For instance, people who received poor relief did not have to pay hearth tax. Some industrial buildings were exempt but not forges, locksmiths or bakers’ ovens.

The tax, which was collected twice yearly – (on Lady Day and Michaelmas Day) - was 2 shillings per hearth per year. It was a very unpopular tax because the tax commissioners had for the first time the right to come into the home - to count the hearths. Attempts to avoid paying by blocking up a chimney could, if discovered, be rewarded with a doubling of the tax.

It was also a very inefficient tax. During the lifetime of the tax some of the collecting was farmed out to private individuals who all took their cut and it therefore simply did not raise enough money. The tax was eventually dropped in 1689.

The tax was collected according to the administrative units of the time, namely county, hundred and constablery or township, which may or may not be the same as the parish. In the cities, towns and boroughs the constables or sub-collectors often worked according to wards whose boundaries again may or may not be the same as those of the parish.

Search Northamptonshire Hearth Tax Abstracts 1673-1674 http://www.origins.net/BritishOrigins/Search/Census/NHTAX/BOSearch_Northants_HTax.aspx

(With thanks to Maggie Loughran)

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

Forthcoming PRONI events

Two forthcoming events from PRONI in Belfast (www.proni.gov.uk):

Lunchtime Talk- The River Bann: A view from the Archives
Tomorrow (Wednesday 30th April), 1pm to 2pm

The River Bann was once a scourge of disease, prone to flooding and scarcely navigable. Lorraine Bourke, Head of PRONI Private Records, will take us on a tour of PRONI sources that document the piece of Victorian ingenuity that transformed this uncontrollable torrent into a streamlined commercial route essential to industry. Lorraine, a former archaeologist, will also touch upon the significant archaeological discoveries unearthed during the nineteenth century drainage work.

Further information can be found at http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/exhibitions_talks_and_events/talks_and_events/exploring_your_archives_in_depth_further_insights.htm

Admission is FREE. Please contact us to reserve your place: E: proni@dcalni.gov.uk Tel: 028 90 534800


Symposium at PRONI- After the Gathering: Dissonant Voices in Irish Diaspora Studies
6 June 2014, 9am to 6pm

The 2013 Gathering led to the organisation of 5,000 community events across Ireland, expressly aimed at celebrating Irish connections across the Globe.

This special symposium at PRONI will address the consequences of this mass initiative and its possible legacy. This will provide a context in which to discuss wider Irish literary, musical and socio-political influences in Britain and America; direct by-products of past emigration. With no less than sixteen renowned experts scheduled for this symposium, this promises to be an event not to be missed.

Once the symposium concludes at PRONI, we will reconvene for evening storytelling and themed musical entertainment at the Oh Yeah! Music Centre.

Attendance to the day event is £5 (£2 unwaged/students), which includes the cost of tea/coffee and lunch. Entrance to the evening event is FREE.

Booking is ESSENTIAL but please note PRONI is NOT taking bookings for this: To reserve your place please email the following: afterthegathering@gmail.com

For further details and the symposium programme, please visit http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/exhibitions_talks_and_events/talks_and_events/symposium_at_proni.htm

(With thanks to Garth Stewart at PRONI)

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

WW1 Irish soldiers wills database updated

In addition to the new census records that have gone online at the National Archives of Ireland website (see http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/irish-census-search-forms-1841-and-1851.html), the Soldiers' Wills database for the First World War has also been updated to carry records from 1917-1918, meaning the collection now comprises wills from 1914-1918.

To search the database visit http://soldierswills.nationalarchives.ie

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

Irish Census Search Forms and pre-1901 census fragments now online

The National Archives of Ireland has just uploaded its Census Search Forms database utilising census data from the 1841 and 1851 censuses for Old Age Pension applications from 1908 onwards.

The Census Search Database database is directly accessible at http://censussearchforms.nationalarchives.ie/search/cs/home.jsp

From the site:

The Old Age Pensions Act 1908 introduced a non-contributory pension for eligible people aged 70 and over. It was implemented from January 1909 in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. To be eligible, applicants had to be 70 years old, to have an income of less than £31.10.00 per annum and to 'be of good character'. During the first three months of 1909, 261,668 applications were made in Ireland. By 31 March 1910, 180,974 Irish pensions had been granted. The level of take-up from those eligible in Ireland was 98%, as opposed to 45% in England and Wales, demonstrating the need for such a measure due to widespread poverty. The full pension of 5 shillings per week for a single person, or 7 shillings per week for a married couple, was available to those with an income of less than £21.00.00 per annum.

Proof of age was an essential part of the process of application for a pension. Because civil registration of births did not begin in Ireland until 1864, applicants had no official documentation to prove their age. It was decided that searches of the 1841 and 1851 census returns, still in the Public Record Office at this time, could produce acceptable documentary evidence of a claimant's age. The claimant had to provide parents' names and their residence in March 1841/1851. They also had to state the age they believed themselves to have been in the appropriate year. These forms were sent to the Public Record Office where searches were carried out to prove eligibility. When a search could not find the claimant, the form was returned with 'not found' or 'no trace' written on it. Even then, you will get the claimant's version of his family members' names and location in 1841 or 1851. But many searches were successful, and these can often provide the names and ages of every person living in the claimant's household at the time of the relevant census.

The records now online can be searched by census year, forename and surname of claimant, claimant's present address, forename and surname of claimant's mother and father, and townland/street, parish, barony and county where resident in 1841 or 1851.

The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) holds Census Search Forms for people living in Antrim, Armagh, Cavan, Derry, Donegal, Down, Fermanagh, Monaghan and Tyrone at the time of their pension applications and include those who had been born or spent their childhood in other counties. They are available on microfilm in PRONI's self-service microfilm room, and their contents were published in two books by Josephine Masterson: Ireland 1841/1851 Census Abstracts (Republic of Ireland) and Ireland 1841/1851 Census Abstracts (Northern Ireland).

Also available are surviving Pre-1901 Census Fragments from across the island at www.census.nationalarchives.ie - the same database previously offering only the 1901 and 1911 censuses.

Have fun!

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

Who Do You Think You Are Live 2015

The Who Do You Think You Are Live team have tweeted an update concerning the show event in England in 2015, which still has no confirmed venue: "you can expect an announcement about 2015 before the summer".

That'll be summer 2014 by the way... :)

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

Canada, British Vessel Crew Lists, 1881 on Ancestry

Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) has recently released another third party collection entitled Canada, British Vessel Crew Lists, 1881 on its site at http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=70757.

From the site:

The 1881 Crew List Database contains the names of seamen taken from crew agreements from voyages of British registered vessels ending in 1881. The year 1881 was chosen to coincide with the census taken in Britain in the same year. Records extracted from the database include name, vessel, official number, and voyage year. The crew lists themselves may contain additional details, such as:

age
place of birth
date and place he joined the ship
date and place when he left the ship or died
ship on which last served
position
wages

You can find an explanation of the headings on the crew lists on the Anatomy of an Agreement page at the Maritime History Archive website.

Unfortunately the link given on the site for the Maritime History Archive is coming up as broken just now, but the main site is is accessible at http://www.mun.ca/mha. Searches on the Ancestry site provide a basic return, after which you are then invited to follow a link to the Maritime History Archive for the record, though at the time of writing there seems to be a problem following through on the search to this site.

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

ScotlandsPeople credits amnesty

The ScotlandsPeople website (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk) has announced a credits amnesty:

We are pleased to announce that for one week only, you can reactivate any expired ScotlandsPeople credits at no cost. The validity period at purchase is 365 days, so any credits purchased over a year ago can now be reactivated by entering the special promotional code spring2014.

To reactivate your expired credits, please enter spring2014 into the 'voucher code' box on the Shopping Basket page. Please click here for a step-by-step guide to reactivating your expired credits. This promotional code will be valid up until midnight (BST) on 30/04/2014.

Better get in quick!

(With thanks to Highland Archive Centre via Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/highlandarchives)

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

Lost Cousins free for 10th birthday

Lost Cousins (www.lostcousins.com), the site that allows you to make connections to other branches of your family by inputting census data, is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a special offer. From the site's news page:

To celebrate our 10th Birthday on 1st May the LostCousins site is completely free for all members, new and old, until Tuesday 6th May (normally you'd need to be a subscriber to contact a new cousin).

With so many people visiting the site it's a great opportunity to find your living relatives - be sure to press the Search button after completing your My Ancestors page.

Not sure what to do? Check out the illustrated 'Getting Started' guide on the Help & Advice page.

Finally, whilst this offer can't last for ever, standard membership of LostCousins will continue to be free indefinitely!

Congratulations to the site's owner, Peter Calver, and here's to ten more years!

(With thanks to Judy Webster via Facebook)

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

Newspaper additions to TROVE and Papers Past down under

There is a fair bit going on down under in New Zealand and Australia in terms of online historic newspaper provision. The key resource for Australia, accessible via the National Library of Australia's TROVE facility (http://trove.nla.gov.au) is increasing its free to access New South Wales newspaper content considerably, along with additions for South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria. For further details visit Alona Tester's blog post at http://www.gouldgenealogy.com/2014/04/new-old-newspapers-on-trove/.

Also down under, the New Zealand equivalent of the TROVE facility for newspapers is Papers Past (http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz), and it has just added the New Zealand Herald from 1863-1945 http://www.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/EN/News/NewsArticles/Pages/nzherald1945paperspast.aspx.

Finally, closer to home, keep an eye out for my forthcoming guide on British and Irish Newspapers from Unlock the Past (www.unlockthepast.com.au) in the very near future!

(With thanks to Alona Tester and the National Library of New Zealand)

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

Researching violence and pain in the archives

The latest podcast from the National Archives at Kew is entitled Writer of the month: Human woes – researching violence and pain in the archives, a discussion by Joanna Bourke on her new book What it Means to be Human: Reflections from 1791 to the Present.

The podcast can be listened to at http://media.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php/writer-month-human-woes-researching-violence-pain-archives/ or downloaded from the site or iTunes.

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

Irish Army cadets photos online

The Irish Army's archive site at www.militaryarchives.ie has placed online a series of cadet photographs from 1928 to 2013, with images of some 2700 cadets who have passed through training.

A news release detailing the collection is available at http://www.militaryarchives.ie/news-events/single-view/article/cadet-school-photo-gallery?cHash=e89bb724c2ea94ae479fe6ed6ffa0794 whilst direct access to the collection is available via http://www.militaryarchives.ie/gallery/index.php?cat=8

A directory of cadet school gradyates from 1928-1987 is also available at http://www.militaryarchives.ie/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=99

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

Allertonshire marriage bonds and Norfolk poor law records via Ancestry

Two new English collections are available via Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk), in browse format only. Both are also available via FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org), from where the digitised images have been sourced:

England, Norfolk Poor Law Union Records, 1796-1900
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=9859
FamilySearch description at https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/England_Norfolk_Poor_Law_Union_Records_(FamilySearch_Historical_Records)

England, Yorkshire, Allertonshire, Marriage Bonds and Allegations
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=9937
FamilySearch description at
https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/England,_Yorkshire,_Allertonshire,_Marriage_Bonds_and_Allegations_(FamilySearch_Historical_Records)

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

Battle of Bannockburn Family History Project Exhibition

From the University of Strathclyde:

Battle of Bannockburn Family History Project Exhibition
21 June - 2 August, 2014
Hosted by the National Trust for Scotland in their new Bannockburn Visitor Centre

Do You Have A Warrior’s Genetic Code in Your DNA?

To mark the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn, researchers have discovered genetic codes passed down the generations from the warriors who fought on the blood-soaked fields of 1314.

The Genealogical Studies Postgraduate Programme within the University of Strathclyde is currently running a Bannockburn Family History Project, exploring and revealing the genetic connections between Scotland’s medieval warriors and their modern day descendants.

By studying documents, archives and records, student researchers have traced the family trees of several Bannockburn warriors, which led to the discovery of several male descendants. Graham Holton, Principal Tutor with the programme explained that these modern day descendants of Bannockburn’s warriors were happy to undergo DNA testing, supported by Family Tree DNA, which enabled the researchers to pinpoint the genetic code each had inherited from their warrior ancestor. “Having identified the same genetic code in the men’s DNA, others, without a specific genealogical link to Scotland’s Bannockburn warriors will be able to discover if their forebears also fought at the history-changing conflict,” said Graham Holton.

“This cutting edge combination of genealogy, history and science underpins all the work of the Programme. In this case, by using family trees, historical research and DNA testing, we have brought to life a fascinating range of connections to present day descendants of Bannockburn’s brave soldiers.”

The key findings of the research will be on display at the Battle of Bannockburn Family History Project Exhibition at the Bannockburn Visitor Centre, from 21 June until 2 August, 2014. The exhibition features cameo profiles of selected Bannockburn warriors, including names, coats of arms, family trees and DNA results. “Visitors to the exhibition can see where their own backgrounds and histories fit into the different families – and we strongly suspect this will enable some visitors to the exhibition to discover, confirm, or begin to explore a link to the Battle of Bannockburn,” continued Graham.

In addition, Haydn Rees of MacDonald and Rees, revealed that in-depth family history research has been carried out on those families confirmed by the DNA testing as having a direct connection to warriors who fought at Bannockburn. “The experts at MacDonald and Rees have undertaken deeper and wider research into these family stories,” said Haydn. “This enabled our authors to write the unique stories of these people - stories which will be on display at the Battle of Bannockburn Family History Exhibition – ready to be explored’.

For further press enquiries, please contact: Graham S Holton, Principal Tutor Tel:  (0141) 548 3483 E-mail: g.s.holton@strath.ac.uk

(With thanks to Strathclyde)

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

PRONI - Using Church Records lecture on YouTube

A big thanks to PRONI for helping me to resolve something that has bugged me for a few years! The archive has placed online a lecture by Valerie Adams of the Presbyterian Historical Society of Ireland, entitled Using Church Records, and divided up into four segments. Here's the first:

Also directly available on YouTube at http://youtu.be/K-0_pihTPO0

Links for the rest are:
Part 2 http://youtu.be/5wYHJPrUup4
Part 3 http://youtu.be/u0WQi2t4rhM
Part 4 http://youtu.be/0CRXTcjTbP0

The question that bugged me was about Ireland's state church records, those of the Anglican based Church of Ireland. If the church's hierarchy was Anglican, why were there not bishops transcripts kept at the diocesan level, as in England and Wales? Well, it it turns out that there were - but they were also destroyed in the Four Courts fire in 1922, with just a few fragments surviving. It's a small thing, but wee questions like that bug the hell out of me if I can't get an answer - so that's another one to tick off the list...!

The PRONI You Tube channel also has a copy of a lecture by Dr. Annaleigh Margey of Dundalk Institute of Technology on The 1641 Depositions- an early source for local history (and beyond), available via http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/search_the_archives/proni-on-youtube.htm

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

Scottish Genealogy Club forum launches

A new discussion forum has been set up for Scottish family history called the Scottish Genealogy Club, located at http://scottishgenealogyclub.org.uk.

It is totally free to join, and simply requires registration, though some paid for look up services are available (the site does describe itself as not for profit). The site's aims are at http://scottishgenealogyclub.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3

Other forums dedicated to Scottish ancestral research include Talking Scot (www.talkingscot.com), ScotFamTree (http://scotfamtree.b1.jcink.com) and the Scottish component of Rootschat (www.rootschat.co.uk).

(With thanks to the SGC)

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

TNA podcast - The Post Office Tower

The latest podcast from the National Archives in Kew is entitled The Post Office Tower: symbol of a new Britain?, a twenty minute talk from Mark Dunton about the construction of the tower in 1965 in London. It can be listened to directly at http://media.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php/post-office-tower/ or downloaded for free from iTunes.

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

Nottinghamshire Archives refurbishment

Forwarded by the Federation of Family History Societies (www.ffhs.org.uk):

Nottinghamshire Archives is pleased to announce that work to extend the strong rooms and refurbish the public areas will commence on 31st March 2014.

We will endeavour to keep any disruption to a minimum; however, there may be times when selected collections are temporarily unavailable. On 20th October the service will close for approximately three months.

Important dates

31st March 2014 Building work commences. From this date no car parking facilities will be available.

20th October 2014 Service closures for refurbishment of public and staff areas

Early February 2015 service reopens (with no car park)

Late March 2015 – car park becomes available

May 2015 – official reopening


Why are we doing this?

Once the works are completed we will have:
· secured enough storage to acquire historical documents for the next 20 years
· a new storage area with improved standards of security, fire, flood and environmental control
· provided two meeting rooms, with one on the ground floor
· improved visitor facilities
· modernised the service offer
Regards

Ruth Imeson
Team Manager Archives and Local Studies
Nottinghamshire County Council
ruth.imeson@nottscc.gov.uk
www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/archives

(With thanks to Beryl Evans)

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

FindmyPast - the How To video

FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) has created a short video to try to explain the features of the new version of the site, a radically changed beast which has alienated many long term users. It can be accessed here:

(Also on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOEi_nLLkRw)

The first minute is wasted restating the FindmyPast corporate line on just why this is so good and why the changes had to be done, after which there is then a walk through of some features - you may need to watch this a couple of times, it goes quite fast. Narrator Myko Clelland ends almost apologetically explaining that "new FindmyPast is very different but it is the same old friend" and states that the firm is "proud to be part of this passionate genealogy community".

Changes are being applied to the site to try to make it more fit for purpose, but I suspect there is still a hell of a long way to go to regain the trust of users. I've just checked, and my own personal bugbear remains what the company has done in terms of the source citations that have now been placed online for the Scottish censuses, which - not to put too fine a point on it - are basically utter crap, meaningless and completely unfit for purpose (see my recent post at http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/findmypast-scottish-censuses.html). Are there actually any genealogists advising on these things at FMP Towers?

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

Recent parish records updates at TheGenealogist

TheGenealogist (www.thegenealogist.co.uk) has recently added to its parish records collections for England and Wales.

29,000 additional baptisms from Worcestershire have been uploaded (in partnership with Malvern Family History Society), covering 1544-1891, and additional records for Essex ( 388,100 records), Kent (167,222 records), Leicestershire (2,365 records) and Monmouthshire (1,226 records).

A full lost of parish holdings on the site is accessible at
http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/nameindex/ai_content.php?show_cat=9#includes

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

Mortonhall Crematorium report given to Edinburgh City Council

There's been a bit of a local scandal here in Scotland concerning Mortonhall Crematorium in Edinburgh, and the disposal of babies cremated remains without their bereaved parents' knowledge. The BBC has the story at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-27118451.

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

Next of Kin WW1 exhibition starts in Edinburgh

The National War Museum in Edinburgh is hosting an exhibition entitled Next of Kin from today until March 2015, after which it will tour around Scotland until 1917, visiting eight venues - these are Dumfries Museum, Rozelle House (Ayr), Hawick Museum, Low Parks Museum (South Lanarkshire), Inverness Museum and Art Gallery, Perth Museum and Art Gallery, Grampian Transport Museum (Aberdeenshire) and Orkney Museum. For details on the exhibition visit https://www.nms.ac.uk/our_museums/war_museum/next_of_kin.aspx.

The BBC has an article showing some of the exhibits at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-27021381.

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

Surnames database project reaches 45,000 names

The Family Names of the United Kingdom Project, currently under way at my old university in Bristol, the University of the West of England, has now researched some 45,000 names to date in its project to document British surnames across time, completing the first phase of the project due to be published in 2016.

The project was recently revised and given additional funding to include surnames for which there are still at least 20 people bearing it as a minimum, as opposed to the previous 100.

The full update is available at both www.medievalists.net/2014/04/14/database-uk-surnames-reached-45000-entries-dating-back-middle-ages/ and www1.uwe.ac.uk/cahe/research/bristolcentreforlinguistics/fanuk.aspx.

(With thanks to Medievalists.net)

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

SAFHS conference 2014

A quick reminder that the Scottish Association of Family History Societies (SAFHS) is holding its 25th annual conference next Saturday 26th April in Dunfermline - full details are accessible at www.safhs.org.uk/silver.asp, and the conference booking form at www.safhs.org.uk/images/2014/delegate.pdf.

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

Shropshire parish records on FindmyPast

Parish records for Shropshire are now available on FindmyPast, via http://search.findmypast.co.uk/historical-records?SearchedRecordsetName=shropshire&Region=World - collections available include banns, baptisms, marriages and burials.

(With thanks to email from Steve of the Atcherley one name study at www.atcherley.org.uk/wordpress/)

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

Centre for the History of Medicine in Ireland podcasts

The Centre for the History of Medicine in Ireland has a series of podcasts available online for free at https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/centre-for-history-medicine/id397741868?mt=2 - the latest is entitled Adelaide Hospital & upholding Protestant healthcare in Ireland,1950-1972, a talk given by Dr Robbie Roulston.

Other recent talks include Rhythm and blues - natural family planning in Ireland (1930s-1980s), by Prof. Mary Daly of UCD, and Irish Medical Student Culture, Gentility and Professional Identity, c.1830-1900, by Dr Laura Kelly of the CHOMI and UCD. In total there are 47 lectures currently available.

(With thanks to @CHOMIreland and @BelfastSickPoor)

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

Accessing records of same sex marriage in Scotland

The National Records of Scotland has put a notice up to say that the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 received Royal Assent on 12 March 2014, and that it believes that same sex marriages will essentially begin to happen in the country by the end of the year (and about time too!). The story is available at http://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/news/2014/news-on-same-sex-marriage-in-scotland.

There is of course a genealogical perspective on this story also, and I have just sent an email to the NRS to ask how the records of same sex marriages will be made accessible at the ScotlandsPeople Centre (www.scotlandspeoplehub.gov.uk). Although there is an online closure period for marriage records on the ScotlandsPeople website that are less than 75 years old, more recent records for marriages are available for consultation at the centre in Edinburgh, and across the country at facilities with access to the same database - usually within a few months of them being recorded (with indexes becoming available much more quickly).

I am assuming that as same sex marriage is essentially the same thing in legal terms now, that equal provision will be made available to access such records - but will they be made available through the current marriage database, or through some other facility, and when?

When I get an update, I'll let you know!

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

World Archives Project - 5 years on

Today sees the fifth anniversary of the World Archives Project from Ancestry (http://community.ancestry.co.uk/wap/dashboard.aspx), the initiative that allows crowdsourcing as a means to index Ancestry's rapidly growing collection of digitised material (and at a much higher standard than was previously the case).

The site's blog provides an update on where the project now stands, with some impressive stats - you can read it at http://blogs.ancestry.com/worldarchivesproject/?p=2087.

English projects currently active through the initiative:

• London, England, Selected Poor Law Removal and Settlement Records, 1828-1930 (Update)
• West Yorkshire, England, Quarter Session Orders, 1637-1914
• Liverpool, United Kingdom, Crew Lists 1860-1919
• Wells, Somerset, England, Bishop's Transcripts
• West Yorkshire, England, Alehouse Licences, 1771-1962

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

Free British records via Ancestry for Easter

In addition to the free access to Australian immigration records (see http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/free-access-to-ancestrys-australian.html) the UK wing of Ancestry is also making certain records freely available for the Easter weekend, from April 18th-21st. The records include the English and Welsh BMD indexes and probate calendars, British military records, and the 1901 and 1911 UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man census returns and summary books (excluding Scotland for 1911).

Access is available via http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/grouplist.aspx?group=easter_free_records.

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

Irish census fragments and pension search records to go online shortly

Claire Santry has announced on her Irish Genealogy News blog that the National Archives of Ireland will be simultaneously releasing (for free) its digitised images of surviving pre-1901 Irish census fragments, and Old Age Pension census search application forms, utilising data from the 1841 and 1851 censuses, on three sites on April 28th 2014 - www.genealogy.nationalarchives.ie, FindmyPast Ireland and FamilySearch.

I had an amazing piece of good fortune last year with the pension applications, allowing me to discover the identity of my five times great grandfather, via his grandson's application in 1918, which utilised census data from 1851 - you can read the full story at http://walkingineternity.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/irish-pension-applications-and-census.html.

(With thanks to Claire Santry)

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

Kent records added to FamilySearch

FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org) has added a new dataset

England, Kent, Parish Registers, 1538-1911
https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1952887

The records have been sourced from Kent History and Library Centre in Maidstone, England. Whilst the basic index is searchable from home, to view the original images you will need to visit a FamilySearch library, or partner group (including Kent History and Library Centre) to use them. Details on these can be found via https://familysearch.org/locations/.

(With thanks to John Reid's Canada's Anglo-Celtic Connections blog)

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

British Newspaper Archive lowers monthly subscription fee

The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) recently had a promotion whereby a month's access could be gained for just £10. The site has now announced that a monthly subscription will remain fixed for the foreseeable future at a cost of £9.95, a saving from the previous £29.95 for 30 days access.

Recent additions in the last 30 days:

• Aberdeen Evening Express 1951 - 1954
• Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette 1801 - 1819
• Birmingham Daily Mail, The 1881 - 1883, 1887, 1890 - 1891, 1896, 1901, 1904 - 1906, 1914 - 1916
• Birmingham Daily Post 1914 - 1917
• Birmingham Gazette 1914 - 1918
• Bradford Observer 1867
• Cambridge Independent Press 1917
• Cheltenham Chronicle 1886, 1893, 1898 - 1900
• Dublin Evening Mail 1831, 1840, 1842
• Durham County Advertiser, The 1844
• Evening Despatch 1914 - 1918
• Evening Telegraph 1879 - 1880, 1882, 1886, 1892
• Gloucester Citizen 1911 - 1912
• Hartlepool Mail 1881
• Kendal Mercury 1870
• Lancashire Evening Post, The 1887 - 1902
• Liverpool Daily Post 1875 - 1876, 1881 - 1882, 1887, 1915 - 1918
• Newcastle Journal 1893, 1917
• Nottingham Evening Post 1907 - 1909, 1911, 1915, 1920, 1945 - 1950
• Oxford Times, The 1863 - 1870
• Sheffield Evening Telegraph 1915 - 1916, 1918
• Shetland Times, The 1885
• Shields Daily Gazette 1874
• Stamford Mercury 1846, 1930
• Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette 1937
• Sussex Agricultural Express, The 1891, 1893, 1920, 1931, 1935, 1945
• Western Gazette 1865, 1911
• Yorkshire Evening Post 1915, 1929 - 1930, 1937, 1952
• Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, The 1923, 1925

UPDATE: The old monthly subscription was subject to a maximum of 600 page views per 30 days. The new package is being advertised as 'unlimited'. However, the small print states that unlimited is actually "Subject to our standard fair usage policy of 3,000 pages per month. For more information, please read our Terms & Conditions". Nevertheless, that's five times the access previously available, at a third of the cost. (With thanks to Amy Sell)

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.

Forthcoming TNA events at Kew

The following events are being held at the National Archives at Kew (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk):

Georgian Londoners: the making of a modern city FREE
Thursday 24 April 2014 14:00 - 15:00

User Forum FREE
Thursday 24 April 12:30 - 13:45Writer of the month: Fighting on the Home Front - the

And in May:

01 May 2014
Fighting on the Home Front - the Legacy of Women in World War One TICKET

01 May 2014
The naval policy of the Free Church of Scotland FREE

08 May 2014
Reluctant regicides? The trial of Charles I revisited FREE

12 May 2014
Webinar: Why did people fear the Victorian workhouse? FREE

15 May 2014
Finding my father in Mesopotamia FREE

29 May 2014
Inconvenient people and how to find them: tales from the Victorian lunacy panics  FREE

Full details at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/visit/events.htm

Chris

Time to find your inner Irish...! All the best online Irish genealogy resources can be found through my book Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet - in print and ebook formats. "Very useful, makes me wish I was Irish!" - Saint Patrick, patron saint.

Irish Newspaper Archives additions

The following titles have been added to the Irish Newspaper Archives website (www.irishnewsarchive.com):

The Connaught Telegraph 1830-1899
The Dundalk Democrat 1849-1913

I picked up on an announcement late last night that the site was offering temporary free access until this morning (password and username both freebie16 - currently still working as I write this). The site has been upgraded, though is still dogged by a slow return on searches made through its new interface. Nevertheless, it is the best online resource - by a long mile - for Irish newspaper research.

Although it was a slow process, a discovery I made last night was that a brother of my two times great gran was one of the first tramway workers to abandon his tram on the street on August 26th 1913, in what became Ireland's most bitter industrial dispute, the Dublin Lockout. Persevere with the site, and you may likely be similarly rewarded!

Chris

Time to find your inner Irish...! All the best online Irish genealogy resources can be found through my book Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet - in print and ebook formats. "Very useful, makes me wish I was Irish!" - Saint Patrick, patron saint.

Shut for Easter

Please be advised that virtually every archive establishment of any genealogical use whatsoever is shut tomorrow (Good Friday) and on Easter Monday next week.

You are therefore cordially advised to eat your Easter eggs, and to await the normal resumption of family history institutions in a calm and dignified manner...!

Chris

Time to find your inner Irish...! All the best online Irish genealogy resources can be found through my book Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet - in print and ebook formats. "Very useful, makes me wish I was Irish!" - Saint Patrick, patron saint.

Ulster Historical Foundation adds more Anglican records to database

The Ulster Historical Foundation has added the following Anglican (Church of Ireland) baptismal records to its Ancestry Ireland database at www.ancestryireland.com:

Aghaderg CI, Down 
1814 – 1870 (2692 records)

Blaris CI (Lisburn), Antrim & Down 
1720 – 1750, 1763 – 1819 (11,125 records)

Christchurch CI, (Belfast), Antrim 
1850 – 1870 (15,426 records)

Dromore CI, Down 
1784 – 1816, 1858 -1871 (5473 records)

Some additonal details from the email announcing the release:

The register for Aghaderg Church of Ireland includes the first name of the mother of the child and sometimes her maiden name. The father’s occupation was recorded between 1839 and 1870. In addition, between the years 1832 and 1838, each child had at least three sponsors!

In 1728 the minister for Blaris Church of Ireland recorded some of the occupations of the fathers whose children were being baptised. We can see therefore that in the town of Lisburn at that time there was a shoemaker, saddler, potter, inn-holder, gardener, chandler, whipmaker, blacksmith, hatter, ‘joyner’, and glazier. If the father was a soldier, the name of his Regiment was often recorded in this register, particularly in the 1790s.

The register for Christchurch Church of Ireland in Belfast contains the exact street address of the family, the father’s occupation and the mother’s full name including her maiden name; much like the information contained on a civil birth record but these registers date from 14 years before the start of civil registration in 1864. The minister from 1855 to 1859 also recorded the Church where the parents were married, a most useful piece of information, particularly if they had married outside of Belfast or even Ireland. Places of marriage detailed in this register include Glasgow, Edinburgh, Falkirk and Greenock in Scotland; Liverpool, Carlisle, Sefton in Lancashire, Manchester, London and Cornwall in England as well as America and Gibraltar!

The register for Dromore Church of Ireland contained the name of the mother, including her maiden name. The father’s occupation was recorded from 1858.

In addition, for Easter, the group is offering The Book of Ulster Surnames, with over 500 entries of the most common family names in Ulster, for just £5.00 (normally £12.99), plus postage and packing. In addition, anyone purchasing a copy of Dissenting Voices: Rediscovering the Irish Progressive Presbyterian Tradition by Roger Courtney will have the opportunity to buy the lavishly illustrated Presbyterians in Ireland for just £5.00 (plus postage and packing).

(With thanks to the UHF)

Chris

Time to find your inner Irish...! All the best online Irish genealogy resources can be found through my book Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet - in print and ebook formats. "Very useful, makes me wish I was Irish!" - Saint Patrick, patron saint.

Free access to Ancestry's Australian immigration records

Ancestry down under (www.ancestry.com.au) is temporarily offering free access to its immigration collections:

DISCOVER YOUR STORY NOW!
Discover the story behind your family’s journey to Australia with FREE access to all our Australian Immigration records until Monday 21st April. Featuring 3.5 million new records that include the Ten Pound Poms, you can search all Australian immigration from 1780 right up to 1963 for FREE during the Easter long weekend.

Access the collections via www.ancestry.com.au/cs/au/immigration2014?o_xid=59831&o_lid=59831&o_sch=Newspaper

Chris

Time to find your inner Irish...! All the best online Irish genealogy resources can be found through my book Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet - in print and ebook formats. "Very useful, makes me wish I was Irish!" - Saint Patrick, patron saint.

Eneclann and NLI workshops in Dublin

From Eneclann (www.eneclann.ie):

Eneclann and Ancestor Network set up monthly expert workshops in Trinity College Dublin and the NLI.

“Family History is very much a "one-man-band", and opportunities for Continuous Professional Development are hard to come by”.

With this in mind, Eneclann and Ancestor Network have partnered, to create a regular series of expert workshops on key topics. From April 2014, they will hold monthly workshops in Trinity College Dublin, and the National Library of Ireland. Fiona Fitzsimon of Eneclann said, "We developed the workshops to provide a dynamic approach to building skills in Irish family history. Our main aim is to act collaboratively, to share knowledge and methods and create a 'commonwealth of ideas' among family historians."

The workshops kicked off on Thursday 10th April, and Saturday 12th April, with Eneclann's own Fiona Fitzsimons speaking on how to trace records of children raised in care from the 1840s to the 1990s.

On Thursday 24th April 2014, visiting academic Dr. Liz Rushen will present a workshop at the NLI on womens' emigration to Australia in the 1800s. Dr. Rushen a Research Fellow at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, is the former Executive Director of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria. She is the author of fifteen books, three of them co-authored with Perry McIntyre - Quarantined (2007); The Merchant's Women (2008) and Fair Game: Australia's first Immigrant Women (2010). Her most recent book, Colonial Duchesses: the migration of Irish Women to New South Wales before the great Famine, will be launched in Ireland in April by the Australian Ambassador.

Liz Rushen’s work focuses on the 1830s to the 1850s. They were decades in which decisive changes took place in the demography of the eastern colonies of Australia. Potential emigrants were attracted to the British government’s schemes, but there were long-lasting tensions between the government’s commitment to imperialism and the wishes of influential colonists for self-determination.  The women immigrants were very often caught in the middle. http://www.rushen.com.au/books.html

The closing date to apply for tickets to Dr. Rushen's workshop is Friday 18th April. These are free events, open to all family historians and independent scholars, but attendance is by ticket only.

To apply email familyhistoryworkshop@eneclann.ie

(With thanks to Laura Carroll)

Chris

Time to find your inner Irish...! All the best online Irish genealogy resources can be found through my book Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet - in print and ebook formats. "Very useful, makes me wish I was Irish!" - Saint Patrick, patron saint.

Ancestry publishes Manchester nonconformist church records

Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) has published three collections of Manchester sourced nonconformist church vital records:

Manchester, England, Non-Conformist Births and Baptisms, 1758-1912
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=3758

Manchester, England, Non-Conformist Marriages, 1758-1937
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=9095

Manchester, England, Non-Conformist Deaths and Burials, 1758-1987
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=9096

The records have been obtained from various sources:

• Greater Manchester County Record Office / Manchester Archives and Local Studies
• Tameside Local Studies and Archives
• Oldham Archives and Local Studies
• Wigan Archives Services
• Bury Archives Service
• Stockport Archive Service

Chris

Time to find your inner Irish...! All the best online Irish genealogy resources can be found through my book Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet - in print and ebook formats. "Very useful, makes me wish I was Irish!" - Saint Patrick, patron saint.

A research visit to Ireland

Apologies everyone, there has been a bit of a gap in the last few days on this blog, as I have been in Ireland doing some research and visiting family!

I first spent a few days in Piltown in Co. Kilkenny, where my wife and I had one of the greatest family history related experiences ever since I first started looking into the past on her side - you can read about our experience at http://walkingineternity.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/the-french-horn.html.

Somewhat more disappointing, however, was the fact that a series of pawn shop ledgers I had previously been allowed to look at about eighteen months ago (see http://walkingineternity.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/pawn-shop-ledgers.html) have now been removed from a heritage centre in Carrick-on-Suir and placed into its vault, with the public no longer allowed to access them. I have been encouraged to email them to do a search for me, which I will do, but having previously spent a day and getting only a third of the way through them, the task will be substantial, and I can only hope the volunteers there will be as fascinated by their genealogical potential as I was on my last trip!

Also on my trip I recced a site where a battle took place on a farm belonging to my wife's great grandfather during the Irish Civil War in 1922. Unfortunately, like a complete eejit, when I left Piltown yesterday morning I left my coat behind by mistake, along with my wallet and camera in the pockets. I should have listened to myself - I knew our morning start was going to be waaayyy too early...! :)

Yesterday afternoon I then spent a few hours traipsing the length and breadth of Islandmagee in County Antrim to find graves and old family homes (much to my wife's and wee sister's amusement!), including this one to the right which may prove to be highly significant for my Montgomery ancestry there.

The significance here lies in that although the transcriptions from St John's Church of Ireland cemetery have been published, the record for this stone reportedly noted the date of death for this Nathaniel Holmes as being in 1912, aged 60. In fact, that turned out to be an error - it is in fact 1812 (so born circa 1752), and as such, this may well be the grave of my earliest settled Montgomery ancestor on the peninsula. I recently established from other sources that it looks like the family was not there in the 1770s - the earliest I have for the family there so far is with two apparent brothers in the early 1800s, via rental records held at PRONI dating back to 1812. Much more to do on this front!

Another great part of the day was to visit Brown's Bay, at the far north of the island. Not only did I get to see the area where my four times great grandfather David Gordon and three times great grandfather Robert Montgomery once resided, I also got to see somewhere that I have not visited since I was a wee boy in Carrickfergus - and it was an absolutely gorgeous day, a great one to watch the ferries sailing off from Larne to Troon in Scotland!

Just to top it all off, as I was seated in the car park at the ferry terminal last night, awaiting the boat back to Cairnryan, I suddenly received a message on Facebook - "Are you in a red C4?"! It turned out that directly behind me in the queue was Brynley Williams, a former classmate of mine at Carrickfergus Grammar School who I had not seen since school, some 25 years ago. Quite coincidentally, it was only two weeks ago that I blogged about an initiative that Bryn was setting up in Aberdeen for his Wobbly Williams charity, which is seeking funding for research into a cure for Parkinson's (see http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/wobbly-williams-wobbly-day-out.html). Needless to say, we had a hell of a lot to catch up with on the Irish Sea!

Normal service will soon be resumed... :)

Chris

Time to find your inner Irish...! All the best online Irish genealogy resources can be found through my book Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet - in print and ebook formats. "Very useful, makes me wish I was Irish!" - Saint Patrick, patron saint.

Forthcoming PRONI events

From PRONI in Belfast:

Public Talk: Experiences of the Poor and Excluded
23rd April, 1pm to 2pm

Join us to hear a lunchtime talk from our very own Dr. Glynn Kelso, who will explore the lives of those who faced poverty and destitution in late 18th to early 20th Ireland. We will explore historic poorhouse registers, church poor relief documents and hospital records to piece together the poignant real-life experiences these people faced. Consequently, this talk will provide an excellent introduction to anyone interested in demystifying and researching these types of records for themselves.


Belfast: Past, Present, Future
Lecture Series in May/June

This is a reminder that we have another exciting lecture series coming up relating to the historical development of Belfast. Five specialists will take us on an exploration of the infrastructure, architecture and urban society of a city, that changed itself from a small coastal settlement into the most industrialised metropolis in Ireland. Within this context, we will also discuss recent developments and outlook for Belfast’s future.


Giro d’Italia: The Big Start
9-11 May 2014

The Giro d'Italia, one of the world's biggest sporting occasions, will launch from Belfast's Titanic Quarter from 9th to 10th of May. We expect there to be heavy traffic disruption around Titanic Quarter on Friday 9th May, as well as potential congestion on Thursday 8th of May. We strongly recommend that any users who wish to visit PRONI on these days make use of public transport where possible. PRONI is a 10-15 minute walk from Titanic Quarter Railway Station; and is also accessible from the City Centre by Metro 26.

To mark this exciting event, PRONI will soon install a small exhibition in our atrium on the history of cycling in Ireland, along with a digital gallery of highlight images. Also check out our Document of the Month for April to put you in the mood!


Sunningdale Conference
23 May 2014

Last but not least, we would like to announce details of a very special conference coming up in May relating to a key event in the history of our own democracy.

In December 1973 the Sunningdale Agreement, which aimed to establish a power-sharing executive in Northern Ireland and cross-border Council of Ireland, was signed. By May 1974, this agreement had collapsed, owing to political opposition, violence and a large general strike. Forty years on from these tumultuous events, the Institute for Research in the Social Sciences at the University of Ulster and the Political Studies Association (Irish Specialist Group) will stage a special conference at PRONI to discuss just what happened; unravel Sunningdale’s legacy; and suggest how this relates to our current democratic practice.

Eminent historians, journalists, commentators, archivists and eyewitnesses to the historic period will gather for this event. All members of the public are very welcome to attend.

Further details at www.proni.gov.uk

(With thanks to Garth Stewart at PRONI)

Chris

Time to find your inner Irish...! All the best online Irish genealogy resources can be found through my book Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet - in print and ebook formats. "Very useful, makes me wish I was Irish!" - Saint Patrick, patron saint.

How to Search FindmyPast - the blog entry

Find my Past's latest blog post, its first in a fortnight, is entitled, errr... How to search Find my Past - it is accessible at http://blog.findmypast.co.uk/2014/how-to-search-findmypast/.

The new version of the site is quite rightly being condemned on many genealogy forums as a bit of a nightmare to use (and I'm being diplomatic!) - the new blog post provides some tips on how to use the new version, its most useful tip being to access individual collections via the A-Z list on the site. In the meantime, the company has its work cut out for it with making the site anywhere near as fit for purpose as its predecessor.

Chris

Time to find your inner Irish...! All the best online Irish genealogy resources can be found through my book Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet - in print and ebook formats. "Very useful, makes me wish I was Irish!" - Saint Patrick, patron saint.

Society of Genealogists - special events

From the Society of Genealogists (www.sog.org.uk) in London, news of two special forthcoming events:

Monday 28 April, 11am - Getting the most from FindmyPast New Search

Like many home subscribers, the computers at the Society of Genealogists have just switched to the new style findmypast website. As the changes are quite significant the Society has arranged some special training in using the new style search functions etc. Paul Nixon, UK Data Strategy with DC Thompson Family History has agreed to come to the Society to make a training presentation and explain how it all works now.

Paul tells us “The new look fmp is very different from the old version but once you get used to it, I’m sure you will find the search facility a good deal more powerful than the old version”

So here’s the opportunity to check it out with the expert. This training will last approximately 1-1.5 hours (please note the society is closed to research this day, as normal).

Spaces are limited so this free special event is limited to staff, volunteers and members, tickets are on a first-come, first-serve basis. Please book through the events pages of the Society’s website


12-16 May 10:30-17:00 Family History Getaway: Breaking Further through Brick Walls

Spend another week on your family history with the Society of Genealogists. The Society of Genealogists is hosting a follow-up to its very successful five day extensive genealogy programme in its Library in London. Attendees on this intensive course are expected EITHER to have attended the first Getaway held last August OR to have a good and practical knowledge of genealogical research using online databases, indexes and finding aids back into the early 1800s.

This course will concentrate on researching before 1837 and focuses on using techniques and resources, at the SoG and elsewhere, to tackle genealogical conundrums and take your family history further. However, there will be plenty of opportunity to concentrate on your own research as use of the Society’s extensive genealogical library is included in the course and there will be opportunities for personal consultations with the tutors and members of the Sog’s expert help and advice team. The course will be led by Else Churchill, Genealogist at the Society of Genealogists and members of the lectures and education team. A full programme of the week can be viewed here.

A week-long intensive course, includes a sandwich lunch. Must be pre-booked, cost 220.00/176.00 SoG members. Payment can be made on our website or by telephone: 020 7553 3290.

(With thanks to Lori Weinstein)

Chris

Time to find your inner Irish...! All the best online Irish genealogy resources can be found through my book Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet - in print and ebook formats. "Very useful, makes me wish I was Irish!" - Saint Patrick, patron saint.