English and Welsh criminal records added to FindmyPast

FindmyPast (www.findmypast.com) has added a third phase to its English and Welsh criminal records datasets. From the site's blog:

England & Wales, Crime, Prisons & Punishment, 1770-1935

Over 2.5 million new records have been added to our England and Wales, Crime, Prisons and Punishment collection, released in partnership with The National Archives. The records contain the details of felons who passed through the criminal justice system in England and Wales between 1770 and 1935, and can reveal the exact nature of the individual's crime, where and when the offence was committed, as well as the sentence they received. Many records also include physical descriptions, petitions for clemency, reports on behavior, health and education and photographic mug shots. The details of victims and government officials working within the penal system can also found within the collection.

The new additions are taken from eight substantial and widely varied records series held by The National Archives at Kew. England & Wales, Crime, Prisons and Punishment now contains over 5.5 million transcripts, all accompanied by scanned images of the original documents, and is the largest collection of crime and punishment records available online.

The collection is searchable at http://search.findmypast.com/search-world-records/england-and-wales-crime-prisons-and-punishment-1770-1935 (it can also be browsed). Source details are available on that page also.

Also released:

* Britain, Chronicles of Crime or the New Newgate Calendar, vols I & II, pub 1841
* Tasmania Convict records 1800-1893

Further details at https://blog.findmypast.com/findmypast-friday-july-22nd-2016-1949005591.html

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Scottish Borders nonconformist indexes join Ancestry

Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) has added third party web indexes to its site linking to three datasets of Scottish nonconformist records (i.e. non-Church of Scotland), created by Graham and Emma Maxwell, and mostly from the Borders area.

The collections are:

Web: Scotland, Non-OPR Births and Baptisms Index, 1666-1874
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=70829

Web: Scotland, Non-OPR Banns and Marriages Index, 1656-1875
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=70830

Web: Scotland, Non-OPR Deaths and Burials Index, 1673-1855
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=70831

The datasets redirect to the couple's Scottish Indexes website at www.scottishindexes.com - details of areas covered by these collections is available at www.scottishindexes.com/coveragebmd.aspx

NB: Further information on Scottish church records, from the established church and the nonconformist denominations, is available in my book Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), available for sale in a print edition in Canada and Australia (see http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html)

The books is also available worldwide via Genealogy e-Books at www.gen-ebooks.com/discover-scottish-church-records-2nd-ed.html.

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

The missionary rescue mission

The following was first posted on my personal blog in December 2010, but may be of interest if you have missionaries in your family tree!

The missionary rescue mission

My family has a long association with the Royal Navy. My father was a submariner, my uncle in the Fleet Air Arm, and my brother a Chief Petty Officer, whilst several cousins have also served in the senior service. And then there was my grandfather's cousin Mary...! Mary was not in the Royal Navy, but a Presbyterian missionary serving in China. She too, however, was destined to travel aboard a Royal Naval vessel.

In 1937 a British warship set sail from Hong Kong with a single mission in mind - to rescue Mary Paton. From the Daily Mirror of Se
ptember 14th 1937:

WARSHIP SPEEDS TO RESCUE LONE BRITISH MISSIONARY WOMAN

British destroyer HMS Thracian speeded from Hong Kong under special orders yesterday...

She was off to the rescue of Miss Mary Paton, a fifty-year-old Presbyterian missionary, solitary British resident of the small town of Swabue, South China.

For twenty-three years Miss Paton has defied war, fever and bandits to found schools in remote Chinese villages.

But now she must leave for the Japanese have landed near, at Bias Bay, after having bombarded fortified positions in the district.

It is reported from Hong Kong that after the ships' guns had bombarded the town at Bias Bay marines landed and blew up Chinese naval works and anti-piracy forts and an arsenal.

She Insisted

The parents of Miss Paton, who is a sister of Mr William Paton, chief of the Presbyterian Mission Society, live in Watford, Herts.

She returned to England for a short time, but eighteen months ago she insisted on returning to Swabue, where she founded another school.

Mr. P. V. Thomas, head of the American Seventh Day Adventist Mission Hospital at Wacihow, arrived at Hong Kong yesterday with his staff.

He stated that the Japanese had bombed the hospital despite the American flags displayed.

Mr. R. G. Howe, the new British Charge d' Affaires to China, leaving Shanghai at 3.30am today for Nanking by road, informed the Chinese and Japanese authorities that the party proposed to take the same route as that covered by Sir Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen, British Ambassador to China. A large Union Jack was painted on the roof of the car.

Japan has been unable to trace any attack on Sir Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen, the British Ambassador to China, the Foreign Office spokesman stated in Tokyo.

He admitted that Japanese planes had met motor cars on the roads about Shanghai during the recent fighting, but said that none of these coincided with the time and place of the attack on Sir Hughe.

The Japanese reply to the British note on the attack is still in course of preparation.

The Chinese explained a big withdrawl on the Shanghai front yesterday.


Mary returned to England, living in Watford until she passed away in 1974, though she was able to make one final trip back to China a few years prior to her death. I have been able to carry out a great deal of research into her life, with her personal correspondence and photo albums having been donated to the London based School of Oriental and African Studies (www.soas.ac.uk), which has a fantastic archive service.

If you have missionary ancestors, other great resources include the MUNDUS database at www.mundus.ac.uk, whilst the International Mission Photography Archive at http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/p15799coll123 can also help.

Chris


For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Latest additions to The Original Record

The following have been added to The Original Record (www.theoriginalrecord.com):

1715
French Pensions of the English Civil List
A list of French pensions of the Civil List, as of 10 May 1715, giving full name and daily allowance.

1735
Inhabitants of the Isle of Portland, Dorset
An earthquake on 16 December 1735 'was felt near the Quarrys at the North End of the said Island by which the Earth for more than a mile in length sunk away from the Clift near the Sea and carry’d with it the Way leading to the Piers, Overturned the said Piers, and broke and destroyed the Crane thereon, so that at present it is impossible to carry down from the Quarry’s or to Ship Stone as formerly, by which means his Majesty will loose entirely the Revenue of fourpence per pr Tunn paid by all persons who Shipped Stone off the said Piers': this petition to the Treasury Commissioners, signed by the inhabitants of Portland, prayed 'that your Honour’s will take this Unhappy Circumstance into your Consideration and Order that the same may be Repaired fit for Shipping Stone as formerly'. T 1/288 f.167

1768
Governors and Guardians of the Foundling Hospital, London
This list of the governors and guardians of the Hospital for the Maintenance and Education of Exposed and Deserted Young Children, incorporated by royal charter 17 October 1739, is corrected to 30 March 1768.

1803
Heritors of Fife
A list of the principal heritors of the shire of Fife, compiled from the roll of the court of freeholders, and from private information, by sir Robert Sibbald; also including (marked f.) the names of those whose valued rent was known to entitle them to vote for the representative of the county in parliament, although from the present possessors being minors or females, they were not on the roll of freeholders.

1835
Masters of Wrecks
The losses of eighty British ships from late August 1835 to late January 1836 were reported at Lloyd's: this table gives the vessels' names; masters' names; where from; where headed; where wrecked; on what date; and what became of the crew - saved, lost, or abandoned ship.

1857
Liverpool Criminals and their Victims
Sentences at the Liverpool Borough Sessions in August 1857.

1901
Managers and Under-Managers of Mines
First Class Certificates of Competency as Mine Managers granted during the year 1901 (including some granted on 2 January 1902 following the Manchester and Ireland District Examination held late in December 1901. Full names are given, surname first, district in which examined, date of certificate, and number of certificate.

(With thanks to The Original Record)

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

TheGenealogist adds early army records

News of new military records datasets now available from TheGenealogist (www.thegenealogist.co.uk):

Early Military Records released

Search for your ancestors in TheGenealogist's latest release. It has just added a number of early army records to the already wide-sweeping body of armed forces data available on the site.

The earliest records in this new release are 16th century Militia Musters for Somerset. The Certificate of Musters in the County of Somerset 1569 contain names of Militiamen (soldiers raised from the civil population) and what role they carried out including archer, pikeman and light-horseman.

The Battery Records of the Royal Artillery 1716-1859 is a prime reference record containing tabulated Battery records, numerous useful historical notes, lists of various officers and more.

For Mancunian military forebears The Manchester Regiment 63rd and 96th 1758-1922 includes the succession of Colonels and an alphabetical roll of regimental officers from 1758 to 1923 showing dates of service with the Regiment, dates of promotion and date and reason for being struck off. With the centenary of the First World War these records can be used to find casualties of all ranks from "The Manchesters" in the Great War. With a list of Honours and Awards, including foreign, these digitised books also provide an interesting in-depth history of the regiment so that researchers can follow the postings of The Manchester Regiment and the action in which it took part.

Those researching Victorian soldiers will welcome the inclusion of several early Army Lists in this release for January 1838, December 1838, April 1886 and The Annual Army and Militia List 1855.

Completing this Early Military Records release is The Waterloo Roll Call of 1815 where you can search using Title, Forename, Surname, Regiment, Rank, and other fields where given. This list is of mainly officers who were present at the Battle of Waterloo in Belgium on June 18th 1815. They fought under the Duke of Wellington, whose record we can find in this collection.

All these records can be searched from the Master Search on TheGenealogist, and are now available to all Diamond subscribers.

(With thanks to TheGenealogist)

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

PRONI lecture on Merchant Seaman of Sailortown, Belfast

The latest video on the YouTube channel of the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland is entitled The Merchant Seamen of Sailortown, Belfast, 1918: 40 faces from 1918-21, a 20 minute recording of a talk given by David Snook.

The video is available at https://youtu.be/2aa4HIBBFgA and presented below for convenience:

Additional lectures from PRONI are available at https://www.youtube.com/user/PRONIonline

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

New 1916 exhibition at the Ulster Museum

From today the Ulster Museum in Belfast is hosting a new Heritage Lottery Fund funded exhibition entitled The Corr Family: Witnessing History, which looks at the lives of five brothers and sisters from the city's Ormeau Road, as they separately experienced aspects of the First World War and the Easter Rising in 1916.

The Irish News has the story, along with a photo gallery, at http://www.irishnews.com/news/2016/07/27/news/different-roads-taken-by-family-during-1916-to-be-focus-of-new-ulster-museum-exhibition-624202/.

The Ulster Museum has a story on the exhibition also at http://nmni.com/um/What-s-on/Current-Exhibitions/The-Corr-Family--Witnessing-History.

The exhibition runs from Wednesday 27th July until Tuesday 23rd August 2016.

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Royal Naval Seamen and Railway records on Ancestry

Two minor developments from Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) on the collections front:

Web: United Kingdom, Royal Naval Seamen Index, 1853 -1872
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=70684

This is a third party web index to a collection held on the website of the National Archives in England, Series ADM 139. See http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/royal-navy-ratings-service-records-1853-1928/


UK, Railway Employment Records, 1833-1956
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=1728

Listed as updated, but no detail as to with what. The original source is again the National Archives in England, with the following records:

RAIL226: Great Central Railway Company
RAIL264: Great Western Railway Company
RAIL397: London and North Eastern Railway Company
RAIL410: London and North Western Railway Company
RAIL411: London and South Western Railway Company
RAIL414: London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
RAIL415: London, Chatham and Dover Railway Company (formerly the East Kent Railway)
RAIL426: London, Midland and Scottish Railway Company
RAIL463: Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway Company
RAIL491: Midland Railway Company
RAIL1156: Special Collections: Retired Railway Officers' Society

Missing for privacy reasons:

RAIL 264 Great Western Railway Company: Staff Records
Pieces 412, 413, 440, 442, 443, 471-522

RAIL 397 London and North Eastern Railway Company: Staff Records
Piece 13

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

British Newspaper Archive approaches 15 million pages

The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) collection is fast approaching 15 million pages, with the total currently standing at 14,930,175 pages, sourced from 659 titles. The most recent additions in the last 30 days are:

Belfast Telegraph 1871 - 1881, 1886 - 1892, 1897 - 1899, 1906 - 1909
Berkshire Chronicle 1871, 1882 - 1896, 1899 - 1909
Cheltenham Mercury 1861 - 1872, 1874, 1883
Cornish Telegraph, The 1854 - 1862, 1908
Coventry Evening Telegraph 1940
Coventry Standard 1939
Daily Gazette for Middlesbrough 1939 - 1940
Dundee People's Journal 1858 - 1861, 1863 - 1865, 1871 - 1873, 1879 - 1882, 1884 - 1885, 1887 - 1892, 1914 - 1919, 1930
Essex Herald 1834, 1863, 1865 - 1876, 1878 - 1879, 1881 - 1884, 1888, 1897, 1899
Galloway Advertiser and Wigtownshire Free Press. 1852
Harrogate Herald 1917
Illustrated London News 1842 - 1899, 1901 - 1925, 1927 - 1938, 1940
Leeds Mercury 1909, 1911
Lincoln Gazette. 1877
Newcastle Daily Chronicle. 1859
Newcastle Evening Chronicle 1939 - 1940
Peterborough Advertiser 1876 - 1877
Petersfield Express 1879
Pontefract Advertiser. 1858, 1891
Shepton Mallet Journal 1858 - 1872, 1874 - 1885, 1899, 1901 - 1911, 1913 - 1950
Sports Argus 1939 - 1940
Western Chronicle 1891, 1908 - 1910, 1912 - 1927
Western Daily Mercury. 1864, 1883

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Oxfordshire Family History Society fair October 1st

Oxfordshire Family History Society (www.ofhs.org.uk) is holding a Family History Fair at Woodstock on Saturday 1st October 2016. From its website:

Our 2016 Family History Fair will again be held at The Marlborough School just outside Woodstock.

As usual it will run from 10am to 4pm.

This venue has a generous flat exhibition area and ample car parking. The accessibility has been appreciated, and remarked upon, by both exhibitors and visitors alike.

The Family History Fair will feature the usual assortment of visiting Societies, publishers, dealers in second hand books and postcards, and the like. The stands will be spread across both the Marlborough Enterprise Centre (MEC) Hall and the adjoining Sports Hall.

Our own Society's range of transcripts and search services will be available for consultation, whilst we will also be manning a beginners' helpdesk. Additionally, there will be computing advice on such things as which genealogical software package to choose, and the use of the internet in family history.

Please visit this page regularly (or fill in the box at the foot of the page to be notified by email when changes are made) as we confirm all the services and stalls that will be on offer to further your family history research.

A range of delicious hot and cold food, cakes and teas/coffees etc, will again be provided by Wendy of Good Food Catering which received many compliments at the 2015 fair!

Free on-site parking and free admission to the Fair, don't miss it!
 
For further details, inclusing a list of attending vendors and societies, please visit http://www.ofhs.org.uk/fair.html

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Latest FindmyPast additions

The latest additions to FindmyPast (www.findmypast.com) include the following:

British Army Service Records Image Browse
Browse our collection of more than 7.8 million records and delve through a myriad of Army forms including attestation papers, medical forms, discharge documents and more.

Scotland, Linlithgowshire (West Lothian), Electoral Registers 1864-1931 Image Browse
Browse 485 volumes of Scottish electoral registers to find out if your ancestor voted, if they owned property and to discover their exact location between censuses.

Britain, Absent Voters Lists 1918-1921 Browse
Browse 182 volumes Absent Voters Lists and uncover the names of thousands of service men and women who were away supporting the war effort during World War 1.

New South Wales 1901 Census
Explore over 232,000 records, the only surviving fragments of the New South Wales 1901 census, to discover where your ancestors were living and who was living with them. Included in each result is a transcript and image of the original census document.

PERiodical Source Index
18,257 articles from 94 publications have been added in our June update. The articles, photos, and maps found within PERSI can help flush out the historical context of your family history research.

Further details at https://blog.findmypast.com/findmypast-friday--1935939315.html

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Latest additions to The Original Record

New additions to The Original Records (www.theoriginalrecord.com):

Added this week:

1725
Citizens of London
A list of the persons who polled for Charles Goodfellow esquire at the late election for a member of parliament to represent the city of London, held 23rd to 28th November 1724. Full names are given, surname first, arranged by the livery companies to which the citizens belonged. This list was published in The Daily Post and elsewhere: 'Gentlemen, we desire you will carefully examine the following list of polsters, and in case you find yourselves or friends polled by others, or any polled who are dead or absent, or who have no right, that you'll give immediate notice thereof at Salter's Hall in Swithin's Lane, where attendance will be daily given from 8 a-clock in the morning till 9 a-clock at night. It is not doubted but the endeavours to obtain a law to secure your invaded rights and privileges will be soon successful, this should now excite you to a diligent search after false pollers, which will in all probability make the majority greater for sir Richard Hopkins. N.B. The scrutineers so far as they have proceeded, do find a much greater number of false pollers for Mr Goodfellow, than for sir Richard Hopkins.'

1789
Coggeshall, Essex, Owners and Occupiers
The rental of the copyhold and freehold estates held of the manor of Coggeshall or Coggeshall Hall, gives for each holding the annual rent; the name of the owner of the estate at Michaelmas 1789; the name(s) of the occupier(s) at that time; and a description of the copyhold premises.

1824
Deaf and Dumb Children
At a general meeting of the committee of the Deaf and Dumb Asylum, London, held 12 July 1824, fifteen boys and fifteen girls were elected for admission.

1830
Sentenced to Death, Transportation or Imprisonment at Gloucester Assizes
31 prisoners were sentenced to death at Gloucester Assizes in April 1830; 11 to seven months' transportation; 36 to various terms of imprisonment; 23 were acquitted; four admitted King's Evidence; and against three the bills were ignored.

1833
Visitors to Buxton, Derbyshire
The Derby Mercury of 14 August 1833 carries this list of arrivals at Buxton.

1861-1905
Women Students Entering Stockwell Teacher Training College
This list, revised to August 1908, gives the student's name and her then address (if known); the Remarks column indicates whether she left the course early; left the profession; went abroad; died; became a headmistress; and/or married: married name is often given.

1898
Subscribers to the History of Wisbech
Frederic John Gardiner's 'History of Wisbech and Neighbourhood during the last Fifty Years, 1848-1898' attracted a subscription list, mainly from the immediate vicinity of Wisbech.

(With thanks to The Original Record)

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Summer Talks 2016 at the National Library of Ireland

From the Irish Family History Centre (www.irishfamilyhistorycentre.com):

Join us for the return of @NLIreland
Summer Talks 2016

Curated by Fiona Fitzsimons of the Irish Family History Centre, the Summer Talks @NLIreland features a glorious gallimaufry of guest speakers exploring aspects of Irish Family History.The Summer Talks series takes place in the Genealogy Room, NLI, Kildare St., at 1pm every Tuesday and Thursday, commencing Tuesday 26th July, concluding Thursday 8th September

This is the 5th year of this successful talks series.

_______________________________________________

For the 2016 Summer Talks, our line-up of speakers features some of the leading creative artists, scholars and activists in Ireland, discussing how their work intersects with Irish family history, to inspire and influence them.

In 2016, the talks presented range from Ireland’s prehistory (Ogham Stones), to an up-to-the-minute discussion of what constitutes Irish-American identity today?

In between we consider, who were the first Irish settlers; learn how family and local history is in the DNA of our native Irish language; gain a new perspective on Oscar Wilde; explore how family stories provided the inspiration for one of Ireland’s foremost contemporary writers; and cross linguistic boundaries with a signed/ interpreted talk on the history of Deaf Culture in Ireland.

We’re confident that our speakers will entertain, stimulate your interest, and inspire your research.

Le gach dea-mhéin,

Fiona Fitzsimons


“Fiona Fitzsimons has put together an exciting line-up of speakers for the Summer Talks 2016 series at the National Library. We’re delighted to work with The Irish Family History Centre operated by Eneclann on the series for the 5th year in a row.”

Ciara Kerrigan, NLI


July
o Sinead McCoole: Mná - 25 years of searching - lessons & leads
Date: July 26th

o Dermot Bolger: A reading from his new novel - The Lonely Sea and Sky, followed by a talk.
Date: July 28th

August
o Paul McCotter : Territory, maps and genealogy
Date: August 2nd

o Fiona Fitzsimons: Explorations in Irish genealogy
Date: August 4th

* Liam Breen / Cormac Leonard (interpreter): A history of Deaf Culture in Ireland
Date: August 9th

* Nuala Ni Dhomhnaill: ‘The selkie’s skin’: How Irish oral traditions preserve family and local history
Date: August 11th

* Eleanor Fitzsimons: Wilde’s women: How Oscar Wilde was shaped by the women in his life.
Date: August 16th

* Damien Shiels: The Forgotten Irish: Revealing the voices of Irish 19th Century Emigrants
Date: August 18th

* U.S. Ambassador O’Malley: Irish American identity, how do we sustain the people to people links between Ireland and the United States?
Date: August 23rd

* Aoife O’ Connor: Seen? Heard? Records of Children in Nineteenth Century Ireland
Date: August 25th

* Clodagh Tait: The Simple annals of my parish poor: stories from parish registers
Date: August 30th


September
* Nora White: Ogham Stones – Our earliest genealogical sources
Date: September 1st

* Joe Buggy: Ten free websites for U.S. genealogy research.
Date: September 6th

* Professor Dan Bradley: Adventures in ancient DNA: Who were the first Irish?
Date: September 8th

For more information and for event updates keep an eye on our Website blog at www.Irishfamilyhistorycentre.com, our Facebook page, and on Twitter via @FionaFitzsimons

We will provide regular updates with all the information you need, Email us at marketing@eneclann.ie

See you then!

(With thanks to Laura Carroll)

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

GRO Belfast search room reopens after passports pressure

The General Register Office for Northern Ireland has reopened its public search room, having been forced to temporarily close it in recent weeks, such was the demand for birth certificates for Irish passport applications on the back of the Brexit vote.

For the full story visit the Irish News story at www.irishnews.com/news/2016/07/19/news/-high-demand-for-birth-certificates-in-the-wake-of-brexit-610940/.

I have been one of those who has applied for Irish passports, as have my two sons. For details on how we have sought to do so, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/claiming-irish-passport.html.

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Forthcoming talks and webinars from the National Archives

Forthcoming talks and webinars hosted by the National Archives (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk) in England:

Wednesday 27 July 2016, 11:00 am
Serving on the Somme

Wednesday 27 July 2016, 6:00 pm
Webinar - Naturalisation and citizenship records

Thursday 28 July 2016, 2:00 pm
Writing to a ghost: Far East prisoners of war

Saturday 6 August 2016, 10:30 am
Potatoes in bread and other delicacies

Tuesday 9 August 2016, 6:00 pm
Webinar - Using Discovery for family history

Friday 12 August 2016, 11:00 am
Behind the scenes tour

Tuesday 16 August 2016, 10:00 am
The Shakespeare Records

Tuesday 16 August 2016, 10:30 am
The Great Fire of London

Wednesday 17 August 2016, 2:00 pm
A tourist's guide to Shakespeare's London

Friday 19 August 2016, 6:00 pm
Webinar - Birth, marriage and death records at The National Archives

Wednesday 24 August 2016, 2:00 pm
Cinema in the First World War

Thursday 25 August 2016, 6:00 pm
Webinar - Inventions that didn't change the world

For full details please visit http://nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/visit-us/whats-on/events/.

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Ancestry adds Norfolk parish records

Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) has added the following parish record collections for Norfolk in England:

Norfolk, England, Church of England Baptism, Marriages, and Burials, 1535-1812
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=61045

Norfolk, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1915
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=61042

Norfolk, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1940
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=61043

Norfolk, England, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-1990
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=61044

The source for the record collections is Norfolk Record Office, Norwich, Norfolk, England.

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

TNA podcast - 100 years of the Women's Institute

The latest podcast from the National Archives (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk) in England is entitled 100 years of the WI: The acceptable face of feminism, a 50 minute lecture by Maggie Andrews, professor of Cultural History of the University of Worcester.

The lecture can be listened to at http://media.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php/100-years-wi-acceptable-face-feminism/ or downloaded for free via iTunes.

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Stirlingshire poor law record indexes online

Stirling Archives has uploaded a series of PDF file based indexes for the poor relief records from fourteen periods within the Stirling Council area. Each file carries a fairly detailed entry for each application, with a typical entry noing name, age, residence, marital status, occupation and if entry to a poorhouse, the date of entry. The full list of files are availabe at http://www.stirlingarchives.scot/poor-relief-indexes/.

The parishes covered are as follows (with appropriate accession numbers for the original registers):

Aberfoyle
Aberfoyle Parochial Board Minutes 1877-1894 (PR/AB/1/1)

Balfron
Balfron General Register of Poor 1865-1894 (PR/BA/5/1)
Balfron General Register of Poor 1895-1929 (PR/BA/5/2)
Balfron Record of Applications 1913-1915 (PR/BA/4/1)
Balfron Record of Applications 1915-1924 (PR/BA/4/2)
Balfron Record of Applications 1924-1930 (PR/BA/4/3)

Balquhidder
Balquhidder General Register of the Poor 1889-1929 (PR/BQ/4/1)

Buchanan
Buchanan Parish Council General Register 1883-1926 (PR/BU/2/1)
Buchanan Parish Council Minutes 1906-1924 (PR/BU/1/1)
Buchanan Parish Council Minutes 1925-1930 (PR/BU/1/2)

Callander
Callander Register of Poor Persons Admitted on Roll 1814-1864 (PR/CA/4/2)
Callander Register of Poor Persons on the Roll of the Parish 1846-1854 (PR/CA/4/1)
Callander Register of the Poor 1826-1895 (PR/CA/5/1)
Callander General Register of the Poor 1870-1929 (PR/CA/5/2)
Callander Applications for Poor Relief 1855-1871 (PR/CA/3/1)
Callander Record of Applicants 1877-1886 (PR/CA/3/2)

Drymen
Drymen Parish Council Minute Book 1915-1935 (PR/DR/1/3)

Fintry
Fintry Register of Poor Persons 1835-1868 (PR/FI/3/1)
Fintry Parochial Board Register of the Poor 1865-1898 (PR/FI/4/1)
Fintry General Register of the Poor 1876-1926 (PR/FI/4/2)
Fintry Record of Applications 1925-1930 (PR/FI/3/2)

Gargunnock
Gargunnock Minutes of the Parochial Board 1840-1871 (PR/GA/1/1)
Gargunnock Minute Book of the Parochial Board 1871-1895 (PR/GA/1/2)
Gargunnock Register of the Poor 1805-1864 (PR/GA/3/1)
Gargunnock Register of the Poor 1845-1892 (PR/GA/3/2)
Gargunnock Register of the Poor 1893-1906 (PR/GA/3/3)
Gargunnock Poor Relief - Children's Register 1862 (PR/GA/4/1)
Gargunnock Poor Relief Applications 1855-1879 (PR/GA/2/1)
Gargunnock Poor Relief Applications 1879-1887 (PR/GA/2/2)
Gargunnock Poor Relief Applications 1888-1898 (PR/GA/2/3)
Gargunnock Poor Relief Applications 1898-1914 (PR/GA/2/4)
Gargunnock Poor Relief Applications 1915-1929 (PR/GA/2/5)

Killearn
Killearn Record of Applications 1894-1922 (PR/KI/3/1)

Kippen
Kippen General Register of Poor 1845-1868 (PR/KN/5/1)
Kippen General Register of Poor 1845-1922 (PR/KN/5/2)
Kippen General Register of Poor 1923-1929 (PR/KN/5/3)

Kippen Applications for Relief 1878-1894 (PR/KN/4/1)
Kippen Applications for Relief 1895-1903 (PR/KN/4/2)
Kippen Register of Applications 1903-1907 (PR-KN-4-3)
Kippen Record of Applications for Parochial Relief 1907-1919 (PR/KN/4/4)
Kippen Applications for Poor Relief 1919-1926 (PR/KN/4/5)
Kippen Applications for Poor Relief 1926-1929 (PR/KN/4/6)
Kippen Record of Applications for Parochial Relief 1929-1930 (PR/KN/4/7)

Logie
Logie Parish Council Minute Book 1895-1906 (PR/LO/1/3)
Logie Parish Council Minutes 1906-1918 (PR/LO/1/4)

St. Ninians
St Ninians Minute Book of the Parochial Board 1845-1856 (PR/SN/1/1)
St Ninians Poor Relief Applications 1887-1927 (PR/SN/3/2)
St Ninians Register of Poor 1927 (PR/SN/3/3)

Stirling
Stirling General Register of the Poor 1861 -1878 (PR/SG/2/2)
Stirling General Register Book 1865-70 (PR/SG/2/1)
Stirling General Register of the Poor 1878 - 1884 (PR/SG/2/3)
Stirling General Register of the Poor 1884-1891 (PR/SG/2/4)
Stirling Burgh General Register of the Poor 1891-1899 (PR/SG/2/5)

Strathblane
Strathblane General Register of the Poor 1839-1910 (PR/ST/3/1)
Strathblane Record of Applications for Parochial Relief 1888-1917 (PR/ST/2/2)

(With thanks to @StirlingLibs)

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Scottish Genealogy Society classes for 2016

The Edinburgh based Scottish Genealogy Society (www.scotsgenealogy.com) has the following free classes planned for the rest of this year:

17 September
Beginners: This module is just what it says - for beginners. Ken Nisbet, who has many years experience in researching family history will take this class.
Places Available

15 October
Pre-1841 Population lists: Bruce Bishop has expanded and updated his previous talks on this subject and will show where to find them and what they contain.
Places Available

12 November
WWI: Ken Nisbet, our resident expert on all things military, will take this class. Ken will show what resources are available both online and offline to begin and to further your research. However, this talk will be more focused on army records than previously.
Places Available

3 December
Health and history: Using medical records in genealogical research. Health records can be another source of information to help further your family’s history but they are not found on the usual websites, etc. Louise Williams, Archivist will show what these records contain and where to find them.
Places Available

Further details can be found via the society's website.

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Free lunchtime talks at National Library of Ireland

The following free luchtime talks will be given at the Dublin based National Library of Ireland (www.nli.ie) from July 26th 2016:

Sinead McCoole
Mná - 25 years of searching - lessons & leads
Date: July 26th Time: 1.00pm

Dermot Bolger
A reading from his new novel - The Lonely Sea and Sky, followed by a talk.
Date: July 28th Time 1.00pm

Paul McCotter
Territory, maps and genealogy
Date: August 2nd Time: 1.00pm

Fiona Fitzsimons
Explorations in Irish genealogy.
Date: August 4th Time: 1.00pm

Liam Breen / Cormac Leonard (interpreter)
Deaf history in Cabra
Date: August 9th Time: 1.00pm

Nuala Ni Dhomhnaill
"The selkie’s skin" : How Irish oral traditions preserve family and local history
Date: August 11th Time: 1:00PM

Eleanor Fitzsimons
Wilde’s women: How Oscar Widle was shaped by the women in his life.
Date: August 16th Time: 1.00PM

Damien Shiels
The Forgotten Irish: Revealing the voices of Irish 19th Century Emigrants
Date: August 18th Time: 1.00PM

Ambassador O’Malley
Irish American identity: How do we sustain the people to people links between Ireland and the United States?
Date: August 23rd Time: 1.00PM

Aoife O’ Connor
Seen ? Heard ? Records of children in Nineteenth Century Ireland
Date: August 25th Time: 1.00PM

Clodagh Tait
"The Simple annals of my parish poor": stories from parish registers
Date: August 30th Time: 1.00PM

Nora White
Ogham Stones: Our earliest genealogical sources
Date: September 1st Time: 1.00PM

Joe Buggy
Ten free websites for U.S. genealogy research.
Date: Sept 6th Time: 1.00PM

Dan Bradley
Adventures in ancient DNA: Who were the first Irish?
Date: September 8th Time: 1:00pm

(With thanks to the Irish Family History Centre at https://www.irishfamilyhistorycentre.com/article/free-lunch-time-talks-in-the-national-library-of-ireland-2016)

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Updates to the Original Record website

The following collections have been added to The Original Record website (www.theoriginalrecord.com):

1765
Kanturk to Fair Lane Turnpike Trustees
The act for making a turnpike road from the town of Kanturk in the county of Cork to Fair Lane in the north liberties of the city of Cork (5 George III cap. xiii) appointed a large number of local gentlemen to serve as initial trustees.

1774
Warwickshire Voters
The poll of the freeholders of Warwickshire was taken at Warwick from the 20th to the 31st of October 1774, the candidates being Sir Charles Holte baronet, Thomas George Skipwith esquire, and John Mordaunt esquire. The poll book is arranged by hundred, then by parish or township in which the qualifying freehold lay: the voters' full names are given, surname first, and their places of abode, not necessarily in the same district. Barlichway Hundred.

1797
Scarborough Lodging House Keepers
'A full and accurate list of Houses, appropriated to the accommodation of company', from A New Scarborough Guide, of 1797.

1834
Chimney Sweeps and their Apprentice Boys, London
An account of the number of boys apprenticed to chimney sweepers under the provisions of 28 Geo. III c. 40, at the several police offices within the London bills of mortality, during the previous nine years: giving the numbers of boys apprenticed each year, the year, the parish from whence taken, the name and residence of the master, the name and age of each boy (mostly 8 to 12 years old), and the evidence of such age.

1869
Births, Marriages and Deaths
Reported in the Pall Mall Gazette, May 1869

1891
Fellows of the British Gynaecological Society
The alphabetical list of fellows of the British Gynaecological Society gives year of election, full name (surname first), qualifications, and address. The abbreviations used are: C., member of council; F. F., foundation fellow (i.e., since 1884); Hon. Loc. Sec., honorary local secretary; Hon. Sec., honorary secretary; H.P., honorary president; L., life fellow; Libr., librarian; Pres., president; Treas., treasurer; V.P., vice-president.

1922
Residents of East Africa
The East African Standard compiled this directory of residents of Kenya Colony (K.C.) and Protectorate, Uganda Protectorate (U.P. or Ug.), Tanganyika Territory (T.T.) and Zanzibar Sultanate (Z. or Zbr.)

(With thanks to The Original Record)

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

British Newspaper Archive updates

Latest additions to the British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk):

Belfast Telegraph 1871 - 1875, 1877 - 1881, 1897 - 1898
Berkshire Chronicle 1871, 1882 - 1896, 1899, 1902 - 1909
Cheltenham Mercury 1865 - 1872, 1874, 1883
Cornish Telegraph, The 1851 - 1862, 1883 - 1886, 1905 - 1911, 1913 - 1915
Coventry Evening Telegraph 1940
Coventry Standard 1939
Daily Gazette for Middlesbrough 1939 - 1940
Dundee People's Journal 1858 - 1861, 1863 - 1865, 1871 - 1873, 1879 - 1882, 1884 - 1885, 1887 - 1892, 1914 - 1919, 1930
Essex Herald 1834, 1863, 1866, 1868, 1871 - 1876, 1879, 1881 - 1884, 1897, 1899
Galloway Advertiser and Wigtownshire Free Press. 1852
Harrogate Herald 1915, 1917, 1942, 1946 - 1947
Illustrated London News 1900
Jarrow Express 1914 - 1920
Lincoln Gazette. 1877
Monmouthshire Beacon 1899
Newcastle Daily Chronicle. 1859
Newcastle Evening Chronicle 1939 - 1940
Nuneaton Advertiser 1892 - 1895
Peterborough Advertiser 1876 - 1877
Petersfield Express 1879
Pontefract Advertiser. 1858, 1891
Shepton Mallet Journal 1899, 1901 - 1903, 1939 - 1950
South Bucks Standard 1896, 1907, 1909 - 1910, 1912 - 1914
Sports Argus 1939 - 1940
Western Chronicle 1886 - 1888, 1890 - 1896, 1899 - 1910, 1912 - 1927
Western Daily Mercury. 1864, 1883

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

NE Scotland and Worcestershire monumental inscriptions now online

FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) has added the following monumental inscriptions records to its site:

Aberdeenshire, Banffshire & Kincardineshire Monumental Inscriptions

A brand new set containing 21,078 records from 22 different Scottish cemeteries. The source is Aberdeen and North East Scotland Family History Society.

Aberdeenshire
Parish of Aberdour, Aberdour Kirkyard, 1543-1982
Parish of Auchindoir & Kearn, Auchindoir New Kirkyard, 1884-1984
Parish of Auchindoir & Kearn, Auchindoir Old Kirkyard, 1681-1981
Parish of Belhelvie, Belhelvie Kirkyard, 1541-1982
Parish of Bourtie, Bourtie Kirkyard, 1741-1983
Parish of Chapel of Garioch, Chapel of Garioch Kirkyard, 1744-1982
Parish of Chapel of Garioch, Logie Durno Kirkyard, 1739-1985
Parish of Fintray, Hatton of Fintray Kirkyard, 1752-1984
Parish of Fyvie, Millbrex Kirkyard, 1855-1983
Parish of Fyvie, Woodhead, Fyvie Kirkyard, 1834-1982
Parish of Keithhall & Kinkell, Keithhall Kirkyard, 1853-1982
Parish of Keithhall & Kinkell, Kinkell Kirkyard, 1411-1970
Parish of King Edward, King Edward Kirkyard, 1631-1970
Parish of Leslie, Leslie Kirkyard, 1759-1979
Parish of Lonmay, Lonmay Kirkyard, 1667-1973
Parish of Meldrum, Oldmeldrum Episc Kirkyard, 1823-1985
Parish of Meldrum, Oldmeldrum Kirkyard, 1717-1983
Parish of Monymusk, Monymusk Kirkyard, 1717-1983
Parish of Peterculter, Peterculter Kirkyard, 1673-2005
Parish of Rhynie, Rhynie Kirkyard, 1668-1983
Parish of Tough, Tough Kirkyard, 1714-1984
Parish of Tyrie, Tyrie Kirkyard, 1655-1983

Banffshire
Parish of Alvah, Alvah Kirkyard, 1589-1983
Parish of Forglen, Forglen Kirkyard, 1696-1976
Parish of Inverkeithny, Inverkeithny Kirkyard, 1713-1982

Kincardineshire
Parish of Dunnottar, Dunnottar Kirkyard, 1570-1974
Parish of Strachan, Strachan Kirkyard, 1737-1975


Worcestershire Monumental Inscriptions
Explore centuries of monumental inscriptions from 178 different parishes. This brand new set contains over 85,847 records.

No list of parishes is given on the search page.


Other parish and burial records have been released for  Middlesex, Devon, Essex, Northumberland and Durham - see https://blog.findmypast.com/fridays/.


Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Battle of Culloden won with swords not muskets

University of Glasgow based historian Murray Pittock has claimed that the Battle of Culloden in 1746, which ended Bonnie Prince Charlie's Jacobite claims to the throne for his father James VIII (& III), aka James the Old Pretender, was won by overwhelming numbers of redcoats using swords rather than muskets. The claims come in his new book, Culloden, based on a reappraisal of contemporary sources and new battlefield archaeology finds.

For the full story, visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-36791637.

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Who Do You Think You Are? UK series 13 line-up

The line up of people appearing in the thirteenth series of Who Do You Think You Are? has been revealed by the magazine of the same name at http://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/news/wdytya2016.

The names are:

Liz Bonnin
Cheryl Fernandez-Versini (formerly Cole)
Greg Davies
Warwick Davis
Danny Dyer
Amanda Holden
Sir Ian McKellen
Sophie Raworth
Sunetra Sarker
Ricky Tomlinson

Biogs on all ten appear on the magazine's website, although no details as yet on the storylines being focussed on (see the mag's next issue, out Tuesday 2nd August), nor a tx date for first transmission.

(With thanks to WDYTYA magazine)

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Somerset record databases released on Ancestry

The following records concerning Somerset, England, have been added to Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk):

Somerset, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1914
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=60857

Somerset, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1531-1812
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=60856

Somerset, England, School Registers, 1860-1914
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=61024

Somerset, England, Church of England Confirmations, 1843-1913
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=61012

Somerset, England, Gaol Registers, 1807-1879
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=60900

Somerset, England, Church of England Burials, 1813-1914
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=60859

Somerset, England, Marriage Registers, Bonds and Allegations, 1754-1914
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=60858

The records have been sourced from Somerset Archives & Local Studies, South West Heritage Trust, Taunton, England.

Further details are available via the links.

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Times of India travel notices for 1863 and 1865 online

From the Families in British India Society (www.fibis.org):

Times of India arrival and departure notices for 1863 and 1865 have been uploaded to the FIBIS database website.

Entries for 1863 consist of 2532 arrivals and 1924 departures. The year 1865 consists of 2662 arrivals and 2087 departures. A total of 9205 new entries.

Our thanks go to David Edge and his wonderful team of volunteers!

View Times of India departure and arrival notices at http://search.fibis.org/frontis/bin/aps_browse_sources.php?mode=browse_components&id=985.

(With thanks to Valmay Young)

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Lanarkshire Local and Family History Show 2016

Lanarkshire Family History Society will be hosting its annual Local and Family History Show in
Motherwell Concert Hall, Windmillhill Street, Motherwell, ML1 1AB, on ​Saturday 3rd September 2016.

There will be the usual range of exhibitors, and a programme of speakers giving the following talks:

* Marie Dougan - Researching your Family Tree using Social Media.
* Robert Reid – A stroll through the History of Strathclyde Country Park
* Andrew Nicoll - Researching your Catholic Ancestors.

As well as members of Lanarkshire FHS, professional genealogists from the Scottish Genealogy Network (www.scottishgenealogynetwork.co.uk) will be at the Show to offer free one-to-one advice for anyone starting out researching their family history, or who’s hit a “brick wall”.

I unfortunately won't be able to attend this year's event, as I'll be speaking at the FGS in the US on the same day, but it is by far the highlight of the Scottish genealogy calendar, and well worth a visit!

For further details please visit the event's dedicated website at http://lfhsshow.weebly.com.

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

War-Memorial.co.uk launches online

From War-Memorial.co.uk (http://war-memorial.co.uk):

War-Memorial.co.uk launches online

War-Memorial.co.uk, the brand new website dedicated to Photographing, Transcribing and preserving war memorial records for the future, has just launched online providing a unique service that allows the researcher to find their ancestor using the largest collection of combined War Memorial records and images currently available anywhere.
 
This project is based on Mark Herber’s growing collection of war memorial photographs and personally checked transcriptions. It honours those men and women, who died or served our country in military conflict over the years and it already features over 20,000 detailed photographs of more than 1,200 memorials, commemorating over 270,000 people, with their names (and the memorial’s information about them) transcribed and indexed.

With regular additions of photographs, names and information to War-Memorial.co.uk expected as the months go by, War-Memorial.co.uk is the place to find your ancestors immortalised on the country’s war memorials.

Details that can be found in these memorial records include:

● Name
● Regiment, unit or ship
● War or date of death
● Rank and medals
● Photograph of the War Memorial from multiple angles and zooms

War-Memorial.co.uk’s collection includes a very large number of records from the Boer War of 1899-1902 and WW1 and WW2, but it also includes memorials from as early as the 17th century up to very recent conflicts such as Northern Ireland and Afghanistan. Soldiers, sailors, aircrew and civilians are all featured - and not just those who died. Many men and women who served but survived also appear in the records.

Using the sophisticated search technology and just basic details you can locate full information on War Memorials on which men and women are commemorated, find more details about them (such as their regiments, ships, ranks and medals), discover the location of the War Memorial and see images of the memorial itself and a close up view of the name of your ancestor!

War-Memorial.co.uk is offering some great value options to suit every pocket starting at £5 for a month’s access, £9.95 quarterly, or take out a great value annual subscription at only £29.95.

With regular additions of photographs, names and information to War-Memorial.co.uk expected as the months go by. War-Memorial.co.uk is the place to find your ancestors imortalised on the country’s war memorials.

 
(With thanks to Mark Herber)

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Fife Family History Society - archive move, and fair

Thanks to Frances Black of Fife Family History Society (www.fifefhs.org) for the following:

Fife FHS Archives have moved from Methil Library to Cupar Library. Easier access with good bus and train links. We are organising books at the moment but opening times when one of our committee will be present will be posted on our website www.fifefhs.org. Provisionally it will be Tuesday, Wednesday afternoons and Saturday. Also by appointment.

The society is also holding a family history fair in Glenrothes in October:

The 2016 Fife Family History / Local History Fair, organised by Fife FHS will be taking place on Saturday 8 October in the Carnegie Conference Centre, Halbeath Road, Dunfermline, KY11 8DY. The event will include a series of talks from key speakers on a range of subjects, and a Fair with stalls run by a number of family history societies and local history groups, both from Fife and from further afield. 

Further details at http://www.fifefhs.org/family-history-fair

(With thanks to the Scottish Genealogy Network, via LinkedIn)

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

The Original Record updated

The following additions have been made to The Original Record (www.theoriginalrecord.com):

1784
Customs Officer: Berwick on Tweed
An account of the gross salaries, fees, allowances and gratuities received by the officers of the customs and their deputies at the Out Ports; by what authority they are appointed; with their payments for taxes, deputies, clerks and other contingent expenses.

1803
Subscribers to Immateriality &c.
'An Original Essay on the Immateriality and Immortality of the Human Soul, founded solely on Physical and Rational Principles', by S. Drew, published in Bristol in 1803, attracted a numerous subscription, almost exclusively from Cornwall.

1838
Kilkenny Cess Payers
Panels of twelve cess-payers were chosen from each of the ten baronies of county Kilkenny, to be associated with the justices at special sessions, under 6 & 7 William IV cap. 116. Spring Assizes, 1838.

1863
The Loss of the Lord Raglan: Passengers and Crew
The Lord Raglan sailed from Liverpool with emigrants for Melbourne 23 February 1863. The ship was last spoken on 24 March 1863 in the Atlantic just north of the equator. Neither the ship nor any of the crew or passengers were heard of again: there was a report that a fire had been seen in her direction.

1868
Mercantile Marine Service Association
List of members and Associates of the Mercantile Marine Service Association, based in Liverpool: a indicates associate, c captain, and m mate.

1884
Criminals Fined or Imprisoned
Henry Romeike compiled this list of 800 cases, reported in the newspapers in March and April 1884, in which criminals were fined or imprisoned. The list is arranged by nature of the fine or length of sentence, divided into two groups: offences against property, and those against the person. The compilation was published by D. H. Macfarlane, M.P., to contrast the severity of sentences for theft of trivial property, as against relatively light punishments for assaults: it gives the full name of the criminal, brief details of the crime, and the name and date of the newspaper report.

1935
Picture Judging Competition Prizewinners
The 'Help Yourself' Society, inaugurated by The Stock Exchange Dramatic & Operatic Society, organized a picture judging competition for their Christmas Charity Fund, 1935. Of the thousands of entries received, 3,377 were awarded prizes, and there were also some consolation prizes. The prize list gives number (in order of merit), name and address.

(With thanks to The Original Record)

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

FindmyPast adds US naturalisation and passport records

FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) has added two collections which may be of interest if your ancestors migrated to the United States:

United States Naturalization Petitions 1905-1950
https://blog.findmypast.co.uk/united-states-naturalisation-petitions-1908632867.html
http://search.findmypast.co.uk/search-world-Records/united-states-naturalization-petitions

United States Naturalization Petitions contains more than 7.8 million records spanning the years 1905 to 1950. The collection currently covers four states: Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania, and allows you to discover when and where your immigrant ancestor was born, how old they were when they first crossed the Atlantic and their port of entry. Images of the original documents may even include a photograph of your ancestor.


US Passport Applications and Indexes
https://blog.findmypast.co.uk/us-passport-applications-and-indexes-1908610405.html
http://search.findmypast.co.uk/search-world-Records/united-states-passport-applications

Discover when, where, and why your ancestors travelled with over 800,000 US Passport Application records. Applications may also include a physical description, your ancestor's occupation, residence, naturalisation details, the name of their spouse, date of birth and place of birth. Most applications are one to two pages in length and, from 21 December 1914 onward, photographs of applicants are also included. Photographs can be found on the second page when viewing images of the original document.

This collection of regular passport applications has been compiled from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) collection M1490. Images of the original documents are included and may reveal additional details of your ancestor's citizenship, such as when and from where they immigrated, by what means they arrived in the United States, and when they were naturalized. For those born in the United States, you may learn details of their fathers' naturalization such as their full name, birthplace, and date and place of emigration. Additional details were also recorded such as the applicant's eye colour as well as descriptions of their mouth, nose, forehead, chin, complexion, face, and hair colour.

NARA publication M1490 Passport Applications, 1906-March 31, 1925 covers 2 January 1906 to 31 March 1925.

Further details via the links.

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

The Poles in the Battle of Britain

I've been really appalled at the reports of attacks against migrants in the wake of the Brexit vote, especially the Poles for whom I have the greatest of respect. Some folk in this country seem to have a short memory about the Poles, who made a dramatic and significant intervention during the Battle of Britain in 1940.

By coincidence, I've been sorting out my office over the last week and have found an old transcript of an interview I carried out in March 2000 with a former Polish fighter pilot who served with The Few in 1940, and who in so doing helped to turn the tide of the Battle of Britain in favour of the RAF (the interview was carried out as part of a Channel 4 documentary on The Few, which appeared in the Secret History series). I've reproduced segments here to help share his story further, as a testament to him and so many others who helped this country in its darkest hour.

Ludwik Martel, born in 1919, was a pilot with the Polish Air Force who was forced to flee to France in the wake of German occupation of his country. When the Germans then subsequently invaded France, he made his way to England, where he and his fellow Poles initially received a frosty welcome. Having been deemed to have been easily defeated, the British initially opted to train them up as bomber pilots, rather than fighter pilots.

LM: There was impression in England, especially Lord Dowding expressed his views that he was a bit frightened to accept Polish pilots to Fighter Command, because he said they lost the war in Poland, they lost the war in France, what kind of morale are those boys going to have? Well, we couldn't by talking convince him that we could still have morale to fight, but then, so they took chance, and they start taking pilots to the, in small groups to English squadrons, and meantime they formed two Polish squadrons. Those Polish squadrons were mainly people who had experience of fighting in Poland and in France. So that was the big advantage, and the morale was very high....

Although they were initially treated with caution, events soon forced RAF Fighter Command (under the command of Sir Hugh Dowding) to reconsider the use of the Poles as fighter pilots. The highly trained Auxiliary squadron pilots who had started the war with the RAF had taken heavy losses, and the much less experiencedpilots brought in to replace them, with little training, were also taking major losses in the air.

LM: ...later on, the things start getting very bad, the losses in the squadron were too big... Dowding make the decision, take anybody who can fly. So we were actually given the chance to come back to fly again, we were sent to different refreshment places for refreshing courses, and sooner or later we all became operational pilots.

Ludwik was attached initially to 54 Squadron at Catterick, where he was given seven hours training on a Tiger Moth bi-plane. He was then sent to 603 Squadron at Hornchurch for the duration of the rest of the Battle of Britain. Once there, he was given just 50 minutes on a Spitfire with an instructor, and practised just four or five take-offs and landings, before being declared flight ready.

The Polish contribution was to be a game changer. Having been frustrated at not being able to participate until this point, they now had the opportunity for payback to the Luftwaffe which had driven them into exile from their own country.

LM: Oh they make a terrific impact because, you must realise, as I said, the pilots were experienced pilots. And that... their record of shooting 126 aircraft, plus 13 damage, in the Battle alone, was the highest score in the Fighter Command. So that was a terrific boost to every Pole who was in the air force, and we were very proud ...it proved that the pilot, experienced pilot was the pilot who was properly trained. You see, probably if English pilots had more chance to be better trained, probably wouldn't have to have such heavy losses. But, so that, we had 145 Polish pilots I think in the Battle of Britain, and we lost 31 only. So that was a good record.

During the Battle, Ludwik shot down a Messerschmidt Bf109, but was himself shot down on October 25th 1940:

LM: ...that was very unfortunate, because the squadron was flying tight formation, and we were moving through the clouds from about, from the ground to about twenty, over twenty thousand feet, and we just met. We'd been warned on the location that there were enemy aircraft in the vicinity, so we were hoping then we'd get through the clouds.. but unfortunately we went through the clouds and they were on top of us, so they shot straight away the three, the last section of the three plus one, and I was the one, as well. So the other three were killed. I managed, I fainted and I managed to get the air, get control of the aircraft. I was a bit wounded on the left hand side, I had a cannon blow up on the left wing. And, luckily enough I force landed and that was the end of my... very depressing thing which happened to me that time was on just about maybe two, three hundred yards away on the right side was a bloody windmill, and I was sure that I'm in Holland. I was so sad, and I said, well that's the end of me, of my war. Anyhow,, then suddenly the Home Guard was coming and then I got, they helped me out of the aircraft, and the officer comes and they recognise that I'm not a German because I have a Polish armband and I was taken to hospital. And ten days later I was flying again.

During our interview I asked Ludwik for whom was he really flying?

LM: ...I think that we fly for Poland. We knew that, we're going to do well now that war we were going to back to independent and free Poland again, so that, we always had that in mind. Poland was first, yes.

But to save Poland, he first had to help save England and Britain:

LM: We were... 1940 we realised that we were fighting for Germans not to invade England... everybody was thinking the same, and they said, we have to carry on and fight like hell, because we must stop Germans coming here.

Ludwik survived the war, and spent the rest of his days in England. He sadly passed away in 2010 - an obituary for him is available at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/7712030/Lives-Remembered.html. When I met him in Wimbledon, London, in late 1999 and again in March 2000 for the production of the documentary, he was a charming man, and a delight to meet. A belated thank you once again to Ludwik for sharing his experiences with me.

NB: For more on The Few, I'd thoroughly recommend checking out Men of the Battle of Britain, 60th Anniverary Edition, by Kenneth G. Wynn (CCB Asociates, 1999).

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.