Sunday 29 July 2018

Sheriff Court paternity cases indexes for Inverness added online

Scottish Indexes (www.scottishindexes.com) has added more Sheriff Court paternity cases indexes to its website for the city of Inverness, as sourced from the National Records of Scotland held collections catalogued under SC29/7/32-34, and covering the period from 1853-1869.


For more on the record set, and details of the coverage for paternity cases across Scotland, visit www.scottishindexes.com/helpcourt.aspx.

To search the database visit www.scottishindexes.com/courtsearch.aspx.

Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

Royal Navy officer lists added to FindmyPast

The latest additions to FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk):


Britain, Royal Navy, Navy Lists 1827-1945
Search for your ancestor in official lists of Royal Navy Officers. The collection consists of 147 publications spanning the 1824 to 1945. The collection consists of digital images of original lists presented in PDF format.

British Army Service Records
Over 34,000 new Scots Guards records have been added to our collection of British Army Service records. The new additions consist of Enlistment Registers spanning the years 1642 to 1939.

Scotland, Edinburgh Marriages 1595-1800
Did any of your relations marry in Edinburgh, Scotland? Discover their names, occupations, residences, spouses and dates of marriage, former marriages, and more in this collection of records from parish registers collated throughout the city.

Scotland, Testaments 1514-1800
Did your ancestors die in Scotland? Discover details of their property, relatives, and more in records of their last will and testaments. The collection contains over 2,800 PDF images of original documents

Scotland, Edinburgh Apprentices 1583-1700
Did any of your ancestors learn their trade in Edinburgh? Discover details of their apprenticeships and occupations in this collection of almost 120 years of documents from the capital of Scotland.

Extra! Extra! The latest additions to our newspaper collection
This week we have added 114,026 new pages to The Archive. We have updated three of our Irish titles, and there are also updates to titles covering the city of Liverpool, the county of Gloucestershire and one of our Scottish titles.

This week's new additions include;

Irish Independent 1989-1990, 1993-1994
Peeblesshire Advertiser 1880-1882, 1887-1892
Cirencester Times and Cotswold Advertiser 1869
Evening Herald (Dublin) 1986-1987, 1990
Music Hall and Theatre Review 1890
Belfast Telegraph 1913-1914, 1920
Liverpool Echo 1984, 1986

Further details and links are available at https://blog.findmypast.co.uk/findmypast-friday-july-27th-2590143759.html

Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

PRONI gains accreditation

From the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (www.nidirect.gov.uk/proni):

PRONI Receives First Archive Accreditation Award in Northern Ireland


PRONI is delighted to announce it has been awarded the first Archive Accreditation Award ever to be made in Northern Ireland.

On 10 July, the Archive Service Accreditation Committee awarded PRONI the status of an Accredited Archive Service. Accreditation recognises good practice for archive services across the UK. This award validates the quality of the services PRONI provides against a nationally agreed standard.

The Accreditation Committee ‘..welcomed this hugely positive application and were pleased to celebrate the first Accreditation Award to be made in Northern Ireland.’


PRONI's Director Dr Michael Willis commented 'This prestigious Award is a significant achievement and milestone for PRONI and I am delighted and proud that PRONI was assessed as reaching the national standard enabling us to be awarded Archive Service Accreditation. This is welcome recognition of PRONI's good practices and quality services and is testimony to the ongoing hard work of all PRONI staff to make PRONI the best archive that it can be!‎'

COMMENT: Congratulations to all at PRONI, a great achievement!

(With thanks to PRONI on Facebook)

Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

Monday 23 July 2018

New Cambridgeshire collections on Ancestry

New Cambridgeshire collections on Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk):

Cambridgeshire, England, Juror Books, 1828-1883
https://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=61430
Source: Cambridgeshire Juror Books 1828-1883, Cambridgeshire Archive Service, Cambridge, England.

Historical Context

This collection comprises records of those qualified to serve as a juror in the county of Cambridgeshire between the years 1828 and 1883. Qualifications were based on ownership of land or property and therefore excluded the majority of residents. Those who owned land or property over a certain value threshold may have been called upon to serve on the jury in quarter sessions, assizes or various other courts. The lists of qualifying residents were collected by churchwardens or parish constables and included details of the property that allowed the owner to be included.

This collection includes residents of Cambridgeshire as well as those living in the historic county of Huntingdonshire and historic region of the Isle of Ely, both of which now fall under the administration of Cambridgeshire.

What can I find in these records?

You may be able to find the following information (where available):

Name
Gender
Property Address
Occupation
Year of Residence


Cambridgeshire, England, Electoral Registers, Burgess Rolls and Poll Books, 1722-1966
https://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=61429

This database contains yearly registers listing names and residences of people in Cambridgeshire, who were eligible to vote in elections. These year-by-year registers can help place your ancestors in a particular place and possibly also reveal a bit about property they owned.

Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

Sunday 22 July 2018

Lancashire records added to FindmyPast

The latest additions to FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk):



Lancashire Baptisms
Discover your ancestor in in over 1.1 million baptism register records from Lancashire. Learn when and where your ancestor's baptism took place, as well as your ancestor's parents' names. The registers span the years from 1538 to 1917 and cover 191 parishes across the county. View the full list of places included in our parish list, linked to in the Useful links and resources section.

Lancashire Banns & Marriages
Discover your ancestor in banns and marriage registers from the Lancashire Archives. The registers contains over 713,00 records, span the years 1538 to 1932 and cover 194 Lancashire parishes.

Lancashire Burials
Discover your ancestor in burial registers from Lancashire. Learn when and where your ancestor's burial took place, as well as your ancestor's age at the time of death. The registers, provided by Lancashire Archives, span the years from 1538 to 199, cover 123 parishes and contain over 712,000 records.

Lancashire Parish Registers Browse
Our new collections of Lancashire parish baptisms, marriages, banns and burials are also available to browse.

Illinois, Tazewell County, Obituary Card Index From The "Pekin Times" 1914-2007 Image Browse
Find your relative in over 90,000 obituary index cards taken from the Pekin Times, spanning the years from 1914 to 2007. This collection has been provided by FamilySearch.

Queensland, Inquests 1859-1897
Discover your ancestor in this index of over 14,000 records compiled from the inquest files created by the Justice Department for the period 1859 to 1897. Each result will provide you with a transcript including a combination of your ancestor's name, alias, and inquest year, any additional notes, their file number, reference and item ID.

Extra! Extra! Explore new additions to our newspaper collection
This week we have added 134,662 new pages to The Archive. We have updated five of our existing titles, covering the county of Kent and the city of Liverpool. We have also updated three of our Irish

This week's new additions include:

The years 1925, 1951, 1994-1995, 2001 have been added to the Evening Herald (Dublin)
1857 has been added to the Dover Telegraph and Cinque Ports General Advertiser
The years 1968, 1978, 1981-1983 have been added to the Liverpool Echo
The years 1920 - 1921 have been added to the Freeman's Journal
The years 1912 and 1999 have been added to Irish Independent

Further details are available at https://blog.findmypast.co.uk/findmypast-friday-july-2588351934.html

Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

Thursday 19 July 2018

LivingDNA partners with FindmyPast

It looks like Ancestry may be about to get a serious challenge on the DNA front in the UK and Ireland. From LivingDNA (https://www.livingdna.com):

FindmyPast Partnership

We are extremely excited to announce that we will be partnering with Leading British and Irish family history website, Findmypast.

Together, we will be creating a new DNA experience that is designed to help customers explore their British and Irish roots. This new experience will combine cutting-edge science with traditional family history research methods, allowing families to discover more about their past and present.

Our tests provide a unique breakdown of ethnic identities associated with 21 regions across Britain and Ireland by analysing unique combinations of linked DNA. This proprietary method delivers a level of detail that is currently unmatched by any other test available on the market. By combining our technology with deep expertise and Findmypast’s vast collection of more 9 billion historical records and newspaper articles, family historian's will be able to make new discoveries about their British & Irish genetic history.

Living DNA testing kits are now available to purchase https://www.findmypast.co.uk/ancestry-dna-testing/ and co-branded kits will be launched when the new integrated Findmypast and Living DNA service is introduced later in the year.

“Our partnership with Findmypast continues Living DNA’s mission to make DNA testing simple. We are passionate at not only providing cutting edge ways of looking at your DNA but to do so with strict privacy measures by never selling your data. This partnership allows the most precise DNA test on the market to work together with Findmypast’s family history records in a way not done before” says Living DNA Co-Founder, David Nicholson.

Tamsin Todd, CEO of Findmypast, said: “As the world leader for British and Irish records, we work hard every day to help our customers feel the thrill of making discoveries about their families. I’m delighted that we are partnering with a British company, Living DNA, who are pioneers in DNA technology, and look forward to combining our expertise in DNA technology and historical records to help people around the world connect with their British and Irish roots.”

(Source story: https://www.livingdna.com/blog/333-findmypast-partnership)

Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

Sunday 15 July 2018

Newly catalogued Welsh collections from RCAHMW

The latest monthly edition of the National Monuments Record of Wales (NMRW) Archives and Library Bulletin lists all newly catalogued material, including archival items, library books and journal articles, all of which are all available to view in its public reading room. The full archive catalogue is available on Coflein (www.coflein.gov.uk) and contains digital copies of many of the items listed. All publications may be found on the Commission's online Library Catalogue.

For further details visit https://rcahmw.gov.uk/royal-commission-archive-library-bulletin-of-newly-catalogued-material-june-2018/.

Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

Canadian Expeditionary Force service files update

From Library and Archives Canada:

As of today, 608,399 of 640,000 files are available online in our Personnel Records of the First World War database. Please visit the Digitization of the Canadian Expeditionary Force Service Files page for more details on the digitization project.

Further details are available at https://thediscoverblog.com/2018/07/15/digitization-of-the-canadian-expeditionary-force-personnel-service-files-update-of-july-2018/


Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

Jacobite Histories added to FindmyPast

The latest records added to FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk):


Berkshire Registers & Records
Explore over 600 registers and records from the English county of Berkshire. Discover your ancestor in parish registers from Leckhamstead and St Mary, Reading.

Durham Registers & Records
Learn more about your Durham ancestors with our collection of more than 2,800 registers and records from the North Eastern County.

Scotland, Jacobite Histories 1715-1745
Discover more about the Jacobites and the Jacobite Risings with this collection of historical publications. These documents are presented in a PDF format and can be searched by name, conflict, publication title and year, and keyword.

Greater London Burial Index
Over 109,000 new additions covering 27 Middlesex parishes have been added to the Greater London Burial Index. The records consist of transcripts that may reveal a combination of your relative's name, age, occupation, religious denomination and where they were buried.

British & Irish Newspapers
This week we have added 111,538 new pages to our collection of historic British Newspapers. We have added one new title – the Witney Express and Oxfordshire and Midland Counties Herald – and updated seven of our existing titles. We have added pages to four of our Irish titles, including the incredibly influential Freeman's Journal, as well as adding to our Liverpool and Dover titles, and also to the Music Hall and Theatre Review.

The new additions include;

Witney Express and Oxfordshire and Midland Counties Herald (new title) - 1869-1887
Evening Herald (Dublin) - 1897, 1899, 1901, 1907, 1996
Irish Independent - 1913, 1915
Freeman's Journal - 1912-1919, 1922-1924
Sligo Champion - 1983, 1988-1995
Liverpool Echo - 1973, 1979-1980
Music Hall and Theatre Review - 1910-1911

Further details and links at https://blog.findmypast.co.uk/findmypast-friday-july-13th-2586088101.html

Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

Tuesday 10 July 2018

TNA podcast - West Africa and the First World War

The National Archives (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk) in England has a free to podcast online which may be of interest to those researching the First World War:

West Africa and the First World War
https://media.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php/west-africa-first-world-war/

The First World War had a great impact on West Africa, as Britain ordered the invasion of German colonies in Cameroon and Togoland, using its own colonies as base. The West African Frontier Force, drawn from Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria and Gambia played a key role in the campaign. War had also had a great impact on the civilian population, as the British drew off workers and resources. How did African soldiers experience the campaign, and what did the war mean for West African societies as a whole?

There is a downloadable media file on the page which can also be interacted with as you listen.

Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

Latest edition of Irish Lives Remembered online

From Eneclann:

The Spring Edition of Irish Lives Remembered is available to view now. Our cover star is Mark Hamill, aka Luke Skywalker! We also have:

Paul McCotter on the Dunne surname;
Dr. Maurice Gleeson on genetics and surnames;
Ned Kelly on Treasure Trove;
Brian Mitchell on Derry/Londonderry records;
Maureen Wlodarczyk on Francis Kilkenny and the Irish Home-Going Assoication
Lorna Moloney and Kealan McCormack on Knowing Nenagh
Michèle Castiaux on the Irish Geological Association Archive Project
An update on Findmypast and the Catholic Heritage Archive with Niall Cullen
Nathan Mannion on Zambia's Grandfather of Education
Fiona Fitzsimons reviews Ships from Ireland to E
arly America 1623–1850
A Book Excerpt from Damian Shiels The Forgotten Irish: Irish Emigrant Experiences in America
Jayne Shrimpton's Photo-Detective;
Patrick’s Page with Patrick Roycroft; and
Ask Genie, our family history agony aunt.

To freely access the magazine visit https://irishlivesremembered.ie/latest-edition/.

Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

The Irish Jewish Family History Database

A new website has been launched online to help with your Jewish research in Ireland.

The Irish Jewish Family History Database has information on 61,821 Irish based Jews from between 1700 to the present day, as collated by Stuart Rosenblatt. Information includes basic vital records, as well as schooling and occupational details.

For further information visit www.irishjewishroots.com.



(With thanks to Michael Merrigan on Twitter)

Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

Saturday 7 July 2018

American Revolutionary War records available for free until July 15th

If any of your ancestors made their way from Britain and Ireland to the American colonies and got involved in the Revolutionary War, Fold 3 (www.fold3.com) has free access to some records until July 15th which might be of interest:


Access Revolutionary War Records for Free*

Revolutionary War Signing for Payment Vouchers To commemorate Independence Day, Fold3 is providing free access* to our Revolutionary War Collection July 1–15.



We continue to offer everyday free access to our Constitutional Convention Records, Continental Congress Papers, George Washington Correspondence, and other archives from the founding of our nation! See the original manuscripts written with quill and ink by our founding fathers.

Our Revolutionary War collection contains 22 collections with almost 5 million records! Here’s just a few of the titles:

Revolutionary War Rolls: The Continental Army was made up of troops provided by each colony. They formed battalions, regiments, companies or militias. There is an introduction to this collection from the National Archives, and then you can search by state and narrow down to a specific fighting group.

Navy Casualty Reports, 1776 – 1941: This collection records both wartime and peacetime deaths of navy soldiers in the Revolutionary War and later conflicts including the War of 1812, Civil War, WWI and others.

Revolutionary War Service Records: These are service records for soldiers who fought for the Continental Army. They are arranged under state, fighting company and then alphabetically by soldier’s name.

Revolutionary War Prize Cases – Captured Vessels: After the US declared independence from the British, colonists were no match for the powerful British Navy. In an effort to disrupt British commerce, colonists captured British vessels. The vessels were known as prizes. These records, which are copies of the original manuscripts, are cases heard on appeal by courts from 1776-1886. You can browse them by state, case name, or by vessel name.

Final Payment Vouchers Index for Military Pensions, 1818-1864: This is a collection of records of final pension payments made to military veterans or his widow. They shed light on where a family may have moved after the war, death dates of veterans, widows, or dependent children, and sometimes the maiden name of a widow.

Get started searching our Revolutionary War Collection today! Access via https://go.fold3.com/revolutionary-war

*Access to the records in the featured collections will be free until July 15, 2018 at 11:59 p.m. MT. Free access requires registration for a free Fold3 account. After the free access period ends, you will only be able to view the records in the featured collections using a paid Fold3 membership.

Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

Historic Medical Officer of Health reports

There's an interesting spot by Canadian based blogger John Reid concerning new Aberdeen Medical Officer of Health Reports that are now available online from the Wellcome Library - John's post is at http://anglo-celtic-connections.blogspot.com/2018/07/medical-officer-of-health-reports-for.html. The post refers to the reports from the years 1890, 1895, 1900 and 1902-1971, for the city of Aberdeen only, although a search of the catalogue shows that there are many other reports from across Britain and Ireland that are also available.

Medical Officer of Health reports from across Scotland for the year 1891 only are also freely available on the ScotlandsPlaces website at https://scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/digital-volumes/official-reports/medical-officer-health-reports.Here's the blurb on the site for this collection:

From 1890 onwards a full-time Medical Officer of Health was appointed in each county in Scotland with a remit to report on the state of health of the county and its various parishes and towns. The annual reports of the Medical Officers give an objective view of the living conditions, diseases and major health issues in different parts of Scotland. Information on the individual parishes and towns are found within the 'registration districts' headings found in these volumes. The National Archives of Scotland (NAS) has an incomplete set of the published reports from 1891 onwards (NAS HH62).

A useful resource to help add some context to the environments where your ancestors once lived.

(With thanks to John Reid)

Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

Further English church records added to FindmyPast

A quiet week for FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) this week in terms of new records:


Cambridgeshire Registers & Records
Explore publications pertaining to the English county of Cambridgeshire. Discover your ancestor in more than 300 parish register entries from Orwell and St Michael's.

Buckinghamshire Registers & Records
Discover your ancestor in over 600 records from the English county of Buckinghamshire. Explore parish registers from Great Hampden and Stewkeley as well as a historical guide to the county's Highways & Byways.

Thames & Medway Baptisms
Over 9,000 new records are now available to search. The new additions cover baptisms performed in the parish of St Mary Magdalene in Woolwich between 1837 and 1851.

Thames & Medway Burials
Over 6,000 new records pertaining to burials in the parish of St Nicholas in Deptford between 1813 and 1847 have been added to our collection of Thames & Medway Burials.

Further details are at https://blog.findmypast.co.uk/findmypast-friday-july-6th-2584243508.html, including links to the respective search pages.

Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

RootsIreland adds further Waterford records

From RootsIreland (www.rootsireland.ie):

We are pleased to announce that Waterford Heritage have added over 12,000 records to its database at www.waterford.rootsireland.ie including the following:

Church of Ireland Marriages 11,772 Records
Tramore / Carbally Roman Catholic Baptisms 1,126 Records

For a full list of available resources for County Waterford on the website please visit http://waterford.rootsireland.ie/generic.php?filename=sources.tpl&selectedMenu=sources

Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

Guild of One-Name Studies webinar

From the Guild of One-Name Studies (https://one-name.org):

Our next webinar in the 7 Pillars series is on Tuesday, July 17th at 7:00 pm (BST). To learn more about the presenters and register for the webinar click on this link - https://one-name.org/2018-webinar-series-no-8/


It's all about Six Months In with a New Study. Whether you just made the decision to start a one-name study, or you are just now getting back to it, the first six months in can make or break your study. Feeling overwhelmed or energized? Your answer might depend on your approach.

Join us as Guild members Melanie Caldicott and Karen Heenan-Davies discuss checklists, preliminary projects, early data gathering and analysis, and taking stock after the first six months. Whether you have just started your one-name study or you are getting back to one that has been neglected, come learn how to get past those early hurdles.

The webinar will be available a few days after the event for those who didn't listen and watch live. It'll only be available for a week or so; then it'll be available to Guild members only.

(With thanks to Wendy Archer)

Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

Friday 6 July 2018

More poll books join TheGenealogist

From TheGenealogist (www.thegenealogist.co.uk):


New Poll Books Added

TheGenealogist has just released 116,218 records into its ever growing Poll Book Database. This useful resource for family historians can be used to find ancestors' residences from the period before the census collection. The newly released Poll Books range from 1705 to the 1830s, joining records covering periods between census years.

The database allows researchers to:

* Discover ancestors who had the vote
* Find where they were registered to cast their ballot
* Discover the nature of their qualification to vote, such as possessing a Corn Warehouse, a Workshop, a House, or owning a Brewhouse
* These Poll Books range from 1705 to the 1830s.

The records cover 18 different registers of people who were entitled to vote in between 1705 and the 1830s and cover constituencies situated in Abingdon, Bristol, Hampshire, Somerset, Suffolk, Maidstone, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Worcestershire and York.

These records have been transcribed by volunteers on the UKindexer.co.uk website, which brings benefits to the volunteers as well as the wider family history community. They join the millions of electoral resources on TheGenealogist, which include Electoral registers, Voters lists and Absentee Voters.

These records are available as part of the site's Diamond Subscription.

Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

Who Do You Think You Are returns 9 July 2018

The new series of Who Do You Think You Are? continues on Monday 9 July 2018 at 9pm for viewers in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and at 10.45pm for the Welsh.

From the BBC website (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bb2dd9):

Actress Olivia Colman claims to be 'the least adventurous person I know.' As for her ancestors, apart from a rumour that there was a Frenchwoman somewhere in her family tree, Olivia thinks they are largely from Norfolk. Olivia is astonished to discover that she needs to travel to India to find out more about her great-great-great-grandmother Harriot.

Olivia finds records that reveal Harriot was an orphan in 1811 on a ship bound for England from (then) Calcutta. Harriot's father was an an Englishman, but the identity of her mother, who gave birth to her in a remote Indian village, is a mystery Olivia delights in solving.

Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

Free access to Ancestry's UK and Irish records this weekend

From Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk):

FREE ACCESS TO ALL UK AND IRISH RECORDS 6-9 JULY

Discover a deeper past–starting today!

For 4 days starting today, we’re really opening up our site, giving you access to all our UK and Irish records, absolutely free.

And with the 1939 Register now available on Ancestry, now is the time to build a bridge from living memory to the deeper past.

*Access to the records in the featured collections will start on 6 July and be free until 9 July 2018 at 23:59 BST. After the free access period ends, you will only be able to view the records in the featured collections using an Ancestry.co.uk paid membership. To see a full list of the records in the featured collections please click here.

Have fun!

Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

Tuesday 3 July 2018

MyHeritage offers free access to US newspapers

This could be useful if you have American connections - free access to American newspapers via MyHeritage (www.myheritage.com), until July 8th:

In honor of July 4th, we are delighted to announce FREE access to all U.S. Newspaper collections on MyHeritage’s SuperSearch™, for a limited time.

From July 3, 2018 through July 8, 2018, we are providing free access to all 33,591,658 U.S. Newspaper records – no data subscription required!

Newspapers are essential resources for genealogy and family history research. In addition to providing birth, marriage, and death notices, society pages contain stories rich with information on persons of interest, as well as various community activities and events.

Search our U.S. newspaper collections on SuperSearch™

The U.S. Newspaper collection currently holds newspapers from the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Connecticut, Maine, New York, Kentucky, Indiana, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Maryland, West Virginia, New Jersey, and Delaware. In addition to the newspaper collections organized by state, we are also providing free access to Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, 1836-1922 collection. This collection encompasses 10,186,650 pages drawn from newspapers throughout the entire United States from 1836-1922.

The collection is available via https://www.myheritage.com/research/category-8000/newspapers

Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

UK, Register of Railway Employee Injuries and Deaths, 1911-1915 joins Ancestry

On Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk):

Web: UK, Register of Railway Employee Injuries and Deaths, 1911-1915
https://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=70855
Source: http://www.railwayaccidents.port.ac.uk/: accessed 12th April 2018.

This is the blurb from the original project site:

Welcome to the website for the Railway Work, Life and Death project, a joint initiative between the University of Portsmouth and the National Railway Museum (NRM). We’re aiming to make it easier to find out about railway worker accidents in Britain between 1911 and 1915 – who was involved, what they were doing on the railways, what happened to them and why. Although today most people don’t realise it, working on the railways 100 years ago was incredibly dangerous, with hundreds killed and tens of thousands injured each year.

In this project a team of volunteers from the NRM, to whom we’re immensely grateful, have painstakingly been through reports produced by the state-appointed Railway Inspectorate between 1911 and 1915, detailing investigations into railway worker accidents. They’ve extracted the details found in the reports – things like names, ages, roles, companies and details of the accident – and entered them into a spreadsheet. This spreadsheet is now available, on this website, so that anyone who’s interested can easily learn more about work and accidents on Britain’s railways around the time of the First World War. We think this will be of great interest to all sorts of people: railway enthusiasts, family historians, railway museums and heritage centres, the current railway industry and academics.

Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.