Schoolboy finds lost medieval gravestones in Govan

A schoolboy called Mark Mettigan has found one of the lost Govan stones, dating back to the 10th and 11th century, in an archaeological dig at Scotland's oldest churchyard, Govan Old Parish Church. The stones date back to the ancient Kingdom of Strathclyde, before Scotland itself existed as a country, and were long feared lost.

The BBC has the full story at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-47748026.

Chris

My next Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the OPRs course starts May 13th 2019 - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. For my Scottish and Irish themed books, visit https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Family History Library Classes and Webinars - April 2019

From FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org):

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH (March 29, 2019), The FamilySearch Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, has announced its free classes and webinars for April 2019. The main focus this month will be on learning how to use DNA in genealogical research. Several beginner classes address how to add information to your family tree, tips and tricks to find elusive ancestors, and how to find Polish ancestry. Participants can attend in-person or online. No registration is required.

FamilySearch.org and Family Tree Classes will be offered every Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. MDT throughout the month of April.

If you are unable to attend a class in person or online, most sessions are recorded and can be viewed later online at your convenience at Family History Library classes and webinars. Online classes are noted on the schedule as webinars. Webinar attendees need to click the link next to the class title at the scheduled date and time to attend the class online. Those attending in person simply go to the room noted. Invite your family and friends.

All classes are in mountain daylight time (MDT).

DATE/TIME	CLASS (SKILL LEVEL)
Tuesday, 2 April, 10:00 A.M.	What’s New at FamilySearch (Beginner)
Wednesday, 3 April, 3:00 P.M.	Using the Polish Website Szukaj w Archiwach (Intermediate)
Thursday, 4 April, 10:00 A.M.	Indexing Online on FamilySearch
Tuesday, 9 April, 10:00 A.M.	Overview of FamilySearch (Beginner)
Saturday, 13 April, 1:00 P.M.	Dicas de Pesquisa no FamilySearch (Beginner)
Tuesday, 16 April, 10:00 A.M.	Navigating, Adding and Editing, Standardization of Dates and Places on Family Tree (Beginner)
Thursday, 18 April, 10:00 A.M.	Spanish Language Indexing (Beginner)
Saturday, 20 April, 1:00 P.M.	Agregando fuentes al Árbol Familiar (Beginner)
Tuesday, 23 April, 10:00 A.M.	Tips and Tricks for Finding Elusive Records on FamilySearch (Beginner)
Thursday, 25 April, 9:30 A.M.	An Introduction to DNA and Genealogy (Beginner)
Thursday, 25 April, 11:00 A.M.	I’ve Tested my DNA, Now What? (Intermediate)
Thursday, 25 April, 12:00 P.M.	CAN Open Lab (In Person Only) (Beginner)
Thursday, 25 April, 1:00 P.M.	Finding an Unknown Parent Using DNA: A Case Study (Intermediate)
Thursday, 25 April, 2:30 P.M.	Making DNA Connections through Descendancy Research (Intermediate)
Thursday, 25 April, 3:30 P.M.	DNA Open Lab: Attending In Person begins at 3:30, Attending Online beginas at 4:00

Further details and links at https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Family_History_Library_Classes_and_Webinars#Past_Webinars_.26_Handouts

Chris

My next Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the OPRs course starts May 13th 2019 - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. For my Scottish and Irish themed books, visit https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Latest FindmyPast additions

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

Kent Poor Law and Occupations
Search for you Kent ancestors in this index of more than 2,000 poor law and occupation records. The records include church registers, alehouse keepers' licenses and poor law documents that may reveal a variety of details relating to you ancestor's birth, baptism, death, residence and occupation.

Family Histories & Pedigrees
A brand new Devonshire title has recently been added to our collection of Family Histories and Pedigrees; "Devon, Visitation Of The County Of Devon In 1620" by Henry St George and Sampson Lennard.

Berkshire Baptisms Index
Over 31,000 additional records coving the parishes of Beenham St Mary, Bray St Michael, Cholsey St Mary, Kintbury St Mary, Reading St Giles, Reading St Mary, Remenham St Nicholas and Tilehurst St Michael are now available to search. Each record comprises a transcript of the original baptism register.

New England Passenger and Crew Lists
Over 116,000 records have been added to the collection. The new additions have been sourced from the mystic seaport museum and include crew lists from the following ships: Charles W. Morgan, 1841-1921; Fall River Whaling, 1821-1912; New London, 1803 – 1878; and Salem, 1799 – 1879. They consist of transcripts that will reveal your ancestor's birth year, birth place, ship names and the date they were added to the list.

Britain, Knights Of The Realm & Commonwealth Index
A tranche of new records have also been added to our Knights Of The Realm & Commonwealth Index. Dating all the way back to the 11th century, this fascinating index will enable you to find out if any of your British ancestors were awarded an order of chivalry but the Crown.

International records Update – Guatemala
With over a million new records dating back to 1730, Guatemala is the latest Central American country to join our growing collection of international records. Our new Guatemalan collections consist of five new indexes, including;
Guatemala Baptism Index 1730-1917
Guatemala Civil Registration 1877-2008
Guatemala Death Index 1760-1880
Guatemala Marriage Index 1750-1930
Guatemala, Ciudad de Guatemala Census 1877

British & Irish Newspaper Update
This week we have added 127, 928 new pages to our collection of historical British & Irish Newspapers. We have four brand new titles from across the British Isles, including our second Jersey title, the French-language publication Nouvelle Chronique de Jersey. We also have a brand new title for Northern Ireland, the Strabane Chronicle, as well as two new London titles, the Pinner Observer and the Kingston Informer. We also have updated seven of our existing titles. We have updates to two of our London titles, the Harefield Gazette and the Kensington Post, as well as one of our national titles, the Sunday Times. There are further updates to specialist Roman Catholic publication the Tablet, as well as to the Reading Evening Post, the Bolton Evening News, and the South Wales Daily Post.

Further information and links can be found at https://blog.findmypast.co.uk/findmypast-friday-march-29th-2633071672.html

Chris

My next Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the OPRs course starts May 13th 2019 - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. For my Scottish and Irish themed books, visit https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Scotland 1750-1850 course starts May 13th

My next Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts on May 13th 2019, and runs for 5 weeks.  Here are the details:

This is an intermediate level course in Scottish family history for those who are going back beyond 1850. You should have some experience with research in the Old Parochial Registers of the Church of Scotland and in using major websites for Scottish research. This course discusses sources that fill the gap when the OPRs are uninformative or missing; for example, records of parish and town administration, occupations, land transfer and taxation. Using these records involves several different locations. You will learn how to check online finding aids and how to find the most effective way to obtain records that may be online, in print, on CD or microfilm. This is the second course on Scottish research. If you have not taken Scottish Research Online please check its description.

Lesson Headings:

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

Each lesson includes exercises and activities; a minimum of 1 one-hour chat session per week. See How the Courses Work.

STUDENTS SAID: "well structured chats with opportunities for questions as well"

Relevant Countries: Scotland
Course Length: 5 Weeks
Start Date: 5 Nov 2018
Cost: £49.99


The following video also gives a bit more of a flavour about what to expect:

(Available also at https://youtu.be/1vX6GZtwZJ0)

For further details, and to sign up, please visit https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. I'll hopefully see you there!

Chris

My next Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the OPRs course starts May 13th 2019 - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. For my Scottish and Irish themed books, visit https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

How to apply for an Irish passport

As the absolute clusterbùrach that is Brexit continues to paralyse British politics, I've had a few email requests in the last week about how to claim an Irish passport.

I have previously outlined on this blog how I obtained passports for myself and my two sons from here in Scotland three years ago in a series of four posts starting at http://britishgenes.blogspot.com/2016/06/claiming-irish-passport-1.html.

You will also find useful advice on the RootsIreland website at http://www.rootsireland.ie/help/help-civil-records/how-to-apply-for-an-irish-passport/.

At present the Irish Government is processing about 3000 applications a day, so there may be a delay with both your order and in obtaining any necessary certificates from the GRO offices in Belfast or Roscommon.

I hope this helps, and that if you choose to go for one that your application is successful.

Chris

My next Scottish Research Online course starts March 11th 2019 - see www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. For my Scottish and Irish themed books, visit https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Update: Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed)

A quick update! I had hoped that my second edition of Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet would be published by now, but it was pushed back by Pen and Sword (https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk) a few months, due to an absolute flurry of new material coming out this summer.

However, it is definitely happening - and for proof, you can now pre-order the book via Amazon!

The book is listed at https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tracing-Irish-Family-History-Internet/dp/1526757818/ at £14.99, and with the following blurb:

In this, the fully updated second edition of his bestselling guide to researching Irish history using the internet, Chris Paton shows the extraordinary variety of sources that can now be accessed online. Although Ireland has lost many records that would have been of great interest to family historians, he demonstrates that a great deal of information survived and is now easily available to the researcher. Thanks to the pioneering efforts of the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, the National Archives of Ireland, organizations such as FindmyPast Ireland, Ancestry.co.uk, RootsIreland and the volunteer genealogical community, an ever-increasing range of Ireland's historical resources are accessible from afar. As well as exploring the various categories of records that the family historian can turn to, Chris Paton illustrates their use with fascinating case studies. He fully explores the online records available from both the north and the south from the earliest times to the present day. Many overseas collections are also included, and he looks at social networking in an Irish context where many exciting projects are currently underway. His book is an essential introduction and source of reference for anyone who is keen to trace their Irish roots.

I am currently proofing the book and indexing the content, and have also started work on two new family history books for Pen and Sword on Scottish themes.

More news soon!


Chris

My next Scottish Research Online course starts March 11th 2019 - see www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. For my Scottish and Irish themed books, visit https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

The Scots in British India talk by Sir Tom Devine

Thanks to Valmay Young at the Families in British India Society (https://www.fibis.org) for notice of the following:

Scotland’s Empire: The Scots in British India

Scotland’s EmpireThe British Association for Cemeteries in South Asia (www.bacsa.org.uk) invites those of Scots/British India ancestry, and all interested in the history of the Scots in India, to attend a lecture on ’Scotland’s Empire: The Scots in British India’ by Sir Tom Devine, Professor Emeritus in History at the University of Edinburgh. Sir Tom Devine is Scotland’s pre-eminent historian and the leading authority on the Scottish Diaspora. His books include Scotland’s Empire, To the Ends of the Earth and The Scottish Clearances.

In this lecture Sir Tom considers the role of Scots in India in administration, the military and trade with special reference to the period from the late seventeenth to the early nineteenth centuries. Among the themes examined are the scale of Scottish ‘colonisation’ of the East India Company, the reasons for this and the impact of the India connection on Scotland itself.

The lecture will be followed by a wine reception and book sales. It is the final in this year’s series of lectures on British India, ‘THE RAJ Re-Examined’ (BACSA in association with the South Asia Centre, LSE).

Time/place/price
Monday 8 April, 6.30-8.00pm

Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building, London School of Economics, 54 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London WC2A 3LJ

Tickets: £8.50 (BACSA members £6) includes a glass of wine
Online booking: http://www.bacsa.org.uk/?page_id=2180

Chris

My next Scottish Research Online course starts March 11th 2019 - see www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. For my Scottish and Irish themed books, visit https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Belfast City Council's burials database updated

I mentioned in my recent news update from PRONI (see https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/2019/03/utv-archive-at-proni-and-other-proni.html) that there was some discussion about Belfast City Council potentially updating the features of its Burials Records database at http://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/community/burialrecords/burialrecords.aspx.

I was using the site last night and have noticed that there are now additional search fields.

Where before you had the options of only searching by Forename, Surname and Year, there are now further options to search by Address and/or Postcode, as well as the option to order results by Surname, Address or Year. You cannot unfortunately search by address only, but one handy tip is to type in a surname and street address (no numbers) for a known relative, as other family members may well be on the same street but not within the same household. I managed to make progress on one of my lines last night, my Montgomery family, by doing so.

A lot of information is free on the database, and for records older than 75 years you can also purchase a copy of the original burial record, which in some cases has as much, and sometimes more, information than the equivalent death certificate.

Happy hunting!

Chris

My next Scottish Research Online course starts March 11th 2019 - see www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. For my Scottish and Irish themed books, visit https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

TheGenealogist adds Map Explorer feature

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

Press Release: Announcing Map Explorer

Powerful new map tool helps trace ancestors properties through time 

TheGenealogist’s latest innovation helps you find an ancestor’s property and watch the landscape change over time. The team have georeferenced their Lloyd George Maps for Greater London which are available at launch, with further exciting developments planned for the coming months.

● TheGenealogist’s Map Explorer displays maps for different historical periods up to the modern day
● Maps are fully searchable by county, parish, street and even postcode
● Zoom down to show the individual properties as they were at the time
● Use the transparency slider to reveal a modern street map underneath
● Change the modern base map displayed to more clearly understand what the area looks like today
● Georeferenced pins link to the records for each property
● Display county or parish boundaries
● Find out more and watch the video at TheGenealogist.co.uk/maps/

The powerful Map Explorer has been developed to view these georeferenced historic maps overlaid on top of modern background maps including those from Ordnance Survey and Bing Street maps, as well as a satellite view, letting you see where your ancestor's house is today.

To complement the launch of the new Map Explorer, TheGenealogist has also released historic Ordnance Survey maps covering England, Scotland and Wales between the 1890’s and 1960’s. These have also been georeferenced, allowing you to see how the landscape changed over time.

These maps have been divided up into 3 types of layer that can be viewed on top of each other like sheets of paper - you can then change the transparency of a layer to view the layers below.

The Base Layer
This is the modern layer, which can be used to select a modern OS Map, Open Street Map or a Bing Satellite Image.

The Historic Layer
The historic layer can be used to select a range of OS maps from the 1890’s to the 1960’s

Record Set Layer
This layer provides access to map record sets such as the Lloyd George Domesday, or the soon to be launched Georeferenced Tithe Maps. Keep an eye out as further record sets are added to this layer in the future. This layer also has the ability to show “Pins”, these are map markers that link directly to the records so you can see who was living in a particular property.

[The new Map Explorer from TheGenealogist, going from a historic map to satellite view]

The new Map Explorer has several tools to aid researchers, such as the “Place Search”. This allows you to enter a postcode or address (either Modern or Historic) and jump to that location on the maps.

Further tools let you see county and parish boundaries and even historic “Wards”, which were the areas that the Lloyd George Domesday Survey were divided into.

Researchers are now able to view Lloyd George Domesday Maps for the Greater London Area (Survey books for this area are being released ward by ward over the coming months).

Now you can pinpoint properties old and new with TheGenealogist’s Map Explorer.

Find out more and watch the video at www.TheGenealogist.co.uk/maps/

(With thanks to Nick Thorne)

Chris

My next Scottish Research Online course starts March 11th 2019 - see www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. For my Scottish and Irish themed books, visit https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

FindmyPast adds British regimental histories and Scottish criminal database

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

Scotland, Midlothian, 1834 Dalkeith Census
Search for your ancestors in the 1834 census for Dalkeith, Midlothian. The collection contains over 5,000 transcripts that that will reveal a combination of your ancestor's address, age, occupation, place of worship and corresponding details for their fellow household members. If they were a child at the time, the records will also reveal the names of both their weekday and Sunday schools.

British Army Records & Regimental Histories
Discover your British military ancestor with these regimental histories. Regimental histories are an excellent resource for discovering more about your ancestor's military career. You can discover where the regiment was stationed, read despatches from the First World War and records of the deeds and achievements of the British Army. This fascinating collection of more than a thousand PDF images currently includes three publications including;

* The 1st Battalion Royal Scots in South Africa, 1899-1902.
* The Green Howards in The Great War.
* The History of the Lincolnshire Regiment 1914-1918

US Servicemen in North Devon, England 1943-1945
Explore lists of over 5,000 US servicemen who were stationed in North Devon during WW2. The records consist of original visitor books kept by the local servicemen's club. The servicemen served at the Assault Training Centre in North Devon, which was set up in 1942. It was established during the Second World War as a centre to develop and practice amphibious assault exercises to prepare for the Normandy landing on D-Day. They practiced on the beaches at Woolacombe and Saunton Sands.

Scotland, Criminal Database 1801-1917
Search this database of more than 130,000 records of Crown Office Precognitions and High Court Trial Papers to find out if your ancestor was ever in trouble with the law or the victim of a crime. Each record includes a transcript of the original document that, depending on its age and nature, may reveal a wide variety of facts. Records may include biographical details surrounding your ancestor's birth, their address, descriptions and occupation as well as details of their trial. This may include the date, location and nature of their offense, the names of their victims, previous convictions, the date and location of their trial and the sentence they received.

International Records Update – El Salvador
Over 1.1 million records from the republic of El Salvador have recently been added to our growing collection of world records. The new additions consist of three indexes of baptisms, civil births and marriages spanning the years 1750 to 1940

British & Irish Newspaper Update
This week we have added over 110,000 new pages to our collection of British & Irish newspapers. We are delighted to welcome two specialist titles, Justice – 'the oldest socialist journal in the British Islands,' and the Tablet, a Roman Catholic newspaper. We also have one further brand new addition, the Portadown News from County Armagh in Northern Ireland. We have also updated two of our existing titles, the West Middlesex Gazette and the Staffordshire Sentinel. This week we have added the years 1930 to 1938 to the Staffordshire Sentinel, with 28,000 new searchable pages.

Further information and links at https://blog.findmypast.co.uk/findmypast-friday-march-22nd-2632375939.html

Chris

My next Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the OPRs course starts May 13th 2019 - see https://www.pharostutors.com/coursesmainsd.php. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. For my Scottish and Irish themed books, visit https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

New look National Archives of Ireland website

The National Archives of Ireland has rolled out a new look for its online platfiorm at www.nationalarchives.ie.

Scrolling down its front page brings you to various topics ogf interest to the family historian, in its Explore Collections section:

• Decade of Centenaries
• Our Genealogy Website
• Chief Secretary’s Office Registered Papers, 1818-1922
• Anglo-Irish Treaty, 1921

The new site has a much needed, more modern feel to it, and should translate well for tablet and phone access.

Its greatest weakness, however, remains its online catalogue. Once that receives a bit more love and attention - and considerably more catalogued information! - the latest Irish revolution will be complete!

PS: Keep an eye out for some changes to the PRONI website in the north over the next few months, with access to certain collections being rearranged within the platform at www.nidirect.gov.uk/proni

Chris

My next Scottish Research Online course starts March 11th 2019 - see www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. For my Scottish and Irish themed books, visit https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

British Newspaper Archive at 31 million pages

The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) is at the point of reaching 31 million pages of its planned 40 million pages on the site.

Released in the last 30 days:

Tablet
1843-1851, 1855-1864, 1866-1885

Sunday Times
1823, 1825-1827, 1831, 1833, 1853, 1890-1912

Bolton Evening News
1897

South Wales Daily Post
1901

Portadown News
1859-1921

West Middlesex Gazette
1894-1895, 1898-1910, 1912-1941

Justice
1884-1925

Staffordshire Sentinel
1930-1938, 1940-1941, 1943-1950

Ealing Gazette and West Middlesex Observer
1898-1910, 1912-1923

Sunday Life
2000-2005

Hyde & Glossop Weekly News, and North Cheshire Herald
1875

Tottenham and Edmonton Weekly Herald
1877

Berks and Oxon Advertiser
1959

Dublin Intelligence
1723-1724

West Sussex County Times
1912

Sunday World (Dublin)
1895

Kensington Post
1918-1972, 1987-1988, 1990

Harefield Gazette
1989-1990

Orcadian
1854-1869, 1901-1912

Reading Evening Post
1993

Middlesex County Times
1939-1941, 1953-1954, 1957-1976, 1978, 1980

Amersham Advertiser
1991-1992

Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
1880, 1883, 1886, 1890, 1892

Drogheda Argus and Leinster Journal
1961-1964

Orkney Herald, and Weekly Advertiser and Gazette for the Orkney & Zetland Islands
1888-1949

Enniscorthy Guardian
1986

Rugby Advertiser
1914

Cambridgeshire Times
1872-1873

Littlehampton Gazette
1939

Folkestone Express, Sandgate, Shorncliffe & Hythe Advertiser
1868-1894, 1901, 1903-1913, 1915-1924

Central Somerset Gazette
1862-1870, 1872-1887, 1889-1899, 1901-1911, 1913-1949, 1951-1981

Oxfordshire Telegraph
1858-1859

Sunday Independent (Dublin)
1998-2006

Evening Herald (Dublin)
1930

Chris

My next Scottish Research Online course starts March 11th 2019 - see www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. For my Scottish and Irish themed books, visit https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Company behind US Family Tree magazine files for bankruptcy

There's an extraordinary situation unfolding just now in the United States, detailed by Roberta Estes on her blog at https://dna-explained.com/2019/03/19/family-tree-magazine-and-family-tree-university-files-bankruptcy/.

New York based F&W Media, the firm behind the US based magazine Family Tree (not affiliated to the UK magazine of the same name), and its Family Tree University, has filed for bankruptcy, leaving many contributors unpaid. According to Roberta, when the firm made its application to the Court, "The court was provided with a list of creditors 542 pages in length, with 30 names per page, for a whopping total of 16,260 people or companies that they owe money."

The full story is outlined in Roberta's blog post, and also by Forbes magazine at https://www.forbes.com/sites/tonysilber/2019/03/11/fw-media-citing-debt-decline-and-mismanagement-files-for-bankruptcy-protection/#205649d84355.

Here's hoping that all who are owed money are paid in due course. There may be many free resources available online, but professional genealogists are not charities, and deserve to be paid as much as any other profession. And for those who worked on the editorial side of things, I suspect this is as big a shock for them - here's hoping they successfully find alternative work.

(With thanks to Roberta for sharing)

Chris

My next Scottish Research Online course starts March 11th 2019 - see www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. For my Scottish and Irish themed books, visit https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Computer problems at Glasgow Genealogy Centre

Glasgow Genealogy Centre has the following message online at https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=17698 for the registrars's service, which offers access to ScotlandsPeople:

Please note we are currently experiencing temporary technical difficulties in the Genealogy Centre.

As a result of this, we are currently not able to take bookings and the centre is currently unavailable, but services will resume as soon as possible .

If you have already booked an appointment, we will be in touch with you soon.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and will aim to be back up and running as soon as we can.

I have just called the centre and have been advised that there is a slight update on this. Last week, the centre was closed to bookings entirely. However, this week they are taking six bookings a day only, with only one slot left for this coming Thursday 21st, to see how things play out.

I blogged about the problems I personally experienced in Glasgow recently (see https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/2019/02/scotlandspeople-computer-issue-at.html), which have been ongoing for several weeks. Here's hoping that things will be mended soon.

In the meantime, if you are seeking to visit Glasgow to do research, call 0141 287 8365 or email genealogy@glasgow.gov.uk prior to a visit, to make sure the service is available.

Chris

My next Scottish Research Online course starts March 11th 2019 - see www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. For my Scottish and Irish themed books, visit https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Ancestry adds Cork Marriage Licence Bonds Index 1623-1750

Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) hads added the following Irish collection:

Cork, Ireland, Marriage Licence Bonds Index, 1623-1750
https://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=61710
Source: Copied, with the permission of the Master of Rolls, from the Index prepared in the Public Record Office by Herbert Webb Gillman. Index to the Marriage Licence Bonds of the diocese of Cork and Ross, Ireland. Cork, Ireland: 1896-1897.

About Cork, Ireland, Marriage Licence Bonds Index, 1623-1750

Historical Context

This collection comprises an index to the Marriage Licence Bonds of the diocese of Cork and Ross, Ireland. The original rolls from which the printed index was created are held in the National Archives of Ireland (formerly the Public Record Office of Ireland). A Marriage Licence Bond was entered into before a Bishop, prior to the granting of the Marriage Licence, with the purpose of ensuring that the impending Marriage was legally sound. Two solvent individuals (one of which was usually the bridegroom) entered into the bond for a stated sum.

What can I find in these records?

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

Name
Gender
Name of Spouse
Year of Marriage
Place of Marriage

Chris

My next Scottish Research Online course starts March 11th 2019 - see www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. For my Scottish and Irish themed books, visit https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

FindmyPast adds Irish Newspaper Transcript Archive

Latest additions to FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk):

Irish Newspaper Transcript Archive, ffolliott Collection 1756-1850
Search a comprehensive catalogue of more than 54,000 biographical notices from Irish newspapers compiled by the celebrated Irish genealogist Rosemary ffolliott. Each record includes a transcript and original image that enable you to discover if your Irish ancestors had details of their birth, marriage or death announcement printed in a newspaper. Rosemary ffolliott was Ireland's premier genealogist, at the age of 23 she had her first book The Pooles of Mayfield, a history of settler families in the Cork area published in 1958. From the 1950s to the 1970s she was a member of the panel of freelance researchers engaged by the Genealogical Office, becoming a prominent member of the Irish Genealogical Research Society whose journal The Irish Genealogist she edited for a time.

Kerry Histories & Reference Guides
Explore three fascinating publications to learn more about the history of Kerry and its inhabitants. Each record is available in a PDF format. Use the previous and next buttons at the top of the page to browse through the publication

This collection currently holds the following titles:

A History of the Kingdom of Kerry - Published in 1871, written by M.F. Cusack. The book covers the history of the county from early times. There are extracts from different documents, these include the Charters of the towns of Dingle and Tralee, etc and the complete text from the 1673 report on the State of Kerry.

A Pictorial and Descriptive Guide to Killarney, The Kerry Coast, Glengariff, Cork and The South West of Ireland - First published in 1880, this is the seventh edition of the guide. Illustrated throughout, the guide includes photographs, maps, advertisements and descriptions of the places visited.

The Ancient and Present State of the County of Kerry - Published in 1756, written by Charles Smith M.D. Originally published privately by Charles Smith after the Dublin Philosophical Society had ceased, this is the fourth county history written singularly or jointly published from Smith.

Limerick Histories & Reference Guides
This collection also contains three historic publications that can be used to learn more about the place and time in which your Irish ancestors lived.

This collection currently holds three titles:

Limerick and its Sieges - Published in 1890, written by Rev. James Dowd, A.B., T.C.D. This is the second edition of the book. Dowd begins his preface with the following; 'This sketch of Limerick and its Sieges, as well as other notes concerning the place of chief historic interest in the county of Limerick, were put together by the writer more for his own information than with an eye towards their publication, at least in a book form'.

Round About The County Of Limerick - Published in 1896 written by Rev. James Dowd, A.B., T.C.D. Dowd begins his preface with the following; 'In asking my readers to accompany me on a Historical and Archaeological Tour Round About the County of Limerick, I have consulted their convenience by grouping events around the places brought under notice. The arrangement may lead to occasional repetition, and the narrative may sometime be left incomplete, to be resumed and finished elsewhere. But, on the other hand, it possesses the undoubted advantage of fixing the attention of the reader upon the events and occurrences which render the places visited memorable.'

The History, Topography and Antiquities of the County and City of Limerick, 2 Vols - Published in 1826 and 1827, written by Rev. Patrick Fitzgerald and John James McGregor. The book begins with the following; 'An author who should undertake the difficult task of writing a general history of Ireland, must, for the most obvious reasons, divide his work into three grand periods, namely, the fabulous, the obscure, and the authentic.'

United States Passport Applications
Over 62,000 additional records spanning the years 1795 to 1925 have been added to our collection of United States Passport Applications. This collection of regular passport applications has been compiled from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) collections M1372 and M1490. Each record will provide a transcript and, where available, an image of the original documents.

England, Domesday Book 1086 Browse
Explore Britain's earliest public record as part of your subscription to Findmypast with a browse search allows you to search each counties book from beginning to end. The Domesday Book is Britain's earliest public record, it was commissioned in December 1085 by King William the Conqueror, and it provides an invaluable insight into 11th century Norman England.

International records update
Our international collections continue to grow. This week we have added four new indexes from the Central American country of Costa Rica. The new indexes contain over 800,000 records covering baptisms, marriages, deaths and civil registrations between 1700 and 1975. These records have been sourced from the International Genealogical Index.

Our Costa Rica collections currently include:

Costa Rica Baptism Index 1700-1915
Costa Rica Marriage Index 1750-1920
Costa Rica Death Index 1787-1900
Costa Rica Civil Registration, 1860-1975 Image Browse

British & Irish newspaper update

This week have added 139,520 new pages to The Archive. We are delighted to welcome four brand new titles this week, three of which cover the late twentieth century: London title the Harefield Gazette, the Reading Evening Post and Buckinghamshire title the Amersham Advertiser. Rounding off our new titles this week is the Orcadian, which covers the years 1854 to 1912 and was published in Kirkwall, Orkney.

Further details at https://blog.findmypast.co.uk/findmypast-friday-march-15th-2631628139.html

Chris

My next Scottish Research Online course starts March 11th 2019 - see www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. For my Scottish and Irish themed books, visit https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Punch added to Irish Newspaper Archives

From the Irish Newspaper Archives (www.irishnewsarchive.com):

Happy St Patrick's weekend to all our friends and members.
SAVE 40% Off our annual membership and enjoy NEW CONTENT

40% discount one year code - StPAT40
20% discount one month code - StPAT20

New Titles:

Punch or London Charivari Magazine Archive 1844-1852, 1860-1862, 1865-1900, 1902-1925

We are delighted to announce the release of Punch magazine to our archives:

Established in 1841 by Mr Henry Mayhew and Ebenezer Landells this satirical and humorous British magazine offered the people at the time a refreshing new view of Britain’s cultural and political landscape. Edited by Henry Mayhew and Mark Lemon the magazines masthead/title was borrowed from the anarchic glove puppet, Mr. Punch, of Punch and Judy. The magazine’s first few years were difficult with low readership and in 1845 Mayhew left. In 1842 the Punch magazine was purchase by Bradbury & Evans. Using the latest in high production printing technologies they were able to capitalise on reaching a larger audience.

The Punch was published for over 160 years and finally ceased to publish in 2004.

(With thanks to Andrew Martin)

Chris

My next Scottish Research Online course starts March 11th 2019 - see www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. For my Scottish and Irish themed books, visit https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Free access to MyHeritage Irish collections

MyHeritage is offering free access to its Irish collections until March 20th 2019.

To access the records, visit https://www.myheritage.com/research/catalog?location=Ireland

 Chris

My next Scottish Research Online course starts March 11th 2019 - see www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. For my Scottish and Irish themed books, visit https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

UTV Archive at PRONI - and other PRONI news

Yesterday (Friday 15th) I had the pleasure to attend the latest Stakeholders' Forum at PRONI, Northern Ireland's national archive, in Belfast - albeit after a fairly choppy ferry crossing. The following is a summary of the some of the latest developments:

PRONI Guide to Church Records

It was confirmed that the version of the document, PRONI Guide to Church Records, online at https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/publications/proni-guide-church-records is up to date. Accompanying this is a separate document, Church Records Available as Digital Copies in PRONI, which details which records exist in digital format on the archive's catalogue system, CALM. Both are invaluable resources for planning a trip to PRONI. It was confirmed that recent church records collections brought in for digitisation are now currently being worked upon.


Cataloguing:

The onsite catalogue, CALM, has had some performance issues over the last six months, which now seem to be resolved.

PRONI is currently cataloguing the Michael J. Murphy Papers, with help from students. Murphy was a folklorist and writer, with his papers from 1942-83 detailing his work for the Folklore Commission, with notebooks, diaries, and other materials.


Recent Deposits

The Ulster Society of Organists and Choirmasters papers consists of 12 boxes of material, including minutes, photographs, and correspondence from 1918-2017. Catalogued under D4701.

The Northern Ireland District Association Camping and Caravanning Club papers, with minute books, photographs, scrapbooks etc from 1964-2005, 15 volumes of material within 3 boxes, will be held under D4702.

The Northern Ireland Council on Voluntary Action (NICVA) has donated minutes form 1938-92, as well as copies of its 'Scope' magazine from 1975-2008. This will be held under D4708.

Coming soon:

More Ulster Farmers Union materials minute books, photographs, etc, to be held under D1050/13.

The Presbyterian Children's Society – 10 boxes of material, correspondence and papers, application forms over the last 50 years, and more.

Ballyclare Church Lads Brigade - 6 boxes of material (including one for Limerick district), from the 1920s, including minute books, manuals, scrap books, and other records.


The UTV Archive at PRONI

This was of particular interest to me, having previously worked in TV myself (and having once interviewed the head of UTV!). Ulster Television was established in 1959, as the first commercial broadcaster on the island of Ireland. Its huge archive covers a vast amount of Northern Irish history and culture from that point, including interviews with Seamus Heaney, George Best, Van Morrison, Brendan Behan and others, of course, extensive coverage of the Troubles.

Unfortunately, as UTV has now been purchased by the ITV network, its archive is to be relocated to Leeds in England. I am personally appalled that Northern Ireland's broadcast heritage is leaving the country, but thankfully, PRONI has secured a five year agreement with ITV to digitise as much of the material as possible before it is sent to England for permanent storage. The aim is that Northern Ireland Screen will then make the material available on its Digital Film Archive (https://digitalfilmarchive.net).

About a hundred pallets of material from Havelock House are being taken by PRONI for the project, containing material from 1959-1993, mainly unedited rushes, with about 72,000 items. The following gives an idea of the breakdown of what is to be worked on:

6543 film cans (mainly 16mm), and 4 boxes of loose film
54,469 Betacam tapes (SP, Digibeta and 90SP), and 112 boxes of uncatalogued tapes
1295 one inch reels
83 U-Matic tapes

The film material is being prioritised, as this is older and may be more brittle.

As part of this arrangement, PRONI will be opening a viewing room soon to allow visitors to view some of the tapes and films, and we were treated to a glimpse of this by Stephanie Routhier-Perry, who is working on the project. The room caters for film with a Steenbeck player, and various tape formats, including one ince, U-Matic, Beta SP, Digibeta and smaller tape formats also. Access provision will be quite strictly conditioned – appointment only, one viewer at a time, no ledning facility, and subject to normal PRONI conditions. Permission to purchase any material will have to be done through ITV.

In the Q&A I asked about whether UTV programmes are included in the project, but was advised that these are already in Leeds, PRONI is working mainly with rushes only.

Women in the Archives 

This is an initiative PRONI is working with local musuems and libraries on, and as a part of it, there will be two exhibitions in April, in partnership with the Linen Hall Library, called 'In Her Words' and 'Anonymous was a Woman'.

Another recent project called 'Buried in Belfast' saw 25 people working on stories from Milltown and City Cemetery, the outcome of which will see further initiatives, including a proposed trail map.


City Cemetery records

As a part of our discussions, it emerged that Belfast City Council is looking at possibly upgrading the online digital provision for its city cemetery records, with features such as a potential Boolean search to be developed, possibly even geo-tagging of graves. It is early days, but one to watch. We were also advised that the Council now has a dedicated Bereavement Services Manager, Michael Patterson.


Social Media:

PRONI now has an Instagram account at publicrecordofficeni, which went online a couple of weeks ago.


Exhibitions:

Plantations in Ulster, 1600-41, will launch at Central Library in Derry on April 5th. This will tie in with the Plantation themed resources book which PRONI released last year.


New online payment system

Janet Hancock advised that a new secure invoice and payments system for remote enquiries is hopefully going to launch soon in late spring or in the summer. You will be able to pay for looks ups, do copyright declarations online, and gain digital access. We may get a short presentation on this at the next forum meeting.


Flagship Events:

PRONI's oldest document is a papal bull from the 13th century, concerning the creation of Paisley Abbey in Renfrewshire, Scotland, and held with the Hamilton Papers. This year sees its 800th anniversary, and there will be a tie in event on June 12th at PRONI with speakers Matthew Hammond and William Roulston.

The first of the Ulster Historical Foundation's annual Dr. Brian Trainor Memorial Lectures will take place this September (see https://www.ancestryireland.com/brian-trainor-memorial-lecture-fund).

(With thanks to all the forum members, especially Stephanie Routhier-Perry and Stephen Scarth for the visit to the multimedia room)

Chris

My next Scottish Research Online course starts March 11th 2019 - see www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. For my Scottish and Irish themed books, visit https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Free access to Ancestry's Irish records

Irish records will be free to access on the US version of Ancestry (www.ancestry.com) this week for Saint Patrick's Day.

To use the records visit https://www.ancestry.com/cs/stpatricksday.

From Ancestry:

Search more than 140 million Irish records FREE—including passenger lists, peerage and royalty directories, census records, photos, and more.

Access to the records in the featured collections will be free until March 18, 2019 at 11:59 p.m. ET. After the free access period ends, you will only be able to view the records in the featured collections using a paid Ancestry World Explorer or All Access membership.

The Irish records available are listed at https://www.ancestry.com/search/categories/irish_heritage/

Chris

My next Scottish Research Online course starts March 11th 2019 - see www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. For my Scottish and Irish themed books, visit https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

FamilyTreeDNA updates Terms of Service and Privacy Statement

A MAJOR announcement from FamilyTreeDNA (www.familytreedna.com) following recent controversy on its changed porivacy policy:

Dear Valued Customer,

We are emailing you to notify you of changes that we have made to our Terms of Service, Privacy Statement, and other guidelines and processes which govern how law enforcement may use our site. We now require all law enforcement authorities to register accounts under a special process, designed specifically for law enforcement and third parties working with law enforcement, which allows them to participate in our DNA matching program.

Our new policy changes to allow registration of law enforcement accounts will take effect today, March 12th.

If you do not wish to be matched with these designated law enforcement registered users, you have the ability to opt out by adjusting your Matching Preferences, which now includes an option to opt-out of Law Enforcement Matching. User accounts created prior to March 12th, 2019 that are flagged as an EU account have been opted out of Law Enforcement Matching but may choose to opt in.

Below you will find further details on the changes we are implementing.

Law Enforcement Registry

We have made changes to our Privacy Statement and Terms of Service to allow law enforcement authorities to upload DNA files to our DNA database and utilize our DNA matching service in certain limited circumstances and only if they comply with our specific procedures and processes. FamilyTreeDNA’s Terms of Service and Privacy Statement have been updated to require law enforcement, as well as any authorized representative working on behalf of law enforcement, to register all genetic files through a separate process prior to uploading to the database. Permission for law enforcement to upload genetic files will only be granted upon submission, review, and approval of all required documentation by a qualified staff member and under limiting circumstances as defined in our Law Enforcement Guide. The genetic file must be submitted by law enforcement and/or their legally authorized representative for the purpose of identifying the remains of a deceased individual or a perpetrator of a homicide or sexual assault.

The law enforcement registration process includes the required submittal of case-related information, i.e., case number, law enforcement agency, jurisdiction, principal investigator’s name, email, phone, city, state, and case circumstances. In the case of a legally authorized representative, there must be formal documentation of the law enforcement relationship and authorization by relevant law enforcement officials.

If approved for upload, FamilyTreeDNA will track these law enforcement accounts via an in-house identification system that will allow users to opt out of Law Enforcement Matching.

Law Enforcement Matching (LEM) Preferences

Law Enforcement Matching Opt-Out Option: Users now have the ability to opt out of matching with DNA relatives whose accounts are flagged as being created to identify the remains of a deceased individual or a perpetrator of a homicide or sexual assault, also referred to as Law Enforcement Matching (LEM).

User accounts created prior to March 12th, 2019 identified as residents of the European Union (EU):
User accounts created prior to March 12th, 2019 that are identified as being accounts for individuals within the EU are currently opted out of Law Enforcement Matching. Accounts that have been opted out will have the ability to opt in by going to their Account Settings and adjusting their Matching Preferences.

How to adjust your Matching Preferences: Visit the Privacy & Sharing section within your Account Settings.

Law enforcement accounts will only show up in your matches list when both of the following requirements are met:

• You are a genetic match to the uploaded genetic file
• You and the law enforcement account have the same opt in to matching levels selected

Please note: If you opt out of Law Enforcement Matching, these accounts will not be able to see you as a match, but you will continue to see them as a match.

FamilyTreeDNA Citizen's Panel

We are deeply grateful to our FamilyTreeDNA community for its support and input as we navigate this new and unexpected era of law enforcement’s use of genetic genealogy databases, like FamilyTreeDNA’s. We appreciate all of you who have shared your ideas and suggestions over the past few weeks.

To that end, we have created the FamilyTreeDNA Citizen’s Panel comprised of seven individuals with various backgrounds in genealogy, genetic genealogy, and bioethics with whom we will continuously share and review initiatives that could have a potential impact on user privacy. The following seven members were selected to join the panel:


Katherine Borges - Director of The International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG)

Kenyatta Berry - Professional genealogist and host on PBS’s Genealogy Road Show

Roberta Estes - An early adopter of genetic genealogy and FamilyTreeDNA volunteer Group Project Administrator

Maurice Gleeson - Genetic genealogist, speaker and organizer of the Genetic Genealogy Conference in Ireland, and FamilyTreeDNA volunteer Group Project Administrator

Tim Janzen - Long-time genealogist, genetic genealogy lecturer for Oregon’s local ISOGG group and other genetic genealogy conferences, and FamilyTreeDNA volunteer Group Project Administrator

Amy McGuire - Lawyer and Leon Jaworski Professor of Biomedical Ethics and Director of the Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the Baylor College of Medicine

Bob McLaren - An early adopter of genetic genealogy and FamilyTreeDNA volunteer Group Project Administrator

Questions

If you have further questions, we invite you to check out the Law Enforcement FAQ where we’ve addressed many of the frequently asked questions on this subject. If you don't see your question here, please contact us.

(With thanks to FamilyTreeDNA)

Chris

My next Scottish Research Online course starts March 11th 2019 - see www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. For my Scottish and Irish themed books, visit https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

FIBIS Annual General Meeting and Open meeting 2019

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

FIBIS AGM and Open Meeting 2019
Sat, 15 June 2019 10:30 – 17:00 BST
356 Holloway Road, London N7 6PA

Programme

10.30 FIBIS experts answer your research questions
12.00 Break for Lunch.
13.15 AGM
14.00 "The East India Company Civil Servant who created a New Method of Language Learning" by Professor Marjorie Lorch, PhD. Birkbeck, University of London
Thomas Prendergast wrote a series of bestseller foreign language learning manuals in the 1860s and 1870s. He is now viewed as an influential British educator whose legacy continues today. However, surprisingly little was known about his life. He was born in 1807 into a notable family. He spent his life working for the Honourable East India Company in Madras. In 1858, at the age of 52, Prendergast retired and went blind shortly afterwards. At this time, he began writing his books which enjoyed great popularity and remained in print for decades after his death in 1886.

In this presentation Marjorie will describe her efforts to reconstruct the details of his life in Madras and England using a range of resources and strategies. These revealed information about his family background and early life in Madras, schooling in England, training at the East India College, his career through his various posts and promotions as a civil servant in the HEIC and finally details of his life in retirement in Cheltenham and the activities that included his late contributions to education. These fascinating biographical details provide a picture of Prendergast's intellectual and social character and bring to life a man of his time in 19th century British India.

15.00 Break
15.30 "‘Almost-mothers’: exploring your family’s ayahs" by Dr Jo Stanley, FRHistS.

On the stiff brown sugar-paper pages of most Anglo-Indian family photograph collections – maybe in your own, too – there is a sepia photo or two showing a sari-clad Asian nanny: the ayah. Occasionally she’s resplendently central, displaying the latest baby for the professional photographer. In most cases she’s to the side of the family group, holding Baba, along with any number of little Missie Sahibs and Master Sahibs, behind the Sahib and the Memsahib. Often she’s the sole Asian servant in the group. But who was she?

16.30 – 17.00 Networking

ALL WELCOME! FREE ADMISSION

To register, visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/fibis-agm-and-lecture-meeting-tickets-54773775838

Chris

My next Scottish Research Online course starts March 11th 2019 - see www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. For my Scottish and Irish themed books, visit https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Latest additions to FindmyPast

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

Scotland, Dundee & Forfarshire (Angus) Hearth Tax 1691
Did you have Scottish ancestors from Dundee and the county of Forfarshire (Angus)? Search over 50,000 Hearth Tax records from 1691 to find out the number of hearths found within their home. Details such as this will provide you with clues about the family's wealth and status.

Scotland, People of Banffshire 1334-1851
Explore more than 28,000 extracts that taken from original Kirk Session minutes. Responsible for parish business, and the morals of the parishioners, the Kirk Session was the lowest level of a church court and minutes typically contained a detailed account of the parish business.

British India Office Deaths & Burials
Over 2,000 additional records have been added to our collection of British India Office Deaths & Burials. The new additions consist of endowment registers spanning the years 1897 to 1947. These registers document private endowments for the upkeep of graves. Please note, the year given will be between one and five years after the death or burial actually took place.

United States Obituary Notices
Over 7.1 million additional records have been added to our collection of United States Obituary Notices. From this index of obituary notices, you can discover your ancestor's name, birth and death years, and obituary text. This collection has been obtained from the tributes.com and currentobituary.com websites. Additional information such as images and details about the records can be found on the source's website.

PERiodical Source Index
Over 18,000 articles from a variety of publications have been added to the Index. The PERiodical Source Index (PERSI) enables you to easily locate key information about people and places. It contains millions entries from thousands of historical, genealogical and ethnic publications, making it an invaluable, comprehensive family history resource.

Global Records Update
Unearth your Caribbean roots with three new indexes of births & baptisms, marriages and burials containing over 600,000 records and spanning the years 1590 to 1928.

British & Irish Newspaper Update
This week have added 139,520 new pages to our collections. We are delighted to welcome four brand new titles this week, three of which cover the late twentieth century: London title the Harefield Gazette, the Reading Evening Post and Buckinghamshire title the Amersham Advertiser. Rounding off our new titles this week is the Orcadian, which covers the years 1854 to 1912 and was published in Kirkwall, Orkney. We have updates to ten of our existing titles this week, with new pages covering the length and breadth of the British Isles and Ireland. We have updates to titles covering the counties of Kent, Middlesex, Cambridgeshire, Sussex, and Warwickshire, as well as updates to our Scottish and Irish titles.

For further details, and links, visit https://blog.findmypast.co.uk/findmypast-friday-2630938667.html

Chris

My next Scottish Research Online course starts March 11th 2019 - see www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. For my Scottish and Irish themed books, visit https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Nationalist and Munster Advertiser joins Irish Newspaper Archives

From the Irish Newspaper Archives (www.irishnewsarchive.com):

The world's oldest and largest Irish Newspaper Archives continues to grow. We have updated the archive with the following new content:

The Nationalist & Munster Advertiser 11/05/1889 - Current

Updated Content:
Leinster Express 2010 - 2014
Kilkenny People 2006 - 2012

We are delighted to announce the release of The Nationalist & Munster Advertiser to our archives;
Learn more on the origins of the newspapers below:

Enjoy 15% off 30 days code: TNT15
Enjoy 25% off 1 year code: TNT25


Nationalist & Munster Adverister Newspaper Archive 1889 - Current

In 1885 the Nationalist newspaper company was formed in Clonmel. The newly formed company purchashed the printing press from the defunct newspaper called; The Tipperary. The Tipperary Nationalist was first published January, 1886, under the editorship of Mr. J. G. McSweeney, who had considerable experience as a jounalist in Dublin. On the subsequent resignation of Mr. McSweeney, Mr. John E. O'Mahony, formerly of the Skibbereen Eagle, became editor.

Mr John E. O'Mahony was the first newspaper editor to be arrested under the Coercian act. Ireland was in the throes of the land agitation, Mr. O'Mahony was imprisoned and the Tipperary Nationalist company became involved in several libel actions.

The newspaper reports on the trial and the well fare of their editor with the headline; THE CRUSADE AGAINST THE NATIONALIST (Reported 11.May.1889)

With a nationalist outlook the publication went on to support Fine Gael [Finna Gael]. "We shall... champion... the cause of the oppressed." A second edition was run on Tuesdays between 05 Jan 1944 and 11 Mar 1967. James Long acted for the Nationalist Newspaper Co.

See Tipperary Nationalist, which was sued by the Crown and seized by the sheriff; Burke indicates that it essentially preceded this paper.

The masthead for newspaper changed a number of times from the early 1890's:

Tipperary Nationalist & Southern Irishman 1886 - 01.February.1890
The Nationalist 22.February.1890 - 30.April.1892
The Nationalist & Tipperary Advertiser 04.May.1892 - 12.Febraury.1908
The Nationalist & Munster Advertiser 15.February.1908 - Current


Coming Soon

The Evening Press * The Sunday Press * The Belfast Telegraph 1974 + * The Belfast Newsletter 1950 + * Tipperary Star * The Cork Evening Echo and our work on sourcing and finding gaps in the existing archive continues with the Limerick Leader 1970 -79 * Limerick Chronicle 1766+


(With thanks to Andrew Martin)

Chris

My next Scottish Research Online course starts March 11th 2019 - see www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. For my Scottish and Irish themed books, visit https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.