Shock as National Records of Scotland BMD registers damaged by flooding

This is the tragedy that should not have happened. Birth, marriage and death records at the National Records of Scotland have been damaged by flooding last week, as heavy rain leaked through the New Register House dome. You can read the shocking story at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-49164095 and at https://www.scotsman.com/news/leaking-dome-at-national-records-of-scotland-causes-massive-damage-to-precious-historical-documents-1-4973084.

I have long argued that the NRS building in Edinburgh is not fit for purpose. It might look pretty, but I'm not looking for pretty, I'm looking for functional, and many records are not held on-site. A 19th century building has many shortcomings in the 21st century. You can read my take on this at http://britishgenes.blogspot.com/2014/11/more-on-national-records-of-scotland.html, from a blog post in 2014, when the NRS announced its Estates Review.

The subsequent findings of that review were announced in 2015, which I again blogged about at http://britishgenes.blogspot.com/2015/01/national-records-of-scotland-estates.html. At this point, I was advised of the following:

"Our long-term aspiration is to co-locate the majority of our staff in a fit-for-purpose facility in Edinburgh, and to expand and improve our archive and public facilities at Thomas Thomson House in the west of the city. Although there are no immediate plans for NRS to move out of General Register House or New Register House, these buildings do not feature in our core estate over the long-term. This intention remains subject to a number of challenges and constraints, not least funding, and at this stage this is our preferred direction of travel over the long-term, not a hard and fast commitment."

It is now imperative that this programme is accelerated.

One final point - the BBC story states the following:

"They (the NRS) said there was no loss of information as all records were digitised.

"The records office said a team of volunteers was on standby in case flooding occurred in future."

First, the records are all digitised - but it is also the case that records which have been poorly digitised can be rephotographed from the original registers. In other words, whilst they have all been previously digitised, some of that work was not up to par, and I have personally asked on trips to ScotlandsPeople centres to have records rescanned for consideration later in the day. I have absolutely no idea whether this service now remains an option, or how extensive the damage was.

As for the second point - I would sincerely hope that records are now not in a place where they might be potentially damaged again.

I look forward to the day when Scotland has a modern purpose built national archive repository on a par with Northern Ireland's PRONI and England's National Archives.

(Image courtesy of Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Matheson_(architect)) 

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) for just £11.99 at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

ScotlandsPlaces and other HES sites currently down

Several websites hosted by Historic Environment Scotland are currently down, including ScotlandsPlaces (www.scotlandspalecs.gov.uk), Britain from Above (www.britainfromabove.org.uk) and Canmore.

The sites have not been available since Friday afternoon. Hopefully they will be back up soon!

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) for just £11.99 at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

National Records of Scotland head interviewed in Broadsheet

The latest issue of Broadsheet (49) carries an interview with the new Chief Executive of the National Records of Scotland, Paul Lowe, and Laura Mitchell, Deputy Keeper of the Records of Scotland.

Amongst othjer articles there is also an indepth piece reflecting on the commemorations of the Iolaire disaster of 1919 by Seonaid McDonald, archivist at Tasglann nan Eilean, and a focus on thirty years of work by the Ballast Trust in preserving business and technical records.

Broadsheet is freely accessible at https://www.scottisharchives.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Broadsheet-49.pdf

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) for just £11.99 at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Forces War Records new search feature

From Forces War Records (www.forces-war-records.co.uk):

Introducing a Brand-New Feature.


Forces War Records is excited to announce the launch of a powerful new update to our records page.

This update is a first in genealogy website research and could give you a brand new insight when searching for your ancestors.

When you now view a record, if details can be cross-matched with other records within our unique database that we believe to be the same person, additional records will appear at the top of the page.

This new feature means:

• Focused searching, more records in one place
• Improved chances of finding more information
• Saved time when searching

Come take a look for yourself.

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) for just £11.99 at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Virtual Genealogical Association 2019 virtual conference

The Virtual Genealogical Association (https://virtualgenealogy.org) 2019 virtual conference will be held Friday, November 1 through Sunday, November 3, 2019 from 8:45am Eastern to 6:00pm Eastern each day.

Registrants will have access to the recordings and handouts for all sessions for 6 months following the conference (until May 3, 2020). Watch any time, any place, on any device.
Socialize & network with fellow attendees during the conference via a private Facebook group
Conference is held via GoToWebinar. All registrants will receive an emailed link.
Closed captioning via Rev.com will be added to recordings of all sessions and will be made available to registrants within 7 days of the live broadcast.
Cancellation policy: Full refund if cancellation request is received before October 18; no refund after October 18, 2019.

The Presentations:

(pre-recorded) Judy G. Russell: The Seanachie: Linking Life and Law through Storytelling (Judy explains how rambling through the statute books and other legal records can help us tell the stories of our families with rich detail that won’t be forgotten.)

(pre-recorded) Julie Goucher: How European Surnames Can Help in Genealogical Research (Julie discusses the broad elements of researching European surnames, including factors such as culture, geography, religion, languages (including alphabets and dialects), naming patterns, the merging of surnames, and the benefits of DNA projects.)

Friday, November 1, 2019
8:45am Katherine R. Willson: Friday welcome
9:00am Blaine T. Bettinger: Identifying Your DNA Matches’ Secret Identity (Who is that new match with the weird username and no tree? Learn new tricks to identify your matches and build their trees.)
10:30am Helen V. Smith: Discover Your Family History in Australia (Australia has many resources available for researching your family history but it is essential to know the specific time and place, as this influences what records are available and in which jurisdiction they are held. Helen reminds us that, while many of the most used records for family history have been digitised, many of the specialist or lesser used records are only available in specific repositories, and these records add great depth to your family history.)
12:00pm Denise May Levenick: Preserving the Past: Archiving & Digitizing Your Family Keepsakes (Denise provides an overview of preservation and digitization techniques for family historians, including best practices for archival storage and fundamentals of digitization of family history papers.)
1:30pm Ari Wilkins: Incorporating Oral History Into Your Research (Ari demonstrates how oral history can dramatically enhance our genealogical research by providing information that traditional records may not: names, dates, and places of life events, as well as motives for migration, explanations of brief marriages, or descriptions of an ancestor’s personality.)
3:00pm Bernice Bennett: Writing and Telling Your Story (Do you have a story to tell but don’t know how to write or tell it? Bernice’s session will explore how you can turn your genealogical research into a compelling and engaging family story.)
4:30pm Daniel Earl: The Next Generation: 5 Tech Tools to Get Your Kids Involved in Family History (Dan combines his experiences as a parent & youth leader, and his professional background in developmental psychology, to examine 5 tools for inspiring the next generation of genealogists, as well as the ‘peak’ times to involve them.)

Saturday, November 2, 2019
8:45am Katherine R. Willson: Saturday welcome
9:00am Blaine T. Bettinger: Using DNA Shared Matching for Success (Shared matching is the most powerful tool the testing companies provide. Learn what this tool does and how you can use it to explore your matches.)
10:30am Lisa Alzo: Timesaving Apps for Busy Genealogists (Lisa gives us a broad review of the best time-saving apps & tools for Android and iPhone/iPad platforms to get a handle on backed-up research or photo-scanning projects, society meetings and conferences, and never ending “to-do” lists.)
12:00pm Christine Woodcock: Online Sources for Scottish Research (Christine shares the many online resources for finding your Scottish ancestors.)
1:30pm Peggy Clemens Lauritzen: Hidden Gems in the FamilySearch Wiki (The FamilySearch Wiki is one of the best-kept secrets of FamilySearch, containing tens of thousands of pages to assist you in researching your family history. Peggy shows us how this powerful and robust tool can bring the world to your fingertips.)
3:00pm Nicka Smith: BlackProGen LIVE! (Nicka shares the history, the platform, the challenges, and the rewards of running BlackProGen LIVE!)
4:30pm Gena Philibert-Ortega: Finding Images to Tell the Story of Your Ancestors (Even if you were not lucky enough to inherit pictures of your ancestors, you can illustrate their story with images as Gena reveals places to find images and how to incorporate them into your ancestral stories.)

Sunday, November 3, 2019
8:45am Katherine R. Willson: Sunday welcome
9:00am Marcel Elias: The Myths of German Research (Were all German records destroyed? Was there a Germany before 1872? Is it easy or hard to find a Heinrich Müller from Germany? Join Marcel as he discusses the myths of German research.)
10:30am Michelle Tucker Chubenko: Eastern European Ancestry in Galicia and Bukovina (Michelle helps us discover resources & records for researching the Austro-Hungarian Empire Provinces of Bukovina and Galicia [today’s Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Ukraine]).
12:00pm Ursula C. Krause: On This Day Appeared Before the Registrar: German Civil Records (Ursula guides us on where to find (and how to access) the German civil records established in January 1876. We will look at the information they hold, the importance of looking at the handwritten side remarks, and dealing with the strict German privacy laws.)
1:30pm Colleen Robledo Greene: Researching Hispanic Genealogy (Colleen’s overview explains Hispanic genealogy concepts, immigration to and migration within the U.S., researching their lives in the U.S. and in the homeland, and key reference tools.)
3:00pm Audrey Collins: Introduction to English Civil Records
4:30pm Jen Baldwin: Findmypast: Your Source for British and Irish Records (Jen provides a beginner’s guide to the Findmypast website and historical records collection.)

For further details, and to register, visit https://virtualgenealogy.org/2019-vga-conference/

(With thanks to Katherine R. Willson, President, Virtual Genealogical Association)

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) for just £11.99 at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

1821 Orkney (South Ronaldsay) census added to FindmyPast

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

Billion Graves Cemetery Indexes
Pinpoint your ancestor's final resting place with new additions to our Billion Graves Cemetery Indexes. Our latest update includes:

Over 2.6 million new additions to the United States Billion Graves Cemetery Index
Over 214,000 new additions to the Canada Billion Graves Cemetery Index
Over 114,000 new additions to the England Billion Graves Cemetery Index
Over 2,000 new additions to the Ireland Billion Graves Cemetery Index
Over 80,000 new additions to the Scotland Billion Graves Cemetery Index
Over 42,000 new additions to the Wales Billion Graves Cemetery Index
Over 323,000 new additions to the Australia Graves Cemetery Index
Over 71,000 new additions to the New Zealand Billion Graves Cemetery Index

Cemetery records are of great importance in discovering where and when your ancestor died. They can also provide you with information regarding their birth and marriage dates.

Kent Burials
Over 4,500 records of burials that took place at St Martin's church in Cheriton are now available to search. These new additions cover two periods, 1843 to 1855 and 1907 to 1958. Search these records to discover where and when your ancestor was buried, as well as the names of their spouse and father.

Scotland, Orkney, 1821 South Ronaldsay Census
The 1821 Orkney census, taken on the night of 18 May, was part of the third decennial census taken in the UK. Each result include both a transcript and image of the original documents. The 1821 Orkney census was taken on the night of 18 May 1821. It was the third decennial census for the UK. Enumerators around the country were responsible for creating an accurate records of the number of people living in their area. However, and fortunately for genealogists and family historians, the enumerator for south Ronaldsay and Burray, schoolmaster Peter Nicholson McLaren, decided to make full lists of names. He records the names along with ages and occupations. The Orkney Islands are located off the northern coast of Scotland, between the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

International records update - Finland
Search for your Finnish ancestors in three indexes of more than six million baptisms, marriages and burials between 1657 and 1909. These transcripts will also generate hints against any names stored in your Findmypast Family Tree.

British & Irish Newspaper Update
This week we have added 102,572 new pages and two new titles to our collection. This week sees the addition The Queen, or to give it its full title, The Queen, The Ladies' Newspaper and Court Chronicle, a society magazine by Samuel Beeton established in 1861. We also have another new women's title joining The Archive this week – the Women's Gazette and Weekly News. Published in Manchester, this was a 'journal devoted to the social and political position of women.' Our existing specialist and regional titles have not been neglected either. We have a significant update to the Bristol Times and Mirror, with over 33,000 pages added, covering the years 1897 to 1911. We have also updated two of our early Labour publications – Clarion and the Labour Leader – as well as one of our religious titles, Witness (Edinburgh), and one of our sporting titles, the Football Post (Nottingham), displaying the astonishing range of interests represented in our Archive.

Further details and links at https://blog.findmypast.co.uk/findmypast-friday-july-26th-2639340731.html

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) for just £11.99 at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

More Oxfordshire burials added to Deceased Online

From Deceased Online (www.deceasedonline.com):

More records from the historic city of Oxford available on Deceased Online

Headington Cemetery joins the Oxford cemeteries live on www.deceasedonline.com. Records from 1899 to 2007 are available to search and view, with burial and grave register scans, a grave section location map, and details of other burials in the grave.

In the 1800's the need for a new place of burial for Headington residents became urgent as the village grew, and the number of yearly burials increased in the existing burial ground at St Andrew's Church. Two acres of land were purchased for the purpose from Miss Mary Latimer in 1884 and a mortuary chapel designed by Wilkinson and Booth was built in 1885. In 1932 Headington Cemetery was extended to make space for even more burials.

Headington cemetery provides the final resting place of many notable people from the 20th century. Despite being almost blind, Henry Sanderson Furniss, 1st Baron Sanderson and son of Thomas Sanderson Furniss, graduated from Hertford College, University of Oxford, with a Master of Arts in 1893. He lectured at Ruskin College, an educational institution in Oxford for adults lacking in formal education, from 1907 to 1916 and went on to serve as the Principal of the college. His title of 1st Baron Sanderson of Hunmanby, York, was bestowed upon him in recognition of his distinguished career in education.

John de Monins Johnson, printer to the University of Oxford from 1925 to 1946, was buried in Headington in 1956. Johnson was awarded an Hon D.Litt for his work on the Oxford English Dictionary in 1928. He also collected printed ephemera; any printed material not designed to be kept or preserved. The word epherema comes from the Greek 'ephemeros' meaning, "lasting only one day, short lived". Johnson's printed epherema collection is recognised as one of the most important and significant collections in the world and was transferred to the Bodleian Library in 1968.

Major William Lauriston Melville Lee, author of "A History of Police in England", rests in Headington after his death in 1955. In 1916 Melville Lee was appointed as the head of the new Parliamentary Military Security Department No 2 (PMS2), established to spy on the British Socialist Movement and protect the British manufacturing vital to the war effort. The department worked for only a year before the controversial 'agent provocateur' methods used against Alice Wheeldon and her family resulted in it being closed down and Major Melville Lee's retirement to his house in Headington. He championed a different way of policing, a kind of policing committed to public service and prevention of crime.

Further information:
The other Oxford City Council cemeteries available to view on Deceased Online comprise Botley, Rosehill, and Wolvercote
Other local records in the region available on Deceased Online courtesy of the National Archives for Oxfordshire, Berkshire, and Buckinghamshire.

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) for just £11.99 at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Find a Will drops price of historic wills

Thanks to Chalfont Research via Twitter (@ChalfontR) for the following:

"Anyone noticed that the cost of downloading wills from the probate service has gone down from £10 to £1.50? #genealogy #result"

It's true. The following is the new section on how to pay in the Find a Will site at https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk, which permits you to order copies of English and Welsh wills post-1858:

How to pay for your copy grant or will

The fee for each copy request is £1.50 to download (the £1.50 charge is required by law for the release of public documents. You will receive a copy of the grant of representation and the will if there is one. You can pay online using a debit or credit card.

If you are unable to pay with a credit or debit card, then you can download form PA1S from https://www.gov.uk/wills-probate-inheritance/searching-for-probate-records. The form will have an address to send it to together with your cheque. This service will take 4 weeks

Have fun!

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) for just £11.99 at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Keeping busy in the genie world!

Apologies for the limited blogging this week, but it has all been a bit manic at this end, as I continue to try to sell my house and juggle a few other things at the same time!

I have recently started a new temporary part-time job for six months working for a local member of the UK parliament as a caseworker, to cover for a friend who is away travelling on a trip of a lifetime. This is a role I worked on last year for a member of the Scottish Parliament, which is as immensely rewarding as genie work in helping folk with everyday problems. As a consequence, I will be cutting back on my genealogical research service for clients up to Christmas to an extent, albeit not completely (I was over in Belfast on a research trip for a client last Friday, for example), but I will be continuing as normal on writing, teaching and speaking chores. If you are seeking research done in Scotland before Christmas, do drop me a note and I will see if I can fit it in, but if not, I will happily direct you to trusted colleagues who will certainly be able to help.

I am now delighted to confirm that I will be heading over to the USA next year on two conference trips, the first to the Celtic Connections conference in Illinois at the end of July 2020, and the second to run the Irish tract for the ISBGFH's British Institute in Salt Lake City in October 2020. The last time I was in either Illinois or Salt Lake City was during a filming trip for a Scottish Television documentary series in 1999, and so I am very much look forward to both. I will blog more about both of these in due course.

Over the next few weeks I will be finalising my third book this year for Pen and Sword, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, and am looking forward next month to the release of my Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd edition) - you can pre-order this book at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483.

I have several talks up and coming in Scotland and England for the rest of this year:

• October 5th 2019 Lanarkshire Family History Show - An Irish house history
• October 5th 2019, Aberdeen & NE Scotland FHS (Glasgow branch) 2pm-4pm, Renfield Saint Stephen's Church Centre - Glasgow, 260 Bath St, Glasgow G2 4JP - Discover Scottish Church Records
• October 19th 2019, Manchester & Lancashire FHS, Manchester, England - Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis
• October 21st 2019, Glasgow & West of Scotland FHS. Irish genealogy - house history, and Q&A
• November 13th 2019, Central Scotland FHS, Stirling, Scottish Research Resources before 1800

My next Pharos based Scottish courses are coming along soon also:

Scottish Research Online (102)
Course Length: 5 Weeks
Start Date: 02 Sep 2019
Cost: £49.99
https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102

Scotland 1750 - 1850 - Beyond the OPRs (302)
Course Length: 5 Weeks
Start Date: 04 Nov 2019
Cost: £49.99
https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302

So little time, so much genealogical work to be done...! :)

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) for just £11.99 at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

British Newspaper Archive approaches 33 million pages

As the British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) approaches 33 million pages of content, these are the additions to the site over the last 30 days:

Bristol Times and Mirror
1897, 1900-1907, 1911

Witness (Edinburgh)
1840-1841, 1847, 1852, 1855-1856, 1858, 1860, 1862

The Queen
1887, 1889-1891, 1893-1896

Labour Leader
1894-1896, 1898-1919

Reading Evening Post
1989-1990

Women's Gazette & Weekly News
1888-1889

Football Post (Nottingham)
1973

Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser
1855

Harrow Observer
1895-1898, 1906-1921

Huddersfield Daily Examiner
1871, 1885, 1888, 1896-1897, 1905-1909

Express and Echo
1866-1868

Clarion
1891-1913, 1928-1932

Liverpool Daily Post
1877, 1911

Aberdeen Press and Journal
1983-1987

Forward (Glasgow)
1916-1919, 1921-1922

Calcutta Gazette
1784-1815

Aberdeen Evening Express
1985-1987

Lake's Falmouth Packet and Cornwall Advertiser
1912

Perthshire Advertiser
1885, 1946

Field
1853-1856, 1858, 1860, 1862-1863, 1865-1877, 1879-1881, 1884-1900, 1902-1911

John o' Groat Journal
1912

Oban Times, and Argyllshire Advertiser
1875

Hamilton Advertiser
1875, 1898-1899

Motherwell Times
1959

Liverpool Echo
1894-1896

Manchester Evening News
1891

Salisbury and Winchester Journal
1912

Hartlepool Northern Daily Mail
1959

Lichfield Mercury
1956, 1959-1963

Grantham Journal
1959

Sligo Champion
1931-1941, 1949, 1952, 1959-1963

Newcastle Journal
1880, 1883

Chelmsford Chronicle
1838

Norfolk Chronicle
1846

Royal Cornwall Gazette
1912

Strabane Chronicle
1904-1906, 1909-1911

Crawley News
1998

Harefield Gazette
1998-1999

Coventry Standard
1919

Pinner Observer
1998

Sandwell Evening Mail
1989

Kingston Informer
1998

Tablet
1865

Walsall Observer, and South Staffordshire Chronicle
1873-1878, 1880-1887, 1894, 1896, 1898-1899, 1901

Staffordshire Sentinel
1903-1910, 1918-1919

Newcastle Evening Chronicle
1894, 1913, 1919

The People
1946-1949

Newcastle Chronicle
1875-1896, 1899-1900

Surrey Advertiser
1909

Limerick Chronicle
1825

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) for just £11.99 at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Essex parish records added to FindmyPast

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

Essex Baptism Index 1538-1920
Search our brand new collection of more than 2.3 million Essex baptisms. Spanning over 350 years of the county's history, these transcripts of original parish register entries will reveal when your ancestor was born, their place of birth, parents' names, father's occupation, residence, baptism date and the church in which they were baptised. You can access a full list of all the parishes available in the Useful links and resources section.

Essex Marriages and Banns 1537-1935
Explore more than 1.4 million transcripts of original Essex marriages and banns to discover your ancestor's marriage date, marriage place, residence and occupation as well as the names of their father, spouse and witnesses.

Essex Burial Index 1530-1994
Containing over 1.5 million records, our newly released collection of Essex Burial records will reveal where your Essex ancestors were laid to rest. Each transcript will reveal a combination of your ancestor's age at death, birth year, marital status, burial date and burial place.

Derbyshire Births and Baptisms
Just under a thousand additional records from 15 non-conformist parishes have been added to our collection of Derbyshire Births and Baptisms. Mainly covering Methodists, Baptists, and Presbyterians, the full list of new additions has been highlighted in our Derbyshire parish list.

International Records Update - Belgium
Celebrate Belgian Independence Day this coming Sunday by discovering your Belgian roots. Explore two indexes, Belgium Marriages 1563-1890 and Belgium Deaths & Burials 1564-1900, containing more than 212,000 records.

British & Irish Newspaper Updater
This week we have added 116,100 new pages and five brand titles. The new titles now available to search include three early socialist publications; the Forward (Glasgow), the Labour Leader and the Clarion, an evangelical Scottish newspaper known as the 'Witness', and the Calcutta Gazette, one of India's earliest newspapers. We have also added updates to twenty-one of our existing titles, covering the length and breadth of Scotland, Ireland and England. This includes updates to two of our Cornish titles – the Royal Cornwall Gazette and Lake's Falmouth Packet and Cornwall Advertiser, as well as updates to seven of our Scottish titles, including the John o'Groat Journal and the Perthshire Advertiser.

Further information and links at https://blog.findmypast.co.uk/findmypast-friday-july-19th-2639232777.html

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) for just £11.99 at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Review: Tracing Your Ancestors Using DNA

Thanks to Pen and Sword for a review copy of an immensely useful DNA book:

Tracing Your Ancestors Using DNA: A Guide for Family Historians
Edited by Graham Holton: Contributions by John Cleary, Michelle Leonard, Iain McDonald, Alasdair F. MacDonald

DNA is the family history tool that took me some time to embrace, and to grow to love. Having started with taking a Y-DNA test over a decade ago, I have had no hits of any significance since then, and so after an initial interest I placed the field to one side and continued to rely on documentation alone. The rise of autosomal DNA testing in recent years, however, utterly transformed my perception of the usefulness of DNA in genealogy, and in many cases has revolutionised and complimented my own research.

There are many useful DNA guide books out there, not least Blaine Bettinger's essential The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy, but this new book by some of Scotland's finest genetic genealogists is a real up to date tonic for those trying to get to grips with all aspects of the field. Despite the numerous contributors, it comes across with a consistent voice when conveying knowledge to the reader, a good testament to the editing skills of Graham Holton.

After an introduction from Graham, and then a team effort asking why we should use DNA testing for genealogy, the book gets stuck into an absorbing offering from John Cleary on the ethical and legal aspects of genetic genealogy, citing interesting cases involving confidentiality, such as a recent inheritance case involving the Pringle baronetcy (see http://britishgenes.blogspot.com/2016/06/dna-evidence-resolves-baronetcy.html), and privacy, for example with the controversial use by law enforcement agencies in the USA of DNA databases created by the family history community.

Well known Glasgow based genetic genealogist Michelle Leonard then gets a clear run to explain the basics of all types of DNA tests - Y-DNA, mtDNA, and autosomal & X-DNA - followed by a chapter on autosomal (atDNA) tests. In this she may have helped to resolve a problem I have been struggling with in recent weeks to do with results that I exported from AncestryDNA into MyHeritage, GEDMatch and FamilyTreeDNA. I am showing a match in the last three databases with a friend in Australia which Ancestry itself is not showing up, despite it being sourced from Ancestry's own test results. I was unaware of the Timber algorithm which Ancestry uses to remove certain matches known as 'pile ups', which may well explain why we are not connecting, and which will need a bit more investigation at my end! The discussion of X-DNA matches is also something I found of interest, and something for me to take a look at in more detail over the weeks and months to come.

In partnership with John Cleary, Alasdair MacDonald examines Y-DNA testing, something I know he has had considerable success with himself, in a chapter which is a bit more technical but comprehensive, and which points the way to the future with foreshadowing of new processes such as Whole Genome Sequencing and 'Single Molecule Real Time Sequencing'. Ali's considerably shorter chapter on mitochondrial DNA helps to illustrate that whilst this will likely never be a more mainstream test (due to the slow mutation rate of mtDNA), it still has its uses, as with the recent use of mtDNA to confirm the found remains of the English king Richard III in a Leicester car park. A further chapter on how to choose between different testing companies is fairly brief, providing a series of questions to ask of each platform without focussing too much on the unique offerings from each.

John Cleary and Iain McDonald then discuss how to set up DNA projects, including a useful discussion on GEDMatch.com and the role of project administrators, with the duo then joined by Graham Holton in a follow up chapter on using an integrated approach to DNA testing through a combination of test types. In fact, I was unaware of FamilyTree DNA's Advanced Matches tool prior to reading this chapter, and whilst I have yet to come across matches who do match on more than one test, I will certainly be keeping an eye out on this in the future.

John Cleary's chapter on Ancient DNA is an interesting read, and whilst not an area that perhaps most of us will ever venture into, it does discuss the contemporary Fromelles First World War Dead project which sought to identify the remains of many Australian and British soldiers found in a war grave from the conflict, and the techniques used to identify them. A concluding chapter from Iain McDonald and Michelle Leonard looks to the future, and to what we might expect to see as genetic genealogy advances in the coming years. A glossary and further reading section complete the offering.

This is an excellent and well illustrated book with much to offer both to those dipping their toe into the water for the first time and to those who already have some considerable experience. Despite being a little jargonistic in parts (because there really is a lot of jargon in DNA!), it nevertheless succeeds in staying on the right side of the line in keeping the reader focussed and on top of what is being discussed.

Overall, Tracing Your Ancestors Using DNA is an indispensable guide from a team that knows its stuff, and a book which I would thoroughly recommend.

Tracing Your Ancestors Using DNA: A Guide for Family Historians is available to purchase form Pen and Sword at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Ancestors-Using-DNA-Paperback/p/16347.

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) for just £11.99 at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Huge update to The List of Historic Welsh Place Names

The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (https://rcahmw.gov.uk) has announced that The List of Historic Welsh Place Names has added some 500,000 place names, after it received date from the Cynefin Project from the National Library of Wales before Christmas. The number of names it now holds is 660,000.

The Cynefin: Mapping Wales’ Sense of Place project ran from 2014 to 2017, and saw the digitisation of, and transcription of data from, some 1,100 Welsh tithe maps held at the NLS.

For more on the story visit https://rcahmw.gov.uk/list-of-historic-welsh-place-names-now-over-660000-records. To access The List of Historic Place Names of Wales project itself visit https://historicplacenames.rcahmw.gov.uk.

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) for just £11.99 at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

New address for IWM's Lives of the First World War

I have just noticed that the Lives of the First World War project, which ended in March of this year, is now back up and running at a new web address and platform at https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk.

From the site:

IWM’s Lives of the First World War tells the stories of individuals from across Britain and the Commonwealth who served in uniform and worked on the home front.

This innovative digital project ran from 12 May 2014 to 19 March 2019. From individuals and families, to communities and organisations, more than 160,000 people collaborated to piece together the lives of people who experienced the conflict, through sharing anecdotes and digitising material that has been hidden away in attics until now.

The project is no longer taking contributions, being now very much a permanent digital memorial site which allows you to search for individuals and communities that were established throughout the original project.

It's an impressive project, and well done to the IWM for bringing it back so quickly - have fun exploring!

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) for just £11.99 at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Peterloo Massacre event at the UK's National Archives

The National Archives in England (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk) is hosting an event on August 16th to commemorate the bicentenary of the Peterloo Massacre in Manchester in 1819. The following is the description:

On 16 August 1819, 60,000 peaceful pro-democracy protestors gathered in Manchester. They were charged by cavalry, leaving at least 15 dead. This event became known as the Peterloo Massacre.

200 years on, our experts will examine Peterloo’s impact on the parliamentary reform movements; on the use of the military to maintain civil power; and ask what bearing the massacre had on the way we think today about the history of democracy. Footage from Mike Leigh’s acclaimed Peterloo, and original testimonies, will provide context.

Speakers include Jacqueline Riding, historian for Mike Leigh’s film Peterloo, and George Hay, records specialist at The National Archives.

For further details, and to book, visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-peterloo-massacre-at-200-tickets-62581158931.

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) for just £11.99 at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

New Windsor Herald of Arms appointed

For those interested in heraldry, the latest appointment of a herald to the College of Arms (www.college-of-arms.gov.uk) in England:

By Letters Patent under the Great Seal dated 5 July 2019, Her Majesty The Queen has been pleased to appoint John Michael Allen-Petrie, Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms, to the Office of Windsor Herald of Arms, vacant by the retirement of William George Hunt, Esquire, T.D.

The College of Arms has no jurisdiction over Scottish heraldry, but is instead the body which oversees matters armorial in the rest of the UK. For the body which oversees Scottish heraldry, visit the Court of the Lord Lyon website at www.courtofthelordlyon.scot.

(With thanks to @yorkherald via Twitter - original announcement at https://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/news-grants/news/item/166-windsor-herald)

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) for just £11.99 at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

FindmyPast expands US passenger lists collection

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

United States, Passenger and Crew Lists
Containing more than 100 million records, our new and improved national collection of US passenger lists is a blend of all our existing US lists as well as more than 2 million new additions covering Boston, Texas and South Carolina. Spanning 165 years of travel (1800-1965), the collection includes ship manifests kept by shipmasters, crew lists, flight manifests, passenger arrival lists, and more. This extensive collection of migration records includes ship manifests kept by shipmasters, crew lists, flight manifests, passenger arrival lists, and more. The numerous lists document the arrival of millions of immigrant from Europe, Asia, and South America into America, where most created a new life for themselves and their descendants.

Huddersfield Baptisms
Over 52,000 records covering 14 new parishes have been added to our collection of Huddersfield Baptisms. All new parishes are highlighted in the Huddersfield baptisms parish list.

Yorkshire Memorial Inscriptions
Over 5000 additional records covering 14 Anglican churchyards across the York area (West Riding, North Riding and Ainsty) have been added to the collection. Mainly covering the years of the First and Second World War, these records will enable you to discover when your ancestor died and where they were laid to rest.

Middlesex Baptisms
Over 64,000 new records have been added to existing parishes within our collection of Middlesex Baptisms.

International Records Update – Czech Republic
Two new Indexes, Czech Republic Births & Baptisms 1637-1889 and Czech Republic Marriages 1654-1889 are now available to search.

British & Irish Newspapers
This week we have added 98,602 brand new pages to The Archive. We have updates to eleven of our existing titles – spanning 134 years between 1865 and 1999, and covering towns and cities across England and Northern Ireland. You can find extensive updates this week to Yorkshire title the Huddersfield Daily Examiner, with over 12,000 new pages added, which include the years between 1885 and 1909. We have additions to other regional titles as well, covering the south of England (Crawley and London), the Midlands (Coventry), as well as the north of the country (Liverpool). We are excited to welcome further updates to one of our specialist publications – Field – for which we now have editions up to 1911. Field is a newspaper dedicated to country pursuits, and is a unique window into the world of the Victorian country gentleman.

Further details and links at https://blog.findmypast.co.uk/findmypast-fridays-2639165517.html

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) for just £11.99 at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

WDYTYA? returns on 22 July

The next series of Who Do You Think You Are? commences on Monday 22 July 2019. Here's the blurb:

Daniel Radcliffe
Who Do You Think You Are?
Series 16
Episode 1 of 8

Actor Daniel Radcliffe discovers that the Hatton Garden robbery of his great-grandfather’s jewellery business was far more dark and dramatic than he ever imagined, while an unseen cache of his great-great uncle’s letters reveal a heart-wrenching First World War love story.

For more on the series visit https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007t575

COMMENT: I am unclear if every BBC region is showing this at this time. The Radio Times site has it listed as BBC One (not South), whilst the WDYTYA site notes this as the transmissiojn slot for BBC One HD & London only. Check https://www.bbc.co.uk/schedules/p00fzl6v#outlets for your BBC region.

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) for just £11.99 at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Lloyds Banking Group Virtual War Memorial

David McNay has created a new Facebook page, the Lloyds Banking Group Virtual War Memorial. Here's the description:

This page is to remember the names listed on the war memorials belonging to Lloyds Banking Group.

The organisations we will feature names from are:

Bank of Scotland
British Linen Bank
Lloyds Bank
Clerical Medical
Scottish Widows
Halifax Building Society
Union Bank of Scotland
Cox & Co.
Anglo-South American Bank
British Bank of South America
London & Brazilian Bank
London & River Plate Bank
Bank of London & South America

We hope you find the posts of interest. If you have any information on any of the names we share, we'd be glad to hear from you.

The page is located at https://www.facebook.com/The-Lloyds-Banking-Group-Virtual-War-Memorial-321739982068577/.

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) for just £11.99 at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

August events at PRONI in Belfast

The following events are forthcoming at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/proni):

Dr Raphael Ernest Grail Armattoe: The West African Scientist in 1940s Ireland
5 August, 1-2pm

Elly Omondi will explore the legacy of Dr Armattoe, his pioneering contribution as a West African immigrant, his work as a locum doctor in Belfast, as a GP in Derry~Londonderry, and his lasting work on anthropology as a science.
Book tickets via http://www.eastsidearts.net/event/dr-raphael-ernest-grail-armattoe

East Belfast and the Blitz
6 August, 1-2pm
The presentation will focus on the people from East Belfast who died during the German air raids of 1941, and on public and family commemoration.
Book tickets via http://www.eastsidearts.net/event/east-belfast-and-blitz-nigel-henderson

Women in the Archives
7 August, 1-2pm
Lynsey Gillespie and Jason Burke will explore hidden stories from the archives of the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland and the Linen Hall Library.
Book tickets via http://www.eastsidearts.net/event/women-archives-lynsey-gillespie-and-jason-bourke

The "Wee Yard" and the Great War
8 August, 1-2pm
This presentation marks the 100th anniversary of the Workman Clark war memorial which is now located at the Pumphouse in the Titanic Quarter. The presentation will provide a wide-ranging account of the involvement of the Workman Clark shipyard and its employees in the First World War.
Book tickets via http://www.eastsidearts.net/event/wee-yard-and-great-war

'Men Behind the Glass' Exhibition
From 19 August
The exhibition will be on display in the PRONI atrium and will run from 19 August until 30 September.
Further details via https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/talks-and-events

(With thansk to the PRONI Express)

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) for just £11.99 at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Latest additions to the British Newspaper Archive

The following titles have been added to or updated on the British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) over the last 30 days:

Field
1853-1856, 1858, 1860, 1862-1863, 1865-1868, 1870-1877, 1879-1881, 1884-1900, 1902-1911

Strabane Chronicle
1899-1906, 1909-1911

Crawley News
1991, 1998-1999

Huddersfield Daily Examiner
1885, 1888, 1896-1897, 1905-1909

Harefield Gazette
1998-1999

Coventry Standard
1919

Pinner Observer
1998-1999

Sandwell Evening Mail
1989

Kingston Informer
1986-1987, 1994, 1998-1999

Tablet
1865

Liverpool Daily Post
1911

Walsall Observer, and South Staffordshire Chronicle
1873-1911, 1925-1933, 1958-1969

Staffordshire Sentinel
1903-1910, 1913-1919

Newcastle Evening Chronicle
1894, 1913, 1919

The People
1946-1949

Newcastle Chronicle
1875-1896, 1899-1900

Surrey Advertiser
1909

Limerick Chronicle
1825

Aberdeen Press and Journal
1980-1984

Harrow Leader
1998-1999

Ealing Leader
1998-1999

Hayes & Harlington Gazette
1998-1999

Acton Gazette
1871-1880, 1885, 1888-1892, 1894-1903, 1910-1917, 1921-1939

Amersham Advertiser
1998

Hammersmith & Shepherds Bush Gazette
1991

Dumfries and Galloway Standard
1874, 1884, 1887, 1891, 1894

Daily Gazette for Middlesbrough
1901-1905, 1907, 1910, 1912

Hamilton Advertiser
1889-1895, 1897, 1901, 1903-1904, 1906-1909

Kensington Post
1991, 1994-1997, 1999

Harrow Midweek
1979-1983

Nouvelle Chronique de Jersey
1889, 1896

Essex Guardian
1894-1897, 1899-1908

Northern Ensign and Weekly Gazette
1854, 1864, 1866, 1870-1871, 1879-1885, 1887, 1889-1892, 1895-1896, 1901, 1922-1926

Aberdeen Evening Express
1939-1943, 1945, 1980-1984

Middlesex Gazette
1889-1910, 1912-1913

Middlesex Independent
1883-1893, 1895

Western Mail
1913

Bristol Times and Mirror
1814, 1831-1832, 1835, 1837

Harrow Observer
1974

Bridgwater Journal
1989-1990

Volunteer Record & Shooting News
1884-1902

Thanet Times
1986

North Down Herald and County Down Independent
1939

Protestant Watchman and Lurgan Gazette
1874

Fishing Gazette
1895

Newcastle Journal
1879

Manchester Evening News
1888

Lichfield Mercury
1987

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) for just £11.99 at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

National Library of Wales now a FamilySearch affiliate

A tweet from the National Library of Wales (https://www.library.wales):

We are pleased to announce that @NLWales is now a FamilySearch Affiliate Library giving free access within our building to digital genealogical collections that are otherwise accessible only through one of their centres

For more on FamilySearch affiliate libraries visit https://www.familysearch.org/blog/en/familysearch-affiliate-libraries/.

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) for just £11.99 at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Highland Archive Centre 10th Anniversary

From Highland Archive (https://www.highlifehighland.com/highland-archive-centre/):

Highland Archive Centre 10th Anniversary

2019 marks the 10th anniversary of the Highland Archive Centre and we will be holding an event on 23rd November to mark this (details to follow in our next full newsletter!).

In the run up to the event we would like to gather a collection of words that people associate with archives, heritage, family history, genealogy, and all things related! We are asking our social media followers, searchroom users, depositors, event attendees, staff and other archive professionals to contribute words which will then form part of a piece of artwork.

For some people archives provide reliable historical information which enables them to carry out their job, for others they provide a way of educating and inspiring young people about our past, present and future. Some use archives to reminisce about places and people and others use them to discover their roots. If you have any words which sum up archives, family history or the Highland Archive Centre for you, please let us know using any of the means listed below. We're excited to hear all the different things that people come up with - we know how much archives matter to so many people.

Postal Address: The Highland Archive Centre, Bught Road, Inverness, IV3 5SS
Email: archives@highlifehighland.com
Telephone: 01349781130
Facebook: @highlandarchives
Twitter: @hlharchives

(With thanks to Highland Archive)

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) for just £11.99 at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Latest additions to FindmyPast

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

British Officers Serving In Early America, 1614-1787
Explore six fascinating 19th century publications that record then names and details of British Army Officers serving in America prior to and during the Revolutionary War.

Pennsylvania Immigrants, 1727-1776
Explore this 1856 publication which, in its own words, is a 'A Collection of Upwards Of Thirty Thousand Names Of German, Swiss, Dutch, French And Other Immigrants In Pennsylvania From 1727 To 1776: With A Statement Of The Names Of Ships, Whence They Sailed, And The Date Of Their Arrival At Philadelphia, Chronology.'

Pennsylvania, Oath of Allegiance
Did your ancestor arrive in Pennsylvania between 1727 and 1775 or between 1786 to 1808? This records hold the names of thousands of male immigrants who were required to take an oath of allegiance to the British Crown and the Province of Pennsylvania as well as immigration lists between 1786 and 1808. Within these pages you will find your ancestor's name, the ship they arrived on, there and arrival ports, and arrival date. Names are organised by vessel.

British Army Records & Regimental Histories
One new publication, The CIV and the War - Illustrated Souvenir of the City of London Imperial Volunteers, has been added to the collection.

British & Irish newspaper update
This week we have added 132,230 brand new pages to the collection. We are delighted to welcome over 100,000 pages to our specialist country pursuits publication Field, which covers an array of topics, such as farming, fishing and country house management. It is a wonderful window into the world of the Victorian country gentleman, and we now have 2,348 issues available to search. We have also added new pages to two of our Staffordshire titles – the Walsall Observer, and South Staffordshire Chronicle and the Staffordshire Sentinel. These new pages cover the late 1890s and early 1900s,

International records update – Austria
Three indexes of Austrian births, baptisms, marriages and burials are now available to search.

Further details and links at https://blog.findmypast.co.uk/findmypast-friday-july-8th-2639083980.html

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) for just £11.99 at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Free access to UK Military records this weekend

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

Discover the untold military chapter in your backstory

So many people have played a part in Britain’s military story. Their everyday acts of bravery are waiting to be discovered. See what part your family played with three days’ FREE access to all UK military records.

FREE access until Sunday 7 July 2019 at 23:59 GMT. Registration required. Terms apply.

Further details at https://www.ancestry.co.uk/cs/free-access?o_xid=100211&o_lid=100211&o_sch=Email+Campaigns

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) for just £11.99 at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Norfolk parish registers and bastardy records added to TheGenealogist

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

New Unique Searchable Parish Records 
Some of the records reveal the parents of illegitimate children

TheGenealogist has released over half a million new parish records for Norfolk into their Parish Records collection. In addition to containing the uniquely transcribed records of Baptism, Marriages and Burials with images for over 250 parishes, these records also include some fascinating Bastardy bonds, Examinations, Warrants and Orders. With this release family historians will be able to find the details of ancestors baptised, married and buried as well as those that had children born out of wedlock in this East Anglian county.

The Outcast. Richard Redgrave

The new data will allow the family history researcher to discover:

● Over half a million individuals in records

● Names of parents of illegitimate children

● Images also reveal the names of people standing guarantor for the father

● The baptism, marriages and burials of ancestors in Norfolk

These fully searchable records are transcribed from the original records and linked to the images from the Norfolk Record Office. This release covers the parishes of:

Acle, Alby, Antingham, Ashby with Oby, Ashby With Oby and Thurne, Ashill, Ashwellthorpe, Ashwicken, Aslacton, Babingley, Bacton, Banham, Barton Bendish All Saints & St Mary, Barton Bendish St Andrew, Bawsey, Beechamwell, Beighton, Billingford, Billingford with Thorpe Parva, Billockby, Bixley, Blickling, Booton, Boughton, Bracon Ash, Bradfield, Brancaster, Braydeston, Breccles, Bressingham, Brinton, Brundall, Buckenham, Bunwell, Burgh next Aylsham, Burgh St Peter, Burlingham St Edmund, Burnham Deepdale, Burnham Thorpe, Burnham Westgate, Caister St Edmunds & Trinity, Caistor St Edmunds, Calthorpe, Carleton Rode, Castle Rising, Caston, Catton, Chedgrave, Cawston, Chedgrave, Clippesby, Colney, Congham St Andrew, Corpusty, Croxton, Denton, Dersingham, Diss, Dunston, Earlham, East Bradenham, East Carleton, East Dereham, East Harling, East Lexham, East Tuddenham, East Walton, East Winch, Eccles, Edgefield, Edingthorpe, Elsing, Erpingham, Felthorpe, Fersfield, Flitcham, Flordon, Fordham, Forncett St Peter, Foulsham, Framingham Earl, Framingham Pigot, Fundenhall, Gayton, Gayton Thorpe, Gaywood, Gimingham With Trunch, Gissing, Glanford, Great Bircham with Bircham Newton and Bircham Tofts, Great Dunham, Great Fransham, Great Poringland, Great Snoring, Great Witchingham, Great Yarmouth, Great Yarmouth St Nicholas, Grimston, Griston, Guestwick, Haddiscoe, Hales, Hapton, Hardley, Hardwick, Hassingham, Heacham, Heckingham, Heigham, Hellington, Hethersett, Hilgay, Hingham, Hockering, Hoe, Holkham, Honingham, Horning, Horsford, Horsham St Faith, Howe with Little Poringland, Hunstanton, Ingoldisthorpe, Ingworth, Itteringham, Kempston, Kenninghall, Ketteringham, Kilverstone, Kirby Bedon, Knapton, Lammas with Little Hautbois, Langley, Limpenhoe, Lingwood, Little Barningham, Little Walsingham, Little Witchingham, Loddon, Ludham, Marham, Marlingford, Mattishall, Merton, Metton, Mintlyn, Morton on the Hill, Moulton, Moulton All Saints & St Michael, Moulton St Mary, Mulbarton, Mundesley, Narborough, Needham, New Buckenham, Newton Flotman, North Creake, North Elmham, North Lopham, North Pickenham, North Tuddenham, Northwold, Norton Subcourse, Norwich Lakenham, Norwich Pockthorpe St James, Norwich St John de Sepulchre, Norwich St Margaret and St Swithin, Norwich St Mary in the Marsh, Norwich St Peter Parmentergate, Old Buckenham, Oulton, Pakefield, Paston, Postwick, Pulham St Mary the Virgin, Quidenham, Redenhall with Harleston & Wortwell, Ringland, Ringstead St Andrew, Rockland St Mary with Hellington, Runcton Holme, Runton, Saham Toney, Salhouse, Sandringham, Saxthorpe, Sedgeford, Sharrington, Shelfanger, Shelton with Hardwick, Shingham, Shipdham, Sidestrand, Skeyton, Snetterton, Snettisham, Somerleyton (Suffolk), Southrepps, Southwood, Sparham, Sporle With Palgrave, Starston, Stiffkey, Stoke Holy Cross, Stow Bardolph, Stow Bedon, Stradsett, Stratton Strawless, Strumpshaw, Swaffham, Swannington, Swanton Abbot, Swanton Morley with Worthing, Swanton Novers, Swardeston, Tacolneston, Tasburgh, Tharston, Thetford St Cuthbert, Thetford St Mary, Thetford St Peter, Thompson, Thorpe By Haddiscoe, Thorpe Episcopi, Thorpe Market, Thurlton, Thwaite, Tibenham, Titchwell, Toft Monks, Toftrees, Tottenhill, Tottington, Trowse, Trunch, Tuttington, Upper Sheringham, Wacton, Warham, Watlington, Watton, Weeting St Mary With All Saints, Wereham, West Newton, Westacre, West Tofts, Wheatacre All Saints, Wickmere, Wighton, Winfarthing, Witton, Wolferton, Wolterton, Wood Norton, Wood Rising, Woodbastwick, Wormegay, Worstead, Worthing, Wreningham and Wretton.

Read TheGenealogist’s article: Tracing Illegitimate ancestors online https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2019/tracing-illegitimate-ancestors-online-1127/

(With thanks to Nick Thorne)

Chris

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