FindmyPast launches US marriages collection

From FindmyPast (www.findmypast.com):

Leading family history company, Findmypast , announced today at RootsTech that, in partnership with FamilySearch International, it will launch the single largest online collection of U.S. marriages in history.

Covering 360 years of marriages from 1650-2010, when complete this landmark collection will contain at least 100 million records and more than 450 million names from 2,800 counties across America. More than 60 per cent of these marriage records have never before been published online. When complete, this collection will only be found in its entirety exclusively on Findmypast.

To kick start the collection, Findmypast has launched the first 33 million records of this ambitious project today and is offering them to the public for free from now until 15 February. The records include marriage date, bride and groom names, birthplace, birth date, age, residence as well as fathers’ and mothers’ names. Customers with family trees on Findmypast will benefit from leads connecting relatives on their trees with the marriage records, thus generating a whole new source of research.

Those seeking a bit of star dust will find the marriage reco rds for actors from Bette Davis to Jimmy Stewart, actor turned President, Ronald Reagan, founding father Samuel Adams, writers including F. Scott Fitzgerald and John Steinbeck, jazz great Duke Ellington and baseball legend Babe Ruth to name but a few among the hundreds of millions of names.

Commenting, Annelies van den Belt, CEO, Findmypast said:

“We are delighted to be working with FamilySearch to bring this hugely important collection online. The launch of the U.S. marriages project is central to our growth strategy in the U.S. The millions of new U.S. records will complement Findmypast’s massive collection of British and Irish data allowing us to provide many more connections and a more comprehensive experience to family historians in the US and all over the world.

Steve Rockwood, CEO of FamilySearch said:

“We greatly value our close working relationships with our partners and record archives. They enable us as a community to get important records available to family history researchers online much, much faster. The US marriage records agreement with Findmypast is an excellent example. We are delighted to assist making these records available.”

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including my recently released Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html. My Pinterest account is at https://www.pinterest.com/chrismpaton/.

FindmyPast restricts TNA ref numbers access on 1939 previews

What the left hand giveth...

This one is just bizarre. It seems that FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) has apparently now restricted access to National Archives reference numbers on preview screens for its 1939 National Identity Register collection searches for England and Wales - but seemingly only on the British version of the site.

Until a short time ago, when carrying out a search, a list of search results would arrive allowing you to see a preview of an individual's specific entry. This preview screen popped up with a name, birth year, an idea of how many others may have been in the household, and the TNA reference number in which the record was held. This same reference number could then be used to identify to an extent which other members might be present in the house, and indeed, on the same street, which could help inform the user as to whether they had indeed found the right household.

Now when you do the search on the UK site, this is what you get:

Yet on the US version of the site, to which I subscribe, this is what you get:

Both the Australasian and Irish versions of the site are still also displaying the TNA reference numbers.

Quite why FindmyPast seems to be playing silly buggers on this is a mystery. But it may well be the case that the international versions of the site soon implement the same restrictions, so if you have searches to carry out, I would humbly suggest you do them sooner rather than later. If you have one of the international versions of the site open at the same time when you are using the UK site, you can cross reference any possible finds by carrying out the same search on the overseas site, and getting the relevant reference from there - you do not need to be registered or logged in to these overseas versions, the 1939 search will provide these basic preview details for free.

The overseas sites are as follows:

www.findmypast.ie
www.findmypast.com.au
www.findmypast.com

Why FindmyPast is doing this is beyond me - but one has to wonder in which chapter of the customer relations book that they seem to be using was this considered a good idea.

(With thanks to the Guild of One Named Studies and to Rosemary Morgan for raising this issue)

UPDATE: Thanks to reader Martin James for the following comment via Twitter (@heritagefamily). He has queried this directly with FMP, and received the following response on Twitter: "We're carrying out some work on this section of the search, it will be back as soon as possible".

12 NOV 2015: This post has been subsequently amended to remove further updates - see http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/1939-national-identity-register-terms.html. It should also be noted that the information is now restricted on all FMP sites.

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including my recently released Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html. My Pinterest account is at https://www.pinterest.com/chrismpaton/.

FindmyPast - Scottish censuses

Something I've just noticed on the new version of the FindmyPast site (www.findmypast.co.uk), and it is not about the site functionality (plenty of other threads going on on that front!). No, this is about the census source information that is given for the Scottish censuses.

Prior to this relaunch, the source information displayed for Scottish censuses differed horrendously between the US site and the UK site. Occasionally the UK site fouled up on how it recorded source info - e.g. with references such as a registration district number such as 644/1 occasionally being rendered as 6441, and with irritating gaffes such as using English and Welsh terminology (as catalogued by the National Archives at Kew) to describe the Scottish returns. Although there were issues with the UK FMP site, the US site by comparison was a complete basket case in its citation.

Here is an example, using my 2 x great grandfather William H Paton in 1871, located at Blackford, Perthshire. The source for his entry, as variously recorded online:

i) According to Ancestry: "Registration Number 333, ED 2, page 16, line 1" - The correct description is almost given here, except 'Registration number' should be 'Registration District'.

ii) Previously according to FMP.co.uk (UK): "Piece 333, Folio 2, page 16" - Scottish censuses don't use folio numbers and pieces for their citation. It's actually Registration District 333, Enumeration District 2. Right numbers, wrong language.

iii) According to FMP.com (US): "Archive Reference RG10, enumeration district 2". Say what?

Now, however, FMP UK has decided that Scottish census source info will also display the US featured RG numbers - which is useless. And something now shared by all the worldwide FindmyPast platforms.

Simply put - not fit for purpose. I've left a note on their feedback thread.

Chris

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

FindmyPast answers critics

Who Do You Think You Are magazine has published an exclusive interview by Jon Bauckham with FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) on its website - the subject, of course, is the disastrous replacement of the company's records platform with a new system, which err, doesn't seem to work very well - not just my judgement, but that of hundreds of complaints I've been reading online in the last few days. The answers to the magazine's questions have been 'put together by staff across the findmypast team'. Discussed are the reasons for the new site, various problems now occurring, how it was tested, how it was rolled out, the new look (including the seriously irritating display of results for pages that take ages to scroll through), and more.

I thought this statement stood out:

Our new site is not unfit for purpose. A number of features may now look very different and may not be instantly recognisable to all our users, but all of the essential functions of the old search are still there. We acknowledge that there have been some technical issues that have affected some areas of the search and we apologise for any inconvenience these may have caused, although the ability to search for records has remained functional throughout.

The company has promised to make many changes, but is not budging on calls for it to reinstate the old site (at least temporarily). You can read the full interview at http://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/news/exclusive-findmypast-responds-website-redesign-criticism.

If you have been experiencing problems with FindmyPast it is worth noting that the company has been offering two month subscription extensions to many who have been complaining. It's feedback thread is at http://feedback.findmypast.co.uk/forums/222583-ideas-and-improvements/suggestions/5649598-improve-features-to-bring-in-line-with-the-old-sit. That's not to guarantee that you will get the same though...!

As a PR disaster though, I think this may well be the one of the worst that I have seen in many years from a genealogy vendor. Here's hoping it gets itself sorted very soon.

What do you think of the company's response?

(With thanks to Who Do You Think You Are magazine)

Chris

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

FindmyPast - pluses and minuses

Having a bit more fun on the new FindmyPast site, now that the US version (www.findmypast.com), which I subscribe to, has succumbed to 'progress'. 

Something's a little wrong with this picture.... 

Sorry - but this is just plain shoddy.

Chris

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

Update on Canadian FindmyPast records

I mentioned last Friday that the US FindmyPast site had added the 1930 Canadian directory to its website, and a new Canada section had been launched (http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/canadian-1930-directory-on-findmypast.html).

In fact, it turns out there's more there than just a directory! John Reid has a full list of what is now available in the Canada section at http://anglo-celtic-connections.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/finally-findmypast-adds-canadian.html

(With thanks to John Reid)

Chris

My new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, is now available from Pen and Sword. My Scottish land and church records ebooks are available at http://www.gen-ebooks.com/unlock-the-past.html, whilst my next Pharos Scottish course, Scottish Research Online, starts Sep 4th - see http://pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Time to smash a few brick walls...!

FindmyPast to add and enhance PERSI database

The PERriodical Source Index, aka PERSI, will soon be moving to a new online home on FindmyPast.com (as well as FindmyPast UK, FindmyPast Ireland and FindmyPast Oz), having previously been accessible on Ancestry.co.uk. In addition to the index, FindmyPast will also be adding digitised images to the database of many of the journals themselves, thanks to a  new partnership with the Allen County Public Library (ACPL) Genealogy Center.

The project will take several months - the full story is at http://blog.findmypast.com/2013/07/19/persi-finds-new-home-on-findmypast/

(With thanks to FindmyPast.com)

Chris

My new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, is now available from Pen and Sword. My Scottish land and church records ebooks are available at http://www.gen-ebooks.com/unlock-the-past.html, whilst my next Pharos Scottish course, Scottish Research Online, starts Sep 4th - see http://pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Time to smash a few brick walls...!

Canadian 1930 directory on FindmyPast

This may not be news, but I don't recall seeing it before. The US version of FindmyPast, at www.findmypast.com, has a Canadian directory from 1930 listed in a separate 'Canada' category (which I definitely don't remember seeing before!). The book is the Canada Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1930, with some 69,314 entries.

Chris

My new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, is now available from Pen and Sword. My Scottish land and church records ebooks are available at http://www.gen-ebooks.com/unlock-the-past.html, whilst my next Pharos Scottish course, Scottish Research Online, starts Sep 4th - see http://pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Time to smash a few brick walls...!

Free access to Irish BMDS indexes on FindmyPast

The American version of FindmyPast, at www.findmypast.com, has posted that it will be offering free access to its Irish birth, marriage and death indexes from June 27th-30th, to flag up the anniversary of the destruction of much of Ireland's public record on June 30th 1922.

There's more on the story at http://www.findmypast.com/articles/irish-records-office-destruction

UPDATE: Access will also be available on FindmyPast Ireland (www.findmypast.ie)

Chris

My new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, is now available from Pen and Sword. My Scottish land and church records ebooks are available at http://www.gen-ebooks.com/unlock-the-past.html, whilst my next Pharos Scottish course, Scottish Research Online, starts Sep 4th - see http://pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Time to smash a few brick walls...!

FindmyPast US launches major newspaper collection

The American incarnation of FindmyPast website (www.findmypast.com) has launched a major new collection of US based newspapers, which includes titles from several other countries. In total some 5350 publications are included.

From the site, some of the blurb:

Our US & World newspaper collections provide access to nearly 120 million pages from newspapers published in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Panama, and the Virgin Islands. Titles include a variety of local papers, as well as national publications, including the New York Times and the Washington Post.

Global historical newspapers from China, Denmark, France, Germany, Jamaica, and South Africa are also searchable within the collection.

The site also now has 8.7 million service records of personnel who served with the US army from 1938-1946.

(With thanks to FindmyPast US)

Chris

My new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, is now available from Pen and Sword. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

FindmyPast podcast on British Newspaper Archive

The American version of FindmyPast (www.findmypast.com) has put a short podcast online detailing the British newspaper Archive holdings which have just joined the site. The recording is available at http://blog.findmypast.com/2013/02/07/learn-about-the-british-newspapers-findmypast-podcast/.

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

Find My Past TV episodes now available in US

The American based FindmyPast website (www.findmypast.com) has announced that episodes of the British TV series Find My Past can now be viewed by subscribers a week after their initial transmission in the UK, along with past episodes. The full details are outlined in a blog post at http://blog.findmypast.com/2013/01/25/find-my-past-tv-episodes-now-in-the-us/.

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

Free access to Irish BMD indexes on FindmyPast.com

Following the announcement earlier today of the new searchable Irish civil BMD indexes on the various FindmyPast platforms (see http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/findmypast-to-launch-irish-bmd-indexes.html), the US version of the website at www.findmypast.com has just announced that it will be providing free access to the indexes on the company's newly designated Irish Family History Day on January 24th (next Thursday), via a code that will be announced on its blog.

Further details at http://blog.findmypast.com/2013/01/18/new-records-21-million-irish-birth-marriage-and-death-records/.

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.

FindmyPast releases Kilmainham discharge papers

At long last, FindmyPast has released its Kilmainham discharge papers, for soldiers discharged from the British Army in Ireland. Also released are more Chelsea pension papers. This is the first release of records to all FindmyPast sites worldwide www.findmypast.co.uk - www.findmypast.ie - www.findmypast.com - www.findmypast.com.au (probably explaining the US bias):

THE GREEN REDCOATS

• Military record found of “Green Redcoat” Hugh Burke shot in the Battle of New Orleans (1815)
• Part of a collection of almost 20,000 new soldiers’ records published on family history website
• First major coordinated release across the findmypast family of international sites

Records of an Irish soldier, Private Hugh Burke, one of the so-called “Green Redcoats”, have been published online today for the first time by leading family history site findmypast. These records are part of a major collection of newly-digitised records of those pensioned from the British army by the Royal Hospital Kilmainham.

The records, including those from the Royal Hospital Chelsea and those of Imperial Yeomanry from the War Office, represent the first major coordinated release across the findmypast family of international sites after it launched its world collection in August.

These records contain the names and discharge documents of almost 20,000 soldiers held at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham from 1783-1822. The task of cataloguing the records took a team of 14 people from the Friends of The National Archives volunteer group just over 3 years and includes the records of 19,109 soldiers. The Royal Hospital Kilmainham, the building that now houses the Irish Museum of Modern Art, was established in 1681 to house sick and veteran troops from the British Army.

The records show details of soldiers, including their height, weight, colour of hair and eyes and any distinguishing features such as a tattoo or scar, as well as where they served and their regiment.

Among them is Private Hugh Burke from Wicklow, who was pensioned from the army on the 26 June 1816 after four years’ service. He was deemed unfit for further service after receiving “a gunshot wound to the left shoulder received in action near New Orleans in America on the 8th of January 1815.”

The Battle of New Orleans is famous because it was the last major battle between the British and American forces in the War of 1812 and was fought after a peace treaty had already been signed. The Treaty of Ghent, which signalled the end of the war, came into effect at the start of February 1815 but due to slow communications the news did not reach New Orleans until two weeks later. Unfortunately for Private Hugh Burke this left him with “a mark on each side of his left shoulder” - entry and exit wounds from the bullet.

Brian Donovan, a family historian from findmypast said: “The number of Irish men who fought in the British army was extensive and these records allow us to glimpse the lives and careers of these soldiers. What makes the Kilmainham series so exciting is how far in time they stretch back. There is detailed information about rank and file soldiers born before 1750, about the regiments they served with, where they travelled, and injuries received. Scanned in colour, indexed and published online for the first time, these records are a fantastic addition to the findmypast collection.”

William Spencer, military expert at the National Archives added: “Many soldiers born in Ireland served in the British Army from the 18th-20th centuries yet the careers of these brave men have been hidden amongst some fragile and complex records. The digitisation of the Kilmainham papers in WO 119, will at last provide access to the brave men of Ireland.”

The Royal Hospital Kilmainham pension records are part of a larger collection of military discharge documents today released by findmypast including:

• Royal Hospital, Kilmainham: pensioners’ discharge documents 1771-1821 (known as WO 119 at the National Archives)
• Royal Hospital, Chelsea: pensioners’ discharge documents 1760-1887 (WO 121)
• Royal Hospital, Chelsea: pensioners’ discharge documents, foreign regiments 1816-1817 (WO 122)
• War Office: Imperial Yeomanry, soldiers’ documents, South African War 1899-1902 (WO 128)
• Royal Hospital, Chelsea: documents of soldiers awarded deferred pensions 1838-1896 (WO 131)

(With thanks to Myko Clelland)

Chris

Having a Christmas present crisis?! Check out my range of genealogy books at http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html - perfect for the family historian's Christmas stocking...! Also now out - new Kindle edition of Tracing Your Family History on the Internet, from http://tinyurl.com/d3vqtz5

More British Library Newspapers news

FindmyPast in the United States has confirmed that the British Newspaper Archive holdings will be made available in due course on its website at www.findmypast.com. The full announcement is at http://blog.findmypast.com/2012/11/09/update/.

One other major repercussion of the BNA - the original British Library 19th century Newspaper Collection website at http://newspapers11.bl.uk/blcs/ will soon be off to meet its maker. The following announcement is on the site:

"We regret to inform our users that the British Newspapers 1800-1900 site will be permanently shut down in the near future. From 11/07/2012 00:00:00 GMT forward the site will not accept any new subscriptions"

Whether this will have any affect on the institutional subscriptions to the site (e.g. through libraries or universities) is not clear, but if I hear any more I will update as and when!

(With thanks to the UK Family Tree magazine @familytreemaguk on the 19th C site, and @findmypastcom for the first part)

Just one other wee snippet - this is my 2000th news post since the blog started last year! I've only just started... :)

Chris

Scotland 1750-1850 - 5 weeks online Pharos course, £45.99, taught by Chris Paton from 2 NOV 2012 - see www.pharostutors.com
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Who writes this crap?

Seriously - the wording of FindmyPast US's latest press release:

Are you related to the Queen?

Having dreams of carriage rides, crown jewels or dining with heads of state? Do you yearn for noblesse oblige, waving to crowds, or having three unflinchingly rigid tea times per day?

According to genealogical research, millions of Americans are directly related to the English royal family and have no idea. Simple facts about your family background can easily predict the odds that you are related to the Queen herself.

Take our short seven question quiz, Are You Related to the Queen?, on the findmypast US Facebook page and find out your chances for royal lineage.

Who knows, you might be invited to the next garden party or Royal Variety Performance.


Maybe it's because I'm a dyed in the wool republican (you know - like Americans!), but I strongly suspect that if you do find a simply whizzer blue-blooded connection to old Blighty's finest via an online record set, the Queen is not going to bring you along to Buck House for champagne and strawberries, or take you to the Royal Variety Performance. Call me old fashioned, but honest, I really, really doubt it.

Who writes this crap? What next - free corgi with every subscription?

Jeez...

Chris

Scottish Research Online - 5 weeks online Pharos course, £45.99, taught by Chris Paton from 26 SEP 2012 - see www.pharostutors.com
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

FindmyPast UK makes friends with professional genealogists

Regular readers of this blog will know the fairly ridiculous situation that was unveiled a few weeks ago with the launch of FindmyPast.com in the US, which allowed professional genealogists in the UK access to that site, including its British records, via a simple subscription, a situation not possible for the same genealogists in the UK when accessing the same records on the UK version of the website! The terms and conditions on the UK site stated that genealogists could only use the British site if they paid for an expensive package of credits. The upshot was that many genealogists in Britain decided "sod that", and signed up to the US site with its Pioneer subscription at £37 a year (offer now over, sorry!).

Well it seems FindmyPast has now had a major rethink. The following terms are now listed on the site:

What you can use the service for: You can use the website for your own personal use, e.g., to research your own family history. We are also happy for you to help out other people with their family history by telling them about records available on the website and how and where they can be found.

Professional and corporate use: If you're a self-employed professional genealogist, you can use the site to carry out research for others, using either PayAsYouGo credits or a subscription. If you work for an organisation or company that carries out research using our records, contact us to find out more about corporate access to the service.

A huge thank you to FindmyPast for at last seeing a bit of common sense on the issue! I know from many discussions with other genies on LinkedIn and other forums that this was a major concern, and a source of complete bewilderment. An equal thank you also to the set up in the States, which clearly set the agenda.

(Thanks to @sheentait on Twitter)

UPDATE: The FindmyPast Ireland site at www.findmypast.ie is also carrying the same updated terms and conditions.

Chris

Scottish Research Online - 5 weeks online Pharos course, £45.99, taught by Chris Paton from 26 SEP 2012 - see www.pharostutors.com
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

FindmyPast Pioneer subscription offer ends soon

The American FindmyPast site at www.findmypast.com is to cease offering its new Pioneer annual subscription for just £38 on September 9th 2012.

The US site offers most of the UK records, though there are some gaps, such as merchant seaman records, death duty registers and others. It does offer complete access to all BMD registers, parish records, passenger records, military records and more, not least of which the offerings of both FindmyPast Ireland and FindmyPast Australasia. For professional genealogists it importantly offers access to these records via the basic subscription (as Ancestry does with its holdings), rather than the system of having to pay for credits if using the UK, access via subscription not being allowed (despite being the same records on the US site - don't ask!).

The search set up is different to the UK site, and is now equalled by the same system on the Irish and Australasian sites. The US site will also be adding more US material (obviously!) - including WW1 military draft records just released - and forthcoming parish records material.

(With thanks to Kathryn Hughes @WYorkshireLives)

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

More on FindmyPast Ireland

I announced earlier that FindmyPast Ireland (www.findmypast.ie) had been updated and relaunched with new subscription options, including a new World subscription (see http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/findmypast-ireland-goes-worldwide.html). A couple of other observations since then:

1) Previously FindmyPast Ireland had an irritating glitch which meant that whenever you tried to search within a date range, the two years specified as the parameters for that range never had results returned for them. So for example, if I did a search for an event with the year range as 1901 to 1901 (i.e. for an event that happened in 1901!), nothing would be returned - but if I then changed the search range from 1900 to 1902, results for 1901 would appear (but not 1900 or 1902)! In other words, you had to go one year earlier and one later for any year range you were actually interested in. I checked this a couple of weeks ago and it still seemed to be happening - but with the new set up, a search for a particular year range will now include the full range, including the two years specified.

2) It would seem that whichever site you subscribe to for a world subscription, you can use your log in details on one of the other FMP sites with the same collections. I have a month or so left on my Irish subscription, but purchased the US Pioneer sub last week for just under £38. The log in details I use for both sites are the same, so when I tried to log in to the American site earlier, it stated that the details I had were valid for each site - so which did I wish to log into? Out of curiosity I decided to log into the Irish site, which I was successful in, and it told me I now had a subscription on this site until August 2013. There's actually no real advantage to this that I can see - the records on the different sites would appear to be the same, with the only unique parts of the US and Irish sites being the local packaging - i.e. locally focussed blogs, help resources etc - which is free to access anyway. In fact, for client research, I will actually need to access my subscription on the American site, as its terms and conditions allow me to use it for professional purposes, which the Irish site doesn't (on FMP Ireland I need to buy PayAsYouGo credits to do professional research). I just found it curious!

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

FindmyPast Ireland goes worldwide

In the footsteps of the US based FindmyPast.com and the Australasian based FindmyPast.com.au, FindmyPast Ireland at www.findmypast.ie has now upgraded its site to provide joint worldwide subscriptions to the four separate FindmyPast sites around the world (the UK site being the fourth). The site is offering two worldwide subscriptions - 12 months access at €161.96 EUR or 6 months at €101.66 EUR, with both subscriptions including a 10% discount (until 14th Sep 2012). There is also a joint British and Irish sites access subscription set - €134.96 EUR for 12 months and €85.46 EUR for six months; and the normal Irish site only subscription at €53.96 EUR for 12 months and €34.16 EUR for six months. In addition there are also PayAsYouGo options.

As with the Australasian site, the Irish site world subscription prices are currently higher than the US based site's equivalent which is offering an introductory 'pioneer subscription' for approximately £38 Sterling for 12 months access, though this is a temporary offer. Unlike the US site, which specifically allows professional genealogists access to the records via the regular subscriptions, the Irish site seems to be following the British site's example, stating "You can only use the website for your own personal non-commercial use e.g. to research your own family history", as well as stating that "If you persistently offer lookups to other people and provide them with records, or use a personal subscription for professional purposes, we also reserve the right to stop your access. In all these cases you will have no right to a refund." The Irish site also states "Buy credits to carry out research for others: If you wish to carry out research for other people (even for free), you must purchase PayAsYouGo credits to view records."  I am unclear from the site though whether regular PayAsYouGo credits are acceptable for this, or whether you need a Corporate Package of credits (as with the UK site). If you require access for professional research, the US site is the only one facilitating this through a regular subscription - and it is cheaper (see http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/us-findmypast-site-allows-professional.html).

It is frankly bewildering to see such a variation across the sites when it comes to the Terms and Conditions for professional use depending on the portal you use to access those records. Nevertheless, it's great to see worldwide access being offered via another FindmyPast platform. The UK site can't be too far behind now...

(With thanks to Aidan Byrne @8thRDF)

UPDATE: Thanks to FMP Ireland for getting back to me and confirming that professionals can make use of the regular PayAsYouGo credits for research on the Irish site - there is no corporate credit system for this. This is significant as the UK site's corporate credit system is much more expensive for a minimum credits package for professional use, whereas FMP.ie has much smaller packages if you only wish to make occasional use of the resources.

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
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