FindmyPast launches new UK subscription tiers

FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) has announced a series of three new subscription tiers for all future subscribers.

The Starter package costs £8.95 a month, or £72 a year, and allows you to access English, Welsh and Irish civil registration records indexes, and British and Irish censuses (varying coverage), as well as somewhere to store your family tree online (even once your subscription expires).

The Plus package is £12.95 a month, or £120 annually. It offers all the above, plus British and Irish parish records, British wills and probate, British and Irish electoral registers and directories, British and Irish education and employment records, Specialist Irish records, British and Irish migration and travel records, and Military, Armed Forces and conflict records.

Finally, the Pro package at £15.95 a month or £156 a year offers all the above, plus various US, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand collections, and access to PERSI and newspapers, including the British Newspaper Archive offerings for Britain and Ireland.

COMMENT: It's worth noting that most English and Welsh civil registration BMD indexes are available freely at FreeBMD (www.freebmd.org.uk), most historic Irish BMD records are available at www.irishgenealogy.ie for free (with additional indexes freely available on FamilySearch up to 1958), and the surviving Irish censuses are freely available at www.genealogy.nationalarchives.ie. So the Starter package offering to me seems a little light really in terms of what you're getting for your money.

FindmyPast itself highlights its Plus package as the recommended one - which I would concur with - although it is unfortunate that the British Newspaper Index collections are presented with the most expensive Pro subscription option.

For professional genealogists, as always, do check the site's Terms and Conditions (https://www.findmypast.co.uk/content/terms-and-conditions), as there are slightly different terms for those using the site in a professional capacity.

If you are doing Scottish research, just bear in mind also that FindmyPast describes some of its collections as British, which are actually English and Welsh only (e.g. British wills and probate, and British and Irish Civil BMDs). If Scottish research is your aim, do take a look at the collection descriptions first. Note also that, for reasons beyond its control, FindmyPast, as with Ancestry, only offers transcripts of Scottish censuses (images accompany the English and Welsh equivalents), and does not include the 1911 Scottish census. The 1939 Register offering similarly does not contain returns for Scotland or Northern Ireland (which are held by separate agencies to that for England and Wales - the NRS in Scotland, and PRONI in Northern Ireland) .

Chris

My next 5 week long Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the OPRs course commences Nov 6th 2017 - details at https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

How to follow The GENES Blog

Hi everyone, just a quick note to point out two ways to follow the blog, other than just dropping in occasionally!

On the left margin side of this page you will see a section entitled 'Subscribe via email'. If you register your email address in this, you will get a daily post of content from this blog, allowing you to digest everything in one go. Last night the blog passed the 1000 email subscribers mark, so there has to be at least another thousand folk out there waiting to do similarly!

Alternatively, The GENES Blog's Facebook page is another way to subscribe, simply follow the page and new posts appear as an when in your timeline - to get to the page, click on the link. Note that on the Facebook page you will get a bit more banter and a few more extras (reshared posts etc), and you can also interact with me if you require to (you can of course, also leave comments on the main blog posts!). The Facebook page currently has 2200 followers and is growing by the day.

Finally, do let you friends and societies know about the blog - and feel free to lift and re-use content for newsletters, journals etc, if you are a not for profit genealogical agency. All I ask if you do so is for a simple acknowledgement for The GENES Blog as the source.

Many thanks, and I hope this helps!

Chris

My next 5 week Scottish Research Online course commences Sept 11th 2017 - details at www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

One month's access to FindmyPast for £1

FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) is offering a month's access to its Britain or World subscription for just £1, if you subscribe before 23.59 GMT on Saturday 31 December 2016.

Please note the following in the Terms and Conditions detailed at www.findmypast.co.uk/seasonal-offer:

After the initial 30 day period, your subscription will be automatically renewed at the normal price unless you un-tick the ‘auto-renew my subscription’ box in the My Account section of the site.

If you do not do this, you will have your subscription renewed. To untick the box, go to My Account, then Personal Details. You will see the following when you scroll to the bottom:

Untick the Auto-renew my subscription box and then click on Update details. You will be asked if you really wish to disable the auto-renew - select the option allowing you to do so, and you should now be sorted. To double check, come out of the My Account section, go back in as before, and look to see if the box is unticked when you go in once again - it should now be. If not, please don't shoot this messenger - contact FindmyPast instead for assistance at support@findmypast.co.uk or 020 33266300.

Chris

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

Ancestry worldwide subscription 20% sale

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

Ancestry SPECIAL OFFER Get 20% off an Annual Worldwide subscription.

Find your global family with billions of international records from around the world.
12-month membership
£143.99* SAVE 20%

£179.99 

Join now

Offer ends 08 February 2016 at 11:59 p.m. GMT.

*Offer valid until 11:59 p.m. on 08 February 2016. Offer valid on purchase of Annual Worldwide memberships and available only to new members, by following links in this email only. Offer price is £143.99 for Worldwide instead of the current standard price of £179.99 (a discount of 20%). Your membership will automatically renew at the end of each 12-month period and at that time your chosen method of payment will be charged £179.99 for Worldwide, unless you are notified otherwise. If you don’t want to renew, cancel at least 2 days before your renewal date by visiting the My Account section or by calling 0800 404 9723. See our Terms and Conditions for further details.

To subscribe visit https://secure.ancestry.co.uk/Subscribe/Signup/Register/O-24405, where you will see the price advertised as £143.99.

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 50% discount on World subscription offers

The UK branch of FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) is offering a 50% discount this week on its World subscription rate using the code WDYTYA50, to tie in with the new series of Who Do You Think You Are, which kicks off tomorrow evening (Thursday). The normal rate is £129.50, so with a discount it is £64.75.

Note that FindmyPast.com is also offering a 50% discount to Irish Central readers - simply register at http://www.findmypast.com/irish-central-offer-50. The normal US rate is US$199.50, so with a discount it is US$99.75.

Worth crunching the numbers and the exchange rates to see which is best to join, because the available records are the same on both the US and UK platforms. The UK option looks to me to be cheaper just now.

I should add that a few years back I joined FindmyPast.com when it launched via its Pioneer subscription, at just over US$59. I've kept renewing at that rate, and have just received a renewal notice claiming the company tried to claim $199.50 for a new subscription, but it failed as my card had expired. Because of this email I actually took out a new subscription using the Irish Central offer instead, but then queried it when I got an email yesterday asking me if I wanted to renew my original account at the Pioneer rate! I was told that a discount would have automatically been applied to give me the subscription at the Pioneer rate, but this was not mentioned in the original email. FindmyPast is now refunding me the $99.75 from my new account (effectively cancelling that subscription) and allowing me to renew on my original account at $59. Worth flagging up for any other Pioneer subscribers who may received similar emails!

UPDATE 14 AUG: Apologies, the rate I previously gave for the UK was the British sub rate, not the World sub rate - now duly corrected.

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.

Don't be stung by subscription auto renewals on websites

Just a quick word about genealogy websites with auto-renewal features on the subscription pages, prompted by a comment on another thread, where a reader has mentioned that after a one month offer on a commercial website has expired, the vendor apparently deducts a further subscription fee for another month - it is able to do so because you have to put your credit card details in to activate the initial free subscription, and an auto-renewal mechanism then kicks in after that period has ended.

It is often the case with many subscription based websites that they will try to do this after your initial subscription period has ended - often for your 'convenience' (!). There is usually a mechanism somewhere on the subscription or account page, however, that allows you to disable this automatic renewal feature - so ALWAYS check what you are signing up for, no matter what the site, and how to avoid being stung like this. It may simply be a case of having to untick a box. You may of course be happy to have your subscription renewed - this is really a message for those who aren't!

I should add that I've also been caught out on this in the past. I have in fact recently received umpteen number of emails on a daily basis from one particular British based vendor, telling me that it has been unable to renew my subscription there, as my credit card details used for the previous subscription have expired. To the best of my knowledge, I can't recall being forewarned that the account was about to expire in the first place - so thank God for expiration dates on credit cards! But you may not be so lucky.

Forewarned is forearmed - check your accounts pages. Here endeth the public service message!

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians, whilst my new book British and Irish Newspapers is also now out. And FindmyPast - please reinstate the original Scottish census citations on your new site.

Irish Origins St Patrick's Day offers

From Origins (www.origins.net):

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with Origins.net

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Although the vast majority of Ireland's testamentary records were lost in the destruction of the Public Record Office of Ireland (PROI) in 1922, staff at the PROI (now the National Archives of Ireland) have spent many years trying to recover from that loss, and today there are thousands of testamentary records again, although they are not always easy to find.

This index lists records at the National Archives of Ireland that are not simply an index. In other words, there is a document worth looking at behind every index entry. Each index entry contains the name of the person leaving a will, or being covered by a grant of probate or administration. It also contains their address, sometimes their occupation, and the place where the document was proved (i.e. a diocesan or the Prerogative court). The index also contains the names of the executors for almost half the entries, along with their addresses. In essence this index contains all the information contained in the National Archives finding aids (i.e. card catalogues, typed lists, and original summaries).

Search and Access Irish Wills Index 1484-1858 FREE this St. Patrick's Day www.origins.net/IrishOrigins/Search/Wills/IrishWills/IOSearchWills.aspx

Free access will run from Monday 17 March 2014, 00:01, until Tuesday 18 March 2014, 08:00 GMT.

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Irish research has its own very special challenges. Let Irish Origins help you uncover your past. Access nearly 6 million Irish genealogy records including: Censuses, Wills, Directories, Burials, Marriages, Electoral registers, Passenger lists, Military records, and rare publications.

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(With thanks to Maggie Loughran)

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.

Ancestry - limited Premium Edition offer for £20

I've just received Peter Calver's latest Lost Cousins newsletter (http://www.lostcousins.com/newsletters/latejan14news.htm), and his top story is that Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) has a time limited offer of full access as a Premium subscriber to its site for 4 months for just £20 - but only if you purchase the subscription between now and 11.50pm Monday 27th January.

Full details on Peter's newsletter!

(With thanks to Peter)

Chris

My latest genealogy books are Tracing Your Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), Discover Scottish Civil Registration Records, and Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet. My next Pharos course is Scottish Research Online, which commences Feb 27th 2014, 5 weeks, price £45.99.