Durham Records Online update

The latest updates from Durham Records Online (www.durhamrecordsonline.com):

Houghton-le-Spring baptisms 1581-1650, marriages 1563-1601, burials 1581-1600
At Houghton-le-Spring St. Michael & All Angels:

2,502 baptisms from the beginning of the first register in 1581 to the end of 1650
235 marriages from the beginning of the first register in 1563 to the end of 1601
889 burials from the beginning of the first register in 1581 to the end of 1600
There are no baptisms in the register for these periods: March 1582 to August 1584, 4 March 1591 to 19 Dec 1591, June 1592-Jan 1593, Oct 1593-Feb 1596, May 1596-Sep 1597, Mar 1622-Jan 1624, Sep 1640-Aug 1642, Feb 1644-Apr 1645, Dec 1645-Jun e 1647, and Oct 1647-May 1648. There are no marriages for these periods: Jan 1568 to May 1581, Nov 1585 to Nov 1588, Dec 1592 to Nov 1593, and May 1596 to May 1601. There are no burials from March 1594 to the end of 1595, and all the burials in 1596 are undated and about a dozen are repeated in July 1597, which is odd.

Bishopwearmouth Cemetery burials 1930-1939
12,928 burials covering 1930-1939 at Bishopwearmouth Cemetery in Bishopwearmouth, civil district of Sunderland. Abodes mentioned besides street addresses in Bishopwearmouth include East Boldon, Houghton-le-Spring, Newcastle, South Hylton, South Shields, and Southwick.

Monk Hesleden marriages 1883-1972 updated
At Monk Hesleden St. John in Easington district:
Added witnesses, abodes, marital statuses, occupations, and father's occupations to 646 marriages spanning 1883 to Apr 1972.
Added 2 new marriages to finish 1972 and one we'd missed in 1929.

Deaf Hill marriages 1884-1916 updated; 1917-1918 added
At Deaf Hill cum Langdale St. Paul in Easington district:
Added witnesses, abodes, marital statuses, occupations, and father's occupations to 499 marriages spanning 1884 to Oct 1916.
Added 35 new marriages from Oct 1916 to the end of 1918, plus 2 we'd missed in 1914.

Castle Eden marriages updated: 1813-1836, 1891-1946
At Castle Eden St. James in Easington district:
Added witnesses and abodes and marital statuses (whe re they existed) to 46 marriages spanning 1813-1836.
Added witnesses, abodes, marital statuses, occupations, and father's occupations to 374 marriages spanning 1891-1941 (we'd done 1837-1890 earlier).
Added 28 new marriages spanning 1942-1946.

Wingate Grange baptisms 1885-1899 updated
Updated 1,806 baptisms for the years 1885-1899 at Wingate Grange Holy Trinity in Easington district, adding the child's birth date, father's occupation, abode, and correcting errors. We also added 4 baptisms we'd missed.

Coming Soon:
South Shields St. Hilda baptisms 1880-1891
Middleton-in-Teesdale baptisms 1852-1901
Tynemouth baptisms 1833-1849
Ovingham burials 1798-1840

(With thanks to Holly Cochran)

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/.

Family Tree magazine November 2015 now on sale

Family Tree magazine's November 2015 issue is now on sale at newsagents, with a range of features to keep you occupied until the December issue appears!

This month, Holly Bennett takes a look at The Gazette newspaper, David Annal explores how to break brick walls in research to trace lost ancestors, yours truly provides an overview of how to get the best from the FamilySearch website, Viveka Hansen explores the textiles history of Whitby, and Tony bandy explores old handwriting and how to decipher it. The FFHS's Emma Waltham explores the value of family history societies, Tony Calyton looks at the unpalpable history of slavery, David Sharpe looks at the Deceased Online website, Maggie Loughran explores the history of English Catholics, and Emma Jolly goes in search of the woman who won the pools in the 1930s.

For more on the latest issue visit http://family-tree.co.uk/2015/10/family-tree-magazine-november-2015/.

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/.

Your Family Tree 161 on sale now

The October 2015 issue of Your Family Tree magazine (issue 161) is now available. There have been a few changes recently, not least a new editorial team (with Nell Darby replacing Adam Rees as editor), new design team and a change of ownership, but the magazine keeps doing the business it has always done!

This month Doreen Hopwood looks at migration records, Mike Bedford explores the Yorkshire Dales, Anne Corlet explores the British History Online website (where you'll find invaluable aids such as the Victoria County Histories for England), and yours truly explores the new Irish Catholic parish records platform from the National Library of Ireland. There are also features on Crime Museums, the role of bookies, the Battle of Trafalgar, not to mention case studies and all the usual regular features.

YFT 161 is available in newsagents - further details are available at www.yourfamilytreemag.co.uk/latest-issue/.

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/.

US National Archives digitisation priorities

The US National Archives has an interesting blog post online in which it has announced its priorities in terms of digitisation projects for the foreseeable future. The list includes a huge amount that will be of interest to folk on this side of the pond as much as in the US, such as seamen's records, military records, naturalisation documents, and much more.

The blog post is available at http://narations.blogs.archives.gov/2015/10/02/announcing-naras-digitization-priorities/ - well worth a read.

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/.

TNA podcast - National Registration night

The latest podcast from the National Archives in England is entitled 1939 National Registration Night. It's a somewhat different presentation than normal, being a 10 minute reading by Gary Thorpe of the script that was read out by the English and Welsh Registrar General on radio on September 29th 1939, the night on which the UK carried out an emergency wartime census for the purposes of creating a wartime register for the purposes of issuing identity cards and ration cards, and for a possible draft of personnel. The podcast is freely available at http://media.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php/1939-national-registration-night/ or from iTunes. Note that the English and Welsh 1939 census is soon to be made available online by FindmyPast (see www.findmypast.com/1939register).

For Northern Ireland, a free Freedom of Information request can be made to the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (www.proni.gov.uk) for extracted details from the register; as it is catalogued by street address, you will need to know where your ancestors were on the night. For Scotland, for a fee of £15 you can access details for an individual (not a household) via www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/nhs-central-register/about-the-register/1939-national-identity-register-and-how-to-order-an-official-extract.

Note that there was no 1941 census due to the war, so this makes a useful substitute. The 1931 Scottish census and the 1937 Northern Irish census will be published in due course, once 100 years has passed from their original recording, but there is no 1931 census for England and Wales (it was destroyed in the Second World War) - making the 1939 National Identity Register particularly useful for those two countries.

For the English and Welsh records, FindmyPast has a short background video on their conservation and digitisation at https://youtu.be/IdZE0NP-IVs - it is also presented here for convenience:

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/.

Romany and Traveller Family History Society Open Day

I've been asked to give a quick plug to a family history fair being organised by the Romany and Traveller Family History Society (http://rtfhs.org.uk) - no probs!

Event: Romany and Traveller Family History Society Open Day
Date: Saturday 24 October 2015
Venue: St Lawrence Church Hall, High Street, Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire WD5 0AS
Time: 11am until 4pm

Want to meet others who share your special interest in Romany, Traveller or Fairground Ancestors? Join us at the RTFHS Family History Open Day.

It’s your chance to find out more about your heritage and culture, ask questions and talk about your family’s history. So be sure to bring along your family trees, notes and photos.

The event is free for RTFHS members. There’s a £1.00 charge for non-members to include a coffee or tea.

• Specialist books and guides on sale
• Family history displays
• Research helpdesk

(With thanks to Sharon Heppell)

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 adds English college records and New York parish registers

The following collections have been released by FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk):

New York deaths & burials 1758-1862 
Explore fascinating death and burial records to find out if you have any ancestors buried in the state of New York. New York deaths & burials 1758-1862 contain over 1,300 records spanning more than a hundred years. The records cover Jamaica, Newton and Success in Long Island, Staten Island and Yorktown.

New York marriages 1639-1900 
Containing over 55,500 records, New York marriages 1639-1900 allows you to search through transcripts of church and county records from Long Island, Staten Island, Yorktown, Montgomery County, and Westchester that begin 14 years after the colony of New Amsterdam was founded by the Dutch West India Company in 1625.

New York baptisms 1660-1862
Discover your New York ancestors by exploring nearly 16,000 records of New York baptisms spanning more than 200 years. The records cover baptisms conducted Long Island, Staten Island, Kingston, New York City, between 1660 and 1862 and allow you to discover if you had family in the region when it was still a Dutch colony.

Sussex, Lancing College Register 1901-1954 
Lancing College was the first more than 30 schools founded by Reverend Nathaniel Woodard. Woodward established the school in 1848 in order to provide education “based on sound principle and sound knowledge, firmly grounded in the Christian faith.” The records are comprised of transcript and scanned images that allow you to explore the pages of original registers to discover the names of pupils and masters from the College. Records can also reveal your ancestors birth year, address, employment and achievements later in life.

London, Dulwich College Register 1619-1926
The London, Dulwich College Register 1619-1926 is comprised of over 18,000 records spanning three centuries. Dulwich College, an independent public school for boys in Dulwich, southeast London, was founded in 1619. Each record consists of a transcript and image of the original document. Records can reveal the details of both pupils and staff, including their names, position within the school, birth year, parents’ names and any notable achievements after leaving school.

Berkshire, Eton College Register 1441-1698 
The Eton College Register 1441-1698 allows you to explore fascinating school records dating back to the 15 century from one of the UK’s leading Independent schools. Spanning three centuries and containing over 4,000 records, the registers not only reveal the names of Old Etonians but also their year of birth, the name of their father and details surrounding their education and employment after leaving the college. Each record includes a transcript of the original document and a scanned colour image that allows you to uncover the great deeds of former pupils.

Full details at http://blog.findmypast.co.uk/fridays/

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/.

Free weekend access to Ancestry's immigration records

From Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk), free access to its immigration/emigration records:

FREE ACCESS WEEKEND 2‑4 OCTOBER*

Explore who you really are with free access

Have you wondered how your family traveled the world? We're offering free access to all our migration records for 3 days so you can go on a voyage of discovery, explore your global story and challenge who you think you are.

*Access to the records in the featured collections will be free until 4 October, 2015 at 23:59 BST. After the free access period ends, you will only be able to view the records in the featured collections using an Ancestry.co.uk paid membership. To see a full list of the records in the featured collections please click here.

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/.

Scottish 1855 valuation roll online

ScotlandsPeople has released the 1855 valuation rolls for Scotland, the first year for which the records are available. The following is the announcement:

The great, the good and the humble of Victorian Scotland have been digitally captured in the latest release of Valuation Rolls on ScotlandsPeople.

Over one million indexed names and addresses from 1855 are now available to search for FREE* as an introductory offer. Fully searchable by name and address, the new records provide a detailed snapshot of Scotland in a time of industrial expansion and economic growth, and offer a fascinating window into the lives of Victorian Scots. Find out more about Valuation Rolls 1855.

*Index for Valuation Rolls 1855 free to search until 13 October 2015 and 1 credit per page of 25 results thereafter. Images can be viewed for 2 credits per record.


Scotland's leading lights in 1855

Among the 1855 Valuation Rolls are many notable figures, including Professor James Young Simpson, Hugh Miller, David Octavius Hill, and Sir David Brewster. Humbler people include the shoemaker father of the future missionary, Mary Slessor, and the landlady of the lodgings where Pierre Emile L’Angelier died, allegedly at the hand of Madeleine Smith, the Glasgow socialite who was notoriously tried for his murder in 1857. 

The records are accessible via www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

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/.

Historic Environment Scotland takes over as heritage body

As of today, the new merged body of Historic Environment Scotland takes over from the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historic Monuments of Scotland and Historic Scotland as Scotland's national heritage body. Here's the announcement:

Welcome to Historic Environment Scotland

Historic Environment Scotland is the new lead public body established to investigate, care for and promote Scotland’s historic environment, and takes up its full statutory role from 1st October 2015. Created by the Historic Environment Scotland Act 2014, the new body incorporates and will build on the strengths and expertise of Historic Scotland and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) who have been managing and recording the historic environment for over a century.

Historic Environment Scotland will lead and enable delivery of Our Place in Time, Scotland’s first ever strategy for the historic environment, which sets out how our historic environment will be carefully managed to deliver real and increasing benefits to Scotland’s people. The success of this strategy will ensure our diverse historic environment is cared for and protected, understood, valued, enjoyed and enhanced now and for future generations.

We are already developing our Corporate Plan 2016-19, demonstrating how the new organisation will meet the expectations of stakeholders. We will be launching the plan for public consultation in November.

This is an exciting new era for Scotland’s historic environment and we look forward to your support as we explore the challenges and opportunities ahead.

The full announcement, and other statements, can be found in the body's newsletter at http://us5.campaign-archive1.com/?u=76aeda34e6e524553f9f38500&id=359cbf27c1&e=a5dfe4fb65. There is no new website as yet, so keep an eye out at www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/historicenvironmentscotland for further news.

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/.