Irish and Scottish poor law records added to FindmyPast

This week's releases on FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk):

Donegal Workhouses Registers and Minute Books
Search for your Irish ancestry through more than 400,000 new and exclusive records from the Donegal workhouses. The records include admission and discharge registers as well as board of guardians' minute books. The books span from 1840 to 1922, comprise records from 7 poor law unions across Donegal and join our growing collection of Irish Work House and Poor Law records. These records are also available to browse. The unions covered include Ballyshannon, Donegal, Dunfanaghy, Glentis, Inishowen, Letterkenny, Milford, and Stranorlar. The original records are held by the Donegal County Council and have been digitised through a partnership with Findmypast. Within the collection, you will find a wide variety of records.

Scotland, Highland Poor Law 1845-1929
Find out if your Highland ancestors fell on hard times with more than 9,000 new poverty relief records. These detailed transcripts can reveal a wide range of information about your ancestors, a description of the relief they received, location, their occupation, residence, earnings, the names and earnings of their relatives, how poor they actually were and the nature of their disability (if disabled).

Scotland, Highlands and Islands Assisted Emigration 1852-1857
Search the names of those who received assistance from the Highlands and Islands Emigration Society in emigrating from the Highlands of Scotland for Australia. Each transcript will reveal when your ancestor's dates and ports of both departure and arrival, their age and residence, the ship they sailed on, the name of their sponsor and the amount they received.

British & Irish Roots Collection
More than 1.2 million records has been added to our exclusive British and Irish Roots Collection, a vast database of nearly 100 million records, handpicked by our in-house experts, that identify a British or Irish emigrants in North America.

International Records Update – Luxembourg
Does your family tree have roots in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg? Find out with three new indexes of births & baptisms, marriages and deaths & burials spanning the years 1662 to 1840.

British & Irish Newspaper Update
This week we are delighted to welcome 137,896 new pages to The Archive, with new pages adding to 18 existing publications spanning 128 years from 1871 to 1999. This week's new additions include:

Staffordshire Sentinel: 1906-1910, 1918-1919
Newcastle Evening Chronicle: 1894, 1913, 1919
The People: 1946-1949
Newcastle Chronicle: 1875-1896, 1899-1900
Surrey Advertiser: 1909
Limerick Chronicle: 1825
Aberdeen Press and Journal: 1983-1984
Walsall Observer, and South Staffordshire Chronicle: 1873-1911, 1925-1933, 1958-1969
Pinner Observer: 1999
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
Daily Gazette for Middlesbrough: 1901-1902
Hamilton Advertiser: 1889-1892, 1894, 1897, 1901, 1903-1904, 1906-1908

Further information, and links, at https://blog.findmypast.co.uk/findmypast-fridays-june-28th-2019-2639002540.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.

New Update to the MyHeritage Mobile App

From MyHeritage (www.myheritage.com):

New Update to the MyHeritage Mobile App

The MyHeritage mobile app makes it easier than ever to explore and share your family history on the go. It’s available for iOS and Android, for both smartphones and tablets.


We’re happy to announce several new features in the MyHeritage mobile app to help you improve your family history research. Among the newly introduced features are Family Timelines, the ability to view family trees that you’re matched with, the ability to choose which information you extract from Smart Matches™, an improved research page, and more.

The full announcement is available at http://blog.myheritage.com/2019/06/new-update-to-the-myheritage-mobile-app-2/.

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.

Herefordshire Bishop's Transcripts indexes added to FamilySearch

FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org) has added the following new indexed English collection (no images):

England, Herefordshire Bishop's Transcripts, 1583-1898
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/3155913

Church of England parish registers containing christening, marriage, and burial entries that took place in the county of Hereford from 1583 to 1898. Records may include: name, parents, spouse, father's occupation, residence, date of birth, date of marriage, burial date and place and much more depending on the record type. The original records are held at the Hereford Record Office.

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.

Lest We Forget Glasgow WW1 items digitised now online

Glasgow City Archives has announced that items digitised at its First World War digitisation day earlier this year on April 10th, for the University of Oxford-run Lest We Forget project, are now freely avalable to view online at http://lwf.it.ox.ac.uk/s/lest-we-forget/item-set/6928.

The materials available include photographs, letters, diaries, newspaper cuttings, medals, an oral history recording and more.

Further items from Britain (including Aberdeen, Stonehaven and Edinburgh), and the Isle of Man, are available at http://lwf.it.ox.ac.uk/s/lest-we-forget/page/welcome.

(With thanks to @GC_Archives)

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.

Scottish nonconformist records added to FamilySearch

FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org) has added a new collection to its site of interest to those carrying out Scottish research:

Scotland Presbyterian & Protestant Church Records, 1736-1990
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/2421466

Records of Free, United Presbyterian, United Free and Other Protestant Churches in Scotland from 1736-1990 originally filmed at the National Archives of Scotland, CH3 series.

The collection is noted as having 109,010 records, but there is no indication of which parishes are included as yet. Many nonconformist records have been previously been sourced by FamilySearch through its IGI and British Isles Vital Records Collections, which are now included in its Scottish births and baptism and marriage databases, but it is unclear if this was the source or if there has been a separate filming.

The indexes are free to search, and images of the records are available for those who can sign in to Familysearch.org as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who have access to a FamilySearch family history center, or access to a FamilySearch affiliate library.

Information on the various churches that split from the Kirk can be found at the top of this page in my section on Kirk History, directly accessible at https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/p/kirk-history.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.

MyHeritage Live 2019’s schedule announced

From MyHeritage (www.myheritage.com):

MyHeritage Live 2019’s Schedule: Genealogy, DNA, and So Much More

We are excited to announce the schedule for MyHeritage Live 2019 — our second annual international user conference that will take place in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, September 6 – 8, 2019. Offering an exceptional mix of engaging lectures and workshops on the latest in genealogy, DNA and MyHeritage features, participants are sure to have a fantastic weekend and go home with some new skills to enrich their family history research.

Three Conference Tracks

At the heart of MyHeritage Live 2019 is a jam-packed schedule centered with three different tracks for participants to choose from: a genealogy track, a DNA track, and track dedicated to hands-on workshops. Lecturers will include world-renowned experts in the fields of genealogy and DNA, as well as presentations by senior MyHeritage staff members. Hands-on workshops will offer unique opportunities to discover MyHeritage tools and features. The tracks will run simultaneously and participants can pick and choose their favorites from each of the three.
Attendees have multiple options of lecture choices per time slot

The lectures and workshops will be led by an incredible lineup of international speakers, MyHeritage staff, and local experts including MyHeritage Founder & CEO Gilad Japhet, Chief Science Officer Prof. Yaniv Erlich, Blaine Bettinger (The Genetic Genealogist), Yvette Hoitink (Dutch Genealogy), Diahan Southard (Your DNA Guide), Roberta Estes (DNA eXplained), Leah Larkin (The DNA Geek) and more.

The genealogy track includes world-class lectures taught by industry experts and top MyHeritage staff. Topics include ways to maximize your research with MyHeritage record collections, uncover immigration stories, best utilize MyHeritage matching technologies, get overviews of major MyHeritage historical collections, and learn top insider genealogy tips.

In the DNA track, you’ll discover MyHeritage’s latest exciting features — Theory of Family Relativity and Autoclusters. Explore the Autoclusters feature in a session given by their actual creator. Learn how to use your DNA results to uncover your ancestors’ stories. Discover the future of DNA testing and advancements in the field of genetic genealogy with top experts in the field, such as MyHeritage’s Chief Science Officer, Yaniv Erlich.

The hands-on workshops run by top MyHeritage staff will take you through the top MyHeritage tools and features step-by-step and teach you how to use them to maximize your family history discoveries.

The speaker schedule is available at https://live2019.myheritage.com (scroll to bottom)

Meet us in Amsterdam

The conference lectures and workshops offer unparalleled opportunities to expand your knowledge of MyHeritage and learn more about researching your family history. Participants will still have ample opportunities to mingle with hundreds of genealogists and MyHeritage users from all over the globe as well as enjoy world-class performances and entertainment.

Amsterdam is a city brimming with life and a rich history. Not to be missed are the city’s vast archive collections, museums, and beautiful canals and architecture. Don’t miss out on what is sure to be an unforgettable experience!

To register and receive an early bird discount visit https://live2019.myheritage.com

(With thanks to Daniel Horowitz - original announcement at https://blog.myheritage.com/2019/06/myheritage-live-2019s-schedule-genealogy-dna-and-so-much-more/)

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.

NRS is working on a Gaelic Language Plan

In 2017 the Scottish Government published its Gaelic Language Plan for 2016-2021 (https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-government-gaelic-language-plan-2016-2021/), as part of efforts with Bòrd na Gàidhlig to help restore Gaelic speaking in Scotland to the levels recorded in the 2001 census (it having fallen in 2011).

In the section entitled Implementation of the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005, it notes the following sections:

Gaelic Language Plans

Bòrd na Gàidhlig may request a public authority to produce a Gaelic Language Plan. A list of Gaelic Language Plans produced to date may be viewed at http://gaeliclanguageplansscotland.org.uk/. Public bodies which carry out functions on the Scottish Government's behalf and have not yet been asked to produce a Gaelic Language Plan may refer to this plan and the national Gaelic language plan for an indication of an appropriate level of Gaelic language commitments to implement, particularly in relation to branding.

Other sector-specific bodies

A wide range of other agencies and NDPBs carry out functions on behalf of the Scottish Government, and through their activities are likely to enhance the status of Gaelic. Creative Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage, National Records of Scotland, and others are all involved in promoting and supporting the Gaelic language in a variety of ways.

In working on my next book yesterday, I noticed that the National Library of Scotland (www.nls.uk) and Historic Environment Scotland (www.historicenvironment.scot) have a visible Gaelic profile on their home pages, noting their agencies' names bilingually, but that the National Records of Scotland does not. The NLS has a Gaelic Language Plan (see https://www.nls.uk/news/archive/2018/02/draft-gaelic-language-plan-2018-2023), as does Historic Environment Scotland (https://www.historicenvironment.scot/archives-and-research/publications/publication/?publicationId=6100001d-485b-4d0e-90ea-a94900a2db24), but I was unable to find one for the NRS.

I therefore queried this on Twitter, and have just received the following response from the archive:

Hi Chris: NRS is working with stakeholders to develop a Gaelic language plan, in tandem with our work to prepare for Scotland’s Census 2021. Ross

It's good to see that the NRS is not ignoring this. For some folk, it won't make a difference if we see a bit of rebranding to include Gaelic on the site, and the NRS does already include some Gaelic on correspondence that it sends, but a Gaelic Language Plan is certainly something that is needed to promote the language's use in other ways. 

For those who have Gaelic as a working language in their daily lives, and for those of us who are learning (some of us for twenty years or more!), it is important to see such small measures in helping to recognise and promote our heritage and to help promote equality for a language so important to Scotland's history and psyche.

Suas Leis a' Ghàidhlig, agus cum Gàidhlig beo!

(With thanks to the NRS)

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.

AGRA announces speakers for Sept 2019 conference

AGRA (www.agra.org.uk) has provided further news of its second conference (see https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/2018/09/agra-announces-conference-for-2019.html), including its speakers and talks programme, which will be of particular interest to those with English and Welsh ancestry:

Bloomin' Ancestors! Giving your family history personality 
https://www.agra.org.uk/conference2019/

AGRA’s second conference, open to the public as well as AGRA Members and Associates, will be held in Pembroke College, Oxford University. It will commence with a formal dinner in the College Hall on the evening of 27th September. The lectures, featuring an exciting programme of expert speakers, will be held in the state-of-the-art Pichette Auditorium on Saturday 28th. It will be possible to come to the dinner and stay overnight or just attend on Saturday.

The conference speakers will be as follows:

· Dr Janina Ramirez will be the keynote speaker opening the Conference. She will be speaking about ‘Personalities of the Past’. Janina will be familiar as a British art and cultural historian, but above all as a presenter of history programmes on BBC4.

· Sue Adams - Follow the Money in the Property Records of the Manor

· Carol Kerry Green – Dying to Impress – Examining the role and image of the Press Gang (Impressment), particularly during war time. It will show how a single line in a burial register can lead to fleshing out an ancestor’s life and gaining an understanding of the times they lived in.

· Sue Paul – A Most Notorious, False, Lying Fellow: a Global Black Sheep or Maligned Character – a Case Study of Henry Smith demonstrating how you can use historical sources – East India Company Records, published source and private papers – to enhance your ancestral history.

· John Titford – Bounce Backers - ancestors who moved away, then returned home.

There will be three concurrent workshops as follows:

· Antony Marr – On the Authority of the Registrar General - Exploring the little understood area of re-registrations and corrections on register entries

· Susan Moore – Cracking Chancery Records

· Charity Rouse - Discoveries from Across the Pond

The conference dinner will be held on Friday 27th September in the medieval College Hall. We are very lucky to have the writer Nick Barlay as the after-dinner speaker. Nick has written four novels, including Scattered Ghosts, which tells the 200-year story of his Hungarian Jewish family through war, Holocaust and revolution to contemporary Britain.

For more information and bookings, visit https://www.agra.org.uk/conference2019/

(With thanks to Sharon Grant, Chair, AGRA)

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 adds Darien Scheme Investors and Lancashire parish records

From FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk):

Lancashire Baptisms
Over 31,000 additional records are now available to search amongst out collection of Lancashire Baptisms. The new additions cover the parishes of:

Edge Hill, St Nathaniel -1869 to 1918
Liverpool, St John - 1785 to 1898
Liverpool, St Silas, Pembroke Place - 1841 to 1918
Liverpool, St Stephen the Martyr – 1851 to 1918
Newburgh, Christ Church – 1860 to 1917
Seaforth, St Thomas - 1839 to 1918
Stoneycroft, St Paul – 1916 to 1918
Toxteth Park, St Bede – 1882 to 1918

Lancashire Marriages & Banns
A further 179,000 records have also been added to our collection of Lancashire Banns & Marriages. These new marriage registers add coverage for a selection of new Liverpool parishes, including:

Edge Hill, St Nathaniel - 1871 to 1943
Everton, Emmanuel – 1835 to 1943
Liverpool, St John – 1785 to 1898
Liverpool, St Stephenn the Martyr – 1852 to 1943
Seaforth, St Thomas – 1870 to 1943
Stoneycroft, St Paul - 1916 to 1943
Toxteth Park, St Bede – 1887 to 1943

Lancashire Burials
Over 54,000 new records from the central Liverpool Parish of St John. These new records span the years 1767 to 1883 and will allow you to discover when your Liverpool ancestors were laid to rest.

United States Obituary Notices
A whopping 5.7 million new records are now available to search within our collection of United States Obituary Notices. These records, obtained from the tributes.com and currentobituary.com websites will enable you to discover your ancestor's name, birth and death years as well as the original obituary text.

Scotland, Darien Scheme Investors 1696
Explore the records of investors in The Company of Scotland Trading to Africa and the Indies, also called the Scottish Darien Company. It was funded by investments from people across Scotland. These transcripts will provide you with information on those who invested money and their representatives.

International Records Update – Iceland
To mark Icelandic National Day this week, we have made over 287,000 baptism and marriage records from the land of fire and ice available to search on Findmypast. These two new indexes span the years 1730 to 1920 and will generate hints against your Findmypast Family tree.

British & Irish Newspaper Update
A bumper crop of new and updated titles have been added to the collection this week, with 163,404 new pages added. We have seven brand new titles added this week, covering both England and Scotland. We have three new London publications joining us – the Harrow Midweek, the Middlesex Gazette and the Middlesex Independent – as well as one Scottish title (the Northern Ensign & Weekly Gazette) and one new Essex title (the Essex Guardian). We are also delighted to welcome two specialist sporting titles – namely, the Volunteer Record & Shooting News, which 'warmly supports the interests of the shooting man,' and the Fishing Gazette, a publication which covers all types of fishing across the world. Further to these new arrivals, we have also updated sixteen of our existing titles. Updates this week cover the length and the breadth of the United Kingdom and Ireland, with updates incorporating publications from Aberdeen to Jersey, from Kingston to County Down, from Bristol to Kensington, from Crawley to Strabane.

Further details and links at https://blog.findmypast.co.uk/findmypast-friday-2638931846.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.

Scottish Enlightenment exhibition to open at National Library of Scotland

From the National Library of Scotland (www.nls.uk):

National Library to launch major exhibition on Scottish Enlightenment

A major exhibition exploring the Scottish Enlightenment, Northern Lights, will open at the National Library of Scotland on Friday 21 June.

The exhibition takes a fresh look at one of the most concentrated periods of intellectual enquiry the world has ever seen, a time when polymaths peer-reviewed, challenged and encouraged one another's work through the many social networks available to them.

Household names connected with the Scottish Enlightenment such as David Hume and Adam Smith feature in the exhibition, as well as other figures less commonly associated with it such as Robert Burns and James Watt. A rare first edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica will be on display, as will a first edition of Smith's 'The Wealth of Nations' and countless unique manuscripts.

National Librarian, Dr John Scally, said:

'We have an unparalleled collection of items relating to the Scottish Enlightenment. Indeed, some of the chief figures of the Enlightenment such as David Hume and Adam Ferguson worked at our predecessor institution, the Library of the Faculty of Advocates.

This exhibition tells the story of those who helped shape the world we live in today. These individuals developed radical ideas on theology, the sciences, economics and identity, amid a growing awareness of the world around them.

The exhibition celebrates 18th-century Scotland as a place of enlightened discourse and debate. It was a time of mutual respect and politeness, where people appreciated each other's opinions and values, and further developed their theories on the basis of such conversations. Some may find this of great contrast to the present day, where people are less inclined to expose themselves to other ideas.

We present the world as it was then, and we are in prime position to do so given we were actively collecting items relating to the Enlightenment during the Enlightenment itself. We welcome those whose appetite is whetted by the exhibition to explore these ideas further at our reading rooms, and we will also be examining this period with a contemporary lens in our programme of talks and events.'

Northern Lights is curated by Robert Betteridge, Curator of 18th-Century Printed Collections, and Ralph McLean, Curator of Manuscripts for the Long 18th Century. It explores the Scottish Enlightenment through the display of rare books and manuscripts from 18th-century Scotland, and is grouped into themes: pre-Enlightenment Scotland, moral philosophy and religion, social science and academic innovation, language and literature, art and architecture, science and medicine, and sociability and society.

Northern Lights opens to the public on Friday 21 June and runs until 18 April 2020 at the National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1EW. Entry is free.

(Original news release at https://www.nls.uk/news/press/2019/06/enlightenment-exhibition)

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 Archives of Ireland repository redevelopment by 2040

From the Irish Government:

National Archives’ major €22 million Project Ireland 2040 Repository Redevelopment now underway

Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Josepha Madigan TD today announced that the first phase of enabling works to prepare for the National Archives’ major new Project Ireland 2040 Repository Redevelopment is completed, with much of the State’s papers and documents being moved to temporary storage in order to facilitate the preliminary site works. The project is intended to deliver new purpose-built storage facilities at the National Archives premises in Bishop Street, Dublin 8 and will build-in the potential to develop and construct additional storage in the future. It is funded by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht under Project Ireland 2040.

Did you know?

Over 70,000 boxes of records have been transferred off-site temporarily during the repository redevelopment project while the majority of our records continue to be accessible to the public
This equates to
1,500 pallets
60 articulated lorry loads
Over 2m records
Once completed the Archive Repository will have the capacity to store 250,000 boxes of records

The Minister also complimented the National Archives’ new website (www.nationalarchives.ie) which provides easy online access to services provided by the National Archives to both government and the public, all over the world. Video technology has been incorporated into the new site to facilitate a behind the scenes look at some of the projects currently being undertaken in the National Archives, such as the conservation of archives salvaged from the Public Record Office fire in 1922.

Microsites highlighting the abundant genealogy collections and contributions by the National Archives to the Decade of Centenaries can now be accessed from the new homepage, enabling easier online pathways and showcasing the variety and richness of its records which are available to the public.

Speaking at the launch, Minister Madigan said: “I am delighted to be here in the National Archives to view first-hand the exciting new developments both on-site and online and I look forward to accessing the rich range of records and information at www.nationalarchives.ie”.

(Source: https://www.chg.gov.ie/national-archives-major-e22-million-project-ireland-2040-repository-redevelopment-now-underway/)

The department has a short video accompanying its announcement on its Twitter feed at https://twitter.com/i/status/1141677616694517760


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.

Ancestry unveils over 225 new DNA communities

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

Ancestry Unveils Over 225 New Communities for Members Who Have Ties to France, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand

At Ancestry, we leverage the latest cutting-edge DNA science and technology to deliver detailed historical insights that empower you to uncover more about your family’s origins.

Today, we released over 225 new AncestryDNA communities to help our members who have ties to France, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, empowering them to unlock even more discoveries about their family history. Utilizing our DNA network of over 15 million people, our vast collection of public family trees, and our patented Genetic Communities™ technology, AncestryDNA is able to identify groups of people with shared DNA and determine where their ancestors likely lived over the past 75-300 years.

French American and Canadian Communities

We’ve added 35+ new French American communities and 120+ new Canadian communities, with greater insights about British Canadian, French Canadian, and Acadian settlers. As one example, members with ties to Acadian settlers may learn that their Acadian ancestors played a significant role in Nova Scotia or Louisiana history. Acadians, who once resided in Nova Scotia, fell under British governance in 1713, and between 1755 and 1764, nearly all Acadians were expelled from Nova Scotia and migrated as far south as Louisiana. Many Acadians, or “Cadiens” as they coined themselves, decided to establish new lives in areas near the Mississippi River and New Orleans. It was in these new communities that some Acadians flourished as cotton, wheat, sugar, and tobacco farmers.

United Kingdom Communities

With 73 new United Kingdom communities, you might discover a link to family near Greater London and learn where your ancestors lived during the bustling Industrial Revolution, which began in the late 1700s. Game-changing advances in agriculture and technology spurred countless countryside merchants, bakers, butchers, brewers, tailors, and other rural workers to relocate to opportunity-filled cities, like London, laying the foundation for some of England’s great modern cities.

Australian and New Zealand Communities

We’ve added 14 new communities for descendents of primarily British settlers in Australia and New Zealand. During the late 1700s, Great Britain’s population was skyrocketing. Prisons were reaching capacity and agricultural resources were stretched thin. As a solution, in 1787, 11 ships sailed from England to Australia to establish a new colony. Despite limited resources and drought, British settlers were able to attract a continuous flow of migrants as they founded new communities, cities, and cultures throughout Australia and New Zealand.

We encourage you to view your DNA story again, as you may notice a new community waiting to be explored and shared with your family and other loved ones.

With 15 million people tested, AncestryDNA has the largest consumer DNA network in the world. As new people continue to join our AncestryDNA network and science and technology continue to evolve, we expect that the number and granularity of communities offered will continue to increase. This latest update is just one of many that you can expect on your journey of personal discovery.

A list of all regions can be found at https://www.ancestry.com/cs/ancestrydna-regions-update.

(Original release at https://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/2019/06/19/ancestry-unveils-over-225-new-communities-for-members-who-have-ties-to-france-canada-the-united-kingdom-australia-and-new-zealand/)

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.

MyHeritage DNA kits now on sale in UK Costco stores

From MyHeritage (www.myheritage.com):

MyHeritage DNA kits — our affordable, simple to use, at-home DNA tests to uncover ethnic origins and discover new relatives — are now on sale in 30 different Costco stores across the UK and Iceland.

Costco, the discount warehouse operator, has been operating in the UK since the early 2000s. With a warehouse membership club format, Costco emphasizes value for money offering a wide selection of merchandise, while introducing new and exciting products over time.

MyHeritage DNA kits are one such product, being offered in special new packaging designed specifically for Costco stores:

The increased availability of MyHeritage DNA kits in the UK will bring even more DNA Matches for MyHeritage DNA users all over the world.

(With thanks to Daniel Horowitz - original announcement at https://blog.myheritage.com/2019/06/myheritage-dna-kits-now-on-sale-in-costco-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.

National Library of Scotland Digital Newspaper Collections survey

The National Library of Scotland (www.nls.uk) is currently running an online survey concerning its digital newspaper collections, which will run until Friday July 26th. Here's the blurb:

Reader Survey of Digital Newspaper Collections

The National Library of Scotland is carrying out research into the accessibility and use of Scotland’s newspapers as they are to be found online. The National Library provides access routes to newspaper eResources to registered Library members. Other digital newspaper collections exist elsewhere either providing online open access to view digital newspapers or closed access behind paywalls.

We will be very grateful to you for taking 3-5 minutes to complete 10 survey questions about your experience of using online newspaper collections and how they might be improved. The information you supply will be used to consider how to enhance access routes to newspapers of interest to Scottish audiences.

Any personal information you supply through this survey will be held and used by the National Library of Scotland for the purposes of handling your feedback. For full information about how we will hold and use your personal information, see our privacy page, in particular our fundraising privacy notice and our feedback and complaints notice.

Thank you.

The National Library of Scotland
June 2019

To take part in the survey visit https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/QZT8JCG

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 branding for UK National Archives

The UK's National Archive (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk), based in Kew, England, has changed its brand identity for the first time in 16 years. Here's the announcement:

To mark our commitment to wider public engagement, we have refreshed our brand to introduce a new visual identity created by multi-disciplinary designers HemingwayDesign.

Caroline Ottaway-Searle, Director of Public Engagement at The National Archives, said: ‘Widening our audiences is a key part of The National Archives’ strategy, Archives for Everyone. To reinforce this we are introducing a new visual identity which works impactfully across channels. We chose to work with HemingwayDesign because they demonstrated an understanding of and commitment to our ambition to open up access to the archives.’

Wayne Hemingway, partner at HemingwayDesign, said: ‘Design is about improving things that matter in life and The National Archives definitely matters! It’s a national organisation of real social, historical and cultural importance; fascinating and complex. Our creative response to this was to create a new identity which is intentionally simple to allow for the content of the archives to speak for itself.’

The new identity draws upon a flexible grid system inspired by grids seen across the archival system from record slips and boxes of documents to the architecture on site at Kew – and three core typefaces which can be varied across media. The logo ‘mark’, a box with lettering within, is akin to the official ‘stamp’ marking items in The National Archives collection. The new identity can now be seen in the header and footer across most of our website, including our newly published strategy, Archives for Everyone 2019-23.

The original announcement is at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/news/the-national-archives-rebrands-for-the-first-time-in-16-years/. Not sure what I think of it really!

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.

Further prison records added to TheGenealogist

The following announcement comes from TheGenealogist (www.thegenealogist.co.uk) concerning the records of three English prisons, now available on the site:

Search for Victorian convicts in Milbank, Parkhurst and Pentonville prison records

TheGenealogist has released over 100,000 individuals into their expanding Court & Criminal Records collection. With this release researchers can find the details of ancestors that had broken the law and were incarcerated in the harsh conditions of early Victorian convict prisons - including some that were only children!

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

Over 100,000 individuals in records covering the years 1838 to 1875
Registers of prisoners inside Millbank, Parkhurst (pictured) and Pentonville prisons.
Each prisoner's age on conviction
The marital status and whether the prisoner can read or write
The convict’s former trade
When and where they were convicted, their crime, sentence, where and whence received, previous offences, when removed and to where.

These fully searchable records are from the HO24* Home Office: Prison Registers and Returns 1838-1875 for Millbank, Parkhurst and Pentonville.  (*at TNA)

Read TheGenealogist’s article “Criminal records can reveal ancestors locked up in convict prisons” at: https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2019/criminal-records-can-reveal-ancestors-locked-up-in-convict-prisons-1122/

(With thanks to Nick Thorne)

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.

Cork records added to RootsIreland

From RootsIreland (www.rootsireland.ie):

New records for County Cork

We are delighted to announce that Mallow Heritage Centre have added 1295 records to their database at www.corknortheast.rootsireland.ie.

These records cover marriages for the Roman Catholic parishes of Doneraile (1899-1922); Killavullen (1895-1922); Cloyne (1895-1922) and civil records for Kilshannig (1895-1906).

For more details, please click this link:
http://www.rootsireland.ie/2019/06/new-cork-records-added/

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.

Scottish Peerage volumes and Phillimore's Marriages added to FindmyPast

This week's additions to FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) this week:

Scotland, Scottish Peerages
Explore this comprehensive history of the Scottish peerage between 1716 and 1914. The collection includes nine volumes of The Scots Peerage along with six other titles including a single-volume Jacobite peerage. These PDF images will reveal the Peers name, their year of Peerage, death date, the name of their spouse or spouses and the names of their children.

England, Phillimore Marriage Registers, 1531-1913
Discover your English ancestors in our new, fully searchable collection of Phillimore Marriage Registers. The registers contain approximately 2.3 million names and record marriages in more than 1,500 parishes across 29 English counties.

Kent Baptisms
Just under 20,000 new records covering two new parishes, Fawkham St Mary and Northfleet St Botolph, have been added to our collection of Kent parish baptisms.

Kent Marriages and Banns
Nearly 10,000 records from the parish of Northfleet St Botolph have been added to the collection.

Kent Burials
Over 14,000 new records from the parishes of Fawkham, St Mary and Northfleet, St Botolph are now available to search.

International Records Update – Denmark
Celebrate St Valdemar's day by discovering your Danish ancestors with more than 6.9 million baptisms, marriages and burials. Three new Danish indexes spanning the years 1635 to 1917 are now available to search and will generate hints against your Findmypast family tree.

British & Irish Newspaper Update
This week we have added 48,988 pages to The Archive, with new pages covering both England and Scotland. We're delighted to have updated four of our Scottish titles, with additions spanning the years between 1879 and 1981. We've also updated the Newcastle Journal, the Manchester Evening News, the Lichfield Mercury, the Wells Journal, and finally the Reading Evening Post. One of our Scottish titles to be updated this week is the Aberdeen Evening Express, to which we have added the years 1939-1945 and 1980-1981.

Further details and links at https://blog.findmypast.co.uk/findmypast-friday-june-14th-2638806064.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.

Scottish 2021 Census amendment bill passed

From the National Records of Scotland (www.nrscotland.gov.uk):

Census (Amendment)(Scotland) Bill passed
Thursday, 13 Jun 2019

New questions can be asked – but answering will be voluntary.

New voluntary questions can be asked in Scotland’s 2021 Census on transgender status and history, and sexual orientation, following the passing of the Census (Amendment)(Scotland) Bill.

The Bill will make changes to the 1920 Census Act to enable National Records of Scotland to ask these questions on a voluntary basis. The final proposed questions will be laid before the Scottish Parliament for agreement before the census takes place.

Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs Fiona Hyslop, said:

“Our country has relied on the census for over 200 years and it remains the best way to gather the information government, councils, NHS and other users need.

“This is an important Bill that will enable questions on transgender status and history, and sexual orientation to be asked on a voluntary basis for the very first time, with no penalty for not answering them.

“It is widely accepted that there are currently data gaps on sexual orientation and trans status. Including questions on these demographics in the census will provide valuable data for public service planning purposes and will help public bodies meet duties under the Equality Act 2010.”

Paul Lowe, Registrar General for Scotland, said:

“National Records of Scotland are consulting extensively with groups all over Scotland to develop and test proposed questions to ensure they are supported by the public.“By asking questions which reflect a modern, inclusive Scotland, we will ensure the census will continue to be a vital source of information for decades to come.”

The power to ask new questions on a compulsory basis already exists in the Census Act 1920 but refusing to answer a census question or neglecting to do so is an offence under the section 8 of the Census Act 1920. This Bill allows questions on sexual orientation and trans status and history to be asked on a voluntary basis. These questions are aimed at improving data used for public service planning purposes and will be entirely voluntary.

Background

Scotland’s next census will take place on Sunday 21 March 2021, subject to the approval of the Scottish Parliament.

Plans for Scotland's Census 2021 include details on question development, privacy and confidentiality, collecting and publishing information and the legislative process.

A census is organised in Scotland every 10 years and collects information on households and individuals to inform public services, policy and research.

Scotland's Registrars General have taken responsibility for the country's census since 1861.

(The original release is at https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/news/2019/census-amendment-scotland-bill-passed)

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.

World Archives Project will return late October/early November

I've just noticed that Ancestry's World Archives Project is offline. Here's the message on its page:

World Archives Project

We'll be back soon.

The Ancestry World Archives Project (AWAP) in collaboration with the publisher of Family Tree Maker are working on upgrades to the AWAP program including development of an improved Keying Tool. This site will be offline until the improvements are completed. The AWAP service will be inaccessible and you will not be able to use the Keying Tool application. All your data and results of keying are safe and will be available again once the service is turned back on.

We expect to be up and running with Keying Tool 2.0 in late October or early November. Please check the blog for updates.

This follows a recent beta test for its new platform in March - see https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/2019/03/ancestrys-new-wap-keying-tool-now-online.html.

The project's blog is at https://blogs.ancestry.com/worldarchivesproject/. Its last post from May 19th notes the following:

We are working on getting many more projects in the tool but for now the next two coming soon are New South Wales, Australia, Government Gazettes, 1853-1899 (Part 3) and Bedfordshire, England, Workhouse and Poor Law Records . An announcement will be posted when the projects become available in the keying tool.

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.

South African records added to FamilySearch

FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org) has added two new South African collections to its platform, and updated a third, as follows:

South Africa, Transvaal, Civil Death, 1869-1954
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/2998108
226,877 indexed records
Added indexed records to an existing collection

South Africa, Orange Free State, Probate Records from the Master of the Supreme Court, 1832-1989
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/3040532
325,690 indexed records
New indexed records collection

South Africa, Natal, Passenger Lists, 1860-1911
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/3038342
95,069 indexed records
New indexed records collection

Further releases this week from FamilySearch are available to view via https://media.familysearch.org/new-free-historical-records-on-familysearch-week-of-10-june--2019/

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.

2020 SAFHS Conference in Musselburgh

The Scottish Association of Family History Societies 31st annual conference will be held at The Brunton, Ladywell Way, Musselburgh, EH21 6AA, on Saturday 18th April 2020, from 9am-4.30pm.

Entitled "It's a Sair Fecht!", the price for delegates is £35, for a talks programme with four speakers. For those wishing only to attend the fair, with up to 50 stands, the entry price will be £2, payable at the door.

Further details will soon be available at https://www.safhs.org.uk/conference.php

(With thanks to Lorna Kinnaird via the Scottish Genealogy Network's Facebook page)

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.

Don't be taken in by heir hunting scams

I just received this scam email from the following address: aamendo @ comcast.net:

"Greetings,

"We wish to notify you again that your name was mentioned as heir to the sum of 750,000.00 sterling pounds. In the last testament of our deceased client name now withed. I and my Heir Hunters Debt Recovery Unit team of the detectives, we are assisting distant relatives of people who have died with or without making any official will.

"As the heir hunter's team of detective, the race is now on for us to track down the often distant relatives in line for a windfall. We came across your profile and email while searching through genealogy database. Note as the heir hunters our aim is to assist people claim their lost relative fortune instead of the government or Bank MDS to use the money to in enrich their treasury. Please send an acknowledgment email to enable us process your inheritance with all due verification process.

"I look forward to hearing from you.

"Representative

"Faithfully,

"Admin
"United Kingdom"


God loves a trier, but I know my luck! Don't be taken in.

There are many genuine heir hunting firms out there, benefiting a range of people who would never have known of any entitlement to an inheritance without them. There are also many fraudsters. One of the most prominent legitimate firms is Fraser and Fraser. I have no connection to them at all, nor am I looking for one (heir hunting is not something I have an interest in), but the following video produced by the firm, entitled How to Spot a Scam, is well worth sharing:

The video is also on YouTube at https://youtu.be/lpfQ1C126IE

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.

Don't forget Rootschat!

I've titled this 'Don't forget Rootschat', because that is exactly what I did. Rootschat (www.rootschat.com) is an online genealogy based discussion forum, covering the various countries in Britain and Ireland, and has a vast wealth of expertise.

I made a huge DNA discovery a couple of nights ago which looks like it could break a longstanding brick wall of mine from Northern Ireland (concerning my Watton family from Coleraine). Whilst Googling for additional material to support this discovery an old thread that I subscribed to many years ago about the family on Rootschat popped up, so I posted a short status update. Today I received an incredibly useful follow up, with another member suggesting a book and a resource back home that might assist further. I have now bought the book, and hope to pursue the resource when I can get a chance to visit.

There are many discussion forums online that can equally help, but Rootschat has always been one of the best. I'm looking forward to spending a few more hours on its over the next few days!

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.

Series 16 of UK's WDYTYA line up announced

The line up of slebs for the next UK TV series of Who Do You Think You Are? has been announced:

Kate Winslet, Daniel Radcliffe, Sharon Osbourne, Naomie Harris, Paul Merton, Mark Wright, Katherine Ryan, Jack Whitehall

There is no confirmation yet as to when the series starts other than 'this summer' - the full story is at the WDYTYA magazine website at http://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/news/kate-winslet-and-daniel-radcliffe-star-who-do-you-think-you-are-2019

Further details at https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a27855666/bbc-who-do-you-think-you-are-series-16-daniel-radcliffe-kate-winslet-sharon-osbourne/

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 UK Genealogy adds permanent URLs and Citation Generator

From Free UK Genealogy:

Leading genealogy charity, Free UK Genealogy has announced two new features for family historians that will make returning to records a great deal easier.

At THE Genealogy Show in Birmingham, Pat Reynolds (Executive Director of Free UK Genealogy) announced the addition of two new features on their websites.

FreeCEN (with free access to high quality transcriptions of nineteenth century British censuses) and FreeREG (with high quality transcriptions of registrations of baptism, marriage and burials) now have "friendly" permanent URLs to their records.

Pat said, “This feature will enable you to copy the URL from the browser bar, and paste it into a list of useful URLs - there is just enough information in the URL to help you see who the person you searched for is, when you come back to your work after a break”.

The second new feature makes use of permanent URLs: if you want to cite a FreeCEN or FreeREG transcription in your family tree/academic work or take a note of a record of interest to return to it later, now you can do so using the Citation Generator button. This is located on the far right of the row of buttons after "Next Dwelling" and "New Search" on FreeCEN, and next to the "Export as JSON" button on FreeREG. Clicking there, you get a choice of which format of citation you want to use. As the generator uses the permanent URLs, it means you will always be able to go back to the record without having to search for it again.

These new features have been brought to you by our team of volunteer developers, and in the case of the citation generator, by Sudaraka Jayathilaka who developed this feature as an intern working with us as part of the Google Summer of Code programme. Google Summer of Code is a global programme that brings student developers into open source software development. Students work with an open source organisation on a 3 month programming project during their break from college or university. Sudaraka has written about his experience on his Medium blog. https://medium.com/@sudarakayasindu/how-i-spent-my-summer-with-gsoc-2018-as-an-intern-of-free-uk-genealogy-245f7871a886

Free UK Genealogy is actively recruiting coders with experience in Ruby on Rails and/or Mongo DB, or wanting to learn these as additional skills. Further information can be found at https://www.freeukgenealogy.org.uk/about/volunteer/tech-volunteering-opportunities/.

Free UK Genealogy is also delighted to announce that they have been awarded a grant by the Pelagios Commons which will enable Richard Light, Chair of the charity, to work of the University of Portsmouth in mapping the geopolitical units of Britain - its counties, registration districts, parishes and so on - which vary across time so that they are available as linked data. This will enable the units, which are currently available on visionofbritain.org to be used more widely and more accurately by genealogists and other historians of all kinds.

(With thanks to Denise Colbert)

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.

Digitisation of the Australian Joint Copying Project

I've picked up on the following from the National Library of Australia (https://www.nla.gov.au):

The microfilm produced by the Australian Joint Copying Project has long been a first stop for those researching local or family history. The 10,400 microfilm reels however have been difficult to access even for those living near libraries holding the microfilm let alone those in rural areas. The content itself can often be dense and difficult to locate relevant information.

The National Library of Australia has begun a new project to address these problems. Thanks to the Australian Public Service Modernisation Fund the AJCP Online Project will digitise the 7.5 million records captured on the original AJCP microfilm, delivering them online free of charge to all.

All of the original paper handbooks and finding aids are now available and searchable online with added and enhanced content and indexing making it easier to locate the information you want.

The AJCP was a project to microfilm vast swathes of material held at the National Archives in England, and other institutions, that concerned its former colonies in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, with materials from 1560 to 1984. As the announcement notes, the work is ongoing and will be completed by mid 2020:

The AJCP is now available online for all Australians wherever they are. You can search and access the records in a variety of ways including the AJCP Portal, Trove, and the National Library of Australia Catalogue. The AJCP Online project concludes in June 2020 and will release new content each month.

The digitised records, and catalogued entries awaiting digitisation, can now be searched for and consulted freely online at https://www.nla.gov.au/content/australian-joint-copying-project.

The full announcement is at https://www.nla.gov.au/stories/blog/preservation/2019/06/06/australian-joint-copying-project-reimagined.

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 adds merchant seamen crew lists

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

England & Wales Merchant Navy Crew Lists 1861-1913
Over 135,000 new Portsmouth records have been added to our collection of Merchant Navy Crew Lists. The records document the role and employment of each member of the crew. Individuals would 'sign on' when they began their employment, either at the start of the voyage, or when they joined the ship at one of its ports of call. They 'signed off' at the end of the voyage or, if they chose not to finish, at a port of call.

Greater London Burial Index
Over 28,000 miscellaneous records have been added to the Greater London Burial Index. Covering the years between 1399 and 1992, this vast index is an excellent resource for all those with ancestors in the greater London area. Records may reveal your relative's name, age, occupation, address, religious denomination, death year, burial date, and burial location.

New Jersey Marriage Index, 1901-2016 Image Browse
Browse through over 300 volumes of the New Jersey marriage index from 1901 to 2016. Containing well over 200,000 individual records, this collection will enable you to discover who your ancestors married, when they married them and where.

UK Electoral Registers & Companies House Directors 2002-2019
Over 1.6 million new additions are now available. Within this collection you can search registers of UK directors whose companies are registered with Companies House along with the UK's electoral registers beginning from 2002.

International Records Update – Sweden
Celebrate the National Day of Sweden by unearthing your Swedish roots. Over 12 million Swedish baptisms, marriages and burials are now dating back to 1611 are now available to search on Findmypast. These records will also generate hints against your Findmypast family tree. Our Swedish collection consist of the following indexes:

Sweden Baptism Index 1611-1920
Sweden Burial Index 1649-1920
Sweden Marriage Index 1630-1920

British & Irish Newspaper Update
This week we have added 86,414 new pages to our collection this week, with updates to six of our existing titles. We have updates to two of our new titles – specialist countryman's newspaper Field and West Midlands title the Sandwell Evening Mail – as well as updates to four of our other titles. We have added a long run of late nineteenth century pages to the Acton Gazette, and there are also updates to the Reading Evening Post, the Tottenham & Edmonton Weekly Herald, and finally the Mansfield & Sutton Recorder.

Full details and links at https://blog.findmypast.co.uk/findmypast-friday-2638717527.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.