Tuesday 31 December 2019

Latest FamilySearch additions

There are some new indexed records added to FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org) this week concerning England and Ireland, and one UK collection:

Ireland, The Treble Almanac 1812 (FMP) - 3rd Party Index
14,074 new indexed records

England, Herefordshire Bishop's Transcripts, 1583-1898
2,263 added indexed records to an existing collection

England, Herefordshire Bishop's Transcripts, 1583-1898
1,369 added indexed records to an existing collection

England, Northumberland, Parish Registers, 1538-1950
557,993 added indexed records to an existing collection

England, Oxfordshire Parish Registers 1538-1904
474 added indexed records to an existing collection

England, Oxfordshire Parish Registers 1538-1904
1,471 added indexed records to an existing collection

England, Yorkshire Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 1613-1887
2,074 added indexed records to an existing collection

England, Yorkshire Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 1613-1887
815 added indexed records to an existing collection

United Kingdom, Waterloo Roll Call 1815
3,999 new indexed records

For direct links, and other overseas records releases this week, visit https://media.familysearch.org/new-free-historical-records-on-familysearch-week-of-30-december-2019/

Chris

Order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Scottish-Ancestry-through-Church-and-State-Records-Paperback/p/16848. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

MyHeritage achievements in 2019

From MyHeritage (www.myheritage.com):

Wrapping Up a Fantastic 2019

The end of 2019 marks the close of a memorable decade for us at MyHeritage — a decade of growth and innovation. We are proud of all that we’ve accomplished and can’t wait to reach new and exciting milestones in the coming decade.

Over the past 10 years, we’ve built up a treasure trove of global historical records, introduced MyHeritage DNA tests for genealogy and for health, signed up 69 million users, added 3.07 billion family tree profiles, acquired 7 companies, welcomed 406 employees, and so much more.

2019 was in itself a year of significant accomplishments. Here at MyHeritage, it was also a year of health. We have taken active steps to support our users in making choices toward a healthy and fulfilling life. By understanding your past through genetic genealogy and understanding your potential health risks, you can make informed decisions that may have a beneficial impact on your future and that of your family.

Here are some stats from the past year:


For the full story of the company's 2019 achievements, month by month, see https://blog.myheritage.com/2019/12/wrapping-up-a-fantastic-2019/

Chris

Order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Scottish-Ancestry-through-Church-and-State-Records-Paperback/p/16848. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

FamilySearch achievements in 2019

From FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org):

FamilySearch 2019 Genealogy Highlights

FamilySearch International, today published its graphical year-in-review and highlights some of its 2019 achievements—like its 125th anniversary as an organization and the 20th anniversary of popular free website, FamilySearch.org. Since its establishment in a small upstairs office in Salt Lake City, Utah, as the Genealogical Society of Utah in 1894, it has become the world’s largest genealogy organization, now known as FamilySearch International. Its ongoing dedication to helping individuals and families make fun discoveries and connections, plays a vital role in the growing consumer interest in and demand for family history-related services.

In 2019, FamilySearch added nearly one billion searchable records and images of free, historical documents online to the billions already available, added new local facilities around the world to assist in personal research, provided support to customer requests and offered millions of online record hints to users of FamilySearch.org.


Family Tree

FamilySearch received 169.5 million website visitors and tallied 13.9 million registered users. The FamilySearch Family Tree expanded in 2019 as 3.5 million contributors added 72 million more people to the more than 1.2 billion people in the Family Tree. Sources added by users help confirm the family connections on the tree, and 262.5 million sources were added last year bringing the total to 1.4 billion. The numbers continue to grow as records become available and more people add their family histories to the free, community-based tree.

To help users locate sometimes-obscure records, FamilySearch has provided 2.4 billion search hints since the program began. In 2019, 40 million personalized hints were offered to help easily connect new sources to users’ ancestors in the tree, and the user process to evaluate and attach those sources has been simplified.

Searchable Records

Over 123 million name-searchable records were added in 2019, and 832.5 million new images of historical records were published and made accessible in the Catalog Viewer. Nearly 7.6 million scanned images from published historical bookswere also added, totaling more than 6.3 billion searchable records and images available online. To make this vast collection of records easily searchable, 318,000 volunteers clocked 10.9 million indexing hours in 2019 to add 123.6 million more indexed records. Indexed records now total 4.65 billion.

Help

Personal help is available at 5,190 local FamilySearch Family History Centers dotting the world. The Ogden Utah FamilySearch Center offering some of FamilySearch’s signature interactive discovery experiences was dedicated. Sixty-six new centers were added in 2019, and volunteers provided 4.5 million hours of service to FamilySearch in the Family History Library and family history centers and in many other operational support capacities. In its commitment to providing inspiring personal discovery experiences, FamilySearch resolved over one million customer support cases in 2019. The Family History Library also expanded its hours of operation to include Sunday hours and later hours on Mondays.

Discovery Experiences

True to its mission to create fun personal and family discovery experiences and connections, FamilySearch hosted RootsTech 2019 in Salt Lake City. More than 15,000 in-person visitors attended this four-day event. For the first time in its history, the popular event held a convention outside the United States. This event was held in London, England (see RootsTech London) and saw 10,000 attendees. Combined the two events had 81,000 online views. Family Discovery Day, a special day-long event integrated into RootsTech, attracted 23,500 visitors.

New interactive discovery experiences previously found only in select FamilySearch venues are now available at FamilySearch.org.

Memories

Family history is about more than just names, dates, and places—it is about the people those facts represent and their personal stories. Over half a million people added more than 8.75 million photos, stories, and recordings of their ancestors to the FamilySearch Family Tree this year using the FamilySearch Memories feature and mobile app. These new additions bring the total family memories preserved and shared to over 40 million.

Other Notables

In 2019, FamilySearch added a much-anticipated innovation that now enables users to make name corrections to its indexes. The ability to correct additional types of indexing errors besides names are coming in the near future.

A new Thank-a-Volunteer feature was added in 2019. It enables you to express gratitude to those FamilySearch volunteers who made it possible for you to make new ancestor discoveries through indexed, searchable records.

Thanks to an update to the FamilySearch Family Tree mobile app, you can now see how you are related to other FamilySearch users. All you have to do is opt-in, and you can see how you and another user (if he or she has also opted-in) are related.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of which FamilySearch is a fully-owned nonprofit subsidiary, donated $2 million dollars to the International African American Museum (IAAM) Center for Family History. The donation will help support the creation of the IAAM Center for Family History.

David Rencher, chief genealogical officer for FamilySearch and director of the Family History Library, received the Certificate of Appreciation from the American Society of Genealogists for extraordinary contributions to the discipline of genealogy at its annual meeting on November 2 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Rencher received the rarely awarded accolade “in recognition of his vigorous and visionary efforts to serve the aims of scholarly genealogy at the Family History Library and at FamilySearch.”

In 2019, the FamilySearch Research Wiki, a treasure-trove of genealogical expertise, advice, and insights, for family history enthusiasts, published its 90,000th article.


The original press rleease is at https://media.familysearch.org/familysearch-2019-genealogy-highlights/

Chris

Order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Scottish-Ancestry-through-Church-and-State-Records-Paperback/p/16848. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Happy New Year for 2020!

So that's another year passed, and we're heading into 2020 - thanks to all who have read this blog and apologies for occasional disruptions in service, it has been yet another fairly busy year!

In addition to having two books published, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (Second Edition) and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records, I have had one of my busiest years ever on the client work front, with many fascinating commissions including a house history for a property in Ayrshire dating back to the mid-17th century, and several Brexit related queries concerning the location of Irish records for passport applications.

I have also led four Scottish themed courses for Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd (www.pharostutors.com) throughout the year, written countless articles for publications in Scotland, England and Canada, and given many talks, including one in Manchester and another at my former university in Glasgow (Strathclyde), which was a lot of fun.


In addition, I spent a couple of months in the middle of the year working yet again as a caseworker, this time for a member of the UK parliament, following last year's 12 month stint working in a similar role for a member of our Scottish Parliament. This is a job which at times can be emotionally demanding in dealing with some very serious problems faced by people in everyday life, and as we move into 2020, I would again point you to a post I put up before Christmas with links to many organisations and people in Scotland and rUK who can help in crisis situations – you can find this at https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/2019/12/support-helplines-over-festive-period.html. (In fact, I might just add a new page to the top of this blog and make that a more permanent feature.) On the personal front I have been caught up for the last two years in a fairly horrendous situation of my own, which has certainly taken its toll, but which should thankfully be hopefully resolved in the next few months. Partly as a consequence of this I have recently moved to Irvine, and am thoroughly enjoying life in my new home, with my family and with many good friends nearby.

So, 2020 then, what's the craic?!!! Well, I have recently turned down the offer of another caseworker position, which I may well regret, and have instead decided to go full pelter again on the genie front, which I certainly won't! On that front, I am currently proofing my next book, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, to be released in April, and am already in the middle of writing my next book, Sharing Your Family History on the Internet, which is turning into a lot more fun than I was expecting!

These will be followed by two Irish themed books, one specifically for the north and the other on an all island based subject which I hope will be of interest. The first of these will be delivered towards the end of this year, for publication in 2021, with the next on the cards for writing in 2021.

On the research front I have a few clients ongoing through my research service (www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk), with the Christmas rush as a recent priority for some clients meaning a few delays for others, which I will try to resolve in the next month or so. One thing I am hoping to push a bit more is house history work in Scotland, because the records are just so much fun to dissect, but I'll be predominantly continuing with Scottish based family history research, with occasional forays into Ireland. Check my website for rates, T&Cs, etc.

I am also heading back overseas for the first time since 2017, and then some! In July I am very much looking forward to visiting Illinois for the Celtic Connections conference; you can see my list of talks at www.celtic-connections.org/ccc_speakers.html, along with a note of other speakers' offerings - it's going to be a great event! Then in September I am heading back to Kelowna, British Columbia, for a conference organised by Kelowna & District Genealogical Society (www.kdgs.ca). I have not spoken to this society before, but I did fly to Kelowna on my way to an event in Vernon a few years back, and it's a wonderful part of the world.

Then in October comes the biggie, where I will be teaching the week long Irish strand of the ISBGFH's 'British Institute' in Salt Lake City, which will be fun. Keep an eye out on the society's site at https://isbgfh.org for further details in due course. Although I have been working as a genie now for 15 years, you may be surprised to know that this will be my first trip to Salt Lake City as a genealogist – the one and only time I have been there before was when working on a documentary series for Scottish Television in 1999, so I am finally hoping to work out the lay of the land there in genealogy terms this time. I am also currently discussing participation in a couple of other major events, which should hopefully be confirmed and announced soon.

Also on the tuition front I will be continuing with the two Pharos Scottish themed courses (originally written by Sherry Irvine), Scottish Research Online and Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the OPRs, with the dates listed at www.pharostutors.com/coursesmainsd.php. And I'll keep trying to bring you news as and when I get it! (If you want to share any stories, or announce events you might be organising in Scotland, the rest of the UK or Ireland, drop me a note at chrismpaton @ outlook.com, I'm only too happy to oblige).

All that is left for me to say now is to enjoy Hogmanay, and I will see you on the other side - Happy New Year / Bliadhna Mhath Ùr / Athbhliain Faoi Mhaise Daoibh!


PS: Thanks to MyHeritage for my Christmas blanket!

Chris

Order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Scottish-Ancestry-through-Church-and-State-Records-Paperback/p/16848. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

DNA Painter adds Cluster Auto Painter tool

From Jonny Perl at DNA Painter (https://dnapainter.com):

I’m pleased to introduce Cluster Auto Painter (CAP), an early step towards automated chromosome mapping. CAP aims to help you dig deeper into your DNA test results by letting you annotate and examine clusters of matches in a chromosome map. 


It's...complicated! But Jonny's yer man, he can explain it all much better in his blog post at  https://dnapainter.com/blog/cluster-auto-painter-unravel-your-dna-test-results/!

The tool itself is available at https://dnapainter.com/tools/cap.

Chris

Order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Scottish-Ancestry-through-Church-and-State-Records-Paperback/p/16848. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Sunday 29 December 2019

December additions to British Newspaper Archive

The latest releases over the last 30 days on the British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk):

Truth
1904-1905, 1908-1909, 1911-1924

Western Evening Herald
1895, 1900-1920, 1922-1924

Smethwick Telephone
1884-1888, 1890-1896, 1898-1909, 1911-1931

Sport (Dublin)
1897-1924, 1926-1928, 1930-1931

Aberdeen Weekly News
1879-1886, 1888-1892

Witness (Edinburgh)
1842-1845, 1848, 1854, 1861

Daily Review (Edinburgh)
1884, 1886

Newtownards Chronicle & Co. Down Observer
1873-1874

Liberty
1894-1896

Warrington Evening Post
1877, 1879

Warrington Standard and Lancashire and Cheshire Advertiser
1859

Warrington Advertiser
1865, 1877, 1879, 1884, 1887, 1889

Warrington Daily Guardian
1891

South Wales Gazette
1888, 1890-1893, 1895, 1899-1969

Christian News
1849, 1852, 1854-1856, 1858, 1868

Warrington Times
1859

Newcastle Evening Chronicle
1926

Musselburgh News
1939

Rochdale Observer
1871-1896, 1898-1899, 1910

Leven Advertiser & Wemyss Gazette
1897-1924, 1928-1939

Ayrshire Post
1882-1889

Stirling Observer
1871, 1874-1877, 1879-1892

Hawick Express
1876, 1879-1884, 1886-1891

Eskdale and Liddesdale Advertiser
1882-1883, 1885-1889

Arbroath Herald and Advertiser for the Montrose Burghs
1956-1959

Daily Gazette for Middlesbrough
1908-1909, 1913, 1919

Irvine Herald
1881, 1883-1884, 1886, 1888-1889

Dundee Weekly News
1886

Surrey Advertiser
1873

Galloway News and Kirkcudbrightshire Advertiser
1879-1886, 1889-1891

Highland News
1883, 1900-1902

Cheshire Observer
1950

Mid-Lothian Journal
1884-1931

Midlothian Advertiser
1906-1949

Leith Burghs Pilot
1875, 1879-1891, 1900-1902

Caithness Courier
1875-1876, 1878, 1880-1881, 1883-1892

Western Mail
1901, 1907-1910

Oxford Journal
1901-1911

Ashby-de-la-Zouch Gazette
1876, 1878-1888

Mansfield & Sutton Recorder
1981-1984

Newcastle Journal
1927-1928

Heywood Advertiser
1855, 1865-1867, 1885, 1894, 1897, 1960-1973

Fife News
1879-1880, 1888-1889

North Briton
1862, 1865, 1873, 1875, 1877-1879

Fishing Gazette
1877-1879, 1882-1887, 1899-1900

Kilmarnock Herald and North Ayrshire Gazette
1912, 1914, 1917, 1919, 1922-1923, 1927

Northern Chronicle and General Advertiser for the North of Scotland
1906

Hammersmith & Shepherds Bush Gazette
1964, 1967-1968, 1982-1984

Kensington Post
1977

Chris

Order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Scottish-Ancestry-through-Church-and-State-Records-Paperback/p/16848. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Friday 27 December 2019

Brexit sees 900,000 Irish passport applications in 2019

One of the outcomes of the utter insanity that is the current Brexit process is the significant rise in the number of passport applications for EU countries by UK residents. In 2019, some 900,000 people in Northern Ireland and Britain applied for an Irish passport for the first time, as outlined in the Belfast Telegraph today at https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/brexit/brexit-sees-record-900000-applying-for-irish-passport-38814356.html.

Indeed, yours truly spent many years prior to the Brexit vote dithering about whether to apply for an Irish passport myself, having spent an eternity struggling to define my identity as someone born in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. But when the MP Jo Cox was assassinated on June 16th 2016 by a right wing lunatic just prior to the Brexit vote (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Jo_Cox), I concluded that Brexit was indeed sadly going to happen, and duly applied a week before the day of the vote for Irish passports for myself and my two sons, so that we could join my wife in holding one (she being from the Republic). Brexit was not the only factor in making such a decision, but it was the final push needed, and I now predominantly travel on my Irish passport, though retain a UK passport and dual nationality as an interim measure here in Scotland.

My experience in how I obtained an Irish passport is outlined in a series of blog posts starting at http://britishgenes.blogspot.com/2016/06/claiming-irish-passport-1.html. The RootsIreland website also has a help page on how to claim an Irish passport at http://www.rootsireland.ie/help/help-civil-records/how-to-apply-for-an-irish-passport/.

If born in Ireland prior to January 2005, or if the child of a parent born in Ireland, the process is relatively straightforward, with applicants already considered to be Irish citizens (whether from the north or the south). But be advised that if applying through a grandparent, you will need to register first in the Republic of Ireland's Register of Foreign Births - see https://www.dfa.ie/citizenship/born-abroad/registering-a-foreign-birth/. This is an expensive process (€278 if aged over 18), but something I also discovered on behalf of a friend just a couple of weeks ago is that the time that it takes to do so is now between nine months and a year. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade link above provides further details - just be forewarned!


Chris

Order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Scottish-Ancestry-through-Church-and-State-Records-Paperback/p/16848. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Next two Scottish courses from Pharos Teaching

The next two Scottish genealogy themed courses from Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd (www.pharostutors.com), as taught by yours truly, are scheduled as follows:

Scottish Research Online (102)
www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102

Scotland was first to have major records digitized and offer indexes and images online. It has also been a leader in placing resource information on the World Wide Web. This course describes the major sites, the types of information and data that they offer, the forms in which databases are presented and how to analyze results. You will learn to lay the foundations for searching a family, how to select best resources and what to do next either online or in libraries and archives.

Course Length: 5 Weeks
Start Date: 02 Mar 2020
Cost: £49.99


Scotland 1750 - 1850 - Beyond the OPRs (302)
www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302

This is an intermediate level course in Scottish family history for those who are going back beyond 1850. You should have some experience with research in the Old Parochial Registers of the Church of Scotland and in using major websites for Scottish research. This course discusses sources that fill the gap when the OPRs are uninformative or missing; for example, records of parish and town administration, occupations, land transfer and taxation. Using these records involves several different locations. You will learn how to check online finding aids and how to find the most effective way to obtain records that may be online, in print, on CD or microfilm. This is the second course on Scottish research. If you have not taken Scottish Reserach Online please check its description.

Course Length: 5 Weeks
Start Date: 04 May 2020
Cost: £49.99

For further information on the course content, reviews, and how to sign up, please click on the links.

I hope to see you there!

Chris

Order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Scottish-Ancestry-through-Church-and-State-Records-Paperback/p/16848. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Thursday 26 December 2019

Scottish Jewish Heritage Centre Manager position advertised

A new post that may be of interest to the right candidate!

JOB DESCRIPTION: SCOTTISH JEWISH HERITAGE CENTRE MANAGER

Salary range £23,000 to £25,000, for 28 hours per week, depending on experience and qualifications. This is a permanent post.

Job purpose: The Heritage Centre Manager will take forward the launch of the Scottish
Jewish Heritage Centre (SJHC) including the Scottish Holocaust-era Study Centre and successfully establish the day-to-day running of the Centre and contribute to its ongoing development.

The SJHC is a partnership project by the Scottish Jewish Archives Centre (SJAC) and Garnethill Synagogue Preservation Trust (GSPT) designed to broaden and increase public access to the historic synagogue, to SJAC displays and to SJAC’s important Holocaust-era collections.

Location: The Heritage Centre Manager will be based in Garnethill Synagogue where an office is being created.

Employer: The Heritage Centre Manager will be employed by the SJHC, which will be managed by a SCIO set up by the project partners for this purpose. The SJHC line manager will be the chair of the SJHC SCIO. The SCIO will take on operational management following the launch of the SJHC.

In advance of the SCIO being in place, during the Delivery Phase, the Heritage Centre Manager will be recruited and employed by the project Working Group. In the initial stages the SJHC Manager will be line managed by the Delivery Phase Project Coordinator. In the initial stages the funding for the SJHC manager will be handled by SJAC Hon Treasurer who is managing the project funds.

Working hours: Working hours to be agreed are for 28 hours per week. Post holder working hours will exclude the Jewish Sabbath and Festivals, which will replace some statutory holidays. Post holder hours will include some Sundays and evenings which will be essential for the access of attendees at Weekend Events and Activities and other events and/or meetings.

For further details visit this link.

Chris

Order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Scottish-Ancestry-through-Church-and-State-Records-Paperback/p/16848. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Ulster Historical Foundation half price access to BMD records

From the Ulster Historical Foundation (www.ancestryireland.com):

50% off all our birth, marriage & death records

Most people wait until the new year to begin new projects or set new goals for themselves, but why wait? TODAY is as good a time as any to start (or continue) that special (or troublesome) family history research project.

As part of our Boxing Day sale all 2 million pay-per-view birth, marriage & death records on AncestryIreland are HALF PRICE!

Visit our website to take advantage of this limited time offer, which must end 03 January 2020!

Chris

Order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Scottish-Ancestry-through-Church-and-State-Records-Paperback/p/16848. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

TheGenealogist adds georeferenced Colour Tithe Maps and colour tithe maps for Cumberland

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

Press Release: TheGenealogist Enhances Map Explorer™
Powerful new map tool now helps trace ancestors land or property with Colour Tithe Maps

TheGenealogist’s latest innovation to help you find an ancestor’s property and watch the landscape change over time has now been enhanced by the addition of georeferenced Colour Tithe Maps.

TheGenealogist has also today released colour tithe maps for Cumberland - you can search these as normal or browse them on Map Explorer™.


Joining the georeferenced Lloyd George Data Layer, Headstones and War Memorials, the Colour Tithe Maps are a significant addition to the ever-expanding Map Explorer™.

TheGenealogist’s Map Explorer™ displays maps for historical periods up to the modern day.
Colour Tithe maps have now been added to this innovative tool, linked to the apportionment books, enabling researchers to locate where their ancestors lived or worked

TheGenealogist has linked these highly detailed maps to the apportionment books which provide researchers with the details of the plots, their owners and their occupiers at the time that the survey was taken in Victorian times, from large estate owners to occupiers of small plots such as a homestead or a cottage. These make the maps easier to understand as the streams, rivers, lakes, ponds, houses and trees are often highlighted in different colours.

These colour maps now cover the counties of Warwickshire, Rutland, Huntingdonshire, Buckinghamshire, Middlesex, Northumberland, Surrey, Westmorland, the City, North and East Ridings of Yorkshire along with the newly launched Cumberland.

Subscribers to TheGenealogist’s Diamond membership can now view the latest colour or grayscale maps when using the Tithe & Landowner records.

TheGenealogist’s powerful Map Explorer™ has been developed to view these georeferenced historic maps overlaid on top of modern background maps including those from Ordnance Survey and Bing Street maps, as well as a satellite view. With the Map Explorer™, you can search for an ancestor's property, discovering its site, even if the road has changed or is no longer there.

Alternatively, using the Master Search on TheGenealogist, having found your forebear listed in the Tithe Records you can click through to the Map Explorer™ which will also show War Memorials or cemeteries on the various maps.

See our article: https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2019/exploring-the-island-at-twickenham-1218/

Find out more at TheGenealogist.co.uk/maps/

(With thanks to Nick Thorne)

Chris

Order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Scottish-Ancestry-through-Church-and-State-Records-Paperback/p/16848. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Salford records added to Deceased Online

From Deceased Online (www.deceasedonline.com):

Salford records available on Deceased Online from Agecroft, Peel Green, and Swinton

Three cemeteries and two crematoria from Salford in Greater Manchester are available to view on www.deceasedonline.com, with records dating from 1879. Agecroft, Peel Green, and Swinton Cemeteries, and Agecroft and Peel Green Crematoria are available now. Their records comprise digital scans of the original burial and cremation registers, cemetery maps showing the section in which the grave is located, and grave details for each of the graves and their occupants.

Agecroft Cemetery

Agecroft Cemetery opened in 1903 with the name of Salford Northern Cemetery, due to a pressing need for burial space as the nearby Weaste Cemetery was near to capacity. In 1957 the Non-Conformist chapel was converted to a crematorium. In the grounds at Agecroft stands a beautiful Victorian mortuary chapel with a clock tower, now derelict and listed as a heritage building at risk. Peel Green Cemetery was opened in 1879 and was originally known as the Eccles Cemetery. The crematorium in the grounds opened in 1955 and, as with Agecroft, utilised the old Non-Conformist chapel.

Swinton Cemetery opened in 1886 and is the resting place of Henry George Crandon VC. Crandon enjoyed a distinguished military career and served all over the world, including in India, South Africa, France, and Egypt. He earned the Victoria Cross in Springbok Laagte when he and Private Berry were ambushed by forty Boer commandos whilst scouting ahead. Private Berry was shot in the hand and shoulder and his horse was injured but Private Crandon braved the bullets to ride back for him, placing Private Berry on to his own horse and leading the horse to safety on foot. With Berry safe and out of range, Crandon returned fire until the main body arrived. Crandon was buried with full military honours in Swinton Cemetery in 1953, at the age of 78.

Salford cemeteries, among many others in Greater Manchester, provide the final resting place of many people killed in the Manchester Blitz of Christmas 1940. It's estimated that 215 people were killed and 910 injured in Salford during the Luftwaffe raids of 22nd and 23rd of December, and more than 8,000 homes damaged or destroyed. The Greater Manchester Blitz Victims website, dedicated to the memory of those who died, details a total of 1,428 civilians from the Greater Manchester District, Salford included. Dr John Dudgeon Giles OBE and his wife Annie were among those killed when Hope Hospital was bombed, after Dr Giles had worked hard to transform Hope hospital "from a poor law institution to a well equipped medical centre." Dr and Mrs Giles were buried in Agecroft Cemetery. More information about some of the people killed in the Greater Manchester air raids can also be found at the Greater Manchester Blitz Victims' sister site, Trafford War Dead.

Coming Soon:
We're working hard on processing more than 330,000 burial records for Salford's Weaste Cemetery, which will be coming to Deceased Online in the near future.

(With thanks to Deceased Online)

Chris

Order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Scottish-Ancestry-through-Church-and-State-Records-Paperback/p/16848. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Tuesday 24 December 2019

Pre-order Finding Your Scottish Ancestors by Kirsty Wilkinson

A quick plug for a pal with a new book on the way!

Finding Your Scottish Ancestors: Techniques for Solving Genealogy Problems
Kirsty F Wilkinson
(Robert Hale Ltd, to be published 27 Jan. 2020)

Tracing family history has become increasingly popular over the last few decades and the availability of many records online means that those fortunate enough to have Scottish ancestors can easily access many of the sources they need to build their family tree. However, as research progresses, most family historians will eventually hit the dreaded 'brick wall' and find themselves unable to proceed further.

This book provides a wealth of information, advice and techniques to help solve these genealogy problems and gives family historians the tools they need to track down even the most elusive forebears. Contents include: sources for Scottish family history research, both traditional archives and online resources; techniques for searching and interpreting genealogical records; planning and recording research and, finally, common genealogy problems and their solutions.

The book is available to pre-order in the UK at www.amazon.co.uk/Finding-Your-Scottish-Ancestors-Techniques/dp/0719830532/

COMMENT: Kirsty is an expert genealogist based in Edinburgh who absolutely knows her stuff - I'm very much looking forward to seeing this when it comes out next month!

Chris

Order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Scottish-Ancestry-through-Church-and-State-Records-Paperback/p/16848. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Merry Christmas from The GENES Blog!

Merry Christmas everyone, have a great festive break, and remember to ask every relative every genealogical question you can think of between mouthfuls of turkey!


The festive period can be difficult for some, so if you need assistance with any personal circumstances, you'll see a list of some phone numbers that might offer help and advice in my previous blog post at https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/2019/12/support-helplines-over-festive-period.html.

We'll catch up again soon!

Chris

Order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Scottish-Ancestry-through-Church-and-State-Records-Paperback/p/16848. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Monday 23 December 2019

Support helplines over the festive period

A reminder that if you are struggling this holiday season in Scotland, and in the wider UK, that help is always available, whether for emotional support, emergency support, debt advice, and more. The following are details of agencies that can help:

BREAK THE SILENCE (Scotland)
A local support to 16+ where self-harming is linked to adult survivors of child sexual abuse.
Info@breakthesilence.org.uk
0141 2292580 or 0131 4752380

PENUMBRA (Scotland)
A Scottish voluntary organisation working within the field of mental health.
www.penumbra.org.uk

CHOOSE LIFE (Scotland)
A National strategy and action plan to prevent suicide in Scotland.
www.chooselife.net
08000684141

PAPYRUS
Working towards prevention of young suicide.
www.papyrus-uk.org

BREATHING SPACE (Scotland)
A free, confidential phone helpline for those experiencing low mood/depression. Mon-Thurs (6pm -2am) / Fri-Sun (6pm -6am).
0800838587
www.breathingspacescotland.co.uk

YOUNG MINDS
Info about young people’s mental health.
08008025544 (parent helpline)
www.youngminds.org.uk

MIND (UK)
www.mind.org.uk
0300 123 3393
(Closed Christmas Day and Boxing Day)

SAMARITANS (UK and Ireland)
Provide a 24 hour confidential helpline for those in crisis or who may need to talk.
116 123 (free, UK and Ireland)
www.samaritans.org

HOPELINE UK
Prevention of Young Suicide
https://papyrus-uk.org/hopelineuk
0800 068 4141

CRUSE (UK)
Bereavement helpline
https://www.cruse.org.uk
0808 808 1677

SHELTER (UK)
Help and advice if homeless
www.shelter.org.uk
0808 800 4444

CHILDREN 1st (Scotland)
www.children1st.org.uk
08000 28 22 33

NSPCC (UK)
www.nspcc.org.uk
0808 800 5000

CHILDLINE (UK)
www.childline.org.uk
0800 1111

RAPE CRISIS SCOTLAND
www.rapecrisisscotland.org.uk
08088 01 03 02

RAPE CRISIS (England and Wales)
https://rapecrisis.org.uk
0808 802 9999

AGE UK
https://www.ageuk.org.uk
0800 055 6112

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (UK)
www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk
0800 9177 650

SILVERLINE (UK)
Help for Older People
www.thesilverline.org.uk
0800 470 8090

NATIONAL DEBTLINE (UK)
0808 808 4000
www.nationaldebtline.org
(NB: "Our phone lines and webchat will be closing at 12:30 on Christmas Eve and will open again at 9:00 on 2nd January 2020.")

CITIZENS ADVICE (UK)
www.citizensadvice.org.uk
NB: Select relevant nation from home page


Chris

Order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Scottish-Ancestry-through-Church-and-State-Records-Paperback/p/16848. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Saturday 21 December 2019

New AncestryDNA filters

I'm not sure if or when this was announced, I've only just noticed it - Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) has updated its filtering tools for DNA results. According to a pop-up tour "You can use multiple filters at a time, including a new filter for shared DNA, to find matches more quickly."

One option that seems potentially useful is to be able to filter down searches through a custom centimorgan range.

You can also select more than one group into which you may have placed your ancestors, which could be equally handy.

I'll have a play over Christmas and see if anything emerges!


Chris

Order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Scottish-Ancestry-through-Church-and-State-Records-Paperback/p/16848. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Friday 20 December 2019

FindmyPast adds new logo and Northumberland records

FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) has a new logo and homepage design. In addition, the following records have been released this week:

Northumberland Baptisms
Over 25,000 new records covering 25 parishes across the county have been added to our collection of Northumberland Baptisms. The amount of information in each record may vary, but most will include a combination of your ancestor’s birth year, baptism date, baptism place and parents’ names.

Northumberland Marriages
Over 28,000 new additions from 15 parishes are now available to search. Each transcript will reveal a combination of the birth years, residences, marriage date fathers’ names and witnesses’ names for both the bride and groom.

Northumberland Burials
Search over 98,000 new records added from 3 parishes to uncover your Northumberland roots. These transcripts will reveal when your ancestor died, their age at death and where they were laid to rest. Some records may even include an image of the original document or include the names of next of kin.

Northumberland and Durham Memorial Inscriptions
More than an thousand new inscriptions from 7 burial sites across the county are also available to search. Memorial inscriptions are an excellent resource for family history. They include the full epitaph found on your ancestor’s burial monument and will often reveal important biographical details and the names of additional family members.

Texas, County Tax Rolls 1846-1910
Did your ancestors live in Texas? Explore this collection of more than 4.5 million Texas county tax records from 1846 to 1910, find out the amount of land and personal property they owned. Each result includes both a transcript and an image of the original document.

British & Irish Newspaper Update
This week we have added 103,488 new pages to our collection including two brand new titles. Both of this week’s new titles have a distinctly Celtic theme: with the first being the Leven Advertiser and Wemyss Gazette, a weekly title published in Leven, Fife, and the second being the South Wales Gazette. This latter title is another weekly publication, published out of Abertillery, and became known as the South Wales Gazette and Newport News from 1892.

Further details and links at https://www.findmypast.co.uk/blog/new/new-additions-from-northumberland-and-texas

The new brand look is explained at https://www.findmypast.co.uk/blog/new/new-brand

Chris

Order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Scottish-Ancestry-through-Church-and-State-Records-Paperback/p/16848. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

PRONI - where everybody knows your name!

Having missed the PRONI user forum meeting last week due to the hectic general election the day before, I visited Belfast yesterday to do a bit of research at PRONI (www.nidirect.gov.uk/proni), which is rapidly competing with the bar from Cheers as the place to bump into folk!

I first bumped into Tunji Lees, who regular readers may remember flagged up the existence of the Scottish WW1 Pension Appeals Tribunal records at the National Records of Scotland a few years back, as catalogued under PT6, and which are now being indexed thanks to funding from the Wellcome Trust (see http://britishgenes.blogspot.com/2018/01/scottish-ww1-pensions-appeal-records.html). Tunji is carrying out a surname study of the Lees surname in the north, and was having a lot of fun with the records yesterday!



I also caught up with Martin McDowell from the North of Ireland Family History Society, who is currently working on a Ballycarry DNA project in County Antrim (see https://www.nifhs.org/dna/ballycarry-dna-project/), and putting together the talks strand for the next Back To Our Past event in Belfast next February.


The big find for me was discovering a map from 1859 of the northern part of Islandmagee in County Antrim, detailing the townlands there where my lot were based, and making me as happy as the proverbial whatsit...!

A final visit to the Christmas market was enough to recharge my batteries for a few more months.


Happy Christmas to all at PRONI!

Chris

Order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Scottish-Ancestry-through-Church-and-State-Records-Paperback/p/16848. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

TheGenealogist adds to war memorials collection

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

New Searchable War Memorials

TheGenealogist has just released over 12,000 records from 138 War Memorials. This means that there are now a total of over 580,000 individuals on War Memorials that are fully searchable in TheGenealogist’s Military records with photographs centred on their inscription. These memorials can give researchers an insight into education, rank, regiment and occupation of an ancestor.


The War Memorial records will allow the family history researcher to discover:
● over 12,000 additional individuals recorded on War Memorials
● additional War Memorials from England and Canada
● fully searchable records which are transcribed from images of the tributes
● colour images of the memorial centred on their name
● a variety of memorials in honour of the war dead from various conflicts

The Map Explorer™ on TheGenealogist can also be used to locate all the War Memorials on georeferenced historic and modern maps making them easy to find. The War Memorial database includes names from the Boer War, the First World War and World War II. This latest release from TheGenealogist covers war memorials from various parts of the UK, particularly West Yorkshire, County Durham and East Sussex as well as Canada.

This new release covers memorials that are not all set in stone or cast in iron. There is the WW1 memorial volume book held in Darlington Central Library for Pease and Partners of Darlington. This firm owned mines, quarries and other works all over County Durham and Teesside. This particular memorial is useful to a researcher wanting to "break down barriers" as it not only gives the rank and regiment of the man, but also gives his place of occupation (which particular mine, quarry, or works they had been employed in) which could aid a researcher to try to get the employment record for an ancestor – the volume is divided into sections for the 543 men who died, over 4,100 who served and details of the medals awarded to 134 of them.

Other employment War Memorials in this release include: Yorks & Lancs Railway locomotive works at Horwich where 122 employees were killed in WW1 and in London the Worshipful Company of Armourers and Braziers recording 37 men who were killed or served in WW1 and WW2.

Additional School and college War Memorials added this time include Petworth Boys school, which commemorates 2 teachers and 28 pupils killed in 1942 when the school was destroyed by enemy action, and King’s College Cambridge where 345 students or former students etc. are commemorated having been killed in both the First and Second World War.

Of further note are War Memorials in Pimlico, London where 67 men from a Peabody Estate who were killed in WW1 are recorded. There is an interesting set of stained glass windows in Grimsby Minster dedicated to 25 Grimsby men lost in WW2 who were members of various clubs such as the Grimsby Cyclists' Club. In this release there is a memorial in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada to 35 men of the RAF killed there during their training and in Eastbourne Town Hall there is a roll of 180 civilians or firefighters etc. killed there in WW2 by enemy action.

These records are available to Diamond subscribers of TheGenealogist as part of their large Military Records collection.

Read TheGenealogist’s article: Using War Memorials to research ancestors from the First World War
https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2019/using-war-memorials-to-research-ancestors-from-the-first-world-war-1213/

(With thanks to Nick Thorne)

Chris

Order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Scottish-Ancestry-through-Church-and-State-Records-Paperback/p/16848. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Wednesday 18 December 2019

Cavan Calling 2020 homecoming festival

From the Irish Family History Foundation (www.rootsireland.ie):

Cavan County Council, including Cavan Genealogy Centre, have organised a homecoming festival for the Cavan diaspora and their friends from 20-23 August 2020. This event, entitled 'Cavan Calling', will host a huge variety of events encompassing genealogy, culture, theatre, music, history, and much more!

Click the link to find out more about the exciting range of events which will be taking place next year! (see http://www.rootsireland.ie/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Cavan-Calling-Newsletter.pdf)

And on behalf of the Irish Family History Foundation and Roots Ireland, we would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our clients and friends for your support throughout the year and to wish you all a very happy and peaceful Christmas and new year - Nollaig shona dhuit!

Yours Sincerely
rootsireland.ie

(With thanks to RootsIreland via email)

COMMENT: Agus Nollaig Chridheil dhuibh à Alba!

Chris

Order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Scottish-Ancestry-through-Church-and-State-Records-Paperback/p/16848. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Call and Response: The University Of Glasgow and Slavery

The University of Glasgow has published a blog post about its current exhibition, Call and Response: The University of Glasgow and Slavery, which continues until 31 JAN 2020:

In August this year, Call and Response: The University of Glasgow and Slavery opened in the University of Glasgow Chapel. The exhibition seeks to explore the unknown or unexpected ways collections can be related to racial slavery, and continues the conversation by widening the range of responses to these historic legacies. Call and Response centres around responses to items in collections held by Archives & Special Collections, the Hunterian Museum and the Library’s maps collection.

By opening this dialogue and extending the reach of the exhibition, it is important to acknowledge the histories of enslaved people and their role in the University’s story. This continues the conversation started in 2016 when the University of Glasgow acknowledged that despite the strong abolitionist stance in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, it continued to accept gifts and bequests from people who profited from slavery to further institutional goals.  In September 2018, Professor Simon Newman and Dr Stephen Mullen published Slavery, Abolition and the University of Glasgow, a report which quantified those financial gains and recommended a programme of reparations.

Call and Response features responses to 12 items and can be viewed online as well as in person. It is free and open to all until 31st January 2020. Visit the exhibition and give your response to be part of this difficult but necessary conversation.

For further details and to view the online exhibits (see pic), visit https://universityofglasgowlibrary.wordpress.com/2019/12/17/call-and-response-the-university-of-glasgow-and-slavery/


Chris

Order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Scottish-Ancestry-through-Church-and-State-Records-Paperback/p/16848. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

New Irish collections added to FamilySearch; English collections updated

The following new Irish collections have been added to FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org):

Ireland, Catholic Qualification & Convert Rolls, 1701-1845
New indexed records collection (52,060 records)
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/3499248

Microfilm of original records at the Public Records Office in Dublin. During the 1700's, Catholics were restricted from owning property, holding public office, and voting. Due to these restrictions some chose to renounce their religion and convert to the Church of Ireland. In addition to church rites participation, they were also required to file a certificate in a court of law. Multiple courts had the authority to grant these rights. Courts include: King's Bench, Common Pleas, Quarter Sessions of the Peace, and Assizes. The original rolls were kept by the Chancery Court Rolls Office until 1867, at which time they were transferred to the Public Records Office. The original documents were destroyed by a fire in 1922, but these calendars survive.


Ireland, Memorial Record: World War I, 1914-1918
New indexed records collection (49,646 records)
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/3511725

Ireland's World War I Memorial Records preserve the identity of Irishmen that participated in World War I. This collection covers the entirety of Ireland and includes almost 50,000 records. These records were compiled by the Committee of the Irish National War Memorial and published in 1923. This collection was made in collaboration with FindMyPast. Additional information can be found at: https://search.findmypast.com/search-world-Records/irelands-memorial-record-world-war-1-1914-1918

The following English collections have also been updated:

England, Herefordshire Bishop's Transcripts, 1583-1898
Added indexed records to an existing collection (2,233 records)
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/3155913

England, Oxfordshire Parish Registers 1538-1904
Added indexed records to an existing collection (17,454 records)
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/3293406

England, Yorkshire Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 1613-1887
Added indexed records to an existing collection (1,286 records)
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/3477664

Click on the links for further information. For other worldwide releases from FamilySearch, including many from the United States of America, visit https://media.familysearch.org/new-free-historical-records-on-familysearch-week-of-16-december-2019/

Chris

Order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Scottish-Ancestry-through-Church-and-State-Records-Paperback/p/16848. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Appeal to find family of Second World War sweethearts

Genealogists....ASSEMBLE!!!

We have a Christmas appeal from Who Do You Think You Are? magazine, if you can help!

Appeal to return Second World War love letters to couple’s descendants

A Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader is seeking the family of Robert and Margaret Raven to return their love letters

The love letters of a Second World War airman and his future wife have been rediscovered over 70 years later.



Now at Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine, we’re hoping to give the couple’s descendants an extra Christmas present by reuniting them with the precious documents.

The correspondence between Robert Raven and Margaret Blyth was bought as a lot by Bob Sheridan, a Rutland man interested in the history of the armed forces postal service and the postal marks on the letters.

But the letters revealed a moving story of lovers separated by wartime.

Bob and his friend Tracey Dene Powell researched Robert and Margaret in family history, immigration and RAF records, but have yet to find a living descendant to give the letters to.

“I know that if they were from my parents or grandparents, then I would treasure them forever,” Tracey told Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine.

The collection consists of 45 air mail letters, 1 letter card and 14 empty envelopes.

The letters were exchanged between Robert Raven, a British airman, and Margaret Blyth (later Raven) from South Africa, as well as their family members, from 1941 to 1953.

For more on the story visit http://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/news/appeal-return-second-world-war-love-letters-couple%E2%80%99s-descendants


(With thanks to Rosemary Collins at WDYTYA? magazine)

Chris

Order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Scottish-Ancestry-through-Church-and-State-Records-Paperback/p/16848. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Family Tree Live 2020 announced

From Family Tree magazine (https://www.family-tree.co.uk):

ALL ABOARD FOR FAMILY TREE LIVE 2020!

As we motor towards a brand new decade the next must-stop for family history enthusiasts is Family Tree Live 2020 at historic Alexandra Palace!

This unique show returns to Ally Pally for its second year on Friday 17 and Saturday 18 April 2020 and promises two more family history-packed days of learning and fun. It is organised by UK family history magazine Family Tree (currently celebrating its 35th anniversary), in partnership with the Family History Federation, and is sponsored by family history giants FamilySearch and DNA experts FamilyTreeDNA.

Genealogy-seekers will be able to explore exhibition stands in the Great Hall and get one-to-one advice in the Ask the Experts area, run by professionals from the Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives (AGRA).

The lively lecture streams will provide a family history feast for genealogy fans hungry for knowledge and there will also be eight streams of workshops running simultaneously. These small interactive groups were a huge hit last year so the number of these have been increased – but seats will go quickly, so keen learners should book tickets as soon as they can!

The popular DNA Hub, sponsored by FamilyTreeDNA, is returning with a dedicated programme of DNA lectures and workshops, to help you make the most of your DNA tests, and learn more about this exciting and evolving area of genealogy.

The 2020 show will mark major anniversaries including the 75th anniversary of VE Day and 400 years since the sailing of the Mayflower from England to the New World. Visitors will be able to learn about their Second World War or Mayflower ancestors, enjoy living history entertainment and relax on the Village Green when it’s time to take a break from indulging in their family history passions. The green is also a great spot to meet friends and share the wonderful family history finds made at the show, plus there will be a discovery zone and vintage games to play for younger members of the family.

Alexandra Palace is in a beautiful location with panoramic views over London, with excellent road and rail links, plentiful free parking and free shuttle buses from Alexandra Palace and Wood Green stations throughout the two days.

Family Tree Editor Helen Tovey said: ‘Family Tree Live 2020 is going to be another wonderful event for family history fans whatever stage of research you are at. With plenty of entertainment to keep your young genealogists enthralled too, why not bring the whole family? Hop aboard the Family Tree Live bus for an unforgettable experience in this special anniversary year marking 75 years since the end of the Second World War.’

Day tickets include lectures and workshops (bookable online) and expert one-to-one sessions and start from only £13 (under-16s free, concs available). Visit www.familytreelive.co.uk to find out more and buy tickets.



(With thanks to Karen Clare)

Chris

Order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Scottish-Ancestry-through-Church-and-State-Records-Paperback/p/16848. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.