Who Do You Think You Are Story - beta site review

I've just been having an early look at the beta version of the Who Do You Think You Are Story site (www.whodoyouthinkyouarestory.com) from DC Thomson Family History. The premise of the site is that you can create your own version of a Who Do You Think You Are story using your own family - though anybody expecting an online television documentary is perhaps likely to be disappointed!

What the site actually does is to allow you to create a basic tree online (I think it's three generations maximum), adding facts and images about key members of the family, and to then essentially play it back in a timeline format, to the accompaniment of the Who Do You Think You Are theme tune. There are demo versions of such a tree featuring a story about Matthew Pinsent and another on Larry Lamb, both about a couple of minutes long each. Included amongst the data you supply are some historical facts to add some contemporary context, that you can keep or replace as you see fit. Once such a timeline is created, you can publish it and share it with friends via Twitter, Facebook or by email. The end game from DC Thomson's point of view is to direct people towards FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk).

When I left the BBC, one thing I initially thought about was going down the route of trying to provide a sort of bespoke WDYTYA experience for people, but to do so would cost an arm and a leg - I've seen a few other people have a go (including a former BBC colleague), and their services came and duly went for that reason. It takes a lot to produce something as bespoke as an episode of WDYTYA, you are not going to get that from a free website! So this is not at all a serious family history programme production tool, or even an online tree builder - what the site is essentially providing is a fun tool to help you put together a quick presentation that you can email to your friends and family. On that thinking, it's probably a good cousin bait tool, something to fire off to the rellies to see who responds with thoughts and stories about some of those mentioned in your piece, and presentations can be constructed very quickly.

One thing to be aware of though, are some of the terms and conditions. For example:

Intellectual property rights (including copyright): All intellectual property rights in the website and the content, including the story you create (excluding of course any content contained within the story that you contribute yourself), belongs to us or has been licensed to us. You can only use it for the purposes described in these Terms & conditions. All other rights are reserved. Find out more about copyright in this government guide.

I'm not a hundred per cent sure how the intellectual copyright of the story you create can be owned by them, except for the bits that you supply! I presume that they mean the structural format or template into which you have added facts and pictures etc - but that is very unclear and needs to be explained properly.

Also:

How we use content created by users: You keep the copyright in any content that you create or publish on the website, but by publishing it you give us permission (a non-exclusive, perpetual, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide licence) to use it (including editing, adapting or modifying it as we wish) for any purpose and in any media now known or invented in the future. Please be aware that we may not credit you as the author of the material.

If we use any of your personal information (for example your name) in connection with it, we will ask your permission first.

Examples of how we may use your content are that we may make it available to other users of the website, to users of websites that are either part of our company group or with whom we have a partnership, and by internet search engines.

So bear in mind that if you do add data to a presentation on the site, these are the rights that you are assigning to DC Thomson Family History. You retain the copyright, but actually, you are also giving them blanket permission to take what you create and to do with it what they will, presumably for advertising purposes. There are also the usual warnings about only using what you have copyright cleared for, not to mention living folk without their permission, and nothing offensive. You also have to be over 13 to use the site. Full T&Cs, as constituted just now, are at www.whodoyouthinkyouarestory.com/terms.

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians, whilst my new book British and Irish Newspapers is also now out. And please consider purchasing the great new version of Caledonia by The Libations at 79p via www.caledonia2014.com - all profits go to help fund Scottish foodbanks

Scottish First World War soldiers' wills go online

News of the latest addition to ScotlandsPeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk):

Historical Wills of Scottish Soldiers Go Online

The last wishes of Scottish soldiers at the Front: The National Records of Scotland release Soldiers’ Wills from WW1, WW2, the Boer War, Korean War and other conflicts between 1857 and 1964

The wills of 31,000 Scottish soldiers are being made available online by the National Records of Scotland as part of commemorations of the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War. The poignant documents include the last wishes of 26,000 ordinary Scottish soldiers who died in the Great War.

The new records contain the wills for ancestors of some famous Scots. For instance, John Feeley, the great-great-grandfather of the Paisley musician, Paolo Nutini, is included. Private Feeley served in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and died of wounds sustained during the Battle of Arras on 23 April 1917. Feeley left all of his property and effects to his wife, Annie, who lived until 1964.

Researchers at the National Records of Scotland have also discovered the will of Andrew Cox, the uncle of Dundee-born actor, Brian Cox. A rope-worker before the war, Private Andrew Cox served with the Highland Light Infantry and was killed in the Battle of Neuve Chapelle, aged 22 - sadly, his body was never identified. Like many unmarried soldiers, Andrew Cox left all of his possessions to his mother, Elizabeth.

The records are drawn from all the Scottish infantry and cavalry regiments, as well as the Royal Artillery, Royal Army Medical Corps, Royal Army Service Corps, the Machine Gun Corps and other units, and a few who served in the Royal Flying Corps and the RAF. Almost all the wills were written by soldiers below officer rank, but some wills for commissioned officers are also included.

In addition to the wills from the Great War, there are almost 5,000 from Scots soldiers serving in all theatres during the Second World War, several hundred from the Boer War and Korean War, and wills from other conflicts between 1857 and 1964.

Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs in the Scottish Government, said:

“These small but powerful documents are a testament to the sacrifice in wartime made by thousands of Scots, not only the soldiers themselves, but also their families and loved ones.”

Tim Ellis, Registrar General and Keeper of the Records of Scotland, said:

“We are privileged to be marking the centenary of the start of the First World War by making these remarkable records available. They give us a unique insight into the service of Scottish soldiers during the First and Second World Wars, but also in other conflicts before and since.”

Annelies van den Belt, the CEO of DC Thomson Family History, who enable the ScotlandsPeople website on behalf of the National Records of Scotland, said:

“We’re very pleased to add this new set of records to the ScotlandsPeople site. These fascinating documents make for poignant reading and we’re sure that anyone who views the wills will feel a strong emotional connection to those who lost their lives in these conflicts.”

The Soldiers’ Wills are available at www.ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk, at the ScotlandsPeople Centre in Edinburgh, and at local family history centres in Glasgow, Kilmarnock, Hawick and Inverness.

Image - the First World War will of Andrew Cox, uncle to actor Brian Cox. Photo courtesy of the National Records of Scotland.

NB: For the rest of what was the UK at this point - Irish First World War wills are freely available at http://soldierswills.nationalarchives.ie/search/sw/home.jsp; for England and Wales, visit pay-to-use site https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/. Some UK soldiers' wills are also calendared (abridged) in the National Probate Calendar on www.Ancestry.co.uk.

(With thanks to Grant Millar at DC Thomson Family History)

Chris

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

DC Thomson Family History and FamilySearch collaboration

From DC Thomson Family History (formerly Brightsolid):

DC Thomson Family History and FamilySearch.org to make billions of records available for people to search

More than 13 million records launched today on findmypast.com

LONDON, England and SALT LAKE CITY, Utah--Annelies van den Belt, the new CEO of DC Thomson Family History, the British-based leader in online family history and owner of findmypast and Genes Reunited, has announced a major new partnership with US-based FamilySearch.org that will give family history enthusiasts access to billions of records online and new technology to collaboratively research their family roots.

DC Thomson Family History, formerly known as brightsolid online publishing, is collaborating with FamilySearch, which has the largest collections of genealogical and historical records in the world, to deliver a wide range of projects including digital preservation, records search, technological development and the means to allow family historians to share their discoveries.

More than 13 million records from FamilySearch.org launched today on findmypast, including major collections of births, marriages and deaths covering America, Australia, and Ireland. Around 600 additional collections, containing millions of records, will follow.

The two organisations have a long history of working together on historical projects, including indexing 132 million records of the 1940 US census and two hundred years of British Army Service Records (Chelsea Pensioners) in a joint digitisation project with The National Archives.

Van den Belt said: “This is fantastic news for our customers all over the world. As a leader in online family history we will be able to offer access to a much wider variety of records dating back hundreds of years and the first batch are ready to search on findmypast. The convenience of searching many treasures from FamilySearch.org along with our own extensive collections will provide rich new insights for our customers.

“This partnership with FamilySearch will accelerate the momentum of our next phase of global growth into new non-English-speaking markets and give more people more access to more records to uncover their family history. This really cements our position as a market leader. ”

“We are excited to work with DC Thomson Family History on a vision we both share,” said Dennis Brimhall, CEO of FamilySearch. “Expanding online access to historical records through this type of collaboration can help millions more people discover and share their family’s history.”

DC Thomson Family History is the British-based leader in online family history, which operates major online sites including findmypast, Genes Reunited and the British Newspaper Archive. It launched in America last year with its findmypast brand.

DC Thomson Family History has a strong record of partnerships with non-profit and public sector organisations such as the British Library and The National Archives among many other major archives and organisations around the world.

(With thanks to Myko Clelland)

Chris

My latest book, Discover Scottish Civil Registration Records, is now available from http://www.gould.com.au (print) and http://www.gen-ebooks.com/unlock-the-past.html (ebook), whilst Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet is available at http://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-History-on-the-Internet/p/3889/. My next Pharos Scottish course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the OPRs, starts Nov 13th - see http://pharostutors.com.

Brightsolid announces DC Thomson Family History

Following the company's recent split, Brightsolid's family history wing, which is responsible for FindmyPast, ScotlandsPeople, Genes Reunited and the British Newspaper Archive, now has a new name - DC Thomson Family History.

The full announcement is at http://www.brightsolid.com/brightsolid-group/latest-news/recent-news/brightsolid-online-publishing-rebrands.html and http://www.brightsolid.com/brightsolid-group/latest-news/recent-news/the-future-for-family-history-is-digital.html.

Chris

My latest book, Discover Scottish Civil Registration Records, is now available from http://www.gould.com.au (print) and http://www.gen-ebooks.com/unlock-the-past.html (ebook), whilst Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet is available at http://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-History-on-the-Internet/p/3889/. My next Pharos Scottish course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the OPRs, starts Nov 13th - see http://pharostutors.com.