A Beginner's Guide to British and Irish Genealogy book on sale in Canada

Another quick note here to say that I have also noticed that my latest Unlock the Past guide book, A Beginner's Guide to British and Irish Genealogy, released last August in Australia, is now also available for sale in Canda from Global Genealogy at http://globalgenealogy.com/countries/england/resources/2590289.htm, priced at CAN$18.

Here's the blurb!

You've decided that you want to trace your British and Irish family history, but have absolutely no idea where to start. If only there was a handy beginner's guide...?

In this Unlock the Past guide, genealogist Chris Paton takes you through the key record sets that will help you get underway with your family history research. He will introduce you to the family history societies and archives that can assist your efforts, and provide a little context to the ancestral landscape within which your ancestors once lived, and into which you will soon be immersed. Along the way he will point out some of the major differences in record types to be found in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and the Crown Dependencies of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

In each chapter Chris also provides a steer towards further books which can further develop your skills as you become more experienced with the subject matter, making this an invaluable introduction.

Warning – once you get started with your family history research, you will never stop...!

And the contents list:

Introduction
Acknowledgements
1. Researching your family tree
- Documentary sources
- Gateways
- Record your finds
- Gadgets
- Brick walls
- Overcome mistakes
- Question everything
- Make your ancestors real
- Damn the rules!
- Further reading
2. Civil registration records
- Basic information
- England and Wales
- Scotland
- Ireland
- Certificate exchange sites
- Further reading
3. Parish registers
- Baptisms
- Marriages and banns
- Burials and deaths
- Locating state church records
- Records of church governance
- Non-conformist churches
- Further reading
4. Monumental inscriptions
- English and Welsh gravestones
- Scotland
- Ireland
- Further reading
5. Cenuses
- What censuses contain
- Online records
- Scotland
- Ireland
- Census substitutes: directories
- Further reading
6. Wills and testaments
- Forms of estate
- Probate and confirmation
- England and Wales
- Recent wills
- Scotland
- Ireland
- Further reading
7. Maps and gazetteers
- Modern maps
- Ordnance Survey maps
- Other maps
- Gazetteers
- Further reading
8. Occupations
- Ancestral context
- Understand the job
- Newspapers
- Dig deeper
- Further reading
9. Societies, archives and libraries
- Umbrella bodies
- National societies
- Special interest groups
- Archives
- Catalogues
- Libraries
- Further reading
10. Social networking
- Facebook and Twitter
- Blogs
- Message boards and forums
- Family tree networks
- Further reading
11. DNA tests
- Types of DNA
- Testing companies
- Further reading
Appendix: The Crown Dependencies
- Isle of Man
- The Channel Islands
Index

For details of all of my genealogy books, and how and where to purchase them, please visit the Books section of this blog at http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Enjoy!

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

Latest Unlock the Past books now available in Canada

My latest book is amongst four new Unlock the Past (www.unlockthepast.com.au) titles now available in Canada from Global Genealogy (www.globalgenealogy.com):

A Beginner's Guide to British and Irish Genealogy
By Chris Paton, 2016
CAN $18

Chris Paton takes you through the key record sets that will help you get underway with your family history research. He introduces you to the family history societies and archives that can assist your efforts, and provide a little context to the ancestral landscape within which your ancestors once lived, and into which you will soon be immersed. Along the way he will point out some of the major differences in record types to be found in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and the Crown Dependencies of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. In each chapter Chris also provides a steer towards further books which can further develop your skills as you become more experienced with the subject matter, making this an invaluable introduction.

More information about this book at http://globalgenealogy.com/countries/england/resources/2590289.htm


Harnessing the Facebook Generation: Ideas for involving Young People in family History & Heritage
By Janet Few, 2016
CAN $16.50

This is a book for grown-ups who want to inspire their descendants and other young people, with a love of history and heritage. It is a thought-provoking look at how we can encourage the next generation of family historians and why we might want to do so. Suggestions cover activities, outings, toys, games, books and ways of exploiting the internet in order to motivate and enthuse young people, even toddlers.

More information about this book at http://globalgenealogy.com/genealogy-general/resources/2590263.htm


Family History on the Cheap - Second Edition (Australian Perspective)
By S. Hicks, 2016
CAN $17

This second, revised and updated edition examines a broad range of topics including family sources, whether someone has already researched the family, when to use professional researchers, how and where to obtain discounts, what sites are free, how to plan and organise your research, making the most of Google, and using social media for family history research, numerous tips and tricks for how to get the most from research trips to archives, libraries, family history and local historical societies, visits to relatives, social networking sites, commercial websites and of course, Google. You will quickly recoup its purchase price many times over with the money and time savings outlined throughout the book.

More information about this book at http://globalgenealogy.com/countries/other-countries/resources/2590003.htm


Death Certificates and Archaic Medical Terms - Second Edition
(Australian perspective)
By H. Smith, 2016
CAN $17

The author examines the history and evolution of death certificates. When did they start? What is on them? What were the legal requirements? What does it mean when a death is certified? Why aren't all deaths certified? It also gives meanings to a number of archaic terms found on death certificates such as cachexia, breakbone fever, byssinosis, coeliac passion, dipsomania, inanition and Potter's Rot. This second edition has been fully updated and expanded, and is double the size of the first, with hundreds more archaic medical terms included.

More information about this book at http://globalgenealogy.com/countries/other-countries/resources/2590181.htm


Don't forget that Unlock the Past books can also be purchased a wee bit further south in the United States from Martha Mercer's Maia's Books store. Martha only lists a small number of books from the publisher on her website at www.maiasbooks.com, but she does hold stock of most of them - drop her an email or call and she can give you details on costs and postage etc. For a full list of my own UTP titles, please visit the books section of this blog at http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

(With thanks to Alan Phillips)

Chris

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

The conclusion of my British Columbia talks tour

Apologies for the silence on this blog in the last week - I returned from my two week talks tour in Canada on Monday, absolutely exhausted, and straight into a brief illness all day Tuesday, only to then get stuck straight into the final couple of days of campaigning for our Scottish Parliament elections. On Thursday I spent much of the day getting our SNP vote out here in North Ayrshire, in Largs and Skelmorlie, and then attended the count in Saltcoats until the very early hours of Friday morning, where our local candidate Kenny Gibson was thankfully returned as our MSP.  (If you are interested in how Scottish politics works, I have blogged about how the election count worked in Saltcoats on my other wee blog at http://chrispatonsblog.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/election-count-in-north-ayrshire.html!)

But what of the final part of my talks tour in British Columbia?! Having left Vernon on Thursday 29th April (see http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/visiting-vernon-and-district-fhs.html), I made my way to Vancouver city once more, where I was due to stay again with Don Davis and Gerald Maier. We had a fairly chilled evening at their flat on Thursday, and on Friday they then very kindly took me on a walking tour of the downtown area of the city. Despite its relative youth when compared to most British based cities, Vancouver still has one heck of a history, with many of the city's blocks quite different to each other in style and appearance. At the seafront by the exhibition centre are many panels recalling many key events from the city's past, some relating to the economic growth of the region, and others to the social development of the area, in times of both boom and bust.

At one point I was introduced to Vancouver's famous steam clock - a small clock that has chimes powered entirely by steam power (which play the same notes as Big Ben in England). Shortly after this we went for coffee, and whilst in the queue I realised there was a police officer behind me - cue me in shameless selfie mode again!

Don and I then took the opportunity to visit an extraordinary second hand book shop, and I spent a short while in the Scottish and Irish section, making some incredible finds which I lamented that I could not purchase, as my suitcase was already close to the maximum weight limit. In the end I opted to purchase a copy of a great book by Leah Leneman looking at marriage litigation from 1698-1830 as caused by our weird rules on irregular marriage prior to 1940, and another book looking at social life in Scotland prior to 1800.

On Saturday then it was my final event, a British Columbia Genealogy Society (www.bcgs.ca) seminar hosted in the suburb of Richmond. The event venue was South Arm United Church, having been moved from the previous planned location due to high demand, so no pressure then! (I was later told it was the highest attended seminar they had ever held, with folks from Alberta and even Washington state in the US also in attendance.) On this day I gave the most number of talks on my two week tour, with five in total on both Irish and Scottish subjects. I had to fight my body's attempts to make me lose my voice on a couple of occasions, having been fighting a cold and irritating cough throughout my trip, but I hung in there! Whilst a great venue in terms of capacity, there was unfortunately a huge window that bled a lot of light onto the projector screen for the first couple of sessions, which was high up and could not be covered, and which made it difficult for some folk to see. Thankfully the good folks at BCGS had provided copies of my presentation notes to all attendees in advance, so this was hopefully easily compensated for.

As at Parksville, I was blown away by the interest in my books, with well over another hundred sold on the day, so thanks to all who purchased copies! If you were unable to do so, you can order copies from Global Genealogy in Ontario - full details on my Unlock the Past titles are available on its site at www.globalgenealogy.com/authors/paton-chris/chris-paton.htm.

The book shop organiser, Katherine, showed me a couple of documents that she had in her possession which I found of especial interest. The first noted a marriage by declaration in Scotland on 8 DEC 1915, registered on the authority of a warrant from a sheriff-substitute (as all irregular marriages in Scotland from 1855-1939 had to be), with the second written on 27 SEP 1916 by a minister claiming that the couple had married in Glasgow in a United Free Church ceremony on that day, they having been previously declared husband and wife by a sheriff's warrant. The groom was a soldier - had he married irregularly in a hurry, and then made the marriage 'good' subsequently through a church service? Certainly one to look into!

The day ended with lots of folk happy, and after we had finished several of us went for a meal to the Spaghetti Factory, with lots of chat and great craic. Amongst those present were two people who I had regularly been in touch with before on social media, Diane Rogers and Celia Lewis, it was great to meet them at last!

A huge thanks to Eunice Robinson and the team at BCGS for all their hospitality in Richmond, and also to Don and Gerald again in Vancouver for putting me up for a couple more days! And finally, another huge thanks to Donna Fraser in Qualicum Beach, without whom the whole trip would not have been possible in the first place.

After three hectic weeks, things should begin to get back to normal here for a bit - thanks once again Canada, you were brilliant...!

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html. My Pinterest account is at https://www.pinterest.com/chrismpaton/.

My Decade of Centenaries book is now available to buy in Canada

My book A Decade of Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, published by Unlock the Past, is my third new book to be made available this week in Canada from Global Genealogy (http://globalgenealogy.com), having already been made available for purchase in Australia and the UK.

The book is priced CAN $17, and can be purchased via Global at http://globalgenealogy.com/countries/ireland/resources/2590288.htm - full details of the book's contents are also listed on that page.

Global also sells the following additional UTP books that I have written:

* Irish Family History Resources Online (2nd edition)
* Discover Scottish Land Records
* Discover Scottish Civil Registration Records
* British and Irish Newspapers
* Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis
* Discover Irish Land Records


Non UTP published books:
* Researching Scottish Family History (Family History Partnership, 2010)
* Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (Pen and Sword, 2013)

For further details on my books available in Canada, please visit www.globalgenealogy.com/Chris-Paton

(With thanks to Rick Roberts)

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html. My Pinterest account is at https://www.pinterest.com/chrismpaton/.

Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd ed) available in Canada

My Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition) book, published by Unlock the Past, is also now available to purchase in Canada from Global Genealogy (http://globalgenealogy.com), having already been made available to purchase in Australia and the UK.

The book is priced CAN $28, and can be purchased via Global at http://globalgenealogy.com/countries/ireland/resources/2590287.htm - full details of the book's contents are also listed on that page.

Global also sells the following additional UTP books that I have written:

• Irish Family History Resources Online (2nd edition)
• Discover Scottish Land Records
• Discover Scottish Civil Registration Records
• British and Irish Newspapers
• Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis
• Discover Irish Land Records 

Non UTP published books:

• Researching Scottish Family History (Family History Partnership, 2010)
• Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (Pen and Sword, 2013)

For further details on my books available in Canada, please visit http://www.globalgenealogy.com/authors/paton-chris/chris-paton.htm.

(With thanks to Rick Roberts)

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html. My Pinterest account is at https://www.pinterest.com/chrismpaton/.

Discover Irish Land Records now available in Canada

My Discover Irish Land Records book, published by Unlock the Past, is now available to purchase in Canada from Global Genealogy (http://globalgenealogy.com), having already been made available to purchase in Australia and the UK.

The book is priced CAN $19, and can be purchased via Global at http://globalgenealogy.com/countries/ireland/resources/2590287.htm - full details of the book's contents are also listed on that page.

Global also sells the following additional UTP books that I have written:

• Irish Family History Resources Online (2nd edition)
• Discover Scottish Land Records
• Discover Scottish Civil Registration Records
• British and Irish Newspapers
• Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis
• Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition)

Non UTP published books:

• Researching Scottish Family History (Family History Partnership, 2010)
• Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (Pen and Sword, 2013)

(With thanks to Rick Roberts)

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html. My Pinterest account is at https://www.pinterest.com/chrismpaton/.

More UnlockthePast books available from Canada's Global Genealogy

Several more publications from Australian based Unlock the Past (www.unlockthepast.com.au) are now available from Global Genealogy in Canada (http://globalgenealogy.com).

The following titles are available:

Discover English Parish Registers
By Paul Milner
15.95 (C$)

Writing and Publishing Your Family History
By Lesle Berry
14.95 (C$)

Locating Your German Ancestor's Place of Origin
By Eric Kopittke
15.95 (C$)

ScotlandsPeople: The Place to Launch Your Scottish Research
By Rosemary Kopittke
15.95 (C$)

Don't forget that several of my own Unlock the Past publications are also available from the company:

Discover Scottish Church Records
19.95 (C$)

British and Irish Newspapers
18.95 (C$)

Discover Scottish Civil Registration Records
15.95 (C$)

Discover Scottish Land Records
19.95 (C$)


Several Unlock the Past titles are also available in England from My History www.my-history.co.uk/acatalog/Unlock-the-Past-Booklets.html, with the full range available from Gould Genealogy in Australia at www.gould.com.au/Unlock-the-Past-guides-s/2576.htm.

Ebook editions are also available from www.gen-ebooks.com.

Chris

For details on my range of genealogy guide books please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html. To commission me for genealogical research, please visit my research site at www.scotlandsgreateststory.co.uk.

My Scottish themed Unlock the Past books now available in Canada from Global Genealogy

Following my recent announcement that my Unlock the Past (www.unlockthepast.com.au) published genealogy books are now directly available in the UK from Yorkshire based vendor and publisher My History (see http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/my-unlock-past-books-are-now-available.html), I'm delighted to announce that Global Genealogy (www.globalgenealogy.com) in Canada is also now offering the same service, publishing local copies of the same works, and thereby negating the need for expensive postal charges from Australia. The Scottish titles are already available, with many other Unlock the Past guides from other authors coming soon, covering various other subjects and regions - a full list will be available soon at http://globalgenealogy.com/admin/ggh.htm.

The company is now publishing the following of my titles:

Discover Scottish Church Records  Can$19.95
http://globalgenealogy.com/countries/scotland/resources/2590281.htm

Discover Scottish Civil Registration Records  Can$19.95
http://globalgenealogy.com/countries/scotland/resources/2590284.htm

Discover Scottish Land Records  Can$19.95
http://globalgenealogy.com/countries/scotland/resources/2590283.htm


Also available, by Rosemary Kopittke, is another handy Scottish themed Unlock the Past guide:
ScotlandsPeople: The Place to Launch Your Scottish Research (shipping from Nov 17th)
http://globalgenealogy.com/countries/scotland/resources/2590104.htm Can$17.95

If you're looking a little light reading material for the Christmas break, or for a Christmas prezzie, rumour has it Santa recommends them! :)

(With thanks to Alan Phillips)

Chris

Stuck for a Christmas gift?! I have a series of genealogy books available in the UK, Australia and Canada, on Scottish, Irish and British based subject areas. Further details at http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html. Santa approves!