UK national society closures for the holidays

The following UK national societies are closed for Christmas and the New Year, as follows:

Ulster Historical Foundation
(www.ancestryireland.com)

We wish to advise that the Foundation will be closed for the holiday period from 3:00pm Friday 23 December and will reopen again on Tuesday 03 January 2017.

On behalf of the staff, volunteers and trustees we would like to thank you for your custom, support and interest over the last year.

We would also like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a peaceful and happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.


Scottish Genealogy Society
(www.scotsgenealogy.com)

SEASONAL CLOSURE OF THE SGS LIBRARY
The Library & Family History Centre is now CLOSED and will reopen at 10.30 on Thursday 5 January 2017.


Society of Genealogists
(www.sog.org.uk)

The Society will be closed on the following dates:

Christmas 2016 - The Society will close at 6pm 22 December and re-open Wednesday 28 December
New Year holiday and 2017 stocktaking - The Society will close at 6pm on Thursday 29 December 2016 and re-open on Tuesday 10 January 2017

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.

Scottish Genealogy Society talks programme 2015-16

The Scottish Genealogy Society has announced its forthcoming tralks programme for the 2015-16 'season', commencing with a beginners talk on Scottish genealogy on October 17th.

The full programme is available at www.scotsgenealogy.com.

Chris

The latest British GENES podcast is available at http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/podcasts.html. For details on my latest book Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, and my other genealogy guide books, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Thanks to Fife FHS

A big thanks to Fife Family History Society, particularly Frankie and Ali, for their hospitality on Tuesday evening in Cupar, where I gave a talk on Irish genealogy resources, noting those available for research (online and offline), and discussing how to tackle the dreaded "born Ireland" conundrum in a Scottish census. Lots of fun, and one attendee nearly did a double take, as he had just returned from the National Family History Fair down in England, where I had introduced the speakers there! The Fife based society has recently launched a new website at http://fifefhs.org - well worth checking out.

The next talk I'll be giving is also on Irish resources, at the Scottish Genealogy Society's 60th anniversary conference in Edinburgh on Saturday 5th October. Full details on the event are available at http://www.scotsgenealogy.com/60thAnniversaryConference.aspx. Hopefully see you there!

Chris

My wife Claire is planning to swim from the Scottish island of Cumbrae to the town of Largs on September 14th to raise money for local charity Gillian's Saltire Appeal, providing respite for families affected by cancer (Claire's mum and sister in Ireland have previously come through cancer, whilst my mum, based in England, currently has bladder cancer). Her Just Giving sponsorship page, with further details, is at http://www.justgiving.com/Claire-Paton1. If you can help to sponsor her, even by a wee amount, we'd be very grateful - many thanks!

Scottish Genealogy Society news

News from the Scottish Genealogy Society (www.scotsgenealogy.com):

60th Anniversary Conference
A reminder that our 60th Anniversary Conference will take place on Saturday, 5 October at the Augustine United Church, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh. Our programme of events will include talks by Ken Nisbet on researching records in Australasia - "From Convicts to £10 Poms"; Chris Paton on Irish records; Eric Graham on "Crossing the Atlantic before Steam"; and Naomi Tarrant "South of the Border - an introduction to English Records". Each talk will be followed by a Q&A Session and during the lunch break we will be holding surgeries, covering Military Records, OPRs & Censuses, Land Records and Maritime records. A full copy of our programme and booking form can be viewed on our website at: www.scotsgenealogy.com/60thAnniversaryConference.aspx.

New Publications

Tingwall List of Inhabitants 1785 
Where is it I can hear you all ask! Tingwall parish is on the main island, the next parish to the north of Lerwick in Shetland. Russell Cockburn has transcribed a document from the National Records of Scotland, ref: CS237/17/6/28. It is basically a census giving information such as place and settlement names (including farms and crofts), heads of households, how many in the household, and a wife's maiden surname. We have added in an ID number to make the indexing straightforward. The price for this publication is £3.00.

List of the Whole Inhabitants of the Burgh of Perth, 1766
Again transcribed by Russell Cockburn, this list of inhabitants of Perth was originally at the National Records of Scotland in repertory B59/24/1/36 but is now housed at the Perth & Kinross Council Archive, AK Bell Library, York Place, Perth PH2 8EP. The document begins: "List of the whole inhabitants of Perth taken up by the magistrates on 19 March 1766 and following days; with several draft sheets. Names of Heads of families and their Employments." The entries are made according to quarters of the burgh, with no streets mentioned. It also includes heads of families and their employments; number in each family, number of servants, number of boarders or lodgers and religious denomination. The price for this publication is £5.00.

Recorded by The East Lothian University of the Third Age Archaeology and Local History Group and edited by Joy Dodd, the SGS has just published the next chapter in our review of the Hillfoot Villages of East Lothian. The monumental inscriptions and mortcloth records for Morham Churchyard include some from as far back as 1712. Moreham is reputed to be the birthplace of John Knox, the reformer. His ancestors were all tenants of Mainshill Farm and a number of gravestones in the churchyard are from descendants of the Knox family. The price for this publication is £3.00.

Newhaven Museum
The wee museum in Newhaven has finally re-opened. It is now based in Victoria Primary School, 4-6 Newhaven Main Street, Edinburgh EH6 4HY. As it is located in the school, the exhibition will only be open to the public by pre-arranged visits. Anyone interested should please contact the school for opening times: 0131 476 7306.

(With thanks to Ken Nisbet)

Chris

My new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, is now available from Pen and Sword. My Scottish land and church records ebooks are available at http://www.gen-ebooks.com/unlock-the-past.html, whilst my next Pharos Scottish course, Scottish Research Online, starts Sep 4th - see http://pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Time to smash a few brick walls...!

Highland Archive Centre - review

Ken Nisbet of the Scottish Genealogy Society (www.scotsgenealogy.com) has just returned from a visit up north to see the new Highland Archive Centre (www.highlandarchives.org.uk/harc.asp) - he's kindly sent through a review of his experience for this blog:

I spent all day in the new Highland Archive Centre in Inverness which is about 20 minutes walk from the city centre. The Archive section is upstairs and opens at 10am and is through the Family History Service part of the building. I found the staff very helpful and keen to assist. The use of laptops is permitted but as normal only pencils permitted if you are going to write. Use of digital cameras is not permitted. The catalogue is in folders for each authority /subject in paper format and not online within the centre. Photocopying is 30p a page where the page can be copied but some volumes such as the poor law rolls are too large to be copied.

I was looking at the poor-law records for the Parish of Urray there are two main sets of records and you must look at both.

Parochial Board/ Parish Council General Register of Poor:
This gives information on the individual receiving poor relief when the relief started and when it finished for example by death of the individual and if the circumstances changed during the receipt of the relief. For example my Great-Grandmother’s sister who received temporary poor relief while in Inverness Asylum before she recovered.

Parochial Board Record of Applications:
This lists all those who applied for poor relief it includes those who received poor relief but also includes those like my 3*Great-Grandmother who applied for poor relief but were refused because she was living with her working son. It listed all the members of her family and their circumstances on the date she applied for relief. A very useful source as you cannot assume that relatives may not have applied to receive poor relief at some point but were refused because of their circumstances.

The Archives hold the poor-law records for Inverness and Rosshire. The Nairnshire registers and applications have not survived.

The Archives also hold the records for Highland Health Board which include the records for Inverness District Asylum once you have established from the Register of Lunatics when someone entered the asylum you can then the access the warrants which are legal documents establishing why the sheriff should permit the individual to be transferred to the asylum and also the case notes which cover the treatment and condition of the individual whilst they were in the asylum

All in all I would highly recommend making use of the archives and I hope to make a return visit soon.

(With thanks to Ken)


NB: Genealogist Chris Halliday has just been appointed as a family history officer for Highland Archives, and starts in post shortly - a huge congratulations to Chris, and do corner him, he knows his stuff!

For those not able to get to Inverness, a few sites that might be of assistance:

Am Baile (www.ambaile.org) - a website that possibly proves the existence of God! Amongst many treasures, it hosts newspaper indexes and ebooks

British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) - now adding the Inverness Courier from 1817-1930 - coverage currently sporadic, but improving

Highland Memorial Inscriptions (https://sites.google.com/site/highlandmemorialinscriptions/home) - has several cemeteries headstones indexed from Invernesshire and the Highlands, including Tomnahurich Cemetery in Inverness

Chris

My new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, is now available from Pen and Sword. My next Pharos Scottish course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers, starts May 15th - see http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/scotland-1750-1850-beyond-oprs-starts.html. Time to smash a few brick walls...!

Main British & Irish archive and society holiday closures

Some closures for Christmas:

National Records of Scotland / ScotlandsPeople Centre
www.nas.gov.uk and www.scotlandspeoplehub.gov.uk
Search rooms in both the NRS and the ScotlandsPeople Centre will be open on Christmas Eve (24 December 2012) and Hogmanay (31 December 2012), but will close at 1pm on both days. The facilities will also be closed Tuesday 25 December 2012-Wednesday 26 December 2012, and Tuesday 1 January 2013-Wednesday 2 January 2013.

PRONI
www.proni.gov.uk
PRONI will close at 2pm on Friday 21st December and re-open on Thursday 27th December. PRONI will also not be running a late night service on Thursday 20th and 27th December. On these nights PRONI will close at 4:45pm. The archive will also be closed on Tuesday 1st January.

The National Archives (Kew)
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
The National Archives at Kew will be closed to the public from Saturday 22 December to Wednesday 26 December inclusive. It will also be closed on Tuesday 1 January.

The National Archives (Dublin)
www.nationalarchives.ie
The Reading Room will be closed from 12.30 on Monday 24 December 2012 until 10.00 on Thursday 27 December. It will be closed on Tuesday 1 January 2013 and will re-open at 10.00 on Wednesday 2 January.

National Library of Wales
www.llgc.org.uk
The Library will close on Saturday 22 December at 4 pm and re-open on Wednesday 2 January at 9.30 am.

Society of Genealogists (London)
http://sog.org.uk
The Society will close at 4pm on Saturday 22 December and reopen at 10am on Thursday 27 December. It will then be closed for the New Year at 4pm on Saturday 29 December and reopen at 10am on Tuesday 8 January after stocktaking.

Scottish Genealogy Society (Edinburgh)
www.scotsgenealogy.com
The Society's library will be closed from Friday 21 December 2012 and will reopen Monday 7 January 2013.

Chris

Having a Christmas present crisis?! Check out my range of genealogy books at http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html - perfect for the family historian's Christmas stocking...! Also now out - new Kindle edition of Tracing Your Family History on the Internet, from http://tinyurl.com/d3vqtz5

Scottish Genealogy Society workshops

From the Scottish Genealogy Society (www.scotsgenealogy.com):

Family History Classes

Following on the success of our Taster Sessions, the Society has put together a programme of workshops to assist members/non-members to delve deeper into their Scottish family history. Apart from the Beginners classes, these modules go beyond the usual birth, marriage and death information. The classes will be held, mostly on a monthly basis, at our Family History Centre at 15 Victoria Terrace and will cost £10 each. The schedule is as follows (all dates are Saturdays from 10am-12pm):

6 October
Beginners: This module is just what it says - for beginners. Ken Nisbet, who has many years of experience in researching family history will take this class.

3 November
Maritime: John Stevenson, our resident expert on all things maritime, can help if you have a query on anything regarding the Royal or Merchant Navy.

1 December
Emigrants: With so many ancestors emigrating to the far flung corners of the British Commonwealth and beyond, this is an important part of Scottish family history. Ken Nisbet can help you find the best sources of information to help you trace their whereabouts.

Other classes are planned for next year but have still to be confirmed. For further information or to book a class, please call 0131 220 3677 or e-mail: scotsgenpublicity@scotsgenealogy.com

(With thanks to Ken Nisbet)

Chris

Scottish Research Online - 5 weeks online Pharos course, £45.99, taught by Chris Paton from 26 SEP 2012 - see www.pharostutors.com
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Scottish Genealogy Society news

Thanks to Ken Nisbet for the latest newsletter from the Scottish Genealogy Society (www.scotsgenealogy.com):

Our Town Stories
We have been in touch with Edinburgh City Libraries about a new project they are working on. They sent us the following information:

Our Town Stories (www.ourtownstories.co.uk) is a new website from Edinburgh City Libraries that explores the history of the city through stories, images and historical maps, from 1700 to the present day. The current website is a pilot version and we plan to launch the new version later in the year.

We're continuing to create stories from our rich heritage collections and are also working with partners who have stories to tell. If you have a story about Edinburgh which you'd like to share online, get in touch with informationdigital @ edinburgh.gov.uk to discuss.


Doors Open Day 2012
The Society has been accepted to take part in this event which will happen on Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd September.


Northern Ireland MIs
An index has been created of the Northern Ireland MIs which are held in the library. This list can now be found in the 'Black Book' and cover Co Antrim, Co Down and Belfast.


New Publication
We have recently published a booklet on the Candlemakers of Edinburgh which was compiled by one of our members, Mr Richard Torrance. The 60-page document's introduction gives a lot of background information on the trade in Edinburgh. It also contains a list of past members, giving varying amounts of information such as apprentices' and employers' names and addresses, going as far back as the early sixteenth century (one Andrew Galloway in 1517). Also included is an index of past Deacons and other Office Bearers of the Incorporation of Candlemakers, Edinburgh. The cost is £4.00+p&p and is available from 15 Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh EH1 2JL. Tel: 0131 220 3677 or our website: www.scotsgenealogy.com.

By coincidence, we were visited at Victoria Terrace by the current Boxmaster of the Edinburgh Trades Organisation (which the Candlemakers are incorporated under) who informed us that they were holding an exhibition of their rare pictures, archives and artefacts at their premises - "Ashfield", Trades Maiden Hospital, 61 Melville Street Edinburgh - as part of the Fringe Festival. This is a free event and will run every day from the 1st - 31st August from 10am to 6pm. Special exhibits include the Blue Blanket, the Edinburgh Trades Banner, said to have been carried at the Battle of Flodden in 1513, an original National Covenant dated 1638 and a King James Bible dated 1617. The trades incorporated are: Surgeons, Goldsmiths, Skinners, Furriers, Hammermen, Wrights, Masons, Tailors, Baxters (bakers), Fleshers (butchers), Cordiners (shoemakers), Weavers, Walkers (fullers, hatmakers & shearers), Bonnetmakers and Dyers, and of course, Candlemakers.

(With thanks to Ken)

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

New SGS publications and classes

Thanks to Ken Nisbet of the Scottish Genealogy Society for the following update:

New publications:
Transcribed by Mr Russell W Cockburn from the Kirk Session minutes held at the National Records of Scotland, the Scottish Genealogy Society has just published four volumes on the non-conformist churches in Dalkeith:

Dalkeith Free Church Baptisms from 1843-1854 & Marriages for 1848 £3.50
This church came into being at the time of the Disruption in 1843

St Nicholas Church, Dalkeith - Testimonials 1764-1789 - £1.50
This church was founded in 1406 as a collegiate church dedicated to St Nicholas

Associate Congregational Church, Back Street, Dalkeith: Baptisms from 1755 to 1809 - £3.50


The Burgher Congregation Church, Buccleuch Street, Dalkeith - Baptisms from 1747 to 1763 - £1.50
(a praying society, which had existed from the time of the Covenanters in the village of Easthouses in the parish of Newbattle, two miles south-east of Dalkeith)

The information contained in these publications is a great boon to anyone researching their family history in Dalkeith and the surrounding areas as the baptisms and marriages do not appear in the usual Church of Scotland birth & marriage records.

Testimonials were required when moving from one parish to another, so that the receiving parish knew where the incomer came from, if he was of a suitable character, if he was eligible to receive communion, and unlikely to be a burden on the parish poor fund. This information is particularly useful in helping to track people's whereabouts both before and in-between the censuses.

As usual, these publications are all available from our Family History Centre, 15 Victoria Terrace in Edinburgh - tel: 0131 220 3677 or visit our website: www.scotsgenealogy.com.

Family History Classes
The Society will be holding a class on censuses: "What the Census Tells Us". This will take place at our Family History Centre at 15 Victoria Terrace in Edinburgh, on Saturday, 14 July from 10am-12.00pm and will cost £10. Space is limited so booking is essential. If you, or anyone you know might be interested in this class, please give us a call: 0131 220 3677 or e-mail: scotsgenpublicity@scotsgenealogy.com.

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Scottish Genealogy Society news

I've been asked to mention some developments from the Scottish Genealogy Society (www.scotsgenealogy.com) - from the latest newsletter:

Scotland War Memorial Project
On behalf of the Scotland War Memorial Project, Margaret Thorburn, one of our helpers here at the SGS has recently completed research into the War Memorial at Dean Church. Margaret researched birth, marriage and death records, Ancestry, Commonwealth War Graves Commission and censuses to produce a small biography for each of the names commemorated. Although this particular project was for Dean Church here in Edinburgh, it doesn't mean that the person actually lived there - perhaps their parents or wife had a connection and requested the name of their loved one to be added. For instance there is a mention of a
James Morrison Watt from Boharm in Morayshire whose parents lived at Gorgie. Also of interest is a young woman called Jeannie Cockburn from Traquair, Innerleithen. Jeannie was a driver with the Royal Army
Service Corps and died aged just 20 years old. A printed copy of the research is available here for viewing at 15 Victoria Terrace. Alternatively it can also be found at: http://www.warmemorials.org/links-scotland/.

New Publications
We have recently published an update of the Liddesdale monumental inscriptions. The previous transcription only covered burials up to 1855 and had one or two omissions. These have been corrected and
updated to 1995. The publication is now in two volumes: Vol 1 - Castleton at £4.50 and Vol 2 - Ettleton, Saughtree & St Mary's Chapel, Heritage at £5.00 and are available from Victoria Terrace or our on-line shop: www.scotsgenealogy.com/shop

(With thanks to Ken Nisbet)

Chris

British GENES on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES and Twitter @chrismpaton

Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk and www.facebook.com/ScottishGenealogyResearch