British GENES (British Genealogy News and Events)

Free entry to Cadw sites

2012-02-29T18:15:00.001Z

The Welsh heritage body, Cadw, is granting free access to all of its sites tomorrow, Thursday, March 1st. The promotion is to tie in with the new BBC series, The Story of Wales.

For more information see www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/waleshistory/2012/02/free_entry_to_cadw_sites_on_1.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Chris

Manchester military records

2012-02-29T12:53:00.003Z

FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) has released 74,000 military records for Manchester on its site - these comprise the First World War records of the Manchester City Battalions, or 'pals' regiments, as well as a First World War Roll of Honour.

For more information visit www.findmypast.co.uk/content/news/manchester-military

(With thanks to @RAKopittke on Twitter)

Chris

London school records go online

2012-02-29T11:40:00.004Z

Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) has added school records to its site for London from 1840-1911. From the site:

About London, England, School Admissions and Discharges, 1840-1911

This is a collection of School Admission and Discharges for schools in London. This collection contains more than a million students from 843 different schools. In 1833, Parliament started to provide money for the construction of schools for poor children, although it was still largely a private affair. Mandatory schooling was a local decision until 1870, when children were required to attend from age 5 to 10. By 1918, education was required up to the age of 14.

These records are lists of children who were admitted to and discharged from schools. When education was required, children could be discharged from their schooling if they were needed to work to help support the family. The records vary by school and some are more detailed than others. The records include:

Admission Date
Name
Parents’ names
Parents’ occupation
Address
Birth date
Age

The following boroughs and schools are represented:

Camden (26 schools)
City of London (2 schools)
Greenwich (19 schools)
Hackney (27 schools)
Hammersmith and Fulham (20 schools)
Islington (26 schools)
Kensington and Chelsea (9 schools)
Lambeth (36 schools)
Lewisham (21 schools)
Southwark (51 schools)
Tower Hamlets (74 schools)
Wandsworth (24 schools)
Westminster (32 schools)

To view the collection visit http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=1938

Chris

How war stories inspire children to learn

2012-02-29T11:36:00.003Z

I am so showing this to my eldest son when he comes home from school! It's a wonderful slide show presentation on the BBC website (went up about 2 weeks ago) describing what fascinates children about war stories, by Dr. Geoff Fox of the Imperial War Museum in Greater Manchester. To view the presentation visit www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16968920

Chris

Perpetual polygamy by the LDS?

2012-02-29T11:04:00.000Z

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints uses genealogy for its religious beliefs, hence its monumental efforts with the FamilySearch.org website and many other impressive projects. The Daily Mail has an article today on how this is being politicised in the United States just now, as part of the process to elect a Republican candidate for the forthcoming presidential election campaign. The target is Mitt Romney, who is apparently a Mormon.

Personally I couldn't care less about the church's religious beliefs, or any church's religious beliefs for that matter, as I am not at all religious - my idea of an afterlife is the preservation of the family history for future generations, so I am on a messianic mission of my own to find it all before I pop my clogs! I do, however, have a lot of admiration for what the Mormon church is doing in terms of its genealogical programme, as they kindly make their findings available for free. I am fascinated by the workings of churches, and their histories, however, and if the article is right, I've learned something new about the Latter Day Saints.

I know the Mormons believe in 'sealing ordinances', a ritual whereby family relationships are preserved for all eternity - a married couple can have their relationship 'sealed', for example, but a child can also be 'sealed' to its parents. They also have a programme of 'vicarious baptism', the process of posthumously baptising the dead by the use of modern day proxies, in order to guarantee that a soul can gain entry into Heaven etc. (This practice occasionally gets them into a bit of bother from time to time, particularly when it comes to the discovery of Holocaust victims being rebaptised etc). To find out who all these people are, they need to do the research - hence the interest in genealogy.

Another fact that is often quoted about Mormons is the use of polygamous marriages, which certainly used to be the case in the 19th century. Long illegal and abandoned, it is occasionally discovered to still happen with more fundamentalist members. According to the Mail, however, the church is posthumously marrying couples long after they have died, and more than once, with many different partners! I have no idea if this is the case, or whether the reporter has been mixing up his sealing ordinances - I certainly don't recall seeing any plural marriages on the IGI for my tree that weren't backed up with the right certificates!

In any case, it's an interesting article in the 'newspaper' (sorry, it is the Mail!), but has a slight whiff of with JFK being the first Catholic president, now it's the Mormons' turn. Read it for yourself at www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2107396/How-Diana-baptised-Mormon.html - oh, and as it's the Mail, it obviously features Diana in the headline! :)

Chris

Genies who inspire - Robert Davey MBE

2012-02-29T01:05:00.003Z

Discover my Past England finished as a magazine at the end of last year, but within its pages I had a monthly column called Gene Genies, where I would interview someone from the family history community to help gauge the pulse of the modern family history world in the UK. Perhaps the most fascinating interview I did of all was with Robert Davey MBE in mid-2010, an extraordinary man who did something for his hobby that went far above and beyond the call of duty. His achievement was quite simple: Bob took on the Devil - and won.

In the first of a semi-regular series, where I hope you as readers can help, I'd like to pay tribute to the genies who inspire us in our communities - either through their devotion to the hobby, the heights that their achievements have reached, or the inspiration that they give to others. So here's a summary of what Bob did that so impressed me....!

Whilst out for a walk in June 1992, Bob and his wife came across the ruins of the old 8th century built Anglo-Saxon Church of St Mary the Virgin at Houghton-on-the-Hill, Norfolk (www.saintmaryschurch.org.uk). To his horror he found that the building was being used by Satanists to perform black masses, with a pagan altar found inside, a goat headed deity on the wall, and the numbers 666 scratched into the wall. The building was still consecrated, and a horrified Bob decided to rescue it from its decline.

The Satanists soon got wind of his plans, sent him death threats and at one point tried to run him down with a car. After being terrorised for a considerable period of time, Bob went public in 1996, and the Territorial Army soon learned of his predicament. Together they planned a sting to tackle the devil worshippers, and on a specific date when they learned that they were planning to return to the church the TA surrounded them on their approach, forcing them to flee. They never returned. The full story is at www.saintmaryschurch.org.uk/bob_davey/

Since then the building has been lovingly restored to its former glory, with the roof, floor, windows, and missing stones on the walls all replaced. The church now has a Society of Friends, and as well as being used as a church once more it also houses a local museum. Accompanying the restoration is an excellent website, which contains transcriptions of many parish registers - christenings 1785-1935, weddings 1822-1942 and burials 1816-1892 - as well as other local records.

If you can think of someone in your community who you'd like to celebrate, please do drop me a note. Let's get our genie heroes recognised, whether in Britain or in Ireland, and give them credit where it is due!

Chris

LMA 19th century photos talk

2012-02-28T18:43:00.002Z

News of a forthcoming talk at London Metropolitan Archives:

Black and White
An introduction to the evocative nineteenth-century photograph collections held at LMA. This talk held at London Metropolitan Archives on Tuesday 13 March at 2 pm is FREE - but you must book in advance on 020 7332 3851.

To book visit www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporation/LGNL_Services/Leisure_and_culture/Records_and_archives/Visitor_information/

Chris

Royal Logistic Corps Museum website

2012-02-28T15:13:00.001Z

From the Royal Logistic Corps Museum (www.rlcarchive.org)

The RLC Museum Archive holds a complete set of RLC and Forming Corps Journals dating from the Nineteenth Century to the present day. The website www.rlcarchive.org has placed on-line Journals of The RLC's Forming Corps that were published between 1914 and 1964, covering the period from the start of the First World War to the end of National Service. The Journals can be browsed from page to page or searched by a word or phrase of choice.

The Journals are a valuable source of information on the activities of the Forming Corps and the lives of those who served with them. The Journals provide details of operations, exercises, unit news and Corps sport.

For those wishing to learn more of individual soldiers and officers who served in the Forming Corps the Journals can be a very useful source of research. The Journals published details of individuals’ promotions, postings, marriages and obituaries. Casualty lists, seniority lists and medal awards were also published in the Journals. At the very least the Journals can provide general background information to an officer’s or soldier’s time in the Forming Corps.

Also available on this website are the Quarterlies/Reviews of the Army Service Corps/Royal Army Service Corps (ASC/RASC) that were published between 1905 and 1964. These more scholarly publications provide a more detailed understanding of the work of the ASC/RASC. Articles in the Quarterlies were usually written by serving Officers on subjects that include doctrinal and technological developments within the Corps. The Quarterlies also published narratives of campaigns and operations, written with an emphasis on supply and transport in the British Army.

Over time, the format of the Journals did occasionally change. Consequently the content emphasis does vary. Please also note although this website offers access to all the Journals published between 1914 and 1964, within these years there were periods when some of the Forming Corps did not produce a Journal. However, activities and operations that did occur in years which Journals were not published are usually written up retrospectively when publication of the Journals resumed. Details for when the Forming Corps did not publish Journals are as follows:

The Army Ordnance Corps did not publish a Journal between 1915 and 1919.
The Royal Pioneer Corps did not publish an official journal until 1946. This website does include the Journal produced by 30 Group RPC between 1943 and 1945.
The Army Catering Corps’ first Journal was not published until 1947.
ASC/RASC Quarterlies were not published over the years 1915-1921 and 1940-1948.

For Further details please see www.rlcarchive.org

(With thanks to the Museum via my British GENES Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES)

Chris

Major WW1 digitisation events in Preston and Dublin

2012-02-28T14:56:00.001Z

The following press release comes from Europeana (www.europeana.com), and concerns a major First World War pan-European digitisation project requiring your help:

World War One 1914 -1918Digitising pictures, letters and memories for the 100th anniversary

Do you have a box hidden deep in the attic or under the bed that holds your great grandfather’s diaries? Maybe a letter from the front line? Or a photo taken at the time? Is there a special story behind it? If so, we want to see it.

We are building the first ever online European archive of private memorabilia from WW1 in time for the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of war – and we need your help to do this.

Today we are urging people to root out memorabilia from 1914-1918 to bring along to the Museum of Lancashire in Preston, on Saturday March 10 – one of the first in a series of WW1 Family History Roadshows that will be visiting Luxembourg, Ireland, Slovenia, Denmark and Belgium during 2012.

We anticipate that it will be the first time many of these items have ever been seen outside the family – creating a new and exciting source of material for historians, schools, genealogists and cultural organisations in their interpretation of how the war affected the lives or ordinary people.

We want families to tell us about their keepsakes, who they belonged to and why they are so important to them - and we will save those memories in our archive (see www.europeana1914-1918.eu/en).

Europeana 1914-1918 brings together a partnership of libraries, museums, academic and cultural institutions, which in the UK includes the British Library, Oxford University, JISC, and Lancashire County Council.

On roadshow days, historians and experts will be available to talk about the significance of the finds - while our staff will professionally digitise and upload them to the website.

And if you are unable to attend the event, you can scan or digitally photograph your own material and upload it on the website (www.europeana1914-1918.eu/en).

As the centenary approaches, it is vital we preserve these precious documents for future generations. Digitisation saves them from being lost or thrown away – and it allows the information to be incorporated into apps for smartphones and tablets that will bring history alive for people in contemporary ways.

In 2011, more than 25,000 digital images were recorded from nine family history roadshows held in major cities across Germany. These included: unpublished diaries, hand-drawn maps, portraits, sketches and photographs recording life under fire and on the home front.

Stephen Bull, curator of military history and archaeology at the Museum of Lancashire, said: “As the centenary of 1914 and WW1 approaches, it is more important than ever that we save these items. It tells us what life was like for the ordinary people of Lancashire – the soldiers, their families and the workers back home who kept the country going.

“We are hoping people will bring in anything from that period, be it a family photo, a love letter, some sort of document or object. It doesn’t matter if they don’t know the background behind it, once it’s online then it’s likely people will be able to fill in some of those gaps.

“And while experts scan these precious items, visitors can use the opportunity to enjoy our museum with its replica WW1 trench, meet costumed re-enactors and experience at first hand some of the sights, smells and sounds from a conflict that affected the everyday lives of virtually all Europeans.”

Jill Cousins, Europeana’s executive director, said: “Memorabilia and stories are kept by families for a while, but after a century their significance starts to fade.

“That’s why our online archive, which is collecting material from across Europe in a series of roadshows, is so important.

“The Preston event will give people the opportunity to share their memories, photos and diaries with future generations, while learning about the sacrifices their ancestors made.”

Jamie Andrews, head of English and Drama at the British Library, said he was delighted to be involved in the project.

“We’re already set to digitise more than 400,000 items from national libraries in eight European countries with our Europeana Collections 1914-1918 project,” he said.

“Add to this unseen material from people’s own homes and we will have a truly rounded picture of the impact of the war on families from all the different communities involved.”

Stuart Lee, director of Computing Systems and Services at Oxford University, said: “We’re thrilled to be part of this project. We pioneered this idea of collecting the memories of the community online - and concentrating on an individual town like Preston will give us a wonderful opportunity to assess the lasting legacy of the war in the regions.”

The roadshows are funded in the UK by JISC, which promotes IT innovation in higher education.

Stuart Dempster, programme director at JISC, said: “These roadshows will give universities, colleges, museums, galleries, archives, libraries, the creative industries and schools the opportunity to work together with the public to create new and exciting ways of considering the historical, political and social legacy of the war through innovative digital technologies.”

NB: The following are the UK and Ireland dates for participation, at venues in Preston and Dublin:

Saturday, 10 March 10.00 – 17.30
Museum of LancashireStanley StreetPrestonPR1 4YP
Tel: 01772 534075

Wednesday, 21 March 10.00 - 19.00
National Library of IrelandKildare StreetDublin 2
Tel: +353 1 603 02 00

(With thanks to the Europeana press office)

Chris

Stirling based family history course

2012-02-28T13:08:00.002Z

From Stirling Council Library & Archives Service:

Stirling Council Library & Archives Service is delighted to offer a brand new family history course entitled ‘Following The Life Lines’.

The course is suitable for complete beginners or those with some experience and is designed to take you from the very first steps in researching your family history through to the use of archival material to deepen your understanding of the lives that your forbears lived. It provides in-depth coverage of on-line resources, material available in your local library and primary sources held in local archives.

Conducted by experienced Library and Archive staff, the sessions will give you a thorough grounding in how to begin your research and how to take it further with lots of support from experienced, friendly staff and illustrations taken from all the sources discussed.

The sessions will be informal with plenty of opportunities for sharing experiences, questions and discussion. There will also be an opportunity to visit the Archives for a hands-on session using original archival material.

The course will run for six sessions starting Tuesday 17th April 2012, 7pm – 8.30pm at Bannockburn Library. The cost of the course is £70 (£60 concessions).

Please note it is not possible to register for only one class. There is a maximum of 15 places – so book now!

To register for the class, please pick up a leaflet at your local library or contact Stirling Council Archive on 01786 450745 archive@stirling.gov.uk for more details. Booking forms and payment must be received by 30 March 2012.

(With thanks to Roana Mourad)

Chris

RCAHMS releases Canmore user guides

2012-02-28T12:39:00.000Z

The Royal Commission for the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) has released two PDF documents on its site to allow users to understand how to use its Canmore database (http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk), which contains information on over 300,000 places in Scotland.

To view the free guides visit www.rcahms.gov.uk/guides/canmore-guides

(With thanks to @RCAHMS)

Chris

Archives, Digitisation and Heritage Tourism Workshop - report

2012-02-28T12:16:00.000Z

Roger Lewry has posted a report on a recent workshop on Archives, Digitisation and Heritage Tourism at the Centre for the Historical Record at Kingston University, which was attended by both himself and Marian French of the FFHS, as well as many others.

The full report can be read at www.ffhs.org.uk/news/news120228.php.

(With thanks to Roger)

Chris

Forthcoming Society of Genealogists events

2012-02-28T11:35:00.000Z

Forthcoming events at the Society of Genealogists (www.sog.org.uk) in London:

Sat 3 Mar 10:30-13.00 Family Historian Software for Beginners A Half Day with John Hanson (£14/£17.50)

Sat 3 Mar 14:00-17.00 Adding Your Family Tree to the Ancestry Website A Half Day with Mike Bollinger (£14/£17.50)

Wed 7 Mar 11:00 New Member Orientation Tours Repeats 12:00 & 3:30, must be pre-booked (£0/£00)

Wed 7 Mar 14:00 Getting the Most from the Society Catalogue (SOGCAT) A Free Lecture with Tim Lawrence (£0/£00)

Sat 10 Mar 10:30-13.00 Engineering in Tyneside A Half Day with Ian Waller (£14/£17.50)

Sat 10 Mar 14:30 Northumberland & Durham FHS Meeting

Wed 14 Mar 10:30 Using the SoG Members Area Online A Free lecture with Tim Lawrence but must be booked(£0/£00)

Thur 15 Mar 18:00-20:00 Stage 1 Evening Skills Course - 16 weeks Tutors: Else Churchill, Geoff Swinfield, Paul Blake, Ian Waller, Michael Isherwood (£160/£200)Those attending will be introduced to records for family history study and illustrate how they can best be used. This course will provide plenty of opportunity to use genealogical sources in practical sessions in the classroom as well as exercises at home

Sat 17 Mar 10:30 London Group Yorks FHS Meeting

Sat 17 Mar 14:15 Lincolnshire FHS Meeting

Wed 21 Mar 14:00-15.00 Researching Spanish Genealogy for Non-Spanish Speakers A Lecture with Mike DeLara (£4.8/£6)

Sat 24 Mar 10:30-13.00 My Ancestor was Irish A Half Day with Michael Gandy (£14/£17.50)

Sat 24 Mar 14:00 Norfolk FHS Meeting

Wed 28 Mar 14:00-15.00 The Islington Local History Centre & it's Collections A Lecture with Mark Aston (£4.8/£6)

Sat 31 Mar 11:00 Open Day with Free Lectures, Library Tours and Advice Free, but must be pre-booked (£0/£00)

For further details, and information on how to book, visit www.sog.org.uk/events/calendar.shtml#mar12

Chris

Guild's 6000th member

2012-02-28T11:19:00.001Z

A few days late with this one, but a press release from the Guild of One Name Studies (www.one-name.org):

The Guild’s 6,000th member
The Guild of One-Name Studies has reached another milestone. Today the 6,000th member joined the Guild of One-Name Studies. She is Mrs Sue Fisher-Pascall who lives in Chichester, UK. This milestone follows a very successful year for the Guild of One-Name Studies in 2010-11 when the Guild achieved its highest number of new members ever.

Of the 387 new members joining in 2011, 220 were from the UK, 69 from the US, 33 from New Zealand, 26 from Australia, 17 from Canada and 15 from Ireland. The remainder were from various European countries. 43% of the new members were from non-UK regions, which is a valuable step towards increased worldwide membership to the Guild.

Sue is studying the surname Pascall, with the variants Pascal, Pashal and Paskal, and hopes that the Guild of One-Name Studies will enable her to help and link up with other people researching the same. Sue Fisher-Pascall said she was interested in the Guild of One-Name Studies because she had already done a lot of research on the Pascall surname generally, as part of her own family history, and joining seemed the logical way forward to share her research with other people researching the surname or one of its variants. Sue had previously considered joining the Guild but found that the surname “Pascall” had already been registered by another Guild member as a variant of their main study. When it was agreed that the surname could stand in its own right, she immediately joined the Guild and registered the surname as her one-name study. In recognition of becoming the 6,000 member of the Guild of One-Name Studies, the Guild has extended Sue’s membership a further year to the 31st October 2014.

Details of all the Guild facilities can be found at:
www.one-name.org/guildsvces.html - where you can find out:
• more about undertaking a one-name study
• the benefits of joining the Guild of One-Name Studies, and the assistance members of the Guild can provide to anyone researching their family history on any of the 8,000 plus names currently being researched

Cliff Kemball, the Guild’s Publicity Officer, said today: “Attaining our 6,000th member is a significant milestone for the Guild of One-Name Studies and is a testament to the continued development of the Guild internationally and the benefits membership provides. We are sure that Mrs Sue Fisher-Pascall will benefit significantly from joining the Guild and that she will gradually take advantage of the services and facilities that the Guild offers.”

(With thanks to Cliff Kemball)

Chris

National Library of Scotland events

2012-02-28T10:58:00.003Z

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

NLS Roadshow 2012
East Renfrewshire Libraries, Giffnock
11 and 12 March 2012

NLS will stage our annual roadshow this month, working in partnership with East Renfrewshire Libraries in Giffnock.

On Sunday 11 March, a fair takes place at Eastwood Theatre, Giffnock, bringing together national and local library services and displays to celebrate local history. It includes talks by NLS maps and Scottish Screen Archive staff. No booking required.

On Monday 12 March, workshops take place for local schools, teachers and librarians.

The roadshows, run in partnership with libraries across Scotland since 2006, encourage communities to explore the National Library of Scotland's collections and services.

Reader Workshops
Getting started at NLS
8 March 2012, 6pm

Learn how to register as a reader, find your way around the Library, request material and find out about other services. The workshop includes a tour of the Reading Rooms.

If you are planning to register to use the Library after the workshop, please bring evidence of identity such as a current driving licence or recent utility bill.

Read all about it!
21 March 2012, 2pm

This workshop offers an introduction to the vast online newspaper resources available via the National Library of Scotland, including demonstrations and tips on how to search and discover the information you need.

Our workshops fill up quickly so please book your place online today, or call 0131 623 3918.

Chris

Cultural Education Partnership Group statement

2012-02-28T10:48:00.001Z

From Arts Council England (www.artscouncil.org.uk):

The Arts Council, Heritage Lottery Fund, the BFI (British Film Institute) and English Heritage are very pleased that Darren Henley’s review recognises cultural education as a central aspect of all children and young people’s lives. The commissioning of the review by the Department for Education and Department for Culture, Media and Sport shows a strong and welcome commitment from Government to cultural education.

We are looking forward to greater collaboration between the Lottery distributors and Non-Departmental Public Bodies involved in cultural education and to working closely together as the new Cultural Education Partnership Group. We will explore ways in which we can pilot our joint approach and deliver a shared vision of a rich cultural education. We recognise the benefits of coordinating our cultural education work, and will explore how we can ensure that our investment achieves the high level ambitions for children and young people’s cultural opportunities, regardless of their background, that Government sets out in its response to Henley’s review.

We share the ambition of Darren Henley’s Cultural Education Review and believe that investment in cultural education for our children and young people will help to drive forward the creative and cultural industries and the wider economy, and will benefit society as a whole in developing an understanding of our common cultural heritage.

Chris

Durham Records Online update

2012-02-28T10:31:00.002Z

The following records are now available on Durham Records Online (www.durhamrecordsonline.com):

Gateshead East Cemetery burials 1907-1909
4,239 burials at Gateshead East Cemetery, covering 1907-1909. Besides many street addresses in Gateshead, residences mentioned include Bensham, Dunston, Felling, Low Fell, Newcastle, Salt Meadows, Teams, and Whitley.Because these are municipal cemetery records, not church burial records, they present many more genealogically useful details. 99% of these records give either an occupation, a parent or husband’s name, or information about how the person died. This is our last planned block of burials at this cemetery. We now have all the burials at Gateshead East Cemetery from the time of its opening in 1862 to the end of 1909, nearly 68,000 burials.

Castle Eden marriages 1837-1890 updated with witnesses, occupations, abodes
Added 476 witnesses and the missing abodes, marital status, and occupations of fathers to our existing 194 marriages at Castle Eden St. James in Easington district, covering 1837-1890, plus one marriage that we missed the first time around. This is part of our ongoing “background task” of updating our Easington district marriages with the details that were omitted from the original transcripts (which were made years ago with no thought of sharing them publicly, so certain details were omitted). You can now get a fully detailed civil-registration-era marriage at this church in the period 1837-1890 for 1/6th of the cost of a civil certificate from the government – or less if you use site credits to view the marriage. We also realized that our table that shows what we have was wrong for marriages at this church – it said we had marriages to 1837, when in fact we have marriages here from 1698 to 1942, so your grandparents or even parents may be listed ! The table has now been updated.

If you previously purchased a marriage at Castle Eden in this period, you can now view the witnesses by clicking My Previous Orders and reviewing the marriage.

Brancepeth burials 1780-1812
931 burials at Brancepeth St. Brandon in Durham district, covering 1780-1812.
Residences mentioned include Bearpark, Biggin, Billy Hall, Billy Row, Boggle Hole, Bradley Burn & Hall, Brancepeth, Brandon, Browns Den, Burnigill, Butchers Race, Chilton, Crook, Dicken House, Durham, East Brandon, East Parks, Fell Heads, Flass, Goodwellfield, Hare Holme, Harrisons Folly, Helmington Row, Heslett House, Hill House, Hole in the Wall or Holywell, Humble Sledge, Hunwick, Ivesley, Jobs Hill, Langley & Langley Mill or Paper Mill, Lingey Close, Little Burn, Low Barns, Middles, Morley, Mown Meadows, Nafferton, New Hall (Wolsingham), Newcastle, Newfield, Ox Close, Page Bank, Pitt House, Primrose Side, Pringle House, Quarry Hill, Red Barns, Scouts House, Scripton, Sedgefield, Sleetburn Mill, South Brandon, Stand Alone, Stanley, Stob House, Stockley, Stone Chester, Sunderland, Sunny Brow, Tanners Hall, Tudhoe, Unthank, Waterhouses, West Brandon, West Parks, Wheat Bottom, White Lee, Willington, Willington Burn, and York Hill.

In the usually detail-rich 1798-1812 period, the parish clerk occasionally recorded the maiden surnames of the mothers of dead children, as he was supposed to, but he was not consistent with this practice and some burials of children include only the mother’s given name or only the father’s name.
We now have a complete set of baptisms, marriages, and burials at Brancepeth from the start of the parish registers in 1599 to the end of 1812, plus marriages to mid-1837.

South Shields Holy Trinity baptisms 1846-1848 updated
We discovered we had missed the last page of baptisms at South Shields Holy Trinity for each of the years 1846, 1847, and 1848. These pages were separated from their registers and in different places on the film. Now those 16 baptisms have been added back into the collection.

South Shields baptisms & burials 1763-1797
Aycliffe baptisms & burials 1813-1877
amendments to Robinson's Lane baptisms 1727-1797
Auckland St. Andrew baptisms & burials 1820-1851
Penshaw baptisms & burials 1831-1835

(With thanks to Holly Cochran)

Chris

Changes coming soon to RootsIreland

2012-02-27T22:29:00.001Z

This is an amended post from an earlier announcement.

There are some major changes coming soon to RootsIreland (www.rootsireland.ie), the online portal of the Irish Family History Foundation, with the addition of a new ScotlandsPeople like functionality. The site will soon be adding a new payment gateway, whereby you do an initial search, pay to see a page of indexed results and then pay to see the full detail of records of interest - as ScotlandsPeople does. There will be no images to view however, purely transcriptions.

Bear in mind RootsIreland is not just the BMD site - you'll find many census results there, including pre-1901 census fragments that have survived, and all sorts, so do check the source listing for every county page that you visit (via link on left of page). You may be surprised at what else is there!

(With thanks to Karel Kiely)

Chris

TNA podcast - The British Red Cross archives

2012-02-27T22:00:00.003Z

The latest podcast from the National Archives is a talk from Sarah Cox about the British Red Cross and its archives - it's a fairly short one this time, at just over 25 minutes, and can be heard at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/podcasts/british-red-cross.htm or via iTunes.

Chris

How WW1 ended European monetary union

2012-02-27T21:55:00.001Z

The BBC has a fascinating piece on previous attempts at European monetary union, including the Latin Monetary Union, which existed from the 1860s until the First World War. If you ever wonder if history truly does repeat itself, have a look at the article at www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17140379!

Chris

Business Archives in Scotland infographic

2012-02-27T16:27:00.000Z

From Kiara King, archivist of the Ballast Trust:

2011 was the first full year of implementation for the National Strategy for Business Archives in Scotland. To mark this we have preparedan infographic to highlight some of our achievements in our first year. The full infographic can be viewed and downloaded here: www.scoarch.org.uk/projects/businessarchives/implementation

The National Strategy for Business Archives in Scotland was launched in January 2011 at the Museum on the Mound it was developed by the Business Archives Council of Scotland and the Ballast Trust, with the support of the National Archives of Scotland and the Scottish Council on Archives.

Historical records are a unique and powerful business asset and the implementation of the Strategy will help businesses to promote, manage and exploit their archives and records effectively. You can read the strategy and our case studies featuring Tennent's, Diageo and Lloyds at www.scoarch.org.uk/businessarchives

Keep up to date with news about Business Archives in Scotland on our blog www.businessarchivesscotland.blogspot.com

(With thanks to Kara)

Chris

WDYTYA Live 2012 - Part 4: The Victims Descendants!

2012-02-27T14:34:00.000Z

The biggest event of all for me at this year's Who Do You Think You Are Live occurred during the final advice session that I helped with in the Society of Genealogists experts area on Sunday. I had already successfully helped two members of the public when along came a lady called Jacquie Watson, with whom it soon transpired I shared the most remarkable link!

Readers of this blog will know that my next book due for publication is The Mount Stewart Murder: A Re-examination of the UK's Oldest Unsolved Murder Case, which will be released in June of this year. Now this deals with the unsolved murder of my three times great grandmother Janet Henderson (Rogers) on March 30th 1866 in Perthshire. The police force which investigated the mysterious case was Perthshire County Constabulary, with George Gordon its chief constable. Gordon was also the chief constable of the constabularies in Kinross and Clackmannanshire, and just as the Mount Stewart Murder investigation was getting underway he was also having to clear up another investigation - that of the Blairingone Murder, and the trial of a certain Joseph Bell, who had killed a baker's delivery man by the name of Alexander McEwan in Clackmannanshire, just a few months before the events at Mount Stewart Farm. Three weeks after my own ancestor was murdered, Bell was hanged for his crime, a story which forms part of the book that I have just written.

So along comes Jacquie.... She sits down and asks if I can help with a murder she wants to investigate - no problem, says I, sure there's all sorts in local archives and at the NRS in Edinburgh. When did it take place? 1865 is the answer - what a coincidence says I, as I also had an ancestor murdered the following year! And where did it take place? Blairingone, comes the reply. At this point I just looked at her in disbelief - what was your ancestor's name, says I? Alexander McEwan was my three times great grandfather comes the answer!

Of all the people she could have picked to speak to, I happened to probably be the one person in Britain who knew her ancestor's murder story almost as much as I know my own ancestor's murder story, because it forms two chapters of my book!!! Needless to say, there was much excitement, and as I had the book on my iPad, I showed her some of the chapter as written and discussed some of the materials I had found to help explore the story - she will shortly be off to a few places in Scotland to help pursue the story for herself now!

So if anybody ever asks you why you should go to a genealogy event - it is because miracles do actually happen! :)

Myself and Jacquie Watson, the three times great grandchildren of murder victims investigated by the same Chief Constable in the same year - and soon to be told in the same book!

Chris

WDYTYA Live 2012 - Part 3: the pics!

2012-02-27T14:03:00.001Z

It was the Titanic theme this year for FindmyPast's Amy Sell

Chris Halliday from Scotland's Genealogy had a good event

It's the Blatchfords!

Deceased Online help in the search for bodies...

Nigel Bayley at The Genealogist stand

He's regenerated! A new editor for Your Family Tree magazine in the form of top bloke Adam Rees

My book becomes a poster boy...

Laura Berry from Your Family History - didn't quite agree with me that an article on the use of Ouija boards in ancestral research would really work...(thankfully! lol)

An umbrella with a really big hole at the top

Brian Mitchell on the RootsIreland stand

A few quiet moments before the Welsh rugby match gets underway...

God comes from Norn Iron. These are his friends...!

Rosalind McCutcheon gives an Irish lecture in the SoG regional studio

Some hay. In case the horses got hungry...

FlipPal - flip me, it was popular...

Helen Osborn holds the line at the Pharos Tutors stall

Kirsty Wilkinson from My Ain Folk braving a cold at her first WDYTYA event

The Titanic - built by Ulstermen, sunk by an Englishman. Oh sorry, the captain of the FindmyPastic, sister ship! :)

Helen Tovey and team at Family Tree magazine

Miriam Silverman and colleague from Ancestry

Queue for my Irish talk on Saturday - moving so fast it was a blur (not dodgy photography at all)

Society of Genealogists advice area - great fun

Chris

WDYTYA Live 2012 - Part 2: the news

2012-02-27T13:33:00.002Z

I've picked up all sorts of gleanings from the WDYTYA Live event, so here's a quick summary:

In discussions with both Brian Donovan and Debra Chatfield I have learned a few things on the FindmyPast front, both UK (www.findmypast.co.uk) and Ireland (www.findmypast.ie). The first Welsh parish registers will be going online within the next couple of weeks on the UK site, and the 1901 Scottish census in the very near future in transcription format. Future developments will include Kilmainham Army pension papers and records of the Royal Irish Constabularly, as held at the National Archives at Kew, and possibly some additional tie-ins from Ireland. Obviously on the Irish site the big launch just now is the Petty Session records which will be continued throughout this year. There will also be a new improved version of the family tree programme on the sites very soon.

The new unified FindmyPast platform, comprising data from the British, Irish and Ozzie sites, will NOT be a basic site with bolt on packages as I have previously reported in November of last year (as with GenesReunited), but will actually be very similar to the Ancestry model with a new worldwide subscription introduced. This will include the three current FindmyPast sites (and presumably the USA when it gets going) as well as the British Newspaper Archive. You will still be able to access individual sites though if you choose not to go for a worldwide sub.

The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland website at www.proni.gov.uk will be having a bit of a facelift soon, and a MAJOR resource for the north is currently being worked on just now, though likely not available this year. In addition the street directories part of the site is gong to have a bit of a revamp in terms of the user interface, and the online wills coverage will likely be extended to 1950 sometime this year.

MyHeritage (www.myheritage.com) will shortly be announcing a new calendar feature where you can order up printed calendars derived from the date hosted in your profile. I had a great chat with Gilad Japhet, CEO of MyHeritage at the event, in which he outlined how the company was started, and how he has been able to predict how the business will develop using tools such as Google Trends (www.google.com/trends/). He's also given me some interesting insight into the state of the competition, and some prediction which I won't share but which I will be interested to see if they come true! And thanks to MyHeritage's Laurence Harris for the loan of a media pointer on Friday when mine failed just minutes before my first talk!

TheGenealogist (www.thegenealogist.co.uk) has not only completed its indexing for the 1911 English and Welsh census, it is about to add images of the unredacted documents for that same census. A new global search is also now available on the site.

I checked with Ancestry (www.Ancestry.co.uk) and there is no sign of unredacted images there as yet, but there is news of something big happening soon for those north of the border, so watch this space!

Michael Leclerc, Chief Genealogist with Mocavo.com, is currently working on a book about Benjamin Franklin!

Scottish Valuation Rolls for the year 1915 are coming very soon on ScotlandsPeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk).

DeceasedOnline (www.deceasedonline.com) will also be adding more records for another authority in the north of England soon, and hopes to have a Scottish authority available soon also, as well as more burials inscriptions from Scottish Monumental Inscriptions (and with a bit of a revamp on their access).

Belfast City Council has updated its online burials database for City Cemetery, Dundonald and Roselawn to crucially allow you to search by lair number also - this means if you find someone buried in a particular cemetery, you can now search to see who else is also in the same lair - see www.belfastcity.gov.uk/burialrecords/search.asp

I've had the provisional nod also that another book title from yours truly has been agreed by the relevant publisher - hope to announce more soon!

If you picked up on anything else from the event, please do let me know in the comments section below! :)

Chris

WDYTYA Live 2012 - Part 1: the review

2012-02-27T12:36:00.000Z

Well I have just got in the door from London, after a long overnight bus trip to Glasgow, from another successful visit to Who Do You Think You Are Live (www.whodoyouthinkyouarelive.com). Although I worked on the Irish Family and Local History Handbook (www.genealogical.co.uk) stall with Bob and Liz Blatchford throughout the three day event, for the first time I also gave a couple of talks and helped out in the Society of Genealogy's experts advice area. In the latter I helped several people with queries, one of which was so extraordinary that I will blog about it later in a separate post!

So first things first - how was the show? It was undoubtedly successful, but seemed to defy the run of expectations in terms of who would come and when from previous years, as far as I could see. Normally the Fridays and Saturdays are absolutely manic (particularly Saturdays), and then it gets a bit quieter on the Sunday. This year, however, was a very different kettle of fish - Friday actually felt as if it started off much quieter than previous years, though did get busier later on, whereas much of Sunday afternoon was as busy as the Saturday. This bizarrely was actually a tad disorientating in the sense that if you felt you knew when things would get a bit quieter, an attack wave of hungry genealogists would suddenly arrive to keep you on your toes! (Hell hath no fury like a genie looking for a bargain!) The interesting thing amongst the vendors camp was that there seemed to be quite a different perspective on how they were each doing from one to the other - some had one of the busiest shows ever, others discussed how they felt they might be down in takings on previous years. So on that basis it felt different, and yet from what I've heard so far the attendance was fairly on par with previous events, and there was no obvious reason that anyone could pin down as to why it did feel like that. Very odd!

The show programme itself was extremely busy, with more floor space opened up in the upstairs area for the advice area and talks theatres etc. As a speaker, both of my talks were well attended, with my Irish talk on the Saturday sold out well in advance and attended by some 250 people - it felt a bit like doing the genealogical equivalent of Wembley! I believe this talk was recorded by the event and will go online on their site, or possibly the WDYTYA magazine website, either wholly or in part at some point soon, so will let you know if, when and where it does. Handout notes for my talks will also be going online soon (next day or so) on the Society of Genealogists website at www.sog.org.uk/index.shtml. I have to say - I had a ball in these, and I've read some great comments and heard some great feedback at the show from those who attended. Thanks for these, and I hope they might have helped with your research!

Unfortunately, I had hoped to record video interviews with a few people at the show, but was run off my feet for a lot of it, so this year the cupboard will be bare from me on that front - though I did record some Irish dancers at one point (will put online later!). Nick Barratt and John Reid, however, were running around like blue bottomed bunnies with cameras and recording devices, so there was a lot recorded elsewhere - Nick's interviews will go on his Family History Show site in due course at www.familyhistoryshow.net whilst John already has his first audio based interview online at http://anglo-celtic-connections.blogspot.com/2012/02/interview-with-chris-watts.html, featuring Chris Watts, who previously worked at TNA.

The after show events were great on both Friday and Saturday, and I ended up late on Saturday night having drinkies with a large group of Scottish based genies. It was good to swap stories, have a laugh and discuss what's happening in the world from our end of the island, so much so that we have discussed the possibility of having regular informal meets here in Scotland on the back of it - so looking forward to seeing something hopefully come off the back of that.

On the genie front also, I just want to give a quick shout to something new on the SoG website. If you join the SoG you can gain access to its online digitised holdings, but I have never until now really known what they are (other than what the society shares with FindmyPast). However, they now have a great wee document on the website breaking down what is available, which will definitely be of interest if you are considering subscribing - it can be seen at www.sog.org.uk/online/datsets.pdf.

I had the pleasure to get the Tube back last night to Victoria in the company of both Else and John Hanson, and had some great chats with them both then and throughout the weekend. It takes a lot to get the thing up and running, but Else has already confirmed that the show will go on - forget any rumours you've heard to the contrary. There was obviously a lot of work put in by all of the society's reps at the event, including those who helped to man desks for the experts area and more, and they all need a serious round of applause.

Final thanks once more though to Bob and Liz Blatchford - thanks for the craic throughout the event yet again!

Oh, and I met Esther - c'est la vie....! :)

Chris

Beware of heir hunting scammers

2012-02-27T11:11:00.002Z

I have received an email from Kasia Oberc of Fraser and Fraser (www.lostkin.co.uk/Default.aspx), one of the firms featured in the Heir Hunters TV series, asking if I could direct readers to an email scam doing the rounds just now from unscrupulous sources claiming to be contacting people on their behalf.

The full announcement from the firm is available to read at www.lostkin.co.uk/Pages/Heir_Hunters_issue_warning_of_e-mail_scams.aspx - things to be aware of include the fact that email is rarely used to contact potential legacy beneficiaries, and avoid messages with 0845 contact numbers, which the company does not use.

(With thanks to Kasia)

Chris

Rich island story scheme

2012-02-27T10:39:00.003Z

From the Department of Education (England):

New scheme to bring to life "our rich island story"

Education Secretary Michael Gove is to ask English Heritage to draw up a list of local historical sites so school children can visit them and be inspired by "our rich island story”.

Mr Gove said the part that the local historic environment has played, century after century, would inspire pupils by "bringing history alive”.

He highlighted how, for instance, schoolchildren in King's Lynn, Norfolk, could:

· see the remains of the Franciscan friary, shattered by the Reformation;
· visit the great Tudor pilgrimage chapel used as a gunpowder store during the Civil War;
· explore the opulent Restoration hotel, The Duke's Head, built to register support for James, Duke of York, during the exclusion crisis; and
· visit the dock from which explorer George Vancouver sailed to Canada.

Mr Gove said: "All of these are the physical remains of the rich, controversial and thrilling story of England. All belong to the people locally, and local children who visit them will be inspired to delve further.

"We have a rich island story, which can be brought to life by seeing our historical and heritage sites.”

English Heritage, which will receive £2.7m over three years from the Department for Education, would work with heritage partners to deliver the project. The money will go on recruiting brokers – including experts in heritage education – to work with clusters of schools and help use local heritage to deliver the curriculum.

Simon Thurley, Chief Executive of English Heritage, said: "Outside every school there is a rich history. In the high street, the housing estate, the park, riverside and field, every town, city and village is full of places in which significant events have taken place. We want every child, their parents and teachers to enjoy and take pride in the heritage of their local area and to understand the part it played in the rich story of England. Our Heritage Schools initiative will bring history to life both in the classroom and out of it, weaving it into the life of the community and endowing present and future generations of children with a vivid understanding of the place in which they grew up."

Both proposals could help to commemorate the 100th anniversary of World War 1, in 1914, by encouraging schools to link with historical organisations to identify servicemen who lived in their local area, or study local war memorials.

The proposals come as a major independent review of cultural education by Darren Henley, the managing director of Classic FM, is due to be published this week. Mr Henley was asked by the Department for Education and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Mr Henley also recommends that teachers – both newly qualified and experienced – are given more support so they can demonstrate the benefits and value of cultural education to children and young people.

Darren Henley said: "There are challenges fitting all the necessary aspects of teacher training into a relatively short period of time. So I believe more support should be given to newly qualified teachers in this area.

"Experienced teachers would also benefit from the availability of more wide-ranging Continuing Professional Development, allowing them to ensure that their skills in this area remain relevant and up-to-date.

"The impact great teachers and great teaching can have on a child's engagement with cultural education should never be underestimated. Every day in schools across the country, life-changing moments happen for children because of the intervention of a dedicated teacher.

"It is vital that the schools have teachers who recognise the importance of cultural education within their schools and have the training, experience and tools to teach it to a high level."

Chris

WDYTYA Live - update!

2012-02-26T00:54:00.001Z

Well, two days down and one to go - Who Do You Think You Are Live is as much fun as ever!

This is just a quick update as I am fairly exhausted after two very busy days here in London! I gave a talk yesterday on Scottish church records which was packed, a real surprise as it was the last talk of the day. Today however, I was bowled over at the second talk I gave on online Irish resources - the talk was at 3pm, tickets had sold out by 1pm, and I gave the talk to a packed theatre - some 250 attendees - and by far the biggest audience I have ever given a talk to! Managed to throw a few laughs in (always serious about what I do, but not necessarily in the way I do it!) and had some lovely comments and feedback after. It's the one talk I give which I think might actually improve people's health - they arrive in despair with ashen faces and no hope, and leave with a clutch of web links and rosey cheeks! :) I hope it helps with your research - possibly not the story about the Irish Free State Army making stockings from my wife's great grandfather's curtains during the Battle of Carrick-on-Suir, or the 1920s experiment by my 2 x great grandad to photograph ghosts at a funerals in Belfast City Cemetery - ah, but sure don't we all have stories like that?! lol Bear in mind that show notes for the talks will go online early next week on www.sog.org.uk, and a huge thank you to the two ladies who signed my talk throughout - hope my accent didn't cause too many problems!

People of the Genealogical World, your attention please: a weird rumour has been going around in the last couple of days concerning the future of Who Do You Think You Are. The rumour has been circulating that there will be only one more series on the Beeb, and therefore only one more live event. Tonight, Alex Graham from Wall to Wall Television (series heid yin) told a groups at the exhibitors event after the show closed that this was complete baloney - there have been at least two more series commissioned of the UK's Who Do You Think You Are, and I've also had it confirmed that the live show should be around for at least another five years. Pop quiz - how would you replace the ultimate genealogy brand? Answer: you wouldn't. The psychologists would have a field day with you if you tried...

The expert area at SoG has so far been a lot of fun, real 'think on your feet' problem solving, and I am absolutely loving it! I also gave three interviews today - one to Nick Barratt for his Family History show vodcast, another to John Reid of Anglo-Celtic Connections (but in his British Isles FHS of Greater Ottawa capacity - more on this soon, but Canada, batten down the hatches, I'm coming back!) and finally to James Young, son of Valmay Young of the Families in British India Society, who is studying a media course - been there myself matey, always happy to help out the next generation of communicators! :) (Good luck with the course!)

Couple of other quickies. Alba - Homecoming Scotland in 2014 is definitely happening - and Ulster, some non-lethal changes are coming soon on the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland website! (And a big thanks to trooper Graham Jackson at PRONI who gave me a real insight into the workings of FOI legislation in Norn Iron last night!). The Genealogist (www.thegenealogist.co.uk) has also completed its 1911 census release, and is about to release unredacted images, and has a nice swanky new global search (master search) facility on its site. And a new Star Trek device is now available at the show - FlipPal, a portable device for recording documents, and one which will apparently allow me in all Vulcanness to say "scanning" in a dead pan voice as I press the start button! One for tomorrow to explore methinks...

Finally, on the Irish Family and Local History Handbook we've been run off our feet today, a much busier day than yesterday. It's available at Stall 811 from Bob and Liz Blatchford, it's £10, and is a book blessed by the Lord God himself (*subject to confirmation).

Oidhche mhath an-drasda! :)

Chris

Jewish society at WDYTYA Live

2012-02-24T08:15:00.002Z

From the Jewish Genealogy Society of Great Britain (www.jgsgb.org.uk):

JGSGB to offer Jewish genealogical help at WDYTYA – Live! Exhibition

If you have Jewish ancestry, or suspect that you may have, drop in on Stand 141-142 in the National Hall at the WDYTYA – Live exhibition this weekend, where the Jewish Genealogy Society of Great Britain (JGSGB) will be dispensing help and advice for the duration of the show. JGSGB experts will be manning the stand in relays of six at a time. Come along and chat – they may look terrifying but they’re quite friendly really.

As the only Jewish family history society in the UK, the JGSGB has unique expertise in Jewish genealogy, both in the UK and internationally. Being able to take advantage of experience in overseas research is vital to many Jewish family historians, whose ancestors are more likely than not to originate from Poland, Germany, or Russia, among others.

Other items of interest to Jewish researchers will include demonstrations of the JGSG’s 20,000-name online database of mid-nineteenth century UK Jews; demonstration of the genealogical archives of the Gibraltar Jewish Community of mainly Sephardic Jews, recently exclusively released to the JGSGB’s online database at JCR-UK; and a selection of free notes and help sheets on Jewish genealogical research. This is also where you can buy a wide range of specialist books and pamphlets, some published by the JGSGB itself. And who could resist a JGSGB mug, exclusively available for cash?

(With thanks to James Taylor)

Chris

Hertfordshire Archive records to be digitised

2012-02-24T07:06:00.002Z

From FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk)

FINDMYPAST.CO.UK TO PUBLISH HERTFORDSHIRE ARCHIVE RECORDS ON THE WEB.
Project announced to increase access to up to 4 million baptism, marriage and burial records dating back to 1538.
First time that images of the original parish records from Hertfordshire will appear online

Leading UK family history website findmypast.co.uk has today announced at the Who Do You Think You Are Live Show at London's Olympia that it has been awarded a digitisation contract by Hertfordshire Archives & Local Studies. This significant new project will lead to the publication online for the very first time of between 3.5 and 4 million historic records from the Archives. The records are expected to launch later this year and will become fully searchable, only at findmypast.co.uk.

Spanning the years 1538 to 1990 (1910 for baptisms and 1928 for marriages), the records cover parish churches and bishops' transcripts from the whole of Hertfordshire, including:
. historic Hatfield, childhood home of Elizabeth I and the birthplace of the jet airliner
. the garden cities of Letchworth and Welwyn
. Ayot St Lawrence, home of writer Sir George Bernard Shaw
. Hemel Hempstead, Watford, Cheshunt and Barnet

Guy Strachan, Digitisation Manager at findmypast.co.uk, said: "The addition of these historic records from Hertfordshire Archives & Local Studies to findmypast.co.uk will be keenly anticipated by family and local historians alike, and will undoubtedly reinforce the website's position as the place to go for UK parish records."

Susan Flood, County Archivist at Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies, added: "This is a fantastic step forward for us to have our parish registers available on the web for all to access easily."

The joint announcement by findmypast.co.uk and Hertfordshire Archives & Local Studies was one of a number made by the rapidly expanding family history website at the 3 day Who Do You Think You Are Live Show, where it has a major presence. There they will be showcasing the many record collections on the site, including parish records from Manchester Archives, Cheshire Archives and over 40 million parish records from family history societies throughout the UK, in partnership with the Federation of Family History Societies.

Anyone wishing to be notified when the Hertfordshire Collection becomes available can register online at findmypast.co.uk to receive a newsletter.

(With thanks to Debra Chatfield)

Chris

West Country family history courses

2012-02-23T09:17:00.000Z

Details of some forthcoming family history courses in Somerset can be viewed at www.thisisthewestcountry.co.uk/news/9546096.Family_history_courses_on_offer_in_Chard/

Chris

Irish Petty Session records go online

2012-02-23T08:55:00.005Z

Here's some exciting news that I've been champing at the bit to announce for a couple of weeks!

One of the biggest ever records releases for Ireland finally gets underway today with the first phase of the Irish Petty Sessions registers from 1851-1910. These are the records of the lowest court of the land and the Irish equivalent of the English Magistrates Court.

From the FindmyPast Ireland (www.findmypast.ie) website:

What was the Petty Sessions Court?
These were the lowest courts in the country, which dealt with the vast bulk of lesser legal cases, civil and criminal. The Court was presided over by two or more unpaid Justices of Peace, or by a single paid (stipendiary) Magistrate. Judgements were made summarily by the JPs or Magistrate. In other words there was no jury. Each Court met daily, weekly or monthly, depending on the volume of cases to be heard. Every Court had a Clerk who kept the registers that are published here, and collected fees from those involved in cases.This system is still in place in Northern Ireland and Britain and usually referred to as the Magistrates Court. In the Republic the courts were replaced by the District Court in 1924.

Brian Donovan from FindmyPast Ireland very kindly sent me an example of the records a couple of weeks ago, which is presented below. The records typically contain the following:

Date
Name of Justice(s)
Complainant(s)
Defendant(s)
Names of witnesses
Cause of Complaint
Particulars of order or dismissal
The judgement
Act under which order made
The statute governing sentence
When and how amount ordered to be paid
The fine payment
Imprisonment
Name etc. of person receiving compensation
Name of defendant against whom order made
Name of defendant sentenced
Amount to be paid
Stamps and SignatureStamps for court fees
Judges signature

It is important to note that records for Northern Ireland are not included, and that this is only the first phase of records for the south, with some 1.2 million entries - a further 15 million records will be released throughout this year. A list of what is available for the Republic is currently available at www.findmypast.ie/content/petty-sessions-order-books along with further details about the collection. The first batch is particularly useful for those with relatives in Connaught or Donegal.

The following is the section on source information from the site:

What records survive?
There are very few registers which pre-date 1851, and none for Dublin city, Dun Laoghaire (Kingstown), and some other districts either because they were excluded in the 1851 act, or because the records do not survive.Most surviving records for the Republic are held by the National Archives of Ireland. This is the source for most of the records that currently appear on this site, and will do in the future. Other records are held privately or by local libraries and we hope to include them as well. The records for Northern Ireland are either held by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland or still reside in the court houses. We hope to digitise these too.

Have fun, and happy hunting!

UPDATE: formal press release at www.findmypast.ie/content/news-petty-sessions-order-books

Chris

19th century Merchant Navy records go online

2012-02-22T16:14:00.001Z

From FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk)

NEW MERCHANT SEAMEN RECORDS ONLINE
* First time that 19th century merchant navy records are available online
* UK merchant seamen records from two centuries now searchable at findmypast.co.uk

Leading family history website www.findmypast.co.uk has today released online for the first time Merchant Seamen records from the 19th century in association with The National Archives of the United Kingdom.

359,000 records of individuals covering the years 1835-1857 have now been added to the website. Details contained within the records can vary, but can include name, age, place of birth, physical description, ship names and dates of voyages. Often this information can be given in the form of coded entries which can easily be deciphered using downloadable finding aids from The National Archives.

The records are taken from volumes held at The National Archives in series BT112, BT113, BT114, BT115, BT116 and BT120 and were created by central government to regulate the merchant shipping industry. As the series spans two decades, some individuals may appear in multiple series, making it possible for maritime historians or those with ancestors in the merchant navy, to trace a seaman's service over time.

Janet Dempsey, Maritime Expert at The National Archives commented:"These records are as significant to the social historian as they are to the family historian. No other group of working class men and women had the freedom of movement and ability to see the world as these 19th century mariners. This was the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen's earliest attempts at keeping individuals records and resulted in four different registers over twenty two years. Although more of a challenge to work with than other family history sources, it can be very satisfying to decipher the codes and have your investigative efforts rewarded with sometimes surprisingly rich detail."

In 2011 findmypast.co.uk published Merchant Navy Seamen records from 1918-1941 in association with The National Archives, some of which include photographs.Debra Chatfield, family historian at findmypast.co.uk added: "The Merchant Navy Seamen records will be of great interest to family historians worldwide, as so many of us have generations of ancestors, who made their living at sea. These records will add more detail to our mental picture of their lives."

All the Merchant Navy Seamen records at findmypast.co.uk can be searched for free from the Education & Work section of the website. Transcripts and images can be viewed either with PayAsYouGo credits or a Full Subscription.

(With thanks to Debra Chatfield at FindmyPast)

Chris

RCAHMS lecture podcasts

2012-02-22T15:49:00.004Z

The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments for Scotland (RCAHMS) has begun to release podcasts from its current lunchtime lecture series. The following podcasts can now be downloaded:

Information Matters: The Secret Life of the Database'
RCAHMS Data and Recording staff MP3 (28MB)

'Discovering Cé: Excavations at an undocumented Pictish power centre at Rhynie, Aberdeenshire'
Dr Gordon Noble, Lecturer in Archaeology, University of Aberdeen MP3 (43 MB)

The podcasts can be accessed at www.rcahms.gov.uk/rcahms-lunchtime-lectures.html

UPDATE: RCAHMS has been in touch to say that it hopes to move to video lectures in the near future. A wonderful development.

(With thanks to @RCAHMS)

Chris

Travel to WDYTYA on Friday

2012-02-22T15:13:00.001Z

Just going through some notes sent by the Society of Genealogists (www.sog.org.uk/index.shtml) concerning travel to Who Do You Think You Are Live, as drawn up by Frank Hardy. I hope Frank does not mind me reproducing a summary of part of the notes here, as there will be some travel disruption on Friday, which may affect some, and Olympia is not the easiest place to get to.

There will be no District Line service to Olympia on the London Underground on Friday.

Alternatives:

Go to Clapham Junction by South West Trains, then from Platform 2 take London Overground train to Olympia (one every 15 mins).

Or - London Underground via Circle Line to Kensington High Street, then a bit of a walk, or bus from stop F (2nd on right as come out of station) - routes 9, 10 and 27

Or - District Line to West Kensington - leave station, cross over busy Cromwell Road and walk up North End Road to Hammersmith Road (1/2 mile) - turn right to Olympia (on other side of road)

Or - Wimbledon/Putney Bridge or Parsons Green District Line to West brompton, then cross to London Overground platform for Northbound train to Kensington Olympia, Willesden and Stratford - service every 15 minutes.

(With grateful thanks to Frank Hardy)

UPDATE: I've been contacted by a reader who says she can see nothing on this on the Transport for London site. However, I've just called the TFL customer service number (0845 330 9880) and have been told there is no service throughout the week at all except before 6am and after 10pm. There is apparently a service at the weekends though.

Chris

BBC Radio show tickets

2012-02-22T11:24:00.002Z

Tickets for the recording of the new BBC Radio 4 comedy Births, Deaths and Marriages can be applied for via the BBC at www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/shows/shows/births_deaths_and_marriages12. The comedy is set in a local registrar's office - full details at the site

(With thanks to Your Family Tree magazine via @yourfamtreemag on Twitter)

Chris

NLS - modern Scottish maps

2012-02-22T11:21:00.001Z

The National Library of Scotland has expanded its online maps resources to include considerably more Ordnance Survey material from the late 19th century to the mid 20th. For more details visit http://geo.nls.uk/partners/wilbourn/

(With thanks to @natlibscot on Twitter)

Chris

Tracing Your Family History on the Internet

2012-02-22T01:25:00.005Z

I've been informed by publishers Pen and Sword that my Tracing Your Family History on the Internet book, is close to selling out after its second print run, and as such will likely go to a third print run soon. To date it has sold over 2500 copies.

Thanks to all who have bought it so far - and if you have still to get a copy, it can be purchased from Pen and Sword via www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Family-History-on-the-Internet/p/2974/, or at this weekend's Who Do You Think You Are? Live event (www.whodoyouthinkyouarelive.com).

Chris

More burials on The Genealogist

2012-02-22T01:17:00.000Z

The Genealogist (www.thegenealogist.co.uk) has added additional burial records to its parish holdings for the following counties:

Lancashire over 11,500 individuals
Warwickshire over 10,600 individuals
Worcestershire over 1,400 individuals
Yorkshire over 112,800 individuals

The records range in coverage from 1394-1996, though the site offers no further breakdown on what has actually been added.

Chris

TNA podcast - Total War

2012-02-22T01:11:00.001Z

The latest podcast from the National Archives at Kew is entitled Necessity, the mother of invention: Britain's response to the demands of total war 1939-1945. The lecture was given by Clive Hawkins, a military specialist at the archive, and can be accessed at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/podcasts/necessity-mother-invention.htm or via iTunes.

Chris

Aberdeen and NE Scotland FHS AGM

2012-02-22T01:08:00.002Z

Aberdeen and North East Scotland FHS will be holding its AGM on Saturday, 17th March 2012. The event, an open meeting, will take place at theUnitarian Church Hall, Skene Terrace, Aberdeen at 2.00pm.There is no charge, and there will be a bookstall and refreshments available. For further information visit www.anesfhs.org.uk/meetings/2012-03.html

Chris

Island History Day in East London

2012-02-22T01:05:00.003Z

The East of London Family History Society is holding an Island History Day on Saturday, 17th March 2012 at Cubitt Town Library, from 10am-5pm. For further details visit the society's website at www.eolfhs.org.uk/news/files/f1d39b87d9d5daccd7db8bb2f6c0cd3b-286.html

Chris

Family History Show at the SoG

2012-02-20T19:07:00.001Z

Your Family History magazine's editors Nick Barratt and Laura Berry have recently been on a visit to the Society of Genealogists in London to interview Else Churchill and to get a look around behind the scenes for the latest instalment of their Family History Show. Laura's chat with Else looks at what a typical visitor might have to do online before a visit and what he or she might then be likely to find once at the facility, whilst Nick looks for treasures in the basement. Must admit, the letter mentioned on Sir Walter Raleigh didn't do much for me - but as for THAT BOOK....!!!!

You'll definitely want to watch this at www.familyhistoryshow.net/the-vodcasts/episode-4. And like me, you'll probably feel pedigree envy after...! :)

(With thanks to @GenealogyTalk on Twitter)

Chris

Deceased Online to add Yorkshire records

2012-02-20T18:36:00.002Z

From Deceased Online (www.deceasedonline.com):

Once again the team behind www.deceasedonline.com will be exhibiting at the London Olympia exhibition, Who Do You Think You Are Live.
We'd love to meet you on stand 813 in the heart of the exhibition
Visitors to the stand will be able to hear exclusively about new datasets for different areas of the UK that are due to go live over the next few months
In particular we'll be highlighting records for an area which will be the first city in Yorkshire to be included on the growing database.

All eyes on Deceased Online for further announcements then!

Chris

Ulster Historical Foundation adds Belfast records

2012-02-20T18:10:00.000Z

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

The first batch of new family records for 2012 are now online. We have added over 12,000 baptism records between 1900 and 1924 for St Patrick's Belfast.

The UHF supplies records to RootsIreland (www.rootsireland.ie) as well as its own site, but both sites don't quite have the same holdings and work in different ways. On the UHF site you can search by the child's name alone, or with the assistance of other fields - the names of one or both parents, and a year (with an automatic +/- 5 years), but not with any geography based fields at all, including an inability to narrow down by county (the site only contains records for Antrim and Down). A plus in its favour is that if I do a child search to a known couple, the results are returned listing the child's name, year of birth and the father's name - for additional information you then have to pay (£4 per record).

On RootsIreland you first select either County Antrim or County Down (or do an all-Ireland based search, or with additional counties). You can then search by the child's name alone, or with the assistance of other fields - the names of one or both parents, a year range (with the option of anything up to +/- 20 years), and the parish or district (with information given as to the religious denomination alongside each possibility, or if a civil registration record). On the down side, whilst you can specify a parent search and narrow down to the exact parish, the results do not provide names until after you have paid to view them. Results are 5 Euros each, though you can get a discount if there is more than one child born to a couple and you wish to purchase them all (10-15 records costing a set fee of just 30 Euros for example - the equivalent on the UHF site would be £40-£60).

The upshot of this is that you can maximise what can be found for free if you actually use both sites. Here's a suggested research strategy with the sites:

It's best to start with the RootsIreland website, which will allow you to target the area where you believe your family lived - but which will only say how many kids there are to a couple searched for in that area, without giving the children's names.
You can then find the children's actual names for free by repeating the search on the UHF site using the parents' names once again.
If you wish for further detail (exact date rather than just the year, for example, perhaps also address and/or father's occupation), purchase the records by going back to the RootsIreland site. If there is more than one child, you'll save a small fortune.

It's not quite perfect - if two couples with the same name live in two separate parishes at the same time, you won't be able to narrow it down on the UHF site, but this should hopefully be a fairly rare occurrence.

Other records recently made available on the Ulster Historical Foundation website (last November) include (with number of records in brackets):

High Sheriffs of County Monaghan, 1605-1879 (257)
Subscribers to James Orr's book of poetry, 1804 (383)
County Down mourning cards (427)
Return of householders, etc of Carrickfergus, 1834 (886)
Captain Conyngham's muster roll, 1759 (26)
Subscribers to the Leckpatrick Famine Relief Committee 1846/7 (260)

You have to be a member to view these though.

(With thanks to the UHF)

Chris

FindmyPast Ireland video tutorial

2012-02-20T17:11:00.002Z

FindmyPast Ireland (www.findmypast.ie) has a new tutorial describing how to search all records on the site:

(With thanks to @findmypastie)

Chris

Twickenham studios goes into administration

2012-02-20T14:08:00.003Z

Twickenham Film Studios, established in 1913 as St. Margaret's Studios before being renamed in 1929, and at one point the largest film studio in the United Kingdom, has gone into administration a year short of its centenary. The BBC has the full story at www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-17094943. The studio was recently used to make The Iron Lady amongst other classic films.

Chris

BBC radio sitcom to be set in registrar office

2012-02-20T13:49:00.001Z

The Society of Genealogist's Else Churchill has news of a forthcoming new Radio 4 sitcom to be set in a local registrar's office, entitled Births, Deaths and Marriages.

For more information visit http://www.societyofgenealogists.com/births-deaths-and-marriages-new-bcc-radio-4-sitcom-to-be-set-in-local-registry-office/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

(With thanks to Else via Twitter)

Chris

Ardagh wills online

2012-02-20T11:10:00.003Z

FindmyPast Ireland (www.findmypast.ie) has announced the release of a surviving index to the Ardagh wills, which were destroyed in the Four Courts Fire of 1922. From the site:

The Index to Ardagh wills cover the period from 1690-1857. They are extremely useful for those researching their Irish family history with ancestors from counties Longford and Leitrim but the dioces also extended into parts of counties Sligo, Roscommon, Cavan and Westmeath.

For more information visit www.findmypast.ie/content/Ardagh-Wills-1690-1857

(With thanks to @findmypastie)

Chris

Dorset parish registers on FamilySearch

2012-02-20T09:55:00.001Z

John Reid has news of a release concerning Dorset parish registers on the FamilySearch website - see http://anglo-celtic-connections.blogspot.com/2012/02/dorset-parish-records-now-on.html for the details.

(With thanks to John)

Chris

Who Do You Think You Are Live 2012

2012-02-20T09:31:00.002Z

Who Do You Think You Are? Live (www.whodoyouthinkyouarelive.com), the UK's biggest family history fair, takes place this forthcoming weekend in London. As in previous years I will be attending, though this year will be doing a wee bit more at the event than in previous years - at least in a formal sense!

For the majority of my time there I will be working with the wonderful Bob and Liz Blatchford on the Family and Local History Handbook stall (stand 811), where we will be selling the first ever Irish Family and Local History Handbook on its official release within the UK. Very much looking forward to it! As well as the Irish edition you can of course pick up previous copies of the UK version - there will be a new omnibus edition on CD of the first 13 volumes, packed with lots of great articles! For more information on the handbooks, visit www.genealogical.co.uk.

On Friday 24th I will be giving a talk entitled Discover Scottish Church Records at 5.30pm in the Society of Genealogists Regional Studio. This talk is for those who cannot find an ancestor prior to 1855 (when civil registration began in Scotland), and provides both a concise summary of the history of the Church of Scotland, our state church, and a concise strategy on how to target the records for those very churches not yet available on the ScotlandsPeople website or other sites.

On Saturday 25th I will then be doing a talk entitled Irish Research Online at 3.00pm in the Celebrity Theatre / Society of Genealogists Studio 1. The talk does what it says on the tin, looking at the key resources most easily available to help those not resident in Ireland with their research. This talk will be signed and is sponsored by Discover Ireland.

Talks for both tickets can be picked up on the day, or booked in advance - see the website. (Incidentally, for those unable to attend, I have written books based on both talks, which have been published by Australian based venture Unlock the Past - see www.unlockthepast.com.au/unlock-past-publications for details)

On each day at the event I will also be helping for an hour in the Society of Genealogists advice area, from 11am-12pm. Come and see me with any problems you might have with your Scottish or Irish research, and I'll see if I can help!

Don't forget also to visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd (www.pharostutors.com) stand at tables 45 and 46 for details on forthcoming family history courses at an affordable price. My Scottish Research Online course starts March 8th!

As ever I will be running around like a blue-bottomed bunny with my camcorder trying to get snippets from the great and the good of the genealogy world, and looking for snippets of news to share with you on my return. If you're a reader of this blog, do say hi, and if you are desperate to share a news story, I'm all ears!

See you there - I'll be the one with the ice cream! :)

UPDATE: In the SoG advice area I will be at table 5 on Friday, and table 13 on Saturday and Sunday - each day from 11-12

Chris

Cheshire FHS - new digs

2012-02-19T20:34:00.003Z

Cheshire Family History Society (www.fhsc.org.uk) has just moved into new premises at the Rajar Building in Mobberley. It's just had an opening night attended by the local mayor - you can read more via the Wilmslow Express at http://menmedia.co.uk/wilmslowexpress/news/s/1485560_a-record-of-history-and-research-finds-a-brand-new-home

Chris

Cheshire murders talk

2012-02-19T11:58:00.000Z

From the Chester Chronicle, an event on Feb 23rd:

CHESTER: Chester Family History Group meeting with talk on Chester Murders by Alan Hayhurst at the County Sports Club, Plas Newton Lane at 7.30pm. There will be a small charge for admission.

It's actually Cheshire FHS and on Cheshire Murders! For more visit www.fhsc.org.uk

Chris

Nine Trades of Dundee website

2012-02-18T12:18:00.000Z

An amazing new website on the history of the Nine Incorporated Trades of Dundee has gone live this week at http://ninetradesofdundee.co.uk, containing transcriptions from thousands of historic documents concerning the various trade incorporations - being the Bakers, Cordiners, Glovers, Tailors, Bonnet makers, Fleshers, Hammermen, Weavers and Dyers. As well as the records themselves there is also detailed information on the history of the respective trades, as well as information on apprentices, journeymen, master craftsmen and more. Here's one fascinating nugget!

The trades had three seats on the Burgh Council, but the Dyers were not allowed to fill one of these posts. Because of their work, the Dyers could not get the dye colour out of their skin, and the smell would have been unbearable in a close room. Thus it was not considered that they should represent the trades on the council.

The Courier has a story at www.thecourier.co.uk/Community/Heritage-and-History/article/21001/new-nine-incorporated-trades-of-dundee-website-tells-the-tale-of-a-city.html on the creation of the project, but this will be a major resource for those with Dundonian craftsmen ancestry.

Chris

Digital downloads from Anguline

2012-02-18T12:11:00.001Z

Anguline Research Archives is now offering its CD collection via digital download. At present 256 of 586 CDs from the company can now be downloaded, with more to come over the following weeks. Details of those currently available as a download are available on individual catalogue entries. For more details on the company's holdings visit http://anguline.co.uk.

Incidentally, for some free downloads on the site visit http://anguline.co.uk/free.html - I've just noticed the name of a friend's great grandfather here in Largs on the Scottish Temperance League Register from 1869, some useful material!

(With thanks to Guy Etchells)

Chris

Free South Australian vital records indexes

2012-02-18T11:47:00.001Z

Major news if you have connections in the state of South Australia (capital city Adelaide). The South Australian Genealogy and Heraldry Society's Genealogy SA website (www.genealogysa.org.au) has now added searchable indexes to its site for the following vital records categories:

Newspaper Birth Notices Index from 1960 onwards
Newspaper Death Notices Index from 1972 onwards
South Australia Cemeteries Index
Birth Registration Certificates Index 1842 - 1928
Death Registration Certificates Index 1842 - 1972
Marriage Registration Certificates Index 1842 - 1916

The records are also indexed on Ancestry.co.uk (via the worldwide subscription), but this is the first time that the indexes have been made available freely online by any state within Australia. The Ancestry collections also only cover 1842-1922, whereas here birth records go to 1928 ad deaths to 1972.

To access the indexes visit www.genealogysa.org.au/resources/online-databases.html

(With thanks to many sources down under, including Gould Genealogy, Unlock the Past, Alona Tester and Rosemary Kopittke)

Chris

Update from Durham Records Online

2012-02-17T18:10:00.002Z

The followng are the latest developments and releases from Durham Records Online (www.durhamrecordsonline.com):

New search filter for Spouse in Burial Records
The site has added a new search filter for the Spouse in Burial records. This means you can now filter your search results further and zero in on the record you want. For example, let’s say you run a search for the burial of a woman named Jane Wanless, but you get 10 or 20 results. Now you can add the first name of her husband “Johnson” as Spouse’s First Name and run your search again; this time, you will see only one record, that of “Jane Wanless, wife of Johnson Wanless”. This filter has been available for marriages for a long time, but we have just made it available in burials (including cemetery registers). Also, you don’t have to use a surname for this search.

Whitburn baptisms & burials 1813-1852
1,174 baptisms and 793 burials at Whitburn St. Mary in South Shields district, covering 1813-1852, from the parish register.

Denton baptisms & burials 1765-1812
656 baptisms and 262 burials at Denton St. Mary, a chapelry of Gainford parish, in Darlington district, covering 1765-1812, from the Bishop’s Transcript with lots of checking against the original register.

Hartlepool Christ Church marriage banns 1893-1898
97 marriage banns called at Christ Church, West Hartlepool, but not married here.

Durham St. Nicholas baptisms 1787-1797
598 baptisms at St. Nicholas in the city of Durham, covering 1787-1797. Abodes were not given in this period here, with a few exceptions for people who lived outside the parish. However, birth dates were given in most of these baptisms.

Tynemouth baptisms 1813-1817
2,976 baptisms at Christ Church in Tynemouth parish, Northumberland, covering 1813-1817.

Newcastle All Saints marriages 1822-1829
1,707 marriages at All Saints in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland, covering 1822-1829, from the Bishop’s Transcript.

Coming soon:
South Shields baptisms & burials 1763-1797
Gateshead East Cemetery burials 1907-1909
Aycliffe baptisms & burials 1813-1877
Amendments to Robinson's Lane baptisms 1727-1797
Auckland St. Andrew baptisms & burials 1820-1851
Penshaw baptisms & burials 1831-1835

(With thanks to Holly Cochran)

Chris

Forthcoming events at PRONI

2012-02-17T17:52:00.001Z

The following is a list of forthcoming events at PRONI in Belfast (www.proni.gov.uk):

23 February 2012 PRONI/OUI Lecture Series: Crime
Lecture by Dr Barry Sheehan PRONI 6:30.Admission free but booking essential – proni@dcalni.gov.uk

1 March 2012Charles Dickens Reading and Musical EveningReadings of Little Dombey and Sikes and Nancy by writer and director, Sam McCready and Leon Litvack. Songs performed by the Pickwick Players in full period dress. PRONI ( Pickwick Players from 5:45pm, readings at 6:30pm) – admission free, but booking essential for readings – contact PRONI proni@dcalni.gov.uk

29 March 2012 PRONI/OUI Lecture Series: Urban HistoryLecture by Dr Olwen Purdue PRONI 6:30 pmAdmission free but booking essential – proni@dcalni.gov.uk

4 April 2012 Lost Voices from the TitanicTalk by genealogist and TV Presenter, Dr Nick Barratt PRONI 1pmAdmission free but booking essential – proni@dcalni.gov.uk

12 April 2012 Titanic Festival of Creative Arts at PRONIMusical and theatrical event, in collaboration with Belfast Titanic Company.PRONI 6:30 pmAdmission free but booking essential – proni@dcalni.gov.uk

19 April 2012 Titanic: Belfast’s OwnTalk by author and Chair of Belfast Titanic Society, Stephen CameronPRONI 6:30 pmAdmission free but booking essential – proni@dcalni.gov.uk

24 April 2012 All at SeaTalk by Dr Ann McVeigh on PRONI maritime sourcesPRONI 1:00 pmAdmission free but booking essential – proni@dcalni.gov.uk

26 April PRONI/OUI Lecture Series: Families PRONI 6:30 pmAdmission free but booking essential – proni@dcalni.gov.uk

2 May – 25 May 2012 Ground Zero 360: a photographic retrospectiveUK premier of a photographic exhibition by Nicola McClean, depicting the aftermath of the attack on the World Trade September on 9/11Admission free

(With thanks to Gavin McMahon at PRONI)

Chris

National Library of Wales developments

2012-02-16T15:48:00.003Z

Two useful pieces of news from the latest newsletter of the National Library of Wales (www.llgc.org.uk).

The first is that a new special bus service will soon be offered to the Library by Arriva, which will take you to the library's front door from pick ups in the town of Aberystwyth and the University campus.

Secondly, the library is currently finishing its work on the Welsh Journals Online project. This massive digital resource includes publications from several family history and historical societies, available for free at http://welshjournals.llgc.org.uk/

(With thanks to the National Library of Wales)

Chris

First ten years of the Irish Free State

2012-02-16T15:32:00.002Z

In 1922 Ireland was partitioned. In the Irish Free State, a bloody but short civil war followed between different factions of the old IRA - one half accepting dominion status under the Crown as the new army of the Irish Free State, the other refusing to accept British overlordship and unwilling to rest until a fully fledged republic was born. The Free State side won - but then what?

A fascinating and critical account of the first ten years of the Irish Free State's existence is now available in an excellent blog post at http://irishhistorypodcast.ie/2012/02/13/torture-murder-and-exclusion-irelands-first-10-years-of-independence/. If you think you know the history of Ireland, this might provide a new and valuable insight.

(With thanks to @FindmyPastie)

Chris

More Scottish photos from RCAHMS

2012-02-16T15:26:00.002Z

The Royal Commission for the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) has released a new online gallery of photos from the 1850s to the 1950s, all of which have been derived from glass plate negatives. They can be viewed at http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/publication/?publication=glassplatenegatives

(With thanks to @rcahms)

Chris

MyHeritage offers DNA testing

2012-02-16T12:53:00.002Z

From MyHeritage (www.myheritage.com):

MyHeritage brings DNA testing to the global community

World’s largest family network offers DNA testing to a new global audience - enabling millions of families to discover their ethnic roots and previously unknown relatives

PROVO, Utah & LONDON & TEL AVIV, Israel – February 16, 2012: MyHeritage, the most popular family network on the web, announced today the integration of DNA testing into its core family history offering. The move adds genetic genealogy to the company’s suite of tools for researching family history, used by millions of families around the world.

With more than 62 million registered users and 21 million family trees, MyHeritage has become the trusted home on the web for families wishing to explore their family history, share memories and stay connected. With the new biological layer added to the MyHeritage experience, users can now enjoy a service combining science, intuitive web features and social networking for discovering and sharing their family legacy.

“DNA testing provides a fascinating new way to discover one’s origins and find previously unknown relatives”, said MyHeritage Founder and CEO Gilad Japhet. “Offering the highest quality DNA tests to our tens of millions of users around the world in 38 languages, and providing DNA matches with hundreds of thousands of people who have already had their DNA tested, significantly advances our mission of bringing family history to the masses. By combining DNA with our innovative Smart Matching™ technology, families will be closer than ever before to constructing a more complete picture of their history”.

DNA is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms. By purchasing a simple cheek-swab DNA test, users can now use information contained in their DNA to find present-day relatives who share a common ancestor up to many hundreds of years ago. A DNA test can also reveal ethnic origins such as Native American, African or Jewish descent on paternal or maternal lines, as well as uncover ancestral information for those who were adopted. While DNA tests can break through brick walls in family history research by revealing biological relations, MyHeritage’s flagship Smart Matching™ technology then steps in to help piece together the paper trail by uncovering how the family trees of related people actually connect. In addition, people with the same paternal surname can get together via MyHeritage to see if they’re related by DNA.

MyHeritage is introducing today a wide range of DNA tests to meet different research objectives and budgets, with special discounted prices for MyHeritage subscribers starting from as low as $84. Users can identify the deep ancestral origins of their direct paternal line (Y-DNA), of their direct maternal line (mtDNA), find relatives across all lines via autosomal DNA (Family Finder), receive a percentage breakdown of their ethnic roots and confirm or disprove whether someone is a close relative. View the full list of the DNA kits on MyHeritage and a list of Frequently Asked Questions about DNA tests on MyHeritage.

For the analysis of users’ DNA tests and the DNA matching, MyHeritage is working with long-time partner and global leader in genealogy DNA, Family Tree DNA. Pioneers of genetic genealogy and with a state-of-the-art laboratory, Family Tree DNA has established the world’s largest DNA database for genealogy and is well known for its work with National Geographic on the Genographic Project. All information is kept strictly confidential and is never shared.

Bennett Greenspan, President and CEO of Family Tree DNA said “We’re proud to work with MyHeritage to bring DNA testing to a much wider, global audience. The phenomenal size and reach of the global MyHeritage family network will create new horizons in collecting DNA data, helping many more people discover their ancestral origins”.

(With thanks to Laurence Harris)

Chris

Ancestry to stream lectures at WDYTYA

2012-02-16T11:25:00.002Z

Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) is to stream six presentations from Who Do You Think You Are? Live event next week on February 24th and 25th. The stream can be watched on its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/AncestryUK

The talks are scheduled as follows:

Friday 24th February 2012
10:30 – 11:15 GMT: First steps: Build your family tree with censuses and birth, marriage and death records
13:30 – 14:45 GMT: Ancestry.co.uk revealed: the brand new features in the best-selling family history software
15:30 – 16:15 GMT: Before 1837 by TONY ROBINSON: Discover the events that shaped your ancestors’ lives, and the records they left behind.

Saturday 25th February 2012
11:00 – 11:45 GMT: Going further: Discover your ancestors all over the world with our global records
13:00 – 13:45 GMT: Parish records: Uncover the records for your area and trace your family all the way back to Tudor times
15:00 – 15:45 GMT: Getting started: Build your family tree with censuses and birth, marriage and death records

(With thanks to Annabel Reeves at Ancestry)

Chris

Free access to Canadian BMD records on Ancestry

2012-02-16T10:50:00.001Z

Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) has announced free access to its Canadian BMD holdings until February 20th. The collections can be searched at http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/group/canada_bmd?o_iid=50451&o_lid=50451&o_sch=Inbound

(With thanks to @AncestryUK)

Chris

1891 Scottish census on FindmyPast

2012-02-16T10:46:00.003Z

Findmypast has released a transcript of the 1891 Scottish census on its site at www.findmypast.co.uk, joining the previously released censuses from 1841-1881. This leaves just 1901 to be made available on the site.

No plans have been announced as yet to make the 1911 census available in due course, though this can be found on parent company Brightsolid's sister site, ScotlandsPeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk), operated in partnership with the Scottish Government.

(With thanks to @findmypast)

Chris

New publications from Troon FHS

2012-02-15T21:01:00.002Z

Troon@Ayrshire Family History Society (http://troonayrshirefhs.org.uk) has just released two new publications:

Memorial Inscriptions for Shewalton Cemetery, Irvine. This is a transcription of all existing gravestone inscriptions up to late 2011. It is available, text only, as a book at a price of £6.00 or a CD including text plus photographs of all stones, at a price of £5.00.

Airshire News Volume 4. This is the latest in the set of Ayrshire newspaper extracts and covers the period 1821 to 1830. It is available in book form at a price of £5.50 or as a CD at £4.50.Details of all Troon @ Ayrshire FHS publications and postage costs are available on the website www.troonayrshirefhs.org.uk

Troon is also hosting the 2012 Joint Meeting of the Ayrshire Family History Societies on Tuesday 20th March at 7:30 pm, at St. Meddan's Church Hall, Church Street, Troon, KA10 6HT. The topic by Bruce Durie is 'The Golfers - Updating Charles Lees' Famous Painting' - a painting I'm very familiar with, being one of the students who updated it! There's more about the project at http://scottishancestry.blogspot.com/2010/07/golfers-painting-recreated.html

Chris

Manchester and Lancashire FHS open day

2012-02-15T20:15:00.005Z

From Messenger Newspapers:

THE Manchester and Lancashire Family History Society is holding an open day on February 25, between 11 am and 3 pm, at Clayton House 59 Piccadilly (opposite Portland Street), Manchester M1 2AQ. All welcome.

Chris

Wirral Pals talk at Ellesmere Port

2012-02-15T20:12:00.003Z

Ellesmere Port Local and Family History Society is hosting a talk on Tuesday, February 21, by Peter Threlfall, about The Wirral Pals (13th Battalion Cheshire Regiment).

For further details see www.ellesmereportpioneer.co.uk/ellesmere-port-news/local-ellesmere-port-news/2012/02/15/talk-on-wirral-pals-of-13th-battalion-cheshire-regiment-to-be-held-in-ellesmere-port-55940-30330398/

Chris

Titanic workers to remain anonymous?

2012-02-15T19:35:00.000Z

A blow to those, who like me, had ancestors who worked on the Titanic during its construction in Northern Ireland. Three weeks ago I contacted the Titanic Belfast experience, due to open in April, to ask about facilities to be made available at the new exhibition as part of research for an article for a magazine. Amongst its new offerings I was told there would be an area that would include facilities to help those who worked on the vessel. Over three weeks since contacting them (and with the article now having gone to print!), I have now just received an email from their press department in response to a request for images, which unfortunately includes the following statement:

Titanic Belfast will include a list of all the passengers on board the ship. Unfortunately we are not aware of it including a list of Harland and Wolff workers. I imagine this would be hard to come by as there were over 35,000 men employed there at its height.

To say I am a bit hacked off is probably an understatement. At present I am unclear as to whether this means there isn't such a facility, or just that the PR person isn't aware of one. I hope to go over myself to see the centre when it opens, so will let you know what I find there when I do.

Not very impressed...!

Chris

RAF Squadron Operations Records online

2012-02-15T14:51:00.002Z

The National Archives has placed records from AIR27 online, the Squadron Operations Records of the RAF held within the Air Ministry collection. The records are accessible from Documents Online, and searchable by squadron number and date range - most records start in the 1930s, though there are some earlier entries.

For more information see www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/squadron-operations.asp

(With thanks again to @sheenatait)

Chris

More Scottish OS maps online

2012-02-15T14:06:00.000Z

The National Library of Scotland has added another 25,000 Ordnance Survey maps to its site at http://maps.nls.uk, including two main map series – the six-inch (1:10,560) and 25 inch (1:2,500) to the mile maps, from 1892-1960.

For more information visit www.celebrate-scotland.co.uk/News-and-Features/More_Ordnance_Survey_county_maps_for_Scotland_go_online/

(With thanks to @sheenatait on Twitter)

Chris

TNA Podcast - The Last Slave Market

2012-02-15T14:02:00.002Z

The latest podcast from the National Archives is a talk entitled The Last Slave Market, by Dr. John Kirk, focussing on the last slave market in Zanzibar in the mid 19th century. To listen visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/podcasts/last-slave-market.htm

(With thanks to @UKNatArchives)

Chris

Irish Resources Online talk

2012-02-15T11:50:00.002Z

I'll be giving a talk to Renfrewshire FHS (www.renfrewshirefhs.co.uk) tomorrow evening (Thurs 16th) at 7.30pm in Paisley Museum on Irish family history resources that are available online. The museum is on Paisley's High Street.

For those down south I'll be doing the same talk next week on Saturday 25th at 3pm at the Who Do You Think You Are? Live show (see www.whodoyouthinkyouarelive.com/)

Hopefully see some of you soon!

Chris

FindmyPast updates app

2012-02-15T10:31:00.003Z

FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) has updated its app for i-devices, called iFMP. Where before it allowed you to access the old BMD databases, it now offers fully searchable BMDs from the new indexes, as well as census material (not present before). It can be used on all i-devices (iPad, iPod, i-phones etc), though like its predecessor the interface is still at the lower resolution for i-phones etc, meaning iPad users will have to use the 2x button to make it usable, lowering the resolution. Nice piece of software otherwise, with excellent functionality. (NB: This is for the British FindmyPast site!)

(With thanks to @findmypast on Twitter)

Chris

Family History Fair in Newry

2012-02-15T10:05:00.000Z

From the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (www.proni.gov.uk):

Libraries NI invites you to explore your roots and find out more about where your family comes from, at a Family History Fair, being held on Saturday 28th April in Newry City Library.

An open invitation has been extended to all budding family historians and anyone searching for their ancestors to come along any time from 10.00am – 4.00pm, to avail of free advice and guidance from experts and experienced researchers.

Exhibitors attending will include representatives from Libraries NI, Public Record Office of NI (PRONI), Somme Heritage Centre, ULTACH, PSNI Police Museum, Mellon Centre for Migration Studies, Northern Ireland Screen as well as local history and family history organisations

(With thanks to Gavin McMahon)

Chris

Irish genealogy show nominated for award

2012-02-14T18:43:00.003Z

Congratulations to Irish Gaelic medium RTE series Cé A Chónaigh I Mo Theachsa? (Who Lived in my House?) for its nomination as best Factual Entertainment series in the forthcoming Celtic Media Awards. The full list of nominees is available at www.celticmediafestival.co.uk/11,29/the_festival/shortlist/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Shortlist+Announcement&utm_content=Shortlist+Announcement+CID_867cef6d0293b480efbd470cd57b31ec&utm_source=Email+marketing+software&utm_term=here

(And a special good luck also to a former colleague of mine, Hedda MacLeod, for her Belarus edition of Eòrpa in the Current Affairs category - first series I worked on when I moved to Scotland in 1997, and still the best team of programme makers on the planet!)

(With thanks to @Gaelicsinger on Twitter)

Chris

Leighlin administrations released online

2012-02-14T15:22:00.002Z

FindmyPast Ireland (www.findmypast.ie) has announced the following:

Today we launch some more death records to help with your Irish family histroy research. The Index to Leighlin Administrations covers the period from 1700-1857 and should prove extremely useful for those researching their Irish family history with ancestors from counties Carlow, Laois (Queen’s County), Wicklow and Kilkenny.

For more information on the collection visit http://www.findmypast.ie/content/Leighlin-Administrations-1700-1857

(With thanks to @findmypastie)

Chris

Dorset FHS Family History Week

2012-02-13T20:34:00.001Z

Dorset Family History Society (http://dorsetfhs.org.uk) is holding a series of advice sessions at Poole Central and Hamworth Libraries, as part of its Family History Week, which commenced today.

For more information visit The Breaker's coverage at www.thebreaker.co.uk/2012/02/13/research-advice-on-family-history/

Chris

North West Kent FHS AGM & Family History Day

2012-02-13T20:30:00.002Z

North West Kent Family History Society is holding its AGM and Family History Day on Saturday 28th April 2012 at Sevenoaks Community Centre. For more information visit www.nwkfhs.org.uk/agm2012.htm

Chris

Newtownabbey Titanic talk

2012-02-13T20:25:00.003Z

The Newtownabbey branch of the North of Ireland Family History Society (www.nifhs.org/newtownabbey.htm) is meeting at 7pm in the Drama Theatre at Glengormley High School, Ballyclare Road, on Monday, February 13, to hear a talk by Susie Millar entitled The Two Pennies - A Titanic Story.

(With thanks to the Newtownabbey Times)

Chris

Forthcoming Scottish Research Online course

2012-02-13T19:05:00.001Z

March sees a few Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd (www.pharostutors.com) genealogy courses starting, not least of which is one from yours truly!

Scottish Research Online

Scotland was first to have major records digitised 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.

Instructor: Chris Paton

Scotlands People, Family Search, Ancestry, FreeCen: content, comparison, assessmentEssential Maps and Gazetteers
Civil Registration and Census Research Online
Searching in Church of Scotland Registers Online
Scottish Wills and Inventories Online
Take It From Here

Note: it is recommended but not required that students in this course sign up for the basic search option, 30 units/seven days, at ScotlandsPeople (cost is seven pounds)

Each lesson includes exercises and activities; a minimum of 1 one-hour chat (See How the Courses Work page at www.pharostutors.com/courseshowwork.php).

STUDENTS SAID: "I particularly liked the fact that the course didn't just focus on the well-known BMD resources available, but on a much wider range of websites, including many which give extremely useful background information on the geography and history of the localities where our ancestors lived." "a very knowledgeable Instructor"

Also still available in March:

My British Isles Origins - When and How do I Cross the Pond?
Sherry Irvine, 5 weeks

Beginners Guide to Creating and Researching Your Family Tree
Hannah Baker, 3 weeks

Manorial Records for Family and Local Historians
Liz Carter, 5 weeks

World War Research
Simon Fowler, 3 weeks

Developing and Writing Your Family History
Brian Drescher, 3 weeks

Climbing Trees - How to get children interested in family history
Hannah Baker, 4 weeks

For more information on Pharos courses please visit www.pharostutors.com

Chris

The East India Company and Me event

2012-02-13T18:32:00.000Z

The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich will be hosting a day long programme of events under the theme of The East India Company and Me: Trace Your Family Roots, on Feb 25th 2012, from 11am-6pm.

For details on the programme visit www.new.fibis.org/archives/550

(With thanks to the Families in British India Society)

Chris

New blog from the National Archives

2012-02-13T15:18:00.002Z

The National Archives at Kew has launched a new blog online at http://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk, which it will be using to carry posts from members across the archive. There should be three to five posts a week, according to the site's first blogger, Oliver Morley, the organisation's chief executive.

To navigate there from the home page of the main website at www.nationalararchives.gov.uk either follow the link at the foot of the page (Blog), or go to About Us and then to the Get Involved link, followed by Social media - you'll also find other links on this page to Twitter, Flickr, YouTube and more.

(With thanks to @UKNationalArchives via Twitter)

Chris

Passing of archivist Elizabeth Berry

2012-02-13T12:03:00.002Z

With thanks to Wendy Archer and Keith Sweetmore of North Yorkshire County Record Office for the following:

Some sad news - Elizabeth Berry has died, at the age of 84. Elizabeth wasCounty Archivist of West Yorkshire from 1974 until 1986, and in those yearsa leading member of the Society of Archivists and a pioneering advocate forarchives on the national stage. There is a private family cremation atDarlington on Thursday. It is hoped to announce details of an event tocommemorate her life and work, later in the year.

Chris

Valentines and paternity cases

2012-02-13T11:17:00.001Z

The National Records of Scotland has placed a case study online of a paternity case from 1880, in which paternity of a child was fought over and a Victorian Valentine card produced in court as evidence of the accused's interest in the woman who gave birth to his daughter. It's a fascinating example of how to research cases of paternity in the sheriff court records, as well as the use of other sources such as the register for Corrected Entries.

To read the whole story, visit www.nas.gov.uk/about/120208.asp

Chris

Scottish democracy exhibition

2012-02-13T11:06:00.003Z

A new exhibition is running at the Museum of Edinburgh charting the evolution of democracy in Scotland, including the failed referendum of 1979 and the successful referendum of 1997 that led to the re-re-establishment of our parliament for the first time since 1707. Entitled Democracy for Scotland: the Referendum Experience, the exhibition runs until April 24th.

For further information visit www.edinburghmuseums.org.uk/Venues/Museum-of-Edinburgh/Exhibitions/Democracy-for-Scotland--The-Referendum-Experience

(With thanks to the Celebrate Scotland website at www.celebrate-scotland.co.uk)

Chris

Irish distillers to create archive

2012-02-13T10:45:00.000Z

The Irish Times has a feature on a new archive being set up by Irish parent distillery firm Pernod Ricard, which includes the famous Jameson's distillery firm. The new archive, which will take two years to establish and which is being co-ordinated by archive director Stephen Franck, will include various workers' records from all the firm's individual company holdings.

To read the full story visit www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2012/0213/1224311683349.html

Chris

Reconstructing Lives exhibition

2012-02-13T10:32:00.001Z

Edinburgh Castle will be hosting a new exhibition from March 9th 2012 to Feb 13th 2013 entitled Reconstructing Lives, which will examine the history of those who lost limbs in wartime, both military and civilian. The exhibition will look at everything from 'peg legs' of Roman times to the developments of medical advances in the 19th century, and amongst the many features on display will be a 16th century iron limb and a modern bionic i-limb hand.

For more on the story visit the National Museums of Scotland website at www.nms.ac.uk/our_museums/war_museum/reconstructing_lives.aspx.

(With thanks to Family History Monthly, March 2012)

Chris

Land inheritance in Scotland

2012-02-11T18:46:00.003Z

I've penned a small article entitled Land Inheritance in Scotland on my other blog, Walking in Eternity, which may be of interest to those doing Scottish research. It outlines the very different system used for the inheritance of land in Scotland compared to the other three nations of the United Kingdom, and the sorts of records that this generated as a result. There is no equivalent for them in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, with their having been generated under the authority of Scots Law.

The full article is available at http://walkingineternity.blogspot.com/2012/02/land-inheritance-in-scotland.html - hope it helps!

Chris

New records on The Genealogist

2012-02-10T20:53:00.000Z

The followings records have been added to The Genealogist (www.thegenealogist.co.uk):

1911 Census:
Gloucestershire - over 726,000 records
Norfolk - over 486,000 records
Somerset - over 526,000 records
The Channel Islands - over 97,000 records

Clergy records:
Index Ecclesiasticus 1800-1840
Clergy List 1852

Directories:
Channel Islands Almanach 1831
Channel Islands Almanach 1836
Channel Islands Almanach 1866

Poll Books:
Bath Poll Book 1855

Parish records:
Worcestershire Parish Record Transcripts (1700-1849)

Birth Transcripts 1920-2005

The company has also announced the following talks programme for its area at Who Do You Think You Are Live:

Friday 24th February
10:30 "Ey Up Mi Duck!" A History of British accents and dialects - with John Titford
12:00 Breaking Down Brick Walls in your Family History Research - with Mark Bayley
1:30 Marry 'em off, Kill 'em off: Researching a London family 1640-1840 - with John Titford
3:00 Breaking Down Brick Walls in your Family History Research - with Mark Bayley
4:00 RootsMagic 5: Recording, charting and reporting, including version 5's new features - with Nigel Bayley
5:00 Breaking Down Brick Walls in your Family History Research - with Mark Bayley

Saturday 25th February
10:00 "Ey Up Mi Duck!" A History of British accents and dialects - with John Titford
11:30 Breaking Down Brick Walls in your Family History Research - with Mark Bayley
12:30 Marry 'em off, Kill 'em off: Researching a London family 1640-1840 - with John Titford
2:00 Breaking Down Brick Walls in your Family History Research - with Mark Bayley
3:00 RootsMagic 5: Recording, charting and reporting, including version 5's new features - with Nigel Bayley
4:00 Breaking Down Brick Walls in your Family History Research - with Mark Bayley

Sunday 26th February
10:00 "Ey Up Mi Duck!" A History of British accents and dialects - with John Titford
11:30 Breaking Down Brick Walls in your Family History Research - with Mark Bayley
12:30 Marry 'em off, Kill 'em off: Researching a London family 1640-1840 - with John Titford
2:00 Breaking Down Brick Walls in your Family History Research - with Mark Bayley
3:00 RootsMagic 5: Recording, charting and reporting, including version 5's new features - with Nigel Bayley
4:00 Breaking Down Brick Walls in your Family History Research - with Mark Bayley

(With thanks to S & N Genealogy Supplies)

Chris

Welsh WW1 project receives funding

2012-02-10T12:23:00.000Z

Thanks to Beryl Evans from the Federation of Family History Societies (www.ffhs.org.uk) for the following:

A project led by the National Library of Wales in partnership with the libraries, special collections, and archives of Wales has received £500,000 in funding from the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) for mass digitisation of primary sources relating to World War One. The project will make available a unique digital collection revealing the hidden history of World War One as it affected all aspects of Welsh life, language and culture. The project will digitise printed and manuscript sources as well as moving image, audio and photographic material. These source materials are presently fragmented and frequently inaccessible, yet collectively they form a unique resource of vital interest to researchers, students, and the public in Wales and beyond.

The project has been developed by WHELF (the Welsh Higher Education Libraries Forum). Collections to be digitised are from the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth University Special Collections, Bangor University Special Collections, Trinity St David’s Special Collections, Swansea University, Cardiff University Library, the Archives of BBC Cymru Wales and archives and local records offices that are members of ARCW (Archives and Records Council, Wales). The People’s Collection Wales will gather content generated by communities and local and family historians. It will also digitise and in personal collections via outreach and targeted digitisation of significant material to enhance and complement the collections of the higher education partners. The unified, mass digital collection that will be created will represent the experience of the entire Welsh nation during World War One. Read more at: http://whelf.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/welsh-history-of-world-war-one-to-go-online/

Chris

Loanhead family history course

2012-02-10T12:14:00.004Z

Loanhead Library in Midlothian is holding a family history information and taster session tomorrow (Sat 11th February), from 11am-12pm, led by Jared Squirrell and Family History Detectives.

For more on the story, and details on how to book, visit www.midlothianadvertiser.co.uk/news/local-headlines/family_history_course_in_loanhead_1_2107461

Chris

New digs for Cornwall FHS

2012-02-10T12:07:00.002Z

After a ten year search, Cornwall Family History Society (www.cornwallfhs.com) has finally moved to new premises at the lower Lemon Street surgery in Truro. The full story is available at www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/Family-history-group-finally-finds-suitable-home/story-15178357-detail/story.html. The new premises will be open between 11am and 3pm, Wednesday to Friday, and from 10am to 1pm on the first Saturday of each month, with a Thursday session also from 6.30pm to 9pm.

Congrats to the society on its new digs!

Chris

Thanks to Lanarkshire FHS

2012-02-10T11:52:00.001Z

A huge thank you to Bob Stewart and Lanarkshire FHS (www.lanarkshirefhs.org.uk) last night for their hospitality when I gave a talk on British Civilian POWs in the Great War. It went down really well, with lost of people telling me they had never known that so many Brits had been interned in Germany, even though many had been aware of Germans having been interned in the Isle of Man etc. I'll be returning to the society on April 14th for a special Scottish/Irish day at the David Livingstone Centre in Blantyre, where I'll be talking about online Irish research - Irene O'Brien from the Mitchell will also be there, and a speaker from the society to cover a Scottish topic.

One thing I picked up on yesterday, which seemed inspirational, is that Lanarkshire FHS is now offering a new form of annual membership. You can now pay slightly less and instead of receiving a print journal three times a year, you can receive it electronically. It saves on production and postage costs for the society, and also allows overseas members to obtain copies instantly. I'm not aware of any other society in Scotland doing this (apart, perhaps from the Family History Society of Buchan with its 'Aa the Claik' newsletter), though happy to be corrected if others are doing so also (and happy to publicise it!). The new e-membership is only £10, as opposed to £12. A useful innovation for the new era of tablet computers etc. Thanks again folks, and see you all soon!

Next week I'll be doing a talk at Renfrewshire FHS (www.renfrewshirefhs.co.uk) on Irish family history resources available online, with the talk being given at Paisley Museum at 7.30pm - hopefully see you there!

Chris

North American Manx Association

2012-02-10T10:41:00.001Z

I've just come across a blog that might be of interest to those with Isle of Man connections. The North American Manx Association blog is located at http://namanx.blogspot.com

The following is the group's description of itself, as noted on the blog:

"The North American Manx Association (NAMA) is a non-profit, ethnic and cultural heritage institution that was founded in 1928. Most of NAMA's 850 active members are second and third-generation North American. In the U.S., there are chapters in Chicago, Illinois; Cleveland, Ohio; Rocky Mountain; Galva, Illinois; the Greater Washington, D.C. area; Minnesota; Nebraska; Northern California; Utah, San Diego, California; and Wisconsin. In Canada, you will find Manx groups in Ontario and in Vancouver, British Columbia.

"NAMA is interested in helping Manx in all areas get in touch with local chapters or assisting those who want to start new chapters.

"northamericanmanx.org is linked to many regional societies. NAMA publishes the quarterly NAMA Bulletin, sent to each of its enrolled members. We're on Facebook at North American Manx Association and NAMA YOUTH.

"Every two years we hold a Convention, the next is in Platteville, WI in 2012, the Isle of Man in 2014 and D.C. in 2016. At each Convention we present the NAMA Youth Award for under 21s which includes a $250 prize. For more details go to Facebook NAMA Youth or email: kelly@mustgoto.com"

Chris

PRONI lectures past and new

2012-02-10T10:33:00.000Z

The PRONI/OU lecture on 'Crime', by Barry Sheen, which was due to have taken place on January 26th, has now been rescheduled for Thursday February 23rd, at PRONI.

Elsewhere, the next PRONI/Linen Hall Library lecture will take place in the library on Wednesday February 29th. Entitled 'Holy Island: The Rathlin Catechism’, it will be given the University of Ulster's Andrew Sneddon.

Both lectures are free. Booking is essential for the first and advisable for the second - further details at www.proni.gov.uk.

Finally, PRONI has recorded the recent lecture on Industrialisation, which can now be viewed on its PRONI Online YouTube channel, or below.

Chris

Derbyshire records on FamilySearch

2012-02-10T01:53:00.004Z

FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org) has added just under 190,000 indexed parish records from the Church of England for Derbyshire from 1538-1910. The collection can be searched directly at https://familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1911752.

Also if you're a fan of the Classic FamilySearch site (http://classicfamilysearch.org), the institution has announced it is planning to kill off Classic FamilySearch very soon. From the comments on the post, it would appear that the majority of its users, or at least those motivated enough to comment, would like to send them home to think again. For more on the story see www.familysearch.org/node/1554.

Chris

Kent land tax and probate records

2012-02-09T10:32:00.001Z

The following collections are now available on FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org) to browse:

England, Kent, Land Tax Assessments, 1689-1832
England, Kent, Wills and Probate, 1440-1881

Fort more details on the release visit John Reid's post at http://anglo-celtic-connections.blogspot.com/2012/02/browseable-kent-land-tax-and-probate.html

(With thanks to John Reid)

Chris

Worcestershire records added to The Genealogist

2012-02-08T15:51:00.001Z

News from The Genealogist (www.thegenealogist.co.uk):

We have added over 21,000 individuals to our Parish Transcripts for Worcestershire in partnership with Malvern Family History Society, expanding our coverage and bringing the total to over 880,000 individuals. With years ranging from: Baptisms: 1700-1849

(With thanks to The Genealogist)

Chris