TheGenealogist adds 1930s trade directories for England and the Channel Islands

I normally don't run English-only themed stories on this blog (not its remit!), but this could be a useful census substitute for those with familes who moved south and were there after the 1921 census.

TheGenealogist (www.thegenealogist.co.uk) has added the following searchable directories for the following areas in England from the 1930s and the Channel Islands (bear in mind that unlike Scotland, England's 1931 census has not survived):  

●    Kelly's Directory of Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire, 1931
●    Kelly's Directory of Bournemouth, Poole, Parkstone, Christchurch &c., 1932
●    Kelly's Directory of Brighton and Hove, 1932
●    Kelly's Directory of Cambridgeshire, 1933
●    Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, 1932
●    Kelly's Directory of Devonshire and Cornwall, 1930
●    Kelly's Directory of Dorsetshire, 1931
●    Kelly's Directory of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, 1931
●    Kelly's Directory of Hertfordshire, 1933
●    Kelly's Directory of Ipswich and Neighbourhood, 1930
●    Kelly's Directory of Kent, 1930
●    Kelly's Directory of Kent, 1934
●    Kelly's Directory of Kilburn Willesden, 1933
●    Kelly's Directory of Leicestershire & Rutland, 1932
●    Kelly's Directory of Norfolk and Suffolk, 1933
●    Kelly's Directory of Putney & Roehampton, 1930
●    Kelly's Directory of Somersetshire, Gloucestershire & the City of Bristol, 1931
●    Kelly's Directory of Suffolk, 1933
●    Kelly's Directory of Sussex, Chichester, Selsey and Neighbourhood, 1934
●    Kelly's Directory of the Channel Islands, 1931
●    Kelly's Directory of Warwick, Leamington Spa, Stratford-On-Avon and Kenilworth, 1932
●    Kelly's Directory of Warwickshire, 1932
●    Kelly's Directory of Westmorland, 1934

The directories are searchable in the site's Residentaila nd Trdae Directories Collection

(With thanks to Paul at TheGenealogist)

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

DNA proof paves way to an Irish passport

There's an interesting article in the Irish Times showing how a US academic called John Portmann was successfully able to use DNA proof via Ancestry.com to gain an Irish passport. Portmann was able to show through his DNA research that his father was from Dublin ad his mother from Co. Kilkenny, albeit following a court case in Arizona, USA. You can read the article at https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2024/07/21/dna-detectives-help-adopted-american-man-who-never-knew-biological-parents-to-obtain-irish-citizenship/.

A reminder that there is a useful gudie to obtaining an Irish passport on the RootsIreland website at https://www.rootsireland.ie/help/help-civil-records/how-to-apply-for-an-irish-passport/, and that my own journey to obtain Irish passports for myself and my two sons here in Scotland has been documented on this blog, starting at http://britishgenes.blogspot.com/2016/06/claiming-irish-passport-1.html.

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

Forthcoming Public Record Office of Northern Ireland workshops

Some on site and online workshops from the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/proni) over the next two months:

PRONI Workshop – Coleraine Library
Wednesday, July 31 at 12:30
Coleraine Library
Free
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/proni-workshop-coleraine-library-tickets-957029720657

Getting Started at PRONI - Onsite Workshop
Thu, 22 Aug, 10:30
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
Free
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/getting-started-at-proni-workshop-tickets-929738632277

PRONI - Getting Started Workshop - Using Online Resources - Online workshop
Thursday, September 19, 2024 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM (United Kingdom Time)
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/proni-getting-started-workshop-using-online-resources-tickets-959215548527

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

Ancestry adds Aberdeenshire poor law records 1818-1923

A new Aberdeenshire collection has been recently added to Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk):

Aberdeenshire, Scotland, Poor Law Applications and Registers, 1818-1923
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62686/
Source: Poor Law Applications, 1834-1943 and Poor Law Relief General Registers, 1812-1959. Aberdeenshire, Scotland: Aberdeen City Council.

About the Aberdeenshire, Scotland, Poor Law Applications and Registers, 1818-1923

This collection contains records relating to the relief of people living in poverty in the historic counties of Aberdeenshire, Banffshire, and Kincardineshire, Scotland. Most of the documents were created by the parochial boards and parish councils that were responsible for providing relief to impoverished people in their parish. Before 1921, only persons with disabilities and people of old age were entitled to relief.

The records precede 1929 when the responsibility to administer "poor relief" became a government function.

Records in this collection may include the following information:

• Name
• Birthplace
• Date of birth
• Names of parents or other relatives
• Occupation
• Marital status
• Place of death
• Date of death

Records may show the basis of the disability, which could include children, or pregnancy in cases where widows claimed relief.  

For further details visit https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62686/

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

The Really Useful Family History Show to visit Belfast in August

Discover your Roots at The Really Useful Family History Show
Europa Hotel, Belfast
10th August 2024 10am to 4pm.

Northern Ireland's first family history show in years is coming to Belfast, and everyone's invited!

This completely free event will feature 10 exhibitors ready to give advice about genealogy, research and DNA to beginners or more advanced family historians.

Visit in the morning and enter the free prize draw, with some fantastic prizes including DNA kits, society memberships, personal consultations with genealogy experts and more!

At 2pm there will be a presentation called “We know you are, Tim McGarry!” when we will be revealing to this much loved local comedian for the first time what DNA and research has uncovered about his ancestry.

The Really Useful Family History Show (https://www.fhf-reallyuseful.com/2024-live) is sponsored by the Family History Federation (https://www.familyhistoryfederation.com) and organised by the North of Ireland Family History Society (https://www.nifhs.org).

(With thanks to Linda Kilby)

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

Update on PT6 Scottish First World War pension appeals records

An update on a collection that I first blogged about in 2012, the PT6 records featuring First World War Pension Apeals Tribunals, as held by the National Records of Scotland (www.nrscotland.gov.uk).

Last week, via the ScotlandsPeople Facebook page, Scottish Indexes asked about the progress of efforts to catalogue this important collection, something that was first announced in 2021 (see https://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2021/01/pt6-scottish-pensions-appeal-records.html). This was the NRS's response:

"The Pension Appeal Tribunal records (ref. PT6) were catalogued as a result of funding by the Wellcome Trust. This project didn’t quite complete cataloguing the whole collection, but work is currently underway to address this shortfall. Work to capture digital images was not included in the Wellcome Trust project, but imaging work is currently in progress. Discussions will soon be taking place regarding the potential for online release, though no decisions or timescales have yet been agreed."

I'm sure they'll get there in the end!

For more on the collection, read the guest contribuiton to my blog from reader Tunji Lees, as first published in January 2012 - http://britishgenes.blogspot.com/2012/01/guest-post-scottish-ww1-pensions-appeal.html. The following is Tunji's summary of what is available within each record:

General information
-Name of the soldier (+ name of the applicant, and relationship to soldier, if not the same)
-His address
-Age
-Pre-enlisting occupation
-Employer before the war (on later applications only)
-Employer after the war (on later applications only)
-Insurance society (on later applications only)

Military information
-Rank & unit
-Service no
-When first attested
-When discharged
-Reason for discharge
-Details on pre-war service (if applicable)
-Details on service 1914-1921 (when and where he served, and in what units)

Information on application
-Date of the hearing and in which courtroom it was held (the hearings were held at 3 Parliament Square, Edinburgh)
-Disability from which the man claimed to be suffering
-Whether the appeal was allowed or disallowed (many were in fact disallowed)
-If allowed, how much the applicant received, and whether he got a lump sum or a fixed rate, and for how long

Each file also has some information on the soldier's medical history.

Chris 

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

My next Progressing Your Irish Research Online course starts August 19th

My 5-week long course Progressing Your Irish Research Online, taught through Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd (www.pharostutors.com), kicks off again on Monday, August 19th 2024, and I am very much looking forward to meeting the next group of students! If interested in joining in, there are still spaces available, which can be booked via https://www.pharostutors.com/progressing-your-irish-research-online.

Here is some further information about the course:

There is a common belief that if you have Irish ancestors then you should give up hope of finding out about them, because 'nothing survived the fire', referring to the destruction of Ireland's Public Record Office during the Civil War in 1922. The overall aim of this course is to point out that this is a nonsense, and that the glass is half full and not empty. Whilst there are certainly challenges to be overcome, a great deal can still be accomplished with the many resources now rapidly finding their way online.

This course will describe the many state created records and church records that can be used to research your Irish ancestry. It will provide a context to understand why they were created, and by whom and point out exactly where to find them online, and how to use them effectively.

Lesson Headings:

• Understanding Ireland's boundaries, key repositories and platforms
• The vital records of Church and State
• Documenting the people: Irish censuses and substitutes
• Valuation records and inheritance
• The Decade of Centenaries

Each lesson includes exercises and activities and a minimum of 1 one-hour chat per week.

Some reviews from students:

'I enjoyed all of the course, the lessons, exercises and chat sessions were all very helpful. I found Chris Paton ran the course and chat sessions brilliantly. I now feel enthused to carry out more research.'

'The astonishing range of information presented, the subsequent results within my own research and the fun, friendly and knowledgeable way it was all delivered. Excellent course and a tutor I would definitely want to study with again.'

'It really opened my eyes to what Chris calls the half FULL glass of Irish records, plus a glimpse of history and geography. Excellent.'

'It was beneficial from the standpoints of both improving general knowledge of Irish history, and illuminating the numerous and often unique potential sources of genealogical/family history information against that background.'

'Depth of knowledge. Expertise of tutor. Excellent Handouts.'

'Fantastic tutor. First class lesson materials. Top-notch quality learning programme.'

'The realization that there are more resources and information available than I first thought!'

And if it helps, a brief introductory video explaining what it will hopefully achieve!

(Also available at https://youtu.be/aonRMQEnIFw)

I hope to perhaps see you there!

Also please note that my new 5-week course, Researching Irish Land Records, starts its first run from Monday, October 21st 2024. Anyone can sign up, but it is expected that you will have either done the Progressing Your Irish Research Online course, or at least have the equivalent level of knowledge as covered by it. I'm really looking forward to getting stuck into teaching this, so once again, I hope you can join me!  

For details of this new course, please visit https://www.pharostutors.com/researching-irish-land-records.

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

Who Do You Think You Are? August 2024 issue

The latest issue of Who Do You Think You Are? magazine, August 2024, inludes a Records Masterclass article from yours truly looking at Scottish civil marriage records, as well as a Q&A response concerning an apparent place in Scotland called 'Hadingley'. 

For details of additional articles, and how to buy, visit https://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/magazine/.

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

FindmyPast adds British India directory images

FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) has added further images to its British In India, Directories 1792-1959 collection.

For further details visit https://www.findmypast.co.uk/blog/new/india-directories-school-admission-registers.

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

Cassini maps additions to Ancestry

Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) has added some Cassini maps collections to the site this week, the following two in particular may be of interest:

UK, General Map of Great Britain, 1935-1937
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62550/
Source: Cassini General Map of Great Britain. England: Cassini Publishing.

Europe, Cassini Maps, 1800-1960
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62541/
Source: Cassini European Maps. England: Cassini Publishing.

The European maps include content for Austria, Balkans, Belgium, Bulgaria, Central Europe, Croatia, Czechoslavakia, Demark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Spain, Ukraine, and Yugoslavia.

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.