Sunday 26 December 2021

Special offers on my Pen and Sword books this year

Pen and Sword Family History have a special offer currently on for the two books that I have had published with them this year:

Sharing Your Family History Online £10.39 (was £12.99) https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Sharing-Your-Family-History-Online-Paperback/p/18718

 

Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records £12.00 (was £14.99) https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Ancestors-Through-Land-Records-Paperback/p/19283

You'll find reviews on each of the pages - e-editions are also available (ePub and Kindle). 

I hope they help!

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Deceased Online's buy one get one free offer

From Deceased Online (www.deceasedonline.com):

We're delighted to wish our customers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year with Buy One Get One Free on pay-per-view voucher purchases at www.deceasedonline.com. The offer runs from now until midday on Tuesday 4th January 2022. 

  • To take advantage of the offer, add vouchers to your basket and click "add promotions code".
  • Enter the code MERRYCHRISTMAS and click "add to basket".
  • Then complete your voucher purchase as normal and your free vouchers will be added to your account.


Deceased Online has some great records on it, but it can be a difficult site to navigate if you have not taken out a subscription of any kind. Here's how to identify what is on the site if you have purchased some credits:

Get the most out of Deceased Online

To narrow searches down to an area or to a specific cemetery or crematorium use the advanced search facility. For example, to search records in Salford, select the following:

Country - United Kingdom
Region - North West
County - Greater Manchester
Contributor - Salford City Council (for all Salford records)
or Cemetery - Agecroft Cemetery, Salford (for Agecroft Cemetery only)


It's been a while since I have used the site, but from the top of my head it is great for records in Scotland for Aberdeenshire and Angus, and I believe it also has some crematorium records from Edinburgh. The site also offers access to records from Scottish Monumental Inscriptions (https://scottish-monumental-inscriptions.com).

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Thursday 23 December 2021

Please take a Lateral Flow test prior to visiting the NRS

The National Records of Scotland (www.nrscotland.gov.uk) has updated its guidance for visitors, with the following request:

For the comfort and reassurance of all our customers and staff, we kindly request that all visitors take a Lateral Flow test prior to their visit to our search rooms.

The full guidance is available on its service status page at https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/about-us/service-status.

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Wednesday 22 December 2021

Merry Christmas from Scottish GENES!

Hi folks,

There is not a lot happening currently in the lead up to Christmas, and we are all nervously awaiting the impact of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 with regards to any potential restrictions heading our way again with archives and libraries. One unfortunate development is that we have postponed our trip to Ireland next week to see my elderly 89 year old mother-in-law in County Kilkenny, as we don't want to unwaringly take over an invisible gift to her, but we're looking forward to celebrating her 90th in a few months time in County Kilkenny. It's been almost 2 years now since I have been back home, but it's not going anywhere, it'll be there in due course!

 

I've just finished off my last big Scottish research genealogy report prior to Christmas (with added Suffragettes!), and had a wonderful evening on Monday talking to my branch of the North of Ireland Family History Society in Larne. It's been a mad auld year! I've managed to get two books published from Pen and Sword, have written a brand new course for Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd on Irish genealogy, written and presented a 20 hour long institute programme, served for several months on the board of the APG, given umpteen talks online, and much more.

I want to thank all of you who have attended my talks, who have bought books, attended the courses, or commissioned me to carry out research - despite the many difficulties we've been through this year (not least the loss of my father at my end), it's been fun for the most part, and I look forward to getting stuck in again next year. There will be one or two wee developments with this blog in particular heading into 2022, including resurrecting something I used to do when I first launched it way back in 2007, I'll also be bringing you some Scottish GENES bites, and more!

I'm happily going to head off for a few days now into sheer, blissful delinquency (mince pies! wine! turkey!), but if there are any genealogical developments over the next few days I'll obviously put up a quick note. Heck, I might even do some of my own family history research over the next few days - time off for good behaviour!

In the meantime, have a blithe yule / Nollaig Chridheil dhuibh uile - and I will see you on the other side!

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Sunday 19 December 2021

MyHeritage reaches a million subscribers

From MyHeritage (www.myheritage.com):

We’re celebrating an extraordinary milestone at MyHeritage: we’ve surpassed one million annual subscribers! We’d like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of our users who have subscribed over the years. All of you have been an essential part of our journey and we could not be more grateful. 

For more on the story visit https://blog.myheritage.com/2021/12/myheritage-surpasses-1-million-annual-subscribers/

(With thanks to Daniel Horowitz)

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Competition winner!

Congratulations to Phil Stokes in Rathfarnham, Dublin, for winning a copy of Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records in the Scottish GENES Christmas competition - you can view the draw below (or at https://youtu.be/37c2kb3jcPs)!

Apologies if you were unsuccessful, but the book can be purchased from Pen and Sword at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Ancestors-Through-Land-Records-Paperback/p/19283 - I hope it can help with your research!

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Scottish Genealogy Society extends festive closure until mid-January

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

The LIBRARY is now CLOSED. The Library is likely to stayed closed until Monday 17 January 2022, but the Society will review the re-opening in the light of further advice. Updates will be posted on the Society website.

DUE TO THE OMICRON VARIANT THE SEASONAL CLOSURE OF THE LIBRARY HAS BEEN EXTENDED

This is in response to the First Minister's latest update.
Updates will appear on the website when more information becomes available.
In the meantime wearing of masks, distancing and hand hygiene must be observed.

We apologise for this, but feel that it is better to opt for the safety of volunteers and members.

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Archive and library festive closures

The following are the currently announced festive closure plans, although all are subject to change with the emerging coronavirus variant threat. So far the NLS is the only agency to have extended its festive closures, with its annoucnement of its additional closures between the Christmas and New Year period:

National Records of Scotland https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/about-us/service-status#Festive
We are closed on certain public holidays. These dates for the period up to 31 January 2022 are:

  • 27 December 2021
  • 28 December 2021
  • 3 January 2022
  • 4 January 2022

 
National Library of Scotland https://www.nls.uk/using-the-library/opening-hours/

  • Service update: Our buildings are closed from 24 December to 4 January inclusive.



PRONI https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/getting-proni-and-opening-hours#toc-2
Public holidays 2021/2022

  • Friday 24 December 2021
  • Monday 27 December 2021
  • Tuesday 28 December 2021
  • Monday 3 January 2022


National Archives (Dublin, Ireland) https://www.nationalarchives.ie/product/book-the-reading-room/

  • Christmas Closure: CLOSED from 1pm 24th December 2021 – 3rd January 2022 inclusive.   

 

National Library of Ireland https://www.nli.ie/en/opening-hours.aspx

Christmas opening hours at the National Library of Ireland

  • Please note all NLI buildings, apart from the National Photographic Archive, are closed from Friday 24th December 2021 to Monday 3rd January 2022 inclusive.


National Archives (Kew, England) https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/visit-us/opening-times/
We are usually closed for bank holiday weekends (including the Saturday), and for Christmas and New Year. All dates listed below are inclusive.
  • Christmas (2021): Friday 24 December to Tuesday 28 December (closing at 17:00 on Thursday 23 December)
  • New Year’s Day (2022): Saturday 1 January to Monday 3 January

 

Check  your local library, archive and family history sites for details on additional festive closures.

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Thursday 16 December 2021

National Library of Scotland buildings to remain closed between Christmas and New Year

From the National Library of Scotland (www.nls.uk), via Twitter (@natlibscot):

We've taken the decision to close all our buildings on Weds 29, Thurs 30 and Fri 31 December. Our online enquiry service, including Chat, will be available on those dates between 10am and 4pm > https://auth.nls.uk/contact/ask-a-question/

We will be closed from 24 December to 4 January inclusive.


I asked the National Library if this additional closure between Christmas and the New Year was due to concerns on Covid, and received the following response:

Hi - we're closing to support service planning and resilience.

(With thanks to the NLS)

 

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Scottish ViC to take place on January 22nd

The next Scottish Vic (Virtual Conference) takes place on January 22nd 2022

The conference includes:

Jimmy Smith giving a presentation on the Scottish Covenanters
Hugh Allison giving a presentation on the Jacobites
Ciaran Jones giving a presentation on the Scottish Witchcraft Database
Matthew J Smith giving a presentation on the British Slave Owners Database

For further details, and to register, visit the ViC website at https://www.genealogyvic.com/ViC-2022

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Tuesday 14 December 2021

Shetland Family History Society gravestones project

There is an article in a recent edition of Shetland News about a project by Shetland Family History Society (www.shetland-fhs.org.uk) to photograph every surviving gravestone in the islands.

You can read more about the project, already three quarters complete, at https://www.shetnews.co.uk/2021/12/09/family-history-project-aims-to-photograph-every-gravestone/.

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

45,000 burials added to West Cork Graveyards Database

Skibbereen Heritage has added 45,000 more burials to its West Cork Graveyards Database at https://skibbheritage.com/west-cork-graveyards-database/. The site contains information from some 89 burial grounds.

(With thanks to @SkibbHeritage)

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Historic Environment Scotland websites currently down

I noticed earlier that the ScotlandsPlaces site at www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk and SCRAN site at www.scran.ac.uk were both currently down, and mentioned it on Twitter. 

Historic Environment Scotland has since responded to say that "We apologise for any inconvenience. A number of our websites are down for essential maintenance until 16 December. Our teams will still be able to help you."

Further information is available at https://www.historicenvironment.scot/about-us/news/essential-website-maintenance/.

(With thanks to HES via @HistEnvScot)

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Sunday 12 December 2021

Christmas competition - Who Wants?!

It's been a strange year, but by far the strangest part of it was the loss of my father in February. Having gone into hospital with a suspected urinary infection, he then suffered a heart attack, and just a few hours later was dead. For good measure, within an hour of his passing I was then informed that he had also just tested positive for Covid. It was a hell of a way to go.

I had intended to run a competition for my latest book, in which I was going to ask a family history themed question, and then do a draw from the correct answers received, as I have done in the past. However, I laughed earlier when I suddenly remembered a game that my Dad used to play with us when we were kids, in which he would suddenly shout out "Who wants?!", at which point my brother and I would race to give the answer - "Me!". It was a risk to do so, a game of chance, because sometimes the answer would lead to one of us getting a treat, whilst at others it would lead to the winner having to do a chore, such as doing the dishes or having to pop over to the local corner shop. 

So I've decided that as a wee nod to my Dad, and the fact that this will be the first Christmas for all of us without him, that the question for my competition is going to be a very simple one indeed:

 "Who wants?!" 

To be in with a chance of winning a copy of Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, please send me an email at chrismpaton @ outlook.com with the subject as 'Who Wants?', and in the body of the email, a simple single word answer - "Me!". 

Please also include your name after this, and the town where you are based. (For the purposes of this competition, I have to apologise, but state that this particular competition is for residents in the UK and Ireland only.)  

I'll do a draw next Sunday 19th December 2021 - if you're the winner, I will then contact you for your full address!

You have to be in it to win it... 

Who wants?! Me!

Good luck!

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Friday 10 December 2021

FindmyPast adds Asia, Far East Directories & Chronicles 1833-1941

FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) has added a series of directories this week which may be of interest if your ancestors lived in Asia and the Far East. From the site:

Asia, Far East Directories & Chronicles 1833-1941

If you have ancestors with roots in the Far East, this collection may just detail where they were and when. Within its pages are records that span through China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, The Philippines, Indo-China, Malaysia, Siam, Borneo and The Dutch East Indies. This resource explores the narrative of late-colonialism, documenting Western workers, migrants, corporations and agencies, residing in the Far East temporarily or otherwise.

This collection is as broad by nationality as it is by location - rather than focusing specifically on British residents and workers, its pages hold a much higher number of Americans, Canadians, Australians and other Westerners. The records were compiled annually from multiple sources, including government agencies and Western companies, so will be likely to contain your ancestors' name, occupation and employer, as well as the odd note detailing treaties, conflicts, changes of jurisdiction, and other public affairs. 

For details of the relevant link, and other releases this week, visit https://www.findmypast.co.uk/blog/new/far-east-directories

COMMENT: Note that another great directories resource for China in particular can be found from the University of Bristol's China Families website at www.chinafamilies.net/directories/. The main project itself at www.chinafamilies.net has many other wonderful historic resources for the region!

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Lost Cousins Christmas/NewYear competition

The latest Lost Cousins newsletter is now out, and includes Peter Calver's Christmas and New Year competition. This has a few prizes, and amongst the prizes there are consultation sessions with Sarah Williams from the magazine Who Do You Think You Are? and Devonshire based genealogist Janet Braund Few, whilst yours truly will also do a lecture for a few lucky (unlucky?!) winners in mid-January on pre-1800 Scottish records for research! 

For further details on the rules, and all the prizes, visit https://www.lostcousins.com/newsletters2/dec21news.htm 

* Keep an eye out next week for a Scottish GENES competition, where a lucky winner will have a chance to obtain a copy of my book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet!  

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Highland Archive's Archives for Beginners classes in early 2022

From the Highland Archive Service (https://www.highlifehighland.com/archives-service/):

We're please to be running our Archives for Beginners classes in the new year, helping people to discover the range of documents we care for, how to use them and the stories they contain. The classes will run in two blocks of 4 on the following dates at a cost of £40 (£32 concession) per block and will be delivered on Zoom by members of staff from across the service.  We would love to welcome you on to either set or both!

Friday Morning Archives for Beginners Classes Block One (10am-12noon)
Friday 21st January 2022 - Introduction to Archives
Friday 28th January 2022 - Education Records
Friday 4th February 2022 - Property Records
Friday 11th February 2022 - Church Records

Friday Morning Archives for Beginners Classes Block Two (10am-12noon)
Friday 18th February 2022 - Poor Relief Records
Friday 25th February 2022 - Crime & Punishment Records
Friday 4th March 2022 - Estate Papers
Friday 11th March 2022 - Family & Personal Papers

A short video about these classes can be found here.  For more information, or to book, please contact archives@highlifehighland.com.  We hope to see you there! 


(With thanks to the archive's winter newsletter - you can subscribe at https://highlifehighland.us4.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=6bb8a878b8c071ba85e1c9248&id=b801ce6571)

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

 

 

Thursday 9 December 2021

Family Tree magazine's Family History Handbook 2022

The latest issue of the magazine Family Tree (www.family-tree.co.uk) comes with the free Family History Handbook 2022, detailing family history societies contacts and addresses for popular websites, as well as articles from various writers, including one from yours truly on how to get the best from catalogues for research, both to locate resources not online, but also buried within vendor sites that are. 

From the site:

What's in this Book?

What’s inside:

  • The Family History Directory: listing the key genealogy organisations, family history societies, contact details and websites needed for family history researchers today.
  • The Family History Explorer Guide: packed with step-by-step instructions for practical family history projects; plus research guides helping family historians discover essential new records & resources.
  • The 100-page A5 Family History Handbook 2022 will be available to readers as a print or digital publication, available worldwide.

   
Buy the print edition and we'll send it out to you or download the handbook from 10 December!

The latest issue is available to buy from https://www.family-tree.co.uk/store/back-issues/family-tree-magazine/family-tree-magazine-january-2022-issue-194-1/, whilst the Handbook can also be bought independently via https://www.family-tree.co.uk/store/genealogy-tools/family-tree-magazine/familyhistoryhandbook/.

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Tuesday 7 December 2021

Understanding Copyright webinar series from the Scottish Council on Archives

The Scottish Council on Archives has a series of webinars by Dr. Ellie Pridgeon hosted on the theme of Understanding Copyright.  From the SCA website at https://www.scottisharchives.org.uk/latest/news/understanding-copyright-webinar-series/:

Issues surrounding copyright law and related rights are of relevance to archivists and the cultural heritage sector worldwide. With an increased shift to online engagement, it is more important than ever for anyone who collects, preserves, and shares material-both in person and online-to have at least a basic understanding of how to address copyright issues and manage related risks.

Copyright issues can be notoriously complex and nuanced. The Scottish Council on Archives is delighted to be working with Dr Ellie Pridgeon who will be delivering a series of webinars to help demystify the topic. The series will feature practical examples and case studies to help those who manage archive collections to approach copyright quandaries with greater confidence and clarity.

The first lecture, providing a general introduction to copyright and archives, is presented below, and can also be found via the SCA link above, or more directly on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKH94_miaLI:


Comment: The video is well worth watching from the perspective of a humble genealogist, in that there is much that we need to be aware of in terms of what we can use and what we cannot with regards to materials in our family history research.

The subjects of copyright, terms and conditions, digital legacy etc are featured within my book Sharing Your Family History Online, should you wish to learn more about such issues within our family history research. The book is available from Pen and Sword Family History at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Sharing-Your-Family-History-Online-Paperback/p/18718.

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Monday 6 December 2021

Glasgow Genealogy Centre hopes to re-open mid-January 2022

From Glasgow Genealogy Centre (https://glasgow.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=17698), located in the Mitchell Library, Glasgow:

Update: 1 December 2021

Registrar Services are currently in discussion with the Mitchell Library to confirm the re-opening date of the Genealogy Centre. The Centre is set to re-open mid January, one day per week, with the hope of increasing this to two days per week from the end of January.

Health and safety measures are currently being implemented to support the safe resumption of this service.

The appointment diary will open from 5 January 2022 to allow customers to book a date to visit the Genealogy Centre.

All of the above is subject to change dependant on future Scottish Government announcements/guidelines. Any updates will be provided on our website when further information is available.

Thank you for your continued patience and support as we continue to face the challenges of the ongoing pandemic and the impact on our resources and services.

Fingers crossed everyone....!

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

WDYTYA magazine Family Photo of the Year competition

Who Do You Think You Are? magazine (www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com) has launched a Family Photo of the Year competition, and is enouraging readers to submit family photos to try to win within 6 different categories:

  • Category one – On holiday
  • Category two – Special occasion
  • Category three – Dressing up
  • Category four – Solo photo
  • Category five – Family together
  • Category six – My family and other animals


From the magazine's site:

How will winners be selected?

We have chosen six categories for people to submit their photos under and we will be looking for good quality, striking images that capture the imagination. Each entry must be accompanied by no more than 50 words telling us something about the photograph and why you chose it. Don’t worry if you don’t know who the subject is in the image – we all have mystery photographs in our collection – you can just share what the photograph makes you feel or why you love it so much.

As well as character, composition and impact, we will also be judging photographs on the quality of the surviving image so please submit a high-resolution digital copy (see below).

Although there is no cut-off date for how modern the photographs can be, we will score photographs for rarity which will benefit older photographs.

Our judges will select a shortlist of six images for each category based on the image alone. The accompanying description will only be taken into account at the final stage when choosing a winner from the six finalists.

The overall winner will be chosen from the winners of the six categories and will be the image that the judges decide is the most striking. We will be looking for a family photo that would stand out in anyone’s family album.

The winner of each category will receive a beautiful framed professional print of their winning photograph plus a year’s subscription to Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine. There will also be an overall winner who will receive £200 on top of their category prize courtesy of Vivid-Pix the photo editing software specialists. All the winning photographs will appear in a future issue of the magazine along with some of our favourites from the shortlists.


For further details visit the magazine's website at www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/article/family-photo-competition/.

(With thanks to Sarah Williams)

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Friday 3 December 2021

Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet - further reprint

My best-selling book Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd edition) has just been reprinted yet again by publisher Pen and Sword, and can be purchased for them for the price of £11.99 (plus p&p). You can find more about the title at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483, including several reviews - and a huge thanks to those who have reviewed it, reviews always help and are always appreciated!

I should also thank those of you who may have borrowed the book from your local library in the last year! You may not be aware, but authors can actually receive royalties from books that are borrowed from libraries in the UK and in Ireland, thanks to the British Library's Public Lending Right service (https://plr.bl.uk). I received a statement a few days ago which noted that Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd edition) was my most requested title (and, by a long shot, from libraries in the UK rather than Ireland!), for which I will get a few pounds early next year - so thank you!

 

Don't forget that my most recent book is also now out and on an Irish theme. There are many vital records online, and yes, there was that rather unfortunate incident in 1922 where we lost a lot of stuff, so where do you go next? Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records hopefully provides some answers! The book is also available from Pen and Sword at £14.99 (plus p&p) - see https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Ancestors-Through-Land-Records-Paperback/p/19283 for further details and reviews.


Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

PRONI to release Belfast poor relief application indexes online

I've just attended the final PRONI stakeholder forum this year, and there is some great news for family historians - PRONI's Christmas gift to us all is going to be the online release of the digitised indexes to Belfast's poor law applications from 1892-1921! 

The index books, which cover periods of 3 months at a time, are for applications made for indoor relief, i.e. into the workhouse, and are catalogued under BG/7/GK/1-107. Whilst the admission registers themselves are not going online, being able to research the indexes through the online catalogue is still going to be a massive game changer for poor law research in the city. The first tranche will be out towards the end of this month (expect the update around 29 DEC 2021), and there are plans to extend the coverage further in due course. Wonderful!

Also from PRONI, on cataloguing there has been a recent effort to re-catalogue some materials previously recorded at series level only concerning the papers of Sir Wilfred Spender, the first secretary of the Northern Irish government post-Partition, and some items from Sir James Craig, the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. These include a mixture of offical papers and private papers, and will be available at D/12/95. The papers of Sir Wilfred Spender will be available to search now at item level. There will also be some official records catalogued under PM8/1 including correspondence from Sir Wilfred Spender covering the period 1921-1923, with letters concerning ex-servicemen seeking positions in the new state, the death of Michael Collins, the opening of the Northern Irish parliament, and more. Also tying in with the centenary of Northern Ireland will be the release of a hundred government files from the 1920s, including topics such as raids by the B-Specials, and some more recent records from 1997-98, which will include discussiuons leading up to the Belfast Agreement.

On site, PRONI will be shifting to a six weeks in advance booking system, to help better cater for those travelling from afar, and in the public search room they have also now taken out a subscription to the Library Edition of Ancestry, which will be accessible on two separate terminals (FindmyPast is already available on site). Further good news is that PRONI successfully made it through its summer mid-point review this year with regards to its accredited archive status. 

Coming up in the near future, PRONI will be celebrating its 100th anniversary in both 2023 and 2024 - PRONI was created in June 1923 (after provision was initially made in the Government of Ireland Act, 1920), but did not actually open its doors to the public until March 1924, so there are two pegs well worth commemorating! Stephen Scarth has been tasked with writing an offical history of the institution, which he promises will be 'myth busting'. 

Various projects will be created to help celebrate the anniversary, including a 100 PRONI documents project flagging up some extraordinary stories from the archive's history. One interesting fact mentioned by Stephen was that PRONI's first offical acquisition was two 18th century maps depicting Cookstown in County Tyrone, as sourced from a holder in Dublin. Since then PRONI has become a world class archive, with some particularly brilliant collections on areas such as emigrants letters, and the linen industry of the north.

For forthcoming PRONI events, visit https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/talks-and-events-proni.

Thanks again to the PRONI team for a great service provision in a challenging year, and a Happy Christmas to all in Belfast! (And I'm looking forward to the day when we can have on-site meetings again, once Covid diminishes - I miss my annual trip to the Christmas market after the December meetings!)

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Thursday 2 December 2021

Big thanks to Wall to Wall for series 17 of WDYTYA?

This is just a quick post to express my thanks to the TV production company Wall to Wall for the now finished broadcast run of series 17 of Who Do You Think You Are? 


I watched the final episode of the series last night, featuring Ed Balls, which was a great culmination to the seven episode run which also featured Judi Dench, Pixie Lott, Joe Lycett, Alex Scott, Joe Sugg and Josh Widdicombe. As with most series, there were a range of stories, some more interesting to me than others, but each offered an entertaining hour's diversion once a week, which is all I ever ask of it!

In a previous life I worked in television documentary production for 12 years, and I am well aware of just how difficult it is to make a programme at the best of times - but with the Covid pandemic over the last 18 months, it really is a miracle that we got a series this year at all. At times the Covid restrictions were evident - social distancing between most folk, and lots of scenes with people seated at tables looking at documents - but each programme successfully told the stories that the directors and celebs wished to be told. 

In a year where we needed a distraction, with all sorts of issues regarding the access of archives and libraries etc, it kept the flame burning for the good times yet to come back. And so for that, here's tae ye folks, thanks, and have a great Christmas!

 ("Whisky toast on top of Perito Moreno Glacier" by amymaura is licensed with CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.    
To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/) 

Roll on Series 18....! (And if you missed Series 17, or many of the earlier series, UK viewers can find them on the BBC iPlayer at www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer)

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Wednesday 1 December 2021

Free access to USA city directories from 2-7 December on MyHeritage

From MyHeritage (www.myheritage.com), news about a resource that might help with your emigrant ancestors if they ended up in the United States:

People across the United States celebrated Thanksgiving last week, taking the opportunity to reflect on all they are thankful for as well as the meaning of American heritage. To help our users learn more about their ancestors in the United States, we’re offering free access to our very special U.S. City Directories collection this week, December 2–7, 2021!

This collection contains records from 26,000 public U.S. city directories published between 1860 and 1960. City directories are publications that were distributed by many cities in the United States to help residents find local individuals and businesses, and they typically list names (and names of spouses), addresses, occupations, and workplaces. These records constitute a rich source of information for anyone seeking to learn more about their family in the United States in the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries. They can serve as an important alternative to census records where those records are not available — for example, most of the records from the 1890 census, which were destroyed in a fire in 1921. 

For further details visit https://blog.myheritage.com/2021/12/limited-time-offer-free-access-to-u-s-city-directories/

To search the directories, visit https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-10705/us-city-directories.

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Happy 10th anniversary to the British Newspaper Archive

A slightly belated note to offer congratulations to the British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk), which this week has celebrated its tenth anniversary. 

In November 2010 I offered my initial thoughts on the Beta version of the site, which you can read at https://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2011/11/british-newspaper-archive-beta-initial.html. Things have moved on a bit since then!

To celebrate its tenth anniversary, the site has added ten new titles this week, albeit from England only - you can read more on these at https://blog.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/2021/11/29/new-titles-29-nov-2021/.

Today the site has 46,424,284 pages, well past its initial target of 40 million pages, with newspapers across Scotland, Ireland, England and Wales, and beyond, as sourced from the British Library and digitised by FindmyPast. In the last ten years, it has revolutionised family history research considerably - it would be difficult to imagine carrying out research without it. 

So a big slàinte mhath to the BNA, and to many more years (hopefully!) of material to be placed online!!!

(And if I was to make a request - Glasgow in the 20th centry is still a wee bit bare. God loves a trier!)

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

New NIFHS research booklet - The City of Belfast

The North of Ireland Family History Society (www.nifhs.org) is now selling its latest Researching Your Ancestors in the North of Ireland guide booklet, entitled The City of Belfast.

The book is 105 pages in length, and is essentially a source book highlighting some of the key resources available for research in the city, or at least within the city as its boundaries were defined between 1896 and 1973. 

After a short history of the city, it then details the sorts of administrative boundaries that records were collated within, before dealing with various topics and resources that will assist the historian. By far the most useful section is the detailed listings for the various churches found in Belfast, listing the various houses of worship for the major denominations, and offering information about the surviving coverage of records. The section on Education is another equally handy chapter detailing the many schools in the city.

The price of the booklet is £12, plus p&p, and it can be ordered from https://www.nifhs.org/product/researching-your-ancestors-in-the-north-of-ireland-belfast/

A very useful resource if you have ancestry from the city!

(With thanks to the NIFHS for a review copy)

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Family Tree's Scottish Family History Month, Feb 2022

Family Tree magazine (www.family-tree.co.uk) will be hosting a series of five talks in February 2022 as part of its Scottish Family History Month. And I am delighted to say that I will be chairing them, and giving one of the talks myself!

From the magazine:

Family Tree's annual programme of online Scottish family history talks, in partnership with History Scotland, will return in February 2022.

Booking is now open for the 2022 Scottish Family History Month, with five fantastic online talks available, covering everything from making the most of the census to exploring the lives of Scottish women.

This year's chair is genealogist Chris Paton, who will host each talk and also present a talk of his own. Each event will comprise a 50-min Zoom talk, followed by a 30 minute Q&A. Each event will be recorded and the recording made available to ticket holders for 7 days.

Booking is now open for all 5 talks - secure your place today! A bundle price of £40 for all 5 talks (£35 for magazine subscribers) is available here.

Scottish Family History Month 2022 talk programme

  • Making sense of the Scottish census, Emma Maxwell, 1 February, 6.30pm
  • Civil cases in the sheriff courts, Fergus Smith, 4 February, 2pm
  • Using DNA for Scottish family history research, Michelle Leonard, 8 February 6.30pm
  • Tracing Scottish women, Kirsty Wilkinson, 17 February, 6.30pm
  • Scottish research resources before 1800, Chris Paton, 22 February, 6.30pm

To book tickets please visit https://www.family-tree.co.uk/news/scottish-family-history-month-2022.

I am looking forward to introducing some great sessions with some great folk - hopefully we will see you there!

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Monday 29 November 2021

Registration open for RootsTech 2022

From FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org

FamilySearch opened registration today for RootsTech 2022, the largest family history event in the world held online March 3–5, 2022. It offers a forum where people of all ages across the globe are inspired to discover and share their memories and make meaningful connections. Register for free at www.rootstech.org today. RootsTech 2022 will be a virtual-only experience, with some enhancements and improvements.

A new set of educational classes will be featured during 2022, along with new technologies to explore in the virtual expo hall, and inspiring stories shared by a fascinating line-up of keynote speakers.

“RootsTech 2022 is sure to be an incredible experience once again” said Jen Allen, event director for RootsTech. “Earlier this year, we organized our first-ever virtual event amid a pandemic—something we never thought would happen. But as we watched the participants come together to provide joyful learning experiences in many different languages, we knew something special was taking shape.”

Classes for the event will have a mix of on-demand, livestream, and interactive sessions that will allow attendees to learn, grow and connect to people all over the globe. Participants will also be able to connect with fellow attendees, speakers, experts, and enthusiasts. In 2022, the planners of RootsTech are looking to take that experience to the next level.

RootsTech is a place of connection. “We witnessed incredible connections [in 2021] between participants all over the world,” said Steve Rockwood, CEO of FamilySearch. “As they connected to their homelands and ultimately to their families, they then connected to each other. At FamilySearch, we choose connection, and we witness every day the ways family history transcends all walls of separation and unites us as the true story of humanity unfolds.”

While there will always be some differences between the in-person and online experiences, RootsTech will continue to expand its online experience while working towards a time when the hybrid model of both can once again be offered.

“We are busy creating innovative ways to capture and share messages of culture, unity and connection that push the boundaries of what a virtual conference can be. We can’t wait to share what we’ve got in store,” added Allen.

The event will take place March 3–5, 2022, and you can register for RootsTech right now by visiting www.rootstech.org. The conference is free and open to anyone. For updates, be sure to follow RootsTech on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

(Original press release at https://media.familysearch.org/ready-to-connect-rootstech-2022-registration-is-now-open)

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Sunday 28 November 2021

Fold3 adds Royal Navy Officer Patrol Service Cards

From Fold3 (www.folds3.com)

We have added a new UK collection of Royal Navy Officer Patrol Service Cards to our archives. These cards are dated 1904-1970 and can provide insights for those who served in the Royal Navy Patrol Service (RNPS). These records were created from microfilm held at The National Archives, with the original paper records located at the Imperial War Museum.

The RNPS was a branch of the Royal Navy whose origins date back to the Great War when the British Admiralty first realised the threat of mine warfare. The RNPS operated during both the First and Second World Wars.

For further details visit https://blog.fold3.com/new-uk-royal-navy-records-added/

 

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Saturday 27 November 2021

Learn with Lorna from Highland Archives

There have been some truly heroic efforts from the family history and archives community throughout the coronavirus pandemic, but one of the most gargantuan has been an amazing effort by Lorna Steele from Highland Archives (www.highlifehighland.com/archives-service/) through her weekly series of Learn with Lorna Facebook broadcasts. 

Each week Lorna has given a short lecture, ranging from about half an hour to forty minutes in length, on a topic related to the archive holdings at Highland Archives. These have revealed not just the range of materials held by the facility, but also the many stories that they have documented. Topics have included 'Sabbath breaking and other breaches of discipline', 'Witchcraft', 'Food for rich and poor', 'The aluminium industry in the Highlands', 'The Jacobites and the Battle of Culloden', 'Poor Relief', 'Christmas in the collections', and so much more. 

To date there have been NINETY (you read that right!) such presentations, and you can find these on YouTube at www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyxasYGi8kIcL7OThf1QGsHAMACY_1DGE. If you have ancestors from the Highlands they will be of immense interest, but even if not, they still present a superb insight into the vast range of holdings available in the many wonderful archives around Scotland. 

You can find more about Lorna's series at www.highlifehighland.com/blog/learn-with-lorna-series-brings-more-people-to-highland-archive/

Thanks Lorna!

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Friday 26 November 2021

Ancestry's new AncestryDNA Traits service

Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) has launched a new product, AncestryDNA Traits

From its announcement at https://blogs.ancestry.co.uk/ancestry/2021/11/10/ancestry-launches-genetic-traits-for-international-customers/:

Combining cutting-edge science with data, Traits allows you to discover up to 36 traits and attributes influenced by your DNA in an innovative and engaging way.  You can learn more about each of the traits you’ve inherited from your ancestors, find out who else you share that trait with and where in the world it connects you to.

Split into four categories (Fitness, Nutrients, Sensory and Appearance) the traits will help you discover whether you have the ‘sprinter gene’ or are more of an endurance person, how your body may react to certain vitamins or other nutrients.  It might reveal whether you are susceptible to sun sneezing or likely to be lactose intolerant or perhaps even what colour hair or eyes run in your family!

Additional interactive features such as ‘Around the World’ let you delve even deeper and find out where in the world your traits are most commonly found and how they might be connected to your ethnic origins.  The ‘Compare’ feature allows you to compare the genetic markers that influence your traits with friends, family, or any other AncestryDNA customer who has Traits.  You can see what today’s genetic science has to say about what you have in common with friends and family – then maybe share your findings around the dinner table with them this holiday season.


The full announcement is available at the above link. I'm not sure this one is for me really, but it will be available for new customers from November 1st, and for existing customers early next year.

(With thanks to Debbie Kennett)

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Pen and Sword books 30% discount this weekend

For this weekend only, Pen and Sword (www.pen-and-sword.co.uk) is offering 30% off its books in a sale. To avail yourself of the offer, use the discount code BLACKFRIDAY21. There is a free p&p in the UK for orders over £35, and the offer is valid until 29 NOV 2021.


A reminder that my Scottish and Irish Family History books are available to buy at https://pen-and-sword.co.uk/Chris-Paton/a/1799, including my new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records - they could make a great Christmas present or a well-deserved treat for yourself, and with 30% off over the next couple of days, I'd get in there!!! (But I'm biased!)

Don't forget to check out the full range of family and military history titles!

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.