The Scottish GENES Blog (GEnealogy News and EventS): Top news stories and features concerning ancestral research in Scotland, Ireland, the rest of the UK, and their diasporas, from genealogist and family historian Chris Paton. Feel free to quote from this blog, but please credit Scottish GENES if you do. I'm on Mastodon @scottishgenes and Threads @scottishgenesblog - to contact me please email chrismpaton @ outlook.com. Cuimhnich air na daoine o'n d'thà inig thu!
So the big news that I have been sitting on for a bit is that I am going to be one of the instructors at the International Society of British Genealogy and Family History's British Institute in Salt Lake City in October 2025, teaching twenty hours on Scottish family history research. It's going to be a great week, with my pal Paul Milner covering England, and my fellow Norn Iron chums Gillian Hunt and Fintan Mullen, from the Ulster Histoical Foundation, covering Ireland. I'm firmly convinced that everyone will have an Ulster accent at the end of the week, just as the good Lord intended...! My week long programme is provisionally entitled Feudalism, Foes, and Fornication: Tracing Your Family History in Scotland, covering all of those topics and everything in between!
I've previously taught at one British Institute for the ISBGFH in 2021, covering Ireland, but this had to be switched to a virtual event due to Covid, so I am finally looking forward to getting to to Salt Lake City again! I've only been there once before - in 1999, when I had a day off whilst filming on a Scottish Television series (called Celtic America), and in the year before I started taking an interest in family history.
I'm looking forward to getting to the Family History Library at long last, and to catching up with many folk, not least Megan Croll Heyl who has been patiently keeping us all on track over the last few years!
It's going to be great craic! In the meantime, for details on this year's British Institute, please visit https://isbgfh.com/bi/. Once the registration page is live for our event in 2025, I'll blog an update.
And keep an eye out next January for a talk I'll be giving for the ISBGFH online, more on that soon!
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.
I'm posting this on behalf of my good friends at the International Society of British Genealogy and Family History (www.isbgfh.com), for those who may be interested in its week long study programme, the British Institute, in October in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, including tracts on both Scotland and Ireland:
British Institute 2023 In Person in Salt Lake City, Utah 9 - 13 October 2023
The International Society for British Genealogy and Family History is proud to bring you British Institute 2023, in person in Salt Lake City, Utah. Join us for a week filled with exceptional genealogy education from world class instructors.
If you are not able to join us in Salt Lake City, Utah, course recordings and syllabi are available to purchase. The recordings and syllabi will be available after the in-person event concludes.
If you plan to join us in Salt Lake City, Utah, in person, you are also able to purchase recordings of any of the other courses.
Members: When registering for British Institute, please be sure to use the email addressed you used when joining ISBGFH.
When registering, please carefully read the registration ticket types (on the Registration page) and choose the appropriate category. For example, if you are a member, and will be joining us in-person in Salt Lake City, but would also like to purchase an additional course recording, you would choose the ticket type category 'Member, 2 Courses, One Course In-Person, One Course Recording'.
ISBGFH 2023 Courses
Course 1: Once More unto the Breach: English Research - Sponsored by Family Search, Presented by Kori Robbins, AG® & Dan Poffenberger, AG®
Join us as we explore the most effective ways to further your knowledge of family history research in England at the FamilySearch Library. We'll quickly cover the basics and then dive deep into sources, resources, methods, and strategies. Expect hands-on sessions that allow attendees to learn while using Library resources.
Course 2: Irish Law and Government Documents Presented by David E. Rencher, AG®, CG®, FUGA, FIGRS & Rick Sayre, CG®, CGLSM, FUGA
Join instructors David E. Rencher and Rick Sayre for an exciting course of instruction digging into the law and government documents of Ireland! This updated course from 2016 includes seven new sessions and updated information to the prior course, including a master bibliography.
Course 3: Scottish Research: The Fundamentals and Beyond Presented by Paul Milner, FUGA, MDiv.
Scottish laws, regulations and records are different than those for the rest of the British Isles, and certainly different than in the United States. Yet there are enough similarities to create confusion for the unwary. In this course, we will address the fundamentals of all the major record groups, examining where to find and how to search the indexes and exploring what is and is not available online.
Course 4: The Genealogist's Guide to the Technology Galaxy - Sponsored by MyHeritage. Presented by Thomas MacEntee
As you work through your genealogy research projects, do you sometimes have trouble managing technology? Perhaps you don’t know how to start your journey or the best route to take? What about the tools you need for your online research trip? Confused as to what works best and what should be avoided?
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.
From the International Society of British Genealogy and Family History (www.isbgfh.com):
ISBGFH Military Virtual Institute
If your ancestor served in the British Army, you are going to want to join us for the Military Virtual Institute November 23 & 24, 2021. The course instructor is British Army expert, Paul Nixon. Anyone who has attended a webinar or presentation by Paul can attest to the depth of information and the quality of Paul's teaching style. Paul is incredibly knowledgeable and has a forensic knowledge of regimental numbers.
While Paul works for Findmypast, he does not limit the resources he shares for finding out more about your British Army ancestor to that website. He shares the information that is going to help you move your research forward including other databases.
Paul will share his knowledge about identifying your ancestor's regiment through photographs, or through medals that you may have in your possession and that you would like to know more about.
Paul will also be presenting on researching your British Naval and Air Force ancestors as well.
Join us for two information packed days of learning about the British Military. Access to the recordings is open for 30 days following the live presentations so that you can revisit again and again to get the most out of Paul's knowledge. For more detailed information and to register, visit: https://www.isbgfh.com/Military-Research-Virtual-Institute
COMMENT: A reminder that recordings of presentations from the recent ISBGFH British Institute, including my 10 x Irish track presentations, and those from the presenters on the Scottish, English and Welsh tracks, are available to purchase until November 30th. For further details, please see http://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2021/10/isbgfh-irish-track-recordings-available.html
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.
A huge thanks to the International Society of British Genealogy and Family History (www.isbgfh.com) for its superb British Institute last week, in which I taught the Irish track from Monday to Friday, with four hours of tuition per day. I had 34 very keen students, and even managed to send FamilySearch's David Rencher down a rabbit hole at one point!!! It was a lot of fun to teach, and I hope it helps those who attended with their ongoing research efforts.
The recordings of these classes are still available to purchase through the ISBGFH until November 30th, if you were unable to attend the sessions last week. To do so, please contact Megan Heyl at InstituteDirectorISBGFH@gmail.com for details, and after invoicing you for the correct amount, they will then be sent to you upon payment.
A reminder of the topics that were covered:
What is Ireland? • Who are the Irish? • Marking the Boundaries • A Sense of Place
Church and State – Ireland's Vital Records • Civil Registration • Church Records • Further denominations • Other Resources
Irish Land Records – Part 1 • Where were they? • Early valuation records • Tithes Records • Townland Valuation • Primary Valuation of Ireland (Griffith's Valuation) • Valuation revisions
Irish Land Records Part 2 • Tenancy & ownership • Land registration – the Registry of Deeds • Land registration – the Land Registry • Irish Land Commission • Probate Records
Irish Occupations • Agricultural sector • Military service • Merchant Navy • Skilled labour • The Churches • Professions • Businesses
Daily Life in Ireland • Newspapers • Education • Electoral records • Times of Crisis • Emigration • Law and Order • Case Study
Finding the Irish in Britain • Britain and the Crown Dependencies • British archives • Civil registration • Wills • Poor law records and returns • British censuses • 1939 National Identity Register • Newspapers • Societies
DNA and Other Sources • Published Resources • Oral history projects • Online biographical resources • Cousin bait – put your research out there • DNA • DNA Case Studies
The Decade of Centenaries: Ireland 1912-23 • Background: Ireland and the United Kingdom • Home Rule • Women's suffrage • Workers' rights: The Dublin Lockout 25 AUG 1913 -18 JAN 1914 • The First World War 1914-1918 • Ireland divided 1919-1923 • Beyond 2022
Case Study: An Irish Farm History A
case study pulling together many of the resources discussed this week,
telling the history of a Kilkenny farmhouse and the family within. Final questions.
In addition to my Irish track, there was a separate English track taught last week with Paul Milner, and additional Scottish and Welsh tracks running in this coming week. Recordings for these will also be on sale until November 30th. For further details on the full British Institute programme, please visit www.isbgfh.com/BRITISH-INSTITUTE.
Thanks again to Megan, Sylvia, and Pat Richley-Erickson's team for a superbly hosted event last week!
NB: A quick plug also to say that I will be giving a talk to the ISBGFH on November 6th on the topic of Scottish Church and State Records - I hope to maybe 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.
Those who think that my putting out two new books this year is more than enough to be getting on with clearly don't know me too well! By far the biggest project I have been working on this year is a twenty hour programme of talks on Irish family history that I have been putting together as part of the International Society for British Genealogy and Family History's annual British Institute (https://www.isbgfh.com/BRITISH-INSTITUTE), which kicks off from October 11th-15th 2021.
It's going to be a packed week comprised of ten x two hour sessions (two per day), all taught online, where I get to share everything and anything that I know about Irish genealogy - it has been a lot of work to put it together, but also a lot of fun, and I'm very much looking forward to getting underway in ten days time!
Here is a brief summary of the topics that will be covered:
Monday 11th October 2021 What is Ireland? • Who are the Irish? • Marking the Boundaries • A Sense of Place
Church and State – Ireland's Vital Records • Civil Registration • Church Records • Further denominations • Other Resources
Tuesday 12th October 2021 Irish Land Records – Part 1 • Where were they? • Early valuation records • Tithes Records • Townland Valuation • Primary Valuation of Ireland (Griffith's Valuation) • Valuation revisions
Irish Land Records Part 2 • Tenancy & ownership • Land registration – the Registry of Deeds • Land registration – the Land Registry • Irish Land Commission • Probate Records
Wednesday 13th October 2021 Irish Occupations • Agricultural sector • Military service • Merchant Navy • Skilled labour • The Churches • Professions • Businesses
Daily Life in Ireland • Newspapers • Education • Electoral records • Times of Crisis • Emigration • Law and Order • Case Study
Thursday 14th October 2021 Finding the Irish in Britain • Britain and the Crown Dependencies • British archives • Civil registration • Wills • Poor law records and returns • British censuses • 1939 National Identity Register • Newspapers • Societies
DNA and Other Sources • Published Resources • Oral history projects • Online biographical resources • Cousin bait – put your research out there • DNA • DNA Case Studies
Friday 15th October 2021 The Decade of Centenaries: Ireland 1912-23 • Background: Ireland and the United Kingdom • Home Rule • Women's suffrage • Workers' rights: The Dublin Lockout 25 AUG 1913 -18 JAN 1914 • The First World War 1914-1918 • Ireland divided 1919-1923 • Beyond 2022
Case Study: An Irish Farm History A case study pulling together many of the resources discussed this week, telling the history of a Kilkenny farmhouse and the family within. Final questions.
Ten days to go, but there is still time to sign up! Full details are available at https://www.isbgfh.com/event-4293293. There are three other taught tracks also, you can combine my Irish course with one
on England, Wales or Scotland (or do one of those instead!), so the
pricing is variable depending on what you choose to do. And there will be banter...!
I hope to maybe 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.
A reminder that I'm teaching the Tracing your Irish Family History track of the International Society for British Genealogy and Family History's 'Virtual British Institute' from October 11th-15th. There will be 5 days of taught content online, four hours per day, on all things Irish!
There are also tracks on England, Wales and Scotland from Paul Milner, Darrs Williams, and Bruce Durie.
News of a big event for me this year, which I hope you might come along to!
Last year I was supposed to be travelling to Salt Lake City to deliver a week long lecture programme on Irish genealogy, as part of the annual British Institute run by the International Society for British Genealogy and Family History. The event, due to be held in October, would have comprised of twenty hours of taught content across ten sessions (2 x 2 hour sessions per day), and I would have come back to Scotland with a glorious tan and a great new accent. Unfortunately, due to Covid, the full event for 2020 had to be dramatically scaled back to a smaller online programme, which was a great deal of fun but condensed to a delivery of four 90 minute long topics.
Well it's now 2021, and Covid still has a grip on us all, but I am delighted to say that whilst I am still unable to get over to Utah, this year the ISBGFH's British Institute will be run at full length, with yours truly delivering on 20 hours of Irish content entirely online, in a programme series entitled Tracing Your Irish Family History, from 11-15 October 2021. In addition, there are further options to listen to 20 hours of content from Paul Milner on English genealogy, and similar from Bruce Durie on Scotland, and Darris Williams on Wales.
The International Society for British Genealogy and Family History (ISBGFH) welcomes you to the virtual British Institute (BI). This year’s institute focuses on Ireland, Scotland, England, and Wales. The British Institute is open to ISBGFH members and non-members alike.
We all recognize that COVID-19 changed businesses. Genealogy is no exception. If we want to continue and grow, we need to change, modify, and adapt. Our instructors plan to offer you tools to help you do just that.
To cause the least disruption, the BI is using the virtual setting via ZOOM and coming to you in four courses–five days each in Mid-October. During this time, we will gather to learn, share, and enjoy the history of our ancestry!
While we encourage you to take advantage of all four courses, we are offering different options to fit your schedule and interests. Attend one course LIVE each week (11-15 October, and 18-22 October) or all four by accessing the recordings.
MEMBERSHIP
If you are not a member of ISBGFH, you may wish to consider joining. A yearly membership is only $25 USD, and the benefits of membership include our British Connections quarterly plus full access through the website to the British Connections archive dating back to 2000. If that isn't enough - you also get access to recordings of our Winter Webinar Series including handouts.
For the grand membership benefit, you qualify for discounts to our British Institute. Since COVID has shut down in-person events in Salt Lake City, BI has gone virtual and each course will be recorded for those who are registered. Each Institute course also has a robust syllabus that is a great source of information and references for you to view and review.
We highly recommend that if you choose to become a member of ISBGFH, that you purchase your membership and wait until you receive your confirmation email with log in information before registering to attend BI. This guarantees receiving membership discounts.
And here's a description of the basic event structure:
I'm still pulling together the full programme, but to give an idea of what was originally planned (which I won't deviate too far from!), I gave a live talk session early last year offering the proposed overview for the 2020 event, which should give you an idea of some of the content that will be available. You can watch this below (or at https://youtu.be/yFK90UrmZMk):
There will be some minor tweaks to my original plans to allow for more online research (rather than at the Family History Library in SLC, which was the original plan) whilst we carry on through the pandemic.
Registration is now open at https://www.isbgfh.com/event-4293293 - the event should be great craic (a lot of fun), as I like to be serious in what I do, but not always in how I do it!
A huge thanks to the International Society for British Genealogy and Family History (www.isbgfh.com) for a fun day yesterday, at which I gave four ninety minute long (or just under!) Irish talks online as part of the three day British Virtual Institute (www.isbgfh.com/Virtual-British-Institute). The fun continues today and tomorrow with presentations on English and Welsh research from Paul Milner and Darris Williams.
The event replaced a week long institute that was due to take place in Salt Lake City, but I have already commited - Covid permitting - to try to get over next year to teach the full programme, which is provisionally scheduled to comprise of ten x one hour sessions. We had a fun eight hour session in total (with a few breaks!), and just as it ended I was then able to put my feet up and watch the first episode of the new series of Who Do You Think You Are?, so a good day for genealogy in the Paton household!
The ISBGFH offers a range of benefits, including its quarterly British Connections publication (to which I regularly contribute topics on Irish subjects). For more info, and to join, visit www.isbgfh.com/Join-ISBGFH.
With my Irish hat on, a friendly reminder that the International Society for British Genealogy and Family History's Virtual British Institute (www.isbgfh.com/Virtual-British-Institute) kicks off in just over a week's time on Monday 12th October.
The original plan for the institute was for three streams to be taught in Salt Lake City, Utah, over 5 days, but Covid forced a change of plan, with a three day event now to be taught entirely online. Yours truly kicks off on Monday 12th with Ireland, Paul Milner then covers England on Tuesday 13th, and Darris Williams discusses Wales on Wednesday 14th. Each of us will be giving four 90 minute long in-depth presentations on various topics, and taking questions and answers throughout the day.
For convenience this is what I'll be covering on the first day, for the Irish tract:
1. Church and State: Ireland's vital records This session will explore how to locate ancestors in Ireland
using the civil registration records of births, marriages and deaths
from 1845 and 1864 onwards, both online and in Ireland itself, as held
at both the GROI in Roscommon and the GRONI in Belfast. It will also
examine how to understand and utilize the records, and to appreciate
their strengths and limitations. Chris will then look at the various church denominations in
Ireland, how they were structured, and the types of records they kept.
He will explore how to locate surviving material, to equally identify
what has not survived (and why), and to understand where Protestant and
Catholic Ireland occasionally overlapped, with the role of the Church of
Ireland as the state church. Where gaps in such records exist, Chris will further discuss how
other sources may be able to provide alternative information to plug
those gaps, including resources in Britain. 2. Irish land records In this session Chris will provide an understanding of the
administrative boundaries within which various records were created and
gathered in Ireland, look at how to locate places mentioned in records
in Ireland, and to understand what those place names might mean. He will also provide an introductory overview of the key land
records available for ancestral research - the surviving censuses and
census substitutes, the records of land valuation and taxation
(including 19th century tithe applotment book and Griffith's Valuation),
the Registry of Deeds, the value of estate records – and of course, how
to find them, both online and in the island's many archives. 3. Daily life in Ireland As well as the basic resources to establish the genealogy of our
families, additional record sets exist that document their role and
status in society, and often their fate. In this session Chris will look at additional resources that can
place our families in context, including, for example, freeholders
lists and absent voters lists, the administration of the poor law and
the role of the poorhouse in Ireland, and education records. He will also look at surviving judicial records and the records
of law enforcement, and provide a flavour of what might be out there, by
exploring a case study of a 19th century murder which unblocked a
genealogical brick wall, and pushed a family narrative back a hundred
years to the mid 18th century. 4. The Decade of Centenaries From 1912-1923 a dramatic transformation occurred in Ireland,
culminating with the Partition of the island into the two constitutional
territories in existence today. In this session Chris will explore the
dramatic events of the period, which are today being commemorated north
and south of the island as the 'Decade of Centenaries'. These include the struggle for Home Rule and the defiance of the
Ulster Covenant, workers' rights and the Dublin Lockout of 1913, the
Suffragette campaign for the enfranchisement of women, the pause on all
fronts created by the First World War, and the subsequent sacrifices
made in the British Empire's name. During the turmoil, Ireland
experienced its Easter Rising, which led towards a constitutional
turning point, with the Conscription crisis, the subsequent War of
Independence against British rule, the Partition of Ireland into two
administrative territories, and the resultant tragedy of the Irish Civil
War. Amongst all of this, Chris will examine the many records
becoming increasingly available to work out where our ancestors may have
fitted in.
1 Day Member: English Research – $89.00
1 Day Member: Hidden Treasures in Welsh Family History – $89.00
1 Day Member: Tracing Your Irish Family History – $89.00
1 Day Non-Member: English Research – $99.00
1 Day Non-Member: Hidden Treasures in Welsh Family History – $99.00
1 Day Non-Member: Tracing Your Irish Family History – $99.00
2 Day Member: English and Irish Research – $160.00
2 Day Member: English and Welsh Research – $160.00
2 Day Member: Welsh and Irish Research – $160.00
2 Day Non-Member: English and Irish Research – $198.00
2 Day Non-Member: English and Welsh Research – $198.00
2 Day Non-Member: Welsh and Irish Research – $198.00
3 Day Member – $230.00
3 Day Non-Member – $297.00
FREE BI Committee
I believe there are just under ten spaces still available, so if interested, best to get in quick!
From the International Society for British Genealogy and Family History (www.isbgfh.com)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE COLORADO
Given the current restrictions on travel as the world grapples with the Covid-19 pandemic, we at ISBGFH have made the decision to change our 2020 British Institute to a three-day Virtual event. This allows people to attend, to attend more than one course and to remain safe while learning from our instructors.
OCTOBER 12-14, 2020
As planned for the in-person event, we will have three instructors, one each day:
Chris Paton – Irish Research
Paul Milner – English Research
Darris Williams – Welsh Research
Each instructor will present 8 hours of online instruction (live) and will be available to answer questions. All sessions will be recorded and access to the recordings will be open until the end of November, 2020.
Attendees can attend one full day, all three days, or a combination of any two days. There is a discount for ISBGFH members.
I was very much looking forward to returning to Salt Lake City this coming October, for the first time since 1999, but a nasty wee bug got in the way of all that. You can't keep a good team down, however, so I'm delighted to share the news that this year's British Institute (www.isbgfh.com/BRITISH-INSTITUTE) from the International Society for British Genealogy and Family History (www.isbgfh.com) has re-emerged as a new online venture in October, by way of a three day event featuring myself, Paul Milner and Darris Williams, covering genealogical topics from Ireland, Wales and England.
Here's the event description:
Virtual British Institute 2020
Due to Covid-19 the 2020 British Institute will be virtual. Each presenter will introduce topics they will cover in 2021, so you can begin your research while at home. Basic through intermediate levels of instruction will be offered in four 'live' presentations with 'live' question and answer time. From the comfort of your home access a full syllabus highlighting relevant record groups. Courses will run consecutively, so take one or all three from Oct. 12 - 14. We are offering the following courses:
If you click on the links above you can find out a bit more about the three of us and the topics that all three of us will be offering on our respective days.
For convenience this is what I'll be covering on the first day, for the newly abridged Irish tract:
1. Church and State: Ireland's vital records This session will explore how to locate ancestors in Ireland using the civil registration records of births, marriages and deaths from 1845 and 1864 onwards, both online and in Ireland itself, as held at both the GROI in Roscommon and the GRONI in Belfast. It will also examine how to understand and utilize the records, and to appreciate their strengths and limitations. Chris will then look at the various church denominations in Ireland, how they were structured, and the types of records they kept. He will explore how to locate surviving material, to equally identify what has not survived (and why), and to understand where Protestant and Catholic Ireland occasionally overlapped, with the role of the Church of Ireland as the state church. Where gaps in such records exist, Chris will further discuss how other sources may be able to provide alternative information to plug those gaps, including resources in Britain. 2. Irish land records In this session Chris will provide an understanding of the administrative boundaries within which various records were created and gathered in Ireland, look at how to locate places mentioned in records in Ireland, and to understand what those place names might mean. He will also provide an introductory overview of the key land records available for ancestral research - the surviving censuses and census substitutes, the records of land valuation and taxation (including 19th century tithe applotment book and Griffith's Valuation), the Registry of Deeds, the value of estate records – and of course, how to find them, both online and in the island's many archives. 3. Daily life in Ireland As well as the basic resources to establish the genealogy of our families, additional record sets exist that document their role and status in society, and often their fate. In this session Chris will look at additional resources that can place our families in context, including, for example, freeholders lists and absent voters lists, the administration of the poor law and the role of the poorhouse in Ireland, and education records. He will also look at surviving judicial records and the records of law enforcement, and provide a flavour of what might be out there, by exploring a case study of a 19th century murder which unblocked a genealogical brick wall, and pushed a family narrative back a hundred years to the mid 18th century. 4. The Decade of Centenaries From 1912-1923 a dramatic transformation occurred in Ireland, culminating with the Partition of the island into the two constitutional territories in existence today. In this session Chris will explore the dramatic events of the period, which are today being commemorated north and south of the island as the 'Decade of Centenaries'. These include the struggle for Home Rule and the defiance of the Ulster Covenant, workers' rights and the Dublin Lockout of 1913, the Suffragette campaign for the enfranchisement of women, the pause on all fronts created by the First World War, and the subsequent sacrifices made in the British Empire's name. During the turmoil, Ireland experienced its Easter Rising, which led towards a constitutional turning point, with the Conscription crisis, the subsequent War of Independence against British rule, the Partition of Ireland into two administrative territories, and the resultant tragedy of the Irish Civil War. Amongst all of this, Chris will examine the many records becoming increasingly available to work out where our ancestors may have fitted in.
1 Day Member: English Research – $89.00
1 Day Member: Hidden Treasures in Welsh Family History – $89.00
1 Day Member: Tracing Your Irish Family History – $89.00
1 Day Non-Member: English Research – $99.00
1 Day Non-Member: Hidden Treasures in Welsh Family History – $99.00
1 Day Non-Member: Tracing Your Irish Family History – $99.00
2 Day Member: English and Irish Research – $160.00
2 Day Member: English and Welsh Research – $160.00
2 Day Member: Welsh and Irish Research – $160.00
2 Day Non-Member: English and Irish Research – $198.00
2 Day Non-Member: English and Welsh Research – $198.00
2 Day Non-Member: Welsh and Irish Research – $198.00
3 Day Member – $230.00
3 Day Non-Member – $297.00
FREE BI Committee
Just for good measure, if you wish to hear what was planned for the original 5 days Irish tract - which is now being moved to 2021 - you can watch a talk that I gave about it earlier this year at https://youtu.be/yFK90UrmZMk, and which I have reproduced below for convenience:
It's going to be busy and it is going to be fun - I hope to see you there!
If you are at a loss this Saturday for something to do, and fancy finding out a bit more about what I'll be discussing at the British Institute's Irish course in Utah in October, the following might be of interest!
Saturday February 29th 2020
11 am eastern (4pm current UK time)
AN OVERVIEW OF THE IRISH COURSE AT BRITISH INSTITUTE 2020
presented by Chris Paton
Chris is the instructor for the IRISH course at this year's British Institute in Salt Lake City.
"Originally from Northern Ireland, but with both Scottish and Irish roots, Chris Paton holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Genealogical Studies from the University of Strathclyde, and today works as a professional genealogist, running the Scotland's Greatest Story research service (www.scotlandsgreateststory.co.uk). He lives in Ayrshire in Scotland, and is married with two sons.
Chris will discuss:
Introduction: the Irish genealogical landscape
The Vital Records
Irish Land Records
Irish Occupations
Finding the Irish in British records. From 1801-1922
The Decade of Centenaries. From 1912-1923
Newspapers and Books
And for more about my Tracing Your Irish Ancestors course at the British Institute in Salt Lake City from October 12-16 2020, at the Salt Lake Plaza Hotel, please visit https://www.isbgfh.com/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History.
Hopefully see you online on Saturday - and maybe even in Utah in October!
