Scottish GENES

Friday, 2 April 2021

FindmyPast expands Northern Irish deaths database

The following are included in this week's FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) release:

Ireland, Northern Ireland Deaths 1998-2020
We’ve also created a distinct record set for recent Northern Ireland deaths and expanded the resource with over 5,000 new records. The entire collection now stands at over 92,000 records. In it, you can discover your relatives' names, birth and death years and where they lived.

(NB: FindmyPast has also updated its equivalent England and Wales deaths database.)

Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, Mentioned in Dispatches 1940-1945
Unique to Findmypast, this useful index can help you trace high-flying family members from World War 2. The collection is compiled from lists of names and regimental details that were originally published in London Gazette.

For news of other additons, including Roman Catholic records for Philadelphia in the United States, and for the relevant links, visit https://www.findmypast.co.uk/blog/new/catholic-death-raf-records

Chris

Just out, Sharing Your Family History Online is on sale at https://bit.ly/SharingFamHist. Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is also out, as are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Thursday, 1 April 2021

Old Scottish adds more Sheriff Court Extract Decrees indexes

Old Scottish Genealogy and Family History (www.oldscottish.com) has published indexes to some Scottish Sheriff Court records on its site, with more to come:

- Index to Stonehaven Sheriff Court Extract Decrees 1832-1869. 3,500 entries covering Kincardineshire and beyond.
- Index to Cromarty Sheriff Court extract decrees (NRS reference SC24/3/1-4)
- Index to Dornoch Sheriff Court extract decrees 1855-1869.
- Index to Fort William (Argyll) Sheriff Court (1841-1861, NRS reference SC52/2/1)

Various records for Edinburgh Sheriff Court are also indexed on the site.

To view the indexes visit https://www.oldscottish.com/sheriff-court-extract-decrees.html#Index

(With thanks to Fergus Smith via @oldscotbooks)

Chris

National Library of Scotland updates maps site and adds new content

There have been a few additions and changes to the National Library of Scotland maps collection site (https://maps.nls.uk) in March, as follows:

New tools for Drawing / Tracing Features

We have added new tools to allow easy drawing / tracing of features on our maps. These have been added to our Explore Georeferenced Maps - Full Screen / Draw viewer (for georeferenced maps), as well as our standard map images viewer (for non-georeferenced maps). You can choose a feature type for drawing, choose a colour, and just click/tap on the map to draw. You can easily modify features once drawn, as well as delete them. The resulting drawn features can be saved locally as an image or JSON file of coordinates (which can be easily edited with a text editor). In the georeferenced maps viewer, you can save a GeoJSON file of drawn features, for easy onward editing in geographic viewers or software. In the map images viewer, you can also print a PDF of the drawn features, and save a JSON file with X,Y image coordinates.

Updated home page, viewers and footer

We have updated our home page, viewers and footers in response to user feedback. Our home page is now shorter and simpler, with the main map search options presented more clearly. Our previous Find by Place viewers have been renamed Map Finder, to make their purpose clearer, and the Map Finder - with Marker Pin has been updated with better filtering options. We have also tried to improve help and guidance, with a new Guide to this website page, and clearer orange Help buttons to the lower left in all our viewers. We have also changed the footer to mirror the main Library website, grouping the most useful information pages into clearer lists.

All central page content, URLs and zoomable maps are unchanged.

OS Half-inch to the Mile, Scotland, Outline Edition, water in blue, 1942

This series at half-inch to the mile scale (1:126,720) was published during the Second World War as an Outline (uncoloured) series, with topography in black, and inland water features printed in blue. The map content largely represents the late 19th century landscape, with only minor later updates to topography and roads. Although printed in 1942, the source content relates to the initial half-inch series drawn in the 1900s, with topographic content derived from the main nationwide revision of maps at the larger-scales from the 1890s.

OS Quarter-inch to the Mile, maps of Scotland, 1901-1960

We have put online all of our Ordnance Survey Quarter-Inch to the mile maps of Scotland, numbering 182 maps across 16 series. The quarter-inch to the mile series provides an overview of significant landscape features, including larger settlements, railways, and roads. It was also particularly valuable for aviation, with various Civil Air and Royal Air Force editions, as well as a set captured and reissued for the German Luftwaffe, showing new aerodromes, landing strips and conspicuous features from the air. The earlier series covered all of Scotland in 17 sheets, whilst later series, with larger sheet extents, covered Scotland in 9-10 sheets. There were four main numbered editions, with various military and civilian forms, and with different ways of showing relief using hachures as well as hypsometric tints or layer colours.

OS One-Inch Seventh Series, Great Britain, 1952-1970

We have put online all of our Ordnance Survey One-Inch Seventh Series maps (896 sheets), covering all of Great Britain, 1952-1970. Our previous coverage of this series just included one edition for each sheet map, but we have now put online all our out-of-copyright editions. This also includes a set of Outline (uncoloured) sheets, as well as the Seventh Series Indexes, showing sheet lines of the 1:2500 County Series related to the National Grid. The Seventh Series provides an excellent overview of the landscape of Great Britain in the 1950s and 1960s, and it was the only standard one-inch to the mile (1:63,360) series to cover the whole of Great Britain.

For further details, and clickable links to the relevant collections, visit https://maps.nls.uk/additions.html

Chris

English and Welsh 1939 National Identity Register records join TheGenealogist

From The Genealogist (www.thegenealogist.co.uk):

Happy Easter from all of us here, we hope you enjoy the Bank Holiday weekend! Why not take this opportunity to explore our latest recordset and spend some time in 1939 with TheGenealogist?

We've just released the 1939 Register transcript, helping you find ancestors at the start of the Second World War. We've added the records to our unique and powerful search tools as well as our SmartSearch technology, making it the most flexible way to research this important dataset online. These records are now available to our Diamond subscribers.

You can access the records at https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/1939-register/

Chris

National Archives in England to re-open from April 27th

The National Archives (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk) at Kew, England, is to re-open from April 27th. The following is the opening part of the archive's announcement:

Preparing to re-open our reading rooms in April
Thursday 1 April 2021

We are pleased to confirm that we are planning to re-open our reading rooms on Tuesday 27 April, in Step 2 of the government roadmap out of lockdown.

When our reading rooms re-open, our services will include:

- Over 100 reading room places per day, five days a week (Tuesday to Saturday, 10:00-14:50)
- 12 documents per day limit, plus three reserve documents in case of unavailability
- Two-day places available for visitors wishing to research bulk document orders (between 20 and 40 documents from the same catalogue series)
- Supplementary research resources, including finding aids, microfilm/fiche and library materials, available to pre-order
- Staffed enquiry desks and access to computers for visitors using the reading rooms.

All visitors must continue to book their visit and order their documents in advance. This helps us to maintain the safety measures that remain in place, including document quarantine and social distancing.

Our priority will be to give access to as many people as possible and demand is likely to be high. We will therefore initially be asking visitors to book a maximum of two visits in a rolling four-week period. We will keep this limit, and all of our arrangements, under regular review.

We will provide further details about our re-opening, including details of how to book, through our website and social media channels.

For more information on the archive's re-opening plans, visit https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/news/coronavirus-update/

Note that access to digital records on the TNA website will remain free of charge whilst reading room services are limited.

Chris

Wednesday, 31 March 2021

Compare Genetic Groups to your DNA Matches on MyHeritage

From MyHeritage (www.myheritage.com):

New: View the Genetic Groups of Your DNA Matches

We’re excited to announce an addition to DNA Matches on MyHeritage — you can now compare your Genetic Groups to those of your DNA Matches.

In late December 2020, we introduced Genetic Groups, an enhancement to our Ethnicity Estimate which increases the resolution of MyHeritage DNA’s ethnicity breakdown to 2,114 geographic regions. Since then, we’ve been working to improve the feature and add new components requested by users, and in January 2021 we released the first set of user interface improvements.

Comparing the shared genetic characteristics of your DNA Matches is very useful and can help you figure out how you might be related. Previously, on the Review DNA Match page, you were able to view the Ethnicity Estimate of your DNA Matches and see which ethnicities you share. Now, you can drill down even further and see which Genetic Groups they belong to, and which ones you have in common.

Comparing your Shared Ethnicities and Genetic Groups

Previously on the Review Match page, there was a Shared Ethnicities component that displayed your DNA Match’s Ethnicity Estimate with your Shared Ethnicities highlighted. Shared Ethnicities are regions where you and your DNA Match may have common ancestral origins, and identifying them may give you some clues about shared ancestors.

With the new update, this section of the page now allows you to compare your Genetic Groups results in addition to your Ethnicity Estimates. We have organized the new component so that beneath the comparison between your DNA Match’s Ethnicity Estimate and your own, you’ll find a list of Genetic Groups to which you and your DNA Match belong. Ethnicities and Genetic Groups listed in bold are the ones you have in common with the match you are currently reviewing.

For more on this new feature, read the full blog post at https://blog.myheritage.com/2021/03/new-view-the-genetic-groups-of-your-dna-matches/

(With thanks to Daniel Horowitz)

Chris

Monday, 29 March 2021

Scottish museums and attractions to start phased reopening from end of April

The sleeping giant that is Scotland is to begin a phased reawakening from the end of April.

Historic Environment Scotland will start to reopen its attractions from April 30th, including Edinburgh Castle and Stirling Castle, whilst the National Museum of Scotland, and other museums, will start to reopen a few days earlier from April 26th. Various Covid safety restrictions will be in place, as will pre-booking systems initially.

For more on the story visit https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-56565402

Chris

Saturday, 27 March 2021

British Newspaper Archive approaches 42 million pages of content

The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) is approaching 42 million pages, with the total now at 41,976,390 pages.

The following titles and/or updated years of coverage have been added in the last 30 days:

Wolverhampton Express and Star
1898-1899, 1901, 1905, 1909-1912

Reading Standard
1891-1895, 1897-1911, 1913-1961

Warrington Examiner
1880, 1889

Widnes Examiner
1880, 1897, 1911

The News (London)
1805, 1807, 1809-1835

St. Helens Examiner
1881-1882, 1898

Weymouth Telegram
1893-1896, 1899, 1901

Potteries Examiner
1880

Blandford Weekly News
1885, 1887, 1890-1892

Herts and Essex Observer
1939-1979

Settmakers' and Stoneworkers' Journal
1891-1913, 1915-1933

Northern Weekly Gazette
1896, 1899

Penistone, Stocksbridge and Hoyland Express
1919-1923, 1925, 1927-1940

Colne Valley Guardian
1898-1906

Dewsbury Chronicle and West Riding Advertiser
1882, 1894-1895

Swansea Journal and South Wales Liberal
1895, 1901-1902

Bargoed Journal
1904

Nantwich, Sandbach & Crewe Star
1888, 1890-1891

Alliance News
1865, 1877-1883, 1885-1889

Gravesend Journal
1864-1892

Northern Guardian (Hartlepool)
1891-1895, 1897-1898

Stockton Herald, South Durham and Cleveland Advertiser
1892, 1895-1896, 1898-1909, 1912-1918

North Cumberland Reformer
1890-1891, 1893, 1898

South Eastern Gazette
1816, 1915-1918

Indian Statesman
1875

Belfast Weekly Telegraph
1873-1893, 1895-1922

Cashel Gazette and Weekly Advertiser
1865-1866, 1868-1887, 1889-1893

Evening Irish Times
1880-1895

Y Tyst
1881-1883, 1885-1889

Southport Visiter
1910, 1912

Evening News (Dublin)
1859-1862

Bassett's Chronicle
1863-1884

Drogheda Conservative
1889, 1897-1908

Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore)
1888

Mayo Examiner and West of Ireland Agricultural and Commercial Reporter and Advertiser
1868-1882, 1884, 1886-1903

Fermanagh Times
1881-1886, 1888, 1891-1900

General Advertiser for Dublin, and all Ireland
1837-1841, 1846-1852, 1856-1866, 1874, 1885, 1897-1923

Ulster Football and Cycling News
1888-1896

Bankrupt & Insolvent Calendar
1846, 1850-1866

Ripon Observer
1890-1895, 1898-1914

Bridgend Chronicle, Cowbridge, Llantrisant, and Maesteg Advertiser
1880-1883, 1885-1888, 1890-1891, 1894

Formby Times
1895, 1900-1906, 1908-1909, 1911, 1919-1922, 1930, 1933-1939, 1943-1951, 1967-1974

Neath Guardian
1927-1964

Harborne Herald
1877, 1879, 1883-1891, 1893-1895, 1897-1899

Hastings & St. Leonards Times
1877-1896, 1898-1899

Torquay Times, and South Devon Advertiser
1911, 1921-1933

Haslingden Gazette
1913

Nelson Chronicle, Colne Observer and Clitheroe Division News
1890-1891, 1894, 1903-1904

Liverpool Daily Post
1901

Weekly Dispatch (London)
1940

Faversham Times and Mercury and North-East Kent Journal
1864

South Wales Daily Telegram
1870-1874, 1876-1887, 1889, 1891

Y Llan
1881, 1884-1909

Seren Cymru
1875, 1877-1883

Pontypridd District Herald
1880, 1891-1894

Chris

Albuquerque Genealogical Society's A Day Of Celtic Genealogy on April 10th

I'll be giving a talk at The Albuquerque Genealogical Society's A Day Of Celtic Genealogy by Five International Experts event on April 10th 2021.

From the society's event page, a summary of the talks that will be happening on the day:

A Day Of Celtic Genealogy by Five International Experts
Come join us for presentations from some of the most recognized authorities on Irish and UK research!
April 10, 2021 from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM MST

Talks:

To find my soul a home: Evidence in marriage for Irish family history - Fiona Fitzsimons
9:00 to 10:00 AM MST

This talk explores how marriages were made in Ireland, from courtship, to reading the banns, negotiating the dowry, the marriage ceremony and consummation. If any step was omitted, it undermined the legal basis of the marriage. What evidence survives, and what does it tell us about love and marriage in the past? Applies to Irish, English in Ireland, Ulster-Scots.

The Irish Dreamtime: The earliest Irish historical tradition - Dr. James Mallory
10:30 to 11:30 AM MST

Dr. Mallory will review some of the more salient points of his book on the Irish Dreamtime, especially concerning the relationship between the earliest Irish traditional history and archaeology. The mediaeval Irish claimed to possess one of the earliest historical records in the world extending back to nearly 3000 BC. He will also briefly discuss the creative process that was involved in constructing the traditional history and provide an example of problems trying to anchor the places and events of Irish tradition in the archaeological landscape. Finally, he will discuss the value of inheriting an Irish Dreamtime.

Discover Your Scottish Ancestors - Chris Paton
1:00 to 2:00 PM MST

“Wha’s like us? Damn few, an’ they’re a’ deid!” Although Scotland is currently part of Great Britain, its historic records and traditions are very different compared to the rest of the UK, with many institutions remaining independent from England at the time of the Union in 1707. These include the Presbyterian based state church, the legal system (Scots Law), the education system, and considerably more.

Finding the Correct Place: Maps and Gazetteers for Scottish Research - Paul Milner
2:30 to 3:30 PM MST

Learn the important history of map making and see examples of many different types of maps available, many now online and how they can be used to assist in your Scottish research, plus learn about the different gazetteers that will assist in finding the correct location.

Spit and You Shall Find: Autosomal and X-DNA Identifies a Charming Scoundrel - Karen Stanbary
4:00 to 5:00 PM MST

Karen describes her methodology to identify the biological father of her own dad’s maternal grandmother who was “adopted” in 1882. The bio father turns out to be quite the charming scoundrel. Newspaper articles about various scandals pepper the talk with humor and keep the audience engaged. The case study demonstrates the following elements leading to a conclusion that meets the genealogical proof standard.

(NB: the event is in the US's Mountain Standard Time - I'll be speaking at 8pm UK time)

For more information on the speakers and the society, and to register, please visit the event page at https://abqgen.org/celtic-genealogy/.

I look forward to seeing ye there!

Chris

Struggles for Liberty: African American Revolutionaries in the Atlantic World

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

The National Library of Scotland has launched an online learning resource — Struggles for Liberty: African American Revolutionaries in the Atlantic World. It shares the lifelong fight for social justice of African American freedom fighters, some of whom campaigned in Britain and Ireland in the 19th century.

Struggles for Liberty takes its name from the phrase 'struggles in the cause of liberty', written by Lewis Henry Douglass (eldest son of Frederick Douglass) of his mother, Anna Murray Douglass's tireless, heroic antislavery and social justice activism. The resource is structured by theme: the 'Story of the Slave'; the History of Black Abolition; the US Civil War; African American activists in Scotland; and the Anna Murray and Frederick Douglass Family. It also includes interactive maps and downloadable learning activities for teachers, including activities mapped to the Curriculum for Excellence.

Curator of US and Commonwealth Collections, Dora Petherbridge said:

'Struggles for Liberty brings together library and archive collections to tell the stories of 19th-century African American activists through their own words. Containing extracts of the autobiographies, histories, narratives, speeches, letters and essays of anti-slavery campaigners and social justice activists, we hope this resource gives insight into the repeatedly silenced story of enslaved people.

'To the day he died Frederick Douglass, abolitionist, human rights activist and author, was immovable in his lifelong conviction: 'nothing of justice, liberty, or humanity can come to us except through tears and blood'. Struggles for Liberty tells of the great individual and collective accomplishments of Frederick Douglass and other Black activists such as Ellen Craft and Moses Roper, who travelled Britain and Ireland in the 19th century fighting white supremacy and campaigning for the abolition of slavery.'

Dr Walter O. Evans, who in 2018 loaned items to the Library for the first ever public display of his Frederick Douglass family collection, said:

'I was very pleased to loan my Anna Murray and Frederick Douglass Family Collection to the National Library of Scotland. I have very fond memories of my times in Edinburgh and was delighted that the first public exhibition of the collection was in Scotland, a country that was so very important to Frederick Douglass. Scotland played a crucial role in Douglass's life, placing him on an international stage and helping to forge his word-renowned activism as an antislavery freedom-fighter and social justice campaigner as well as an inspirational author, orator, and philosopher. I am impressed with the Struggles for Liberty online learning resource, complete with its wide variety of historic materials and curriculum-specific learning activities. I understand the importance of access to source materials and believe that Struggles for Liberty will serve as an indispensable and easily accessible resource for students, teachers, and for those looking to learn more about the Douglass family and other 19th-century African American freedom fighters.'

Struggles for Liberty features writings authored by prominent African American reformers, freedom fighters and campaigners including Frederick Douglass (1818–1895), Maria W. Stewart (1803–1879), Nathaniel Turner (1800–1831), Sojourner Truth (1797–1883), David Walker (1796–1830) and Ida B. Wells-Barnett (1862–1931). Their histories are told through books, letters, photographs and other original documents held at the National Library, in the Walter O. Evans Collection (now at Yale), and in other US library and archive collections.

The resource was created in collaboration with collector Dr Walter O. Evans, and academic partners in the US and the UK, particularly with the Arts & Humanities Research Council-funded, University of Edinburgh project, Our Bondage and Our Freedom.

To access the project pages visit https://digital.nls.uk/learning/struggles-for-liberty/

(Original news release at https://www.nls.uk/news/press/2021/03/new-digital-learning-resource)

Chris

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Friday, 2 April 2021

Thursday, 1 April 2021

Wednesday, 31 March 2021

Monday, 29 March 2021

Saturday, 27 March 2021