Inverness ScotlandsPeople hub extends opening hours but raises access price

Thanks to Jane Harris for the following mixed bag of news for those seeking to gain access to the ScotlandsPeople system at the Highland Archive and Registration Centre (https://www.highlifehighland.com/highland-archive-centre/) in Inverness.  

From April 4th its opening hours will extend to Tuesdays-Thursdays, from 10-4.30pm (an addition of a day from the current two day provision). On the ohter hand, the access price is to be raised to £20 per day, as opposed to £15 in all other centres providing access on the same basis as the ScotlandsPeople Centre in Edinburgh. 

(The facility's website at https://www.highlifehighland.com/archives-service/archives/family-history-centre/ has yet to be updated). 

There's sadly no update on the ScotlandsPeople situation in Kilmarnock as of yet.

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

FindmyPast updates Northern Irish wills calendars and adds Inland Revenue Irish Wills & Administrations 1828-1879

Newly added to FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk):

Ireland Calendars of Wills & Administrations 1858-1965 (Northern Ireland)
https://search.findmypast.co.uk/search-world-records/ireland-calendars-of-wills-and-administrations-1858-1965

For the first time, you can explore will calendar entries for the District Probate Registries of Armagh, Belfast and Londonderry.

Within this set, we've added 261,256 new record transcriptions, covering between 1921 and 1965.

(Comment: FindmyPast erroneously states on its blog that the update is for "ancestors who died in Belfast, Armagh and Londonderry between 1921 and 1965". For one thing, the district probate registry offices from 1921-1965 covered the whole of Northern Ireland, not just Belfast, Armagh and Derry, and for another, it was only Belfast and Londonderry at work in this period - the Armagh office was abolished in 1921! The records are also freely accessible at PRONI via https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/information-and-services/search-archives-online/will-calendars)


Ireland, Inland Revenue Wills & Administrations 1828-1879
https://search.findmypast.co.uk/search-world-records/ireland-calendars-of-wills-and-administrations-1858-1965

This all-new set contains 261,256 images and transcriptions, which offer rich insight into the legacies of your Irish ancestors.

Records include the name of the deceased, and the executor or administrator of their will. 

Further details at https://www.findmypast.co.uk/blog/new/irish-wills-administrations

For mote on Irish probate, north and south, check out my Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records book from Pen and Sword, available from https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Chris-Paton/a/1799 (UK) and https://www.penandswordbooks.com/9781526780218/tracing-your-irish-ancestors-through-land-records/ (USA).

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

SAFHS 2023 conference in Aberdeen on April 22nd

From Aberdeen and North-East Scotland FHS's conference page for the forthcoming SAFHS 2023 conference, which will be held on April 22nd in Aberdeen:

Haste Ye Back is the theme of the 33^rd annual one-day conference of the Scottish Association of Family History Societies (SAFHS) which will take place online and for free on Saturday 22^nd April 2023. The conference is being hosted by the Aberdeen and North-East Scotland Family History Society (ANESFHS) in partnership with the Elphinstone Institute of the University of Aberdeen and it will explore different aspects of settlement and migration in the north-east with reference, where possible, to considerations and resources for family history research.

For further details visit https://safhs2023.anesfhs.org.uk. 

There's also an interesting Emigration page at https://safhs2023.anesfhs.org.uk/index.php/emigration.

Chris 

Pre-order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

MyHeritage free access to Irish Records, and Mother's Day DNA sale

MyHeritage (www.myheritage.com) is offering free access to its Irish collections for this year's St. Patrick's Day weekend:

We are pleased to announce that in honor of St. Patrick’s Day this year, we are making all 106 of our Irish record collections available to search for free for a limited time, March 14–19, 2023! If you have Irish heritage, you may get lucky and discover a family treasure!

The MyHeritage Irish collections include Irish birth, marriage, death, census, wills, atlases, directories, calendars, historical books, registers, passenger lists, prisoner, and registration records. Many of the collections also include images.

You can discover more at https://blog.myheritage.com/2023/03/free-irish-records-for-st-patricks-day/ - the records themselves can be searched at https://www.myheritage.com/research/category-Ireland/ireland-genealogy-vital-records.

There's also a MyHeritage DNA promotion at https://www.myheritage.com/dna for Mother's Day.

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Ancestry adds Ireland, Apothecary Records, 1736-1920 collection

Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) has added a new database on Irish doctors:

Ireland, Apothecary Records, 1736-1920
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62260/
Source: Ireland Apothecary Records. Dublin, Ireland: Royal College of Physicians of Ireland.

About Ireland, Apothecary Records, 1736-1920

This collection contains details of registered apothecaries in Ireland between the years of 1736 and 1920. Records may also include lists of apprentice apothecaries. Most records are handwritten in ledgers, though newer records may be printed.

Using the collection

Records in the collection may include the following information:
Name
Age
Address
City
County
Registration date

This collection offers a unique insight into a highly specialised profession. These records can provide you with information about your family member's education level, lifestyle, and career.

Records list the apothecary's home address, however the apothecaries sometimes lived and worked in the same building. Some records also list addresses of other locations the apothecary may have used as a workplace, including laboratories and warehouses. If the record does not specifically list the home and shop at the same address, consider checking the provided address against a city directory or map to locate the shop and other facilities.

For further details visit https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62260/

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Canadian 1931 Census to Be Released on June 1st 2023

From FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org):

1931 Census of Canada to Be Released on June 1, 2023

GATINEAU, QUEBEC, March 15, 2023—After the legislated 92 years in the vault, the highly anticipated 1931 Census of Canada will be made available to the public. Collected during the Great Depression and at a time of significant immigration, the census provides a snapshot of the more than 10 million people living in Canada in 1931. On June 1, 2023, Canadians can expect to browse the digitized census images by geographic districts and sub-districts on the Library and Archives Canada (LAC) website. Following the initial release, LAC will work collaboratively with Ancestry® and FamilySearch International to create an advanced searchable database for Canadians, and those with Canadian heritage who wish to look for their ancestors.

In this collaborative effort to increase access to the 1931 Census of Canada, LAC has digitized all 234,687 pages of the census and Ancestry will apply its state-of-the-art handwriting recognition technology to the digital images to create a full index of the entire census. FamilySearch will then review the computer-generated index to ensure a complete and accurate index of all fields at a level never achieved before. The images and indexes will be available and searchable online for free through Census Search, Library and Archives Canada’s new one-stop shop for national census records. The images and indexes will also be available on Ancestry.ca and FamilySearch.org.

“Library and Archives Canada is very excited to announce that it will be making the eagerly awaited 1931 Census of Canada available to the public in just a few months. Our partnership with Ancestry and FamilySearch will give us the opportunity to provide our users with an improved experience when searching and browsing the 1931 Census. This is directly in line with our goal to provide online, reliable and trusted access to Canada’s documentary heritage.” —Leslie Weir, Librarian and Archivist of Canada

LAC has been working in collaboration with external organizations like Ancestry and FamilySearch for over 20 years to help preserve and provide access to its genealogically significant historical records. Today, collaborations between private organizations and public institutions are the meeting ground of cutting-edge technology and subject-matter expertise. This collaborative partnership is key to meeting public demand and ensuring that the 1931 Census of Canada can be viewed and searched online more quickly than previous censuses.

“Ancestry is delighted to work with Library and Archives Canada and FamilySearch to bring the 1931 Census of Canada to the public and digitize these precious records for future generations. The release of the 1931 Census will enable millions of Canadians over the age of 60 to find census data for their parents for the first time. For those aged between 35 and 49, the census offers the first opportunity to access records for their grandparents. This will be game-changing for people building their family history and making connections with their ancestors.”  — Todd Godfrey, VP Global Content at Ancestry

“FamilySearch is excited about the release of the 1931 Census of Canada. We are honored to work with Library and Archives Canada and Ancestry to make its pages easily searchable for those individuals worldwide with Canadian roots seeking to extend the branches of their family tree and make fun personal and family connections,” said Stephen Valentine, Senior Vice President, FamilySearch International.

Quick Facts about the 1931 Census of Canada

• Online censuses are very popular databases for family researchers and valuable resources for historians. Many Canadians and people with Canadian roots have ancestors who lived in Canada in 1931. Finding these ancestors in the census can lead to discoveries about other ancestors and new family connections.
• The 1931 Census of Canada is 234,687 pages in length and includes 10,376,786 people.
• More than 40 fields of personal information were recorded in the 1931 Census of Canada. These include typical questions found on previous census returns, such as family names and relationships, age, gender, and racial origin. There were also five new questions, touching on matters like unemployment and radio ownership.
• The 1931 Census of Canada was the seventh comprehensive 10-year census following Canada’s Confederation on July 1, 1867.

Users can bookmark LAC’s Preparing the 1931 Census web page to stay up to date on the project’s status.

(Original story at https://www.familysearch.org/en/newsroom/1931-census-of-canada-coming-june-2023)

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

RootsIreland 25% discount on annual subscription

RootsIreland (www.rootsireland.ie) is offering 25% off an annual subscription if you subscribe before March 31st. *Offer applies until 12 midnight Irish time on 31 March 2023 only. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer.

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Scottish Indexes twentieth conference April 15th 2023

Just a quick heads up that the next Scottish Indexes Conference, the twentieth, will be held on Saturday April 15th 2023. There's little available on the programme just yet, but I'll be giving a talk on kirk session records, and Lorna Kinnaird and Michelle Leonard will also be presenting.

For more information, keep an eye out at www.scottishindexes.com.

Chris 

Pre-order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Slaves and Highlanders: Silenced Histories of Scotland and the Caribbean talk on Wed March 15th

From History Scotland (www.historyscotland.com) magazine:

HISTORY SCOTLAND LECTURES
Slaves and Highlanders: Silenced Histories of Scotland and the Caribbean, 15 March

Dr David Alston recovers the voices of enslaved Africans and sheds light on their Highland Scottish enslavers in a series of case histories from the era of colonial slavery in the Caribbean and South America.

The ‘micro-histories’ presented in this talk link:

•     plantations in Jamaica with the Scottish island of Raasay
•     resistance and uprisings in Guyana with the coastal estates of Easter Ross and Inverness-shire
•     a woman born in slavery in Barbados with the schools in Paisley, Glasgow and Liverpool where her children were educated.

Dr Alston outlines the methods available to recover these and other life stories from the silences of history. And he suggests that – on ‘the other side of silence’ – there is a better approach to our difficult and shared past.

About the speaker
Dr David Alston researches the role of Highland Scots in the slave plantations of the Caribbean, especially Guyana, before emancipation in 1834. He was one of the first Scottish historians to draw attention to the prominent role of Scots in the slave trade and the plantation economies of the Caribbean. He is the author of Slaves and Highlanders (EUP, 2021).

Event details
Date: 15 March, 6.30pm - book now
The 45-minute talk takes place on Zoom, followed by a 30-minute Q&A chaired by Dr Allan Kennedy.

How to book
Tickets are £10 each, which includes on-demand access to the event recording for 7 days. Book at https://bit.ly/hsalston

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

1871 UK Census households now plotted on The Genealogist's Map Explorer

From TheGenealogist (www.thegenealogist.co.uk):

New Release: 1871 UK Census households now plotted on Map Explorer

The 1871 Census for England, Scotland and Wales has, for the first time, been georeferenced on TheGenealogist. This is the process of linking a record to a geographical spot and means you can now see where a household stood with links to detailed maps on the powerful Map Explorer™. This is set to make investigating the places where ancestors lived in this year even more interesting for family and house historians.

Viewing a household record from the 1871 census on TheGenealogist will now show a map pinpointing its location. Clicking through from this preview map opens the powerful Map Explorer™ with its georeferenced modern and historical maps. This then enables subscribers to explore their ancestors’ area in much greater detail than on other census sites.

Joining the earlier census releases, which saw the 1911, 1901, 1891 and 1881 census linked up to the powerful mapping tool, researchers can now easily identify with just the click of a button where their forebears had once lived and get a sense of the routes their ancestors used.

Using these linked maps allows researchers to trace the thoroughfares that ancestors may have walked down as they went shopping, or popped into their local pubs for a drink. Researchers can likewise, work out the routes that their forebears may have taken to get to their nearby churches, or find the shortest way to their places of work and the direction they needed to go in order to reach their nearby park for relaxation. Historical maps can also reveal where the nearest railway station was to their home, important for understanding how our ancestors could have travelled to other parts of the country to see relatives or to visit their hometown.

With this powerful resource, Starter, Gold and Diamond subscribers of TheGenealogist can look into their ancestors’ neighbourhood from home on their computer screens, or even access the census and the relevant maps on their mobile phone as they walk down the modern streets.

(With thanks to Nick Thorne)

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors 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. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.