I'm doing the Kiltwalk in April to raise money for An Lòchran Gaelic Arts and Cutural Centre in Partick

On April 28th I have decided to take leave of my senses and to walk for 22.6 miles between Glasgow Green and Balloch at Loch Lomond, as part of the annual Kiltwalk, to raise money for the charity An Lòchran (https://www.anlochran.com), a Gaelic language centre based in Partick, Glasgow. The jury's still out on whether I will be doing it in a kilt, but it's an activity that I have wanted to do for a few years! There will be a team of us participating on behalf of An Lòchran (calling ourselves The Gaelforce!) and we're really looking forward to it!

Since 2007 the Scottish GENES Blog has been brought to you for free, and I've never asked for any money from readers for it (although I do obviously advertise my courses and books etc), but if you have found it useful, and continue to do so, any shillings, cents, or whatever you have to hand, would be very much appreciated for this worthy cause! 

The fundraiser page is through JustGiving, and can be found at https://www.justgiving.com/page/chris-paton-stewarton - thanks in advance if you can help!

Mòran taing a chàirdean!

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.

New 4th Edition of Elizabeth Shown Mills book Evidence Explained

From the Genealogical Publishing Company (https://genealogical.com):

Announcing the New 4th Edition of Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace, by Elizabeth Shown Mills

For today’s family historians, records abound. In courthouses and warehouses, town halls and rectories, archives and attics, we find old records in every form imaginable. Technology also delivers documents and relics through many digital formats. Audio files, podcasts, and YouTube stream insight into past lives. Libraries offer film and fiche, reprints and revisions, and translations and transcripts, alongside digital access to books and journals published previously in print.

However, all records are not created equal, and history is not just a collection of “facts.” Critical analysis is essential, and since 2007 Evidence Explained has been the definitive, go-to guide for those who explore history and seek help with understanding, analyzing, and citing the materials they use.

Evidence Explained has two principal uses: it provides citation models for historical sources—especially materials not covered in standard citation guides such as The Chicago Manual of Style. Beyond that, it enables researchers to understand the nature of each source so that the evidence they cite can be better interpreted and the accuracy of their conclusions properly appraised.

In the six years since the last edition was published, changes at major repositories and online information providers—as well as in the ever-evolving electronic world—have generated new citation and analysis challenges for researchers. As a consequence, Elizabeth Shown Mills has once again updated her citation models and added descriptions and evaluations of numerous contemporary materials not included in the previous edition.

The new Fourth Edition of Evidence Explained significantly re-examines historical resources and simplifies long-standing practices. Highlights of the Fourth Edition include:

• Updated Chapters One and Two (“Fundamentals of Analysis” and “Fundamentals of Citation”) continue to lay the foundations for successful research.
• An entirely new Chapter Three, “Building a Citation,” provides a tutorial for the construction of citations. Here, you learn to work with seven basic building blocks that can be mixed and matched to create a citation for any kind of source.
• Chapter Three’s 14 streamlined templates replace the previous 170 QuickCheck Models, assembling the basic building blocks as needed to create citations for every type of material—whether accessed as an unpublished manuscript, print publication, database, or online image delivered at a specific URL or through a complex path and its waypoints.
• All examples in the twelve “Records” chapters (Chapters Four through Fifteen) are keyed to the specific templates that work best for each source or situation.
• Hundreds of new citation examples emphasize modern modes of access, particularly the layered citations that modern media require.

For further details and to purchase visit https://genealogical.com/store/evidence-explained-4th-edition/

Comment: This is a manual that shows how to create genealogical source citations. Having been trained through the University of Strathclyde's Genealogy programme, we were taught to cite sources using the Harvard referencing style, but I still have Elizabeth's book to hand to offer suggestions in certain circumstances, whilst adopting a slightly different approach within my client reports. The key thing is to understand the needs for, and the discipline behind, genealogical referencing for sources, and Elizabeth's guide is a superb asset to help with that.

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.

Chris Paton talk on Scottish marriage records for the Society of Genealogists

On February 8th I will be giving a talk for the Society of Genealogists (www.sog.org.uk) on the topic of Instantly Buckled for Life - Scottish Marriage Records. The event will kick off at 2pm, with the talk lasting an hour o so. Here's the blurb:

“Suppose that young Jock and Jenny, say we two are husband and wife, the witnesses needn’t be many, they’re instantly buckled for life”.

Beyond church and civil marriages, historically there were many other 'irregular' ways that you could be legally married in Scotland that were not found within the other countries of the United Kingdom. Most of these forms were abolished from 1940, with another finally removed from the Scottish statute in 2006. For all of them, a celebrant was not required.   

If you cannot find a marriage in the records, family historian Chris Paton will endeavour to explain why!

To book, please visit https://members.sog.org.uk/events/65315c9ccc4d040008c3bb11/description?ticket=65315c9ccc4d040008c3bb13 - the adnission price is £10, and for non and standard members the talk will be available for a month after; for SOG Gold members, a year.

I hope you can join me!

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.

Buchanan Society members, Irish memorials, and Jewish directory added to FindmyPast

Added to FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) this week:

Scotland, Buchanan Society members 1725-1948
This collection is made up of 1,053 records, documenting members of Scotland's Buchanan Society between 1725 and 1948.

Ireland Memorial Inscriptions
In this new-and-improved set, you'll find 682 images and transcriptions spanning over 300 years, from 1711 to 2019.

Britain, Jewish Commercial Directory 1894
This new set contains 4,171 records from 1894, with both transcriptions and images available. This one-off commercial directory lists the names of English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish businessmen in alphabetical order. In addition to each person's occupation, you'll find a residence listed.

For further details visit https://www.findmypast.co.uk/blog/new/commercial-directory-buchanan-society-records 

Chris

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

Ulster Historical Foundation website has a sleek new look

The Ulster Historical Foundation website has had a huge revamp, with a sleek new look, and with much easier access to its bookshop. It also has a new website address - https://ulsterhistoricalfoundation.com - although its previous address at www.ancestryireland.com redirects to this platform. 

You'll find the organisation's databases under the Start Searching menu option at the top of the page, some useful Free to View Resources and Ulster Civil Parish Maps under the Library option (the Free to View Resources can also be accessed via a dedicated link further down the page), and the Bookshop as the final menu item at the top - the previous Books Ireland address at www.ancestryireland.com now redirects to the new Foundation platform.   

All in all, a great new look - have fun exploring!

(With thanks to Gillian Hunt)

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.

Scottish and Irish directories included in new TheGenealogist release

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

Look up your ancestors in these newly released Historical Directories

Over 5 million individuals have been added to TheGenealogist’s Residential and Trade Directories Collection, helping you discover your ancestors, their addresses, and their occupations back to 1744.

The new records cover England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and the Channel Islands, along with some from as far afield as America, Canada, India, New Zealand and South Africa, thus adding an international flavour to this release.

Dating from 1744 to 1899, the directories in this addition to TheGenealogist are a useful finding aid for ancestors' names, addresses, and occupations and can offer contemporary details of where your past family had lived.

If a forebear had a business, then the commercial listings in the directory could help find where an ancestor may have worked.

Early Directories can also be useful for finding the addresses of residents before the census, reveal the railways that may have served the area and to find other communications links to nearby towns. With this information, those who may have ‘lost’ an ancestor may make an educated guess of where a person may have moved to live in the past.

These directory publications can also be a great complement to a census record, as the topographical information can flesh out an ancestor’s area for the researcher.

In the case of a head of the household, we may be able to find an address different from that recorded in other records such as the decennial census. This may help fill in the gaps of where a stray ancestor moved to between the census counts.

Complete Access for Under £10 a Month!

To celebrate this latest release, TheGenealogist is offering its four-month Diamond package for just £39.95 – that’s less than £10 a month! To find out more and claim the offer, visit: https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/MGBDIR124

This offer expires at the end of 9th February 2024.


Read TheGenealogist’s article: An important resource in tracing ancestors and the man behind the popular Kelly's Directories, available at https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2012/an-introduction-to-directories-43/

Comment: Thanks to Nick Thorne for the above, and also for specifiying the exact Scottish and Irish additions to this collection, which are as follows:

• The Dublin Almanac and General Register of Ireland, 1840
• Thom’s Irish Almanac and Official Directory, 1855
• Thom’s Irish Almanac & Directory, 1863
• Ireland, Thom’s Irish Almanac & Directory 1864

• Jones’s Directory, Glasgow, 1789
• The Aberdeen Bon-Accord Directory 1841-1842
• Edinburgh & Leith Post Office Directory 1850 - 1851
• Aberdeen Post Office Directory 1860-1861

• The Royal Kalendar for England, Scotland, Ireland and America, 1803
• The Treble Almanack, 1812
• The Royal Kalendar and Court and City Register for England, Scotland, Ireland and the Colonies 1828
• Thom’s Irish Almac and Official Directory of Great Britain and Ireland 1867 

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.

MyHeritage offers free access to Australian records

From MyHeritage (www.myheritage.com):

As Australia Day approaches, we are excited to announce a special gift for all family history enthusiasts! In celebration of Australia’s rich and diverse heritage, we’re offering free access to our extensive collection of Australian records. This incredible opportunity runs from January 24–28, 2024.

Our Australian record collection contains over 108 million records. These include a wide range of collections that are crucial for tracing your Australian roots. You’ll have free access to electoral rolls, historical newspapers, registers, birth and death indexes, marriage records, burials, and school records. 

To search the records visit https://www.myheritage.com/research/catalog?location=Australia

Further details at https://blog.myheritage.com/2024/01/celebrate-australia-day-with-free-access-to-over-108-million-records/

Chris

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

Ancestry adds Irish Wills and Admons, and UK Royal Mail Pensions and Gratuities datasets

Two new collections from Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) that may be of interest for Scottish and Irish research:

Ireland, Wills and Admons, 1515-1858
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62773/
Source: Pre-1858 Wills and Admons. Belfast, Northern Ireland: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. https://apps.proni.gov.uk/ProniNames_IE/SearchPage.aspx Accessed: May 2023.

The records in this collection are an index that pertain to wills in Ireland between the years 1515 and 1858. Most records are in English.

The term "probate" technically refers to the proving of a will—in other words, making sure it's valid. If the court finds that a will was valid, the estate is testate. In cases where someone dies without leaving a valid will, the estate is intestate. Depending on whether an estate was testate or intestate, there may be different types of records available. Some of the more common types of documents include wills, letters of administration, inventories, distributions and accounting, bonds, and guardianships.

Using this collection

Records in the collection may include the following information:

• Name
• Probate date
• Will date
• Death date
• Court name
• Event type

Wills and probate records can help you confirm important dates regarding your ancestor's death and their financial status at the time they died. Probate records also include names of other family members that you can add to your family tree. Probate inventories often provide a detailed record of your ancestor's possessions that may not be available in other records.


UK, Royal Mail Pension and Gratuity Records, 1860-1970
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62452/
Source: Pension and Gratuity Records 1860-1970. London, England: The Postal Museum.

General collection information

This collection contains pension records from the Royal Mail service in the United Kingdom between 1860 and 1970. All records are in English. Most records are handwritten onto pre-printed forms, however, older records may be handwritten in ledgers.

Using the collection

Records in the collection may include the following information:

• Name
• Birth date
• Age
• Occupation and position
• Name of business
• Length of Service
• Salary
• Date pension was granted
• Death date

If you can’t find a record, consider the length of your family member’s service. Pensions were available after ten years of service. If your family member left Royal Mail, they may not have been eligible for pension. The UK, Postal Service Appointment Books, 1737–1969 collection is an excellent starting tool for finding your family member’s service dates.

If your family member died while in service, their pension may have gone to their spouse or children. If you can’t find a record listed under your family member’s name, try searching the records for their next of kin. 

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.

NRS public search rooms will be closed on 1 February 2024

Thanks to Lorna Kinnaird for this. It seems that the National Records of Scotland (www.nrscotland.gov.uk) public search rooms will be closed on Thursday, February 1st 2024 for staff training purposes. I presume this includes the ScotlandsPeople search room, as well as the Historic Search Room. 

If planning to go on that date, it might be best to drop the NRS a note in advance just to double check!

Chris 

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

The Hebridean Baker comes to Stewarton

Last night I had the great pleasure to meet Coinneach Macleod, the Hebridean Baker (https://hebrideanbaker.com), at two events in Stewarton. Coinneach was invited to the town by local book store The Book Nook (www.booknookstewarton.co.uk) and local Gaelic learners group An Teaghlach (www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550570384292), and at 6.30, about a dozen learners in the town first met him within The Book Nook for an informal session. Upon arrival Coinneach immediately gave those attending a copy of the lyrics to a Gaelic puirt-a-beul (mouth tune) called Seònaid NicGumaraid (Janet Montgomery), which he then spen half an hour teaching us how to sing, which was an unexpected but fun experience!

At 7.00 we all relocated to the library, where Coinneach was then interviewed by Sarah, the owner of The Book Nook, where he shared many stories with us of his life and work on Lewis, as well as his current career. At one point he sang three puirt-a-beul, and the Gaelic group, seated at the rear, were suddenly invited to act as his backing singers for the first of the three, yup, Seònaid NicGumaraid!

There then followed a Q&A, which I managed to ask a couple of questions - the first to pass on my condolences for the loss of wee Seoras, his wee Highland Terrier who recently passed away, asking him to sahre stories about him, and the other to ask about the state of Gaelic today. I told him I had tried thirty years ago to learn the language for a few years, but had felt very unsupported, but that this time, having decided to die on a hill trying to get to fluency, I had found it a completely different experience - I asked him if he had noticed whether here was such a change in Gaelic's fortunes, to which he agreed, stating that he thought so too, there's never been a better time to have a go!

After an entertaining hour we were able to get copies of Coinneach's book signed and to get selfies etc. I managed to have a chat with him for a couple of minutes in Gaelic about Cape Breton, which he had mentioned during his talk, and a place I visited when working for STV in 1999. At one point my wife mentioned to him that I used to work for Rhoda MacDonald at the company (who used to present the Gaelic learners' series Speaking Our Language), to which he responded "I'm having dinner with her tomorrow evening in London!", which was completely unexpected, so I asked him to pass on my best to her. It's a small world...!

Coinneach's new book The Hebridean Baker at Home is predominantly a recipe book, but also contains many stories and anecdotes from his family, as well as the history of the island, covering everything from the Fairy Flag of the Macleods to the sinking of the Iolaire after the First World War. It's a great read, and a worthy addition to your library!  

Mòran taing a Choinneach, bha e math tachairt riut! (Taing cuideachd do Julia Preston aig An Teaghlach, agus dhan Book Nook)

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.