TheGenealogist adds United States WWII Army Enlistment Records 1938-1946

From TheGenealogist (www.thegenealogist.co.uk), a release that may be of interest if members of your family emigrated to the United States to form part of the Irish and Scottish diasporas:

Free Military Records Released to Commemorate D-Day

To mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day, The Genealogist adds Enlistment Records to their Free Record Collections

In time to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day on 6th June, TheGenealogist has added United States WWII Army Enlistment Records (1938-1946) to its ever-growing Free Records Collection. In these records, we can find the names and particulars of American soldiers who joined up to serve their country and fight for freedom.

These records provide detailed information about enlistment dates, service branches, ranks, and more about US soldiers from this time.

While Operation Overlord, the code name for the Battle of Normandy, was an Allied operation consisting of British, Canadian and other Allied nations' troops, the Americans provided the bulk of the soldiers for the Liberation of Europe on 6 June 1945, and so this new record set will have many of the young men who fought in D-Day listed.

This new addition brings the total number of Free Records you can access on The Genealogist to over 10.9 Million. There’s a rich collection for researchers to sink their teeth into, with records dating back to 1086!

Simply register for free at The Genealogist to access:

●    The 1086 Domesday Records
●    The Image Archive - Thousands of historic photos and illustrations
●    US WW2 Enlistment Records
●    UK Rolls of Honour
●    Dam Busters Records
●    War Memorials
●    Tree View - A free family tree builder

You can research even further by registering for a free First Steps Subscription, giving you 3 months’ access to Births, Marriages, Deaths and the 1891 to 1911 census for England and Wales. Find out more at https://thegenealogist.co.uk/firststeps

Read TheGenealogist’s feature article where we explore the fate of four brothers whose enlistments can be found in these newly released records: D-Day – Operation Neptune 6 June 1944 and the real Private Ryan https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2024/d-day--operation-neptune-6-june-1944-7495/

(With thanks to Nick Thorne)

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.

My next Scottish Research Online course starts July 1st 2024

The next Scottish Research Online course from Pharos Tutors (www.pharostutors.com), taught by myself, starts in just under a month's time on July 1st 2024. 

Scottish Research Online (102)
Tutor: Chris Paton

Scotland was one of the first countries to digitise its major family history records collections for accessibility online, and continues to this day to use such resources to promote a worldwide interest in family history for those with Caledonian connections.

This course describes the major sites and record types that you will encounter in your research, and how to analyse the results. It compares and contrasts many of the key websites available for Scottish research, drilling down to key features within each to help improve a users knowledge of what is contained within the presented records, and equally important, what is not. It explores the key resources for vital records such as births, marriages and deaths, as recorded by the state from 1855 onwards, and the usefulness of the decennial censuses from 1841-1911 in connecting family members and branches together.

Prior to civil registration there are the records created by the Church of Scotland as the state church, with the course exploring access to its Old Parish Registers (OPRs) on ScotlandsPeople and through FamilySearchs various finding aids. In the final lesson, wills and inventories generated by Scotlands confirmation process are explored, with some of the many differences flagged up between the records of Scotland and the rest of the UK, thanks to the distinctly different legal system north of the border.

Most importantly this course will inspire you to actively pursue your interest in Scottish genealogy and take it to the next level.

Lesson Headings:

    * Understanding Scotlands People, FindmyPast, Family Search, Ancestry, and FreeCen
    * Essential Maps and Gazetteers
    * Civil Registration and Census Research
    * Searching in Church of Scotland Registers
    * Scottish Wills and Inventories

Note: it is recommended but not required that students in this course sign up for the basic search option, 30 units/seven days, at ScotlandsPeople (cost is £7.50 for 30 credits)

Each lesson includes exercises and activities; a minimum of 1 one-hour chats See How Courses Work.

STUDENTS SAID: 

'I particularly liked the fact that the course didn't just focus on the well-known BMD resources available, but on a much wider range of websites, including many which give extremely useful background information on the geography and history of the localities where our ancestors lived.'

'Excellent tuition from Chris Paton; very good course materials; well-paced; excellent value for money. I very much liked the opportunity to work at my own pace.'

Relevant Countries: Scotland
Course Length: 5 Weeks
Start Date: 1 July 2024
Cost: £58.00

For a wee video introduction to the course, see below or visit https://youtu.be/ssdYLlGtoHw?si=eTlH-QEVCQlmd6Ii

 

To sign up for the course, please visit https://www.pharostutors.com/scottish-research-online

I hope to maybe see you there!

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.

Free access to FindmyPast from June 6-10

From FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk):

Find your family heroes with free access to millions of records and newspapers on Findmypast for D-Day

•    Delve into your family’s stories with free access to records and newspapers on Findmypast between 6-10 June*
•    Discover the remarkable actions of men and women at home and overseas in the largest collection of historical newspapers online
•    Explore your ancestors’ military service and the lives they lived with records you won’t find anywhere else
•    Preserve your family’s wartime stories for the next generation in a family tree on Findmypast

*Excludes 1921 Census and Tree Search

Between 6-10 June, Family history website, Findmypast, is making millions of its family history records free to access* to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day, so you can uncover and honour their stories and sacrifices.

Explore your wartime ancestor’s story with the largest collection of British and Irish newspapers online, digitised in partnership with the British Library. 

Among the pages, you might find details of bravery or moving tributes to the fallen – rich details that can help you feel closer to your ancestors. You can also uncover the wider story of D-Day as it happened in the newspaper reports or look more closely at the impact of the war on your own community. Make sure to clip, save, and share articles of interest using the new Collections feature on Findmypast.

Findmypast’s family history records can paint a vivid picture of what your ancestor was doing during wartime. They may have been a prisoner of war, helped on the home front, or worked as a Red Cross volunteer. Discover their whereabouts on the eve of war in the 1939 Register and delve into the largest collection of British Army records anywhere online, including regimental records and the British in India collection, which runs right up to 1947.

Uncover those all-important life events in the most comprehensive collection of British parish records online, and check Findmypast’s vibrant Photo Collection for a glimpse into life during wartime.

Preserve your findings with Findmypast’s online family tree builder and share their legacy with family and friends.

It’s also a perfect time to explore your own family archive for letters, diaries or photographs. Keep your ancestors’ memories alive by sharing their stories with your loved ones, and share your findings online using the hashtag #FindMyFamilyHero.

Jen Baldwin, Research Specialist at Findmypast said: "80 years on from D-Day and the stories of service and sacrifice remain extremely poignant and relevant to us today. We invite everyone to discover their own family’s wartime stories with free access to Findmypast’s records this weekend and preserve them for future generations.”

*Records on Findmypast (apart from the 1921 Census of England and Wales and Tree Search) will be free to access for all signed-in users from 10am GMT Thursday 6 June, until 10am GMT Monday 10 June 2024. 

(With thanks to Madeleine Gilbert)

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.

Free UK access to Ancestry military records from June 5-11

To commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day, Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) is offeing free access to its military records collections from June 5th to 11th, including war diaries and its Forces War Records collections.  

To access the collections visit https://www.ancestry.co.uk/c/d-day 

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.

Society of Genealogists appoints new Chief Executive

The English based Society of Genealogists (www.sog.org.uk) has appointed a new Chief Executive - here's the announcement:

The Society of Genealogists has appointed Philip Spedding as its new Chief Executive.

Philip joins the Society from the Royal Albert Hall, having previously been Director of Development at The London Library and also Executive Director at Arts & Business for 16 years.

Philip joins the Society from the Royal Albert Hall, having previously been Director of Development at The London Library and also Executive Director at Arts & Business for 16 years. He will take up the role on 1st July 2024.

He brings an impressive portfolio of knowledge and experience from his career of over 25 years in the creative and cultural sectors, including senior responsibility for strategy and business development, individual giving programmes, fundraising and external development plans at organisations as diverse as Tate, The British Library and The Charities Aid Foundation. Philip holds a Bachelor of Commerce (specialising in Finance) from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver.

Philip said: “I am absolutely delighted to be joining the Society of Genealogists, especially at such an exciting time in a splendid new home. It is a real privilege to be taking up this role and to be entrusted with steering the Society in a new chapter of its illustrious history. I know from personal experience how researching a family history is a deeply satisfying way of finding out more about ourselves and our personal history. The Society of Genealogists occupies a unique place in genealogy and invaluably aids this journey for members in the UK and across the world, myself included. I am looking forward to meeting my colleagues, volunteers and members, all of whom continue to play a key part in our enduring success.”

With a membership packed with educational benefits, and a Research Hub housing a unique archive and library of family history records and resources, the Society of Genealogists, which was founded in 1911, remains dedicated to its unique mission to help people discover their heritage, no matter what their background or level of expertise.

Graham Walter, Chair of the Society of Genealogists, said: “We are extremely pleased to welcome Philip into this role at such an exciting time for the Society of Genealogists. We have just completed our move to a marvellous new headquarters and library in London N1 and carried out a significant upgrade of our membership services and digital infrastructure. Philip brings significant experience as a proven senior executive and leader in the voluntary sector and a real passion for the Society and its mission”.

Graham added: “We are very grateful to our Interim Co-CEO’s, Natalie Pithers and Rebecca Gregory, who remain valued members of the Society’s team of passionate employees.”

Natalie and Rebecca commented: “We’ve thoroughly enjoyed our time as Interim Co-CEO’s, especially the successful launch of Gold Membership. We’re so proud of the new gold video library of talks and have been delighted by member feedback.”

(With thanks to the SOG via email)

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 Scottish, Irish and Northern Irish newspapers stories and events indexes

Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) has added the following new collections:

Ireland and Northern Ireland, Newspapers.com Stories and Events Index, 1800's to current
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/50097/

Scotland, Newspapers.com Stories and Events Index, 1800's to current
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/50096/

For further details, visit the links.

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.

FindmyPast adds Coastguard and naval records

FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) has added the following naval and coastguard recordss this week:

Coastguards 1801-1952
Records on Coastguards between 1801 and 1952, with 212,426 images and transcripts.

British Royal Navy and Royal Marines Service and Pension Records 1704-1939
101,555 transcriptions have been added to the collection.

Women's Royal Naval Service Officer Records
59,448 Women's Royal Naval Service Officer records added to existing transcripts.

 
Further details at https://www.findmypast.co.uk/blog/new/womens-navy-coastguard-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.

Place-Names of Carrickfergus and Broadisland

On Saturday 1st June I took the ferry over the Irish Sea to attend the book launch in my home town of Carrickfergus of Philip Hoy's Place-Names of Carrickfergus and Broadisland, a superb book examining the origins of placenames in the East Antrim town, whether derived from the Irish language, Scots, Norman French, or English. 

I had the pleasure to talk to Philip prior to the event, and he discussed how the book was the result of a Facebook project he started a few years ago in 2021, Placenames of Carrickfergus (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100069750918867). Philip is from an Ulster Scots background from Carrick, and has spent a few years learing the Irish language, and has applied what he has learned diligently!

The book is broken down geographically into placenames by tuath (a sub-kingdom), then parish and townland, with each entry noting the modern name, its Irish equivalernt, likely meaning, and then a grid reference as to where to find it. A surpise for me was to learn that the village of Eden, where my dad grew up intially on the outskirts of Carrick, had nothing to do with the Biblical Eden, but instead comes from the Irish equivalent of the Scots Gaelic word aodann, meaning face, with the original name being Éadan Gréine, meaning sunny face. You live and learn! 

If interested in obtaining a copy, keep an eye on Philip's Facebook page, and it will also be available on sale locally in Carrick. And it's throughly recommended! 

It was also great to meet Linda Ervine for the first time, who has been doing such great work with Turas in East Belfast in promoting the Irish language - you can find out more about course run there at https://turasbelfast.com.  

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 Scottish Indexes poor registers records indexes

Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) has added the following third party web index:

Web: Scotland, Select Poor Register Indexes, 1845-1930
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/63082/
Source: Scotland, Select Poor Register Indexes, 1845-1930. Scottish Indexes. https://www.scottishindexes.com/ Accessed: Mar 2024.

There is no description for the collection, but you can find this on the Scottish Indexes websites at https://www.scottishindexes.com/coveragepoor.aspx

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.

End of the latest stage of my Gaelic journey

Yesterday I sat my Advanced Higher exam in Gaelic for Learners at Marr College in Troon, East Ayrshire, having studied the course through eSgoil (https://e-sgoil.com) over the last year. I was delighted with the two papers, they were definitely within my range, so I left the school feeling on a high!

Today, however, I was disappointed to hear that the University of the Highlands and Islands has substantially hiked the administration fee rates for 2024-2025 for the National 5, Higher, and Advanced Higher courses in Gaelic for Learners, having decided to bring them into line with its other NQ courses. When I sat the Higher last year, it was free, whilst the admin fee for the Advanced Higher this year was just £75. As of 2024-2025, the fee for all courses is jumping substantially to £355.

ESgoil offers a great option for adult learners, and I will absolutely continue to recommend it to anyone wishing to progress beyond Duolingo or other courses to gain an actual National Qualification from the SQA. The hike in rates will put some off, but I can only suggest that the quality of the courses, and the method of their delivery, will still make it worth it. The deadline for registration for 2024-2025 is June 3rd at 5pm - the registration form is available at https://forms.office.com/e/L4s7q0fx0R.

It's just not great news in the wake of the positive figures recently showing a massive upsurge of 20% in just over 10 years of people being able to speak the language. 

Next up for me is a short week long course on Skye in July, my exam results at the start of August, and then my Cert HE course in Gaelic Immersion at Glasgow University from September. 

Cleachd i no caill it...!

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.