Scottish GENES

Monday, 15 November 2021

British Newspaper Archive passes 46 million pages

The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) has passed 46 million pages of content.

The following titles have been added over the last 30 days:

Saffron Walden Weekly News
1986-1989, 1998-1999

Glasgow Chronicle
1848

Kenilworth Advertiser
1878

Waterford Star
1915-1917

Stamford Mercury
1916, 1920-1921, 1923-1925, 1927, 1930, 1937, 1946-1985, 1987

Jersey Evening Post
1913-1914

Uttoxeter Advertiser and Ashbourne Times
1913-1914

Maidenhead Advertiser
1913-1914

Nuneaton Observer
1913-1914

Midland Tribune
1913-1914

Highland News
1913-1914

Huntly Express
1913

Port-Glasgow Express
1960-1961

Arbroath Guide
1960

Montrose Standard
1960

Sheerness Times Guardian
1876

Broughty Ferry Guide and Advertiser
1960-1961

Dalkeith Advertiser
1960-1961

Barrhead News
1913

Alloa Journal
1913-1914

Banffshire Herald
1913-1914

Northern Scot and Moray & Nairn Express
1913

Banffshire Advertiser
1913-1914

Leven Mail
1960

Tottenham and Edmonton Weekly Herald
1913-1914

Evesham Standard & West Midland Observer
1960-1961

Fermanagh Herald
1913

County Down Spectator and Ulster Standard
1913-1914

Strabane Chronicle
1913-1914

Orcadian
1913-1914

Carlisle Journal
1913-1914

Cumberland & Westmorland Herald
1913-1914

Soulby's Ulverston Advertiser and General Intelligencer
1913

Penrith Observer
1960

West Cumberland Times
1913-1914

The Referee
1913

Workington Star
1913-1914

County Express
1913-1914

Forres Elgin and Nairn Gazette, Northern Review and Advertiser
1913-1914

Crewe Guardian
1913

Christchurch Times
1913-1914

Pearson's Weekly
1913

North Star and Farmers' Chronicle
1913

Bexley Heath and Bexley Observer
1913-1914

Hampshire Telegraph
1960-1961

Windsor and Eton Express
1913

Cambrian News
1913-1914

Ross Gazette
1913-1914

Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard
1913-1914

Denbighshire Free Press
1913-1914

Barking, East Ham & Ilford Advertiser, Upton Park and Dagenham Gazette
1913-1914

Newry Reporter
1912-1913

Brechin Advertiser
1960-1961

Clitheroe Advertiser and Times
1960

Morecambe Guardian
1960

Exmouth Journal
1913

Northwich Guardian
1913

Herts & Cambs Reporter & Royston Crow
1913-1914

Kilburn Times
1913

Southend Standard and Essex Weekly Advertiser
1913-1914

Isle of Wight County Press and South of England Reporter
1913

Willesden Chronicle
1913

John o' Groat Journal
1913

Shipley Times and Express
1960

Cumberland Pacquet, and Ware's Whitehaven Advertiser
1872

Newark Advertiser
1892-1895, 1898-1901, 1903, 1919-1957, 1992-1993

Newmarket Journal
1998-1999

Bury Free Press
1998-1999

Spalding Guardian
1895-1911, 1913-1918, 1920-1956, 1958-1960, 1964-1985, 1995, 1998-1999

Haverhill Echo
1998-1999

Law Chronicle, Commercial and Bankruptcy Register
1813-1819, 1821-1847

Beckenham Journal
1890-1911, 1913-1914

Strabane Weekly News
1913-1914

Arbroath Herald and Advertiser for the Montrose Burghs
1960-1961

Northern Chronicle and General Advertiser for the North of Scotland
1914

Witney Gazette and West Oxfordshire Advertiser
1914

Lloyd's List
1914

Salisbury and Winchester Journal
1913-1914

The Berwick Advertiser
1959

Irish Times
1910

Surrey Advertiser
1871-1872, 1876-1877, 1895

Bolton Evening News
1912-1914

Sussex Agricultural Express
1959-1961

Oban Times, and Argyllshire Advertiser
1877

Peterborough Express
1884-1896, 1898-1910, 1913-1917

Suffolk and Essex Free Press
1994, 1996, 1998-1999

Liverpool Journal of Commerce
1873, 1878, 1883

London & China Herald
1867-1870

London & Provincial News and General Advertiser
1861-1863

London Mirror
1872-1873, 1875-1876

London and Scottish Review
1875

Weekly Review (London)
1862, 1864-1881

Cotton Factory Times
1901

Reynolds's Newspaper
1924

Fenland Citizen
1976-1985, 1994-1999

Motor Owner
1919-1930

Scottish Press
1849-1850, 1852-1854, 1856-1857, 1859-1860, 1862

Wolverton Express
1922

London Evening Standard
1912

Edinburgh Evening Dispatch
1886-1892, 1894-1895, 1897

Kilmarnock Weekly Post and County of Ayr Reporter
1856-1863

Crieff Journal
1891-1892

Northern Advertiser (Aberdeen)
1891-1892

Anti-Gallican Monitor
1812

Sunday Sun (Newcastle)
1925-1926

Birmingham Mail
1875-1876, 1885-1886, 1888-1889, 1899, 1902-1903, 1907-1911, 1913

Lynn Advertiser
1993-1994

Grantham Journal
1968-1970, 1976-1980, 1984-1985, 1997

London Scotsman
1867-1871

Weekly Advertiser
1865-1866

Weekly Independent (London)
1875-1876

Weekly Echo
1873-1874

Morning Mail (London)
1864-1866

Man about Town
1869-1870

Sunday Gazette
1867

Nation
1824

Sussex & Surrey Chronicle
1823-1824

East Wind
1875-1876

Passing Events
1873

London Life
1879

Westminster & Pimlico News
1978

Kentish Weekly Post or Canterbury Journal
1726-1733, 1735-1741, 1743-1764, 1767-1768

North Wales Weekly News
1902, 1906-1910

East Kent Times and Mail
1872, 1874, 1892, 1933-1934, 1936, 1941, 1944-1945, 1949, 1953-1955

Leicester Evening Mail
1917-1918, 1961

Chelsea News and General Advertiser
1946

Liverpool Daily Post
1886, 1896, 1902-1903

Sports Argus
1912-1913, 1919-1921

Bootle Times
1886

Staffordshire Newsletter
1982

Children's Paper
1920-1925

Modern Man
1908-1915

Yacht Owner and Motor Boat Owner
1924

Irish Exile
1921-1922

Movie-Land
1921

Gallery Gazette
1921

Scottish Leader
1888, 1890-1893

Evening Gazette (Aberdeen)
1882-1883, 1886-1889, 1891-1892

Greenock Herald
1853, 1858, 1863, 1868, 1878

Edinburgh News and Literary Chronicle
1848-1863

Warminster Herald
1858, 1870-1871, 1875-1876, 1881, 1885-1886

Ayr Observer
1844, 1883, 1886-1887, 1889-1890, 1892

Dufftown News and Speyside Advertiser
1898-1922, 1935-1961

Courier and West-End Advertiser
1869-1880

London News Letter and Price Current
1859-1865

London Weekly Investigator
1855-1857

London and Liverpool Advertiser
1847

South Wales Argus
1911

Seren Cymru
1895

Annandale Herald and Moffat News
1889-1892

Bridge of Allan Reporter
1890-1892

North British Advertiser & Ladies' Journal
1879, 1882-1883, 1885-1886, 1889-1892

Glasgow Property Circular and West of Scotland Weekly Advertiser
1879, 1883, 1886-1887, 1890-1891

South Wales Weekly Argus and Monmouthshire Advertiser
1898, 1910

Aberystwyth Observer
1898

Harborne Herald
1896

St. Austell Star
1897

Rhos Herald
1898

Town and Country Advertiser
1834-1836

Tichborne News and Anti-Oppression Journal
1872

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Friday, 12 November 2021

Free access to FindmyPast military records this weekend

FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) is offering free access to its military records until 10am (GMT) on November 15th.

For further details visit https://www.findmypast.co.uk/page/free-access.

Chris

Thursday, 11 November 2021

The Irish Archives Resource platform gets an overhaul

I've just noticed that the Irish Archives Resource platform at https://iar.ie - a sort of Irish equivalent of the Scottish Archive Network project, designed to help locate collections across the island - has been given an overhaul and a facelift. And it is looking fairly snazzy!

The platform's purpose is to:

Encourage the development and publication of comprehensive, standardised archive descriptions
Allow users to locate archives and records that are relevant to their research
Increase the use of archives by directing researchers to the relevant Archives Services

There is a dedicated catalogue search tool, with a Basic and Advanced capability, which allows you to look for various records collections across the island of Ireland, but also a useful Explore All Archives section at https://iar.ie/explore-all-archives-new/, which breaks down archival holdings into a variety of categories, as follows:

Archaeology
Art
Business
Central Government
Folklore/Bealoideas
Health & Hospital
Landed Estate Papers
Legal Records
Literary Papers
Local Government
Military
Music
Other/Not Specified
Personal & Family Papers
Photographic
Political
Private Clubs and Societies
Religious Institutions
School Records
Scientific

It is certainly a tool to bookmark on your browser, and it can be viewed in English or as Gaeilge.

Don't forget the similar tool from the north, the Research and Special Collections Available Locally (RASCAL) at http://www.rascal.ac.uk.

Chris

Zotero: A Versatile Research Tool for Genealogists webinar

From the Guild of One-Name Studies:

The recording of yesterday evening's Guild of One-Name Studies Technology Tools webinar, on Zotero, is already on the Guild website, at https://one-name.org/events/technology-tools2/. Also available is a handout full of explanatory screenshots.

The webinar, Zotero: A Versatile Research Tool for Genealogists, given by Patti Lee Hobbs, instanced ways of using Zotero, which is open-source software noted for its easy ability to capture source information to use in citations whether from websites, books, or electronic files.

The recording will be indefinitely available on the Guild website to Guild members, but to non-Guild members only until 11 December. You are welcome to forward this post to other lists or groups, or within your societies.

(With thanks to Wendy Archer)

Chris

Tipperary Studies launches The Irish Great War Dead Archive

Tipperary Studies has launched a new platform entitled The Irish Great War Dead Archive, at https://irelandsgreatwardead.ie.

From the site:

Military Historian Tom Burnell (author of ‘The War Dead’ series and ‘Irishmen in the Great War’) presented to Tipperary Studies a most valuable and unique database of the names of Servicemen with connections to Ireland who died in the Great War, 1914-1918.

It is still a work in progress and so far the details of servicemen from the counties representing the Republic of Ireland have been completed, in so far as the information is known. Work continues to record the names of the Great War dead from the six counties in Northern Ireland.

It has taken Tom twenty years of research so far, and he believes the time is now right to release his database to a wider audience.

A search for my wife's great uncle Martin Colleton from Carrick-on-Suir, Tipperary, includes regimental details with the Connaught Rangers, his date of death and where commemorated, information on his family, and a newspaper article mentioning his death, as recorded in two local newspapers at the time.

(Source: https://www.tipperarylive.ie/news/home/691329/tipperary-studies-to-launch-website-database-of-ireland-s-great-war-dead-on-armistice-day.html)

Chris

Wednesday, 10 November 2021

Scottish Archive Network (SCAN) website is back online

Having flagged up its disappearance on Sunday (http://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2021/11/scan-website-down-but-catalogue-still.html), and having then raised it with the Scottish Council on Archives (www.scottisharchives.org.uk), I am glad to see that the Scottish Archive Network (SCAN) website at www.scan.org.uk is now back online. The website hosts many useful tools, including the SCAN catalogue, which provides access to information about holdings in about 50 archives across Scotland.

The site's domain name had not been renewed, prompting its disappearance, but I noticed last night that it was renewed again yesterday until early 2023.

Hopefully if the SCA's plans for the new Your Scottish Archives platform (see http://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2021/11/scan-website-to-be-replaced-by-new-your.html) stick to the proposed timeline of late 2022, it may not be need to be renewed again.

(With thanks to the SCA and to my Pharos course students)

Chris

Monday, 8 November 2021

Forthcoming Association of Professional Genealogists elections

Apologies for the abuse of my own news blog here (!), but the following post is intended for my fellow members of the Association of Professional Genealogists (www.apgen.org).

As someone who resigned as a very disillusioned Board member last month, I am proud to support the write-in campaign of my APG colleagues Annette Burke Lyttle, John Boeren, and Katherine Willson for the posts of President, Vice-President and Secretary.

The following is their manifesto commitments on which they are seeking votes:

We've generated a lot of discussion about the organization, and that is positive and important. The days of grumbling to ourselves or in small groups are over, and I see a possibility for real change for the better. I want to make a clear statement about some of the things I stand for as the write-in candidate for president. I know my colleagues, John Boeren, candidate for vice president, and Katherine Willson, candidate for secretary, are committed to these changes, as well.

• an overhaul of the elections process so it is fair and transparent
• an overhaul of the bylaws, policies, and procedures (rather than piecemeal changes) to allow the organization to function in the best interests of its members
• instituting mechanisms for easy two-way communication between the leadership and the membership and really listening
• collaborative decision making rather than having the power vested in the EC and the board as a rubber stamp
• reviving the eNews and the discussion forum to keep members informed and to allow them to network
• better serving our international members by learning what they need and supplying it

If you support these changes, then please consider voting for us, the write-in candidates.

The nominations have now been announced by the APG (please check your email for the list of nominees). Disappointingly they do not include Annette, John and Katherine, despite their request to be considered. I believe that all three could provide a much-needed fresh perspective, and outstanding leadership skills, to the organisation, particularly with regards to those of us in the international membership, as well as to our colleagues in the USA. An election without a choice is simply a coronation.

I would therefore ask you to seriously consider the option of adding all three in as 'write-in' candidates when the ballot drops in the next few days. You can find more about Annette, John and Katherine via their biographies on the APG Directory site.

Thank you.

UPDATE: Here are candidate biographies for all three (their names can be added in on the ballot as write-in candidates):

Biography of Annette Burke Lyttle, write-in candidate for president
I have been a professional genealogist since 2014, initially offering services in research, writing, and education. In recent years my business has become centered on genealogy education in the form of speaking, teaching courses, and coaching individual clients on how to do research. I’ve held a number leadership positions in genealogical organizations, including vice president and program chair of the Colorado APG chapter and vice president and program chair of the APG Writers SIG. I’m also active in the Florida State Genealogical Society, serving on their webinar team and as editor of The Florida Genealogist. As a contractor for APG, I coordinated three Professional Management Conferences (2017–2019).

I have coordinated courses for GRIP and SLIG and currently coordinate the Fall Virtual Intermediate Foundations course for SLIG. I lead a Best Practices Study Group for three different organizations.
Non-genealogy volunteer experience includes serving as president of the Friends of the Pikes Peak Library District and as president of the Golden (Colorado) Urban Renewal Authority.

I had a long career working in leadership positions in the government, corporate, small business, and educational sectors. That experience has given me the skills to work together with people to get the job done, whatever that job is. I understand the importance of listening and communicating, of valuing the people I work with, and of delivering results for the people I work for.

I think APG should be a “big tent” that accommodates, supports, and provides for all professional genealogists, regardless of how traditional or non-traditional their business or working situation is, regardless of background and age, regardless of anything that might separate us. We have more in common than we have differences, and we will all be better off if we can share, talk openly, and work for the good of all.

Here is my immediate vision for APG:
• an overhaul of the elections process so it is fair and transparent
• an overhaul of the bylaws, policies, and procedures (rather than piecemeal changes) to allow the organization to function in the best interests of its members
• instituting mechanisms for easy two-way communication between the leadership and the membership, and really listening
• collaborative decision making rather than having the power vested in the EC with the board as a rubber stamp
• reviving the eNews and the discussion forum to keep members informed and to allow them to network
• better serving our international members and our younger members by learning what they need and supplying it

Biography John Boeren, LLM, PLCGS, write-in candidate for Vice President
I live and work in The Netherlands. After I graduated from Tilburg University (Law School) I took classes at the School for Archivists in The Hague. My first work experience was with the Tilburg Regional Archives, as their team manager for research services. Later I served several mayors as their advisor on ceremony and protocol. In 2015 I started my own genealogy business, called Antecedentia. I then took classes at the National Institute for Genealogical Studies (Professional Development, Methodology, English Records). Since October 2020 I have been enrolled in the Strathclyde certificate program for Genealogical, Palaeographic and Heraldic Studies. In 2018 I became a fulltime genealogy professional, one of only a few in the Netherlands. I was a speaker at international conferences and wrote articles for international magazines and blogs.

Over the last thirty years I served on many boards, often in the position of secretary, vice-president or president. Examples are:

• Dutch Genealogical Society (board member, 2004-2009 and 2014-2017, including the position of vice-president)
• Hasselt Chapel Foundation (secretary 2009-2012)
• Royal Archery Guild Sint Sebastian (secretary 2011-2015, president 2015-2021)
• THE Genealogy Show (board member, 2018-present)
• Netherlands Academy voor Genealogy (president, 2020-present)
• The Hidden Branch (ambassador, 2021-present)

For my longstanding contribution to the Dutch society, especially in the field of local history and genealogy, the King of the Netherlands appointed me Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau in 2018.

Since January 2020 I have served on the board of APG as one of the directors. As the write-in candidate for the position of Vice-President I envision to

(1) improve the communication within the board and with the membership;
(2) work on transparency and trust;
(3) develop member services;
(4) increase the attention for international members and
(5) give young genealogists a fair position in the genealogy community.

I wish to work together with other genealogists in an organization that represents the interests of genealogists, and that is committed to collaboration and continuing education.

Biography of Katherine R. Willson, write-in candidate for secretary
I live in Dexter, Michigan, and have been teaching beginning, intermediate, and advanced genealogy classes in Michigan since 2001, as well as speaking at local, regional, and national conferences. I authored The Genealogist’s Guide to Grand Rapids, Michigan, published in 2018, and research family history for clients. I created the “Genealogy on Facebook” list of over 16,700 Facebook genealogy links, now hosted on Cyndi’s List. I coordinate “Teaching Genealogy Classes in Your Community” for the SLIG Academy.

I have held the following leadership positions in genealogical societies:

• Virtual Genealogical Association (Founder and President 2018–2020
• Michigan Genealogical Council (Vice President and President 2016–2019)
• Association of Professional Genealogists (Board of Directors 2018–2019)
• Federation of Genealogical Societies (Conference Publicity Chair 2019)
• Genealogical Speakers Guild (Secretary 2018–2019)
• Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (Social Media Chair 2018–2019)

As an Army Reserve wife of more than 25 years I have assisted military families as a Family Readiness Group Leader, an Army Family Programs volunteer, and a member of the Department of Defense’s Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program cadre of speakers. I have also served as President, Vice President, and Treasurer of the Huron River Art Collective (formerly Ann Arbor Women Artists).

I am committed to two-way communication, transparent and collaborative decision-making, making APG a truly international organization, and serving the interests and needs of all professional genealogists.

(With thanks to all three)

Chris

SCAN to be replaced by new Your Scottish Archives platform

Following my post yesterday about the disappearance of the Scottish Archives Network (SCAN) website, which appears to have happened because the domain registration has not been renewed (see http://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2021/11/scan-website-down-but-catalogue-still.html), I asked the Scottish Council on Archives (www.scottisharchives.org.uk) for a comment. They have responded as follows:

We are not aware of any plans to make SCAN inaccessible currently - we will do a bit of investigating. The development of the new portal is well underway with content planned to be transferred from SCAN next year. A fuller update can be found here: https://www.scottisharchives.org.uk/latest/news/new-archives-portal-announced/

The SCA's announcement of a replacement for SCAN, to be called Your Scottish Archives, is one that I missed last year. The report linked to above notes that "SCA plans to launch the new Your Scottish Archives towards the end of 2022. The project has been delayed by the pandemic and lockdowns but we are back on track. We will be contacting repositories in early 2022 to start the process of collecting data."

In the meantime, I have also asked the National Records of Scotland if it can redirect users of its catalogues page at https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/catalogues-and-indexes to the SCAN catalogue link at https://catalogue.nrscotland.gov.uk/scancatalogue/search.aspx rather than to the currently non-working www.scan.org.uk domain, if there is a problem in renewing its registration. (I can't imagine a reason for this not to be possible.)

(With thanks to the SCA via Twitter at @ScotsArchives)

Chris

Sunday, 7 November 2021

ISBGFH Military Virtual Institute

From the International Society of British Genealogy and Family History (www.isbgfh.com):

ISBGFH Military Virtual Institute

If your ancestor served in the British Army, you are going to want to join us for the Military Virtual Institute November 23 & 24, 2021. The course instructor is British Army expert, Paul Nixon. Anyone who has attended a webinar or presentation by Paul can attest to the depth of information and the quality of Paul's teaching style. Paul is incredibly knowledgeable and has a forensic knowledge of regimental numbers.

While Paul works for Findmypast, he does not limit the resources he shares for finding out more about your British Army ancestor to that website. He shares the information that is going to help you move your research forward including other databases.

Paul will share his knowledge about identifying your ancestor's regiment through photographs, or through medals that you may have in your possession and that you would like to know more about.

Paul will also be presenting on researching your British Naval and Air Force ancestors as well.

Join us for two information packed days of learning about the British Military. Access to the recordings is open for 30 days following the live presentations so that you can revisit again and again to get the most out of Paul's knowledge. For more detailed information and to register, visit: https://www.isbgfh.com/Military-Research-Virtual-Institute

COMMENT: A reminder that recordings of presentations from the recent ISBGFH British Institute, including my 10 x Irish track presentations, and those from the presenters on the Scottish, English and Welsh tracks, are available to purchase until November 30th. For further details, please see http://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2021/10/isbgfh-irish-track-recordings-available.html

Also, thanks to the well over 120 folk who attended my ISBGFH presentation yesterday on Scottish Church and State Records! My book Tracing Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records, which ties in with the topic, is available in print and ebook formats from Pen and Sword at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Scottish-Ancestry-through-Church-and-State-Records-Paperback/p/16848.

(With thanks to Christine Woodcock)

Chris

SCAN website domain registration not renewed but catalogue still available

The Scottish Archive Network (www.scan.org.uk) website is currently down, but the catalogue, which details holdings of about fifty archives across Scotland, is still directly accessible at https://catalogue.nrscotland.gov.uk/scancatalogue/search.aspx.

The SCAN website was last updated over fifteen years ago, and has been superceded by many local archive catalogues now available online, but it remains the only single point of entry for information on many collections held across Scotland. In addition are many useful tools such as the Knowledge Base.

A recently cached version of the site on the Internet Archive, snapped in early October, is available at https://web.archive.org/web/20211009072058/https://www.scan.org.uk/.

Hopefully it will be restored soon.

UPDATE: I've asked a few genie chums if they know what is up, and a huge thanks to Fergus Smith for coming up with some useful info on this. It would appear that the registration of the website domain name expired on 5 OCT 2021. The registration information notes "This registration has been SUSPENDED".

As one of the former directors of the SCAN trust a few years back, it was very clear to me that the SCAN project was not a much loved legacy. Attempts to create an up to date replacement project have drifted for many years. If this is the final end of the site, it is deeply unfortunate that the archive sector has not yet been able to create an alternative.

I would also be interested to know what is happening with the remaining trust funds if this is the case.

In the meantime, perhaps the NRS could update its Catalogues page at https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/catalogues-and-indexes to link directly to the SCAN catalogue portal?

If this is a simple lapse, it appears that there are 83 days from the date of expiry of the domain to renew it, before it is permanently cancelled.

(With thanks to my Pharos students for flagging it up, and to Fergus)

Chris

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Monday, 15 November 2021

Friday, 12 November 2021

Thursday, 11 November 2021

Wednesday, 10 November 2021

Monday, 8 November 2021

Sunday, 7 November 2021