The Scottish GENES Blog (GEnealogy News and EventS): Top news stories and features concerning ancestral research in Scotland, Ireland, the rest of the UK, and their diasporas, from genealogist and family historian Chris Paton. Feel free to quote from this blog, but please credit Scottish GENES if you do. Cuimhnich air na daoine o'n d'thà inig thu!
ScotlandsPeople has performed its annual civil registration
records update, with birth records from 1925, marriages from 1950, and
deaths from 1975 now searchable on the platform.
In addition the site has added 1,800
new cards to the Scottish Women's Land Army and Timber Corps records
for ‘Land Girls’ who were born in 1925, as well as coats of arms
registered in 1925.
In total some 239,000 records have been added.
It
will be interesting to see if the wills database will be updated at
some point in the near future, with the current online cut off remaining
at 1925.
Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available -Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, 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. To purchase in the USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.
Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available -Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, 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. To purchase in the USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.
The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) is approaching 99 million pages of hosted content, with 98,981,588 pages available on the site at the time of writing.
The following are the most recent Scottish and Irish additions over the last 30 days:
Highland News and Football Times 1907-1917, 1920-1935, 1937-1938, 1940-1949
Montrose Review 2000-2004
Ireland
Larne weekly recorder and Northern express 1883
Connaught Telegraph 1876-1913, 1919
Irish Temperance League Journal 1863-1870, 1874-1896
Tyrone Courier 1919
Belfast Telegraph 2000-2014
Irish Independent 1921, 1926, 1960
Dromore Leader 1921-1950
Irish Ecclesiastical Gazette 1888-1896
Ulster Gazette 1878
Athlone Times 1889-1902
Chris
Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available -Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, 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. To purchase in the USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.
FamilySearch has announced its keynote speakers for its 2026 RootsTech conference. I personally have no idea who any of them are, but you may well do - full details are available at https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/.
The virtual keynotes will be available on demand from 13 February 2026, with the rest given at the event itself from 5-7 March 2026.
FamilySearch has also confirmed that the full talks schedule will be available on its site from Thursday 8 January.
Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available -Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, 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. To purchase in the USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.
My 5-week-long courseProgressing Your Irish Research Online, taught through Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd (www.pharostutors.com), kicks off again on Monday, 26 January 2026, and I am very much looking forward to meeting the next group of students!
Here is some further information about the course:
There is a common belief that if you have Irish ancestors then you should give up hope of finding out about them, because 'nothing survived the fire', referring to the destruction of Ireland's Public Record Office during the Civil War in 1922. The overall aim of this course is to point out that this is a nonsense, and that the glass is half full and not empty. Whilst there are certainly challenges to be overcome, a great deal can still be accomplished with the many resources now rapidly finding their way online.
This course will describe the many state created records and church records that can be used to research your Irish ancestry. It will provide a context to understand why they were created, and by whom and point out exactly where to find them online, and how to use them effectively.
Lesson Headings:
Understanding Ireland's boundaries, key repositories and platforms
The vital records of Church and State
Documenting the people: Irish censuses and substitutes
Valuation records and inheritance
The Decade of Centenaries
Each lesson includes exercises and activities and a one-hour Zoom-based chat per week.
Some reviews from students:
'I enjoyed all of the course, the lessons, exercises and chat sessions were all very helpful. I found Chris Paton ran the course and chat sessions brilliantly. I now feel enthused to carry out more research.'
'The astonishing range of information presented, the subsequent results within my own research and the fun, friendly and knowledgeable way it was all delivered. Excellent course and a tutor I would definitely want to study with again.'
'It really opened my eyes to what Chris calls the half FULL glass of Irish records, plus a glimpse of history and geography. Excellent.'
'It was beneficial from the standpoints of both improving general knowledge of Irish history, and illuminating the numerous and often unique potential sources of genealogical/family history information against that background.'
'Depth of knowledge. Expertise of tutor. Excellent Handouts.'
'Fantastic tutor. First class lesson materials. Top-notch quality learning programme.'
'The realization that there are more resources and information available than I first thought!'
And if it helps, a brief introductory video explaining what it will hopefully achieve!
Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available -Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, 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. To purchase in the USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.
Pen and Sword Books' Family History imprint currently has a sale on in the UK, with large discounts on many titles. The following are some of my books' RRP and sale prices, as examples:
Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, RRP £14.99, SALE £7.50
Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records, RRP £14.99, SALE £7.50
Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, RRP £14.99, SALE £7.50
Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, RRP £14.99, SALE £7.50
Sharing Your Family History Online, RRP £12.99, SALE £6.50
Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland, RRP £14.99, SALE £12.79
Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available -Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, 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. To purchase in the USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.
Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available -Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, 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. To purchase in the USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.
Since October 2012 I have had the great pleasure to be a member of the stakeholder forum of the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/campaigns/public-record-office-northern-ireland-proni), which meets every three months to receive updates about the archive's work and priorities, and where it also listens to feedback from people from across all walks of life in Northern Ireland who have a vested interest in its work.
I was first asked to join the forum as a genealogist and to act as its 'remote member', in other words to provide feedback from beyond the physical jurisdiction which PRONI represents, and to comment on its services, particularly its online services. In return I had permission to regularly report through this blog on practically all aspects of PRONI's latest work, to help keep the genealogy world updated. (I wasn't able to attend the last meeting in December, and so my most recent blog post from the meetings was in September, available at https://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2025/09/major-relaunch-of-proni-website-later.html).
It's been a fun and happy relationship over the last thirteen years, which I have enjoyed immensely, but this year I am preparing myself for one of the biggest gambles of my working life (which I will hopefully announce more about in a few weeks!). Sadly this means that I am having to make some changes to my usual routine, one of the consequences of which is that I informed PRONI earlier today that I am regrettably stepping down from the forum with immediate effect. In my note to the team I stated the following:
"It has been an absolute honour to be able to attend the stakeholder forum over the last few years, to hear about updates, and to hear from fellow forum members also, a truly brilliant bunch. To the day I die I will always promote PRONI as the best exemplar of an archive that I have ever come across. The archive's commitment to taking its work out to the community, its partnerships, and its transparency are just phenomenal, not to mention the small matter of the amazing work you all do in making accessible Ulster's records. I truly think PRONI is the only national archive I have ever had dealings with that actually understands its user base."
I stand by every word of this. The community engagement that PRONI is involved with on a daily basis, opening up its records - opening up our records (I am an Ulsterman!) - to public access has been an absolute joy to watch and to report on over the years, and should embarrass some other institutions which pale by comparison. PRONI knows why it is there, it knows who funds it, and it knows how to serve its user base, and it has genuinely been an honour, and by far one of the most enjoyable parts of my working life over the last few years, with regular visits back home to Northern Ireland to visit the institution, both for research purposes and for meetings. I will still be popping over for research purposes from time to time, and look forward to doing so!
Thank you once again PRONI - in particular to Stephen, Janet, Gavin, and all fellow forum members - and best of luck for 2026!
Chris
Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available -Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, 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. To purchase in the USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.
Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available -Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, 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. To purchase in the USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.
"Keep your eyes peeled for the annual release of birth, death and marriage records, coming in January.
You’ll also be able to browse new Scottish Women's Land Army records and, later in the year, we'll add new prison registers and church court records."
Chris
Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available -Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, 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. To purchase in the USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.
