Monday, 19 May 2025

Researching Irish Land Records course starts June 2nd

My next Researching Irish Land Records course, taught on behalf of Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd, starts on Monday 2nd June 2025, and lasts for five weeks. Here are the details:

Researching Irish Land Records

The issue of land ownership was a potent question in Ireland for centuries. In the 17th century vast swathes of land was settled by Protestant British colonists during the Plantations of Ulster, drawn mostly from Scotland, whilst the subsequent Cromwellian conquest led to mass confiscation of land across Ireland, to be conveyed to English soldiers and 'adventurers'. The Penal Laws had soon dispossessed the native Irish Catholic population of many rights, including land ownership and inheritance rights. At the same time, the first national land valuation survey in the world was carried out, and an elaborate system of land administration imposed. In the 19th century, Ireland's incorporation into the United Kingdom was followed by great tragedy with the Famine, but in its aftermath a new opportunity arose following the Land War to radically alter rental provisions and then to redistribute land away from an absentee landlord class.

Following on from the Progressing Your Irish Research Online course*, this course will look at the various types of records that can help with land research in Ireland from the period of the 17th century to the present day. It will examine the various forms of land tenure that existed, the records of ownership and rental, the valuation and conveyance of property, maps, and many other resources. Importantly it will show how to find the most useful land records, and how to use them for your family history research.

* Although not compulsory, it is recommended that students will have first completed the Progressing Your Irish Research Online course.

Lesson Headings:

  • The Basics of Irish Land Research
  • Colonialism and Conquest
  • Managing the Land
  • Valuation and Conveyance
  • The Land War and Redistribution

Relevant countries: Ireland

What to expect:

Each lesson includes lesson notes, activities and forum exercises for students to complete during the week and a one-hour live tutorial (text chat or Zoom) with the tutor and the rest of the class. Times for the tutorials are set at the beginning of each course by the tutor. 

Tutor: Chris Paton   
Length: 5 weeks   
Start date: Monday 2 June 2025
Cost: £70

Feedback from previous students:

“I really liked how each lesson showed why it's important to understand and use different types of records. It helped me see how one record leads to the next, making it easier to trace family history. Land records, in particular, can be tricky, but this course gave me a much better understanding of how and why they were made, which is key to interpreting them.”

“The content was excellent. The instructor provided good contextual information for the suggested links and readings. I learned about resources I might never have discovered easily.”

“I enjoyed learning about new approaches to Irish land record research that were either unknown or forgotten to me.”

“The course notes were amazing and Chris is a very knowledgeable tutor.”

To register, please visit https://www.pharostutors.com/researching-irish-land-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.

 

Introduction to Scottish Family History event at Strathclyde University

On Tuesday 3rd June 2025 I'll be giving two presentations to the University of Strathclyde's two day long Introduction to Scottish Family History event in Glasgow, which starts on the preceding Monday 2nd June, and held at the campus itself.

My topics will be as follows:

Discover Scottish Land Records
An overview of the complicated (but useful) records concerning land and property transfer in Scotland. What they contain and where to find them.

Understanding Scottish Inheritance Records
An introduction to Scotland's system of inheritance, the records it created, how to use them and where to find them.

Also giving talks on a range of topics at the two-day event will be Tahitia McCabe, Kate Keter, Alison Spring, Dr Calista Williams, and Emma Maxwell. For the full programme please visit https://www.strath.ac.uk/studywithus/centreforlifelonglearning/genealogy/on-campusbeginnertointermediatelevelgenealogy8-weekclasses/ - to sign up, visit https://onlineshop.strath.ac.uk/conferences-and-events/centre-for-lifelong-learning/strathclyde-institute-for-genealogical-studies/introduction-to-scottish-family-history-research.

The event will be followed by a longer on-campus academic conference entitled Ken Your Kin, from June 4th-11th 2025. Details of that event are available at https://www.strath.ac.uk/studywithus/centreforlifelonglearning/genealogy/kenyourkin/.


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.

Recent notable additions to Ancestry


The following are some of the more noticeable collections aded to Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) over the last couple of months that may be of interest:

UK, Recommendations for Honours and Awards, 1935-1943
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/63097/ (full collection on Fold3.com)

UK, Postal Establishment Books, 1691-1979
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62454/

UK, Navy Board and Predecessors Prisoner of War Registers, 1755-1831
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/63094/ (full collection on Fold3.com)

Web: Caribbean, Aircrew in the RAF during World War II, 1939-1945
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/63333/

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.

Sunday, 18 May 2025

Next Scottish Indexes conference will be on 13 September 2025

One to put in your diary folks - the next Scottish Indexes conference will be on 13 September 2025.

Amongst the presentastions already announced:

  • 'I want to research my family history – how do I start?' by Lorraine Stewart
  • 'Women of Glamis: Privilege and Privation' by Ingrid Thomson
  • 'The Servants in Traquair House' by Margaret Fox

For further details, and to register (it's free), visit https://www.scottishindexes.com/conference.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.

RAF lists added to FindmyPast

FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) has added the following collections amongst this week's latest releases:

Royal Air Force Lists 1919-1945

If your ancestor served in the Royal Air Force between 1919 and 1945, their name may appear within this new record collection.

For details of this and other collections visit https://www.findmypast.co.uk/blog/new/poland-italy-monumental-inscriptions-barrow-news

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.

British Newspaper Archive passes 92 million pages

The British Newspaper Archive (https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) has just passed 92 million pages of content, with the number of pages available ast the time of writing being 92,064,993.

 


The following are the latest releases for Scotland and Ireland over the last 30 days:

Scotland

Perthshire Courier
1927-1928

Berwick Warder (published in Berwick-upon-Tweed, England, but also covers Kelso)
1835-1837

Greenock Elector
1885

Dundee Evening Telegraph
1992

Banffshire Journal
1948-1949, 1979

Forres Elgin and Nairn Gazette, Northern Review and Advertiser
1993

Dundee Weekly News
2002


Ireland

Wicklow Press
1905-1906, 1909

Drogheda Advertiser
1900-1901, 1903, 1907-1908, 1925-1926, 1928

Cork Weekly Herald
1900-1901

Drogheda Argus and Leinster Journal
1851-1859, 1861-1863

Achill Missionary Herald and Western Witness
1837-1849, 1856, 1867-1868

Lurgan Mail
1985

Kilkenny Moderator
1904, 1907

Waterford Standard
1912-1917, 1919, 1927

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.

Forthcoming talks for the Wales-Ireland-Scotland-England (WISE) Family History Society

I will be doing a couple of events for the Wales-Ireland-Scotland-England Family History Society (W.I.S.E. FHS; https://wise-fhs.org) later this month. 

On Saturday May 24th I will be doing a talk entitled Discover Your Scottish Ancestors for the group at 1.30pm MDT (8.30pm UK), with details at https://wise-fhs.org/event/w-i-s-e-pre-seminar-meeting-with-chris-paton/

This will be followed the following Saturday by a seminar with three topics, being Scottish Kirk Session Records, Scottish Marriage Records: Instantly Buckled for Life, and Understanding Scottish Inheritance Records. The seminar starts at 9.00am MDT (4.00pm UK), and you can find further details on this at https://wise-fhs.org/event/w-i-s-e-annual-seminar-with-chris-paton/

I am looking forward to both events immensely, and I hope that you can join us! 

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.

Plug to be pulled on ScotlandsPlaces website next month

This has been expected for some time, but it looks like the ScotlandsPlaces website at www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk is to be ended on June 24th. The following message is currently being displayed on the websites:

Scotlands Places will switched off on 24th June 2025, however users will be able to access the materials directly from each of the contributing bodies.
HES material can be found on trove.scot.
NLS material can be found at nls.uk and maps.nls.uk.
NRS records will be accessible through scotlandspeople.gov.uk.
Further information about the closure can be found on the HES website: Retiral of HES web services | Historic Environment Scotland

 


ScotlandsPlaces was launched in October 2009 (see https://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2009/10/scotlandsplaces-website-online.html), and has provided a variety of resources free of charge for Scottish genealogists and historians for over 15 years. But the priorities of the founding institutions - the NRS, Historic Environment Scotland (previously RCAHMS), and the NLS - have changed massively since then, each now developing their own separate platforms and doing heir own thing. Whilst the message on the website states that material will be ytransfered to these platforms, it does not say that ALL the material will be transferred, and whether it will continue to be offered on the free basis that it always has done. Whilst Trove and the NLS platforms are free, ScotlandsPeople is not; fingers crossed the NRS will soon tell us how to access records such as the 17th and 18th century land and tax records currently available on ScotlandsPlaces.

It's a sad day, and having seen the poor version of the new replacemernt NRS website in recent months, I donlt have a lot of faith in the institution, but as always, remain open to be convinced that they have their users interest at heart. In the meantime, you have just over a month to use the site whilst it still exists.

RIP ScotlandsPlaces.

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 GENES is back!

I'm back in genealogy land after a few months time off for good behaviour doing a Cert HE course at the University of Glasgow, entitled Gaelic with Immersion. The course was designed to help people with a degree of Scottish Gaelic push towards fluency, and it has certainly helped me to develop my abilities with the language. At the conclusion of the course I spent three weeks on the Hebridean island of South Uist (Uibhist a Deas), where I was able to meet many people in various walks of life who still use Gaelic as their first language in Scotland, and where I had a chance to also travel to other Hebridean islands, including Barra (Barraigh), Vatersay (Bhatarsaigh), Benbecula (Beinn na Foghla), Grimsay (Griomasaigh), North Uist (Uibhist a Tuath), and Berneray (Beàrnaraigh). 

During my time in the Western Isles, I was able to cut peat by Beinn Mhòr, plant potatoes on the machair at Daliburgh, visit cèilidhs and concerts, and talk to Gaelic speakers young and old across the islands, including former STV colleague Alex O' Henley, one of the BBC's and UEFA's football commentators, at his croft at Garrynamonie.


As a genealogist it was great to get a chance to visit many historical sites in South Uist and the other islands, including the township of Milton, where Flora MacDonald was born (she who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie escape “over the seas to Skye”), Castle Ormacleit (a MacDonald of Clanranald stronghold), and Kildonan Museum. At Kildonan I had a chance to see the 'tasglann' or archive of Comunn Eachdraidh Uibhist a Deas, otherwise known as South Uist Historical Society, where people can come to research their family history, or the history of the family croft or the local island. There are several 'comainn eachdraidh' in the islands, and I also had a chance to meet and talk to folk from Comunn Eachdraidh Èirisgeigh (Eriskay Historical Society), and to see where Comunn Eachdraidh Barraigh is Bhatarsaigh (Barra and Vatersay Historial Society) was based, albeit this was closed on the day I visited the island of Barra. For links to the various comainn eachdraidh, and to discover what they can offer for Hebridean research, read my blog post at https://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2023/10/comainn-eachdraidh-historical-societies.html


My final two assignments have been submitted, and I now await the formal certificate to be awarded (assuming I haven't screwed these up!), but it is time to get back to the day job. Scottish GENES is back, and I look forward to sharing genealogy news with you over the next few days, weeks, months and years, just as I have done since 2007.

Finally, if you have been following my Gaelic journey, and wish to have a go yourself, check out my blog post at https://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2025/01/resources-to-help-you-learn-scottish.html - agus gun tèid leibh leis an turas agaibh! 

In the meantime, some more pics from my recent Hebridean escapades!

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.

Saturday, 18 January 2025

Resources to help you learn Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig)

The following was first published in my Scottish GENES Newsletter on Sunday 11th January 2025.

I've been asked by a couple of readers about advice on how to start learing Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig), following the recent positive 2022 census results showing a reversal of its decline. So here goes!

A good starting point is the free to access Duolingo course at www.duolingo.com, which can allow you to pick up some basic phrases and words at just 15 minutes a day study.

Once you have made a start on this, there are other courses available online with a bit more structure that can begin to help you understand some basic grammar, including the BBC's SpeakGaelic course and TV series - see https://speakgaelic.scot. The programmes can be watched on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@SpeakGaelic, including Gaelic subtitles for all the Gaelic spoken, to help you put the words to the sounds.

The Ceumannan series of lessons are used by schools across the country to teach Gaelic from National 5 to Advanced Higher levels - these are freely available at https://storlann.co.uk/ceumannan/ 

e-Sgoil (https://www.e-sgoil.com) offers access to adult learners wishing to study the National 5, Higher or Advanced Highers in Gaelic for Learners. Having achieved both the Higher and Advanced Higher through e-Sgoil, I can thoroughly recommend it! 

Sabhal Mòr Ostaig (https://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/?lang=en) on the Isle of Skye (pictured below) also offers distance learning options, including its Cùrsa Inntrigidh, and also short courses in the summer where you can attend and learn with like-minded students and gain confidence in speaking the language.

As with Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the Ceòlas centre (https://www.ceolas.co.uk) on South Uist also offers residential options for Gaelic study.  

There are many courses available as books also, and my favourite has always been Teach Yourself Gaelic by Boyd Robertson, now being printed as Complete Gaelic (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Gaelic-Beginner-Intermediate-Course/dp/1444102362/). The audio files to accompany this are freely available at https://library.teachyourself.com/id004325766/Complete-Gaelic-Free-resources.

The LearnGaelic platform has an absolute tonne of useful resources for learners at all levels, including content from the old STV series Speaking Our Language, and a brilliant online dictionary. You can freely access the site at https://learngaelic.scot/.

Around the country are various Gaelic learning community and conversation hubs, including Culturlann Inbhir Nis at Inverness (https://culturlann.scot/en), An Lòchran in Partick, Glasgow (https://www.anlochran.com), Edinburgh's Ionad Gàidhlig Dhùn Èidinn (https://ionaddhuneideann.org), and Stornoway's An Taigh Cèilidh (https://www.taighceilidh.com).

Bringing it back to the genealogy world, you may be interested in this article on ScotlandsPeope about the Gaelic will of Donald MacSwain (Dòmhnall MacSuain) - https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/news-and-articles/our-records-domhnall-macsuains-gaelic-will.

Finally, for genealogists, my free guide to useful words for family history is available at https://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/p/gaelic-genealogy.html.

I hope that helps!


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.