Scottish GENES

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.

Thursday, 16 January 2025

Ancestry adds Dunbartonshire Valuation Rolls 1855-1930 collection

Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) has added the following collection, albeit it is a bit strange in the way it has been done:

Dumbarton, Dunbartonshire, Scotland, Valuation Rolls, 1855-1930
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62870/
Source: Valuation Rolls. Dumbarton, Scotland: West Dunbartonshire Council Arts & Heritage Service.

About Dumbarton, Dunbartonshire, Scotland, Valuation Rolls, 1855-1930

This collection contains valuation rolls for Dunbartonshire, Scotland, dated between 1855 and 1930. Valuation rolls record property ownership information for use in assessing local taxes. The rolls were produced annually to provide ownership, tenancy, and occupancy information for every property in a county or city, including houses, apartments, churches, schools, and businesses. Information may be limited in the documents from the earlier years covered by this collection.

Using this collection

Records in this collection may include the following information:

Name
Occupation
Name of tenant
Name of occupant
Address
Parish name

In addition to the information listed above, valuation rolls normally state the type of property and its monetary value or rent charged. The information in each valuation roll provides a snapshot of where your ancestor owned property or lived at a specific time. You may be able to establish a timeline of your ancestor’s residential mobility and occupational history by searching for them in registers produced over several years.

Although they don’t have as much information as a census, the rolls are useful to research your ancestor’s life between the census years. The valuation rolls also may have information about buildings that a census wouldn’t account for because there was no one living there at the time of the census.

For further information visit https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62870/

Comment: After a few initial tests on this collection, I am a bit confused about the coverage. On the browse area to the right, it shows only the following as browsable registers, with images available:

1913-1914
1914-1915
1915-1916
1916-1917
1917-1918
1919-1920
1920-1921
1921-1922

Test searches prior to 1913 and after 1922 using common surnames such as Smith and MacDonald, do indeed return records as far back as 1861, athough I've not seen any yet going as far back as 1855. However, these are in transcript form only, with no images available. Records do indeed continue after 1922, and go up to 1930, but again in transcript form only.

I don't know if more images are to be made available, I suspect not, as it is quite an odd way to gio about releasing them if so!

Note that valuation records for the same period can be found on ScotlandsPeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk), with images for all in the coverage available (every tenth years from 1855-1915, every 5th year thereafter up to 1940).

Chris

Schedule for this Saturday's Scottish Indexes conference

Graham and Emma at Scottish Indexes (www.scottishindexes.com) have released the schedule for this coming Saturday's free to attend online genealogy conference. The following are the UK timings:

First Session
07:00 Introduction
07:15 'Researching Scottish Border Reiver Families 1600-1800' by Andrew Armstrong
08:30 'Commissioners of Supply' by Lorna Steele-McGinn
09:30 'My Ancestor Was' by Dr Irene O'Brien
10:30 ‘Your Scottish Archives’ by John Pelan
11:30 ‘There's Been a Murder - The Mount Stewart Murder of 1866’ by Chris Paton
12:30 Genealogy Q & A hosted by Graham and Emma Maxwell
13:30 'Using the Sheriff Court to trace 18th-century Ancestors' by Emma Maxwell
14:40 'What's New on Scottish Indexes' by Graham Maxwell

Second Session
15:00 Introduction
15:15 'Researching Scottish Border Reiver Families 1600-1800' by Andrew Armstrong
16:30 'Commissioners of Supply' by Lorna Steele-McGinn
17:30 'My Ancestor Was' by Dr Irene O'Brien
18:30 ‘Your Scottish Archives’ by John Pelan
19:30 ‘There's Been a Murder - The Mount Stewart Murder of 1866’ by Chris Paton
20:30 Genealogy Q & A hosted by Graham and Emma Maxwell
21:30 'Using the Sheriff Court to trace 18th-century Ancestors' by Emma Maxwell
22:40 'What's New on Scottish Indexes' by Graham Maxwell

For equivalent worldwide timings, and information on how to attend, please see https://www.scottishindexes.com/conference.aspx.

Comment: As shown, I'll be giving a talk on the Mount Stewart Murder from 1866 at 11.30am, and again at 7.30pm UK time. I unfortunately have a Gaelic language event commitment in Glasgow on Saturday afternoon, so will be unable to do the first general Q&A session at 12.30 immediately after my first talk showing, but I will be on hand for the evening session at 8.30pm. I hope to see you there, it should be another great event!

(With thanks to Graham and Emma at Scottish Indexes)

Chris

FindmyPast's new brand refresh campaign

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

Findmypast encourages people to delve deeper into their family history with brand refresh

•    New brand campaign unveiled by Findmypast encourages members to delve deeper into their family history
•    Findmypast’s product features and rich body of records and newspaper content allows users to gain a greater understanding of their ancestors’ lives, reflected in the new brand tagline “Your family history understood”
•    Rooted in British and Irish culture, Findmypast offers a vast, rich archive with trusted partners such as the British Library and National Archives, from their headquarters in the UK.
•    New subscription options support researchers at all levels of their family history journey, from beginner to expert

UK family history website, Findmypast, has unveiled a fresh new brand campaign to align with their brand mission to help people better understand their family history. Launching today, the campaign inspires users to look beyond just dates and names and delve deeper into their family tree to gain a greater understanding of the lives their ancestors lived and how they were shaped by the world around them.

Findmypast’s new brand campaign is an expression of their unique position as a UK-based family history company. It follows a period of significant investment in the digitisation and data extraction of millions of newspaper pages, ongoing acquisition of rich record sets, and major product innovation that enables Findmypast to surface contextual stories and allow users to build up a more in-depth picture of their family history.

The new brand campaign features two real-life stories uncovered using the site: those of Audrey Thompson, a champion Women’s Land Army Rat Catcher, and Archibald McKenzie, one of millions of migrants who escaped the Irish Potato Famine to seek a better life in Liverpool.

These stories demonstrate that discovering a fact on a record or a name in a tree is just the beginning of your family history journey; a world of rich historical details awaits as you build a detailed picture of the lives your ancestors lived and the world around them. This deeper experience is articulated through the new tagline: “Your family history understood”. The campaign will include major media activity launched across print, broadcast, digital and social media platforms.

Helen Kaye, Director of Brand for Findmypast said: “Family history is an incredibly powerful hobby, but the meaning from this hobby comes from the understanding of what the world in which your ancestor lived was like back then. What jobs did they do, what was going on in the world around them, what was their day-to-day existence really like? Only by painting that picture can you understand why they lived the lives they did. And thanks to our clever hint technology and extensive newspaper archive, Findmypast will help you delve deeper to gain that deeper understanding.”

Over the past five years, Findmypast has launched major developments to its product, enabling members to delve deeper into the past and offering support at every stage of the journey. This includes a sophisticated and easy-to-use tree builder, helpful hint function integrating newspaper Family Notices extracted from their UK newspaper archive, a popular Collections feature to clip, store, and share articles, an on-the-go companion app, and a new map component showcasing key places and moments in your ancestors’ lives.

Alongside this, Findmypast continuously invests in publishing major record sets and millions of newspaper pages with trusted partners like The National Archives and the British Library. These include some of the most iconic British brands like Country Life and Tatler, to enrich family history research and build a better understanding of your ancestors’ world.

Supporting customers has always been a cornerstone of Findmypast’s ethos, and the brand update places this squarely at the heart of the experience. Helpful blog content giving insights into historical events and elements of family history, educational quizzes on the Findmypast app, and further feature developments will support researchers to get a deeper understanding of their ancestors’ lives.

Recent updates to subscription plans – simplified to a basic free option, Family Tree option for new starters, and Everything package for confident family historians – also support researchers at every stage of their family history journey. This was the result of significant customer research that showed members wanted a more flexible and supportive approach to their subscription.

Sarah Bush, Managing Director of Findmypast said: “This is an exciting next step in Findmypast’s evolution as we aim to help more people understand family history research. Our investment in the product over the last six years has been significant and now with our new tiered subscription packages, we can help users be as successful as possible in the hobby from novice to expert. As a British and Irish family history company we are uniquely placed to share our contextual expertise with users from all over the globe and our new brand positioning will be a key strategic pillar as we continue to grow.”

On site, users will notice a simplified colour scheme, focusing on the distinct dark blue, coral and ochre, offering a cleaner look and bringing in clear signposting elements. A new look homepage gives a simple point of entry, helping users navigate easily around the site, alongside minor tweaks to the layout of key pages.

These changes are just the latest step in Findmypast’s drive to improve the experiences of all its users. Members can expect to see a variety of new features and record releases launched throughout 2025.

(Thanks to Maddy Gilbert)

Chris

Tuesday, 14 January 2025

Annual ScotlandsPeople BMD records update

ScotlandsPeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk) has updated its birth, marriage and death records by a year, as follows:

- Birth records from 1924

- Marriage entries from 1949

- Death records from 1974

There are 245,000 new records.

Chris

Sunday, 12 January 2025

Strathclyde Institute for Genealogical Studies Ken Your Kin event in June

From the Strathclyde Institute for Genealogical Studies (https://www.strath.ac.uk/studywithus/centreforlifelonglearning/genealogy/):

Strathclyde Institute for Genealogical Studies (SIGS) is thrilled to launch Ken Your Ken, an exciting new event being held in Glasgow, Scotland from the 4th to the 11th of June 2025.

Whether you're a seasoned genealogist or taking your first steps into the world of Scottish family history, the Ken Your Kin Summer School promises an unforgettable journey into the heart of Scottish ancestry and heritage.

Our 7-day programme includes -

• Talks from Scottish historians, museum curators and family history experts
• Further your genealogy journey with one-to-one input from qualified genealogists
• Experience Scottish food, drink and traditions
• Visit a range of museums, cultural and literary venues
• Enjoy a vibrant social programme
• Ideal for groups or the solo traveller
• Join an optional 2-day ‘Introduction to Scottish Family History’ course.*

Spaces are limited and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis to ensure group access to venues and to enable the SIGS team to deliver a high-quality experience.

Register before the 31st of January 2025 to take advantage of our Early Bird discount (deposit option also available!).

Explore our planned itinerary and secure your place today! > https://bit.ly/kyk2025

* Comment: I'll be involved in thre two-day Introduction to Scottish Family History course on June 2nd and 3rd - you can find out more about this at https://www.strath.ac.uk/studywithus/centreforlifelonglearning/genealogy/on-campusbeginnertointermediatelevelgenealogy8-weekclasses/

Chris

FindmyPast updates United States Passenger and Crew Lists collection

FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) has updated its United States Passenger and Crew Lists collection with a further 1.2 million records.

United States, Passenger and Crew Lists - New York
These 1,275,830 new records document people who arrived as either passengers or crew members in New York from overseas from 1915-1957.

United States, Passenger and Crew Lists - California
This includes 6,994 records from 1947-1952.

United States, Passenger and Crew Lists - Guam
6,884 records documenting those who arrived on the island of Guam from 1947-1952.

For further details visit https://www.findmypast.co.uk/blog/new/united-states-passenger-and-crew-lists-walsall.

Chris

Scottish Indexes conference on January 18th 2025

Next Saturday 18th January sees the 27th Scottish Indexes Conference from Graham and Emma Maxwell.

The following talks will be given, with an pportunity to ask the speakers questions after, and at two dedicated hour long Q&A sessions during the day:

Researching Scottish Border Reiver Families 1600-1800 by Andrew Armstrong

There's Been a Murder - The Mount Stewart Murder of 1866 by Chris Paton

Using the Sheriff Court to trace 18th-century ancestors by Emma Maxwell

Commissioners of Supply by Lorna Steele-McGinn

What's New on Scottish Indexes by Graham Maxwell

Your Scottish Archives by John Pelan

For further details please visit https://www.scottishindexes.com/conference.aspx#c3 - and I hope you can join us!

Chris

Scottish Family History Month talks from Family Tree and History Scotland

I am delighted to say that I will be hosting next month's programme of talks for Scottish Family History Month from Family Tree and History Scotland magazines, as well as giving one of the talks myself.

The talks are as follows:

Find your Scottish Stories (Mary Evans)
3 February, 6.30pm

Behind the names and the dates you can often find a story. In her presentation family history researcher Mary Evans will look at useful and colourful resources that can add insights to your ancestors’ lives. Who would have known, for instance, that the reporting in a local newspaper, about a group of gambling children, with a taste for gingerbread, would have led to the smashing of a family history brickwall centuries later? Join us for an enjoyable session with stories and research skills rolled into one!

Scottish directories: a source for people, places, trades and professions (Tahitia McCabe, University of Strahtclyde)
6 February, 6.30pm

As we go about our family and local history research, directories provide information on the development of trades and professions in an area, list local clubs, churches and schools often giving member names and meeting times and show information on transportation and local holidays. In short, if you want a picture of what a town or city provided to its residents, a directory is a great place to start.

Hundreds of digitized Scottish directories will be explored along with innovative online tools combining maps and directory data.

Caledonian Petitions Society (Lorna Kinnaird)
11 February, 6.30pm

Following the Napoleonic Wars, many children of Presbyterian parents in London faced destitution, as they did not qualify for parochial relief.

Genealogist Lorna Kinnaird is working on a fascinating collection of records that sheds light on these individuals and their families through their years of extreme hardship.

What's new and exciting in Scottish family history (Chris Paton)
18 February, 6.30pm

Whether the Scottish records you need are online or offline, this session will bring you right up to date on how to find them as Scottish genealogy expert Chris Paton provides a summary of the resources available to those seeking Scottish ancestors.

Scotland’s People: Beyond Birth Death and Marriage records (Veronica Schreuder, National Records Scotland)
26 February, 6.30pm

Scotland’s People www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk is the official Scottish Government website for searching government records and archives and is run by National Records of Scotland. The statutory registers of old parish registers of births, deaths and marriages are often the first records people search when exploring their family on the Scotland’s People site, and Veronica Schreuder will provide an in-depth guide to accessing and getting the most from these records.

Webinars can be booked individually at £12 each or as a bundle from just £50 (or £40 for Family Tree Plus members and Family Tree magazine subscribers). All sessions include a Q&A and will be recorded for registrants to view afterwards.

Talks will be available as recordings for a specified duration afterwards, as itemised in the emails you will receive from Zoom.

Scottish Family History Month is supported by National Records of Scotland and Strathclyde University. For further details, and to book, please visit https://www.family-tree.co.uk/how-to-guides/scottish-family-history-month-2025/.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Chris

Friday, 10 January 2025

TheGenealogist adds directories from 1935-1940

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

TheGenealogist Expands Historical Records with Major Directory Release

Leading family history website TheGenealogist has announced the release of 39 comprehensive directories spanning 1935-1940, covering over 6 million individuals and businesses. This significant addition provides family historians and researchers with access to information about individuals and companies in the run up and early days of World War II.

The newly digitised collection includes:

●    Over 6 million individuals and businesses
●    39 detailed directories covering various regions
●    Searchable information about residences and commercial establishments

"This release represents a significant milestone in our ongoing commitment to providing comprehensive historical records to genealogists and family historians," says Mark Bayley, Head of Online Development at TheGenealogist. "These directories offer a unique glimpse into the lives of people and businesses operating during the outbreak of the Second World War, providing invaluable context for family researchers."

Users can access these new records through TheGenealogist's advanced search system, which allows for both broad and detailed searches across the entire collection.

In these records is Agatha Christie, Queen of Mystery - read her story here: https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2025/agatha-christie-7954/

The Directories covered in this release include the Edinburgh & Leith 1939-1940 Post Office Directory and the Ireland 1935 Thom’s Directory.

Also includes are the following editions from England (and one from Paris):

Bedfordshire, Huntingtonshire & Northamptonshire, 1940 Kelly’s Directory; Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 1935 Kelly’s Directory; Bristol & Suburbs, 1937 Kelly’s Directory; Buckinghamshire 1939 Kelly’s Directory; Cambridge 1937 Kelly’s Trade Directory; Canterbury, Whitstable, Herne Bay & C 1939 Kelly’s Directory; Croydon 1939 Ward’s Directory; Cumberland & Westmorland, 1938 Kelly’s Directory; Cumberland, Westmorland and North Lancashire, July 1940 Telephone Directory; Devon 1935 Kelly’s Directory; Devon and Cornwall 1935 Kelly’s Directory; Devonshire & Cornwall, 1939 Kelly’s Directory; Dorsetshire, 1939 Kelly’s Directory; Essex 1937 Kelly’s Directory; Essex, East Suffolk & East Herts 1939 Telephone Directory ; Gloucestershire 1939 Kelly’s Directory; Guernsey, Alderney and Sark, 1940 Directory and Almanack; Hampshire & The Isle of Wight, 1939 Kelly’s Directory; Hants & Isle of Wight 1935 Kelly’s Directory; Huntingdonshire 1940 Kelly’s Directory; Lincolnshire 1937 Kelly’s Directory; Liverpool & South West Lancashire, December 1939 Classified Telephone Directory, ; London 1936 Kelly’s Post Office Commericial Directory; London 1937 Post Office Directory; London 1938 Post Office Directory; Paris 1935 Directory; Rutland, 1936 Kelly’s Directory; Somerset 1935 Kelly’s Directory; Somerset 1939 Kelly’s Directory; Southampton, Portsmouth and Bournemouth Districts March 1940 Telephone Directory; Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire, 1940 Kelly’s Directory of ; Sunderland, Newcastle and Gateshead 1937 Ward’s Directory; Watford 1937 Kelly’s Directory; Wembley, Alperton, Sudbury and Kingsbury, 1937 Kelly’s Directory; Weston Super Mare Directory 1935; Wiltshire 1939 Kelly’s Directory; Worcester 1937 Kelly’s Directory.

(With thanks to Paul Bayley)

Chris

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Saturday, 18 January 2025

Thursday, 16 January 2025

Tuesday, 14 January 2025

Sunday, 12 January 2025

Friday, 10 January 2025