Scottish GENES

Friday, 9 June 2023

Anderston weavers and Scottish freemasons included in latest TheGenealogist release

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

New Records for Guilds, Societies and People of Note released by TheGenealogist
Family history website TheGenealogist has just released a new collection of name rich records of interest to English, Scottish and Welsh family historians.

The Guilds, Societies and People of Note collection includes records that reveal names, dates and information about ancestors who were Freemen, Liverymen, Aldermen, members of the Masons and Oddfellows, or people classed as Worthies.

The various records in this collection have been gathered together under TheGenealogist’s extensive Occupational Records and adds 65,000 names from fourteen new resources to this collection. Fully searchable by name or keyword from TheGenealogist’s Master Search. The new additions include records from a variety of sources, including:

● Freemen Registers: These records list the names of people who were granted the freedom of a particular town or city. The freedom of a town or city gave its holder certain privileges, such as the right to trade within the town or city walls.
● Liverymen Lists: These records catalogue the names of people who were members of a particular guild. Guilds were organisations of craftsmen or merchants who banded together to protect their interests.
● Aldermen Rolls: These records list the names of citizens who served as aldermen in a particular town or city. Aldermen were elected officials who served on the town or city council.
● Masons and Oddfellows Records: These records list the names of people who were members of the Freemasons or the Oddfellows. The Freemasons and the Oddfellows are two fraternal organisations that have been around for centuries.
● Worthies Records: These records list the names of people who were considered to be “worthies” of their community. Worthies could be anyone from prominent politicians or successful businessmen to renowned military personalities.

Use these records to reveal names, dates and information about ancestors who were Freemen of various towns and cities, Liverymen, Aldermen, members of the Masons and the Oddfellows, or who were Worthies in their circle. Gathered together under the Guilds, Societies and People of Note section of TheGenealogist’s Occupational Records, this diverse collection can reveal fascinating research clues to work with.

This release includes the following resources:

– A Calendar of the Freemen of Great Yarmouth 1429-1800
– The Aldermen of Cripplegate Ward 1276-1900
– Yorkshire, History of the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire, Volume I [1905]
– Yorkshire, History of the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire, Volume II [1906]
– London Worthies by William Kent [1939]
– Freemen of Lynn 1292-1836
– Record Of Unitarian Worthies
– Rules and Regulations Office-Bearers and Members Weavers' Society of Anderston 1901
– Register of Freemen of the City of London
– Cornish Worthies, Vol. I, 1884
– Cornish Worthies, Vol. II, 1884
– A List of The Wardens Members of The Court of Assistants and Liverymen of The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths since 1688
– The Masonic Directory and Cyclopedia of History 1885
– Directory of the Independent Order of Oddfellows, 1908-1909

To learn more about how this collection of records helped us in the research of Captain Bligh read TheGenealogist’s article: A veritable Bounty of information found in the Occupational records.
https://thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2023/a-veritable-bounty-of-information-found-in-the-occupational-records-1866/

COMMENT: As well as the Anderston weavers records, there are Scottish freemasons included in the masonic collections here.

(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 the USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Possible service disruption in Edinburgh on July 5th

Those wishing to access the National Records of Scotland, the National Library of Scotland, and in particular Edinburgh City Archives, on July 5th, should take note that as Charles and Camilla are up on that day for a royal ceremony (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-65854216), there is every possibility of disruption to services, for security reasons.

I would advise keeping an eye out on the websites of the respective organisations for details of any possible closures - www.nrscotland.gov.uk, www.nls.uk, and www.edinburgh.gov.uk/managing-information/edinburgh-city-archives-1/3.

Chris

Highland Memorial Inscriptions site is down

The massively useful Highland Memorial Inscriptions site at https://sites.google.com/site/highlandmemorialinscriptions/home is currently showing as a dead link.

I've had a look on the Internet Archive, and have found that some of the material has been preserved - for example, the burials at Tomnahurich Cemetery in Inverness, whereas others are not fully available, e.g. the Invernessshire page is only show listings for burials with surnames beginning with the letters A-E.

The latest time the site was saved was March 30th this year, available at https://web.archive.org/web/20230330183615/https://sites.google.com/site/highlandmemorialinscriptions/home.

If anyone knows the fate of this site, and whether this is just a temporary glitch, I would be grateful to learn about it!

Chris

1931 census of Canada now online

The 1931 Census of Canada is available at Ancestry at https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62640/ and via Library and Archives Canada at https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census2/index1931.

At present the records are mainly browse only, with LAC working in partnership with Ancestry and FamilySearch to make indexes available in the immediate future.

Some of the records are already name searchable on Ancestry, and once the index is complete it will also be made available on Family Search, with images (see https://www.familysearch.org/en/info/1931-census-of-canada)

Chris

RootsIreland adds more Cork and Kerry records

Just added to RootsIreland (www.rootsireland.ie):

New Cork and Kerry records added!

We are delighted to announce the addition of 11,606 new Roman Catholic records for the diocese of Kerry (in Counties Cork and Kerry) to our database. They are as below:

- Roman Catholic baptisms, parish of Dromtariffe, County of Cork (Diocese of Kerry), 1801-1902: 10,345 records.
- Roman Catholic marriages, parish of Moyvane, County Kerry (Diocese of Kerry), 1831-1905: 1261 records.

(With thanks to RootsIrelands via email)

Chris

Wednesday, 7 June 2023

Ancestry significantly updates its Second World War military diary offerings

Ancestry has significantly updated its UK, World War II War Diaries, 1939-1946 collection, available at https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62376/.

Records for the following units are now available:

´A´ Military Mission Central Mediterranean Forces (CMF) Corsica
´C´ Military Mission Greece
´M´ Central Mediterranean Forces (CMF) 1 Forward (Fwd) Base
1 (Palestinian) Company Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment)
1/7 Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge´s Own) ´B´ Company
1/7 Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge´s Own) ´D´ Company
10 Corps (also Delta Force): CSO (X Corps Chief Signal Officer)
10 Corps: Rear Headquarters (HQ)
101 Abyssinia
102 Derna (Libya)
106 Cairo (Egypt)
16 Middle East Forces (MEF)
176 Fd. Amb. `A´ Coy.
176 Fd. Amb. `B´ Coy.
18 Northern Ireland
19 Elizabethville (Belgian Congo)
2 (Palestinian) Company Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment)
2 Cheshire Regiment ´B´ Company
20 Brazzaville (French Equatorial Africa)
20 Cairo Section (Egypt). Missing at transfer
20 Captain Carter´s War Diary (Africa)
20 Middle East Section
20 Middle East Section (extracted from WO 201/8)
20 Spears Mission (West Africa)
20 Spears Mission Force ´L´ (West Africa)
20 Syria Section
20 Syria Security Mission
20/1 Free French Battle Group
20/1 Free French Brigade
20/1 Free French Division
20/1 Free French Flying Column
20/2 Free French Battle Group
20/2 Free French Brigade
203 South Africa
204 Burma
204 China (Forward Area)
207 Burma
209 Middle East Forces (MEF)
210/1 Greek Brigade
210/2 Greek Brigade
211 Middle East Forces (MEF)
22 Czech Forces
220 Pacific and India
23 Dutch Forces
26 Iraq
27 Athens (Greece)
30 Russia (USSR)
32 British North Africa Forces (BNAF)
34 Central Mediterranean Forces (CMF)
37 Central Mediterranean Forces (CMF)
5th Assault Regiment Re Hq (26th and 80th Assault Squadrons)
6 Cheshire Regiment ´A´ Company
6 Cheshire Regiment ´B´ ´C´ & ´D´ Companies
Albania
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 102nd Anti-Tank Regiment (Northumberland Hussars) Ra Wo
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 106th Brigade Company Rasc
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 113th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment Ra
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 114th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment Ra
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 120th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment Ra
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 12th Battalion, the Devonshire Regiment
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 12th Battalion, the Parachute Regiment
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 13th Battalion, the Parachute Regiment
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 13th/18th Royal Hussars
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 147th Essex Yeomanry Field Regiment Ra
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 151st Brigade Hq
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 168th (City of London) Light Field Ambulance Ramc
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 17th Field Company Re
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 185th Infantry Brigade Hq
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 1st Battalion the Royal Ulster Rifles
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 1st Battalion, the Dorsetshire Regiment
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 1st Battalion, the Hampshire Regiment Wo
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 1st Battalion, the King´s Own Scottish Borderers
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 1st Battalion, the Royal Norfolk Regiment
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 1st Battalion, the South Lancashire Regiment
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 1st Battalion, the Suffolk Regiment
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 1st East Riding Yeomanry
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 20th Anti-Tank Regiment Ra
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 22nd Dragoons (Royal Armoured Corps)
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 22nd Independent Parachute Company
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 231st Infantry Brigade Hq
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 233rd Field Company Re
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 235th Field Park Company Re
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 246th Field Company Re
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 24th Lancers
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 253rd Field Company Re
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 262nd Field Company Re
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 263rd Field Company Re
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 27th Armoured Brigade Hq
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 280th Field Company Re
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 295th Field Company Re
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 2nd Battalion the Essex Regiment
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 2nd Battalion the Gloucestershire Regiment
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 2nd Battalion the South Wales Borderers
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 2nd Battalion, the East Yorkshire Regiment
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 2nd Battalion, the King´s Own Shropshire Light Infantry
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 2nd Battalion, the Lincolnshire Regiment
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 2nd Battalion, the Middlesex Regiment
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 2nd Battalion, the Ox and Bucks Light Infantry
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 2nd Battalion, the Royal Ulster Rifles
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 2nd Battalion, the Warwickshire Regiment
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 2ndbattalion, the Devonshire Regiment Wo
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 33rd Field Regiment Ra
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 3rd Airlanding Anti-Tank Battery Ra 01
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 3rd British Infantry Division Provost Co Mpany
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 3rd Parachute Brigade Hq
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 3rd Parachute Squadron Re
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 4th Airlanding Anti-Tank Battery Ra
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 505th Field Company Re
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 50th (Northumbrian) Divisional Signals
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 50th Infantry (Northumbrian) Division Hq
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 50th Northumbrian Division Provost Company
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 53rd Airlanding Light Regiment, Ra
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 53rd Regiment Ra Hq
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 56th Infantry Brigade Hq
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 591 Parachute Squadron Re
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 5th Battalion, the East Yorkshire Regiment
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 5th Parachute Brigade Hq
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 629th Field Squadron Re
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 62nd Anti-Tank Regiment Ra
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 69th Infantry Brigade Hq
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 6th Airborne Division Hq
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 6th Airborne Division Signals
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 6th Airborne Division Workshops Reme
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 6th Airlanding Brigade Hq
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 6th Assault Regiment Re Hq
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 6th Battalion, the Durham Light Infantry
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 6th Battalion, the Green Howards
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 716th Light Company Rasc (Airborne Light Company)
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 71st Field Company Re
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 73rd Field Company Re
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 73rd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment Ra
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 76th Field Regiment Ra
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 77th Assault Squadron Re
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 79th Assault Squardron Re
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 7th Battalion, the Green Howards
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 7th Battalion, the Parachute Regiment
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 7th Field Regiment Ra
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 81st Assault Squadron Re
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 82nd Assault Squadron Re
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 86th (Hertfordshire Yeomany) Field Regiment Ra
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 8th Battalion, the Durham Light Infantry
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 8th Battalion, the Parachute Regiment
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 8th British Infantry Brigade Hq
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 90th Company Rasc (Armoured Assault Brigade)
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 90th Field Regiment Ra
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 9th Battalion, the Durham Light Infantry
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 9th Battalion, the Parachute Regiment
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe 9th Infantry Brigade Hq
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe British 3rd Infantry Division Hq
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe C Squadron 141st Regiment Rac
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe C Squadron, the Inns of Court Regiment (Royal Armoured Corps)
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe No 1 Wing the Glider Pilot Regiment Aac
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe No 2 Wing the Glider Pilot Regiment Aac
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe the Staffordshire Yeomanry Q.o.r.r
Allied Expeditionary Force, North West Europe the Westminster Dragoons (Royal Armoured Corps)
Arab Legion
Army Medical Services: 186th Field Ambulance Ramc
Army Medical Services: 195 Airlanding Field Ambulance
Army Medical Services: 200th Field Ambulance Ramc
Army Medical Services: 203rd Field Ambulance Ramc
Army Medical Services: 223rd Field Ambulance Ramc
Army Medical Services: 224 Parachute Field Ambulance Ramc
Army Medical Services: 225 Parachute Field Ambulance Ramc
Army Medical Services: 8th Field Ambulance Ramc
Army Medical Services: 9th Field Ambulance Ramc
Bari Sub-mission (Italy) Political Warfare Executive (PWE)
Brigadier (later General) Kenneth Exham´s Russian papers (British Military Mission, Moscow). With photographs and map
British Forces, Middle East. 01 April 1942 - 31 December 1942
British Forces, Middle East. 01 August 1942 - 31 December 1942
British Forces, Middle East. 01 December 1940 - 31 July 1943
British Forces, Middle East. 01 December 1941 - 31 December 1943
British Forces, Middle East. 01 February 1942 - 31 December 1942
British Forces, Middle East. 01 January 1941 - 30 September 1943
British Forces, Middle East. 01 January 1942 - 30 November 1942
British Forces, Middle East. 01 January 1942 - 30 September 1943
British Forces, Middle East. 01 January 1942 - 31 January 1943
British Forces, Middle East. 01 July 1940 - 28 February 1943
British Forces, Middle East. 01 July 1942 - 31 December 1942
British Forces, Middle East. 01 June 1942 - 31 December 1942
British Forces, Middle East. 01 March 1942 - 31 December 1942
British Forces, Middle East. 01 May 1942 - 31 December 1942
British Forces, Middle East. 01 November 1942 - 31 December 1942
British Forces, Middle East. 01 October 1939 - 31 December 1943
British Forces, Middle East. 01 October 1942 - 31 December 1942
British Forces, Middle East. 01 September 1942 - 31 December 1942
British Forces, Middle East. 1939-1942
British Forces, Middle East. 1939-1943
British Forces, Middle East. 1939-1946
British Forces, Middle East. 1940-1942
British Forces, Middle East. 1940-1943
British Forces, Middle East. 1940-1945
British Forces, Middle East. 1941-1942
British Forces, Middle East. 1941-1943
British Forces, Middle East. 1942
British Forces, Middle East. 1942-1943
Bulgaria
Caen, France (WO 179/2969)
Canadian Military Mission, Berlin
Canadian, South African, New Zealand and Indian Forces 10th Canadian Armoured Regiment (Fort Garry Horse)
Canadian, South African, New Zealand and Indian Forces 12th Field Regiment Cdn
Canadian, South African, New Zealand and Indian Forces 13th Field Regiment Cdn
Canadian, South African, New Zealand and Indian Forces 14th Canadian Field Ambulance Rcamc
Canadian, South African, New Zealand and Indian Forces 14th Field Regiment Rca
Canadian, South African, New Zealand and Indian Forces 16th Field Company Rce
Canadian, South African, New Zealand and Indian Forces 18th Field Company Rce
Canadian, South African, New Zealand and Indian Forces 1st Battalion the Canadian Scottish Regiment
Canadian, South African, New Zealand and Indian Forces 1st Battalion, the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (Machine Guns)
Canadian, South African, New Zealand and Indian Forces 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion
Canadian, South African, New Zealand and Indian Forces 22nd Canadian Field Ambulance Rcamc
Canadian, South African, New Zealand and Indian Forces 23rd Canadian Field Ambulance Rcamc
Canadian, South African, New Zealand and Indian Forces 27th Canadian Armoured Regiment (Sherbrooke Fusiliers)
Canadian, South African, New Zealand and Indian Forces 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade Hq
Canadian, South African, New Zealand and Indian Forces 3rd Canadian Infantry Division Signals
Canadian, South African, New Zealand and Indian Forces 4th Canadian Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment
Canadian, South African, New Zealand and Indian Forces 5th Field Company Rce
Canadian, South African, New Zealand and Indian Forces 6th Canadian Armoured Regiment (1st Hussars)
Canadian, South African, New Zealand and Indian Forces 6th Field Company Rce
Canadian, South African, New Zealand and Indian Forces 7th Canadian Brigade Hq
Canadian, South African, New Zealand and Indian Forces 8th Canadian Brigade Hq
Canadian, South African, New Zealand and Indian Forces 9th Canadian Brigade Hq
Canadian, South African, New Zealand and Indian Forces Canadian 3rd Infantry Division Hq
Canadian, South African, New Zealand and Indian Forces North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment
Canadian, South African, New Zealand and Indian Forces the Chaudiere Regiment
Canadian, South African, New Zealand and Indian Forces the Highland Light Infantry of Canada
Canadian, South African, New Zealand and Indian Forces the North Nova Scotia Highlanders
Canadian, South African, New Zealand and Indian Forces the Queen´s Own Rifles of Canada
Canadian, South African, New Zealand and Indian Forces the Regina Rifle Regiment
Canadian, South African, New Zealand and Indian Forces the Royal Winnipeg Rifles
Canadian, South African, New Zealand and Indian Forces the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders
Cape Town Liaison (South Africa)
Central Mediterranean Forces (CMF) Region 4 ACC
Central Mediterranean Forces (CMF) Region 6 ACC
Chekiang (China)
Diary of Soviet Military Mission Liaison Group
Durban Liaison (South Africa)
Greece
Greece ´A´ British Liaison Unit
Greece ´B´ British Liaison Unit (XI Field Division)
Greece ´C´ British Liaison Unit
Greece ´D´ British Liaison Unit (National Guard)
Greece Salonika
Greece Sub-mission
Hungary
Italian Army
Land Forces Sub-Commission
Norway
Operation Garden (WO 171/1305)
Poland
Pretoria, Pioneer and Labour (South Africa)
Ramgarh (India)
Royal Army Ordnance Corps, later Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers: 4 County of London Yeomanry Light Aid Detachment (RAOC REME LAD)
Royal Army Ordnance Corps, later Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers: 7 Medium Regiment Light Aid Detachment (RAOC REME LAD)
Royal Army Service Corps: 15 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, RASC Platoon
Royal Army Service Corps: 53 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, RASC Platoon
Royal Army Service Corps: 57 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, RASC Platoon Detachment
Royal Army Service Corps: 57 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, RASC Section
Royal Artillery: 4 (Durham) Survey Regiment, 1 Composite Battery
Royal Artillery: 4 (Durham) Survey Regiment, 2 Composite Battery
Royal Artillery: 4 (Durham) Survey Regiment, A. Troop
Royal Artillery: 4 (Durham) Survey Regiment, B. Troop
Royal Artillery: 4 (Durham) Survey Regiment, R. Troop
Royal Artillery: 4 (Durham) Survey Regiment, S. Troop
Royal Artillery: 4 (Durham) Survey Regiment, Y. Troop
Royal Artillery: 53 Light Anti-Aircraft Battery (RA LAA)
Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers: 15 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment Workshop Section (REME Wksp)
Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers: 57 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment Workshop Section (REME Wksp)
Royal Horse Artillery: B. Battery, 1 RHA Regiment
Royal Signals: 1 Field Regiment Signals Section E (Sigs)
Royal Signals: 10 Armoured Division Signals (Sigs)
Royal Signals: 11 Field Regiment Signals Section (Fd Regt Sigs)
Royal Signals: 15 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment Signals Section (LAA Regt Sigs)
Royal Signals: 4 Field Regiment Signals Section (Fd Regt Sigs)
Royal Signals: 40 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment Signals Section (LAA Regt Sigs)
Royal Signals: 57 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment Signals Section (LAA Regt Sigs)
Royal Signals: 64 Medium Regiment RA Signals Section (Sigs)
Royal Signals: 7 Medium Regiment RA Signals Section
Rumania (Romania)
Russian Liaison Group (USSR)
SHAEF Mission Denmark
South Africa 2 Echelon
South Africa NEAS Section.
South African Military Mission
War Office: Army Medical Services: 149th Field Ambulance RAMC

(With thanks to John Reid via Anglo-Celtic Connections)

Chris

Tuesday, 6 June 2023

British Newspaper Archive passes 68 million pages

The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) has now passed 68 million pages of content, with 68,058,097 pages available at the time of writing.

The following are the title additions for Scotland and Ireland over the last 30 days, with the years of coverage added:

Scotland:

Edinburgh Evening Courant
1750

Edinburgh Evening News
1935-1938, 1940, 1961-1962

Oban Times and Argyllshire Advertiser
1874, 1917

Dundee Courier
12580 pages , updated 6 days ago,1993, 1995

Blairgowrie Advertiser
1952

Weekly Free Press and Aberdeen Herald
1885

Galloway Advertiser and Wigtownshire Free Press
1859

Morayshire Advertiser
1858-1864

Buteman
1875, 1882, 1884, 1887-1889, 1892

Ireland:

Weekly Freeman's Journal
1845-1849

Roscommon Messenger
1922

Ulster Gazette
1885

Chris

Sunday, 4 June 2023

Glimpses of the revolutionary period in Dublin

On my walk around Dublin yesterday, as well as seeking locations relevant to my ancestor Teresa Mooney (see https://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2023/06/researching-my-ancestor-teresa-mooney.html), I decided to prioritise one other place I had never been to before, and that was Dublin Castle. This was the seat of British power in Ireland for centuries, until the point in August 1922 when the British Army symbolicallly handed over control of the nation to the Irish Free State Army (the 'National Army'). I did not have time to do a tour, and so simply visited the place briefly to get a sense of where it was, in anticipation of a future visit. The courtyard is huge, and packed with tourists. You can find more about the castle at https://www.dublincastle.ie.

I also had time to briefly pop into the General Post Office on O'Connell Street (which used to be known as Sackville Street), my first time inside in about 20 years, as I'm always in Dublin on Sundays or bank holidays, when it is closed! Another remarkable location, and where the proclamation was read in 1916 during the Easter Rising stating that Ireland was to become a republic (finally achieved in 1949).

Close to the Travelodge Plus hotel where I was staying I came across a wonderful statue of Constance Markiewicz, the first women ever to be elected as a Member of Parliament at Westminster (as a member of Sinn Fein). Markiewicz was also a founding member of Cumann na mBan and the Irish Citizen Army, which fought in the rebellion in 1916.

Finally, a glimpse of the Parnell monument on O'Connell Street, dedciated to Charles Stewart Parnell, which carries the famous wording that "No Man has a right to fix the boundary to the march of a nation. No man has a right to say to his country "Thus far shalt thou go and no further". We have never attempted to fix the ne-plus-ultra to the progress of Ireland’s nationhood and we never shall".

* For more on the revolutionary period, including how to research members of both the Republican and Crown forces, there is a chapter on the Decade of Centenaries in my book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd edition) - see below for details on how to order!

Chris

A Strong Dublin Woman: Researching my ancestor Teresa Mooney

Whilst in Dublin I wanted to visit two locations that topped and tailed the story of my three times great grandmother, Teresa Mooney, born 1834 and passed away in 1919. Teresa's family to date is the only confirmed Irish Catholic line that I have in my tree, although I do have a couple of lines that I strongly suspect involved mixed denominational marriages, a bit further north in Donegal and Fermanagh.

Teresa was born in the city of Dublin, in 1834 to Thomas and Mary Anne Mooney, and baptised on October 14th 1834 at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Pro-Cathedral (www.procathedral.ie). This was my first stop, to locate the building, and I nearly kicked myself when I found it, as it is about a minute away from O'Connell Street, which I have visited more times than I can remember! Not only was this where Teresa was baptised, it is also where Michael Collins' funeral was held after his assassination in 1922. The 'Pro' in 'Pro-Cathedral' stands for 'Provisional' it being the provisional cathedral built for the city's Roman Catholic community, with two Protestant cathedrals having already been erected (Christ Church and St. Patrick's), and is a gorgeous, peaceful building, right in the heart of the city.

I don't know much about Teresa's early life, other than that she had a sister called Mary, and may have had a brother called Thomas (I'm working on a DNA connection to try to confirm this), but she later became one of the strongest women in my family. I have no idea how she ended up there, but Teresa married Corporal Alexander William Halliday of the 2nd Battalion of the 2nd Regiment of Foot (Queen's) on June 27th 1862 at the Garrison Church in Corfu, deep in the Mediterranean Sea, with the service being Anglican in nature. She then travelled with Alexander's regiment to Gibraltar, where on October 7th 1863 she gave birth to my great great grandmother Florence Teresa Halliday.

By 1866 the regiment was in Bermuda, where two key events occurred. The first was that Teresa's husband Alexander tragically died on 31st January 1866. Although the death took place in the aftermath of a serious yellow fever epidemic which took many lives from the military unit, there is no indication as to whether Alexander was himself killed by this plague. From muster rolls held at the National Archives in England (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk), I established that Teresa was given £4 17 shillings and 11 pence by the regiment, but after after all of Alexander's outstanding debts were paid off, she was left with just 8 shillings and a ha'penny for her passage home - regulations stipulated that widowed women had to leave the unit of their deceased husband within four weeks after his death.

However, Teresa somehow remained with the unit, perhaps because of her pregnancy, and shortly after gave birth to a son, Alexander William Halliday, in Bermuda, on August 16th. With two infant children to care for, it is perhaps not surprising that she remarried quickly. The wedding took place on December 28^th 1866 in Nenagh, County Tipperary, Ireland, showing that Teresa and the regiment had almost immediately departed Bermuda after Alexander's birth. Her new husband, William John Burns, had also been on Bermuda, and like her former husband Alexander was also a corporal with the 2nd Battalion of the Queen's Royal Regiment. In her second marriage record her father Thomas was noted as a weaver, and the service was again Anglican in nature.

Whilst at Nenagh, her husband William re-attested for another eleven year stint of service with the regiment, but was discharged from the regiment on January 28th 1870 as being unfit for service. Teresa and William then had two children between them. The first was Sarah Jordan Burns, born in Rathmines, Dublin on March 1st 1871, with Teresa noted as being based at Church Lane, and by June 8th 1871, at 14 Wexford Street. By April 11th 1873 they had relocated to Belfast, where their second daughter, Teresa, was born, although within a year young Teresa had died of scarlatina at the Belfast workhouse. In this record her mother was noted as a charwoman.

On August 1st 1878 Teresa's son Alexander was admitted to the Royal Hibernian Military School in Dublin, with his mother noted as 'Trease Burns' and sisters as Florence and Sarah. Alexander later went on to serve in the same regiment as his father. Three years later in 1881, Teresa's eldest daughter Florence married my great great grandfather Edwin Graham in Barrow-on-Furness in England.

In the 1901 census Teresa was noted as being in County Dublin for the 1901 census, by now a 65 year old widow at Woodroffe's Cottages at New Kilmainham, Dublin. She was described as Anglican by way of her religious persuasion, a seamstress who could read and write, and born in Dublin City. It is not yet known when and where her husband William died.

Teresa's son Alexander left the army between 1901 and 1911. In the 1911 census he appears in Dublin at 3 Synnott Row, with his mother, and it was here that I made my second stop. The house is a small cottage in a row not far from the north end of O' Connell Street (known back then as Sackville Street), and whilst there I was fortunate to bump into the current owner as she was returning from some chores. I explained my interest in the property, and was informed that this was still the original building but that last year it had undergone a major renovation, including repointing of the brick work outside, making it seem more modern than it is.

In the 1911 census, Teresa was still noted as being Anglican, but her son Alexander was listed as Roman Catholic, returning to the religion of his mother before her first marriage. His 39 year old wife Margaret was also in residence. Alexander was noted as a 'motorman', and just two years later he was one of the first tram workers to go on strike, in what led to Ireland's biggest ever industrial dispute, the Dublin Lockout.

In April 1916, just a few streets away from the property, the Easter Rising kicked off, with the proclamation of an Irish republic brutally repressed by the Crown forces, which led just under three years later to a breakaway Irish government being formed in January 1919. What I would give to hear Teresa's testimony of what she may have heard that week! She survived long enough to see the creation of the First Dáil (government), in the middle of the War of Independence, but sadly not the creation of the Irish Free State, she passing away on May 16^th 1919 at 3 Synnot Row, aged 83. The cause of death was senile decay and asthma.

Teresa was subsequently buried at the St. Bridget's section of Glasnevin Cemetery, but there is unfortunately no headstone to mark her grave (below). Her son Alexander continued to live at the cottage until his own death in 1947.

Teresa Mooney was a remarkable woman who travelled the world, doing what she had to do to survive with her children, and who ended her days back in Ireland, where she would have witnessed the birth pangs of the new independent state. Her daughter Florence, my great great grandmother, married into a Protestant family in Belfast, and gave birth sixteen times, with eight of her children dying in infancy.

Another era, another world, but the strength of the women in my family on that line is something I will be forever grateful for.

Chris

Wednesday, 31 May 2023

Northern Ireland's second crematorium set to open next week at Newtownabbey

Northern Ireland's second crematorium is due to open next week at Newtownabbey, Co. Antrim, just outside of Belfast. For further details visit https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-65760282.

The first crematorium to open was in 1961 in Belfast, at Crossnacreevy, adjacent to Roselawn Cemetery. Prior to this, those in Northern Ireland wishing for a cremation had to have the process carried out in Britain, and the ashes then brought back home over the water.

(It's possible to research cremation records for ancestors cremated in Belfast - for details, consult my new book, Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, available from Pen and Sword - details below!)

Chris

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