Scottish GENES: April 2020

Thursday, 30 April 2020

Slight delay on Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet publication

Today was meant to be the day that my next book, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, was to be published by Pen and Sword, but I am sorry to have to advise that there will be a short delay, due to issues linked with the current pandemic situation. I have been advised that the book will be delivered to the warehouse next week now, a week later than originally scheduled, with pre-orders etc to be sent out shortly after that. So it will be a few more days to go yet - sorry if you were expecting to get it through your door tomorrow, I was only made aware of there being a possible issue yesterday, and chased up the publisher this morning to find out what has been happening.

In the meantime, if you have not done so, and if it is your cup of tea, you can pre-order the book at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Scottish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/17717. Here's a rough idea of what to expect!

Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet

Scotland is a land with a proud and centuries long history that far pre-dates its membership of Great Britain and the United Kingdom. Today in the 21st century it is also a land that has done much to make its historical records accessible, to help those with Caledonian ancestry trace their roots back to earlier times and a world long past.

In Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Chris Paton expertly guides the family historian through the many Scottish records offerings available, but also cautions the reader that not every record is online, providing detailed advice on how to use web based finding aids to locate further material across the country and beyond. He also examines social networking and the many DNA platforms that are currently further revolutionising online Scottish research.

From the Scottish Government websites offering access to our most important national records, to the holdings of local archives, libraries, family history societies, and online vendors, Chris Paton takes the reader across Scotland, from the Highlands and Islands, through the Central Belt and the Lowlands, and across the diaspora, to explore the various flavours of Scottishness that have bound us together as a nation for so long.

Chapter 1 – Gateways and Institutions

Recording information

Gateway sites

The National Records of Scotland (NRS)

Local archives

The National Archives (TNA)

The National Library of Scotland (NLS)

Other Libraries

Historic Environment Scotland

Family and Local History Societies

Commercial Vendors and Services

Ancestry

FindmyPast

Scottish Indexes

Old Scottish Genealogy & Family History

TheGenealogist

Forces War Records

      Deceased Online
      FamilySearch
      MyHeritage

Professional Researchers

Online Family History Courses

Networking and Communication

Tree Building

Discussion Forums

Social Media

Magazines

Languages and Handwriting

Chapter 2 – Who were they? ScotlandsPeople

The Home Page

Search for People

Statutory Registers

Church Registers

Census Returns

Valuation Rolls

Legal Records

Poor Relief and Migration Records

Search for Places

Image Library

Other Main Menu Options

Help and Guidance

Certificates and Copies

Our Charges

News and Features

Chapter 3 – Who were they? Further Sources

Further Scottish vital records

Other UK vital records

Burials

Confirmation and probate records

Further census resources and population lists

Directories

Land registration

Maps and gazetteers

Newspapers and books

Biographical resources

DNA testing

Chapter 4 – Occupations

Farmers and Labourers

Crafts, Trades and Merchants

Businesses

The Church

Teachers and Students

Medical

Communications

Mining

Shipbuilding

Theatrical

Photographers

Architects

Pensions

Military Service

Pre-Union

Fencibles, Militias and Volunteers

Jacobites

The British Army

First World War

Domestic Tragedies

Civilians at War

The RAF

The Royal Navy

Post-1945 Military Records

Merchant Seamen

Law and Order

The Poor

Chapter 5 – County by County

Aberdeenshire

Angus

Argyllshire

Ayrshire

Banffshire

Berwickshire

Buteshire

Caithness

Clackmannanshire

Dumfriesshire

Dunbartonshire

East Lothian

Fife

Inverness-shire

Kincardineshire

Kinross-shire

Kirkcudbrightshire

Lanarkshire

Midlothian

Morayshire

Nairnshire

Orkney

Peebles-shire

Perthshire

Renfrewshire

Ross and Cromarty

Roxburghshire

Selkirkshire

Shetland

Stirlingshire

Sutherland

West Lothian

Wigtownshire
The Western Isles

Chapter 6 – Scotland's Diaspora

Ireland

England and the British Empire

Europe

USA

Canada

Jamaica and the Caribbean

South America

Australia

New Zealand

India

Further Reading

Index

I will advise when it is formally out, as soon as I am updated. Thanks for your patience!

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the OPRs course starts May 4th - see www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My next book, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is out shortly, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

British Newspaper Archive approaches 37 million pages

Fair play to the British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk), somehow still plodding away through this pandemic to get content online, and now approaching the 37 million pages mark, or 90% of the originally projected total of 40 million pages (no idea if this has been updated or changed in any way).

These are the additions for the last 30 days:

Truth
1878, 1882-1883

Munster News
1851-1871, 1873-1889, 1910-1915, 1919, 1922, 1925-1927, 1930

Dundee Courier
1987, 1996

Home News for India, China and the Colonies
1866-1870, 1889-1896

Sunday World (Dublin)
1997, 2005

Perthshire Constitutional & Journal
1870

Irvine Herald
1969-1970

Penrith Observer
1904

Bombay Gazette
1792, 1813-1814, 1816-1841, 1850-1856, 1858, 1860-1868

Sport (Dublin)
1880-1896

West Bridgford Advertiser
1915-1930

Meath Herald and Cavan Advertiser
1885, 1888

Beds and Herts Pictorial
1919-1927, 1929, 1931-1935, 1951-1958

Smethwick Telephone
1889

Derby Daily Telegraph
1986, 1988

Manchester Evening News
1904-1905, 1907

Liverpool Echo
1887

Huddersfield Daily Chronicle
1898

Blyth News
1875-1876, 1898-1904, 1931-1939

Somerset Standard
1886-1895, 1898-1899, 1932-1952, 1962-1970

Englishman's Overland Mail
1864-1905, 1907-1922, 1926-1928

Halifax Guardian
1847, 1850, 1852-1854, 1868-1869, 1884, 1889, 1900-1902, 1912, 1918, 1921

Midland Tribune
1881-1912

Halifax Express
1835-1837

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the OPRs course starts May 4th - see www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My next book, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is out shortly, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Free access to Ancestry for VE Day commemoration

According to the UK Government at Westminster, Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) is offering free access to its site next week, to tie in with commemorations for VE Day. From the government's announcement:

The Government and Ancestry are working together to encourage the public to join together in commemorating VE Day by discovering their own connection to the Second World War. As part of this, all UK historical records available on ancestry.co.uk will be free for the public from Monday 4 May until Sunday 10 May, giving people the opportunity to uncover the personal stories of the Second World War and the roles their families played. 

Russell James, Family History expert at Ancestry, said:

VE Day is one of the most significant moments in British history and Ancestry is proud to be working with the UK government to help the nation commemorate its 75th anniversary from their homes. Stories of WWII are something we share not only within our families, but as a nation, so using this time to learn about those experiences through historical records and speaking to our relatives gives us all an opportunity to feel connected – to our family and to people all over the country.

The full announcement from the UK Government is at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/her-majesty-the-queen-to-send-a-message-to-the-nation-to-mark-75th-anniversary-of-ve-day

Wednesday, 29 April 2020

Latest Irish additions to FamilySearch

The following additions to Irish records collections have been made this week on FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org):

Ireland, Ashe's Limerick and Clare Directory, 1891-1892 (11,559 records added)
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/3736264
The Directory of the City of Limerick & County Clare, 1891-1892, was published by H. & E. Ashe and is one of the few directories for Limerick City and County Clare that was published before the end of the 19th Century. The directory includes a brief history of the city, business listings, and an extensive street directory of the city's residents. All the major towns and villages in Limerick are covered, with details of the professionals, large farmers, traders, merchants, and gentlemen. This collection was provided in coordination with FindMyPast.

Ireland, T. George H. Green, Index to the Marriage License Bonds of the Diocese of Cloyne, 1630-1800; 1899-1900 (15,316 records added)
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/3736257
This collection is an index of marriage license bonds for Counties Cork and Ross created by Herbert Webb Gillman from 1896-1898. It was later added to by Thomas George Hennis Green until the Public Record Office in Dublin was destroyed in 1922. This publication is the only surviving index for these records. This collection was provided in coordination with FindMyPast.

Northern Ireland, Tithe Applotment Books, 1822-1837 (496 records added)
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/2729531
Tithe Applotment books for Northern Ireland are something of land survey taken by Church of Ireland in order to determine the value of land and possible corresponding tithe. The records span 1822-1837 and were originally filmed at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland in Belfast. These records are beneficial to researchers because they are somewhat like a pre-famine census.

Comment: Someone is a bit geographically confused, because although the majority of records in the Northern Irish tithes records set are from what is now Northern ireland, I'm getting returns from Cork, Mayo and Donegal in the mix! Confusingly, one of the search boxes is for birthplace - ignore that (it's meaningless), use the Any box to input place.

This is only an index, and there is no actual valuation information, but the Northern Irish returns are available through the catalogue on PRONI (see https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/2019/11/proni-uploads-digitised-ni-tithe-books.html) and those for the south at http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp.

For further releases on FamilySearch this week (including significant updates to Isle of Wight and Lincolnshire parish records in England) visit https://media.familysearch.org/new-free-historical-records-on-familysearch-week-of-27-april-2020/.

Tuesday, 28 April 2020

Free to attend Scottish Indexes Conference online May 1st 2020

The next virtual Scottish Indexes (www.scottishindexes.com) conference will be held this week on Friday May 1st, across two sessions, with the second session replicating the first, to cater for worldwide time zones and overseas attendees. A variety of topics and speakers will be featured at the following scheduled times for Scotland and the UK/Ireland:

First session

07.00 Welcome by Emm Maxwell
07.10 Buccleuch Estate Rentals - Andrew Armstrong
07.40 Sources in Scotland for Tracing Scottish Emigrants - Kirsty Wilkinson
08.35 Using Sheriff Court Records for Genealogy Research - Emma Maxwell
09.35 Tracing Living People - especially where adoption is involved - Jean Dickson
09.55 Tracing the Irish in Scotland - Chris Paton
11.00 Genealogy Q&A hosted by Graham and Emma Maxwell
12.00 Scottish Poor Law and its Records - Anne Henry
12.40 ...bread & cheese & kisses is not enough… - George MacKenzie
13.15 DNA Testing for Family History - Michelle Leonard
14.15 An Introduction to High Court Records - Emma Maxwell

Second session

15.00 Welcome by Emm Maxwell
15.10 Buccleuch Estate Rentals - Andrew Armstrong
15.40 Sources in Scotland for Tracing Scottish Emigrants - Kirsty Wilkinson
16.35 Using Sheriff Court Records for Genealogy Research - Emma Maxwell
17.35 Tracing Living People - especially where adoption is involved - Jean Dickson
17.55 Tracing the Irish in Scotland - Chris Paton
19.00 Genealogy Q&A hosted by Graham and Emma Maxwell
20.00 Scottish Poor Law and its Records - Anne Henry
20.40 ...bread & cheese & kisses is not enough… - George MacKenzie
21.15 DNA Testing for Family History - Michelle Leonard
22.15 An Introduction to High Court Records - Emma Maxwell

Additional programme shedules adjusting for overseas time zones are listed at www.scottishindexes.com

New Zealand Standard Time (NZST) - 1-2 May 2020
Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) - 1-2 May 2020
Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) - 1 May 2020
Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) - 30 April-1 May 2020

As noted, I will be giving a talk on how to trace the stories of Irish migrants who settled in Scotland, but also to offer some clues that might help you to determine where in Ireland your Scottish bound ancestor may have hailed from in the first place. This will be at 9.55am and again at 5.55pm, UK time. As with my colleagues, I'm happy to take questions after the talk has finished (we had some fun on the last conference on this front!)

It should be another great event, and will be hosted the day after the release of my next book, so there may be a plug or two in there...!

For further details on how to register for the event on Zoom or to watch on Facebook, visit www.scottishindexes.com - the event is FREE to attend.

Sunday, 26 April 2020

Ancestry adds Australian military records

Just added to Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk), available via a worldwide subscription:

Australia, WWII Second Australian Imperial Forces and Citizen Military Forces Service Records, 1939-1947
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/61987/
Source: Second Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1939-1947.Series Number B883. National Archives of Australia, Canberra, Australia.
Citizen Military Forces Personnel Dossiers, 1939-1947. Series Number B884. National Archives of Australia, Canberra, Australia.

About Australia, WWII Second Australian Imperial Forces and Citizen Military Forces Service Records, 1939-1947

This collection contains service documents for individuals serving for the AIF (Second Australian Imperial Forces) or CMF (Citizen Military Forces) during WWII.

From the Australian War Museum in London: “As part of the British Empire, Australia was among the first nations to declare war on Nazi Germany and between 1939 and 1945 nearly one million Australian men and women served in what was going to be World War II. They fought in campaigns against the Axis powers across Europe, the Mediterranean and North Africa. In 1941, The Japanese Imperial Navy attacked Pearl Harbour and advanced into South East Asia. As a result, the Allied powers including Australia were at war with Japan as well.

During this period, the Australian mainland came under direct enemy attack for the first time in history, with Japanese bombing attacks on Northern Australia and an attack on Sydney Harbour by Japanese midget submarines. At the time of German defeat and Japanese surrender, 39,000 Australians had lost their lives and another 30,000 had been taken prisoner.” “Australians in WWII.” Australians in World War II, www.awmlondon.gov.au/australians-in-wwii.

Information found on each record varies, but may contain:

Given and Surname
Service Number
Date of Birth
Place of Birth
Place of Enlistment
Name of Next of Kin

ANZAC Memorial, 1914-1918
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/61966/
Source: Anzac Memorial. Sydney, Australia: New South Wales Branch Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League of Australia, 1919.

This database contains The Anzac Memorial, a book compiled to commemorate those who served in the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) and died in World War I.

The contents of this book are varied. Much of the book is comprised of a Roll of Honour, listing nearly 20,000 Australians who died in the war. In addition to these soldiers’ names, their number, rank, unit, cause of death, and date of death are also listed.

The remainder of the book contains items such as:

Photographs of soldiers and battle fields
Poems
Notes
Letters and diary entries written by soldiers
Reports
Official documents
Speeches
An official summary of the terms of the peace treaty
Accounts, stories, and articles on war events

Saturday, 25 April 2020

Still availability on forthcoming Pharos courses in May

Nearly May already?!

If you're stuck and looking for a little something to do, the following Pharos Tutors courses still have availability in May:

Scotland 1750 - 1850 - Beyond the OPRs
Course Length: 5 Weeks
Start Date: 04 May 2020
Cost: £49.99
Tutor: Chris Paton
https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302

Deeds and Disputes
Course Length: 5 weeks
Start Date: 11 May 2020
Unassessed Cost: £65.00
Assessed Cost: £79
Tutor: Susan Moore
https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=502

Friday, 24 April 2020

TheGenealogist releases property records for Kingston upon Thames, Hook and Malden

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

Newly released property records for Kingston upon Thames, Hook and Malden

TheGenealogist has just released the Kingston upon Thames, Hook and Malden areas into its Lloyd George Domesday Survey Records on the Map Explorer™. Researchers can use these fully searchable property records to find where ancestors from Kingston had lived or ran a business in the 1910-1915 period. You can now search over half a million individuals in this collection.

Family history researchers searching for where their ancestors lived in the period before the First World War are able to find the actual plots for buildings and explore the district as it was in that period on large scale OS maps linked to the field books containing descriptions of the properties. The Lloyd George Domesday Survey records are part of TheGenealogist’s powerful Map Explorer™ that gives users a number of georeferenced historic map overlays and modern base maps to view. Sliding the opacity controls makes it possible to see how the topography has changed over the years as one map fades to another.

Researchers often find it frustrating when, having discovered an address where their ancestors had once lived, find that the road names have changed over time. World War II Blitz bombing resulted in many areas being destroyed and rebuilt. Many of these sites, however, were not restored exactly as they were before. When alterations during redevelopment made them unrecognizable from what had stood there before the changes can mean that searching for where an ancestor lived using modern maps can be a frustrating experience.

The Lloyd George Domesday Survey records are sourced from The National Archives and are being digitised by TheGenealogist.

TheGenealogist’s Lloyd George Domesday records link individual properties to extremely detailed maps used in 1910-1915

Full descriptions of each property with its valuation recorded in field books
Locate an address previously found in a census or street directory down to a specific house
Fully searchable by name, county, parish and street
The maps will zoom in to show the individual properties as they were in 1910-1915
Transparency sliders enable you to compare and contrast modern and historic street maps
Overlay with a range of old maps to see the wider area as it had once been
Allows you to display county or parish boundaries
Searching for an ancestor identifies their property with a green pin
Check neighbouring properties by clicking the red pins and selecting ‘View Transcript’

Read the article:
https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2020/property-records-finds-ancestors-homes-and-business-in-kingston-upon-thames-1251/

(With thanks to Nick Thorne)

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the OPRs course starts May 4th - see www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My next book, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is out shortly, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Further Wakefield cremation records available on Deceased Online

From Deceased Online (www.deceasedonline.com):

Additional Cremation Records from Wakefield now available on Deceased Online

Additional records for both crematoria in Wakefield, the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, have just been published on www.deceasedonline.com.

Pontefract Crematorium was opened in Pontefract in 1959, and Wakefield Crematorium in Crigglestone followed soon after in 1961. Both are situated amid roughly seven acres of beautiful gardens and memorial grounds. The sites feature formal rose beds, a wide variety of trees and shrubs, and large areas of lawn. Smart granite memorial plaques line the Gardens of Remembrance.
Pontefract Crematorium

Wakefield is a city situated in the Wakefield district of West Yorkshire. Wakefield Cathedral is a prominent landmark in the city, and its spire is the tallest in Yorkshire. The Crown Court, Town Hall, and County Hall are all listed buildings, built in the 19th century, and the area also boasts a 19th century railway viaduct consisting of 95 arches, constructed of 800,000,000 bricks. The wider area was used for coal mining, until the last coal mine closed in 2002.
Pontefract Crematorium

People have lived in the area since prehistoric times and an abundance of flint, stone, bronze, and iron tools have been found. The historic town of Wakefield was once part of a large estate owned by Edward the Confessor and then William the Conqueror, and it was still a royal manor by 1086. By 1308, Wakefield had a wool market and by 1470 Flemish cloth weavers had started to settle there, leading Wakefield to become noted for cloth finishing and fabric dyeing by the 16th century. By the early 20th century, Wakefield still kept a noted reputation as a centre for the woollen cloth industry and, today, Wakefield city still has a large textile industry, along with other industries such as food processing, engineering, and metal fabrication. The city is also known for growing winter rhubarb, which thrives in the climate of Yorkshire. Wakefield is the capital of the 'rhubarb triangle', a nine square mile triangle which encompasses Morley and Rothwell, and the city holds an annual Rhubarb Festival in February.

The additional records comprise digital scans of the cremation registers from the opening of each site up to 1982. Cremation records continue as computerised data from there onwards.

As customers will appreciate, cemetery and crematoria staff are currently facing overwhelming challenges and we would politely request customers to refrain from contacting them directly at this time.

Other Wakefield cemeteries live on Deceased Online:

Altofts Cemetery
Alverthorpe Cemetery
Castleford Cemetery
Crigglestone Cemetery
Featherstone Cemetery
Ferrybridge Cemetery
Hemsworth Cemetery
Horbury Cemetery
Knottingley Cemetery
Normanton Lower Cemetery
Normanton Upper Cemetery
Outwood Cemetery
Pontefract Cemetery
Ryhill Cemetery
Sharlston Cemetery
Snydale Cemetery
Stanley Cemetery
Wakefield Cemetery
Whitwood Cemetery

(With thanks to Deceased Online)

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the OPRs course starts May 4th - see www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My next book, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is out shortly, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Latest additions to FindmyPast

The latest additions to FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk):

Kent Baptisms
Over 490,000 new records covering 71 parishes have been added to our Kent baptismal collection.

Kent Marriages and Banns
Over 360,000 additional transcripts of marriage records to our Kent parish collection. 70 new parishes have been added to this record set.

Kent Burials
New burial records from 54 parishes across the county, over 378,000 of them.

Newspapers
Our newspaper collection continues to grow every week. This week, we have added 68,516 brand new pages, including one new title. The new paper covers British colonial governance in India:

Bombay Gazette from 1792, 1813-1814, 1816-1841, 1850-1856, 1858 and 1860-1868

As well as that, the following five papers have had more pages added from the listed years:

Sport (Dublin) from 1880-1896
West Bridgford Advertiser from 1915-1930
Meath Herald and Cavan Advertiser from 1885 and 1888
Beds and Herts Pictorial from 1919-1927, 1929, 1931-1935 and 1951-1958
Smethwick Telephone has been updated with editions from 1889

For further information and links, visit https://www.findmypast.co.uk/blog/new/kent-parish-records

Free access to SCRAN until end of July

From the Scottish Cultural Resources Access Ntetwork, aka SCRAN (www.scran.ac.uk):

To enable learning from home during the Coronavirus lockdown, access to Scran has been made FREE until the end of July.

Home schooling parents, carers and lifelong learners can email Historic Environment Scotland archives@hes.scot for access

Teachers, schools and learners working from home can continue with existing access routes below or register via https://www.scran.ac.uk/shop/teacher.php

Follow us @Scranlife on Twitter or Facebook for the latest news and advice #LearningWithHES

Scran hosts over 400,000 amazing, fully-captioned images, sounds and film from over 300 museums, galleries, and archives including the V&A, National Galleries of Scotland, Glasgow Museums and The Scotsman. Search the whole resource base for free using the search box at top right: subscribers can log-in and get full free access.

Thursday, 23 April 2020

MyHeritage provides free access to American yearbooks

From Daniel Horowitz at MyHeritage (www.myheritage.com):

I’m pleased to share that we’ve opened up access to our yearbook collection for FREE, through May 23, 2020! Our yearbook collection consists of 290 million names in 36 million pages, from yearbooks across the U.S. from 1890 until 1979. Take this opportunity to reminisce about your own high school years or search for your loved ones in the collection.

In addition, following the successful release of MyHeritage In Color™ (10 million photos were colorized in the first 3 months), one of the ideas raised by our team was to apply this technology also to records, in cases where black and white photos are abundant and colors could enhance the records. We focused our attention on the huge U.S. Yearbook collection on MyHeritage, and I’m happy to announce that you can now view our entire collection of U.S. yearbooks in color!

Search MyHeritage U.S. Yearbooks for Free Now

Ordinarily, accessing the yearbook records on MyHeritage requires a Data or Complete subscription. Now, through this wonderful freebie, anyone can access the yearbooks for free, without even having to sign up, through May 23, 2020. And the yearbooks are now colorized!

We’re doing this because we want to help our community in these challenging times and give people a fun activity to do when they are isolated at home that is genealogical, enjoyable, and free.

We’ve made it easy to share the yearbook pages on social media. Anyone who shares a yearbook page on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram with the hashtags #LookingGood and #FreeYearbooks and tags @MyHeritage will enter a draw. Each week we’ll select one lucky winner who will receive a free MyHeritage Complete subscription!

(With thanks to Daniel)

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the OPRs course starts May 4th - see www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My next book, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is out shortly, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Celtic Connections conference in Illinois cancelled

From the Irish Genealogical Society International (IGSI) and The Irish Ancestral Research Association (TIARA), sad but almost inevitable news that this summer's Celtic Connections conference (www.celtic-connections.org), at which I was due to attend as one of the international speakers, has unfortunately been cancelled due to the current coronavirus pandemic. Here's the announcement:

Celtic Connections Conference 2020 has been CANCELED.

Journey Home virtual conference in the works.

For the safety of our attendees, presenters and volunteers, we have decided to cancel the Celtic Connections Conference 2020 and its pre-conference activities, which were to have been held July 30-August 1, 2020, at the Westin Chicago North Shore in Wheeling, Illinois.

Full refunds will be issued automatically to those who have already registered. No action is necessary to request a refund.

Registration: If your Registration fee was paid by credit card, you will receive a full credit on your card. If you paid by check, a refund check will be mailed to you.

Lodging: If you made lodging reservations for the conference at the Westin Chicago North Shore, you should cancel them, either by calling the hotel at 847-777-6500 (or Marriott at 800-937-8461), or click here to cancel online.

Donate: If you would like to make a contribution to help us defray the costs we’ve incurred, make a donation using your credit/debit card or PayPal account.

The Irish Genealogical Society International (IGSI) and The Irish Ancestral Research Association (TIARA) – our all-volunteer, nonprofit organizations – invested a great deal of time, effort and resources planning this biennial in-person conference.

While the decision to cancel was difficult, we believe it’s the most prudent step given the current COVID-19 situation and likelihood of future risk.

But we’re not giving up! We are evaluating alternatives and hope to take our Journey Home on a new path.

As you continue to practice social distancing, check this website regularly for updates.

COMMENT: As noted, an alternative online event called Journey Home is currently being worked on, with further details on this coming soon.

Wednesday, 22 April 2020

Free access to records from the UK's National Archives now available

Coincidentally, following a tweet I sent to the National Archives at Kew this morning on the very same subject, requesting details and a timescale, TNA has now announced that it is indeed offering free access to its records, as initially promised on April 1st (https://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2020/04/uks-national-archives-to-offer-free.html).

The full announcement from TNA is available on its blog at https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/news/digital-downloads/, and with the key part as follows:

Registered users will be able to order and download up to 10 items at no cost, to a maximum of 50 items over 30 days. The limits are there to try and help manage the demand for content and ensure the availability of our digital services for everyone.

To access the service and download for free, users will be required to:

Register/sign in to their Discovery account before adding items to their basket (maximum ten items per basket)
Abide by the terms of our fair use policy
Complete the order process to receive a download link, which will remain active for 30 days. (The link will also be saved in ‘Your orders’ in your account for 30 days)

Our usual terms of use still apply – digital copies can be downloaded for non-commercial private use and educational purposes only, and bulk downloads and web crawlers are not permitted.

A list of records available is at https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/?research-category=online ("please note that it includes collections available on other sites that may charge for access, and are not included in this offer")

Go have some fun!

(With thanks to TNA)

RIP Dr Jonathan Bardon, author of A History of Ulster

Very sad news to report that Dr Jonathan Bardon, author of A History of Ulster, has passed away at the age of 78, partly because of Covid-19, but also due to a longstanding illness, including lung cancer.

As an Ulsterman myself, his book was one of the very first books on the history of my part of Ireland that I ever read as a young adult, at a time when as a young student I and many others felt as if we were being looked down upon as a consequence of The Troubles, with no-one able to define who exactly we were, even within my part of the world, as opposed to who we weren't (ussuns and themuns). We were taught very little about Irish history at school in Northern Ireland, and it remains one of my fave books to this day - it was an absolute eye opener.

The Irish Times has an obituary to Dr Bardon at http://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2020/04/22/news/tributes-paid-to-great-scholar-who-penned-monumental-history-of-ulster-dr-jonathan-bardon-1910980/.

The Belfast Newsletter also has an obituary at https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/uk-news/top-ulster-historian-jonathan-bardon-dies-covid-19-he-also-had-other-serious-illness-2545612.

(With thanks to @NIFHS)

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the OPRs course starts May 4th - see www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My next book, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is out shortly, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Tuesday, 21 April 2020

ScotlandsPeople scheduled maintenance time on Thursday

From ScotlandsPeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk):

Essential Maintenance - Thursday 23rd April 2020

Due to essential maintenance, the ScotlandsPeople website will be unavailable between 19:00 and 21:00 BST.

We apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause.

Chris

You can pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 (out April). Also available, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Latest FamilySearch records additions

FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org) has updated several records collections and added a few new ones - the full list is at https://media.familysearch.org/new-free-historical-records-on-familysearch-week-of-20-april-2020/.

A few collections in particular that may be of interest to those in Scotland in the UK/Ireland:

Great Britain, War Office Registers, 1772-1935
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/2366620
137,487 records added
This collection contains regimental descriptions, succession books, commissions, appointments, descriptions, returns of services, casualties, half pay, pensions, gratuities. The records are held at The National Archives in Kew under WO 25.

Massachusetts, Index to Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Boston, 1921-1949
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/2526178
262,878 records added.

South Africa, Transvaal, Probate Records from the Master of the Supreme Court, 1869-1958
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/2520237
1,128,563 records added

South Africa, Civil Marriage Records, 1840-1973
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/2821281
23,024 records added

Forces War Records expands content with new digitised images

From Forces War Records (www.forces-war-records.co.uk):

FORCES WAR RECORDS - PRESS RELEASE
Our UK Military Records are Expanding – Search NEW Collection with original digitised documents.

Forces War Records are working with The National Archives to add new collections with original digitised documents. In addition to over 24 million transcribed records, you will now be able to discover a wide variety of collections with additional digital images of original historical records covering both World War One and World War Two with many more to follow over 2020 and beyond.

Discover New Collections with Original Documents Released on Forces War Records:

Japanese Registers of POWs WWII
The records comprise of three registers which record the names of over 13,000 allied Prisoners of War and civilian internees of British and other nationalities held in camps in Singapore, during the Second World War.

King George VI 1937 Coronation Medal Roll
These records contain nominal rolls and category lists for the commemorative medal issued to celebrate the coronation of King George VI. Those receiving the medals include civilians as well as those in the armed forces.

Records of Officers Services 1775-1914
The records of officers' services give the different ranks held by the officer and his services, together with certain personal particulars which may include date and place of birth, when/where married and to whom, and any qualifications.

Royal Navy Medal Rolls 1793-1955
Rolls and lists of officers and men of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines who were awarded or claimed medals and clasps issued to commemorate actions and campaigns. The series contains awards of the British War Medal, Victory Medal and 1914-15 Star to men of the Mercantile Marine Reserve and to officers and men of the Royal Naval Reserve.

Royal Naval Reserve Officers Service Records 1862-1964
These records contain the service records for Royal Naval Reserves officers between 1862 and 1964. These records of service include engineers and paymasters.

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Officers Service Records WWI
Search through our Service Records of Officers’ who served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) during the First World War.

A unique feature of Forces War Records is that we link other possible records that are of the same person saving you valuable time in your genealogy quest.

Start your journey today and discover your ancestor’s military history.

(With thanks to Neil White)

Chris

You can pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 (out April). Also available, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Monday, 20 April 2020

PRONI launches Ordinary People, Extraordinary Times family engagement project

The following has been sent by PRONI (www.nidirect.gov.uk/proni) and may be of interest to friends and readers in Northern Ireland, as well as in the border counties of the Republic:

Ordnary People, Extraordinary Times - 3 week experiment
AN EXPERIMENT

Join the Making the Future team for a free online experiment that will help you discover more about your history and the people in your life.

This three week programme is designed to encourage conversations with the people important to you, and help you document how we, ordinary people, experienced this extraordinary time.

How will the experiment work?

You'll receive a package in the post with helpful items to get you started
An online community hosted in Slack will allow you to share activities and engage in conversations with others.
We will offer six fun activities including letter writing, family history, scrapbooking, cooking & music.
Activities are encouraged by all members of your family or group.

Details

Participants must be based in Northern Ireland or border counties.
3 Week Programme: 23 April - 14 May
Live Webinars: 23 April (4 - 5:30pm) & 14 May (4 - 5:30pm)

Numbers are limited. Sign up early to avoid disappointment:

Register: https://www.makingthefuture.eu/news/proni-launch-digital-engagement-programme-to-help-you-explore-family-history-and-heritage
Further information: Laura Aguiar: l.aguiar@nervecentre.org

Sunday, 19 April 2020

Scottish GENES - weekly digest

If you missed them during the week, here are the latest posts from Scottish GENES (https://scottishgenes.blogspot.com):

Friday, 17 April 2020

More on Scottish Indexes' virtual conference event on May 1st

From Scottish Indexes (www.scottishindexes.com):

Free Scottish Family History Virtual Conference - 1 May 2020

Learn how to trace your Scottish family history from home.After their successful first event in April 2020, www.scottishindexes.com will again bring togethersome of Scotland’s leading genealogists for a full day of family history.

The Scottish Indexes Conference will start at 7 am (BST) on Friday 1 May 2020 and finish after 10pm (BST). The virtual event will be live-streamed to the Scottish Indexes Facebook group (http://www.facebook.com/groups/scottishindexes) and will be available on Zoom.

The interactive programme will feature the presentations DNA Testing for Family History by Michelle Leonard, Tracing the Irish in Scotland by Chris Paton, Sources in Scotland for Tracing Scottish Emigrants by Kirsty Wilkinson, among others. George MacKenzie, former Keeper of the Records of Scotland,will deliver an intriguing presentation, ...bread & cheese & kisses is not enough.... There will be opportunities to ask the expert panellists questions throughout the day.

Speaking about the last conference, professional genealogist Cinda Baxter said, “A huge and hearty thanks again to Emma and Graham for providing the virtual conference. What a labor of love (and terrific gift) during these crazy times.”

Attendee Lyn Fogarty said, “Thanks to your guest speakers. Informative, funny and interesting.”

To register simply join the Scottish Indexes group on Facebook (www.facebook.com/groups/scottishindexes), or to register on Zoom follow the directions on www.scottishindexes.com.

(With thanks to Emma Maxwell)

COMMENT: This should be another fun day, and I look forward to dipping in with my fellow speakers throughout the day! The following video (also at https://youtu.be/_8knmdul-dM) provides a flavour of the previous conference:

And if you missed my previous presentation Discover Scottish Civil Registration Records from the last event, you can find the full thing available online at https://youtu.be/boU7BRlVGp8, and reproduced below!

Hopefully see you there!

Chris

You can pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 (out April). Also available, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

My next five week Scotland 1750-1850 genealogy course starts soon!

A quick reminder that my next Pharos Tutors course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers, starts soon on May 4th. Here's the description:

This is an intermediate level course in Scottish family history for those who are going back beyond 1850. You should have some experience with research in the Old Parochial Registers (OPRs) of the Church of Scotland and in using major websites for Scottish research. This course discusses sources that fill the gap when the OPRs are uninformative or missing; for example, records of parish and town administration, occupations, land transfer and taxation. Using these records involves several different locations. You will learn how to check online finding aids and how to find the most effective way to obtain records that may be available online or offline. This is the second course on Scottish research. If you have not taken Scottish Research Online please check its description.

Lesson Headings:

* Kirk Sessions records and parish poor
* Burgh records and town poor
* Occupations, taxation and early lists
* Land transfer and the value of sasines
* Land, inheritance and estates

Each lesson includes exercises and activities; a minimum of 1 one-hour chat session per week. (See How the Courses Work at https://www.pharostutors.com/howcourseswork.php.)

STUDENTS SAID: "well structured chats with opportunities for questions as well"

Relevant Countries: Scotland
Course Length: 5 Weeks
Start Date: 4 May 2020
Cost: £49.99

The following video also gives a bit more of a flavour about what to expect:

(Available also at https://youtu.be/1vX6GZtwZJ0)

For further details, and to sign up, please visit https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302.

Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the OPRs has been designed as a follow on course from the Scottish Research Online course, although it can certainly be signed up for if you already have the same level of knowledge as given from the earlier course.

And a bit more good news - because of the currently crazy times we are living in, if you missed the earlier run of Scottish Research Online this year, I have arranged with Pharos to run an extra Scottish Research Online course in a couple of months time, from June 8th, which may be of interest if by then you are climbing the walls in self-isolation, and looking for something to help pass the time! You can find more about this course, and sign up for it, at https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102.

I'll hopefully see you online soon!

Chris

You can pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 (out April). Also available, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

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