2020 - it's over and done with. Happy new year!

As I write this, we are just a few hours away from the end of the worst year of our lives, at least for a great many of us, with viruses and politicians having taken away a great many of our long cherished freedoms. But we have got this far, and all we can do is to keep on going the best that we can! 

Many of us will sadly know someone who has passed away, not just from the virus but from other circumstances, adding to the pain of the year. As family historians, we try to work out how people lived their lives as much as how they died, and to commemorate those who came before us. I hope that if you have lost someone that those memories of a life well lived will always surface first.

With a vaccine against coronavirus now being deployed, it is hoped that by the middle of next year we can get back to some form of normality. Coronavirus will never go away, it is now part of the biological establishment, but it will hopefully soon become 'just another bug', and just another jag every year. I'm looking forward to speaking to family history societies again in person, visiting archives and libraries, and so much more - those days are finally drawing near again as we head towards the light of a new year.

When I raise a glass tonight it will not only be to see in the New Year, but also to absent friends - and to good times returning again soon.  

Slàinte - agus Bliadhna Mhath Ùr!

Chris 

Pre-order my next book, Sharing Your Family History Online, at https://bit.ly/SharingFamHist. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is also out, as 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.

FamilySearch catalogue webinar

FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org) is hosting a free webinar on Monday, January 4th 2021 at 10am Mountain Standard Time (5pm UK time) entitled Using the FamilySearch Catalog.

To register for the event visit https://churchofjesuschrist.zoom.us/webinar/register/5016028542867/WN_lE65Zgw1QYCaiSraNKdCaA.

Chris

Pre-order my next book, Sharing Your Family History Online, at https://bit.ly/SharingFamHist. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is also out, as 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 British Newspaper Archive

There has not been a lot of Scottish or Irish content added to the British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) in the last 30 days, although I see there has been a small addition of content for the Ayrshire town of Irvine where I now live. There has been quite a bit of Welsh and English content added, however, and some overseas materials, including from India, which may be of interest:

Bromsgrove & Droitwich Messenger
1860-1913

Madras Weekly Mail
1876, 1882, 1885, 1888, 1891-1892, 1894-1895, 1898, 1901-1906, 1908

Lancaster Standard and County Advertiser
1894-1896, 1899, 1904-1906

Brighouse & Rastrick Gazette
1881-1882, 1889, 1898-1899

Kenilworth Advertiser
1881-1885, 1890-1895, 1897-1900

Northern Weekly Gazette
1881-1895

Irvine Express
1882-1886

Colne Valley Guardian
1896-1897

Indian Daily News
1881-1885, 1894-1897, 1899

St. Helens Examiner
1883-1885, 1887-1888, 1890, 1892, 1894-1896, 1899-1908, 1910, 1912-1920

Swansea and Glamorgan Herald
1889

Herald of Wales
1883-1886

North Wales Weekly News
1896-1898, 1902, 1911, 1923, 1940, 1943-1952, 1954

Runcorn Examiner
1881, 1883-1888, 1893-1895, 1898, 1900-1909, 1911-1920

Liverpool Daily Post
1904

Oxford Chronicle and Reading Gazette
1871, 1874-1892, 1894-1895, 1900-1902, 1904-1906, 1908-1909, 1912, 1914, 1916, 1919, 1921-1929

American Register
1873-1883, 1888, 1890-1893, 1897-1899, 1901, 1904-1907, 1909-1911, 1913-1914

East Kent Times and Mail
1866-1871, 1873, 1875-1891, 1893-1900, 1902, 1904-1932, 1935, 1937-1940, 1942-1943, 1946-1948, 1951-1952, 1956-1961, 1964-1977, 1979-1980

Western Evening Herald
1899

Newcastle Daily Chronicle
1910

North British Daily Mail
1853-1854, 1865, 1885

Liverpool Weekly Courier
1881, 1883-1890, 1892-1893, 1895, 1897

Penistone, Stocksbridge and Hoyland Express
1908-1911, 1913-1917

Birkenhead News
1881-1890, 1892-1896, 1900-1907, 1909-1910, 1913, 1915-1920

Nantwich Chronicle
1980

Daily Review (Edinburgh)
1862, 1869

Marylebone Mercury
1980-1981

Leicester Chronicle
1916, 1919, 1921

Burton Observer and Chronicle
1898-1899, 1950

Chester Courant
1766, 1771-1775, 1777-1785

Stratford Times and South Essex Gazette
1862

Retford and Worksop Herald and North Notts Advertiser
1890

Stratford Express
1872

Reynolds's Newspaper
1912-1929, 1934-1938

Gloucester Mercury
1861

Leicester Evening Mail
1938-1943, 1946-1960, 1962-1963

Bridgend Chronicle, Cowbridge, Llantrisant, and Maesteg Advertiser
1888-1889

Bridlington and Quay Gazette
1881-1892, 1894-1895, 1897-1899, 1913-1914

Widnes Examiner
1881-1884, 1887, 1891, 1899, 1903, 1905, 1907, 1912-1916

Blackpool Gazette & Herald
1881-1886, 1888-1893

Atherstone, Nuneaton, and Warwickshire Times
1882

Warrington Examiner
1881, 1899-1902, 1904, 1909

Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore)
1889-1890

Kinematograph Weekly
1945, 1950, 1952

Cotton Factory Times
1885-1888, 1891-1895, 1897-1899, 1902-1911, 1913-1920

Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette
1881-1886

Fulham Chronicle
1888-1904, 1907-1912, 1923-1933

Chris

Pre-order my next book, Sharing Your Family History Online, at https://bit.ly/SharingFamHist. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is also out, as 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.

Deceased Online Buy One Get One Free offer

From Deceased Online (www.deceasedonline.com):

We're delighted to wish our customers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year with Buy One Get One Free on pay-per-view voucher purchases at www.deceasedonline.com. The offer runs from now until midday on Monday 4th January 2021.

Chris

Pre-order my next book, Sharing Your Family History Online, at https://bit.ly/SharingFamHist. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is also out, as 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.

Here we go again

So just as we dared to hope that things were finally on the up in Scotland after the most disastrous 2020 imaginable, we are about to be hit with another whammy - a new three week (at least) lockdown in Tier 4 on the mainland from Boxing Day (Dec 26th) to try to prevent the new coronavirus strain from taking hold as it has done in London and the south-east of England, and the utterly insane prospect of a no-deal trade scenario with the EU from January 1st. There is still time for something to be scraped together by Hogmanay on the latter, but the new strain of coronavirus is already leading to the UK being cut off for the time being by countries overseas, with Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands already banning travel from the UK, and with other countries currently considering their position. My youngest son's return to school in Ayrshire in January has already been pushed back, with virtual learning to be imposed at the start of the next term for a period, and we are still unsure of the implications for my eldest son and his return to university. I only picked him up from Dundee yesterday - how astonishing it is that the world can change so much in one day.

The biggest impact on the new rules in the short term is going to be the rules for Christmas, where folk are being urged not to visit friends and family now, but if they absolutely have to, to do so on Christmas Day only. A quick reminder that Zoom is offering unlimited talk time over Christmas Day for anyone with a free account, temporarily replacing the 40 minute only limit, and will do so again over New Year - for details see http://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2020/12/zoom-to-lift-40-minute-call-limit-over.html.

If you are experiencing difficulties this Christmas, another reminder that many groups and agencies are out there to offer free advice and support, which you will find on the Crisis Lines page of this blog at http://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/p/crisis-lines.html. For those working as genealogists professionally, don't forget that the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme is still running - details are available at www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-grant-through-the-coronavirus-covid-19-self-employment-income-support-scheme.

Despite the current gloom, there is much to be optimistic about. We have a vaccine, with more on the way, and so long as our governments can implement vaccination quickly, we will hopefully get through this soon in 2021. 

On the genealogy front, despite the restrictions currently in place because of Covid, there have also been some handy mitigations, such as the National Archives in England offering free access to many of its digital records - this is still ongoing, with details at https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/news/digital-downloads/. And whilst Ancestry seems to have forgotten about Scotland in terms of new resources, FindmyPast has had an astonishing year in catering for us with new materials, so if you have not had a chance to play yet, you can avail yourself of a free two week trial at the site via www.findmypast.co.uk/free-trial to see what new toys are in town there. (Ancestry does also have a free trial option at www.ancestry.co.uk).

The next free to access Scottish Indexes conference takes place January 30th, and you can register for this at www.scottishindexes.com.  

I'll obviously update on any important developments as and when I hear them, but I am otherwise going to take a short break this week from blogging, and come back again after Boxing Day. In the meantime, have a great Christmas as best you can in the circumstances, and we will hopefully catch up again soon! 

Chris

Pre-order my next book, Sharing Your Family History Online, at https://bit.ly/SharingFamHist. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is also out, as 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.

FindmyPast adds Belfast and Ulster street directories

As mentioned on this blog a couple of weeks back (http://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2020/12/pronis-decembers-stakeholder-forum.html), FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) has digitised street directories held by the North of Ireland Family History Society (www.nifhs.org), which have now gone online:

Ireland, Belfast & Ulster Directories
https://search.findmypast.co.uk/search-world-Records/ireland-belfast-and-ulster-directories

Only available online at Findmypast, explore a pivotal era in Northern Ireland’s history with these brand new directories. Year-by-year, they can help you discover names, addresses and occupations from Belfast and beyond.

Covering 1890-1947, these directories chart the transformation of Northern Ireland and the province of Ulster as the Irish Free State was formed. They were published by the Belfast Newsletter to showcase the city's industrial excellence. 

For further releases on FMP this week visit https://www.findmypast.co.uk/blog/new/eastbourne-nottinghamshire-belfast

COMMENT: Two other sources offer an extensive range of additonal directories - PRONI at www.nidirect.gov.uk/information-and-services/search-archives-online/street-directories and the Lennon Wylie site at www.lennonwylie.co.uk. Between them all that should be enough to kep you going a while longer!  

Chris

Pre-order my next book, Sharing Your Family History Online, at https://bit.ly/SharingFamHist. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is also out, as 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.

Zoom to lift 40 minute call limit over holiday period

Zoom (https://zoom.us) has announced that it is lifting its 40 minute call limit on free accounts this holiday period. The following is when the free periods start and finish:

• 10 am ET/3pm GMT Thursday, Dec. 17, to 6 am ET/11am GMT Saturday, Dec. 19
• 10 am ET/3pm GMT Wednesday, Dec. 23, to 6 am ET/11am GMT Saturday, Dec. 26
• 10 am ET/3pm GMT on Wednesday, Dec. 30, to 6 am ET/11am GMT on Saturday, Jan. 2
  

I've previously written about Zoom at http://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2020/11/how-zoom-can-help-family-history.html - if you have never used it, this holiday season may be the time to give it a go!

For Zoom's original annuncement visit https://blog.zoom.us/zoom-together/

Chris

Pre-order my next book, Sharing Your Family History Online, at https://bit.ly/SharingFamHist. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is also out, as 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.

New 6 week lockdown announced for Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is not having a good time of it. A new lockdown has just been announced to last for 6 weeks from Boxing Day/St. Stephen's Day (December 26th). 

This will undoubtedly have a major impact on many services in the north for genealogists, and I will update when I hear more on this. In the meantime, here is the lockdown announcement from the BB - see https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-55349545.

Chris

Pre-order my next book, Sharing Your Family History Online, at https://bit.ly/SharingFamHist. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is also out, as 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.

June Perrin retires as CEO of the Society of Genealogists

From the Society of Genelaogists (www.sog.org.uk) in London:

Our Chief Executive Officer, June Perrin, has retired as of 16 December. Having been with the Society of Genealogists for twenty years, June first joined the Society to work with former Director Robert Gordon. They directed and refreshed the Society’s finance and HR operations. After Robert Gordon stood down as Director, June continued to guide the Society and became CEO in her own right.

The Society’s finances in the early years of the 21st century have remained precarious, as the hoped-for rewards of digitisation and growth weren’t as anticipated. June worked with several Chairmen and Trustees to guide the Society. It has always fallen upon June to implement and managing the difficult but necessary systems and personnel changes needed to keep the Society’s nose above water.

During her time as CEO significant partnerships and contracts were achieved within the Genealogical Community. These include digital publishing companies for SoG Data on our platform and in partnerships with Findmypast, FamilySearch and others. The Society’s web presence and digital offerings have grown apace and have been improved for members. The Society has become host to the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain, the Irish Genealogical Research Society and is now an Affiliate Search Library for FamilySearch.

Having joined the SoG in the middle of our major refurbishment of the buildings, June oversaw the recent refresh of the building, the transfer of SoG storage facilities from London to Essex and latterly successfully negotiated the sale of the current building thus enabling the Society to lay the foundations for our transformation.

Highlights during her tenure include our centenary celebration in 2011 and the Society’s huge active presence at the major genealogical shows. These included our own event at the RHS Hall, eventually partnering with Who Do You Think You Are? and RootsTech both in the USA and in the UK.

As CEO and Company Secretary to the SoG and its trading arm SoG Enterprises and Secretary to the Fellows, June’s calm direction of the Society and her contribution to the Society and its members is much appreciated. June leaves many friends amongst the board, membership and staff.

Now she has decided to retire we all wish her the best in the future and hope she enjoys her life with her children and grandchildren.

June has been a great CEO for the Society and a terrific colleague. She has guided the Society through significant transformation and changes, and I am very grateful for her excellent stewardship.

Laura Doyle (right) has agreed to step down from the Board of Trustees and act as Interim CEO, effective immediately, until we find a permanent successor to June. Laura has been a member of the Trustee Board for five years including a term as Treasurer. A Chartered Accountant by training, she has spent 20 years in the City working as Investor Relations for FTSE listed companies. She has been involved in genealogy for some 25 years, custodian of the One-Name Study for the surname Blissenden, is a Trustee/Treasurer for the Halsted Trust and is currently working towards an MSc in Genealogical, Palaeographic and Heraldic Studies at the University of Strathclyde.

I’m sure you will join me in thanking June for her service and to welcome Laura to the helm.

Wishing you all a Happy Christmas and looking forward to 2021.

Edward Percival, Chairman , Society of Genealogists

(With thanks to Else Churchill)

Chris

Pre-order my next book, Sharing Your Family History Online, at https://bit.ly/SharingFamHist. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is also out, as 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 South Tipperary records added to RootsIreland

From RootsIreland (www.rootsireland.ie):

We are pleased to announce that South Tipperary Genealogy, located in the Bru Boru Centre, has added over 20,000 Roman Catholic baptisms for the parish of Killenaule to its database at www.rootsireland.ie/tipperarysouth. These baptismal records span two periods: 1742-1802 and 1814-1900, with a twelve-year gap between both sets of records.  

Chris

Pre-order my next book, Sharing Your Family History Online, at https://bit.ly/SharingFamHist. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is also out, as 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.

GRO Ireland raises cost of research copies

The General Register Office in Ireland (www.gov.ie/en/organisation-information/55ccbe-general-register-office-gro-research-facility/) has raised the cost of some services, including research copies for birth, marriage and death records from €4 to €5 each. These research copies, available via email, are particularly useful for more recent records for the Republic of Ireland not available on the free to access Irish Genealogy platform at www.irishgenealogy.ie.

For further details on the changes, visit Claire Santry's blog at https://www.irishgenealogynews.com/2020/12/general-register-office-of-ireland.html.

Chris

Pre-order my next book, Sharing Your Family History Online, at https://bit.ly/SharingFamHist. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is also out, as 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.

FamilySearch adds Ontario immigration records

FamilySearch has added a new indexed records collection which may be of interest if your Scottish relatives emigrated to Canada.

Ontario, Immigration Records, 1862-1897
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/3741251

Immigration records from Ontario between 1862-1897. The originals are held at the Ontario Department of Immigration.

In addition some 12,307 indexed records have been added to its Nova Scotia Church Records, 1720-2001 collection, and 20,024 indexed records to its Canada, New Brunswick, County Register of Births, 1801-1920 collection.

For further details on these and other releases from FamilySearch this week, please visit https://media.familysearch.org/new-free-historical-records-on-familysearch-week-of-14-december-2020/.

Chris

Pre-order my next book, Sharing Your Family History Online, at https://bit.ly/SharingFamHist. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is also out, as 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.

Crisis Lines for help in tough times this winter

Just a quick reminder of the Crisis Lines page on my blog, if you're currently struggling on any front this Christmas and winter season with coronavirus issues, debt, depression, mental health, alcohol, age issues, sexual and domestic assault, etc. 

Various groups can help, and elected representatives can also point you in the right direction on many fronts. For further help, see https://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/p/crisis-lines.html

Chris

Pre-order my next book, Sharing Your Family History Online, at https://bit.ly/SharingFamHist. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is also out, as 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.

Update on supply of my genealogy books from Pen and Sword

I have been advised by Pen and Sword that they have run out of stock of my book Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd edition), but that a reprint has been ordered, officially for end of play January 2021, but possibly much sooner. However, if you are looking to urgently get a copy of the book as a Christmas present for someone, please visit Amazon at https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tracing-Irish-Family-History-Internet/dp/1526757818/ where stock is currently available. And thanks to those of you have purchased a copy, I hope it helps!

My other books, Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records, and Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, can still be obtained from Pen and Sword at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Chris-Paton/a/1799.

Apologies for any inconvenience!

Chris

Pre-order my next book, Sharing Your Family History Online, at https://bit.ly/SharingFamHist. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is also out, as 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.

North Lanarkshire Heritage Centre to re-open Monday 14th December

North Lanarkshire Heritage Centre at Motherwell, which includes North Lanarkshire Archives & Local Studies reading room, is to re-open next week from Monday 14th:

We are pleased to announce that North Lanarkshire Heritage Centre in Motherwell will reopen to the public again on Mon, 14/12/20 at 10am. Our archives & local studies resources and the “Prints of Darkness” & "Climb Thru Time" exhibitions are all waiting to be explored again.  

Keeping everybody safe is our priority. You can find details of what to expect when you visit on our website https://culturenl.co.uk/covid-19/covid-19-nlhc/covid-19-nlhc-faqs/

To book a place in our Archives & Local Studies reading room please email HeritageCentre@culturenl.co.uk or use our form at https://culturenl.co.uk/covid-19-nlhc-booking/
There are slots available between 10am and 12noon and 2pm and 4pm.

Great news, and well done to all involved!

(With thanks to @NL_Heritage via Twitter)

Chris   

Pre-order my next book, Sharing Your Family History Online, at https://bit.ly/SharingFamHist. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is also out, as 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.

PRONI to re-open this Friday for digital access appointments

The second of the UK's national archives to have closed on two occasions during the coronavirus pandemic, the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (www.nidirect.gov.uk/proni), is to re-open once again tomorrow, Friday 11th December 2020. This follows the re-opening again of the National Archives (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk) in England this week on Tuesday 8th.

As noted from the stakeholder meeting last Friday (see http://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2020/12/pronis-decembers-stakeholder-forum.html), PRONI will re-open for digital access appointments only before Christmas:

Visitor research appointments previously cancelled due to Covid restrictions implemented in October will be rescheduled for dates in December 2020 and January 2021.  A number of digital access only appointments at PRONI will also be available from 11 December until the New Year. Registered visitors will be able to request a new research appointment at PRONI (to view original records/microfilms) when dates are released in early January 2021.

The PRONI enquiry service will continue to provide advice and quidance and offer a fee-paying search and copying service for open records.

For further details visit https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/getting-proni-and-opening-hours.

The National Records of Scotland has remained closed since March 16th 2020. Guidance on its future plans and current service provision is available at www.nrscotland.gov.uk/about-us/service-status.

Chris

Pre-order my next book, Sharing Your Family History Online, at https://bit.ly/SharingFamHist. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is also out, as 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.

APG announces new Board of Directors and Nomination Committee members

The APG (www.apgen.org) has announced its new Board of Directors and Nomination Committee members - and yours truly makes an appearance! Here's the announcement:

 

Association of Professional Genealogists Announces New Board and Nominations Committee Members

WHEAT RIDGE, Colo., 9 December 2020—The Association of Professional Genealogists (APG®) has announced the results of its election for board members and nominations committee members. The APG membership elected six at-large board members for two-year terms, and one at-large board member for one year. Two nominations committee members were elected for one-year terms. Those elected:

At-Large Board of Directors (two-year term):

Alec Ferretti (US, New York)
Alec Ferretti holds masters degrees in archival sciences and library sciences. He serves on the Board of Directors of Reclaim the Records, works with the Wells Fargo Family & Business History Center, and is the President of the NY Genealogy and Technology Group.  He was the APG 2018 Young Professional Scholarship recipient, and has spoken at the 2019 APG Professional Management Conference, the 2020 SLIG Colloquium, and a number of others.

Margaret Rose Fortier, CG® (US, Massachusetts)
Margaret Rose Fortier is a Certified Genealogist® focusing on New England immigrants. She serves as membership director for the Massachusetts Society of Genealogists, facilitator for the Certification Discussion Group, mentor for the upcoming GenProof Study Group, and a member of the BCG WebinarCommittee. Margaret volunteerswith the Archdiocese of Boston Catholic Records project at NEHGS and with the Royall House and Slave Quarters in Medford, MA. She holds a business degree from Boston College and an MS in Human Factors in Information Design from Bentley University.

LaDonna Garner, M.A. (US, Missouri)
LaDonna Garner, M.A., is a historical and genealogical consultant in Southeast Missouri. She earned a M.A. in Historic Preservation with a focus on forgotten communities and cemeteries. She enjoys speaking and teaching hands-on genealogy and she has held various positions promoting local and state genealogical societies. These positions include director, vice-president, editor, fundraiser, conference organizer, syllabus chair, mentor, and active volunteer, as well as a curator and researcher for historic properties.

Dana Leeds (US, Texas)
A genealogist since 1998, Dana started seriously pursuing genealogy education in 2014. She has attended many institutes and is a certificate holder of Boston University’s Genealogical Research
Program. Dana is a current memberof ProGen 46andis pursuing certification through BCG.In 2018, Dana gave her first presentation to a local genealogy group. Soon after, she developed the Leeds Method of sorting DNA matches. This innovation quickly led to invitations to speak nationally. She has presented at APG’s PMC, RootsTech, i4GG’s International Genetic Genealogy Conference, and GRIP. Dana does DNA consulting and she conducts genealogy research, with a focus on DNA.

Cynthia Maharrey(US, Florida)
Cynthia Maharrey was born and raised in a small town in West Virginia.She specializes in late 18th through early 20th century research with emphases on the state of Kentucky and African American research.Cynthia has worked with individuals in a variety of capacities including creating Kentucky-specific historical content, serving as a coach in Trace’s Coaches’Corner at RootsTech and appearing on the Travel Channel’s The Dead Files. Cynthia is a member of the National Genealogical Society, the African American Genealogy Group of Kentucky, the Florida State Genealogical Society, and two county historical societies.

Chris Paton (Scotland)
Originally from Northern Ireland, but resident in Scotland since 1997, Chris has worked as a professional genealogist since 2006. A holder of a Postgraduate Diploma in Genealogical Studies from the University of Strathclyde, Chris researches through his Scotland's Greatest Story service (www.scotlandsgreateststory.co.uk), offering services and experience in both Scottish and Irish family history. Chris is the author of several bestselling genealogy books and he writes the daily Scottish GENES blog (http://scottishgenes.blogspot.com).

Rose Lerer Cohen (Israel)  
Rose Lerer Cohen, Ph.D, is a current member of the APG board and active member of the Continuing Education Monitoring Committee and the International Committee. Rose is a professional genealogist and family researcher, writing, lecturing, and conducting workshops in Israel, North America, and South Africa. She has written and lectured on topics relating to genealogy research both in Israel and abroad and isinvolved in genealogy organizations, both locally and internationally. 

* Rose Lerer Cohen will fill the one-year vacancy on the board, term ending 31 December 2021.

Nominations Committee (one-year term)

Michelle Roos Goodrum (US, Arizona)
Michelle Roos Goodrum is a certificate holder (OL 16) and an instructor for Boston University’s Genealogical Research Program. Michelle completed the ProGen Study Group (ProGen 14)and regularly attends genealogical institutes and conferences.Michelle’s interest in genealogy began in junior high school. In 1994 she attended a local family history society meeting and became hooked. Areas of interest include land records, genetic genealogy, and research in the western United States.

Kimberly Powell (US, Pennsylvania)
Kimberly is a professional genealogist, author, and educator specializing in genealogical writing, pre-1850 family history, land records, DNA, and solving complex problems. She served seven years APG’s board,including two years as past president and several years as chair of APG’s Professional Development Committee. She served as the Genealogy Expert for About.com for sixteen years and teaches at genealogy institutes as well as in the online genealogy coursesoffered through Boston University. Her research focus is families with roots in the southeastern US and southwestern PA.

Statement from President David McDonald:

“We thank our retiring board members and welcome those elected. The next two years will provide us the opportunity to strengthen the field of professional genealogy as we puruse developing connections between the public and our vast network of genealogists.  We will continue advocating for improved record access while partnering with organizations and entities that value the voices of genealogists. We will work together in making decisions that will lift the standards of genealogy and increase the relevanceof our work.”   

About the Association of Professional Genealogists
The Association of Professional Genealogists (www.apgen.org), established in 1979,represents more than 2,700 genealogists in various genealogy-related businesses. APG encourages genealogical excellence, ethical practice, mentoring, and education. The organization also supports the preservation and accessibility of records useful to thefields of genealogy and history. Its 2 members represent all fifty U.S. states, Canada, and forty other countries. APG is active on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

COMMENT: I'm very much looking forward to getting involved over the next two years, and would like to thank those who took the trouble to give me their vote at the recent Board elections. The APG is predominatly a US organsiation with 82% of its members there, but it also has 18% of its members across 40 countries, with a significant contribution from the UK and Ireland. I hope to add my voice for our local members but to also help the association at large in its endeavours to help all genealogists further professionalise their skills. 

And if the Annual Meeting this evening was anything to go by, it should also be fun!

Chris

Pre-order my next book, Sharing Your Family History Online, at https://bit.ly/SharingFamHist. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is also out, as 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.

Next Scottish Indexes conference on January 30th 2021

The next Scottish Indexes (www.scottishindexes.com) online conference - the eighth - takes place on January 30th 2021, with pre-registration now available at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/2816072972886/WN_Jaj1UwWkTkGRuJJo0y5V0g 

Yours truly will be giving another talk for this event, which coincidentally takes place on the same date as the publication of my next book. It is entirely possible my topic may be linked...

Hopefully see you there!

Chris

Pre-order my next book, Sharing Your Family History Online, at https://bit.ly/SharingFamHist. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is also out, as 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.

National Records of Scotland catalogue issue

The National Records of Scotland website at http://catalogue.nrscotland.gov.uk/nrsonlinecatalogue/welcome.aspx notes that its catalogue is currently unavailable, due to maintenance work at the archive:

I have found that the direct link to the catalogue is working temperamentally at http://catalogue.nrscotland.gov.uk/nrsonlinecatalogue/welcome.aspx, but this may come or go. 

The associated Scottish Archive Network catalogue (SCAN) seems to be working fine at http://catalogue.nrscotland.gov.uk/scancatalogue/welcome.aspx, and the National Register of Archives for Scotland at http://catalogue.nrscotland.gov.uk/nrasregister/welcome.aspx, but again, if problems emerge, it will likely be associated with the same maintenance work.

(With thanks to the NRS)

Update 8 DEC: Catalogues seem to be accessible again.

Chris

Pre-order my next book, Sharing Your Family History Online, at https://bit.ly/SharingFamHist. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is also out, as 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.

Kirk session records to be added to ScotlandsPeople in 2021

The seventh Scottish Indexes (www.scottishindexes.com) conference has proved to be just as much fun and as of much interest as the previous six events - but the BIG piece of news revealed by Emma and Graham Maxwell during the event is that ScotlandsPeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk) intends to release the first tranche of Scottish kirk session records online in 'early 2021'. 

The kirk session records are the records that detail the disciplinary proceedings of the session as the court of first instance within the Church of Scotland, and which also note the session's everyday dealings with parishioners. Brace yourselves for antenuptial fornication, paternity claims, promiscuous dancing and considerably more! 

Here's the juicy bit - access to the reading of the records is to be made available for free on ScotlandsPeople for Church of Scotland parishes prior to 1855, and within a new feature on the website called Virtual Volumes. (Regular visitors to the National Records of Scotland, ScotlandsPeople's parent body, will know Virtual Volumes as the name of the computer system offering access to digitised records within the Historic Search Room). If you wish to save an image from the kirk session records on ScotlandsPeople, that's the point when you will be asked to pay. 

The records will almost certainly not be keyword searchable, but 'waypointed' by year, meaning we will likely have to browse our way through them a page at a time. That in itself has its own challenges, particularly with earlier records where the handwriting can be a challenge, so there may be a learning curve for some aspects of this (the Scottish Handwriting site at https://scottishhandwriting.com might be worth investing some time in just now!). Nevertheless, the promise of these records coming online has been around for many years, and the fact that we are almost there is superb news. Note that the Church of Scotland is the main presbyterian church in Scotland, but there were many other presbyterian denominations in the country, and the kirk session records for all continue long after 1855, but this is certainly a very useful start.

For more on the history of the Kirk and its various splits, you can read my brief history at http://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/p/kirk-history.html, whilst the usefulness of kirk session records themselves is covered in my book Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records (www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Scottish-Ancestry-through-Church-and-State-Records-Paperback/p/16848).

During the conference, Emma also gave an excellent talk on kirk session records at the event, and you will find this for a short period on the Scottish Indexes Group Facebook page at www.facebook.com/groups/scottishindexes.

(With thanks to Emma and Graham)

Chris

Pre-order my next book, Sharing Your Family History Online, at https://bit.ly/SharingFamHist. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is also out, as 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.

Mapping the Scottish Reformation database launches December 11th

The Mapping the Scottish Reformation project (http://mappingthescottishreformation.org) has announced that its database of Scottish clergy from 1560-1689 will be launching at 2pm in Scotland on Friday December 11th:

@MappingScotsRef
The wait is almost over. Mapping the Scottish Reformation launches on Friday, 11 December 2020. #reformazing #earlymodern #ScotHist data at your fingertips!

It was a fairly manic period of the Kirk's history, so this will be of massive interest to many.

While you are waiting, for a brief overview of the Kirk's history at this point, you can read my article at http://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/p/kirk-history.html...!

 

Chris

Pre-order my next book, Sharing Your Family History Online, at https://bit.ly/SharingFamHist. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is also out, as 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.

PRONI's December's stakeholder forum meeting

Yesterday (Friday) I attended the latest stakeholder forum meeting for PRONI (www.nidirect.gov.uk/proni), again held via Zoom  due to the current coronavirus restrictions. The following is a brief update on developments.

The plans to reopen PRONI to the public again are currently fluid, with the situation changing almost daily in Northern Ireland. It is hoped that the archive will be able to re-open in some format very soon, but if so, it will almost certainly be with access for digital resources only, at least this side of Christmas. One change that was due to happen prior to the current closure was an update to the booking request form. Previously you had to book a slot, and then request documents on a separate form – this will change so that everything is done on one form only. When productions become accessible again, you can order up to ten items, and three items in reserve (i.e. in case there has been any problems with retrieving any of the ten you've asked for). Up to five of these ten items can be microfilms, and each desk available to researchers now has a microfilm reader. New guidance will be going online shortly.

If you are new to PRONI you will be allocated a temporary visitor number upon making a request to visit, but you will need to complete your registration upon arrival, something that was not possible until now. If you need to renew your card, you will need to request your replacement before visiting, but can still provisionally book items with a temporary visitor number. I asked about the previous system where if you turned up without your card, you could obtain a temporary visitors pass. For now, that isn't happening – so don't forget your pass! (I've previously done this getting off the ferry – you only end up feeling stupid!).

One other major change – face coverings are to become mandatory within the building when it re-opens.

On the cataloguing front, the following is being worked on:

D4779
Papers of P. A. McLaughlin, former president of the Northern Ireland Gay Rights Association and founder of Belfast Pride, dating from 1991 onwards.

D4787
Family and political papers of the Laird family.

D4777
Cards and letters from Fred Irwin of Dublin to his sister in Belfast. Irwin was serving in the Royal Dublin Fusiliers during the First World War.

D4783
Papers of William Delap, a Navy cadet who was captured as a POW and imprisoned in Brandenburg. Includes photographs of daily POW camp life.

D4780
A massive collection of materials relating to The Troubles used to produce the book 'Lost Lives'.

D4768
Papers concerning the Enniskillen bombing of 1987, including its impact on pupils at Enniskillen High School.


There was a brief update from Tim Murtagh of the Beyond 2022 project (see my previous post at http://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2020/09/getting-closer-to-beyond-2022.html). He's been busy over the summer ploughing through PRONI's extensive catalogue for materials that can be used to replenish sources lost during the PRO explosion in Dublin in 1922. He mentioned that of equal note was the fact that the Custom House in Dublin was lost on 25 MAY 1921, with a great deal of resources destroyed also, it was not just the Four Courts Fire the following year that was such a disaster in terms of the loss of Ireland's historic record. A Beyond 2022 virtual exhibition will be set up in 2021, and an event is planned to be hosted in London concerning the project.

Several recordings of Zoom based lectures will be going online in the near future on PRONI's YouTube channel. Attendance figures have superseded the normal attendance at on site events, and so it is likely PRONI will adopt a blended approach to hosting events post-Covid, both online and at the archive.

I asked about the centenary of Northern Ireland's creation next year. There are a few things that PRONI is involved in, but it looks like the media will be focussing on the opening of the Northern Ireland parliament by the then king in June 1921, although there are other centenaries along the way – the Government of Ireland Act (100 years ago this month) that led to Partition, and the Partition of Ireland itself on 2 MAY 1921.

Ann Robinson from the North of Ireland FHS (www.nifhs.org) has advised us that the society's street directories for Northern Ireland are due imminently on FindmyPast, covering the period from 1900-1947. This could well be in next week's FindmyPast update. Ann also flagged up that she has found evidence of some Northern Irish wills, pre-1858, included in FMP's "Diocesan and Prerogative wills and administration indexes 1595-1858" collection, with 904 records indexed for Connor, and 962 for Down. 

A huge thanks to all at PRONI. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, and the challenges that have been presented by that, they've had a good year. Sadly this is the first year in a long time that I haven't been able to hop over and to visit the Christmas markets at City Hall, so here's a pic from a previous visit, and a Merry Christmas to all in Belfast!

Chris

Pre-order my next book, Sharing Your Family History Online, at https://bit.ly/SharingFamHist. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is also out, as 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.

TheGenealogist releases University, College and School Registers

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

University, College and School Registers released online by TheGenealogist

TheGenealogist releases more College and University registers into its expanding Educational Records adding a quarter of a million additional individuals. This release includes records from England, Scotland, Ireland, The Netherlands, New Zealand and even a college from Portugal.

The records can be used to discover a student’s achievements and are fantastic for identifying where next to apply your research for an ancestor. Educational records will confirm birth dates and sometimes the place of birth. Usually they give a father’s name and address, which is useful when the parent is missing from the census, and they can give details of the student’s occupation and a great deal more useful information.

Researchers can use this new data to find ancestors who attended or taught at a variety of Educational establishments in a wide range of years up to the mid 1930s. The earliest record in this release is dated 1566 in the Christ's Hospital Exhibitioners to the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, 1566-1923. In contrast the latest record is 1936, taken from the List of Occupants of Rooms in St John's College 1895-1936.

These records can also be used to identify those who held high office in the institutions, so that University patrons, deans, visitors, professors and masters and the principals and governors of schools are usually included.

Also in this release we have some fascinating Irish Examination Board records from 1889, 1891 and 1892. These reveal the candidates’ names, addresses and grades in all their subjects, including some rather unusual ones. If you can find an ancestor, within these records, it will certainly be an eyeopener as they disclose what subjects your forebear had been a good or a bad student of.

The registers released on TheGenealogist today are:

Aberdeen
Aberdeen Education Authority Members' Directory, 1920-1921
Aberdeen University Roll of Graduates, 1860-1900

Cambridgeshire
Christ's Hospital Exhibitioners to the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, 1566-1923
List of Occupants of Rooms in St John's College, 1895-1936
Gonville and Caius College Vol. II, 1713-1897
Register of Admissions to King’s College, 1850-1900
Admissions to Peterhouse or S. Peter's College in the University of Cambridge, 1615-1911
Girton College Register, 1869-1946

Devon
Kelly College Register, 1877-1927

Dublin
Alumni Dublineneses, 1593-1846

Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh Graduates, 1859-88
The Fettes College Register, 1870-1932

Dublin
Intermediate Education Board for Ireland, Exhibition and Prize Lists, 1889
Intermediate Education Board for Ireland, Exhibition and Prize Lists, 1890
Intermediate Education Board for Ireland, Examinations Held in 1889 Pass Lists, Boys
Intermediate Education Board for Ireland, Examinations Held in 1892 Pass Lists, Boys
Intermediate Education Board for Ireland, Examinations Held in 1891 Pass Lists, Boys

London
Dulwich College War Record, 1939-1945

Netherlands
University of Leyden, List of English speaking Students of Medicine, 1932

New Zealand
The Early History of Wellington College, N.Z, 1867-1883
New Zealand University Calendar, 1925

Oxfordshire
Alumni Oxonienses (Members of the University of Oxford) 1715-1886 Vol I
Alumni Oxonienses 1715-1886 Vol II
Alumni Oxonienses 1715-1886 Vol III
Alumni Oxonienses 1715-1886 Vol IV
Alumni Oxonienses 1715-1886 Vol V
Alumni Oxonienses 1715-1886 Vol VI
Alumni Oxonienses 1715-1886 Vol VII
Alumni Oxonienses 1715-1886 Vol VIII
Oxford Men and their Colleges, 1880-1892
War Record of the University Press, Oxford, 1914-1919

Portugal
Historical Account of Lisbon College

Surrey
County of Surrey Endowed Institutions Volume IV

Yorkshire
Teachers and Officers of Ackworth School, 1779-1894

Read TheGenealogist’s article on researching more about an ancestor from the leads revealed in the pages of Educational Records:
www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2020/educational-records-may-reveal-your-ancestors-unusual-achievements-1362/

Chris

Pre-order my next book, Sharing Your Family History Online, at https://bit.ly/SharingFamHist. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is also out, as 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.

 

 

Highland Archives catalogue goes online

So, quite genuinely, I don't think I've been this excited since PRONI put its catalogue online...! From Highland Archive Service (www.highlifehighland.com/archives-service):

Online Catalogue

Our extensive archive catalogue can be explored online, opening up our fantastic and varied collections to the world like never before.

Our catalogue contains nearly 100,000 descriptions of archives and library holdings held in our four Archive Centres in Inverness, Portree, Fort William and Wick. It will be continually added to, with new content added on a monthly basis. You can search by text, reference number or Archive Centre to help you find entries relating to the subject you’re interested in. Once you have found records you would like to view, you can contact the relevant Archive Centre about accessing them. You can do this either by booking an appointment to view them or by a member of staff conducting a remote enquiry on your behalf.

For information on the catalogue contents and searches, see the top right hand menu on the site.

We hope you enjoy searching the catalogues, and welcome your feedback on the layout and content available.

To access the catalogue, visit https://www.highlifehighland.com/archives-service/online-catalogue/

The age old question about whether God is Scottish or Northern Irish has once again been opened - I should be busy for a bit now chasing after my lot around Inverness! 

A massive congratulations to Highland Archive!

Chris

Pre-order my next book, Sharing Your Family History Online, at https://bit.ly/SharingFamHist. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is also out, as 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.

MyHeritage further enhances its photo colorisation tool

From MyHeritage (www.myheritage.com):

We are happy to announce the release of a new colorization model for MyHeritage In Color™, which produces even better results when colorizing black and white photos!

MyHeritage In Color™ is based on deep-learning technology licensed by MyHeritage exclusively from DeOldify —the super talented team of Jason Antic and Dana Kelley, following pioneering work by our team member Maor Cohen. The feature quickly became a viral sensation, with more than 16 million photos colorized since its release. Jason and Dana have been hard at work to improve colorization even further, as they are, in their own words, obsessively pursuing the perfection of colorization using deep learning. The new colorization model is the fruit of their continued efforts, and going forward, we will use the new model as the default option when you colorize your photos.

The new model provides better results for most photos, but in some cases the two older models may provide superior results. In many cases, the differences are so minor that most people won’t be able to tell the difference. If you colorize a photo and are not pleased with the result or want to seek perfection, you can toggle between the three different colorization models in the settings to see which one produces optimal results for your photo.

Any photos that you’ve already colorized already will not be automatically modified. If you wish to apply the new model to a photo you have colorized previously, which is recommended only if you were not pleased with the initial results, visit the photo page on MyHeritage and adjust the colorization settings.

For further details visit https://blog.myheritage.com/2020/12/myheritage-in-color-just-got-better/. The tool itself is available at https://www.myheritage.com/incolor

Chris 

Pre-order my next book, Sharing Your Family History Online, at https://bit.ly/SharingFamHist. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is also out, as 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.

County Kilkenny records added to RootsIreland

RootsIreland (www.rootsireland.ie) has added records for County Kilkenny:

New records for County Kilkenny

We are pleased to announce that Kilkenny Family History has added over 10,500 records to its database at www.rootsireland.ie/kilkenny, including the following records;

    Callan RC Parish, deaths, 1900-1940 (1610 records);
    Dunamaggin RC Parish, deaths, 1900-1972 (709 records);
    Windgap RC Parish, deaths, 1908-1971 (1234 records);
    Parochial census, Paulstown, c.1861 (2501 records);
    Parochial census Gorebridge, c.1872 (1311 records);
    Pigot's Directory, City of Kilkenny, 1824 (450 records);
    Slater's Directory, City of Kilkenny, 1846 (746 records);
    Killamery tombstone inscriptions (187 records);
    Tullahought tombstone inscriptions (439 records);
    Windgap tombstone inscriptions (1355 records).

For an up to date list of sources for County Kilkenny and to search and view these records, go to rootsireland.ie/kilkenny and login or subscribe as required.

The site also has an offer of a 25% discount for annual subscriptions, available until 10th December 2020.

Chris

Pre-order my next book, Sharing Your Family History Online, at https://bit.ly/SharingFamHist. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is also out, as 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.

1891 Norway census added to FamilySearch

Up and just to the right a wee bit... FamilySearch has added the 1891 census for Norway at www.familysearch.org/search/collection/4067726.

In addition, 135,802 indexed records have been added to its New York, New York, Index to Passengers Lists of Vessels, 1897-1902 collection at www.familysearch.org/search/collection/3031525.

For a list of all the latest additions to FamilySearch, visit https://media.familysearch.org/new-free-historical-records-on-familysearch-week-of-30-november-2020/

Chris

Pre-order my next book, Sharing Your Family History Online, at https://bit.ly/SharingFamHist. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is also out, as 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.