My new book Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors is now available for pre-order from Pen and Sword at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Belfast-Ancestors-Paperback/p/23194, for the introductory offer price of £11.99 +p&p. (Note the current cover is a working cover, and likely to change.)
Here's the blurb, and details of what to expect within:
Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians, by Chris Paton
Straddling parts of Counties Antrim and Down, the city of Belfast has
seen its fair share of history across the centuries. From its humble
beginnings as a ford based settlement between two tributaries of the
River Lagan, it grew following its grant of a charter in 1613 to become a
corporation town, and expanded dramatically when later made a city in
1888. Along the way it has experienced the darkest of times, including
the Belfast Blitz and the recent Troubles, to some of the most
enlightened developments across Ireland and the UK.
In Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, genealogist and best-selling author
Chris Paton returns home to provide a research gateway for those wishing
to trace their ancestors from the Northern Irish capital. With a
concise summary of the city's history, a tour of some of the city's most
amazing archives, libraries and museums, and a detailed overview of the
records generated by those who came before, he expertly steers the
reader towards centuries of ancestral exploration, both through online
resources and within the city of Belfast itself – and with a wee bit of
craic along the way!
The following is a breakdown of the contents:
Introduction
1) A Wee History of BelfastBéal Feirste
The charter town
Rebellion and union
The Famine
Industrial Belfast
A divided city
The twentieth century
The northern capital
The Second World War
The Troubles and beyond
2) Out for a Dander
Administrative boundaries
Language / Teanga / Leid
- English
- Ulster Scots (Ullans)
- Irish (Gaeilge)
3) Belfast’s Guardians and Gatekeepers
General Register Office of Northern Ireland (GRONI)
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI)
- The PRONI Website
National Archives of Ireland / An Chartlann Náisiúnta
- Virtual Record Treasury
North of Ireland Family History Society
- Research Centre
Ulster Historical Foundation
Belfast Family History Centre (LDS)
Belfast Central Library
Linen Hall Library
Clifton House
Queen’s University – The McClay Library and Archive
Ulster University Library Services
Historical societies
Presbyterian Historical Society of Ireland (PHSI)
Methodist Historical Society of Ireland
Land and Property Services
Museums
- Ulster Museum
- Titanic Belfast / SS Nomadic
- Northern Ireland War Memorial Museum
- Royal Ulster Rifles Regimental Museum
- Police Museum
- HMS Caroline
- Museum of Orange Heritage
- Eileen Hickey Irish Republican History Museum
- Ulster Transport Museum
4) Online Repositories
Ancestry
Findmypast
MyHeritage
British Newspaper Archive
Irish Newspaper Archive
Eddie’s Extracts
FamilySearch
RootsIreland
Emerald Ancestors
The Belfast History Project
Discussion forums
- Belfast Forum
- Roostchat
- The Great War Forum
5) From the Cradle to the Grave
Civil Registration
- Births
- Marriages
- Deaths
Accessing the civil registration records
Church Records
- Church of Ireland
- Presbyterians
- Roman Catholics
- Methodists
- Baptists
- Moravians (‘United Brethen’)
- Quakers
- Belfast’s Jewish community
- Online church records
Burials and Cremation
- Belfast City Council – online burials resources
-- Belfast City Cemetery
-- Dundonald Cemetery
-- Roselawn Cemetery
-- Accessing the records
- Belfast City Council’s Other Maintained Grounds
-- Shankill Graveyard
-- Balmoral Cemetery
-- Clifton Street Cemetery
-- Friar’s Bush Graveyard
-- Knock Burial Ground
- Other Burial Grounds
-- Milltown Cemetery
-- St George’s Graveyard
-- St Mary’s, Greencastle
-- Ballymacarrett Methodist Graveyard
-- Abingdon Street Burial Ground
-- Malone Presbyterian Church Graveyard
-- Carnmoney Cemetery
-- City of Belfast Crematorium
- Other finding aids
6) A Sense of Place and Value
The decennial censuses
Census extracts for Old Age Pension applications
Ulster Covenant and Declaration of Loyalty
1939 National Identity Register
Street directories
Electoral records
Dissenters’ petitions
Maps
Valuation records
Valuation revision books
The Registry of Deeds
The Land Registry
Irish Land Commission
Probate records
7) Daily Life
Gettin’ learned – Education
Workhouses and the Poor Law
Hospitals and asylums
Court records
Sport
- Football
- Gaelic football and hurling
- Rugby
- Cricket
- Hockey
Theatres
8) Occupations
Businesses
The linen trade
Shipbuilding
Trade unions
Law and order
The British military
- The British Army
- The Royal Navy
- The Royal Air Force
The Irish Army
The Merchant Navy
Coastguards
Postal workers
Railway workers
Architects
Artists
Solicitors
Teachers
Medical professions
The Churches
9) Other Resources
Newspapers
- Libraries and archives
- Online platforms
The moving image
DNA
Further Reading
Index
I've tried to pack as much in as possible, and hope I have done a proper service to the good folk of Belfast and all those with connections to Northern Ireland's capital, and to the island of Ireland's most wonderful city (I'm biased, let me have this one!). I'll update further when I receive the final cover artwork, and obviously as we approach publication, for both the print and e-editions.
A wee video is also available plugging the book on YouTube at https://youtu.be/W8h7pC-jHHE, and presented below for convenience!
Chris
My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.
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