ISBGFH Military Virtual Institute

From the International Society of British Genealogy and Family History (www.isbgfh.com):

ISBGFH Military Virtual Institute

If your ancestor served in the British Army, you are going to want to join us for the Military Virtual Institute November 23 & 24, 2021. The course instructor is British Army expert, Paul Nixon. Anyone who has attended a webinar or presentation by Paul can attest to the depth of information and the quality of Paul's teaching style. Paul is incredibly knowledgeable and has a forensic knowledge of regimental numbers.

While Paul works for Findmypast, he does not limit the resources he shares for finding out more about your British Army ancestor to that website. He shares the information that is going to help you move your research forward including other databases.

Paul will share his knowledge about identifying your ancestor's regiment through photographs, or through medals that you may have in your possession and that you would like to know more about.

Paul will also be presenting on researching your British Naval and Air Force ancestors as well.

Join us for two information packed days of learning about the British Military. Access to the recordings is open for 30 days following the live presentations so that you can revisit again and again to get the most out of Paul's knowledge. For more detailed information and to register, visit: https://www.isbgfh.com/Military-Research-Virtual-Institute 

COMMENT: A reminder that recordings of presentations from the recent ISBGFH British Institute, including my 10 x Irish track presentations, and those from the presenters on the Scottish, English and Welsh tracks, are available to purchase until November 30th. For further details, please see http://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2021/10/isbgfh-irish-track-recordings-available.html

Also, thanks to the well over 120 folk who attended my ISBGFH presentation yesterday on Scottish Church and State Records! My book Tracing Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records, which ties in with the topic, is available in print and ebook formats from Pen and Sword at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Scottish-Ancestry-through-Church-and-State-Records-Paperback/p/16848.

(With thanks to Christine Woodcock)

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.

SCAN website domain registration not renewed but catalogue still available

The Scottish Archive Network (www.scan.org.uk) website is currently down, but the catalogue, which details holdings of about fifty archives across Scotland, is still directly accessible at https://catalogue.nrscotland.gov.uk/scancatalogue/search.aspx.

The SCAN website was last updated over fifteen years ago, and has been superceded by many local archive catalogues now available online, but it remains the only single point of entry for information on many collections held across Scotland. In addition are many useful tools such as the Knowledge Base. 

A recently cached version of the site on the Internet Archive, snapped in early October, is available at https://web.archive.org/web/20211009072058/https://www.scan.org.uk/.

Hopefully it will be restored soon.

 

UPDATE: I've asked a few genie chums if they know what is up, and a huge thanks to Fergus Smith for coming up with some useful info on this. It would appear that the registration of the website domain name expired on 5 OCT 2021. The registration information notes "This registration has been SUSPENDED". 

 

As one of the former directors of the SCAN trust a few years back, it was very clear to me that the SCAN project was not a much loved legacy. Attempts to create an up to date replacement project have drifted for many years. If this is the final end of the site, it is deeply unfortunate that the archive sector has not yet been able to create an alternative.  

I would also be interested to know what is happening with the remaining trust funds if this is the case.

In the meantime, perhaps the NRS could update its Catalogues page at https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/catalogues-and-indexes to link directly to the SCAN catalogue portal? 

If this is a simple lapse, it appears that there are 83 days from the date of expiry of the domain to renew it, before it is permanently cancelled. 

(With thanks to my Pharos students for flagging it up, and to Fergus)

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.

Irish Registry of Deeds Indexing Project update

From the Registry of Deeds Indexing Project Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/RegistryofDeedsIndexProjectIreland/:

Update of 07 November 2021 – 452,604 index records from 47,489 memorials of deeds.

 

Thanks again to our magnificent volunteers we now have 452,604 main index records from 47,489 memorials of deeds.

 

We now have 72.5% of index entries with a direct link to the images on FamilySearch including all index entries from books 110 and below.

 

As always all these and the subsidiary indexes are fully searchable for free. https://irishdeedsindex.net/search/search.php

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.

National Library of Scotland removes online access to the BNA

The National Library of Scotland (www.nls.uk) has now removed online access to the British Newspaper Archives via its licensed digital collections (https://auth.nls.uk/eresources/).  

The site notes that it is now only available onsite, with access restricted to its Edinburgh reading rooms and to its facility at Kelvin Hall, Glasgow.

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.

Scottish Genealogy Society to resume venue hosted meetings

The Scottish Genealogy Society (www.scotsgenealogy.com) has announced that it intends to resume venue hosted meetings, with the first to be held on November 22nd in Edinburgh:

ORDINARY MEETINGS RESUME

Monday 22 November 2021 The Edinburgh Men who Founded the World's First Foot-Ball Club in 1824, by Andy Mitchell.

The meetings, starting at 7.30pm, will be held in the Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL. Attendees will be required to sign in and to wear a face-mask. Seats will be well spaced in pairs or singly. No refreshments will be served.

Please check this website before travelling in case changes have had to be made in line with any new restrictions ordered by the Government.

Further details on the society are at its website.

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.

Ancestry adds more UK military records

The following military collections have been added to Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) this last week: 

UK, Military Records of Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages and Burials, 1813-1957
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62113/
Original data: WO 156: War Office: UK and overseas garrisons: Registers of Baptisms, Confirmations, Deaths/Burials, and Marriage. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives.

This collection contains registrations of baptisms, confirmations, marriages, banns, and burials for individuals who served in the British military, including those stationed overseas. This collection is unique in that the original records were recorded by military chaplains. Because of this, the collection combines the level of detail you find in parish records with the uniformity of civil registrations.

(NB: In the rest of the description Ancestry claims the Church of England is the 'official state religion of the United Kingdom' - perhaps ignore this bit, or maybe let the Kirk write to them!)


UK, Royal Navy Officer Patrol Service Cards, 1904-1970
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62112/
Original data: ADM 364: Admiralty: Royal Naval Officers Patrol Service (Trawler Skipper) cards, 1904-1970. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archive.

This collection contains records for those who served in the Royal Navy Patrol Service from 1904-1970. Records in this collection are Royal Navy Continuous Record cards, which were updated throughout the serviceman’s naval career. Records are handwritten in ledgers and organised by function and service number.


UK, World War II Index to Allied Airmen Roll of Honour, 1939-1945
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62274/
Original data: AIRMEN DIED IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR 1939-45. East Sussex, England: The Naval and Military Press Ltd.

This collection comprises a comprehensive list of British, Commonwealth, Dominion, and Allied European air service members who lost their lives in service during the Second World War. More than 129,000 air service members are recorded in this index-only collection, which includes valuable personal information, such as aircraft serial numbers, details that may be hard to find in other collections.

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.

Women’s History Scotland Essay Prize

From Women's History Scotland (http://womenshistoryscotland.org):

Women’s History Scotland Essay Prize

NEW PRIZE! NEW RULES!

NOW ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS ON ANY ASPECT OF WOMEN’S OR GENDER HISTORY!

Women’s History Scotland awards the Leah Leneman Prize for an essay on an aspect of women’s or gender history, focused on any time period and geographical area.

The prize was established in 2002 to celebrate the work of Leah Leneman, one of the foremost historians of women in Scotland. A trailblazer for women’s history in Scotland, she produced innovative studies on the women’s suffrage movement, on women in medicine, and on sexuality and divorce in the early modern and modern periods.

Forms of work that may be submitted include: undergraduate dissertation, postgraduate work (e.g. Masters dissertation or chapter of PhD), a piece of original research by students or independent scholars.

Further details, eligibility and instructions for preparation at the bottom of this page

Deadline: Monday, 20 December 2021.

Further details at http://womenshistoryscotland.org/projects-and-activities/whs-essay-prize/

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.

Family History Library in Utah expands operating hours

For those using the FamilySearch Family History Library in Utah for their Scottish and Irish research:

SALT LAKE CITY, UT — The FamilySearch Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, is moving to Phase 2 reopening plans. Beginning November 6, 2021, the library will expand its days of operation to include Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Phase 1 included Monday through Friday only). Starting the week of November 15, 2021, the library is tentatively scheduled to open on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. by appointment only.

Evening access will be limited to main floor services unless otherwise requested. Individuals, and youth, church, and genealogical groups will be able to make appointments. Group reservations for daytime hours are available now under the Visit Us tab on the Family History Library web page. Evening reservations will be available in the same manner as they become available. Appointments will be based on space and equipment availability for up to 150 people.

In recent months, the Family History Library has undergone major renovations and improvements to better serve guests. A newly completed visitor breakroom on the main floor provides more space and comfortable seating for guests to eat and relax and can comfortably accommodate groups. Tables and seating have been upgraded and additional vending machines provide a variety of food options.

The facilities on the research floors have been updated with more research materials, computer stations with multiple monitors, adjustable desktops, better ADA handicapped access, and an improved personal help system.

HOLIDAY SCHEDULE

Phase 2 hours will continue through the holiday season, and holiday activities will include the library’s traditional “Christmas Around the World” event. The library will be closed on Thanksgiving Day and from December 23 through 26. It will reopen on Monday, December 27 and remain open with Phase 2 hours through New Year’s Eve. The Family History Library web page will provide up-to-date information on hours and library activities.

For further details and relevant links please visit the FamilySearch press room at https://media.familysearch.org/family-history-library-expands-hours-of-operation/.

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.

Pharos Courses price increase

As of today, November 1st, Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd (www.pharostutors.com) has implemented a price increase for its courses, with many having remained at the same price for well over a decade. 

From Karen Cummings, Managing Director:  

Our prices have remained at the same low level for many years, some for over a decade, but administration and other costs have increased in line with inflation. In order to be able to continue delivering you the same quality you expect and deserve, we will be increasing prices in line with inflation. In one or two cases we have also made adjustments to simplify our pricing structure so, for example, all non-assessed 4 week courses will now cost the same amount.

The increase in prices will become effective on 1st November 2021. Across the board the increase will average around 14.5%, an increase of £5-£12, depending on the length of the course and whether it is assessed.

For the courses that I teach, Scottish Research Online, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers, and Progressing Your Irish Research Online, all of which run for five weeks, the new price for each will be £58. My next Irish course in November has now sold out, but you will find details of all the dates for my next courses in 2022, along with details on all other Pharos courses, at https://www.pharostutors.com/coursesmainsd.php. 

Oh aye, I should also mention that rumour has it that I might have another Irish themed course on the way - watch this space...!

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.

2022 - Year of Stories

From Christine Woodcock in Ontario:

2022 - Year of Stories

Visit Scotland has deemed 2022 as the Year of Stories and I can't think of a more fitting theme for family historians. Christine Woodcock and Clare Wilson are jointly planning a full year of events. Clare is a professional genealogist based in Lanarkshire Scotland. Christine is a genealogy educator based in Ontario Canada. Clare runs a Facebook group called Kilted Ancestors. Kilted Ancestors "is a place where anyone with Scottish Ancestry can share everything from Photographs, Stories, details of Artefacts, Letters & Information on where your Ancestors came from or anything else relating to your Scottish Roots. Social History is a big part of Genealogy it is what brings our Ancestors to life, it is important to keep these stories alive!"

Collectively, we feel that this groups is the best place for us to focus on the theme for the year. We have four major themes for 2022 and we will be breaking these down to monthly prompts associated with the themes. The four themes are:

· Immigration/Emigration
· Police and Crime
· Industry
· Brands

Each month, Clare and I will be popping on with a Facebook Live event to motivate, encourage and share. All of these are free. We will be giving ideas, talking about some of the stories members of the page have shared and answering questions you may have as you work to build the stories of your ancestors. Please consider joining us at https://www.facebook.com/groups/569876660361269

In addition to the Facebook group, we have planned four conference style events, each based on the four themes we will be using in the Facebook group. Each of these events will have guest speakers who will talk about the theme for that quarter. The dates for these events are:

· March 19th - Immigration/Emigration
· June 18 - Police and Crime
· Sept 10 - Industry
· Dec 10 - Brands (think whisky, biscuits and all things Scottish)

The days will start at 9 am eastern/2 pm BST and will run for about 3 hours.

Watch this space as the program develops and speakers are confirmed.  

(With thanks to Christine)

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.