New Records on FamilySearch

Free family history website FamilySearch has added a several new collection this month.  They include 594,707 Herefordshire bishop’s transcripts (1583-1898), 109,010 Scottish Presbyterian and Protestant church records (1736-1990) and 1,125,332 records of passenger arrivals at New York City, primarily dating from 1944-48, although some cover the early years of the 20th century.

Each Church of England parish was required to create copies of its registers to send to the local bishop, known as bishop’s transcripts.  These records are therefore a good alternative source for Herefordshire baptism, marriage and burial records where the originals are lost, although there may be occasional errors.

The Scottish Presbyterian and Protestant records also cover baptisms, marriages and burials in different Scottish religious dominations.

The New York arrival records include images of the original passenger cards, potentially including the passenger’s age, place of birth, occupation, marital status, last permanent residence, destination, purpose in coming to the USA and even physical descriptions.

The Herefordshire bishop’s transcripts are transcribed from original documents at Hereford Record Office. The Scottish Presbyterian and Protestant records are from the National Records of Scotland. The New York arrival records are from the American National Archives and Records Administration.