New German records on FamilySearch

In a massive boost for anyone with German ancestors, FamilySearch has added a massive new collection of Lutheran baptism, marriage and burial records, comprising almost 80 million new records. The collection spans the years from 1500 to 1971 and was done in partnership with Ancestry.

A typical baptism record in this collection lists the name of the child, gender, name of the parents, birth date and place, parish, town and state.

A typical marriage record lists the names of the bride and groom, their year of birth, the names of the parents, the wedding date, parish, town and state.

A typical burial record in this collection lists the name of the deceased, gender, date and place of death, spouse’s name, names of the parents, parish, town and state. Some records also list the date the obituary was published, which often can provide further clues as to the names of other family members.

The collection can be searched by first name and last name.

Irish Records on FamilySearch

FamilySearch has increased their collection of Irish civil registration records by an additional one million records in the last few months. These are primarily birth (1864 to 1913), marriage (1845 to 1870) and death (1864 to 1870) records issued by the Irish government.

A typical birth record in this collection lists the name of the child, date and place of birth, full name and address of the father, profession of the father and full name (including maiden name) and address of the mother.

A typical marriage record in this collection includes the full names of the bride and groom, their ages, date and place of marriage, occupations of the both the bride and groom, their signatures and witnesses to the marriage (who were often close relatives).

A typical death record in this collection includes the full name of the deceased, date and place of death, sex, age, marital status, occupation and certified cause of death (if known).

These records can be searched by first name and last name. Sadly, most of the records in this collection do not show images of the original record, but it is still a fantastic addition to the FamilySearch collection for those of us with Irish ancestry.

New Records on FamilySearch

It has been a big month for the people at FamilySearch.  They have expanded their free online archives during September with almost 13 million new indexed family history records and over 500,000 digital images from around the world. New historical records were added from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, England, France, Italy, Lesotho, Liberia, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Wales, and the United States, and new digital images were added from BillionGraves.

New resources from Australia include the South Australian immigrant ship papers 1849-1940 (133,542 records added), the South Australian school admission registers 1873-1985 (44,673 records added), and the Victorian inward passenger lists 1839-1923 (1,618,183 records added).

Another significant addition is the England and Wales national index of wills and administrations 1858-1957 (1,024,884 records added).

If you want a more comprehensive list of the records added, check out their blog post https://www.familysearch.org/blog/en/records-familysearch-september-2018/ and see what is relevant to your own research.

Well done to the people at FamilySearch for all their work!

New Records on FamilySearch

Every week, it seems, the fantastic free website FamilySearch adds new records.  It is one of the websites I visit regularly to see what they have added - and it is well worth regular checks.  Below are a few of their newest records, addded the week of May 14th.

 Also worth keeping an eye on are the selection of webinars and Family History classes they offer.  These are also free and the webinars can be done at your convenience from the comfort of home.  They cover genereal research, utilising the FamilySearch website, and researching specific countries and regions.

FamilySearch

Some of the new records added to FamilySearch during April.  Records from around the world free to search. 

Collection	Indexed Records	Comments
Quebec, Quebec Federation of Genealogical Societies, Family Origins, 1621-1865	172	New indexed records collection
Italy, Terni, Narni, Civil Registration (Comune), 1861-1921	29,974	New indexed records collection
Germany, Bavaria, Diocese of Augsburg, Catholic Church Records, 1615-1930	1,083,901	Added indexed records to an existing collection
Lesotho, Evangelical Church Records, 1828-2005	3,909	Added indexed records to an existing collection
Germany, Prussia, Westphalia, Minden, Miscellaneous Collections from the Municipal Archives, 1574-1912	30,746	Added indexed records to an existing collection
Ireland Civil Registration, 1845-1913	885,971	Added indexed records to an existing collection
Germany, Baden, Church Book Duplicates, 1804-1877	20,643	Added indexed records to an existing collection
Georgia, Fulton County Records from the Atlanta History Center, 1827-1955	27	New indexed records collection
Texas, Swisher County Records, 1879-2012	6,320	Added indexed records to an existing collection
Peru, La Libertad, Civil Registration, 1903-1998	42,219	Added indexed records to an existing collection
Germany, Baden, Archdiocese of Freiburg im Breisgau, Catholic Church Records, 1678-1930	341,073	Added indexed records to an existing collection
Costa Rica, Civil Registration, 1823-1975	64,346	Added indexed records to an existing collection
Oklahoma, School Records, 1895-1936	3,400,747	New indexed records collection
Poland, Lublin Roman Catholic Church Books, 1784-1964	5,790	Added indexed records to an existing collection

Change at FamilySearch

For anyone who uses the FamilySearch database, you may have noticed a major change is coming - we are soon going to have to sign in to use the site.
Many of us who use the site regularly are already signing in - to use some of the extra features or create an online tree signing in has been necessary for a while now.  For others this is a new development.  It is worth noting that sign in requirements are minimal - name, username, a password you select, an email address or phone number in case you lose your password and need to get back into your account, a little bit of demographic data (male or female, country of residence, birthdate and whether you’re a Church member, since Church members have different needs from the website), a security captcha code to make sure you’re not a robot and your agreement to the terms and conditions and privacy policies of the website, and you’re in.  There is the facility to remember your login details on your PC or device, so overall it is a very quick process.
So why does FamilySearch require logins now?  Firstly, FamilySearch needs to be accountable to its records partners — the towns, counties/states and other repositories that made the records available for filming in the first place. Many of those records partners want to know that the data is being offered in a safe and secure online environment.  The second reason is because there’s more that can be made available on a personalized basis if you use some of the other features of the website and log in first.  You can now built a free online family tree and link in all the records you find, much as you can on Ancestry and other subscription databases.  It is worth remembering that all the wonderful content of the FamilySearch site is still free.
So take a look at all the FamilySearch site has to offer, and don't be put off by the new sign-in requirement.  They have put in a massive amount of effort in creating the site and is has a great deal to offer those if us researching our families.  And did I mention the word FREE!

South Australia Immigration Records on FamilySearch

Over 200,000 records of those who emigrated to South Australia are available in a new collection on free family history website FamilySearch.
The new collection of immigrants ship papers, dating from 1849 to 1940, contains records of the names and ages of 201,371 immigrants, many of whom were British, Irish or German, and the ships they sailed on. The collection also includes over 6,000 digital images of the papers,  allowing researchers to view more details about the immigrants, including their profession and county of origin.

Immigration record of my Beseler ancestors

Information on images varies but may include ship's name, master's name, tonnage, where bound, date, port of embarkation, names of passengers, ages, occupation, nationality, and port at which passengers have contracted to land. Original records are located in the State Records of South Australia, Adelaide.

1891 New South Wales Census Records

FamilySearch.org has indexed records from the 1891 New South Wales census. This census lists the head of household, street address, and the number of male and female members of the household. There is also a separate column listing the “Number of Chinese and Aborigines” in the household, and another column for comments from the census takers. The collection can be searched by first name and last name.  You can also browse the 21,315 images that make up the collection.

Number of images per district

 Like many other Australian researchers I have long lamented the lack of complete census records available, and have joined others in urging our government to change its policy of destroying census records after statistical data has been extracted.  It is heartening to see a significant surviving record set now digitised and available - even if it doesn't cover any of my direct ancestors (sigh).

An example page from Albury