Friday, November 6, 2015

Find My Past

For those of you with subscriptions to Find My Past, there have been some exciting new additions to their website over the past few weeks.  I know what I'll be doing this weekend!

Firstly, Find My Past has put online electoral registers from England and Wales that span the years from 1832 to 1932. In total, this collection consists of some 5.4 million images containing 220 million names. These records can be searched by first name, last name, year, county, constituency and polling district. I love Electoral rolls as they can serve as a valuable supplement to 10-year census records and can be used to trace the address of someone who moved frequently. They can also help to estimate the year of birth and the year of death of an ancestor, as once an individual reached voting age, they tended to stay on the voting list until they died. To estimate the year of birth, simply determine the first time a person appears on the electoral roll. Counting backwards from this year by the minimum voting age provides a reasonable estimate of the year of birth.

Secondly, FindMyPast launched the UK 1939 National Identity Register on Monday 2 November.  Basically, the 1939 National Identity Register, although not a census, did have some similar information to a census, and it was taken on the night of Friday 29 September 1939 just after the start of World War II. The British Government conducted the survey because it wanted updated statistics on the population so that identity cards could be issued. It was also required in case a draft was needed, in case of mobilisation, in case of mass evacuation of the general population and in case rationing was required (which was introduced just a few months later in January 1940). The details recorded in the 1939 National Identity Register include name, address, sex, specific date of birth (not just their age), marital status, occupation and whether the person was a member of the armed forces or reserves. There was a strong incentive for everyone to register correctly. Other than societal pressure given that war had just broken out, it was widely broadcast that anyone who “neglected” to register would not be eligible in the future for ration books. One thing to note is that due to privacy issues, information listed on individuals still alive today will not be included in the database.

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Was your ancestor a Suffragette?

Ancestry.com has just added to their collection the records of English Suffragettes Arrested from 1906-1914.
In October 1903, Emmeline Pankhurst left the more peaceful National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) to form the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). Mrs. Pankhurst believed that more drastic means were necessary if women were to achieve suffrage. From 1903 to 1917, the WSPU was the leading militant organisation campaigning for women's suffrage in Great Britain, using law-breaking, violence, and hunger strikes as tactics to highlight their cause, and members became known as suffragettes.
Upon the outbreak of war in August 1914 some of the suffrage societies (but not all) declared a suspension to militant tactics for the duration of the conflict. In response, the government granted an amnesty to all suffrage prisoners.
At the beginning of the amnesty the Home Office compiled a list of all suffrage campaigners they were providing amnesty to, creating the document ‘Amnesty of August 1914: index of women arrested 1906-1914’ - which also includes the names of more than one hundred men. Each record consists of the name of the person arrested, and the date and place of arrest. If a person was arrested more than once, the details of each arrest are documented. Over 1000 male and female suffrage campaigners who were at some point arrested are listed in the document - so was your ancestor a Suffragette?

Friday, October 16, 2015

FamilySearch App Centre

We all use a variety of apps and programs in our genealogical lives - we use them for searching, recording, organising, sharing and more.  It seems like every time I turn around, I hear about something new that seems worth a look.  Some I fall in love with and dive into, finding something new, useful and unique that this program offers me that others do not.  Some I look over and play with a bit but ultimately decide programs I am already using offer me the same thing.  Others I look at, find them wanting, and discard (some I wonder why they were ever recommended to me in the first place).  I am always willing to give them a go, however, because you never know what gold you might find, and I am always excited to hear about something new.  And I am always somewhat embarrassed to find out about something that has been around for a while and somehow I have missed it.
Last night, while wandering around the FamilySearch website (as you do) I found something new.  Right down the bottom of their homepage is a little link to their App Gallery.  How long has that been there??!!
Snapshot of the FamilySearch App Gallery
The Apps are grouped to make them easier to search - categories are
  • Find Ancestors
  • Family Tree Software
  • Photos and Stories
  • Charts and Tree Views
  • Tree Analyzing
For each there is a star rating and details of cost - some are free, others have a one-time purchase cost and others require a subscription.  Some of them I already knew about, but others are new to me and I will definitely be spending some time looking through them.
So what apps and programs do you use for genealogy?  What are your favourites?  And do I already know about them??

Monday, September 28, 2015

Hitler's Black Book

To mark the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, Forces War Records have translated and put online for the first time what is known as Hitler’s Black Book (officially called Sonderfahndungsliste Gross Britannien). It lists 2,820 English people that the Nazi regime viewed as enemies of the state, people in the UK who were targeted for execution if Germany was successful in winning the Battle of Britain.

The list was drawn up by SS General Walter Schellenbergs office.
Schellenberg was to become the ‘Police’ chief responsible for GB after an invasion, the main Gestapo offices were to be based in Birmingham.
The list shows the department of the RSHA (Reichssicherheitshauptamt- Reich security service) which would investigate each individual, giving insight into what ‘crimes’ the individual was suspected of being involved in.
Hitler studying invasion plans
Most of the people on the list were politicians, writers, prominent émigrés, known intelligence agents, scientists, entertainers and artists.  Not surprisingly, the hit list is full of people whom the Nazis knew spied on Germany, such as Conrad Fulke Thomond O’Brien-french, the real-life British Secret Intelligence officer who served as the role model for 007 James Bond. Also included are well-known politicians such as Winston Churchill. What is surprising are some of the other names on the list, such as Lord Baden-Powell (the founder of scouts), the author HG Wells and the entertainer Noel Coward.

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Irish Lives Remembered

 
The September/October  edition of Irish Lives Remembered  is now available and can be read/downloaded FREE of charge via www.irishlivesremembered.com

Features include
  • Genealogist and lecturer, Joe Buggy looks at tracing the Irish in Texas
  • New Jersey genealogist, Maureen Wlodarczyk takes a look at the lives of James Power,  Rosalie Bridget Hart & the Irish colonization of Texas
  • Tracing your Workhouse Ancestors -  6 step guide from Findmypast Ireland on how best to navigate through their record database
  • Jayne Shrimpton covers a photo from a kindergarten in Waterford dated 1929
  • Flyleaf Press added Tracing Your Kerry Ancestors to their county book series.
  • Fly Leaf Press are offering a special discount on their title ‘IRISH CHURCH RECORDS’ for €20
  • New Irish records on Findmypast Ireland
  • IARC help launch Limerick DNA project
  • Derry Genealogist Brian Mitchell remembers Second Lieutenant George Mitchell and the Relief of Kut who was killed in action on 1 February 1917
  • The McMahon Archival Collection at Clare Museum includes details of 60 families and landed estates in County Clare from 1600’s to mid 1900’s
  • Ireland Reaches Out launches Epic Journeys Ellis Island which brings to life the experiences of people who left Ireland at the turn of the 19th Century and passed through the Immigration Station at Ellis Island before scattering to all parts of North America to begin a new life
  • University College Cork announces their line-up of speakers for their annual 2016 Irish Genealogy Summer School.
 


Friday, September 18, 2015

New Records on Ancestry

Once again Ancestry has been adding new records to their database.  Here are some of the Australian and United Kingdom records which have been added or updated in the past few months.


New Australian Records
Tasmania, Australia, Baptisms of Children of Convicted Women, 1833-1854
Tasmania, Australia, Convict Court and Selected Records, 1800-1899
Victoria, Australia, Lunatic Estates and Register, 1867-1906
Victoria, Australia, Selected Trial Brief and Correspondence Registers and Other Images, 1837-1993
Victoria, Australia, Deserter, Discharged, and Prisoner Crew Lists, 1852-1925
Australia Newspaper Vital Notices, 1851-1997
New South Wales, Australia, St. John's Parramatta, Marriages, 1790-1966
New South Wales, Australia, St. John's Parramatta, Burials, 1790-1986
New South Wales, Australia, St. John's Parramatta, Baptisms, 1790-1916
New South Wales, Australia, St. John's Parramatta, Confirmations, 1911-1925 and 1960-1966
Victoria, Australia, Index to Naturalisation Certificates, 1851-1928
Australia and New Zealand, Find A Grave Index, 1800s-Current
Victoria, Australia, Assisted and Unassisted Passenger Lists, 1839–1923
Australia, Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980
Australia, WWI Service Records, 1914-1920

New United Kingdom Records
U.K., Civil Divorce Records, 1858-1914
London, England, Workhouse Admission and Discharge Records, 1659-1930
Leeds, England, Beckett Street Cemetery, 1845-1987
West Yorkshire, England, Select Removal and Settlement Records, 1689-1866
UK, American Loyalist Claims, 1776-1835
UK, Foreign and Overseas Registers of British Subjects, 1628-1969
Manchester, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1930 (Cathedral)
England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966
UK, City, Town and Village Photos, 1857-2005
UK, Apprentices Indentured in Merchant Navy, 1824-1910
London, England, Electoral Registers, 1832-1965
Gloucestershire, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1938
Gloucestershire, England, Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1813
Gloucestershire, England, Confirmations, 1834-1913
Gloucestershire, England, Burials, 1813-1988
Gloucestershire, England, Baptisms, 1813-1913
Northern Ireland, Will Calendar Index, 1858-1943
UK, British Army Muster Books and Pay Lists, 1812-1817

Thursday, September 10, 2015

The Bomb Site

The Bomb Sight project is mapping the London WW2 bomb census between 7/10/1940 and 06/06/1941. Previously available only by viewing in the Reading Room at The National Archives, Bomb Sight is making the maps available to citizen researchers, academics and students. They will be able to explore where the bombs fell and to discover memories and photographs from the period.

The project has scanned original 1940s bomb census maps , geo-referenced the maps and digitally captured the geographical locations of all the falling bombs recorded on the original map.

You can use the interactive web-mapping application to explore and search for different bomb locations across London. Click on individual bombs and find out information relating to the neighbouring area by reviewing contextual images and memories from the Blitz.

You can explore statistics for different areas and see how many bombs fell in different wards and boroughs in London as well as read memories of Londoners contributed to the BBC WW2 People's War and images from the Imperial War Museum to allow you to visualise what it was like in London at such a difficult time.