Sunday 20 September 2015

FindMyPast records release including fascinating New York collection

Fascinating New York records now available to search on Findmypast

FindMyPast have released some fascinating records, documents and periodicals relating to New York Families which have been made available online for the first time in association with the New York Genealogical & Biological Society (NYG&B). Over 43,000 new parish registers from historic archdeaconry of Canterbury are also now available to search and browse.

NYG&B eLibrary

The newly available NYG&B eLibrary is comprised of a growing collection of extraordinary record sets. Created in partnership with the New York Genealogical & Biological Society, the collection is comprised of a variety of rich and varied sources including census fragments unpublished elsewhere, marriage & death abstracts, baptism registers and fascinating historical diaries.  The collection also includes rich periodicals and society publications, the most important of which is the entire run of the NYG&B Record.  The Record has been in publication since 1870 and is the second-oldest genealogical journal in the United States and is certainly the single most important scholarly resource that exists for people researching New York families. For the past 145 years, it has solved genealogical problems, provided compiled genealogies, published transcriptions of original records and offered research guidance to the many families who have contributed to the rich diversity of what is now New York State.
The NYG&B is the most authoritative source for research on New York families and families with New York connection Over 32,000 scanned colour images of records, books, abstracts, inventories and publications held by the Society are now available to search on Findmypast.

Kent, Canterbury Archdeaconry Parish Records

Over 43,000 Baptism, Banns, Marriage and Burial records have been added to the collection of Canterbury Archdeaconry Parish Records.
The new additions constitute a valuable resource for researching ancestry in Kent and cover the parishes of Hythe, St Leonard & Canterbury and Holy Cross. They have been made available in association with the Canterbury Cathedral Archives come from Canterbury’s historic archdeaconry, Before 1841, Canterbury was the only archdeaconry in the diocese of Canterbury. From 1841 until 2011, the diocese of Canterbury was divided into two archdeaconries: Canterbury in the east and Maidstone in the west.
The New additions include:
Each record consists of a transcript and scanned image of the original document.

Kent, Canterbury Archdeaconry Parish Registers Browse, 1538-1913

Findmypast’s existing collection of Canterbury Archdeaconry parish registers is now available to browse. The registers have been released in association with the Canterbury Cathedral Archives and consist of baptisms, marriages, banns and burials. All parishes located within the Archdeaconry of Canterbury that gave consent for online publication are included within these records. Please note that four parishes withheld consent for publishing images of their records: Cheriton St Martin, Harbledown St Michael, Ramsgate St Luke, and Shepherdswell (also known as Sibertswold) St Andrew. Original records for each of these four parishes can be consulted on microfilm at Canterbury Cathedral Archives.

Wednesday 16 September 2015

Free access to FindMyPast this weekend

Click here for Free access to FindMyPast this weekend 18th - 21st September

From 12pm BST on Friday 18th September 2015 to 12pm BST on Monday 21st September 2015, you will be able to access FindMyPast's collections of billions of family history records and millions of historic newspaper pages at absolutely no cost.

  • FindMyPast have a large online collection of UK parish records, giving information on births, marriages and deaths from as far back as the 1500s. The site have a comprehensive collection of UK military records, and census records that can help you to trace your family back to 1841. The newspaper archive includes over 11.5 million newspaper pages, offering insights into the world in which your family lived.

Monday 14 September 2015

New Records on Ancestry: UK, Apprentices Indentured in Merchant Navy 1824-1910

Ancestry have recently added a new records collection to its database, UK, Apprentices Indentured in Merchant Navy, 1824-1910.

This collection contains lists of young men who were indentured to merchant navy ships between the years 1824 and 1910. They include details such as name, age and date at registration or indenture, vessel, port of registry, and birth year and place.

United Kingdom divorce database updated on Ancestry

Ancestry have recently updated their U.K., Civil Divorce Records, 1858-1914 collection.

This contains divorce files from England and Wales only. In England and Wales, divorce prior to 1858 was only possible via an Act of Parliament. After 1858, a civil based procedure became possible through a division of the High Court of Justice. The database contains records from civil divorce proceedings that followed the 1857 Matrimonial Causes Act.


Records in this database were generated by civil divorce proceedings that followed the Matrimonial Causes Act. The National Archives describes them as follows:
Files of papers arising from petitions for divorce, judicial separation, declarations of legitimacy, applications for protection of a wife's earnings, etc, in the Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes and Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division of the High Court of Justice. Some later files also relate to appeals from decisions of magistrates' courts in matrimonial causes….
In most cases the files have been weeded and contain only minutes, pleadings and decrees, but in certain selected suits, illustrating particular kinds of proceedings, papers have been preserved in their entirety.
The end date for records in this database is determined by privacy laws. These records also include petitions for separation or to have a marriage nullified.
What You Can Find in the Records
As noted above, records contained in each file will vary, but they may provide the following details:
  • name
  • gender
  • spouse
  • spouse’s gender
  • type of record
  • petition year
  • date and place of marriage
  • names and birth details of children
  • copy of marriage certificate
Records will indicate who filed the petition and who the respondent was. They may also provide a short history of the marriage (including addresses), the grounds for the divorce petition with some details (such as names, times, and places associated with adultery or desertion), terms of judgment, and other details. These details can make these records both informative and very personal.

Sunday 13 September 2015

New West Yorkshire record collection added to Ancestry

Ancestry have added a new record collection to their database:

West Yorkshire, England, Select Removal and Settlement Records, 1689-1866.
The records in this database relate to settlement and removals in West Yorkshire. They include examinations and settlement inquiries, registers of settlement, orders of removal, and other documents.

Details included in these records vary widely, depending on the document. An order of removal may contain a name, age, current parish, and parish being removed to. A settlement register may note number of children and marital status. Documents from inquiries and examinations can be even more extensive. In the end, you may be able to uncover some of the following information:
  • name
  • age and birth information
  • parish
  • date
  • places and dates of residence (both current and former)
  • spouse and marriage details
  • children’s names, birth dates and places, and legitimacy
  • professional information and apprenticeships
  • other family members’ names and residences
  • summary of the situation and grounds for settlement or removal.

Saturday 12 September 2015

FindMyPast adds over 2.8 million new school records


To celebrate the start of the new school year, FindMyPast  have added millions of school records from around the globe. Take a glimpse into your ancestors' early life and pinpoint the area they grew up in, reveal if they had a perfect attendance or occasionally played truant and even determine whether they worked in a school as an adult.

Over 2.8 million new school records including:
Coffs Harbour District Schools
Search through admission registers from 14 schools in the Coffs Harbour region of New South Wales.
Trace their school days »
UK National School Admission Registers & Log-Books 1870-1914
Search or browse through over 2.7 million new records from over 3,600 schools, released in the third phase of the Archives & Records Association of England & Wales National Schools project.
Explore these unique records »
Ireland National School Registers
Discover where and when your Irish ancestors went to school by exploring over 142,000 school records from across the whole of Ireland.
Take your research to The Emerald Isle »
Surrey, Southwark, St Saviour's Grammar School Admissions 1690-1895
Did your ancestor attend St Saviour's Grammar School in Southwark, England? Explore over 200 years of admission records dating back to the 17th century.
Discover Surrey ancestors »


See all this week's new records

North Tipperary Roman Catholic records added to RootsIreland

RootsIreland have added to its database Roman Catholic records from the parish of Thurles spanning 1795 to 1900, which have been transcribed from the baptism and marriage registers by the North Tipperary Genealogy Centre.