NEWSPAGE Archive-9
This page is dedicated to Genealogy related news events,
update news of special Websites, that have been received by email
from concerned Genealogists or subscribed email. Listed by date received, newest
down to oldest. For
Archived news from Dec 23, 2003 & older go to
Newspage-Archive
or
Newspage-Archive-1 (Dec 23, 2003 to
June 30,2005) or Newspage-Archive-2 (June
30,2005 to Dec 1,2005) or Newspage-Archive-3
(Dec 1, 2005 to June 8, 2006) or
Newspage-Archive-4 (June 1, 2006 to Dec 31, 2006) or
Newspage-Archive-5 (Jan 1, to June 30,
2007) or Newspage-Archive-6 (July 1, to Dec
30, 2007) or Newspage-Archive-7 (Dec 30,
2007 to June 15, 2008)Newspage-Archive-8
(June 15, 2008 to Dec 22, 2008)
For links to current or forth coming Event
Brochures or Info Documents go to the Event
Brochures Page
For additional Genealogy News, please view the Web Blog "CanadaGenealogy, or, 'Jane's Your Aunt" of M. Diane Rogers (our Editor) at http://canadagenealogy.blogspot.com/
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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To: <ffhs-news@ffhs-lists.org.uk>
Date: Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:37:29 +0100
From: News from the Federation of Family History Societies
Subject: FFHS-NEWS
Additions to the ScotlandsPeople website
ScotlandsPeople has announced that the following records have been added to
their site:
1. New 1881 census indexes and images: this now completes the set of Scottish
census records 1841-1901, uniquely available on ScotlandsPeople. Please note
that this new version is in addition to the current LDS version of the 1881
census (which does contain images)
2. Old Parish Records (OPR) Deaths & Burials indexes and images have also been
added from 1538 to 1854
3. Coats of Arms 1672-1907 (free to search) have been added.
More modern Birth, Marriage and Death (BMD) records have also been added to the
site. This now increases the range of statutory records, so you can trace your
more recent ancestors:
Indexes of Scottish births and deaths now run from 1855 to 2006 with marriages
from 1855 to 1933. Indexes to modern marriages will be added later this year.
Images of births are now available from 1855 to 1908, marriages from 1855 to
1933 and deaths from 1855 to 1958.
The address of their website is www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk.
Roger Lewry
FFHS Archives Liaison
exec.member.rl@ffhs.org.uk
19 June 2009
The Federation of Family History Societies is a Company Limited by Guarantee
Company Number 2930189 (England & Wales) - Registered Charity Number 1038721
Registered Office: Artillery House, 15 Byrom Street, Manchester, England M3 4PF
Subject: entire 1911 census now available online
Date: Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:33:07 +0100
From: "Debra Chatfield" <debra.chatfield@findmypast.com>
ENTIRE 1911 CENSUS NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE FOR THE FIRST TIME
*
Records for Wales, Channel Islands and Isle of Man and military serving overseas
now online
Following the initial release of the Southern English records in January 2009,
1911census.co.uk now hosts the complete 1911 census records for people living in
England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. What's more, for the
first time in a British census, full details are available of British Army
personnel and their families stationed overseas. There were 135,866 people
serving in the British Army and 36,804 people serving in the Royal Navy across
the British Empire in 1911, including 69,785 serving in India.
The 1911census.co.uk website service has been developed by UK-based family
history website findmypast.com, owned by brightsolid, in association with The
National Archives. Completed by 36 million householders on Sunday, 2 April 1911,
the census records show the name, age, place of birth, marital status and
occupation of every resident in every home as well as their relationship to the
head of the household and the online records include images of our ancestors'
own handwriting.
For the first time the enumerators' summary books for the whole of England and
Wales have also gone online today, recording details of all properties in the
country in 1911 - a great resource for anyone interested in local history or
house histories. The 1911 census records have been released three years earlier
than the scheduled 2012 date as a result of public demand for the 1911 census,
which will be a key resource for family historians.*
Debra Chatfield, Marketing Manager at findmypast.com, says: '"We're delighted
that the final records from the 1911 census have been published online including
the military records and the records for Wales, the Isle of Man and Channel
Islands. We hope people of all ageswill gain a huge amount of valuable
information about their ancestors by consulting the records and that they'll
discover new chapters of their family history that they previously knew very
little or nothing about."
Oliver Morley, Director of Customer and Business Development at The National
Archives, commented: "It's wonderful to see that so many people are discovering
a new passion for family history through the 1911 census. Bringing this project
to completion has been one of the most exciting events for us this year, and to
know that so many people have been able to access part of their personal history
online shows how valuable it can be to make these records available via the
web."
ENDS
Notes to Editors
*In line with data protection legislation, certain sensitive information
relating to infirmity and to children of women prisoners will be held back until
2012. The 1911 census is a special case at the request of the Information
Commissioner all records of infirmity as listed on the records (e.g. 'deaf',
'dumb', 'blind', 'lunatic' etc.) have been obscured and will not be available to
view until January 2012.
For further information, please contact:
Debra Chatfield
debra.chatfield@findmypast.com
About findmypast.com
Leading UK family history website findmypast.com (formerly 1837online.com) was
the first company to make the complete birth, marriage and death indexes for
England & Wales available online in April 2003.
Following the transcription, scanning and indexing of over two million images,
the company launched the first website to allow the public easy and fast access
to the complete indexes, which until then had only been available on microfiche
film in specialist archives and libraries. The launch was instrumental in
creating the widespread and growing interest in genealogy seen in the UK today.
Findmypast.com has subsequently digitised many more family history records and
now offers access to over 650 million records dating as far back as 1538. This
allows family historians and novice genealogists to search for their ancestors
among comprehensive collections of military records, census, migration,
occupation directories, and current electoral roll data, as well as the original
comprehensive birth, marriage and death records.
In November 2006 findmypast.com launched the ancestorsonboard.com microsite in
association with The National Archives to publish outbound passenger lists for
long-distance voyages departing all British ports between 1890 and 1960.
As well as providing access to historical records, findmypast.com is also
developing a range of online tools to help people discover and share their
family history more easily, beginning with the launch of Family Tree Explorer in
July 2007.
Over 1.7 million people in the UK have researched their family trees and
findmypast.com has over 800,000 active registered users, revealing the mass
appeal of genealogy and findmypast.com's position as the leading family history
website based in the UK.
In April 2007 findmypast.com's then parent company Title Research Group received
the prestigious Queen's Award for Enterprise: Innovation 2007 in recognition of
their achievement.
Findmypast.com was acquired in December 2007 by brightsolid, the company who
were awarded The National Archives' contract to publish online the 1911 census.
About The National Archives:
The National Archives, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk, is a government department
and an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). As the official
archives of the UK government, it cares for, makes available and 'brings alive'
a vast collection of over 1000 years of historical records, including the
treasured Domesday Book.
Not only safeguarding historical information, The National Archives also manages
current digital information and devises new technological solutions for keeping
government records readable now and in the future.
It provides world class research facilities and expert advice, publishes all UK
legislation and official publications, and is a leading advocate for the archive
sector.
At the heart of information policy, The National Archives sets standards of best
practice that actively promotes and encourages public access to, and the re-use
of information, both online or onsite at Kew. This work helps inform today's
decisions and ensures that they become tomorrow's permanent record.
The National Archives brings together the Public Record Office, Historical
Manuscripts Commission, the Office of Public Sector Information and Her
Majesty's Stationery Office. See also www.opsi.gov.uk
Date: Wed, 10 Jun 2009 03:00:30 EDT
To: ffhs-news@ffhs-lists.org.uk
From: News from the Federation of Family History Societies
Subject: FFHS-NEWS 1911 Census for
Wales
From FMP
1911 CENSUS FOR WALES GOES ONLINE TODAY
* Online access to the records of 2.4 million people living in Wales in 1911
* Major new family history resource
2.4 million people were recorded living in Wales in the census taken on the
night of Sunday, 2 April, 1911. Today, after nearly 100 years, the Welsh census
records are available to the public at www.1911census.co.uk.
Due to public demand for access to the 1911 census, the records have been
released as soon as each region's records have been digitised. Following the
initial release of 1911 records in January 2009, the records of people living in
Wales in 1911 are being made available today for the first time.
The 1911 census records contain details about the lives of the ancestors of many
of Wales' famous sons and daughters, such as Richard Burton, Dylan Thomas, Kylie
Minogue and Tom Jones.
The census covered Wales, England, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, as
well as recording those aboard Royal Naval and Merchant vessels at sea and in
foreign ports and, for the first time in a British census, full details of
British Army personnel and their families in military establishments overseas.
It is the most detailed census since UK records began and the first for which
the original census schedules have been preserved - complete with our ancestors'
own handwriting - providing a fascinating insight into British society nearly a
century ago.
www.1911census.co.uk is easy to access and enables the public to view high
quality colour images of their ancestors' original handwritten census returns.
Transcribed text versions of the records ensure they are fully searchable by
name or address.
Public demand for the 1911 census, which will be a key resource for family
historians, has resulted in the records being released earlier than the
scheduled 2012 date. To make this early online release to the public possible,
the 1911 census team worked around the clock for two years - scanning on average
one census page per second. In line with data protection legislation, certain
sensitive information relating to infirmity and to children of women prisoners
will be held back until 2012.
Comprehensive and rigorously tested, www.1911census.co.uk has been developed by
UK-based family history website findmypast.com, owned by brightsolid, in
association with The National Archives.
Debra Chatfield, Marketing Manager at findmypast.com, said: "This latest release
from the 1911 census offers a crucial new entry point to Welsh family history
research for a wide range of people, from novice family historians to seasoned
genealogists who have hit a 'wall' in their family tree research. As well as
helping people trace their Welsh ancestors, these records shed more light on our
predecessors' day-to-day lifestyles, providing a snapshot of a day in their
lives, with details of their occupations, housing arrangements and social
status."
The 1911 census is huge - occupying over two kilometres of shelving - an
incredible eight million paper census returns have been transcribed to create
over 16 million digital images. This makes the 1911 census one of the biggest
digitisation projects ever undertaken by The National Archives in association
with a commercial partner.
Oliver Morley, Director of Customer and Business Development at The National
Archives, commented: "This is a major achievement. By teaming up with
findmypast.com, we are bringing history to life for millions. This remarkable
record is available online to researchers and family historians all over the
world for future generations. The 1911 census is a poignant reflection of how
different life was in early 20 century Wales, before the Great War."
Handwritten records
Completed by all householders in Wales and England on Sunday, 2 April 1911, the
census records show the name, age, place of birth, marital status and occupation
of every resident in every home, as well as their relationship to the head of
the household.
People will also have unique access to their ancestors' handwriting as the
original householders' schedules were preserved and used as working documents
rather than copying the details in to summary books as was the case in previous
census years. The launch of the records also creates a starting point for people
to trace their own family tree by looking up their parents, grandparents and
great-grandparents who were alive in the year 1911.
'Fertility Census'
The 1911 census was the first to ask questions relating to fertility in
marriage. Married women were asked to state how long they had been married and
how many children had been born from that marriage. The census also provides a
fascinating snapshot of the population of the country just a few years before a
whole generation of young men perished in the Great War of 1914-1918.
How to use the 1911 Census records
* Log on to www.1911census.co.uk and register for free
* Search for an ancestor in 1911 by entering their name
* If the name is common you can enter their approximate year of birth, which
will help to narrow down the results
* Search for an address to look up the history of your house or an ancestor's
address in 1911
* Pay as you go to view each record. You will be charged 10 credits per
transcript and 30 credits for each original household page. Visitors to the
website can buy 60 credits for £6.95.
* Findmypast.com vouchers are also valid on 1911census.co.uk. Vouchers can be
purchased from The National Archives bookshop and redeemed on findmypast.com.
Credits can then be spent on both findmypast.com and 1911census.co.uk.
* For more information about using the 1911 census for family history research,
'Census: The Expert Guide' by Peter Christian and David Annal is available from
The National Archives online bookshop at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
_______________________________________________
ffhs-news mailing list
ffhs-news@ffhs-lists.org.uk
http://ffhs-lists.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/ffhs-news_ffhs-lists.org.uk
From: "Familyrelatives.com" <TreequestLimited_868682@dotmailer.co.uk>
To: "bcgs@bcgs.ca" <bcgs@bcgs.ca>
Date: Wed, 20 May 2009 11:44:51 +0100
Subject:
Canadian Civil Service salaries published online - New Records
Familyrelatives.com today launched over 200,000 Canadian Civil Service records for the period 1872-1918. The fully searchable records offer a fascinating insight into the machinery of government - from the Governor General's office and those employed in Parliament (House of Commons & Senate) to the 10 people in the "Slide and Boom" Service of the Inland Revenue all of whom are meticulously accounted for. The online records reveal the civil servants name, position, department, length of service, salary and date of appointment.
Subject: new records on
findmypast May 5, 2009
Date: Tue, 5 May 2009 09:34:34 +0100
From: "Debra Chatfield" <debra.chatfield@findmypast.com>
Reply-To: "Debra Chatfield" <debra.chatfield@findmypast.com>
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 5 May 2009
MAKING WAVES IN GENEALOGY: ONLINE LAUNCH OF MERCHANT SEAMEN CREW LISTS INDEX
Lists of 270,000 merchant seafarers at sea in 1860-1913 made available online
The indexes to lists of crew members working on British merchant ships between
1860 and 1913 are now available online from today at leading family history
website findmypast.com.
Over 270,000 merchant seafarers are included in the crew list indexes, which
were completed by ships every six months, from captains to able seamen to engine
room staff and stewardesses. Family historians can now view the indexes online
to help track down seafaring ancestors, who have been notoriously more difficult
to trace than their land-dwelling counterparts.
The records are from ports around the British Isles so the indexes give
genealogists the opportunity to find ancestors wherever they had signed on - not
just ships from their home port.
With the launch of this latest set of records, in association with the Crew List
Index Project (CLIP), findmypast.com is further expanding its extensive
collection of online records to help family history enthusiasts compile detailed
information about their ancestors' lives.
Debra Chatfield, Marketing Manager at findmypast.com, said "The UK has a vast
array of records documenting our seafaring ancestors, who played such an
important part in the nation's history. However due to the complex nature of the
documenting system, these records are held in many different archives across the
country, creating a massive hurdle for family historians looking to access their
ancestors' records.
"Happily, the Crew Lists Index Project has made huge strides in collating a
national index of the records, which we're making easily accessible to the
general public online today. Today's addition to the findmypast.com suite of
genealogy records is a significant step forward for family history enthusiasts
who are looking to trace their seafaring ancestors."
Peter Owens of CLIP added "Thanks to all the hard work by many volunteers, this
is data which will make researching seafarers far simpler. This publication is
another important step in making these records accessible, and we hope it will
stimulate a growing interest in our rich maritime past."
How to trace seafaring ancestors
1. Log onto www.findmypast.com and
search for your ancestor in the Crew Lists section.
2. Once you have located your ancestor, make a note of the ship's official
number and records source. The original records are not currently hosted online,
but you can contact the repository that holds the original records to arrange
access to the documents. The original documents will contain information about
each crew member's age, date of birth, date of signing on and off the ship,
their occupation, the ship's voyages and the names of any ships in which the
crew member previously served.
For more information log on to
www.findmypast.com.
ENDS
Notes to editors
About findmypast.com
Leading UK family history website findmypast.com (formerly 1837online.com) was
the first company to make the complete birth, marriage and death indexes for
England & Wales available online in April 2003.
Following the transcription, scanning and indexing of over two million images,
the company launched the first website to allow the public easy and fast access
to the complete indexes, which until then had only been available on microfiche
film in specialist archives and libraries. The launch was instrumental in
creating the widespread and growing interest in genealogy seen in the UK today.
In April 2007, findmypast.com's then parent company Title Research Group
received the prestigious Queen's Award for Enterprise: Innovation 2007 in
recognition of their achievement.
Findmypast.com has subsequently digitised many more family history records and
now offers access to over 650 million records dating as far back as 1538. This
allows family historians and novice genealogists to search for their ancestors
among comprehensive collections of military records, census, migration,
occupation directories, and current electoral roll data, as well as the original
comprehensive birth, marriage and death records.
In November 2006 findmypast.com launched the ancestorsonboard.com microsite in
association with The National Archives to publish outbound passenger lists for
long-distance voyages departing all British ports between 1890 and 1960.
As well as providing access to historical records, findmypast.com is also
developing a range of online tools to help people discover and share their
family history more easily, beginning with the launch of Family Tree Explorer in
July 2007.
Over 1.7 million people in the UK have researched their family trees and
findmypast.com has over 800,000 active registered users, revealing the mass
appeal of genealogy and findmypast.com's position as the leading family history
website based in the UK.
Findmypast.com was acquired in December 2007 by brightsolid, the company who
were awarded The National Archives' contract to publish online the 1911 census.
About CLIP
CLIP (Crew List Index Project) is run as an independent volunteer project by
Peter and Jan Owens. CLIP aims to improve access to the records of British
merchant seamen for the last part of the nineteenth century - originally by
indexing records at local record offices throughout the UK. From 1999 to 2001, a
team of volunteers throughout Britain transcribed approximately 12,500 Merchant
Navy crew lists from the period 1863-1913.
Since then CLIP has continued to transcribe information from crew lists and a
variety of other maritime sources, including the first and only complete index
to British registered ships.
www.crewlist.org.uk
Kind regards
Debra Chatfield
Marketing Manager - findmypast.com
e-mail: marketing@findmypast.com
web: www.findmypast.com
38-41 Fourth Floor, Broadgate Court, 199 Bishopsgate, London, EC2M 3TY,
United Kingdom
Tel: 020 3326 6300
To: <ffhs-news@ffhs-lists.org.uk>
Date: Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:24:54 +0100
From: News from the Federation of Family History Societies <ffhs-news@ffhs-lists.org.uk>
Subject:
FFHS-NEWS More BMD records for British subjects overseas and on board ships
More BMD records
The National Archives has just announced that BMDregisters.co.uk have added to
their website more than 100,000 records of births, baptisms, marriages, deaths
and burials of British subjects overseas and on board ships. This information is
from the TNA’s RG33 series.
The records mostly date from the 19th and 20th centuries although some records
date from as far back as 1627; if your ancestors travelled the world or married
at sea during this period, you may find them there.
With records ranging from Methodists and Baptists to Presbyterians and Quakers,
this website is useful for tracing non-conformist ancestors.
Roger Lewry
FFHS Archives Liaison
exec.member.rl@ffhs.org.uk
10 April 2009
The Federation of Family History Societies is a Company Limited by Guarantee
Company Number 2930189 (England & Wales) – Registered Charity Number 1038721
Registered Office: Artillery House, 15 Byrom Street, Manchester, England M3 4PF
To: <ffhs-news@ffhs-lists.org.uk>
Date: Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:24:54 +0100
From: News from the Federation of Family History Societies <ffhs-news@ffhs-lists.org.uk>
Subject: FFHS-NEWS 1911
census for England complete
1911 census for England complete
The complete counties of Northumberland, Cumberland and Westmorland, which
comprise 443,204 new records, are now live on 1911census.co.uk. In addition, the
Gateshead data, which comprises 84,195 new records, has been added to Durham.
This means that the whole of England is now online and searchable.
We now look forward to the addition of the records for Wales and those for the
Isle of Man, Channel Islands, Royal Navy (ships at sea at time of census) and
Military Establishments (overseas).
Roger Lewry
FFHS Archives Liaison
exec.member.rl@ffhs.org.uk
10 April 2009
The Federation of Family History Societies is a Company Limited by Guarantee
Company Number 2930189 (England & Wales) – Registered Charity Number 1038721
Registered Office: Artillery House, 15 Byrom Street, Manchester, England M3 4PF
----- Original Message -----
From: News from the Federation of Family History Societies
To: ffhs-news@ffhs-lists.org.uk
Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 2009 1:24 AM
Subject: FFHS-NEWS NEWS FROM THE FFHS CONCERNING CHANGES TO GRO WEBSITE
The following notice has been received today from Melanie Lee GRO Communications
Important Information on changes to the General Register Office website
From the 1 April 2009, General Register Office (GRO) information for the public
will move from our current website (
www.gro.gov.uk ) to join the website Directgov. It is intended that a
full launch, supported by a Press Release, will take place on 7 April 2009.
Directgov is a cross-government supersite, the aim of which is to host
information on all public services in one place.
The new website address for GRO is
www.direct.gov.uk/gro . This will take users to an area entitled
“Registering Life Events”. As well as providing easy links to the GRO online
certificate ordering service, it will contain information on the registration of
birth, adoption, stillbirth, marriage, civil partnership and death as well as
guidance on family history and the use of the General Register Office birth,
death and marriage indexes.
The current GRO web address ( www.gro.gov.uk
) will remain active and will host a “homepage” that will guide visitors to GRO
information via links.
I would be grateful if you would make the necessary arrangements to amend any
reference you may have to the current GRO website address on your website or on
printed literature to show the new web address of
www.direct.gov.uk/gro . Since the web
address www.gro.go.uk will remain
active, changes to your printed material can await the next print run.
The web address for the GRO online ordering service remains the same and can be
found at
http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates . This page can also be
easily accessed via www.direct.gov.uk/gro
.
If you have any queries regarding this initiative please contact the GRO
communications team at
gro.communications@ips.gsi.gov.uk .
Philippa McCray
Administrator (Acting)
Federation of Family History Societies
PO Box 8857
Lutterworth
LE17 9BJ
Email: admin@ffhs.org.uk
Tel: 01455 203133
www.ffhs.org.uk
----- Original Message -----
From: Prince George Genealogical Society
To: Undisclosed-Recipient:;
Sent: Monday, March 30, 2009 7:41 PM
Subject: genealogical seminar
To whom it may concern,
Our group -
the Prince George Genealogical Society is hosting a genealogical seminar on June
13, 2009.
I have attached a poster and a registration form and ask if you would please
display them for us.
Website:-
http://members.tripod.com/pg_genealogy_society/welcome.html
Thank you.
Brenda Davis,
Web Master
----- Original Message -----
From: Janet WHITE To: Marnie INGVALDSON
Sent: Monday, March 30, 2009 8:10 PM
Subject:
Re-enactment of first Church service in New Westminster taking place April 3,
2009, at 11:00 AM at Sapperton Landing
Please find link
Reenactment press release.pdf to a press release regarding the re-enactment
commemorating the first church service in New Westminster, on Friday, April 3rd,
at 11:00 AM, at Sapperton Landing below the old Penitentiary.
This is a media event and we would love to have BC history buffs out.
Marnie, could you have the BCGS website gentleman put this out to all members?
Thanks...I could not get it to him via bcgs@bcgs.org or was I sending it to the
wrong address?
Cheers,
Janet WHITE
----- Original Message -----
From: News from the Federation of Family History Societies
To: 'News List'
Sent: Thursday, March 26, 2009 11:51 PM
Subject:
FFHS-NEWS London Metropolitan Archives launch new records online with Ancestry
Yesterday I attended the launch of the above archives, being placed online, at
the Guildhall in London
Details of records that are now available online are outlined below
David HOLMAN
Chairman FFHS
WORKHOUSES, WILLS, ELECTORAL REGISTERS & SCHOOL RECORDS - 400 YEARS OF LONDON
HISTORY LAUNCHES ONLINE [i] – WORLD FIRST
1 in 2 Brits with ancestors in collection, including J.K. Rowling, David Beckham
and Patsy Kensit
77 million records when complete, including workhouse, parish, school 1
Famous names include Oliver Cromwell, Samuel Pepys and William Blake, as well as
ancestors of contemporary celebrities JK Rowling, David Beckham, Patsy Kensit
and Britney Spears
An estimated 165 million people around the world has an ancestor in the
collection, including more than half of the British population
[ii]
**Embargoed until 10:00am on 26th March 2009**
The definitive collection of records detailing the rich history of London and
its inhabitants over 400 years is available online for the first time today at
leading social and family history website Ancestry.co.uk, in partnership with
London Metropolitan Archives and Guildhall Library Manuscripts following a
competitive tender by the City of London to digitise and exclusively host their
collection online.
Starting with records from London’s infamous Victorian workhouses memorably
depicted by Charles Dickens in Oliver Twist, the London Historical Records,
1500s-1900s will include more than 77 million records, providing an
unprecedented insight into the colourful history of one of the world’s greatest
cities.
Key record types include parish and workhouse records, electoral rolls, wills,
land tax records and school reports. According to a recent family history
survey, more than half of the current British population will have an ancestor
in the London Historical Records, 1500s-1900s.
Furthermore, it is estimated that approximately 135 million people from the
U.S., Canada and Australia will also be able to trace ancestors in the
collection due to London’s status as the city at the centre of the British
Empire for centuries 2.
Assembled over time direct from various London institutions, the collection
includes the names of millions of ordinary Londoners alongside famous and
infamous figures from the city’s past. Notable examples include Oliver
Cromwell’s marriage record, the baptism record for poet Samuel Pepys and the
burial register listing for writer and statesman John Milton.
A number of modern day celebrities can also find ancestors within the
collection. JK Rowling’s 3x great-grandfather, William Richard Rowling, appears
in the Mile End marriage registers for 1872, while Patsy Kensit’s ancestor
Thomas Kensit can be found in Shoreditch Baptism records from 1815. David
Beckham’s London roots are also well documented; with his 3x great-
grandparent’s marriage listed in the collection. Even international pop star
Britney Spears can find her great-grandfather, George Portell, listed in the
Tottenham marriage records for 1923.
The workhouse or ‘Board of Guardians’ records now online contain the names of
anyone who was born, baptised or died in a London workhouse in the 19th and
early 20th century. During this time, men, women and children who couldn’t
support themselves were forced to live in these institutions, working long hours
in tedious jobs in exchange for minimal food and board.
The conditions were kept intentionally poor to deter others and unofficial
beatings or starving of inmates were not unheard of. Overcrowding was also a
major problem, compounded by the influx of Irish immigrants after the potato
famine of the mid 19th century. While conditions improved slightly in the early
20th century, the workhouses were still a feared ‘last resort’ by most until
their abolition in 1930.
The workhouse records cover 12 key London regions [iii].
Also included today are a variety of workhouse creed registers, admissions,
discharges, apprenticeship papers and lists of ‘lunatics’.
Workhouse records are just one of the record types which comprise the London
Historical Records, 1500s-1900s. Others include:
Parish Registers - from 1538, priests had to keep records of all baptisms,
marriages and burials in their parish. These records are taken from over 10,000
Greater London parishes, and as they pre-date both civil registration and
censuses, they are the essential ‘next step back’ for people wishing to trace
their family history beyond the 19th century
School Admissions and Discharges - contain records taken from 800+ London
schools dating from the early Victorian times through to 1911. They provide
admission details and information about millions of London students
Non-Conformist Registers - details the birth, baptism, death and burial of
religious dissenters who did not worship at the established church in England
from 1694 to 1921. The majority of the records are for Methodist, Baptist and
United Reformed churches, although there are smaller collections of other
denominations such as Quakers and Seventh Day Adventists
Diocesan Divorce Exhibita - one of a number of interesting records from the
London diocesan courts, when applying for divorce, a husband or wife would
submit evidence for their partner’s marital failings, including love letters,
witness accounts and sworn testimony, which were then kept on record.
Josh Hanna, Senior Vice President of Ancestry, comments: “We estimate that half
of Brits will be able to find an ancestor in this collection, which pre-dates
civil registration and censuses, and documents the history of a great city and
its people, their birth, poverty, fortunes, faith, education, marriage and
death.
“No city in modern history other than London can claim to have been the capital
of such a far reaching empire, which really is why this collection is of such
significance not only to Brits, but also to many others around the world with
ancestral ties back to England.”
Dr Deborah Jenkins, Assistant Director of the City of London’s Department of
Libraries, Archives and Guildhall Art Library, comments: “We are delighted to
work with Ancestry.co.uk to digitise this impressive collection of documents.
“Not only will this mean that millions of people will be able to access this
resource from the comfort of their own homes all over the world – it also
ensures that we will be able to support the long term preservation of the
documents and provide fast, free access to researchers who visit our sites.”
ENDS
The London Historical Records, 1500s-1900s, can be accessed directly at
www.ancestry.co.uk/lma
ABOUT ANCESTRY.CO.UK
Ancestry.co.uk has more than 820 million names in collections including the most
comprehensive online collection of England, Wales and Scotland Censuses from
1841 to 1901, the England and Wales Birth, Marriage and Death Indexes,
1837-2005, World War One British Army Service and Pension records, UK and
Ireland Parish and Probate Records and the British Phone Books, 1880-1984.
Ancestry.co.uk was launched in May 2002 and is part of the global network of
Ancestry websites (wholly owned by The Generations Network, Inc.), which
contains seven billion names in 27,000 historical record collections. To date
more than 9.3 million family trees have been created and 915 million names and
16 million photographs uploaded. 7 million unique visitors logged on to an
Ancestry website in January 2009.*
The Ancestry global network of family history websites: www.ancestry.com in the
US, www.ancestry.co.uk in the UK, www.ancestry.ca in Canada, www.ancestry.com.au
in Australia, www.ancestry.de in Germany, www.ancestry.it in Italy,
www.ancestry.fr in France, www.ancestry.se in Sweden and www.jiapu.com in China.
*comScore, Unique Visitors, January 2009
About London Metropolitan Archives
London Metropolitan Archives (LMA) is the largest local authority record office
in the United Kingdom. It manages and provides public access to 80KM of
archives, photographs, plans, audio-visual and printed material dating from 1067
to the present day - an enormous amount of information about the capital and its
people. LMA is the premier destination for family historians tracing their roots
in the London area and for learning about any aspect of the capital’s past.
About Guildhall Library
The Manuscripts Section of Guildhall Library is the local record office for the
City of London (the "Square Mile"). Its holdings date from the 11th century and
include the archives of the Diocese of London, St Paul's Cathedral, the City
wards and parishes, and around 80 of the City livery companies.
[i] When complete in 2010
[ii] London roots – research methodology
In order to estimate the percentage of the population with London roots in four
major countries (U.S., Canada, Australia and the UK), more than 9,000 people who
had researched their family history were surveyed using Zoomerang International.
The percentages of people who found London ancestors (more than three
generations back) in each country was as follows: UK (60%), U.S. (55.6%), Canada
(59.6%) and Australia (70.8%).These percentages were then applied to the
white/European fraction of the population based on national census data, giving
the following results: UK (33 million), US (107.8 million), Canada (14.6
million), Australia (12.7 million) = 168.1 million – approx 165 million.
[iii] Records launched today cover 12 major London regions:
Poplar, Paddington, St Marylebone, St Pancras, Southwark, Islington, Stepney,
Westminster, Lambeth, Wandsworth, Holborn and Hampstead. The remaining regions
will launch online in the coming months.
_______________________________________________
ffhs-news mailing list
ffhs-news@ffhs-lists.org.uk
http://ffhs-lists.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/ffhs-news_ffhs-lists.org.uk
From BCGS Member Winston Millis
Note:- The sender, Bob Fizzell
is an Irish Palatine descendant who lives in Beloit, Wisconsin. He has been
promoting the Irish Palatine SIG in association with Ontario Genealogical
Society - especially as this year marks the 300th Anniversary of the Palatine
emigration.
- Marvin
Date: Sat, 7 Mar 2009 13:03:29 -0800
From: rlfizzell@sbcglobal.net
Subject: SIG-IP Update Mar. ‘09
To: bobfizz@sbcglobal.net
Greetings Irish Palatines and Friends!
I am sure that all of the OGS members noticed John Becker’s family story in the
Feb. ‘09 issue of Families and his reference to the 1710 Palatine immigration to
New York. Several other family stories in this issue also refer to the 1709-10
Palatine emigration.
Our
OGS Special Interest Group for Irish Palatine descendants of the 1709 emigration
is holding a Friday workshop at the OGS May Conference. We are fortunate in
having Henry Z Jones, Jr. participate in our Friday panel at the workshop. Henry
is looked upon as 'the' authority in 1709 Palatine family research. He has
published several texts which record many of the 1709 families which settled
both in Ireland and in the British Colonies. Henry's presence will give an added
element of interest for all 1709ers. It is a wonderful opportunity for all
Palatine descendants to meet Henry at our workshop and pick his brain about our
families.
As John Becker has said, “Hank Jones has been a great help to all Palatine
descendants for decades, as you know, and I would not want to miss seeing and
hearing him in person.”
Henry Z. Jones, Jr. will be receiving the Eula Lapp Award for contributions to
Palatine Genealogy and History.
The agenda for the two and a half hour Friday workshop includes, in addition to
Henry Jones, a brief update by Ruth Cherina (Editor - OGS Publications) on the
status of the Commemorative Book. Denis Jones, Bob Fizzell and Carolyn Heald
will be presenting information on the Palatine migration to Ireland and on to
Canada. We will have ample time for questions to be addressed to Hank Jones and
the other presenters.
As we have been working on the best way to host our web site, you may have lost
connection with it. The new URL is:
http://web.mac.com/bobfizzell/iWeb/SIG-IP/HomeSIG-IP.html
Please add this to your “Favorites” list. We are hoping to have a permanent
location as soon as a few bugs get worked out. Note that there are convenient
links back to the OGS web site from each of our pages. You will find a link from
our site to the OGS site where you will be able to register for the conference.
Please add our address to your book so that SPAM filters do not block your
receiving our messages. If you prefer to not receive messages from us, simply
REPLY to this message with the SUBJECT “REMOVE.”
Bob Fizzell
Communications Chair
OGS SIG-IP
----- Original Message -----
From: M. Diane Rogers
To: webmaster@bcgs.ca
Sent: Tuesday, March 03, 2009 9:20 AM
Subject:
More BCGS Participants Needed - CelticFest St Patrick's Day Parade -
Vancouver BC - Sunday, March 15, 2009
It's almost time for the 6th Annual CelticFest St. Patrick’s Day Parade in
Vancouver, BC and the BC Genealogical Society group will be in the parade. We'll
be marching with the Vancouver Branch of the United Empire Loyalists'
Association which is also a parade group.
You do not need to be of Irish ancestry to join - everyone is 'Irish' on St.
Patrick's Day. If you have a heritage costume, please wear it - otherwise wear
some green. We've been in the parade every year, and want to make a good
showing, so please come and join us! The parade is a lot of fun and good
exposure for the BCGS and for genealogy. Thousands of people will be in downtown
Vancouver to watch.
Sunday, March 15, 2009 - Parade start time 11:30 am. We will meet starting at
10:00 am at Section "C-88" which is located at the 1500 block of Alberni Street
(south side), between Nicola and Cardero Streets. You need to be there by 10:30
am.
This year there's a new parade route along Georgia Street from Broughton to Howe
- an short, easy walk.
Please contact Diane Rogers now so we know who'll be there -
diane_rogers@shaw.ca or 604 294
5369 (please leave a message) or 604 724 8744 cell#.
There are over 80 parade entries and 2,000 participants - pipers, drummers,
Celtic music groups, the Vancouver police drill team and fire brigades, stilt
walkers, collector cars, Irish and Scottish dancers, multi-ethnic groups and
much more.
CelticFest Vancouver St Patrick's Parade page with map and street closure and
bus detour info:
www.celticfestvancouver.com/parade.php
CelticFest Vancouver runs March 11-15, 2009. The events include free concerts in
downtown Vancouver. during the Festival and the Celtic Village marketplace is
March 14-15 this year on the grounds of the Vancouver Art Gallery (on West
Georgia between Howe & Hornby) in downtown Vancouver. (The BCGS is not in the
marketplace this year. We do that every 2nd year.)
Free, live Celtic performances by renowned Celtic artists on the Street Market
Stage, throughout the weekend of March 14-15.
CelticFest Vancouver website:
http://www.celticfestvancouver.com
Family Search http://www.familysearch.org/eng/default.asp has added over 40 million new records. Among them is the Canadian 1916 Census (Alberta, Manitoba & Saskatchewan only). A direct link to it is http://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#p=2;t=searchable;c=1529118
More details can be seen at:-
Eastmans Genealogy Blog
http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2009/01/familysearch-adds-over-40-million-new-records.html
or
CanadaGenealogy, or, 'Jane's Your Aunt'
http://canadagenealogy.blogspot.com/
BCGS Member Bev Sherman obituary from http://www.legacy.com/can-vancouver/Obituaries.asp?Page=Lifestory&PersonId=123528766
SHERMAN Scott Beverly Born January 15, 1919, peacefully slipped away on January 21, 2009 in his home surrounded by family. He is survived by Phyllis, his loving wife of 63 years, his children Brian, Lynn, Glen, Carol and Alan, five grandchildren, his brothers Deane and Boyd, and his sister Marion. "Bev" served in the CAF during the war and worked as a Federal Transport radio operator in Vancouver and throughout BC before taking on a position as the BC and Yukon regional rep for the PSAC in 1965. He retired from government service in 1980 and thereafter devoted himself to volunteering his aid in support of the Genealogical Society, the 411 Seniors Centre and the Federal Superannuates, among others. Energetic, passionate, and devoted to family, he will be missed by those who knew him. Friends and family are invited to attend a memorial service at First Memorial, Boal Chapel, 1505 Lillooet Rd., North Vancouver on Saturday, February 14 at 10 a.m. Donations to the 411 Seniors Centre Society are welcome in lieu of flowers.
BCGS Member Judith Hassall Obit from http://www.legacy.com/can-vancouver/Obituaries.asp?Page=Lifestory&PersonId=123382263
HASSALL Judith Louise (Nee Davis) January 3, 1945 - January 20, 2009. It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Judith. Judith passed away at Eagle Ridge Hospital, January 20, 2009 surrounded by family and friends. Judy was loving mother to Louise Pitre and loved wife of Richard Hassall. She enjoyed a long and rewarding career as a teacher in SD.43 and was a devoted member of Heritage Mountain Community Church and was especially involved in the prayer team. Since retirement she enjoyed her genealogy hobby and spending time with many friends. She will be missed by all. A memorial service will be held at Eagle Ridge Bible Fellowship, 1160 Lansdowne Dr., Coquitlam on Sat. Feb. 7, at 2:00 p.m. Donations, if desired, may be made to the BC Cancer Foundation.
The 1911 UK census is now online. The link is to the UK National Archives & explains what information is presently available and the timeline for further additions. http://www2.nationalarchives.gov.uk/news/stories/247.htm?homepage=news
AND
The 1911 Census for Scotland is not yet available, an explanation can be found at this link. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7825201.stm