Welcome to the Family History Social

TheGenealogist has just released 260,000 records into its ever growing Poll Book Record Collection. This useful resource for family historians can be used to find the address of an ancestor's residence from the period before and after the census records. The newly released Poll Books range from 1747 to 1930 and join records that also cover periods between the census years.

The Sphere Issue No 987 December 21 1918

The release allows researchers to:

• Find ancestors who had the vote 
• Discover where ancestors were registered to cast their ballot
• See the nature of their qualification to vote, such as owning rateable property
• Search Poll Books that range from 1747 to the 1930s

The records cover 36 different registers of people who were entitled to vote and covers constituencies situated in Bath, Devon, Hampshire, Hertford, Kent, Lincolnshire, London, Monmouthshire, Northumberland, Rutland, Scotland, Shropshire, Somerset, Staffordshire, Suffolk and Surrey.

They join the millions of electoral resources on TheGenealogist which include Electoral registers, Voters Lists and Absentee Voters.

Read TheGenealogist’s article at:

https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2020/poll-books-and-electoral-rolls-used-to-locate-ancestors-address-1296/

The National Archives (TNA) have announced that they are increasing the access to the site at Kew. After welcoming back visitors into their reading rooms in July they are now able to expand their services and increase capacity, so that they can accommodate more visitors and give them greater access to TNA's collections.

From Tuesday 25 August The National Archives will be opening up their second floor map and large document reading room, as well as increasing the number of seats available in the first floor document reading room. Visitors will also be able to order more documents each day (nine instead of six), and TNA will also have a small number of two-day appointments available for visitors wishing to research bulk document orders (between 20 and 40).

All visitors are still required to book their visit and order their documents in advance.

The National Archives report that their building and services will look very different to regular visitors, as they’ve been busy introducing a number of measures to ensure the safety of their visitors and staff. These include:

• New booking system to help them manage visitor numbers – all visits have to be pre-booked without exception, with a limit of one visit per week, and all documents ordered in advance
• New document delivery processes to protect visitors and staff, and to ensure that documents are quarantined appropriately
• One-way systems and capacity controls in frequently used areas
• Floor markers and temporary signage to help with social distancing
• Rigorous cleaning during and at the end of each day
• Easier access to sinks for hand washing and provision of hand sanitiser.
• Due to a change in the law, all visitors will be required to wear face coverings during their visit.

In order to visit TNA they are asking everyone booking a visit to agree to a new coronavirus visitor charter, aimed at encouraging all visitors to do their bit to help them ensure everyone’s safety. TNA will not permit anyone to enter the building who has not pre-booked, so please do not travel if you have not been able to book as they will not be able to let you in. The National Archives are open from Tuesday to Friday, between 10:00 and 14:50.

While they are currently able to provide access to their first floor document reading room and second floor map and large document reading room only – their other facilities will remain closed, including the reference library, exhibition spaces, shop, and the cafés. TNA say they will also be unable to provide many of their other usual reading room services, including, access to microfilm and microfiche, research advice, record copying and access to the computers.

In the current times TNA say that they will continue to provide free downloads of digital records on their website for the time being, as they are initially only able to re-open for a very limited number of researchers. This, ofcourse, and all of TNA opening arrangements are under constant review.

Read the full post on The National Archives' website: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/news/coronavirus-update/

TheGenealogist has just released the records of over 33,000 individuals for the Hounslow area into its property ownership and occupancy record set: The Lloyd George Domesday Survey. This is a unique online resource that includes maps and field books and gives researchers the ability to discover where an ancestor lived in the 1910-1915 period. By making use of TheGenealogist’s powerful Map Explorer™ the researcher can see how the landscape where their ancestor lived or worked changed over time.

The maps and residential data, in The Lloyd George Domesday Survey records are sourced from The National Archives and are being digitised by TheGenealogist so that it is possible to precisely locate where an ancestor lived on large scale, hand annotated maps. These plans include plots for the exact properties and are married to various georeferenced historic map overlays and modern base maps on the Map Explorer™. With this resource the researcher is able to thoroughly investigate the area in which an ancestor lived. 

• TheGenealogist’s Lloyd George Domesday records link individual properties to extremely detailed maps used in 1910-191
• Fully searchable by name, county, parish and street
• The maps will zoom down to show the individual properties as they were in the 1910s
• The transparency slider reveals a modern street map underlay
• Change the base map displayed to more clearly understand what the area looks like today

Hounslow records cover the areas of Bedfont, Chiswick, Cranford, Feltham, Hanworth, Heston, Isleworth, New Brentford and Old Brentford.

Read their article on finding the retreat of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire that became a "Lunatic Asylum" before the First World War and a Fire Station in World War 2 in these records:

https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2020/harlow-property-records-discover-snapshot-of-owners-and-occupiers-from-edwardian-past-1290/

About TheGenealogist

TheGenealogist is an award-winning online family history website, who put a wealth of information at the fingertips of family historians. Their approach is to bring hard to use physical records to life online with easy to use interfaces such as their Tithe and newly released Lloyd George Domesday collections. 

TheGenealogist’s innovative SmartSearch technology links records together to help you find your ancestors more easily. TheGenealogist is one of the leading providers of online family history records. Along with the standard Birth, Marriage, Death and Census records, they also have significant collections of Parish and Nonconformist records, PCC Will Records, Irish Records, Military records, Occupations, Newspaper record collections amongst many others.

TheGenealogist uses the latest technology to help you bring your family history to life. Use TheGenealogist to find your ancestors today!

The Society of Genealogists’ Library has opened to SoG members only from Tuesday 4th August 2020 with staggered sessions opening from 11am-4pm and 11.30-4pm

The SoG has posted on thier website that to begin with the number of members in the Library will be limited to a maximum of 20 persons per day and places must be booked in advance prior to visiting. Booking for sessions can be made on their website http://www.sog.org.uk/books-courses/events-courses/category/book-to-visit-the-library/

For the time being, it is intended that the Society will open for Library use each Tuesday and one Saturday a month. Back office project volunteers only will be welcome in the Library on Mondays. ~The SoG hope to work up to opening for more days and to more people as they become more confident of providing a safe and workable experience for staff, volunteers and members and as resources allow. During the days when the Society's library is closed to visitors their staff and volunteers will continue the service provisons offered during lockdown.

Visits must be booked at least a week in advance and will be made available up to two weeks before the date of the visit on a rolling weekly basis every Saturday morning. Each booking is for one person only on a first come, first served basis – you will not be able to bring anyone with you, unless they book a visit themselves. Please be considerate of others when you book – the SoG may cancel your booking if you exceed our reasonable limit of one booking per week.

The Society of Genealogist say that they will not permit anyone to enter the building who has not pre-booked a visit, so are asking people not to travel if you have not been able to book as they will not be able to let you in.

When members come into the Library, they will notice some changes. The Society has introduced safety and social hygiene measures to ensure the safety of their staff, members and friends. The toilets and cloakroom will be open so you can wash your hands and all hygiene guidance will be adhered to. Lockers will be open for you to store your belongings and take as little into the library as possible. There will be a cleaner in the building when the SoG is open to make sure all surfaces stay clean and safe. The SoG ared asking every visitor to use the sanitisers and wipes provided around the building and to follow social distancing measures and one-way procedures as indicated by signs around the building.

Computers and Microfiche/Microfilm readers have been spaced around the building rather than just in the lower library. When you book a members’ visitor session through the website you can  reserve a reader or computer as appropriate at the same time. 

Films and fiche will be available as normal and the SoG ask that all books, microforms, CDs etc be returned to the returns trolleys and boxes provided after use so they can be cleaned and or quarantined as appropriate

Current  regulations in England require face coverings to be worn in libraries and public reading rooms from 8th August and it is recommend face coverings are worn in these settings now. The regulations strongly encourage wearing a face covering in other enclosed public spaces where social distancing may be difficult and where you come into contact with people you do not normally meet. You can remove your face covering in order to eat and drink, if reasonably necessary, and in the Common Room only which is designated for food and drink. You must put a face covering back on once you  have finished eating .

The Society of Genealogist's staff will be wearing masks for visitors protection and they would appreciate it if everyone who is able would please wear a face covering in face to face situations within the library, shop and reception (such as when seeking staff assistance) and where social distancing may be limited.

A downloadable PDF of SoG  Coronavirus Visitor Guidelines can be downloaded here

For more information see this post on their website: http://www.sog.org.uk/about/coronavirus/

TheGenealogist has added to its Australian records a set of new resources which can be used to find ancestors who lived in this country in the past. These name rich resources are sourced from a diverse range of historic books and directories which can be useful for finding out information such as where ancestors lived and what their occupation was.

Use these records to: 

• Add details to the lives of your Australian ancestors 
• Locate ancestors homes and business addresses in street directories
• Discover lists of Doctors, Chemists, Dentists, Lawyers and Teachers
• Find Municipality officials, Magistrates, Clergy, Secretaries of Clubs and Societies
• Search for Australian Military personnel (Army & Navy)
• See advertisements for traders, hoteliers and ship owners, etc.

This latest release expands TheGenealogist’s International records collection and includes the following useful resources:

South Australian Directories 1882-3, 1904, 1910, 1920 and 1936; Australasian Handbook 1906; The Victorian Municipal Directory and Gazetteer 1886; Horse Cattle and Sheep Brands Directory for South Australia 1879; Our Early Possessions & Pioneers of Settlement South Australia; Return of the Names of Official Chaplains (Self Governing Dominions); Johns’s Notable Australians and Who is Who in Australasia 1908; Walch’s Tasmanian Almanac 1889; Red Cross and Order of St John Australian Branch Enquiry List August 1 1917 Wounded and Missing; New South Wales Army and Navy Lists 1898; and Commonwealth of Australia Navy Lists April 1919, January 1921, July 1922, October 1919 & October 1922.

You can also read TheGenealogist’s article, ‘Learning more about our Australian cousins and their lives down under’: https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2020/australian-records-online-to-find-your-ancestors-1284/

Many people would like to find out more about the history of their house and if this sounds like you then there is a great book that is both compact and filled with practical information.  The book is equally of interest to those who live in a manor house or a small cottage cottage, a tied house, a two up and two down Victorian terrace, a twentieth-century council house or even a converted warehouse

In Tracing Your House History the author, Gill Blanchard, shows the reader how to trace the history of their home be it a house or a flat. All this is done in a series of concise, information-filled chapters that will help you understand the lives of the people who lived in your home before you as well as understanding how to fit what you discover into the wider history of your city, town or village.

Gill Blanchard explores what can be found in a wealth of historical evidence that is available to researchers in libraries, archives and record offices as well as in books and in online resources. The book looks at these resources in detail and explains their significance before pointing the researcher towards finding the most relevant, and revealing, aspects of them. Gill has made the research process understandable, accessible and fun in this book, and she manages to demystify the sometimes obscure language and layout of the documents that people doing their house history will come up against.

• The ideal introduction for anyone researching the history of their house and home
• Identifies the key local and national sources that researchers can use
• Shows you how you can discover who lived in your property in the past
• Describes how buildings are adapted as times change
• Explains the development of regional architectural styles
  
  Paperback available from S&N Genealogy Supplies 
  

   

  ISBN: 9-781848-842540

  No. of Pages: 212

  Order your copy: https://genealogysupplies.com/product/Books-on-Genealogy/Tracing-Your-House-History-A-Guide-for-Family-Historians-by-Gill-Blanchard/

To mark the 80th anniversary of the start of the Battle of Britain (10 July 1940 - 31 October 1940)  TheGenealogist is releasing over 2 million new RAF records. These records not only cover this important fight for Britain’s survival, but also encompass all of the Second World War period for a number of squadrons. This release brings the total ORBs records to 3.7 million and are part of TheGenealogist’s extensive Military records collection.

The ORBs are fully searchable by name, aircraft, location and many other fields, making it easy for researchers to find their aviation ancestors. These ORBs are the latest release to join TheGenealogist’s large military records collection which is always being expanded.

Hawker Hurricane I R4118 of No 605 Squadron,  Image: Arpingstone / Public domain

The fascinating pages from these diary-like documents tell the stories of brave aircrew, including those at the time of the Battle of Britain, 10 July 1940 - 31 October 1940. Recording patrols flown, the daily journal records give insights into the everyday lives of the personnel on bases. Researchers can use the collection to follow an airman’s war time experiences from these fully searchable Air Ministry Operations Record Books which cover various Royal Air Force, dominion and Allied Air Force squadrons that came under British Command. Sourced from The National Archives the AIR 27 records allow the family history researcher an interesting insight into relatives who had served in air force units under wartime conditions. 

The ORBs provide a summary of daily events. Some are ordinary entries, such as the names of new pilots posted to the squadron, entertainment on the base, or even noting the fact that an officer has become engaged. Sadly, these ORBs also record the death of pilots, crashes, or names of airmen that were missing in action. As names of personnel are recorded in these reports, for a family history researcher wanting to follow where an ancestor was posted to and what may have happened to them in the war, ORBs are often very enlightening documents. 

Use these records to: 

• Read the war movements of personnel in air force units
• Discover if a pilot, navigator, radio operator or gunner is mentioned in the action
• Find if an airman is listed for receiving an Honour or an Award
• Add colour to an aircrewman’s story 
• Note the names of squadron members wounded, killed, or did not return
• Easily search these National Archives records and images
  
  
  

Read TheGenealogist’s article: Ace in a day

https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2020/ace-in-a-day-1278/

These records and many more are available to Diamond subscribers of TheGenealogist.co.uk

The National Archives reopens:

The National Archives (TNA) will welcome visitors back into its reading rooms from Tuesday 21 July. At this time it will be offering a limited service to visitors, who will be required to book their visit and order their documents in advance.

It will be open from Tuesday to Friday, 10am to 2.50pm. See https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/news/coronavirus-update/

_{Image: National_archives_2007_02_03.JPG:Nick Cooper at en.wikipediaderivative work: Harumphy / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)}

TheGenealogist has added over 85,500 individuals to their Parish Records for Worcestershire to increase the coverage of this English county. 

Released in association with Malvern Family History Society this is an ongoing project where high quality transcripts of Parish Records are made available for family history researchers to find their ancestors.

• 54,948 individuals have been added to the Worcestershire baptism records
• 8,703 new individuals join the marriage records for this county
• 3,558 individuals newly released for Worcestershire banns of marriages records
• 18,293 individuals added to the burials records for Worcestershire

These new records can be used to find your ancestors’ baptisms in fully searchable records that cover parishes from this part of the English midlands. With records that reach back to the mid 16th century, this release allows family historians to find the names of ancestors, their parents’ forenames, the father’s occupation where noted, and the parish where the event took place.

Parishes in this release include Abberton, Abbots Morton, Acton Beauchamp, Alderminster, Alstone, Alvechurch, Areley Kings, Bayton, Belbroughton, Bewdley St Anne’s, Oldberrow, Shipston-on-Stour, Tidmington and Tredington.

This is an ongoing project where family history societies transcribe records for their areas to be released on both TheGenealogist and FHS-Online, the website that brings together data from various Family History Societies across the UK while providing a much needed extra source of funds for societies.

These new records are available as part of the Diamond Subscription at TheGenealogist. 

If your society is interested in publishing records online, please see www.fhs-online.co.uk

You can read TheGenealogist’s article: ‘Worcestershire parish records trace family events back through the centuries.’ which confirms a teenager transported to Australia on the First Fleet had Worcestershire roots. https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2020/worcestershire-parish-records-trace-family-events-back-through-the-centuries-1272/

NEWS

The Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine have announced that they have upgraded their website to offer fantastic family history news and features on a more up-to-date and accessible platform.

Here is what Rosemary Collins from their website writes:

The new-look website is available at the same URL, whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com.

It now loads faster and is easier to access on mobile devices.

WDYTYA? Magazine editor Sarah Williams said: “We’re delighted to be moving to a new platform that will enable us to add even more content to help family historians across the globe.

“As well as our usual news stories and tutorials we will be adding some of our popular Q&As and inspirational real life stories.

“It will also remain the premier destination for anyone interested in the TV series.”

From today, our readers will also see our new-look newsletter, delivering the latest news and features from our website to your inbox every Friday morning.

Unfortunately, as part of the transition we had to shut down our popular online family history forum.

However, a group of readers set up a new forum: Who When Were Genealogy.

Founder member Hilary Groves (active on the WDYTYA? forum as phsvm) said: “We hope that our new forum will be as popular, friendly and helpful to all those who are looking for helping breaking down the inevitable brick walls or just help finding an elusive record as the WDYTYA? Forum has been over the years.”

WDYTYA? Magazine readers are also welcome to join our Facebook group.

PDFs of the old forum are available on Google Drive.

Source: https://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/news/