Welcome to the Family History Social

Great news! The May issue of Discover Your Ancestors Periodical is available now. This month Ruth Symes threads her way through the history of needlework occupations, Harry Cunningham investigates the changing roles of hairdressers and barbers,  while Jill Morris takes a bird's eye view of early aviation, Nick Thorne uses colour tithe maps, now available online, to look into the past of a colourful family that includes an Earl that was once a long distance truck driver, and much more. Visit their website to buy your copy today: http://www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk/current-issue/

Look out for the new, May issue of Your Family History in the next few days. Their newest edition allows you to follow your sporting ancestors, and learn about the collections of the National Library of Scotland, plus fishwives, property ownership records, baby farming and more including how-to-articles! http://www.yourfamilyhistorymag.co.uk/

The well loved British actor, Hugh Dennis, teamed up with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) to launch the organisation's new initiative recently (April 11th 2016) to get the British public to visit war graves and discover the stories behind the names of those who gave their lives in the First World War. The CWGC launched its UK wide project to mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme by remembering the forgotten front. That is the name it has given to the 300,000 war graves and commemorations that are here in Britain to mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme. Hugh Dennis, who is the Living Memory ambassador for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, is quoted on their website saying: "I have a very personal connection with the First World War as both my grandfathers fought at the Western Front. My great uncles also fought and one, my great uncle Frank, died and is commemorated by the CWGC in Gallipoli, Turkey. "I'd urge everyone to get involved in this initiative so we never forget those who died during the Great War and are buried and commemorated so close to us on the home front." Check out the CWGC post on their blog here.

 

https://blog.eogn.com/2016/04/11/a-report-and-pictures-from-who-do-you-think-you-are-live-in-birmingham-england/ And check out some of the pictures The Nosey Genealogist has posted, along with a number of interesting video interviews from the show on the blog: Help Me With My Family Tree.  

New Record Sets Only On TheGenealogist

TheGenealogist launched 4 unique record sets at the recent Who Do You Think you Are? Live

• The latest release adds over one million new parish records.
• New Colour Tithe Maps for Surrey in partnership with Surrey History Center
• New Colour Tithe Maps for Westmorland in partnership with The National Archives

  Parish Records With over 2.5 million Essex Parish Records their latest release makes TheGenealogist the place to go for Essex Research.

The launch of 900,000 new Essex Parish Records transcripts brings the total coverage for that county to over 2.5 million individuals. Spanning the period from 1512 to 2005 These records with our BMDs and Census allow family historians to research ancestors from this eastern part of England with ease. Also released are over 158,000 Worcestershire Parish Records, bringing Worcestershire’s coverage to over 2 million individuals

Colour Tithe Maps

TheGenealogist.co.uk in conjunction with the Surrey History Centre, has launched the Surrey Colour Tithe Maps. Westmorland Colour Tithe Maps are published in partnership with The National Archives and is just one of the many counties to be conserved and digitised by TheGenealogist. Many more will be published in the forthcoming months. These releases bring the addition of wonderfully detailed colour tithe maps to complement the online collection of tithe schedules and greyscale maps that have already been so well received by family historians researching where their ancestors lived. This rich store of land occupation and usage records were created in a massive survey of England and Wales from between 1836 and the early 1850s. In these early years of the Victorian period, at a time when people were moving from the countryside to the towns, many of the urban areas that we see today as part of cities and towns can be found mapped out as tithable plots. This includes some parts of London and other big cities where cottages and gardens are plotted in the same way as fields and woods are in the countryside.

These records are made available online by TheGenealogist in a partnership with The National Archives and several County Record Offices.

 Brief History of Tithes

Tithes were an amount of produce given to the church, originally a tenth, then finally it became a tax on the income from the land. This was paid to the Church of England and to some lay people who owned the rights that had previously been due to the dissolved monasteries. In 1866 the majority of England and Wales was still paying what the government recognised was a discredited tax. Before they could legislate, however, they first had to collect details of what people paid - and so all the owners and occupiers of land subject to tithes were recorded and thus this fantastic resource was created. To check out these new records head over to www.thegenealogist.co.uk  

  Who Do You Think You Are? Live will run at the NEC from 7 to 9 April. Anita Rani is due to appear on Saturday April 9 at 10.15 to 11:00 and 12.15 to 13:00. To book tickets go to here. The 38 year-old Countryfile presenter, who is of Punjabi descent but raised in Bradford, was reduced to tears on the WDYTYA? TV programme earlier this year when she heard about the horrific circumstances in which her maternal grandfather, Sant Singh lost his first wife and children during the Partition of India.

TheGenelogist, seen here at a previous year's show.

The Society of Genealogists will also be running an extensive programme of talks by leading genealogists over the course of the three day show and they promise that there will be a choice of many different talks to attend covering a vast array of subjects from: Different Research Techniques, How to Record your Findings and Using Parish Registers to My Ancestor was an "Alien," The Luck of the Irish and My Ancestor's made Hats. Will you be going?  

Discover Your Ancestors Online Periodical has published their March 2016 edition. The Discover Your Ancestors Periodical is a high quality monthly digital magazine that is delivered to the subscriber's own personalised online account every month. The 30+ page online magazine is packed full of stories, case studies, social history articles and research advice and is  great for anyone starting out in family history research, or even for those with more experience but who have reached brick walls in their family history.

This months articles include: Heavy work: Sue Wilkes digs into the lives and work of Britain’s lead miners Criminally insane or cold-blooded murderer?: Nick Thorne researches a 19th century cause célèbre using TheGenealogist’s record collections The privilege of the feu…: Chris Paton explores the ownership records for Scottish land and property The ancestral laptop: Ruth A Symes explores the history of family writing desks, and what family historians can learn from them History in the details: Jayne Shrimpton on trousers Meaning business: Jill Morris investigates the history of limited companies Regular features: This month's region: Cheshire / News / Events / Books  / Classifieds Read Discover Your Ancestors Today: http://www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk/current-issue/

Leading British Genealogy Website, TheGenealogist, has added over 150,000 World War II Prisoner of War records to its already significant military records collection. These new records detail Officers and other ranks from the British Army, Royal Navy, RAF and those members of the British Empire land forces that were held as Prisoners of War in Germany and German Occupied territories.

This release will allow researchers to discover servicemen held by the Germans between 1939-1945 and includes many of the brave escapees whose stories of breaking out and dashing to freedom have captured the imagination for decades.

These records allow us to:

• Research POWs who served in Armies and other land forces of Britain and the Empire 1939-45 along with the Naval and Air Forces of Great Britain and the Empire 1939-1945

• Find names and details of men who were captured and incarcerated in German POW camps in Europe

• Check the details such as names, service numbers, and regiments of ancestors that were German POWs

• Search for daring escapees from within the camp lists

• Research where your military ancestors were held, revealing their camp number and location

• Discover the ranks, POW numbers, Service numbers and Regiments of those held

Covering the Nazi German camps in Europe, these lists are taken from official alphabetical nominal registers and reveal names and other particulars of:

• 94,608 British POWs in Germany, including Officers and other ranks

• 39,805 POWs from Empire Land Forces

• 19,250 Naval & Air Force POWs from Britain & its Empire

Joining an already comprehensive range of military records on TheGenealogist that span from 1661 to the 1940s, these lists are a useful addition for researchers. TheGenealogist’s military collections already include Army, Navy and Air Force Lists, Dambuster records, First World War POWs, plus many other records.

Examining some of the names of WWII Prisoners of War released online at TheGenealogist.co.uk allows us to uncover the brave and determined Allied servicemen who made escape attempts from the Nazi German PoW Camps. One brave serviceman, although hampered by being a double amputee from an air accident from before the war, still did his duty to try and escape.

The famous WW2 Air Ace with no legs - Douglas Bader

    For all those who are looking for family tree software in the light of all the uncertainty in the market recently, there is some welcome news from S&N Genealogy Supplies:

Revolutionary new multi-platform Family Tree software for PC and Mac

TreeView has been designed by family historians to fill the gap for a powerful, intuitive and feature packed family tree program that is easy to use from the outset. TreeView stores your family tree on your computer with the option to easily sync your tree with TreeView.co.uk and TheGenealogist.co.uk . There is also a free iOS and Android app allowing you to keep your family history at your fingertips! Privacy options for your online tree allows you to retain complete control over your research.

Powerful Features

• Access your data wherever you are by syncing your tree between the software and all of your mobile devices at the click of a button.

• Navigate your family tree using a variety of different views including pedigree, family, ancestors, descendants, hourglass, fan and even a full tree view.
• Create beautiful charts and detailed reports in seconds
• Easily add details of your ancestors by attaching facts, notes, images, addresses, sources and citations.
• View your entire tree on screen, or zoom in to a single ancestor.
• Quickly discover how different people in your family tree are related using the relationship calculator.
• Identify anomalies in your data with the problem finder.
• Map out your ancestors lives - use the map view to track your ancestors life events across the world.
• Import or export your family tree using the GEDCOM standard.

[Pedigree View – one of TreeView’s 9 navigational views]

TreeView has received praise from both genealogy reviewers and users:

Reviewers: Chris Paton, professional genealogist, writer and blogger:

• “One of the most versatile family history software products now available”
• “Navigating around TreeView is extremely straightforward”

Nick Peers, genealogy writer and blogger:

• “It keeps your research file in sync with the web via TheGenealogist hosted tree, as well as your iPad, iPhone or Android device”

Users:

• “I am so impressed with Treeview, I will be using it for my own research, it is so easy and user friendly, and has all the facilities you could wish for.”
• “A comprehensive multi-platform package that keeps your tree backed up online with stunningly versatile charts and reports.”
• “It’s quick to load and speedy in use”
• “I particularly like the mapping facility”

[Maps View – showing all event locations for a particular individual] TreeView allows you to create beautiful charts with a variety of ways to present your family tree. Choose from a range of drag and drop charting options and decide which facts to display. Charts include: Ancestors; Descendants; Fan; Circle; Full Tree; Hourglass and Pedigree. The software allows you to personalise your charts by adding photographs and customising the background with an image or a colour of your choice.

[TreeView’s drag and drop charting feature showing a full tree with both foreground and background images] You can also create detailed reports in TreeView, including Individual, Family and Narrative reports. These can either be printed or exported as a PDF or RTF file (a cross-platform document that can be opened by most word processors) for further editing.

[TreeView’s Narrative report showing three generations] TreeView is a powerful easy to use family tree program that comes with a host of useful features including charts, reports and maps. You can sync to the cloud and your mobile devices whilst also having the ability to work offline when you have no internet connection. TreeView’s privacy options allow you to keep full control of your data when storing your tree in the cloud, for extra peace of mind. There are three versions of TreeView available:

• Free Edition – Includes essential features, with no limits on the number of individuals or the amount of data you can add
• Basic Edition (Download only, £24.95) – Adds support for:
  • Charting
  • Reporting
• Premium Edition (CD & DVD, £39.95) – Includes all features of TreeView Basic, plus:
  • 4 Month Diamond Subscription to TheGenealogist.co.uk (Worth £59.95!)
  • Printed Quick Start Guide
  • Cassell’s Gazetteer of Great Britain & Ireland 1893 (Worth £16.95!)
  • Imperial Dictionary of Universal Biography (Worth £16.95!)
  • English, Welsh & Scottish Landowners 1873 (Worth £36.90!)
  • Irish Landowners 1876 (Worth £12.95!)

Go to TreeView.co.uk today and find out more. More images from TreeView…

[TreeView Full Tree View with Easy Zoom]

[Relationship View showing how two people are related] Chart Examples

[TreeView Circle Chart with background and foreground images]

[TreeView Descendent Chart with background and foreground images]

[TreeView Full Tree Chart with background and foreground images]

  The first celebrity guest appearing at the next annual Who Do You Think You Are? Live show in Birmingham has been officially revealed. Organisers of WDYTYA?Live have now announced that the television presenter Anita Rani will be taking to the stage to discuss her family history on the final day of the event. The three day show takes place at the Birmingham NEC between 7-9 April. Although Anita was born in Yorkshire, the 2015 Strictly Come Dancing participant discovered the secrets of her Indian heritage in a very moving and sometimes horrifying episode of the Who Do You Think You Are? television programme in October 2015. “My experience moved me to my core and from the reaction I had, it impacted most people who watched it, too,” said Anita. “I am very much looking forward to being able to discuss it at the WDYTYA? Live event.” Anita will be appearing at the show from 10.15am-11am and 12.15pm-1pm on Saturday 9 April. Organisers suggest that, because of demand, it is advisable to book tickets in advance to see these interviews. The family history show, that has now reached its 10th year, will bring together a wide range of genealogy experts and family history exhibitors from all across the world. If you are planning to attend you can book an admission ticket (£16 for an adult day entry in advance), with workshop tickets priced £2 in advance or £3 on the day by going to their website: http://wdytya.seetickets.com/tour/who-do-you-think-you-are-live Tickets can also be purchased by phoning 0844 873 7330 (calls cost 7p per minute plus network charges).