The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is consulting on the census and the future provision of population statistics in England and Wales.
It is considering options for how and when information is gathered on the population in future, which may possibly involve an end to the Census, which has been around since 1801, such an important document for family historians in their research.
The consultation is open for just a few more days, until 13 December 2013. Individuals and organisations are encouraged to take part. The Federation of Family History Societies (FFHS) has got involved and submitted its comments in the online questionnaire. The comments they make and the links to the Consultation Paper and Survey Form can all be found on the Federation website. The direct link to the Office of National Statistics consultation page can be found here.
The Society of Genealogists have now announced their programme of events for next year. It promises to be a busy year with a number of lectures, talks and other events planned. The events cover a wide range of subjects of interest to most family historians. There is also a strong military theme to coincide with the anniversary of the start of the First World War happening next year.
If you'd like to improve your family history knowledge or keep up to date with latest developments, there's full details on The Society of Genealogists website.
Latest news from TheGenealogist is they have significantly reduced the prices on their DNA tests. You can now buy a test for under £50! Some of the other more extensive tests offer savings of over £100 and £150 too.
DNA tests make ideal Christmas presents for genealogists or even for yourself. With the reduction in price, they are definitely worth having a look at to possibly help break down that break wall or find that missing ancestral link you've been struggling with.
There are three types of test offered by TheGenealogist to choose from:
MtDNA - Traces your maternal (Mother's) line, this test can be taken by males and females.
YDNA - Traces your paternal (Father's) Line and this test can only be taken by males (But you can ask a male relative to take it if you are female) as YDNA is only passed from father to son. Family Finder - Ideal for genealogists, this test traces both lines and gives you information on the geographic regions your ancestors are from. This test can be taken by both males and females and can show matches within approximately 5 generations.
If you'd like to know more visit http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/dna
An ideal Christmas gift? DNA testing prices now reduced by TheGenealogist
The latest December issue of the email newsletter from S&N Genealogy Supplies is now available to view. Find out the top 10 recommended gift ideas for the family historian this Christmas and some great offers on their DNA tests which have now come down in price quite significantly . There's also an article looking at the First World War records of various occupations now available to view online. It’s all at http://www.genealogysupplies.com/email_news.htm
The new email news from S&N provides Christmas gift ideas and more
TheGenealogist has just released a new set of data records from The Institute of Electrical Engineers (The IEE) war memorial records from the First World War.
The IEE war records are a tribute to members of their organisation who died in the Great War. A number of promising engineers lost their lives and the records give an in-depth biography into the background, education, engineering career and war service, including details on how they sadly died. Many of the records come with a picture of the member commemorated.
Taken from the book 'The Roll of Honour of the Institution of Electrical Engineers 1914-1919', the records contain extensive biographies, numerous portraits and a map of North West Europe showing the main battlefields.
The records are available to view in the ‘Roll of Honour’ section of the Military Records on TheGenealogist. For more information visit http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/news.php#latest
Since the magazine name change earlier this year from 'Your Family History' to 'Discover Your History', we've now read a few issues from the new editorial team. There was a note of surprise in the genealogy world when the magazine changed its format and style but the new version is both a good read and educational in its choice of topics.
With an emphasis on social history, the magazine appears to complement the other magazines on the market and offer something slightly different. With in-depth articles on how life used to be, it's a good entertaining read.
If you haven't seen it yet, there's more information on their website.
If you have seen a recent issue, we'd love to know your thoughts!
As we enter the month of December, here's a Christmas gift suggestion for a fellow family historian or even a seasonal treat for yourself!
The full range of 2014 Family Tree Maker software available is now available in stock to purchase from S&N Genealogy Supplies.
What's New in Family Tree Maker 2014?
Improved TreeSync — lets you easily synchronize your tree in Family Tree Maker with an online Ancestry.com tree.
More organizational tools — stay organized with new tools that let you sort children automatically by birth order and view people by location, grouping them by country, state, county, and city.
New and improved charts and reports — more options and views let you display an individual’s ancestors, spouses, and children together. Also, the Index of Individuals Report has been expanded with options for anniversary, birthday, and contact lists, and more.
New tree branch export — a new export option makes it much simpler to export a single branch of your tree.
More editing options — save time with the ability to copy and paste facts including related source citations, media items, and notes.
As someone with a large collection of slides and negatives gathered over the years, I took the decision to invest in a 'Slide and Negative Scanner' a few months back. It was well worth it.
Slides and negatives can be difficult to view and are often passed down from one generation to the next. With modern technology they can often be forgotten and just left in a cupboard.
This is where the Slide and Negative Scanner comes into its own. No longer do you have to set up bulky slide projectors to view those old images. The Slide and Negative Scanners are light and easy to use, you can view your slides or negatives quickly and easily and then store the images on a memory card and transfer the images to your computer by a USB lead.
Available in a 14 Megapixel or the lower specification standard 5 Megapixel version, no family historian should be without one. I've been really impressed with mine. Do you have one? We'd be interested in your views on how the scanners have helped you view your slide collection.
If you're thinking of a Christmas present, or would like to treat yourself, there's a new range of scanners available from S&N Genealogy Supplies. There's more details here at http://www.genealogysupplies.com/product/Slide-Negative-and-Film-Scanners/intro
Ideal for bringing those forgotten pictures back to life!
A new initiative was launched last week at The Houses of Parliament with a joint project by The Archives and Records Association (UK and Ireland) and The National Archives to raise awareness of archives, their value to society and the impact they have, every day, on individual lives.
Clem Brohier, Acting Chief Executive of The National Archives, was joined by MPs, Lords, archivists, guests and campaign ambassadors at the parliamentary launch, hosted by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Archives and History.
The campaign is aiming to encourage people to visit archives. So far, hundreds of local, specialist and national archives across the UK and Ireland have been holding events, open days and exhibitions to showcase highlights from their collections.
Caroline Williams, President of The Archives and Records Association remarked: "Public awareness of the role of archives is essential. Especially in the difficult times we find ourselves in. There are too many people who do not understand what an archive is or what an archivist does. We hope this campaign will bring many new people to an archive - in person or online."
There's more details on the initiative at: http://www.exploreyourarchive.org/
Acting Chief Executive of The National Archives, Clem Brohier, introduces the new initiative
In a busy week for TheGenealogist , there's another set of records now available online for Diamond subscribers. Over 18,000 new records are now accessible online from the ‘National Union of Teachers’ War Records from 1914 to 1919. These records include a list of teachers who joined the forces, those who received honours, and also those who were sadly killed, plus other information relating to the National Union of Teachers during the war.
Covering all N.U.T. members who served in the war and also discussing issues of the time, there's details on pensions, salary levels of teachers who joined the army and fund raising for relief in Europe.
The records are a comprehensive list of members of the National Union of Teachers who served in the Great War. The teaching profession and its members responded to the great nationwide pressure to ‘do their bit’, with most male teachers of service age answering the call to arms.
The records provide an interesting insight into how a specific profession and its union coped with the events of The Great War. Taken from the National Union of Teachers War Records 1914 to 1919 publication, the records can be found in the War Service Lists in the Military Records section on TheGenealogist. There's more details available at http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/news.php#latest
Teacher Jack Harrison was rewarded for outstanding bravery in World War One
