As increasingly more 'pre-1837' records are added online, it is now possible to really unearth some useful information on the life and times of your ancestors. Going beyond the census and BMD records into those earlier records is now becoming easier online, with more records now available to view.
Today, the 13 March, gives us the opportunity to look at a 'famous' example of what can be found searching for those early records. On this day in 1781, Sir William Herschel discovered the planet Uranus. Both Sir William, his sister, Caroline and Sir William's son, John were all renouned astronomers of the time.
William Herschel
William Herschel came to England in 1757 from Hanover, Germany, after leaving the army with his brother. Using his initial skills as a musician he made his way but his interests soon turned to mathematics and astronomy.
Discovering planets and comets with his sister, he became a highly regarded member of the scientific community. Having an ancestor who achieved great things or was a prominent member of society makes things easier for the family history researcher as they can appear in biographies and other valuable records of the time. Here we can see an example of a biography describing William Herschel.
Biography of William Herschel
As awards and respect came his way, we can see from his biographical records above he was made a Fellow of The Royal Society in 1781 and then appointed as 'Court Astronomer' in 1782. Fully settled in England, he became a British naturalised citizen in 1793.
Naturalisation record for Sir William Herschel
He achieved a worldwide reputation for the manufacture of telescopes and this no doubt provided a comfortable means for Sir William. Upon his death in 1822, he left a Will, a copy of which can be seen below:
Copy of Will record
Transcribed record of the Will on TheGenealogist
The son of Sir William, Frederick, is featured on later parish records, adding to the information we can gather on the family. A prominent astronomer himself, he appears in a number of parish records. The marriage of his daughter, Amelia, is listed below in 1868.
Parish marriage record
The burial record for John Hershel is also listed allowing us a further insight into the family.
Burial of John Hershel
The parish records give us a great deal of useful information- here we have other details on the life of John Hershel- such as he was 'Master of The Royal Mint' and also was created a Baronet.
For more information on the new naturalisation records on TheGenealogist , there is more information here.
TheGenealogist has added over one million parish records for Essex, Worcestershire, Lancashire and Devon from the 1500s to the early 1800s, covering baptisms, marriages and burials. The records add to the already extensive range of parish records available on the website.
These counties are part of ongoing projects on TheGenealogist so keep an eye out for further releases in the near future.
Mark Bayley, Head of Online Development at TheGenealogist comments:
”We are committed to continually adding new records to the website. The last 12 months have seen us add over 285 million records. The demand for parish records and other early pre-1837 information is great and we are aiming to meet this demand with more such releases over the next year.”
New parish records on TheGenealogist
Examples of the types of record now available, here we find the baptism record of Alice Adcock, from Whitington, Lancashire in the year of 1539. The result gives us the names of her mother and father to further continue the search.
Early Parish baptism record
Another example is the record below, of the marriage of Nicholas Parker and Margery Downinge, in the Parish of Belchamp St Paul, Essex, in 1545.
Parish marriage record
The continued addition of more unique records gives family historians even more convenient access to those early records to expand their search further. Going beyond the birth, marriage and death records and census records and finding your ancestors online is now becoming more achievable as more records get added by the major websites.
Today, Friday 8th March, marks International Women's Day around the world. There are various initiatives running throughout the UK with events such as 'Empowering Women through Science and Technology, Celebrating Achievement' and a 'Name Your Heroine Competition' occurring today.
A number of the genealogy websites have delved into their records to unearth heroines of the past who have furthered the cause of women's rights. From Emmeline Pankhurst to her daughter Sylvia, from Millicent Fawcett to Mabel Capper to Emily Davison who was tragically killed by King George V's horse in the Epsom Derby, there are numerous records around the turn of the 20th century of our ancestors campaigning and pushing for women's rights.
The 'No Vote, no census' campaign was quite vociferous around the time of the 1911 census. As we can see from the examples below, those pushing for women's rights used the first opportunity people had to fill in their own census forms to make their point and further the cause. The 1911 census forms were deliberately spoiled to heighten awareness, some 102 years later these forms of protest have given us a unique snapshot into the struggles of the time and how hard these women campaigned. Worth celebrating on International Women's Day!
The Who Do You Think You Are? Live 2013 Show proved a big success again this year. Despite the chilly weather, large crowds gathered at the start of the day to make the most of the largest family history event in the world.
It was cold to queue but well worth the wait!
Many of the usual stands were present, including the major family history magazines, website providers, family history software and general genealogy suppliers, to a wide range of family history societies. The talks both from celebrities and from other expert genealogy speakers were informative and of interest to both the experienced and amateur family historian alike.
A great selection of free talks were also available
This year the celebrities being interviewed were Greg Wallace, Samantha Womack, John Barnes and William Roache. Eric Knowles returned as the heirloom detective and again proved very popular.
The busier days again were the Friday and Saturday, with Friday proving especially popular.
The Society of Genealogists ran a number of workshops over the three days which attracted many visitors. The subjects of parish records, how to record your findings and the different research techniques a family historian can use where all discussed in the workshops.
The S.O.G. Family History Show was also a popular feature again. Featuring over 50 family history societies, there was a wealth of both materials and advice for visitors to call upon.
Another busy year at WDYTYA Live!
Did you have a favourite talk or event if you attended the show? Did you find that missing bit of information or advice on how to continue your research? We'd love to hear how you enjoyed the show!
At Who Do You Think You Are? Live 2013, TheGenealogist launched a new set of records for family historians to use in their research.
New Casualty Lists
TheGenealogist launched a major new military collection to help you find more out about your ancestors that fought in The Great War. The collection is a list of soldiers of all ranks who were reported as injured, missing or prisoners of war by The War Office.
The coverage at launch covers the War Office’s ‘Weekly Casualty Lists’ from 1917-18 and this will be expanded by the daily casualty lists to cover from September 1914 to the last reports of 1919, as reports were still being published well after the war had officially ceased.
There are over 600,000 records available at launch which will grow to cover the entirety of World War One. From the first records of British losses through to early 1919, there’s more information than ever for family historians to access, to find out what their ancestors did in the Great War. With casualty lists recording all ranks from war office published lists, rolls of honour and other reports of the time, it’s all on TheGenealogist.
There’s more information on the Casualty Lists here.
As the premier UK family history event approaches, will you be visiting London Olympia this weekend for Who Do You Think You Live 2013?
The world's leading family history event starts this Friday (22nd February) at 10am and promises to be another great show. From all the major online resource providers such as TheGenealogist, to libraries, museums and dozens of family history societies there is a wealth of useful information to be found.
A busy day on TheGenealogist stand in 2012
The show encompasses the best in the field of family history, from informative workshops, expert talks and general products and services. Mark Bayley, online expert from TheGenealogist will be providing an in-depth talk on 'Breaking down those brick walls' amongst a number of informative talks to help the family history researcher.
Celebrity speakers this year having featured in the recent Who Do You Think You Are? TV series include- William Roache, Samantha Womack, Gregg Wallace and John Barnes who are all scheduled to speak in the Celebrity Theatre.
There's more details at www.WhoDoYouThinkYouAreLive.com which includes full timetables for talks and a list of exhibitors. We hope to see you there in what promises to be another busy and exciting show!
TheGenealogist has just added over 10 million death transcripts to the website, bringing the total number of death records to now over 52 million available on the website for subscribers to access covering the years from 1910 to 2005.
These transcripts can be used with a tool that lets you search across all the Birth, Marriage and Death transcripts, with built in SmartSearch technology, enabling you to find potential parents from a birth, potential children to a marriage and potential birth records from a death record.
Here we take the example of well loved comedy actor Ronnie Barker who sadly died in 2005. This is one of the later records, the collection on TheGenealogist now dates back to 1910. From here, the researcher can find birth records and further continue their search.
Searching for the death certificate for Ronnie Barker
One mouse click and you have a copy of his death certificate:
Copy of death certificate
It allows the family history researcher to find records quickly and easily and from just a death record, it's now possible to discover the birth date of the person, their parents, siblings and really progress your search.
There is more information from this link to the news page on TheGenealogist.
An interesting trend has been developing with more data CD's now being made available as instant downloads, giving researchers the opportunity to get hold of records quicker than ever, without having to wait for the post!
S&N Genealogy Supplies have now made more unique research records available in a downloadable format as an alternative to purchasing on CD. It's an added benefit for those family historians keen to get stuck into their research as quickly as possible and who want their data instantly.
Pigots Directory available as a download
Another advantage of the instant downloads is that with no postage and packing costs, customers can receive the information at a reduced price, useful for the genealogist on a budget or looking to save money. S&N Genealogy Supplies have download prices starting from £5 so it is good value for money.
The instant downloads are available as pdf document copies of the data CD. A simple click of the mouse gives you access to the records you need.
From Parish Records to Kelly's Directories, Post Office Directories, Pigot's Directories, Court Guides, County Books, Barrett's Directories and much more, there's an ever increasing selection of reference material now available to download instantly. S&N Genealogy Supplies also offer download protection, customers can login to their account to 're-download' them at any time.
With the ability to search quickly by county, it is possible to search for the area required and find the resource you are looking for. More details can be found at Genealogy Supplies where you can start your search. More information can also be found by calling S&N Genealogy Supplies on 01722 716121.
After recently upgrading my RootsMagic software to Version 6, I was pleased to find out a new App has been developed to have access to your family history research data when you're out and about!
The new RootsMagic App has been launched for use on the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. It gives you access to your family tree at your fingertips wherever you may be. You don't need the internet, the data is all stored on your device so you can access it anytime and anywhere!
RootsMagic App
It's handy when you're out and about exploring those local areas your ancestors may have lived or visiting relatives who are interested in your work. The new app provides the perfect companion to your desktop RootsMagic software, allowing you to reference your database research and to check your data and also to show others your findings. It's a completely free useful tool that is a great addition to RootsMagic Version 6.
What's on the App?
Easily search and explore your family tree
View pictures, notes and sources - all of your RootsMagic data is available inside the App.
View your sources, to-do items, research logs, media, addresses, repositories, correspondences and places.
Tools and calculators- including a perpetual calendar, date calculator and relationship calculator.
Family member information easily accessible
RootsMagic at your fingertips
It's a great tool when you're out and about- just look up your genealogy data on your iPad or iPhone! For more information on the App, please contact S&N Genealogy Supplies on 01722 716121.
As documents are increasingly required to be kept and stored electronically, it's becoming more important to be able to scan your precious documents, photos and other memories for quick access and safe keeping and also to avoid having to keep taking the originals out of their album or frame.
However, what is the best type of equipment to use to achieve this? I've looked around and came across the 'Flip-Pal' mobile scanner as pictured below:
Scan anywhere and anything with the Flip Pal scanner
It's easy to scan relatives' photographs and document without fear of damage, or to take the scanner to libraries or archives to scan documents and save on prints. Also using the screen protector, you can scan medals and other items that may scratch the glass without worry.
I purchased the Flip-Pal scanner and the following great features really stood out:
It's Mobile- compact light and durable, cordless and battery powered.
Highly accurate- high quality digital images of 600 & 300 dpi resolution. Colour is true to the original.
Scans quickly and easily
Versatile- scan any size original, from coins to newspapers, including large documents.
It's quick & easy to use- push one button to scan in seconds. Insert the SD card from the scanner into your computer to see the digital images.
The Digital Creativity Suite it comes with is Windows & Mac compatible. It allows expert photo editing , digitally repair damaged photos in seconds. With Corel Paint it's also possible to turn old family photos into works of art!
The Flip Pal Scanner starts at £129.95 and is available at Genealogy Supplies
After testing it out I've been really impressed with just how good this mobile scanner is. Handy to carry about and not in the least bit awkward to use, it's something every family history researcher should have. Having a copy of your work is as essential and important as the original document so for peace of mind this is well worth the money. It also means you are fully prepared should you come across that golden nugget of information when you are visiting a relative or are in your local library when you come across that valuable photo or record!
