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!
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!
Linking together the life of a relative can often be a difficult and time consuming task if you don’t have much prior information to go on… however, I've found with my subscription to TheGenealogist that this process can be a whole lot simpler with its unique ‘SmartSearch’ facility. This has been further enhanced by the addition of 14 million newly transcribed death records from 1960 to 1983 to add even more power to the search feature.
With the total of 26 million death records for England and Wales from 1960 to 2005 now available on TheGenealogist, using the unique ‘SmartSearch’ feature, I've discovered we can now go from the death record from 1960 to 2005, to a birth record, to finding the parent’s marriage to tracing siblings in very easy steps. The team at TheGenealogist tell me by Christmas the records should stretch back to 1930 adding even more power to our fingertips!
As an example, I've used one of the newly transcribed death records on TheGenealogist to see a prime example of how the new records can really benefit your family research. I’ve taken the records of legendary T-Rex guitarist and vocalist, Marc Bolan, who tragically died in 1977 at the age of 29.
Marc Bolan at the height of his fame
His real name was Mark Feld which we can now use to search the death records on TheGenealogist.
Death record result for Mark Feld
Mark Feld transcribed death record
The ‘SmartSearch’ facility allows us to jump straight to his birth record which links to his parents and potential siblings. Mark didn’t have a brother or sister but we can find full details of his parents Simeon and Phyllis (including marriage record below) which allows us to move onto the next stage of the family tree.
Marriage record details
In my opinion, the 26 million death records now transcribed on TheGenealogist really enhances the ‘SmartSearch’ feature. From a death record it’s now easy to jump to past generations with just a few mouse clicks. You can now start your research with just the basic data and still find results quickly. Searching is now quicker and easier than ever.
As a keen user of the family tree software, RootsMagic, I was pleased to find out this week that the newly updated Version 6 has now arrived in the UK.
It comes with a number of handy new features and the improvements are good enough to keep it up there with the best of the family tree software currently on the market.
RootsMagic is ideal for both the newcomer and experienced researcher, I've found it produces great looking family trees, charts and reports. It's invaluable to those family historians who wants to keep everything nicely organised.
So what are the new features? With my brand new copy, which I 'road-tested' this week, I found the following features stood out the most for me:
Online Publishing -the software can create visually attractive, dynamic websites with pedigree, family and individual views as well as supporting notes, sources and media. Combined with the free My.RootsMagic.com hosting service, your family history has an online home with just a quick click of the mouse.
Live Timeline View - A live-edit panel on RootsMagic's timeline view makes this one of the most powerful editing features. Make corrections to your data while viewing it in context with other family members' life events. I found this feature very useful.
Find Everywhere- with just a single search you can now find every record in your file containing the text you want. Quickly find people, families, notes, sources, places, to-do items, research logs and more. You can then edit those records directly from the search results.
The 'Find Everywhere' screen on RootsMagic 6
WebTags- attach links to websites for any person, source, citation, place or research log item and instantly jump to a web page tagged to a record.
CountyCheck Explorer - look up a county, state, or country from a multi-national database. It can even show you historical county boundaries. This is particularly useful for keeping an eye on those confusing UK county boundary changes over the years which can throw a family historian off the scent in their ancestor search.
CountyCheck Explorer Page
RootsMagic Version 6 is now available from Genealogy Supplies
For those that recently purchased Version 5- there is a special offer of free upgrades for those customers that purchased after 21st August 2012. Please contact S&N Genealogy Supplies on 01722 716121 for more details.
Tracing your family tree can often lead to some fascinating discoveries, surprising everyone in the family. Some discoveries are good, some can be very tragic. As we approach the 11th November and Remembrance Day, we take a look at one family and how the war altered their family history. Using the ‘smart search’ features on one of the research websites I use- TheGenealogist.co.uk , we demonstrate how technology can help us remember those heroes of yesteryear.
The Freke Family outside their family butcher business
This is a comprehensive way to trace your family history online through the years. The sophisticated ‘master search’ facilities allows us to follow a family and get a snapshot of their lives. With this example, we take a look at the family of Benjamin Freke, a family butcher from Bristol. Born in 1871, using the Master Search facility on TheGenealogist we find him.
Initial search results when found via an online family history website
From the 1901 Census listed here, we find the records of Benjamin’s two children, Frank and Albert. From here, we can find the birth record for (Benjamin) Frank Freke born in 1899.
Frank Freke aged 2
Frank and Albert (pictured above) are again picked up on the 1911 Census, as can be seen from the genealogy website I use:
1911 Census records
In 1911, Frank is now 12 and still classed as a scholar with his younger brother and probably destined to work in the family business in Bristol. On the census, he is listed by his middle name ‘Frank’ rather than his first name Benjamin, which can often confuse researchers.
Frank was growing up in troubled times and with the dark clouds of war gathering, he would find himself by 1917, at the age of 18 obligated to join the fight against Germany.
The next fact we find about Frank is his listing on the research website where we find he was tragically killed in 1918 at just 19 years old.
We search in the ‘World War 1 Deaths’ section and find the details for Benjamin Frank Freke.
Frank Freke Casualty record
Private Benjamin Frank Freke is tragically killed in 1918 as is confirmed in the war death records as documented online.
Using online family history research websites can help you find the heroes in your family. Using modern technology to find information about your family can lead you to discover things about them you never knew, including tragedies such as this one where a family loses a son in the Great War.
For those researchers looking for an affordable way to access both census and civil registration data, the UK Census Online site (www.ukcensusonline.com ) can offer a good start point in your online research efforts.
The new site offers access to all the censuses for England and Wales from 1841 to 1911 and available birth, marriage and death indexes for those countries since 1837 (currently up to 2005). Whilst there are cheaper monthly packages available, the UK Census Online site offers the cheapest annual subscription package available.
All of the census data at the site is available as searchable transcripts and high-quality original page images. A feature of the new site is a keyword search facility, available only to subscribers. Non-subscribers can use a basic search, which for censuses provides age, jobs and place of birth in the results for free.
The ability to find an entry by just a few search terms like place or occupation makes it easy to refine a search. You can use the keyword search to find the record of an ancestor much the same way as you would find a website using Google. You enter search terms into one box and results are shown in an extract form.
As you transcribe the whole record, you can see each result’s full details before having to click to view the image, thus saving a huge amount of time trying to read the handwritten entries. The keyword refinement also allows you to have extremely relevant results.
In a comparison with other sites, the UK Census Online offers a number of favourable features. For example, ‘Ancestry’ hasn’t transcribed occupation or the street address in the pre-1911 Census and can’t use as many refining terms. ‘Findmypast’ doesn’t provide the range of options or the keyword search facility. More details can be found here – www.ukcensusonline.com
UK Census Online offers sophisticated keyword search
