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.
