Sunday 28 December 2014

Ancestry: free access to global records

Ancestry is offering free access to its 'best collections of 2014'. I'm not quite sure of their selection criterion, but no specifically Irish record sets have made the cut. However, there are certainly some very useful collections included in the list (see below) for finding Irish ancestors who emigrated to the UK, Canada, Australia and the USA.

As far as I can see, this is a straightforward opening up of certain record sets, with no requirement to register or to use a password.

The free access started on St Stephen's Day (sorry, I missed it) and continues until Monday 29 December at 11:59 EST / Tuesday 30 December 04:59 GMT. Free access has ended.

The collections included:
  • 1911 Census of Canada
  • 1911 England Census
  • 1921 Census of Canada
  • 1940 United States Federal Census
  • Australia Birth Index, 1788-1922
  • Australia Death Index, 1787-1985
  • Australia Marriage Index, 1788-1950
  • Australia, Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980
  • Canada Obituary Collection
  • Canada, British Army and Canadian Militia Muster Rolls and Pay Lists, 1795-1850
  • Canada, Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current
  • Canada, Nominal Rolls and Paylists for the Volunteer Militia, 1857-1922
  • Canada, Voters Lists, 1935-1980
  • England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915
  • England & Wales, FreeBMD Death Index, 1837-1915
  • England & Wales, FreeBMD Marriage Index, 1837-1915
  • Hamburg Passenger Lists, 1850-1934
  • Historical Newspapers, Birth, Marriage, & Death Announcements, 1851-2003
  • Ontario, Canada Births, 1869-1913
  • Ontario, Canada, Deaths, 1869-1938 and Deaths Overseas, 1939-1947
  • Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1801-1928
  • Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967
  • Selected U.S. Naturalization Records - Original Documents, 1790-1974
  • U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s
  • U.S. Naturalization Record Indexes, 1791-1992
  • U.S. Naturalization Records Indexes, 1794-1995
  • U.S. School Yearbooks, 1880-2012
  • U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current
  • U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014
  • U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
  • U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942
  • United States Obituary Collection
  • Web: Canada, GenWeb Cemetery Index
  • Web: CanadianHeadstones.com Index
  • Web: Obituary Daily Times Index, 1995-Current