RootsIreland adds Advanced search fields

RootsIreland.ie, the website of the Irish Family History Foundation, has launched a pilot advanced search for birth and marriages records in counties Cavan, Fermanagh, West Galway, Kildare, Kilkenny, North Tipperary, Tyrone and Westmeath.

Advanced searches for Baptism/Birth records can be narrowed down using the mother's first name and/or surname, as well as the father's first name and/or surname.

Using the full combination allows the searcher to find all children from one family.

With Marriages records, an advanced search can narrow results using the spouse's first name and surname, and the father's first name.

The improved facility, although only available for eight counties, is a very welcome addition since it should reduce the number of 'incorrect' records researchers buy. It does, however, come with a potentially higher price tag as the researcher will not be allowed to buy an individual record if more than one record is returned when using the advanced search fields.

For example, if a birth search for Timothy Ryan, son of William Ryan and Mary Doyle, results in three matching records being identified, the researcher would have to buy (or not buy) the full set of three records.

A sliding scale of prices has been introduced; full sets of records should work out cheaper than buying individual records.

Census digitisation wins Excellence award

The National Archives of Ireland (NAI) has won the Council of Irish Genealogical Organisations (CIGO) annual Award for Excellence in Genealogy.

The Award was given in recognition of the completion of the NAI’s mammoth project to create an online database of indexed scanned images from the 1901 & 1911 census returns for Ireland.

Presenting the Award, CIGO Chairman Steven Smyrl said: "While over the past 20 years CIGO has regularly used constructive criticism to encourage improvement in access to records held by public and private bodies, it is just as important to recognise achievement.

"The National Archives is to be commended for its commitment to creating the census database and for making it freely available to millions worldwide through the Internet.”

In publishing the 1901 & 1911 census online, NAI has made important records available free of charge to the many millions of people in Ireland and worldwide who seek to trace their Irish ancestors. The project's success is reflected in website usage; over the 30 months from December 2007 to May 2010 (when initially only the 1911 census returns were available on-line) the website received more than 7 million visits and more than 270 million hits.

In accepting the Award, NAI Director David Craig said: “We greatly appreciate receiving this award from the Council of Irish Genealogical Organisations. We are very pleased that the success of this venture has been formally recognised by the body that brings together in one council such a wide range of organisations active in the field of Irish genealogy.”

Pictured R-L: David Craig, NAI director; Catriona Crowe, NAI Senior Archivist; Steven Smyrl, CIGO Chairman.

More about the Irish Census.
More about CIGO.

Genealogy events during National Heritage Week

National Heritage Week, a week long celebration of Ireland and Irish heritage, gets underway on 21 August and features about 1100 events across the 32 counties.

Many of the events are aimed at family historians, especially beginners.

The selection includes workshops, talks, exhibitions, guided tours and one-to-one consultations offered by professional genealogists, librarians, heritage officials and other specialists.

Among the venues are libraries, churchyards and heritage centres in Laois, Kildare, Kilkenny, Donegal, Naas, Waterford, Cork, Tralee and Galway. Additional events may be added to the programme right up to 14 August.

Discover what's on in your area of interest at the National Heritage Week website where you can search the programme by Event Type (ie Archives, Genealogy, Local History etc), by county and by date.

Extra time for World Cup bonus

With England through to the knockout stage of the World Cup, www.findmypast.co.uk will repeat their free access offer on Sunday 27 June.

Kick off on the football pitch is at 3pm, while free access to the website's records starts 30 minutes earlier.

The findmypast site includes birth, marriage and death records 1538-2006, census records including 1911, and the Chelsea Pensioners British Army Service Records 1760-1913 (see my post of 3 June).

Normally you would need a subscription or PayAsYouGo credits to view these records, some of which normally cost 30 credits each, so to be able to see them for free is a rare opportunity.

You'll need to register.

Should the England team proceed further in the competition, I'll post the times of free access accordingly.

Church records for Carlow, Cork, Dublin and Kerry now online, free

A second tranche of church register entries, fully transcribed and indexed, has today been added to IrishGenealogy.ie, a website launched by the Department of Tourism, Culture & Sport late last year.

The records now available are as follows:

• Carlow – Church of Ireland register entries
  
• Cork – Roman Catholic register entries for the diocese of Cork & Ross only
  
• Dublin City – Church of Ireland, Presbyterian and Roman Catholic register entries
  
• Kerry – Church of Ireland and Roman Catholic records.
  

Easy to use, the website comes with free access to both the transcriptions and the digital images of the original register pages. For anyone with Irish ancestors from the above counties, Irish genealogy research just got a whole lot easier. Want to know how to trace family history through Irish church records?

World Cup bonus to Irish genealogy!

If some of your Irish ancestors emigrated to England or Wales, this amusing short-term offer could save you a packet! Be quick, though, as it will only last as long as the English football team remains in the World Cup competition.

Whenever England are playing a match, all records on www.findmypast.co.uk will be free. This free access starts 30 minutes before kick-off and continues for three hours. With the England team certain to play in at least three matches, this offer could allow you a minimum of nine hours of free genealogy research.

The findmypast site includes birth, marriage and death records 1538-2006, census records including 1911, and the Chelsea Pensioners British Army Service Records 1760-1913 (see my post of 3 June).

Normally you would need a subscription or PayAsYouGo credits to view these records, some of which normally cost 30 credits each, so to be able to see them for free is a rare opportunity.

You'll need to register.

In the initial phase of the World Cup competition, England matches are due to kick-off at the following times, so the free access will begin half an hour earlier:

19.30hrs Saturday 12 June
19.30hrs Friday 18 June
15.00hrs Wednesday 23 June

Should the England team proceed further in the competition, I'll post the times of free access accordingly.

More 19th century military records released

The next batch of Chelsea Pensioners records has been released (see 9 May 2010 post), adding almost 100,000 new British Army Service Records to the existing collection on www.findmypast.co.uk.

This latest tranche of records covers 1855-1872 and includes 96,434 records and 437,825 images for the period.

Many Irish soldiers served in the British Army in this period, so you could find information on relatives that you can't find elsewhere.

Most other military collections contain only records of officers. This collection, however, relates to other ranks where most Irish served.

1901 census of Ireland is online

A day earlier than was advertised, the 1901 census of Ireland is now available online and free on the website of the National Archives of Ireland.

This is a fantastic bonus for Irish genealogy researchers around the world, and may well help knock down some brickwalls.

The official launch is tomorrow (3rd June) at 6pm, and is being supported by reports on RTE, so if you can get online before then, you'll be among a select few. If not, be prepared for the site to be a bit slow over the next week or so. This release has been long-anticipated, so it is likely to be very busy initially.

Enjoy!

Carlow or West Cork ancestors?

If you've got ancestors from Carlow or West Cork, Wednesday 16th June could be the day you knock down a few brick walls.

Church records from these areas will be launched online at www.IrishGenealogy.ie on that date, joining the existing line up of Dublin and Kerry records.

1901 census of Ireland online on 3rd June

The National Archives will be releasing the 1901 census of Ireland online and free on Thursday 3rd June.

Now isn't that the best news you've heard all year?!

You'll be able to search the census index, and view images of the census returns, at www.census.nationalarchives.ie.