FindMyPast trials new OCR method for newspapers

In the late afternoon of 21 December - a day when many, if not most of us, cleared our desks for the Christmas and New Year break ‐ FindMyPast issued a press release announcing the trial of a 'revolutionary' new method for searching OCR (optical character recognition) text. Why they chose such a date and time to issue it, I've no idea, but it comes as no surprise that the news made so little splash.

Click image for The Essex Newsman collection

Nearly three weeks late, then, here is the news:

FindMyPast's has tested a new method of extracting first and last names from printed text identified by OCR on part of its holding of The Essex Newsman, a paper first published in Chelmsford in 1870. The company says that 1.2million names published in editions dating from 31 October 1881 to 6 November 1943 can now be searched with greater accuracy and efficiency than under the standard OCR method.

Researchers who keep a family tree on FindMyPast will also start to receive hints against The Essex Newsman articles containing names that match those in their stored tree.

While this first iteration of the new technology is focused on accurately identifying names, Findmypast plans to extract other details such as locations, events and relationships in 2019. This is expected to further improve the search experience and increase the number of hints generated by the collection.

The Essex Newsman is already available to search in FindMyPast's regular British Newspaper (BNA) Collection, but the editions subjected to the new search method are available in the general A–Z list of the database's holding as a distinct record set (see image).

Ulster Historical Foundation's January 2019 Book Sale

The Ulster Historical Foundation (UHF) is holding its annual Book Sale and has a great number of bargains on offer.

Click to download general pricelist

Stock of some of the titles included in the sale are down to the last few copies, so you'll need to place your order quickly. To view the list of books and their discounted prices, click the image, right, to download a pricelist. Just click on the link of any of the titles that interest you to learn more about it.

In addition to the general list, there are also selected volumes from the Ordnance Survey Memoirs series available at half price. This excellent resource does not, sadly, cover the entire island, but if there is a book covering the area where your ancestors lived, you really should have a copy on your bookshelf. Each OS Memoir provides copious background information on the character and habits of the people who lived in Ireland during the early part of the nineteenth century.

Other sale items worth checking out are the Presbyterians in Ireland collection (a bundle of three books) and the R J Hunter collection (a bundle of four books).

For the UHF's Sale and regular priced books, see BooksIreland.com.

The Sale will end on 1 February.

RCB Library restricts access to facilitate digitisation

One of last year's most exciting Irish family history announcements came from the Representative Church Body (RCB) Library with news of its intention to digitise its collection of Church of Ireland parish registers (see blogpost for details).

Work on this huge project is now ready to get underway, and to allow it to make steady progress, the RCBLibrary will restrict access to its Archives and Manuscripts Collections to four days a week from February. Normal access will continue on Monday to Thursday, 9:30 to 5pm (closed 1-2pm), but will not be available on Fridays. This will allow the Library to consolidate limited staff time and focus on the digitisation process.

Access to the Printed Collection for ordinands, clergy and Library Members is not affected by this change, with the Printed Collections being available five days per week, and Library services for books remain unchanged.

Irish News Archive: New Year saving of up to 30%

Discounts expire on 14 January

The Irish News Archive – the Dublin-based, family-owned database of historical local, regional and national papers from across the island of Ireland – has a couple of discounts on offer to start the New Year rolling.

The monthly subscription is reduced by 15% to € / £ / US$ 24.65 when you quote the coupon/promotion code NEW15.

The annual membership is reduced by 30% to € / £ / US$ 104.30 when you quote the coupon/promotion code NEW30.

Click the image to take up the offer and quote the relevant code on the checkout page. The discounts will expire on Monday 14 January.

You can view a list of the archive's existing titles here.

Among the titles slated to join the Irish News Archive in the coming year are The Evening Press, The Sunday Press, The Belfast Telegraph, The Belfast Newsletter 1950+, The Nationalist & Munster Advertiser, Tipperary Star, and The Cork Evening Echo. The company's work in sourcing and filing gaps in the existing archive continues and will result in the upload during 2019 of editions published by the Limerick Leader 1970–79 and Limerick Chronicle 1766+.

Irish family history and heritage events, 7-20 January

Monday 7 January: NLI Reading Room and Manuscript Room closed. Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. On-going Monday closures are facilitating extensive redevelopment of the premises. All other services/exhibitons/cafe, including Genealogy Advisory Service, operate as normal. Details.

Monday 7 January: Practical Workshop - Get started: advice on searching for records at PRONI. Host and venue: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. 11am to 1pm. Free, but booking essential. Still some seats available. Register.

Monday 7 January: Plantation of Ulster, with Mike McKeag. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Killyleagh branch. Venue: Killyleagh Masonic Hall, 50 High Street, Killyleagh, Co Down. 8pm. Free. All welcome.

Tueday 8 January: The Chief Secretary’s Office Registered Papers (CSORP), with Nicola Morris MAGI. Host: Genealogical Society of Ireland. Venue: Dun Laoghaire Further Education Institute, Cumberland Street, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin. 9pm. All welcome. €3.

Tuesday 8 January: Recording Your Family History, with branch members. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Lisburn branch. Bridge Community Centre, 50 Railway Street, Lisburn, BT 28 1XP. 7:30pm. Free. All welcome.

Thursday 10 January: From Rubble and Ruin: Locating Famine Immigrant Families in Land & Tax Records, an ISBGFH webinar with Donna Moughty. Host: ISBGFH. Venue: Online. The webinar is free at time of airing (7pm–8pm EST) and open to all, but the recording will subsequently available only to members. Confirmation of registration does not guarantee space at the live webinar. To ensure a place, log on early. Register.

Thursday 10 January: The Exile's Tale, with Barry Lewis. Host: More Tales of Medieval Dublin lecture series. Venue: Wood Quay Venue, Dublin City Council, Wood Quay, Dublin 8. Admission free. All welcome. 1:05 - 1:50pm.

Friday 11 January: Online family and local history resources, workshop. Host and venue: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. 11am to 1pm. Each workshop will start with an orientation tour of PRONI, followed by an introduction to searching online resources, and will help improve IT skills. Free, but you need to book.

Saturday 12 January: Family History: a beginner’s guide to DNA, with Martin McDowell, North of Ireland Family History Society. Host and venue: Downpatrick Library, 79 Market St, Downpatrick BT30 6LZ. 1:30pm. Free, but booking is essential.

Monday 14 January: NLI Reading Room and Manuscript Room closed all day to facilitate the Library's continuing redevelopment of the premises. Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. All other services/exhibitons/cafe, including Genealogy Advisory Service, will open at 11am due to a staff meeting but otherwise operate as normal. Details.

Monday 14 January: The History of the water supply in Derry, with Paul Strawbridge. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Foyle branch. Venue: Lecture Room of Derry City’s Central Library, 35 Foyle Street, LondonDerry, BT48 6AL. 7pm. All welcome.

Monday 14 January: Quirky PRONI stories, with Ann McVeigh. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Newtownabbey branch. Venue: Drama Theatre, Glengormley High School, 134 Ballyclare Road, Newtownabbey, BT36 5HP. 7pm. Free. All welcome.

Tuesday 15 January: Soloheadbeg Ambush; A centenary perspective, with Dr Des Marnane. Host and venue: Tipperary Studies, The Gallery, The Source Library, Cathedral Street, Thurles, Co Tipperary. 7:30pm. Free. Tea served. All welcome.

Wednesday 16 January: Using DNA to explore your family history, with Martin McDowell and Anne Johnston. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, North Armagh branch. Venue: Bleary Community Centre, 1 Deans Road, Bleary, Craigavon, Co Armagh, BT66 7AS. 7:30pm. Free. All welcome.

Thursday 17 January: From Ballots to Bullets, Ireland 1918-1919, a guided tour of the exhibition. Host: National Library of Ireland. Venue: National Photographic Archive, Meeting House Square, Temple Bar, Dublin 2. Free. 2pm. All welcome. Booking not required.

Thursday 17 January: Viking Dublin uncovered, with John Kirby. Host: Greystones Archaeological & Historical Society. Venue: Holy Rosary Centre, La Touche Road, Greystones, Co Wicklow. 8pm.

Saturday 19 January: Using John Grenham's Irish genealogy resources, with Barbara Scanlon. Host and venue: Lower Level, Meeting Room 2-3, W. Dale Clark Library, 215 S 15th St, Omaha, Nebraska, NE 68111, USA. 2pm–3pm. Free. All welcome. To register, email rhenry416@cox.net.

Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives: latest update sees headstone photo collection pass new milestone

Memorial in Convoy, Co Donegal, to Neal and
Eileen McNamee who perished on the Titanic.
Photo courtesy of Ireland Genealogy Projects
Archives and Malcolm Houston

The last update of 2018 by Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives sees new volunteer contributions of photos and transcription to the group's headstone collection from burial grounds in counties Donegal, Dublin, Meath and Waterford. It brings the IGP-Archives total headstone count to more than 140,000 – an impressive milestone to pass as we look towards 2019.

Here are the new files, all added in the second half of December:

DONEGAL Genealogy Archives - Headstones
St. Mary's Old (R.C.) Cemetery, Convoy - (Pts. 1-3) Completed!

DUBLIN Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Mount Jerome, Dublin - Part 211

MEATH Genealogy Archives - Headstones Transcriptions.
St Cuthbert's Cem., Boyerstown, Navan

WATERFORD Genealogy Archives - Headstones

A New Year’s gift: The Church of Ireland Registers of Strokestown (Bumlin) Parish, 1811-1969

The Representative Church Body (RCB) Library kicks off 2019 with a gift to family and local historians, especially those with an interest in the Longford/Roscommon region.

Annotation on the first page of the earliest Bumlin
combined register reveals its provenance thanks to the
purchase of a new registry book by the rector, the Revd
Edward Mahon, in 1811. RCB Library P737.1.1.
Click image to view this and other documents
in the January Archive of the Month

Its January Archive of the Month presents the transcribed content of the parish registers of the former union of Bumlin, Kiltrustan and Lissonuffy in Co. Roscommon, together with the memorial inscriptions on the monuments in the surrounding churchyard adjacent to the parish church of St John the Baptist, covering the period 1811-1969.

The parish of Bumlin centred on the landlord-planned town of Strokestown, where for over 300 years the Mahon (later Pakenham Mahon) family had their big house, which survives and today is the location of the Irish Famine Museum.

Work on the parish registers, which are located at the RCB Library (the Church of Ireland’s principal record repository), has again been carried out by local historian Alan Moran whose transcript of the Bumlin vestry minute book for the years 1811 to 1870 was featured in the Archive of the Month for May 2018.

Collectively this work means that Strokestown is one of the first Church of Ireland parishes to have all of its principal historic records transcribed and available online.

In accordance with best practice for online publication, the transcripts comprise baptisms and marriages 1811-1919, and burials and memorial inscriptions 1811-1969, and are fully indexed and searchable. The transcribed data is part of the Anglican Record Project, a long-running series of mainly Church of Ireland parish record transcriptions, initiated by Mark Williams and permanently available on the RCB Library website at www.ireland.anglican.org/about/rcb-library/anglican-record-project.

Alan worked under the tutelage of Mark Williams on the Bumlin registers and memorials inscriptions, and Mark’s input is specifically acknowledged. Their joint labour has made accessible for the first time a vast amount of ancestral and local history data that was hitherto relatively inaccessible.

The permissions of the Director of the National Archives, with whom the reproduction rights of parish registers reside on behalf of the state to 1871, as well as the Representative Church Body, are acknowledged by the Project.

Ancestry UK DNA: Whopping discount for one day only

Don’t miss the Ancestry Boxing Day Sale.

AncestryDNA will be available in the UK for £49 plus shipping on 26 December. This sale will last for one day only, ending at 23:59pm GMT.

Ancestry DNA for UK addresses. Save nearly 40%. Regular price £79. Sale price £49, plus shipping. The offer has expired.

* There doesn't appear to be a Euro sale specifically for researchers based in Ireland.

Ancestry DNA Sale for researchers in USA & Canada

Ancestry DNA is offering big discounts on its test kits until the end of 2018 to researchers in the USA and Canada.

Details are below. Click the most appropriate flag for your purchase or preferred currency.

	For researchers in the USA, this deal reduces the cost from US$99 to US$75, plus shipping. Offer expired 31 December.
	For Canadian researchers the price of an Ancestry DNA test kit is reduced to $79 CAD plus shipping. That’s a savings of $50 CAD. Offer expired 31 December.

Fermanagh, Donegal & Leitrim records join FindMyPast

FindMyPast has added five new collections from counties Fermanagh, Donegal and Leitrim. Together they hold a mix of about 45,000 transcriptions of parish registers and headstones, and photos of the latter.

Fermanagh Parish Registers

These records hold indexed transcriptions from the baptism, marriage and death registers for the Church of Ireland parishes of Aghavea, Bellanaleck, Devenish, Inishmacsaint and Mullaghdun.

Baptisms: Many of these records include a note of the father's occupation and some (although sadly, not so many) even provide the mother's maiden name. The end date for all the registers except Devenish (1873) is 1912, but the start date varies widely. Aghavea baptisms start in 1814, Bellanaleek 1886, Devenish 1796, Inishmacsaint 1660 and Mullaghdun 1808. There are around 18,000 records in total recording baptisms in families living in Fermanagh and the townlands of bordering counties of Cavan, Monaghan, Sligo and Donegal.

Marriages: With more than 6,100 marriages dating from 1660 to 1949 (only 30-odd of the records pre-date the 19th century), the bulk of these Church of Ireland records span 1800 to 1905. The amount of information listed varies but most of the transcriptions reveal date and location of the marriage, the full names of both bride and groom and the occupation of the groom or his father.

Burials: This record set contains more than 7,000 records that may reveal when and where your relative was buried, their age, and occasionally even their cause of death.

Donegal Cemetery Records

These 2,200 records include transcriptions of the vital facts inscribed on the original headstones, plus at least one photo of each memorial. Two cemeteries have been surveyed: Ballyshannon in Kilbarron parish and Finner Cemetery in Bundoran. The latter, in the Church of Ireland parish of Lower Inishmacsaint, is a mixed denomination cemetery; its headstones relate to deaths from 1737 to 2011 of individuals who may have lived in the counties of Sligo, Donegal and Leitrim. The Ballyshannon burial ground is at St Anne's Church of Ireland graveyard.

A 'Notes' field in the transcription provides information on the condition of the gravestone and any decoration, age of the deceased, occupation of deceased, names and ages of other family members who are buried in the same grave, details of the inscription on the headstone, and the erector's name.

Leitrim Cemetery Records

All the records in this set are from Old Rossinver Graveyard in Rossinver parish. They span from 1709 to 2015 (about 80 entries are 18th century, while about 450 are 20th/21st century).

A 'Notes' field in the transcription provides information on the condition of the gravestone and any decoration, age of the deceased, occupation of deceased, names and ages of other family members who are buried in the same grave, details of the inscription on the headstone, and the erector's name.