1826 Church Census joins Emerald Ancestors database

Only a couple of weeks since its relaunch, Emerald Ancestors has updated its database with another record set.

This time it's an 1826 Church Census, and it lists more than 650 names from the congregation of the Newtownhamilton Second Presbyterian Church in the parish of Newtownhamilton, County Armagh.

The areas within the catchment area included Armagh Brague, Ballymoyer, Blackbank, Camley, Dungormany (Dongormally in Tullyvallen), Newtownhamilton and Tullyvallen.

The census lists all members within a household including children, and identifies the family's townland of origin. Occasional annotations on individual members of the congregation are also recorded.

Among the names noted in the census are: Allen, Andrew, Atcheson, Boyse, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Campbell (Cambel), Castles, Clugston, Cole, Conn, Crozier, Cully, Deaney, Dobbin, Donaldson, Glenny, Gordon, Graham, Hare, Horner, Ingram, Innis, Johnson, Kennedy (Kenedy), Maxwell, McCann, McCart, McClean, McConnell (McConnel), McIlroy, McRoberts, Melvin, Moore, Morrison, Nickle, Parr, Preston, Scott, Simpson, Sprott, Starret, Strain, Watson, West & Wilson.

Copies of the census extracts are available to members through the site's Look Up facility. They can also be found at PRONI under microfilm reference MIC 1P/443.

Military Service Pensions Collection blog launched

The Military Archives has launched a Military Service (1916-1923) Pensions Collection blog with a view to increasing awareness of this important historical material and highlighting some of the stories unearthed from its 250,000 records.

A regular stream of blogposts will also keep researchers up to date with some of the discoveries still being made in the MSPC collection, which includes applications for pensions, gratuities and allowances lodged by those who participated in the events from 1916 to the end of the Civil War in 1923.

So far, four blogposts have been published. Three of them explore applications by named individuals, while another examines the incidences of reported deafness in the records.

In all cases, copies of original material are included, as are links to additional information.

30% off in Ancestry DNA's Summer Sale: US only

Ancestry.com is offering a 30% discount on its DNA testing kits. The offer is available only to researchers in the USA.

This Summer Sale reduces the cost of the test from US$99 to US$69, with taxes/shipping costs additional.

To take advantage of the offer, click the image and sign up before the promotion ends on Tuesday 15 August. You'll find details about the Ancestry DNA tests and T&Cs on the landing page.

Irish family history & heritage events, 7-20 August

Monday 7 August: Public Holiday in Republic of Ireland. All repositories, archives, libraries etc closed. Free Genealogy Advisory Services at National Archives of Ireland and National Library of Ireland will not be operating.

Tuesday 8 August: Irish Genealogy Hour – hands-on research in the computer classroom. Host and venue: Billings Public Library, 510 North 28th Street, Billings, Montana, USA. Free. All welcome. Noon to 1pm. For more information, T: (406) 657-8258.

Tuesday 8 August: British & Irish newspapers, and Irish Family History Resources Online, two lectures with Chris Paton as part of the Researching Abroad, British Isles & European Ancestors conference taking place 8 and 9 August at Kedron Wavell Services Club, 21 Kittyhawk Drive, Chermside South, Queensland 4032, Australia. 9:00am-4:50pm each day. Day fees apply. Details and registration.

Tuesday 8 August: Genealogical evening, with Dr Paul MacCotter. Host and venue: Franciscan Well Brewery pub, North Mall, Cork City. Introduction to Irish genealogy for beginners; family history and surname origins advice for the more advanced. 8:30pm. Free. No booking required.

Wednesday 9 August: The Big Houses of East Belfast, with Roger Dixon. Part of the Eastside Arts Festival 2017. Host: PRONI. Venue: PRONI, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. 1pm. Free. Advance registration necessary.

Thursday 10 August: Irish nurses in the First World War, with Dr Phylomena Badsey. Hosts: Western Front Association and PRONI. Venue: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast, BT3 9HQ. All welcome. £4 donation requested. 6:30pm to 8:45pm. Details.

Thursday 10 August: Delayed opening at National Library of Ireland. All areas/locations of the National Library in Dublin will remain closed until 11am to facilitate a staff development meeting.

Thursday 10 August: Public tour of WWIreland Exhibition, Exploring the Irish Experience at home and abroad. Host and Venue: National Library of Ireland, 2/3 Kildare Street (next door to main building), Dublin 2. Free. 2pm. No booking required.

Thursday 10 August: Waterford's medieval walls, an evening fieldtrip with Ben Murtagh. Host: Waterford Archaeological & Historical Society. Venue: Meet in the Apple Market (opposite Babycare), Waterford City at 7pm. All welcome. Members free. Non-members €5.

Friday 11 August: Behind-the-Scenes Tour of PRONI, with archival staff. Covers the research areas, the sorting, listing and cataloguing of new materials, the secure stores, the Conservation Suite and the Photography Studio. Host and Venue: Hosts: The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland and the Belfast Titanic Society. Venue: PRONI, 2 Titanic Blvd, Titanic Quarter, Belfast, BT3 9HQ. Free. Two identical two-hour tours: choose 10am or 2pm. Register.

Friday 11 August to Sunday 13 August: The Irish Fair of Minnesota. The largest free Irish fair in the USA takes place this weekend, with entertainment, Celtic Kitchen, a cultural area, vendors. Family history help will be on offer from the Irish Genealogical Society International, and the society will also be presenting a free lecture, Facts and Myths about Irish Research, at 11am on the Sunday. Venue: Harriet Island, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. Open Friday, Noon to 7pm; Saturday & Sunday, 10am to 6pm. More details.

Monday 14 to Monday 21 August: Waterford City and County Archives will be closed. Reopening at High Street, Waterford City on 22 August (10am to 2pm).

Monday 14 August: Landscapes of Death: Goldenbridge and the Garden Cemetery, with Ciarán Wallace. Host and Venue: Richmond Barracks Mess, off Bulfin Rd, Inchicore, Dublin 8. 11am Refreshments will be served in te Mess Cafe after the talk. Weather permitting a short visit to Goldenbridge Cemetery will also take place. Tickets €5 (includes tea/coffee & scone).

Monday 14 August: Closure of Main and Manuscript Reading Rooms of National Library of Ireland. First of the service restrictions resulting from start of four-year redevelopment work at the Kildare Street, Dublin, library buildings. See NLI for details.

Tuesday 15 August: Irish Genealogy Hour – hands-on research in the computer classroom with different topic each week. Host and venue: Billings Public Library, 510 North 28th Street, Billings, Montana, USA. Free. All welcome. Noon to 1pm. For more information, T: (406) 657-8258.

Tuesday 15 August: Genealogical evening, with Dr Paul MacCotter. Host & venue: Franciscan Well Brewery pub, North Mall, Cork City. Introduction to Irish genealogy for beginners; family history and surname origins advice for more advanced. 8:30pm. Free. No booking. Just turn up.

Saturday 19 August: Genealogy Workshop – how to trace your family history, with Lynn Brady. Host and venue: Glasnevin Cemetery Museum, Finglas Road, Dublin 11. 2pm-3pm. Free. Booking is essential: email Lynn Brady on lbrady@glasnevintrust.ie or call 0(1) 882 6536.

Bank Holiday Weekend closures, RoI only

The Republic of Ireland will be taking the last of its summer public holidays on Monday, 7 August.

Here are the changes to standard opening times for the main repositories and institutions used by genealogists:

Dublin City Public Libraries will not open on Saturday 5 August or on Monday 7 August. Normal schedules resume Tuesday 8 August.

The National Archives of Ireland, including its free Genealogy Advisory Service, will be closed to the public on Monday 7 August and will re-open on Tuesday 8 August at 9.15am.

The National Library of Ireland Reading Room will be closed on Monday 7 August and there will be no Genealogy Advisory Service operating on that day. The popular Yeats exhibition and the World War Ireland exhibition at Kildare Street will be open normal hours on Saturday and Sunday and from 12pm to 5pm on Monday. Cafe Joly will be closed on both Saturday 5 August and Monday 7 August. All back to normal (9:30am) on Tuesday 8 August.

The GRO Research Room at Werburgh Street will be closed on Monday 7 August, reopening Tuesday 8 August at 9:00am.

Local branch libraries will be closed on Saturday 5 August and Monday 7 August, returning to regular timetables from Tuesday 8 August.

NOTE: Northern Ireland is open for business as usual on Monday 7 August but note that it'll be enjoying its own Late Summer Bank Holiday on Monday 28 August.

'Buried in Fingal' adds Balbriggan Registers 1929-2013

Part of the opening page of the
Balbriggan New Cemetery Bural Register

The Burial Registers for Balbriggan New Cemetery have been added to the free Buried in Fingal website.

They date from 13 October 1929, when Mary Lee of Drogheda Street, the 80-year-old widow of a Herdsman, was laid to rest and noted in the register's Observations column as 'The first interment in this cemetery', and end on 7 July 2013. They are presented in two pdfs, downloaded in a zip file of 41Mb. The registers can also be searched, by name, address, and by cemetery name.

The Buried in Fingal site was launched in May (see blogpost) and holds details of more than 30 cemeteries.

John Grenham's review of my Irish Genealogy Guide

I'm going to come over all bashful in a minute, but not until after I've pointed you towards a review by well-known professional genealogist John Grenham of my newly published book, the Family Tree Irish Genealogy Guide: How To Trace Your Ancestors In Ireland.

Click the thumbnail to visit his blog to find out why he's described the book as "the Bee's Knees and the Cat's Pyjamas, all rolled into one", and why it's now his favourite book on Irish genealogy.

PRONI's Archives Unlocked lunchtime lecture series

The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland

Starting in September, the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) is to hold a short series of Thursday lunchtime public talks.

These talks will be led by PRONI staff and will centre on archival collections at the Belfast repository and provide insight to using PRONI's sources for family and local history.

Each of the talks will take place at 1pm and will be held at PRONI, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast.

Thursday 14 September: Drawn from our land: revealing maps from the collections, with Dr Glynn Kelso

Thursday 21 September: Prison records at PRONI, with Graham Jackson

Thursday 28 September: Sport in the Archives, with Andrew Toland

Thursday 5 October: Capturing the past - photographic collections and digitisation, with Joy Carey and Lorraine Bourke.

Each of the lectures is free to attend and everyone is welcome. However, booking is essential as spaces are limited and these lecture series are often oversubscribed. Register at Eventbrite.

Ballymena Family History & DNA Fair: 2 September

The Ballymena branch of the North of Ireland Family History Society (NIFHS) is to hold its first Family History Fair on Saturday 2 September.

A broad selection of genealogical and historical groups, government bodies, specialist genealogists and DNA experts will be exhibiting and offering their expertise at the event, which will be held in the Braid Film Theatre, The Braid Ballymena Town Hall, Museum & Arts Centre, 1–29 Bridge Street, Ballymena, County Antrim.

The NIFHS hopes the event will increase awareness of both the Society's work and the research benefits of DNA testing. The Fair will be sponsored by Family Tree DNA.

The event will run from 11am to 4pm, and more details will be available later this month. For now, just make sure to save the date.

IGRS launches 1775 Dublin Directory database

The Irish Genealogical Research Society (IGRS) has launched another online resource. This time it's a database index to Wilson's Dublin Directory, forming part of the 1775 edition of The Treble Almanac.

As the name suggests, The Treble Almanac is comprised of three separate directories:

• The first is John Watson Stewart's Almanac, which notes a wide variety of information relating to Ireland, encompassing details about mail and stage coach timetables, establishment lists for the army and navy, schools etc.
• The second is the English Court Registry, listing royalty, nobility, parliamentarians, military and naval lists, the civil establishment and judiciary lists etc;
  

• The third, and by far the most useful to genealogists, is Wilson's Dublin Directory. It includes a very comprehensive list of Dublin's barristers, attorneys, medical practitioners, merchants, pawnbrokers, grocers, shoemakers, tanners, upholsters, auctioneers, brewers, painters, ironmongers, drapers, butchers, bakers, tailors etc. It also includes a list of the capital city's streets, lanes and alleyways.

In the new online database, entries include the first name and surname of the individual, their occupation and street address, and provide a link to a map taken from the Statistical Survey of the County Dublin, (Dublin, 1802). There are just over 3,600 entries available to search.

This edition of the Almanac is dated a year before the American Declaration of Independence in 1776; interestingly, the list of attorneys and barristers notes several who had qualified in Ireland but then migrated to the North American colonies. Among them are barristers Thomas Knox Gordon, who qualified in 1755 and by 1775 was the Chief Justice of North Carolina, and Edward Savage, who qualified in 1760 and subsequently became the Second Justice of North Carolina. There are also references to Canada, eg barrister Jonathan Belcher, who qualified in Michaelmas term 1741 and by 1775 was the Chief Justice of Nova Scotia.

In launching the new resource, Steven Smyrl, the Society's chairman, said: "This is yet another valuable resource being added to the IGRS website. Trade directories allow family historians to quickly identify where in a large town their merchant or tradesman ancestor lived and worked, and thus open up other relevant material such as guild records, parish registers, land deeds and freeman rolls.

"I would like to thank Nick Reddan, the Society's webmaster, for his dedication in compiling this valuable database. Nick is based in Australia, proving that distance is no barrier to assisting the Society through volunteer indexing and transcribing." Everyone can access the free-to-all database, which includes each resident’s surname, occupation and address. However, only members can see first names.

The 1775 Dublin Directory can be searched here.