Friday, 14 August 2020

British genealogy records: new/updated in early August

Below is a summary of new and updated family history record collections for England, Scotland and Wales released by the major genealogy databases in the past 10 days (see last summary, 3 August).

This regular summary of releases relating to British collections is designed to help family historians whose Irish ancestors migrated, temporarily or permanently, to England, Scotland or Wales. By default, it will also be useful to anyone carrying out research in those three nations, regardless of the origin of their ancestors.

The figures in parenthesis in the New Collections section are the numbers of records/images in the new record set.

Unless otherwise stated, the figures in parenthesis in the Updated Collections section reflect the number of records added to the collection in the recent update. In some instances, the supplier has not made this figure available. I don't usually include updates of fewer than 1,000 records.

NEW COLLECTIONS

BritishNewspaperArchive (shared with FindMyPast)

     Scotland

     England

FamilySearch

FindMyPast


UPDATED COLLECTIONS

FamilySearch

FindMyPast
  • Hampshire Baptisms (21,000 additions from parishes of Crondall, All Saints; Ewshott, St Mary; Farnborough, St Peter; Fleet, All Saints; Headley, All Saints; and Rowledge, St James.)
  • Hampshire Marriages (15,000 records from parishes of Cove, St John; Crondall, All Saints; Crookham, Christ Church; Ewshott, St Mary; Farnborough, St Peter; Fleet, All Saints; Grayshott, St Luke; Hawley, Holy Trinity; Headley, All Saints; Minley, St Andrew; Rowledge, St James; and South Farnborough, St Mark.)
  • Hampshire Burials (16,000 records from parishes of Crondall, All Saints; Crookham, Christ Church; Farnborough, St Peter; Fleet, All Saints; Headley, All Saints; and Rowledge, St James.)

National Library of Scotland

TheGenealogist


Some of the above content contains affiliate links. This means I may earn a small commission if you buy via these links. This does not affect the price you pay as a consumer, but it does contribute to keeping IrishGenealogyNews online. See Advertising Disclosure tab above.
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Dublin Gazette and Belfast Gazette join FindMyPast

FindMyPast has added the Dublin Gazette, 1750-1800 and the Belfast Gazette, 1922-2018 to its Irish genealogy collection.

A sample page from The Dublin Gazette, which comes complete
with shadowed and distorted text on a large proportion of pages.
Dublin Gazette 1750-1800
The Gazette includes corporate and personal insolvency notices, personal legal notices relating to deceased estates, company notices and profiles such as the incorporation of a company, and state notices, for example, Bills receiving Royal Assent. It also contains birth, marriage and death notices, similar to newspaper Announcements, and advertisements, often of the snake-oil variety.

The same Dublin Gazette collection is available free but downloadable only as large, slow pdfs on the Oireachtas Library site.

While the FindMyPast version offers easier searching and a quicker route to the page you want to view, it uses the exact same images as those on the Oireachtas site, complete with 'spine problem' of shaded and distorted text where the bound volumes open (see image, above). Since this is not a free version, you'd think FindMyPast might have reimaged the volumes and worked a bit harder to produce clearer content.

Belfast Gazette 1922-2018
Following partition, a new Gazette was published in Northern Ireland containing a similar range of news to the Dublin, London and Edinburgh versions. The Belfast Gazette is available free at the official The Gazette site, which has an efficient search engine.

The London Gazette and Edinburgh Gazette have also joined FindMyPast. Like the Belfast Gazette, they are also available free at the official Gazette site (see link above).



Some of the above content contains affiliate links. This means I may earn a small commission if you buy via these links. This does not affect the price you pay as a consumer, but it does contribute to keeping IrishGenealogyNews online. See Advertising Disclosure tab above.
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GRONI's Public Search Room to reopen on 2 September

The Public Search Room of the General Register Office for Northern Ireland (GRONI) will reopen with a limited service on Wednesday 2 September. The following restrictions will be place:
  • Visitors must book their appointment in advance – appointments will be between 9:30am and 12:30pm or 1pm and 4pm.
  • Access will be limited to one person per booking.
  • Booking will be limited to a maximum of three visits per week per person or company.
  • No visitors will be allowed to enter the building without an appointment.
  • A number of changes to GRONI services will be in place to make sure of the health and safety of staff and the public.
  • All visitors must agree to follow the guidance contained in the public search room protocol document they will receive at the time of booking
Until the reopening, the Public Search Room remains closed. However, you can apply for life event certificates either by phone on 0300 200 7890 or by ordering via GRONI's online facility.

GRONI's Public Search Room is located within the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency at Colby House, Stranmillis Court, Belfast, BT9 5RR.

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Thursday, 13 August 2020

New & updated US genealogy records: 2-week summary

Below is a summary of US family history collections that have been either newly released or updated by the major genealogy databases in the last two weeks. (The last summary list was published on 30 July, see blogpost).

My regular summaries are designed to help family historians whose Irish ancestors emigrated, temporarily or permanently, to the United States. By default, they should also be useful to anyone carrying out research in the US, regardless of the origin of their ancestors.

The figures in parenthesis in the New Collections section are the numbers of records/images in each new record set.

Unless otherwise stated, the figures in parenthesis in the Updated Collections section reflect the number of records added to the collection in the recent update, if a number has been clearly noted by the supplier. I do not include updates of fewer than 1,000 records.


NEW COLLECTIONS

Ancestry

FamilySearch

MyHeritage


UPDATED COLLECTIONS

AmericanAncestors

Ancestry

FamilySearch

MyHeritage


Some of the above content contains affiliate links. This means I may earn a small commission if you buy via these links. This does not affect the price you pay as a consumer, but it does contribute to keeping IrishGenealogyNews online. See Advertising Disclosure tab above.


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Wednesday, 12 August 2020

Beyond 2022 enters digitisation procurement process

It's good to see the Beyond 2022: Ireland's Virtual Record Treasure Research Project moving forward. This ambitious all-island and international collaborative research project, which is led by Trinity College Dublin, aims to create a virtual reality version of the Public Record Office of Ireland building and all its archival collections prior to their destruction during the War of Independence.

A Request for Tender (RFT) was posted last week on the Irish government's public procurement platform for a contract to digitise records currently held by the National Archives of Ireland (NAI).

As far as I'm aware, this RFT is the first for the Beyond 2022 project.

The RFT does not identify the records involved. It says: "Beyond 2022, working with the National Archives, has identified a large body of archival documents which contain valuable historical information relating to Ireland prior to 1922. These archives are in various formats, but the scope of this phase is primarily bound volumes."

Unfortunately, I've been unable to establish what this 'large body' of documents contains because the details are being kept quiet until the tendering process has completed. They may be of value to genealogists; they may not. I can't think of any really important collection of family history importance that hasn't already been made available on the NAI's Genealogy website or shared with database suppliers such as Ancestry and FindMyPast. But you never know.

All will be revealed in due course, I guess. And I'll let you know when I find out.

Any service provider wanting to formally express an interest can follow this link. The deadline is 1 September.






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Tuesday, 11 August 2020

MyHeritage photographic tools free for one month

In the last six months, both MyHeritage In Color and it's sister tool, MyHeritage Photo Enhancer have been introduced by the database and DNA supplier, and they've proved very popular. They can transform faded, blurry black and white photos into full colour and sharper focus. They really do help you to view your ancestors more clearly.

MyHeritage has decided to make both these tools free for one whole month so that more people, especially those currently confined to their home during the Covid-19 pandemic, can have some fun and enjoy genealogy research.

The free access will run until Thursday 10 September, and you can colour and enhance as many photos as you like. You need only to set up a free account with the website.

Outside of this free access period, researchers can use the tools free of charge to upgrade a maximum of ten photos. Thereafter, they need a Complete Subscription.

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Thursday, 6 August 2020

Irish COVID-19 Oral History Project launched

Dublin City University's Business School has launched a project that may interest family historians. It's called the Irish COVID-19 Oral History Project and it aims to create a repository of oral and written histories about COVID-19. These stories will then be made available to researchers, historians and the public as an open source digital archive.

https://covid19oralhistory.ie/The project team hopes to collect stories that reflect as many aspects of Irish life as possible, explains David Kenny. "We have made it easy to get involved. All the information people need to record their experiences is on the website. Sample questions provide a guide but people can record any aspect of living and working through this pandemic by using their phone, tablet, pc or dictaphone. The file can then be simply uploaded to the website.

"Should they wish, people can request to be interviewed and share their story that way."

In addition to collecting stories, the project invites people to apply to be 'theme leaders' (who co-ordinate the collection of stories in their home area), interviewers and, at a later stage, researchers.

If you'd like to get involved, check out the website via the link above.

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40% saving in AncestryDNA Summer Sale, USA-only

AncestryDNA is offering USA-based researchers a discount on its autosomal DNA test kit.

It's a big saving – 40% – so don't miss it.

The discount reduces the price from US$99 to $59, with tax and shipping extra.

To take advantage of the offer, place your order (Click/tap 'Get Started') before 11:59pm EST on Monday, 17 August.


Ireland and UK Summer Sale here.

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Certificates in Local Studies and Oral History 2020-21

The Lord Mayor’s Certificates in Local Studies and Oral History will once again be offered by Dublin City Library and Archive from September. In view of Covid-19 restrictions, the courses will be taught online until Christmas using Zoom. If the situation permits, the courses will be taught to the class in person at DCLA (138-144 Pearse Street, Dublin 2), from January-April 2021.

Click each brochure image below to download more details about each Certificate course. They provide comprehensive information, but should you still have queries, contact the DCLA at cityarchives@dublincity.ie.

Lord Mayor's Certificate in Local Studies

Classes will be held on Tuesday evenings from September 2020 until April 2021.

The course consists of 70 hours part-time and will equip participants with skills in researching local history and in the preparation of a dissertation.

The closing date for course applications is 5pm on Friday 28 August 2020.

(Dublin City Council offers two Bursaries for candidates taking the Certificate. The deadline for bursary applications is 5pm on Friday 21 August.)


Lord Mayor's Certificate in Oral History

https://www.dublincity.ie/sites/default/files/content/RecreationandCulture/libraries/blog-images-2020/Oral%20History%20Bursaries%202020-2021.pdf
Classes will be held on Monday evenings from September 2020 until April 2021.

The course consists of 70 hours part-time and will equip participants with skills in the preparation and conduct of oral history projects, including best practice in the collection and archiving of oral history interviews.

The closing date for course applications is 5pm on Friday 4 September.

(Dublin City Council offers two Bursaries for candidates taking the Certificate in Oral History. The deadline for bursary applications is 5pm on Friday 28 August.)
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Ancestry.com acquired by private equity firm for $4.7b

It's pretty unusual to find family history news in the pages of the Financial Times, but Ancestry made a splash yesterday when the Blackstone Group agreed to buy a 75% stake in the company. The deal is worth US$4.7billion, and allows the private equity firm to satisfy investors' growing appetite for health and technology stocks.

Ancestry's brands
Ancestry has been busy of late. Last November it launched AncestryHealth; this new health dna test – physician-ordered and not diagnostic – gives consumers the opportunity to address potential health risks identified in their genes and family health history. Last month, the company claimed their genealogy database held 24 billion records, while their ancestry + health dna database contained 18 million completed DNA kits bought by customers.

Just a couple of days before the Blackstone deal was concluded, Ancestry launched 'AncestryHealth® powered by Next Generation Sequencing (NGS)' (the company seems determined to use the full phrase). This new health test, which explores more places in an individual's DNA than microarray-based testing technology, promises a more comprehensive genetic screening of an expanded set of health conditions ie. heart disease, breast cancer, colon cancer and blood disorders.

'AncestryHealth powered by NGS' is currently available only to adults (ages 18+) in the United States, with the exception of New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island, for $179. Existing AncestryDNA® customers can upgrade for $99.

The corporate-speak official announcement from Ancestry is below:

"Blackstone today announced that the private equity fund it manages has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Ancestry®.

"Blackstone’s acquisition will further accelerate Ancestry’s global leadership in Family History and consumer genomics, helping us achieve our mission to empower journeys of personal discovery to enrich lives. The Blackstone team is deeply inspired by our mission, aligned with our strategy and is confident in our prospects for the future.

"They share our purpose and passion for delivering great experiences for our customers. That includes upholding our commitment to protecting our customers’ privacy and being good stewards of their data. Our robust consumer privacy and data protections remain unchanged under our new ownership.

"Looking ahead, in collaboration with Blackstone, we will continue to leverage our unique content and technology platform to expand our global Family History business while bringing to life our long-term vision of personalized, preventive health.

"We are grateful to our valued members and vibrant community for their continued trust and support.

"We are thrilled to partner with Blackstone and believe that together we can continue to inspire millions more people to discover their family story and gain actionable insights about their health and wellness."
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