FindMyPast's partnership with Living DNA comes to an end

FindMyPast has announced that its partnership with Living DNA, the UK-based provider of consumer dna test kits has come to an end. As of Friday, 28 April, researchers will no longer be able to purchase DNA kits via FindMyPast.

The arrangement with Living DNA began in July 2018 (see blogpost), but never seemed to really warm up or be strongly promoted. I would expect most family historians have either forgotten or have always been unaware that the partnership ever existed, so this announcement is unlikely to cause many ripples in the highly competitive consumer dna kits market.

Announcing the news, FindMyPast stated: "We are still committed to delivering the best possible experience for our members, and our core focuses will continue – enhancing our record collections and developing our product."

New/updated English, Scottish & Welsh records: 2-week summary

Below is a summary of newly released and updated family history record collections for England, Scotland and Wales from the major genealogy databases. (Previous summary, 11 April.)

My regular summary of releases and updates 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. Where two figures are given, the first is the number of additions, the second is the new total.

Please note that I don't usually include updates of fewer than 1,000 records.

NEW COLLECTIONS

Ancestry

• UK and Ireland, Families of Historic Properties, 1222-1967 (368)
• Surrey, England, World War II Home Guard Records, 1940-1945 (92,037)
• Gwent, Wales, Electoral Registers, 1832-1969 (16,295,916)
• Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, Electoral Registers, 1889-1970 (9,747,012)

BritishNewspaperArchives and FindMyPast

• New titles in main collection ($£€)

	Guernsey Evening Press and Star	Feltham Leader
	Richmond and Twickenham Times	Hinckley Echo
	King and His Navy and Army	Eastern Post
	Who's Who At The Coronation	Farnham Mail

FindMyPast

• Britain, Royal and Imperial Calendars 1767-1973 (207 calendars)
• England & Wales, Return of Owners of Land 1873 (269,706)
• Scotland, Return Of Owners Of Land 1873 (20,036)

ScottishIndexes

• Register of deeds, 1652-1653 volume
• Pardoned or Ticket of Leave on New Charges 1855-1895

UPDATED COLLECTIONS

Ancestry

• Kensington & Chelsea, London, Poor Law Records, 1695-1921 (66,501)
• Wiltshire, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-1922
• Wiltshire, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1922
• Bristol, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1938
• Bristol, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1922
• Hampshire, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1921
• Somerset, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1531-1812

DeceasedOnline

• Reading Old Cemetery (75,725 records from 1843)
• Hemdean Road Cemetery (7,311 records from 1877)

FindMyPast

• Durham Baptisms (12,656 added for 11 parishes in Northumberland and Durham, 1560–1847
• Britain, Royal and Imperial Calendars 1767-1973 Browse only (Searchable collection already available)
• Scotland, Return Of Owners Of Land 1876 (33,627) "Updated and improved version".
• Findmypast Photo Collection - Bela Zola: Life in the Mirror (814 / 12,645)

ScottishIndexes

• Prison records (104,369 records added from prisons in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Paisley, Dundee, Ayr and Fort William)

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RCB Library announces new opening and access arrangements

The Dublin-based RCB Library, home to the Church of Ireland's archive, has announced changes to its opening hours and access arrangements.

The Library is open from 10am to 4:15pm from Tuesday to Thursday, with the Library closing for lunch from 12:45pm to 1:30pm. Members may visit during the open hours, to read, browse, borrow and return print items, the Library will be closed to non-Members on Mondays and Fridays.

Additionally, unscheduled visits by researchers will no longer be facilitated. Researchers wishing to view archives and manuscripts must book in advance of their visit. 

The new online booking system, which will release slots for any given month on the last Friday of the previous month, can be booked here.

Click the image to see full details.

RootsIreland adds Church of Ireland baptisms for Mayo parish

RootsIreland, the online database managed by the Irish Family History Foundation and its network of genealogy centres across the island, has uploaded a small but long-awaited package of baptismal register transcriptions for the Church of Ireland parish of Aglish.

They date from 1840 to 1922 and total 380 precious records. They join the parish's marriage records from 1845 to 1918.

The County Mayo database on RootsIreland holds records gathered and transcribed by two Genealogy Centres: The North Mayo Heritage Centre and the South Mayo Family Research Centre.

They are located at Crossmolina and Ballinrobe respectively and cover the county either side of a line that extends from Newport to Kilovee.

Together they have a huge 1.5million records available to search, covering collections of Roman Catholic, Church of Ireland, Presbyterian and Methodist church records, census substitutes, civil registrations of births, marriages and deaths, and more than 115,000 gravestone inscriptions. To view the up-to-date list of sources for county Mayo, click the logo above, or login/subscribe at RootsIreland.ie.

Irish genealogy, history and heritage events, 24 April to 7 May

Until 24 July: Ulster-Scots and the Declaration of Independence, an in-person exhibition, launched on 21 April and hosted by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. Free. All welcome. No need to book. Visit during PRONI's normal opening hours.

Monday 24 April: The Business of Death, with Natalie Greenwood and Claire Cock Starkey. An online event hosted by Grave Matters featuring three speakers on topics related to death. 6pm. Free. All welcome. Details.

Tuesday 25 April: The Genealogy of Rathlin Island, Ballycastle and the Glens, a hybrid event with Dr Nic Wright. Hosted by North of Ireland Family History Society, Causeway C&G Branch. Venue: Sandel Centre, Knocklynn Rd, Coleraine, NI. 8pm. For online access, email branch secretary at causeway @ nifhs.org for zoom link. Details.

Tuesday 25 April: Connecting cartography: 'The Looney Map' of Tipperary, with Dr Catherine Porter. An in-person event hosted by Tipperary County Council Library Service. Venue: Tipperary Studies, Gallery, The Source Library, Thurles. Admission free. For details, Tel (052) 6166123 or email studies @ tipperarycoco.ie.

Tuesday 25 April: WikiTree, a hybrid event with Anne Johnston. Hosted by the North of Ireland Family History Society, Belfast Branch. In-person venue to be confirmed. 7:30pm. For online link, email Belfast @ nifhs.org. Free. All welcome.

Tuesday 25 April: 'The government wants a terrible lot of light': Clearing the 'slums' in 1930s Kilrush, an in-person presentation by Peter Connell. Host: Kilrush and District Historical Society. Venue: Teach Ceoil, Kilrush, Co Clare. 8pm. Free to members / €5 for non-members, payable on the night only.

Wednesday 26 April: The Powers of Co. Waterford, with Julian Walton FIGRS. An in-person event hosted by the Barony of Gaultier Historical Society. 8pm. Venue: The Gaultier Room, Woodlands Hotel, Dunmore Road, Waterford. All welcome.

Thursday 27 April: Emigration to Australia & New Zealand, with Mike McKeag. A hybrid event hosted by the North of Ireland Family History Society, Ballymena Branch. In-person venue: Michelin Arts Workshop, Braid Arts Centre, 1-29 Bridge Street, Ballymena. 7:15pm. For zoom link, email Ballymena @ nifhs.org. All welcome. Free.

Saturday 29 April: National Library of Ireland's Reading Rooms and Readers Ticket Office open to in-person visitors from 9:30 to 1pm. Kildare Street, Dublin 2.

Monday 1 May: May Day Bank holiday across the island. All libraries and archives, businesses and educational institutions closed.

Wednesday 3 May: The ‘arms dump’ that ended the Civil War in May 1923, with Dr Mary Muldowney. An in-person event hosted by Dublin City Libraries at Dublin Central Library, Ilac Centre, Henry Street, Dublin 1. 1pm. Free. All welcome but booking is required by T 01-2228300 or E centrallibrary@dublincity.ie.

Wednesday 3 May: Great Famine Voices Roadshow, with Caroilin Callery, an in-person lecture hosted by the National Famine Museum, Strokestown Park, Co Roscommon at the London Irish Centre, 50-52 Camden Square, London NW1 9XB, UK. Free. 7pm (doors 6:30pm) Free. Need to book/reserve your seat.

Thursday 4 May: History of the Abbey Theatre, with Mairead Delaney. An in-person event hosted by Mount Merrion Historical Society. Venue: Fitzwilliam Rooms, The Community Centre, North Avenue, Mount Merrion, Dublin. 8pm. Admission: Members Free / Non-Members €4 / Students €2.

Friday 5 May: Tips for Breaking through Brickwalls, an online class with Martin McDowell. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society. 7pm. All welcome. £10. Need to book.

Saturday 6 May: Stories beyond the stones – Commonwealth War Graves Commission Graves in County Cork, with Fiona Forde. An in-person event hosted by Cork Public Museum, Fitzgerald Park, Mardyke, Cork. Part of the museum's 2023 lecture series. Starts at 1pm. Free but need to book by email (museum @ corkcity.ie) or phone 021-4270679).

FindMyPast adds 132,000 records to two of its Irish collections

FindMyPast has updated two of its collections with a total of 132,920 records. Exactly how and where these additional records have been discovered is not explained in today's FindMyPast Friday blogpost, so I'm at a loss as to where they have come from. Redigitisation? Extra pages from the indexed sources being located? I don't know, but the second option is hardly likely since the source documents were published in 1890.

The collections are already widely available online; in the absence of any explanation as to what might set the FindMyPast versions apart, I'll just leave it here.

They are as follows:

Ireland, Diocese Of Dublin Marriage Licences, 1638-1858 (98,470 records added)

Ireland, Diocese Of Dublin Wills and Grants, 1270-1858 (34,450 records added)

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Dublin City Libraries adds free access to INA's Radical Newspaper Collection

Dublin City Libraries has added the Radical Newspaper Archive (RNA) to its free e-resources at all branches. This means that library readers now have access to 115+ radical and political newspapers, journals, pamphlets and bulletins, in addition to the main Irish Newspaper Archive database, which holds publications dating from the 1700s to the present.

Like the main database, the RNA collection is fully searchable.

The same development took place in all Kildare Libraries back in 2019. As far as I'm aware these are the only two public library services offering both the main database and the Radical collection. (A number of 'research libraries', most of them educational institutions, offer both.)

If your local library doesn't offer the same, perhaps you should be having a chat with the local council about upgrading their offer....!)

RootsIreland adds more RC marriage records from County Kerry

RootsIreland.ie has added more than 3,300 Roman Catholic marriage records to its growing County Kerry database.

They include transcriptions of locally-held registers and link to the National Library of Ireland's images for pre-March 1881 records. After that date, the records are transcription-only.

They come from two parishes, as follows:

• Annascaul marriages, 1809-1911 (960 records): A coastal parish on the Dingle peninsula, variant parish name Ballanvohir
• Lixnaw marriages, 1810-1901 (2372 records): A north Kerry parish between towns of Listowel and Tralee.

Click logo to view listing of online sources.

Irish genealogy, history and heritage events, 17-30 April

Monday 17 April: Larne in the Northern Ireland Screen Archives, a hybrid event hosted by the North of Ireland Family History Society, Larne Branch. In-person venue: Larne Museum and Arts Centre, 2 Victoria Road, Larne, Co Antrim. To attend, either in-person or online, contact Larne@nifhs.org. Free. Starts 7:15pm. Details.

Monday 17 April: Rough Justice - Crime and Punishment in 1800s Dublin, an in-person event with James Scannell. Hosted by Ballyfermot Library, Ballyfermot Road, Dublin 10. 6:30pm. Free. Book to attend.

Monday 17 April: Spiritual Wounds: Was there a silence about the Irish Civl War, with Dr Siobhra Aiken. A hybrid event hosted by Offaly Historical and Archaeological Society. In person: Big Screen show at Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay, Tullamore. 8pm. Also on zoom. Non-members welcome; email info @ offalyhistory.com for zoom access code. Cost: €2 members / €5 non-members.

Tuesday 18 April: The Role of the Land Agent in C19th Ulster, with Anne Casement. An in-person event hosted by NIFHS, Lisburn Branch. Bridge Community Centre, Railway St, Lisburn BT28 1XP. 7:30pm. Free. All welcome.

Tuesday 18 April: Rough Justice - Crime and Punishment in 1800s Dublin, an in-person event witgh James Scannell. Hosted by Dublin City Libraries. Venue: Drumcondra Library, Millmount Avenue, Dublin 9. 6:30pm. Free. Book here.

Wednesday 19 April: Kilkenny Tweed/Kilkenny Lace; Textiles in the 16th century, with Siobhan Corrigan. An in-person lecture hosted by Kilkenny Archaeological Society at Rothe House, Parliament St, Kilkenny. Fee: KAS Members €8 / Non-members €10. Details.

Wednesday 19 April: One Dublin, Multiple Crimes, with Myles Dungan exploring the early history of forensic science. An in-person event hosted by Tallaght Library County Library, Tallaght, Dublin,. 7pm. Free. All welcome. Book here. Fully booked.

Thursday 20 April: Getting Started Workshop: Using Online Resources, an online workshop hosted by PRONI. 12:30pm to 1:30pm. Free. All welcome. Need to register.

Saturday 22 April: Slaughter on the Somme – Britain's bloddy battle of 1916, with Gerry White. An in-person event hosted by Cork Public Museum, Fitzgerald Park, Mardyke, Cork. Part of the museum's 2023 lecture series. Starts at 1pm. Free but need to book by email (museum @ corkcity.ie) or phone 021-4270679.

Saturday 22 April: West Cork Railways – birth, beauty and betrayal, with Chris Larkin. An in-person talk hosted by Cork City Libraries. Venue: Glanmire Library, Hazelwood Shopping Centre, Glanmire, Co. Cork. 2:30pm to 3:30pm. Booking essential; call library on 021 492 9795.

Saturday 22 April: Drogheda Remembers the Irish Civil War 1922-23, an in-person conference hosted by Drogheda Civic Trust. The conference commemorates the Civil War and its impact on Drogheda. Speakers: Lt-Colonel Stephen Mac Eoin, Liz Gillis and Sean Collins MA. Venue: St. Peter's Church, Peter Street, Drogheda, Co Louth. 10am to 1pm. Need to book but tickets are free. Details.

Sunday 23 April: Mill Road Manors, a walking tour with Dr Paul O'Brien exploring the history of the houses and the merchants who built them. Free. Meet up in front of Scoil Íde, Corbally Road, Limerick City at 2pm. All welcome.

Monday 24 April: The Business of Death, with Natalie Greenwood and Claire Cock Starkey. An online event hosted by Grave Matters featuring three speakers on topics related to death. 6pm. Free. Details.

Monday 24 April: 1923 - The End of the Civil War, a centenary lecture with Dr Mel Farell. Host and venue: Carlow College, St Patricks, College Street, Carlow Town. 1:45pm to 2:45pm. Free. Booking required.

Tuesday 25 April: The Genealogy of Rathlin Island, Ballycastle and the Glens, a hybrid event with Dr Nic Wright. Hosted by North of Ireland Family History Society, Causeway C&G Branch. Venue: Sandel Centre, Knocklynn Road, Coleraine, Northern Ireland. 8pm–10pm. For online access, email the branch secretary at causeway @ nifhs.org for zoom link. Details.

Tuesday 25 April: Rough Justice - Crime and Punishment in 1800s Dublin, an in-person event witgh James Scannell. Hosted by Dublin City Libraries. Venue: Kevin Street Library, 18 Lower Kevin Street, Dublin 8. 6:30pm. Free. Book here to attend.

Tuesday 25 April: Connecting cartography: 'The Looney Map' of Tipperary, with Dr Catherine Porter. An in-person event hosted by Tipperary County Council Library Service. Venue: Tipperary Studies, the Gallery, The Source Library, Thurles. Part of the People and Places Lecture Series. Admission is free. Tea and coffee served. For details, Tel (052) 6166123 or email studies @ tipperarycoco.ie.

Tuesday 25 April: WikiTree, a hybrid event with Anne Johnston. Hosted by the North of Ireland Family History Society, Belfast Branch. In-person venue to be confirmed. 7:30pm. For online link, email Belfast @ nifhs.org. Free. All welcome.

Wednesday 26 April: The Powers of Co. Waterford, with Julian Walton FIGRS. An in-person event hosted by the Barony of Gaultier Historical Society. 8pm. Venue: The Gaultier Room, Woodlands Hotel, Dunmore Road, Waterford. All welcome.

Thursday 27 April: Emigration to Australia & New Zealand, with Mike McKeag. A hybrid event hosted by the North of Ireland Family History Society, Ballymena Branch. In-person venue: Michelin Arts Workshop, Braid Arts Centre, 1-29 Bridge Street, Ballymena. 7:15pm. For zoom link, email Ballymena @ nifhs.org. All welcome. Free.

Saturday 29 April: National Library of Ireland's Reading Rooms and Readers Ticket Office open to in-person visitors from 9:30 to 1pm. Kildare Street, Dublin 2.

Irish Registry of Deeds Index Project - April update

The Irish Registry of Deeds Index Project has been updated with some 2,000 entries added over the last two weeks.

The total number of entries in the main database is now 547,649, all transcribed from 56,465 memorials of deeds. They are free to search, just click the image, right.

Index founder and manager Nick Reddan FIGRS has highlighted one of the memorials, no. 178046, a marriage settlement dated 9 October 1769. See the abstract here and an image of the memorial here, image no. 5.

More volunteer indexers are needed. If you can spare a little time, please see the how-to guides and videos on the site at https://irishdeedsindex.net/how_to/index.php.