6M Free British Family Notices Now Online

by | Aug 24, 2018 | 01 What's New, Records & databases

Nearly 6 million British family notices are now free to explore online! Find your ancestors from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales in more new and updated records, too: newspaper articles, British almanacs and directories, clandestine marriages, Liverpool Catholic and Warwickshire Church of England records, military collections (especially WWI) and Scotland death notices.

6 million free British Family Notices now searchable

The British Newspaper Archive is home to millions of exclusively-digitized newspaper pages from the British Library, covering England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Great news for those of you who don’t already subscribe: a free collection of British family notices that appear in papers on The British Newspaper Archive is now searchable at FamilySearch.org.

The index contains nearly 6 million records and may include family names, relationships, dates, and places of vital events and the publication. Better yet, you’ll find links to images in those newspapers, like this example:

More British Isles newspaper coverage

Family notices are only one of the many spots in a newspaper in which your relatives may appear! Feature news article coverage, crime reports, legal notices, advertisements, even sporting events. In recent weeks, The British Newspaper Archive has added over 270,000 digitized newspaper pages its site—and these updates also appear in the newspaper collections at sister site Findmypast.com. Updates to existing titles span England, Scotland and Ireland and include the following (links go to the Findmypast collections):

More British Isles genealogy records now online

British directories and almanacs. Findmypast.com has added over 329,000 records to its British Directories and Almanacs collection. According to the site, “the new additions include English & Welsh publications spanning the years 1766 to 1919. Inside you will find the names, addresses and occupations of prominent people, tradesmen, people who held office, business owners and local civil servants.”

Browse these pages to learn more about an ancestor’s life. For example, says the site, “They provide topographical accounts of towns, social statistics and comprehensive guides of towns or cities, as well as full listings of gentry, business owners, tradespeople, civil servants, church leaders, school teachers and much more. Furthermore, you can explore the history of your home by searching the publications by address, where you may discover previous proprietors.”

England clandestine marriages. Now on Findmypast are more than 881,000 indexed images of clandestine marriage records covering the years 1667 to 1775. “Records will reveal a combination of the couple’s names, marital conditions, occupations and residences,” says the collection description. The term “clandestine” refers to marriages performed outside the Anglican church, which were still recognized by law but categorized as common-law. According to the site, “There are a number of reasons why individuals would have participated in these ceremonies. The couple may have wanted to be married in secret and away from their home. There may have been a reason that the marriage needed to be performed quickly. A clandestine marriage also cost far less than a traditional wedding. However, not all reasons were innocent, and the courtrooms heard many cases of people coerced or forced into a marriage or cases of bigamy. At this time, the age required for marriage was 14 for men and 12 for women.”

Liverpool Catholics. Genealogy Giant Ancestry.com has updated several collections of Catholic parish records for Liverpool, England, provided in association with Liverpool City Council. Explore these collections by first by going to Ancestry.com here and then in the menu, select Search > Card Catalog > and search for the name of the collections: 

  • Liverpool, England, Catholic Baptisms, 1741-1916. Over 1.5 million records! According to the collection description, “most baptisms took place shortly after children were born. Baptism register entries in these records may include name, birth date, baptism date, father’s name, mother’s name, godparents, minister [and] parish.”
  • Liverpool, England, Catholic Confirmations, 1813-1922. Over 100,000 records; may include the name, age, confirmation date, parent’s name and parish.
  • Liverpool, England, Catholic Marriages, 1754-1932. Over 300,000 records in this collection. Entries may include marriage date, bride’s name and age, groom’s name and age, parents’ names and parish.
  • Liverpool, England, Catholic Burials, 1813-1985. Over 720,000 records; may include the deceased’s name, age, burial date, residence, and gravesite.

Warwickshire Church of England parish registers.  FamilySearch.org has updated its database of England, Warwickshire, Parish Registers, 1535-1984. With nearly 3 million records spanning about 450 years, this collection of Church of England parish registers contain records of christening, marriage and burial entries.

World War I collections. Now online at Findmypast.com, you can search these new or updated databases relating to the Great War:

  • Irish Officers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919. “Search over 1,000 records to learn more about the Irish officers who died in the First World War. Discover where and when an officer died, as well as the cause of death. You may also uncover details of an officer’s family and pre-war life.”
  • Honourable Women of the Great War, 1914-1918. “Discover your female ancestor who served during the First World War. Learn about the wartime activities your ancestor was involved in as well as her pre-war life. You may also find a photograph of your ancestor.”
  • Airmen Died in The Great War, 1914-1919. “Discover your relative’s name, birth and death years, cause of death, rank, and more. These records come from the Naval & Military Press. The service branches designated in this collection are as follows: Australian Flying Corps, Miscellaneous Airmen Casualties, Pre-War Casualties, Royal Air Force, Royal Flying Corps, Royal Naval Air Service, United States Air Service Casualties Attached to the Royal Fighting Corps/Royal Air Force, US Navy Casualties, and Women’s Royal Air Force.”

More British military collections. These two collections have been updated at Findmypast:

  • British Subjects Who Died In The Service Of The Indian Empire. ”This collection contains over 1,100 records and each result includes both a transcript and an image of the original document. Records will reveal a combination of the individual’s name, birth and death years, rank, regiment, and service history.”
  • Britain, Campaign, Gallantry & Long Service Medals & Awards. “Over 58,000 additional records have been added to the collection. The new additions cover recipients of the Military Cross, Distinguished Flying Medal, Distinguished Conduct Medal, Distinguished Service Order and Commando Gallantry awards.”

Scotland deaths. Findmypast’s Scotland, Lanarkshire Death & Burial Index 1642-1855 includes more than 64,000 death and burial records from 31 burial grounds. “Each result includes a transcript taken from an original document that will reveal a combination of your ancestor’s birth year, death and burial dates, age at death, burial place, and mortcloth price.” (The mortcloth was the cloth spread over the coffin.)

What does “British” actually mean?

To start exploring your British Isles roots, it would help to know what the term “British” actually means. Click here to read the answer and tips for getting started in your British Isles family history research.
About the Author: Sunny Morton

About the Author: Sunny Morton

Sunny is a Contributing Editor at Lisa Louise Cooke’s Genealogy Gems; her voice is often heard on the Genealogy Gems Podcast and Premium Podcasts. She’s  known for her expertise on the world’s biggest family history websites (she’s the author of Genealogy Giants: Comparing the 4 Major Websites); writing personal and family histories (she also wrote Story of My Life: A Workbook for Preserving Your Legacy); and sharing her favorite reads for the Genealogy Gems Book Club.

Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links and Genealogy Gems will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on these links (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for supporting Genealogy Gems!

All Ellis Island Passenger Records Now Free on FamilySearch

by | Aug 17, 2018 | 01 What's New, Records & databases

All Ellis Island passenger records are now available and free to search at FamilySearch.org! It’s one of 8 free fresh FamilySearch collections profiled in this article. You’ll also find: New Jersey brides, France vital records, Northumberland parish records, Palermo and Chieti (Italy) civil registrations, Maryland funeral homes and the 1905 New York state census.

Ellis Island Passenger Records All On FamilySearch

Over 100 million Americans have ancestors who immigrated through Ellis Island or one of its predecessor immigration stations. Now the entire collection of Ellis Island New York Passenger Arrival Lists from 1820 to 1957 are available online on both FamilySearch and The Statue of Liberty – Ellis Island website, giving researchers even more options for discovering immigration records.

According to a FamilySearch release, “Originally preserved on microfilm, 9.3 million images of historical New York passenger records spanning 130 years were digitized and indexed in a massive effort by 165,590 online FamilySearch volunteers. The result is a free searchable online database containing 63.7 million names, including immigrants, crew, and other passengers traveling to and from the United States through the nation’s largest port of entry.”

Searching on FamilySearch (in addition to or instead of the Ellis Island site) takes advantage of advanced searching tools on the site and the ability to attach records to profiles in the FamilySearch Family Tree. FamilySearch has divided these records into three collections that represent three phases of migration history:

“The ship manifests list passengers, their names, age, last place of residence, who is sponsoring them in America, the port of departure, and their date of arrival in New York Harbor and sometimes other interesting information, such as how much money they carried on them, number of bags, and where on the ship they resided during its sail from overseas.”

More FamilySearch additions

England. Upwards of a million records have been added to FamilySearch’s existing collection, England, Northumberland, Parish Registers, 1538-1950. These are “Church of England parish registers containing baptisms, marriages, and burials that took place in the county of Northumberland from 1538 to 1950. Records may include: name, parents, spouse, father’s occupation, residence, date of birth, date of marriage, burial date and place and much more depending on the record type. The original records are held at the Woodhorn Museum and Northumberland Archives.”

France. Over 50,000 indexed names have been added to an existing collection of France, Vital Records, 1542-1900. These include “various birth, marriage and death records indexed by Bibliothèque Généalogique et d’Histoire Sociale de France.”

Italy. FamilySearch has made two major additions to its unique online collection of free Italian civil registration records. A new browse-only collection, Italy, Palermo, Civil Registration (State Archive), 1820-1947, contains over 4.3 million images. Also, over 3.2 million images have been added to the existing collection, Italy, Chieti, Civil Registration (State Archive), 1809-1930. Available records vary by time and locale but may include civil registrations of births, marriages, and deaths; marriage banns; ten-year indexes; residency records and supplemental documents.

United States – Maryland. Over 4,000 records have been added to the collection, Maryland, Baltimore, Lock Funeral Home Records, 1936-2007. Available documents for deceased persons vary but may include death certificates, ledgers, obituaries, and miscellaneous loose papers, filled with rich genealogical information about the deceased and their relatives.

United States—New Jersey. A new collection, New Jersey, Bride Index, 1930-1938, contains nearly 240,000 indexed names. It was acquired by ReclaimTheRecords.org and donated to FamilySearch for publishing of images.

United States—New York. Over 130,000 indexed records have been added to the free-to-search New York State Census, 1905 at FamilySearch. This is a key resource for those with Empire States roots in the early 20th century, given the enormous immigrant and migrant population in New York and the general lack of public access to New York vital records.

Learn more about Ellis Island Immigration records

Learn everything you need to know about using Ellis Island immigration records in 3 special episodes in the free Family History: Genealogy Made Easy Podcast!
About the Author: Sunny Morton

About the Author: Sunny Morton

Sunny is a Contributing Editor at Lisa Louise Cooke’s Genealogy Gems; her voice is often heard on the Genealogy Gems Podcast and Premium Podcasts. She’s  known for her expertise on the world’s biggest family history websites (she’s the author of Genealogy Giants: Comparing the 4 Major Websites); writing personal and family histories (she also wrote Story of My Life: A Workbook for Preserving Your Legacy); and sharing her favorite reads for the Genealogy Gems Book Club.

Scandinavian Genealogy Records and More

by | Jun 29, 2018 | 01 What's New, FamilySearch, Records & databases, Swedish

It’s a Scandinavian genealogy dream come true: over 135 million new free records at FamilySearch! Also new (and free): church records for England, France, Germany; Italian and Mexican civil registration; archival indexes for The Netherlands; South African court records; Kentucky death records; Michigan births and Utah delayed birth records.

Featured: Free Scandinavian genealogy records

The free Genealogy Giant FamilySearch recently announced the addition of 135.4 million free digital historical records from Denmark, Finland, and Sweden. “These new collections were digitized in partnership with MyHeritage and the National Archives of Denmark and Finland and can now be accessed at FamilySearch.”

Denmark: over 55 million new records added. These include census records (1834-1930); browse-only church record images (1686–1941); browse-only land record images of deeds and mortgages; browse-only estate record images (1436–1964) and estate record indexes (1674–1851); civil marriages (1851–1961) and another collection of Copenhagen civil marriages (1739–1964; indexed 1877–1964). Search all Denmark records at FamilySearch for free.

Finland: over 34 million new records added. These include nearly 300 years of church census and preconfirmation books (1657–1915) and 100 years of tax lists of Suomi-Henkikirjara (1819–1915). Search all Finland records at FamilySearch for free.

Sweden: nearly 47 million new records added. These include Sweden household examination books (1880–1920) and church books (Kyrkoböcker) from Kopparberg (1604–1860), Örebro (until 1860), and Östergötland (1555–1911). Search all Sweden records at FamilySearch for free.

More free records at FamilySearch

England. There are more than 2.5 million indexed records in a new collection, England, Leicestershire Parish Registers, 1533-1991. According to the description. “The records found in this collection span over 400 years and include: Banns, 1637-1931; Baptisms, 1533-1916; Burials, 1533-1991; and Marriages, 1533-1931. While the vast majority of the records include images of the original parish registers, there are transcripts that do not include images. The images captured by FamilySearch were provided by the Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester & Rutland. The indexes were provided by Findmypast.”

France. Nearly 30,000 records have been added to the collection, France, Haute-Garonne, Toulouse, Church Records, 1539-1793. “Church records (registres paroissiaux) of baptisms, marriages, and burials within the custody of the Municipal Archives of Toulouse (Archives municipales de Toulouse). Includes marriage banns (bans de mariages). Most records are for Catholics, although there are a small quantity of available records for Protestants. Availability of records is largely dependent on time period and locality.”

Germany. More than 1.3 million indexed records have been added to Germany, Bavaria, Diocese of Augsburg, Catholic Church Records, 1615-1939. These include baptisms, marriages and burials. Another 43,000+ indexed records have been added to Germany, Rhineland, Diocese of Trier, Catholic Church Records, 1704-1957, as well.

Italy. FamilySearch continues to add to its Italian civil records collections. More than 20,000 records each have been added to the free collections, Italy, Brescia, Civil Registration (State Archive), 1797-1943 and Italy, Pescara, Civil Registration (State Archive), 1809-1929.

Mexico. There a new browse-only collection with more than 1.4 million images! It’s Mexico, Sinaloa, Civil Registration, 1861-1929. The records include “births, marriages, deaths, indexes and other records created by civil registration offices” in Sinaloa.

Netherlands. More than 5.4 million indexed records have been added to the collection, Netherlands, Archival Indexes, Public Records. “Archives around the Netherlands have contributed indexes which cover many record sources, such as civil registration, church records, emigration lists, military registers, and land and tax records. This collection will cover events like notarial records, emigration and immigration, military enrollment and more. These indexes were originally collected, combined and published by OpenArchives.”

South Africa. More than a million indexed records have been added to South Africa, Cape Province, Probate Records of the Master of the High Court. These come from the original records kept at the Cape Archives Depot in Cape Town, South Africa.

United States. Two new collections have been added and one has received significant updates:

Genealogy Giants partnerships benefit everyone

The Genealogy Giants—Ancestry.com, FamilySearch, Findmypast and MyHeritage–-participate in partnerships now and then that lead to more online records for us. In this report, you see collaboration between the free site FamilySearch and subscription sites Findmypast and MyHeritage. We {heart} these win-win situations! Learn how these sites compare (and cooperate and compete) on our dedicated Genealogy Giants webpage.
About the Author: Sunny Morton

About the Author: Sunny Morton

Sunny is a Contributing Editor at Lisa Louise Cooke’s Genealogy Gems; her voice is often heard on the Genealogy Gems Podcast and Premium Podcasts. She’s  known for her expertise on the world’s biggest family history websites (she’s the author of Genealogy Giants: Comparing the 4 Major Websites); writing personal and family histories (she also wrote Story of My Life: A Workbook for Preserving Your Legacy); and sharing her favorite reads for the Genealogy Gems Book Club.

Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links and Genealogy Gems will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on these links (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for supporting Genealogy Gems!

Irish history in pictures, film and folklore

by | Jun 1, 2018 | 01 What's New, British, Irish, Scottish Genealogy

This week’s records roundup features Irish history in pictures, film and folklore; 1939 Register updates; British and Irish newspapers; UK WWI War Memorials Register, British folk music, Norfolk and Somerset parish records, Wiltshire wills and probate and Scotland historical photography. See if any of these can enrich your family history or genealogy research!

This week’s collections come from a variety of sources, including free private, public and government websites and subscription-based Genealogy Giants such as Ancestry.com and Findmypast.com. Enjoy!

Featured: Irish history in pictures, film and folklore

Historical images. A new database shows illustrations of Ireland created by travelers and dating back to 1680. According to Galway Daily, where we read about this fantastic collection, “Ireland Illustrated, 1680-1860, is a database of over 500 images of Ireland – woodcuts, water colours, engravings and other illustrations – with related text, drawn from more than 50 manuscript and printed works, and highlighting several neglected or rarely accessible sources. Many of the pictures in the database, woodcuts, water colours, engravings and other illustrations, have rarely, if ever, been seen by the public.”

Film footage. The Irish Times announced that a new archive has been founded to house “thousands of hours of film documenting Ireland’s past from potential decay and allow the Irish Film Institute (IFI) to open its doors to more amateur collections.” A spokeswoman in the article points out that “’from the 1890s until the 1960s, all there really was in Ireland was amateur footage’…and that “the reason amateur film is so important is because it is sometimes the only record we have of how Ireland was.” Click here to explore the Irish Film Institute’s digital archive, which includes rare historical footage of the bombing of the Four Courts. Watch a brief film clip of the latter here.

Folklore collection. Over 100,000 pages of Irish folk stories, customs and beliefs have been transcribed and placed online by the National Folklore Collection, says a recent article in The Irish Times. And more are coming. According to the article, “A voluntary collective online is working its way through transcribing 700,000 pages of folklore that were collected throughout Ireland between 1937 and 1939. This mass of previously inaccessible material was gathered by more than 100,000 children who were sent to seek out the oldest person in their community just before second World War to root out the darkest, oddest and weirdest traditional beliefs, secrets and customs.” Click here to start exploring!

Around the British Isles

1939 Register update. Genealogy Giant Findmypast.com, the first to publish the 1939 Register online, has added over 64,000 newly opened records to the collection. “The 1939 Register, compiled by 65,000 enumerators and sent to every household in England and Wales, documents the lives of 41 million people,” states the site. “It gives the names of the inhabitants at each address, their date of birth, marital status and occupation….Findmypast has more 1939 Register records than any other site, with thousands more being opened and made available to search every month.

 

 

 

British and Irish newspapers

The British Newspaper Archive is now home to more than 25 million digitized newspaper pages from Britain and Ireland. It has recently added several new newspaper titles and additional pages for existing titles on its site. Here’s a sample of new and enlarged collections:

WWI War Memorials Register. The Imperial War Museum is compiling the War Memorials Registry, “the comprehensive national register of UK war memorials and the names of the individuals they commemorate.” The database contains over a million names from over 74,000 memorials in the UK., Channel Islands and Isle of Man, along with a sizeable database of images of these war memorials.

According to the site, “War memorials form an important part of our cultural heritage and reflect the changing face of commemoration as well as artistic, social, local, family, military and international history. The Register includes memorials to members of the armed forces, civilians and animals from all wars and to those who died in service….We will be adding more records to the names database throughout the First World War Centenary so please check back for updates.”

England

British folk music. The British Library recently announced that it has placed online “around 350 English folk songs recorded by composer Percy Grainger in different regions of England between 1906 and 1909.” These unique, early recordings were made on wax cylinders, which don’t have a long lifespan, and then transferred to a more permanent recording format in 1940, a remarkable chain of events that makes it possible to hear audio recordings over a century old.

Norfolk. Almost 6 million records are in the new Ancestry.com collection, Norfolk, England, Bishop and Archdeacon Transcripts of Parish Registers, 1600-1935. According to the collection description, “This collection contains images of transcripts created by Bishops and Archdeacons of baptism, marriage, and burial records for the years 1600–1935 from the county of Norfolk, England. Also included are Weekly Register Bills from Great Yarmouth….Later this year, we will be adding Archdeacons’ Transcripts for parishes beginning O-Z.” Related Ancestry.com collections have been recently updated:

Somerset. Ancestry.com has also recently updated a few parish records collections for Somerset. These include: Somerset, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1531-1812; Somerset, Marriage Registers, Bonds and Allegations, 1754-1914; Somerset, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1914 and Somerset, Church of England Burials, 1813-1914.

Wiltshire. Last week, we announced some Wiltshire records updates for Ancestry.com. This week, we add updates to Wiltshire, England, Wills and Probate, 1530-1858, now with over 100,000 records in the collection. Tip: read the collection description for important instructions on navigating it.

Scotland

Historical images. Thousands of images of Scotland from the 1970s are now available online. According to an article on the Historic Environment Scotland website, the images were originally taken as part of a visual survey of historic architecture. However, “the backdrop to their work is life in rural Scotland.” You can view a curated sample of these images by clicking here.

In related news, The National Library of Scotland (NLS) reports that more than 14,000 photographs of Scotland taken between the 1840s and the 1940s has been acquired by the NLS and the National Galleries of Scotland. “The McKinnon Collection covers an expansive range of subjects — including family portraits, working life, street scenes, sporting pursuits, shops, trams, tenements, mountains and monuments, and it was one of the last great collections of Scottish photography still in private hands,” states the NLS release. It is expected that the collection will tour on exhibit and then be digitized to share online—so watch for that in a few years.

More British Isles resources on Findmypast.com

As one of the Genealogy Giants, Findmypast.com is a global leader in online genealogy and history research for England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. We keep up with what’s going on at Findmypast. Check out this short conversation I had with CEO Tamsin Todd and Executive Vice President Ben Bennett at RootsTech 2018 about an intriguing new approach they are piloting for collaborative online family trees. Click here to read more about Findmypast and how it stacks up to the other Giants, Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org and MyHeritage.com.

Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links and Genealogy Gems will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on these links (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for supporting Genealogy Gems!

About the Author: Sunny Morton

About the Author: Sunny Morton

Sunny is a Contributing Editor at Lisa Louise Cooke’s Genealogy Gems; her voice is often heard on the Genealogy Gems Podcast and Premium Podcasts. She’s  known for her expertise on the world’s biggest family history websites (she’s the author of Genealogy Giants: Comparing the 4 Major Websites); writing personal and family histories (she also wrote Story of My Life: A Workbook for Preserving Your Legacy); and sharing her favorite reads for the Genealogy Gems Book Club.

Now Online: England Parish Records and More

by | May 25, 2018 | 01 What's New, British, Church, Genealogy Giants Websites | 1 comment

English parish records top this week’s list of new online genealogy records. More new or updated family history collections: British newspapers, pensions and India records; records for Brazil, Germany, The Netherlands, Peru, and Poland; UK images and deaths; US obituaries; newspapers for Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island; and more for Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana and Oklahoma.

Featured: England parish records and more

As England made international news with the recent royal wedding last weekend, I found myself wondering what the couple’s entry in the official wedding register looks like (they signed it behind closed doors). That disappointment notwithstanding, plenty of historical Church of England registers have recently come online.

Find new and updated collections of these English church records on the following Genealogy Giants:
  • Cheshire, England, Extracted Church of England Parish Records, 1564-1837 at Ancestry.com is a new collection of historical parish registers from Cheshire and includes christenings, marriage bonds and licenses, marriage records, burials and even inhabitants lists.
  • Derbyshire records at Ancestry.com. There are separate collections of marriages and banns, burials, and baptisms, marriages, and burials. Dates and record types overlap, so it’s worth searching across more than one of these collections for your family.
  • Devon Bishop’s Transcripts, 1558-1887 at FamilySearch.org. Close to half a million indexed names have been added to this “index to and images of baptismal, marriage, and burial records in the county of Devon….Bishop’s transcripts contain more or less the same information as parish registers, so they are an invaluable resource when a parish register has been damaged, destroyed, or otherwise lost.” This collection is free to view, as all FamilySearch collections are, but the Devon Record Office, which supplies the collection, requires that you sign in with a free FamilySearch account.
  • Northumberland Registers & Records at Findmypast.com. “Explore publications of original parish records including Early Deeds Relating to Newcastle Upon Tyne, 1100-1600, Parish Registers of Alnham, Ceadnell, Chatton & Ilderton, 1688-1812, Parish Registers of Edlingham, 1658-1812, Parish Registers of Halton, 1654-1812 and Parish Registers of Ingram, 1682-1812.”
  • Nottinghamshire Registers & Records at Findmypast.com. Five new “publications cover parish registers from the parishes of Gedling and Warsop, Archdeaconry Court Marriage Licenses and Parish Register Transcripts from the Peculiar of Southwell, the history of the county and its highways and byways.”
  • Rutland Registers & Records at Findmypast.com. Subscribers may now search 180 pages from registers of North Luffenham, 1565-1832, to uncover baptisms, marriages, burials and monumental inscriptions.
  • Somerset Registers & Records at Findmypast.com. “These records cover Bishop’s Transcripts from Wells Diocesan Registry, Parish Registers from Chipstable, Raddington, Kittisford, Pitcombe and Wilton, as well as Wells Cathedral Monumental Inscriptions and Heraldry.”
  • Wiltshire Church of England records at Ancestry.com. There are separate collections of births and baptisms; marriages and banns; baptisms, marriages and burials; deaths and burials.

More English records to love:

British newspapers at Findmypast.com have been updated. More than 6.5 million new articles from 37 titles include “local newspapers from across the UK and Good Morning, the official Submariners newspaper during WW2.” Coverage includes “Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Oxfordshire, the British Armed Forces, Music Halls and Theatres.”

British in India. Findmypast.com subscribers can now “browse through 75 assorted almanacs that offer a comprehensive view of life in British India” in the collection, British in India, Directories 1792-1948. According to the site, “They contain lists of medical staff, veterinary staff, police, civil servants, and engineers working in India, as well as lists of debtors, charity members, and Freemasons. You can also discover practical information for living in India, such as gardening calendars and advice for posting parcels and letters.”

British pensions. Explore more than 150 years of pension applications in British Army Officers’ Widows’ Pension Forms 1755-1908 at Findmypast.com. “Released online for the first time in association with The National Archives, the collection includes forms and evidences of vital events extracted from widows’ pension files, including application forms, death certificates, marriage certificates, births and baptisms.”

British in India directories FMP England parish records

Sample page in 1878 British in India directory at Findmypast.com.

Continental Europe

Germany. Nearly 2.5 million indexed names have been added to FamilySearch’s free collection, Germany, Baden, Archdiocese of Freiburg im Breisgau, Catholic Church Records, 1678-1930. This database includes baptism, marriage and burial records. Another German collection at FamilySearch, Germany, Schleswig-Holstein, Kreis Steinburg, Civil Registration, 1874-1983, has also been updated.

Additionally, Ancestry.com has recently published new German vital records collections: Menden (Sauerland) Births, 1874-1906,  Menden (Sauerland) Marriages, 1874-1935 and Menden (Sauerland) Deaths, 1874-1986.

Netherlands. FamilySearch.org has added over 40,000 indexed records to the free Netherlands, Noord-Holland, Civil Registration, 1811-1950. This collection includes “Civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths,…ten year indexes, marriage intentions, marriage proclamations, and marriage supplements.”

Poland. Ancestry.com has published a new collection, Poland, Krakow Apartments of Displaced Jews, 1940. This comes from the World Memory Project in partnership with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, so these records are free to search.

South America

Brazil. FamilySearch has added over 35,000 indexed names to Brazil, Minas Gerais, Catholic Church Records, 1706-1999. These are “baptism, marriage, and death records created by various Catholic parishes and diocese,” and the collection continues to be updated. Additionally, nearly 60,000 names have been added to the FamilySearch database, Brazil, São Paulo, Immigration Cards, 1902-1980.

Peru. FamilySearch has updated two civil registration collections for Peru: Puno, Civil Registration, 1890-2005 and Junín, Civil Registration, 1881-2005. These include “births, marriages, deaths, indexes and other records created by civil registration offices.”

The United Kingdom

UK images. The Irish Times and other news outlets recently picked up the news that subscription giant Ancestry.com published a new collection of historical images: UK, Historical Photographs and Prints, 1704-1989. The Irish Times reported that the collection “include[s] more than 120 images taken in Ireland, offer an insight into daily life in Irish cities, towns, villages and countryside between the late 1800s and the 1950s.” Just for fun, try browsing the collection on the different images categories, such as transport, nurses, navy, royalty or weddings (an image from the latter category is shown at the top of this article, in honor of the royal wedding).

Recent UK Deaths. Find over 2.5 million records in Findmypast’s UK Deaths, 2007-2016. “The collection covers England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, and Jersey and list the individual’s name, date of death, and location of death.”

United States

U.S obituaries. Findmypast.com has added over 2.5 million new records to its United States Obituary Notices index, which references data from Tribute.com, an online obituary news site.

Delaware. MyHeritage.com has published over 125,000 pages in a new collection, Delaware Newspapers, 1880-2009 from three newspaper titles: The Sunday Morning Star, Cape Gazette and Delaware News.

Idaho. Ancestry.com has updated several vital records databases for this state, including: Idaho, Birth Index, 1861-1917, Stillbirth Index, 1905-1967, Idaho, County Birth and Death Records, 1863-1967, Idaho, Marriage Records, 1863-1967, Idaho, Divorce Records, 1947-1967 and Idaho, Death Records, 1890-1967.

Iowa. More than a quarter million indexed names have been added to FamilySearch’s free database, Iowa, Old Age Assistance Records, 1934-1946. According to the site, “These records include principal name, date, and place of birth; parents’ names; and contemporary addresses. The birth information is especially significant as it applies to Iowa settlers who may not appear in regular birth records.”

Kentucky. FamilySearch has added over 30,000 new records to its free collection, Kentucky Death Records, 1911-1965, which comprises indexed images of state death certificates.

Louisiana. Over 235,000 indexed names have been added to the free FamilySearch collection, Louisiana, Parish Marriages, 1837-1957. Record images are included in this collection of “marriage licenses and certificates, including a few marriage declarations and marriage stubs for the years 1837 to 1957.”

Maine. More than 2 million newspaper page images appear in the new MyHeritage.com collection, Maine Newspapers, 1861-2008. Among the 16 titles represented at present are Sun Journal, Bangor Daily News, Lewiston (Evening/Daily Evening/Wednesday/Saturday) Journal, Biddeford Weekly Journal, The Quoddy Times, Riddeford Journal, The Union and Journal, New Gloucester Independent News and The Original Irregular.

New Hampshire. MyHeritage also published nearly 650,000 images in the new New Hampshire Newspapers, 1869-2008. The seven newspapers represented are The Telegraph, Nashua Daily Telegraph, Peterborough Transcript, The Milford Cabinet and Wilton Journal, Merrimack Journal, Hollis Brookline Journal and Bedford Journal.

Oklahoma. Free at FamilySearch are nearly 25,000 new records added recently to Oklahoma, School Records, 1895-1936. According to the site, the school records are “primarily annual censuses, of pupils who attended schools in Oklahoma counties between 1895 and 1936. This collection will be published as records and images become available.”

Rhode Island. MyHeritage.com has published nearly 600,000 digital images in the new collection, Rhode Island Newspapers, 1778-1938. At launch, the collection includes 26 titles. Among them are The Morning Herald, Evening Tribune, Providence News, Manufacturers and Farmers Journal, Evening Telegraph, Providence Evening Press, Providence Morning Star, Pawtuxet Valley Gleaner, Hope Valley Advertiser and more.

Learn to use England parish records

England’s earliest useful census is from 1841, and civil records only go back to 1837. So England’s parish records just might prove your genealogical salvation. Click here to learn more about using them.
About the Author: Sunny Morton

About the Author: Sunny Morton

Sunny is a Contributing Editor at Lisa Louise Cooke’s Genealogy Gems; her voice is often heard on the Genealogy Gems Podcast and Premium Podcasts. She’s  known for her expertise on the world’s biggest family history websites (she’s the author of Genealogy Giants: Comparing the 4 Major Websites); writing personal and family histories (she also wrote Story of My Life: A Workbook for Preserving Your Legacy); and sharing her favorite reads for the Genealogy Gems Book Club.

Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links and Genealogy Gems will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on these links (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for supporting Genealogy Gems!

Pin It on Pinterest

MENU