Jamaica | Genealogy Gems

New German Genealogy Records Online & More

by Lacey Cooke | Apr 19, 2019 | 01 What's New, Records & databases

It’s a great week for new genealogy records online! We’re featuring German vital records now available at Ancestry.com, including civil registers, parish records, and census records. You can also explore two updated Italian records collections at FamilySearch, plus check out an expert interview for tips on researching your Italian ancestors. Lastly, Findmypast is continuing to to expand their international records with a new Jamaican records collection. Happy researching!

Featured: German Genealogy Records

Ancestry.com, one of the Genealogy Giants subscription websites, has several new German vital records collections now available online. Specifically, Trier, Germany.

You can find a wealth of genealogical information in these civil registers, parish records, and census records. Look for names, dates, locations, parents and spouse names, occupations, and even some narrative comments in margins.

The city of Trier has an interesting history, and is among the oldest cities in Germany. It was founded by the Celts in the late-4th century BC and was known as Treuorum. Later on the city was conquered by the Romans in the late-1st century BC and renamed Trevorum or Augusta Treverorum.

In the Middle Ages, the Archbishop-Elector of Trier was an important prince of the church, and Trier is the oldest seat of a bishop north of the Alps. The archbishop-electorate controlled land from the French border to the Rhine. The Archbishop-Elector also had great significance as one of the seven electors of the Holy Roman Empire. You can learn more about Trier and more available genealogy records at the FamilySearch wiki page for the city here.

Additionally, there is a new collection for Barnim, Germany, Deaths, 1874-1966. The name directories are arranged alphabetically according to the last name of the deceased. They are bound as separate volumes covering several years each. They contain the following details: sequential number, last names and given names of the deceased, residence, and cross reference to death register.

Updated Italian Genealogy Records at FamilySearch

Over at the all-free website FamilySearch, two Italian genealogy records collections have been updated.

If you’re searching for Italian ancestors, check out episode #207 of The Genealogy Gems Podcast! In this episode, you’ll hear from Mary Tedesco, a co-host of PBS’ Genealogy Roadshow. Mary shares stories and tips about tracing Italian and Italian-American roots.

New Jamaican Genealogy Records Online

Lastly, we head to Findmypast for an exciting new addition to their database. While Findmypast focuses on British and Irish records, they are rapidly expanding their international collections as well!

The latest in this expansion is a big boost of genealogical records for Jamaica. The update includes five new sets encompassing over 2.4 million parish and civil register entries for births, baptisms, marriages, deaths and burials dating back to the mid-17th century.

Jamaica is divided into three counties:

Cornwall
Middlesex
Surrey

Within each county are parishes, the fundamental civil administrative unit. Genealogy records in Jamaica are kept at this local level.

At Findmypast you can currently search:

These collections may help you discover your Caribbean ancestors and add a Jamaican branch to your family tree.

German Genealogy Research Tips From an Expert

Researching your ancestors deep into Germany simply doesn’t happen unless you know the name of the village of origin. In this video presentation renowned German genealogy expert James M. Beidler goes over the sources to tie your immigrant to a Heimat (Heimat (pronounced [ˈhaɪmat]) is a German word translating to “home” or “homeland” ) and then find the village and its records!

You can also hear Jim Beidler, author of the book Trace Your German Roots Online A Complete Guide to German Genealogy Websites discuss Germany genealogy records at FamilySearch on Genealogy Gems Podcast episode #191.

Lacey Cooke

Lacey has been working with Genealogy Gems since the company’s inception in 2007. Now, as the full-time manager of Genealogy Gems, she creates the free weekly newsletter, writes blogs, coordinates live events, and collaborates on new product development. No stranger to working with dead people, Lacey holds a degree in Forensic Anthropology, and is passionate about criminal justice and investigative techniques. She is the proud dog mom of Renly the corgi.

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!

FamilySearch: Civil Registrations, Military, SSDI and More!

by Lisa Cooke | Sep 18, 2013 | 01 What's New, British, Census, FamilySearch, Immigration, Military, Records & databases

It’s hard to keep up with the content constantly being added online at FamilySearch! If you (like me) spent the past month squeezing the last bit of travel an laying_low_with_laptop_400_clr_5364 d sun from the summer, you may have missed some great new content. Here’s a recap:

This month, over a half million indexed records and images have already shown up from Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Guatemala, Italy, New Zealand and the United States. Highlights include updates to the United States Social Security Death Index, images from the Czech Republic, Censuses, 1843–1921, collection, indexed records from the Hungary, Civil Registration, 1895–1980, collection, images from the new U.S., Indiana, Naturalization Records and Indexes, 1848-1992, collection and the Italy, Mantova, Mantova, Censuses (Comune), 1750-1900, collection, and indexed records from the U.S., Maine, State Archive Collections, 1718-1957, collection.

In August, FamilySearch.org added more than 45 million indexed records and images from BillionGraves and from Italy, the U.S., England, New Zealand, Sweden, Italy, Jamaica, Chile, Honduras and more. Notable U.S. additions are updates to the New Orleans Passenger Lists and newly-indexed war collections, including: the United States, World War II Prisoners of War of the Japanese, 1941-1945, collection, the United States, Korean War Battle Deaths, 1950-1957, collection, and the United States, Casualties of the Vietnam War, 1956-1998, collection.

A few more cool additions include:

More than a half million images to a growing collection of Italy’s Civil Registrations;
Nearly a million indexed Jamaican and a quarter million Chilean civil registrations;
More than 2.5 million indexed recods from New Zealand passenger lists (1855-1973);
Nearly a half-million indexed names from Boston passenger lists (1820-1891);
Over 41 million indexed names added to the U.S. Public Record Index.

Search these and 3.5 billion more records at FamilySearch.org. Records are always free to search here, thanks both to the organization itself and thousands of volunteers around the world who index records. Join the effort here!