The UK ‘genealogy giant’ Findmypast has made exciting new updates to their records this week! They’ve announced over 100 million new European records are now available online, and this week highlights their extensive collection for Norway. Also new this week are genealogy records for Staffordshire, England; Queensland, Australia; and Ontario, Canada.
New European Records Online: Norway Featured
Findmypast recently announced their addition of over 100 million new European records now online. “Over 114 million new European births, baptisms, marriages, banns, deaths and burials are now available to search and explore on Findmypast. The new additions consist of transcripts sourced from the International Genealogical Index, a database compiled from a variety of sources from around the world.
Featured from this huge addition are three new indexes containing over 9.1 million Norwegian baptisms, marriages and burials are now available to search as part of our new collection of European records. These new collections span nearly 300 years of Norwegian history (1634 to 1927) and will generate new hints against your Findmypast family tree.
Anyone with ancestors from Norway has probably tapped into the National Archives of Norway’s Digital Archive. It’s one of the shining stars on the Internet that offer rays of research hope for those with Norwegian heritage. That’s why I was thrilled to be able to interview Yngve Nedreb, the Chief archivist at Riksarkivet (National Archives of Norway) for the Family Tree Magazine Podcast. In fact, I published an extended version of that interview in episode #161 of The Genealogy Gems Podcast. This is a “must hear” for those with Norwegian heritage! Click below to listen right now:
Lisa’s special guest: Yngve Nedrebø, Chief Archivist at Riksarkivet. http://www.arkivverket.no/eng/Digitalarkivet
Staffordshire, England Vital Records
Another brand new genealogy records collection online is over at Ancestry.com. The Staffordshire, England, Birth, Marriage and Death Indexes, 1837-2017 collection comprises indexes of civil registrations from Staffordshire, excluding the City of Stoke-on-Trent, reported quarterly to the General Register Office (GRO) in London.
The indexes for the three events are divided into volumes by year and names are listed alphabetically. Once an entry in one of the indexes is found, you are then able to use that information to order of copy of a death, marriage, or birth certificate from the GRO. Information that can be obtained from the birth marriage and death index includes, where available:
Name
Maiden name of mother
Date of event
Death Age
Place of Marriage
Gender
Registration district (each county in England and Wales was divided up into registration districts; jurisdictions are organized and appear as they existed at the time the record was created)
Reference
Queensland, Australia
Also new at Ancestry is the Queensland, Australia, Licensed Victuallers Index, 1900-1903. The names of holders of victuallers’ licenses (publicans) were printed in the Queensland Government Gazette from 1900 to 1914 on an annual basis. This index covers the period from 1900 to 1903 and includes names, districts, and hotel names.
More about licensed victuallers from Wikipedia: “In the United Kingdom the owner and/or manager of a pub (public house) is usually called the “landlord/landlady”, and often, strictly incorrectly, “publican”, the latter properly the appellation of a Roman public contractor or tax farmer. In more formal situations, the term used is licensed victualler or simply “licensee”.[9] A female landlord can be called either a landlady or simply landlord.”
Ontario, Canada Insurance Policy Applications
Findmypast has another new collection now available online. “Did your Canadian ancestor apply for life insurance with The Independent Order of Oddfellows (IOOF) between 1875 and 1929? The IOOF is one of the world’s oldest fraternal orders. These insurance records are a unique source for tracing your family history. You will find images of the original applications which include your ancestor’s medical history, family’s medical history, and a physical description. The applications are two pages long. Be sure to use the next arrow to move to the next image.
Here at Genealogy Gems, we’ve adopted the name ‘Genealogy Giants’ to refer to the 4 major genealogy records websites: Ancestry.com, Findmypast.com, MyHeritage.com, and FamilySearch.org. Each website has its own unique and distinct offerings, but there can also be a lot of overlap. So with hefty subscription price tags, the question we’re often asked is, “Which website subscription do I need?” To tackle this, Sunny Morton’s RootsTech class uncovers the secrets on how to compare these 4 giants so that you spend your time and money wisely. Watch the entire presentation for free below, and then grab a copy of the companion quick reference guide Genealogy Giants: Comparing the 4 Major websites.
About the Author: Lisa Louise Cooke is the producer and host of the Genealogy Gems Podcast, an online genealogy audio show and app. She is the author of the books The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox, Mobile Genealogy, How to Find Your Family History in Newspapers, and the Google Earth for Genealogy video series. She is an international keynote speaker and the Vice President of the Genealogical Speakers Guild.
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!
Now online! German civil registration records for Bad Doberman, Berchtesgaden and Minden, as well as WWII UK prisoners of war records, updates to the 1939 Register, parish records for Cheshire, Cumberland and Derbyshire; British newspapers and Queensland, Australia inquests.
Featured: German civil registration records
Genealogy Giant Ancestry.com has published several new collections of German civil registration records. According to the site, “Beginning on January 1, 1876, birth, marriage and death records in the former German Empire were created by local registry offices. The collected records are arranged chronologically and usually bound together in the form of yearbooks. These are collectively referred to as ‘civil registers.’ Occasionally, alphabetical directories of names were also created. While churches continued to keep traditional records, the State also mandated that the personal or marital status of the entire population be recorded.” Information in each varies.
Explore these German civil registration records by first by going to Ancestry.com here and then in the menu, select Search > Card Catalog > and search for the name of the collection we list below:
For Bad Doberman:
Bad Doberan, Germany, Military Registers, 1868-1914
Bad Doberan, Germany, Residence Registers, 1884-1918
For Berchtesgaden:
Berchtesgaden, Germany, Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1876-1950
For Minden:
Minden, Germany, Citizen Lists and Residence Registers, 1845-1902
Minden, Germany, Births, 1874-1905
Minden, Germany, Marriages, 1874-1935
Minden, Germany, Deaths, 1874-1966 and
Minden, Germany, Military Records, 1783-1856.
UK, Allied Prisoners of War, 1939-1945. “This collection contains information about the soldiers captured, where they were held and often, what happened to them,” states the collection description. “Whilst details vary between sets of records, you may find the following information (where available): name, camp name, nationality, place and date of birth, place and date of death, father’s name, mother’s name, gender, date and place of capture, service (e.g. Army, Air, Navy, Civilian), service rank [and] service number.”
New Genealogy Records at Findmypast
1939 Register Update. For England and Wales: “Over 37,000 ‘closed records’ have been opened up and are now available to search. Search today and find out what your ancestors were doing on the eve of WWII. Discover exactly what they did for a living, maps of where they lived, and even who their neighbors were.”
Cheshire Registers & Records. Explore registers and records from the English county of Cheshire. This collection currently comprises five titles including parish registers, local histories, and funeral certificates.
Cumberland Registers & Records. This collection currently comprises one title: Monumental Inscriptions in the Graveyards of Brigham & Bridekirk, 1666-1876. This title was published in 1878. The preface notes that ‘the whole of these inscriptions were copied with great care, and the same care has been extended to the printing of them.”
Derbyshire Registers & Records. This collection currently comprises one title: The Brave Men of Eyam, 1665-1666. The preface of this title states that the statistics regarding deaths, dates, and some leading incidents are historical, although ‘the object of the book is to tell, in a popular form, the tale of a “mighty woe.”
British newspaper additions! Now at Findmypast is the Oxfordshire Weekly News, covering the years 1869-1895 and 1898-1926. You’ll also find the following added coverage for these papers: Irish Independent (1995-1997, 2000), Belfast Telegraph (1915-1916, 1918-1919) and Liverpool Echo (1987-1988).
Australia, Queensland, Inquests 1859-1897. Discover your ancestor in this index compiled from the inquest files created by the Justice Department for the period 1859 to 1897. Each result will provide you with a transcript including a combination of your ancestor’s name, alias, and inquest year, any additional notes, their file number, reference and item ID.
German family history research help for you
The Genealogy Gems website is packed with German family history research tips and tricks, from this beginner post (where we tackle the question of what “German” even means!) to this helpful explanation of German census records. Click here to explore all our German-related articles. Or: click on the free video right here to learn about finding your German ancestor’s village of origin!
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!
