Some Family History Freebies

 

Image by Hans from Pixabay

Over the past weekend I noticed some family history resources being offered for free - one via on-demand TV which may well be free indefinitely, and another couple of what are very likely time-limited offers. So I'll start with those two.

First: A free download of a useful reference book, the Kindle version of The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland, Volume 1. It covers the surnames Aaron-Cushing, so tough luck if you're researching Millers, Robinsons, Smiths, or Thomsons - some of the most common surnames in Britain! However, the Introduction covers British naming history, trends, and types of names and is very interesting. 

This offer only appears to be valid in the UK at the moment, and you'll need an "eligible" (i.e. not too old) Kindle device to read it on.  This particular download doesn't seem to work on the Kindle app on my phone, or on a laptop. But hey, it's free - what did I expect?!

Second: 7-day free trial membership of Family Tree Plus, a service run by the UK Family Tree Magazine. The membership gives access to its online community plus hundreds of how-to articles and webinars. These are archived and can be used on demand. For more information about what's included in the package, the membership web page has much more detail. Note that the offer's only open if you haven't already had a free trial or membership of Family Tree Plus.

In addition, anyone visiting the Family Tree website may notice a pop-up offering a free "Collect Your Family Stories" research kit, including ideas for interviewing relatives - particularly useful over the festive season. To get this download you simply have to sign up for the Family Tree Magazine regular e-mail. Of course you can sign up, get the download, then unsubscribe if you don't want the e-mails. 

My usual tip for this kind of thing is to set up a dedicated, separate e-mail account for offers. That way, if unsubscribing doesn't work, your regular e-mail address won't be inundated with unwanted messages!

Third: I spotted a social media post about episodes of a British television show "DNA Journey", linking to Ancestry's YouTube channel. Sadly, only short trailers are available to view on that platform for now. If you want to see the full programmes they are archived on ITVX, an on-demand service, where they're free to watch.  

The show itself was quite entertaining, although the focus was more on trying to find links either between the celebrities, or between their work and that of their ancestors.  I found the different eps a bit hit-or-miss, but the best ones were with Ricky Tomlinson and Sue Johnston, and John Simm and Philip Glenister.  I cannot in all conscience, however, recommend the Ant and Dec episodes, with their questionable Viking DNA results!