Free stuff! Special offer! More free stuff!

 

The annual RootsTech conference took place in March, but it's not just an event, it's a year-round, free resource to show family historians how to build their trees and improve their genealogy skills. Whether you're wondering how artificial intelligence could help your research, or what benefits it can have for mental health, there are resources to draw on as you progress on your family history journey. Explore the topics at Rootstech.org.

Legacy Family Tree Webinars are offering half-price subscriptions to new members. Their blurb reads

Get a full year of Legacy Family Tree Webinars for just $25—a 50% discount. Your membership unlocks instant access to 2,700+ webinars, 55 AI classes, and 11,000+ syllabus pages.

The discount offer ends on 3rd of May. Click on this link to check it out. I'll be giving a talk with them later on this year but it should be free to access for the first week. More about that nearer the time.

After RootsTech, I came across this series of YouTube videos produced by FamilySearch. They're a good introduction to using their Family Tree mobile app that's freely downloadable for Android and iPhone. 

There are other FamilySearch apps available to help record your family memories, upload photographs, and add document images. You can use the "Get Involved" app to contribute to the genealogy community by correcting machine-generated transcriptions of historical records. Ideal for when you have a few free minutes, waiting for a bus or an appointment!

Learn more, do more, spend nothing

 

Image by StartupStockPhotos from Pixabay

As the days grow shorter, perhaps the time you have for working on your family tree will increase. This week I've seen a few interesting things that may help - all for free.

The first have been a couple of the big genealogy websites giving free access to their wartime records, timed to coincide with Remembrance commemorations. Ancestry are offering this until 12th November, and Findmypast from 7-13 November. This doesn't simply include military records, but also those referring to voluntary organisations like the Red Cross, or the 1939 Register which listed everyone not involved in active service just prior to the start of the Second World War.

Findmypast are also launching a project to list overlooked members of the First World War's pals battalions. According to their press release, "there is no single roll that holds every name of the Pals". You can search these or add details of your relative who served in a pals battalion.

Also on my radar has been the addition to YouTube of some recent presentations from the North of Ireland Family History Society. These were originally given as part of their October Beginners' Month and are all about Getting Started with

North of Ireland Research

Analysing Your DNA

Wikitree

so they're not solely relevant to Irish research. While we're on the subject, it's useful to take a look at what other organisations host YouTube videos to help genealogists, wherever they are in their family tree research. There are the major commercial sites, of course, partly to promote their subscription services, but also family history societies, heritage groups, and free collaborative efforts like Wikitree or FamilySearch. All of these presentations on YouTube are free to watch, with added commercial breaks. And you can no doubt think of more.

YouTube also hosts podcasts. Try Black Sheep Family History, The Family Histories Podcast, or my favourite, possibly because I love courtroom dramas, Was Justice Served?, by Findmypast.

All that should be enough to keep you occupied during the winter months - or, if you're currently enjoying spring/summer, do you really need an excuse to dig about the family tree?

Some Recent Discoveries

 

Image by SimoneVomFeld on Pixabay

You may already be familiar with some or all of these websites, but I’ve only recently come across them! I found them all really useful and enlightening, and have bookmarked them for future use.

A Dictionary of Occupational Terms Based on the Classification of Occupations used in the Census of Population, 1921

Some twentieth-century occupations may have changed their name, be very niche, or no longer exist. For instance, what’s a kapok worker? What’s kapok, for that matter?! What does an uncallower do? Which industry would a brilliandeer work in? Find out in the Dictionary of Occupational Terms that was produced to accompany the 1921 UK census.

Scottish Mining Website

A friend recently pointed me in the direction of this tremendous resource. It lists mines operational in Scotland for certain years in the 19th and 20th centuries, and has a mining accident section from before 1840 up until 1939.

Various resources such as government reports and newspaper articles are included throughout the site. One fascinating page lists miners’ wages and the cost of living from the 17th century until after World War Two. If your Scots ancestors were mineworkers, you’re sure to learn something new about the lives they led, as well as their work.

2025 Rhind Lectures on Scotland’s Place-Names 

I recently watched these lectures live. They’re sponsored by the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and were free to view over the weekend when they took place. Now they’re available to watch on YouTube. This year’s theme was “Scotland’s Place-Names” and I learned so much about the survival of various languages in Scotland via the names that were given to places by their inhabitants and others. 

Several topics were addressed, including archaeology and religion. The lectures were delivered by Dr Simon Taylor, an academic in this field with over 30 years’ worth of expertise, and it was a pleasure to listen to someone so knowledgeable about his subject.

Presbyterian Historical Society of Ireland

In a previous blog post, I extolled the virtues of joining a family history society – but other historical societies and heritage groups can also be of help to genealogical research. One such is the Presbyterian Historical Society of Ireland. Whether your ancestor was a congregant or a minister of a Presbyterian church on the island, the society has records and advice for your research.

You can learn more about the organisation and its purposes by viewing the slide collection which explains the origins of different forms of Irish Presybterianism.

The society also has an active events programme and some of their previous lectures can be found on YouTube.

YouTube Family History

 

 Image by Tymon Oziemblewski from Pixabay

Videos are perfect for brushing up your family history research skills.

There are plenty of organisations that have their own channels hosting genealogy how-to videos. Use them to learn about researching a specific country’s records. Get ideas on how to use your DNA results to better effect. How can probate documents help to build your family tree? What impact is AI having on genealogists’ work?

All these and other topics can be found on the YouTube channels listed here – and more. If you can think of an organisation or company that is involved in family history, they very likely have a selection of YouTube videos too. For instance, the national library of your country of interest may well have its own video channel. 

Check out some (or all!) of these for inspiration.

The Society of Genealogists

The National Archives UK

FamilySearch

FamilyTreeDNA

Findmypast

ScotlandsPeople

The Genealogist

MyHeritage

Who Do You Think You Are?

I’ve made a few presentations that have found their way online as well, courtesy of the RootsTech genealogy conference and YouTube: https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/speakers/alison-spring/en

Happy St Patrick's Day from your ancestors ☘

 

With St Patrick’s Day coming up on Monday, it’s the perfect time to revisit some great free online Irish family history resources that I've mentioned in the past.  I hope you find them useful!

☘  National Archives This resource for Irish research offers a free genealogy advisory service by email as well as searchable church, civil and census records. 

☘ FamilySearch Wiki provides information, tools, how-to guides, tutorials, maps and more for your research into ancestors on the island of Ireland.

☘ IreAtlas Townland Database is a comprehensive searchable listing of Irish townlands and is a handy reference resource. 

☘ Irishgenealogy.ie is a government-owned website with access to church and civil records.  Having recently undergone an upgrade, it boasts a searchable index and images for many of the records, as well as a section offering research help.  One aspect of the service is 2016 Family History, an excellent resource for learning to do Irish genealogy.  It includes a workbook, case studies, record guides, and fun tasks to complete. 

☘ Irish Census Records are available for 1901 and 1911 in digital, indexed format. Like the church and civil records website above, it's just had a facelift, so if you've used it in the past, give the new interface a try, and bookmark its new web address.

☘ Context is key when exploring the history of your family. The Great Irish Famine website delves into many aspects of this time period in the history of Ireland and its people, including a map that shows the spread of the potato blight that triggered the tragic events of what became known as the Great Hunger. It will give you some insight into what prompted so many Irish people to emigrate, perhaps including your family.

☘ If you know your ancestors lived in Dublin in the mid-nineteenth century but can't locate them in the later census returns, perhaps this online city directory will help you pin them down.

These websites should help you have a

☘☘  Happy St Patrick’s Day!  ☘☘

Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus - the National Library of Wales

  

National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth
Credit: Rhyshuw1~enwiki , CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A version of this post was originally published in 2021. Links were updated and it was last republished in 2023.

Happy St. David's Day!

If you have Welsh branches in your family tree, these online records, hosted by the National Library of Wales, are well worth exploring.

This list includes just a few of the indexed, original sources they have made freely available online.  I recommend exploring the website to see more of what they offer.

Crime & Punishment   

Tithe Maps 

Welsh Newspapers  

Welsh Journals including magazines 1735-2007 

Marriage Bonds pre-1837 

Wills proved in Welsh ecclesiastical courts before 1858 

There’s also a first-steps guide to family history research, a guide to church records in Wales,  and a list of independent researchers who carry out work for clients at the NLW.

So, with all those resources, you can start your search for your Welsh ancestors right away!

 

 

This post was originally published in 2021. Links were updated and it was last republished in 2023.

Exciting New Resources

 

This past week has seen the launch of two new exciting online resources. The first is Trove, the revamped portal for Historic Environment Scotland. It also includes information from SCRAN and Canmore.  

Describing itself as "the key to Scotland's past", it hosts over a million images and thousands of records and culturally significant objects. Not all of the site is complete yet, as I discovered when trying to use a link to explore objects. However there is a feedback facility which hopefully will help inform HES on how to improve things. Early days yet but a promising site.

The second resource, which I just heard about today, is Strathclyde Institute for Genealogical Studies' (SIGS) Papal Dispensations for Marriage Database.  Although I haven't yet discovered an ancestor in its records, I did stumble across a couple who were King and Queen of England.

Dispensation from the Pope was required when those marrying were related by blood. For instance, the royal couple I found had a fourth-degree relationship - meaning a third cousin, parent's second cousin, grandparent's first cousin, or a great-great uncle or aunt. Even "spiritual" relationships could be problematic. An example cited is if the groom's mother had been the bride's godmother at her christening.

The database will be most useful for those researching medieval genealogy but also provides fascinating insights into family life and religious practices of that time.

(Header image created using Bayeux Historic Tale Construction Kit)

Support Your Local Family History Society

 

Family history society publications

Happy New Year! and welcome to another twelvemonth of family history money-saving tips. Not all frugal resources are completely free, but there are some that are definitely a good investment. Take family history societies, for example...

Over the past few years, these organisations have really upped their game and taken to online meetings with gusto. This has opened access to a worldwide audience for society events, particularly those with guest speakers or special discussions. 

Different societies operate in a variety of ways: some open their online and/or in-person meetings to everyone, not just members; some offer free entry for members and a small entry fee for non-members; for others, attendance is free to all; some vary their meetings between online and in-person; some regularly offer hybrid meetings, combining both remote and present audiences.

For example, this month I'd been invited by a family history society to give a talk via Zoom, and this was an online-only meeting, open to members at no extra charge (other than their annual membership fee), and just £2 for non-members wishing to attend.  And later this month, I'll be giving an in-person talk at a meeting of the Renfrewshire Family History Society, which will be a hybrid event. Any non-members who want to join this meeting can find the contact details on the society's website.

Other than meetings, family history societies around the world support their members in many ways, including

• Online databases compiled by members, such as indexes to local burial or poor relief records
• A register of members' surname interests
• Regular journals or newsletters, both in print and electronic formats
• Operating a research centre in the local community
• Research services for those living in other parts of the world
• Projects like graveyard surveys - these often end up as monumental inscription books (MIs)

Access to society research facilities and remote research services may also be open to the general public, usually for a small fee.  

If you've visited a family history fair or conference, you'll have seen some local societies at work, with their member volunteers staffing a stall. This normally has publications for sale: monumental inscription books, historic maps, works authored by members, and sometimes titles of local or general history interest that relate to the society's area. And of course the volunteers are delighted to enroll new members who wish to join.

For those who live at a distance from their ancestors' parish(es), society websites now have a greater role to play. Some record Zoom meetings for members to watch at their leisure. Society journals can be downloaded, and this can give members the choice of a lower-cost subscription - a society I belong to has a sliding scale of membership fees which includes a £7 reduction to members opting for electronic delivery of their journal (hats off to the Aberdeen & North-East Scotland FHS!).

I've also found that where you're not familiar with an area but want some tips or pointers on sites or records, dropping the relevant society an e-mail can work wonders. Members often have excellent local knowledge and can advise you on the best research strategies.

Society publications - MIs, church records, military history and many other subjects - can be ordered via the society website. These are of tremendous value and often contain information about ancestors that isn't readily available elsewhere, especially if you're not local to the area.

There are also umbrella organisations which include societies from across the world. The Family History Federation is the largest such group in the UK, with 160 member societies. It hosts educational resources for genealogists - this list of free family history websites is very useful - and keeps a calendar of some society meetings, although this isn't exhaustive. Its associated online shop will keep you browsing for a while, too.

Additionally, Scottish genealogy and heritage groups come under the auspices of the Scottish Association of Family History Societies. Check out their list of members if you have Scots heritage. One of these is the Scottish Genealogy Society, which has research premises in Edinburgh. Its website has an online shop selling an excellent range of publications from many other societies. Some of these are available as instant downloads, cutting down on postage costs.

My feeling about family history societies is that although they involve a (relatively) small expenditure to join, they are well worth it. They provide a network for people with very similar interests, which may even lead to finding a distant cousin; offer opportunities to contribute through volunteering on committees, projects, and events; and have a myriad of resources including courses and classes to guide you as you work on your family tree. A search of the Internet for a society that matches your interests should help you identify what groups are available. Go on, give it a try.

A bargain, an event, and a website

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Today, for frugal family historians, I’m sharing a bargain, an event, and a website that could help you further your research in one way or another.

Bargain

If you’re thinking of taking a DNA test to discover more about your ancestry, the company MyHeritage is offering a limited-time price of £34 (+ £5 P&P) for their DNA test kits.  This is a pretty reasonable price as these kits tend to be more than double that – in this case, the regular price tag is £79.

No date for the end of the offer appears on the website; at least, not that I could see. You can get more mileage out of the test by uploading your results, free of charge, to the website GEDMatch.

This site has been involved in controversy about privacy and data security, having been used to trace criminals using the DNA database without the consent of the kit owners. You can read about it here. So you’d need to consider this when deciding whether or not to share your DNA test results with GEDMatch.

Event

On a more upbeat note, Scottish Indexes are holding a free virtual genealogy conference on 23rd November. You can watch on Zoom or via the Scottish Indexes Facebook group, and if you wish, join in by submitting questions for the presenters. 

The speaker programme runs twice throughout the day, covering time zones around the world, from Australia and New Zealand to the United States and Canada. About a week before the event, you'll be able to download a conference timetable for the region where you live. Join the event for as much or as little of it as you want. In between the talks are live Q&A sessions on the speakers’ topics, and there are also two general Q&As with the conference hosts.

This time, the presentations are as follows:

'On the Boll: agricultural and landholding terminology in Scottish records' by Robert Urquhart

'Housing the Miners' by Kay Williams

'Town and Gown – St Andrews University Archive' by Sarah Rodriguez

‘Historic Scotland in the archives: Using Historic Environment Scotland Archives to explore historic sites around Scotland’ by Joseph Waterfield

'Using the internet & PRONI for Northern Irish research' by Chris Paton

'Beyond ScotlandsPeople: Breaking Down Brick Walls in Scottish Research' by Alison Spring (yes, that's me).

Website

The Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh is the oldest and largest medical library in Scotland. Founded in 1682, it now hosts a range of digital collections of medical sources. You can explore these and find useful records such as a database of WWI doctors in Scotland, and information on English-speaking medical students in mainland Europe.

Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh Digital Collections

This Week's Frugality

 

Image by Michael Schwarzenberger from Pixabay

Some money-saving suggestions to help you with your family tree:

The Society of Genealogists is offering a free online talk, presented by Else Churchill, on English poll books. 

What are poll books? Find out in an article by Dr James Harris, a Research Associate at Newcastle University. 

Legacy, part of the company MyHeritage, offers a new version of its free family history software to help you organise your tree, store it on your device, and keep it private if you wish. There are a number of other packages available; check out reviews in family tree magazines for up-to-date details about the latest programs.

The National Library of Scotland’s digital “Scotland’s News” Collection consists of 18th, 19th, and early 20th century Scottish publications. Some of the newspapers it contains are the Scots Courant, Caledonian Mercury, Clydebank Leader, and a selection of 1926 titles from around the country.

I’ve recently been in touch with a cousin who has agreed to take a DNA test to find out more about their forebears. It can be helpful if more than one member of an extended family tests – learn more about Connecting with Your Biological Family.

At the moment, you may be able to take advantage of discounted prices on some DNA test kits. The best value as far as I can see are

Ancestry 

and

MyHeritage 

These companies market DNA test kits as Father’s Day gifts. Warning: unexpected parent details may be the result, not necessarily bringing great news to an unsuspecting dad. I think it’s really important to be aware of the potential downsides to these tests’ results. Read about the Pros and Cons of DNA in Genealogy Research. 

Coming soon...

 

Some upcoming free events which could help boost your family history skills as well as appreciation for the built heritage in your area of interest!

 

9th September 2023

Scottish Indexes Online Conference 

The programme includes

The People of Cross House by Kate Keter

   Crimes of an Heinous Nature by Margaret Fox 

People Lie! How to unravel the truth when you are tracing your family history by Emma Maxwell

Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors by Chris Paton

‘Like All These Country Folks Very Stupid’: Glasgow Highlanders in the Poor Law Applications by Alison Spring

Scottish Tax Records for Genealogy and Local History by Robert Urquhart

You can watch it on Facebook or register on the website to join via Zoom.

 

10th-11th September 2023

Family History Research Workshop and

Exhibition with The Wiener Holocaust Library

Scottish Jewish Heritage Centre, Glasgow

Featuring a pop-up exhibition, Fate Unknown: The Search for the Missing after the Holocaust, as well as a family history workshop about the archive, with the chance to get advice on carrying out your own research. Places are limited, so register now and make sure you don’t miss out. 

 

26th August – 3rd September

East Lothian Archaeology & Heritage Fortnight

A great variety of talks, walks, and exhibitions around the area, including topics like fishing, military history, architecture, and Gaelic waulking songs!

 

 

September 2023

Doors Open Days 

The annual festival of architecture, heritage and history takes place in various locations around Scotland throughout the month of September. Sign up for the newsletter to get all the latest details.

 

Information about some local festivals:

 

Renfrewshire  

 

Glasgow 

 

Scottish Borders  

 

If you spot a building you absolutely have to see, and it requires pre-booking to view, make sure you book early as places go like hot cakes on these occasions.

 

 

 

Online Irish Records for St. Patrick's Day

 

If you have Irish ancestry, you may have been told that in Ireland “all the records were burned”.  Not so! And now many Irish family history records can be accessed online.  Below are just a few websites to get you started. 

Irish birth, marriage, and death records – indexed images from civil registration and earlier church records: Irish Genealogy.ie

Census records – the only remaining available years for all of Ireland are 1901 and 1911: National Archives of Ireland Census returns

Was your great-grandpa in the navy?  Search for his record at Irish Merchant Seamen 1918-1921

Ulster Covenant signatures – a huge petition in opposition to Irish Home Rule in 1912. Many signatures are from Irish migrants living in places such as Glasgow.

Many more record sites are listed at Ireland Online Genealogy Records on the FamilySearch Research Wiki.

And of course, with this being a frugal family history blog, all of these resources are completely free to search and view!

Happy St. Patrick's Day, and happy ancestor hunting!

RootsTech 2023: Online and In-Person

 

This year, the RootsTech genealogy conference has morphed from its last two years’ online-only format into a hybrid event, meaning in-person attendance is now possible as in earlier years.  The significant online element has widened the event’s reach and made it more inclusive to those around the world for whom a trip to Salt Lake City is out of the question.  It also means that speakers don’t need to be on the ground at the conference, either.

Which is why for the third year running I’m able to contribute to the hundreds of video classes showing from 2nd of March onwards (or 11pm on the 1st if you’re in the UTC time zone).  This year, I’m giving the following presentations:

10 Sources for Researching Your Scottish Ancestors - Without Certificates

Learn about the best resources to use to track down your Scots ancestors when birth, marriage, or death certificates aren't available, or are hard to find. Many of these resources are free to use.

 

Frugal Family History - Tips for Tracing Your Family Tree on a Budget  

Tracing your ancestors need not be an expensive activity. Learn about many of the free resources that can be drawn on to grow your family tree.

 

Killing Off Your Ancestors - 10 Sources for Identifying Deaths  

Even though your ancestors may have lived long ago, finding out about their deaths can teach you a lot about their lives. Discover the many sources of information which will shed light on this important part of their history.

 

These videos will be available for at least twelve months, alongside my previous presentations for RootsTech.  You can find them all at 

https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/speakers/alison-spring/en

Each talk has an accompanying syllabus or handout which you can download from the same RootsTech page as the video, containing links to the websites I refer to.

Do get in touch with me if you have any questions about any of these RootsTech talks.