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?

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

April free online events

Quite a few free family history events are coming up in April, covering a broad range of subjects.  Among them are, in chronological order:

Legacy Family Tree Videos and MyHeritage are jointly sponsoring the fourth annual 24-hour webinar marathon on 13th-14th April.  A wide variety of topics includes presentations on Irish, Polish, and Spanish research; genetic genealogy; and research methodology. Among the speakers are Elizabeth Shown Mills, Judy G. Russell, Cyndi Ingle, and Ugo Perego.  You can register at https://familytreewebinars.com/24-marathon/

The following day will see Scottish Indexes' 20th Conference, and, as has become customary for this internationally-inclusive event, each presentation will be aired twice to allow viewers from time zones around the world to watch and ask questions of the speakers.  The programme for the 15th April conference is:

Making the Most of Scottish Prison Records - Emma Maxwell

Caledonian Asylum Petitions - Lorna Kinnaird

My Cousin Sophia - Karen de Bruyne

Scottish Kirk Session Records - Chris Paton

Aberdeen Bodies: Bodysnatching, Riot & Dissection - Dr. Dee Hoole

Using DNA for Family History - Michelle Leonard

Keep an eye on the website for the day's timetable, which will also feature a general Q&A session with many of the presenters joining in.  This is one of the most popular aspects of this conference!

Finally, on Saturday 22nd April, the 33rd Scottish Association of Family History Societies' annual conference will take place online, running from 9am to 5.30pm UK time (which is now UTC+1/BST).  The theme of the day is "Haste Ye Back" and the scheduled speakers are as follows:

Emigrant Homecomings -  Prof. Marjory Harper

Digitising Aberdeen City Records - Dr. Jackson Armstrong

Oral History and Records - Tom McKean

Settling In and Creating Home in the North-East - Nicolas Le Bigre

Using DNA in Family History Research - Alasdair Macdonald

War Brides - Ken Nisbet

Sailing to Philadelphia - Alison Spring

Hopefully you'll be able to enjoy at least one of these events, and add to your family history research skills and knowledge!

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.

 

Happy St David's Day: National Library of Wales

 

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

If you have Welsh branches in your family tree, these 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 have been updated.     

Relatives Around The World

I ended a previous post about my long-lost great uncle Duncan with an unsolved riddle: did he know his wife back home in Scotland had divorced him, and did he marry the woman he had crossed the world to be with?

Well, the answer did come, from his relatives in Australia.  An email arrived with photos of divorce documents as well as his marriage certificate to his second wife, Ivy.  I was so pleased that their life had turned out the way they clearly hoped it would. They had two children of their own plus the five from Ivy’s first marriage, so family life would have been a full-time occupation.

Divorce Notification, 1952

In further antipodean family history developments, I received an email from MyHeritage alerting me to a tree posted from my father’s side of the family.  I recognised the tree owner’s surname immediately, as my parents and aunts had corresponded with this family of my dad’s brother Angus. He had emigrated to New Zealand as a young man, and occasional exchange visits took place between the family.  I recall meeting some of these relatives when they toured Scotland in the early 1970s.  They were visiting my father’s sister Kate, and when Dad arrived to meet them, they all immediately remarked on the striking resemblance between him and his elder brother in NZ.

As tourists from down under often did, they hired a camper van to see as much of the country as they could, although these were not nearly as common on the roads as they are today.  While staying in Glasgow to visit the numerous relatives who lived there, they did some sightseeing in the city.  They parked their van in George Square in the city centre, and a local child, being unfamiliar with the style of the vehicle, mistook it for an ice cream van and tried to buy a cone from them, much to everyone's bewilderment.

My Kiwi correspondent gladly shared copies of documents with me, including an extensive genealogy of Uncle Angus’s English wife – which surprised me by revealing that her ancestors were actually from Scotland. 

Then, in just the last month or so, I've learned of some younger relatives, on two separate maternal lines, who have taken an interest in their forebears. Both showed up as DNA matches on Ancestry, and had been posted on behalf of the family members concerned. With the first, I had kept in touch with the family in the USA, and they were able to confirm that my cousin’s teenage daughter was indeed the person represented by the small tree!  I offered to share anything she wanted to know about the family.

The other enquiry came from England via Ancestry, asking if I would be willing to share information they had been unable to trace about my relative’s parents.  I referred the enquirer to the relative’s father, knowing that he would share what he felt comfortable with, and she confirmed that they had set up a time to discuss the family’s history with him.  Again, I invited them to let me know if there was anything else I could share that would be of interest.

It's great to be in touch with family from around the world (and nearer home, too).  These experiences have highlighted to me how crucial it is to have my tree posted online, as well DNA results, for others to find.  In a post in the near future I’ll share the story of another recent contact, one which provided a spot of closure for me on the genealogy front.

Gifts of Genealogy and Love

 I've recycled my previous years' seasonal posts with some gift ideas for the genealogist in your life, plus a new postscript for 2022.

It’s approaching the time of year when “What can I buy X for Christmas?” becomes the most pressing question.  If your nearest and dearest happen to be into family history, I have some gift ideas that don’t (a) include a DNA kit or (b) cost a fortune.  Homemade, personalised presents are the most thoughtful of all, I reckon.  And the gift of heritage is hard to put a price on.  Here are my suggestions:

A framed family tree.  There are many ways to present this; if you have a steady hand and good penmanship (or a decent Italic pen), your costs can be limited to finding a suitable frame and paper – both available at budget stores.  Or your local charity shop might have some pictures for sale whose frames can be re-used.

FamilySearch Keepsake Tree

Another option is to print a chart.  Family history computer programs can do this, with varying degrees of eye-catchingness.  If you have photographs of the people who feature on your tree, these can be mounted on a chart, with or without name labels. 

FamilySearch lets you create keepsakes by freely printing out your tree, in a range of attractive formats.
 
Photographs.  Compile an album for an older relative to prompt memories, and perhaps some heart-warming recollections too.  Frame any number of photographs to make a conversation piece for the hall, stairway, or living room – either in a collage frame or individually.
 
This Is Your Life.  The photo album idea could be taken a stage further to include mementos such as programmes, letters, postcards, certificates and so on, forming a record of the recipient’s life.  An appropriate presentation ceremony would add to the occasion!

Frame an heirloom.  This isn’t as unlikely as it sounds.  Medals are an obvious choice, and can be combined with photographs.  These could be military or sports awards; my father's army photograph and World War 2 medals hold pride of place in my home.  Other heirlooms might include a wedding favour, a piece of fabric with a special meaning, or even an item of jewellery.

 
A Gift For My Grandchild.  Although these types of books are available commercially, a homemade version would be something to cherish.  Starting with the grandparent, it can tell the story of how the family has grown to include the grandchild.  Make it even more personal with lists of favourite music, books, food etc., and include blank pages for the child to add their own artwork and memories.  You can find plenty of inspiration online for creating a unique family keepsake.
 
Keeping A Diary.  Generic notebooks can be transformed into the gift of a personal journal, diary or travel log – or you can buy ready-made ones quite cheaply.  Personalise the book by adding a photograph or the recipient’s name or initials to the cover.  To get them started with their writing, include a journal jar in the gift.  Any decent-sized jam jar can be transformed with ribbon or other embellishments.  Write “prompts” on small slips of coloured paper to put in the jar.  These can be questions such as “What did you most enjoy about today?” or ideas like “Write a description of your garden”. 
 
This idea might also be applied to someone writing their own life history.  Again, there is no shortage of suggestions on the internet; just search for “journal jar”.
 
Give Them Their Story.  This may require a bit of pre-planning, and co-operation from your relative, but it can be very worthwhile for the giver too.  Over a number of occasions, chat to the intended recipient about their life, using photographs or other memory-joggers, and (with their permission, naturally) record their recollections.  This could be on paper, if your shorthand’s up to it, on audio or video recording.  Follow up by transcribing the conversation and then typing it up, printing out and compiling a book(let).  Add photos as above, bind in a folder, and gift-wrap.  Or, if you have good video editing skills, compile a customised recording of your relative's life story and save it on DVD to present to family members.

As a prelude to Christmas, I’d like to finish with this video by Martin Lewis which, if you’ve not seen before (or even if you have), I would urge you to watch.  Being frugal isn’t just about saving money, it’s about peace of mind, and what says more about Christmas than peace on earth?

2022 Postscript: And this year, I've chosen to give to charity in place of Christmas presents to friends. Having recently received successful treatment for breast cancer, I'll be making my donation to Breast Cancer UK and would like to invite you to do the same, if you feel you can.

Free Online Genealogy Presentations

 

Legacy Family Tree Webinars 1-Day Conference – Saturday 29th January 

Legacy is a subscription website which, from this Saturday, begins a monthly series of free one-day conferences, using their existing presentations which are usually only available to subscribers. They will also include some new classes. Of course this is a marketing strategy, to draw in paying customers, but these conferences really are free.

This month, the theme of the conference is Organization, and the free classes are

• Organization: Create a Finding Aid to Locate Your Records, by Teri E. Flack
• Get Organized Using the FamilyRoots Organizer Colour-Coding System, by Mary Hill
• Maintaining an Organized Computer, by Cyndi Ingle
• Organize Your Online Life, by Lisa Louise Cooke
• You Can Do This: Photo Organizing and Preservation, by Thomas MacEntee

There is no timetable or registration; the presentations will simply be made available on the set date.  Visit the conference website and choose which talks you want to watch, in whichever order you like.  As part of each class, there will also be a free speaker handout (syllabus) to download.

Family History Library Classes and Webinars - Mondays-Thursdays

FamilySearch hold regular online classes throughout the year.  For February and March these will cover using the website's different tools to find, document, and add photos to your family record.  Research Webinars are also scheduled to help build your skills in areas like researching different countries' records, using DNA, and understanding Latin handwriting.

Registration is necessary as class numbers are limited, so when you see a topic you are interested in, sign up for it right away.  And the beginning of March will see FamilySearch's second free global event, RootsTech 2022 - watch out for a future post here about that!

Scottish Indexes Conference XVI – Saturday 12th March

Husband-and-wife team Graham and Emma Maxwell operate their genealogy research business from their home in the west of Scotland, and since the advent of the global pandemic which severely restricted access to essential archives, they have diversified significantly. Just under two years ago, they started organising online conference programmes and made them available at no cost to anybody who wanted to join in via either their Facebook group or Zoom.  Each talk is shown twice on the day, to allow viewers from around the world to take part in their timezone.  You can browse previous presentations and handouts at their Past Conferences page. 

Have you been deliberately avoiding Zoom presentations? 

1.    Not all of these events require you to use Zoom

2.    It's completely free to use the basic package.

2.    Zoom isn't the problem it's been cracked up to be! Watch the first two-and-a-half minutes of this introductory video to see how straightforward it is to join a Zoom meeting.

  

Help for Using the 1921 Census

Census Records by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Alpha Stock Images

It’s been a big week for genealogists with English or Welsh ancestors! The 1921 Census was released on FindMyPast and has been greeted mainly with rejoicing.  There have been some folk who want to be able to access it free of charge, but then they’d have to go to a library and scroll through miles of microfilm, since the charges pay for the digitising and indexing that has been done.  And of course, it IS free to access at three archives/libraries in England and Wales. 

There's plenty of online material explaining how to make the best use of the collection to track down grandparents and great-great-aunts (and in some cases, parents - you know who you are). Some of these free resources are listed below.

☙  Family Tree magazine posts an Introductory User Guide (although there is a charge to watch their “Celebratory Census Conference”)

☙  The National Archives hosted an expert panel discussion which you can watch back on their Facebook page

☙  FindMyPast’s YouTube channel has several videos about the background to the census and its digitsation project plus a short how-to clip. 

☙  They also have two Facebook live events coming up this week, on Wednesday and Thursday (both at 4pm UK time), where you can ask questions about the census and hear about some of the interesting finds made by the conservation team

Some of the most useful suggestions for searching the 1921 returns have come in the shape of social media posts by family historians sharing their tips.  Tune in to Twitter for #AncestryHour, either in real time any Tuesday at 7pm (UK), or by catching up using the hashtag later on, and you’re sure to see the census discussed and perhaps catch some ideas for research strategies.

Scottish Indexes Conference

In other online event news, this Saturday (15th) sees the latest Scottish Indexes Conference. It will run two showings of each presentation, morning and afternoon, for participants in different time zones.  The talks will cover topics of particular interest to researchers with Scots heritage, such as crofting, Edinburgh and Lanarkshire records.  Find out more about the speakers, and how to watch, via Zoom or Facebook on the Scottish Indexes website. 

 

 

Genealogy Extras: Free Course & Free Conference!

 

More great learning opportunities are being offered all over the genealogy community - here are just two to keep you occupied!

The free online 6-week course run by the University of Strathclyde, “Genealogy: Researching Your Family Tree” is starting on 18th October.  Register soon as places go fast on this course, even though it runs more than once a year. 

Centred around a real-life case study, the course allows you to work through the materials at your own pace, and discuss related questions and issues with other participants from across the world.  As well as explaining key record types, you will discover how DNA fits in to modern family history research, and learn about different ways to record, organise and share your genealogy.

Also worth checking out is the recent conference of the Register of Qualified Genealogists.  Many of the presentations from this excellent event were recorded and can be viewed until 31st October.  Just a few of the talks on the programme are

• Jilted! Or the insights offered in a breach of contract of marriage cases
• Hidden History: Tales of everyday life in Newspaper Advertisements
• Life of the Early Victorian Deaf & Dumb
• Dusting & Digging: The Work of Women
• Lying Bastards: the impact of illegitimacy on family history research

I thoroughly enjoyed all these presentations, which were highly entertaining as well as informative, and came away with plenty of ideas to further my research.

Free family history websites to check out

 

These are just a few free genealogy websites that I don’t see referred to very often (if at all) in articles or blogs.

Irish Studies: Digital Collections & Archives  

This university-curated list is made up of government-provided online resources useful for Irish family and local history.

British Newspaper Archive Free-to-View Titles 

A blog from the BNA explaining their recent introduction of selected newspaper titles that are free to search, read, and download.

ScriptTutorial: making sense of old handwriting  

BYU’s introduction to reading and transcribing European documents from the 16^th century onwards.  Languages covered include English, Swedish, Spanish, French, and Latin.

Identifying Photograph Types 

If you’ve got some old family photos with people you don’t know in settings you don’t recognise, dressed in yesteryear’s fashions, what do you do? This quick guide may give you some pointers.

Timetable World

A unique collection of historical transport timetables and maps from all over the world.

More upcoming free genealogy events!

 

Whether you've got a spare hour, day, or month, there'll be something to suit you among these imminent free events:

Dublin Festival of History, 20 September – 10 October.  Over 70 free online and in-person events covering a huge range of historical topics.  Check out the programme, which is so extensive I couldn’t hope to do it justice in a summary like this.

Know Your Ancestors, 25 September.  A free online conference organised by the Register of Qualified Genealogists and open to everybody with an interest in family history.  The keynote speakers include Melanie Backe-Hansen, house historian on the BBC series A House Through Time.  She will address the topic of finding your ancestors at home.  The award for the most intriguing presentation title goes to Dave Annal, a professional genealogist and author, who will be speaking about "Lying Bastards".

AncestryHour  This is a weekly family history event which takes place every Tuesday on Twitter, 7-8pm UK time.  Find and follow along with tweets using the hashtag #AncestryHour - you don’t have to contribute, just sit back and watch.  Or you can ask a question; perhaps you have a research brick wall that you’d like some advice on, or you need some help understanding DNA results.  Waiting in the wings for that hour are genealogists of every level and interest, ready and willing to offer support and suggest solutions.

Free in September

 

September looks like it’s going to be a good month for free genealogy online conferences and classes.  Here are just a few that anyone can register for and watch… 

RQG Conference – Genealogy & Social History: Know Your Ancestors

Saturday 25 September

Guest speakers include house historian Melanie Backe-Hansen.  Presentations will cover a variety of topics throughout the day – keep an eye on the website for the conference programme which will be posted soon! 

Legacy Family Tree Webtember

Happening each Friday in September - in total, 30 pre-recorded webinars will be available and free to watch all month.  You can follow them live or catch up on the archive, and the programme features popular speakers on a wide range of family history subjects, ranging from DNA to Overcoming Genealogical Angst (that one sounds interesting).  And learn some new skills for doing research in the UK, Europe, Canada, Australia, or the USA. 

Family History Library Classes 

These individual sessions are aired live during the week and on Saturdays, usually late afternoon/early evening UK time, and are presented in English and Spanish.  Just a few of the classes cover tips on writing your family’s history, Caribbean research, using FamilySearch.org; or you can even join a Q&A session on US and Canadian genealogy and ask the expert your burning research question.  See the September calendar and pick the classes you want to sign up for.

Scottish Indexes

Saturday 4 September

Emma and Graham Maxwell's successful conferences have been going for over a year.  If you have Scottish heritage, you'll find lots of useful ideas and background information here to help you build your family tree.  This month, DNA genealogist Michelle Leonard and FindMyPast's Myko Clelland are just two of the specialist speakers on the programme.

RootsTech 2022 News!

 

Good news from FamilySearch recently– there will be a repeat of their successful virtual show, RootsTech Connect, next year.  See the official announcement for more details.

Some genealogists will be disappointed at the accompanying news about the postponement of RootsTech’s live shows, previously scheduled for London this October and Salt Lake City next February.  However, with the current fluctuating travel and public health restrictions around the world, this seems the safest option, avoiding any last-minute cancellations. 

Visit the official press release to learn more and to sign up for RootsTech’s email newsletter.  

As the first RootsTech Connect event this year demonstrated, it's possible to hold an international, diverse, and extensive show online.  FamilySearch’s resources have also allowed them to make it freely available to everyone with an internet connection, and the 2022 event will be the same.  The hundreds of online video presentations that are a key feature of the virtual show are available until next year, so whether you want to find out how to research ancestors from China, Mexico or Italy (or many other countries), you can find ideas and learn new skills there.  Other subjects covered by the videos include organising your records, using DNA to trace relatives, and telling your own family’s story. 

You can search for content and build your own playlist on the show website.

And do check out my two RootsTech presentations:

The Riches of the Scottish Kirk Session Records 

Full of lively and colourful snapshots from the everyday lives of your Scottish ancestors, the Kirk Session Records contain a fascinating breadth of information.  Learn what they can tell you, and best of all, they are now completely free to access on the ScotlandsPeople website! 

Scottish Vital Records on ScotlandsPeople 

Learn how to use the official website for Scottish records to search for your ancestors’ information-packed certificates.  Using examples, you can learn what to expect in certificates of post-1854 births, marriages, and deaths; how to interpret them; and how they can give vital clues leading you to other records.

Free resources from home, via your public library

Although many libraries are starting to re-open after an extended shutdown, they may still be offering free home access to internet resources by way of compensation for the closure.  These often include subscription websites that are of interest to family historians.

All that’s needed is an online account with the relevant library.  Check your local library’s website for information about the services they are making available remotely to their members. You may need to re-register online to take full advantage of their free resources, which could include one or more of the following:

Ancestry has a Library Edition which has proved a popular choice with public libraries.  Some services, such as those in Manchester and North Lanarkshire, have also partnered with Ancestry to give readers free access to records local to their areas, such as church or poor relief registers.

FindMyPast provides a similar service through some libraries’ websites.

SCRAN is a website from Historic Environment Scotland hosting audio and visual resources from museums, galleries, archives and the media around the UK.

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography gives full access to subscribers, including those signing in with their local library’s credentials. 

For some of these websites, you can access their full content through a link on their home page that says something like “Sign in via your institution”.  Select your library’s name from the list that will appear (if you don’t see your library listed, it doesn’t provide access to that particular resource).  You will then be able to sign in with your own library account number and passcode.

A multitude of digital resources are available at home, free of charge, to all residents of Scotland, through the National Library’s website.  They include several newspaper databases such as the Times, the Scotsman, and the British Library Collections, as well as the excellent British Newspaper Archive.  Some of the sites restrict the number of NLS users that can access them at one time, but these are clearly indicated on the list of websites.  

Normally you would need to either have your own subscription or a university library account to use many of these resources, so it is well worth registering for an NLS account if you live in Scotland.  If you don’t live in Scotland, though, don’t despair; many of the Library’s online treasures are free on the open web, such as their Maps collection or the Moving Image Archive. 

Finally, if you’re disappointed with the lack of such resources through your local library, why not petition the powers that be to provide them?  You can find information online about products such as FindMyPast’s Community Edition, and pass on your suggestions to a librarian.  Alternatively, if you use and are happy with your library's digital services, give them positive feedback and encourage them to continue providing remote access after normal opening hours are resumed.  This may be especially important if library services are considering cutting back opening times in the near future.

The Genealogy Show Online 2021

 

The Genealogy Show's Map of Exhibitors

I don’t usually recommend paid-for events on the Frugal Family History blog, but it’s not often you see a show reduce their ticket price!  The Genealogy Show took place last weekend, with a starting admission charge of £30/£20.  That’s now been reduced to £15, for access to all the talks, exhibitors etc (i.e. everything except the live chat) until 26^th July.  Do check it out; there were over 80 presentations on a very wide range of family history topics, including my own two talks on Scottish subjects - see my previous posts here and here for previews of those.

The presentations I’ve listened to so far have been of a really high quality, and there are plenty more for me to work my way through.  In general you’ll find that speakers at genealogy events really know their stuff, and are able to share their expertise and knowledge in an entertaining and engaging way. 

In the Exhibition Zone you can learn more about organisations and their products or membership.  These include family and local history groups and institutions, such as The Society for One-Place Studies or FamilySearch, which has some thought-provoking videos on display.  Many of the exhibition “stands” share free downloadable material that you can use to organise your family tree or build your skills (I can thoroughly recommend The Heraldry Society’s beautiful booklet), and are happy to get feedback or queries from visitors.  And look out for companies such as Family Tree Magazine who are offering trial discounts, plus a free DNA guide if you sign up for their e-newsletter.

The Show’s website is by far the most eye-catching I’ve seen in the last 18 months of everything-going-online. I was touched to find out about Parker, their mascot owl. He's named after a respected colleague of the Show, Robert Parker, who sadly passed away last year.

Learn more about The Genealogy Show at https://www.thegenealogyshowlive.com/about/

Three Essentials of Scottish Research - Church, Civil, and Census records

Edinburgh, Home to Scotland's Records

 

Are you trying to work out which records are most likely to feature your Scottish ancestors?  Do you hit a brick wall when you look for a birth or death certificate? If you’re in need of a boost or some tips to get your research going, I may have just the thing for you.

At The Genealogy Show, this year online and available wherever you are, I’ll be sharing some pointers and showing you how to search for and interpret civil, census, and church records – without having to make the journey to Edinburgh. 

Tune in to my talk “Three Essentials of Scottish Research” - but don’t be put off by the early start time if you’re in the UK!  The 80+ presentations are all pre-recorded, and once they're broadcast, your show ticket gives you access to them for 30 days afterwards, so you can pick the ones you want to watch, when you want to watch them.

And check out a sneak preview of my other Show presentation, A Grand (Virtual) Tour of Scotland's Archives.

A Grand (Virtual) Tour of Scotland’s Archives

Archives around the country are beginning to reopen, albeit with limited hours and document access, but in the meantime, come with me on a tour of some of their online offerings, courtesy of The Genealogy Show 2021.

In my presentation at the Show, I’ll be (virtually) roaming the archives of the Scottish islands, highlands, and lowlands from Kirkwall to Motherwell via Stornoway, Perth, and Edinburgh to name just a few, and checking out what genealogical goodies they share through their websites, blogs, and social media channels.

Archives are now taking greater advantage of these avenues to showcase the treasures they hold, allowing researchers to access certain resources from home.  I’ll also be sharing some tips for identifying the most suitable archives for your research purposes. 

The Genealogy Show launches online on Friday 25th June, with my Grand Tour airing at 6pm on Saturday 26th.  Tickets to the Show give you access to over 80 presentations, including on-demand keynote speakers, and you can also book a one-to-one consultation with an expert, or chat to genealogy exhibitors and family history societies.  Plus you’ll have access to all the talks for 30 days after the event.

Watch out for another post coming up soon about my presentation at the Show on Scottish research...

(Map credit: Created with Pictramap)