One Commonwealth, Many Families: the Games & an Exhibition in Glasgow

 

This afternoon I spent some time visiting an exhibition that's in Glasgow for the two weeks of the Commonwealth Games which are being held here. It's aptly titled "One Commonwealth, Many Families" and traces the history of the Commonwealth from its roots in the British Empire until today. Alongside that history is a timeline showing the development of records preservation technology. I always feel like a historical exhibit myself when things like this appear in museums...

...as some of my earliest family history research was carried out on equipment like this! (if you don't know what it is, ask your nan)  I was rather moved to come face to face with the IGI in its original format after all these years.

FamilySearch is the organisation sponsoring this exhibition and it has played a leading role in advocating for the importance of preserving records around the world. The exhibition showed some of the work they have done and are still very much involved in...

For example, one of the exhibitors explained that at the moment there are upwards of 80 FamilySearch workers based in Ukraine, digitally imaging the records there that are presently at risk.

Touchscreen exhibits like this one took me round the world to Commonwealth countries, showing their medal tally and events in the Games that they've historically taken part in (Scotland won two golds in the swimming yesterday - I don't know if that's been added to the total yet!).

I loved the quote from Salman Rushdie in the photo of the map: "To understand just one life, you have to swallow the world."

There were some stories of individuals' lives that illustrated the path that citizens of the Commonwealth have taken to Glasgow, including the story of Sawarnjit Matharu, who grew up in Glasgow and in 1974 became the first South Asian policewoman in Scotland at the age of 17. Watch her telling her story at https://youtu.be/x0szVB4KNPU?si=ekV68yNv8oE1dz98

If you're in Glasgow for the Games (or any other reason), the exhibition is here until 2nd August, at the Sir Jim Macdonald Technology & Innovation Centre on George Street, G1 1RD. It's just a short walk from George Square in the city centre, is open daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and is free to visit. Well worth your time!

Finding Your Way

 

The Statistical Accounts of Scotland

There are plenty of online resources to help you locate and become familiar (or more familiar!) with the places where your ancestors were born, lived, worked, and were laid to rest. I've picked just a few examples and you can find plenty more using GENUKI for the UK and Ireland, or Cyndi's List for pretty much everywhere.

The Gazetteer of British Places was created by the Association of British Counties and has a number of useful tools including a post code converter, an interactive map of the UK and Ireland, and a database of more than 300,00 place names. It's a fantastic reference resource and definitely worth adding to your bookmarked websites.

When I'm carrying out research in the United States, my first port of call is often Hometown Locator. Its searchable website lists places in the USA by state, county, and city, providing maps and useful historical information about changes in county boundaries which can dictate the location of the archive most relevant to your search. Although it's aimed at current house hunters, it's proved invaluable to me as I've found my way around my ancestors' American wanderings.

Once you've pinpointed where your family's home was, you'll want to learn more about the area when they lived there. 

For Scottish research, some of the best resources for this are The Statistical Accounts of Scotland 1791-1845. These contain contemporary descriptions of each parish, county by county, with details of the geography, history, trades and industries, agriculture, historic sites, and land-owners. The latter is invaluable for finding out who your ancestors might have worked for, or been tenants of. The accounts only refer to individuals who were influential, wealthy, or otherwise of note, so don't expect to find your family named unless they fall into one of these categories!

An equivalent for England is the Victoria County History. Each county has a home page assigned to it, where you can find links to historical resources such as the Red Books, which may be hosted off-site at the Internet Archive. These include references to sites within the county that are recorded in the Domesday Book.

Victoria History of the County of Surrey

No list of geographical resources would be complete without reference to the National Library of Scotland's excellent online map images. It covers the whole of Great Britain and Ireland and its historical maps go back several centuries. It also hosts town plans, admiralty charts and aerial photography collections.

NLS Maps

And of course it wouldn't be a frugal family history post if any of these resources cost you anything! A word of advice: set yourself a timer or alarm, or you may find that hours have gone by since you started browsing...

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?

Family History Events for your Calendar

 

Keeping up to speed on the wide variety of family history fairs, courses, conferences, classes, and open days on offer can be a bit of a task. Although they don’t list everything, there are two websites that post details of plenty of family history events, both online and in person. Note that many of these events do charge for attendance, but may be open to non-members of the host organisation. More about those two listings websites 👇

GENEVA has a strong emphasis on English research, mainly because very few other organisations seem to submit their events to the site! Come on, you other family history societies; this is a great (and free) way to publicise your meetings and services!

Conference Keeper, a U.S.-based website. Search its calendar for all forthcoming events, or select online-only meetings and talks. Although focusing largely on North American topics, there are plenty of internationally relevant themes too, such as the impact of artificial intelligence on genealogy. Some online meetings even offer on-the-spot help with your research. Also listed are Legacy Family Tree webinars as they occur. (Don't miss their free Webtember event that I blogged about last week)

Of course, your local archive or heritage group may not use these services, but rely on local media and word of mouth to promote their events. Keep an eye on posters and leaflets in your public library or archive, or check out the local council’s website. That’s where I found the details of a free event taking place in my community next month:

ByGoneCon is a regular all-day event sponsored by South Lanarkshire Council and held in different locations around the county. A bit like a family history fair, it features stalls and talks from heritage, local, and family history societies and organisations. Included in past events have been representatives from local archives, Lanarkshire Family History Society, FamilySearch and Scottish Indexes. Speaking of whom...

Scottish Indexes are holding their free quarterly online conference on Saturday 13th September. The schedule for the day will be posted on their website soon, but each presentation is aired twice, to allow viewers in time zones around the world to watch at a time that suits them. Subjects up for presentation this time include Scottish church records, and getting started on tracing your family tree. There will be something for everyone, and not all the talks will be solely Scotland-focused. You can watch on Zoom or via their Facebook group, and submit questions for the speakers.

If you belong to a family or local history society that needs to boost attendance and membership, do ask them to consider using GENEVA or Conference Keeper (or both!) to publicise the group’s events. That way, we’ll all get the chance to join in and learn more. There’s always something new to discover!

Webtember!

 

Coming up in September is the annual event hosted by Legacy Family Tree Webinars and MyHeritage - Webtember.  Every Wednesday in September, four different webinars will be freely available for you to watch, either live or recorded, whether or not you have a membership for Legacy Webinars or MyHeritage. 

Each week, these presentations will be on a theme, such as researching German records or how to improve your family history writing skills. Others are on topics like DNA testing or the records hosted by the MyHeritage website. These no-cost sessions will have plenty of tips for you that will help you grow your family tree!

Register in advance here where you can choose to sign up for one or all of the webinars, and get reminders when they're about to take place!

One important tip: Legacy doesn't use Zoom, but a program called GoToWebinar (or GoToMobile if you're using a phone or tablet). Information about this will be included in the confirmation email sent to you when you've registered for a talk. Make sure you read it thoroughly, and check out the handy webinar attendee guide - it has some good pointers on preparing for and joining your chosen broadcast, and how to handle any issues you may have.

These presentations are a great way to build your skills as a genealogist. There's always something new to learn!

Online events plus free software

 

Image by Alexa on Pixabay

This week’s post is a quick run-through of some upcoming online events (one on Tuesday 11 March) and a free genealogy software program for you to try. The presentations take us around the world from England and Wales to Canada and back to Scotland and Ireland.

A free online talk from the Society of Genealogists will cover the England & Wales Pre-1841 Census Returns. Was the 1841 census the first useful one, or can surviving pre-1841 fragments and substitutes reveal more? Else Churchill will explore early census records, including some that are held in the Society’s London-based collections. If you book in advance, a recording of the presentation will be available for one month.
Book free: https://t.co/SH5qZqL2ME 

Tuesday 11 March 2-3pm

Free Census access and Mining History

Image by Sabine from Pixabay

Until the 9th of March, Ancestry are offering free access to the 1921 England & Wales census to mark Women's History Month. If you haven't already searched this census for your relatives, it's definitely worth a dive, especially as it's free. However this is a shorter free run than Ancestry's standard 14-day trial subscription, and the sign-up procedure will be pretty much the same, plus the two-week trial gives you access to all Ancestry's records, not just the 1921 census.

My discovery of the week is the Eco-Museum of Scottish Mining Landscapes, guiding you on a virtual tour of the mining areas of central Scotland. Explore the site, and the mining communities, by clicking on the website's map. Plan and make your journey on foot or by bike, using the map's guide to industrial archaeology, geology, heritage, and, most essential, cafes along the routes. Parking and public transport access points are included to make the trip easier. Once the better weather is here I hope to try it out on the ground. The site is also looking for volunteers to build some of the walks in their local area. Their Facebook account highlights the latest developments.

The whole project (which also covers mining areas south of the border) is a tribute to our ancestors who laboured below and above ground to earn a pittance - no, it's not a pun - and provides a real-time way to experience and learn more about their communities and environment.

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.

Black History Month

To mark Black History Month in the USA (the UK equivalent is in October), there are plenty of free resources on offer. Here are just a few:

Legacy Family Tree Webinars are showing five themed presentations on African-American research from the days of enslavement up until the present day. Find out how to reconstruct an enslaved family, use plantation and court records, and learn about the origins of Juneteenth.

Ancestry, as well as hosting webinars to help those starting out on researching African-American ancestors, have other talks to help you get more out of your DNA results and building your tree on the website.

The U.S. Family Tree magazine's website also features plenty of helpful articles on topics like Freedmen's Bureau Records, and case studies in tracing enslaved forebears. The site also offers free genealogy charts and forms to help you record and plan your research. You may have to sign up to an e-mail to receive the downloads, but you can always unsubscribe immediately afterwards if you don't want the e-mails.

To begin tracing African-American ancestry, a great place to start is the FamilySearch Research Wiki, with loads of ideas for online resources you can explore and helpful tips.

Finding Your Scots Ancestors - Free Resources

 

Dundee Courier, 1921

To celebrate the birthday on January 25th of Scotland’s national bard, Robert Burns, I’ve put together a selection of free websites that may help you to grow your Scottish family tree a bit. This is an updated version of a previous blog post from 2021.

Glasgow Valuation Rolls,1913-1914  Learn about and search these lists of Glasgow owners and occupiers, with the value of their properties, to locate your early 20th-century relatives living in the city.

ScotlandsPlaces  In 18th-century Scotland, if something moved (or even if it didn’t), it got taxed. Horses, carts, dogs, clocks, watches – oh, and people, too. Household and farm servants may be listed under their employers’ names. You can also trace the history of a place through time, even a relatively small place, using Ordnance Survey records as well as property and business tax ledgers. And there are plenty of maps, plans, and photos, too.

Statistical Accounts of Scotland 1791-1845  Background information for the entire country, parish by parish, in the 18^th and 19^th centuries.  These books were compiled from contemporary accounts written by locals about their own area, with descriptions of the parish, its history, its natural features and industries.  Excellent for learning about the times and places your ancestors lived in.

Scots Abroad  Whether your relatives went abroad to work, live, or visit, they may appear in these databases hosted by the National Library of Scotland.  These include correspondence from emigrants and guides for those who were planning to emigrate to different parts of the world.  Get a flavour of what life would have been like for people taking the big step away from Scotland.

Scottish Emigration Database  Search by the name of a person or the ship they sailed on. Thousands of entries from 1890 to 1960 list the address from which they were emigrating and their destination overseas.

Kirk Session Records  Find out what your ancestors got up to when they were hauled before the minister and elders. There are links on this page to resources for understanding the context and social history behind these records, as well as the sometimes-difficult handwriting.

Dictionary of the Scots Language  Also handy for reading older records as well as Burns' poetry is this online dictionary of Scots. It is a separate language, ye ken.

Some free discoveries this week

 

While staying at home during the latest Scottish weather instalment (Storm Éowyn), I've spotted a few interesting things for frugal family historians…

First, an offer from MyHeritage: they're celebrating Australia Day this weekend - 25-28 January - with free access to many of their Australian records. You can read the full details at their blogpost, but note that their recent additions from OldNews.com are not included. 

Just this morning I came across an old blog post by the Knowles Collection about accessing their records of Jewish families from around the world. These are available on FamilySearch.org in its lesser-used Genealogies section, and the Collection's blog gives step-by-step screenshots to help you find and search these databases. Using this, I found a family I've researched in the past listed in the UK records.

In the past week I’ve begun contributing to a very worthwhile but straightforward indexing project for Arolsen Archives - #everynamecounts.  This is working to compile a database of those whose names are recorded on twentieth-century prisoner registration and displaced person cards. Almost 190,000 volunteers are currently working on this, and once you’ve read the Help notes to understand what’s required, it only takes a minute or two to complete one entry.

Finally, what are you doing tomorrow? If you'd like to stay home but are itching to attend a family history event, East Surrey Family History Society have the answer. They're holding a virtual family history fair which is free to attend. Many different societies will be "attending" and you can visit them on Zoom, ask questions, and find out what resources they offer. Why not pop along and have a chat? Among those holding virtual stalls will be 

• Aberdeen & North East Scotland FHS

• East of London FHS

• Glasgow & West of Scotland FHS

• FIBIS (Families in British India Society)

• Manchester & Lancashire FHS

• Romany & Travellers FHS

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!

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. 

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!

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.     

February frugal findings

What’s new in the world of frugal family history? Here are just a few money-saving snippets for you, starting with some good news about accessing post-1922 military service records for the United Kingdom.

“From 1 April 2023 it will be free to apply for a military service record from the MOD. You’ll need to pay the £30 fee if you submit an application before 1 April.”

However, this will only apply if one of the following criteria is met:

You’re next of kin to the person in the record

OR 

The person died over 25 years ago

OR

You only want basic information about someone who died within the last 25 years e.g. dates of their military service

Visit the UK MOD website at 

Get a copy of military service records

Tip: If the military relative you’re applying about served in the Scots Guards, you will need to apply direct to their regimental archives, which I only learned after almost a year’s wait, having applied via the standard route! 

Now to some upcoming free online events. Registration for both of these is essential.

‘From tithes to Griffith’s: property and valuation records’ in Ireland. This is a free Zoom lecture on Thursday 16 February at 1800 GMT, by professional genealogist Michael Walsh. Book here. 

From 2 March, choose from a huge variety of RootsTech 2023 classes, including more than a hundred on-demand videos that are new for this year’s conference. All of these are free to watch.  This year I’ve contributed three presentations which you’ll be able to view when the conference kicks off.  They are

My previous RootsTech videos are still available to watch at https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/speakers/alison-spring/en

To keep up with the latest money-saving and research tips - subscription website discounts, special offers, events, and so on - follow me on Facebook at Scottish Ancestral Research: Genealogy Detective