Ten Free Family History Websites

 

Here are some website recommendations for you to try out over the festive break, or to put in your notebook for 2021.  Although some may have additional services which cost, these websites are all free to use – or they were at the time of writing, so please do contact me if you find any of them want to charge just for access.  I’ve tried to list websites that aren’t mentioned in any of my previous blog posts, but am aware that one or two have sneaked in under the radar because they are SO GOOD. 

Next month, for Burns’ Night, I’ll be posting my recommendations for some great Scottish online resources (free, naturally), which is why there are not many Scots-specific websites listed in this post.  And later next year, just for fun, I’ll pick another ten free-to-use sites; subscribe to this blog or follow me on Facebook or Twitter so you don’t miss them.

The sites below are in no particular order, and those marked * indicate that their administrators welcome contributions of additional information or volunteers for their projects.  If you can, give back a little to help other genealogists.  It won’t cost you anything but a bit of your time.

Am Baile *

This site allows you to “explore the rich history of the Scottish Highlands and Islands through images, maps, documents, audio and video”.

 

Army Children Graves Register  

Part of The Army Children’s Archive, hosting historical records relating to the young people whose parents served in the British armed forces.

 

Convict Records *

Search for convicted Britons who were transported to Australia between 1787 and 1867.  Included in the data are known aliases, place of conviction, point and date of departure, and arrival port.

 

Lord Baden Powell Papers  

Personal papers of the Scouting movement founder, including correspondence, photos, and scrapbooks.

 

The Gazette  

The archive of the official UK government newspaper for birth, marriage and death announcements, as well as probate, military, insolvency notices.  Search and download its digital images.

 

Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild *  

Thousands of indexed passenger lists from across the world and throughout the centuries.

 

One-Step Genealogy – Steve Morse

Some amazing tools that manipulate data from other online sources - for instance, the Ellis Island records - and allow you to search them more creatively.

 

Online Parish Clerks – England & Wales * 

Volunteer-compiled information and links relating to individual English & Welsh parishes.  Extremely useful if you have a specific parish in mind to search for your ancestors.

 

Historic Hospital Admission Records Project (HHARP)  

Four UK children's hospitals are included in this project: GOSH, the Evelina, and the Alexandra Hip Hospital in London, and the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow.  Included are well over 100,000 records from 1852 up to 1921.

Online Genealogical Index

It's not the International Genealogical Index, but it is a handy site to try when you have no idea which website holds your ancestral records.  The OGI checks more than 400,000 datasets and then lists the results according to your requirements.

Secrets of ScotlandsPeople

It’s sometimes unpopular because it doesn’t offer subscriptions, just pay-per-view.  It’s the official government website offering access to the church, civil, and census records of Scotland.  It’s not free…not all of it.  If you didn’t know that some of it is free, you should read on. 

🔊 Late breaking news  Yesterday it was announced online that from early next year, the Kirk Session records of the Church of Scotland up to 1855 will be available, free, to browse and read on ScotlandsPeople.  Welcome news indeed for Scottish researchers everywhere!  You can read a bit more on the Scottish GENES blog.

Free Searches

When you’re searching for any type of record on ScotlandsPeople, you don’t need to have paid anything up front.  All that’s needed to carry out a search is to register with the website, which costs nothing.  Once you’ve done that, you can perform as many searches of as many record sets as you like, and view the results, which can run to several pages. 

Detailed Matches

Several of the record sets provide additional information in the list of matches.  In the case of the pre-1855 christening records, for example, the matches will name not only the child but at least one parent, and usually both.  A list of results for military appeals tribunals will give the occupation, grounds for appeal, and decision of the court.  And testament (probate) matches may give as much detail as this example, in addition to the name of the individual:

Cashier with Denny & Coy., Engineers, Dumbarton, sometime residing in High Street there, latterly at The Bield, Bonhill Road there, d. 17/06/1894 at Dumbarton, testate (SC65/34/40)

To see images of the document requires payment, but the information provided with the search results enables you to more accurately decide if it’s a good fit for the individual you’re researching before forking out, in this case 10 credits for a testament. 

1881 Census

You may have overlooked the free-to-view transcription of the 1881 Scottish census.  This is the product of a community indexing project carried out in conjunction with FamilySearch in the 1990s.  To search this set, choose "Census Returns" and tick the box marked "1881 (LDS)", then enter your search terms.

For instance, if I search for anyone with the surname Wyatt living in Glasgow who appears in this census, I can see not only a list of matches which seems to indicate a family, but I can freely view a transcribed version of the census entry containing those individuals.  This states their relationship to one another, confirming they are indeed a family, and gives all the essential details contained in the original census image such as address, occupation, age, and birthplace.  This is more than you'll find on some subscription websites, which can also be less accurate in their interpretation of the nineteenth-century handwriting.

The 1881 (LDS) transcriptions were written out twice and then keyed into a computer twice - and compared for accuracy at both stages - so they are a good reflection of the original document.  Of course, it’s always advisable to view the original when you can; you can do so without incurring a charge at public libraries or family history centres with microfilm copies. 

Highlands and Islands Emigration

Around 5,000 emigrants from Scotland to Australia between 1852 and 1857 are listed in this database.  These were Scots who received assisted passage in order to try and relieve some of the destitution that prevailed in the Highlands and Islands at that time.  They are enumerated in passenger lists which contain the names, ages, and places of origin of each person, proving very useful as a genealogical source.  You can read more of the story behind these records and their contents on the website’s guide. 

Maps and Plans Images

National Records of Scotland, who operate ScotlandsPeople, claim to have the largest known collection of original maps and plans of Scotland.  Almost 2,500 of these can be freely searched and downloaded, with a further thousand viewable online.  The earliest of these date from the sixteenth century. 

Plan of the River Ness, Commissary Court records,
Crown copyright, National Records of Scotland, RHP672

Historical Images

Another image set you can search and view freely contains images of historical photographs, manuscripts, and drawings.  These can be searched by subject category, ranging from “Armed Forces” to “Whisky Industry”, or by your choice of keyword, which might be a family name you are interested in.  When I entered “MacLeod” as my search term, a very interesting image of a seventeenth-century document of fosterage popped up – written in Gaelic.  

And finally

Don’t forget that search tips plus advice and support are always available via the search pages, or on the help and guidance section of the website.  Whenever I’ve run into difficulties in reading a poor-quality image, the website administrators have been extremely helpful in having the record re-scanned, and sometimes refunding credits spent, in the case of index errors.

2020: Gifts of Genealogy

I've recycled last year's seasonal post with some gift ideas for the genealogist in your life.

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.  Handmade, personalised presents are the most thoughtful of all, I reckon.  And what could be more personal than the gift of heritage?  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.

Another option is to print a chart.  Family history computer programs can do this, with varying degrees of eye-catchingness.  

FamilySearch allows users to freely print out their trees in a range of attractive formats. 
 
If you have photographs of people featured on the tree, these can be mounted on a chart, with or without name labels.
 
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; one of my great-uncles took part in a police tug-of-war team, and I still have the medal to show for it.  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.

As a prelude to Christmas, I’d like to finish with this video by Martin Lewis

which, if you’ve not seen before, 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?

Get ready for St Andrew's Day

General Register House, Edinburgh

Enric, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Next week will be St. Andrew’s Day, and to mark this, FamilySearch are running a free Scottish Research Day on Monday 30 November. There will be four online workshops in the afternoon/evening, beginning at 3.30pm UK time. These are aimed at beginning researchers but the content looks suitable for anyone working with Scottish records. The webinars are

☙  Using the Wiki and Scotlands People for Scots Research - The FamilySearch Research Wiki is a rich and ever-growing resource to help guide your search in Scottish records. ScotlandsPeople is the Scottish government's site to search censuses, civil registration, many church records, wills and testaments, and more. Learn how to use these two sites to further your Scottish family history research. 

☙  Scotland Land and Property Records - This webinar will give an overview of Scotland Services of Heirs and Sasines records. They help us understand how land was transferred and are great for naming family relationships. It will show how to access those records and use them effectively to discover the family relationships in Scotland dating back to the 1500s. 

☙  Och Aye! Understanding Weird Scottish Words and Phrases - This class looks at the history of Gaelic and Scots and then focuses on the languages and words of genealogical value for people doing research in Scottish records. 

☙  Scotland Probate Records - The purpose of this class is to introduce the Scottish system of probate or, in other words, the handling of the Scottish deceased’s property, both real and personal, after death. The class will include the procedures, customs and terms associated with it as well as the time period, content and availability of the records. 

You can sign up for the webinars on the Family History Library Classes website.  This will register you for all four workshops but you don’t have to tune in to them all, only the ones that interest you.  There is also more information about other upcoming events they have scheduled, as well as a short how-to video for those not familiar with using Zoom.

FamilySearch often archive their webinars, so if you miss one or want to watch it again, you may find it's eventually available in their extensive range of videos in the Learning Centre.

Have a great St. Andrew's Day, and don't eat too much haggis...

The Next Big (Family History) Thing

 

Image Credit: FamilySearch

This week’s blog post is my fun news that I will be giving two presentations at RootsTech Connect in February. 

For those not familiar with RootsTech events, these are three-day conferences hosted by international genealogical organisation FamilySearch and have usually been held in the United States.  However, last year RootsTech London, the first of these events to take place outside America, attracted a serious crowd of family historians keen to develop their skills.

Now, like many other events, RootsTech has chosen to switch to being a virtual show, but unlike previous years, there will be no charge to access it.  It will be completely free, totally online, and accessible to everyone.  The only requirement is for you to register your interest in participating, which you can do very easily at the RootsTech Connect website, where you can also check out the archive of previous years’ presentations.  This will give you an idea of the flavour and variety of talks that have been given at past conferences, as well as some of the keynote speakers who have put in an appearance.

My contributions will be about Scottish family history: one presentation on how to use ScotlandsPeople, and another on the riches of the records of the kirk session (of the Church of Scotland).  There will be dozens of presentations to choose from, shorter than usual and pre-recorded, but with Q&A sessions during which the speakers will be available to answer attendees’ questions on their topics.  It promises to be an exciting experience!

Striking a Blow for Justice

 

Image by Lonpicman, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

We tend to think – wrongly – of trade unions as a twentieth-century phenomenon, with earlier examples being few and far between, so perhaps you’ve not considered using union records to build your family tree.

Trade Union Ancestors is a website whose author has compiled an extensive list of unions, trades clubs, and other organisations representing many industries throughout history. The list is quite breathtaking in its scope and variety – take a look at the A-Z list on the Contents page to get an idea of just how many groups are included.

Also provided are suggested books for researching the history of the labour movement, and a link to The National Archives’ resources which include records of Friendly Societies.

The “striking stories” section of the site gives accounts of industrial action, beginning with the stonemasons building Nelson’s Column in 1841 and more recently with the Great Hairdressers’ Strike of 1918.

And what if your striking forebears fell foul of the law?  You may want to check out what kinds of records could help you trace that part of their story at Our Criminal Ancestors where you can also read some case studies of bigamists, fraudsters, and poisoners, to name but a few.  Find out about the development of different forms of punishment and justice systems in the Timelines.  Further reading ideas and a glossary will help you get clued up on crime.

Once you’ve done that, you may have need of the information on Prison History, where you can search a database of records on hundreds of 19^th-century English penal institutions, or contribute your own ancestral tale of incarceration.

Hopefully, looking at all these free resources will keep you gainfully occupied and out of trouble...

A Really Useful Family History Event

Want to hear about something Really Useful?  The UK’s Family History Federation is taking its annual show online on Saturday 14th November.  I don’t often recommend events that charge an admission fee, but this one has a lot going on, and I think it's worth the money.  

For £7 (paid in advance; on-the-day entry will probably cost more), you will get

• Access to six different channels of expert speakers on varied topics - and as there are more talks scheduled than you could watch in one day, recordings of them will be available for at least 2 days after the event
• An exclusive goody bag
• Virtual vendors’ stalls with specialist genealogy products
• Family history societies’ chat booths where you can ask questions of the organisations' helpers, and perhaps become a member of a group relating to your family’s history
• FamilySearch volunteers to point you in the direction of their resources and take your research a step further

(You can learn about the kinds of societies you might be interested in visiting or joining by checking out the Federation’s membership page.  And they’re not confined to place-specific societies; groups with an interest in religious families, Quaker or Jewish, for instance, are represented.  Also included are professional and one-place/name study organisations.)

Society members and FamilySearch volunteers will be available to chat during the show, and once you've asked your question on their dedicated text chat, you can decide if you want to continue with that, or switch to Zoom instead for a face-to-face discussion.  Whichever you choose, helpers with specialist knowledge will do their best to advise you.

This is the first time the Federation has staged an online event of this size, so patience on the part of both organisers and attendees will be necessary as everybody gets used to this fun new way of doing things.  And of course it means that a lot more people will be able to attend than would visit the traditional show - even though everybody will be taking part from the comfort of home!