For ease of viewing the websites mentioned in “Web Watch”, a regular feature of our quarterly journal, the whole article is reproduced below.
Since websites, their content and their links are prone to frequent change, or even removal, we will only display the articles from the previous four issues of the journal.
Find My Past -
https://www.findmypast.co.uk
FMP have added these records - 14,000 Coldstream Guards photos
1800 to 1961, 11,000 Lincolnshire workhouse records, 9,600 more
Leicestershire parish records, 72,000 images and transcriptions
from the Royal Society of Arts 1754 to 1856, 4,900 additions to
Kent parish records for 1924 baptisms, 1940 marriages and 1999
burials, 22,500 catholic records for 1914 for Birmingham,
London, Northampton and Nottingham, 29,000 Northamptonshire Poll
Tax, Window Tax, Land Tax, Poll Books and Quarter Sessions
Licences, 20,000 Yorkshire baptisms and monumental inscriptions,
17,000 burial records for Herefordshire, 21,000 burial records
for Powys, 12,000 Surrey baptisms, 12,000 Middlesex baptisms,
2,500 London marriages, and 36,000 Women's Land Army service
cards.
Ancestry -
https://www.ancestry.co.uk
Ancestry have added 614,000 records for Scottish Court of
Sessions 161 to 1920, 38,000 for UK military Roll of Honour 1945
to 2020, 27,000 Posse Comitatus for Buckinghamshire, Sheffield &
Rotherham and Hampshire parish records, Cheshire parish,
catholic and non-conformist records, Somerset wills 1300 to
2001, Law Examination records 1836 to 1948, Gwent workhouse
registers 1833 to 1957, Barnsley non-conformist and petty
sessions records, Lancashire catholic registers, and the usual
unspecified updates.
The Genealogist -
https://www
S&N have added 175,000 records for the 1910 to 1915 Land Tax
covering Wiltshire. They have also added landowner records from
Feet of Fines and indexes to Scottish Sasines and Register of
Deeds, 25,000 WW1 histories, and 3.5 million entries from 1930s
directories.
The Oxfordshire History Centre (OHC) recently published two
superbly illustrated blogs on the background to and evolution of
English (with Oxfordshire examples) parish registers, authored
by Alison Smith. The first blog is Oxfordshire-specific, but the
second one
https://www
Heir Hunters Fraser & Fraser have a YouTube channel -
https:
Also on You Tube, a video on using my favourite Gedcom analysis
program Family Tree Analyzer -
https:
Peter Calver of Lost Cousins has found a government report from
2016 entitled An inspection of the General Register Office for
England and Wales, with particular emphasis on birth records -
https:
Peter has also highlighted The London Archives [the new name of
the London Metropolitan Archives] who hold records of the Court
of Orphans, which looked after the interests of the underage
children of deceased Freemen -
https:
And finally - Who Do You Think You Are? magazine has an item on
“tips” in online trees. Finding someone else's research may seem
great - but be wary of adding other people's research and
relatives to your family tree without double-checking them, for
these ten reasons...
https:
General Register Office -
https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/login.asp
They have increased prices for certificates, PDFs and digital
downloads.
Find My Past -
https://www.findmypast.co.uk
FMP have added 23,000 more Bedfordshire parish records and over
10,000 from Kent; 566,000 additions to the WW2 Allies
Collection; 212,426 images and transcripts for Coastguards 1801
to 1952 from TNA ADM175; 101,000 more transcripts of Royal Navy
& Royal Marines Service and Pension Records 1853 to 1872
from TNA ADM139; 59,000 images added to Women's Royal Naval
Service Officer Files 1917 to 1919 from TNA ADM 318 and 321;
751,000 death records for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
from 1980 to 2024; 38,000 Scottish occupational records; 5,800
Lancashire Wills 1825 to 1858; 70,000 Coventry Workhouse
records 1853 to 1946; 38,000 Coventry Cemetery records 1847 to
1896; 143,000 Coventry vehicle registration records 1921 to
1944; 1.6 million Manchester electoral registers and rate books
1820 to 1940; 220,000 Scottish mental health institutional
records and 1 million more court database transcriptions; and
950,000 Ulster directory records 1831 to 1900.
Ancestry -
https://www.ancestry.co.uk
Ancestry have added 360,000 UK and Allies WW2 Liberated
Prisoner of War Questionnaires 1945 to 1946 from TNA WO344,
61,000 Battle of Jutland Crew Lists 1916, and 90,000 Red Cross
Volunteers during WW1 1914 to 1918. Also 447,000 Lancashire
Non-Conformist records.
The Genealogist -
https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/index.php
S&N have added 1.8 million records from the Army
Lists 1837 to 1959. The 1851 E&W census has been added to
Map Explorer. They have added 225,000 records for the 1910 to
1915 Land Tax covering Surrey. Also 20,000 obituaries from
various sources.
Deceased Online -
https://www.deceasedonline.com/
They have added 130,000 records from the crematorium and 6
cemeteries in Broxtowe and Erewash in Nottinghamshire.
Highgate Cemetery - The cemetery now has a search and mapping
website at
https://highgate.burialgrounds.co.uk/mapmanagement/#/memorialmanagement/
Deceased Online used to have an index and images of
burial records but these have now been removed. The microfilms
are still at Camden Local Studies Library.
Goad’s fire insurance maps of Dover and elsewhere -
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Goad_fire_insurance_maps_of_Dover
This 1905 plan of Dover has eight sheets from an atlas
originally produced to aid insurance companies in assessing fire
risks. The building footprints, their use (commercial,
residential, educational, etc.), the number of floors and the
height of the building, as well as construction materials (and
thus risk of burning) and special fire hazards (chemicals,
kilns, ovens) are included.
Plenty of information on Gedcoms from Dick Eastman -
https://eogn.com/page-18080/13341482
And finally – History of genealogy on the internet from 1983
-
https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/Genealogy/Timeline
Find My Past -
https://www.findmypast.co.uk
FMP have opened a million pages from 78 newspapers from
the British Newspaper Archive project for viewing without a paid
sub. Also they have added 35,000 images for children sent to
Canada 1880s to 1916; images of over 200,000 record cards for
England & Wales Land Girls 1939 to 1950; 1871 E&W census
occupation and birthplace for 22.8 million entries; 270,000
school records for Kent 1870 to 1914; 29,000 Sheffield Workhouse
Admissions 1700 to 1915; and 24,000 more transcriptions for Boer
War 1899 to 1902.
Ancestry -
https://www.ancestry.co.uk
Ancestry have added 7,000 Admiralty Records of Marriages and
Baptisms 1754 to 1878 from various ADM series at TNA. Also maps
of parish boundaries in London 1860 to 1880; 28,000 Royal Navy
Medical Journals 1817 to 1856; OS Popular Maps 1940 to 1948;
Electoral Rolls :-13.3 million London 1913 to 1970, 15 million
North Yorkshire 1832 to 1971, and 45.5 million for UK 2011 to
2018; and 58,000 Hampshire Non-Conformist registers 1834 to
1921.
The Genealogist -
https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/index.php
They have added 120,000 transcripts of parish registers for
Worcestershire. The 1861 E&W census has been added to Map
Explorer. 142,000 additions have been made to the War Memorial
collection with links to Map Explorer. Also over 5 million
records and images from trade and residential directories.
My Heritage -
https://www.myheritage.com
They have added a PhotoDater tool for use on old photos. Also
10.6 million transcripts of BTs for Cheshire; 4.6 million Kent
Electoral registers 1570 to 1907; 5 million funeral notices
after 2002; and 371,000 Army and Air Force nominal rolls 1920.
Deceased Online -
https://www.deceasedonline.com/
87,000 records and images for Halton, Widnes and Runcorn
cemeteries in Cheshire.
National Library of Scotland - Guides to The Parishes and
Registration Districts of Scotland by name
https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files//research/statutory-registers/parishes-and-registration-districts-by-name.pdf
and number
https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files//research/statutory-registers/parishes-and-registration-districts-by-number-guide.pdf
Also detailed maps of Scotland 1973.
Irish Genealogy -
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/civil-search.jsp
The birth certificates for 1923, marriages for 1948 and deaths
for 1973 are now available for free download.
https://elephind.com/
is a search engine that operates much like Google, Bing, and
other search engines. The one thing that is different with
Elephind is that it searches only historical, digitized
newspapers.
And finally – thanks to Dave Annal, Audrey Hepburn in Elham in
the 1939 Register
https://lifelinesresearch.co.uk/2024/01/19/a-star-of-the-silver-screen-and-the-1939-national-register/
Find My Past -
https://www.findmypast.co.uk
FMP have added 20,000 images of Canterbury Parish
Registers; 187,000 more entries unredacted on the 1939 Register;
12,000 Catholic Parish Registers for Northampton diocese;
122,000 NBI records for Herefordshire; 14,000 Medway burials
1981 to 2020; 1,478 images from Dunns, a Bromley funeral
directors; 195,000 records added to Cumberland Parish Registers,
247,000 for Westmorland, 67,000 for Oxfordshire, and 231,000
Berkshire Baptisms; 6.5 million records of WW1 Campaign Medals;
5,893 records added to Crimean war casualties; 25 million
Electoral registers for Greater Manchester 1820 to 1940; 397,000
additions to Greater London burials; and 91,000 images for
Dublin Protestant Parish Registers.
Ancestry -
https://www.ancestry.co.uk
Ancestry have added to Hampshire Parish Registers 1813 to
1921 making 3.2 million; 8.1 million Worcestershire Electoral
Registers 1837 to 1974; 104,000 Officers' Birth Certificates,
Wills and Personal Papers 1755 to 1908 from TNA WO42; 680,000
Royal Hospital Chelsea records 1702 to 1980 from TNA WO23;
275,000 Dudley Worcestershire Burials and Cremation Index 1800
to 2020; 323,000 Norfolk Indexes to Probate and Marriage Licence
Bonds 1371 to 1858; and an index to Northern Ireland Probates
1858 to 1965 on PRONI.
The Genealogist -
https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/index.php
They have added 170,000 records for the 1910 to 1915 Land
Tax covering Northamptonshire; Seamen’s First and Second World
War Rolls of Honour (BT 339); Medal Awards from 1866 to 1970;
Mercantile Marine Officers Nominal List 1916 to 1920; more
Quarter Session Registers from 1590 to1839; and they have
completed linking Tithe Maps to their Map Explorer.
My Heritage -
https://www.myheritage.com
They have added 62,000 Jersey WW2 occupation cards;
99,000 Cumberland and Lancashire burial records; 584,000
Scotland Court of Sessions records 1560 to 1930; 186,000
Paisley, Scotland Poor Law records 1837 to 1933; and 251,000
Soldiers’ Wills 1865 to 1970.
Scotland’s People -
https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/
A new addition is 9,700 images for the record cards of
women born before 1923 who joined the Scottish Women’s Land Army
and Women’s Timber Corps from 1939 to 1950; a yearly release
will see those born in 1923 released in 2024, and so.
Family Search -
https://www.familysearch.org
LDS have added 5 million records for UK Funeral Notices
1914 to 2023; and updated Cornwall and Pembrokeshire Parish
Registers, Ireland Civil Registration and Ireland Catholic
Parish Registers.
Civil Wars 1639 to 1660 -
https://www.battlefieldstrust.com/memorial/
Information about monuments, including memorials, plaques
and information boards, located across the British Isles which
relate to events concerning and key figures associated with the
British Civil Wars 1639-1660. It also covers monuments located
anywhere in the world relating to soldiers who served in the
British Isles between 1639–1660.
Old Bailey Online -
Proceedings of the Old Bailey, 1674–1913
Redesigned site (v9.0) with new functionality.
Family Tree Analyzer -
http://ftanalyzer.com/
One of my favourite programs. Here is a tutorial on using
it -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GX1BLRWy7g
And finally – Lists and analysis of the oldest people in the
country :
http://oldestinbritain.nfshost.com/index.php