Newsletter
- 25 Jan 2013
Offers
expiring in the next few days
Ireland
DOUBLES certificate prices
Divorce
records online at Ancestry
Findmypast
add Irish BMD indexes
Book
review: Birth, Marriage & Death
Records
Top
South African site to close
English
wills from US sources?
Scottish cemetery inscriptions
Your
cousins are dying to hear from you
Birthday
Book - the final clues
The LostCousins newsletter is
usually published fortnightly. To access the previous newsletter (dated 12
January 2013) please click here; for an index to articles from 2009-10 click here.
Whenever possible links are
included to the websites or articles mentioned in the newsletter (they are
highlighted in blue or purple and underlined,
so you can't miss them).For your convenience, when you click on a link a new
browser window or tab will open (so that you dont lose your place in the
newsletter) - if nothing seems to happen then you need to enable pop-ups in
your browser.
To go to the main LostCousins
website click the logo at the top of this newsletter. If you're not already a
member, do join - it's free, and you'll get an email to alert you whenever
there's a new edition of this newsletter available!
Offers expiring in the next few days LAST CHANCE
There are a number of offers that will
be expiring over the next few days, some of which have previously been
publicised in this newsletter, and some of which haven't - so take a close look
at the list so that you don't miss out.
Tip:
if you want to share these offers with friends and relatives please send them a
link to this newsletter (http://www.lostcousins.com/newsletters/latejan13news.htm)
so that they have ALL the right details.
Amazon
(expires 28th Jan)
Get a free digital copy of In the Blood, Steve Robinson's first book in the genealogical crime
series featuring Jefferson Tayte, when you visit Amazon.co.uk
or Amazon.com
You don't need a Kindle to download and read a Kindle book - you can get a free Kindle program for your computer or tablet from Amazon.
British
Newspaper Archives (expires 31st Jan)
Save 10% on a 12 month subscription when
you click here
and use the offer code fHmTenYtR
(this brings the price down to £71.96 for a year of unlimited access).
Note:
you can access most of the same newspapers with a Full or World subscription to
findmypast.co.uk (but not, currently, at other findmypast sites around the
world)
Findmypast.co.uk
(expires 31st Jan)
Save 10% on any new findmypast.co.uk
subscription when you click here
and use the offer code LCXMAS
Note:
both the Full and World subscriptions provide virtually unlimited access to the
same British newspapers that you'll find at the British Newspaper Archive site.
The World subscription will also include the Irish newspapers in the same
collection, but not just yet.
LostCousins
(expires 31st Jan)
Get a FREE LostCousins subscription (worth
up to £12.50) when you buy a new findmypast.co.uk subscription, or when you
upgrade your existing subscription. If you simply renew an existing subscription
you won't qualify - sorry.
IMPORTANT:
you must click here
or on one of the other findmypast.co.uk links in this newsletter to go their
site to buy or upgrade your subscription, otherwise they won't send us the
commission that pays for your free subscription.
To claim your free LostCousins
subscription forward me a copy of the email receipt you receive from findmypast
(you can use any of the LostCousins email addresses, including the one that I
wrote from when I told you about this newsletter).
Findmypast.co.uk
(expires 31st Jan)
Get 50 free credits when you click here
and use the code LCXMASFREE
This offer is open to everyone, even to
existing findmypast subscribers (of course, you can only claim once -
findmypast may be generous, but they're not stupid!). Why might you need
credits if you're already a subscriber? Well, it's a great opportunity to try
out the records that would be available to you if you upgraded your
subscription, ie from Foundation to Full, or from
Full to World.
Tip:
if you're quick you can claim your free credits and take up the discount
offer above.
Findmypast.ie
(expires 31st Jan)
Get 50 free credits when you click here
and use the code FMPIEBMD
BBC
Shop (expires 31st Jan)
Save up to 70% off DVDs and other items
at the BBC's own online shop when you click here.
Tip:
when you find a bargain remember to check whether you can get it even cheaper
at Amazon.co.uk
Ireland DOUBLES certificate prices
Without any warning the General Register
Office in Ireland have doubled the cost of birth,
marriage, and death certificates from 10 to 20 (and you'll have to pay
postage on top)!
However, it's not all bad news - local
registration offices have been told not to charge a 2 search free when an
uncertified copy of an entry is ordered and the full index references are
provided. As uncertified copies cost only 4 this additional fee represented a
significant premium.
Note:
this information came from the Irish
Genealogy News blog written by Claire Santry, who
I recently had the pleasure of meeting for the first time - it's a fantastic
source of news for anyone with Irish ancestry.
A team of scientists in the UK have
worked out how to store information in DNA molecules - a technique that could
one day be used a form of data storage. It has been calculated that just one
gram of DNA could hold about 2 petabytes of data - that's the equivalent of 3
million CDs, or 2000 times the capacity of my 1 terabyte disk drive. You can
read more about the amazing research in this BBC News article.
When this technology becomes affordable,
perhaps the next step will be to use it as a way of making copies of data -
films, music, or whatever the future holds? Or perhaps it will provide a means
of recording everything we see and hear so that it can be replayed by our
descendants in 1000 years' time?
Divorce records online at Ancestry
Until 1858 getting a divorce in England
& Wales required an Act of Parliament, something that few people could
afford. Even then it wasn't cheap and between 1858 and 1911 there were less
divorces in the entire 54-year period than in a single year nowadays (I guess
that's progress of a sort?).
For some time it has been possible to
search an Index
of Divorces from 1858-1937 at the National Archives site, but the
information provided is sparse - usually just the names of the protagonists and
the co-respondent.
Now Ancestry.co.uk
have added digital images of the documents held by the National Archives, which
provide a little more detail - usually including addresses that will help
identify the parties more precisely. The hundred-year rule prevents documents
more recent than 1911 being published at the moment, but presumably they will
be added over time.
To search the records click here.
Findmypast add Irish BMD indexes
The civil registration system in Ireland
was very similar to that in England & Wales, but it didn't start in earnest
until January 1864 (civil registration of non-Roman Catholic marriages
commenced in April 1845).
It's now possible to search the indexes
of births, marriages and deaths up to 1958 at findmypast.ie (or at
findmypast.co.uk if you have a World subscription). Whilst it's true that these
indexes have been available free at FamilySearch for some time, something you
can't easily do at FamilySearch is find a marriage by
specifying the names of both parties.
Tip:
see the offer of free findmypast.ie credits above
Book review: Birth,
Marriage & Death Records
The last family history book I read in
2012 was a real stunner (Rebecca Probert's Marriage
Law for Genealogists), and I'm delighted to say that the first book I
read in 2013 was equally good.
Birth
Marriage & Death Records by
David Annal and Audrey Collins answers almost every
question that I've ever asked myself about civil registration - not just in
England & Wales, but also Scotland, Wales, and even the Channel Islands.
There are also chapters on military and overseas records, and on divorce and
adoption.
If that isn't enough to convince you to
buy this book, let me say that I also found the opening three chapters on
parish registers extremely interesting, whilst Chapter 7 on non-conformist
registers puts these important records into perspective.
There's only one disappointing thing
about this book - it wasn't published until 2012. If only I'd had a book as comprehensive as this 10 years ago!
There are so many errors and
inconsistencies on censuses that it's only natural to wonder precisely what directions
enumerators were given , so I think you'll want to take a look at the HistPop
website, a University of Essex project which - whilst primarily providing
population statistics from 1801 to 1937 - also has samples of Enumerators'
Books from 1841-1901, including the pages of instructions and examples.
While scanning the institutional return
for Chester Gaol I noticed that there were some typographical errors in the directions
which may have resulted in some inmates aged between 45 and 49, or between 55
and 59 being recorded incorrectly (I would imagine that the same errors were
repeated in all of the England & Wales institutional schedules).
Am I the first person in 172 years to
notice the error, I wonder? It probably helps that my late father was a
proof-reader!
Top South African site to close
Ancestry24, a site that
I've written about on a number of occasions since it's one of the few sources
of South African data, is to close at the end of February. However, I
understand that the data is likely to become available at another website -
although nobody seems to know which site it will be (let's hope it's either
findmypast or Ancestry so that we don't have to buy yet another subscription!).
I suggest that if you have any interest
at all in South African research you save a copy on your hard drive of the PDF
guide that you'll find on the Help &
Advice page at the LostCousins site (it's hosted by Ancestry24 and will
disappear, possibly for good, when their site closes).
English wills from US sources?
LostCousins member
Brian Randell recently posted a request on the
Society of Genealogists' Rootsweb mailing list - and
as there are over 5000 people in the United States who receive this newletter I'm sure that somebody reading this will be able
to help.
The information in the posting below is
also likely to be of interest to any members who have ancestors from Devon - so
don't ignore it simply because you don't live in the US! It's also a great
example how co-operation between researchers all over the world can help to
solve otherwise intractable problems.
My question
arises from the efforts of the Devon Wills Project, "A co-operation
involving the Devon FHS, the Devon RO, GENUKI/Devon, and the Plymouth and West
Devon RO to compile an INDEX of Devon wills, administrations,
etc.", a project that I and a colleague Richard Grylls
lead - see http://genuki.cs.ncl.ac.uk/DEV/DevonWillsProject/
We have come
across two venerable US genealogical journals, well represented in the Internet
Archive, namely The New England Historical and Genealogical Register and The
Essex Institute Historical Collections, which each contain a series of articles
providing collections of English will abstracts - from which we've obtained very
useful details of a number of Devon wills (including ones whose originals were
lost when the Exeter Probate Office was destroyed in WW2).
My question is
can anyone suggest any other "venerable US genealogical journals"
which contain such articles, or better, sets of articles? I stress
"venerable" since our particular interest is information obtained, possibly
a century or more ago, from the Exeter Probate Office. (Cyndi's List provides a
listing of scholarly genealogical journals at http://www.cyndislist.com/magazines/scholarly-journals/,
but help in identifying likely relevant, and accessible, ones would be much appreciated.)
Neither Richard
nor I have any specialist knowledge of American genealogy - and indeed only
learnt of the existence of The Essex Institute Historical Collections very
recently. (The large set of - mainly English - miscellaneous sources from which
we and our volunteers have already obtained will abstracts and transcripts is
listed at http://genuki.cs.ncl.ac.uk/DEV/DevonWillsProject/MiscSources.html)
If you are able to help, please write
directly to Brian.Randell@ncl.ac.uk
Note:
Brian mentioned to me that they are also seeking information about further
early books, ideally now available in the Internet Archive or Google Books,
containing the results of detailed genealogical researches into particular US
families, since these sometimes include English will transcripts and abstracts.
Scottish cemetery inscriptions
I recently received an email from Muriel
in Edinburgh who, with her late husband, compiled a photographic archive of the
visible gravestones in the cemeteries of Kintyre, Scotland - it is a shining
example of how the endeavours of individual researchers can benefit the wider
genealogical community.
There is an index here - simply type
in the surname you're looking for. If you find someone you believe to be a
relative you can request a free digital copy of the photograph by emailing
Muriel at adam.family@blueyonder.co.uk
Muriel also has indexes and photos for
many other Scottish cemeteries:
Ayrshire: Muirkirk,
all the Kilmarnock cemeteries, Irvine Old Parish, Shewalton
(Irvine), Kaimeshill-Riccarton, Perceton
(Irvine), Ballantrae, Barr
Dumfriesshire: Wanlockhead,
Sanquhar
Dumbartonshire: Kirkintilloch (Auld Aisle
and New cemetery)
Midlothian: Currie and Colinton
Aberdeenshire: Oyne
Note:
the commercial website DeceasedOnline has many thousands of records from other
parts of Scotland - you can search free of charge.
Your cousins are dying to hear from you
I don't think I've ever met a family
historian who didn't wish that he or she had started earlier. How often have you wished that you'd asked more
questions when you were younger?
The fact is that, despite increasing
longevity, none of us will be around for ever - and nor will our cousins.
That's why I find it so frustrating that some LostCousins members haven't
completed their My Ancestors page so
that I can link them to their cousins - before it's too late.
If it takes more than 1 or2 hours to
complete your My Ancestors page then
either you're going about it the wrong way (in which case, please ask for my
advice), or your family tree is much larger than that of the average
LostCousins member (about 2000 relatives). Isn't it worth investing 2 hours to
make those connections now, while your cousins are still around?
Tip:
this recent article
will help you decide who to enter. And to save time only complete the compulsory
part of the form - most of information in the optional part is for your own
use, and won't affect your chances of finding 'lost cousins' (although I would
recommend you enter the maiden names of your married female relatives, where
known).
Birthday Book - the final clues
There's been a fantastic response to my
Christmas Challenge, to analyse the entries in a Birthday Book dating from the
late 19th or early 20th century, and figure out the owner(s) were.
Over the course of three successive newsletters,
starting on Christmas Day, I've reproduced all of the entries (there are links to the images here).
What I haven't explicitly told you,
however, is that in the preface the book is described as a Birthday Autograph
Book, which implies that all of the entries have been made by the person whose
birthday it was.
This does, perhaps, shed some new light
on the entries for March 26 ("Loo 1904") and October 7 ("Mollie
1904"). I'd be inclined to interpret the dates as being when the entries
were written, and not when Loo and Mollie were born (although since even I
don't know the answer to this puzzle it's possible that I'm wrong about that).
I wonder too whether the fact that the
names of Loo and Mollie appear without surnames is because they gave the book
to its first owner?
Something else I haven't revealed is precisely
when and where I bought the book - it was at an auction in Great Dunmow, Essex around the turn of the century. So it's a
reasonable assumption that the last owner of the book lived and - almost
certainly died - in East Anglia.
Finally, I'd like to share with you the
entry on December 31 - not a birthday, but a name and address (and in case you
can't read the rather faintly-pencilled handwriting, it says Miss C Coleman, 2 Frairs St, Sudbury, Suffolk). My
guess is that this is not the name and address of the first owner of the book,
but a subsequent owner, and that certainly seemed t
be the case when I started my investigations.
A search of the telephone
directories at Ancestry reveals that between 1930 and 1938 there was a W B
Coleman, grocer, at 2 Friars St, Sudbury - by 1941 he had relocated to 3 Friars
St.
The Probate
Calendars at Ancestry record a William Bryant Coleman, grocer, of 1 Meadow
Lane, Sudbury who died in 1952 aged 81. The executors were William Russell
Coleman, grocer, and Christine Mary Coleman, spinster - could this be our Miss
C Coleman?
The 1911
Census entry at findmypast for 2 Friars St, Sudbury shows a William Bryant
Coleman, a grocer aged 40, with his wife Florence Kate and sons Russell
William, aged 10, and Herbert Edward, aged 8.
According to the census Florence and
William had been married for 11 years, and this made it easy to identify their
marriage in 1900, which revealed that her maiden name was Ready (still no
apparent connection with any of the other names in the Birthday Book). I could
now search for other children who were born after the third quarter of 1911, when
the mother's maiden name was first shown in the GRO birth indexes:
It certainly
looks as if this could be Miss C Coleman - however the only matching death I
could find was registered in Norwich,
Norfolk in 1987, so the Birthday Book may have passed through another pair of hands before it reached me.
And there's
still no obvious connection with the other people whose names appear in the
book! Can you do any better?
Goodness me, horsemeat turning up in
Tesco Value Beefburgers! It just shows how much we
take on trust when we buy food - and whilst on this occasion it's the
supermarkets (or, rather, their suppliers) that have been caught out, it's not unknown for smaller retailers to label meat
incorrectly.
I prefer to buy recognisable joints of
meat - at least that way I can be fairly certain they've come from the right
animal (though, of course, joints of beef are often barded with pork). However
I'm afraid that I haven't yet ventured into making my own sausages - that's one
form of processed meat that I can't resist as an occasional treat.
Anyway, that's enough about food. Where
can you find back issues of this newsletter? They're all online, but how can
you get to them?
If you look near the beginning of this
newsletter you'll see some text in italics - and it's there you'll find a link
to the previous issue. There's a similar link at the beginning of every
newsletter, so you can work your way back as far as you like - or, rather, as
far back as February 2009 when I first put my newsletters online.
There is an index for the years 2009 and
2010 - there's a link to that index above - and before long there should be an
index to 2011 and 2012. But when I want to find an old article I generally use
Google, and my search will typically look something like this:
lostcousins newsletter divorce
Or, if want to find out how to save on
your Ancestry subscription you might type
lostcousins newsletter ancestry savings
There's no guarantee that Google will
put article you're looking for at the top of the list, but it's usually there
on the first page of results.
Please bear in mind that some of the
information and links will be out of date, and that the further you go back,
the more likely this is to be case. For this reason it's often a good idea to
work backwards using the links - it makes sure you see the most up-to-date
information first.
According to a recent BBC article there are £20
billion (yes, billon) of unclaimed assets in the UK, ranging from forgotten
bank accounts and life insurance policies to pensions. I'm pretty certain that
none of them are mine - but maybe some belong to you, or to members of your
family who perhaps are no longer as alert as they once were? Worth checking, I
reckon! There are certainly some good tips in the article.
After I wrote about Kiva in my last
newsletter Brian wrote to tell me what he has done:
I am over 60,
just, but I am still working so I am entitled to £200 heating allowance. I
don't really need that money. So this year I have use most of that money to
increase my loan portfolio on Kiva. Thank you for putting me in touch with
them. I now have about 9 current loans with them and one that has already been
paid back and the money re-used.
When you make a loan through Kiva it's like
giving money to charity - except that when the loan is repaid you have the joy
of helping out someone else using the same money. LostCousins members have made
almost 400 loans already - and helped to transform the lives of thousands of
people in the developing world. If you'd like to join them, follow this link to my
article in the last newsletter.
This where any late
updates will be posted, so it's worth checking back after a few days.
I hope you've found this newsletter
interesting and that you'll make full use of your membership of my site to link
with the cousins you don't yet know (your 'lost cousins').
Peter Calver
Founder, LostCousins
© Copyright 2013 Peter Calver
You
may link to this newsletter or email a link to your friends and relatives
without asking for permission in advance. I have included bookmarks so you can
link to a specific article: right-click on the relevant entry in the table of
contents at the beginning of the newsletter to copy the link.
Please
do not re-publish any part of this newsletter without permission, either on
your own website or in any other format. It is better for all concerned to
provide a link as suggested above, not least because articles are often
updated.