New Genealogy Records Online: Newspapers, Oral Histories, and More

New genealogical records this week include a big update to Genealogy Bank’s newspaper database, including titles from 31 states.

Also new are Massachusetts passenger lists, a Connecticut digitization project, and oral histories for WWII veterans and for Irish history. 

Featured Genealogy Records: U.S. Newspapers

Genealogy Bank is a fantastic resource for newspapers and they’ve made a big update this week. New content has been added to 87 titles from 31 different states in the U.S. Some of the largest additions include:

To see all updated titles and states, click here. Discover family history in millions of historical newspaper articles from 1690-1980, including obituaries, birth records, marriage notices, and more facts about your ancestors. 

More about Historical Newspapers for Genealogy: 
(Click on player to unmute sound)

Massachusetts Passenger Lists

Over at MyHeritage, you’ll find a new collection of Boston, Massachusetts Passenger Lists, 1891-1943. There are 4.8 million records in this data set, so if your ancestors immigrated through Boston, this could be a gold mine! Here’s a little bit of information about the collection from the description:

“Information available varies due to significant changes to immigration laws during the span of this collection. The most common information available includes the passenger’s name, sex, age, date of arrival, and name of the ship.

More detailed passenger manifests collected additional information including marital status, birth information (date and location), nationality, last residence, home city, port of departure, as well as the names and addresses of family members in the United States and home country. This collection is comprised of NARA publication T843.”

Connecticut Historical Footage Digitization

Tasha Caswell is the research and collections associate for the Connecticut Historical Society and thanks to her keen nose and film background, she was able to save valuable historical footage from being lost to decay. She noticed a smell reminiscent of vinegar that meant these films were in danger of deteriorating.

“She alerted the other members of the collections department, and soon afterward they applied for a grant to preserve and digitize the invaluable films — many of them home movies that had been donated through the decades.

The result: now the public will be able to see these gems on the Connecticut Digital Archive.

“Thanks to that grant for about $24,000 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the society was able to loan approximately 75 films to a company called George Blood LP, which specializes in digitizing audiovisual media.

CHS has about 50 more films in its collection but will have to apply for another grant to complete the digitizing project. The grant, received in September 2017, also allowed them to digitize thousands of photos and negatives as well as maps, architectural drawings, lithographs and posters.”

Click here to learn more about this project and how you can help. Tasha says, “I’m hoping people watch our films online, and if they have information about what’s depicted, they can contact us.”

Oral Histories

We recently stumbled upon two fascinating oral history resources now available online that we think you might enjoy. 

First is the Voices of Liberation project, which has been set up to commemorate more than 100,000 service personnel who died in 1944.

The voices of Second World War veterans and their relatives are being recorded to mark the 75th anniversary of some of the conflict’s most momentous battles. It was started by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which hopes the archive will be a fitting tribute to the dead and highlight its cemeteries and memorials across the world. The public can contribute to this project at https://liberation.cwgc.org/

If you have Irish ancestors, you might enjoy exploring Irish Life & Lore‘s oral history collections, totaling 3,000 hours. It was founded by Tralee-based oral historians Maurice and Jane O’Keeffe.

From their website: “Through our decades of work in the compilation of audio recordings and books for educational and commercial purposes, thousands of Irish voices from all regions of the country have been captured and archived for the future.” You can browse their collections and listen to samples, and individual recordings are available for purchase. 

Tapping into Newspapers for Genealogy

If you’re interested in learning more about your family history, you’ve probably heard of several people say “be sure to check old newspapers!” Sounds great, right? But which newspapers were around back then? And where are they now?

Lisa Louise Cooke’s hit book provides you with a fool-proof research process including step-by-step instructions, worksheets and checklists, and a case study that puts it all together. Her methodology applies to newspaper research no matter where your ancestors came from and settled.

Click here to grab a copy of How to Find Your Family History in Newspapers, available in both print and digital download

Lacey Cooke

Lacey Cooke

Lacey has been working with Genealogy Gems since the company’s inception in 2007. Now, as the full-time manager of Genealogy Gems, she creates the free weekly newsletter, writes blogs, coordinates live events, and collaborates on new product development. No stranger to working with dead people, Lacey holds a degree in Forensic Anthropology, and is passionate about criminal justice and investigative techniques. She is the proud dog mom of Renly the corgi. 

Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links and Genealogy Gems will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on these links (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for supporting Genealogy Gems!

Deciphering Draft Registration Cards for Genealogy: World War II

Our Military Minutes Man Michael Strauss revisits the first subject he covered with us on the Genealogy Gems Podcast: Draft Registrations for both World War I and World War II. This is Part 2, covering WWII. Click here to read Part 1 for background about the numbering on the cards, draft classifications, and the Selective Service System. Then read on to learn all about WWII draft registration records. 

Michael has the answers for us. Attention, March!

The World War II Draft:

On the eve of World War II, our country witnessed the passage of another national conscription act. It was called the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 (54 Stat. 885). It turned out to be the first peacetime act in United States history. With a growing population for the United States, this meant that the draft process would be greatly expanded with more registrants.  

All men regardless of citizenship status between the ages of 18 and 65 were registered in seven separate classification groups. Like the previous Selective Service Act of 1917 and the draft cards, these draft cards also recorded similar information on the upper left corner, which included the serial number, and the order number in the upper right corner, with nearly the same process being followed.

On October 29, 1940 Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson drew numbers from a bowl representing the first registration for men between 21-36.

World War II-Henry Stimson Drawing Draft Numbers

Image courtesy of Library of Congress in Washington, DC showing Secretary of War Henry Stimson drawing the first number for Draft in 1940 for World War II

The first number drawn of the 7,836 serial numbers that were printed on paper and placed in individual capsules was No. 158. This number belonged to Harry Robert Bell, a 21-year-old from Washington D.C. (see image below). The hundreds of men across the United States pulled in this first drawing were all given an order number of 1.

Harry Robert Bell-WWII Draft Card-First Person Drafted

Harry Robert Bell-WWII Draft Card-First Person Drafted

World War II Draft Registration Cards

Edgar L. Strauss

Edgar L. Strauss (photo courtesy of Michael Strauss)

Genealogists can determine which of the seven draft registrations cards their ancestors filled out by noting the letters that were placed in front of the serial numbers for five of the seven registrations:

  • 2nd registration is preceded by an “S”
  • 3rd registration is preceded by a “T”
  • 4th registration (or Old Man’s Draft) is preceded by a “U”
  • 5th registration is preceded by an “N”
  • 6th registration is preceded by a “W”

Only the 1st and 7th were not lettered before the numbering system.  

Edgar L. Strauss-WWII Draft Card

Edgar L. Strauss-WWII Draft Card (image courtesy of Michael Strauss)

On the back of the card is stamped the local draft board number and location where the registrant went to fill out the form. These were cataloged nearly the same way as the previous war with the State, District Number, and local Board. The National Archives in College Park, MD has a master list of all the draft board numbers and locations alphabetically by state and territory. 

Edgar L. Strauss-WWII Draft Card-Back

Edgar L. Strauss-WWII Draft Card-Back (Image courtesy of Michael Strauss)

Contact the National Personnel Record Center in St. Louis, MO to obtain copies of the Draft Classifications for World War II and subsequent periods, and dockets to determine the status. During World War II, draft classifications were listed using first a “Roman Numeral and then a Letter” giving the status of each registrant.  

Some of the more common Classifications included:  

  • I-A  Fit for military service (could be inducted into service)
  • II-B  Deferred necessary to National Defense
  • III-A  Service deferred to hardship/Dependents
  • III-B  Occupation vital to War Effort
  • IV-D  Minister of religion
  • IV-E   Conscientious Objector
  • IV-F  Rejected For Military Service

Image above: WWII Draft Classification List including Edgar L Strauss – Order #1495. (Courtesy of Michael Strauss)

For a complete listing of all of the classifications for World War I through World War II and including post-war service for the Vietnam and Korean warm, contact the college at Swarthmore University in Pennsylvania. They have recorded each of the listings along with explanations. Once this is done, contact the Archives in College Park, MD to obtain other Selective Service records. All records are part of Records Group 147

Military History at Genealogy GemsResources for Learning More About World War I and Military History

Move backward in time from World War II to the Great War with Michael’s article Deciphering Draft Registration Cards for Genealogy: World War I.

Then, click the image on the right to head to our comprehensive collection of articles on military history. 

Author: Michael Strauss, AG

Author: Michael Strauss, AG

Michael Strauss, AG is the principal owner of Genealogy Research Network and an Accredited Genealogist since 1995. He is a native of Pennsylvania and a resident of Utah and has been an avid genealogist for more than 30 years. Strauss holds a BA in History and is a United States Coast Guard veteran.

New Genealogy Records this week feature WWI Military Records

U.S. military records and more are making headlines this week for new genealogy records online. Explore WWI and military records for free at FamilySearch.org. Then head over to Fold3 to check out their updated WWII records. Various other U.S. collections are included, so take a look and discover your ancestors all across the U.S.

Featured: WWI & Military Records for U.S.

We are delighted by these new WWI and military records now available at FamilySearch.org. This genealogy giant records website is one of our favorites, and accessing their records is always free! In order to access the records, you’ll need to create a free FamilySearch account. Click here to read about why you should go ahead and create that free account – and use it!

  • Alabama, World War I Service Cards, 1917-1919: “Index to a card roster of Alabamians who served in the United States Army, Navy, Coast Guard, or Marines during World War I from 1917 to 1919. Each soldier has one or two cards giving information on his/her military service, such as name, serial number, residence, place and date of birth, and more.”
  • Georgia, Reconstruction Registration Oath Books, 1867-1868: “Registers typically contain each voters name, county of residence, date of registration, race, and an oath of allegiance to the United States. The oath of allegiance was required in order to register. Registered voters would then elect delegates to the state’s constitutional convention.”
  • Indiana, World War I, Enrollment Cards, 1919: “Index to a card roster of Indianans who served in the United States Army, Navy, Coast Guard, or Marines during World War I. Each soldier has one or two cards giving information on his/her military service, such as name, serial number, residence, place, and date of birth, and more.”
  • WWI at familysearchMississippi, World War I Army Veterans, Master alphabetical index, 1917-1918: “Index and images of original typescript located at the State Archives in Jackson, Mississippi of ex-servicemen of Mississippi. The index lists name of veteran, race, serial no., address, and county.”
  • Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917-1940: This updated collection contains “an index to veterans who served at any time during World War I and who made (or whose heirs made) pension or benefits claims of the Veterans Administration between 1917 and 1940. Each card contains the name of the veteran as well as other personal identifying information such as home address at the time of enlistment, date of birth, and date of death.”
  • Washington, World War I Veteran’s Compensation Fund Application Records, 1921-1925: Department of Veterans Affairs bonus records. They may contain the soldier’s name and rank, company, discharge date, occupation, date and place of birth, nearest relatives, and more.

WWII Records Updated at Fold3

More U.S. military records are available in Fold3’s newly updated WWII Draft Registration Cards collection. The collection now contains cards from Montana, Kansas, Pennsylvania, and Oregon. The cards in this collection are registration cards for the draft and do not necessarily indicate that the individual served in the military.

From the update description: “Information on the WWII Draft Registration Cards may include the man’s name, address, telephone number, age, place of birth, country of citizenship, name and address of the person who will always know the registrant’s address, employer’s name, place of employment, and a physical description of the registrant.”

Click here to browse the WWII Draft Registration Cards at Fold3. 

More U.S. Records Now Online

Additional new collections for U.S. records are now online at MyHeritage.com. First is the U.S. Naturalization Records, Northern California, 1852-1989. This collection of over half a million records features an index of naturalization records in Northern California district and circuit courts for the years 1852 to 1989. In records prior to 1906, a limited amount of information is available, often only the name of the petitioner, the name of the court, record number, the petitioner’s country of origin, and the date of naturalization. After 1906, you may see additional information such as the petitioner’s address, names and addresses of any witnesses, birth date, as well as date and place of arrival in the United States.

MyHeritage’s new collection of Massachusetts Newspapers, 1704-1974 contains a whopping 6 million pages in 239 titles from various cities and towns in throughout the state. You’ll see a particular emphasis on papers from Boston and surrounding locales. Produced by MyHeritage in partnership with the Boston Public Library, this extensive collection includes papers from the colonial era through the late 20th century.

More to learn military records

If you’ve got military ancestors, you’ll want a copy of The Genealogist’s Military Records Field Manual from the editors of Family Tree Magazine. This book guide will show you how to research military ancestors using records from the Civil War, World War I, the Vietnam War and other significant conflicts throughout US history. Inside, you’ll find tips for using genealogy websites to find and use draft registration records, service records and more. Click here to order yours today. 

Lacey Cooke

Lacey Cooke

Lacey has been working with Genealogy Gems since the company’s inception in 2007. Now, as the full-time manager of Genealogy Gems, she creates the free weekly newsletter, writes blogs, coordinates live events, and collaborates on new product development. No stranger to working with dead people, Lacey holds a degree in Forensic Anthropology, and is passionate about criminal justice and investigative techniques. She is the proud dog mom of Renly the corgi. 

Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links and Genealogy Gems will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on these links (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for supporting Genealogy Gems!

New Records at the Genealogy Giants Websites

Enjoy millions of new records from the ‘Genealogy Giants’ websites this week: Ancestry, FamilySearch, Findmypast, and MyHeritage! New collections are now available for England, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Denmark. Also new are two collections of WWII Holocaust records. 

Genealogy Giants new records

England Records at Findmypast & Ancestry

A massive amount of new records at the ‘Genealogy Giants’ websites were published this week. First up are millions of new English records collections. We’ll start with Findmypast’s new databases:

Surrey, England

  • Lay Subsidies 1524-1645: early taxation records from the Tudor and Jacobean periods.
  • Court Cases 1391-1835: The records contain cases from four courts and will give you the necessary references for accessing the original records in The National Archives.
  • Wills & Probate Index, 1470-1856: The area covered includes the old county of Surrey in the southeast of England, which contains parts of South London.

British Army Records

Next, we head to Ancestry for even more new English record collections.

Lastly, FamilySearch has a new collection of Essex Parish Registers, 1538-1997. This collection contains christening, marriage, and burial entries.

Ireland – Findmypast

New at Findmypast for Ireland are British Army, Irish Regimental Enlistment Registers 1877-1924. This collection has enlistment registers from five Irish regiments serving in the British Army. The regiments included in these records are Connaught Rangers, Leinster Regiment, Royal Dunlin Fusiliers, Royal Irish Regiment, and Royal Munster Fusiliers.

A new Irish newspaper title has also been added at Findmypast: the Carrickfergus Advertiser 1884 – 1919. The collection currently contains over 1,300 issues and will be updated further in the future.

Netherlands Public Records at FamilySearch

New at FamilySearch: Netherlands Archival Indexes, Public Records. This collection contains nearly 3 million records that cover events like population registration, emigration and immigration, military enrollment and more.

Denmark – 1930 Census Free at FamilySearch

The Denmark Census, 1930 is now available for free at FamilySearch! “Commonly indexed fields include principle name, locality data, gender, marital status, and relationship to head of household.” The images and index were provided in partnership with MyHeritage.

World War II Holocaust Records and MyHeritage and Ancestry

New at MyHeritage are Auschwitz Death Certificates, 1941-1943. Information listed includes name, birth date, death date, birthplace, residence, and religion. The information originates from the Auschwitz Sterbebücher (Death Books).

Ancestry also has a new collection of Romania select Holocaust Records 1940-1945 (USHMM). This collection is primarily in Romanian, but may also be in Hungarian. It was indexed by World Memory Project contributors from the digitized holdings of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Get the most out of the top genealogy records websites

genealogy giants quick reference guide cheat sheet“Which genealogy records membership website should I use?” It’s one of the most-asked questions in genealogy. There are so many features on each site–and an apples-to-apples comparison is laden with challenges. But Genealogy Gems Contributing Editor Sunny Morton has the answers for you in the jammed-packed Genealogy Giants cheat sheet. Use it to quickly and easily compare all of the most important features of the four biggest international genealogy records membership websites: Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, Findmypast.com, and MyHeritage.com. Then consult it every time your research budget, needs or goals change. Tables, bulleted lists, and graphics make this guide as easy to use as it is informative. Click here to learn more and grab your copy.

Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links and Genealogy Gems will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on these links (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for supporting the free Genealogy Gems podcast and blog!

Denmark Census Records: This Week in New & Updated Genealogy Records

Denmark Census Records are new at FamilySearch this week. Other new and updated genealogy records include new vital records for England, Catholic Parish records for Scotland, and various unique collections like WWII records for New Zealand, French Polynesian vital records, and military records and more for the United States.

Denmark Census records Online

Denmark Census Records

FamilySearch.org now has Denmark Census collections for the following years: 1860, 1870, 1880, 1890, 1901, & 1906. These indexes (provided by MyHeritage) are totally free to explore at FamilySearch, and the images were provided previously from the National Archives of Denmark.

England Wills & Probate

New at Findmypast is an index of over 229,000 Lancashire Wills & Probate 1457-1858 records. This index of more than 229,000 records will give you details about the type of material available, the probate year, and your ancestor’s occupation and residence.

Also new from Findmypast this week are large records for Herefordshire. You can search indexes for Baptisms starting in the early 1500s, Marriages 1538-1936Burials spanning four centuries, and Wills 1517-1700.

Scotland: Catholic Parish Records

An extensive collection of browsable Scottish Roman Catholic Parish records is now available at Findmypast. It consists of all eight Scottish dioceses: Aberdeen, Argyll & The Isles, Dunkeld, Galloway, Glasgow, Motherwell, St Andrews & Edinburgh, and Paisley. Records begin as early as 1736 and continue until 1942.

New Zealand WWII Records

The Auckland War Memorial Museum has made over 100,000 WWII records available free online. From a recent press release: “Of the 140,000 New Zealanders dispatched to serve overseas in WWII, 104,000 of them served with the 2NZEF. Auckland Museum is now making these WWII Army personnel records publicly accessible through Online Cenotaph.”

French Polynesia: Vital Records

New this week at FamilySearch: Civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths for French Polynesia, 1843-1999. Original records are located with the Tribunal Civil, Papeete, Tahiti.

United States Military Collections & More

Japanese internment camps. Now available at FamilySearch.org: War Relocation Authority Centers, Final Accountability Rosters, 1942-1946. From the collection description: “Digital images of originals are held by the National Archives at College Park, Maryland. These rosters are alphabetical lists of evacuees housed in relocation centers from 1945-1946. This project was completed in cooperation with Densho: The Japanese American Legacy Project.”

Audio recordings. Check out The Great 78 Project! You can listen to this collection of 78rpm records and cylinder recordings released in the early 20th century. These recordings were contributed to Internet Archive by users through the Open Source Audio collection. The Internet Archive has digitized many.

Montana. A new Birth Index 1870-1986 is available at Ancestry.com. The Death Index 1907-2015 has also been updated.  These records come from the State of Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. Copies of the actual certificates may be ordered from the Office of Vital Statistics.

Virginia. Also new at Ancestry.com are Virginia Vital Records, 1660-1923. Indexed information may include primary names and names of family members, as well as birth, marriage, death, and burial information. This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors.

North Carolina. From the State Archives of North Carolina: New Veterans Oral History Collection Online. “The interviews, conducted since 2015 as audio interviews, are part of the Military Collection’s North Carolina Veterans Oral History Program, whose goal is to capture and provide access to the memories and experiences of the military servicemen and servicewomen from North Carolina, preserving them for the future scholarship.”

 

Be sure to share this post with your genealogy friends and groups so they can explore these wonderful new collections!

 

 


Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and Genealogy Gems will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on these links (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for supporting Genealogy Gems!

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