We Dig These Gems! New Genealogy Records Online

We dig these gems new genealogy records onlineEvery Friday, we highlight new genealogy records online. Scan these posts for content that may include your ancestors. Use these records to inspire your search for similar records elsewhere. Always check our Google tips at the end of each list: they are custom-crafted each week to give YOU one more tool in your genealogy toolbox.

This week:

ALABAMA COUNTY MARRIAGES. Over 700,000 names have been added to FamilySearch’s index of Alabama county marriage records (1809-1950). Some of the index entries have images.

ENGLAND PARISH RECORDS. Indexes to baptisms, marriages and burials from Derbyshire (1538-1910) and images of original records of Yorkshire baptisms, bishop’s transcripts of baptismsmarriage bannsmarriages, bishop’s transcripts of marriages, burials and bishop’s transcripts of burials (1500s-19oos, dates vary) are now searchable on FindMyPast.

IOWA HISTORICAL JOURNALS. The State Historical Society of Iowa has posted back issues of The Annals of Iowa dating to 1863. This is a quarterly, peer-reviewed historical journal. Use the search box to see whether your Iowa ancestors, hometowns or other family connections (schools, churches, friends, etc) are mentioned in more than 150 years’ worth of articles.

RUSSIAN WWII SOLDIERS. According to this article, “Thanks to a new online state initiative, families of Russian WWII combatants…are now able to give their forebears the recognition they deserve, 70 years on. The Zvyezdy Pobedy project, organized by the Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper, allows the descendants of those who fought in the Red Army in WWII to find out whether their ancestors were among the recipients of over 38 million orders and medals awarded during the war….There are more than 8,200 names listed in the database, which can be read in Russian at rg.ru/zvezdy_pobedy.”

U.S. CIVIL WAR RECORDS. These aren’t new, necessarily, but until April 30, Civil War records on Fold3 are FREE to search! Among the 43 million items are (of course!) military records, personal accounts, historic writings, photographs and maps. Both Union and Confederate records are represented.

check_mark_circle_400_wht_14064 new genealogy records online

Google tip of the week: Need to read web text in Russian or another language you don’t know? Use Google Translate to translate short passages or even entire webpages! Copy text or a URL (for full page translation) into the left box, then click English and Translate on the right. You can even play back an audio version of the foreign text to hear how it sounds! Learn more in Lisa Louise Cooke’s The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox. The 2nd edition, newly published in 2015, is fully revised and updated with the best Google has to offer–which is a LOT.

Set Sail from Norway to Australia: New and Updated Genealogical Records

New and updated genealogy collections from all around the world are just a click away! Sail your way from Norway across the Atlantic to the U.S. state of Michigan, then head across the Pacific to Korea and end your virtual voyage in Australia with the Victoria Passenger lists.

dig these new record collections

Norway Genealogy Records – Probate

FamilySearch has a new collection this week titled Norway, Probate Index Cards, 1640-1903. Only a small number (194,981) have been indexed. These are not digital images, but like the title says, it is an index.

These index cards were created by the regional archives in Norway. Not all regional archives created an index so, the collection does not cover all of Norway. FamilySearch has indexes for the following counties:

Friday_Post_Sept_2

  • Akershus
  • Aust-Agder
  • Buskerud
  • Hedmark
  • Oppland
  • Østfold
  • Rogaland
  • Telemark
  • Vest-Agder
  • Vestfold

Each index card may include the following:

  • Probate district
  • Volume (inclusive dates) and page number
  • Farm name
  • Parish
  • Date of probate
  • Name of the deceased & spouse
  • Name of children/heirs
  • Decision of the court

United States – Michigan – Oral Histories

The Ypsilanti Library has just launched their African American Oral History Archive. It’s been 40 years, but dozens of leaders of the Ypsilanti African American community were interviewed about their personal experiences during the Great Depression, WWII, and the Civil Rights movement. Now, these interviews are being digitized and will be made available online.

Although only one interview is available at this time, over the next 9 months, historians will be putting more of their stories online at the A.P. Marshall African American Oral History Archive website. You can enjoy the first interview with Eugene Beatty, a track athlete who nearly made the U.S. Olympic team in 1932, now.

In addition to interview recordings, the online archive will include a transcript with photographs of the subjects.

Korea – Civil Service Records and Genealogies

Wow! It has been a long time coming, but finally, we have two new database collections for Korea. FamilySearch.org has digitized over 2 million records for these collections. The Korea Collection of Genealogies, 1200-2014 was added this week and boasts family biographies, genealogies, and histories. The records are in Korean and Chinese, but for translation tools, see the section titled For Help Reading These Records.

These genealogies are not yet indexed, so you will need to use the browse feature we shared with you last month. You can read that article here.

The second collection for Korea is titled Korea Civil Service Examinations and Records of Officials and Employees, 1390-1900Korea_Record. This is a rather small collection of just over 4,000 records.

This collection will include records from Jeollabuk-do and Jeonju-si, South Korea. The records are in Korean and Chinese, dated from 1392 to 1910, and include Korean civil service examinations from the Joseon Dynasty.

The civil service examinations under the Joseon dynasty were known as the gwageo. These were very difficult tests  and central to education during the Joseon dynasty. The test assessed the applicant’s knowledge of Chinese classics and, occasionally, technical skills. Passing the test qualified the individual to enter into the higher governmental or aristocratic positions.

The civil service examination may contain some valuable information, such as:

  • Name of Employee
  • Date and Place of Birth
  • Names of Parents
  • Name of Spouse
  • Residence

Australia – Victoria – Passenger Lists

New from Findmypast, Victoria Coastal Passenger Lists 1852-1924 is the largest release of Australian records to date! These passenger lists cover the great Gold Rush and contains 3.3 million records. Both transcripts and digital images of the lists are found in the collection. Generally speaking, you will find the following information:

  • First and last name(s)
  • Sex, age, and birth year
  • Marital status
  • Occupation
  • Year of arrival
  • Ship name
  • Departure port and date
  • Arrival port and date

The early 1850s marked great gold discoveries in Australia. People immigrated to the area in masses to stake their claims. The population exploded and by 1871, 1.7 million people had immigrated to Victoria. Perhaps you always wondered what brought your family to Australia. This collection may finally provide the answer!

More Gems on New and Updated Genealogical Records

WorldCat Gets a Major Addition: New Genealogy Records Online this Week

England Emigrants and More: New Genealogy Records Online

How to Use Google Image Search to Identify Old Photos on Smartphones and Tablets – Free Video

How to use Google image search to identify old photos, that’s what we are covering today! These tech-tip videos are my way of sharing tips and tricks that will save you time and add to your genealogy and family history research success. You don’t have to love genealogy to put these tips into action! So join me as I share a little tech-tip on how to use Google image search to identify old photos on smartphone and tablets.

how to use Google image search to identify old photos

My new tech-tip video posted to the Genealogy Gems YouTube channel is all about how to use Google image search to identify old photos. You may remember, I posted a similar video on how to upload an image to Google on your laptop or home computer, run a search to find other images that match, and most importantly, identify that image. After watching that video, Doris wrote me the following email:

“I just enjoyed your video about Google Images. It seems that it won’t work on my iPhone 6S +. I have to wait until I am on my laptop, later. What a great tip! Thanks for all you do to help us make our computer life easier and more fun.”

Well Doris, you don’t have to wait to get back home to do a Google image search! This video will show you, step-by-step, how to search for images right from your mobile device.

After watching this helpful video, Amie, our Content Creator here at Genealogy Gems, shared with me this tidbit:

“Lisa, I just wanted to share what I did after watching your video, “How to Google Search Images – Smartphone and Tablets.” When I had a little wait time, I went into my FamilySearch app on my phone and found the pictures I had saved to my FamilySearch Tree. Then, using your instructions, I looked to see if any of those ancestor photos were found anywhere else on the web. Guess what? I made a cousin connection with one of the photos. I found a cousin had put Great-Grandpa’s picture on her Pinterest page! Just another genealogy success story!”

And there you have it! By learning a few tips, you can use your smartphone or tablet for searching Google images just like Doris and Amie. A follow-up email from Doris after watching this video just made my day:

“I watched this video yesterday while I was riding in the car. What a fun surprise! I tried it and it worked! Thanks for doing this for me. I am grinning right now just thinking about it.”

You are so welcome, Doris. I hope that others will give it a try, too.

Thanks for watching and reading, friends…and keep the comments and emails coming. I love to hear from you!

Learn More About Google Image Search and Everything Google for Genealogy

Genealogists Google Toolbox 2nd edition cover

Ready to learn more about how to use Google for genealogy and mining it for your own genealogical treasures? The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox, is your go-to resource! It’s available now both in print and e-book formatIn its chapters–fully revised and updated –you’ll learn more about all these Google tools and more. Better yet, after you learn how to use these tools for family history research, you’ll find yourself using them to find all kinds of things, from recipes to trivia, to a manual for your old car.

 

A New Place to Look for Your Immigrant Ancestor’s Passenger List

S. MacMillen monument Scottish

By S.MacMillen (Own work) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons.

Been looking for an immigrant ancestor to the United States? See if they’re among the nearly 3 million passengers to Boston or the nearly 850,000 passengers to Philadelphia recently added to FamilySearch.org.

The time period covered by these indexes includes an enormous wave of immigrants, mostly from southern and Eastern Europe. Italians, Portuguese, Russians (including Jews), Poles, Slavs and more entered the U.S. by the millions. Record content varies, but may include ports of departure and entry, age, birthplace, gender, marital status, occupation, citizenship or last country of resident, contact information for loved ones in the Old World or in the U.S., intended destination, and even a physical description. Images of the actual record can be viewed.

Also new at FamilySearch are nearly 1.5 million indexed records from the Mexico, Distrito Federal, Civil Registration, 1832-2005, collection and over half a million indexed records from the Hungary Catholic Church Records, 1636-1895, collection. See the table below for the full list of updates. Search these diverse collections and more than 3.5 billion other records for free at FamilySearch.org.

Collection

Indexed Records

Digital Images

Comments

England, Lancashire, Cheshire, Yorkshire, Parish Registers, 1603-1910 35,896 0 Added indexed records to an existing collection.
Germany, Prussia, Brandenburg, Eberswalde, City Directories, 1890-1919 0 2,836 New browsable image collection.
Hungary Catholic Church Records, 1636-1895 572,243 0 Added indexed records to an existing collection.
Mexico, Distrito Federal, Civil Registration, 1832-2005 1,452,770 0 Added indexed records to an existing collection.
Netherlands, Limburg Province, Church Records, 1542-1910 0 131,396 New browsable image collection.
Russia, Samara Church Books, 1869-1917 88,149 0 Added indexed records to an existing collection.
Ukraine, Kyiv Orthodox Consistory Church Book Duplicates, 1840-1845 129,110 0 Added indexed records to an existing collection.
U.S., Florida, Marriages, 1830-1993 1,012,025 720,622 Added indexed records and images to an existing collection.
U.S., Iowa, State Census, 1905 1,445,414 0 New indexed record collection.
U.S., Massachusetts, Boston Passenger Lists, 1891-1943 2,829,077 0 Added indexed records to an existing collection.
U.S., Massachusetts, State Vital Records, 1841-1920 755,766 0 Added indexed records to an existing collection.
U.S., Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Passenger Lists, 1883-1945 874,690 0 Added indexed records to an existing collection.

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