by Lisa Cooke | Apr 1, 2016 | 01 What's New, Records & databases
Here’s our weekly roundup of new genealogy records online. This week: Australia, Belgium, Czech Republic, England, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Wales and U.S. passport 
and homestead records.
AUSTRALIA – QUEENSLAND. Ancestry.com has added several indexes for Queensland, Australia: Prison and Reformatory Indexes (1824-1936), Property Indexes (1842-1895), Index to Aliens (1913) and Occupational Indexes (1857-1922). These indexes all come from the Queensland State Archives. You can search them for free at Ancestry.com or from the QSA website.
BELGIUM CIVIL REGISTRATIONS. FamilySearch has updated its civil registration collections for several parts of Belgium (dating back to the 1500s for some areas): Antwerp, Brabant, East Flanders, Hainaut, Liège and West Flanders. According to FamilySearch, these collections include “civil registration(s) of births, marriages and deaths from the Belgium National Archives. The collection also includes marriage proclamations, marriage supplements, and some original indexes.”
CZECH REPUBLIC SCHOOL REGISTERS. Over a million browsable digital images from the Opava State Regional Archive have been added to a free collection of Czech Republic School Registers (1799-1953) at FamilySearch.org. “School registers contain the full name for a child, birth date, place of birth, country, religion and father’s full name, and place of residence.”
ENGLAND AND WALES SCHOOL RECORDS. Findmypast.com has just added about 687,000 new school admission records for 41 counties in England and Wales (1870-1914). Original records may include names, residence, birth data, school name and location, parents’ names, admission information, father’s occupation, any exemption from religious instruction, previous school attendance, illnesses/absence and even exam results.
ENGLAND – CORNWALL. Several new collections on Cornwall are searchable at Ancestry.com: Congregational and Baptist Church Registers (1763-1923), Workhouse Admission and Discharge Records (1839-1872), Militia and Sea Fencibles Index (1780 – 1831), Bodmin Gaol Records (1821-1899), Penzance Dispensary Admissions (1828-1841), Truro Police Charge Books (1846-1896) and Inmates at St. Lawrence’s Asylum, Bodmin (1840-1900).
GERMANY VITAL RECORDS. Ancestry.com has recently added a new collection of death records for Mannheim. It has also updated collections of birth records for Hamburg; birth, marriage and death records for Regen County (dating to 1876) and birth, marriage and death records for Oldenberg.
JAPAN GENEALOGIES AND VILLAGE RECORDS. FamilySearch.org has added nearly a quarter million browsable images to its collection of Japanese village records (dating back to 709 AD) and nearly 60,000 browsable records to its collection of Japanese genealogies (dating to 850 AD).
MEXICO CIVIL REGISTRATIONS. Ancestry.com has updated its collections of indexed images to Chihuahua, Mexico birth, marriage and death records from civil registrations. The collections are in Spanish, so use Spanish names and locations.
U.S. HOMESTEAD RECORDS. Ancestry.com’s collection of U.S. Homestead Records (1861-1936) has recently been updated. According to the collection description, “Homestead files consist of unbound documents that include final certificates, applications with land descriptions, affidavits showing proof of citizenship, register and receiver receipts, notices and final proofs, and testimonies of witnesses. These documents are part of the Records of the Bureau of Land Management (formerly known as the General Land Office), Record Group (RG) 49. The collection currently includes records from Arizona, Indiana, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, and part of Iowa. Additional records will be added in future updates.”
U.S. PASSPORTS. Nearly 40,000 indexed names have been added to FamilySearch.org’s free collection of United States Passport Applications (1795-1925). These are a fantastic resource for finding immigrant ancestors and those who traveled a lot. Click here to learn more about U.S. passport records.
Thanks for sharing this post with others who have ancestors from these parts of the world. You’re a gem!
by Lisa Cooke | Mar 25, 2016 | 01 What's New, Records & databases
Here’s our weekly roundup of new genealogy records online. Do you see anything you should be searching for your ancestors?
Featured: U.S. – SOUTH DAKOTA CENSUS. The 1945 South Dakota state census collection at Ancestry.com has been updated. According to a FamilySearch.org collection description (where it can also be searched for free), “This 1945 South Dakota State Census is an every-name list of the state’s inhabitants as of 1945. The records are handwritten on printed cards and are arranged alphabetically by surname. People enumerated in the census are recorded individually; the census records do not show individuals in family groups.” It’s wonderful to see census records access pushing past that 1940 blackout!
AUSTRALIA VITAL RECORDS. Findmypast.com has updated collections of birth, marriage and death records for Western Australia. Transcripts for all three record sets appear to be taken from original civil registrations, which began in 1841.
SPAIN MUNICIPAL RECORDS. A free collection of Cádiz municipal records (1784-1956) has been updated with over 155,000 new browsable images at FamilySearch.org. The full collection (some of which is indexed) includes “civil registration records, censuses, military records, and other miscellaneous records microfilmed and digitized at municipal archives in the province of Cádiz, Spain.”
U.S. – LOUISIANA WILLS/PROBATE. Ancestry.com’s collection of wills and estate records for Louisiana (1756-1984) has been updated. Indexed images represent nearly 3/4 of Louisiana parishes.
U.S. – NEW YORK CHURCH. Findmypast.com has updated its collection of New York State Religious Records, 1716-1914. Find indexed images of baptisms, marriages and deaths from dozens of churches from various denominations. You can even search by denomination, church name, county or full text.
U.S. – NORTH CAROLINA MARRIAGES. There’s a new index with over 53,000 entries from North Carolina civil marriage bonds and certificates (1763-1868) at FamilySearch.org. Click here to see a description of the index’s coverage.
U.S. – NORTH DAKOTA FUNERALS. An index to records from North Dakota funeral homes hosted by the Red River Genealogical Society is newly indexed at Ancestry.com and can be searched for free. (Click here to search the index on the host website.)
More Genealogy Record Gems
U.S. State Census Records: Capture Your Family History Between Federal Censuses
3 Strategies for Finding Catholic Church Records
U.S. Passport Applications: Finding Immigrant and Traveling Ancestors
by Lisa Cooke | Feb 19, 2016 | 01 What's New, Records & databases
Here’s our weekly roundup of new genealogy records online. Should you search for your ancestors in any of these databases?
BRITAIN, MERCHANT SEAMAN. Findmypast.com has added nearly a quarter million records to its 1918-1941 database of British Merchant Seaman.
IDAHO VITAL RECORDS. New indexes of Idaho births (1861-1911) and deaths (1938-1961) are now searchable for free at FamilySearch.org.
ILLINOIS DEATHS. Over 3.7 million records have been added to a free index of Cook County, Illinois deaths at FamilySearch.org. Cook County is home to the city of Chicago.
INDIANA CHURCH RECORDS. A new database of Indiana United Methodist Church Records
(1837-1970) is available at Ancestry.com. According to the collection description, “The registers may contain baptisms, marriages, burials, memberships, and lists of clergy.”
IRISH BIRTHS, BAPTISMS AND MARRIAGES. Complementing recent online Irish parish records collections are two databases of Non-conformist church records (meaning those not in alliance with the Church of Ireland) now at Findmypast: births/baptisms and marriages.
ONTARIO BIRTHS. FamilySearch has added over 125,000 indexed records to its collection of Ontario, Canada birth records.
UNITED STATES and NEW ZEALAND ARTICLES. Findmypast.com has updated its PERSI database with over 45,000 new indexed entries and images. Ten publications spanning 1883-1984 include articles covering several New Zealand and several U.S. states, including Georgia, Maine, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Utah.
VARIOUS MARRIAGE RECORDS. FamilySearch.org has published or updated several new free marriage records collections. Click here to see the full list, which includes British Columbia, Durham (England), Indiana, Kansas, Liberia, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma and Utah.
Don’t see the records you hoped to among these new genealogy records online? Click here to read a blog post on two powerful tools to help you search for elusive records.
by Lisa Cooke | Jun 5, 2013 | 01 What's New, FamilySearch, Records & databases
Millions of new images and indexed records are added to FamilySearch.org every week. But here’s one that particularly caught my eye: 5.6 million records from Massachusetts Land Records dating from 1620 to the 1980s.
Massachusetts Land Records, Hampshire County, sample deed from browsable record set at FamilySearch.org.
It’s a browsable collection of “land and property records from the Massachusetts Land Office and county courthouses. Records include land grants, patents, deeds, and mortgages. This collection includes all counties in Massachusetts.” Though these images aren’t indexed in FamilySearch per se, I noticed that when I clicked on a sample county (Hampshire), there were alphabetical deed indexes dating back as far as the records themselves. So it looks like in at least some cases, you’ll be able to browse those indexes and then find the deeds you want.
Looking for other new records just added to FamilySearch.org? Check out the table below.
|
|
| Collection |
Indexed Records |
Digital Images |
Comments |
| Austria, Seigniorial Records, 1537–1888 |
0 |
237,988 |
Added images to an existing collection. |
| Brazil, Piauí, Civil Registration, 1875-2012 |
0 |
116,423 |
Added images to an existing collection. |
| China, Cemetery Records, 1820-1983 |
0 |
72,747 |
New browsable image collection. |
| China, Collection of Genealogies, 1239-2011 |
0 |
204,422 |
Added images to an existing collection. |
| Honduras, Civil Registration, 1841-1968 |
0 |
337,367 |
New browsable image collection. |
| Luxembourg, Civil Registration, 1793-1923 |
0 |
84,251 |
Added images to an existing collection. |
| Peru, Amazonas, Civil Registration, 1939-1995 |
0 |
5,417 |
Added images to an existing collection. |
| Portugal, Beja, Catholic Church Records, 1550-1911 |
0 |
94,902 |
Added images to an existing collection. |
| Portugal, Braga, Priest Application Files (Genere et Moribus), 1596-1911 |
0 |
69,030 |
New browsable image collection. |
| Portugal, Évora, Civil Registration and Miscellaneous Records, 1554-1938 |
0 |
5,708 |
New browsable image collection. |
| Portugal, Viana do Castelo, Catholic Church Records, 1537-1909 |
0 |
83,446 |
Added images to an existing collection. |
| Switzerland, Fribourg, Census, 1811 |
0 |
2,387 |
New browsable image collection. |
| Switzerland, Fribourg, Census, 1818 |
0 |
2,369 |
New browsable image collection. |
| Switzerland, Fribourg, Census, 1834 |
0 |
2,436 |
New browsable image collection. |
| U.S., Hawaii, Honolulu Passenger Lists, 1900-1953 |
0 |
191,701 |
New browsable image collection. |
| U.S., Idaho, Gooding County Records, 1879-1962 |
0 |
52,108 |
New browsable image collection. |
| U.S., Maine, Piscataquis County, Deed Books, 1838-1902 |
0 |
56,970 |
New browsable image collection. |
| U.S., Massachusetts, Land Records, 1620-1986 |
0 |
5,766,135 |
New browsable image collection. |
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by Lisa Cooke | May 21, 2013 | 01 What's New, FamilySearch, Inspiration, iPad, Maps, Technology
A new app for FamilySearch.org users lets you map your ancestors’ birthplaces. It retrieves information about your ancestors from your data at FamilySearch.org. It’s called Family Map and it looks like this:
Family Map app for FamilySearch.org users.
While there are lots of maps online, it’s fun to see your relatives all mapped at once (with no extra effort from yourself). This tool is especially great for sharing your family history with relatives. They can see at a glance your family migration patterns, remark on the number of people who stayed in the old hometown (or didn’t) and put themselves in context.
Thanks to Devin Ashby at FamilySearch for tipping me off to this app. The app is FamilyMap – Scoutic and is available
on iTunes for $1.99.
