Working-Class Roots? British Trade Union Records Now at FindMyPast

construction_tools_cross_icon_400_wht_15780Do you have ancestors who may have been part of a British Trade Union? They could have been carpenters, joiners, cabinetmakers, lithographic artists, engravers, printers, paper makers, railway servants, watermen, bargement, lightermen, woodworkers, newspaper proofreaders, school teachers, compositors, printers, boilermakers and even local government workers.  Explore these new British Trade Union records at findmypast:

British Trade Union Membership Registers are now available to browse–257 volumes of them! According to FindMyPast, “These consist of digitized images of original records books from nine different unions. The documents [like admission books, annual reports and membership lists] include details about individual members that can enrich your genealogical research such as payments made, benefits received, names of spouses, profiles of leading members, directories of secretaries and details of Union activities and proceedings.”

Britain, Trade Union Members, Service and Casualties is a new related dataset with over 61,000 entries. It contains the details of members from 18 different unions. The records are a collection of union documents from the war years and do not solely feature individuals who participated in the First World War. The records include daily trade union news and business and frequently acknowledge members who have left for war or joined the services. Many include pages of the union’s Roll of Honour and some include photographs of the members or feature short profiles about specific members. The most extraordinary of the records is the Workers’ Union Record, which regularly features full pages of photographs of service men.

check_mark_circle_400_wht_14064Here’s a tip: Obituaries can be an excellent source of information about an ancestor’s working life. Click here to see an example of my own relative’s working life in his obituary. Click here to read more about finding recent obituaries, which are coming online in droves (by the million, in newly-indexed and/or digitized format). Learn more about finding obituaries (online or offline) in Lisa Louise Cooke’s book Find Your Family History in Newspapers, available in print or e-book editions.

 

Europeana for Genealogy: WWI Digital Archive, Newspapers and More

Europeana digital archive WWIEuropeana is a digital doorway to European cultural heritage that everyone with European roots will find interesting and enlightening.

Funded by the European Commission and Ministries of Culture in 21 member states, the Europeana website is home to nearly: 19 million images; 13 million texts (including books, archival papers and newspapers); half a million each sound and video files and 16,000 3-D models of objects.

Europeana’s World War I Digital Archive

A major part of Europeana is its World War I digital archive. As the site describes, Europeana “has been running World War I family history roadshows around Europe, helping to digitize people’s stories, documents and memorabilia from 1914-1918. People can upload their own digitized items onto the Europeana1914-1918.eu site. In 2014, the centenary of WWI, 100,000 images and scans have already come into Europeana, creating a virtual memory bank that reflects all perspectives on the conflict.”

Europeana 1989 and the Fall of the Iron Curtain

A sister site, Europeana 1989, collects “stories, pictures, films relating to the events of 1989 in Central and Eastern Europe.” You can upload your own materials or, as the site says, “let us take you on a journey through the Fall of the Iron Curtain, see it from all sides and draw your own conclusions.”

The top countries to supply images to Europeana are Germany, France and the Netherlands, each with more than 3.5 million items, and then Spain, Sweden, Italy and the U.K. The site attracted 4 million unique visitors last year. Click here to read a guide to using Europeana for genealogy and local history research.

Historical Newspapers at Europeana

Historical newspapers are another great source for genealogical and historical research. Europeana now includes the Europeana Newspapers collection which features hundreds of newspaper titles and millions of newspaper pages, spanning four centuries and 20 countries from across Europe. In addition to viewing digitized newspaper pages, many now support readable text files. These files allow you to keyword search within their contents. You can zero in on these files by using feature called ‘Search for records with full text’.

Europeana’s Newspaper Collection offers a variety of ways to access and use the content including:

It’s worth investing a few minutes in reviewing the historical newspapers guides at Europeana In order to get the most from the collection. The helpful guides explain how to navigate, search, find, and reuse Newspapers content.

More at Europeana

Other Europeana links to try:

  • The Europeana portal is the search engine for the digitised collections of museums, libraries, archives and galleries across Europe.
  • Our Virtual Exhibitions feature highlights from the collection.
  • Follow the Europeana blog to keep updated on the projects and progress of this rapidly-growing resource for European family history.

 

Ancestry.com Search Features Get an Update

Like anyone else who sells a popular product, Ancestry.com is always tweaking little things to improve the user’s experience. They’ve been working on some updates, some of which you may have noticed on the site over the summer and some of which are rolling out gradually over the next couple of weeks:

1. A simple search form with the check-box option to match all terms exactly.

2. Search results shown grouped by category. This is great–no more scrolling through lots of results when you’re looking for specific kinds of records. This sort feature also reminds us to check categories we may be overlooking, like city directories and local histories. These first two-features are opt-in: learn how to do it here and see what it looks like below:

Ancestry simple search3. A summary box at the top of search results showing what you’ve already attached to your ancestor. The list is sorted alpha-numerically so you can see easily which records have been found and where there might be gaps (see what it looks like below). You can collapse this list if you want to give you more room to see the search results.

Ancestry consolidated list

4. A filter that removes search results similar to types you already found for that ancestor. For example, if you already have a death record for someone, the filter will remove other death records. “Smart filtering” is an optional feature, so you can still choose to see the full list. Read more about it here and see it here:

Ancestry smart filteringAncestry says they will provide plenty of feedback opportunities for these new features. Don’t be shy: tell them what you like (and what you don’t) and why!

 

 

3 Reasons You Need the New Version of Google Earth Just Released

Google celebrated Earth Day by releasing Google Earth 7.1 and announcing some great new content! And there are three reasons you will want to make the upgrade:

1. New Hands-Free Navigation Technology
The big news with version 7.1 is Leap Motion support, a touch-free 3d technology that lets you “navigate Google earth with simple hand gestures.” The Leap Motion Controller ($79.99) will start shipping mid-July, so you’ve got some time to get to know Google Earth a little better before you start flying around in it like this:

You KNOW I have to get me some of that!

2. More 3D City Views
There’s also exciting new 3D data in Google Earth, most notably for New York City. But there’s also more imagery for other cities around the world: Innsbruck, Austria; Dijon, France; Cagliari, Italy and the Spanish cities of San Sebastian, Santander, Pamplona, Manresa and Burgos. Other U.S. cities with 3D coverage include Miami, FL;  Houston, TX; Orlando, FL; Encinitas, CA and Spokane, WA.

3. The Addition of the 50th Country to Google Maps’ popular Street View Feature
You can now view 50 countries buy lasix medication online with Google Maps’ popular Street View feature. The newest nations to be added are Hungary and Lesotho (a tiny country within South Africa), and there’s new or updated coverage for Poland, Romania, France, Italy, Russia, Singapore, Thailand and other locations worldwide. Google calls this “the largest single update of Street View imagery we’ve ever pushed, including new and updated imagery for nearly 350,000 miles of roads across 14 countries.”

Help for Using Google Earth for Genealogy
How can you access these fabulous features, both for fun virtual travel and for seriously fun genealogy research? Upload the latest version of Google Earth for free (for PC, Mac or Linux). Then check out my Google Earth for Genealogy 2-CD Bundle. There’s a reason is this one of my best-selling Google Earth for Genealogy Bundlepresentations: Google Earth is one of the best genealogy research tools around! In these CD presentations, I show you how to locate and map ancestral homesteads; use historical map overlays; identify where old photos were taken; create 3D models of ancestral locations; create custom family history tours and much more.

40 Million New Genealogy Records To Help You Locate Your Family History

In December the genealogy records website Findmypast.com released new and exclusive historical records that highlight significant life events of the past.  According to the the company, more than 40 million new records are included.  Here are all the details from their press release:

LOS ANGELES (Dec. 17, 2012) – “The number of records released offers findmypast.com’s users a staggering amount of new data, ranging from exclusive United Kingdom records from as early as 1790 to modern-day vital records from the United States that will add new layers of information for researchers,” said D. Joshua Taylor, lead genealogist for findmypast.com, “Findmypast.com is constantly expanding our collections with thousands of new records being added each month. Moving into 2013, we look forward to increasing our record offerings to include rarer, more exclusive materials, in our dedication to provide the most comprehensive family history resource available.”

Many of the new records that can only be accessed through findmypast.com offer a unique glimpse into history. The Harold Gillies Plastic Surgery set, dating back to World War I, contains fascinating records of some of the world’s first restorative plastic surgery, while the White Star Line Officers’ Books include officer records from the Titanic.

Newly added employment and institutional records including the records of the Merchant Navy Seaman (aka the Merchant Marines) provide unique color to family history that can’t be created from just names and dates. Other record sets include probates and wills, such as the Cheshire Wills and Probates, which often offer crucial clues to link North American family trees back to the United Kingdom.

The full set of exclusive records recently released by findmypast.com includes:

United Kingdom Court & Probate

  • ·   Cheshire Wills and Probate
  • ·   Suffolk Beneficiary Index

United Kingdom Education & Work

  • ·   Cheshire Workhouse Records, Admissions and Discharges
  • ·   Cheshire Workhouse Records, Religious Creeds
  • ·   Derbyshire Workhouse Records
  • ·   Match Workers Strike
  • ·   White Star Line Officers’ Books

United Kingdom Military

  • ·   Army List, 1787
  • ·   Army List, 1798
  • ·   British Officers taken Prisoners of War, 1914-1918
  • ·   De Ruvigny’s Roll of Honor
  • ·   Grenadier Guards, 1656
  • ·   Harold Gillies Plastic Surgery – WWI
  • ·   Harts Army List, 1840
  • ·   Harts Army List, 1888
  • ·   Manchester Employee’s Roll of Honor, 1914-1916
  • ·   Merchant Navy Seamen (aka Merchant Marines)
  • ·   Napoleonic War Records, 1775-1817
  • ·   WWI Naval Casualties
  • ·   Paddington Rifles
  • ·   Prisoners of War, 1939-1945 British Navy & Air Force Officers
  • ·   Prisoners of War, 1939-1945 Officers of Empire serving in British Army
  • ·   Royal Hospital, Chelsea: documents of soldiers awarded deferred pensions, 1838-1896 (WO 131)
  • ·   Royal Hospital, Chelsea: pensioners’ discharge documents 1760-1887, (WO 121)
  • ·   Royal Hospital, Chelsea: pensioners’ discharge documents, foreign regiments, 1816-1817 (WO 122)
  • ·   Royal Hospital, Kilmainham: pensioners’ discharge documents, 1773-1822 (known as WO 119 at the National Archives)
  • ·   Royal Navy Officers Medal Roll, 1914-1920
  • ·   War Office: Imperial Yeomanry, soldiers’ documents, South African War, 1899-1902 (WO 128)
  • ·   WWII POWs – British held in German Territories

In addition to the exclusive records sets, this recent release includes additional records from the United States, Australia and Ireland. An update to the World War I Draft Cards collection provides registrations and actual signatures of more than 11 million young Americans from the beginning of the twentieth century.

Additional records released include:

United States Military

  • ·   Japanese-Americans Relocated during WWII
  • ·   Korean War Casualty File
  • ·   Korean War Deaths
  • ·   Korean War Prisoners of War
  • ·   Korean War Prisoners of War (Repatriated)
  • ·   U.S. Army Casualties, 1961-1981
  • ·   Vietnam Casualties Returned Alive
  • ·   Vietnam War Casualties
  • ·   Vietnam War Deaths
  • ·   WWI Draft Cards
  • ·   WWII Prisoners of War

Life Events

UNITED STATES:

  • ·   Kentucky Birth Records, 1911-2007
  • ·   Kentucky Death Records Index, 1911-1999
  • ·   Kentucky Marriage Records Index, 1973-1999
  • ·   Texas Divorce Records Index, 1968-2010
  • ·   Texas Marriage Records, 1968-2010

AUSTRALIA

  • ·   Northern Territory Anglican Baptisms and Confirmations, 1900-1947
  • ·   Northern Territory Anglican Burials, 1900-1968
  • ·   Northern Territory Anglican Marriages, 1902-1953

IRELAND

  • ·   Irish Catholic Church Directories, 1836-37

Census Land and Surveys

 AUSTRALIA

  • ·   Northern Territory Census, 1881-1921
  • ·   Northern Territory Electoral Rolls, 1895-1940 

Institutions & Organizations

AUSTRALIA

  • ·   Northern Territory Parliamentary Index, 1884-1890

Newspapers, Directories & Social History

AUSTRALIA

  • ·   Northern Territory Section of the Queensland Post Office Directory, 1920-1921

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