End 2016 on a high note with these new and updated genealogical record collections. Lisa soaked in Christmas tunes of Harlan County Kentucky’s pride and joy, Jordan Smith (winner of The Voice,) in a concert over the holidays. Harlan County can also be very proud of their incredible genealogical records. Today we are highlighting their county GenWeb page. This U.S. county GenWeb page has gone above and beyond in making Harlan County, Kentucky records accessible to the masses. Also this week, United Kingdom apprenticeship records, parish records, and Scotland mental health and prison records.
United States – Harlan County, Kentucky Records
This is not a new collection, though it may be new to you. Discovering the many U.S. GenWeb sites dedicated to genealogy is a great help to many. This week, we wanted to give a special hat’s off to the amazing work that Harlan County, Kentucky has done on their GenWeb page.
You will find digital images of people, places, schools, and newspaper clippings, but the best part is their extensive birth, marriage, and death indexes. The marriage records begin as early as 1818 and end about 1925. The birth record index begins in 1852 – 1940, though some years are missing. Lastly, the death records begin in 1852 – 1959, with a special collection on coal miners deaths.
Christian music superstar Michael W. Smith accompanies Jordan Smith singing “O Holy Night” in Dallas, Texas. 2016.
Court records
Tax records
Deeds
Wills
Military records
Bios
Family files
United Kingdom – Gloucester – Apprenticeship Records
The Gloucester Apprentices 1595-1700 at Findmypast contain over 20,000 apprentices, masters, and their relatives who were listed in the Calendar of the Registers of Apprentices of the City of Gloucester 1595-1700. The calendar has been digitized with optical character recognition (OCR), which allows you to search images of text for your ancestor’s name or a keyword.
Each record will list the apprentices trade, residence, the name of their father, the name of their master, the name of their master’s wife, the length of their term and the amount they were paid at the end of their training.
These records will be particularly helpful for those unable to find civil or church records regarding their ancestors.
United Kingdom – Kent – Parish Records
Also at Findmypast this week, over 36,000 new additions have been made to the Kent Parish Records collection. Specifically:
These new records date as far back as 1538 and cover the parishes of Wrotham, Stansted, Wouldham, Southfleet, and Leybourne.
Scotland – Mental Health Records
The Scotland Mental Health Institutions Admissions 1857-1859 at Findmypast include over 1,000 records from over 50 mental health institutions including asylums and poorhouses. Though these records tell a sad story, they may help you to piece together the family story.
Each record includes a transcript of an original document and may provide your ancestors’ birth place, birth date, former residence, and the institution they were sent to and the date of their admission.
Each record lists the prisoners age, birth year, birth place, occupation, former residence, offence and place of imprisonment.
Start the New Year off Right
Here’s a New Year bargain you can’t ignore – 10% off 12 month premium subscriptions to Findmypast. Today is the last day to save! They have over 2 billion (yes, that’s billion with a B!) records and more are added every day. Make 2017 a year full of fascinating family history discoveries by clicking on this image link below.
Let us help you fill your genealogy newsletter! All societies and libraries have free access to our extensive article archive, and permission to republish the articles in your society newsletter. (Your editor will LOVE this feature!) Being the editor of a genealogy...
Using Evernote for genealogy will make you a more efficient and effective researcher.
Genealogists all over the world are harnessing the power of Evernote to organize their family history research. This free software (and website application) can bring all your research materials (text notes, photos and images from mobile devices, video, audio interviews, web content and URLs) together in one place.
Then it goes even further by making all the text items keyword-searchable. So you can much more easily locate that one little piece of information you recall only as “that bit about the fire station he worked for.”
Better yet, Evernote goes with you. With the Evernote software and companion app, your genealogy notes will be accessible from and fully-synced across all your computing devices. Sigh! It’s wonderful!
2. Create your free or premium Evernote account. (Click here to learn more about Evernote account options.)
3. Go to your Account page and make note of your unique Evernote email address. (Help>Go to My Account Page>Account Summary and scroll down to “Email Notes to.”)
5. Download the free Evernote app from the App Store or Google Play and sign in to your account.
Now you’re ready to use Evernote to collect your research content and source citation information!
Here are 5 ways to add content to Evernote
1. The Web Clipper: Pull data from websites with the handy web clipper and Evernote will often automatically capture information about the site you got it from.
2. Drag and Drop: Images, scanned documents and other multimedia content can be dropped right into new or existing notes.
3. Smartphone and Tablet: Snap a photo of a record, tombstone or any other genealogical item. (I like to do a quick photo “Edit” cleanup to get it in the best shape possible). Tap the Share button and send it to Evernote.
4. Email Content: Use your unique Evernote email address to send content from anywhere to your account.
5. Good Old Typing: Click “New Note” and start typing. You can always add other content including merging notes together.
Resources for Success
There’s so much demand for learning to use Evernote for genealogy that I’ve created a variety of helpful resources in video, audio, print and online formats (because everyone learns differently!).
FREE YouTube Video Series: Evernote for Genealogy
I’ve posted two videos so far on my free YouTube series:
Genealogy Gems website Premium membershave a full-year’s access to my popular in-depth video classes, which include The Ultimate Evernote for GenealogyEducation video series. This series includes the following full-length and mini-series classes:
Who else do you know who would benefit from getting organized? I hope you’ll share this page with your friends, relatives, family history buddies and fellow gen society members using the share icons below. Thanks!
Our review of new genealogy records online this week includes the 1939 Register for England and Wales; church records for Illinois and Kyiv, Ukraine; New York naturalizations and Mexican vital and church records. Which of these may name your family members?
ENGLAND AND WALES POPULATION REGISTER.The 1939 Registeris now online at Findmypast, as we blogged about earlier this week. Click here to learn more about this crucial record set for those researching English and Welsh families.
FLASH SALE! Receive a 10% discount off 300 credits on Findmypast now through Friday 13thNovember 2015 at 11.59pm GMT using the code 1939REG10. Click the graphic below to have the discount automatically set up for you.
(When you use our links and graphics you are helping to support the free Genealogy Gems Podcast – thank you!!)
ILLINOIS CHURCH RECORDS. Ancestry has updated its collection of United Methodist Church records for 87 counties in central and southern Illinois. The collection now spans 1824-2009, bridging record gaps like the lack of government vital records in the past and privacy restrictions for more recent records. Click here to search for baptisms, marriages, deaths, family buy worm medication for cats migrations and more. These records are for congregations that are no longer in existence.
MEXICO. For October, Ancestry announced the addition of “more than 250 million Mexican birth, marriage, death, and church records—plus U.S. census, border crossing, and naturalization records.” click here to search Mexican records on Ancestry–through Monday, October 9, access to these collections is free.
NEW YORK NATURALIZATIONS. Ancestry’s collection of naturalization records for New York (1882-1944) have been updated. click here to search for immigrant ancestors who may have naturalized in New York, which welcomed millions of immigrants who may have done this paperwork during that time.
UKRAINE CHURCH RECORDS. You can new browse a new collection of Orthodox church records for the Diocese of Kyiv, Ukraine (1734-1920) on FamilySearch. These include duplicate records of baptisms/births, marriages, and burials/deaths created by church officials for civil authorities. Click here to view these records for free (sign-in may be required).
Please help spread the great news! Thank you for sharing these new genealogy records online with your genealogy societies, fellow researchers and family.
Want to stop your family members
from rolling their eyes when you
show them their genealogy?
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Get Inspired with These Family History Videos
(For best viewing, watch in FULL SCREEN mode. Click the Full Screen button in bottom right corner of each video. Press Escape to return to page.)
How about the story of your company, or organization:
How about celebrating an ancestor’s birthday? I put this on social media on my Grandma’s birthday:
Tips on Creating Videos Like These
Visit this page which features step-by-step tutorial videos. Then check out these articles:
(Full disclosure: This page contains affiliate links and we will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on our links. Thank you for supporting the free Genealogy Gems blog & podcast!)
Here’s a New Year bargain you can’t ignore – 10% off 12 month premium subscriptions to Findmypast. Today is the last day to save! They have over 2 billion (yes, that’s billion with a B!) records and more are added every day. Make 2017 a year full of fascinating family history discoveries by clicking on this image link below.
Keep up on all my latest Evernote news and Q&As!
Want to stop your family members