Italian civil records at FamilySearch have been updated for five specific localities. Births, marriages, and deaths are just a few of things you will find in these collections. Also this week, Netherlands, Sweden, Australia, and Alaska.
Italy – Italian Civil Records
FamilySearch has added to their Italian genealogy records this week. Five specific locales in Italy have Civil Registration records online. Civil registrations include such things as births, marriages, and deaths. They can also include marriage banns and ten-year indexes. Of course, availability of records will depend on the time period and the location.
This collection may include the following records:
Marriage banns (pubblicazioni o notificazioni)
Residency records (cittadinanze)
Ten-year indexes (indici decennali)
Supplemental documents (allegati)
The second collection titled Italy, Mantova, Civil Registration (State Archive), 1496-1906 covers several centuries. Images for this collection had been mistakenly made available to the general public who registered at FamilySearch. However, because of the agreement signed 30 June 2011, the publication rights of images belongs to the Italian National Archives (DGA) who publishes them freely to all on their Portale degli antenati: http://www.antenati.san.beniculturali.it/. Though you can see a transcript of the civil record at FamilySearch, you will have to visit the Il Portale Antenati to see the digital images. Some fees may apply.
Again, these civil records for Mantova will include such things as birth, marriage, and death records and in some cases, marriage banns and 10-year indexes.
Italian birth record online at FamilySearch.
The third collection is titled Italy, Grosseto, Civil Registration (State Archive), 1851-1907. These records will again cover birth, marriages, and deaths in the Grosseto locale. These records, like the others, are written in Italian. In this case, you are able to view many of the digital images online at FamilySearch without having to use the Portale Antenati.
The fourth collection titled Italy, Rieti, Civil Registration (State Archive), 1840-1945 covers the years between 1840 and 1945 of this specific locale. The records held in this collection will largely be the same as the others, but there is something special that these Rieti records hold. They include Catholic parish registers of Poggio Fidoni (Frazione of Rieti) for the years 1768-1860.
Also at FamilySearch, records have been added to the Netherlands, Archival Indexes, Miscellaneous Records. These miscellaneous records include indexes that cover many record sources, such as civil registration, church records, emigration lists, military registers, and land and tax records. These records cover events like birth, marriage, death, burial, emigration and immigration, military enrollment, and more.
Sweden – Norrbotten Church Records
Sweden, Norrbotten Church Records, 1612-1923; index 1658-1860 is a recently updated collection at FamilySearch as well. Church records from the county of Norrbotten contains indexes to births, marriages, deaths and images to clerical surveys, registers of birth, marriage, death, move-in and move-out lists, confirmations, and church accounts. Notice that this collection has some index-only items and there are some other items that offer a digital image of the record. Covering such a lengthy period of time, records will vary given the time frame.
The records are handwritten in narrative style and may be difficult to research for beginners.
Australia – Marriages
This week at Findmypast, we bring your attention to Australian Capital Territory Marriages. Each record result contains a transcript of the original record. The information available will vary, but information typically includes:
First and last name
Marriage date
Spouse’s first and last name
Registration number
State
Further details can be found on the marriage certificate itself, which can be obtained online from the Office of Regulatory Services. Due to the sensitivity of the information found on marriage certificates, the marriage must have occurred more than 75 years ago to obtain a certificate.
Australia – Victoria – Wills & Probate
Wills and other probate records are a fantastic resource for genealogists. They often contain names of heirs and prove relationships. Findmypast has updated the collection titled Victoria Wills & Probate. In this collection of mostly indexed records, some search results will also include an image of the original probate documents. Records cover the years 1841 to 1989 and may include the following information:
First and last name
Sex
Occupation
Residence
Death date
Grant date
File number
Australia – Victoria – Divorce Records
The Victoria Divorce Cause Books 1861-1938 collection at Findmypast may offer you answers to the reason your ancestors parted ways. In Victoria, the Public Records Office Victoria (PROV) holds divorce case records up to 1940. If you are interested in more recent divorce cases, you will need to contact the Supreme Court of Victoria. It’s important to also know that up until 1975, divorce cases in Victoria were heard by the Supreme Court.
These records will likely provide you with the first and last names of couples, petition date, who filed for divorce, and a case file number.
United States – Alaska – Vital Records
Did you know that this year is the 150th anniversary of the Alaskan Purchase? We have some great tips for Alaskan genealogy research coming up here on the blog in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, get started on researching your Alaska ancestors with the FamilySearch collection titled Alaska, Vital Records, 1816-1959.
In these records, images of birth, marriage, death, and divorce records are available for searching. Though the collection is a bit on the small side, new records will be added as they become available. Digital images of births cover the years of 1816 to 1912, marriages for the years of 1816 to 1959, and deaths between 1816 and 1959.
More on Italian Civil Records and Research
Mary Tedesco of Genealogy Roadshow (on PBS in the US) talks about doing the show and her tips for doing Italian genealogy research on our Genealogy Gems YouTube Channel. Watch the clip below and be sure to subscribe to our channel so you don’t miss any of our helpful tips and tricks. Thanks for watching, friends.
A new Mayflower ancestors database can help connect you with your Pilgrim roots. Also, amateur US newspapers: Hill Air Force Base newspaper, Norwegian and African American Mormons, PERSI updates and collections for Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, Ohio,...
Genealogical records and research for your Denmark ancestors has just gotten a little easier! New and updated genealogical collections for Danish genealogy have been added to FamilySearch. Also new this week, new and updated records for Sweden, Hungary, Britain, and Ireland.
Denmark – Census
It was truly a Danish delight when we heard the 1916 Denmark Census is now available at FamilySearch. Danish genealogy is just a bit easier with the availability of this census, especially when paired with the already published 1911 Denmark Census, also at FamilySearch.
This is an every-name index to the 1916 census of Denmark. This index was created by MyHeritage from images provided by the National Archives of Denmark. The collection at FamilySearch includes an index or abstract version in English and a digital image of the original.
This census was taken for the countries of Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and the Danish West Indies, however, only the records for Denmark are available at FamilySearch. The enumeration for Denmark was divided into three sections with a different form for each of the sections: Copenhagen city, other cities, and rural areas.
This census names each individual in the home and includes: sex, calculated birth date and year, marital status, relationship to head-of-household, and residence.
Other genealogy record collections for Denmark can be found on FamilySearch, too. See the entire list here.
Sweden – Church Records
FamilySearch has four Swedish church record collections that have recently been updated. Church records are especially helpful when civil records such as birth, marriage, and deaths, are not available. Check out these four updated collections and their titles below.
The records are bound volumes of pre-printed forms with event information recorded by hand. From 1895 through 1906, the forms are one page per event, but beginning in 1907 each event occupies one row in a printed table, so there are multiple events recorded per page. The records are in Hungarian.
Civil registrations include birth, marriage, and death records. You may be able to find the following information in each of these groups:
Birth records:
Date and place of birth
Name of child
Gender and religion
Parents’ names and mother’s age
Parents’ religion
Signature of informant
Marriage records:
Date and place of marriage
Groom’s name, date and place of birth
Groom’s religion and occupation
Groom’s parents’ names
Bride’s name, date and place of birth
Bride’s religion and occupation
Bride’s parents’ names
Witnesses’ names and their residence
Additional remarks
Death records:
Name and age of deceased
Date, time, and place of death
Deceased’s residence and occupation
Deceased’s religion
Spouse’s name
Parents’ names
Cause of death
Signatures of informant
United Kingdom – 1939 Register
Like a census, the Register can tell you a lot about how your ancestors. You can find names, occupations, and more. The 1939 Register of more than 32.8 million records is now available at Findmypast.
The 1939 Register is pretty unique. It required people to explain exactly what they did. General terms, such as Foreman, Overseer, Doctor, Mill-hand, Porter or Farmer, were not acceptable. Instead, people were asked to be as specific as possible, giving details of the trade.
Additional information you will find on the Register includes:
Name
Full date of birth
Address
Marital status
Occupation
Ireland – Directories
Also at Findmypast, the Ireland, 19th Century Directories allow you to search more than 120 volumes of directories that contain more than 74 thousand records. Listings may include your ancestor’s occupation, place of business, or home address.
These directories were published annually, which means that you can easily track your ancestor year to year.
You will want to be aware that most of the details in the directories were collected six months before publication; therefore, all the listings are six months old.
The records are presented as PDFs (portable digital files). This feature allows you to narrow your search by publication, year and page number. After selecting an image, you can read through the whole directory by using the previous and next buttons at the top of the image.
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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.
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:
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.
East Surrey Regiment 1899-1919: Spanning the Boer War and the First World War, this index may reveal rank, regiment, and battalion, as well as whether your ancestor was wounded or received a medal.
Railwaymen Died in The Great War: This index of records comes from the National Railway Museum website and may contain details of your ancestor’s pre-war career, military service, and death.
Next, we head to Ancestry for even more new English record collections.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi AKA Mahatma Gandhi attending the University of London, 1890
Records from the third oldest university in England, including students who attended other institutions and took University of London examinations as external students. (see image right for one of their most famous students!)
Berkshire Electoral Registers, 1840-1965: This database contains yearly registers listing names and residences of people in Berkshire, who were eligible to vote in elections. These year-by-year registers can possibly also reveal a bit about property they owned.
UK Absent Voter Lists, 1918-1925, 1939: The Absent Voter Lists record the civilian address of the absent voter, but more importantly, they give service numbers and regimental details.
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
“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!
These records will likely provide you with the first and last names of couples, petition date, who filed for divorce, and a case file number.
