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WEBSITES FEATURED IN WEB WATCH
For
ease of viewing the websites mentioned in “Web Watch”, a regular feature of our
quarterly journal, the whole article is reproduced below.
Since
websites, their content and their links are prone to frequent change, or even
removal, we will only display the articles from the previous four issues of the
journal.
Vol 23, No 4: June 2010
The National Archives DocumentsOnline – http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/
They have added 155,000 medal cards recording campaign
medals awarded to merchant seamen in the First World War. The cards list the
recipients of the British War Medal, the Mercantile Marine Medal and the Silver
War Badge.
Ancestry - http://www.ancestry.co.uk
In association with LMA, they have released over 200,000
records from the Non-Conformist Registers, indexed and with images. These are mainly from 1837 when the older
registers were deposited (now in TNA) with marriages from 1890s when these
churches had their own registers and authorised officiants.
Cliff Webb has produced a new Research Aid RA53 for these
registers, available on-line at – http://www.wsfhs.org/AdobeFiles/RA53.PDF This will help identify coverage,
denomination and location.
Find My Past - http://www.findmypast.co.uk
FMP in association with TNA have added the Royal Marine
Medal Rolls from WW1 from class ADM/171 covering over 75,000 sailors.
They have also added more Chelsea Pensioners records for those
who left service 1855 to 1882.
BMDregisters - BMDregisters.co.uk
They have been added more parish register transcripts
(including some for Kent) and more records and images for PCC wills. They have also produced an index to E&W
marriages for 1948 to 1983 (an alternative o the one on Ancestry).
FamilyRelatives - http://www.familyrelatives.com/
New additions include a wide variety of military records.
Royal College of
Physicians - http://munksroll.rcplondon.ac.uk/
A new index covers all Fellows from 1518 to 2004.
The War Graves Photographic Project - http://twgpp.org/
The aim is to photograph every war grave, individual memorial, MoD grave, and
family memorial of serving military personnel from WWI to the present day and
make these available within a searchable database.
Special Forces Roll of Honour - http://www.specialforcesroh.com/browse.php
This database covers our special
forces from WW2 to date.
Family Announcements - http://www.iannounce.co.uk/
"Over 1,535,000 family announcements from 339 newspapers updated
daily."
A searchable archive of obituary, death, marriage, birth and
other family announcements from local and regional papers over the past few
years.
Irish 1901 Census for all 32 counties – http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/
This has now been indexed and the database and images are
available free in addition to the 1911 census.
Certificate Help Sheets on http://www.direct.gov.uk
Birth Certificate Help
Sheet - http://tinyurl.com/ygzn6at
Marriage Certificate Help Sheet - http://tinyurl.com/yk6fueh
Death Certificate Help Sheet - http://tinyurl.com/yj8c73l
These simple help sheets show what
was on certificates from the start of Civil Registration in 1837 until 1st
April 1969.
Registration Districts, old and new -http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/documents/digitalasset/dg_176223.pdf
This large file shows all districts, when they existed and
the associated volume numbers.
Mapping telephone
directories - http://www.dynastree.co.uk/maps
An online tool for mapping surnames from telephone directory
listings. While originally a German site, it is also available in
English. Searching can be done in the United Kingdom, Canada, United States,
Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Austria, Spain, Poland and Argentina.
Another site that maps surnames for 26 countries - http://www.publicprofiler.org/worldnames
Occupations in 1901
Census on
HistPop.org - http://tinyurl.com/3xqwe3a
A copy of the "Instructions to clerks employed in
classifying the occupations and ages of the people for the census of
1901".
Company Directors list - http://www.checksure.biz/Directors-List-a-z.asp
A Date Calculation
program - http://www.taubman.org.uk/datecalc/index.html
The RJT Date Calculator will calculate a date or age from
any two of the three following elements : Birth Date, Event Date and Age at
Event.
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Vol 23, No 3: March 2010
The National Archives DocumentsOnline – http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/
They have completed
digitising the records of 680,000 seamen who joined the Royal Navy
between 1853 and 1923 in ADM139/221 – 1027.
TNA has made available
online a collection of early Irish maps
(c.1558 - c.1610). They depict plantations, fortifications and townships
from the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I. The maps often name the local
chiefs and major families in an area. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/irishmaps.asp
See how digitisation projects
run by The National Archives are progressing -
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/the-national-archives-digitisation-programme-2008-2013.pdf
Ancestry - http://www.ancestry.co.uk
In association with TNA, they have released the Alien Arrivals into England
Collection 1810-1811, 1826-1869 in HO2 and HO3.
Their indexes and images of London
parish registers in association with LMA are fantastic. But if you need help with churches and modern
boroughs, try -
http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/londonGenerations/download/Places%20in%20London%20Boroughs.pdf
Cliff Webb has updated his research aid (RA49) to the baptism registers of
London & Middlesex with a section relating to these registers. It is available as a free download on the
West Surrey FHS website http://www.wsfhs.org/publications.htm
in the Research Aids section. The
introduction to the update is on page 21.
Ancestry have improved their wild card
searching. The name must contain at
least 3 non-wild card characters, but they can be anywhere, but either the
first or last character must be a non-wildcard character. Full details are at –
http://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/2010/01/04/ancestry-search-improved-wildcard-flexibility/
Find My Past - http://www.findmypast.co.uk
FMP in association with TNA and Family Search have added the first 252,000
records and 1.8m images from WO97 for Chelsea Pensioners who left service 1883
- 1900. Earlier records will be released over the next year.
FMP have also added David Wright’s West
Kent Probate Index and more London records.
BMDregisters - BMDregisters.co.uk
In association with
TNA, they have been added to their indexes of Overseas BMD records those in
RG35, Miscellaneous Foreign Death Returns 1791-1921, and more GRO Overseas records.
Lost Cousins - http://www.lostcousins.com/
You can now add entries from the 1911 census for the whole of Ireland.
E&W BMD indexes – on-line indexes only go up to 2005 or 2006. The London
Metropolitan Archives have a set of fiche up to 2008 for visitors to use.
Maps of all the English Parishes - http://maps.familysearch.org/
This LDS site lists and shows all parishes in 1851 with details of their
archdeaconry, probate court and oldest registers.
On Line Parish Clerks - http://www.onlineparishclerks.org.uk/
Volunteers have been found for various parishes including some in Kent. A
few parishes in our area have photos.
Full text search within books, many
browsable – www.openlibrary.org
Explanation of the Registers of Electors
- http://www.glamro.gov.uk/adobe/Electors.pdf
Thanks to Jeremy Wilkes from telling us about this website. History of
their compilation from 1832 with details of the holdings for
Glamorgan.
London & Middlesex Archaeological
Society - http://www.bishopsgate.org.uk/catalogue
Information on their Glass Slide Collection is now available online
The STEAM Museum - http://www.steampicturelibrary.com/
This is based in Swindon and is in the throes of archiving and cataloguing
a vast collection of over 10,000 photographs which includes images covering
social history, country views, people and scenes relating to industrial
engineering and the GWR.
Recent obituaries- http://www.gonetoosoon.org/
Free online memorials with search.
The Census Detectives - www.censusdetectives.org.uk
They will try to find those that you can't.
Lost touch with somebody? - http://www.123people.co.uk/
Enter a first name and surname and search all kinds of UK websites for
information on those with the name.
TNA have several 'practical online
tutorials' for 'translating' Secretary Hand and for both beginners and
advanced Latin -
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/palaeography/
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/latin/beginners/
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/latin/advanced/
Cheshire Tithe maps – indexed
plus modern map alongside -
http://maps.cheshire.gov.uk/tithemaps/
Wolfram – can be used for finding
dates and ages -
http://www.wolframalpha.com/
Dates before 1900. Excel cannot deal with these (see The Kentish
Connection, Sept. 2008, page 21). I
understand that with Open Office, you can choose any date for zero day. Download free (but it is very large) from - http://www.openoffice.org/
Want to draw your own trees? Try http://cacoo.com/
Why isn’t it free? Please read http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2009/12/why-isnt-it-free.html
If you are thinking of getting some new genealogy software, see –
http://www.my-history.co.uk/acatalog/softwarecomparisonMH/compare_family_tree_software.html
Finally, the 13 Commandments for
Ancestors –
http://www.bitler.org/humor/index.htm
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Vol 23, No 2: December 2009
The National Archives - http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
First World War RAF service records for 99,000 officers have been added to
Documents Online.
A new project is to put online the census street indexes. These are now
available for 1841 to 1871 at http://yourarchives.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php?title=Your_Archives:Historical_Streets_Project
Ancestry - http://www.ancestry.co.uk
They have now completed the database of entries from the England & Wales
death indexes from 1916 to 1983.
In conjunction with TNA, they have completed scanning and indexing World War I
army service records.
They have added an index to the largest register of Gretna Green marriages.
FindMyPast - http://www.findmypast.co.uk
Their index to the 1851 census is now complete. They have made available
a subscription access to the 1911 census.
BMD registers - http://www.bmdregisters.co.uk
In association with TNA, they have added the General Register Office:
Miscellaneous Foreign Returns, 1831-1964, RG 32. The records contain
largely non-statutory documents relating to births, baptisms, marriages, deaths
and burials abroad. Also RG36, Registers and Returns of Births, Marriages
and Deaths in the Protectorates etc of Africa and Asia, 1895-1965.
Finally, BT158, 159 and 160, births, marriages and deaths at sea compiled from
ships’ logs.
Family Relatives - http://www.familyrelatives.com
New databases include 250,000 entries from Scottish Trade Directories and over
one million records of Doctors, Dentist and Midwives from 1853 to 1943.
ScotlandsPeople – http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
A new database covers the first tranche of Catholic Parish Registers.
A Vision of Britain Through Time website - http://www.VisionofBritain.org.uk
This is being re-launched with a new look, extra
content and improved search tools. It will soon show a full listing of
every General Election result, 1832 to the present, by constituency and as a
whole - the first time this information has been accessible online free of
charge.
Others additions include historic boundary maps, greater details of how land
use and agriculture have changed, extra insight into labour market trends,
including unemployment and wages, and a greatly-expanded collection of travel
writing, providing seven centuries of comment and observation, by artists,
authors, preachers, social reformers and agitators and a 17th century female
ancestor of explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes.
The Coal Mining History Resource Centre - http://www.cmhrc.co.uk/site/home/
The East Kent pits are all closed but this site has history, maps and a
searchable database of accidents and deaths.
The Inner Temple Admissions Database - http://www.innertemple.org.uk/archive/itad/index.asp
This provides online biographical information about past members of the Honourable
Society of the Inner Temple, one of the four London-based Inns of Court. The
Inner Temple's members have included courtiers, politicians, writers,
adventurers and overseas students, as well as barristers and the
judiciary. The database covers admissions to the Inner Temple between
1547 and 1850. It may be searched without charge and individual entries can be
printed out. Other pages cover the history of the Inner Temple.
Dating a House - http://www.bricksandbrass.co.uk/houseage/ageform.htm
This site covers houses from the Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian eras. This
page has multiple choice questions to give you a suggested date for the house.
British History Online - http://www.british-history.ac.uk/search.aspx
Created by the Institute of Historical Research and the History of Parliament
Trust, this website has an enormous amount of information with search facilities.
Census maps for 1871 - http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/news/stories/313.htm?WT.lp=n-33642
TNA Catalogue reference RG 18/1-110. Digital versions of the
original Registration District maps from the 1871 census are now available to
browse and download at www.cassinimaps.co.uk
The maps are based on the Ordnance Survey 'Old Series'
but were hand annotated to show the Registration Districts of England and Wales
as they existed then. Cassini used scanned images of the originals that were
then digitally stitched together to create a seamless mosaic of mapping. The
maps are free to view online and you can search by postcode, place name, parish
and district name. There is a charge to download the maps.
Genealogy toolbar - http://www.mlfhs.org.uk/
With the M&LFHS toolbar you are never
more than a couple of clicks away from dozens of national and local family
history web sites. The toolbar installs unobtrusively at the top of your
browser window and will be updated automatically as they add new links.
Small donation suggested.
Or try the links on http://www.ukisearch.com/
Many links to websites, 85% of them free.
Pastscape National Monuments Record - http://www.pastscape.org/default.aspx
This is a quick way to search nearly 400,000 records held in a national
historic environment database with information on archaeological, architectural
and maritime sites. You can search by keyword and location.
Smugglers' Britain - http://www.smuggling.co.uk/index.html
Explore the fascinating story of smuggling in 18th and 19th century Britain,
when high taxes led to a dramatic increase in illegal imports. The guide
book section allows you to home in on East Kent or the Romney Marsh with information,
pictures and locations of smugglers' haunts.
Canadian Roots UK - http://www.canadianrootsuk.org/
This is a self help website set up to help people in the UK trace their
fathers/family in Canada. Also Canadian
fathers or a relative who is trying to trace a child he may have fathered in
the UK during World War 2.
County Asylums - http://www.countyasylums.com/
Discover the Asylums and Mental Hospitals of England and
Wales. Click on Kent or another county.
Full text search within books, many browsable – social
history, country views, people and scenes relating to industrial engineering.
National Federation of Cemetery Friends - www.cemeteryfriends.org.uk General information and links to
specific cemeteries.
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Vol 23, No 1: September 2009
Ancestry - http://www.ancestry.co.uk
Ancestry in partnership with the London Metropolitan Archives and the Guildhall
Library have started digitising and indexing parish registers. They have just
released indexes of Marriages from 1754 to 1921 and baptisms and burials from
1813 to 1906. Unindexed images of earlier events are also available.
They have also released more than 100,000 records of WWII British and
Commonwealth POWs and the Army Roll of Honour for WWII.
Also they now have an index of criminal registers England and Wales 1791-1892
in association with TNA from HO26 and HO27.
The British Postal Museum & Archive has partnered with Ancestry to make
available the Post Office Appointment books from 1831 to 1960.
The War Graves Photographic Project - http://www.twgpp.org/index.php
The aim of this website is to photograph every war grave, individual memorial,
MoD grave, and family memorial of serving military personnel from WWI to the
present day and make these available within a searchable database.
FindMyPast - http://www.findmypast.com/home.jsp
FMP have added a full set of 1.25 million re-scanned high-resolution images for
the 1881 England and Wales census, linked to the LDS/FFHS index.
Their index to the 1901 census is now complete. They will shortly make
available a subscription access to the 1911 census.
BMD registers - http://www.bmdregisters.co.uk/
In association with TNA, they have added RG34 - Overseas Foreign Marriage
Returns 1861 to 1921 with 38,000 names.
Family Relatives - http://www.familyrelatives.com/
They have added independent school registers 1499
- 1950's with over 120,000 pupils and masters, including schools such as
Rugby, Sherborne, Harrow, Marlborough, Wellington, Malvern, Repton and
Tonbridge.
ScotlandsPeople – http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
Indexes (not images) to modern marriage records from
1934-2006 have now been added.
The Scottish Way of Birth and Death - http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/scottishwayofbirthanddeath/
Created by the University of Glasgow with funding from
the Wellcome Trust.
Even if you don't have Scottish ancestry you'll find the section on Irregular
Marriages fascinating - and remember that thousands of English couples
travelled to Gretna Green, just over the border, to marry. Divorce was
also easier and cheaper in Scotland, especially for women - who in England
could not divorce their husband for adultery until 1923!
The National Archives of Ireland - http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/
The 1911 census is now complete for all 32
counties. Both searches and viewing
images is free.
Medieval Soldiers - http://www.medievalsoldier.org
Len Maplesden has advised us of this database of 250,000 soldiers of the 100
years war including a 12 year old.
The muster roll database currently holds just under 90,000 service
records, taken from rolls at TNA for the years 1369 - 1453.
Also two other databases : the Protection database and
the Garrison database.
http://www.icmacentre.ac.uk/soldier/database/index.php
Recent Indexes to English and Scottish Probate Records - http://www.dur.ac.uk/a.r.millard/genealogy/probate.php
The information here updates and should be read in conjunction with the fifth
edition
of Probate Jurisdictions: where to look for wills by Jeremy Gibson and Else
Churchill (Federation of Family History Societies, Bury, 2002). It is designed
to supplement that publication and probably can't be understood fully without
it.
The home page of FamilyRecords has recently
started to carry the message:
"FamilyRecords.gov.uk will no longer be available from the end of
September 2009. We apologise for any inconvenience caused." It's now
here:-
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/Registeringlifeevents/Familyhistoryandresearch/Birthmarriageanddeathcertificates/DG_175628
NameX Variations for forenames and surnames - http://www.origins.net/
The Origins Network uses a a proprietary name-matching tool which allows
you to find family records for names which have common variations in spelling
or which may have been spelled incorrectly on some records. It is vastly
superior to Soundex and Metaphone. Enter your names on this page
http://www.originsnetwork.com/namex/NameXSearch.aspx and see a list of
close matches with a score.
Surname FindIt - http://mattcombs.webs.com/sfmain.html
Surname Suggestion List 3.0 has been released.
Calculate Date of Birth - http://www.ovsgenealogy.com/tools/free_birthdate_calculator_calculates_birth_day.shtml
Calculate
Date of Birth from Date of Death and age, using either the Gregorian or Julian
calendar.
British Newspapers 1800 to 1900 - http://newspapers.bl.uk/blcs/
49 local and national papers, most requiring
payment. Search on any word or words, but the usual caveats about OCR of
newspapers.
Finally a paper map -
London Poverty - Charles Booth's Maps
In the late 19th century Charles Booth produced remarkable maps of London that
mapped not just the areas, but the streets where the worst poverty was to be
found. There are numerous sites where you can view these maps online, such as
the Charles Booth Online Archive at the London School of Economics, http://booth.lse.ac.uk/ but it isn't easy to study these
highly detailed maps on screen. Old House Books are now offering full colour
reproductions for just £12.99. If you do decide to purchase these maps
please mention LostCousins, as they will get a small commission that
will help finance future development of their site.
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