BMD Quotes 3

 
High birth is an accident, not a virtue.

(Metastasio, Italian writer & poet)

I married beneath me - all women do.

(Nancy Astor, British politician)

Being a husband is a whole-time job. That is why so many husbands fail. They cannot give their entire attention to it.

(Arnold Bennett, British novelist, The Title)

The most happy marriage I can picture or imagine to myself would be the union of a deaf man to a blind woman.

(Coleridge, English poet)

Every woman should marry - and no man.

(Benjamin Disraeli, British statesman)

Aging seems to be the only available way to live a long time.

(Auber, French composer)

To die will be an awfully big adventure.

(J.M.Barrie, British novelist, Peter Pan)

Death-bed repentance is sowing seed at Martinmas.

(Gaelic proverb)

I do not believe that any man fears to be dead, but only the stroke of death.

(Francis Bacon, British philosopher)

Most of the people who will walk after me will be children, so make the beat keep time with short steps.

(Hans Christian Andersen’s funeral plans)

Nonsense, they couldn’t hit an elephant at this distance.

(Alleged last words of US General John Sedgwick, in response to a suggestion that he should not show himself over the parapet during the Battle of the Wilderness)

I think I could eat one of Bellamy’s veal pies.

(Last words of William Pitt the Younger)

Web Search

NEWS

Ancestry has launched a new search service for its users which looks pretty nifty.  Furthermore, it appears to be available to non-registered users of their website, too.  It's called Web Search, and basically involves the searching of non-Ancestry records whenever you look for something on their site.  In other words, you search for something in the normal way, you get your list of results, and among them you will have both Ancestry returns and non-Ancestry returns.  Early days yet, though, as not many 'outsider' websites have been incorporated into the Web Search 'engine', but it seems like a pretty useful facility.  Read all about it here.

Deceased Online is soon to announce the release of a new raft of records pertaining to the SW of England. Registered users of the site will learn all about it soon by way of a direct bulletin, but essentially the 54,000 new entries cover 11 cemeteries in Wiltshire, Dorset and Devon.  The Wilts details can be found here, and the burial grounds at Blandford Forum (Dorset), and Cullompton and Salcombe (both Devon) are also included.  Click here to check their general coverage across the whole of the UK.

WEBSITES

The SoG blog has pointed us towards a little-known online resource, namely, the 'Lloyd’s List Marine News 1740-1837 index and images'.  Have a look at the item, here - but note that the first link in the text is dead.  It should, in fact, be http://www.1812privateers.org/Bibliography/index.html .

And here's the latest batch of new genealogy blogs as flagged by GeneaBloggers.  One new site caught my eye: the curiously-named 'No Descendants' blog.  I'd never really thought about genealogists who have no one in their family to pass their research onto, and what, therefore, drives them on.  The 'thrill of the chase', I suppose!  Your comments, please...

Domesday Reloaded

First of all, you may have noticed that yesterday’s post (12^th May) disappeared for several hours earlier today.  Some sort of technical problem with the Blogger system and totally beyond my control, I'm afraid.  But sorry anyway.  I’ve had awful problems getting this post (13th) up and running, I know that much.

NEWS

Back in 1986, the BBC launched an ambitious project to capture a snapshot of the nation on the 900^th anniversary of the Domesday Book.  However, due to an unfortunate technological decision (viz. choosing the wrong, and soon to be obsolete, mode of storage), the data never saw public light of day.  The Beeb and TNA have now joined forces to recover the said material and make it properly available to all and sundry – and you can even update the information in the database.  See TNA’s announcement on the project here, a similar introductory piece here, and the new website itself here.

TNA’s latest Podcast can be found here (Inheritance in Scotland – testaments & retours).

ARTICLES

An article of sorts is formed by the thoughts of blogger Chris Paton on the future of ‘Scottish archives portals’.  Not sure what I mean?  Well, if you think you might be interested, jump straight to the piece here.

Your weekly dose of ‘History Headlines’ from the BBC can be found here. 

MEDIA NEWS

And yet more TV & Radio stuff here.

OTHER STUFF

No use ignoring him any longer.  Osama Bin Laden, that is.  Ever wondered about his family tree?  Well, there’s a hint of it here, and another sniff of it here.  If you want to try to unravel the mess, then you could always try Wikipedia. Good luck to you.

My apologies, once again, for the 'Blogger confusion'.  I think it has now sorted itself out!

Best wishes.

More Royal Background Info

ARTICLES

GeneaBloggers features a guest blog from a Scottish heritage expert who has kindly given us a bit more reading on the recent Royal Wedding.  It's an interesting historical piece which tells us something that I suspect very few of us know, namely, the origin of William's newly-acquired title, the Earl of Strathearn. Read all about it here.

A short but sweet article about the influence of the public house in the lives of our ancestors by The Wandering Genealogist, here, got me thinking.  I mean, even if our own families aren't directly involved in the running of a village pub, or whatever, the institutions still played a hugely important role in our forebears' lives.  It occurs to me that wherever your distant family may have hailed from, this is an aspect of social history that should be actively sought out.  To know the old village pub of your ancestral homeland (if it survives, which they often do) is akin to sharing a little of your ancestors' lives - second only to the parish church, maybe.

WEBSITES

My recent appeal for information feeds for Welsh news brought a response from 'Christine' of the 'Genealogy Tours of Scotland' blog, who has kindly flagged the 'People's Collection Wales' website.  I should point out that Christine's own blog (see first link) also has a few important pieces of news, too (generally, Scotland/Ireland/Wales) - several of which escaped the attention of this blog.  So thanks, Christine!

MEDIA NEWS

Forthcoming TV & Radio can be found here.

ON THIS DAY

Birth of...

Florence Nightingale, in Florence, Italy, in 1820.

1926:  The General Strike ends;
1937:  Coronation of George VI.

God's Family Tree

This is a weird one.  Whether you're religious or not, you can't help but be impressed by Robert Rouse's 'Mapping God's Bloodline' graphic at the Soul Liberty website.  You can zoom in and out, and it's quite a lot of fun.  Thanks to MyHeritage for flagging this one.

NEWS

First up, I'd just like to add another 'forthcoming event' to yesterday's list.  And I'm ashamed to say that this one is from my part of the world, so I don't know how I managed to overlook it.  Anyway, here it is:-

• Saturday 14th May - Yesterday Belongs to You 10 at Shildon, Co.Durham - see here.

Two major announcements by FindMyPast, thus:-

• 40,000 new Gloucestershire parish records now available;
• 32,000 new City of London burials now available.

The Family Recorder blog has announced the release, today, of 100s of millions of new American Civil War records on FamilySearch - see here.  Apparently, there were a fair few British & Irish citizens caught up in the conflict, so this news is not quite as irrelevant as it may at first seem!

ON THIS DAY

Death of...

Singer Bob Marley, in 1981 in Miami, aged 36.

1985:  Bradford Stadium fire disaster.  56 deaths.

Forthcoming Events

NEWS

As we encounter a slight lull in family history news, it seems as good a time as any to remind you all of forthcoming events on the calendar.  So here are the ones of which I am aware:-

• Saturday 14th May - Local & Family History Fair, Edzell, Angus - see here & here;
• Saturday 14th May - Darlington Book Fair - see here;
• Saturday 14th & Sunday 15th May - 'Bygone Borderlands' , Berwick-upon-Tweed, (Local & Family History Weekend) - see here;
• Sunday 15th May - Family & Local History Day, Padworth, Berks - see here;
• Sunday 15th May - Cirencester Book Fair - see here;
• Saturday 21st May - GOONS Mining Seminar, Woodhorn, Northumberland - see here (I mentioned this some time ago, and if you haven't booked by now then it is too late!).

TNA have released another of their podcasts, here.  This one is, shall we say, somewhat specialist, being entitled The Second World War and Roche's expansion to the West: a Swiss pharmaceutical company in the UK. But I shouldn't knock it, as I haven't listened to it yet!

ARTICLES

A couple of short ones for you to look at.  The first, from The Family Recorder blog, offers an alternative look at possible 'commoner' royal connections, here; and the Anglo-Celtic Connections blog ponders the influence of accents on the lives of our ancestors, here.

ON THIS DAY

An astonishingly busy day in 1940 in WWII...
Churchill becomes Prime Minister, the first bombs land on British soil, the Home Guard is formed, Germany invades the Low Countries, and the UK invades Iceland. Phew!

And before you go...

Yesterday (9th May) was Liberation Day in the Channel Islands.  One reader was somewhat tickled by the fact that I chose the day to publish my 'Happy Families' blog entry.  I shall let James McLaren take up the story...

It seems apt to mention this on Liberation Day (66 years ago the Union Jack went back up over St Helier).

During the Occupation the vicar of St Mark's church in St Helier went by the name of Reverend Francis Killer. His son (Frank) went off to join the RAF, got into the medical branch, and became a surgeon - whereupon he changed his surname to Keiller.

(Frank wrote a book called Prison Without Bars detailing his experiences during the German Occupation).

Happy Families

Remember the game ‘Happy Families’? Well, here’s a selection of historically true names culled from the archidiaconal probate documents of Berkshire by Frank Denzey:-

Mr Acres the Husbandman

Mr Brown the Baker

Mr Chambers the Potter

Mr Coggeswelle the Miller

Mrs Faithful the Widow

Mr Farmer the Yeoman

Mr Field the Husbandman

Mr Fisher the Fisherman

Mr Gripp the Joiner

Mr Haycroft the Husbandman

Mr Hide the Tanner

Mrs Hope the Widow

Mr Horner the Trumpeter

Mr Howse the Mason

Mr Knife the Surgeon

Mr Loader the Carrier

Mr Mason the Bricklayer

Mr Meales the Baker

Mr Merryman the Tapster

Mrs Pretty the Widow

Mr Styles the Tailor

Mr Tassell the Milliner

Miss Waite the Spinster

Miss Webb the Spinster

Mr Wells the Siever

Mr Wheater the Husbandman

Mr Wheeler the Wheelwright

Mr Whetstone the Wheeler

Mr Yieldall the Keeper

And versions of this one pop up from time to time.  It’s far too good to be true, which means that it probably isn’t!

Sir William Boyden married La Contessa Francesca Zapretti, both from long established noble families. When their first child, Hugh, was born they hyphenated their surnames – so their young son became Hugh Zapretti-Boyden. In later life Hugh became a parrot breeder......             

  
If anyone else has anything unusual to pass on, then send it to me at micksouthwick@blueyonder.co.uk .

Welsh Feeds

WEBSITES

I don't know if anyone can help me out on this one, but information feeds about what's going on, genealogically, in Wales are few and far between.  If anyone has anything to share with the rest of us then please get in touch.  I did, however, pick up on a helpful little source last week, namely, Swansea Libraries' Twitter feed.  Now I've not yet signed up to Twitter, but I've discovered that you can still follow what's going on by simply keeping tabs on individual Twitter 'pages' - so I have found that at http://twitter.com/#!/libraryline quite useful.  One thing, for instance, that popped up a few days ago was the Crime and Punishment searchable database from the National Library of Wales, which includes gaol files of the Court of Great Sessions in Wales from 1730 until its abolition in 1830.  And it's free.

Another raft of new genealogy blogs has appeared in the GeneaBloggers weekly update.  Mainly US stuff, though.

NEWS

The May 2011 issue of Ireland's Genealogical Gazette has been published online.  Lead article looks at the Queen's Kildare roots, and there's an interesting piece on tapping into old folks' family memories.

ARTICLES

Part four of FindMyPast's look at understanding and interpreting old photographs has just been posted, here.

King James Bible

NEWS

Religion may not play the dominant role in society that it once did (well, not here in mainland UK, anyway), but there is no disputing its influence in the lives of our forebears.  Perhaps the single most important landmark event in the developing relationship between the Church and the People of the English-speaking world was the publication, 400 years ago this year, of the King James Bible.  It was, without doubt, the most important English translation of the Bible ever issued, and its influence was incredibly far-reaching.  To mark the anniversary, the National Library of Wales is leading the way with a special exhibition on the subject - see their blog entry, here, and their dedicated website page, here.  The exhibition is pretty much essential viewing, I'd say, for those within striking distance of the Library, such was the importance of this text in the lives of our ancestors.

The Anglo-Celtic Connections blog has posted a couple of interesting items.  First up is a piece on British Regimental Histories; then there's a small item about Christian names in the US.

The bookselling arm of the Ulster Historical Foundation, BooksIreland, is offering free shipping during 6th-13th May.

WEBSITES

This looks like an interesting site: the Historic Hospital Admission Records Project (HHARP).  All to do with 19th century children's hospital records. (Picked up from Your Family History magazine's Facebook page).

ARTICLES

TNA has posted a piece about Looted Art in Europe, and the signing of a new international deal on the subject.  A searchable online catalogue is now available, too.

And there's a light-hearted look at what it's like to be at the front of the phonebook, by the bloggers at MyHeritage.

ON THIS DAY

1928:  Voting age for women in the UK reduced from 30 to 21 (same as men);
1945:  WWII - Germany surrenders.

A Bit More of the Irish

ARTICLES

The Internet is still awash with the news of the launch of FindMyPast.ie - and why not?  Everyone who's interested is thrilled, it seems.  Even those who have no direct genealogical interest in the country may still be interested in this graphic of the 'Impact of the Irish' - as well as this article on the Irish ancestry of the US President.  Whilst we're at it, there is also this general piece on 'How to Trace Your Roots in Ireland'.

The BBC's weekly collection of 'History Headlines' can be found here.  Look out for the item on the death of the oldest surviving combatant of WWI.

NEWS

Parish Chest have issued their latest news update, here.  The usual banter, including, of course, a raft of new products from their 'partners'.

A week's historical holidaying in York is currently on offer from The Historical Association - see here.

There's a Family & Local History Fair at Padworth, Berkshire, on Sunday 15th May.  Have a look at the organiser's website, here, where you will also be able to apply for a 'half price entry' voucher.

MEDIA NEWS

More TV & Radio for the coming week.

ON THIS DAY

1954:  Roger Bannister runs the first sub 4-minute mile;
1994:  Channel Tunnel officially opens.
 

More Major Developments

NEWS

Quite a week it's proving to be for major genealogical news.  This morning saw the launch of FindMyPast Ireland - a real piece of choice news for Irish researchers.  Obviously, those who are interested will want to have a good browse of the site itself, but you may also wish to pass your eyes over comments made on several blogs, e.g. ScottishGENES, WDYTYA? Magazine, Irish Genealogy News and Irish Family History.  Marvellous stuff.

FindMyPast have also simplified their search facility for GRO births & marriages - a nice touch, with the death records to follow, too, in due course.  The indexes in question are those for England & Wales and the various overseas/army events for British citizens.

The May 2011 issue of Best of British Magazine has been released - see here.

WDYTYA? Magazine's website has flagged an interesting new exhibition at London's Foundling Museum.  See their short report here, where there is a link to the museum's website.

WEBSITES

English Heritage have launched a more comprehensive and user-friendly 'Historical Archive Catalogue' - see their news release, here (the direct link to the catalogue can be found here).  Well worth a look for old photos, images and documentation of your localities of interest.

MEDIA NEWS

TV & Radio for the next few days.

ON THIS DAY

Death of...
1821:  Napoleon Bonaparte, on St.Helena, aged 51 (190th anniversary);
1981:  Bobby Sands, leader of the Maze Hunger Strike, aged 27 (30th anniversary).

Big Ideas

NEWS

Today has seen the unveiling of two or three really quite ambitious schemes in the genealogical world, so let's not waste any more time - here they are in order of 'big-ness'...

Of major significance is the launch of the World Memory Project by, jointly, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and Ancestry.  The goal of this important venture is to "create a free online resource about victims and survivors of the Holocaust and Nazi persecution during World War II" - and they're looking for help from volunteers to put it together.  Rather than have me natter on about it, take a look at Ancestry's summary here, where you will also find further links of interest.  The project's main site is here.

TNA have announced, here, that the 1911 Census is being made available to the UK's schools this summer.  With the help of FindMyPast, the returns are being offered to our kids until the end of July in the hope that they can be used for research projects, and the like.  Can't help feeling that there may be a little something in this for FindMyPast, but you can't grumble, can you?  Any effort to get the younger generation interested in their ancestry/local history should be applauded - so 'well done' to TNA and FindMyPast.

TNA are also launching a new User Advisory Group, which presents those with a keenness for putting their oar in with a great opportunity to, well, er, put their oar in!  But seriously, this low key announcement will hopefully attract the right sort of individuals who can effectively represent our views and expectations at the higher levels of our hobby.  If you would like to get involved, then click on the link above and follow the instructions.

I have received an email from the Federation of Family History Societies reminding me of their ongoing competition, which poses the question: Who is the Most Interesting Person in Your Family Tree? - see here.  There is a corresponding compo for those under 21 years of age.

ARTICLES

GeneaBloggers have begun a series of blogs/articles on organising a Genealogy Conference (this link will take you to part 1).  OK, so it may have a bit of a US bias, but I'm sure that those who are into this sort of thing will be able to learn something from the series.

ON THIS DAY

1926:  The General Strike begins;
1979:  Margaret Thatcher becomes British Prime Minister.

Out and Around and About

NEWS

The rather clumsy title for today's post would suggest there a few things in the pipeline for us family historians in the coming days and weeks.  Well, there is always something going on somewhere, but a few things have caught my eye.  I always find GENEVA a useful source for what's coming up on the calendar - and as you can see from their listing for early May, there are a couple of big conferences coming up in London and Manchester, respectively (I've already mentioned these in previous posts) - but you'll have to get your skates on to get yourself a ticket for these!  Folk in Yorkshire may, however, care to pop along to the Family History Weekend at the Ryedale Folk Museum, Hutton-le-Hole, during 7th-8th May, which looks like being a pleasantly leisurely affair.

The BBC History Magazine's regular 'Out and About' online feature has also just been updated, and may tempt you out-of-doors.  And there is a Podcast concerning the latest issue of the magazine itself, here.

And here is a tempting list of May events from Irish Genealogy News.

On the other hand, those with Scottish blood can make a virtual trip to ancestral burial grounds via the Scottish Monumental Inscriptions website, which has been updated.  Two recent mentions for the resource on Anglo-Celtic Connections and ScottishGENES should be read first, though, as introductory pieces - then you can click through to the site proper via either post.

WEBSITES

Those of you with links to the British steel industry (especially in and around Teesside) may be interested in this mention of a brilliant new resource.

And I'm sure you will all be tickled by the Awkward Family Photos website as mentioned in this post on MyHeritage! (direct link here).

ON THIS DAY

1951:  Festival of Britain opens;
1968:  UK's first heart transplant.


 

Major Scottish Conference

NEWS

News of a major conference in Aberdeen in July has appeared on the ScottishGENES blog, here.  Blogger Chris Paton rightly acknowledges the source of the information in his post, and gives all the info you need to check the event out.  The programme is extremely varied, with some very specialist areas of coverage - the event being the work of the 'Eighteenth Century Scottish Studies Society'.

The Irish Genealogy News blog has given us another update on recent additions to the Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives, here.

Your Family History magazine has issued a 'Web Watch Extra' bulletin.  Though it would appear that most of the information has already been mentioned on this blog, there are some overseas bits and pieces which may interest many of you.

Two book fairs are coming up soon: Market Harborough on Saturday 7th May, and London on Sunday 8th May.

WEBSITES

The Anglo-Celtic Connections blog has pointed out a brilliant website for those with any sort of interest in London, namely, Londonremembers.com .  Hours of fun!

ARTICLES

And finally, The Nosey Genealogist has a nibble at that most difficult of topics: Tracing Ancestors With a Common Surname.

Media Highlights

MEDIA NEWS

I've stumbled upon several media feeds - both video and audio - of late, which I thought I'd pass onto you.  I anyone ever comes across anything of a similar ilk, then please let us all know.  It is always a refreshing change to look at a bit of footage or lean back and listen to a radio show, or whatever - and genealogical items of this sort are fairly hard to come by.

MyHeritage often come up with this sort of thing, and they've recently aired a couple of interesting items.  First up is a Royal Weddings special, here.  And there's a little snippet of biologist Richard Dawkins talking about 'Genetic Genealogy', here.  Pity it wasn't a bit longer - but for once at least he's not being controversial!

Having recently began following GeneaBloggers, and all it has to offer, I see that their weekly Friday radio programme focussed on British Genealogy this time - see here.  Many of the previous episodes can be found here, although generally the material tends to have an American leaning.  One of GeneaBloggers' best features is its weekly round-up of new genealogical blogs - here's the latest listing.  I know a lot of you found BI-Gen after reading of the website in last week's update, so thank you GeneaBloggers for the publicity!

NEWS

Ancestry members will want to take note of the change to the website's Helpline service, with effect from today, 1st May.

ON THIS DAY

1707:  Acts of Union of England and Scotland;
1840:  Penny Black stamp first issued (official use from 6th May);
1851:  Great Exhibition opens.

Getting it Out of Our Systems

NEWS

I shall get the Royal remnants out of the way first.  To be honest, there's only the one item worth mentioning, and that's the major news release by S&N Genealogy.  Always plenty of interesting things in their updates, with the latest issue trying to persuade us to check out our own potential royal connections.  If any other Royal stuff of interest trickles through I shall let you know - I wouldn't bet against it.

The National Library of Ireland has updated its events and exhibitions listings.  Its homepage is here, with the following direct links to its events and exhibitions.  A reminder about the library's revised opening times, too, here.

Irish researchers will also want to have a read of Eneclann's latest news release.

And the latest issue of Discover My Past - Scotland has been published - see here.

MEDIA NEWS

More TV & Radio listings can be found here.  I know they're late, but they've only just appeared online today - perhaps they had a day off yesterday!

 

Guess What?

NEWS / ARTICLES

Yes, the Royal Wedding, that's what.  Can't get moved for it today.  Most of the information sources which I utilise - both genealogical and historical - seem to be jammed with the subject, as you will be able to tell from most of that which follows.

The main culprits are the BBC's many websites.  One of my favourite haunts is the BBC History Magazine's site, HistoryExtra - and I must say they have provided plenty of reading for us this weekend, all of which can be reached from their homepage.  Here you will see the usual weekly 'History Headlines' feature, the May magazine's 'Podcast', and - you've guessed it - a special 'Out & About' Royal Wedding feature, and a 'Royal Weddings Through History' teaser piece.  Lovely.  Mmm.

I'm guessing that you want more?  Well, History Today magazine's website has a 'Royal Weddings Through the Ages' feature (some interesting video footage and some further links included).

Just the one more.  TheGenealogist has announced a couple of recent releases, only one of which has Royal connections.  See here.

As for other news, we have a major announcement to interest West Yorkshire researchers from FindMyPast, here.

Also, the National Archives of Scotland/National Records of Scotland are reinstating access to their maps and plans on 4th May - see here.  Important to note that full access will not yet be available, and that, in future, access is being restricted to digital copies (where available) rather than the originals.

And last, but by no means least, is the 9th and final instalment of 'Researching Family in Jersey' from The Nosey Genealogist's guest blogger, James McLaren.  An excellent series - access to all nine parts can be found here.

I don't doubt there'll be more Royal stuff to report on tomorrow.  I can already see further news releases starting to pile up in my in-box!  But you've had enough for today...

 

The Next Big Thing

I am dedicating this day’s blog entry to showing you around BI-Gen, and, in particular, to tell you about the site’s new area – an exciting new development in which, I hope, you will all participate, and perhaps begin something which will become a major new online resource.

I guess I might as well start with the latter, as I’m sure you’re all terribly excited.  In fact, you may already have spotted the new area of the website in the menu bar above:  the SURNAME REGISTER.  OK, so it’s hardly an original idea, but why not, eh?  As BI-Gen is still quite young, it will take a while to get off the ground, but I’m in no hurry, and it’ll give us time to shape the new feature until it fits our needs just right!

Anyway, it is completely free – at least until it begins to take up too much of my time – but let’s cross that bridge when we come to it.  For the moment, have a read of the lengthy introduction via the link above, and get in touch with me – either with your research interests, or any queries or suggestions.  I have tried to cover everything, but I don’t doubt that I overlooked something or failed to spot a problem or two.

What I need most of all, though, is your support.  So please get in touch with me ASAP so that we can get this thing off the ground.  I shall not be publishing the Register until it is of a decent size and scope, so come and join the fun!

Other than the launch of the Surname Register, I would urge you all to spend a few minutes exploring the other areas of BI-Gen, too.  It’s all quite straight-forward, really, and I don’t want you to miss anything.  You should start with ‘About BI-Gen’, then just move through the menu step-by-step. 

As you can see, the main thrust of the site is to list commercial firms and services – and if there are any out there who aren’t listed, then please let me know (it’s free, unless you want to pay to get to the top of your category).  There are some areas of BI-Gen which have not seen any action at all yet, such as the ‘For Sale/Wants’ and ‘New Products’ sections – so let’s get these moving if we can (have a look at them and see if you can use the areas in any way – especially if you’re a commercial concern).  If you contact any of the businesses listed, can you let them know that you spotted them on BI-Gen, so that they can see where the custom is coming from?

After you’ve had a good look at the website you may have some suggestions or ideas for BI-Gen; if so, then get in touch with me at micksouthwick@blueyonder.co.uk and I promise to give you a fair hearing! 

Finally, if you can recommend or help promote BI-Gen to anyone, then go ahead and do so.  I can even supply posters and/or A5 flyers for you to hand out at meetings, fairs, conferences, etc.  I will even write a short article about BI-Gen for your society journal.  Just send me an email.

If you’re a bit shy about contacting me, then don’t be – even if it’s just to say ‘Hello’.  It’s good to know there’s someone out there reading my ramblings!

Fab Maps

WEBSITES

Thanks to John Gasson (of 'The Wandering Genealogist' blog) for bringing a fabulous set of online maps to our attention.  It's the famous early seventeenth century John Speed maps of the UK - see Mr Gasson's post here, where you will find the relevant links.  They really are beautiful pieces of work.

NEWS

A couple of new resources have popped up on Ancestry, namely, an updated version of the England & Wales GRO Marriage Index for 1916-2005, and a curious collection of Kent records.  For more on the Kent stuff, see here.

For the latest on the ongoing project by the National Library of Wales to digitise its newspaper and periodicals collection, see here.

ARTICLES

Part 3 of FindMyPast's series on understanding and interpreting old photos can be found here.

MEDIA NEWS

Forthcoming TV & Radio is listed here.

OTHER STUFF

WDYTYA? Magazine's website has a competition to win 3 copies of the DVD of ... well, have a look for yourself!

ON THIS DAY

1908:  Summer Olympics open in London. It should have been held in Rome, but the Italians fell behind in their preparations, then Mount Vesuvius erupted - and the UK stepped in to save the day!

New Scots Website

NEWS

The ScottishGENES blog has picked up the news of the launch of the new 'National Records of Scotland' website - as Chris Paton says, though, it is little more than a 'portal' to the existent sites with which you will be familiar.  Worth bookmarking the new URL, none the less, as it is sure to be an essential point of reference in the future.

The May issue of the BBC History Magazine is now on the market.

ARTICLES

MyHeritage has posted an interesting blog entry on the subject of rare British surnames.  Blimey, and I thought my surname was rare!  Interestingly, they say that there are only two MacQuoids on the British electoral register - well, one of them was the headmaster of my son's former school, and I suppose the other one must be his wife!

Needless to say, another couple of pieces on weddings have popped up.  Ancestry look at our wedding traditions, here; and there is a pictorial look back at wedding-day fashions, here.

ON THIS DAY

1986:  Chernobyl Disaster (25th anniversary).


P.S:  Thanks to all of you who have joined me as official 'Followers' of the blog - I note that there has been a bit of a surge of late!  No obligation to officially 'Follow' the blog, of course - but you can still say 'hello' via micksouthwick@blueyonder.co.uk, or, of course, post the occasional comment to the blog entries.  Please stay tuned, as I plan to make a major announcement soon regarding a new area of the site - I'll let you know by the end of the month!

Don't Forget Local History Month

NEWS

I know I've mentioned this before, but May is Local History Month here in the UK.  I can't really help you with specific local events, but I can encourage you all to keep your eyes open for what might be on offer in your own locality - usually via your local library or the local press.  It's a great opportunity to learn a bit about your local community - and maybe a bit about the lives of your ancestors, too, of course.  The Historical Association is supposed to be co-ordinating events nationally, but their online database seems to be a little undercooked - see here.  Many events will require advance booking, so get looking now!

Book fair enthuasiasts may be interested in several forthcoming events organised by the PBFA - namely, those at Devizes (30th April), Alexandra Palace, London (1st May), and Hestercombe, Taunton (1st May).

There has been a burst of activity on the ReadIreland website, with a host of new book reviews - including a fair amount of historical stuff.  Click here, then go to 'ReadIreland Book News'.

ARTICLES

MyHeritage has posted a very interesting blog entry about early photography, here. Fascinating.

OTHER STUFF

And as news is a bit thin on the ground today, I thought I'd bring you a couple of cartoons which I came across earlier today...

[By Jonathan Brown of www.inkstains.com]

[By the Far Side's Gary Larson]

UK, GB, BI ... etc.

ARTICLES

Even though I'm a UK-based researcher, I am still occasionally caught out by questions concerning which bits of the British Isles go where.  What exactly is the 'United Kingdom'? Or the 'British Isles'? You know the sort of thing.  Well, with the passing of St.George's Day (yesterday), I was reminded of the problem by Audrey Collins on her always-interesting 'The Family Recorder' blog - see here.  Audrey's piece merely touches on the issue, of course, but I always find the famous Euler diagram useful:-

For those who wish to confuse themselves further, take a look at the Wikipedia article from which the diagram was taken, here.  There are several subtly different versions of the above illustration on the Internet, but I reckon the one shown is near enough correct ... unless someone thinks differently!?

On another topic entirely, MyHeritage discuss supercentenarians on their blog, here.  A short piece, but with one or two useful links to further information.

NEWS

The GOONS has issued a reminder about its forthcoming Mining Seminar to be held in Northumberland on Saturday 21st May - so I'm assuming that there are still places available!

OK, so it's not British/Irish news, but Ancestry are offering free access to their Canadian marriages during 22nd-30th April - to add to the existent offer for their England/Wales marriage indexes.  See here for more information.

ON THIS DAY

1916:  Easter Rising begins in Ireland.  More than 250 civilians are killed and 2,000+ injured in the week-long revolt against British rule in Ireland.

More New Mags

NEWS

It's that time of month again - you know, when the new issues of the magazines are released.  The latest ones to have popped up are the May editions of Family Tree Magazine and History Today.

The National Library of Ireland has revised its opening hours, with effect from 3rd May - see here.

And, sticking with the Irish, Linen Hall Library has announced its events programme for May - with the Blitz Exhibition (Belfast April 1941) looking like a fine reason to pop in.

TheGenealogist has added 28,000 parish record entries for Staffordshire to its database.

And TNA has added another Podcast to its website, entitled From Crime to Punishment: criminal records of our ancestors from the 18th and 19th centuries. [This is a slightly different way into the Podcast series which I've just discovered - and is much better, the list stretching back several years!].

ARTICLES

The BBC History Magazine's 'History Headlines' for the week; and a little story about cricket which I couldn't resist mentioning - though I appreciate it has nothing to do with genealogy!

ON THIS DAY

Birth - and Death - of...

William Shakespeare - birth in 1564; death on same day in 1616.

... Which means that it must be St.George's Day!  Have the day off.

SoG News Fest

NEWS

The SoG blog has issued a series of interesting posts, thus:-

• Royal Hospital Chelsea visit report (many of you will have an interest in this institution, I'm sure);
• A report on the London Metropolitan Archives Family History Forum.  Lots of very interesting points to note for those with London interests;
• The SoG Centenary stamp set! (first mentioned on this blog on 22nd February).

The May issue of WDYTYA? Magazine is now on the market - see here.  The magazine's website also has a series of downloadable family trees of the Royal couple-to-be, here.

It's a couple of days since I checked out Chris Paton's ScottishGenes blog - and it serves me right that I'd a fair bit to catch up on.  Two posts stand out: Origins and Burke's Peerage discounts and a clever way of retrieving the info held at the old ScotsFind site.  Thanks Chris.

TNA also have some news to share.  First of all, they've just bagged the Queen's Award for Enterprise: Innovation 2011 - well, jointly with private firm Tessella - "for developing a system for preserving digital information which has since been adopted by libraries and archives around the world."  Very good - read all about it here.  TNA will also be handed some extra responsibility in the wake of the pending closure of the Museums, Libraries & Archives Council - check out the official news release here. 

MEDIA NEWS

TV & Radio for the coming week can be found here.

 

Lots of Offers

NEWS

Easter and the Royal Wedding seem to have brought a rash of special offers from the genealogical world. First up, a big thank you to Lucy who has pointed out that searches, etc., on the Lost Cousins website are free until 2nd May.  It is not immediately obvious from their site, but their latest newsletter (itself a very good read) will put you in the picture.

Ancestry are also offering free access to their England & Wales Marriage Indexes 1837-2005 during 21st-30th April.  Incidentally, there's a little bit more info on those new Liverpool records I mentioned yesterday, here.

If you're a GOONS member, then you are in for yet more special offers from MyHeritage and TheGenealogist - see the latest newsletter, here.

Do you remember that specialist genealogical search engine, Mocavo, that I mentioned back on 22nd March? Well, it has made an important announcement, here, which I think you should all have a look at.

MEDIA NEWS

The Irish Genealogy News blog is carrying an interesting piece about the forthcoming Irish genealogy TV show, The Genealogy Roadshow, here.

MyHeritage have flagged a really interesting 20-minute lecture which has appeared online, here, about humanity's distant past, how we're all related and how diversified we all are.  Some astounding facts are aired, especially about our common ancestors - but I'll not spoil it for you!

And if you want to examine the British Library's latest batch of Podcasts then take a look here.

ON THIS DAY

1964:  After being postponed from the day before, BBC2 TV channel is launched.  A power cut caused the delay - Play School being officially the first programme broadcast at 11am.
1983:  The £1 coin is introduced.

Something for the Weekend

NEWS

With the approach of the Easter weekend, there'll be lots on offer of a historical nature over the coming days.  Most of our museums and historical venues put on 'family specials', of course; but there are plenty of other things to consider, too.  I expect you're keeping an eye out for local events, but there's a decent listing to be found here.

Additionally, there are three major book fairs of which I know, thus:-

• Norwich, Saturday 23rd April;
• Sherborne, Saturday 23rd April;
• Dublin, Monday 25th April.

Your Family History magazine is celebrating its first birthday with the release of Issue 14 - see here (well, it's actually out tomorrow, 21st), so you might want to treat yourself to a copy.

Diamond subscribers to TheGenealogist will be interested in the latest records release - a nice varied selection of military stuff.

Researchers with an interest in Liverpool or the Channel Islands will want to scrutinise the latest Ancestry update.

And Irish researchers should take note of the continuing partial closure of facilities at the National Archives of Ireland.

MEDIA NEWS

If you're still struggling for something to do, then take a look at the forthcoming TV & Radio schedule.

OGA Clarification

NEWS

The Open Genealogy Alliance has featured prominently in previous posts on this blog on 23rd February and 7th April (see here, and scroll down a bit).  Its aim to restrict the seemingly rampant activities of commercial concerns in our hobby are admirable, but are, of course, controversial - after all, how can some of the larger datasets be brought online without the help of Ancestry, FindMyPast and the like?  Anyway, the SoG post mentioned in my blog entry of 7th April has been supplemented by a lengthy 'comment' from one of the OGA's co-ordinators, so is well worth revisiting, here.

Deceased Online will be announcing the release of more records in the next day or two - this time concerning cemeteries in Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire.  The former concerns cemeteries in Cheshunt, Hoddesdon, Hemel Hempstead, Tring and Berkhamsted; the latter that at Sawston. Though the official announcement hasn't been made, the records ARE actually already online.

Issue 103 of Your Family Tree will be released in the next few days - there's a preview here, where you will also see details of a new book of their's entitled Photo Editing for Family Historians.

On the subject of publications and publishing, TNA have joined forces with Bloomsbury Publishing - presumably with a view to expanding their operations in the field.  See their press release here.

Blogger Audrey Collins has compared the existing datasets on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website to the seemingly identical sets of records which have recently appeared on Ancestry - and finds some interesting differences.  Read what she has to say here.

And a reminder to those of you who frequent The Caird Library at the National Maritime Museum that the same will be closing on Thursday 21st April - full details here.

ON THIS DAY

Death of...

Benjamin Disraeli, in 1881, near High Wycombe in Bucks, aged 76;
Charles Darwin, in 1882, near Orpington in Kent, aged 73.

Grave Words 2

 

Once I wasn’t,

Then I was,

Now I ain’t again.                                                    

[Minnesota, USA]

In health I went away from home,

But did with life no more return;

My horse he stumbled and fell down,

And threw me lifeless on the ground;

Short was my life, my pain the less,

God took me home as he thought best.

[Chilton Church, Oxfordshire]

- and his ghost is said to haunt the nearby Downs to this day.

And what of this double tragedy - two sons lost to drowning within the same year:

Henry Leonard Belt, youngest son of George Belt, Newcastle, d.7-4-1859 aged 19 years. The deceased who was on a visit to his uncle Jacob of this village went to bathe at a spot known as the Doctor Stanners a little above Ryton Fisheries, and though able to swim was unfortunately drowned....

Anthony Belt, 2nd son of George Belt, Newcastle, d.26-10-1859 aged 29. The deceased with upwards of 400 others perished on the wreck of the SS ship "Royal Charter" in Dulas Bay, Anglesey, during the dreadful hurricane of that day, his body was interred Penrhos Lligwy, Anglesey.

[Both from Holy Cross, Ryton, Co.Durham]

Weep not for me, my wife and children dear,

I am not dead, but sleeping here;

My race is ran, my grave you see,

Prepare yourselves to follow me.

[St.Nicholas, Cramlington, Northumberland]

- Er, not just yet, if you don't mind!

Nineteen years I was a maid,

Seven years I was a wife,

Seventeen days I was a mother,

And then it pleased the Almighty

To call me from this world, to another!

           

[Noted in the Border Advertiser of 3rd Feb.1854, location unknown]

Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.

Also Edith Ruby.

[Southwick Churchyard, Sussex]

And finally a few famous folk:

3.14159265358979323846264338327950288...,
[German-Dutch mathematician, Ludolph van Ceulen, who famously calculated the value of pi to 35 decimal places prior to his death in 1610.  He was so proud of his achievement that he insisted on the number being engraved on his headstone]

A tomb now suffices for him, for whom the world was not enough.
[Alexander the Great]

That's All, folks!
[Mel Blanc]


A reminder to you all that I'm always on the lookout for unusual stories, facts and figures from the world of family history.  If you have anything to offer, then don't be shy - email them to me at micksouthwick@blueyonder.co.uk .

New FH Show Coming Soon

MEDIA NEWS

Of some interest, no doubt, to family historians will be the forthcoming ITV series Long Lost Family, due to commence on Thursday 21st April at 9pm (ITV1).  It's basically a 'reunion' show for family members separated for lengthy periods of time - so it may offer some pointers (and some hope) for those of us in a similar predicament.  You can find out more here and here, and if you go to the ITV website, here, you can fiddle about with the 'TV Guide' until you find the show's description.  They're planning a second series, so those of you who fancy getting your mug on the telly can get in touch with the company concerned via the first mentioned link.

NEWS

SoG members may be interested in this curious little tour.  Frankly, I should imagine that many family historians, with their semi-morbid fascination with death, would be interested in a tour of the London Catacombs.  The authorities could be missing a trick here.

Irish researchers may wish to check out the latest update from Ireland Genealogy Projects, as featured on the Irish Genealogy News blog.

ARTICLES

Part 8 of 'Researching Family in Jersey' has appeared on The Nosey Genealogist's blog.  This time its 'Military Records'.  Thanks to James McLaren for this helpful post - which includes information on a couple of pre-1841 censuses.

And The Family Recorder blog has a helpful piece on those with ancestors lost amidst the London Docks.

ON THIS DAY

1969:  Voting age in the UK is lowered from 21 to 18.
 

Irish Newsletter

NEWS

The April edition of Ireland's Genealogical Gazette (the monthly newsletter of the Genealogical Society of Ireland) is available online here.  The society seems to be booming, and its latest bulletin has a decidedly optimistic tone - reflecting, perhaps, the many exciting developments in the Irish genealogical world of late.  And, as one of the articles reminds us, with so many important State Visits planned for 2011 levels of interest in the ancestry business are set to remain high.

On the subject of the Irish, check out recent developments pertaining to the availability of a further 32,000 baptism records for County Monaghan, here.

The folk at TheGenealogist have released a couple of updates in the last few days.  The first relates to the availability of yet more Worcestershire baptism records, and the second to a substantial addition to their PCC Wills collection.  See here.

Ancestry have placed another free resource on their website, namely, Crisp's Marriage Licence Index for London 1713-1892.  As is usually the case, to search the index as a non-member you need to set up a free account, which is easy enough to do).

A bit selfish of me, but I couldn't resist mentioning this little item.  Rowlands Gill is right on my doorstep up here in the North-East of England, and the historical mystery is quite well-known in these parts.

ARTICLES

Another batch of History Headlines from the BBC.

ON THIS DAY

Birth of...
Charlie Chaplin, in 1889 in London.

1746:  Battle of Culloden.
 
 

Audiovisual Archives

NEWS

The British Film Institute and the British Library have this week signed a 'Memorandum of Understanding' to improve general access to audiovisual and broadcast material held by various organisations across the UK.  One of the great untapped resources of the digital age, the spoken word and the moving picture could provide many of us family historians with our best insight yet into the world of our ancestors.  Bring it on!  Read the BL's press release here.

Ancestry's latest Updated newsletter can be found here. Nothing to write home about, but have a quick look anyway.

FindMyPast have added almost 100,000 new Wiltshire parish records (baptisms) to their database - see here.

MEDIA NEWS

Get the latest TV & Radio info for the coming week, here.

ARTICLES

Back to FindMyPast, and Part 2 of their series on understanding and interpreting family photographs.

And ever wondered what the heck is going on with the Irish Civil Registration system and how to access it?  Well, Chris Paton's got it all in hand, here, with a blog entry that passes as a medium-sized article!

OTHER STUFF

Another item to appear on Chris's blog is his summary of what might be described as the ultimate family history survey!

ON THIS DAY

1912:  Titanic sinks - 1,500+ dead;
1989:  Hillborough Disaster - 96 dead.