Two Handy Newsletters + TNA Stuff

NEWS

The most informative and entertaining genealogy e-newsletters are probably those issued by Lost Cousins and S&N Genealogy Supplies. The first is very much an 'independent' affair, with lots of news and views from across the whole sector, whereas the latter concentrates on events at S&N/TheGenealogist. In the last couple of days both have published another effort, thus:

• Lost Cousins Newsletter - lots of debate concerning the GRO (England/Wales and Scotland), plenty of interest for East Anglian researchers, + GenesReunited news, the British Newspaper Archive, various other bits 'n' pieces ... and plenty of offers;
• S&N Email News - Cornwall, Worcs & Devon added to their 1911 Census datasets, FH Fairs news, many new directories and PRs.

The National Archives have issued an announcement regarding the disposal of some of their old reels of microfilm - stock which they no longer need due to digitisation. If you're interested in laying your hands on some of the freely-available material click here.

And TNA have also unleashed their new 'Archives Media Player' - fabulous!

ARTICLES

Muhammad Ali turned 70 yesterday, of course, and I'm sure many of you enjoyed the TV specials and the like which were aired in his honour last night. MyHeritage also has a look at the great man's ancestry - see here. More classic Ali here.

MEDIA NEWS

Episode 3 of Nick Barratt & Laura Berry's 'Family History Show' is now available. In the latest instalment the experts give their 'Top Ten Tips' on the Census Returns, there are some case histories, plus there's a visit to the Institution of Civil Engineers Archive.

TWITTER BITS

• Warfare Magazine News out (from @WarfareMagazine);
• First Oscar-winning movie (from @casematepub);
• Hitler's birthday celebrations (from @HISTORYmag);
• Irish online research tool (from @ancestrystudent);
• Women at sea (from @2nerdyhistgirls).

Need family history stuff? Try...

FamilySearch Bonanza

NEWS

FamilySearch have announced massive additions to their datasets over the holiday period - over 100 million new records from 33 countries. Included are developments relating to the 1871 Census for England & Wales, Norfolk PRs, and Welsh Probate Abstracts.


There's more information about the release of additional detail from the 1911 Census for England & Wales at FindMyPast. Important that you read this, too, as there's a special offer on regarding purchasing credits for viewing the 1911 Census.

Manchester researchers will want to keep an eye on the Manchester Histories Festival website. This year the programme runs from 24th February to 4th March.

Southampton City Archives are due to re-open soon. However, the occasion has been put back from Tuesday 10th January to Tuesday 17th January - keep an eye on the situation here.

And there's a new history Podcast from the BBC, here.

ARTICLES

Following on from yesterday's effort, there's another twins story, here.

There's the week's 'History Headlines' from the Beeb.

And there's a 'taster' article from the Jersey Evening Post about governmental record releases. Though the article doesn't give much away, I think you get the gist - especially when you read the comments underneath! One of the comments actually makes an interesting (and valid, I think) point about confidentiality regardless of any 100-year-rule... (thanks to James).

MEDIA NEWS

I see the US is preparing itself for another series of WDYTYA?

Mainly Scottish (& Irish) Stuff

NEWS

Scotland has recovered from Hogmanay with a splattering of news items, thus:

• New public record releases by the Scottish Government (15/30yr rule);
• New edition of Tracing Your Scottish Ancestors now available;
• A selection of forthcoming talks, etc., by Scottish FHSs;
• Scottish Catholic researchers may be interested in this post by Chris Paton;
• And Chris also has an item concerning upcoming lectures at the RCAHMS in Edinburgh.

FindMyPast Ireland has made a new release in the shape of the Clonfert Wills, Administrations & Marriage Records 1663-1857. More useful insight from Claire Santry, here.

Elsewhere, we have news of the Android version of the Ancestry App.

And a small detail regarding the various versions of the 1911 Census for England & Wales is ably explained by blogger John Reid, here. As John says, though, there are very few census entries affected by this development.

ARTICLES

The MyHeritage blog has a piece about inherited diseases/disorders and family history research.

MEDIA NEWS

Though not of immediate interest to those of us outside the US, this new genealogy TV show may well find its way over the Pond in the coming months - so keep an eye out for it.

* NEW *

Blank Family Tree Sticker Charts from...

New Beginnings

WEBSITES

As you would expect, the Internet is awash with New Year stuff. Lots of nonsense and waste-of-time efforts, but a few notable items, too. If anyone spots any particularly entertaining pieces, do let me know.

Those I've noticed include this post on the GeneaBloggers site - with mention, too, of weekly blog/research themes of former years. Not sure how the 2012 theme will pan out, but the 2011 instalments, prompting the individual to record their own personal history, were a great idea (and are still available for persual).

The Passionate Genealogist is having a crack at regular postings, too - but in this instance it's a Daily Research Tip via her Facebook page. See the relevant post here.

ARTICLES

For those of you utterly determined to stay in the festive mood, then take a look at this article on the MyHeritage blog concerning New Year traditions from around the world.

And if you're wondering which anniversaries will dominate our historical world in 2012, then The Family Recorder blog suggests that the coming year may have a Dickensian feel to it.

NEWS

If it's old-fashioned genealogical news you want today, then John Reid's Anglo-Celtic Connections blog brings us the latest update from the FreeBMD site; and then there's a little item from John concerning UK nurse records.

Check out the January newsletter from the CWGC, here.

And there's a newsletter, too, from the National Library of Ireland.

Having a Quiet One

NEWS

To be expected, I suppose, but this week is a bit on the quiet side. Many of the commercial companies and a fair old chunk of the bloggers are out of action until the New Year, leaving the few of us who are left struggling to entertain the readership. There are lots of festive ramblings on the blogs - many of them very entertaining - but I guess you don't need me to add to the nostalgic quagmire!

Can I interest you in a Podcast? The latest offering from TNA stems from the major Census conference at the organisation back in October and can be found here (Preparing the 1911 Census for Digitisation).

FindMyPast Ireland has ended a quiet month for them with the release of one last record set, namely, 'Thom's Irish Who's Who 1923', which is self-explanatory. Read all about it here.

I don't usually mention each and every individual talk held at the SoG (they are all listed here), but the one lined up for 28th January looks particularly interesting and will appeal to, well, almost everyone, I should think. It's entitled Tracing Female Ancestors & Women in the 1800s, and runs for a half-day.

I suppose the genealogy big-boys will be vying for our attention as keenly as ever in 2012. Here's what Ancestry have to say about the near future in their '12 Things You Can Count on in 2012'.

And finally, the guys who run the specialist genealogical search engine, Mocavo, have posted a couple of new items on their blog concerning recent developments for users of their site.

Day 4 of 'Start Your Family Tree Week'...

Lost Cousins' Xmas Special

NEWS

Peter Calver, the guy behind Lost Cousins, has released his latest newsletter. See the result here - mainly Census debate, info and opinion, plus a bit on the recent GRO controversy. All very interesting - and of course there's plenty of other stuff in there as regards special offers and opportunities to save a few quid by various ways and means.

Irish researchers may wish to dip their feet in the Eneclann Winter Sale, where most of the goods seem to be on offer at 50% off! The best place to start would appear to be here, and then start browsing... (runs until 8th January).

If you're regularly on the phone to the GRO, then you will want to make a note of their new telephone number. From 5th January 2012 the existing number (0845 6037788) will be replaced by 0300 1231837.  Apparently, 0300 numbers are non-geographic and are specially designated for use by public bodies and not-for-profit organisations - but they are not free and should not be confused with 0800 numbers (or so the GRO say). Note that this number should be used (from 5th Jan) for enquiries about, or ordering, BMD certificates for England/Wales).


Electric Scotland has, I think, issued TWO newsletters/updates since I last mentioned them. Check out this link to access their list of weekly efforts (I should imagine another one will be due at the back end of this week, too).


A couple of news items from Chris Paton's 'British GENES' blog now. Many of you will be delighted to learn of the return of the Lost Edinburgh Facebook page - see this blog entry; and then there's a competition to win a copy of Chris's book (it's a 'rare' one, so have a look!).


And, finally, what about forthcoming events? Well, just a couple of book fairs - so do get along to them if you can...

• Friday 30th December - Market Harborough Book Fair;
• Saturday 31st December - Sherborne Book Fair.

And of course you'll not forget to have a look at today's instalment of 'Start Your Family Tree Week'...

More 1911 Progress at Ancestry

NEWS

Ancestry have announced the availability of more 'searchable records' pertaining to their 1911 Census holdings for England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Read all about the latest developments here.

The National Archives have issued a couple of news items in the last day or so. The first refers to the pending release of records of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (follow the link in the piece for much more info); the second concerns movement at the highest level of the archive industry, namely, the All Party Parliamentary Group on Archives and History's latest get-together with the sector's leaders.

Denbighshire Archive Service will be closed next week (Mon 12th to Fri 16th) for its annual stocktake - see here (where their Christmas hours are also on display).

A couple of special offers:

• Your Family History magazine have what looks like a great 'Starter Pack' up for grabs - and their latest issue is also now available;
• Pen & Sword Books have a '3 for 2' offer on all local & family history publications - see their newsletter, here, and click on the relevant banner.

The Christmas issue of BBC History Magazine is also now available.

MEDIA NEWS

TV and radio for the coming week can be found here.

ARTICLES

And a neat follow-up article to last night's Find My Past TV show on the subject of the Suffragettes is provided by writer and researcher Ros Bott - see here.

Save 10% on Gold or Diamond Subscription to 'The Genealogist'...

News from the FFHS

NEWS

Those of you interested in the mechanics of the GRO - and maybe even having a say in how the institution operates - may well be interested in attending one of the forthcoming 'User Group' sessions. One will be held in London and the other in Southport. Check out the FFHS announcement on the subject.

Looks like I'm a tiny bit late with this one, but I have just spotted the November issue of the FFHS's E-Zine. Included within is the first mention I have seen this year of the annual 'Start Your Family Tree Week'.

Reader Niall McChesney points us in the direction of an interesting 10-minute programme on BBC Radio 4 last Sunday, namely, A Point of View. In it, the historian Prof Lisa Jardine (daughter of Jacob Bronowski) gives a talk where she begins by admitting a measure of academic stuffiness about family history, but goes on to say that she has been converted after hearing some oral history made by older members of her family. You can listen to the programme here. By a strange quirk of fate, within minutes of reading Niall's email I noticed the announcement re. Lisa Jardine's new role at The National Archives. One wonders if she was 'converted' prior to or following her prestigious appointment...


The HistoryToday website is carrying a story about an attack on the National Library of Wales by its own government for accepting a slightly dodgy bequest. There is a link in the piece to the original Guardian article of last week.


FamilySearch has added 18 million records from 12 countries to its holdings - see here. Nothing new from the British Isles in there, though.


There is now very little in the way of 'forthcoming events' to report in my regular Tuesday listings. All we have this coming weekend are:

• Saturday 10th December - Edinburgh Book Fair;
• Saturday 10th December - Ribble Valley Book Fair;
• Sunday 11th December - London Holiday Inn Book Fair (Bloomsbury).

WEBSITES

If you have ancestors in the North of England, then the website pointed out, here, by blogger Audrey Collins may interest you. All to do with the so-called 'Cause Papers of 1300-1858'.

ARTICLES

What may be classed as an independent review of the new Family Tree Maker 2012 has been posted by Ros Bott.

OTHER STUFF

I seem to have tripped over another discount coupon for the Lulu website at www.lulu.com - apparently WINTERSAVEUK305 will get you 30% off any order (up to £100 of savings - and ends 11.59pm on 7th December). My own Lulu Storefront is here - though the code can be used anywhere on the site.

New Cheshire Stuff & Military Freebies

NEWS

FindMyPast have launched their 'Cheshire Collection' - an amalgam of all their material pertaining to the English County, presumably - which comprises some 10 million records. Read all about it here.

The day's other major news concerns Ancestry and their special WWI offer - that is, free access to three of their main datasets relating to the conflict. Offer ends on 13th, so move quickly.

What will certainly become major news in due course is the eventual placing online of the England & Wales GRO Index (way back to 1837) by the GRO guys themselves. What will presumably be a FREE facility will make it a doddle to order historic certificates, and, of course, pretty much render all such similar features on commercial sites redundant. This worthy project is ongoing (it's about half done), as blogger Chris Paton and his informant tell us here.

Blogger Claire Santry has got wind of RootsIreland's pending release of records relating to County Monaghan - see here.

The second PRONI/OUI lecture is now online at YouTube (on the subject of 'Poverty').

Kirsteen Mulhern has brought to our attention a worthy project taking place north of the border concerning the everyday lives of the folk of Dumfries & Galloway over the years.

And sticking with the Scots, here's a special 'genealogical research offer' from McNicholl Genealogical Services.

If anyone else has any special festive offers, then let me know!

MEDIA NEWS

A flavour of what's to come TV-wise can be found here.

GenesReunited Claims a Big One

NEWS

A press release by GenesReunited this morning states the following:

PARISH RECORDS ADDED TO GENESREUNITED.CO.UK

UK family history site Genes Reunited have added Parish Records to their growing record collection.

Today sees the launch of over 35 million baptism, marriage and burial records for England and Wales dating back to 1538.

Parish records are an important source for family historians allowing them to trace their ancestors back further than 1837.  The Parish Records added to www.genesreunited.co.uk include Boyd's Marriage Index 1538-1840 and Boyd's 1st Miscellaneous Series 1538-1775 supplied by the Society of Genealogists. 

Genes Reunited have worked in partnership with the Federation of Family History Societies and local family history experts who have supplied many of the records.  In total there are over 12 million baptism records, over 15 million marriage records and just over 8 million burial records.

The newly added parish records are available online at www.genesreunited.co.uk and can be viewed on a pay per view basis or Platinum members can choose to add on one or more of the record sets to their package at a low cost.

Rhoda Breakell, Head of Genes Reunited comments: "Now that the Parish Records are available online they are easily accessible to everyone.  Even if you do not know where your ancestors were before 1837, you can now search for them in over 35 million records online at Genes Reunited."

A visit to their website does not provide any further details, but no doubt more information will come to the fore during the next day or two.

Elsewhere, accessibility to the England & Wales GRO Index has made the news, nicely summarised by this announcement on the FFHS website. Now, north-easterners like myself will be well aware that Newcastle City Library already has the Index readily available on tap (and has done for many years) - I can only assume that this means it will now be sent the last few year's-worth to 'top up' their holdings. Note that the London Metropolitan Archives will have their Indexes removed on 28th October.

TheGenealogist have released more of the 1911 Census (Kent) to their Diamond subscribers. Oops, and I see lots of Catholic records have also popped up!

A reminder that the British Library have lots of talks, etc., coming up in the next few months - see here for October's programme (Nov., Dec., etc., available, too).

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

The November issue of HistoryToday Magazine is also available.

Pen & Sword Books have released details of their Autumn sale.

Linen Hall Library in Belfast has plenty to offer in its October Events Programme (should have brought you this news a few days ago - sorry).

There's a competition running on the WDYTYA? website to win tickets for Dublin's 'Back to Our Past' fair next week - see here.

Oh, and Eastbourne Reference Library have been in touch this morning to tell me that one of the email addresses I gave out yesterday is incorrect (their fault, not mine!). I have now amended the post, to leave the correct one only!

ARTICLES

The usual weekly helping of 'History Headlines' from the BBC can be found here.

MEDIA NEWS


TV & Radio for the coming week has been posted here.

WEBSITES

Though I think I've mentioned it before, check out this site for some free family history webinars (well, some are free, some are not!).

Free Stuff Update

NEWS

Just a reminder, in case you should need it, that Ancestry are now well into their 15-day run of free access to a selection of their records. Today is extra special, because the records up for grabs are the England & Wales Birth Records - but check out everything on offer here. Remember that all the offers run up until the end of 15th October.

In a similar vein, folk will be aware that much of the England/Wales BMD Indexes are freely available on the excellent FreeBMD site.  Well, blogger John Reid has reported on a recent update to the said resource, here.

Those who indulge in the Discover My Past magazines (Scotland and England) may wish to read Chris Paton's blog entry re. the same here. Great shame to see the disappearance of the Anglo version.

Over to Ireland now, and the latest issue of the Eneclann newsletter (inc. a county focus on Tipperary). Then there's a couple more bits of news from Claire Santry of the Irish Genealogy News blog - namely, the online appearance of a whopping 534,000 Waterford births/baptisms; and the opening of a new exhibition at Linen Hall Library (check out the Library's 'What's On Guide', too, which includes some info about the exhibition).

And Welsh researchers may be interested in this entry from the National Library of Wales blog about their tie-in with the Europeana Libraries Project.

ARTICLES

A worrying story has been posted on the BritishGENES blog (original source Celia Heritage) about institutionalised vandalism at a cemetery in Greenwich, London.

And those of you interested in the educational side of genealogy will want to take in this lengthy post on the subject by The Professional Descendant (aka Kirsty F.Wilkinson).

TNA's New Role

NEWS

Just when I thought the news had passed us by with barely a whimper (and a brief mention on this blog yesterday), The National Archives have 'gone big' with the announcement that they are to take over responsibility for archives across England. They've even set up a new website dedicated to the matter, here.

TNA have also put out an appeal for volunteers to help with the digitisation of World War I war diaries - a truly major project involving one of the institution's most popular resources.

Carmarthen Museum is showing an exhibition set up by the county's archives service entitled Treasures at the Archives: Centuries of Records.  Runs until Christmas - but the only decent online mention I could find was here.

Parish Chest have issued their latest newsletter.  The usual friendly chat, followed by new releases from a host of vendors. Look out for a chance to get a free back copy of Family History Monthly.

And the next few days see the following events coming to towns up and down the land:

• Saturday 8th October - Suffolk Family History Fair, Debenham, Stowmarket;
• Saturday 8th October - Border History Family History Fair, Biddulph;
• Saturday 8th October - Alloway & S.Ayrshire FHS Drop-in Day, Alloway;
• Saturday 8th October - Wolverhampton Archives & Local Studies Local History Fair;
• Saturday 8th October - Bury St.Edmunds Book Fair;
• Saturday 8th October - Sherborne Book Fair;
• Sunday 9th October - London Holiday Inn Book Fair;
• Postcard Fairs at Norwich and Cirencester on Saturday 8th and Wednesday 12th October - see here (but check with organisers prior to travelling).

And a reminder that the Cleveland FHS get-together at Scotch Corner on 8th October has been cancelled.

WEBSITES

Fans of the Europeana website will be interested to see the site's planned new layout.

ARTICLES

The Family Recorder blog has issued the first in a series of articles on the many available BMD search sites. Definitely worth a look.

 

 

GRO Survey

NEWS

This one's been kicking around for a few days, but you may have missed it - and that is the General Register Office Survey. OK, it might not seem like major news, but judging by the tone of some of the questions it seems as if the authorities may be flirting with the possibility of a partnership with one of the genealogical big boys. Seems like a good opportunity, too, to tell them to introduce a watered down info service for us genealogists (rather than forking out for full certificates all the time).

Some advance warning about the London History Festival at Kensington Central Library and Waterstones Kensington during 14th-24th November - see the dedicated websites, here and here (not sure if it's all happening in Kensington or if the festival is a city-wide occasion). I'll give you another reminder nearer the time, by which time more information may have come to light. Oh, I've just spotted this pdf, too.

Another Podcast from TNA is available here (Out of the Way of Mischief).

I've noticed a couple of GENUKI county pages have been updated of late - Devon and Lincolnshire.

And I was quite taken by the release of an interesting piece of software, namely, Personal Historian 2.  OK, so it'll be all North American and all that entails, but it's an interesting concept and made me wonder if there's anything similar on the UK market.  If anyone can help me out - or has experience of the US package - do get in touch.

ARTICLES

In a similar vein, check out this (again, North American) news feature on the release of the new Kindle line-up.  Now I haven't got one yet, and it'll be interesting to see if e-books really do take off like The Armchair Genealogist predicts. Though I think we're a wee bit behind the US on that score (as with most other things!)

MEDIA NEWS

There's a little background information to last night's WDYTYA? episode on the BBC to be found here.

And there's also a couple of other items of note on the same website: forthcoming TV/Radio, and the BBC's Turn Back Time programme are looking for participants for their next series.

OH, ALMOST FORGOT...


Two Irish events:

• Friday 30th  September - Celebrating Cork Past Exhibition;
• Saturday 1st October - Dublin City Library & Archive Local History Day (might be too late for this one, but give them a ring - you may be able to secure a place).

Hell Breaks Loose

NEWS

It's all kicking off in the genealogical world this morning following the news, yesterday, of the latest records release by Ancestry.  The original announcement - a huge piece of news pertaining to Irish records - can be seen here (you can also see them neatly listed here).  The National Library of Ireland, though, is not happy, as it insists that proper permission was not sought by Ancestry first.  The Irish Times has a reasonably full report on the matter here.  Trouble at t' mill, as they say.

Elsewhere, those other big-players, FindMyPast, have released their 'Manchester Collection', which pretty much speaks for itself.

A couple of items of slightly older news now in the shape of two reports on the FFHS website.  Both should be taken in by users of our London repositories especially:

• The 2nd meeting of TNA User Advisory Group;
• Archives for London Seminar.

I like to occasionally refer you to the list of forthcoming events maintained by the Scottish Association of FHSs - so here it is.

Staying in Scotland, East Lothian are flaunting their Polish connections with a special exhibition - see here.

Irish company Eneclann have released their latest newsletter, which includes a focus on Co.Clare.

And GenesReunited are currently offering a 10% discount on their Platinum subscription (valid until 3rd October).  Not that I've tried it myself, but the special code you need is, apparently, GENESRSEPT.

WEBSITES

'Some WWI Photographs' is worth a look.

OTHER STUFF

A bit of fun spotted by Chris Paton: The History of English (in 10 parts, in ten minutes!) - see his post here.  Nice one!

New Mags

NEWS

Two of our established genealogical magazines have just published their latest issues.  Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine was released a few days ago and can be scrutinised here; and Family Tree Magazine's latest offering is being advertised here.  FTM is also running a survey with some nice prizes.

TheGenealogist's latest record releases can be viewed here, the most recent being a varied range of poll books, PRs, military records, school registers and some criminal records (England/Wales) for their Diamond subscribers.

The Irish Genealogy News blog has issued a mini-update of forthcoming Ireland-related events.

Yorkshire folk may care to indulge in the Huddersfield History Seminars/Lectures being held at the town's university.  Seems like they're open to all, and there's no need to book.

Blogger Chris Paton has a report on the new National Library of Scotland Bill, here.

And here's a little bit more news on the major overseas event that is Rootstech.

MEDIA NEWS

Those of you who watched last night's Who Do You Think You Are? on BBC TV may wish to follow it up with a bit of extra reading here and here (both contain 'spoilers' if you've not yet seen the show!).  You will note that there is a link to the programme on BBC iPlayer to be found via that second link.

And there's the usual weekly schedule of forthcoming TV & Radio stuff to be found here.

Petition

NEWS

Just in case you haven't yet seen it, you may care to visit the government's e-petition website and join the campaign for reduced fees for 'research copies' of birth, marriage and death certificates in England & Wales - see here.  Do it now before you forget - even if you're Irish, Scottish, or anything else, for that matter!

Essex researchers may already be aware of this news, but I've just come across the Essex Record Office's 'Programme of Events' for 2011.  There's absolutely loads going on - coming up this month there is a conference on fashion (24th), a 'Discovery Maps' session (15th) and another of their regular 'Searchroom Tours' (21st).  All need to be booked in advance.

Several more records have popped up at TheGenealogist in the last few days, featuring lots of Worcestershire PR transcripts, a small selection of English trade directories and news of the release of the complete 1911 census for Hertfordshire.  Click here for further details.

And thanks to Chris Paton for spotting a new development at FindMyPast Ireland (new 'forum' section) - see his post here.

WEBSITES

Irish Roots' Facebook Page has flagged an interesting feature on the Belfast Telegraph's website.  As you can see, it offers folk the chance to obtain copies of images held in Linen Hall Library's collection.

ARTICLES

The remains of infamous outlaw, Ned Kelly, have been identified - minus his head, that is.  Read all about it here.

ON THIS DAY

1972:  The 'Munich Massacre' begins at the Summer Olympic Games in West Germany.  11 Israeli athletes (+ 6 others) would lose their lives in the two-day hostage-taking episode carried out by the Palestinian terrorist group 'Black September'.

 

New Mags Flurry

NEWS

New editions of the following magazines are now available:

• Family Tree;
• Your Family History;
• BBC History.

And the following events are coming up soon:

• Friday 22nd & Saturday 23rd July - Ilkley Book Fair;
• Sunday 24th July - Beaulieu Book Fair.

Another notable event is actually happening today, namely, the opening of the Museum of Liverpool.  See the BBC announcement and the official website.

Other than the above, there are just a couple of Irish announcements to make.  Firstly, Irish Roots Facebook page has brought the Irish Landed Estates Database to our attention - see this summary (with links).  And then there's some new County Down, County Armagh and County Londonderry records available at Emerald Ancestors.

ARTICLES

The Nosey Genealogist has produced a helpful article on the subject of where to look for English/Welsh ancestors' wills.

And though it has nothing to do with UK/Irish research, I am sure you will find this article on Spanish naming conventions from MyHeritage most interesting.  Learn something new every day!

A Bit of Everything

NEWS

Rather like the weather of these glorious shores, we've got a bit of everything today.  So let's get cracking.

There's something for the weekend, entertainment-wise, with some Podcasts, etc:

• BBC History Magazine 8th July podcast (Victorian Boarding Schools and WWII);
• TNA's podcast (Overseas BMD);
• Not a podcast exactly, but a nice video of 'This Week in History'.

Lots to catch up on with Chris Paton's ScottishGENES blog.  Among his many noteworthy posts are some interesting avenues of research for Scotland (and, indeed, England & Wales) on the FamilySearch site; a ScotlandsPeople Centre newsflash; and further clarification on those new London Wills that popped up on Ancestry's site a few days ago.  All good stuff, Chris.

Cheshire also seems to have received a boost on the FamilySearch website.  See John Reid's post, here.

A couple of snippets from Ireland.  I mentioned on 2nd July that the National Library of Ireland were preparing to launch a blog - well, here it is.  And users of Ireland Genealogy (formerly Pensear.org) can obtain a 25% discount on their website by using the code 'WELCOMEBACK'.  Not entirely sure how the code works, but I got offered it by just being a subscriber to their newsletter - so thought I'd pass the news on.

There is a bit of bad news.  Spotted on the National Library of Wales blog is a bleak outlook for the institution's financial future.  Doesn't make especially pleasant or entertaining reading, but let's hope things don't turn out quite as bad as they are predicting.

ARTICLES

HistoryToday magazine's website has released a lengthy piece from its archives on the history of the NHS.  It was written in 1998, but is still well worth a look.

I can see more news coming into my in-tray by the hour, but I shall leave it there for now.  Do call in again on Monday!

More on those Wills

NEWS

Seems like yesterday's news regarding Ancestry's National Probate Calendar for England & Wales was a little incomplete!  Turns out that they are actually offering free access to the index (which covers 1841-1941) until close of play on 8th July.  This means that you can gain maximum information on a will before you send off for a copy.  See this link for the full story.  You will also note that they are providing free access to the Andrews Newspaper Index Cards, 1790-1976.  So get in there whilst the going's good.

As for the other wills news from yesterday (the newly available London Wills & Probate, 1525-1858), I would draw your attention to comments posted on both the SoG blog and the ScottishGENES blog on the subject.  Important to look after the small detail!

The National Library of Ireland will soon take the plunge with its own blog - see the announcement here.

A new resource for Jersey family historians has been flagged by The Nosey Genealogist and his informer James McLaren: the Victoria College Register, 1852-1929.  The link you are pointed to takes a while to load up, but your computer will get there in the end.

FindMyPast Ireland have released another record set onto the Internet: Farrar's Index to Irish Marriages, 1771-1812.

There are a couple of Podcasts to catch up on:

• From TNA: 1611-2011 - The 400th Anniversary of the King James Bible;
• From BBC History Magazine: July 1st Podcast (Crusades and Romans). Note that this podcast is now weekly!

The BBC also have also released an 'Out & About' listing for July, offering you the chance to enjoy that glorious British weather (ahem).

ARTICLES

Remember that announcement about the Sinn Fein Rebellion Handbook a few days ago?  Well, here are a few sample entries from the same in a short article by FindMyPast Ireland.

Interested in British participation in the US Civil War?  Then there's an interesting post on the McNicholl Genealogical Services blog to peruse.

London Wills

NEWS

Ancestry have unveiled a brand new resource: London Wills & Probate, 1525-1858 - check out the official announcement.  Additionally, Ancestry have also filled in some of the gaps in its National Probate Calendar for England & Wales - nicely summarised by John Reid, here, and accessible through this handy page.

Irish Roots magazine now produces a monthly newsletter to supplement its quarterly mag - see here.  The magazine's Facebook page also reminds us about the 'Discover Your National Library' exhibition at the National Library of Ireland.

WEBSITES

An exciting new website has also been flagged by Irish Roots magazine's Facebook page, namely, Dunbrody.com, which features a searchable online Irish Emigration database, plus many other interesting bits and bobs.

ARTICLES

The BBC History Magazine website provides some great reading today, with a look at household composition trends, as well as its usual batch of weekly 'History Headlines' (a fascinating collection of stories - some quite shocking - but one is a particular stand-out: the online availability of the Reith Lectures, 1948-2010 - wow! - direct link here).

MEDIA NEWS

More forthcoming TV & Radio can be found here.

ON THIS DAY

Birth of...
Princess Diana, at Sandringham, in 1961 (would have been her 50th birthday).

1837:  Civil Registration of births, marriages & deaths commences in England & Wales.