Libraries on a Roll!

NEWS

After similar news from Somerset early this month (see here), the courts have now stepped in to force Surrey Council to rethink their plans over library closures/restructuring. It now seems as if the recent negative trend has been well and truly brought to a halt!

The National Archives are all set to launch their new online catalogue, Discovery, at the end of the month - so if you're a regular user then you'd better examine the fine detail, here.

Chris Paton brings us news of the Northern Scotland journal, here - with a free sample issue up for grabs.

The latest newsletter of the Ireland Reaching Out (Ireland XO) Project is now available. And the website itself is here.

The British Library have some stunning images up for sale at their 'Prints' section.

WEBSITES

Follow blogger John Reid to some newly-available records/documents from the British Army.

ARTICLES

Kirsty Wilkinson has a little piece on Scottish naming habits.

There's an article on the History of Ellis Island at The History Channel website.

And the usual excellent weekly listing of history articles is now available at the Two Nerdy History Girls blog.

TWITTER BITS

• Radio programme on our industrial past (from @EnglishHeritage);
• New exhibition at Bolton Museum (from @THP_Local);
• Lunchtime talks in Sunderland (from @TWArchives);
• 100 years in same house (from @genesreunited).

1881 Scottish Census at FMP

NEWS

A freshly-transcribed version of the 1881 Census for Scotland is now available at Find My Past. For full details and the relevant link see here. And, as far as I'm aware, you can still get 10% off the membership rates for FMP by using the promotion code NEWYEAR12 - or if that doesn't work try STFTW12 (until 31st January - try the site out here).

FMP have also released additional records for the county of Cheshire - see here.

DeceasedOnline have come forward with more releases - this time from the Scottish Highlands.

The February issue of Family History Monthly is now available.

Pen & Sword Books have issued another 'offers' bulletin.

And finally, news-wise, I will give you the next announcement (via the FFHS's Roger Lewry) in full...

The following announcement has been received from the Ancestral Tourism Partnership:

Dr Nick Barratt will be among speakers at the Archives, Digitization and Heritage Tourism Workshop taking place at The Centre for the Historical Record, Kingston University, London 2.30 - 5.30pm on Wednesday, 22 February 2012. This innovative workshop aims to facilitate discussion and dissemination of information about the latest digital developments in the field of archives and heritage that are designed to increase public use and awareness of historic records and to encourage more people to visit local repositories and sites of historic interest. It will be of particular interest to archive, museum and heritage professionals, local councils keen to promote heritage and tourism in their area, and anyone interested in public history, local history and family history.  Everyone is welcome and entrance is free but places are limited so please reserve your seat online (http://number8glass.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=dd1d56a1060255e3c02857d1b&id=2ae699084b&e=b2cded504a).  This link will also provide more information about the scope of the workshop. For more information please contact Dr Nicola Phillips, The Centre for the Historical Record at:  n.philllips@kingston.ac.uk or 020 8417 2895.

WEBSITES

The 3rd anniversary of GeneaBloggers has just passed - which gives me an excuse to direct you to a neat little post on the worthy set-up, here.

Fell across the MemoryBistro website on Twitter, and thought it was worth a mention. Doesn't appear to have launched yet, but looks like an interesting concept.

ARTICLES

The Family Recorder blog has two recent articles of interest. Firstly, there's a piece on Free Online Genealogy Tools; then there's an item on an unusual, and often ridiculed, occupation - the 'monthly nurse'.

MEDIA NEWS

What looks like a great week ahead for history on TV & radio can be scrutinised here.

TWITTER BITS

• 'Napoleonland' theme park (from @74guns via @2nerdyhistgirls);
• 1984-85 Miners' Strike (from @heritagehistory);
• Dublin City Book Fair on 22nd (from @findmypastIE);
• Early Photography (from @Amateur_Casual);
• Wolverhampton events (from @WolvesArchives);
• 1960s London footage (from @peter_watts);
• Pram fashions - fantastic! (from @BritishPathe).

Need a Genea book or software? Try...

BI-Gen Store

English & Irish News, Mainly...

NEWS

A little bit of everything today - mainly from various spots in England and Ireland ...

We'll kick off with the Freemen of Dublin City records 1774-1824 from Find My Past Ireland - which I think is self-explanatory, containing around 6,000 names of tradesmen and the like from the time and place in question.

Also from Ireland, we have the latest issue of Ireland's Genealogical Gazette from the Genealogical Society of Ireland - essential viewing for Irish researchers, I'd say, so why not dip your toes.

London researchers may wish to peruse the 'Archives for London's' programme of events - lots of good stuff there. (See also 'Websites' below).

There's been a notable addition to the records at British Origins pertaining to Middlesex/London baptisms (1538-1751) - see here.

Some important news for Oxfordshire family and local historians with the following announcement (thanks to Paul Gaskell of the Oxford FHS):

The annual stocktaking closure of the Oxfordshire History Centre takes place shortly, and there has been a modification to the closure dates that were originally publicised last Autumn. The Oxfordshire History Centre will close at 5.00pm on Saturday 21 January 2012 and will re-open at 9.00am on Saturday 4 February 2012. A change of plan means that the centre will be closed on the "middle" Saturday - so the centre will be *closed* on Saturday 28 January 2012. That differs from stocktaking closures in previous years, and from the dates for the 2012 closure that were originally announced last Autumn. Further details can be found at :-

www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/public-site/oxfordshire-history-centre 

The WDYTYA? magazine website brings us a little snippet concerning a project relating to York City Archives. This, though, is old-ish news - it first broke back in early December (see here). No more information seems to be available online concerning the venture, as far as I can tell.

There's also a little bit of something from Scotland, with an update to the National Library of Scotland's events listing.

Finally, there's a competition to win an annual subscription to the British Newspaper Archive, here. 

WEBSITES

More for Londoners with the impressive 'London Lives' website. It's fabulous search facility even gave me some results (no known London ancestry).

TWITTER BITS

• A Lady's Etiquette;
• Five generations in one photo! (from @MyHeritage).

A Few Articles for You

ARTICLES

It's a quiet start on the news front this week, so we’ll entertain ourselves with a few articles.

The eternal question of which of the major genealogical subscription websites to sign up to perplexes many a new-starter in this hobby of ours. The Family Recorder blog has a stab at providing a bit of guidance on the subject, here.

I’ve been quite taken by the Two Nerdy History Girls blog since discovering it a few days ago. Once a week they provide us with a neat listing of recently-spotted articles - mainly stuff picked up on Twitter. The 'Nerdy' pair themselves are US-based, but the content of the blog has lashings of British material. The latest weekly instalment of article links can be found here. And I'm sure you'll find the piece on 'The Fine Art of Walking' entertaining, too.

'Malthus and the Seven Billion' provides an interesting angle on population studies, and leaves the reader wanting to learn more about the chap in question. 

And it is always worth checking out the GenealogyInTime feature 'Newest Genealogy Records on the Internet' from time to time.

NEWS

Claire Santry brings us another update to the Ireland Genealogy Project Archives.

And those within striking distance of London may wish to consider what the British Library has on offer over the coming weeks, here.

WEBSITES

A new-ish website for researchers in the East of England has popped up in the shape of the 'East Anglian Film Archive'. Follow the link from Chris Paton's helpful blog post, here.

Ancestry's New Approach

NEWS

Thanks to Alan Stewart's blog for an interesting new approach offered by Ancestry when it comes to searching their records. I must confess that I hadn't noticed this, and am not sure how long it's been up and running - see Alan's post here (where you will find a link to the new 'Parish Pages' in question - direct link here).

The GOONS is running an Army Records Seminar in Ash, Surrey, on Saturday 18th February - see full details here.

The HistoryToday Podcast for January is now available (Treaty of Versailles, and Sir Gawain & the Green Knight).

Now seems a good time to remind folk of the ongoing PRONI lecture series, with the next instalment due on 26th January. Chances are I'll not be mentioning the series again, so do make a note of the dates, etc., if you're interested in any of 'em.

WEBSITES

Here's a website worth keeping tabs on. It's called Two Nerdy History Girls, and provides plenty of interesting material pertaining to social history. And I'll start you off with their weekly round-up of links to history articles, etc., here.

ARTICLES

Chris Paton offers his thoughts on what might happen to Scottish genealogical research should the nation decide to vote 'yes' to independence from the UK.

OTHER STUFF

Ontario-based Christine Woodcock has unveiled plans for her next organised 'Genealogy Research Trip to Scotland' - see here.

Oh, and you may wish to check out a new feature of the blog, namely, the BI-Gen Store. By following the link you will be taken to an Amazon Store dedicated to genealogy (primarily, a 'books' section and a 'software' section). So if you need any family history goods, then you can earn BI-Gen a tiny bit of commission by ordering via my store. Just use the 'Shopping Cart' icon like you normally would. If you have any problems using the Store, let me know.

Click here>>>  BI-Gen Store   <<<Click here

In Vision and Sound

NEWS

OK, so it's not exactly riveting viewing, but some brave soul ventured onto the roof of the National Library of Wales yesterday to capture this footage of bit of the roof blowing around in the gale force winds. The emergency soon passed, though, and it seems that no serious damage was done to the building nor its contents (see also here).

There's more video viewing to be found of Irish rural life in the 1930s at YouTube, here. Rose-tinted specs and all that, of course. Also worth having a look at the related videos down the right-hand side.

Something to listen to, now, in the shape of a Podcast from The National Archives - and the extraordinary story of one of Queen Victoria's favourites, Duleep Singh.

The latest issue of Your Family History is now on sale - see here.

Pen & Sword Books have launched their January sale.

And don't forget that FindMyPast.co.uk are still offering 10% off all new subscriptions during January - just use the code NEWYEAR12 when signing up for a package.

WEBSITES

Several sources have mentioned forthcoming developments at www.militaryarchives.ie - the website of 'Defence Forces Ireland'. About the best description of what is afoot can be found at Chris Paton's British GENES blog, here.

ARTICLES

I suspect the strange story of the twins born five years apart will not be quite so unusual in the future, but it still makes interesting reading in the present.

And The Family Recorder blog has an important lesson about swotting up on your geography - or at least not jumping to hasty conclusions due to your ignorance!

MEDIA NEWS

TV & radio for the week ahead can be found here.

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.

More Scottish Census News

NEWS

Further to last month's news about the 1861 Scottish Census, FindMyPast have now released transcriptions of the 1871 Scottish Census - meaning that the website now has 1841-71 covered for the nation. Due to licensing regulations it is not possible for any of the commercial companies to offer the original images of the documents, but FMP are claiming a high degree of accuracy with their efforts. Go to FMP's Main Page, and the story is under 'Family History News'. 


Oh, and whilst you're visiting the site, look out for FMP's take on the forthcoming 'Start Your Family Tree Week' (top right of home page). There's also a competition to enter in relation to the same.


Staying in Scotland, the British GENES blog has a piece about the final stages of the re-location of Edinburgh City Archives.


As you probably know, MyHeritage have recently brought WorldVitalRecords.com under their umbrella, and this blog post reveals the organisation's early attempts at integrating the said records into their existent data sets.


Ancestry have added some new Kent records to their website. This page is as good a way into them as any (and then click on the relevant link).


The deadline for the FFHS's long-running competition is fast approaching. See the note on the main page of the Federation's website, here.


A couple of events - both postcard fairs - are coming up soon, at Digbeth (Birmingham) and Cheltenham on 28th & 29th December, respectively. See here for further details - and please check with the organisers before travelling, if possible.


WEBSITES


Blogger Dick Eastman has flagged a website which will keep map enthusiasts busy for a while. See his post regarding the Worldology site, here.

GRO Shenanigans

NEWS

The latest Lost Cousins newsletter has plenty to say about the GRO and its fees system. Peter Calver, with his background in economics, suggests that the folk in charge have missed a trick and should be looking to reduce the cost of certified copies of BMD certificates. There is, of course, plenty more on offer in the bulletin, including news of free access to the Lost Cousins website over the festive period. Read all about it here.

The BritishGENES blog has picked up an important piece of news for those of you with Jewish ancestry.

TNA has issued another Podcast - this one's entitled Untold Histories: black Britons during the period of the British slave trade, c.1660-1807.

Two items from the British Library: firstly, a new sculpture by Antony Gormley has been unveiled (in these especially tough times for our branch libraries I trust it didn't cost too much?); and there's a new Victorian Christmas iPad app available for purchase.

And for all you Europhiles, here's the December newsletter from Europeana.

WEBSITES

Two useful and interesting online resources have been doing the rounds of late - and The Family Recorder blog does as good a job as any of explaining them to us: firstly, there's a post relating to the 'Locating London's Past' website; and secondly there's an introduction to the 'Edible Archive'.

ARTICLES

Having, as I do, an interest in the early days of organised football, I was intrigued by Christine Woodcock's post on the subject of pioneer women's football. Those early press reports make extraordinary reading. Oh, and have you seen my own footie book, here? (couldn't miss a chance like that to mention it, now, could I?).

MEDIA NEWS

Thursday night's Find My Past TV show can be previewed here (main website here.).

And one or two other TV programmes can be found here.

Family History Scraps

Nothing earth-shattering to report on today, but a few oddments have surfaced, thus...

WEBSITES

The anniversary of an important historical event seems to have slipped by almost unnoticed - for it was 90 years ago last week that the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty took place. The National Archives of Ireland have, however, come up trumps with a splendid online exhibition on the topic.

NEWS

Forthcoming events of interest to genealogists...

• Sunday 18th December - Exeter Book Fair;
• Tuesday 20th December - Stockport Postcard Fair (please check with organiser before travelling);

I've noticed that a few of GENUKI's county pages have been updated of late - namely, those covering Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Devon, Norfolk and Nottinghamshire. Please note, though, that most of the county pages do not have an 'updates page', so it is always worth checking your geographical areas of interest from time to time. The GENUKI main page can be found here.

Those of you who utilise Batch Numbers in their FamilySearch investigations will be pleased to see this announcement from the website in question.

The Origins website reports on a couple of additions to its National Wills Index.

A sad tale posted on Family Tree's Twitter page concerns the demise of two more local newspapers - this time in Kent. See the story here.

If you're into statistics - or, more specifically, Scottish stats - then here are a few BMD facts and figures from the GRO for Scotland.

ARTICLES

There's a short piece from FMPIreland about Irish Burial Records & Gravestones to be found here.

And why not gain access to more Irish records by subscribing to...

Irish Publications

NEWS

A couple of websites have thrown up a good few Irish books for your consideration. The publications arm of the Ulster Historical Foundation, BooksIreland, have compiled a list of 'Latest Releases' which looks rather tasty. Ditto the selection offered in the latest Eneclann Newsletter (which also has a 'Focus' on County Down).

Blogger Chris Paton has brought to our attention the publication of the annual review of the National Library of Scotland - and his post also mentions the uploading of several thousand new maps onto the NLS's website! Chris has also posted news (and personal comment) about some minor changes at the ScotlandsPeople Centre - see here.

In England, tomorrow (13th December) is the scheduled date for the reopening of the Lincolnshire Archive Search Room. At the time of writing, the relevant website seems to indicate that this is still the plan - though the car park will still be out of bounds. Best give them a ring before travelling.

If you're an active member of a 'Community Archive/Heritage Group', you may be interested in the '2011 Community Archive Award'. Closing date for nominations is 31st December.

And for those of you who like to follow genealogist Nick Barratt's adventures, see his latest blog post here.

WEBSITES

London researchers may be interested in the 'London Historians' website - and the related blog.

ARTICLES

GenealogyInTime has a lengthy article of hints and tips regarding Online Genealogy Searches.

Save 10% on a subscription, and earn BI-Gen a bit of commission (at no additional cost to yourself) by clicking below...

Archive Cataloguing Grants

NEWS


Access to 12 archive collections is set to be transformed by a series of grants announced today. The National Cataloguing Grants Programme 2011 has awarded £420,000 to archives across the UK to help make these vitally important collections fully accessible for the first time...   And so begins the latest announcement by The National Archives concerning this noteworthy national scheme. See the story in full, with relevant links which reveal the beneficiaries of the project, by clicking here.


The Christmas issue of Family Tree magazine is now on sale.


The latest newsletter from Parish Chest is available for perusal, including its lengthy list of new product releases from organisations up and down the land.


And issue No.4 of the totally free Warfare magazine is up for grabs. The announcement also makes reference to their new website, too, which you may wish to check out.


WEBSITES


The MyHeritage blog is running a story about the UK Schools Genealogy Project - and there's a website dedicated to the scheme, too (the link for which can be found in the story).


Blogger Christine Woodcock points us to a little-known source of Scottish emigrant information via an interesting little tale - see her post here.


ARTICLES


Back to the MyHeritage blog and a helpful post about keyboard shortcuts which you may find useful.

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.

Irish 1926 Census News

NEWS

The Irish Genealogy News blog has reported on the latest developments in the planned digitisation - by the Irish government - of the 1926 Census. Seems like another delay ... read all about it here.

The same blog also has news of a special genealogy night in Dublin this Wednesday.

Londoners may wish to peruse the latest offerings from Gresham College (free public lectures!).

With opening hours at most of our libraries, archives and record offices severely affected by the planned strike action this Wednesday (30th), reader James McLaren informs us that Jersey Archive will, it seems, be open as normal (but check anyway, just in case). However, the same institution WILL be closed during the week commencing 5th December for stocktaking. It will also be closed from 22nd December to 2nd January for the Festive period.

The National Archives are running an online survey.


WEBSITES

Irish researchers may want to follow The Passionate Genealogist's advice about the Irish Archives Resource website.

And mention of The Historical Diving Society has appeared on the SoG blog.

ARTICLES

There a little piece about Walt Disney's ancestry, here.

MEDIA NEWS

A short interview with a producer/director of the FindMyPast TV show can be found here.


Dead End Hobby: Oddments from the World of Family History - last few days of special pre-publication offer. See here for full details.

More MyHeritage Takeover Info

NEWS

More information on the MyHeritage takeover of FamilyLink/Vital World Records can be found here. This really does seem to be a major move in the family history world.


BBC History Magazine's latest Podcast can be found here (impact of the death of Prince Albert, and Edward IV's library).

And The National Archives latest Podcast is also now available ('A Low, Artful, Wicked Man': poverty riots and bread - the response of government to the crises of the 1790s).


Nick Barratt has put out a blog post which will be of interest to those of you with Royal Marine ancestry. Check it out here, where you will also see an appeal for advice/comment on an important aspect of our research world, namely, collaboration between the many local & family history 'umbrella' organisations that we have here in the UK. Get your thinking caps on and contact Nick with your views!

I know many of you are interested in maps and mapping - if you are, then check out this post on the Ordnance Survey blog ... which includes news of an upcoming major conference which may tempt you.


Those of you with Indian connections may wish to cast their eyes over this news item from the British Library website.


Thanks to the British GENES blog for news of the latest Electric Scotland newsletter.

And several sources have mentioned the Origins.net '20% off' subscription offer which lasts until 1st December. Enter TG2011 at checkout/registration.


ARTICLES

Check out the BBC's 'History Headlines' for the week.

WEBSITES

Ancestry have launched a new blog called 'Sticky Notes'. I'm concerned that it may be a little too US-biased, but we'll see how it shapes up. See the announcement, here, where you will find a link to the blog itself.

Archive Closures

NEWS


Essex Record Office will be closed for stocktaking from Monday 28th November to Saturday 10th December, inclusive - see their website, here. However, the conference centre and the ESFH research room will remain open. They will reopen on Monday 12th December at 9am.

North Yorkshire County Record Office will be closed for collections work and staff training from Monday 28th November to Saturday 3rd December, inclusive - see their website, here.

And, of course, remember that next Wednesday 30th November most of our libraries, archives and record offices will be affected by the planned industrial action.

Regular users of the FamilySearch website may wish to digest the information contained in two of the organisation's recent blog posts, here and here.

And Pen & Sword Books have some special offers on the go.

WEBSITES

Spotted on FamilySearch's Ireland Genealogy Facebook page are the following Irish place-name websites:

• www.logainm.ie 
• www.seanruad.com
• http://maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/#V1,591271,743300,0,10 

As the guy who recommended them suggests, you need to be creative when entering place-names, as there are often many ways of spelling a settlement's name!

Nice spot on Dick Eastman's blog of a UK company whose goods may well appeal to family historians!

MEDIA NEWS

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

OTHER STUFF

For all us UK/Irish genealogists who wonder what the North American 'Thanksgiving' celebration is all about, check out this painfully ponderous ten-minute instructional film on the topic. Would never get away with holding those forks in the right hand on this side of the Atlantic. Naughty children!

Writing Up Your Family History

ARTICLES

After a quiet 24 hours or so, I thought I'd lead into today's post with a couple of articles. First of all, Ros Bott has penned a few paragraphs on 'How to Write Up Your Family History' - straight-forward useful advice on an indirect way of learning a lot more about your ancestors' world. A great way, too, to learn a little more about history in general if you take on the research yourself.

The MyHeritage blog has a link to a short piece on the 'Kindness Gene'. No doubt that this sort of thing exists, of course - just amazing that they've identified it!

NEWS

MyHeritage is also in the news for their takeover of a couple of fairly well-known family history concerns, FamilyLink and WorldVitalRecords. Mainly a one for the American market, this, but the development is, nevertheless, indicative of the ambitions of the Israeli-based company - with the move incorporating the establishment of their very first US base in Utah (thanks to GeneaBloggers).

Mocavo, the specialist genealogical search engine, has added another feature to its site, namely, a FAQ section - see here.

Immigration and Emigration is the theme of the forthcoming half-day course from the SoG (Sat 3rd December).

The Irish Genealogy News blog has a few 'Bits and Bobs', here (Cork/NAI/Workhouses).

And The Family Recorder blog has a book review on the recently-released Family Matters: A History of Genealogy.

MEDIA NEWS

The next episode of the Find My Past TV show looms (Thursday 9pm) - and here's a wee trailer. There are also interviews with presenter, Chris Hollins, here and here. Oh, and a competition, here.

WEBSITES

The British Library have made an announcement about their sound archive. Interesting resource, this - and to find the item specifically mentioned in the news item, follow the link then click on 'Oral History' and you should see it listed. All part of Disability History Month (you might want to check out this website's 'Events' listing, too).

OTHER STUFF

Blogger Christine Woodcock has posted an enthusiastic article on her new mobile scanner which may interest many of you. A quick search of the Internet indicates that it seems to be available in the UK at around £150 (and no doubt Ireland, too).

Tuesday's Genealogy Events Listing

NEWS

We're beginning to slip into hibernation mode, events-wise, though there are still a few get-togethers worth taking into consideration...

• Friday 25th November - Catalogue Day at The National Archives, London (still time to register if you're very quick);
• Saturday 26th November - Pub History Society Conference/Workshop, London (again, still time to register);
• Sunday 27th November - Northampton Book Fair;
• Sunday 27th November - Performing Arts Book Fair, London;
• Postcard Fairs at Porchester (26th), Powick (26th), Bloomsbury (27th), Stockport (29th), Digbeth (30th) - see here (please check with organisers before travelling).

The Guild of One-Name Studies has issued a Newsflash, which includes brief details of its 2012 Conference (among other things).

From Ireland: details of the Ulster History & Genealogy Summer School (June 2012) + the latest Eneclann newsletter with its county focus on Galway and seasonal focus on Christmas.

The National Archives seem likely to be closed on Wednesday 30th November as a result of industrial action - see here. And it'll not be the only institution closed on the day in question - please remember to check before you travel on 30th, wherever you plan to go.

ARTICLES

TNA have also posted a short article on the subject of the Suffragettes (and related records) - see here. 

The Family Recorder blog gives us a short-but-sweet insight into the mysteries of the genealogical cruise.

WEBSITES

John Reid points us in the direction of a neat website on the subject of 'Mapping London'.

MEDIA NEWS

WDYTYA? Magazine's website has revealed the result of its 'favourite episode' survey from the recent TV series.

And I'm just a wee bit too late with this one: the BBC's Heir Hunters TV show has gone prime time. But don't worry, as I'm sure you'll be able to pick it up on the BBC iPlayer.

Genealogy Websites to Go?

NEWS

The futures of two well-known family history websites have been thrown into doubt due to the deaths of their webmasters. The Black Sheep Index and Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness are the resources affected - and as you can see, the latter link is no longer available. For more information, see the latest issue of the Lost Cousins newsletter - where you will find plenty of other news items, too (thanks also to Jim for flagging this sad story).

The Chief Executive of the British Library, Dame Lynne Brindley, is to step down after twelve years in the post.

Nick Barratt/Laura Berry's creation, The Family History Show, has posted another short video - this time an interview with Dan Cruickshank. Nick has also put together another blog post outlining his latest plans.

Plans to merge the National Archives of Ireland into the National Library have raised concerns with the Irish Genealogical Research Society - see this post on the Irish Genealogy News blog.

The IGN blog also has an item on a recent Monaghan records release by RootsIreland, as well as passing some comment on FindMyPastIreland's new 'Family Tree Builder'.

And Scottish researchers will be interested in the latest Electric Scotland newsletter (thanks to Chris Paton).

ARTICLES

The BBC's 'History Headlines' for the past week are now available for perusal.

And the Genealogy In Time website has an article about how to improve your genealogy Internet searches.

Mainly Irish Items

NEWS

It occasionally happens: a little rush of Irish news items. And so it is today, with apologies to those of you with no such research interests. There are one or two other items from elsewhere, too, though, so do read on...

Claire Santry leads the way with a couple of items. Firstly, there's an update on the progress of the Certificate of Irish Heritage; then there's another odd little story about a mooted 'Cork Passport'!

I don't know if I've mentioned this in a previous post, but there's a list of forthcoming Irish lectures to be found on the RootsIreland website - see here.

Just in case you need a reminder, Christmas is on its way - and Belfast's Linen Hall Library is quick off the mark with it's Festive holiday info. This seems like quite a lengthy break - so take care when assuming that the Christmas holidays will allow you to do a 'bit of research' at your local library!

The National Library of Scotland has recently updated its 'Events List'.

And on the international stage, I see that FamilySearch is to change its CEO in the New Year. Just thought you'd like to know.

WEBSITES

Back to Ireland, and the website of the Council of Irish Genealogical Organisations - with an announcement re. a new Irish Language online resource. My browser's 'translator' failed to perform its Irish-English task, so the site remains a complete mystery to me!

Remember the mention in yesterday's post about the 'Family History Show' video (Top Ten Tips)? Well, there's actually a dedicated website to the 'vodcast' efforts of Nick Barratt and Laura Berry - see here. Long-term, this may prove to be a great visual resource - especially for beginners. It's certainly worth a browse - and look out for the related blog, too.

ARTICLES

Ireland again. A short piece on the subject of Irish naming patterns.


Also:
A reminder to you all to continue to send any items of interest for use on the blog to me at micksouthwick@blueyonder.co.uk.  News items, interesting websites, unusual record entries (or stories) - you know the sort of thing I'm looking for: anything of general interest to the British/Irish genealogist! Remember, I will also mention new commercial products - and there's also a semi-permanent home for such announcements under the 'New Products' tab at the head of the page (currently free).