1.9 million historic criminal records published
online for the first time
See: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/news/1-9-million-historic-criminal-records-published-online-for-the-first-time/
Friday 17 July 2015
Sunday 12 July 2015
Friday 10 July 2015
Find archive footage of your postcode
http://londonist.com/2015/07/find-archive-film-footage-of-your-postcode.php?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=facebook_page&utm_medium=Londonist&utm_content=Find%20Archive%20Film%20Footage%20Of%20Your%20Postcode
As part of its current Britain on Film season, the BFI has produced an interactive ‘film map’ (see link below) that allows you to search for archive videos made in your local area. Tap in your postcode and the site brings up any films it has related to said location.
The collection ranges from 1895 to the present day and includes adverts, newsreels, government-made films, TV shows and movies, as well as the world’s earliest home movies dating back to 1902.
London is particularly well represented, though it has to be said that the search can yield fairly broad results at present — better to think in terms of larger areas like the East End or the City rather than your local launderette. The project is in its early stages but has grand ambitions to grow the current catalogue of 2,500 digitized archive films to 10,000 by 2017.
Ultimately the aim is so create a huge interactive library that will offer instant insights into the past and easy access to a rich variety of material once locked away in warehouses and dusty attics. The BFI is keen for the public to get involved too, so the collection can expand further.
Thursday 9 July 2015
Irish Catholics can now trace their anestry back to as far as the 1740s
Irish Catholics can now trace ancestry online back to 1740s
Almost 300 years of parish registers to be made available by National Library of Ireland
People of Irish Catholic ancestry will be able to trace their origins back almost 300 years online from Wednesday.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Heather Humphreys will officially launch online the entire collection of Catholic parish register microfilms held by the National Library of Ireland (NLI).
Involved are more than 370,000 digital images of the microfilm reels on which the parish registers are recorded and which will be accessible free of charge.
These parish register records are considered the single most important source of information on Irish family history prior to the 1901 census. Dating from the 1740s to the 1880s, they cover 1,086 parishes throughout the island of Ireland, and consist primarily of baptismal and marriage records.
The NLI has been working to digitise the microfilms for more than three years under what is described as its most ambitious digitisation programme to date.
Ciara Kerrigan of the NLI said: “We . . . received a hugely enthusiastic response from people worldwide with an interest in Irish family history.”
Further information is available at registers.nli.ie.
Monday 6 July 2015
Obituary of my mother, who died in January 2012
The couple began
married life living with the rest of the family on a converted Brixham Trawler,
moored opposite Plymouth
Dorothy Smale (1922 – 2012)
I am one of the
many fortunate people who have had ‘the best parents in the world’. I say parents, because no eulogy about
Dorothy would be complete without mentioning Jack, her late husband, work
partner and companion for over 56 years.
The eldest of
three daughters, Dorothy was born at Loftsholme Farm, Howden, in the former
East Riding of Yorkshire, and had a happy childhood. When called up during the War, she trained as
a State Registered Nurse, working in Leicester
and London Leeds that she met her
future husband, sitting next to him on a coach trip home to Scarborough .
Jack was a fisherman from Devon who was up in Leeds
collecting a new diesel engine for the family’s boat.
The couple began
married life living with the rest of the family on a converted Brixham Trawler,
moored opposite
When Jack damaged
his back fishing they took on a tenancy at a local pub. They decided to stay in the trade and, over
the next thirty years, with Jack’s mother Bunty, owned and ran several places
in the South East Cornwall area, including renovating an old boys’ school in
Dobwalls and turning it into a thriving inn.
Jack and Dorothy were
active in Rotary International, the Hospital Car Service, also Cancer Research
and the Arthritis & Rheumatism Charity. They enjoyed golf, gardening, music and sea
fishing together.
Dorothy was a very
keen member of the WI, and was a National Trust Steward at Kedleston Hall in
Derbyshire. An excellent cook, Dorothy
was also fond of flower arranging and scrabble.
Fiona and Vicky
were very lucky to have such a super Granma, and appreciated their Grandparents
moving up to the Midlands to be near them
whilst they were growing up.
Over the years,
Dorothy travelled all over the world, including Australia Russia Thailand Singapore South Africa Europe - and even walked on the Great Wall of China at the age of 78.
 |
| Dorothy and Jack at the Highway Inn, Dobwalls, with his Mum (1960s) |
Eventually, Dorothy
looked after Jack for a long time before he died six years ago after which, to
feel more secure, she moved with us to Paignton. Since then, Dorothy’s health has gradually
deteriorated and, after a short spell in hospital, Dorothy died last Friday at
about tea time.
My mother was
cheerful, determined, fun and kind to all, she was a friend as well as my
mother, and she will be hugely missed by family and friends.
Friday 3 July 2015
Free Genealogy Resources from the Hathi Trust
http://familyhistorydaily.com/free-genealogy-resources/the-massive-free-genealogy-resource-youve-probably-never-heard-of/
http://familyhistorydaily.com/free-genealogy-resources/the-massive-free-genealogy-resource-youve-probably-never-heard-of/
Easily found online at hathitrust.org, the project brings together multiple libraries, both public and academic, and their respective digital holdings into a single online collection. From universities such as the Ohio State University, Harvard and others, you can also find the New York Public Library, the California Digital Library and others.
Freely available for use and research, the focus of this massive treasure trove is multiplexed, seeded with digital books, magazines and other scanned items, but also sound recordings, maps and other ephemera. With multiple methods of search, PDF, image and plain-text downloads, there’s a lot to consider for the genealogy researcher. A few examples of some specific titles I’ve encountered for my own research include:
- Resident and business directory of Carver, Plympton, Halifax, Pembroke and Hanson, Massachusetts, 1910.
- Rand, McNally & Co.’s Chicago city railway directory and street number guide.
- Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois.
- The Genealogical quarterly magazine: devoted to genealogy, history, heraldry, revolutionary and colonial records.
In all, the wide variety of types, time periods, and collections will prove fruitful for most family researchers!
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