New Scottish Census 1841-1901
MAJOR NEW RELEASE:
We are excited to announce the launch of the Scottish Census 1841-1901! For the first time you can use our renowned brick wall busting search tools on these Scottish records, so now it is easy to find a person using keywords such as occupation, birthplace, year of birth and more, search for a family using their forenames or search for an address.
We have been extremely busy in the last year expanding our coverage for our Diamond subscribers to cover all areas of the British Isles. This release comprises 24 million records, bringing us to over 75 million records released in the last 9 months!
Recent releases have seen 14.5 million individuals from all the Anglican Parish Records for Wales added. A further 34 million records for England and Wales came with the release of the 1939 Register records. There were 100,000 Irish Will records and now, this week, TheGenealogist is pleased to announce that these have been joined by over 24 million records from the Census of Scotland 1841-1901.
This is the first time that we have released such a large number of Scottish records and it now means that this important data for the most northerly part of the British Isles can now be searched using the comprehensive search features for which we are renowned. Appreciated by family historians researching their ancestors for the ease of use of our powerful Master Search, we give researchers the ability to select phonetic, exact or standard search filters.
The comprehensive search facilities that are already available when using our English and Welsh census records will make this Scottish census release a welcome addition to the family history researcher's toolkit.
This week's article sheds a light on Scottish census records where we find the builders of many of the lighthouses around the Scottish coast as well as the families that lived in them.
Jump back in time – Image Archive pictures now pinned to maps
MAJOR NEW RELEASE:
We have added a marvellous new feature to Map Explorer™ this week.
Already boasting georeferenced historical and modern maps, Tithe Records and Maps to look for your Victorian ancestors' homes, Lloyd George Domesday Records and Maps for nearly one million individuals, Headstones and War memorials, Map Explorer™ now also allows Diamond subscribers to see what their ancestors' towns and areas once looked like.
Watch our short video on the new release:
With the addition of these period photographs of street scenes and parish churches where researchers' ancestors may have been baptised, married and buried, this new feature allows subscribers to jump back in time.
This release sees the ever-multiplying collection of historical photographs from TheGenealogist's Image Archive accessible for the first time from inside Map Explorer™ as a recordset layer. The various images for an area have their locations pinpointed on the maps allowing family historians to explore their ancestors' hometowns and other landmarks from around their area.
When viewing an Image Archive record in TheGenealogist's Map Explorer™, the family history researcher is shown the image's location on the map as well as from what point of view the photographer took the photo. Also included underneath the historical image is a modern map and street view (where it's available) so that the person researching their past family's area is able to compare the picture from the past with how the area looks today.
When used in conjunction with the other georeferenced maps and associated records, TheGenealogist's Map Explorer™ is a highly valuable tool for those researching their family history.
To find out more about this release, you can read Nik Thorne's article "See where your ancestors lived through their own eyes".
RAF Operations Record Books for the Dambusters squadron go online
MAJOR NEW RELEASE:
We are marking the anniversary of the famous Royal Air Force Dambusters raid on the Ruhr Valley dams in May 1943 by releasing over 1.55 million fully searchable records in the RAF Operations Record Books (ORBs), including those ORBs for the famous No 617 Squadron, giving an insight into their lives.
To find out more about these records, read Nick Thorne’s article: Guy Gibson and the dambuster raid found in RAF Record Books
Bringing the total to over 6.74 million records, these new diary-like RAF documents paint a picture of the goings-on in a squadron on a day-to-day basis for those units under British control.
TheGenealogist adds over 100,000 names to its Irish Will Indexes
TheGenealogist’s Index of Irish Wills 1484-1858 is an index to surviving records of Wills, Grants and Administrations, held by The National Archives of Ireland (NAI). Records include the original NAI reference, which can be used to order a copy of the existing document.
This new release adds an easily searched and useful resource to the ever-growing suite of records available to Diamond subscribers of TheGenealogist. The Index of Irish Wills 1484-1858 features:
Prior to 1858, Irish wills were administered by the ecclesiastical courts of the Established church, (the Church of Ireland), a part of the Anglican communion. In 1857, however, the Church of Ireland lost its responsibility for Irish Wills when the Probate Act of that year transferred the supervision to the state.
To find out more about these records, read Nick Thorne’s article: Using Irish Wills to discover your ancestors
New London Lloyd George Domesday Records
We have released the records of 143,956 individuals to increase our Lloyd George Domesday Survey record set coverage. This unique online resource of nearly one million individual records, can help researchers discover where an ancestor lived in the period 1910-1915. The new records this month are for properties situated in Balham, Battersea, Fulham, Hammersmith, Putney & Roehampton, Streatham, Tooting Graveney and Wandsworth.
This fascinating combination of maps and residential data from The National Archives enables researchers to precisely pinpoint an ancestor's house on the large scale and exceptionally detailed hand annotated maps from the period. Fully searchable and linked to the versatile Map Explorer™, Diamond subscribers can see how an area has changed over time by switching between various georeferenced modern and historical map layers.
Complementing the maps are the accompanying Field Books that will also provide researchers with detailed information relative to the valuation of each property, including the valuation assessment number, map reference, owner, occupier, situation, description and extent.
To find out more about these records, you can read our featured article, "Finding the Wandsworth homes attacked in the WW1 'Lusitania' Riots".
New Release: The 1939 Register with SmartSearch MAJOR NEW RELEASE:
We have released the 1939 Register transcript, adding our unique and powerful search tools and SmartSearch technology. This offers a hugely flexible way to look for your ancestors at the start of the Second World War.
Our well known brick wall shattering search tools include the ability to find your ancestor in 1939 by using keywords, such as the individual's occupation or their date of birth. You can also search for an address and then jump straight to the household. If you're struggling to find a family, you can even search using as many of their forenames as you know.
Once you've found a record in the 1939 Register, you can click on the street name to view all the residents on the street, potentially finding relatives living nearby.
Take your research journey quickly forwards by using our innovative SmartSearch to jump to a person's birth, marriage or death record.
The 1939 Register can often reveal important additional information about your ancestors that will help build your family's story. The powerful keyword search can find evacuees by searching for their name and date of birth along with the keyword "evacuee". The fact individuals are listed with their full dates of birth is a huge benefit that the 1939 Register has over the census, which simply lists the age of a person.
We make searching the 1939 Register more flexible. Search by:
To find out more about this record set, read our article: A Window on September 1939 and George Formby the entertainer .
New Tithe Maps added to Map Explorer™
We have added over 2,700 more parishes of Tithe Maps to Map Explorer™, which means over 30 counties of georeferenced Tithe Maps have been added to date!
TheGenealogist's Map Explorer™, the resource for researchers to turn to when searching for an ancestor's landholding whether owned or simply occupied, has been boosted with the significant addition of georeferenced Tithe Maps for Anglesey, Durham, Devon, Shropshire, Somerset, Suffolk and Wiltshire.
From cottages with gardens to acres of farmed land and country estates, the addition of georeferenced Tithe maps as a layer over modern and other historical maps will allow researchers to see how the landscape changed over time. Map Explorer™ gives the researcher the ability to switch between layers of tithe, historical and modern maps which are all tied to coordinates, allowing the user to see how places change over the years.
From a plot identified on the tithe map it is possible to click through to then see the description as it was recorded in the apportionment record at the time, thus revealing more about what an ancestor's holding had been. Using Map Explorer™ the family historian can browse an ancestor's area to find other plots that they owned or occupied. Alternatively, our Master Search can be used to look for ancestors' plots across the tithe records and then view them on Map Explorer™.
To find out more about these maps and MapExplorer™, you can read Nick Thorne's article "Travelling back in time with MapExplorer™ in your hand".
New Military Book Records
![[ Sir Hugh Dowding, as featured in the records ]](/images/featuredarticles/2021-03_dowding10.jpg)
We have released over 150,000 individuals to our ever expanding Military Record Collection. Containing names, places and dates, these publications can help the family history researcher find their ancestors and build a fascinating story of their lives. With records from Britain, Canada and a number of Indian registers and directories, these searchable records contain lists of men and women who served their country in various capacities connected to the military, and not just on the front line.
The records can be used to discover more about an ancestor's achievements and are fantastic for identifying where next to apply your research. These books can give dates of postings along with ranks or positions held in establishments, as well as a great deal more useful information that may help to build a better family history.
Use these records to:
These records will often allow us to recount a much more rounded picture of the life of a person and so enrich the telling of their story.
To find out more about these records, read Nick Thorne's article "Finding a high-flying officer from both World War I and II."
New Map Records for Southwark and surrounding areas
![[Nelson Dockyard, Rotherhithe from Lloyd George Domesday Survey maps]](/emails/2021/images/2021-02_lgd.jpg)
We have just released the records for another 98,618 individuals from Southwark to increase the number of records to over 800,000 individuals in our unique online Lloyd George Domesday Survey. These property records are a fantastic resource for researchers searching for where an ancestor lived in the period 1910-1915.
The Lloyd George Domesday Survey is a massive project to digitise a combination of large scale Ordnance Survey maps and residential data field books from The National Archives. Using the records from the former Valuation Office Survey (known as the Lloyd George Domesday Survey) enables family history researchers to precisely pinpoint where an ancestor's house had been on exceptionally detailed hand annotated maps from the period. These have been made even more useful to researchers as they have been georeferenced and are displayed as a layer in our powerful Map Explorer™.
Family historians can often have problems when looking for where their ancestors lived. Even when they have located an ancestor's address in the census, over time road names may have changed and many streets have been renumbered or bombed out of existence in the Blitz. With redevelopment the area can change substantially, adopting new layouts that make searching for where an ancestor lived using modern maps a frustrating experience.
Use these records to:
The linked Field Books will also provide researchers with information regarding the valuation of each property, including the valuation assessment number, map reference, owner, occupier, situation, description and extent.
To find out more about these records, read Nick Thorne's article "Property records from the 1910s show us the Southwark of Michael Caine's family."
New Who's Who Records
We have added new Who's Who records into our expanding Occupational Records, adding almost 100,000 additional individuals. This release includes records covering individuals from all over England, Scotland, Ireland, Canada, USA, New Zealand and further afield.
The records can be used to discover more about an ancestor's achievements and are fantastic for identifying where next to apply your research. Who's Who records will confirm birth dates and sometimes the place of birth. Often they give a father's name and occupation and a great deal more useful information that may help to build a better family history.
Use these records to:
These records will often allow us to recount a much more rounded picture of the life of a person and so enrich the telling of their story. This latest release expands our extensive Occupational records collection that includes actors, apprentices, clergy, crew lists, directors, flight, freemen, law, railway, sports, teachers and biographies as well as a number of other Who's Who books.
To find out more about these records, read Nick Thorne's article "Who, What, Where, When? - Discovering Who's Who"
New Headstones Release
This release expands our Headstone Collection with over 55,000 new records. These are great for finding ancestors' names, dates and other details.
The fully searchable records with images allow family history researchers to find the inscriptions recorded on their ancestors' graves.
In 2021 TheGenealogist plans to release millions of new records to its subscription which aims to increase its coverage of a broad variety of records that are essential resources for family history researchers.
TheGenealogist’s MapExplorer™ will have additional Datasets and Features added including georeferenced image archive photographs. A range of new data layers will also be released allowing you to go to your ancestors parish, street and even their house.
Also, in partnership with The National Archives we will continue to add detailed maps down to street level into the MapExplorer™ as part of the Lloyd George Domesday Survey records.
TheGenealogist will be releasing key records covering Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England.
Other new releases will include:
Keep an eye on this page as we release new rescords throught the year, here's to a great 2021!
Visit our featured article section for fascinating stories and the latest news from the world of genealogy.
Scottish Census Records list the homes of Scots from city dwellers to lighthouse keepers
17th June 2021
View your ancestor's home town as they would have seen it, using the Image Archive on Map Explorer™
27th May 2021
Guy Gibson and the Dambuster raid found in R.A.F. Operations Record Books
14th May 2021
Using the Index of Irish Wills 1484-1858 to discover more about ancestors’ important details
30th April 2021
Visit the press releases section for the official write-up of all our news.
