Society of Genealogists' Collection Now Online at Findmypast.co.uk

January 5:

SOCIETY OF GENEALOGISTS’ COLLECTION NOW ONLINE AT FINDMYPAST.CO.UK

o Over 9 million family history records available online today

o Findmypast.co.uk to host Society’s collection in centenary year

Today the Society of Genealogists in London and leading family history website findmypast.co.uk have published online over 9 million records from the Society’s unrivalled collection at findmypast.co.uk.


Among the records going online today are:

• Boyd’s Marriage Index containing over 7 million names from 1538 to 1840
• Boyd’s London Burials 1538-1872 containing 240,000 names
• Faculty Office Marriage Licence Allegations 1701-1850
• St Andrew's Holborn Marriage Index 1754-1812
• Vicar-General Marriage Licences Allegations 1694-1850
• St Leonard Shoreditch Burials 1805-1858 and Workhouse Deaths 1820-1828, online for the first time
• Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills Index 1750-1800

Today searchable indexes and transcripts have been added to the website, and customers will be able to order copies of the originals for some of the records from the Society of Genealogists.


In the coming weeks further records will be added to the website including Bank of England Wills Extracts containing 60,500 names, including images, and Apprentices of Great Britain containing 350,000 names.


Findmypast.co.uk has been working in partnership with the Society of Genealogists for a number of years to make the Society’s collection available to a wider, international audience. Earlier projects were Civil Service Evidence of Age and Great Western Railway Shareholder records.

Anyone with a full subscription to findmypast.co.uk will be able to access all the records within their existing package. Otherwise they can be viewed with PayAsYouGo credits.

Members of the Society of Genealogists will be able to view the records for free via their existing membership login to the Society of Genealogist’s own website at www.sog.org.uk . The records will be added gradually during 2011.

Debra Chatfield, Marketing Manager at findmypast.co.uk, said, “Findmypast.co.uk warmly welcomes the addition of these amazing records from the Society of Genealogists’ collection and looks forward to working with the Society on bringing these records to a wider, international audience in the Society’s Centenary Year and beyond. Family historians will find the records an invaluable aid to their research.”


June Perrin, CEO of the Society of Genealogists added: “The Society of Genealogists is delighted to be working with findmypast.co.uk in widening the audience for these wonderful resources. It is a great boost to the start of the Society’s 100th year. We hope the records prove extremely useful in the search for that ‘elusive’ ancestor.”

The COMPLETE 1911 Census Available Now on Genes Reunited.

Leading family history website www.genesreunited.co.uk has published online the complete 1911 census for England and Wales, allowing its members to view the original householder schedules for the first time.

The 1911 census records are the most detailed of any census it includes places of birth, details of siblings, occupations, how many children have been born to the marriage, how many still alive at the time of the census and how many had died. It even allows our members to view the actual handwriting of their ancestors and in full colour.

At genesreunited.co.uk it is possible to search the complete 1841-1911 censuses as well as other historical records such as birth, marriage, death and military records. The 1911 census Enumerator Summary Books have already been available since May 2010.  

Unlimited access to the 1911 census and all of the other records is included in a Platinum subscription, costing £64.95 for 6 months.  Alternatively you can view the 1911 census on a pay-per view basis.  It will cost 5 credits to view an individual transcription, 10 credits to view the household transcription and 30 credits to view the original household image (within these 30 credits you also get to view the Enumerator Summary Book).

Credits can be purchased at the following prices: £5.00 for 50 credits (credits will last for 30 days) or £17.95 for 200 credits (credits will last for 90 days)

Rhoda Breakell, Head of Genes Reunited, said: “We are extremely proud to be able to offer our members the complete 1911 census for England and Wales now.  People will find this an invaluable resource for tracing their ancestors and finding out more about their family history than they knew before.”

Fully Searchable Marriage Records Now Online at Findmypast.co.uk

Press release from Findmypast.co.uk, December 6:

‘FOR BETTER OR WORSE’ – I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU HOLLY OAKES!

o   95 million fully searchable wedding records from 1837 – 2005

o   Eileen Dover, Holly Oakes and Mary Christmas all found in the records

o   The real Romeo and Juliet married in 1971

Have you ever met a Mary Christmas, Moana Lott or Anita Bath? Many may see these names as amusing but some women who have met the man of their dreams have taken their partner’s name, becoming the Butt of many jokes. Findmypast.co.uk, a leading UK family history website, has launched an easier way to search the marriages of English and Welsh ancestors online. Over 95 million wedding records from 1837 to 2005 have been made fully searchable making it easier to find the exact record you’re looking for.

It’s all in a name

The new fully searchable records have thrown up some interesting finds, proving that when taking a partner ‘for better or worse’; an embarrassing married name doesn’t put everyone off…

A selection of the married names found:

• Holly Oakes
• Eileen Dover
• Hazel Nut
• Queenie King
• Mona Lott
• Jean Pool
• Joy Rider
• Lily Pond
• Anita Bath
• Candy Barr
• Kerry Oakey

Findmypast.co.uk has introduced the revolutionary MarriageMatch^TM, meaning the end of mystery marriages and endless searching of the records. It will find all the possible matches within the records even if only one name is known. Alternatively, if the first or last name of the spouse is known you get an even more accurate list of possible spouse matches.

Keeping up with the Mary Christmases

It seems that a large number of Marys have continued the Christmas theme with their name and married someone with the festive surname, Christmas. There are over 50 Mary Christmases in the records and the earliest recorded Mary Christmas married in 1837 losing the maiden name of Cannon in Alton, Hampshire.

Where for art thou…

Findmypast.co.uk has discovered a pair of real star-crossed lovers in the marriage records as, in 1971, a ‘Romeo’ married a ‘Juliet’ in Lambeth, London. The family history website has also found the marriage records of Oscar Fingal Wilde to Constance Lloyd in Kensington, London in 1884, Jude Law to Sadie Frost in Westminster, London in 1997 and Kate Winslet to Jim Threapleton, in Reading, Berkshire in 1998.

With this record I thee wed.

Findmypast.co.uk has discovered that the most popular county to be wed in is Lancashire, with 11.66 million records listed between 1837 and 2005, closely followed by London with 11.62 million.

The five most popular towns to be married in were:

Registration District	Number of records
Birmingham, Warwickshire	1,656,516
Manchester, Lancashire	1,127,584
Sheffield,  Yorkshire	988,541
Leeds, Yorkshire	980,207
Bristol, Somerset	899,885

Debra Chatfield, Marketing Manager at findmypast.co.uk, said, “As the first company to publish birth, marriage and death records online, findmypast.co.uk has always been committed to making family history research more accessible. This brand new way of searching the marriage records is a major breakthrough in family history enabling people to find their ancestors’ marriages more quickly and easily than ever before by using our revolutionary new tool MarriageMatch^TM. Thanks to initiatives like this, family history is more popular than ever and we hope that we can help even more people to start uncovering their family’s past.”

The sophisticated new search facility will match up your ancestors' records, providing you in many cases with one definite marriage match, or a list of up to four most likely possible matches, saving you time and money.

The launch of these records is part of a year long project that will see findmypast.co.uk digitise over a quarter of a billion records. The reindexed birth records were launched in July 2010 and the death records will follow early in 2011.

The records

Findmypast.co.uk is the only place you can search the 1837-2005 marriage records all in one place. The online family history website has reimaged and transcribed the full collection, allowing researchers to search directly for their ancestors, making it much quicker and easier than before to find one person.

Findmypast.co.uk was the first company in the world to put the complete Birth, Marriage and Death indexes (BMDs) for England and Wales online on 1 April 2003. Previously these were only available offline on microfiche or in registry books, at a selected number of locations. This landmark achievement was recognised in 2007, when findmypast.co.uk won the Queen’s Award for Innovation.

For more information log on to www.findmypast.co.uk 

The marriage records can be searched for free for two weeks by going to www.findmypast.co.uk/marriages

Plymouth and West Devon Family History Records Set to Go Online

November 24, 2010

PLYMOUTH AND WEST DEVON FAMILY HISTORY RECORDS SET TO GO ONLINE

• Findmypast.co.uk awarded contract by Plymouth and West Devon Record Office to publish its record collection
• 343,257  images of records containing details of 3.5 million individuals will be published online for the first time

Leading family history website www.findmypast.co.uk has been awarded the contract by the Plymouth and West Devon Record Office to digitise and publish online its family history records for the very first time, in an exclusive partnership. Findmypast.co.uk will work with FamilySearch International, the world's largest repository of genealogical records, to make the collection fully searchable online, making it easier than ever before to trace Devonshire ancestors.

Over 1500 volumes of records covering an area that includes historic Plymouth, the Dartmoor expanses of Lydford, and the Royal Navy dockyard at Devonport, will be digitised over the coming year. Details of the lives of over 3.5 million Devonians can be found within the 343,257 images. Among the records being published online are:

• Baptisms, marriages and burials dating as far back as 1538
• Monumental inscriptions
• Records of funerals
• Churchyard plans
• Churchwardens' accounts
• Electoral rolls
• Bastardy bonds
• Settlement orders
• Rate books
• Apprenticeship indentures

These records will be joining what is already one of the largest online collections of over 26 million parish records dating back 650 years at findmypast.co.uk.

Today's announcement follows on just a few weeks after findmypast.co.uk published online over 223,000 transcripts of parish baptisms, marriages and burials from Devon Family History Society. Those transcripts will soon be matched up with the images of the original parish registers, to be supplied by the Plymouth and West Devon Record Office, enabling family and local historians to view facsimiles of the original historic documents online for the first time.

FamilySearch will scan original images of the registers for findmypast.co.uk to then transcribe and make available and fully searchable online at findmypast.co.uk with an index search on FamilySearch.org.

Nicola Moyle, City Curator of Plymouth and West Devon Record Office commented: "We are committed to making our archives much more accessible and easy to use. We're really excited to be working with findmypast.co.uk and FamilySearch to digitise these records so that they will be easily available to everyone at the simple click of a button."

Debra Chatfield, Marketing Manager at findmypast.co.uk said: "We are extremely excited that the Plymouth and West Devon Record Office has chosen to make its family history collection available through findmypast.co.uk. Once these records are online, it will be possible for anyone to find out if they had Devon ancestors just by entering a surname in a search engine. They will then be able to see an image of the original parish register, which in some cases could be up to 650 years old."

The online records will be free to access at the Plymouth and West Devon Record Office but will be chargeable if viewed from home or elsewhere, either by buying PayAsYouGo credits or included within a subscription to findmypast.co.uk.

About findmypast.co.uk
Leading UK family history website findmypast.co.uk (formerly 1837online.com) was the first company to make the complete birth, marriage and death indexes for England & Wales available online in April 2003.

Following the transcription, scanning and indexing of over two million images, the company launched the first website to allow the public easy and fast access to the complete indexes, which until then had only been available on microfiche film in specialist archives and libraries. The launch was instrumental in creating the widespread and growing interest in genealogy seen in the UK today.

Findmypast.co.uk has subsequently digitised many more family history records and now offers access to over 750 million records dating as far back as 1538. This allows family historians and novice genealogists to search for their ancestors among comprehensive collections of military records, census, migration, occupation directories, and current electoral roll data, as well as the original comprehensive birth, marriage and death records.

In November 2006 findmypast.co.uk launched the ancestorsonboard.com microsite in association with The National Archives to publish outbound passenger lists for long-distance voyages departing all British ports between 1890 and 1960.

In April 2007, findmypast.co.uk's then parent company Title Research Group received the prestigious Queen's Award for Enterprise: Innovation 2007 in recognition of their achievement.

Findmypast.co.uk was acquired in December 2007 by brightsolid, the company who were awarded The National Archives' contract to publish online the 1911 census, which it launched in January 2009.

About Plymouth and West Devon Record Office
The Plymouth and West Devon Record Office is the principal archive repository within Plymouth and the West Devon area. It exists to collect and preserve the historical records of the area and to promote and encourage their use by all who want to study them.

The Record Office holds records of the old borough and modern city of Plymouth, as well as the West Devon area. From 1 April 1998, it has been run as an independent archive service by Plymouth City Council and forms one of the services provided by the Community Services Department.

The Record Office holds original records (archives) of many organisations and individuals. Dating from circa 1190, they include deeds, charters, minute books, letters, registers, manorial documents, reports, diaries, financial records, maps, plans, photographs, card indexes, microfilms and microfiche.
The office is open Tuesday to Friday to view records and staff are happy to answer queries by telephone and email.

About FamilySearch
FamilySearch is the largest genealogy organisation in the world. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. For over 100 years, FamilySearch has been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide and operates over 4,500 family history centres in 70 countries, including the renowned Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Rookwood Burial Records Now Online at findmypast.co.uk

November 22, 2010

Rookwood burial records now available at findmypast.co.uk

• Over 233,000 burial records available to search online
• It's now easier to research Australian ancestors
• Records include former NSW Premier John Lang, who opened Sydney Harbour Bridge, and Peter Dodds McCormick, who wrote Advance Australia Fair

Family history website www.findmypast.co.uk has published online for the first time burial records from Rookwood Cemetery, working in partnership with the Society of Australian Genealogists.

Between 1981 and 1992 members of the Society of Australian Genealogists painstakingly transcribed inscriptions from headstones in Rookwood Cemetery - the final resting place for over 600,000 Australians, located in Sydney's west.

The transcriptions that resulted from that mammoth 11 year project, containing 233,160 names, have now gone online for the first time at findmypast.co.uk, so that anyone around the world can search for their Australian ancestors from the comfort of their own home. It is possible to search the records by surname, forename, inscription or year of death, and each entry shows the complete transcription and grave location.

The oldest graves in Rookwood Cemetery date back to 1867, and today it is one of the largest cemeteries in the whole of the Southern Hemisphere. It is therefore likely that many Australians would have a relative whose resting place is within Rookwood's gates and will be able to find their record in the new online database. The online records cover dates of death over the period 1798 to 1999.

Elaine Collins, Business Development Director at findmypast.co.uk, said: "The Rookwood Burials are a unique and valuable resource for anyone interested in researching their Australian family history. We're delighted to be working with the Society of Australian Genealogists to put these records online for the first time, enabling people worldwide to find their Australian connections."

Heather Garnsey, Executive Officer of the Society of Australian Genealogists, said: "The Society was delighted to work with findmypast to bring its Rookwood Cemetery Transcriptions to a new audience online. SAG volunteers transcribed Rookwood - the largest cemetery in the southern hemisphere - as its contribution to the Australian Bicentenary in 1988 and the transcripts were previously only available on microfiche and CD, both long out-of-print.

Since it was opened in 1867, Rookwood has remained Sydney's most important cemetery with more than a million burials believed to have taken place there.  Headstones provide vital clues for genealogists, often revealing far more than just name, age and date of death.  Place of origin, religion, occupation and family relationships can all be revealed through headstone inscriptions.  We'd expect many new research leads to be discovered through the availability of this material online through findmypast."

Among the famous people that appear in the new online burial records are:

• John T. Lang (1976-1975) - Labour Premier of N.S.W. during the Depression, who introduced Child Endowment, Widows Pension and Workers Compensation Act, and also restored the 44 hour week. He opened Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1932.
• Peter Dodds McCormick (c.1833-1916) composed Advance Australia Fair, the Australian National Anthem.
• Mei Quong Tart - Popular leading 19th century Sydney merchant-Philanthropist-with a network of tea rooms including "Elite Hall" in QVB.
• Jacob Pitman - Brother of Sir Isaac Pitman, who introduced phonetic shorthand to Australia.
• Louisa Lawson - Pioneer of women's sufferage in Australia and Henry Lawson's mother.
• Bee Miles - Notorious in 1950's and 1960's for her eccentric behaviour in Sydney trams and taxis, well educated, a free spirit. She recited Shakespeare from the steps of the State Library. She was cremated and her ashes scattered. This is her family's grave site.
• David Jones - The founder of the famous Sydney Stores.
• John Fairfax - Founder of The Sydney Morning Herald.

The new records can be found within the Parish Record Collection at www.findmypast.co.uk and are part of a much larger ongoing project with the Federation of Family History Societies to put millions of parish records online. These records are also available through findmypast.com.au, the Australia-based sister site of findmypast.co.uk.


About findmypast.co.uk
Leading UK family history website findmypast.co.uk (formerly 1837online.com) was the first company to make the complete birth, marriage and death indexes for England & Wales available online in April 2003.

Following the transcription, scanning and indexing of over two million images, the company launched the first website to allow the public easy and fast access to the complete indexes, which until then had only been available on microfiche film in specialist archives and libraries. The launch was instrumental in creating the widespread and growing interest in genealogy seen in the UK today.

Findmypast.co.uk has subsequently digitised many more family history records and now offers access to over 750 million records dating as far back as 1538. This allows family historians and novice genealogists to search for their ancestors among comprehensive collections of military records, census, migration, occupation directories, and current electoral roll data, as well as the original comprehensive birth, marriage and death records.

In November 2006 findmypast.co.uk launched the ancestorsonboard.com microsite in association with The National Archives to publish outbound passenger lists for long-distance voyages departing all British ports between 1890 and 1960.

As well as providing access to historical records, findmypast.co.uk is also developing a range of online tools to help people discover and share their family history more easily, beginning with the launch of Family Tree Explorer in July 2007.

In April 2007, findmypast.co.uk's then parent company Title Research Group received the prestigious Queen's Award for Enterprise: Innovation 2007 in recognition of their achievement.

Findmypast.co.uk was acquired in December 2007 by brightsolid, the company who were awarded The National Archives' contract to publish online the 1911 census, which it launched in January 2009.


About SAG
The Society of Australian Genealogists (SAG) has been helping people trace their family history for over 75 years. Located in the Sydney CBD, SAG operates a world-class library and manuscript collection with many unique records. SAG runs an active programme of lectures, workshops, seminars and tours and a book shop, as well as providing advice and support to anyone researching their family history in Australia.

180,000 new Chelsea Pensioner Records Now Available at Findmypast.co.uk

180,000 NEW CHELSEA PENSIONERS SERVICE RECORDS GO ONLINE FOR THE FIRST TIME AT FINDMYPAST.CO.UK

• Chelsea Pensioners British Army Service Records 1760-1854 now available to search online
• In-depth and colourful insight into the lives of ordinary ranking soldiers
• Records include servicemen born in the UK and throughout the world, including India and Jamaica

Leading family history website findmypast.co.uk has added a further 180,000 records to the Chelsea Pensioners British Army Service Records collection currently available online. The new additions comprise the service records of men pensioned out of the British Army between 1760 and 1854. The update means the collection now totals over four million full colour images of the service records of almost 700,000 soldiers pensioned out of the British Army between 1760 and 1900. Findmypast.co.uk has been working in association with The National Archives and in partnership with FamilySearch for nearly two years to scan, transcribe and publish online these records.

Many of the soldiers listed will have served in some of Britain’s most significant wars, including the Battle of Waterloo (1815), the Crimean (1853 – 1856) and both Boer Wars (1899 – 1902). Each individual soldier’s record consists of a bundle of a minimum of four pages, full of fascinating personal details, and could even be up to 20 pages long.

The details that can be found in these records are invaluable to family and military historians, providing a rich and colourful story of our ancestors’ lives, with a level of detail that is hard to find in any other historical records. Among the information included in these documents are the soldier’s date and place of birth, name and address of next of kin, height, hair and eye colour, distinguishing features such as tattoos, rank and regiment, occupation before joining the army, medical history and countries where, and dates when, the soldier served.

The records not only relate to servicemen born in the UK, but also throughout the world, with many soldiers born in India and even the Caribbean. These records are also invaluable to Irish, Scottish and Commonwealth researchers, as many men joined the British Army from these countries throughout the centuries.

The records list only those soldiers who either completed their full service in the army or who were wounded and pensioned out of the army. The records do not include those killed in action or army deserters or officers. The connection with 'Chelsea Pensioners' is that the pensions were administered through The Royal Hospital at Chelsea. The great majority of pensioned soldiers were out-pensioners and did not reside at the Hospital itself.

Debra Chatfield of findmypast.co.uk said: “The Chelsea Pensioners British Army Service Records are a rich resource for family historians. For each soldier you’ll find a minimum of four pages of information, including a physical description and even details of other family members, such as their dates of baptism and marriage. These fascinating records enable you to find out so much about your soldier ancestors, including what they looked like, long before the invention of photography.”

Findmypast.co.uk Launches Fully Indexed Birth Records

FINDMYPAST.CO.UK MAKES BIRTH RECORDS EVEN EASIER TO SEARCH

100 million fully indexed birth records from 1837 – 2006

 Ronaldo Maradona and Fish Fish Fish are names found within the records

Leading UK family history website, findmypast.co.uk has today launched an easier way to find the births of English and Welsh ancestors online. The company has reindexed over 100 million birth records, as a first installment of a completely new version of the England and Wales Birth, Marriage and Death (BMD) records on its website. Fully indexing these records involved rescanning 170 years of records and transcribing the quarter of a billion names within them. Over 1,000 people have worked on this exciting two-year project.

The fully indexed births make finding ancestors much simpler as the revamped records will provide you with a number of new benefits;

• Your search results will be in the form of a list of individual names, so you won't have to check through pages of records to find your ancestors
• You can search the complete 1837-2006 set of birth records in one go or by one or more counties at a time
• The images of the index pages are completely new and very high quality
• We've added smart search features including name variants
• There are clever search results to get around the quirks of the records, including the GRO's procedure of initialising second names, and records of children unnamed at registration (very common in the Victorian period)
• You can now search by mother's and father's name at the same time to help find those elusive births

With this new resource now available, findmypast.co.uk has uncovered some interesting facts about the births that were registered between 1837 and 2006.

• 10 babies named Fish Fish born between 1840 and 1883, bizarrely, all in Lancashire. The list includes one Fish Fish Fish born in Blackburn in 1864.
• Just five Ringos were registered in 1964 and 1965, compared with 2,414 Georges, 36,877 Johns and 56,170 Pauls.
• Six Dick Turpins were registered between 1854 and 1916 – a highwayman from the 1700s.
• Four Maradonas were registered in 1986, the year of the infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal. Eight more were registered between 1999 and 2006, including two Diego Maradonas and two Ronaldo Maradonas.
• Eight Peles were registered between 1970 and 1972, following the footballer’s 1000th goal in 1969.
• Eight babies have been given the forename Hercules, with a further 51 bearing it as a middle name.

Debra Chatfield, Marketing Manager at findmypast.co.uk, said, “As the first company to publish birth, marriage and death records online, findmypast.co.uk is committed to making family history research more accessible. Findmypast’s brand new birth indexes now provide an easier route into our families’ pasts than ever before.

We are currently working on reindexing the marriage and death records and once complete, findmypast.co.uk will have digitised over a quarter of a billion records. Thanks to initiatives like this, family history is more popular than ever and the amount of historical records that are now available to search and view online will help even more people to start to uncover their own family tree.”

Findmypast.co.uk was the first company in the world to put the complete Birth, Marriage and Death indexes (BMDs) for England and Wales online on 1 April 2003. Previously these were only available offline on microfiche or in registry books, at a selected number of locations. This landmark achievement was recognised in 2007, when findmypast.co.uk won the Queen’s Award for Innovation.

For more information log on to www.findmypast.co.uk.

75,000 New WWI Records Go Online at Findmypast.co.uk

Leading UK family history website findmypast.co.uk has today expanded its collection of British military records with the release of the Royal Marine Medal Roll 1914-1920. The record set provides a listing of all Royal Marines who received medals for their service in World War 1, including those awarded the 1914 Star, the Clasp to the 1914 Star, the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

Royal Marine Medal Roll 1914-1920

Containing records of over 75,000 Officers, NCOs and other ranks, the Royal Marine Medal Roll 1914-1920 comprises both transcripts and images of the original WW1 Campaign Medal Rolls for the Royal Marines. Aside from the medals awarded, the records detail the Marine’s name, rank, service branch, service number and also a description of where or to whom the medals were issued. In addition to this, many of the transcripts contain extra service details for the Royal Marine, often highlighting those that died of wounds or were killed in action during WW1. These details are available online for the very first time.

Debra Chatfield, Marketing Manager at findmypast.co.uk, said: “We are delighted to be able to add the Royal Marine Medal Roll 1914-1920 to the collection of World War 1 records available at the findmypast.co.uk website. These records are a fantastic new resource, allowing family historians to uncover many more details about the lives of ancestors who fought for their country.”

John Marshall, author of the Royal Marine Medal Roll database, said: “Today sees the first of any WW1 Naval Medal Rolls to be made available online, providing a complete listing of all Royal Marine Officers and men who served in the Great War. This database is dedicated to the memory of CH/19403 Private John (Jack) Clegg RMLI, 1st Royal Marine Battalion, Royal Naval Division, who was “wounded and missing” at the Battle of the Ancre in 1916.”

FamilySearch Teams with FindMyPast.com

News Release from FamilySearch:

FamilySearch Teams with Findmypast.com to Increase Online Access to British Historical Records

Retired servicemen and merchant seamen records are first projects

SALT LAKE CITY-FamilySearch announced today it is working with the UK family history Web site www.findmypast.com and The National Archives of the United Kingdom to increase access to select British historical records. The first major projects will provide access to millions of names of deceased British soldiers and seamen from eighteenth to twentieth century.

Findmypast.com and FamilySearch were recently awarded licenses by The National Archives to digitize and make available both the Chelsea Pensioners retired soldiers records between 1760 and 1914, and the Merchant Seamen's collection of records dating from 1835 to 1941.

Chelsea Pensioners and Militia Records

The three-year project will digitize and index nine million images from the War Office's Royal Hospital Chelsea Soldiers' Service documents dating from 1760 and Militia Attestation Papers documents from 1870, through to 1913.

The records truly bring to life the comings and goings of pensioners (patients) in the Royal Hospital Chelsea, including each ex-serviceman's name, age, birthplace and service history, as well as details of physical appearance, conduct sheet, previous occupation, and in some cases the reason for discharge. After 1883, details of marriages and children may also appear.

Merchant Seamen Records

The Board of Trade's merchant seamen records from the periods 1835 to 1844 and 1918 to 1941 will also be digitized and indexed. When the project is complete, the public will be able to easily search online for the names and date and place of birth of ancestors who served as merchant seamen.

Many of the twentieth century records include portrait photographs of the sailors as well as personal details and summaries of their voyages. The records include people of many nationalities and women's service records.

Nearly a third of UK families have ancestors who served as a merchant seaman, and many Americans have British roots, making this series of records extremely important to genealogists and family historians.

Digitization partnership

FamilySearch will digitize the records on site at The National Archives, and Findmypast.com will create indexes and transcriptions to enable online patrons to easily search the records and images at both www.findmypast.com and www.familysearch.org.

Elaine Collins, Commercial Director at Findmypast.com said, "This is great news for anyone who has hit a brick wall in their family history research. Servicemen and merchant seamen played a hugely important role in the United Kingdom's military, economic and social history. The details included in these two sets of records will open up a wealth of new information about their lives to family history enthusiasts and military historians alike."

Ransom Love, director of Strategic Relationships for FamilySearch, added, "FamilySearch is working with cultural institutions like The National Archives [of the United Kingdom] and genealogy-related companies like FindMyPast.com to preserve and provide access to genealogical records faster, more effectively, and more efficiently. We are excited to begin the Chelsea and Merchant Seaman projects with FindMyPast.com and The National Archives and look forward to more exciting initiatives together in the near future."

Dan Jones, Head of Business Development at The National Archives, said, "Being able to add these popular records to the growing list of The National Archives' resources available digitally is yet more evidence of the importance and effectiveness of forming partnerships across the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors. We are very pleased to be able to announce the start of these two exciting projects and the continuation of The National Archives' strong relationship with Findmypast.com and FamilySearch."

FamilySearch is a nonprofit organization that maintains the world's largest repository of genealogical resources. Patrons may access resources online at FamilySearch.org or through the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, and over 4,500 family history centers in 70 countries. FamilySearch is a trademark of Intellectual Reserve, Inc. and is registered in the United States of America and other countries.

About Findmypast.com

Leading UK family history website Findmypast.com (formerly 1837online.com) was the first company to make the complete birth, marriage and death indexes for England and Wales available online in April 2003.

Following the transcription, scanning and indexing of over two million images, the company launched the first website to allow the public easy and fast access to the complete indexes, which until then had only been available on microfiche in specialist archives and libraries. The launch was instrumental in creating the widespread and growing interest in genealogy seen in the UK today.

Findmypast has subsequently digitised many more family history records and now offers access to over 500 million records dating as far back as 1538. This allows family historians and novice genealogists to search for their ancestors among comprehensive collections of military records, census, migration, occupation directories, and current electoral roll data, as well as the original comprehensive birth, marriage, and death records.

In November 2006, Findmypast launched the Ancestorsonboard.com microsite in association with The National Archives to publish outbound passenger lists for long-distance voyages departing all British ports between 1890 and 1960.

As well as providing access to historical records, Findmypast is also developing a range of online tools to help people discover and share their family history more easily, beginning with the launch of Family Tree Explorer in July 2007.

Over 1.7 million people in the UK have researched their family trees, and Findmypast.com has over 800,000 active registered users, revealing the mass appeal of genealogy and Findmypast.com's position as the leading family history Web site based in the UK.

In April 2007, Findmypast's then parent company Title Research Group received the prestigious Queen's Award for Enterprise: Innovation 2007 in recognition of their achievement.

Findmypast.com was acquired in December 2007, by Scotland Online, the company who were awarded the The National Archives' tender to publish online the 1911 census.

About The National Archives

The National Archives, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk, is a government department; and also an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). The National Archives brings together the Public Record Office, Historical Manuscripts Commission, the Office of Public Sector Information and Her Majesty's Stationery Office. See also www.opsi.gov.uk.

The National Archives is at the heart of information policy-setting standards and supporting innovation in information and records management across the UK, and providing a practical framework of best practice for opening up and encouraging the re-use of public sector information. This work helps inform today's decisions and ensure that they become tomorrow's permanent record.

The National Archives is also the UK government's official archive, containing 900 years of history from Domesday Book to the present, with records ranging from parchment and paper scrolls through to recently-created digital files and archived websites. Increasingly, these records are being put online, making them universally accessible.

The vision of The National Archives is to:

* Lead and transform information management
* Guarantee the survival of today's information for tomorrow
* Bring history to life for everyone