1.2 million Irish Petty Session Records now searchable online

The following is from FindMyPast.

Drunk in charge of an ass and cart, tippling in a sheebeen and the disturbance of a divine service: 1.2 million Irish Petty Session Records now searchable online

·         Another 15 million cases are to follow throughout 2012

·         One of the great untapped resources for researching your family history

·         Drunkenness the most common offence – accounting for one third of cases

Today, Irish family history website findmypast.ie launched online for the first time the Petty Sessions order books (1850-1910), one of the greatest untapped resources for those tracing their Irish roots.

The original Petty Sessions records, held at the National Archives of Ireland, were scanned by Family Search and have now been transcribed and made fully searchable by findmypast.ie. They cover all types of cases, from allowing trespass of cattle to being drunk in charge of an ass and cart. These were the lowest courts in the country who dealt with the vast bulk of legal cases, both civil and criminal. This first batch of entries contains details of 1.2 million cases, with most records giving comprehensive details of the case including: name of complainant, name of defendant, names of witnesses, cause of complaint, details of the judgement, details of a fine if any, and details of a sentence passed down if any. Another 15 million cases are to follow throughout 2012.

This first batch of records is particularly useful for areas of the country for which family history records are notoriously sparse such as Connaught and Donegal.

The reasons for cases being brought before the Petty Sessions Court are incredibly varied, but unsurprisingly the most common offence was drunkenness, which accounted for over a third of all cases. The top five offences tried before the courts were:

1.    Drunkenness - 33%

2.    Revenue/Tax offences - 21%

3.    Assault - 16%

4.    Local acts of nuisance - 5%

5.    Destruction of property - 4%

The nature of these cases was significantly different from those in England.  Figures show that the rate of conviction for drunkenness was three times greater, four times greater for tax offences, 65% higher for assault, and twice as likely for “malicious and wilful destruction of property” than that of our nearest neighbours.¹

The records are full of the minor incidents which are representative of the vast majority of cases which were brought before the Resident Magistrates. For example, we have Michael Downey of Athlone, Co. Westmeath who was charged with being “drunk while in charge of an ass and cart in a public area”, Pat Curley of Cloonakilla, Co. Westmeath who was charged with causing “malicious injury to a bicycle”, the five men and women all convicted of “tippling in a sheebeen” (drinking in an unlicensed premises) on Queen Street, Athlone and given fines of between £1 and £5 or the five men who were charged with disturbing the Reverend J.W. Davidson as he was “ministering a divine service” in Bundoran, Co.Donegal.

Brian Donovan, Director of findmypast.ie, comments: “These court records open up a unique window into Irish society in the 19th century. Most families interacted with the law in one way or another, being perpetrators or victims of petty crime, resolving civil disputes, to applying for a dog licence. The records are full of the trauma and tragedy of local life, as family members squabbled, shop keepers recovered debt, and the police imposed order. These records help fulfil our mission to provide more than just names and dates, to get to the stories of our ancestors’ lives."

ABOUT findmypast.ie

Findmypast.ie is the world’s most comprehensive Irish family history website, providing easy-to-search, online access to some of the most significant Irish records that have ever been made available. This new site is a joint venture between two experts in the field: findmypast.co.uk, one of the leading family history websites and part of the brightsolidfamily, while Eneclann is an award-winning Trinity College Campus Company specialising in genealogical and historical research and the publication of historical records.

Based in Dublin, findmypast.ie has a dedicated team committed to providing the best experience possible when researching Irish family history.

www.findmypast.ie

St. George Family History Expo 2012

The winter season has been very mild here in Utah.  This means I don't mind traveling to St. George.  I am getting excited about attending the 8th annual St. George Family History Expo.  If you haven't yet registered why don't you think about making a trip south this Friday & Saturday.

St. George Family History Expo 2012
The Dixie Center 1835 Convention Center Dr.
St. George, Utah 84790
February 24 - 25, 2012

Keynote Address: Susan Easton Black

For a list of classes and to register click here.

New Merchant Seamen Records Online

The following is from FindMyPast.

NEW MERCHANT SEAMEN RECORDS ONLINE

*       First time that 19th century merchant navy records are available online
*       UK merchant seamen records from two centuries now searchable at findmypast.co.uk

Leading family history website www.findmypast.co.uk has today released online for the first time Merchant Seamen records from the 19th century in association with The National Archives of the United Kingdom.

359,000 records of individuals covering the years 1835-1857 have now been added to the website. Details contained within the records can vary, but can include name, age, place of birth, physical description, ship names and dates of voyages. Often this information can be given in the form of coded entries which can easily be deciphered using downloadable finding aids from The National Archives.

The records are taken from volumes held at The National Archives in series BT112, BT113, BT114, BT115, BT116 and BT120 and were created by central government to regulate the merchant shipping industry. As the series spans two decades, some individuals may appear in multiple series, making it possible for maritime historians or those with ancestors in the merchant navy, to trace a seaman's service over time.

Janet Dempsey, Maritime Expert at The National Archives commented:

"These records are as significant to the social historian as they are to the family historian.  No other group of working class men and women had the freedom of movement and ability to see the world as these 19th century mariners.

"This was the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen's earliest attempts at keeping individuals records and resulted in four different registers over twenty two years. Although more of a challenge to work with than other family history sources, it can be very satisfying to decipher the codes and have your investigative efforts rewarded with sometimes surprisingly rich detail."

In 2011 findmypast.co.uk published Merchant Navy Seamen records from 1918-1941 in association with The National Archives, some of which include photographs.

Debra Chatfield, family historian at findmypast.co.uk added: "The Merchant Navy Seamen records will be of great interest to family historians worldwide, as so many of us have generations of ancestors, who made their living at sea. These records will add more detail to our mental picture of their lives."

All the Merchant Navy Seamen records at findmypast.co.uk can be searched for free from the Education & Work section of the website.  Transcripts and images can be viewed either with PayAsYouGo credits or a Full Subscription.


About findmypast.co.uk
Leading UK family history website findmypast.co.uk was the first company to make the complete birth, marriage and death indexes for England & Wales available online in April 2003, winning the Queen's Award for Innovation.

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 875 AD. This allows family historians to search for their ancestors among comprehensive collections of military, census, migration, parish, work and education records, as well as the original comprehensive birth, marriage and death records. The company runs the official 1911 census website for England & Wales in association with The National Archives and has digitised several other record sets from the national collection.

About The National Archives
For the record, for good... The National Archives is a government department and an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).  As the official archive of the UK government and England and Wales, we look after and make available to the public a collection of historical records dating back over 1,000 years, including records as diverse as Domesday Book and MI5 files.


Our 21st-century role is to collect and secure the future of the record, both digital and physical, to preserve it for generations to come, and to make it as accessible as possible. We do this by devising technological solutions to ensure the long-term survival of public records and working to widen access to our collection. The National Archives also advises on information management across government, publishes all UK legislation, manages Crown copyright and supports the wider archive sector. We work to promote and improve access to public sector information and its re-use.

FamilySearch Records Update 16 Feb 2012

The following is from FamilySearch.

16 February 2012

FamilySearch Adds Free Records from 7 Countries 

Millions of new records added to England, Italy, and U.S. Collections

This week FamilySearch added 12 million new, free records online (6.5 million indexed names and 5.6 million browsable images) for Canada, England, Germany, Italy, Korea, Netherlands, Spain, and the U.S. The Florida Death Index 1877-1998, received 5 million searchable records and another million records each for Oklahoma and Wisconsin. Find your ancestors now at FamilySearch.org.

Searchable records on FamilySearch.org are made possible by thousands of volunteers from around the world who transcribe (index) the information from handwritten records to make them easily searchable by computer. More volunteers are needed (particularly those who can read foreign languages) to keep pace with the amount of digital images being published online at FamilySearch.org. Learn more about how to personally help provide free access to the world’s historic genealogical records as an indexer at FamilySearch.org.

FamilySearch International is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer–driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter–day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch has been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources free online at FamilySearch.org or through over 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

 

Collection	Indexed Records	Digital Images	Comments
England, Kent, Land Tax Assessments, 1689-1832	0	89,160	New browsable image collection.
England, Kent, Wills and Probate, 1440-1881	0	347,164	New browsable image collection.
Germany, Saxony, Dresden, Citizen's Documents and Business Licenses, 1820-1962	0	386,107	New browsable image collection.
Italy, Messina, Messina, Civil Registration (Tribunale), 1866-1939	0	696,799	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Italy, Messina, Patti, Civil Registration (Tribunale), 1865-1910	0	454,682	New browsable image collection.
Korea, Collection of Genealogies, 1500-2009	0	6,534	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Netherlands, Army Service Records, 1807-1929	0	103,682	New browsable image collection.
Nova Scotia, Church Records, 1720-2001	0	16,188	New browsable image collection.
Spain, Municipal Records	0	84,921	Added browsable images to existing collection.
U.S., California, Death Index, 1905-1939	0	5,692	New browsable image collection.
U.S., California, Northern U.S. District Court Naturalization Index, 1852-1989	0	1,342,642	Added browsable images to existing collection.
U.S., Colorado, Statewide Marriage Index, 1900-1939	0	454,881	New browsable image collection.
U.S., Florida, Death Index, 1877-1998	5,187,074	0	New Index collection. Index courtesy of Ancestry.com.
U.S., New Mexico, County Death Records, 1907-1952	0	5,479	New browsable image collection.
U.S., Oklahoma, Applications for Allotment, Five Civilized Tribes, 1899-1907	0	1,373,449	New browsable image collection.
U.S., South Dakota, School Records, 1884-1938	0	193,492	New browsable image collection.
U.S., Utah, Territorial Militia Records, 1849-1877	0	11,306	New browsable image collection.
U.S., Wisconsin, Death Index, 1820-1907	435,208	0	New Index collection. Index courtesy of Ancestry.com.
U.S., Wisconsin, Marriage Index, 1973-1997	948,961	0	New Index collection. Index courtesy of Ancestry.com.
United States, Mexican War Pension Index, 1887-1926	0	51,991	New browsable image collection.
United States, Old War Pension Index, 1815-1926	0	28,984	New browsable image collection.