Researching UK Birth & Death Records Keeps Getting Easier & Easier

Researching UK Birth & Death Records Keeps Getting Easier & Easier

Back in June, I talked about some of my favorite FREE UK research websites in UKBMD and FREEBMD -- great resources for English and Welsh research and they are FREE.

I’ve recently learned from the IAJGS Public Records Access Alert that the situation is now even better (in a way) … (UK) New Way to Search Birth and Death Records in England and Wales for Free shares …

GRO Online Historic Indexes

Following successful development and testing, the GRO online historic birth and death indexes are accessible via our website from today, 3 November. The indexes have been created using GRO records which have already been digitised, and cover birth records more than 100 years old, and death records up to 1957 (the latest digitised year we hold).

The online indexes, will provide a customer enhancement, making the indexes more readily available for searching than the microfiche we currently make available via the 7 public libraries / records offices across England and Wales. This service will be in addition to, rather than replacing the facility to search the indexes at the 7 sites. The full set of indexes will still be held and updated at these sites.

The online index also provides enhancements, to that on the microfiche, where possible showing mother’s maiden name for births prior to 1911, and age at death for those records prior to 1865. There is also the facility to purchase a certificate.

The index is accessible free of charge via the GOV.UK website which links to our online ordering site."

You can access the General Register Office (GRO) indexes here. You will first need to register and provide – name, address, email, and a password.

There has been so much progress in accessing UK vital records over the last so many years.  It used to be that you could only identify a relevant document within the quarter of the year in which it was registered, assuming an uncommon name and a small parish.  A lot of guessing used to go into determining whether the certificates you were ordering were for the correct person; often they weren’t!

I searched on my gran’s birth as it falls within the range of available index entries and here is her entry … If I didn’t already have her birth certificate, I could now click the button and order it.

What are your favorite resources for UK research?

Editor’s Note: Read past posts on Upfront with NGS regarding UK Research here.

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copyright © National Genealogical Society, 3108 Columbia Pike, Suite 300, Arlington, Virginia 22204-4370. http://www.ngsgenealogy.org.

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NGS does not imply endorsement of any outside advertiser or other vendors appearing in this blog. Any opinions expressed by guest authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the view of NGS.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Republication of UpFront articles is permitted and encouraged for non-commercial purposes without express permission from NGS. Please drop us a note telling us where and when you are using the article. Express written permission is required if you wish to republish UpFront articles for commercial purposes. You may send a request for express written permission to UpFront@ngsgenealogy.org. All republished articles may not be edited or reworded and must contain the copyright statement found at the bottom of each UpFront article.

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Think your friends, colleagues, or fellow genealogy researchers would find this blog post interesting? If so, please let them know that anyone can read past UpFront with NGS posts or subscribe!

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Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to UpfrontNGS@mosaicrpm.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Unless indicated otherwise or clearly an NGS Public Relations piece, Upfront with NGS posts are written by Diane L Richard, editor, Upfront with NGS.

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MyHeritage Membership Offer for NGS Members Last Chance!

Reminder, the special MyHeritage offer for NGS members will end of Monday, November 21st. Sign up before midnight on Monday, November 21st to get 50% of Full Access to everything on MyHeritage.

The National Genealogical Society partners from time to time with companies that can offer you excellent services at a discount. MyHeritage is a wonderful research resource that we can bring to you at a substantial discount from now until November 21, 2016.

MyHeritage is an award-winning genealogy website that helps millions of users around the world discover their family history — and it can also help you achieve a breakthrough in your research.
We have arranged a great special offer - FULL ACCESS to everything on MyHeritage for HALF THE PRICE! Hurry, this offer is good for 1 week only! Offer expires Monday, November 21, 2016.

Take this offer now for 50% off MyHeritage

"I was amazed at the results. Within minutes MyHeritage.com showed me more information about a number of my ancestors than I had found in 35 years of searching on my own!" 
Dick Eastman - Author of Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

 MyHeritage offers billions of records and the industry's most powerful matching technologies, allowing you to 'Research while you sleep'.

MyHeritage provides you with:
Private family site with unlimited capacity Start a new tree or import GEDCOM Unlimited photo storage Apps for iOS/Android smart phones and tablets Smart Matches™ with 35 million trees Global Name Translation™ Record Detective™ II Book Matching NEW PedigreeMap™ NEW Sun Charts™	Over 7 billion historical records Automatic Record Matches Vital records from 48 countries Military and immigration records 1790-1940 US census 1841-1911 England & Wales census Compilation of Published Sources collection with over 450,000 books and 91 million pages Family Tree Builder premium software Join 85 million users who have built trees with 2 billion people

For a limited time, every NGS member can join for only $125.29 for a one-year MyHeritage Complete subscription, which includes full access to everything on MyHeritage. To get this low price, join before Monday, November 21, 2016. That's a savings of 50 percent!

Click here to join MyHeritage today for only $125.29!

U.S. House of Representatives Launches Records Search

U.S. House of Representatives Launches Records Search

Last month the U.S. House of Representatives launched Records Search on the History, Art & Archives website; a collaborative project between the Office of the House Historian and the Clerk’s Office of Art and Archives.

The website describes itself …

The will of the people, the history of the country, the work of the U.S. House of Representatives—each can be traced in the documents that compose the institution’s official records. House records reflect how citizens and their elected representatives address, advocate, and legislate for important issues. Explore a selection of the records—from the everyday to the extraordinary—of the committees and officers of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Read more about the new website on the In Custodia Legis (Law Librarians of Congress) blog.

While exploring these documents, check out the Records & Research homepage…

The people and activities of the U.S. House of Representatives have inspired numerous publications and millions of pages of records that tell their stories. Browse resources to help conduct research on congressional records, the institution of the House, its committees, and its Speakers. Access bibliographies, lists of standard reference volumes, and finding aids for official House records to discover the history behind the House.

What discovered document did you find most interesting?

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copyright © National Genealogical Society, 3108 Columbia Pike, Suite 300, Arlington, Virginia 22204-4370. http://www.ngsgenealogy.org.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NGS does not imply endorsement of any outside advertiser or other vendors appearing in this blog. Any opinions expressed by guest authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the view of NGS.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Republication of UpFront articles is permitted and encouraged for non-commercial purposes without express permission from NGS. Please drop us a note telling us where and when you are using the article. Express written permission is required if you wish to republish UpFront articles for commercial purposes. You may send a request for express written permission to UpFront@ngsgenealogy.org. All republished articles may not be edited or reworded and must contain the copyright statement found at the bottom of each UpFront article.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Think your friends, colleagues, or fellow genealogy researchers would find this blog post interesting? If so, please let them know that anyone can read past UpFront with NGS posts or subscribe!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to UpfrontNGS@mosaicrpm.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Unless indicated otherwise or clearly an NGS Public Relations piece, Upfront with NGS posts are written by Diane L Richard, editor, Upfront with NGS.

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Want to learn more about interacting with the blog, please read Hyperlinks, Subscribing and Comments -- How to Interact with Upfront with NGS Blog posts!

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Nominations Now Being Accepted -- NGS Newsletter Competition

Nominations Now Being Accepted -- NGS Newsletter Competition

This post continues a periodic series where we, at NGS, highlight the various competitions (15 December deadline) and awards (31 January) where nominations are sought in order to recognize excellence. The winners will be announced at the annual NGS Family History Conference, 10-13 May 2017.

Fourth up is the NGS Newsletter Competition.

Deadline for Submissions—15 December Annually

To recognize the hard work, long hours, and creativity that editors devote to their newsletters.

Categories

·         Major genealogical and/or historical societies

·         County/local genealogical and/or historical societies

·         Family associations

Prize

·         The winning society or association in each of the three categories will receive a complimentary one-year organizational NGS membership.

·         Feature in the NGS Magazine

Criteria

·         Each applicant must be an NGS member organization.

·         Newsletter must be submitted by the society or association—not by an individual.

·         Four copies of two consecutive issues from the current year must be submitted along with the completed entry form.

·         Electronic newsletters may be entered in the competition.  One copy of two consecutive electronic newsletters from the current year must be submitted along with the completed entry form. 

Guidelines for Newsletter Competition

Guidelines (PDF 188KB)

Evaluation

·         A panel of three judges will review both issues of the newsletter using the following criteria
          * material interest, variety and originality;
          * writing and editing quality;
          * readability and attractiveness; and
          * overall publication makeup.

·         Your newsletter will not be evaluated on the correctness of its genealogical content.

Results

·         The panel’s comments will be evaluated and tallied.

·         The president of each entry organization will be notified of the competition results.

·         A representative of the winning organization will be presented a certificate at the opening session of the next NGS Family History Conference.

Application for Newsletter Competition

Application Form (PDF 178KB)

Mail the materials to:
NGS Newsletter Competitions
National Genealogical Society
3108 Columbia Pike, Suite 300
Arlington, Virginia 22204-4370 USA

Questions? Contact the NGS Awards Chair at awards@ngsgenealogy.org.

Note that this competition is only open to NGS member organizations and the organization, and not an individual, must make the submission. Please let others know about this award!




What genealogy newsletter(s) would you like to see submitted for this competition?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

copyright © National Genealogical Society, 3108 Columbia Pike, Suite 300, Arlington, Virginia 22204-4370. http://www.ngsgenealogy.org.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NGS does not imply endorsement of any outside advertiser or other vendors appearing in this blog. Any opinions expressed by guest authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the view of NGS.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Republication of UpFront articles is permitted and encouraged for non-commercial purposes without express permission from NGS. Please drop us a note telling us where and when you are using the article. Express written permission is required if you wish to republish UpFront articles for commercial purposes. You may send a request for express written permission to UpFront@ngsgenealogy.org. All republished articles may not be edited or reworded and must contain the copyright statement found at the bottom of each UpFront article.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Think your friends, colleagues, or fellow genealogy researchers would find this blog post interesting? If so, please let them know that anyone can read past UpFront with NGS posts or subscribe!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to UpfrontNGS@mosaicrpm.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Unless indicated otherwise or clearly an NGS Public Relations piece, Upfront with NGS posts are written by Diane L Richard, editor, Upfront with NGS.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Want to learn more about interacting with the blog, please read Hyperlinks, Subscribing and Comments -- How to Interact with Upfront with NGS Blog posts!

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Mixed Roots Foundation Officially Launches Global Adoptee Genealogy Project (GAGP) Launched

Mixed Roots Foundation Officially Launches Global Adoptee Genealogy Project (GAGP) Launched

We learn from the Mixed Roots Foundation about a new initiative …

In celebration of its 5 year anniversary, Mixed Roots Foundation will officially launch the first ever Global Adoptee Genealogy Project (GAGP) and begin fundraising for the Filling in the GAGP Fund in November, which is recognized as National Adoption Awareness and Philanthropy Month.

GAGP’s primary goals will be to assist individuals touched by adoption and foster care to discover their biological and cultural roots through DNA testing services provided by DNA testing partner, Family Tree DNA based in Houston, Texas as well as get connected to important search and reunion resources supported by leading people search engine, Spokeo based in Pasadena, CA. The financial goal is to offer free DNA testing for 1,000 individuals and their families in 2017 with a benchmark in April 2017 for National DNA Month. The Filling in the GAGP Fund will help offset costs well as provide funding based on financial need for DNA testing for adoptees and their families.

“Through my work in genetic genealogy, I encounter adoptees all the time,” stated Founder and President of Family Tree DNA, Bennett Greenspan. “The importance of one’s identity is critical to the basic needs of being human and more than ever now – adoptees need GAGP. Adoptees have a desire to know who they are, what they are, and why they were adopted. DNA testing offers potential answers to questions of identity that are always asked. We hope individuals will participate and support GAGP, because as the testing databases grow, the more matches will be made,” expressed Greenspan.

“As an adoptee who found my birth family through testing with Family Tree DNA, it has become my personal mission to help other adoptees to do the same,” stated GAGP Advisory Committee Co-Chair, Richard Hill, who authored the groundbreaking book Finding Family: My Search for Roots and the Secrets in My DNA. “With the power of science and technology and now GAGP, we can better serve the adoption and foster care community with credible and safe resources as well as be a support network for those who are trying to discover their roots.”

GAGP will not only assist adoptees and their families here in the U.S., but will also go beyond the borders with the financial support of one of Mixed Roots Foundation’s founding board directors, philanthropist and member of the GAGP Advisory Committee, Thomas Park Clement. Mr. Clement is a Korean Adoptee himself and has become a very successful business owner of his own medical device company called Mectra Labs in Indiana.

To date, he has donated almost $500,000 to provide free DNA test kits to Korean Adoptees in the United States and has assisted Korean Adoptee organization, 325Kamra to distribute DNA test kits in South Korea, so that there can be more matches in the Family Tree DNA database between adoptees & potential family members in South Korea.

“Having done my own DNA test, I realize that there are so many others like me that want to know where they come from and if they have family out there. This is very important to one’s identity and how you see yourself in the world,” said Mr. Clement. “My personal goal is to get a DNA test kit to every Korean Adoptee out there, so they have the opportunity to know their roots and be proud of who they are, so they can live happy and productive lives.”

GAGP will provide a comprehensive website consisting important educational resources and ways to obtain free DNA testing. In addition Family Tree DNA, which hosts a GAGP project for adoptee testers, will donate a portion of sales of each DNA test kit back to GAGP, so GAGP can expand and continue to make a positive impact on the adoption and foster care community. GAGP will also be led by an Advisory Committee comprised of adoptees, professionals, community partners including Vista Del Mar Adoptions and Foster Care and representatives of Spokeo and Family Tree DNA who will oversee the content of the website, help facilitate the distribution of DNA test kits and continue to develop a unique support network of important search and reunion services for individuals and their families touched by adoption & foster care and beyond.

To learn more about GAGP, GAGP’s Advisory Committee members, Donate to the Filling in the GAGP Fund, and/or for more information on Mixed Roots Foundation and its partners including Family Tree DNA, Spokeo, Vista Del Mar Adoptions and Foster Care, please call 800.659.6958, text GIVE GAGP to 56512 (Msg & data rates may apply), email discovergagp(at)mixedrootsfoundation(dot)org or visit http://www.discovergagp.org.

If you’ve successfully linked an adoptee (whether yourself or another) to birth parents, please share your story.

Editor’s Note: Read past posts on Upfront with NGS regarding Adoption here.
Editor’s Note: When Richard Hill’s book Finding Family: My Search For Roots came out, I stated in a review published in Family Chronicle Magazine (now Your Genealogy Today) … "Regardless of whether you are adopted or not, this is a very personal journey of one man’s discovery of his biological roots which has a happy ending! It was a long journey, over several decades, and yet Mr. Hill doesn’t weigh the story down with too much nitty-gritty. There is just enough detail about his research methodology that it both inspires and informs us.”

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copyright © National Genealogical Society, 3108 Columbia Pike, Suite 300, Arlington, Virginia 22204-4370. http://www.ngsgenealogy.org.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NGS does not imply endorsement of any outside advertiser or other vendors appearing in this blog. Any opinions expressed by guest authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the view of NGS.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Republication of UpFront articles is permitted and encouraged for non-commercial purposes without express permission from NGS. Please drop us a note telling us where and when you are using the article. Express written permission is required if you wish to republish UpFront articles for commercial purposes. You may send a request for express written permission to UpFront@ngsgenealogy.org. All republished articles may not be edited or reworded and must contain the copyright statement found at the bottom of each UpFront article.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Think your friends, colleagues, or fellow genealogy researchers would find this blog post interesting? If so, please let them know that anyone can read past UpFront with NGS posts or subscribe!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to UpfrontNGS@mosaicrpm.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Unless indicated otherwise or clearly an NGS Public Relations piece, Upfront with NGS posts are written by Diane L Richard, editor, Upfront with NGS.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Want to learn more about interacting with the blog, please read Hyperlinks, Subscribing and Comments -- How to Interact with Upfront with NGS Blog posts!

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Follow NGS via Facebook, Flipboard, Google+, Twitter, YouTube

MyHeritage Membership Offer for NGS Members

The National Genealogical Society partners from time to time with companies that can offer you excellent services at a discount. MyHeritage is a wonderful research resource that we can bring to you at a substantial discount from now until November 21, 2016.

MyHeritage is an award-winning genealogy website that helps millions of users around the world discover their family history — and it can also help you achieve a breakthrough in your research.
We have arranged a great special offer - FULL ACCESS to everything on MyHeritage for HALF THE PRICE! Hurry, this offer is good for 1 week only! Offer expires Monday, November 21, 2016.

Take this offer now for 50% off MyHeritage

"I was amazed at the results. Within minutes MyHeritage.com showed me more information about a number of my ancestors than I had found in 35 years of searching on my own!" 
Dick Eastman - Author of Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

 MyHeritage offers billions of records and the industry's most powerful matching technologies, allowing you to 'Research while you sleep'.

MyHeritage provides you with:
Private family site with unlimited capacity Start a new tree or import GEDCOM Unlimited photo storage Apps for iOS/Android smart phones and tablets Smart Matches™ with 35 million trees Global Name Translation™ Record Detective™ II Book Matching NEW PedigreeMap™ NEW Sun Charts™	Over 7 billion historical records Automatic Record Matches Vital records from 48 countries Military and immigration records 1790-1940 US census 1841-1911 England & Wales census Compilation of Published Sources collection with over 450,000 books and 91 million pages Family Tree Builder premium software Join 85 million users who have built trees with 2 billion people

For a limited time, every NGS member can join for only $125.29 for a one-year MyHeritage Complete subscription, which includes full access to everything on MyHeritage. To get this low price, join before Monday, November 21, 2016. That's a savings of 50 percent!

Click here to join MyHeritage today for only $125.29!

Reclaim the Records -- NYC Marriage Index, 1950-1995 FREE to access

Reclaim the Records -- NYC Marriage Index, 1950-1995 FREE to access

Whereas on Friday we posted about restrictions to death records, particularly the Death Master File (DMF), today, we talk about NEW and FREE access to records.

Reclaim the Records (here’s a link to its FB page) shares …

THE NYC MARRIAGE INDEX, 1950-1995, http://www.nycmarriageindex.com/

This brand new website is the result of our successful Freedom of Information request and lawsuit against the New York City Clerk's Office.  You can search all the data, for free! Our search engine even recognizes soundalike surnames, spelling variants, wildcards (with no minimum number of letters needed), common nicknames, year ranges, borough preferences, and more.  Or you can download all the raw data files in XLS, CSV, or SQL format, and do whatever you want with them

-- also free!

For more information about this database, and to learn how we finally were able to force New York City to give up this data to the public, check out our latest e-mail newsletter.

If you have ancestors who lived in New York City, you have already benefitted directly from the efforts of Brooke Schreier Ganz and her cohorts.  In the future, you might also benefit directly if you live in New York State, New Jersey or Missouri.  See the image above for the current outstanding records requests.

Even if you do not live in those locations, we do all benefit from the efforts of Reclaim the Records.  It shows that genealogists, historians, and other researchers can file Freedom of Information requests (or similar) and use Open Data initiatives, the impetus of Sunshine Week events, and more, to gain access to records that we currently do not have access to.

Catch this video (August 2016) from the recent IAJGS conference where Brooke herself talks about what she’s been doing.

What family history records would you like to gain access to?

What efforts are you and/or local organizations and/or entities you are aware of engaged in to create records access?

Editor’s Note: Read past posts on Upfront with NGS regarding Reclaim the Records here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

copyright © National Genealogical Society, 3108 Columbia Pike, Suite 300, Arlington, Virginia 22204-4370. http://www.ngsgenealogy.org.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NGS does not imply endorsement of any outside advertiser or other vendors appearing in this blog. Any opinions expressed by guest authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the view of NGS.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Republication of UpFront articles is permitted and encouraged for non-commercial purposes without express permission from NGS. Please drop us a note telling us where and when you are using the article. Express written permission is required if you wish to republish UpFront articles for commercial purposes. You may send a request for express written permission to UpFront@ngsgenealogy.org. All republished articles may not be edited or reworded and must contain the copyright statement found at the bottom of each UpFront article.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Think your friends, colleagues, or fellow genealogy researchers would find this blog post interesting? If so, please let them know that anyone can read past UpFront with NGS posts or subscribe!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to UpfrontNGS@mosaicrpm.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Unless indicated otherwise or clearly an NGS Public Relations piece, Upfront with NGS posts are written by Diane L Richard, editor, Upfront with NGS.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Want to learn more about interacting with the blog, please read Hyperlinks, Subscribing and Comments -- How to Interact with Upfront with NGS Blog posts!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Follow NGS via Facebook, Flipboard, Google+, Twitter, YouTube