The Scottish GENES Blog (GEnealogy News and EventS): Top news stories and features concerning ancestral research in Scotland, Ireland, the rest of the UK, and their diasporas, from genealogist and family historian Chris Paton. Feel free to quote from this blog, but please credit Scottish GENES if you do. Cuimhnich air na daoine o'n d'thàinig thu!
Ancestry ( www.ancestry.co.uk ) has added a new burials database for Scotland: Midlothian, Scotland, Burials, 1834-2025 https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/63107 Source: Midlothian Burials. Midlothian, Scotland: Midlothian Council Archives. About Midlothian, Scotland, Burials, 1834-2025 This collection contains records from cemeteries in the county of Midlothian, Scotland, dated between…
The British Newspaper Archive ( www.britishnewspaperarchive.com ) has been updated with a brand new platform and look - and it is perhaps going to take some getting used to. From the home page there are options to perform a basic search - now with two separate boxes, one for a name, the other for optional keywords - and an advanced search. On a first attempt to make a search using the advanced…
A huge thanks to publisher The Lutterworth Press for a review copy of John Wintrip's new book, A History of Parish Registers in England and Wales: From the Restoration to Civil Registration . The following is the listed description of the book at https://www.lutterworth.com/product/history-of-parish-registers-in-england-and-wales-from-the-restoration-to-civil-registration-a/ : A comprehensive…
Ayrshire Archives ( https://www.ayrshirearchives.org.uk ) has at long last added a new searchable catalogue to its website, called Epexio , after years of hosting PDF documents showing certain catalogued holdings. Here is its announcement from its Facebook page: After months of hard work, we are delighted to announce that we have a new online catalogue on our website! For the first time, users are…
FindmyPast ( www.findmypast.co.uk ) has added the following military record sets: British Royal Navy, Courts Martial 118 records and 119 images, covering 1912 to 1942. These additions are unique to Findmypast. British Royal Navy, Punishment Books A collection of 19th-century punishment books, containing a total of 1320 records and 509 unique images. Naval Charitable Societies Subscription and…
Major news this week from Ireland, in that the National Archives in Dublin has taken down its genealogy records platform for the foreseeable future. This is the message as displayed on the main NAI website at https://nationalarchives.ie : The National Archives’ microsites are offline due to maintenance on the server. We will provide information in the coming days on how to access these…
The Edinburgh Evening News has an interesting story about a DNA study carried out at the University of Edinburgh about the ethnic background to Scotland's Travellers community, confirming that they are comprised of two indigenous population groups in Scotland, and not connected to European Roma, English or Irish Traveller groups. You can read more about the revelations at…
FindmyPast ( www.findmypast.co.uk ) has added two new Royal Navy collections: Hampshire, Portsmouth Dock Medical Books This brand new collection comprises 150,038 medical records, covering the years 1810 to 1815 and 1850 to 1955. British Royal Navy, Medical Discharge Books The 2,792 records within this new collection cover medical discharges from the Royal Navy between 1786 and 1801. Further…
The British Newspaper Archive has announced the date for its switchover to its new website: The wait is nearly over. We're delighted to announce that the British Newspaper Archive will officially move to its new site on Tuesday 28th July. You won't need to do anything - discover more here: https://…
The National Records of Scotland has launched a 'consultation' to ask folk if it agrees with its proposed plans to raise fees for seemingly everything connected with ScotlandsPeople. The proposed increases will see records fees go from £1.50 per record (6 credits) to £2.50 per record (10 credits), and to increase the daily research pass from the current £15 to £23. The minimum bundle of…
The following article written by me was first published in the UK's Your Family History magazine in 2011. I've made a few tiny updates, as there have been some developments since then! Researching Church of Scotland Records Chris Paton Prior to the advent of Scottish civil registration in 1855, the most important records to consult are those of the parish churches. The main denomination was, and…
The Historic Environment Scotland boss, Sir Mark Jones, has resigned his position just nine months into the job, following a recent probe into alleged corruption and racism at the heritage body. he will remain in his post until a successor is found. For more on the story visit https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8d2l3y1390o Chris Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at…
The outgoing UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, has apologised in the Westminster parliament for historic forced adoptions in England and Wales from the post-Second World war period up to the 1970s. This apology comes three years after similar apologies were issued by the Scottish and Welsh governments, with a further apology due in the near future from the Northern Irish parliament, following the…
From the Irish Newspaper Archive ( https://irishnewsarchive.com ) 𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐀𝐋𝐄 𝟒𝟎% 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐂𝐨𝐝𝐞: 𝐉𝐔𝐋𝟒𝟎 June 30th - 09th July - Limited Time. Get an incredible 40% off Irish Newspaper Archives subscriptions. Along with our summer sale options view the #Cork Constitution 1825 - 1879 For existing members don't forget you can buy a Gift subscription which can be activated any time…
Ancestry ( www.ancestry.co.uk ) has updated its Scotland and Northern Ireland, Death Index database, to take in the years from 1989-2025. The collection sources death information from processed life insurance policies. To search the collection, visit https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/60631/ (an Ancestry sub is required to view results). Chris Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in…
To mark 104 years since the destruction of the Irish Public Record Office, the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland platform ( https://virtualtreasury.ie ) has just uploaded a further 190,000 records. The following is a summary of the releases, as noted on the site: June 2026 Releases at a glance: over 190,000 new records bring to 544,000 the total number of records available in the VRTI and 340…
MyHeritage ( www.myheritage.com ) has made two collections freely available this week. For Canada Day , it is making all 15 Canadian census collections, comprising 52.3 million historical records, free to search at https://www.myheritage.com/research/records-catalog/canadian-census/catid-1300 . To commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States , it is offering free access to the U.S. City…
Hi folks, the next Scottish Research Online course from Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd ( https://www.pharostutors.com ) returns 6 July 2026. The following is its description: Scottish Research Online (102) Tutor: Chris Paton Scotland was one of the first countries to digitise its major family history records collections for accessibility online, and continues to this day to use such resources to…
The Friends of Argyll Estate Archives will be hosting a two day event on Tuesday 3 November and Tuesday 10 November, with both sessions starting at 6pm. The following is a brief description: Finding Your Scottish Family: Argyll Estate Archives and Beyond Two communities, two stories - Tiree and Kintyre - revealing insights that resonate across Argyll and beyond. Join us for two fascinating case…
The University of Strathclyde is to bring back its Ken Your Kin conference in 2027. From the news announcement: Following the success of Ken Your Kin 2025, the event is coming back in June 2027 with a fresh and exciting new range of topics to explore! Date - 23rd to 30th of June 2027 Location - Glasgow, Scotland Immerse yourself in Scottish family history and heritage with a unique summer school…
ScotlandsPeople ( www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk ) has uploaded a substantial tranche of dissenting presbyterian church kirk session records, for the Free Church of Scotland and the United Presbyterian Church, covering a period from 1739-1900. These are from congregations that seceded from the Church of Scotland, and which later merged with others to form these two particular bodies, the creation of…
I haven't checked the National Library of Scotland mapping platform ( https://maps.nls.uk ) in a bit, but the team there are still uploading new content like the plague is in town! Some of the most recent maps to be added include: New Survey of India one-inch to the mile mapping, 1870-1966 Georeferenced layer of OS Six-inch Ireland maps, printed ca. 1860 Miscellaneous OS Quarter-Inch to the mile…
From RootsIreland ( www.rootsireland.ie ) by email: New Tipperary records added! We are delighted to announce the addition of almost 10,000 new records for South Tipperary to the Roots Ireland database! They are as follows: Cappawhite RC baptisms, 1815-1900 (7981 records); Cappawhite RC marriages, 1803-1900 (1844 records). For an up to date list of sources for South Tipperary and to search these…
Reader Catherine Platt has asked me to share the following story, in case it may provide some encouragement to others in a similar situation... ‘One is one and all alone’ – so the nursery rhyme goes – A Family History journey spanning 20 years! At the time I retired in 2004, I knew only the story my mother Barbara Tough maintained, that my father (a sailor) had died during the war, her parents had…
The British Newspaper Archive ( www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk ) has some news: Something very exciting is coming... the next chapter of the British Newspaper Archive. Later this summer, a new BNA platform will arrive, featuring a range of improvements. The move will be a seamless one, and all your trusted tools will remain. Discover more here: https://bit.ly/4esZXrQ The full article…