Blog

A glitch with our email system

Yesterday we identified a glitch with our email system which meant that it wasn’t reading all customer account details correctly. This means that a small number of users may have received incorrect emails in the past few days. Some users may have received the same email more than once, or have had an expiry warning email despite having bought a new subscription or credits.

We have been working overnight to fix the problem and hope to have it working normally again soon, but in the meantime we have switched the system off until the fault is rectified, as we take email problems very seriously.

Our sincere apologies to users who have either received unexpected emails, or who did not get an email this morning – if you were waiting for an email that was part of a series, get in touch and we will be happy to send you a copy of the missing email.

Thanks to customers who reported unusual emails to Customer Support, allowing us to find the problem faster. Please always get in touch if you have any questions or concerns over email we send you, or any other aspect of your account.

We will update this post when we have more information – thanks again for your patience.

UPDATE September 30 4.30pm: we have now fixed the problem, tested the system and turned emails back on.

Five new 1851 census counties launched

We’ve added five complete counties to the 1851 census, bringing it a crucial step closer to completion. That’s over 3.2 million new census records that are ready for you to search. The following new counties have been added:

* Yorkshire
* Warwickshire
* Cheshire
* Sussex
* Hertfordshire

Crisp new images and accurate transcriptions

As with our newly-completed 1881 census, the 1851 census has been freshly transcribed from a crisp set of high-quality images. If you’ve struggled to find your ancestors on other versions of the census, there’s a good chance that you’ll find them by searching the findmypast.com transcription.

Find your ancestors in the new 1851 census records now

More counties coming soon.

The 1881 census reveals the stories of Jack the Ripper's victims

The gruesome ‘Jack the Ripper’ slayings of 1888 sparked a pandemic of panic and fear, unlike any London had seen before. The identity of the killer still perplexes and fascinates history buffs today. But despite a wealth of conspiracy theories and numerous investigative books, it seems we’re still no closer to discovering who was responsible.

To mark the 121-year anniversary of the murders, and to separate the myths from the facts, findmypast.com has turned to the newly-completed 1881 census, which offers a snapshot of the victims’ lives just seven years before they met their tragic end.   

Modern cinema has portrayed the victims as young, lifelong prostitutes, struck down in the prime of their lives. But the 1881 census shows that by the time of their deaths they were mostly in their 40s, and had previously been living – at least on paper – respectable family lives.

Catherine Eddowes, who appears on the 1881 census as ‘Kate Conway’, is listed as a ‘charwoman’ and was living in Chelsea with her common-law husband, Thomas Conway (a ‘hawker’), plus their two children:

Elizabeth Stride, who is believed to be the third victim, had worked as a prostitute in her 20s. But by 1881 (then aged 37), it seems she had escaped that life, and was living in Bow with her husband John stride, a carpenter:   

Annie Chapman – whose story is perhaps the most tragic – was staying with her parents on the night of the 1881 census with her three children. She is listed as a ‘stud groom’s wife’. (Her husband, John Chapman, was living above stables in Berkshire, where Annie and the children later joined him):

Annie and John Chapman’s eldest child, Emily Ruth Chapman, died in 1882 of meningitis, aged just 12. In the wake of the tragedy, both parents took to drink, which probably precipitated their separation, and started Annie Chapman’s descent into prostitution.

Mary Ann ‘Polly’ Nichols, and Mary Jane Kelly (the only victim in her 20s), are not found on the 1881 census, so they may have been walking the streets on the night it was taken. But Nichols, at any rate, was married with three children at the time of the 1871 census, so the reality, once again, has not been faithfully depicted by Hollywood.

According to contemporary newspapers, by the time of their deaths, none of the three victims we found on the 1881 census were living with their husbands. Poverty was rife in the East End of London, so it’s likely, following the breakup of their marriages, that these women turned to prostitution simply to survive – a decision which, ironically, led to their untimely deaths.

The 1881 census reveals the stories of Jack the Ripper’s victims

The gruesome ‘Jack the Ripper’ slayings of 1888 sparked a pandemic of panic and fear, unlike any London had seen before. The identity of the killer still perplexes and fascinates history buffs today. But despite a wealth of conspiracy theories and numerous investigative books, it seems we’re still no closer to discovering who was responsible.

To mark the 121-year anniversary of the murders, and to separate the myths from the facts, findmypast.com has turned to the newly-completed 1881 census, which offers a snapshot of the victims’ lives just seven years before they met their tragic end.   

Modern cinema has portrayed the victims as young, lifelong prostitutes, struck down in the prime of their lives. But the 1881 census shows that by the time of their deaths they were mostly in their 40s, and had previously been living – at least on paper – respectable family lives.

Catherine Eddowes, who appears on the 1881 census as ‘Kate Conway’, is listed as a ‘charwoman’ and was living in Chelsea with her common-law husband, Thomas Conway (a ‘hawker’), plus their two children:

Elizabeth Stride, who is believed to be the third victim, had worked as a prostitute in her 20s. But by 1881 (then aged 37), it seems she had escaped that life, and was living in Bow with her husband John stride, a carpenter:   

Annie Chapman – whose story is perhaps the most tragic – was staying with her parents on the night of the 1881 census with her three children. She is listed as a ‘stud groom’s wife’. (Her husband, John Chapman, was living above stables in Berkshire, where Annie and the children later joined him):

Annie and John Chapman’s eldest child, Emily Ruth Chapman, died in 1882 of meningitis, aged just 12. In the wake of the tragedy, both parents took to drink, which probably precipitated their separation, and started Annie Chapman’s descent into prostitution.

Mary Ann ‘Polly’ Nichols, and Mary Jane Kelly (the only victim in her 20s), are not found on the 1881 census, so they may have been walking the streets on the night it was taken. But Nichols, at any rate, was married with three children at the time of the 1871 census, so the reality, once again, has not been faithfully depicted by Hollywood.

According to contemporary newspapers, by the time of their deaths, none of the three victims we found on the 1881 census were living with their husbands. Poverty was rife in the East End of London, so it’s likely, following the breakup of their marriages, that these women turned to prostitution simply to survive – a decision which, ironically, led to their untimely deaths.

1911 Census available on subscription in October

'My account' just got better, new hassle-free subscription option

We’ve added a host of new features to the ‘my account’ section on findmypast.com. As before, you can change your personal details, password, sign-in and email preferences. But now you can also view a history of the payments you’ve made to us, and update or alter your payment details.

Continuous membership

We’ve also added a new ‘continuous membership’ option for subscribers who don’t want the hassle of making a manual payment each time they renew their membership, and to guarantee you get your 20% loyalty discount. (Please note: continuous membership is for subscriptions only, and does not apply to PayAsYouGo credits purchases).

If you enable continuous membership on your subscription:

• You’ll never miss a payment, and will always get your 20% loyalty discount.
• Your card details will be stored securely by our online payment provider, DataCash.
• You can turn continuous membership off (and, indeed, back on again) at any time through ‘my account’.
• We’ll contact you by email shortly before your payment is due. If you decide you don’t want to renew, you can easily cancel continuous membership through the ‘my subscription’ page within ‘my account’.

How do I start using continuous membership?

If you’re not already using continuous membership, you can activate it through the ‘my subscription’ page within my account.

‘My account’ just got better, new hassle-free subscription option

We’ve added a host of new features to the ‘my account’ section on findmypast.com. As before, you can change your personal details, password, sign-in and email preferences. But now you can also view a history of the payments you’ve made to us, and update or alter your payment details.

Continuous membership

We’ve also added a new ‘continuous membership’ option for subscribers who don’t want the hassle of making a manual payment each time they renew their membership, and to guarantee you get your 20% loyalty discount. (Please note: continuous membership is for subscriptions only, and does not apply to PayAsYouGo credits purchases).

If you enable continuous membership on your subscription:

• You’ll never miss a payment, and will always get your 20% loyalty discount.
• Your card details will be stored securely by our online payment provider, DataCash.
• You can turn continuous membership off (and, indeed, back on again) at any time through ‘my account’.
• We’ll contact you by email shortly before your payment is due. If you decide you don’t want to renew, you can easily cancel continuous membership through the ‘my subscription’ page within ‘my account’.

How do I start using continuous membership?

If you’re not already using continuous membership, you can activate it through the ‘my subscription’ page within my account.