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February’s issue of Discover My Past Scotland magazine goes online soon

Look out for February’s issue of Discover My Past Scotland magazine. This issue will be published online on Monday 31 January.

This 40-page A4 issue is packed with special features and how-to guides to connect you with your Scottish heritage, including:

• Coastal customs – captured on film
• Irregular marriages – top tips for your research
• Bell Rock – 200 years of light
• Records from a royal hospital
• The Scottish workhorse – a breed apart
• Spotlight on Pitlochry
• Expert Q&A
• Family history newsround, library and events

Find out more about Discover My Past Scotland

Start Your Family Tree Week competition winners

Thanks to all of you who entered our Start Your Family Tree Week competition over Christmas! We hope you enjoyed answering the questions – here are the correct answers:

26 December:
Q: According to findmypast’s handy family history interview guide, when is the perfect time to start your family tree?
A: Boxing Day

27 December:
Q: How many people with the surname Partridge were born in Anglesey between 1837 and 2006?
A: One

28 December:
Q: How many people called Mary Christmas are listed in the 1911 census at findmypast.co.uk?
A: 63

29 December:
Q: In what year did Florence Turtle marry Charles Dove?
A: 1936

30 December:
Q: How many people called Ida Snowball are listed in the 1901 census at findmypast.co.uk?
A: Three

31 December:
Q: According to Scotlandspeople.gov.uk’s occupations guide, what is a Pikman?
A: Miner who uses a pickaxe

1 January:
Q: What six letter name is given to the universally accepted file format for family tree software that allows you to save your tree and transfer it from one website to another?
A: GEDCOM

We’ve picked the lucky winners of our competition:

First prize: Karen Leonard
Second prize: Catherine Heath
Third prize: Joy Stocks
Runners up: Margaret Kelly, Ian Thompson, Sarah Doig, Nigel Thomas, Anne Thompson, Andrew Ross, Phil Howe, Joanna Tolhurst, Rosemary Kershaw and Grant Feltham

See our blog for details of the fantastic prizes our winners will receive.

Congratulations to all our winners and thanks to all of you who entered.

What's in store for 2011?

Last year was a fantastic year for findmypast.co.uk and we’d like to thank you for choosing to research your family tree with us.

Here’s a reminder of last year’s highlights and a preview of what’s in store for 2011 – it’s set to be a great year!

What’s planned for 2011 on findmypast.co.uk?

• As other websites start the lengthy process of making the 1911 census available, you can enjoy access right now to the full and complete 1841-1911 census collection on findmypast.co.uk. We’ll also be adding the 1841-1901 Scottish censuses to findmypast.co.uk this year to expand our collection even further
• Unbeatable birth, marriage and death records. Once we fully name index our death records, overseas BMDs and BMDs at sea (in the next month or so), you’ll benefit from the most comprehensive online BMDs resource available. No other website makes finding BMDs quicker and easier
• Millions more parish record updates, published in association with the Federation of Family History Societies. We will add thousands of new parish records to findmypast.co.uk every month – ours is the most extensive parish records collection anywhere online. Look out for 3 million new Derbyshire parish records coming soon
• We’ll make your searching easier: soon you’ll be able to effortlessly record your progress by saving records you’ve already viewed. We’re also making big improvements to our census searches
• We’re redesigning our family tree to include lots of fantastic new features
• We’ll launch exciting new records in association with The National Archives: Militia records, merchant seamen records and crime, courts and convicts records
• Our hugely anticipated project with The British Library continues: digitising up to 40 million historic pages from the national newspaper collection. This is the most significant mass digitisation of newspapers ever in the UK
• Welsh parish records from the Welsh archives which include images of original parish registers

Last year on findmypast.co.uk…

• Saw the launch of our fully name indexed birth and marriage records 1837-2005. Judging by the feedback we’ve received, this made finding your ancestors’ births and marriages much easier
• We introduced our new subscription package: the Foundation package. This provides you with access to the crucial building blocks that will take your tree back to the Victorian times and beyond
• Millions of new parish records were added, taking the total number of records in this growing collection to over 36 million
• We made the Chelsea Pensioners British Army Service Records 1760-1913 available online for the first time, in association with The National Archives. This collection comprises over a million military records and it’s typical to find eight pages of detailed information for each soldier
• Findmypast.com.au, our sister website, was born. Access to over 50 million family and local history records for Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands and Papua New Guinea, makes it the perfect place to find your Australasian ancestors
• We reached over 2,000 fans on our Facebook page. Following us on Facebook is a great way to hear about all the latest developments first and take part in our regular competitions

Looking after our customers is really important to us – that’s why every time you renew your subscription we’ll give you 20% off. You won’t find this amazing loyalty discount anywhere else.

A big thank you to everyone who has joined us on our journey so far – we hope you’re as excited as we are about everything that’s planned for this year.

Paul Yates
Head of findmypast.co.uk

Paul Yates

What’s in store for 2011?

Last year was a fantastic year for findmypast.co.uk and we’d like to thank you for choosing to research your family tree with us.

Here’s a reminder of last year’s highlights and a preview of what’s in store for 2011 – it’s set to be a great year!

What’s planned for 2011 on findmypast.co.uk?

• As other websites start the lengthy process of making the 1911 census available, you can enjoy access right now to the full and complete 1841-1911 census collection on findmypast.co.uk. We’ll also be adding the 1841-1901 Scottish censuses to findmypast.co.uk this year to expand our collection even further
• Unbeatable birth, marriage and death records. Once we fully name index our death records, overseas BMDs and BMDs at sea (in the next month or so), you’ll benefit from the most comprehensive online BMDs resource available. No other website makes finding BMDs quicker and easier
• Millions more parish record updates, published in association with the Federation of Family History Societies. We will add thousands of new parish records to findmypast.co.uk every month – ours is the most extensive parish records collection anywhere online. Look out for 3 million new Derbyshire parish records coming soon
• We’ll make your searching easier: soon you’ll be able to effortlessly record your progress by saving records you’ve already viewed. We’re also making big improvements to our census searches
• We’re redesigning our family tree to include lots of fantastic new features
• We’ll launch exciting new records in association with The National Archives: Militia records, merchant seamen records and crime, courts and convicts records
• Our hugely anticipated project with The British Library continues: digitising up to 40 million historic pages from the national newspaper collection. This is the most significant mass digitisation of newspapers ever in the UK
• Welsh parish records from the Welsh archives which include images of original parish registers

Last year on findmypast.co.uk…

• Saw the launch of our fully name indexed birth and marriage records 1837-2005. Judging by the feedback we’ve received, this made finding your ancestors’ births and marriages much easier
• We introduced our new subscription package: the Foundation package. This provides you with access to the crucial building blocks that will take your tree back to the Victorian times and beyond
• Millions of new parish records were added, taking the total number of records in this growing collection to over 36 million
• We made the Chelsea Pensioners British Army Service Records 1760-1913 available online for the first time, in association with The National Archives. This collection comprises over a million military records and it’s typical to find eight pages of detailed information for each soldier
• Findmypast.com.au, our sister website, was born. Access to over 50 million family and local history records for Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands and Papua New Guinea, makes it the perfect place to find your Australasian ancestors
• We reached over 2,000 fans on our Facebook page. Following us on Facebook is a great way to hear about all the latest developments first and take part in our regular competitions

Looking after our customers is really important to us – that’s why every time you renew your subscription we’ll give you 20% off. You won’t find this amazing loyalty discount anywhere else.

A big thank you to everyone who has joined us on our journey so far – we hope you’re as excited as we are about everything that’s planned for this year.

Paul Yates
Head of findmypast.co.uk

Paul Yates

Search over 22,000 new London docklands parish baptisms

We have just updated our London docklands parish baptisms collection with 22,645 new records.

This brings the total amount of London docklands baptisms on findmypast.co.uk to 503,711. You can find full details of the coverage of these records in our knowledge base.

Here is a breakdown of these new records:

We are working on this ongoing project in association with Docklands Ancestors and you can expect to see more updates in the coming months. Find out more about this project here.

Search the London docklands baptisms now to find your London ancestors.

Almost 450,000 new parish baptism records published

You can now search 447,108 new parish baptism records for Durham, Yorkshire, Cumberland, Northumberland and Westmorland on findmypast.co.uk

These records cover 324 parishes in total – click here to view a list of these parishes (PDF). The records cover the period 1600-1997.

The Northumberland & Durham Family History Society provided us with these records, in association with the Federation of Family History Societies.

Search for your ancestors’ baptism records now

Over 126,000 new parish baptism and marriage records published

You can now search 126,967 new parish baptism and marriage records for Durham, Yorkshire, Cumberland, Northumberland and Westmorland on findmypast.co.uk

The Northumberland & Durham Family History Society provided findmypast.co.uk with these records, in association with the Federation of Family History Societies.

Further details about these records are as follows:

Search our parish records now to find your ancestors.

Search over 154,000 new Warwickshire parish burials

We have just published 154,074 new parish burial records for Birmingham, Warwickshire on findmypast.co.uk

The Birmingham and Midland Society for Genealogy and Heraldry provided us with these records, in association with the Federation of Family History Societies.

Further details about these records are as follows:

Search our Warwickshire burial records now

Don't miss January's issue of Discover My Past England magazine

January’s edition of Discover My Past England magazine goes online on Monday 10 January.

This 42-page A4 issue is packed with special features and how-to guides to connect you with your English Heritage, including:

• Cartes-de-visite – Victorian life in miniature
• Social Networking – benefits for the family historian
• Salt workers of Cheshire
• Birth certificates – 10 top tips for your research
• Ancestors in the carpet-making trade
• Spotlight on Saltaire
• Expert Q&A
• Family history newsround, library and events

Find out more about Discover My Past England magazine

Don’t miss January’s issue of Discover My Past England magazine

January’s edition of Discover My Past England magazine goes online on Monday 10 January.

This 42-page A4 issue is packed with special features and how-to guides to connect you with your English Heritage, including:

• Cartes-de-visite – Victorian life in miniature
• Social Networking – benefits for the family historian
• Salt workers of Cheshire
• Birth certificates – 10 top tips for your research
• Ancestors in the carpet-making trade
• Spotlight on Saltaire
• Expert Q&A
• Family history newsround, library and events

Find out more about Discover My Past England magazine