Archive for the ‘New features’ Category

New images for the 1851 census

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

We’re happy to tell you that overnight we have added a complete new set of images for the 1851 Census, which are of much higher quality than the existing ones. This is part of an ongoing programme to improve the quality of images on records across the site, beginning with the censuses. What you should notice is:

  • The images will load significantly faster in both the standard and enhanced viewers
  • Images have been reprocessed using newer technology, which makes them easier to read
  • Images which were cropped incorrectly, in some cases making part of the original document unreadable, should be significantly rarer!

We hope these new images will make your family history research that tiny bit easier - we will keep you updated on further enhancements to the other census images as they go live on the site.

Wakefield and district parish records updated

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

We’ve added a large collection of baptism, burial and marriage records for Wakefield and surrounding areas. Have a look at the tables below for full details:

Baptisms

Place, dedication
No. of entries
Year range
ALVERTHORPE, ST PAUL
2410
1871-1901
CHICKENLEY, WESLEYAN
257

1844,​1846-47,​1851,​1854,​1858,​1860,18​62-79,​1881,​1883-1903,​1905-07

HORBURY, ST PETER
3113
1860-1880
OSSETT, DEWSBURY RD WESLEYAN
310
1847-1893,​1895-1900,​1902-1907
OSSETT, STREETSIDE PRIMITIVE
138
1875-85,​1887,​1889-92,​1894,​1898,​1901,​1903-07,​1930
THORNHILL, ST MICHAEL
5168
1742-1812
WAKEFIELD, ST JOHN
2016
1830-1843
WAKEFIELD, ST MICHAEL
3171
1862-1892
WOOLLEY, ST PETER
1198
1737-1812,​1877
WRENTHORPE, ST ANNE
1650
1874-1908
Total (10)
19431
1737-1930

Marriages

Place, dedication
No. of entries
Year range
SANDAL, ST HELEN
498
1837-1847
THORNHILL, ST MICHAEL
646
1754-1787
WOOLLEY, ST PETER
29
1737-44,​1746-47,​1749-50,​1752-53
Total (3)
1173
1737-1847

Burials

Place, dedication
No. of entries
Year range
WAKEFIELD, ALL SAINTS
3156
1796-1811,​1902
WAKEFIELD, ST JOHN
2395
1845-1865
WOOLLEY, ST PETER
1459
1737-1885
Total (3)
7010
1737-1902

The 1851 census is now complete!

Monday, November 30th, 2009

After many hours of complex transciptions and hair-tearing by our developers we are thrilled to announce that the 1851 census is now fully complete.

The final counties which have been added are:

• Derbyshire
• Durham
• Northumberland
• Nottinghamshire
• Somersetshire
• Wiltshire
• Isle of Man
• Ships at Sea
• Royal Navy at Sea
• British Ships in Port

These newly-transcribed records give you the chance to search for those ancestors you can’t find on other versions of the census.

Start your 1851 person search or search by address

Best of luck with your research,

The findmypast.com team

Eight new 1851 census counties now live

Friday, October 30th, 2009

We’re only weeks away from completing the 1851 England and Wales census. We’ve just scanned, transcribed and added eight complete counties:

* Worcestershire
* Devonshire
* Bedfordshire
* Essex
* Cambridgeshire
* Gloucestershire
* Suffolk
* Cumberland

Locate your missing ancestors for the first time

We’re confident our transcription is the best you’ll find online. If you’ve struggled to find your ancestors on other versions of the 1851 census, the findmypast.com edition could for the first time lead you to them.

Find your ancestors in the 1851 census today

Enumerators’ summary book images are live

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009

We’ve added a full set of enumerators’ summary book (RG78) images to our 1911 census records. When you view a 1911 census image you will now see links to the accompanying summary book pages in the frame above the image (as shown below).

esblinks

Find out what it was like in your ancestors’ neighbourhood

The enumerators’ summary book (RG78) images are filled with useful information about the neighbourhoods in which your ancestors lived and they can also reveal details of relatives living nearby. The new images include:

• the front page of the volume in which the enumerator’s summary sheet was stored.
• enumerator’s summary original page - this not only shows the names of heads of households and how many people occupied the houses (showing you the neighbours), but also lists other buildings, whether houses or not.
• population statistics for the area.
• a description of the Enumerator’s walk.
• a map of the Enumerator’s walk (in some cases).

See annotated sample images of the enumerators’ summary book pages

New household schedule images

As well as the RG78s, we’ve added some extra RG14 household (or institution) schedule images, which also make interesting viewing:
• the address panel from the back of the schedule, showing the address as written by your ancestors and the registration district and subdistrict
• the front page of the volume in which your schedule was stored, giving more detailed information on parishes and districts

Find out more about our new 1911 census subscription

Please note: some household schedules do NOT have Enumerators Summary Books, as a small number did not survive.

1911 census subscription launched on findmypast.com

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009

We’ve just officially launched the first and only 1911 census subscription available anywhere online, making us the only site to offer a complete 1841-1911 census collection. You can now access the England and Wales 1911 census for a fixed fee and without the worry of spending PayAsYouGo credits.

Find out more about our full subscription

Special offer – Save 20% on a full subscription (offer ends in 10 days)

Our full subscription can be bought at the following special discounted rates, but only until 31 October:

12 month full subscription – £119.95 (includes 20% discount)
6 month full subscription – £74.95 (includes 20% discount)

Existing subscribers don’t lose out

If you’ve got an existing subscription, we’ll automatically discount the price to reimburse you for any time left on your old subscription, plus you’ll also get the 20% special discount. The refund on your old subscription will be calculated at a pro-rata daily rate to ensure you don’t lose out. The precise price you’ll pay is shown on our payments page.

Claim your special 20% discount, buy our full subscription today.

What’s so good about 1911?

1911 is the most recent available England and Wales census – it holds the key to your nineteenth and twentieth-century ancestors. The 1911 census contains information you simply can’t find elsewhere and without it your family history is incomplete.

See your ancestors’ handwriting in crisp full colour

For the first time you’ll see scans of the actual forms filled in by your ancestors. These can reveal the quirks of your ancestors’ handwriting, as well as any mistakes or extra comments they made, in crisp high-quality colour.

New, in-depth information

The 1911 census holds more information on your ancestors than any census before it. You can discover:

  • how long a couple had been married.
  • how many children were born to that marriage (and how many of them had died).
  • details of nationality.
  • more detailed occupational information.

We hope you enjoy the new subscription,

The findmypast.com team

Seven complete 1851 census counties added

Friday, October 9th, 2009

Hot on the heels of our recent five-county 1851 census update, we’ve added seven more complete counties.

These newly-transcribed records give you the chance to search for those ancestors you can’t find on other versions of the census. And all the ancestors you’ve already discovered can be viewed again on our new high-quality images – probably the clearest and most faithful online reproductions available.

The new counties are:

  • Kent
  • Shropshire
  • Staffordshire
  • Cornwall
  • Lincolnshire
  • Leicestershire
  • Westmorland

Discover your ancestor’s precise age

1851 was the first census to reveal the precise age of each householder – on the 1841 census everyone over 15 had their age rounded down. This ‘rounding down’ policy has proven a perpetual source of frustration for family historians the world over. If an ancestor was alive in 1851 but had perished by 1861, our new records could well be the only way you’ll track down their birth record.

Find your forebears on our high-quality 1851 census images

More counties coming soon.

Five new 1851 census counties launched

Monday, September 28th, 2009

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.

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

Thursday, September 10th, 2009

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.

Victorian credit crunch…

Wednesday, June 10th, 2009

The stigma of debt was one that was ingrained deep into the psyche of the Victorian people, and was a subject that popular writers such as Dickens and Gaskell returned to repeatedly in their novels.

The consequences of debt could be dire. The debtor’s home and assets could be seized, and in the early part of the Victorian era they could be thrown into Debtors’ prison – along with their wife and children - until they had paid what they owed. If they were unable to pay, they could declare bankruptcy but not before all their belongings and home had been taken.

Findmypast.com has just added 33,000 records from The Bankrupt Directory.  These reveal the details for all bankruptcies, between December 1820 and April 1843, which appeared in The London Gazette.  The level of detail differs from record to record, but usually you will discover a person’s home street and town, their occupation or trade, and the date that they appeared in The London Gazette. The records cover a large number of counties across England and Wales. They cost eight credits each, or are free to view with an Explorer subscription.

Sample bankruptcy record

Sample bankruptcy record

Search for your ancestors in the bankruptcy records now