Search for your ancestors in 74,000 new Manchester military records on findmypast.co.uk

This exciting release comprises two sets of records: Manchester City Battalions and Manchester Roll of Honour.

Manchester City Battalions

Search around 11,000 records of men who served with the so-called ‘Manchester Pals’ battalions: the 16th (Service) Battalion, The Manchester Regiment to the 23rd (Service) Battalion, The Manchester Regiment (inclusive).

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The formation of the brigades was recorded in a collection of platoon photographs and lists. This set of records consists of an index of the names taken from these lists. Each name is linked to the platoon list in which it appears and to the corresponding platoon photograph.

One of the benefits of these fantastic records is the photographs they contain – the image above is a sample from the records. The photographs aren’t named so won’t tell you exactly which man is your ancestor, but they do provide a rare and compelling insight into the battalion he served with.

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Manchester Roll of Honour

These records contain 63,000 names in a listing of Manchester companies and the men working for those companies who served in some capacity during WWI.

The Rolls of Honour list men who enlisted in the Army and Royal Navy and mostly relate to companies in and around Manchester. There is a significant number from Yorkshire, however, as well as a few from Cheshire and Derbyshire.

The information that the records tell you about your ancestors varies considerably. A small number of men are identified by last name only and many more only by last name and initials.

There are entries, however, which identify the ranks, service numbers and regiments of each man. A number of men are identified as killed or missing in action and a few are recorded as having been rejected as unfit for service. A very small number of rolls include photographs of the men named.

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The Manchester and Lancashire Family History Society provided findmypast.co.uk with these records and the sample image used above, in association with the Federation of Family History Societies.

You can now search 359,000 records of Merchant Navy Seamen for the period 1835-1857 on findmypast.co.uk

We have made these 19th century Merchant Navy records available online for the first time, working in association with The National Archives.

From 1835, the central government started to monitor a potential reserve of sailors for the Royal Navy, which resulted in the creation of thousands of records that identify individual seamen.

The information the records hold about your ancestors can vary, but they usually include name, age, place of birth, physical description, ship names and dates of voyages.

This release follows the 20th century Merchant Navy Seamen records, published on findmypast.co.uk in September 2011. This means you can now search two centuries of records for your Merchant Navy Seamen ancestors, making it possible for you to trace their service over time.

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Search for your ancestors in the 1891 Scottish census on findmypast.co.uk

The 1891 census recorded the population of Scotland at around 4,016,000. Anyone with Scottish ancestors will be keen to search these records for new details to add to their family tree.

As with the 1841-1881 Scottish censuses we’ve already published on findmypast.co.uk, we have freshly transcribed the 1891 census records to make it as easy as possible to find who you’re looking for.

We will soon publish the 1901 Scottish census on findmypast.co.uk, marking the completion of our project to bring you the 1841-1901 Scottish census collection.

The 1891 Scottish census could bring you crucial new information about your ancestors, so it’s well worth a search, even if you haven’t been able to find who you’re looking for in the earlier Scottish censuses.

The high quality of our transcriptions makes it easy to discover the crucial details about your ancestors’ lives. It is not possible to view the original census images on findmypast.co.uk, due to the licensing regulations of the General Register Office for Scotland.

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Search 38,269 new Lincolnshire parish marriage records for 76,538 people on findmypast.co.uk

You can view the list of parishes and places these records cover (PDF)

The records span the period 1699-1838 and will provide fresh information for those on the hunt for Lincolnshire ancestors.

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

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We have just published 99,140 occupational records of Thames watermen and lightermen on findmypast.co.uk

This is a hugely useful collection of occupational records, which covers the period 1688-2010.

Further details of the records contained in this collection are as follows:

• The Company of Watermen & Lightermen of the River Thames binding records 1692-1949 – 82,238 records
• The Company of Watermen & Lightermen of the River Thames reassignments 1688-1908: a list of apprentices who were reassigned from one master to another – 12,410 records, including information about both masters and apprentices
• Thomas Doggett Coat & Badge, ‘The Hanover Prize’: a record of all known competitors who rowed in the annual race 1715-2010 – 4,402 records
• Corporation of Trinity House: a register of licences granted to ex-mariners to work as watermen on the River Thames 1829-1864 – 90 records

Our marketing executive, Amy Sell, has found her very own Thames waterman ancestor. Amy heard a family rumour that her great-great-great-grandfather, Thomas Edward Taylor, won the Doggett’s Coat and Badge race in 1878.

Amy searched the Thames watermen records and found Thomas’ record. The record confirms that Thomas was ‘Winner Of Coat & Badge’.

Local specialist Rob Cottrell provided findmypast.co.uk with these fascinating records.

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We’ve just published 16,696 new London Docklands baptism records on findmypast.co.uk – excellent news for all of you with Docklands ancestors.

Further details of these baptism records are as follows:

St Dunstan, Stepney: 10,035 baptism entries spanning 1668-1679
Christchurch, Spitalfields: 6,661 baptism entries spanning 1843-1875

This brings the total amount of London docklands baptisms on findmypast.co.uk to 535,210. You can find full details of the coverage of these records in our knowledge base.

We are working on this ongoing project in association with Docklands Ancestors and will be publishing further updates in the coming months. Find out more about this project

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Search 3,749 new Cheshire parish burial records on findmypast.co.uk

These records could provide essential new information for those of you with Cheshire ancestors.

Further details are as follows:

Type of records: Burials
Number of records: 3,749
Date range: 1800-2002
Parish / place: Appleton

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

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We have just published the 1881 Scottish census on findmypast.co.uk

The census recorded the population of Scotland at over 3.7 million in 1881 and we’ve freshly transcribed these records to ensure your ancestors’ details are accurately recorded.

We’ve already published the 1841-1871 Scottish censuses on findmypast.co.uk. You’ll be keen to search the 1881 Scottish census for the ancestors you’ve traced in the previous censuses. If you haven’t been able to find your ancestors in the earlier Scottish censuses, now’s the time to search the 1881 census to see if they make an appearance.

Our high quality transcriptions make it easy to discover the crucial details about your ancestors’ lives. It is not possible to view the original census images on findmypast.co.uk, due to the General Register Office for Scotland’s licensing regulations.

We will publish future Scottish census on the site in the coming weeks.

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We’ve just published the ‘infirmity’ column of the 1911 census on findmypast.co.uk. If your ancestors completed this part of their census return, you’ll be able to see fresh information about your family’s illnesses and conditions in 1911.

Under data protection regulations, this potentially sensitive information had to remain hidden until now – we’ve just made it available for the first time.

It’s possible to discover really detailed information about your family’s health. The census image below shows Elizabeth Eleanor Thorp from Yorkshire who is recorded as having ‘one eye removed in 1907 for disease (gout)‘ – click the image to enlarge it.

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Other examples we’ve found in the infirmity column show that our ancestors weren’t afraid to reveal their quirks and eccentricities: ‘A taste for drink combined with gout’, ’stron and hearty would like to be married’ and ’sound as a bell thank god’.

We have also just revealed any recorded details of children born to women in prison who were aged three or under at the time of the census.

Until 31 January 2012, we’re offering you the chance to view the 1911 census at hugely reduced prices. View a 1911 census original image for 10 credits (previously 30) and a transcript for 5 credits (previously 10).

Any 1911 census images and transcriptions you viewed on findmypast.co.uk from 1 December 2010 will be free to view again. This is because, following feedback from many of you, we made it possible to save the records that you’d already viewed from 1 December 2010. You’ll need to re-view any 1911 census records you looked at before this date. Make sure you take advantage of our reduced prices until 31 January 2012 – why wait?

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We have just published the 1871 census for Scotland on findmypast.co.uk

This means more than 3.3 million new records for you to search. We have freshly transcribed the records so that your search results are the most accurate possible.

The high quality of our transcriptions makes discovering the crucial details about your ancestors’ lives quick and easy. It is not possible to view the original census images on findmypast.co.uk, due to the General Register Office for Scotland’s licensing regulations.

This is the latest release in our ongoing project to bring you closer to your Scottish ancestors. Expect to see further Scottish censuses published on findmypast.co.uk in the New Year, following the 1841-1871 Scottish census records already added to the site.

Search the 1871 Scottish census now