17 June 2006 LostCousins Late June newsletter
Newsletter - Late June 2006
CONTENTS
* 'Buddies' go from strength to strength
* Scotland 1841 now at Ancestry
To visit the main LostCousins site please go to www.LostCousins.com
While some things may have come to a halt because of the World Cup, there's a lot happening in the world of genealogy.
First there was a surprise announcement from Ancestry.co.uk that they've added the 1841 Census for Scotland to their site - and that existing subscribers wouldn't have to pay a penny more!
Then came news that The Origins Network have agreed to offer LostCousins members a 20% discount on all subscriptions of one month or more.
It's a great opportunity to access British and Irish databases that just aren't available at any other sites (offers ends 31st July).
Researching your family tree on the Internet just got a whole lot easier!
BUDDIES GO FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH
We've got more 'buddies' than ever before helping members to knock down brick walls and learn more about their family tree. They volunteer their time because, like us, they enjoy helping others.
One of our buddies recently discovered a member's ancestors on the census even though they were shown under a completely different surname - a 'stage name' as it turned out.
Georgina, the member concerned, was highly delighted and told our buddy "I would never in a million years have found this family without your kind help. LostCousins is right when they call you buddies."
She then wrote to us: "I can't thank Beth enough for finding all this information, and she only had a few details to go on. How do you do it?"
We can't promise to solve every problem, but we will usually be able to provide a new perspective, and new hope. It's a confidential one-to-one service that's available FREE to all LostCousins members.
One thing we do ask - if you'd like our assistance, please help other members by first entering the relatives you've identified on the 1881 Census.
Finding someone else who shares the same ancestors is one of the best ways of solving mysteries and learning more about your family tree - and it's also a great opportunity to exchange not just research but photos, memories, and family stories.
If you'd like help from one of our experienced buddies, please email info@LostCousins.com with 'Help wanted' as the subject. If you'd like to apply to become a buddy, email info@LostCousins.com with 'Help offered' as the subject.
It's just over two years since we launched the 'Buddy Scheme', and we'd like to thank all of our 'buddies', especially those who have been with us since the very beginning. It's been really great to work with you all!
As we explained in our last newsletter, the International Genealogical Index is a phenomenally useful resource - and it's free!
However whilst it's easy to search the IGI by region, country, and county (or state) - if you want to search for baptisms or marriages in a specific church, you need to know the 'batch numbers'. But what are they, and where do you find them?
You'll know from our last newsletter that many of the entries were systematically transcribed by volunteers, and that these entries are extremely reliable (in fact it's the best transcription we've ever seen).
These entries were batched together, and a single batch usually contains entries from just one church - typically it's all the baptisms (or marriages) for a certain period.
The easiest way to find out the batch numbers for a specific church is to use Hugh Wallis's site:
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~hughwallis/IGIBatchNumbers.htm
Choose the country, then the county, and finally the city, town or village - and you'll see a list of the relevant batch numbers with dates. For example, here's the entry for Stansted Mountfitchet in Essex, where LostCousins is based:
Stansted Mountfitchet
(Independent) C067551 1822-1837
(Old Meeting Independent) C067561 1791-1837
In this case the parish church (St Mary) isn't included in the IGI. There are a number of reasons why this might be - it doesn't necessarily mean that the registers have been lost (in fact the Essex Record Office does have them, going right back to 1558).
Let's suppose that you were looking for a baptism in one of the independent chapels. In this case you could just click on the batch number to search by surname. You can even leave the surname blank and see a list of ALL the baptisms in the batch.
Should you want to carry out a more sophisticated search, go back to the IGI Search page at FamilySearch, and type the batch number in the appropriate box. (Note: don't cut-and-paste it - there are hidden characters that will confuse the software.)
When you include the batch number there's a lot more flexibility about what other information you enter - for example you could search for children baptised to any couple called John and Mary irrespective of surname.
Searching using batch numbers is very useful when you're trying to find all the children of a couple, or all the children with a particular surname baptised in a specified church.
But it's only by using batch numbers that you'll learn how to make them work well for you!
SAVE 20% AT THE ORIGINS NETWORK!
We've arranged an exclusive offer for LostCousins members - a 20% discount on a one month, three month, or one year subscription at The Origins Network.
For example, this means that for little more than the cost of a 72-hour subscription LostCousins members can get unlimited access for an entire month!
The Origins Network offers a unique range of resources to help you research your British and Irish family history, and in our next newsletter we'll be telling you about Irish Origins and Scots Origins.
British Origins offers access to the most authentic English genealogy collections online, including exclusive online access to many records owned by the Society of Genealogists such as Boyd's Marriage Index, plus militia records, wills and more.
Also at British Origins are 27 counties from the 1841 England and Wales Census - and they have been indexed so accurately that you'll almost certainly get more results than at other sites.
Here's a list of the major collections available at British Origins (http://www.britishorigins.com):
* Boyd's Marriage Index covering the whole of England (1538-1840)
* Marriage Licence Allegations (1694-1850)
* Wills (1700 - 1845)
* Probate records (1267- 1500 and 1383- 1883)
* London Apprentice records (1442-1850)
* Apprentice records covering the whole of Great Britain (1710-1774)
* Court Records ( 1574- 1714)
* Militia Attestations (1886-1910)
* Boyd's London Burials Index (1538-1853)
* Boyd's London Inhabitants
* Trinity House Petitions (1787- 1854)
* Teachers' Registrations (1870-1947)
* England & Wales Censuses for 1841 (27 counties so far) and 1871 (13 counties)
Let's take a closer look at the latest addition to the collection, Teachers' Registrations from 1870-1947 (the original records are held by the Society of Genealogists and are being made available online for the first time).
Although registration began only in 1914, since many who were already teaching registered, the database includes teachers who began their careers as early as the 1870s.
The records include the teacher's Name (and for married women often the maiden name as well), Date of Registration, Register Number, (professional) Address, Attainments, Training in Teaching, and Experience. Click below for full information:
http://www.originsnetwork.com/help/popup-aboutbo-teachers2.htm
To find out more about the databases and subscription options visit:
To take advantage of the exclusive offer for LostCousins members click on Sign Up to choose a subscription and register (remember the discount applies when you subscribe for a month or longer).
Enter LC2006 in the Promotional Code box on the registration page to secure your 20% discount. Please note that to secure the discount you must take out a subscription before 31st July 2006.
There are two recommended ways to link with relatives who you already know.
One is to use your My Referrals page to send them a referral code. The advantage of this is that you can pass on to them the details of the relatives from the 1881 Census that you share. However referral codes can only be entered when first registering.
That's why we've provided the 'Add a known cousin' option on your My Cousins page. This allows you to link with a known relative who has already joined LostCousins.
Ancestry.co.uk have added the 1841 Census for Scotland to their site. Although the images are not available for copyright reasons, all the key information has been transcribed, so you can search by address and occupation, as well as by name and age.
Existing Ancestry.co.uk subscribers can access this additional census without further payment. But if you're not an Ancestry.co.uk subscriber you could take advantage of the 14-day free trial that we announced last month. Here's the link again:
Remember, you'll need to provide your credit card details - but so long as you cancel before the end of 14 days your card will not be charged, no matter how much use you have made of the site!
If you're calling from the UK the number to call in order to cancel is 0800 404 9723 (which is free if you use a landline). There's also an international number that you'll be given when you sign up.
Did you know that the photographs on our home page show the relatives of LostCousins members? Every time you visit the home page you'll see a different selection.
If you'd like one of your relatives to be featured please email info@LostCousins.com and attach the photo in any standard graphics file format.
Please include the full name, year of birth, and if possible year of death. To be considered for inclusion your relative must be listed on your My Ancestors page.
AND FINALLY.......
Please remember that we can only identify the other LostCousins members who are related to you when both of you have entered the same relative.
So, the more relatives that you are able to enter on your My Ancestors page, the greater the chance that we can identify your cousins!
If some of your relatives are proving elusive - just ask for help. It's amazing what our buddies are able to find!
The LostCousins Team
http://www.LostCousins.com
info@LostCousins.com
© Copyright 2006 Peter Calver & Lost Cousins Ltd
Please do NOT copy or republish any part of this newsletter without permission - which is only granted in the most exceptional circumstances. However, you MAY link to this newsletter or any article in it without asking for permission - though why not invite other family historians to join LostCousins instead, since standard membership (which includes the newsletter), is FREE?