Findmypast Friday March 29th

There are over 1.2 million new records available to search this Findmypast Friday, including:

Kent Poor Law and Occupations

Search for you Kent ancestors in this index of more than 2,000 poor law and occupation records. The records include church registers, alehouse keepers' licenses and poor law documents that may reveal a variety of details relating to you ancestor's birth, baptism, death, residence and occupation.

The office of overseer of the poor was officially created in 1572 to collect and distribute parish poor relief. The Poor Law was funded by a local tax (Poor Rate). Subsequent Acts of Parliament changed the system from being a purely voluntary measure and introduced new rules and regulations to help maintain and control the poor. It was not until 1930 that the Poor Laws were finally abolished.

Family Histories & Pedigrees

A brand new Devonshire title has recently been added to our collection of Family Histories and Pedigrees; "Devon, Visitation Of The County Of Devon In 1620" by Henry St George and Sampson Lennard.

The manuscripts documented the pedigrees and family trees of the families of Devonshire. An original copy is preserved in the College of Arms and another in the British Museum. This publication was edited by Frederic Thomas Colby, B.D., F.S.A and published in 1872. A full list of the family surnames can be found beginning on image number 12.

Berkshire Baptisms Index

Over 31,000 additional records coving the parishes of Beenham St Mary, Bray St Michael, Cholsey St Mary, Kintbury St Mary, Reading St Giles, Reading St Mary, Remenham St Nicholas and Tilehurst St Michael are now available to search. Each record comprises a transcript of the original baptism register.

The index spans the years 1538 to 1917 and will allow you to learn when and where your relative was baptised as well as the names of your ancestor's parents. These names may help you to delve further back into your family tree. Some records may reveal such interesting details as the mother's marital status and whether the child was an orphan or foundling.

New England Passenger and Crew Lists

Over 116,000 records have been added to the collection. The new additions have been sourced from the mystic seaport museum and include crew lists from the following ships: Charles W. Morgan, 1841-1921; Fall River Whaling, 1821-1912; New London, 1803 – 1878; and Salem, 1799 – 1879. They consist of transcripts that will reveal your ancestor's birth year, birth place, ship names and the date they were added to the list.

Crew lists were not a legal requirement until 1903. Masters were required to keep a detailed crew list from the time of departure and until the ship's return. The master made notes of sickness, discharge, and desertion. You will find some of these notes in the records. The crew lists were transcribed from records retained by NARA, Northeast Region, in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Britain, Knights Of The Realm & Commonwealth Index

A tranche of new records have also been added to our Knights Of The Realm & Commonwealth Index. Dating all the way back to the 11th century, this fascinating index will enable you to find out if any of your British ancestors were awarded an order of chivalry but the Crown.

Each record consist of a transcript that will reveal a combination of biographical details as well as the date and type of award the individual received. For a comprehensive list of abbreviations used in this record set, please follow the link for complete list of abbreviations used in Britain, Knights of the Realm index in the Useful Links & Resources section.

International records Update – Guatemala

With over a million new records dating back to 1730, Guatemala is the latest Central American country to join our growing collection of international records. Our new Guatemalan collections consist of five new indexes, including;

British & Irish Newspaper Update

This week we have added 127, 928 new pages to our collection of historical British & Irish Newspapers. We have four brand new titles from across the British Isles, including our second Jersey title, the French-language publication Nouvelle Chronique de Jersey. We also have a brand new title for Northern Ireland, the Strabane Chronicle, as well as two new London titles, the Pinner Observer and the Kingston Informer.

We also have updated seven of our existing titles. We have updates to two of our London titles, the Harefield Gazette and the Kensington Post, as well as one of our national titles, the Sunday Times. There are further updates to specialist Roman Catholic publication the Tablet, as well as to the Reading Evening Post, the Bolton Evening News, and the South Wales Daily Post.