The Lloyd George Domesday Survey

One of our most exciting new record sets this year is The 1910 Lloyd George Domesday Survey, which enables researchers to precisely locate their ancestor’s houseon large scale (5 feet to the mile) hand annotated maps. The records link individual properties to extremely detailed ordnance survey maps used in 1910, which are coupled with the accompanying books that will also provide researchers with basic information relative to the valuation of each property.

Parish Records

We have added over 12.7 million individuals to our Parish Record Collection during 2017 which add to our already extensive Parish Record collection. With records spanning over 400 years, these records make it easier to find your ancestors’ baptisms, marriages and burials. Recently released records include parishes from Cumberland, Dorset, Durham, Essex, Hampshire, Norfolk, Northumberland, Nottingham, Somerset, Sussex, Warwickshire and Worcestershire  .

Colour Tithe Maps

Tithe schedules and maps are one of the most popular record sets on TheGenealogist. The searchable schedules, or apportionment books, contain detailed information on land use and these are linked to the maps on TheGenealogist. Clicking through from the transcript to a map will jump straight to the plot for an individual and can reveal buildings, fields, houses, rivers, lakes, woods and also cover villages, towns and cities. Black and white maps are already available for England and Wales, and we’ve been enhancing these with our colour images as we have been painstakingly conserving and scanning each county at The National Archives. We have so far released the following counties in colour:

• Over 600 Colour Maps for Northumberland
• Over 140 Colour Maps for Middlesex
• Over 500 Maps for Surrey
• Over 90 Maps for Westmorland
• 15 Colour Maps for York

Military Records

Our major military records release in 2017 was The Worldwide Army Index for 1851, 1861 and 1871, which may help you to find ancestors that were serving in the British Army at the time of the censuses. This index of names is compiled from the musters contained in WO 10-11-12 Series War Office Paylists held at the National Archives, Kew. It lists all officers and other ranks serving in the first quarter of 1851, second quarter of 1861 and 1871 together with their regimental HQ location. The index is, therefore, effectively a military surrogate for the census.

Over 70,000 records have extra notes that can indicate whether a soldier was discharged, on leave (along with their location), transferred, or retired. Many notes include a place of birth and former occupation.

Also included within the records are recruits, boy soldiers, bandsmen and civilians working in the armed forces as clerks, pension recruiters and suchlike. Colonial regiments, which invariably contained numbers of British subjects, are also featured.

War Memorials

TheGenealogist has been adding new War Memorial records throughout the year, and now boasts over 375,000 names from over 1,600 War Memorials  .

British in India Collection

Millions of British people went out to India in the past, and so many family historians will have an ancestor that made the journey. For some, India would turn out to be their last resting place and among their ranks were merchants, soldiers, sailors, civil servants, missionaries and their families.

This release includes: Parish Records of British in India; Headstone Records of British Cemeteries in India; British War Memorials in India; East India Registers; Indian Army and Civil Service Lists; Image Archive British in India.

The release of The British in India Collection on TheGenealogist now allows family historians to find ancestors who went out to British India in a very broad-ranging set of resources ranging from the early 1800s up to the 1920s.

Newspapers Collection

A number of major releases have been added to our collection of newspapers during 2017. The first of these was The Navy and Army Illustratedwhich covers over 280 issues from 1895 to 1901. It gives approximately 6,700 pages of lavishly illustrated information on all aspects of news relating to the fighting forces of Britain and its Empire.

This was followed by The Sphere, an illustrated paper founded by Clement Shorter, who was also responsible for establishing the Tatler. This covers general news stories from the UK and around the world. We have expanded our coverage to include the period between August 1914 to June 1919.

Last but not least, we released the Illustrated War News, a weekly magazine published during the First World War. This contains illustrated reports related entirely to the war and comprises of articles, photographs, diagrams and maps.

Criminal Records

We enlarged our Court & Criminal Records collection so that even more black sheep ancestors can now be searched for and found on our site. With a new release of records you can unearth all sorts of ancestors who came up against the law whether they were a victim, acquitted, convicted of a minor offence or found guilty of a major crime such as murder.

These records cover a vast range of transgressions we are able to find men and women who stole small items such as shirts, potatoes, boots etc. We can also discover people who had married bigamously, forged money, uttered a counterfeit half-crown, burgled, murdered or were accused of other crimes.

Quarter Session rolls and books

This year has seen the addition of Quarter Session rolls and books from Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire, Surrey and Middlesex, covering dates from as far back as the 16th century and up to, in some cases, the Victorian period.

The Quarter Session records were produced by local courts traditionally held at four set times each year. Being made up of two or more justices of the peace and presided over by a chairman, they sat with a jury at Epiphany (in January), Easter (March/April), Midsummer (June/July) and then at Michaelmas (September/October). Some of the earliest records in this release reach as far back as 1549 for Middlesex and 1591 in Worcester.

Police Letter Books

In February we launched a new collection of Police Letter Books for Hampshire. This is an intriguing mixture of promotions, retirements, movements, and other observations about Police officers in this county from 1891 to 1911. In amongst its pages, you will be able to trace the career of your Hampshire police ancestors as they rise or fall.

These records reveal the names and collar numbers of officers promoted, reduced in rank or dismissed from the force for committing various acts of misconduct. The misdemeanors often seem to involve alcohol, ranging from accepting a glass of beer to being drunk on duty. For those more competent officers, who were commended for their actions in the pages of these documents, you can read the actions that had been seen as deserving of inclusion in the Letter Books.

Passenger Lists

These Outbound Passenger Lists are part of the growing immigration and emigration record sets on TheGenealogist, and contain the historical records of passengers who departed by sea from UK ports in the years between 1920 and 1939. With the addition of over 7 million records covering two decades, the already strong Immigration, Emigration, Naturalisation and Passenger List resources on TheGenealogist have been significantly expanded.

TheGenealogist 1921 census substitute

With the 1921 census still years away from public release, TheGenealogist launched one of their most exciting record sets this year. Our circa 1921 resources cover 23 counties and include over one million records. These form part of the Trade, Residential & Telephone record set on TheGenealogist, covering a period currently not served by a census.

Doctor and Dentist Records

We have added over 100,000 records to our occupational collection that will allow you to find ancestors with a medical background. These records list all qualified Doctors and Dentists in the UK at the time, including their name, address, date of registration and qualifications. They cover various years from 1848-1937.

Poll Books and Electoral Registers

The new additions to our collection cover 35 different registers of people who were entitled to vote in Wakefield, West Yorkshire and other constituencies situated in Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Somerset and New Westminster in Canada. They are taken from the official lists produced to record who was entitled to vote in the various parliamentary elections. These records have been added to our Poll and Electoral Roll collection, which covers millions of records.

Also being released is The Roll of Mayors of the Borough and Lord Mayors of the City of Leicester, which can take the researcher all the way back to ancient times! It records the names of men holding that office from the 10th year of the reign of King John in 1209, all through history to 1935.

London Educational Records

In March we released a batch of London school and university records to join our ever growing educational collection. Researchers can use this new data to find ancestors who attended or taught at a variety of Educational establishments within London between 1831 and 1927.