Findmypast.com gets a makeover

November 18th, 2009

As you’ve probably seen, the website’s been given a mini overhaul. We hope you find it pleasing on the eye and that it allows you to find what you’re looking for quicker.

The enhancements include:

  • a new look and feel for the main pages of the site to make it easier to navigate and find what you want
  • more photographs and graphics to give the website a personal touch
  • a new getting started page with a step-by-step guide
  • redesigned main screens, which will be clearer and easier for everyone to use
  • We very much hope you like the new design, feel free to leave a comment.

    Thanks for all the positive feedback so far. Carol Chapman mailed to say “I love the new web page! Much more appealing, and modern looking”.

    Geoff Lowe says, “I like the new layout of the web-site, much cleaner looking and easy to navigate. Keep up the good work.”

    Good to know you like it!

    Customer support backlog

    November 16th, 2009

    Just to let you know we’ve had a message from our fabulous customer support team. If you’ve been having difficulties getting through this could be why -

    “We are experiencing a much higher than usual number of queries at the moment which has unfortunately resulted in a backlog. We are endeavouring to clear this as soon as possible and do thank you for your patience at this time.

    Please be rest assured, all queries will be responded to as quickly as we possibly can. Perhaps you can find the answer to your question in our help & advice section.”

    The team should be up to speed soon so thanks so much for your patience.

    1851 census update - 13 counties go live

    November 6th, 2009

    We’ve added 13 complete counties the England and Wales 1851 census, which brings us tantalisingly close to completion.

    You can now search for your ancestors in the below counties, which are all newly transcribed from a fresh set of images:

    •Caernarvonshire
    •Carmarthenshire
    •Cardiganshire
    •Monmouthshire
    •Northamptonshire
    •Denbighshire
    •Pembrokeshire
    •Montgomeryshire
    •Herefordshire
    •Brecknockshire
    •Merionethshire
    •Anglesey
    •Radnorshire

    What were your ancestors up to in 1851? Find out now.

    New Welsh parish records dating from 1615

    November 5th, 2009

    This morning we added 43,000 parish records for Montgomeryshire in Wales, which include baptisms, marriages and burials. They date from as early as 1615.

    Combined with our existing records for Montgomeryshire and Wales, these new additions give you more chance than ever of tracing your Welsh ancestors from the early nineteenth century and beyond.

    Find your Welsh forebears in our Parish Records Collection today

    New parish records – trace your Wakefield ancestry back to the 1600s

    November 4th, 2009

    We’ve just added 276,000 new parish records for Wakefield in Yorkshire. These include baptisms, marriages and burials, and date back to the 1600s.

    If you have gaps in your Wakefield ancestry or have been unable to get back beyond the 1837 cut-off for births, marriages and deaths, you may just find what you’re looking for in the new records.

    Find your ancestors among millions of parish records today

    Eight new 1851 census counties now live

    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

    Halloween exclusive - spirits stalk UK homes

    October 29th, 2009

    With Halloween just around the corner, findmypast.com has commissioned some spooky research to find out just how haunted Britain’s homes are. The results reveal that a staggering one in five Brits has felt some kind of ghostly or otherworldly presence in their home.

    Spooky Scotland

    Scotland seems to be Britain’s ghost capital – 23 per cent of those we spoke to admitted they’d felt a spooky presence in their home. London, it seems, is the safest place to spend Halloween, as just 17 per cent confessed to feeling a paranormal presence.

    Discover who’s haunting your house

    With ghosts apparently widespread in UK homes, more and more people are turning to the internet for an explanation. It’s estimated that two in five homes in England date back over 90 years. If your house was built before 1911, you can find out who lived there and perhaps uncover a skeleton or two with our 1841-1911 census collection.

    If you’re staying in this weekend, why not get into the Halloween spirit and find out who could be haunting your home?

    Find the root of your ghostly presence in the only complete online census collection (1841-1911).

    Enumerators’ summary book images are live

    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).

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    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

    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

    New parish records - trace your Dorset ancestry back to 1538

    October 19th, 2009

    We’ve added over 30,000 new parish records for Dorset and some of them date from as early as 1538.

    Combined with our existing records, these new baptism, marriage and burial records mean there’s more chance than ever of tracing your Dorset forebears from the early nineteenth century and beyond.

    Over 23 million parish records in one place

    The findmypast.com Parish Records Collection is one of the largest repositories of pre-1837 records online. It exists thanks to the efforts family history society volunteers (and similar contributors) nationwide. These dedicated individuals have scoured churchyards and record offices up and down the country – deciphering the faded inscriptions of old headstones, leafing through fragile 400-year-old books, and recording their findings in full – so that you don’t have to. You can search over 23 million of these rare records from the comfort of your own home using findmypast.com.

    We have millions of parish records from counties all across England and Wales. If you’ve hit a brick wall with the 1837 cut-off for BMDs, you could well find the result you need within our vast collection.

    Search over 23 million parish records today