New Opportunities

For those of us in the northern hemisphere, we feel a stretch in the evenings in February and this always encourages me to take up new activities instead of just huddling in my house with a blanket wrapped around me.

The Irish Independent published an exciting piece about plans for the release of the long-awaited 1926 census next year. I’ve written a blog on it with my own suggestions on how you can prepare for it.

Are you aware the Familysearch has now enabled the full text search for the last big untapped resource for Irish genealogy? The Registry of Deeds was founded in 1708 for the purpose of transferring land from Catholics to Protestants. It was not mandatory to register a deed but more credence was given to those which were, in the event of a dispute. A somewhat byzatine source, it is unwieldy and difficult to use, especially if you’re new to Irish research. However, the advent of a free text search means you can now put in a place and a name and comb through results. The transcriptions provided are done by AI so they’re not perfect, but they’re certainly good enough to skim read. If you find something of note, you can set up one screen with the text and the other with the handwritten image and manually make corrections. My own family are not going to trouble these records greatly, having very few farming ancestors or people of note, but I have found a deed relating to my great-great grandfather’s purchase of a house in Limerick in 1914.

To use it, you’ll need to register a free account on Familysearch. When you identify something, you can download a pdf of the image with the transcription. The citation that comes with it isn’t amazing but there is a link back to the image, so you can always improve the citation yourself if necessary.

I haven’t noticed a huge overlap between people who like family history and people who play video games but this one came across my socials recently and I’ve earmarked it to play. The Roottrees Are Dead is a detective puzzle game where you do research and find clues to complete a family tree. Sounds great, but possibly a bit of a busman’s holiday for me!

I have some talks coming up. If you’re a member of the Irish Family History Forum, then you’ll find me speaking to them on Saturday 15th February on how to use DNA for family history research. I’ll be on Zoom but if you’re in the New York area, then the meeting is also open to the public. Full details are here. I am a member of this society and they put on a great range of talks during the year.

Secondly, it’s almost time for Rootstech again. It takes place in Salt Lake City on 6-8 March and has both in-person and online content available. I’m delighted to be attending for the second time. Here’s a list of the talks I’ll be doing - all in Mountain Time. Unfortunately, only the webinar will be recorded. You’ll also find me from time to time at the International Institute of Genealogical Studies booth in the Expo Hall.

If you are planning to attend and would like connect or book a consultation, please let me know and we can discuss.

Today is St Bridget’s Day. Bridget is the slightly less well-known patron saint of Ireland. A couple of years ago, the government decided to make 1st February or the nearest Monday a public holiday. No one is really used to yet but it’s a nice long weekend in an otherwise uneventful period. If you’re celebrating, I hope you make the most of it.