The FreeBMD Database was updated on Tuesday 25 March 2025 to contain 292,760,582 unique records, up from 292,557,239 in the February update.
Births with more than 10,000 updates are for 1993, 1995-96, for marriages, 1994-96, and for deaths 1995.
Royal Hospital Chelsea: Prize Records from TheGenealogist
Sourced from The National Archives (Reference WO 164) comes a newly digitised collection contains more than one million entries detailing the distribution of military prize money from 1720 to 1899. Find out about the financial rewards granted to soldiers, staff and their families for success in battle.
The collection spans 663 volumes and 1,064,391 records across more than 172,000 high resolution colour images.
Records cover significant wars such as the latter years of the American Revolutionary War, the Battle of Waterloo and the Peninsular War, as well as smaller skirmishes.
The records are fully searchable by Name of the Applicant and Soldier, Rank, Regiment, Date, Location, War and Keywords.
http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/.
Thursday Tidbits
Last Minute – Canadian Pacific Steamships Limited Archives at Ingenium
If your ancestor travelled on one of the CP Ships, notably those named for Empresses of Dutchesses, don’t miss Adele Torrance, Archivist at Ingenium, speaking on the CP Ships archive at Ingenium (Museum of Science and Technology.) The presentation, hosted by OGS Ottawa Branch, is online this evening at 7 pm ET. Register in advance for this Zoom presentation: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYrc-ChqD8tEtZdls2v07WoxPftW16pNyMU
MyHeritage adds United Kingdom, Names & Stories in Newspapers from OldNews.com
Extracted from newspaper articles using advanced AI technology developed by MyHeritage, these 499,811,557
records typically include the name of the individuals mentioned, the relationships between the individuals, the newspaper name, the publication place and date, and a snippet of text from the newspaper containing the reference. Every record includes a summary of the article, generated automatically by AI.
Obits on Ancestry
Ancestry has a regular schedule to update its obituary information. Here’s the latest, as of 24 March 2025.
| Title | Records | ||
|---|---|---|---|
UK and Ireland, Obituary Index, 2004-Current
UK and Ireland, Obituary Index, 2004-CurrentPublished on Ancestry 2/24/2006
Updated 3/24/2025 |
7,769,946 | ||
Australia and New Zealand, Obituary Index, 2004-Current
Australia and New Zealand, Obituary Index, 2004-CurrentPublished on Ancestry 12/8/2005
Updated 3/24/2025 |
2,394,836 | ||
Canada, Obituary Collection, 1898-Current
Canada, Obituary Collection, 1898-CurrentPublished on Ancestry 2/24/2006
Updated 3/24/2025 |
11,932,632 | ||
U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-CurrentPublished on Ancestry 12/17/2003
Updated 3/24/2025 |
|||
U.S., Cemetery and Funeral Home Collection, 1847-Current
U.S., Cemetery and Funeral Home Collection, 1847-CurrentPublished on Ancestry 4/7/2011
Updated 3/24/2025 |
143,602,733 |
Sunday Sundries
Exhausting Beauty
https://philocrumbs.substack.com/p/exhausting-beauty?utm_medium=ios&utm_source=substack
Findmypast Weekly Update
This week FMP announces one of the largest additions in recent months, including a new partnership with The London Library.
“From military lists to directories and specialist newspapers, an eclectic range of records from The Library’s holdings have been digitised and published online for the first time, exclusively at Findmypast.
Oireachtas Companion 1928-1930
Did your relative shape Ireland’s future?
Delve into this unique resource to uncover the stories of those who served in Ireland’s early parliament.
Britain, Histories & Reference Guides
We added the unique Heath’s Book of Beauty to this expanding resource this week.
Spanning 1833 to 1837, this publication features engraved portraits of aristocratic women and thus offers a fascinating insight into the lives of England’s upper classes in the 19th century.
The War Office List
Covering 1866-1921, these lists can reveal where your ancestors served, how their military careers unfolded, or what became of them during wartime.
Exciting new papers from The London Library
We made a huge update to our newspaper archive this week. Vanity Fair, Cavalry Journal, The Garden and other London Library newspapers are now online for you to explore.
We added 26 new titles to the archive – but that’s not all. We also added new pages to 50 of our existing publications, so it’s easier than ever to understand the world that your ancestors lived in.
New titles:
- Cavalry Journal, 1906-1913
- Charity Organisation Reporter, 1881, 1883-1884
- Clacton Graphic and East Coast Illustrated News, 1899, 1902-1938, 1940, 1953-1956
- Clare Champion, 1903
- Cork Weekly Herald, 1885
- Drogheda Advertiser, 1897-1899, 1902, 1904-1906, 1909-1914, 1916-1924
- Gardener’s Magazine, 1826-1843
- Howdenshire Chronicle, 1890-1891
- Irish Field, 1897-1899, 1910, 1913-1918
- Irish Homestead, 1896-1899, 1910, 1914, 1920-1921
- Irish Textile Journal, 1900, 1905-1907
- La Belle Assemblée, 1806-1823, 1825-1827, 1830-1840, 1842-1846, 1848-1862, 1864-1865, 1867, 1869
- Limerick Leader, 1906-1908, 1910-1911, 1913-1918
- Local Preachers Magazine, 1856-1870, 1872-1874, 1876-1877
- London City Mission Magazine, 1841-1848, 1851-1854, 1857-1864
- Morning Mail (Dublin), 1897-1899, 1904, 1909-1911
- Nenagh Guardian, 1916-1918
- Pall Mall Budget, 1870-1879, 1889-1894
- Peel City Guardian, 1890-1896, 1898-1909, 1912-191
- Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, Science and Art, 1870-1879, 1882, 1884-1885, 1890-1899, 1901, 1904-1908, 1910-1921, 1924-1926, 1929-1938
The Garden, 1900-1901, 1904-1911, 1913-1915 - Time & Tide, 1930-1935, 1937-193
To-day, 1894-1899 - Vanity Fair, 1869-1887, 1889-1913
- Waterford Evening Star, 1917-1920
- Wicklow Press, 1907-1908, 1910-1915
Updated titles:
- Aberdeen Evening Express, 2001
- Aberdeen Herald, 1832-1843
- Banffshire Journal, 1950-1951
- Belfast Weekly News, 1901-1902
- Bell’s Weekly Messenger, 1873-1883, 1890-1895
- Brechin Advertiser, 1983, 1988
- Bucks Standard, 1920-1922
- Caithness Courier, 1988-1989
- Carmarthen Journal, 1983
- Catholic Standard, 1960-1961, 1963
- Clonmel Chronicle, 1914-1919, 1921
- Cork Constitution, 1904
- Cork Examiner, 1917
- Cork Weekly Examiner, 1913-1919
- Cumberland and Westmorland Advertiser, and Penrith Literary Chronicle, 1880-1881, 1883, 1887-1888
- Donegal Independent, 1908
- Drogheda Independent, 1956-1959
- Dublin Daily Express, 1917-1919
- Eastern Evening News, 1889
- Evening Herald (Dublin), 1891
- Farmer’s Gazette and Journal of Practical Horticulture, 1904, 1907-1909
- Fermanagh Times, 1930
- Flag of Ireland, 1881
- Folkestone Daily News, 1906-1909
- Hampshire Chronicle, 1871-1879, 1891-1894, 1911
- Illustrated Police Budget, 1897-1898, 1901-1902, 1904-1907, 1910
- Irish Independent, 1906-1915, 1917-1920, 1922-1925, 1927, 1928, 1930-1938, 1942, 1950-1955, 1957-1959
- Kilkenny Journal, and Leinster Commercial and Literary Advertiser, 1936-1939, 1942-1944, 1946, 1948-1959, 1965
- Leighton Buzzard Observer and Linslade Gazette, 1987
- Liverpool Daily Post (Welsh Edition), 1961
- Londonderry Standard, 1902, 1904, 1909, 1924, 1960-1962
- Louth Standard, 1970, 1976, 1980
- Manchester Evening News, 1971
- Montrose Review, 1989
- Morayshire Advertiser, 1870-1877
- Munster Express, 1897, 1911, 1913
- Munster Tribune, 1964-1965
- Newry Reporter, 1922-1923
- North Down Herald and County Down Independent, 1952-1957
- Northern Whig, 1963
- Oxford Times, 1871, 1913-1918
- Poor Law Unions’ Gazette, 1866-1867
- Smethwick Telephone, 1932-1933, 1935-1938
- Strabane Weekly News, 1917-1918
- The Dublin Builder, 1901, 1903-1904, 1910-1922
- The Queen, 1961, 1963
- Warder and Dublin Weekly Mail, 1909, 1911-1913, 1915-1917, 1920-1922, 1932, 1934-1938
- Waterford Mirror and Tramore Visitor, 1871
- Waterford News, 1900, 1903-1904, 1908
- Waterford Star, 1918
- Westmeath Guardian and Longford News-Letter, 1912-1921, 1925
- Western Daily Mercury, 1884
- Wexford and Kilkenny Express, 1897-1899, 1902
- Wexford Independent, 1903
- Wicklow People, 1890
- Wokingham Times, 1996-1999
Ancestry Updates
UPDATED Birmingham, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1923
UPDATED London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812
UPDATED London, England, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-2003
UPDATED London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1940
UPDATED London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1924
Thursday Tidbits
Malta Archival Resources
This is a bit off-topic.
Earlier this week I had the opportunity to visit the Malta National Archives in historic Rabat. It is housed in what was initially a “hospital” which had a foundling wheel, or “ruota degli esposti” where newborns could be left to the care of the church. Some were given the last name Esposito.
We were shown a display of some of their records of genealogical interest, including passport applications. A treasure is a bound copy volume of notaries records of birth marriages and deaths back to the 16th century. Ancestry has filmed and is currently processing it. The passport records are at the archivesportaleurope.net site. It hosts records from many countries. A search for Canada surfaced 36,639 records from various European countries.
As historic as the building is, it is not up to modern archival standards. With a total Maltese population less than that of Ottawa, it operates under severe constraints of funding while striving to preserve the much more extensive historical collection.
LAC Co-Lab Update
There are currently 4,324 items identified as Co-Lab only contributions in the collection. That’s up from 4,196 last month. The new ones include scattered cabinet conclusions from the 1940s to 1970s, and diary entries by William Lyon Mackenzie King.
Tuesday Tidings
Major Announcements at RootsTech
Being away meant I missed the announcements. So I asked the AI app Perplexity.
At RootsTech 2025, several major announcements were made:
- AncestryDNA “Matches by Cluster” Feature: A new tool for visualizing DNA matches connected to a common ancestor, available later this year for Pro Tools users1.
- AncestryDNA Feature to Attach DNA Matches’ Lines to Your Tree: An expanded feature allowing users to add DNA matches’ lineages to their family trees1.
- FamilySearch’s New Catalog: Updates to the catalog include improved place standardization and digitized images1.
- Ancestry Networks: A beta feature for creating networks of friends, family, and associates within Ancestry trees15.
- MyHeritage CousinFinder: A tool using SmartMatch technology to find cousins without DNA testing1.
- FamilySearch Together App: An app for families to share stories and memories privately1.
- Mitotree by FamilyTreeDNA: A new mitochondrial DNA tool for genealogical research4.
How many would see the FamilySearch new catalog as the highlight? It’s my top priority amongst them to explore when I return.
Last Minute: St Patrick’s Day
OGS Sudbury District Branch invites you, and everyone else, to attend a timely presentation:
Irish Immigration to Canada
Presented by Jillian van Turnhout.
At 1 pm Monday 17 March
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/WGpkCUlCQ6WRkH7M91OVKw#/registration
Sunday Sundries
Trumps Policy Might Be Simple Spite
https://theconversation.com/donald-trumps-foreign-policy-might-be-driven-by-simple-spite-heres-what-to-do-about-it-252099
Ancestry New and Updated Records focus on Dumbartonshire, Scotland.
Findmypast Weekly Update
(As described by FMP)
This week’s biggest update takes the form of 6,264,500 images and transcriptions added to the English Directory collection.
Searchable by name, year, location, occupation and more, these records may shed light on the lives and jobs of your ancestors.
Ireland Huguenot Histories
This unique new collection tells the story of Ireland’s Huguenots – a group of French Protestants who settled in Ireland (among other places) between the 16th and 19th centuries. It is searchable by name.
Whether you’ve got a Huguenot ancestor or are just interested in Irish religious history, the 2,578 records in this new collection allow us to delve deeper into previously untold stories.
Irish cemetery records
We also updated our Irish cemetery records this week, with 3,600 new additions for you to explore. These essential sources form the building blocks of your family tree.
If you have Irish roots, is your ancestor among those named?
New pages from Dublin to County Clare
Continuing the theme, we’ve added four Irish titles to our newspaper archive this week.
Within the pages of Zozimus, you’ll find comics and illustrations depicting the prominent social, political and religious issues of 19th-century Ireland. Although this Dublin-based magazine ran for just two years (1870-1872), its pages offer an immersive insight into Irish society at the time.
New titles:
- Zozimus, 1870-1872
- New Ross Reporter, 1897-1901, 1903, 1907-1910
- Clare Champion, 1910-1916
- Offaly Independent, 1910-1911
Thursday Tidbits
Sources and Citations
The top 90% of genealogists who meticulously cite their sources should thank me—I help make their ranking possible!
Teresa, from the Writing My Past blog, is surely among the best. Her post, My Sources and Citations Toolbox, is a must-read for anyone striving to improve their citation game.
https://writingmypast.wordpress.com
Généalogie Québec Giveaway
The Drouin Institute is once again holding a giveaway in which 5 participants can win a one-year subscription to Généalogie Québec.
The contest will run from Thursday, March 13, 2025, to Monday, March 24, at 3 p.m. EST.
To register for the giveaway, simply enter your e-mail address in the form at this address:
https://mailchi.mp/institutdrouin/genealogygiveaway
OGS Kingston Branch Meeting
The March meeting brings a return of popular speaker Thomas MacEntee with “10 Must-Haves for Genealogy & Family History Success.” To register use the link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUpc-2tqD4uGdTHwxgmmc9qiZ2cdHPMQXv8/.
TheGenealogist Releases Over 350,000 Lloyd George Domesday Survey Records for Essex
http:www.thegenealogist.co.uk
Tuesday Tidings
RootsTech
For the first time in several years I missed RootsTech, preferring a snow-free vacation. The website claims attendees from 214 countries, 473,648 participants, which is less than previous online RootsTechs as I recall.
I’ve only started to review six of the presentations I identified as of particular interest. I started with the Innovation and Tech Forum. FamilySearch, MyHeritage, Storied, SOAR (Family Scribe), Remento, and Ancestry. The power of commercial enterprise is on show in every one of them, and every one featured AI capabilities. Worth a look.
RootsMagic
The following is a notable offer from RootsMagic.
“Save up to 50% on our software, including Personal Historian 3, Family Atlas, and the all-new RootsMagic 10 for only $20!
Even if you missed joining us in person, you can still claim this special offer online at www.NotAtRootsTech.com. This exclusive discount is only available through Friday, March 14, at 11:59 pm MST.”
Legacy Family Tree Webinars on Special
“Our RootsTech discount is now live – 50% off webinar memberships through Saturday.”
Tuesday Tidings
This Week’s Online Genealogy Events
Choose from selected free online events today. All times are ET except as noted. Assume registration in advance is required; check so you’re not disappointed. Find out about a few more, mainly US events, at Conference Keeper.
Tuesday 4 March
2 pm: Ottawa Genealogy Drop-in
2:30 pm: My Great-Grandfather’s Secrets: Using DNA, Oral History, and Historical Context to Discover Untold Stories, by Elizabeth Hodges for Allen Country Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/12834957
7:30 pm: Beyond the Online Basics: A Genealogical Guide to Digital Collections, by Dave Obee for OGS Durham Region Branch.
Wednesday, 5 March
7:30 pm: Cemetery Enthusiasts of Huron County Ontario – Guardians of the Grave, by Lori Carter for OGS Huron Branch.
https://huron.ogs.on.ca/
Thursday 6 March
6:30 pm: Tracing Your Irish Roots: An Introduction to Irish Genealogy, by Elizabeth Hodges for Allen Country Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/12920325
7 pm: Getting Into The Habit: Researching Female Religious In Your Family Tree , by David Ryan for OGS
https://ogs.on.ca/events/march-webinar-getting-into-the-habit-researching-female-religious-in-your-family-tree-david-ryan-2
Friday 7 March
Saturday 8 March
BIFHSGO March Meeting
9 am: Exploring the Official Government Newspapers: the Gazettes of the UK, by Ken McKinlay
The official newspaper of the government, the Gazette, might not seem to be something we would use in our genealogy and family history research. However, possibly you have military service files that states an ancestor was gazetted or was an officer who received a promotion. Maybe you found that your ancestor was presented with an honour from the Crown? Did your ancestor become a naturalized citizen or even change his or her name? You will often find those sorts of announcements in the Gazette. In this presentation we will explore the various government gazettes in England, Scotland, and Ireland to learn how to search them online and discover what they hold for our research.
10 am: Ripped from the Headlines: Death on the Forest , by Marianne Rasmus
“Manslaughter at the Races” —This newspaper headline from July 1857 about a death at the Nottingham races proved to be the catalyst for breaking down a brick wall on Marianne Rasmus’ maternal grandfather’s line that had plagued her for more than 10 years.
Newspapers can hold a wealth of information and can be an incredible resource when putting flesh on the bones of our family stories. In this presentation, Marianne will share the research journey that led to the discovery of the news story; recount how it, along with several other articles, shed light on a fascinating family and an event that had been lost through time; and explore life, and death, in 19th century industrial Nottingham.
10:30 am: Silent Roots – The Black Settlers Who Shaped Dufferin County, by Laura Camilleri for OGS Simcoe County Branch.
https://simcoe.ogs.on.ca/
Newspapers.com Updates
While no new British titles were added, over 150 newspapers were updated on newspapers.com in the past month. Those with content before 1950 are:
Isle of Wight County Press (1884–2023)
Southern Daily Echo (1888–2023)
South Wales Argus (1892–2023)
The Bolton News (1867–2023)
Bucks Free Press (1856–2023)
The Guardian (1821–2025)
Northern Echo (1870–1985)
Glasgow Herald (1820–1900)
Evening Standard (1897–2024)
The Old Farmer’s Almanac for February
This February, the mean temperature in Ottawa was -9.9C; the OFA prediction of -10.0C could hardly be closer.
SUCCESS
The OFA predicted a dry month with 30 mm of total precipitation at Ottawa; the actual was 73.1 mm, well above the long-term average of 54.3 and more than twice the OFA prediction
TOTAL FAIL
FreeBMD February Update
The FreeBMD database was updated on 24 February to contain 292,557,239 entries, up from 292,327,249 the previous month.
Years with major updates, more than 10,000 entries, are: 1993, 1995-96 for births, 1994-96 for marriages, and 1995 for deaths
Ancestry Update
Ontario, Canada, Deaths and Deaths Overseas, 1869-1950, now has 4,678,790 records.
New and Updated from MyHeritage since 1 March
| Collection Name | Format | Status | Record Count |
| United Kingdom Newspapers from OldNews.com | Images | Updated | 8,105,394 |
| Germany, World War I Casualty Lists, 1914-1919 | Images | New | 8,325,620 |
| Canada, Passenger Lists and Border Entries, 1925-1935 | – | New | 829,852 |
| United Kingdom & Commonwealth, British Jewry Book of Honour, 1914-1919 | Images | New | 58,707 |
| Spain Newspapers from OldNews.com | Images | Updated | 13,721,512 |
| Germany Newspapers from OldNews.com | Images | Updated | 12,891,405 |