A quick look at forthcoming publications, available for pre-order, and one published earlier in the year.  Check the Pen and Sword website for introductory offers on pre-orders and recent releases.

Recording the Nations: The Lives, Duties and History of the Census Takers

By Mish J Holman Expected: 30 June 2026

Mish J Holman explores the human side of Britain’s census by focusing on the enumerators who collected the data, drawing on personal accounts and contemporary anecdotes to reveal the individuals behind the records. Read it to appreciate the logistics and legends of our most used records.

Tracing Your House History on the Internet

By Gill Blanchard Expected: 30 April 2026

Gill Blanchard bridges the gap between traditional deeds and digital maps, offering practical advice for researching any dwelling, from grand manors to cottages. Peel back the layers of an ancestor’s domestic life using the convenience of the web.

Tracing Your Ancestors Using Newspapers

By Chloe O’Shea Expected: 30 April 2026

Chloe O’Shea provides a framework for effective searching, helping researchers verify ancestors and interpret everything from court proceedings to letters to the editor.  Newspapers can turn a basic family tree into a vivid life history, sometimes stories that may upset the received history.

Strange Will Requests and Bequests

By AJ Griffiths-Jones Expected: 30 April 2026

from vengeful codicils to bizarre instructions etched on eggshells, AJ Griffiths-Jones uncovers the “human” side of probate. These documents offer a direct line to an ancestor’s personality, revealing their secrets, humour, and spite. It is an entertaining reminder that our ancestors often used their final words to ensure they wouldn’t be forgotten.

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Recently Published:

Tracing Your Ancestors Using What They Left Behind

By Dr. Simon Wills Published: 26 January 2026

Dr. Simon Wills focuses on the physical artifacts—unnamed photos, tobacco jars, and silver cases—that sit in drawers without context. Using a detective-style approach, he demonstrates how meticulous research can return a name and a story to these silent witnesses of history.

BIFHSGO welcomes you on Saturday morning.

The Travelling Genealogist: BIFHSGO members’ top tips for travelling to research your family history / 9 a.m. EDT
Moderator: Dianne Brydon

This session will focus on recommendations for a successful family history research tour, drawn from our members’ experience. From what we have already received, a common theme is “be prepared” —with variations. We’ll review the top tips and then open the mics so participants can share their own experiences. If you have a tip you’d like included, please send it to Dianne Brydon at . Or join us and share it live. There’s a wealth of experience in our community!

The Rise and Fall of John Lowther Kemp Sr. 1793–1869 / 10 a.m. EDT
Presenter: Doug Loucks

This “riches to rags” story began with newspaper clippings found early in 2023 that reported: “Mr. John Lowther Kemp, formerly hop merchant at Canterbury, has been nominated by the Right Hon. the Earl of Romney as a poor brother of the Charter House.” This exciting find prompted hours of research and a trip overseas to tour the Charterhouse and to walk the streets of Canterbury, where Doug Loucks’ 4x great-grandfather John rose to great wealth before the changing times swept him into poverty.

This is a hybrid meeting, in person at Knox Presbyterian Church (Lisgar & Elgin) in Geneva Hall, or join online by registering.

 

On Saturday afternoon, speakers from the OGS Toronto Branch’s Advanced Genetic Genealogy SIG are hosting a free program titled “Eureka Moments in (Genetic) Genealogy” at North York Central Library.
There will be a mid-afternoon refreshment break and a lucky draw for DNA kits: 2 from Ancestry and a 37-marker Y-DNA test from Family Tree DNA. Pre-registration is required.
For details, see https://torontofamilyhistory.org/event/eureka-moments/?instance_id=1653

Thanks to Linda Reid for the tip.

On Monday, episode 41, recorded on 30 March, was posted. I still haven’t listened to episode 40, posted while I was away.

The highlight of 41 is an interview with Dave Vance on AI at FamilyTreeDNA. He explains how “new genetic genealogy tests, provided by next-generation sequencing, deliver 400 times more genomic info than traditional microarray chips and what that means for matching, triangulation, and the future role of AI in genetic genealogy.”

https://podcast.show/3738800/episode/153788502/

For the West Midlands, the “black sheep” of the family tree may have just become easier to find. In a partnership with the Worcestershire Archive & Archaeology Service,

Worcestershire, England, Calendar of Prisoners, 1839–1921

Lists of prisoners awaiting trial or serving sentences. Beyond the basics of names, aliases, ages, occupations, and specific charges the linked original images often reveal the name of the presiding judge, the date a warrant was issued, and even unique notes like claims for goods taken during an execution.  44,382 records

Worcestershire, England, Quarter Sessions Order Books, 1632–1921

These handwritten logs document the court system’s activities, covering everything from minor thefts to serious assaults. They capture cases that were too serious for the “Petty Sessions” but not quite capital offenses destined for the “Assizes.” Both defendants and claimants are named.
257,096 records

Choose from these selected free online events. All times are Eastern Time, unless otherwise noted. Registration may be required in advance—please check the links to avoid disappointment. For many more events, mainly in the U.S., visit ConferenceKeeper.

Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) is advertising discounts on its full range of tests and pushing test bundles. The biggest discount is for the  Family Finder + Big Y-700 + mtFull Sequence bundle at $499 US.

If the paternal line is of most interest, the right test for you might be the Y-111 (111 markers tested) at $199 US. Be aware that FTDNA is now sequencing more locations on the chromosomes in its Family Finder test (about 9% of the total), just as MyHeritage is now doing.

https://www.familytreedna.com/

While on break, I posted briefly about the England, Prerogative and Exchequer Court of York Wills, 1389–1858. With 2,462,539 records, it deserves a closer look.

In addition to extracting name, place of residence, relationship to head of household, will date, and probate date, the collection includes a list of individuals mentioned and their relationship to the testator. This feature is absent from Ancestry’s Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384–1858, almost certainly because it relies on AI, which was not available when the PCC records first appeared on Ancestry in 2014.

A second, and even larger, addition to Ancestry from the Borthwick Institute is the Yorkshire, England, Bishops’ Transcripts of Church of England Baptism, Marriage and Burial Registers, 1558–1912, with 13,500,549 records. Baptism entries include name, date and place of baptism, and parents’ names (though not the mother’s maiden name). Marriage entries include names, date and place, and burial entries include name, date of death, and date and place of burial.

Both collections link to images of the original records. These days, it’s good practice to run those images through an AI tool for analysis. The results may not be perfect, but they’re often useful.

This is a gentle restart of blog posts after a relaxing break, cruising in the Mediterranean. There’s a lot to catch up on while I was away.

The FreeBMD database was updated on 23 March 2026 to contain 295,418,598 unique entries, up from 295,226,698 the previous month, an increase of 371,900 entries.

The years with more than 10,000 additions are 1995-6 for births and marriages, 1994 and 1996-7 for deaths.

Ireland, Dublin Port Employment records, 1862-1925
Years covered: 1862-1925
Records added: 1,635

The Jewish Year
Book
Years covered: 1895-1955
Records added: 425,089

Newspapers

225,300 pages added this week, with six new titles and sixteen updated publications. Featuring Suffolk to Scotland.

Sourced from the Borthwick Institute for Archives, transcribed records may include: name, place of residence, relationship to head of household, will date, and probate date. Additional information is in the linked images, the majority written in Latin.

The newly released titles include:

• Calendar of Chancery Proceedings, Bills & Answers: 1625–1649
• Calendar of Chancery Cases During Reign of Queen Elizabeth I 1558-1603
• Exchequer Deponents: 1559–1695
• List of Proceedings in the Court of Star Chamber 1485–1558
• List of Proceedings in the Court of Requests 1509–1603
• Courts of Requests for the City of London, Southwark, Palace Court &Tower Hamlets, 1831
• Ducatus Lancastriae (Duchy of Lancaster) – Calendar to Pleadings: 1503–1603 

Find disputes, petitions and everyday conflicts that brought your ancestors before the courts. They typically record bills, answers, depositions and pleadings that can reveal relationships, occupations, property ownership and even personal disputes.

http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk