The Society of Genealogists has just published the fully revised third edition of My Ancestors were Gypsies by Sharon Sillers Floate.  Any family historian or researcher looking at Gypsy ancestors will regard this book as an essential guide to accessing and understanding records on the subject. My Ancestors were Gypsies is available from the Society of Genealogists bookshop, and online at www.sog.org.uk, price £8.99.

If so you may find him/her mentioned in the Polish collection held at the Society of Genealogists family history library in London. These records were compiled by Antoni and Stella Szachnowski, members of the Catholic Family History Society, and donated to the Society of Genealogists in November 1999.

An index to part of the collection is now available on the Members Area of the SoG website. The first section (Polish Subsistence) includes returns of Polish refugees receiving assistance from the Grant voted by Parliament between 1838 and 1841.

The second section (Polish genealogy) covers a diverse range of records listing Polish immigrants. These include entries from the registers of the Chapel of the Virgin Mary of Czestochowa, baptisms from St Peter Apostulate, Electoral rolls for St Pancras (1891), Lambeth (1891), St Marylebone (1892) and Westminster Borough (1908), plus entries from the1841 Census of Portsea in Hampshire, the Polish Refugee Hospital  and naturalisation records.

Two further boxes of correspondence and papers assembled by Mr and Mrs Szachnowski but not indexed on the Members’ Area can be found amongst the Society’s Special Collections.

To search the above records click here. To view the full details you will need to be a member of the Society of Genealogists.

Tim Lawrence (Head of Library Services)

Technorati Tags: family history, genealogy, immigration, Poland, Polish, Society of Genealogists

The Civil Service Evidence of Age for established civil servants and civil service examination candidates were collected by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) from 1855 in order to establish accurate birth dates for the purpose of either ensuring that an examination candidate was of the required age, or granting a pension.

These records along with mostly original documentation can be found in the Society of Genealogists archives. A simple evidence of age request by the CSC reveals a mothers desperate attempt to hide a family secret that dates back to 1857. Click here to find out more about this and other Treasures of the Society.

Technorati Tags: civil service, family history, family secret, genealogy, records, the society of genealogists

The Society of Genealogists is delighted to announce that future issues of its highly respected journal The Genealogists’ Magazine will be made available to members online, as well as in printed form. Details of how to access them can be found below.

The journal, first published in 1925, carries a wide range of genealogical articles, as well as news of what is happening at the Society and new additions to its extensive family history library.

The journal is just one of the many benefits of being a member of the Society of Genealogists, others including free access to its library and discounts on its wide ranging programme of lectures and publications.

 If you are already a member you can login and view the current issue of the Genealogists’ Magazine (volume 30) here. Please note that you will have to login to the Members’ Area to view the Magazine. Details of how to do this can be found here.

Tim Lawrence, Head of Library Services

Technorati Tags: family history, Genealogists' Magazine, genealogy, Members' Area

 Genealogists will be delighted that Ancestry.co.uk, in partnership with the City of London’s London Metropolitan Archives, today launched online for the first time eight million of London’s oldest surviving parish records, charting the history of the city from the 16^th century to modern times. This initiative will provide remarkable opportunities for anyone tracing  London family history.

The London, England, Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812 contain vital records kept at more than 1,000 London parishes, and include some of the few extant records of the English Civil War.

Crucially, these records pre-date Civil Registration, the system introduced by the Government in 1837 to record the ‘vital’ events of its citizen’s lives, including births, marriages and deaths. The only way to trace one of these key events before the 19^th century is to use parish registers.

The majority of the parish registers date back to 1538 when Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s Vicar General, issued an order that each parish was to keep a register of each baptism, marriage and burial performed there, however the collection also features a few much earlier records. One of the transcripts that is included within the collection is dated 1274.

Russell James from Ancestry.co.uk comments: “These records detail the existence of those living through the fascinating period of the English Civil War, the political consequences of which can still be felt today. The conflict instilled Parliament with genuine power for the first time, while its factions developed into what have become some of our modern political parties.

“As official records were not kept by the government until Civil Registration in 1837, these parish records are essential for tracing anyone who was baptised, married or buried in London before the 19^th century.”

Dr Deborah Jenkins, Assistant Director of the City of London’s Department of Libraries, Archives and Guildhall Art Gallery, comments: “I am delighted that we are able to make these unique historical records available online for the first time and fully name searchable.

“Our understanding of the development of London and the lives of millions of Londoners will be greatly enhanced through online access to this information.”

The launch of the early parish records marks the completion of the London parish registers, which began in September 2009 with the launch of the ‘modern’ records dating from the early 19^th century to the 1980s. A total of 18 million parish records are now online, dating from 1538 to 1980.

Access to these indeed records is available free in the Library of the Society of Genealogists.  Anyone needing  first time help to use the Ancestry website can book a help session with the Society’s Community Officer.  Details of using the Society of Genealogists Library can be found on our main website.

Technorati Tags: family history, genealogy, London Family History, London Genealogy, Parish Registers