02 May 2008

Press releases of interest

Here are some announcements from FamilySearch coinciding with the UK "Who Do You Think You Are?" Show.

FamilySearch Teams with Findmypast.com to Increase Online Access to British Historical Records

Chelsea Pensioners and Militia Records, and Merchant Seamen Records, held at The (UK) National Archives will be scanned by FindMyPast, indexed and transcribed by FamilySearch. Presumably the index will be available freely, but following the link to the original images will cost.

New Genealogy Guides for England and Scotland

Finding Records of Your Ancestors, England and Finding Records of Your Ancestors, Scotland, are the latest additions to the popular series of free online publications. The guides are designed for those who have already gathered some family history information about their British or Scottish ancestors and are ready to search public and private records.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Something for reaction

Leo McKinstry says the current craze for genealogy reflects an unhealthy combination of snobbery and inverse snobbery, and is a poor replacement for national history

http://www.spectator.co.uk/the-magazine/features/643156/sorry-but-family-history-really-is-bunk.thtml

JDR said...

What's this preoccupation that McKinstry has with rodents? "Scurrying about"; "ferreting through"; "beavering away" demeans the endeavours of large numbers of people, not to mention those who find family history fascinating as evidenced by the viewer numbers for Who Do You Think You Are?

McKinstry saying that the family history boom has not led to a greater understanding of our nation's past does not make it so. Open the pages of the newsstand genealogy magazines he refers to and you will find not only articles on how to research your origins but also much social history, It's so common that genealogists have a cliché for it -- putting flesh on the bones.

McKinstry should learn to check his elitism at the doors of a public institution he chooses to frequent. Who established him as judge? Those whose "busy presence" so offends him have just as much right to use the facility for what they judge to be a worthwhile purpose.