FindMyPast Press Release: Findmypast’s archive is the fastest growing on the market

Findmypast’s collections have grown by over 1.5 billion names in the last year
Totalling over 13 billion records, Findmypast is now home to the fastest growing archive on the market

More records added over the past 12 months than all competitors combined

Millions of new and exclusive records bought online for the very first time Findmypast continues to publish millions of new records from Britain, Ireland, North America and beyond each and every month, providing users across the globe with new opportunities for discovery.

The world leaders in British & Irish family history are now adding an average of 4.3 million searchable names a day, making them the second largest publisher on the family history market and the fastest growing archive online. 2019 has seen Findmypast’s collections expand significantly, with over 1.5 billion names added to the site over the past 12 months alone.

By bringing more data to market than any other family history website, Findmypast is plugging essential gaps in previously difficult to research regions through improved access to a wide variety of family history resources, many of which cannot be found anywhere else online.

Recent progress in Scotland where a range of new material has been published in association with society and archive partners across the country, marks just the latest step in Findmypast’s continued efforts to help users knock down brick walls and discover ancestors on both sides of the Atlantic.

All recent and future updates build on Findmypast’s existing digitization projects, including:

• The Catholic Heritage Archive - a groundbreaking initiative to digitize the historic records of the Catholic Church in the U.S., Britain, and Ireland that has resulted in the online publication of more than 27 million records since February 2017. Recent additions include millions of new Sacramental marriage records from the Archdiocese of New York with more U.S. records yet to come. 
• The 1921 census of England and Wales - In the most anticipated family history development since the online publication of the 1939 Register, Findmypast has been selected as The National Archives’ commercial partner to make the 1921 Census of England & Wales available online.
• The British Newspaper Archive - Findmypast’s exclusive partnership with the British Library that has already resulted in the online publication of more than 36 million pages. New editions and titles are added every week with a variety of Commonwealth titles from Canada, the Caribbean and beyond to be added in the coming months - also available on Findmypast. 

Tamsin Todd, CEO of Findmypast, said: “I am proud of Findmypast’s heritage of working with wonderful organisations across the globe to digitise and share extraordinary record collections. We hear from our customers all the time how learning about their ancestors’ lives changed their understanding of their own lives. As we accelerate the growth of Findmypast’s collections, we will help ever more people feel the thrill of going on a journey to discover family stories that have the power to change the future.”



For more information, to request images or to discuss feature opportunities, please contact Niall Cullen: ncullen@findmypast or Alex Cox: acox@findmypast.com, +44 7464 946769 

Findmypast (previously DC Thomson Family History) is the British-owned world leader in online family history millions of registered users across its family of brands, which include Findmypast, Genes Reunited, Findmypast DNA, the British Newspaper Archive and Twile. Its lead brand, also called Findmypast, is the home of the world’s most comprehensive online collection of British and Irish records, including: 

• The largest online collection of UK parish records 
• Twice the number of Irish records available on any other site 
• The British Library’s vast collection of historical newspapers 
• Military service records for all three branches of the British Armed Forces 
• The official home of the 1939 Register, in partnership with The National Archives 

Findmypast is committed to making discoveries in the British Isles easier than ever before. It combines the best of British and Irish data with the knowledge of inhouse experts to provide a unique family history experience that guides researchers through every step of their journey. For more information on how Findmypast is enhancing the experiences of family historians worldwide, visit: www.findmypast.co.uk

Bill Bennett, VP Marketing from FindMyPast, spoke on Friday morning at RootsTech and unveiled their new project: Catholic Heritage Archive.  This amazing record set was previewed on stage, and you can find the full press release below. 

They are working with various archdiocese in the United Sates and the UK to digitize and preserve the records of the Catholic church which most times are locked in a parish hall.  Access can be hard, if near impossible and for those who have Catholic Roots there is hope for those elusive records to show lineage and relationships to our past. 

In my Interview later that day with Bill he said they are starting with larger dioceses and then moving into smaller parishes.  Most exciting is that you will be able to browse images free online through FindMyPast.  You will only have to use credits if you want to use the index.  I also loved hearing that the churches and diocese who let them digitize records will also have full access to their own collections.  This will be a boon to researchers who can travel to their family churches.

Also touched on during the morning session was that thanks to their association with the Pennsylvania Historical Society there are now over 3 million PA records online.  This large project is nearly concluded with hundreds of thousands of vital records and unusual manuscript collections digitized.  Births, marriages, deaths, congregational records, military records, and more are now available to search.

Finally the US marriage record collection is wrapping up.  As Bill stated in our interview they were saving the best for last.  The records which are being uploaded in this final push are the most unique of all.  Oh, and only found on FindMyPast!  We will have to check them out.

FindMyPast Official Press Release: 

FindMyPast announces plans to create the most comprehensive collection of Roman Catholic sacramental registers for the United States, Britain and Ireland

When complete, this exclusive collection will contain over 100 million records spanning 300 years of Catholic history

Millions of exclusive Catholic records published online with more coming soon

Findmypast also announces new additions to the ambitious United States Marriages project

Release marks significant expansion of Findmypast's US data collection

Leading family history website, Findmypast, today announced the creation of the Roman Catholic Heritage Archive, a ground breaking initiative that aims to digitize the historic records of the Catholic Church in the United States, Britain and Ireland.

Findmypast is today releasing over 3 million exclusive records including sacramental registers for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia from 1757 to 1916 as well as for the British Archdioceses of Westminster and Birmingham from 1657 onwards. This builds on last year's publication of more than 10 million Irish Catholic parish registers.

The Catholic Church holds some of the oldest and best preserved genealogical records ever created. However, as many of these documents memorialize important religious sacraments such as baptism, marriage and burial, their privacy has long been protected and access to original copies has traditionally been hard to come by.

In collaboration with various Archdioceses of the Catholic Church, Findmypast is helping to bring these records online in one unified collection for the first time ever. Exclusively available on Findmypast, images of original documents will be completely free to view in many cases. Fully searchable transcripts will also be included, providing family historians from the around the world with easy access to these once closely guarded records.

The next phase of the Catholic Heritage Archive will include records from the archdioceses of New York and Baltimore as well as additional records from Philadelphia. There are over 30 million records in just these three dioceses. The digitization of the whole archive is a monumental undertaking and, when complete, will contain hundreds of millions of records for the USA alone.

Brian Donovan, Licensing Manager at Findmypast said; “The Roman Catholic Church is the largest Christian denomination in the world. Despite the popular perception that it had few adherents in Britain, or was not that important in American settlement, it has always been a significant component (up to 25%) of the population. The Catholic Heritage Archive will uncover the history of millions of Irish, Italian, German, Polish and many other nationalities as they made a new home in the USA.”

Kate Feighery, archivist at the Archdiocese of New York said; “The Archdiocese of New York is delighted to begin the process of opening their sacramental records for historical research.  As one of the major immigration hubs in the country, and the second largest diocese in the United States, many Catholic Americans can trace their ancestors back to New York. The Catholic Heritage Archive will allow interested amateur and professional historians to more easily find out more about their family’s roots in Catholic New York.”

Cait Kokolus, Director of the Philadelphia Archdiocesan Historical Records Center said; “ The digitization of parish records is a great gift to the Catholics in the Archdiocese. Now they will be able to find where their grandmother was baptized, or when their great-grandparents married. In such a quickly changing society, many people are discovering that knowing their family history gives a sense of identity and stability.”

10 million new US marriage Records

Findmypast has also just released a further 10 million United States Marriage records in association with Family Search International. The new additions cover 45 states, over 1,800 counties and date from the early 17^th century up to the present day. Over 65 million records are currently available to search within the collection.

Covering 360 years of marriages from 1650-2010, when complete this landmark collection will form the single largest online archive of U.S. marriages in history and will only be found in its entirety exclusively on Findmypast.

The launch of these new US records is central to Findmypast's growth strategy in the U.S. They will complement Findmypast’s massive collection of British and Irish data, providing many more connections and a more comprehensive experience to family historians in the US and all over the world.

Press Release: Findmypast celebrates first anniversary of 1939 Register launch

The 1939 Register was launched online on November 2^nd 2015 by Findmypast in association with The National Archives. Dubbed ‘The Wartime Domesday Book’, it is a comprehensive survey of the civil population of England and Wales at the onset of the Second World War. One year on, more than five million ‘closed records’ have been opened up and are now available to search.

November 16^th 2016, one year on since the eagerly awaited 1939 Register was launched online by Findmypast, more than five million additional records have been made available, providing more people than ever before with the opportunity to discover details of their family, their home and their community.

                                                                                                                                                                                

In September 1939, just days after war had been declared, 65,000 enumerators were employed to visit every house in England and Wales to take stock of the civil population. The information that they recorded was used to issue Identity Cards, plan mass evacuations, establish rationing and co-ordinate other war-time provisions. In the longer term, the 1939 Register would go on to play a central role in the establishment of post-war services like the NHS. 

The Register was updated in some cases until 1991, meaning that many people born less than 100 years ago but who had died prior to 1991 had their record opened automatically. Owing to data protection regulations, the personal details of people known to be born less than 100 years ago and still alive, had to be kept hidden. Records such as these were marked as ‘officially closed’ and, of the 41 million original records that make up the register, approximately 13 million (around 32%) were ‘closed’ at publication.

In the year since the Register was launched, Findmypast has matched millions of ‘closed records’ to multiple data sources to correctly confirm the date and location of death for individuals recorded. This process has resulted in more than three million records being opened in the past 12 months, while an additional two million records have been opened in the past week to mark the anniversary of the register’s launch.

The 1939 Register now contains more than 32.8 million open records that can now be accessed as part of a 12-month British or World subscription. Each record includes the names of inhabitants at each address, their date of birth, marital status and occupation. A wealth of contextual information, including period photographs never before seen online, infographics, region-specific newspaper articles and historical and contemporary maps, are personally tailored to each record, offering a rich and unique user experience unrivalled by any other family history research tool to date.

The 1939 Register is of particular significance for family historians as it bridges an important 30-year gap. The 1931 census was destroyed in the war and the 1941 census was never taken. The 1921 census will not be released until 2022.

Paul Nixon, military expert at Findmypast says: “It is fitting that the 1939 Register, so long a ‘living document’ that was continually updated by the NHS, is still very much alive now that is has been published by Findmypast.  The opening up and release of a further five million records in the last 12 months means that more than ever before we can reach out to our recent past and discover where our ancestors were living, and what they were doing at the start of the Second World War.”

Audrey Collins, family history records specialist at The National Archives says: “The 1939 Register has been a tremendous resource for family and local historians since it was released, and has become even better since then. As well as five million new records, and the addition of the 'Browse' function, there are unexpected finds: details of previous military service and unusual 'occupations' such as 'on holiday from Australia'. And the first two people in the whole register were called Mr and Mrs Start!”

                                                                                                                                                

About Findmypast

Findmypast (previously DC Thomson Family History) is a British-owned world leader in online family history. It has an unrivalled record of online innovation in the field and 18 million registered users across its family of online brands, which includes Lives of the First World War, The British Newspaper Archive and Genes Reunited, amongst others.

Its lead brand, also called Findmypast, is a searchable online archive of over four billion family history records, ranging from parish records and censuses to migration records, military collections, historical newspapers and lots more. For members around the world, the site is a crucial resource for building family trees and conducting detailed historical research.

 

In April 2003, Findmypast was the first online genealogy site to provide access to the complete birth, marriage, and death indexes for England & Wales, winning the Queen’s Award for Innovation. Since that time, the company has digitised records from across the globe, including the 1911 Census which they digitised in association with The National Archives.

About The National Archives

The National Archives is one of the world’s most valuable resources for research. As the official archive and publisher for the UK government, and England and Wales they are the guardians of some of the UK's most iconic national documents, dating back over 1,000 years. Their role is to collect and secure the future of the government record, both digital and physical, to preserve it for generations to come, and to make it as accessible and available as possible. The National Archives brings together the skills and specialisms needed to conserve some of the oldest historic documents as well as leading digital archive practices to manage and preserve government information past, present and future.

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/  http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ 

FINDMYPAST GRANT FOUR DAYS OF FREE ACCESS TO ALL MILITARY RECORDS FOR VETERANS DAY 2016

FINDMYPAST GRANT FOUR DAYS OF FREE ACCESS TO ALL MILITARY RECORDS FOR VETERANS DAY 2016

·        Findmypast makes entire collection of more than 70 million world military records free for four days

·        All UK, Irish, Australian, Canadian and US military records free from the 10^th to the 13^th November 2016

·        Includes free access to over 43 million US and Canada military records

Leading family history website, Findmypast, has just announced that they will be making their entire collection of military records free for four days to coincide with Veterans Day 2016.

From 04:00 EST, 10^th November until 18:59 GMT, 13^th November 2016, all 70 million records within Findmypast’s “Military, Armed Forces and Conflict” category will be completely free to search and explore, providing family historians from around the globe the opportunity to uncover the stories of the military heroes within their own family.

This will include free access to;

·       Over 43 million US and Canada military records

·       Over 1.3 million United States Army enlistment records

·       Over 1.1 million United States Civil War Pension File Index records

·       Over 89,000 Revolutionary War Pensions

·       Millions of Civil War soldiers, sailors, veterans and medal records.

·       Millions of records covering US forces in Korea, Vietnam and WW2

·       Over 26.4 million British military Records including the most comprehensive collection of British Army service records both for WW1 and pre WW1 - these multiple page documents were released in partnership with The National Archives and are packed with fascinating biographical details such as the names and addresses of next of kin, physical descriptions and character references from commanding officers

·       The most comprehensive British Royal Nave and Royal Air Force collections available online

·       Over 2.6 million POW records in our exclusive Prisoners of War 1715-1945 collection.

·       Over 1.1 million WW2 casualty records

·       Soldiers Died In The Great War 1914-1919 records

·       Over 1.5 million medal index cards, memorial rolls and roll of honour records

·       Military tribunal records - the records of thousands of men who attempted to avoid conscription

·       Military Nurses 1856-1994 records

Free Live Webinar

On Friday November 11^th at 11:00 EST, Findmypast will be hosting a free Remembrance Day Webinar presented by in-house military expert, Paul Nixon. In “Unpicking the past: revealing secrets in old military photographs”, Mr Nixon will demonstrate how anyone can turn detective using old military photographs, military records and historic newspapers to uncover clues which in turn open up further avenues of research.

Learn more at:  http://www.findmypast.com/military-records   

About Findmypast

Findmypast (previously DC Thomson Family History) is a British-owned world leader in online family history. It has an unrivalled record of online innovation in the field and 18 million registered users across its family of online brands, which includes Lives of the First World War, The British Newspaper Archive and Genes Reunited, amongst others.

Its lead brand, also called Findmypast, is a searchable online archive of over two billion family history records, ranging from parish records and censuses to migration records, military collections, historical newspapers and lots more. For members around the world, the site is a crucial resource for building family trees and conducting detailed historical research. 

In April 2003, Findmypast was the first online genealogy site to provide access to the complete birth, marriage, and death indexes for England & Wales, winning the Queen’s Award for Innovation. Since that time, the company has digitised records from across the globe, including major collections from Britain, Ireland, Australia, and the United States.

FMP Free Access This Weekend

Findmypast celebrates 4^th of July with free access 

to more than 1 billion records

·         From June 29^th until July 6^th 2016, over 1 billion UK, US and Irish records will be completely free to search and explore on Findmypast

·         This includes all 118 million “Travel and Migration” records, 116 million US marriages, and all UK, Irish and US censuses

·         Over 7 million new US Naturalisation records and over 1.7 million US Passport Applications have also  been released, marking the first phase of two brand new collections ideal for uncovering early immigrant ancestors

Salt Lake City, Utah, June 27^th 2016

Leading family history website, Findmypast, has just announced that they will be granting 8 days of free access to over 1 billion records as part of a new campaign designed to help US family historians learn more about their family's path to red white and blue. This will include free access to their  entire collection of Travel and Migration records, all US, UK and Irish censuses and all US marriage records.

The campaign has been launched to coincide with this year’s 4^th of July celebrations and will provide customers with exciting new opportunities to uncover the pioneering immigrant ancestors who started their family’s American story.

Researchers will be provided with daily getting started guides, expert insights and useful how to videos designed to help them trace their family’s roots back to their earliest American ancestors and beyond. A special webinar will be hosted by expert genealogist, Jen Baldwin, at 11:00 MDT, July 1st, in which she will be sharing essential tips and tricks for getting the most out of Naturalisation records.

The campaign also coincides with the release of two new record sets that will prove incredibly useful to those looking to explore their family’s pre-American roots. Over 2 million US Passport Applications & Indexes (1795-1925), and over 7 million US Naturalisation Petitions have just been released in the initial phases of two brand new collections that will allow family historians to learn more about the first members of their family to become US citizens.

Over 1.1 billion records  will be free to search and explore on Findmypast from June 29^th until July 6^th 2016. This will include free access to:

·         Over 106,000 US passenger list records

·         Over 116,000,000 US marriage records

·         Over 690,000,000 US & Canada census records

·         Over 265,000,000 UK & Irish census records

·         Over 10 million new and existing Naturalisation records

·         Over 1.7 million brand new US Passport applications

·         Passenger Lists Leaving UK 1890-1960

·         Over 827,000 convict transportation records

This vast collection of travel and migration records coupled with unique UK, Irish and US data, makes Findmypast the best place for tracing ancestors back across the Atlantic and uncovering their English, Welsh, Irish or Scottish roots. Findmypast is home to more than 78 million exclusive UK parish baptisms, banns, marriages and burials, the largest collection of Irish records available online (totalling more than 110 million), and over 100 million United States marriages including millions of records that can’t be found anywhere else online.

Ben Bennet, EVP of International business at Findmypast, said: “As we come together to celebrate the birth of our nation, it’s also a great time to discover and celebrate our ancestors who came here from lands far and near.  Whether your ancestors walked through the hallowed halls of Ellis Island or arrived in one of the country’s other ports, Findmypast’s vast collection of records and resources can help you discover your family’s path to red, white and blue.” 

James Tanner of Genealogy Star said: "Findmypast.com has proved to be an invaluable aid in connecting with my English ancestors. Not only are the collections helpful, but the searches have database features that help in more easily identifying ancestors with common names. The more I use the program, the more indispensable it becomes."  

Press Release: FindMyPast Family Tree Challenges

FINDMYPAST CHALLENGES FAMILY HISTORIANS TO FIND THE ANCESTORS THEY’VE NEVER MET IN THEIR TREE CHALLENGES

· From 23rd May until 30th May 2016 all records hinted against in Findmypast trees will be completely free

· This includes over 116 million United States Marriages and over 10 million Irish Catholic parish registers

· Findmypast challenges you to find at least one new ancestor through an FMP family tree

· Family historians will be supported with expert insights, help videos, how to guides and a dedicated “tree building” webinar at 11am EST on Wednesday 25^th May.

London, UK. 23 May, 2016.

Is your family history leaving you stumped? Findmypast is here to help with their “Tree Challenge”, a seven day event to encourage people to branch out and discover ancestors they’ve never met. From 9am, 23rd May until 12pm 30th May 2016, all hints on Findmypast Family trees will be completely free to view and explore.

Findmypast is challenging family historians around the world to discover at least one new ancestor by building their family tree on the site, or uploading an existing GedCom file. Researchers will be provided with daily getting started guides, expert insights, useful how to videos and a special webinar hosted by expert genealogist, Debra Chatfield, dedicated to helping you get the most out of your Findmypast family tree.

#TreeChallenge week will have something for everyone, from seasoned experts to complete beginners. Keeping a tree on Findmypast is the first step towards exploring our archive of more than 8 billion records from around the world, more than 1 billion of which aren’t available anywhere else online. That’s over 1 billion family connections you won’t find anywhere else, so explore our collections today to ensure you don’t miss out.

Findmypast trees currently provide matches from birth, baptism, marriage, death, burial and census records across the UK, US, Ireland, and Australia. This includes Findmypast’s vast collections of more than 116 million United States marriages and over 10 million Irish Catholic baptisms, marriages and burials. Findmypast’s entire collection of 570 million UK BMDs - the largest available online - will also be free for the duration of #TreeChallenge, including over 78 million exclusive parish records you won’t find anywhere else. All UK and Irish parish records are hinted against.

Uploading a tree to Findmypast is quick, easy and secure. As you add information, Findmypast does all the hard work for you by sifting through millions of records to instantly identify potential matches. Once potential matches have been made, you can quickly and easily review possible leads before adding the relevant information to your tree.

To encourage you to make the most of this feature, we are running a special tree themed competition. Share any discoveries you make on your tree via social media with the hashtag - #TreeChallenge and you could be in with the chance of winning an expert bundle worth $1000. This includes a 64 GB Ipad mini4, a three TB hard drive and a 12 month subscription to Family Tree magazine. We will also be giving away a 12 month world sub on our social media channels daily. You can find out more here.

Hinting allows you uncover records for multiple ancestors at once with virtually zero effort. The larger your tree, the more potential matches you’ll be presented with so it’s well worth your while to add as many ancestors as possible.

As we release new records, our hinting system will continue to grow, providing you with even more opportunities to find unknown ancestors.

New Records Release by Find My Past

 FINDMYPAST ANNOUNCES ONLINE RELEASE OF OVER 10 MILLION NEW US MARRIAGE RECORDS

• ·         New records contain over 30 million names
• ·         Includes significant additions from Indiana, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Maine
• ·         Includes 1 million names published online for the first time and only found on Findmypast

Leading family history website, Findmypast , announced today at the 2016 conference of the National Genealogical Society the release of over 10 million new marriage records in the second instalment of their United States Marriages collection.

Released in partnership with FamilySearch International, the records contain more than 30 million names, nearly 1 million of which have never before been published online and can only be found at Findmypast.

The release marks the second stage of an ambitious project that will see Findmypast digitize and publish the single largest online archive of U.S. marriages in history. Covering 360 years of marriages from 1650-2010, when complete this landmark collection will contain at least 100 million records and more than 450 million names from 2,800 counties across America. 

While the United States Marriage collection includes marriages from nearly every state, this second instalment includes significant additions from Indiana, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Maine.

The records include marriage date, bride and groom names, birthplace, birth date, age, and residence as well as father’s and mother’s names. Customers with family trees on Findmypast will benefit from leads connecting relatives on their trees with the marriage records, thus generating a whole new source of research.

Commenting, Ben Bennett, Executive Vice-President North America and International for Findmypast said:

“We are very proud to be part of the 2016 conference of the National Genealogical Society.  NGS plays a leadership role in our industry providing world class education and standards enabling many more people to learn more about their past.  Having access to Findmypast as part of their membership ensures that NGS members have one of the best tools available to find their ancestors.” 

Findmypast will release millions of marriage records every quarter and aims to complete the entire digitization project by the end of 2017.

Press Release: New Irish Record Sets Released from FMP

Online publication of significant record set reveals the stories behind the Easter Rising

and Ireland under Martial Law

17 April: Findmypast launches online today the most complete collection of British War Office records  relating to the Easter Rising and Irish War of Independence from 1916-1921. The collection, digitised from original records held by The National Archives in Kew, reveals the struggles of life under Martial Law in Ireland, and demonstrates how events under the occupying military served to galvanise support for the rebels.   

Totalling more than 75,000 records, the collection will be free to access for ten days at Findmypast.ie from today, 17 April, in advance of the 100^th anniversary of the Easter Rising on    24 April 2016.

More than 3,000 people were injured or killed in a conflict which saw three civilians killed for every one rebel. The records reveal the impact that the conflict had on men, women and children across Ireland. There are eye-witness accounts, interviews with civilians and reports of the trials of the leaders of the Rising and their sentences of execution.

The once classified records shine new light on the subsequent period of Martial Law in Ireland which was declared by the Lord Lieutenant in 1916, including the War of Independence, when the British military assumed control of the executive, judiciary and legislative arms of the entire country.. The contents of the collection provide a picture of what life was like for ordinary citizens in Ireland during this turbulent time.

The 25,000 search and raid records show the efforts of the military and police to discover arms, ammunition and seditious material through thousands of raids as well as their search for individuals associated with Sinn Féin, Irish Citizen Army, Irish Volunteers and the Irish Republican Army. Members of the public accessing the records on Findmypast will find the names of the thousands of people who were detained and interned in prisons in Ireland, England and Wales and tried by courts martial, including the names of prominent nationalists and elected officials.

Military correspondence between the barracks in Dublin and the War Office in London grants new perspectives on the motivations and fears of the British Army leadership. The movements and actions of several key nationalist figures are also documented, including those of James Connolly, Eamon De Valera, Thomas Ashe, Joseph MacDonagh, Arthur Griffith, Padraig Pearse and Francis and Hannah Sheehy Skeffington and Countess Markievicz.

Key items from the collection include:

·         Daily situation reports sent by the British Army from Dublin to London between 24 April and 12 May 1916 documenting events during the uprising

·         A report from the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief confirming the execution of iconic Irish socialist and rebel James Connolly, who owing to injuries sustained in the conflict had to be strapped to a chair before being shot

·         Court martial reports sentencing prominent nationalist, politician and suffragette Countess Markievicz to two years in prison for “assisting and promoting crime and murder”

·         Witness statements from civilians caught up in the Rising

·         Documents authored by Michael Collins seized from a safehouse used by the nationalist figurehead

·         Details on raids of pubs such as the Brazen Head, hotels, nationalist club houses such as the Ancient Order of Hibernians and thousands of homes

·         An urgent and secret warning from Sir C Spring Rice, British Ambassador in America, of gun running in Ireland

·         A telegram to the Prime Minister to report the expected surrender of the rebels from the Lieutenant General John Marshall

·         Internment files including the personal letters from prisoners or their relatives testifying to their innocence

·         Details on the hunger strikes of interned prisoners

·         Secret documents that reveal the British Military’s own concern with some of the behaviour of the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC)

The collection was digitised in partnership with The National Archives in London and contains documents from their WO35 series, War Office: Army of Ireland: Administration and Easter Rising Records. Totalling more than 110 million records, Findmypast has the largest Irish family history collection available online.

Brian Donovan, Head of Irish Records at Findmypast, comments:

“These records constitute an extraordinary resource which will transform the search for answers about our ancestors' activities during 1916 and the years that followed. While those who fought were small in number, the war impacted on the lives of ordinary people in many ways. We’re extremely fortunate to have these records to help us make some sense of it.”

Neil Cobbett, Irish records expert at The National Archives, said:

"This represents a major contribution and potentially a vast step forward for public understanding of these events from all points of view.  It will really help to throw light on the actions of participants and the whys and wherefores of what happened.  Whether you are a researcher seeking answers to some of the bigger questions, or a family historian or biographer, this collection will help you in your historical research, or in finding out about your forebear's or other participant's involvement."

About Findmypast

Findmypast (previously DC Thomson Family History) is a British-owned world leader in online family history. It has an unrivalled record of online innovation in the field and 18 million registered users across its family of online brands, which includes Lives of the First World War, The British Newspaper Archive and Genes Reunited, amongst others.

Its lead brand, also called Findmypast, is a searchable online archive of over eight billion family history records, ranging from parish records and censuses to migration records, military collections, historical newspapers and lots more. For members around the world, the site is a crucial resource for building family trees and conducting detailed historical research.

In April 2003, Findmypast was the first online genealogy site to provide access to the complete birth, marriage, and death indexes for England & Wales, winning the Queen’s Award for Innovation. Since that time, the company has digitised records from across the globe, including the 1911 Census and the recently released 1939 Register which they digitised in association with The National Archives.  www.findmypast.co.uk

About The National Archives

The National Archives is one of the world’s most valuable resources for research and an independent research organisation in its own right. As the official archive and publisher for the UK government, and England and Wales they are the guardians of some of the UK's most iconic national documents, dating back over 1,000 years. Their role is to collect and secure the future of the government record, both digital and physical, to preserve it for generations to come, and to make it as accessible and available as possible. The National Archives brings together the skills and specialisms needed to conserve some of the oldest historic documents as well as leading digital archive practices to manage and preserve government information past, present and future.

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk / http://www.legislation.gov.uk/