Scottish GENES

Whilst I have stopped blogging for a bit, due to my teacher training course at Strathclyde, I haven't forgotten about you!

Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) has added a new burials database for Scotland: Midlothian, Scotland, Burials, 1834-2025 https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/63107 Source: Midlothian Burials.

The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.com) has been updated with a brand new platform and look - and it is perhaps going to take some getting used to.

A huge thanks to publisher The Lutterworth Press for a review copy of John Wintrip's new book, A History of Parish Registers in England and Wales: From the Restoration to Civil Registration.

Ayrshire Archives (https://www.ayrshirearchives.org.uk) has at long last added a new searchable catalogue to its website, called Epexio, after years of hosting PDF documents showing certain catalogued holdings.

FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) has added the following military record sets: British Royal Navy, Courts Martial 118 records and 119 images, covering 1912 to 1942.

Major news this week from Ireland, in that the National Archives in Dublin has taken down its genealogy records platform for the foreseeable future.

The Edinburgh Evening News has an interesting story about a DNA study carried out at the University of Edinburgh about the ethnic background to Scotland's Travellers community, confirming that they are comprised of two indigenous population groups in Scot…

FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) has added two new Royal Navy collections: Hampshire, Portsmouth Dock Medical Books This brand new collection comprises 150,038 medical records, covering the years 1810 to 1815 and 1850 to 1955.

The British Newspaper Archive has announced the date for its switchover to its new website: The wait is nearly over.

The National Records of Scotland has launched a 'consultation' to ask folk if it agrees with its proposed plans to raise fees for seemingly everything connected with ScotlandsPeople.

The following article written by me was first published in the UK's Your Family History magazine in 2011.

The Historic Environment Scotland boss, Sir Mark Jones, has resigned his position just nine months into the job, following a recent probe into alleged corruption and racism at the heritage body. he will remain in his post until a successor is found.

The outgoing UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, has apologised in the Westminster parliament for historic forced adoptions in England and Wales from the post-Second World war period up to the 1970s.

From the Irish Newspaper Archive (https://irishnewsarchive.com) 𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐀𝐋𝐄 𝟒𝟎% 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐂𝐨𝐝𝐞: 𝐉𝐔𝐋𝟒𝟎 June 30th - 09th July - Limited Time.

Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) has updated its Scotland and Northern Ireland, Death Index database, to take in the years from 1989-2025.

To mark 104 years since the destruction of the Irish Public Record Office, the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland platform (https://virtualtreasury.ie) has just uploaded a further 190,000 records.

MyHeritage (www.myheritage.com) has made two collections freely available this week.

Hi folks, the next Scottish Research Online course from Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd (https://www.pharostutors.com) returns 6 July 2026.

The Friends of Argyll Estate Archives will be hosting a two day event on Tuesday 3 November and Tuesday 10 November, with both sessions starting at 6pm.

The University of Strathclyde is to bring back its Ken Your Kin conference in 2027.

ScotlandsPeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk) has uploaded a substantial tranche of dissenting presbyterian church kirk session records, for the Free Church of Scotland and the United Presbyterian Church, covering a period from 1739-1900.

I haven't checked the National Library of Scotland mapping platform (https://maps.nls.uk) in a bit, but the team there are still uploading new content like the plague is in town!

From RootsIreland (www.rootsireland.ie) by email: New Tipperary records added!

Reader Catherine Platt has asked me to share the following story, in case it may provide some encouragement to others in a similar situation...

The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) has some news: Something very exciting is coming... the next chapter of the British Newspaper Archive.