Find Ancestors in Free United Kingdom Genealogy

Free UK Genealogy is the parent organization for FreeBMD, FreeReg and FreeCEN. Volunteers make transcriptions of the England and Wales Index of Births, Marriages and Deaths (FreeBMD), historic Parish Registers (FreeReg) and 19th Century Censuses (FreeCEN).

Each of the projects is a significant undertaking and in total, more than ten thousand volunteers have contributed over 350,000,000 records.

The three databases - FreeBMD, FreeReg, and FreeCen are completely free to access online.

If you are searching your UK ancestors, you might want to give these sites a try.

Happy 15th Blog Birthday to Olive Tree Genealogy Blog

On February 9, 2003 Olive Tree Genealogy Blog was born. Today is its 15th birthday!

In the last 15 years, from February 9, 2003 to January 17, 2018 I've written 3,413 articles and published them here on my blog.

It's interesting to see how I started out slowly, and gradually increased my yearly publications. Then I decreased my output. This was a deliberate move on my part as, to be honest, I felt I was suffering burnout! Decreasing my blog posts to approximately 3 per week has helped and I hope has improved the quality of my offerings to my readers.

    ►  2017 (264)

    ►  2016 (309)

    ►  2015 (379)

    ►  2014 (366)

    ►  2013 (379)

    ►  2012 (355)

    ►  2011 (371)

    ►  2010 (269)

    ►  2009 (259)

    ►  2008 (192)

    ►  2007 (114)

    ►  2006 (17)

    ►  2005 (86)

    ►  2004 (26)

    ►  2003 (12)

I plan on continuing for as many years as possible, so please keep dropping by Olive Tree Genealogy blog and leave your comments. I love hearing from you!

Write Your Family Stories With Over 150 Prompts

Sharing Family Stories and Memories: Prompts for Writing Your Memoirs for Future Generations is now available as an ebook on Amazon.com, paperback on Amazon.com, ebook on Amazon.ca or paperback on Amazon.ca

Family stories are lost over three generations unless they are recorded and preserved. Don’t wait to start preserving your precious memories. It is important as genealogists that we not forget about writing our own story. Finding an ancestor diary is a huge thrill.

But what about our own memories and stories? We need to preserve them for future generations. I invite you to begin your personal genealogy journey. Start your own journal and write your stories.

My book provides more than 150 prompts and suggestions for guiding  you  as you record your childhood memories and stories. Each prompt has several questions designed to jog your memory of events.

For example one prompt is Firsts (first Kiss, first Dance, first airplane ride, first birth in family, first car, first death in family, first wedding in family, etc. ) 

Use the prompts in this book to jog your memory or guide you. Write daily or weekly or monthly, but write!

Another Prompt For Writing Your Life Story

Last year a Meme hit Twitter called #FirstSevenJobs  As the hashtag suggests, folks posted a list of the first seven jobs they held. That made me think about what a great prompt that is for writing the stories of our lives. I already have a prompt about talking about your first job in my book "Sharing Family Stories and Memories: Prompts for Writing Your Memoirs for Future Generations" but making a list of all your paying jobs is a great addition.

Of course, with each job listed you would write a description of what year(s) you worked at that job, what you did, how much you made (if you remember), where it was, what your boss was like, whether you loved or hated it, and any other details you can remember.

To show what I mean, here is my list of all of my paying jobs - 18 of them, starting from age 14 with babysitting jobs. I would have included being a homemaker but I didn't get paid for that. I haven't included a description of them but in my personal journal of my life story I will. Why not try your hand at this? Here's mine:

1. Babysitting
2. Working as a page in the local Library
3. Waitress at a Lodge near Huntsville Ontario
4. Vending Machine company sorting and rolling coins
5. Assistant to Chief Accountant in Canada-wide Banking & Mortgage Company
6. IBM Keypunch Operator
7. Creating surveys for Survey Marketing company
8. Library Assistant
9. Nursery School Aide
10. Dental Office Receptionist
11. Bookkeeper in Ophthalmologist office
12. Child Care Worker Kinark Child and Family Care Services
13. Teacher Assistant
14. Teacher in Special Education
15. Math Tutor
16. Self-employed Genealogist
17. Affiliate Marketer
18. Author

Richter Ephemera from the Grant Family

Annette P. has generously donated several ephemera items from the Richter Family in Virginia to Olive Tree Genealogy for publication. This postcard is to Lee Richter in Falls Church Virginia. It is signed from Bob and Peggy Grant

Happy 23 Year Anniversary to Olive Tree Genealogy!

Olive Tree Genealogy actually began sometime in the winter of 1995 but it wasn't until February 1996 that it was given space on the old Rootsweb site. Imagine – my site has been on the Internet for 23 years - that's a LONG time for a website!

You can read a bit about me or see some of the early versions of Olive Tree Genealogy

I am often asked why I created Olive Tree Genealogy. After my husband died in 1993 and I was injured at school by a student, my enforced inactivity and loneliness was pretty tough to take. A friend suggested I learn how to set up a website on this new thing called "the internet".

An early version of Olive Tree Genealogy

Many of the big sites we use today did not exist when I set up Olive Tree Genealogy. CyndisList came online right after me. Rootsweb started up around the same time. Ancestry.com didn't exist. Hard to imagine, isn't it?  Olive Tree Genealogy is a senior in Internet days. Back then the few genealogy sites online were, as all sites were, battleship grey with no fancy bells and whistles like search engines!

I started with one ships passenger list and some historical articles I wrote about Huguenots, Walloons, Loyalists and Palatines. That one ship's list was so popular and I received so many requests for more that I began hunting for others. Now Olive Tree Genealogy has over 1,500 ships lists online. And they're all free. Everything on my site is free. No strings attached.

Truthfully I've lost count of how many pages and data (names of individuals) are online now.  I've also lost track of how many times I've attempted to come up with a more manageable navigation system for the site! It's so huge and covers so may topics that it's pretty much impossible to make it simple or easy. So fair warning - visiting Olive Tree Genealogy is like going to a relative's home that they've lived in for 23 years (see what I did there?) and it's had additions added over those 23 years. So many additions that it's a bit like a maze but you love it anyway because it's warm and cosy and a very friendly place to be. You also know that you can't visit in a half hour or even an hour, you have to plan to stay for awhile.

So please drop by Olive Tree Genealogy and stay awhile. With any luck you might find an ancestor or two!

Names of Emigrants to Canada 1845-1847

From 1823 to 1849, James Allison was a government emigrant agent at Montreal, Quebec Canada. He was responsible for the provisioning and transportation of destitute immigrants from Montreal to locations mostly in Upper Canada. There were several Emigration Agents in Upper and Lower Canada, each was responsible for assisting poor immigrants in finding employment, shelter, provisions and transportation to their final destination.

The book Names of Emigrants from the 1845-1847 Records of James Allison, Emigrant Agent at Montreal is divided into two parts:

Part 1: The transcript (The transcript includes the records of James Allison and an appendix from the British parliamentary papers of persons who died at Grosse Île in 1846.)

Part 2: The indexes - an Index of emigrants personal names and an Index of place names)

Olive Tree Genealogy has published an index of emigrant names plus page numbers at Names of Emigrants from the 1845-1847 Records of James Allison, Emigrant Agent at Montreal

To view the full record for an individual, consult Ancestry.com Irish Canadian Emigration Records, 1823-1849

These records are also available on microfilmat the NAC as records of James Allison, Emigrant Agent at Montreal, 1823-1849 (reel C-15773)

Image is a sample page from Ancestry.com database

Woman of Courage Sarah Stead 1836-1867

Because February is Women's History Month I wanted to share with my readers the story of strong and courageous women in my life. You will be able to follow along as you wish by choosing the label "Women of Courage" in the right side bar. I encourage my readers to join me in honoring women of courage in your own families.

Sarah Elvery Stead 1867

Sarah Elvery has always been an ancestor whose life story brings tears to my eyes. Born in Kent England in 1836, Sarah grew up in a hard-working family. At the age of 20 she married William Stead, a local gardener. William was deaf, having suffered from measles as a 10 year old and losing his hearing as a result. 

Children soon followed in rapid succession - Edward, William Jr. and Charles. In 1862 their only daughter, my great-grandmother Sarah, was born. Sadly one year later little 6 year old Edward died. 1866 saw the birth of another son who they named Edward after their deceased first-born son.

William decided the family would emigrate from England to Australia where his brother had been living since 1855. It was 1867, the Civil War was barely over in the United States, and 29 year old Sarah was pregnant with her 6th child.

The voyage on the Light Brigade was a rough one. They encountered many storms and the voyage was much longer than normal. Sarah was nearing her time to deliver her child an they were still at sea. Then tragedy struck. Sarah gave birth to a son who they named Ebenezer but shortly after his birth she was bitten by a flea on a rat, and fell ill with Typhus. When the ship reached Sydney Harbour, they were quarantined and poor Sarah died on board without ever setting foot on land.

My mother at Sarah's grave

Sarah would no doubt have been heart-broken at what happened next. William took his 5 year old daughter Sarah and 7 year old son Charles back to England, leaving his other two sons behind with his brother. They were later adopted by William's brother, and William himself remarried in England one year later and had more children with his new wife.

Finding Malaria Through Ancient DNA

Centuries before the first known case of malaria in Africa, researchers have now found signs of malaria in skeletons from Italy. Two adult remains were found to have this ancient infectious disease in their DNA. Studying ancient DNA helps scientists better understand present-day malaria.

An article by Amara McLaughlin, CBC News states that

The team at McMaster University was assisted by scientists at the National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography in Rome and the University of Sydney.  They extracted DNA from the teeth of 58 adults, using a technique called "targeted enrichment" technology to recover the malaria parasite that is centuries old. 

Continue reading  Researchers uncover the existence of malaria 2,000 years ago during the Roman Empire

 

Book to Help You Find Your Ancestor's Death Record

Most genealogists search the obvious death records such as Church records and Vital Stats (Death Registrations or Certificates). These records are fairly well known but before Civil Registration began in whatever country your ancestor was from, you will have to look for other records for a death date.

If we don't find our ancestor in one of those common death records, we're stuck! Where to search next? The Ancestor Death Record Finder can help direct you to alternate sources for death records. All we need to do is think outside the box.

Ancestor Death Record Finder: Finding a Death Record When You've Hit a Brick Wall is now available as an Ebook on Amazon.com or Amazon.ca, also as a paperback on Amazon.com or Amazon.ca

Reconstructing the Face of a Man 700 Years After His Death

A reconstruction project in Cambridge England has brought to light the face of a man who died and was buried in a medieval cemetery. The cemetery was attached to a hospital and independent charitable foundation for poor and infirm residents between 1200 and 1500.

From the website we learn that "The 13th-century man, known as Context 958 by researchers, was among hundreds whose remains were found in a graveyard under what is now the Old Divinity School of St John’s College."

Archaeologists found 400 largely complete skeletons and the partial remains of about 600 more.

Read more at Face of Cambridge man brought to life 700 years after his death

Names of Emigrants From England 1773-1776

Olive Tree Genealogy has published an index to names for Emigrants From England 1773-1776 The lists were discovered among Treasury Records in the Public Record Office, in London, England.

The lists contain approximately 6,000 names. Information provided for each individual includes name, age, occupation, the place of origin, the name of the ship, the destination, the passenger's occupation, and the reason for the emigration
 
To find complete details for an individual you must refer to any one of the following sources:

• Lists of Emigrants Found in the Treasury Records in PRO, United Kingdom (6000 names) FHL US/CAN film 928418 Item 4
• New England Historical Register Volumes 62-65
• Emigrants From England to the American Colonies 1773-1776 by Peter Wilson Coldham
• Emigrants from England 1773-1776 by Gerland Fothergill

Search for a British ancestor on Emigrants From England 1773-1776 

Image credit: Copyright Brian L. Massey, not to be used without written permission

Ephemera Richter Family in North Carolina

Annette P. has generously donated several ephemera items from the Richter Family in Virginia to Olive Tree Genealogy for publication. This postcard is to Neil Richter and Connie Schulz in Spruce Pine, North Carolina. It is from Kathy O'Neil in Utah. She signs "Kathy and Byron" and the card is sent from Arizona.

 

 

New DNA Information About Native American Ancestry

The 11,500-year-old remains of a 6 week old child found in Alaska have revealed new information on the ancestors of all Native Americans. It is believed that she is from a previously unknown genetic group who crossed the Bering Sea from Russia via a land bridge that later disappeared.

Scientists believe that evidence in her DNA shows that a single wave of migrants moved into the continent from Siberia just over 20,000 years ago. Since I have Mohawk ancestry this story is extremely fascinating to me.

Read more at Alaskan infant's DNA tells story of 'first Americans'

Our Immigrant Ancestors: the Huguenot Pierre Cresson ca1609-ca1681

St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre of Huguenots, France 1572

My 9th great-grandfather Pierre Cresson was a Huguenot who lived in France then settled in New Amstel, Delaware and New Harlem New York

Pierre Cresson was born circa 1609 at Menil La Cresson, Picardy, France. He was the son of Pierre Cresson and Elizabeth Vuilesme. In 1639 he married Rachel Clauss, daughter of Pierre Clauss and Jeanna Famelar at Picardy, France.

On 25 April 1659 he is said to have set sail from Amsterdam on the "Beaver" for New Netherland and arrived several weeks later.

On 1660 Gov. Steuyvesant engaged him to go to Manhattan and appointed Commissary (Judge) Pierre Cresson on 16 August 1660 at New Harlem, Kings County, New York. He  was a Corporal of the First Company in an expedition against the Indians at Esopus (Kingston) in 1663. He left a will on 15 March 1673 leaving 50 guilders ot the church at New York, and indicating that his son, Elias was under 16 years of age.

On 1679 he sold lands in Harlem and moved to Staten Island where he had already obtained a lot at or near Long Neck by the Fresh Kill on the northwest side of the Island.

He received a patent of 88 acres on the northwest side of Staten Island. On 30 December 1680 at Staten Island, Richmond County, New York. He died after 3 August 1681 at Staten Island, Richmond County, New York.

Ancestor Marriage Record Finder Helps You With Your Brick Wall

Most genealogists search the obvious marriage records such as Church records and Vital Stats (Marriage Registrations or Certificates). These records are fairly well known but before Civil Registration began, in whatever country your ancestor was from, you will have to look for other records for a marriage date.

If we don't find our ancestor in one of those common marriage records, we're often stuck! Where to search next? The Ancestor Marriage Record Finder can help direct you to alternate sources for marriage records. All we need to do is think outside the box.

Ask yourself what happens when a couple marries? What events take place around a marriage? What kind of Marriage record paper trail is created at the time of marriage of an individual? The answers to these questions will lead you to other sources of marriage records and hopefully end that brick-wall.

Ancestor Marriage Record Finder: Finding a Marriage Record When You've Hit a Brick Wall is now available as an Ebook or a paperback on Amazon.com or Amazon.ca

Finding an Ontario Ancestor Born Before Vital Registration Began

Kelly C. asked a question about her great-great Grandfather Henry Spencer Dunford.

So I have a few mysteries I am hoping to solve.. the biggest one is that of my 2nd great grandfather, Henry Spencer Dunford born March 20 1863. He married Margaret Aelis Bonham and their daughter Frances was my great grandmother. They lived in the Sarnia Lambton area. The problem is the name Spencer!! For some reason unknown, my great grandmother went by the surname Spencer Dunford. Henry and Margaret, her parents, are buried under the name Dunford, but both are recorded as Spencer in their death certificates, and throughout records they can be found as either Spencers or Dunfords. When I first started this a few months ago, I thought spencer was just Henry's middle name, but now I am not so sure.. otherwise why would his spouse and children carry that name down as part of the surname or in some cases as the only surname? the mystery deepens, as I cannot find any birth record, or parents or family for Henry beyond his spouse and children. The other mystery is that between 1863 and 1891 i can find no records for either of them in Ontario. Also Margarets sister Anne is surrounded by some mystery as we cannot find a birth record and on her marriage record it states she was born in Kansas USA there is also mention of her being born on a wagon train so not sure what happened there. I have a book on the Bonhams which states they came to canada on a sailing ship in 1856 and landed at Port Credit and settled in Streetsville.. their son, Charles, the father of margaret is said to have lived in ontario from that point on, but if so how was his daughter born in Kansas and why?

Lorine's Response: Vital Registration was not in effect in Ontario before 1869 so you won't find Henry in the birth records. You will have to hunt for church records of baptisms instead.

It's an interesting puzzle Kelly. You might consider using DNA to help you with this. That is how we solved the mystery of who my husband's "real" great-grandfather was - through DNA. If you're interested at all in the use of DNA to solve these mysteries, see my blog post at DNA Gave My Husband a Completely Different Great Grandfather

When you're faced with a challenge such as yours, it's a good idea to forget about the parents for a bit and search for the children. You can't find Henry and Margaret in 1871 or 1881 census, so you might look for the children in those census years who were born before 1881. Also, remember that Henry can be recorded as Harry and Margaret can be Maggie. Use wildcards, for instance Henry would be h*r*y, to pick up variations such as Harry or Henery.

To add to my earlier suggestion, I see from the 1891, 1901 and 1911 census that your Margaret was recorded as Mary in each one. you might want to try hunting for the children in the 1871 and 1881 census - use their names to see if the family pops up.

In the 1881 census for Lambton, there is a Henry Damford [sic - the image is very difficult to see, being faded] age 19 living with John and Emiline Spencer. I found their marriage in 1871 where Emiline's maiden name is given as Elford. Could she have been mis-recorded as Elford but in reality be a Dunford? And could Henry be her illegitimate son, and John Spencer his stepfather? 

You have a lot of conflicting info on your family and it can be very confusing to know what is correct. For example Ann's marriage says born Kansas USA but in the 1891 census it says she was born in England. So you really can't believe either one is right! Your best way to approach this is to take the time to list every single piece of evidence you've found - different names, different dates of birth, etc. Then approach your research using all the known "facts" even though some will prove incorrect as you gather more documents. the main thing is - slow and steady wins the race. Be methodical. Try not to jump around too much just go slowly trying to verify ever single fact you have found so far.You don't know what is correct with all the conflicting info until you find something that proves or disproves each "fact"

Lists of Emigrants Extracted from the Ordnance Survey Memoirs for Counties Londonderry and Antrim

Do you have ancestors from Londonderry or Antrim Ireland? Lists of Emigrants Extracted from the Ordnance Survey Memoirs for Counties Londonderry and Antrim are now available on Olive Tree Genealogy website. See Irish Emigrants 1833-1839

Indexes of names with page numbers for full details from the published book are now on Olive Tree Genealogy. The indexes consist of 8,713 names of Irish individuals who were listed in the Ordnance Survey of Ireland for Londonderry and Antrim Ireland and who emigrated from Ireland between 1833 and 1839.

The purpose of the Ordnance Survey of Ireland was to map the whole country. Each map was to have been accompanied by memoirs for every civil parish, but this was impractical and the idea was abandoned. Data was gathered for nineteen of Ireland's thirty-two counties, with the memoirs of Antrim and Londonderry the only ones with lists of emigrants.

These extracted lists identify the emigrant's destination and his place of origin in Ireland. The age, town and address, year of emigration, and religious denomination are given for each emigrant.

The notebooks in which the information was recorded are now in the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin. The book Irish Emigration Lists, 1833-1839, Lists of Emigrants Extracted from the Ordnance Survey Memoirs for Counties Londonderry and Antrim by Brian Mitchell is available in many libraries (In Salt Lake City Library it is 941.6 W2m and is available in FHL US/CAN Book and FHL BRITISH Book ) or it can be ordered through Amazon.com for full details on any immigrant found in the index.

Search for your Irish ancestor on Irish Emigrants 1833-1839 Names of 8,713 Irish individuals who emigrated between 1833 and 1839

Richter Family Ephemera New York to Virginia

Annette P. has generously donated several ephemera items from the Richter Family in Virginia to Olive Tree Genealogy for publication. This postcard is to Leora Richter in Falls Church Virginia. It is from the Museum of Modern Art in New York and signed "Jane"

Finding an Ancestor in Early Upper Canada

Joan P. sent an email to Olive Tree Genealogy because of my research into the Peer family of Ontario and America. Here is Joan's query:

My paternal great-grandmother was Louisa Pear (dob 02 July 1861, born in Matilda, Dundas County, Ontario, Canada. Louisa Pear was married to Ira McIntosh.
Louisa's father my 2nd Great grandfather was Alexander Pear (dob about 1813). I cannot find any other information on where in United Stateshe was born or who his parents or grandparents were. He was married to Elizabeth Bouck (1825-1901). He shows up in Canada census of 1851,1871, and 1881.and lists a place of birth as "United States". As wellthe surname shows as Pear, Pier, or LaPear on various census.
I am hoping you would have some information you may have come across with regards to him and his family.

My answer: As it happens I do have some information on Alexander which I found while researching the Peer family. I do not know who his parents were but I believe that he may have had brothers Joseph born ca 1822 in Ontario and Edward B. born ca 1823 in Ontario.

Here is information on Joseph in the 1851 for Mountain, Dundas County
Joseph Pear  abt 1822  Canada farmer, 30
Mary M Pear 29, abt 1828  Canada
Lucinda Pear 7, abt 1845  Canada
William E Pear 2,  abt 1850  Canada

And here is a bit on Edward on the 1851 Census for Matilda, Dundas Co.

Edward Pear 29, farmer abt 1823  Upper Canada
Maria Pear 28 abt 1824 Upper Canada 
Wm Pear  2  abt 1850 
Mary Keeler, widow, age 60



Is it a co-incidence that Alexander, Edward, and Joseph named first-born sons William? (The 1881 census for Alexander confirms this) I suspect not. I suggest it may very well be that they named their sons in honour of their father. Please remember as you forge ahead that this is what I call a "Working Theory". That means you work towards proving or disproving it.


Here is Alexander in the 1851 census for Matilda, Dundas County

Pear, Alexander, farmer, 30 no place of birth
Elizabeth, 26
Alice, 2

Alexander is found on Conc 4, Lot 13, with 52 acres in 1851 in Matilda, Dundas Co.

Edward is found living Matilda, Dundas co. on conc 2 lot 13 with 100 acres.

Joseph LaPier (sic) is found in Matilda, Dundas Co. on Conc 4, Lot 18

Armed with that I would look in the online Abstract Index to Deeds for all these  properties. You want to choose "Historical Books". Once there you want to view

Abstract/Parcel Register Book, DUNDAS (08), MATILDA, Book 6, CONCESSION 4 for Joseph and Alexander's lots. For Edward you want Book 4, Concession 2. 

Interestingly enough I see a Bouck family in those Abstract indexes purchasing Concession 2, Lot 13 - a relative of Alexander's wife perhaps?

See who they bought from, when they obtained the land, and how. Also who did they sell to, and when? You can also read about the Abstract Indexes to Deeds and other valuable Ontario land records on Olive Tree Genealogy. There are many types of land records available that can lead to wonderful genealogy discoveries, and my articles will help you if you are not familiar with these records.

You will no doubt want to do more research on Edward and Joseph to try to find out their parents' names and to prove or disprove my theory that they are brothers to Alexander. Look for their death certificates, follow their children for more information on the family, and of course, gather census details for all available years.

I also suggest that if you need further help finding vital statistics you might want to refer to the books below:

Ancestor Birth Record Finder: Finding a Birth Record When You've Hit a Brick Wall available as an Ebook on Amazon.com or Amazon.ca, also as a paperback on Amazon.com or Amazon.ca	Ancestor Marriage Record Finder: Finding a Marriage Record When You've Hit a Brick Wall available as an Ebook on Amazon.com or Amazon.ca, also soon as a paperback	Ancestor Death Record Finder: Finding a Death Record When You've Hit a Brick Wall available as an Ebook on Amazon.com or Amazon.ca, also as a paperback on Amazon.com or Amazon.ca