Great news!
The State Library now has a subscription to both Findmypast UK and Findmypast Australasia following a trial earlier this year.
Please see my previous post for a reminder of some of the highlights of these family history subscription sites which are available within the State Library.
So head into the Library for free access to Findmypast as well as Ancestry and a range of other family history databases.
The State Library currently has a trial subscription to the family history database, Findmypast, which will be available within the Library building until 22 February.
To access this database, go to our online catalogue and type findmypast in the keyword search box or access from our Family History Databases page. There are two separate databases; one with Australasian content and one with UK content.
The Australasian database includes post office directories, electoral rolls, police gazettes, government gazettes, cemetery records and more. Have a browse under Search Records to see what is available for each state and for New Zealand.
The UK content includes census and birth, marriage and death records for England and Wales. These can be a useful alternative if you have been unable to find your ancestor on Ancestry library edition.
Please note that the UK census collection includes the 1911 Census for England and Wales. This is the first time that this particular census has been available at the Library.
Under the heading Migration you will find the outgoing passenger lists for the UK from 1890 to 1960. These were previously available to search on the Ancestors on Board website but, as part of this trial, you will now be able to view the digitised images of the passenger lists.
Please note that the Chelsea Pensioner records are searchable but the digital records are not available as part of the trial. Please make the most of this trial and we welcome any comments.
Yesterday saw the long-awaited launch of a substantial part of the 1911 census for England and Wales. It’s available on a separate website at www.1911census.co.uk and later in the year will be available on the Findmypast subscription site. Searching is free but you will need to purchase credits to view transcripts or original images. Downloads are fairly expensive – I bought £6.95 worth of credits which entitled me to six transcripts or two census images. However, the site is easy to use and the quality of the images is excellent.
Details which haven’t appeared on previous censuses include how long couples have been married and the number of children born alive, still living or who have died. The column giving details of infirmities has been blanked out for privacy reasons. The most exciting difference between this census and previous ones is that the digitised forms are those filled in by the householders rather than the census enumerators, so you are able to download and save the form completed and signed by your ancestor.
This is not a full launch of the 1911 census. 36 English counties are available but six counties (all in the north of England), all of the Welsh counties, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, Royal Navy ships at sea and military establishments overseas are yet to be included.
