MarpleCat Genealogy

06/11/2025

Delighted to announce I’ve been accepted as an Associate of AGRA.

Catriona is a Professional Qualified Genealogist and Family History Researcher based in the West of Scotland who regularly researches in London and across central Scotland. Catriona has expert knowledge in the lives of those who lived through the industrialisation of Scotland and England, when c...

22/10/2025

🌟 The new FreeBMD launches tomorrow! 🌟

We’re excited to announce that the new FreeBMD will be live from 10am tomorrow! You’ll find the link right on the FreeBMD website: just click through and explore.

The new site has been designed for today’s users: it’s faster, easier to use, and works beautifully on phones and tablets. You’ll also find new features such as:

🔹 Autosuggest for names, counties and districts
🔹 One-click searches across all of England & Wales
🔹 Improved accessibility and modern design
🔹 Download and share your results easily

👉 Visit www.freebmd.org.uk
from 10am tomorrow to try it out and let us know what you think!

06/10/2025

03/09/2025

Exciting news

I've been debating for a while whether I should host my own Zoom based talks. Recently I also asked here if folks might be up for occasional events, where I might do themed sessions with up to three talks at a time. There was a good response, and now that my hand is on the mend, I've finally made a few decisions!

I've decided that starting from next month I will try to do a monthly talk, with the occasional bigger event from time to time. Many of the talks will be completely new and run for the first time, and all will be offered at an affordable rate. There will be Scottish and Irish themed sessions, but also broader sessions looking at additional topics from genealogy in the wider UK, and hot topics such as DNA and AI.

I'll announce the September session on Friday, having spent most of today training on how to be a Zoom admin, rather than just a participant!

Stay tuned, and I hope that you will come along for the fun - those who have attended my talks in the past know that I try to enjoy the craic along the way...! 😀

Update: My first Scottish GENES webinar will take place on Saturday 20th September 2025 at 7.00pm UK time, and will be on the topic of "Using DNA for Family History Research: A Beginner's Guide".

In the session, I'll provide a jargon-free introduction for beginners on how DNA can be used for family history research to break down brick wall problems. As well as offering a brief overview of the history of DNA, and an introduction to how various DNA tests are used in certain situations, I will also highlight three case studies from my own ancestral research where DNA has offered answers to problems which the paper trail alone could not resolve.

The fee for the webinar is UK £10. (For those unable to attend on the night, a video will be made available of the session which will be viewable for one week after it takes place). After the session there will be an opportunity for Q&As.

To register, please visit https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6zmDVN02S16qflkpYCAFTg

I hope you can join me, no matter where you are in the world!

Chris

27/03/2025

If you have Liverpool ancestors, take a look at the latest issue of the RQG Journal of Genealogy & Family History.

New article in Journal of Genealogy and Family History, featuring Liverpool's Upper Frederick Street burial ground https://doi.org/10.24240/23992964.2025.1234548

17/03/2025

☘️☘️☘️ Happy St Patrick's Day. ☘️☘️☘️

For the past five years I've loved being able to celebrate St Patrick's Day as an Irish citizen. It was a bit of genealogical challenge to achieve but I got there in the end. I wrote about in my often neglected blog.

I live in Scotland and have always held a UK passport. However, towards the end of last year, I also became an Irish passport holder. Its arrival marked the end of a research journey that’s spanned more than a decade. But, in many ways, this story has been much longer in the making than the time i...

16/02/2025

Enjoyed a lovely walk on the Isle of Bute this weekend. Rothesay, the only town on Bute, often pops up when I’m researching the ancestors of clients in the 19th century, from families visiting relatives to hotel workers.

Getting the ferry to Rothesay is like taking a trip back in time. The scale of the combined Victorian train station and ferry terminal on the mainland at Wemyss Bay hints at just how popular a holiday destination Rothesay was in Victorian times.

Rothesay’s Victorian grandeur has faded but there’s a few lovely relics. One of my favourites is the gent’s “public conveniences” which are a bit of a historic treat. The ladies has long since been modernised but Mr MarpleCat was dispatched to take pictures of the surviving original features in the gents.

15/01/2025

This was going to be a BlueSky post on the trouble with finding some Scottish birth records, beyond the tips available from Scotland's People, but 300 characters just wasn't enough. So I've written about in a blog post on my website instead. https://www.marplecat.com/post/uncovering-the-mystery-tips-for-finding-elusive-ancestor-birth-records

23/12/2024

If you’re near Edinburgh tomorrow, Christmas Eve, Scotland’s People are offering a free session 9am - 1pm in their search room in Register House. Walk in only.

Merry Christmas! We're offering customers the chance to use our search room free of charge on Christmas Eve morning.

The Reid search room will be open between 9 am and 1 pm on 24 December.

Seats can’t be booked, and will be available on a first come, first served basis.

15/09/2024

Tomorrow evening I’m giving a talk on zoom to Glasgow & West of Scotland Family History Society about the Lost Streets & Disappearing Communities of Glasgow. To find out more and register click here

When researching our family history, we often want to see, and even visit, the streets our ancestors lived on. But between the late 19th century and early 20th century, considerable numbers of Glasgow street names were changed making finding them more challenging. Then in the late 20th century, many...

04/08/2024

Meet our student member Mandy Geary who has recently been approved as an independent researcher at the National Archives (Kew). Mandy's genealogical research specialisms include military, merchant navy, legal records post-1730, criminals and immigration/naturalisation.

30/04/2024

Honoured to be appointed. New and exciting challenges ahead.

We are pleased to announce the appointment of two new RQG Directors Ciara Chivers Shamrock Roots & Catriona Haine MarpleCat Genealogy