Family Heritage Search

21/11/2025

Ancestry UK have added 3 new collections and have advised of updates to 7 existing collections between 4 November and 20 November 2025.

New Collections
Suffolk, England, Gaol Records, 1791-1878

This collection contains records from houses of correction in Suffolk County, England, dated between 1791 and 1878. The records include receiving books that document an inmate’s admission into a county gaol or jail. The collection also has lists of inmates confined at county gaols at a specific time.

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62792/

UK, Council of Legal Education Examination Records, 1861-1949

This collection contains registries from the Council of Legal Education of people who sat for their law exams in the United Kingdom between 1861 and 1949. Most of the records in this collection are handwritten in preprinted ledgers, but some may be written in preprinted formats.

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/63366/

Worcestershire, England, Marriage Licenses, 1661-1949

This collection contains marriage records issued in County Worcestershire, England, between 1553 and 1957. Most of the records include images of the original documents, but some only have indexed information taken from the document. The records include marriage registers with information about several marriages on one page and marriage licenses that pertain to one marriage. Some of the licenses have handwritten information that may be difficult to read.

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/63053/

Updated Collections

Doncaster, Yorkshire, England, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-2000

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62242/

Doncaster, Yorkshire, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1925

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62240/

Doncaster, Yorkshire, England, Church of England Marriages, 1754-1950

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62241

UK and Commonwealth, Law Examination Records, 1836-1949

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62335/

UK, Postal Establishment Books, 1691-1979

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62454/

UK, Royal Mail Pension and Gratuity Records, 1834-1970

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62452/

No specific details given by Ancestry on what has been updated.

A subscription to Ancestry is required, to view records.

21/11/2025

This week’s Findmypast Friday includes

Wales, Barry Railway Company Accident Registers 1889-1917

These 8,360 new records cover a crucial period in the history of rail transport, they tell the stories of accidents that took place on Barry's railways.

Wales, Barry Railway Company Staff Registers 1888-1896

Barry Railway Company staff registers, covering the period 1888 to 1896.

Britain, Merchant Seamen Registry 1939-1945

Addition of 24,406 new Merchant Seamen records covering the period during the Second World War
A subscription is required to view the records.

Britain, Merchant Seamen Registry 1939-1945

Addition of 293 records to the existing collection of British military rolls, covering the Second World War.

For more details see blog

https://www.findmypast.co.uk/blog/new/barry-railway-nominal-rolls

Delve deeper with this week's exciting new record collections.

07/11/2025

To commemorate Remembrance Sunday, TheGenealogist has released 1,090,293 new Casualty List Records from The First World War, covering the period 8th April 1918 to 4th March 1919, completing their coverage of the War Office Casualty Lists. This significant addition helps researchers and families trace those who were killed, wounded, reported missing, or taken prisoner in the later part of the First World War.

https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/press-release/2025/thegenealogist-marks-remembrance-sunday-with-the-release-of-over-1-million-wwi-casualty-records/

07/11/2025

This week’s Findmypast Friday includes

Faces of the Fallen 1914-1918

Explore this unique collection of photographs from Findmypast’s extensive newspaper archive. During the First World War, newspapers across Britain published photos of those who fought, died, went missing, or were wounded in action, providing a deeply personal record of the human cost of the conflict.

Anglo-Boer War Records 1899-1902

A further 22,752 more records have been added to this important military collection. It holds hundreds of thousands of names drawn from more than five hundred sources, revealing the unit your ancestor served with, as well as details of medals, honours, or awards they received. Additionally, it features a thoroughly revised list of men who were killed in action, died of wounds, or succumbed to disease.

British Isles Gazetteers

A further 2,658 map images have been added, taken from The Survey Gazetteer of the British Isles. Packed with illustrations and maps, this collection of 19th-century gazetteers can reveal the parishes and placenames that shaped your family story with unmatched colour and detail. Plus, they are perfect for exploring a region's local history and topography.

A subscription is required to view the records.

For more details see blog

https://www.findmypast.co.uk/blog/new/wartime-records-maps

New military records, maps and wartime newspapers are now online.

07/11/2025

This week's British Newspaper Archive includes 9 new titles and updates to 72 existing titles an addition of 116,676 new pages.

The updates can also be found on Findmypast with an Everything subscription.

A subscription to either site is required to view records, full details of updates can be found in the blog.

https://blog.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/2025/11/05/armistice-day-newspapers/

We welcome 9 new newspapers from the First World War period, as we explore how the news of Armistice Day was reported across these newspaper pages.

04/11/2025

Ancestry have added seven new collection and have advised of updates to 1 existing web based collections between 11 September and 3 November 2025.

The new collections include Doncaster Parish Registers, Westminster Civil Defence records and a collection of 2 million British Army Service Records.
New Collections
UK, Death Notices, 1980-2022

This collection contains an index of information taken from death notices, funeral notices, obituaries, and memoriams published in the United Kingdom between 1980 and 2022. The collection doesn’t include images of the original documents.

Original data: https://funeral-notices.co.uk/. Reach PLC.

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62992/

Doncaster, Yorkshire, England, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-2000

This collection includes Church of England parish registers and bishops’ transcripts of deaths and burials between 1813 and 2000 from the historical city of Doncaster, Yorkshire, England.

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62242/

Doncaster, Yorkshire, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1925

This collection includes Church of England parish registers of births and baptisms between 1813 and 1920 from the city of Doncaster, Yorkshire, England.

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62240/

Doncaster and Surrounding Area, Yorkshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1558-1812

This collection includes Church of England parish registers of baptisms, marriages, and burials between 1558 and 1812 from the city of Doncaster, Yorkshire, England.

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62229/

Doncaster, Yorkshire, England, Church of England Marriages, 1754-1950

This collection includes Church of England parish registers of marriages between 1754 and 1950 from the city of Doncaster, Yorkshire, England.

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62241

Westminster, England, World War II Records, 1939-1945

This collection contains civil defence records produced in the city of Westminster, London, England, during the Second World War from 1939 to 1945. The records primarily relate to the work of the Westminster report centres—one at City Hall and the other at Victoria Library. The collection includes employment records, incident reports, rationing records, and personal papers.

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62479/

UK, Military Service Records, 1939-1959

This collection contains more than 2 million service records for British infantry service members discharged as over age between 1939 and 1959. The records for personnel from the Royal Artillery, Royal Engineers, Cavalry, and Guards Regiments are not included in this collection.

Many of the records are military attestation forms that contain personal information for each soldier. The collection also includes records of those who had joined the British Army Reserves prior to the Second World War and then saw service in the conflict.

Digitisation of this collection is ongoing, and additional records will be added as they are digitized.

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62685/

Updated Collections

Web: UK, Register of Railway Employee Injuries and Deaths, 1880-1939

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/70855/

The records can also be accessed via http://www.railwayaccidents.port.ac.uk/

No specific details given by Ancestry on what has been updated.

A subscription to Ancestry is required, to view records.

Find local and national death notices, funeral notices, obituaries, in memoriams, acknowledgements and family announcements including birthdays, births, anniversaries and marriages at funeral-notices.co.uk

04/11/2025

The cost of obtaining a post 1858 Grant and Will is to rise to £16 from 17 November 2025, if you need any wills for that period suggest you order them now.

https://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/news/probate-records-increase-16

Background to the Increase

This should be no surprise as it was mentioned in the MoJ response to the consultation on the digitising of wills and potential destruction of wills proposed by the previous government which is not now being pursued.

"123. Similarly, the decision to preserve original wills does not address the concerns about the large and increasing costs of preserving the very extensive original will archive (which dates back to 1858). The current cost of obtaining a copy of a will is £1.50 which does not cover the costs of providing this service and does not represent full cost recovery. It is also significantly cheaper than copies of obtaining comparable public records (for example, the fee for birth or death certificates is £12.50).

124. The Government will therefore be giving further consideration to the fees charged for copies of wills and grants of probate. "

A copy of a will was £10 before the price was reduced to £1.50 in July 2019.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6780fd71d5422b88ec018416/will-storage-consultation-response.pdf

The UK government has announced that the cost of ordering civil probate records for England and Wales will increase from £1.50 to £16

31/10/2025

Newly digitised service records of non-commissioned ranks who served in the British Army during the Second World War are to be added to genealogy website Ancestry on 6 November and will be freely available to view in the lead-up to Remembrance Day along with almost 7 billion wartime records.

UPDATED: Sorry we have had to do a major update to this post as the records are not quite as extensive as we originally thought. In our effort to be the first to announce it, we rather 'jumped the gun' with our artillery post. 😳

https://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/news/ww2-service-records-online-ancestry

31/10/2025

This week’s Findmypast Friday includes

Leicestershire Electoral Registers 1836-1970

A new collection of 10 million electoral register records, covering 1836-1970, has been added for the English county of Leicestershire.

Leicestershire Monumental Inscriptions

This new collection includes 414 records spanning seven centuries, and covers burials in churchyards, cemeteries and war memorials.

Lincolnshire, Workhouse Guardians' Minute Books

This is the latest tranche of records from Lincoln Poor Law Union includes 10,529 new records, covering the years 1837-1902 of the Workhouse Guardians Minutes Books.

A subscription is required to view the records.



For more details see blog

Over 10 million new records have been added to Findmypast this week, allowing you to explore your ancestors' lives in more detail than ever before.

27/10/2025

This week's British Newspaper Archive includes 5 new titles and updates to 8 existing titles an addition of 256,448 new pages, taking the total number of pages past 97 million.

The updates can also be found on Findmypast with an Everything subscription.

A subscription to either site is required to view records, full details of updates can be found in the blog.

https://blog.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/2025/10/27/1950s-halloween-party/

We welcome five brand new titles to The Archive, as we explore how to throw a 1950s style Halloween party, sourced from the Aberdeen Bon-Accord.

24/10/2025

This week’s Findmypast Friday includes

British Royal Navy, Battle of Trafalgar Prize Book

In partnership with the National Museum of the Royal Navy, Findmypast have digitised one of only two surviving copies of the 1805 Trafalgar Prize Book, which contains the names of sailors who received payments after the battle.

If your ancestor was involved in the Battle of Trafalgar, their name may appear within these 17,050 extraordinary new records.

British Royal Navy, Battle of Trafalgar 1805

The Prize Book isn't the only way to trace your family's ties to the Battle of Trafalgar - you can also explore 18,115 naval records within this new collection.

Findmypast Photo Collection

This week, Findmypast have added to the Photo Collection a further 300 additional images from across Britain.

Queensland Brands Directories Browse

Findmypast have also added new Australian records to their collection - the Queensland Brands Directories has grown by over 3,000 records, with new additions covering 1920 to 1952.

A subscription is required to view the records.

For more details see blog

https://www.findmypast.co.uk/blog/new/battle-of-trafalgar-photo-collection

220 years on, trace lives shaped by the Battle of Trafalgar like never before.

21/10/2025

This week's British Newspaper Archive includes 6 new titles and updates to 15 existing titles an addition of 254,727 new pages.

The updates can also be found on Findmypast with an Everything subscription.

A subscription to either site is required to view records, full details of updates can be found in the blog.

https://blog.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/2025/10/20/royal-charter-storm-1859/

We welcome six brand new titles to The Archive, as we remember the devastating 'Royal Charter Storm' of October 1859, in which steamer the Royal Charter sank.