Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Free Access to Irish Birth, Marriage and Death Records 27-30 June

Lots of us in the Scottish Borders have Irish ancestors.
Find My Past are offering free access to Irish birth, marriage and death records from 27 to 30 June.

It's nice that they announce it ahead of schedule, and it gives you time to ferret around in your family history for those ancestors who were born or lived in Ireland whose vital statistics you don't know.

Although the search is free, just now, you'll need to set a reminder for the free access days.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

President Obama's Irish Ancestry

I’ve often wondered whether it's an essential requirement for an American president to have Irish ancestry.

This week, President Obama’s wife, Michelle Obama and her two daughters, Malia Ann and Sasha were told about his Irish ancestry.

Eneclann have researched it back to Obama’s 7th great-grandfather, Joseph Kearney, born around 1698. He lived to the age of 93 and was buried 20 January 1791 in Shinrone, Co. Offaly, Ireland

It was his great grandson, Joseph, born around 1794 that emigrated  to America. More information with links to the Kearney family tree and the Benn family tree.

They've even talked to Barack's 3rd cousin 3 times removed, Tom Donovan, and 5th cousin once removed, Dick Benn.

I wonder whether other members of the family worked in or migrated to the Scottish Borders.

Friday, June 14, 2013

Scottish Castles Quiz Results

Entries for our prize quiz of jumbled up Scottish Castle names closed on 31 May.

There were just 13 entries but only 5 were completely correct.

We feel our quiz was a big success, and our thanks go to all those who sold quiz entry forms for us, including Dean & Simpson, Hawick; Taylors, the newsagents, Jedburgh; and at our Conference.

The winner lives in Duns, and has been sent a cheque for £10.

Those who provided an SAE have been sent the answers in the post, but for everybody else, you can download the Scottish Castles quiz answers.

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Watch Free Live Webcasts from Southern California Genealogical Society Annual Jamboree (7th to 9th June 2013)

In partnershup with Ancestry, the Southern California Genealogical Society is offering a range of interesting talks as part of its annual jamboree.

You need to register and sign up for the talks in which you're interested.

The jamboree is amongst the largest genealogical conferences in the USA with about 1600 attendees, speakers, exhibitors, and volunteers.

It's being held at Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel, 2500 Hollywood Way, Burbank, California this weekend (7th to 9th June 2013).

The topics are:
Friday, June 7

  • Basic Military Research 
  • The Ethical Genealogist 
  • DNA Panel Discussion - Hear it from the Experts. 

Saturday, June 8

  • Researching Your War of 1812 Ancestor 
  • Genealogical Periodicals: Where the Answers Are 
  • Master Using Google for Common Surname Searches
  • Turning Genealogy into Family History: Creating Stories from Stats
  • Finding Your Family in the French and Indian Wars
  • Staying Safe Online 

Sunday, June 9

  • A Guided Tour of Cyndi's List 2.0 
  • Scanning and Photo Retouching for Beginners: Foundations and Fundamentals 
  • Strange and Unusual Sources for Irish Family History 
  • Lessons from the Archive