November 29th, 2011 
Linda Elliott 
I told you so!!! Just tried clicking on another advert that has popped up headed Capital Records and it takes you through to the new dataset.
London, Freedom of the City Admission Papers, 1681-1925
So entered your family names and see if anyone familiar to you pops up ! 
November 29th, 2011 Linda Elliott 
I think Ancestry is about to launch another dataset. There is an advert up on the site that says “Search for Freemen of the City of London”, but when you click on it you get taken to the London parish registers.
I’ve noticed that Ancestry often puts up the advert and then follows a few hours later with a working link. So if you think you have Freemen on your family tree keep an eye out for the advert and try your luck by clicking it.
Sure it won’t be long before they get it up and working 
November 18th, 2011 Linda Elliott ![clip_image002[4]](http://www.madaboutgenealogy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/clip_image00242.jpg "clip_image002[4]")
I’ve been sent the new Family Tree Maker 2012 by Ancestry to review – lucky me 
. I’ve been using FTM for quite some years now so am familiar with the look and feel of the programme, I find it intuitive and I have been happy to recommend it to friends and my genealogy students.
So what does the 2012 edition have that is different, what do I like, is there anything I don’t like? Here goes ….
Installation was easy, no hitches, just put the CD into your computer and follow instructions. Then you open up your FTM file which is easy enough as long as you have stored it where you know where it is ! Luckily I did, I have helped a friend recently who has his genealogy files hidden away here and there on his hard drive– NOT a good idea! A warning comes up saying that your data file will be adapted so that you can run it on FTM 2012 and recommends you do a back up first. You can opt to not do a back-up, but believe me if they suggest it do it!
Once you are up and running the first page you get to see and this page will come up every time until you do it, is one that asks if you want to link your Family Tree Maker tree with one on Ancestry. I haven’t done that yet as I have my tree split up into 5 trees on Ancestry – one for each grandparent and one for a one name project. It seemed a good idea at the time to do this, but now that FTM has the ability to update the online tree I wish I had put them all in together as one. Hey ho, hindsight is a wonderful thing!!
Once you have got past this page the look is identical to the previous editions except this time I have tones of green not blue. It really doesn’t matter to me what the colour is so I haven’t investigated if I can change the colour tone.
Everything seemed about the same until I discovered Smart Story. You get to this via the Person Pane and click on Media then New, then Smart Story from the drop down box. You can opt for a blank page or decide that FTM can work something out for you which you can then edit. I did this and got a page similar to one that the programme generates when you do a FTM book. The great feature with Smart Story is that you can generate one of these pages and it is attached to the individual and also that it automatically updates when you add something to the individuals file. Great for printing out and sending to someone who wants particulars of that person. Mind you if the tree is on Ancestry then you could just direct them to the tree.
So far these are the only two new features that I have come across, if I find more and I suspect there is a lot, lot more I’ll report on them.
Bottom line is would I still recommend Family Tree Maker 2012 to everyone? = definitely. Do I think it is good value for money? = yes I do. I think the feature of being able to sync your Family Tree Maker with your online tree on Ancestry is great and this alone would make the purchase or upgrade to FTM 2012 worth it.
November 4th, 2011 Linda Elliott 
Just noticed that Ancestry.co.uk have put up the earlier Dorset parish registers. The post 1812 ones have been there a while, but this is the first time I have noticed the earlier ones are there. The great news with these parish registers are that they aren’t only an index and they aren’t a transcript, you get to view the real thing.
Only thing missing is the smell of centuries of dust with a slight hint of mouse and the feel of the leather binding and the beautiful thick parchment pages. I am so lucky to have started researching when you were able to handle the actual registers. I’m glad they are now digitised and safe from excess handling, but for those of you who have never handled a document 500 years old – gosh you have missed an experience!
October 27th, 2011 Linda Elliott 
Hooray the first batch of the 1911 census is indexed and ready for searching on Ancestry.co.uk. If you have people in Wales, the Channel Isles and the Isle of Man then you are all set to go. The rest of us will have to wait a little longer, but it will be worth it.
The census is available on Ancestry, but you have to search page by page …. just like the old days. How quickly we have forgotten how things used to be!!
Posted in Ancestry.co.uk, Census 
Tags: 1911, Ancestry.co.uk, Census, Family History, Genealogy 
No Comments » October 24th, 2011 Linda Elliott 
Ancestry.com have announced that it will be making the US 1940 census free to view until 31 December 2012. The records will be released by the US National Archives on 2 April 2012 and then there will be a wait whilst they are indexed by Ancestry.
This census might be handy to search, when it is finally completed, for those 20th century ancestors who hopped over the water before the Second World War.
Familysearch has said they intend to keep the records free of charge, but it is not clear if they will be offering scans of the census as well as the index.
Posted in Ancestry.co.uk, Census, Familysearch.org, Getting Started Tags: Ancestry.com, Census, Family History, Familysearch, Genealogy, USA No Comments » October 20th, 2011 Linda Elliott 
Ancestry.co.uk have just put up parish records for Warwickshire. These records include baptisms, marriages & burials, Poor Relief Books, Constable Reports etc. So if you have ancestors who lived in this county go and enjoy the luxury of have the record office come to you!
Wonder which county will be next?!!
October 2nd, 2011 Linda Elliott Ancestry is celebrating it’s 15th birthday by giving you free access to one collection for 15 minutes each day for 15 days. Here is their press release…..
Over the next couple of weeks, we’re giving you free access to some of our most popular collections from around the world. Better yet, we’re helping you make the most of them with a series of quick tutorials. All you need is a spare 15 minutes every day!
From October 1st-15th, we’re making another top collection free every day. From Australian electoral rolls to World War I documents, you’ll have access to all kinds of records, many of which are usually only available to our Worldwide members.
With each free collection, we’ll provide a tutorial right here on our blog. These helpful articles will give you a taste of what you can find in the records, and suggest some quick tricks you can try in a quarter of an hour.
Don’t worry if you miss a day – after they become available, the collections will be free right up to the 15th. And of course, we’ll leave our tutorials up indefinitely, so you can keep coming back and trying our tips.
By the time you’ve finished, you’ll have several new places to look for your ancestors, and some great tricks to help you uncover their stories. Just remember to keep checking this blog every day for the latest tutorial.
Here’s a full list of the collections we’re making free each day:
October 1st – US Social Security Death Index
October 2nd – Ireland, Griffith’s Valuation, 1848-1864
October 3rd – California Marriage Index, 1960-1985
October 4th – Bavaria, Germany, WWI Personnel Rosters, 1914-1918
October 5th – 1920 US Federal Census
October 6th – Australian Electoral Rolls, 1903-1954
October 7th – Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997
October 8th – Sweden, Births from the Swedish Death Index, 1947-2006
October 9th – US WW I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
October 10th – England & Wales, Birth Index, 1916-2005
October 11th – Historical Newspapers, Birth, Marriage & Death Announcements, 1851-2003
October 12th – Quebec Vital and Church Records, 1621-1967
October 13th – 1930 US Federal Census
October 14th – 1901 England Census
October 15th – US Obituary Collection
* Each collection will become available to search for free from 7am BST on the relevant day. All collections will be available to search until 12 midnight BST on 15 October 2011. To view these records you will need to register for free with Ancestry.co.uk with your name and email address.
Posted in Ancestry.co.uk, Ancestry.co.uk, Getting Started, Take It Further Tags: Ancestry.co.uk, Family History, Genealogy No Comments » September 21st, 2011 Linda Elliott 
On the front page of Ancestry they have an announcement that they now have Roman Catholic parish registers 1742 – 1884 online. At the moment if you click the link it takes you no-where, but I am sure in the next few hours that they will be online. I have noticed this before with Ancestry the announcement goes up followed by the link a few hours later – no doubt different departments!!
Anyway good news for those with Irish ancestry. Go online click the link and when it starts working you never know who you might find!!
August 22nd, 2011 Linda Elliott 
Staying on the subject of the Post Office here is a link to the British Postal Museum & Archive. They are the holders of the original Appointment Books that Ancestry have just added to their collection.
This is a very fine website with lots of information that will interest genealogists. You can view past exhibitions, they have a stamp collection online as well as their catalogue of holdings. Excellent!
http://www.postalheritage.org.uk/
Hi, I am Linda Elliott, a genealogist with 30+ years experience in ancestor hunting. I work as a professional family historian and have helped many people with their family trees. My aim with Mad About Genealogy is to share with you, the many website links, information and the latest genealogy news that I come across. I hope you enjoy your visit to my website and will come and visit on a regular basis.
