Findmypast-Free Week of Irish Records

Press Release from findmypast:

FINDMYPAST GRANTS FIVE DAYS OF FREE ACCESS TO ALL IRISH RECORDS IN CELEBRATION OF ST PATRICK’S DAY 2017

·         Findmypast makes entire collection of more than 116 million Irish records free for five days

·         All 116 records free from the 13^th  to the 17^th March 2017

Leading family history website, Findmypast, has just announced that they will be making their entire collection of Irish records free for five days to help budding genealogists uncover their Irish heritage ahead of St Patrick’s Day 2017. 

From today, Monday 13^th March, until 11.59pm (GMT) Friday 17^th March, all 116 million records within Findmypast’s Irish collection will be completely free to search and explore, providing family historians from around the globe with the opportunity to learn more about the lives of their Irish ancestors.

This includes free access to;

·         Over 10 million Irish Catholic Parish Registers

·         Over 15 million Census, Land & Substitute records including the 1901 and 1911 censuses

·         Over 30 million detailed Court & Prison Records

·         Over 33 million Irish newspaper articles spanning the years 1708 to 1956

·         Over 7.3 million Dog Licences

·         Over 24 million Irish Passenger Lists

·         Over 2.4 million workhouse & poor law records

·         Over1.4 million Irish Quaker records

·         Over 350,000 records from World War 1, the Easter Rising & more

·         Landed Estates Court records featuring details of over 500,000 tenants residing on estates all over Ireland

·         The complete Griffith's Valuation

·         Over 2.3 million Social History & Directory Records, including the most comprehensive online collection of national directories, dating back to 1814

·         Indexes to Irish wills dating from 1270 – 1858

Free Live Webinar

On Thursday March 16^th at 4pm GMT, Findmypast will be hosting a free St Patrick’s Day Webinarpresented by Fiona Fitzsimons, the founder and research director of Eneclann, a Trinity College Campus Company. Fiona manages teams of expert researchers to provide Irish and British family history as well as running a successful probate genealogy service. Her talk, entitled, “Secrets to Successful Irish Family Research”, will cover strategies for online research, Irish customs & traditions and collateral records to help “bridge the gaps”.

New Records Available To Search

Thousands of additional records will be added to Findmypast’s extensive Irish collection on Friday 17^thMarch. This will include substantial updates to their collection of Irish Society of Friends (Quaker) records, new directories, administrations, family histories, memorial inscriptions and more. Visit the dedicatedFindmypast Friday page to keep up to date with the latest additions.

Learn more at: http://www.findmypast.com/      

About Findmypast

Findmypast (previously DC Thomson Family History) is a British-owned world leader in online family history. It has an unrivalled record of online innovation in the field and 18 million registered users across its family of online brands, which includes Lives of the First World War, The British Newspaper Archive and Genes Reunited, amongst others.

Its lead brand, also called Findmypast, is a searchable online archive of over two billion family history records, ranging from parish records and censuses to migration records, military collections, historical newspapers and lots more. For members around the world, the site is a crucial resource for building family trees and conducting detailed historical research. 

In April 2003, Findmypast was the first online genealogy site to provide access to the complete birth, marriage, and death indexes for England & Wales, winning the Queen’s Award for Innovation. Since that time, the company has digitised records from across the globe, including major collections from Britain, Ireland, Australia, and the United States.

 Good luck finding your Irish ancestors!

Thanks for stopping by!

Celebration Sunday~Genealogy Happy Dance!

You know the dance. You know you've done it. The one every researcher does after finding something new. The one where you want to jump up and down and shout to everyone around that you found the document, contacted a cousin who has the family Bible, made a DNA connection or found a whole new branch to your tree. The one that is met with glazed stares and eye rolls.
                                                          Celebration Sunday is a place to share your discoveries. 
This is a weekly series to enable everyone to tell about their Genealogy Happy Dance moment. This can be done by scrolling down and adding your story to the comments section. You may also put a link to a blog post.

                                                                 

My Happy Dance This Week: 
 While researching my maternal Roberts line I discovered a Revolutionary War Pension file for my 5th great grandfather Philip Roberts (1763-1854). Moving to Kentucky from SC after the war, Philip applied for a pension to help with financial difficulties in 1832. In his application, he gave his birth date and place and wrote about his service with General Francis Marion. 
Also included in the file was the proof of marriage to his second wife Sarah (Hall) Daniels Roberts (1785-between 1870-1880) when she applied for a widow's pension after Philip's death. 
Wow! So much information in this record. It even has his signature. 
Can't stop dancing! What did you discover this week?

                                                                                           Share your discovery!

                                                                                   Let the dancing commence!

Looking forward to reading about your Happy Dance moment!
Thanks so much for stopping by!

Friends of Friends Friday~Winsor, Celia, Sandy and Kia.

Research into the Richbourg family of South Carolina lead to the will of Claudius Richbough.

Will of Claudius Richbourgh

Sumter County, South Carolina Will Books and Estates Index and File Book, 1800-1963 

Will Book, Vol A-Aa, 1800-1822, pg 209-212

Image from Ancestry.com

Claudius Richbourgh (1715-1788), a planter in the St. Marks Parish area of South Carolina, recorded a will leaving members of the enslaved in his possession to his children. 

The will was copied into a will book in 1820.
This is my transcription of that copy.
Spelling and punctuation as originally written.

 In the name of God Amen.

  I Claudius Richbourgh of Craven County in the province of South Carolina of St. Marks Planter being of perfect health and of perfect mind and memory thanks be to almighty God; and calling to reembrace the mortality of my body and that it is ordained for all men once to die, do make and declare this my last will and testament in manner and form following, that is to say, first and principally, I recommend my soul into the hands of God beseeching him to forgive me all my sins through the merits of Jesus Christ my blessed redeemer and my body I bequeath to the earth to be buried and the discretion of my executors hereafter named and as touching such goods worldly estate it hath pleased God to bless me with I give bequeath and devise of the same in manner and form following Impremis--It is my will request and order that all my just debts be first of all duly paid and discharged.

Item I give and bequeath to my beloved son Henry Richbourgh one negroe man by name Winsor to him the said Henry Richbourgh his heirs and assigns forever

Item- I give and bequeath to my beloved son James Richbourgh one negroe boy by name {blank space} to the said James Richbourgh his heirs and assigns forever.

Item -I give and bequeath to my beloved son John Richbourgh one negroe girl by name Celia with her issues and increase to him the said John Richbourg his heirs and assigns forever.

Item-I give and bequeath to my beloved son Nathaniel Richbourgh one negroe boy by name Sandy to him the said Nathaniel Richbourgh during his life and after his death to the lawful heirs of his body.

Item -I give and bequeath to my beloved son William Richbourgh one negroe girl by name Kiah with her issue and increase to him the said William Richbourgh his heirs and assigns forever.

Item-I give and bequeath to my beloved daughter Unity Gayle one negroe girl by name Maria with her issue and increase to her the said Unity Gayle during her life and after her decease then to the heirs of her own body forever.

Item-I give and bequeath to my beloved daughter Susannah Richbourgh one negroe girl by name Betsey with her issue and increase to her the said Susannah Richbourgh during her life and after her decease then the heir of her own body forever.

Item-I give and bequeath to my dearly beloved wife Unity Richbourgh all the remainder of my estate of what kind, nature of denomination whatsoever it may be, or to whosesoever it may be found at the time of my decease both real and personal during her life, and my will and pleasure is that my said wife Unity Richbourgh shall have free possession and enjoyment of the same without any molestation or hindrance whatsoever from or by my executors or other children during her life and further that from and after her decease then I give and bequeath all my estate real and personal both whosesoever and what nature or kind so ever that was in her prosession to be equally divided among Henry Richbourgh, James Richbourgh, John Richbourgh, Unity Gayle and Susannah Richbourgh to be equally and impartically shared and divided between them share and share alike to them or to their heirs and assigns forever.

Lastly I nominate constitute and appoint my three sons Henry, James and John Richbourgh executors of this my last will and testament revoking and disannulling all other former will or wills testament or testaments in witness here of I have here unto set my hand and seal the sixteenth day of February in the year of our Lord One Thousand and seven hundred and seventy eight.

signed sealed published and declared by the testator to be his last will and testament in presence of

RG Dennis

Joseph Joyner

Thomas Avery

And further it is my will all that part of my estate that falls to my son Nathaniel Richbourgh and Unity Gayle, that after their deaths it shall return to the heirs of their bodies forever

Signed Claudius Richbough.

A true copy examined per me

Wm Humphrey Clerk of the Court

South Carolina

Clarendon County

 Personally appeared before me Thomas Avery who being duly sworn on the Holy Evangelists of Almighty God sayeth that he did see the willing named testator sign seal publish and declare the within testament of writing to be his last will and testament and that he saw Richard G. Dennis and Joseph Hoyner subscribe their names as witnesses with him to the said will sworn this 6th Day of September 1788 before John Ridgill J.P. signed Tho. Avery.

Releasing the names of Winsor, Celia, Sandy and Kiah so they may be remembered and lead their families to them.

This post will be submitted to the Slave Name Roll Project created by Schalene Dagutis. Do you have documents and records that list the names of the enslaved? Please consider contributing to this project.