New (Islay) Genealogy Resources

Genealogy, tracing your ancestors, is one of the reasons for people to visit Islay. Sometimes research has to take place in local archives and/or visual information is needed from the many headstones on the many cemetaries on the island itself. There is a page on the Islayinfo website called Islay Genealogy which is packed with information for people who trace their ancestors. With the start of the internet more and more of the archives put their information online. One of the leading genealogy websites is Ancestry.co.uk which was launched in 2001. The site offers members access to 800 million searchable names and their extensive collection enables them to explore their family history using censuses, birth, marriage and death records, passenger lists, the British phone books, war and parish records. Continue reading......
Recently ancestry.co.uk launched an on-line database with the names of millions of Scots who migrated in the 19th and 20th centuries searching for a new life in Canada. The records also include travellers, businesspeople, crew members and historical figures such as foreign leaders, scientists and celebrities. They include Alexander Graham Bell, who emigrated from Edinburgh to Ontario in 1870 to continue working on his invention of the telephone. 150,000 foster children sent overseas alone as part of the Child Emigration Scheme at the end of the 19th and start of the 20th centuries are also included. The database is fully indexed and searchable, with information including passengers' first and last names, estimated birth years, years of arrival, ports of arrival and departure, ship names, occupations, peoples pictures and final destinations in Canada. The information is not available for free though, there are several membership options and the cheapest option comes at £6.95/month. If you like to get in touch with other Islay genealogists I recommend you to check out the best resource for Islay Genealogy at rootsweb.com

Kilmeny Graveyard near Ballygrant (click image for full size)

Tag: genealogy ancestry ancestors rootsweb