Ancestry hunters' bonanza as London records go online

AFP on Yahoo ^ | 3/26/09 | AFP

[NormsRevenge]

LONDON (AFP) - Some 77 million documents dating from the 16th to the 20th centuries and including the ancestors of David Beckham and Britney Spears are to go online, under a service launched Thursday.

The archives from the London Historical Records feature details of around 165 million of the British capital's citizens over the centuries, including head of state Oliver Cromwell and poet William Blake.

Around 250,000 records are currently available, with all 77 million uploaded by 2011.

The final collection will include parish and workhouse records, electoral rolls, wills, land tax records and school reports.

Tracing the family history has become an increasingly popular hobby in Britain, thanks to the availability of records online and television programmes showing celebrities discovering the quirks of their ancestry.

Besides Londoners, around 135 million people in countries like the United States, Canada, Australia and South Africa may be able to trace their forefathers.

"We estimate that half of Brits will be able to find an ancestor in this collection," said Josh Hanna, senior vice president of the website http://www.Ancestry.co.uk which is hosting the London records.

[NormsRevenge]

Check back in 2011 when they have all 77 million docs online... or not. Good luck.

[NormsRevenge]

http://www.Ancestry.co.uk

[bikerman]

Britney Spears are to go online

OH goody gumdrops Britney Spears Like who the hell cares.Sounds like big brother is coming nearer.

[MissDairyGoodnessVT]

later read

[mojitojoe]

Is obama Sr. there?

[lilylangtree]

This is great for those of us in the US whose ancestors immigrated from London in the 16th century.

[texas_mrs]

Well, this IS actually very cool. I am an amateur genealogist and I LOVE looking up who and where my ancestors were. My paternal line came to America from the area of Stonehenge in the 1500's, so I might find some of them in these records.

Thanks for posting the info NR!

[centurion316]

This is great for those of us in the US whose ancestors immigrated from London in the 16th century.

That's a pretty short list. I think that you meant to say the 17th century. The first permanent English settlement at Jamestown began in 1607, a date that falls in the 17th Century.

[MamaB]

I have traced many of my ancestors back to that era, too. Traced my late hubby's family back to the Plague era, beheadings, etc. Very interesting. I love to read and discovered that Chaucer is one of my ancestors. Have only been at it for a few years but already have over 22,400 names in my FTM. It makes history come alive for me.

My earliest person is not in my direct line but someone who married into it. The line goes back to King Clovis the Riparian of Cologne. Thought I would go ahead and do the research in case someone wants it later on. He was born about 410. I had never heard of him before this.

[lilylangtree]

Thank you for catching that. Yes, my ancestor(s) came over in the 1600s.

[RaceBannon]

bump for later

[Swede Girl]

Bump

[tet68]

“We estimate that half of Brits will be able to find an ancestor in this collection,” said Josh Hanna,

The other half will have to look for their ancestors in
Pakistan.

[NormsRevenge]

India too. :-)

[SENTINEL]

The poor mormons won't get ANY sleep now...

1 Timothy 1:
3As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer
4nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than God's work—which is by faith.

[Myrddin]

My wife has had excellent results with Ancestry.com. She paid the extra fee for access to international records. We had pretty good records already. Ancestry.com made them better and gave us an improved database. Just this week, my wife tracked down a cousin in Washington state. He has records that she doesn't have...and she has much that he didn't have. Our family trees only include photographs back into the 1800s. My wife was pleasantly surprised to find Welsh ancestors from the Pembroke area and a comprehensive list of all the children at the orphanage where her paternal grandmother was raised. That information improved her information about her Cherokee indian ancestors as well.

[Osage Orange]

American Indians, frown...........

[Colofornian]

4nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than God's work—which is by faith

Hey, they didn't pay attention to Deuteronomy 17:17, Leviticus 18:18 or numerous Book of Mormon passages against polygamy. So why would any proscription stop them?

[Mike Darancette]

ow I can examine some of my Round Head roots. (Maj. Gen. Thomas Harrison).