Updated Isle of Wight and Nottinghamshire Collections

Dear Users of the OGI,

Thank you for your support this year.  I appreciate those who have donated towards the costs of keeping the site running.  It pleases me to see the number of searches made on the site and I hope you are finding ancestors much more easily.  It has certainly helped my research and I am able to find complete families quickly once I determine a location.

This may be the last update of 2020.  What a year we have experienced.  It has been scary, frustrating, in some ways more focused than before.  I know I have spent more time with those that matter most.

Here are the details of today's 340 new items:

• Durham Records Online - 8 new data sets
• FMP Nottinghamshire Baptisms - 79 new parishes
• FMP Nottinghamshire Burial Index - 72 new data sets
• FMP Yorkshire Monumental Inscriptions - 14 new data sets
• Gravestonephotos.com - 3 new graveyards
• Isle of Wight FHS Civil Registration - 114 updated data sets
• Lancashire Online Parish Clerks - 16 data sets
• Sheffield Indexers - 10 new data sets
• Staffordshire BMD - 6 Death data sets
• TINSTAAFL Baptisms - 2 new data sets
• TINSTAAFL Marriage Project - 12 new data sets

The site total is currently 406,305.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a healthy and successful 2021.

Here is a photo of a winter with snow (remember them?!) in Burton on Trent where I currently reside.

With warm regards,

Tim Manners

http://ogindex.org

Lots of cemeteries added today!

Dear Users of the OGI,

Today's update has brought the total of data sets on the site to 406,011.

Findmypast has changed the names of some of their collections so these have been reuploaded and include some new parishes for both Essex and Devon Baptisms.

I have also found a good collection of gravestone transcriptions for a variety of locations on Geneanet.org.  These have also been added today.

Here is the breakdown of what was uploaded:

• FamilySearch - Norfolk and Suffolk Graveyard Surveys - 8 new data sets
• Findmypast - Berkshire Parish Registers - 6 new data sets
• Findmypast - Devon Baptisms - 73 new data sets
• Findmypast - Essex Baptisms - 677 updated data sets
• Geneanet Cemeteries - 62 new data sets
• Gravestonephotos - 12 new cemeteries
• Lancashire Online Parish Records - 16 new data sets
• South Bradford Family History Alliance - 8 new data sets
• TINSTAAFL Hardwick Marriage Project - 22 new data sets
• TINSTAAFL Norfolk Baptisms Project - 3 new parishes
• Yorkshire BMD Marriages - 7 new data sets

I hope you will find some new ancestors in this latest update.

Until the next one,

Tim Manners

http://ogindex.org

Big update for Welsh research on 13th November

Back so soon!

I discovered the recent additions of Anglican records for all counties in Wales on Ancestry.  These have transcriptions and images for hundreds of parishes.

I have added them parish by parish to help you find your ancestors by location.  If unsure, use any link to search the entire Ancestry collection by county.

A full list of the uploads is below.

• Ancestry's Welsh Anglican Parish Registers - 1,269 data sets
• FamilySearch's Northumberland Parish Registers - 7 new data sets
• Lancashire Online Parish Clerks - 11 new data sets
• Findmypast's Yorkshire Monumental Inscriptions - 6 new data sets
• Findmypast's National School Admission Registers & Log-Books - 15 new data sets
• TINSTAAFL Marriage project - 2 new data sets

Unfortunately, the Warwickshire Gov.uk site has removed a large collection of Birth, Marriage and Death records so I have taken them off the OGI (223 data sets) and written to them asking if there is a new address to see these for free online.  As soon as I get the info, I can put them back in the database.

The new total is now 405,839.

I hope another update will come along before the end of the year.

Thank you for your patronage.  And thanks to Linda F. who sent a donation in over the weekend.  It all helps keeping things running for years to come.

Until the next update,

Tim Manners

http://ogindex.org

224 data sets added today

Greetings fellow genealogical researchers!

I hope those in England are coping well with Lockdown 2.0.

Here are today's new additions to ogindex.org.

• Durham Records Online - 12 data sets
• Findmypast Greater London Burial Index - 1 data set
• Findmypast Warwickshire Burials - 10 data sets
• Gravestone Photos - 41 new cemeteries and monuments
• Lancashire OPC - 26 data sets
• Milton Keynes Heritage site - 36 data sets for Sherington, Buckinghamshire
• OPC Dorset - 8 data sets
• Shropshire BMD - 12 death data sets
• Staffordshire BMD - 11 birth and death data sets
• TINSTAAFL Hardwick Marriage Project - 54 new parishes
• TINSTAAFL Norfolk Baptisms - 7 new parishes
• Yorkshire BMD - 14 marriage data sets

New site total is 404,750 data sets.

I hope these additions will help you find more ancestors.

Until the next update,

Tim Manners

Return to the land of the living

Dear Friends of the OGI,

I am happy to report that I have survived my surgery and have now after 4 weeks turned on my laptop to catch up with OGI work and get the database updated.

There were 204 new data sets uploaded today.  Here is the breakdown.

• TINSTAAFL Norfolk Baptisms Project - 10 new parishes
• TINSTAAFL Marriages - 31 new parishes
• Shropshire BMD Deaths - 18 new data sets
• Staffordshire BMD Births and Deaths - 4 new data sets
• OPC Dorset - 15 new data sets
• Lancashire OPC - 15 new data sets
• Gravestone Photos - 6 new locations
• Findmypast - 21 new Welsh record sets
• Ancestry Westminster - 82 new data sets

I am glad to be back but it will still be a long road to a full recovery.  My surgery was 4.5 hours and gave me a new 43cm scar.

Thanks for using the site and for letting me know of updates.  I had an email last week telling me about a change in a website so that has now been corrected and will work again (Great Harwood in Lancashire - see this wonderful website here: http://greatharwoodarchive.org.uk/documentary-sources/church-records-and-religion/)

Here is a beautiful sunset I photographed a few weeks ago from my back garden.  We hope to see a few more before the winter.

Have a wonderful September and I hope to return again in the autumn with more updates.

Best wishes,

Tim Manners

http://ogindex.org

Another summer update!

 Dear Friends of the OGI,

One more update before I disappear for a while due to a surgery on the 18th August.

There are still exciting updates appearing online and I have found another 138 data sets to upload to the website today.  This brings the new total to 404,326.  There have been a total of 29,085 searches on the site since launch.  My wife jokes that most of them are probably mine (I hope she was joking....)

Here is the breakdown of today's upload:

• Durham Records Online - 9 data sets
• Findmypast Hampshire Baptisms - 6 data sets
• Findmypast Hampshire Burials - 6 data sets
• Findmypast Hampshire Marriages - 12 data sets
• Findmypast Warwickshire Burials - 3 data sets
• GravestonePhotos - 8 new graveyards
• Lancashire OPC - 32 new data sets
• Netherbury Dorset Parish registers - 3 data sets
• OPC Dorset - 3 new data sets
• Shropshire Civil Registration Deaths - 8 new data sets
• Staffordshire Civil Registration - 12 new data sets
• TINSTAAFL Marriage Project - 20 new parishes
• TINSTAAFL Norfolk Baptisms - 3 new parishes
• Yorkshire Civil Registration Marriages - 19 data sets

There are many enthused and talented researchers out there who are regularly adding to the pool of available resources online.  The majority are completely free and will help you in your genealogical research.

Best wishes to you all.  I do appreciate your use of the site and hope you find an ancestor using the resources using my Online Genealogical Index.

Until post-surgery!

Tim Manners

Creator and Owner

http://ogindex.org

Big updates for Surrey and Wiltshire today

Dear users of the OGI,

I have been reviewing the amazing resources at the Online Parish Clerk site for Wiltshire.  They now require a free account before allowing access to their data.  

As you can see, I have now changed the opening images on the site to announce that the Online Genealogical Index site was recommended at RootsTech in London and Salt Lake City.  Whitney Peterson, a British Research Expert, mentioned the site in her lectures and recommended it for finding information quickly.

Here are today's updates:

Gravestone Photos - 2 new cemeteries

OPC Dorset - 7 new data sets

Shropshire BMD - 16 data sets

TINSTAAFL Marriage Project - 19 new parishes

TINSTAAFL Norfolk Baptisms - 3 new parishes

Wiltshire Graveyard Photos - 38 graveyards

Wiltshire OPC - 759 new and updated data sets

Findmypast 

• Derbyshire Deaths and Burials - 7 parishes
• National School Admission Registers - 2 new schools
• Surrey Baptisms - 440 new and updated parishes
• Surrey Marriages - 450 new and updated parishes
• Surrey Burials - 190 new and updated parishes
• Yorkshire Baptisms - 13 new parishes
• Yorkshire Monumental Inscriptions - 39 new parishes

Total number of new items this week are 1988 (good year for music!) and the new total on the site today is 404,191.

I will be finally taking some family time off (first time this year) and heading to a few family history sites including the pub where my great-great-grandfather was landlord in 1894.  The Black Swan in Belford, Northumberland now has rooms for rent and I am fulfilling a lifelong dream of staying there.  

Here is a photo of the pub in the late 1890s.

Have a wonderful summer,

Tim Manners

Creator and Owner

http://ogindex.org

303 new and updated data sets uploaded on 26th June

Dear Users of the OGI,

This update was done last week just before I fell ill for a few days!  I have not got the dreaded virus but was on my back for a while.

Here are the contents of the update:

OPC Dorset - 2

TINSTAAFL Marriages - 6

TINSTAAFL Norfolk Baptisms - 1

Yorkshire Civil Marriages - 7

FindmyPast 

• Roman Catholic Baptisms - 98
• Roman Catholic Burials - 39
• Roman Catholic Marriages - 76
• Roman Catholic Congregational Records - 64

Durham Records Online - 6

FamilySearch Durham Graveyards - 4

This brings the total of records on the Online Genealogical Index to 404,005.  I remember a few years ago when i first past 100,000 and I was amazed!  Things are still growing and I am still finding new ancestors by using the site!  The whole idea for the OGI was to create a tool for my own use but I quickly realized it would benefit others!  Thank goodness for my good friend David Sheppard from the Forest of Dean who helped build the site for me.  I see that over 28,000 searches have been done so far, my wife suggests half were my own searches, but I hope others have had success with their research using this tool.

Please pass the word on to others if you have found the OGI helpful in your research.  I know it has saved me thousands of hours of research time.  It has also been a good reminder of wonderful resources available online created by generous others who give away their work for the world to enjoy.  

Until the next update,

Tim Manners
Creator and Owner
http://ogindex.org

334 new data sets uploaded today

Dear Users of the OGI,

I hope you are well and taking some extra time to do family history research.

Today, Friday 19th June, 334 new data sets were uploaded to the Online Genealogical Index.  Just to reiterate, a data set can contain hundreds or thousands of records.

Here is a review of what was added:

Ancestry: Diocese of Durham, England, Bishops' Transcripts (also includes parts of Cumberland, Northumberland and Yorkshire) - 240
Gravestone Photos: - 9
Norfolk Baptisms Project: - 3
OPC Dorset: - 1
ShropshireBMD: - 5
StaffordshireBMD: - 2
TINSTAAFL Marriage Project: - 20
Wiltshire OPC: - 22
YorkshireBMD: - 18

I hope you will have some success using these additions.

Have a great weekend!

Until next time,

Tim Manners
Creator and Owner
http://ogindex.org

Lockdown updates!

Dear fans of the OGI,

I hope you are all well and safe at home and enjoying some extra time to do more genealogical research.

There are still new and updated data sets being added to the site at least once a month.  The latest update was added on 29th May.

Here are the details:

• Ancestry Liverpool Burials - 30 updated data sets
• Ancestry Surrey Burials - 202 updated data sets
• Dorset Online Parish Clerk - 11 data sets
• FamilySearch Memorial Inscriptions of Warwickshire - 10 data sets
• FamilySearch Memorial Inscriptions of Worcestershire - 8 data sets
• FamilySearch Parish Registers of Sussex - 15 data sets
• Findmypast Yorkshire Memorial Inscriptions - 7 graveyards
• Gravestone Photos - 23 new graveyards
• Hardwicke Marriage Act Project - 35 new parishes
• Lancashire Online Parish Clerk - 37 new data sets
• Norfolk Baptisms Project - 5 new parishes
• Poole History - 6 data sets
• Shropshire Civil Registration - 2 data sets
• Staffordshire Civil Registration - 2 data sets
• Staffordshire Burial Index - 1 new parish
• Yorkshire Civil Registration - 10 new marriage data sets

Number updated this week is 405 bringing the total on the site to 403,384.  Here is the current content of the Online Genealogical Index.  

FamilySearch (despite claims by Findmypast) is still the largest collection of genealogical data for England, Wales and the Isle of Man online (and it's free!)

I hope the new additions will help break down a brick wall or bridge a gap in your tree.

Please be wise and stay safe.  

Best wishes,

Tim Manners

Creator and Owner

http://ogindex.org

1800 data sets uploaded today

Dear OGI Researchers!

I hope you are all well and safe during this lockdown period.  FamilySearch, my employer, reports that their website has had more visits over the past month than ever before so it appears that many people are using this time to do more genealogical research.  With that said, the new resources and updates added today will help with that process!

A lot of new records for Kent thanks to Findmypast this week.  I love Kent.  It was an exciting place to be as we were either visiting cousins or on the way to or from France.  I spent a year there in 1986-87 attending West Kent College in Tonbridge.  My earned qualification, BTEC in Small Business Computer Systems, is now completely outdated but I do have fond memories of my first year living away from home.

Here is the breakdown of today's additions and updates:

• Durham Records Online - 6 new data sets
• Familysearch.org - Isle of Wight Memorial Inscriptions - 6 new data sets
• Gravelroots.net - Sussex Burial database and Memorials - 47 data sets
• Isle of Wight Burial Database (www.foncc.org.uk) - 5 new data sets
• TINSTAAFL Marriages - 30 new parishes
• TINSTAAFL Norfolk Baptisms - 4 new parishes
• aycliffehistory.org - 11 data sets
• gravestonephotos.com - 30 new locations
• lancashire OPC - 21 new locations
• lancashirebmd - 3 new locations
• opcdorset.org - 7 data sets
• staffordshirebmd - 6 new locations

Findmypast added and updated a number of records since the last OGI update.

• Durham Baptisms - 4 new parishes
• Greater London Burial Index - 13 new parishes
• Kent Baptisms - 543 new and updated data sets
• Kent Marriages and Banns - 508 new and updated data sets
• Kent Burials - 531 new and updated data sets
• Northumberland and Durham Memorial Inscriptions - 18 new data sets
• Northumberland Baptisms - 5 new data sets
• Northumberland Marriages - 1 new data set

The current total on OGI is 403,197 data sets.  I hope this will help with your own research.

Best wishes and stay safe,

Tim Manners

Creator and Owner

http://ogindex.org

563 new data sets uploaded today

Dear Patrons of the OGI,

Despite the lockdown, the lack of toilet paper, the empty supermarket shelves, the broken shopping process, the OGI lives on and is growing every month.

Ancestry has released updates and new Bristol record collections for Non-Conformists.  Bristol is an amazing place with hundreds of places of worship for many different denominations.  

Today's additions include the following:

• Ancestry Bristol Non-Conformist Registers: 289 data sets
• Dorset Online Parish Clerk: 3 new data sets
• Durham Records Online: 3 new locations
• FamilySearch Suffolk Memorial Inscriptions: 42 new locations
• FamilySearch Suffolk Parish Register images: 129 data sets
• Findmypast Hampshire Parish Registers: 28 new parishes
• Findmypast Middlesex Baptisms: 4 new locations
• Gravestone Photos: 4 new Yorkshire locations
• Lancashire Online Parish Clerk: 14 new data sets
• Sheffield Baptisms: 3 new data sets
• Sheffield Marriages: 3 new data sets
• Staffordshire Civil Registration: 10 new data sets
• TINSTAAFL Marriage project: 16 new locations 
• TINSTAAFL Norfolk Baptisms: 3 new parishes

I wish you all a safe and healthy month (or more) ahead.  Make use of the time at home to do more research, scan in family photos and upload to your favourite family history archive.

Check out the free photo colourization tool at MyHeritage.  Here are a few before and after examples from my own family archives ....

As you can see, the results are impressive and really bring old photos to life.

Until next time,

Tim Manners

Creator and Owner

http://ogindex.org

Major update to Findmypast Norfolk Bishop's Transcripts

Dear Fans of the OGI,

I have been working with Findmypast to improve three of their published Norfolk collections.  A number of data sets are labelled with only the church name (such as All Saints or St Peter) without a parish name.  Today, I emailed them the list of requested  fixes and hope they will implement that soon.

In the meantime, this new information along with all year ranges have now been updated on the OGI.

Here are yesterday's updates.

• Cheshire - New Civil Registration Marriages (3 data sets)
• Dorset - Parish Registers (5 data sets)
• Durham - Gravestone Photos (1 data set)
• Durham Records Online (4 new data sets)
• Findmypast Norfolk Bishop's Transcripts Baptisms (883 updated data sets)
• Findmypast Norfolk Bishop's Transcripts Burials (869 updated data sets)
• Findmypast Norfolk Bishop's Transcripts Marriages (812 updated data sets)
• Lancashire - Civil Registration Births and Marriages (2 data sets)
• Norfolk - Baptisms (1 data set)
• Staffordshire - Burial Index Surname Search (1 data set)
• Staffordshire - Civil Registration Births, Marriages and Deaths (6 data sets)
• TINSTAAFL Marriage project (8 data sets)
• TINSTAAFL Norfolk Baptisms (1 data set)
• Yorkshire - Gravestone Photos (1 data set)

Current total on the OGI is 402,690.  

Hope these new updates will help you find more ancestors!

Until next time,

Tim Manners
Creator and Owner
http://ogindex.org

The OGI is still growing in 2020

Dear patrons of the Online Genealogical Index,

I wrote a lovely message to you all in December but, looking at the blog today, I seem to have saved but not published the update!  I have published it today and will now give you an update from 20th Dec 2019 through today, 7th Feb 2020.

20th December - 1,261 data sets added.

Cheshire BMD Marriages (4 new data sets)
Kent - Medway archive new website (86 data sets updated)
Gravestone Photos (7 new graveyards)
Lancashire BMD (7 new data sets)
Lancashire Online Parish Clerk (22 data sets)
Staffordshire BMD (7 new data sets)
TINSTAAFL Marriages (11 new data sets)
TINSTAAFL Norfolk Baptisms (2 new data sets)
Yorkshire BMD (19 new data sets)
Findmypast

• Durham Baptisms (177 data sets updated)
• Durham Burials (199 data sets updated)
• Durham Marriages (168 data sets updated)
• Northumberland and Durham Memorial Inscriptions (7 new data sets)
• Northumberland Baptisms (217 updated data sets)
• Northumberland Burials (169 updated data sets)
• Northumberland Marriages (146 updated data sets)
• Yorkshire Memorial Inscriptions (6 new data sets)

Durham Records Online (6 new data sets)

As you can see, Findmypast updated a lot of records adding new information and expanding year ranges for existing parish records.

Updates on 11th January 2020 - 82 new additions

Staffordshire Burial Index (25 new data sets)
Gravestone Photos (19 new graveyards)
Staffordshire BMD (12 new data sets)
TINSTAAFL Marriages (19 new data sets)
TINSTAAFL Norfolk Baptisms (2 new data sets)
Findmypast - Sussex Monumental Inscriptions (3 new data sets)

Updates on 31st January 2020 - 99 new additions

Cheshire BMD (4 data sets)
Gravestone Photos (11 data sets)
Lancashire Online Parish Clerk (21 data sets)
Dorset Online Parish Clerk (4 data sets)
TINSTAAFL Marriages (16 new data sets)
TINSTAAFL Norfolk Baptisms (2 new data sets)
Yorkshire BMD (4 data sets)
Findmypast 

• Durham Burials (4 data sets)
• Kent Baptisms (1 data set)
• Kent Burials (2 data sets)
• Kent Marriages and Banns (1 data set)

Durham Records Online (20 data sets)

FamilySearch Parish Registers (9 data sets)

I am now gathering data for the next upload.  Should be later in February.

I hope the new information will help you find the ancestors you are looking for.

A tip this week I was reminded of, if you are unsure of the parents of a spouse, look at the witnesses to the marriage.  I had a direct ancestor with the wrong parents and found the correct parent duplicated on the marriage as a witness confirming the correct father.  Seems as if there is always something new to learn in this work!

Thank you for your encouragement and suggestions.  I am devoted to improving this site and making it more useful for all.

Until the next update,

Tim Manners

Owner and Creator

http://ogindex.org

729 New and Updated Data Sets added Dec 6th 2019

Dear Fellow Genealogical Researchers,

What a busy 2019 the Online Genealogical Index has had!  

The site was recommended as a research tool at RootsTech London by British Research Expert and Lecturer Whitney Peterson.

16,895‬ new Data Sets were added to the OGI during 2019.

Today's update of 729 data sets includes the following:

Cheshire - Civil Registration Marriages
GravestonePhotos.com (26 new cemeteries)
ShropshireBMD.info Civil Registration Marriages (95 new data sets)
Hardwicke Marriage Act (21 new parishes)
Kent Memorial Inscriptions (305 updated locations)
Norfolk Baptisms (4 new parishes)
Findmypast's Cornwall Burials (223 updates parishes)
Findmypast's Greater London Burial Index (30 updated data sets)
Findmypast's Northumberland and Durham Baptisms (8 new data sets)
DurhamRecordsOnline (8 new data sets)

There may be another update this year but we shall see how busy things are online and in my own household!

Thank you for your support and encouragement this year.  I sincerely hope the site has been useful in your own research and has saved you hours of time.

I have big dreams for updating the site in 2020 namely improving the search options and adding testimonials and new photos.

Until next time,
Tim Manners
Creator and Owner
http://ogindex.org