April Update

Dear OGIers, 

I hope you are having a wonderful month.  The weather here in Staffordshire has been lovely.  Maybe we will have all our expected showers in May....  

Today's update included 559 new data sets covering a range of counties.  This brings the current total of data sets on the OGI to 437,011.

Findmypast released a number of Salford Diocese Roman Catholic records this week.  Unfortunately they didn't give a list of content so I have just spent the past 6+ hours figuring out what the new items are and the associated date ranges.  I really hope Findmypast will up their game and match their indices with their new releases.

Salford Cathedral Church, St John the Baptist

Here are the details of today's update.

• Cornwall OPC Database - 161 new data sets
• Durham Records Online - 2 new data sets
• Findmypast - Dorset Monumental Inscriptions - 17 new churchyards
• Findmypast - Middlesex Monumental Inscriptions - 7 new cemeteries
• Findmypast - National School Admission Registers - 19 new schools
• Findmypast - Roman Catholic Baptisms (Salford) - 95 new parishes
• Findmypast - Roman Catholic Burials (Salford) - 22 new parishes
• Findmypast - Roman Catholic Marriages (Salford) - 95 new parishes
• Gravestonephotos - 20 new cemeteries
• Lancashire BMD Deaths - 4 new data sets
• Lancashire BMD Marriages - 3 new data sets
• Lancashire OPC database - 16 new data sets
• OPC Dorset - 16 new data sets
• Staffordshire BMD Marriages - 39 new data sets
• TINSTAAFL Marriage Project - 39 new parishes
• TINSTAAFL Norfolk Baptisms - 5 new parishes

I sincerely hope that these new additions will guide you to your ancestors records.  I will be in and out of hospital over the next month but will continue searching for new data to add to the Online Genealogical Index.  

Thank you for your support.  Please spread the word about this site.

Kind regards,

Tim Manners

https://ogindex.org

March Update

Dear OGIers,

Good news for those with ancestry in Cambridgeshire.  I updated the data from Findmypast which now includes much more details than was originally available on the OGI.  

Here is the nitty gritty about last night's update:

• Cornwall OPC Database - 62 new data sets
• Durham Records Online - 4 new data sets
• Findmypast - Cambridgeshire Parish Registers - 455 new and updated parishes
• Findmypast - Lincolnshire Burials - 4 new burial grounds
• Gravestonephotos.com - 2 new cemeteries
• OPC Dorset - 4 new data sets
• Staffordshire Marriages - 55 new data sets
• TINSTAAFL Marriages - 14 new parishes
• TINSTAAFL Norfolk Baptisms - 2 new parishes

The new total of data sets on the OGI currently stands at 436,536.  These are all hand-picked and verified at the time of publication.  I appreciate when researcher's inform me of dead links so I can find a newer or archived version.  The OGI includes over 2,900 links to dead sites that were archived at web.archive.org allowing us to still benefit from the original content, even though the site is no longer alive.  An example of this is Wimpole, St Andrew's Memorial Inscriptions Index here.  This website 'died' in 2005 but thanks to the amazing Wayback Machine of Archive.org, the site has been stored (minus images).  I have spent hundreds of hours finding lost websites this way and putting them in the OGI for easy access.

Wishing you a successful and healthy month ahead,

Tim Manners

https://ogindex.org

February Update Details

Dear OGIers,

Here are the details of an update added on 28th February.  Lots of new parish registers for your research success.

• Ancestry - Cemetery Registers - 16 data sets
• Cornwall Online Parish Clerk Database - 253 new data sets
• Durham Records Online - 7 data sets
• Findmypast - National Burial Index - 245 data sets
• Findmypast - Norfolk Non-Conformist - 128 data sets
• Findmypast - Norfolk Workhouses - 6 data sets
• FreeReg - 103 data sets
• Gravestonephotos - 10 new cemeteries
• LAN OPC - 18 new data sets
• OPC Dorset - 4 new data sets
• Staffordshire Marriages - 19 new data sets
• TINSTAAFL Marriage Project - 36 new parishes
• TINSTAAFL Norfolk Baptisms - 5 new parishes

This update added 851 new data sets bringing the total on the OGI to 436,383.

Thank you for your support and interest.  I will continue searching for useful resources to help you find your ancestral records.

Always happy to hear from you with suggestions or comments.  Use the Contact link at the top of the page to send me a message anytime.

Until the next update,

Tim Manners

https://ogindex.org

First update of 2022

Dear OGIers,

I hope you have had a restful new years and started off with health and vigour.  There are lots of new genealogical resources for you to discover with today's addition of 511 data sets.

Here are the details:

• Cemetery Searcher - 3 new data sets
• Cheshire BMD - 5 new marriage data sets
• Cornwall OPC Database - 377 new data sets
• Durham Records Online - 8 new data sets
• FamilySearch.org - 10 new parish register data sets
• GravestonePhotos.com - 7 new cemeteries
• OPC Dorset - 3 new parish data sets
• Staffordshire BMD - 2 new death data sets
• Staffordshire BMD - 32 new marriage data sets
• Surrey Parish Register scans on Google - 10 new data sets
• TINSTAAFL Marriage Project - 41 new data sets
• TINSTAAFL Norfolk Baptisms - 6 new data sets

I am sure there will be some of your ancestors included in these, especially if you have Cornish connections.  The new total for the complete database is 435,533 data sets.  Please remember that a data set can be thousands of names or a handful of headstones.

Good to know the availability of new material continues to improve.

Aren't we all looking forward to enjoying warm days down south again soon?  Here's a photo of Porthleven, Cornwall.

Photo by Darren Welsh on Unsplash

Here's wishing you a happy and healthy 2022.

Until the next update,

Tim Manners

https://ogindex.org

Last update of 2021

Dear OGI-ers,

I hadn't planned on doing another update this month but Ancestry and Findmypast released new information for Devon.  Didn't want to leave it 'til next year!

Dartmouth in July 2021.  Can't wait to return to this type of weather!

I reuploaded the Findmypast data sets to include the new extended date ranges on many parishes.

The increase from the last update is a net gain of 3,241 data sets bringing the new total to 435,316.

A lot more content from the TINSTAAFL Marriage project as well.

Here is the breakdown:

• Ancestry Devon Parish Registers - 3,355 new data sets
• Cornwall OPC Database - 61 new data sets
• Findmypast Coventry Workhouse Death Records - 1 new collection
• Findmypast Devon Parish Registers - 2,374 new and updated data sets
• Gravestonephotos.com - 4 new cemeteries
• TINSTAAFL Marriages - 15 new parishes
• TINSTAAFL Norfolk Baptisms - 2 new parishes

That is about it for 2021!   I will be taking a well-deserved break from work and demanding hobbies (like the OGI) to spend some quality time with family.  I now have three of my five children living away from home so every Christmas our numbers go down it seems.  My oldest is coming back from the army for a week which we will enjoy.

I wish you all a wonderful Christmas and hope you, despite the recommended restrictions, are able to make some lasting memories and have a rejuvenating and uplifting season.

With warm regards to you all,

Tim Manners

https://ogindex.org

More updates to round up 2021

Dear OGI Researchers,

On 11th of November, I uploaded 5,838 data sets.  Today, 2nd December, another update adding 290 new data sets brings the total on the site to 432,075.  

2021 has been a busy year for the OGI and has seen the data sets grow by 25,770.  Each of these was manually searched, verified and added.  The Online Genealogical Index has been featured a number of times in a variety of magazines, both online and in print.  This has boosted the visibility of the site and, hopefully, helped thousands of more users find their ancestors in online records.

This is a photo of a wintery church, unknown, but reminds me that by gathering more data, we can find our ancestors who have been "covered by the snows of time" for so long.

Here are the additions since the last blog posting.

• Ancestry - 714 parish registers
• Archive.org - 157 parish registers
• Billiongraves - 31 graveyards
• Cheshirebmd - 13 new data sets
• Cornwall OPC - 278 parish records
• Durham Records Online - 12 parish registers
• FamilySearch - 169 parish records
• Findagrave - 185 cemeteries
• Findmypast - 535 parish registers
• Findmypast - 848 parish registers
• FreeBMD - 26 districts
• FreeReg - 46 parishes
• Gravestonephotos - 46 cemeteries
• Isle of Wight FHC - 18 parishes
• Lancashire OPC - 522 data sets
• Lancashire War Memorials - 66 memorials
• Lancashirebmd - 122 data sets
• Roll of Honour - 44 memorials
• TINSTAAFL Marriage Project - 30 churches
• War Graves Commission - 112 graveyards
• archersoftware.co.uk IGI batches - 1615 data sets
• cheshirebmd - 14 data sets
• churchmonumentsgazetteer - 58 churches
• cumbriabmd - 40 data sets
• forest-of-dean.net - 155 parish registers
• gloucestershire.gov.uk - 31 parish registers
• hertsdirect.org - 20 parishes
• ukga.org - 18 parish registers

As you can see, there are still dozens of sites releasing new information all the time.  I will stay committed to find these resources and post links on the OGI.

Thank you for your support and enthusiasm for the site in 2021 and I wish you a wonderful Christmas and New Years.  I look forward to posting in 2022!

Warm wishes,

Tim Manners

https://ogindex.org

November already?

Dear Fellow OGI-ers,

I was informed by some users that knowing if a place is spelled with or without dashes makes it hard to find the listed datasets.   I have, therefore, begun to add duplicate entries with alternate place spellings.  Hence a boost of 10,000 in the site total datasets today.

There are 3,668 new additions to help with your research.

Here are the details.

• Ancestry - Shropshire Parish Registers - 1,565 data sets
• Cheshire Civil Registration Marriages - 39 new data sets
• FamilySearch.org - Shropshire Parish Registers - 967 data sets
• Findagrave - 3 new cemeteries
• Findmypast - Roman Catholic Marriages - 8 new data sets
• Findmypast - Shropshire Parish Registers - 967 data sets
• FreeReg - 31 new Gloucestershire data sets
• Geneanet Cemeteries - 44 new cemeteries
• Gravestone Photos - 6 new cemeteries
• Lancashire Online Parish Clerks - 15 new data sets
• OPC Dorset - 7 new data sets
• TINSTAAFL Marriages - 14 new parishes
• TINSTAAFL Norfolk Baptisms - 2 new parishes

As you can see, a good month for Shropshire researchers!  

A lot of new data is coming to the public forum thanks to amazing projects run nationwide.  I will continue to add links to all useful resources for your benefit.

Thanks again to those who donate towards the site costs.  Every pound helps.  Please consider helping if you feel you are getting a good service.   

Until the next update,

Tim Manners

https://ogindex.org