Do you have an English mariner or lighthouse keeper in your family tree?

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Image from FindMyPast UK

If so, the TRINITY HOUSE PETITIONS may be a useful source for you. We hold on microfilm the years 1787 to 1854. Trinity House Corporation, in addition to being responsible for lighthouses around England, acted as a charitable body for mariners and their families. Those applying for aid had to give a detailed account of their circumstances and the records of those petitions provide a wealth of family information.

The Society of Genealogists [in London] produced “Trinity House petitions; a calendar of the records…” which provides a name index of those listed on the microfilms. It is available in the Central Auckland Research Centre ( 4 GBR OCC) and may be found on top of the cabinets containing the films of the petitions themselves.

As well as being available on microfilm in the Research Centre, the Trinity House calendars, petitions etc are also name searchable on FindMyPast UK's website - which is available to use for free in any of the 55 Auckland Libraries.

Janelle

PapersPast just keeps the heritage newspapers coming!

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The extraordinary marriage case


The latest additions to PapersPast sent people flurrying to their computers the other day.

At long last, the New Zealand Herald (1863-1884), has been added . . . its a major New Zealand paper, and its digitisation will be welcomed by all - not least of all, by family historians!

The last batch (for now) of the Auckland Star (1927-1945) was also added at the same time.

PapersPast is a National Library of New Zealand website created to house digitised versions of our heritage newspapers.


Auckland Star and the New Zealand Herald have been digitised in partnership with the National Library and Auckland Libraries; and the goal is to eventually have all editions up to 31 December 1945 of the New Zealand Herald on PapersPast.

It didn't take long for the family history community to start finding treasures once the news was out.

Researcher Lyn Dear found a scandalous marriage case that must have raised more than a few eyebrows at the time - and indeed would probably still raise eyebrows today!

What stories have you managed to unearth so far?

Seonaid

Tombstone Tuesday - Czech Cemeteries & Headstones

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Image from StonePics website


The Central Auckland Research Centre has a brand new collection of 60 CD-Roms from StonePics who have been photographing cemeteries and headstones of The Czech Republic since 2003. This collection, Cemeteries of the Czech Republic contains over 81,000 names on a searchable database, many also important to German genealogy research.

Three CD-Roms contain records from Prague’s Vysehrad National Cemetery which was established in the 15th century next to the Church of Saints Peter and Paul. Many famous Czechs have been laid to rest there including Antonin Dvorak, Bedrich Smetana, Jan Neruda and Karel and Jozef Čapek.

A further 57 CD-Roms record headstones from Prague’s Olsanske Cemetery. This large complex of cemeteries includes Jewish and Orthodox cemeteries and graves of soldiers killed in both WWI and WWII. Olsanske Cemetery covers fifty hectares and according to some estimates, two million people have been buried there.

This is an amazing welcome addition to our family history collection.


LR

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