ENGLAND PROBATE RECORDS RESEARCH--MADE EASIER?!!

Probate (i.e. wills) researching in England heretofore has been a fairly complex research process. For drawing accurate conclusions and connections to prior generations in especially the pre-1858 and/or pre-civil registration (pre-1837) era, few records do so any better than wills. Where extant, they often play a major role in genealogical provenance.

Recently, however, the 'difficulty' level has just been majorly adjusted and turned down a couple of notches! Why?
Did you know that just about all of England's counties now have indexes--most of them quite significant--available online?

Those who use and research in England's probate records--including wills, administrations/admons, inventories, codicils and etc., may also be very pleased to learn that wiki.familysearch.org (click "England", then click the county of interest, then "Probate") gives quick step-by-steps for researching in and pointing you to each rich online county resources to these records.

The key to using probate records is knowing in and by which probate court jurisdiction your ancestor's parish of residence at death--was covered. And the Wiki provides you not only with one but several (ranked) possible probate court jurisdictions in which the target parish comes under--critical information for deciding which court[s] to search. For example, the F.S. Wiki points you to David Wright's all-London Wills Index ~1750 to 1858 (now at FindMyPast).
The Wiki is updated with similar information on all new critical online resources (i.e. especially indexes) researchers can use to more quickly locate wills. The FamilySearch.org's Wiki (under the name of the country, then county, will share and display links to these online indexes to wills (and other records). And the best part? Most of them are free or at low cost to you.

Thanks to the Wiki, you can easily determine that most England counties now have online indexes to wills, admons and other probate records. Amazingly, only a few counties do not offer much online, but that's constantly changing. 

Current online Internet offerings, would you believe, renders finding probate records in England significantly easier, thus making research in original probate records themselves, a lot more fun!

London Huguenot Record Treasures at FamilySearch

England and the especially the greater London region by 1686 became a vast refuge for many French Huguenots. France's King placed a virtual death warrant on all Huguenots, declaring each person in a sense, as 'enemies of the state', and which flushed numerous among their flocks, out into the world, including North America, South Africa, West Indies, Scandinavia, Russia and other places.

Records of the French Huguenot chapels in the Greater London region are quite extensive. Over a century, these registers have been published by the Huguenot Society of Great Britain (London). They have also been microfilmed formerly by the Genealogical Society of Utah (now FamilySearch.org). In particular, the christenings now, like never before, have been mostly indexed and transcribed and made available online at FamilySearch.org.

The following is a list of those French Huguenot chapels of Greater London and the ranges of years, for which christenings are now available to be searched--at FamilySearch.org. Note that most marriages after 1754 were required by the law to have been performed in Anglican or that is--Church of England parishes; as well, burials of Huguenots also often occurred in the local parish churchyard; or in (Greater) London Nonconformist burial grounds such as Spa-Fields, Bunhill Fields cemeteries:


1. Chapel register  of Spitalfields, London, England, (La Patents French Huguenot), christenings, 1689-1785
2. Chapel register  of Spitalfields, London, England, (Wheeler Street French Huguenot), christenings, 1703-1742
3. Chapel register  of Spitalfields, London, England, (Saint Jean French Huguenot), christenings, 1687-1823
4. Chapel register  of Spitalfields, London, England, (The Artillery, French Huguenot), christenings, 1691-1786
5. Chapel register  of Stepney, London, England, (Crispin Street French Huguenot), christenings, 1694-1716
6. Chapel register  of Stepney, London, England, (Swanfields, French Huguenot), christenings, 1721-1735
7. Chapel register  of Stepney, London, England, (Bell Lane and Browns Lane and Marche Church, French Huguenot), christenings, 1709-1740
8. Chapel register  of Westminster, London, England, (West Street, French Huguenot), christenings, 1706-1743
9. Chapel register  of Westminster, London, England, (Hungerford Market or Castle Street, French Huguenot), christenings, 1688-1756
10. Chapel register  of Westminster, London, England, (Patente Soho or Le Temple, French Huguenot), christenings, 1689-1782
11. Chapel register  of Westminster, London, England, (Petit Charenton, French Huguenot), christenings, 1701-1705
12. Chapel register  of Westminster, London, England, (Rider Court, French Huguenot), christenings, 1700-1738
13. Chapel register  of Westminster, London, England, (Carre Street and Berwick Street, French Huguenot), christenings, 1690-1788
14. Chapel register  of Westminster, London, England, (Tabernacle Milck Alley, French Huguenot), christenings, 1696-1719
15. Chapel register  of Westminster, London, England, (Glasshouse Street and Leicester Fields, French Huguenot), christenings, 1688-1783
16. Chapel register  of Westminster, London, England, (Chapelle Royale de Saint James, French Huguenot), christenings, 1738-1756
17. Chapel register  of Westminster, London, England, (Pearl Street Chapel, French Huguenot), christenings, 1698-1701
18. Chapel register  of Westminster, London, England, (Swallow Street Chapel, French Huguenot), christenings, 1689-1708
19. Chapel register  of Westminster, London, England, (Savoye De Spring Gardens and Des Grecs, French Huguenot), christenings, 1680-1871
20. Chapel register  of London, London, England, (Threadneedle Street, French Huguenot Church), christenings, 1600-1840
21. Chapel register  of Hoxton, London, England, (French Huguenot), christenings, 1751-1783

To obtain further information about your Huguenot ancestry and to access numerous additional records which provide important perspectives and clues about them, be certain to contact the Huguenot Society of Great Britain. They hold online treasures as well for ancestry among this very fascinatingly conscientious and passionate group of Christian followers--including the Quarto Books (now online) and more.

Both Irelands blow the ceiling off of BMD prices!!

Both Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic have very recently exploited expanded their pricing for copies of births, marriages and death certificates--from €8 to €20 per certificate, or from about $13.50 to $25 U.S.! Unofficial copies of certificate prices have not thus far been addressed thus far.

Formerly, prices were  €8 for certificates and €2 for searches! In mean, after all is said and done, paper itself is valued only so much. So just why the draconian price-increase can only be construed as price-gouging.

On a positive note, Irish researchers will be thrilled to learn that FindMyPast.ie is starting a new webpage for Ireland, with free searches in their 21million name database, which is drawn from not only births, marriages and deaths (up to 1921 for Northern Ireland counties), but from newspaper notices, wills, and other record sources. Free searches commence on Thursday, January 24, 2013.

London's synagogues - a List

For Jews in England, Greater London by far was the favored place of settlement and residence of choice. Out of this region's numerous townships and cities (there were at least 30 Greater London township boroughs by the year 1870), and London's east-end held well over 50 Jewish synagogues. The United Synagogue held heirarchical jurisdiction over these congregations.

Here is a list of Greater London's East-end synagogues as of the latter part of the 19th century, taken from, a Guide to Ancestral Research in London; some provide the year of commencement, as noted.

The list of synagogues prior to 1900, includes--

• Adler Street Synagogue
• Alie Street Synagogue – Aldgate St - 18?
• Agudath Achim Synagog. – Aldgate Old Castle St 1880’s
• Austrian (Dzikower) Synagogue London E.1
• Beth Hamedrash Maharish Synagogue
• Bikkur Cholim Sons of Lodz Chevra Newcastle St. London E1 - 1887
• Cannon Street Road Synagogue London E.1
• Tchechenover (Chechanover) Synagogue) London E.5 & E.1 - 1896
• Old Montague Street Synagogue Chevrah Shass, London E.1 - by 1896
• Chevrah Torah Synagogue Princelet St, Lon. E.1 - 1890's
• Commercial Road Talmud Torah Synagogue Christian Street, London E.1. & Stamford Hill, London N.16 - by 1898
• Crawcour Synagogue London E.1 - 1887
• East London Synagog. Stepney Green, London E.1 - 1877
• Fashion Street Synagogue London E.1 – 1858
• Flasch's Synagogue London E.1 - prior to 1870
• Fournier Street Synagogue London E.1 – 1896
• Goulston Street Synagogue London E.1 - prior to 1870
• Great Garden St. Synagog. (Greatorex St, Lon. E.1 – 1894
• Greenfield Rd Syn. Commercial Rd, London E.1 - by 1896
• The Hambro' Synagogue City of London, EC3 & Commercial Rd, London E1 – 1707
• Hope Street Synagogue ("Sons of Covenant" Friendly Society) London E.1 – 1880
• "House of David United Brethren" Chevra London E.1 - by 1887
• "Jerusalem" Chevra London E.1 - by 1887
• United Kalischer Synagogue London E.1 - by 1887
• Kehol Chesidim Synagog.Whitechapel, Lon. E.1 – by 1896
• Konin Synagogue Hanbury Street, London E.1 - 1882
• Machzike Shomrei Shabbat Synagogue - prior to 1893
• Peace & Tranquillity (Buckle Street formerly Mansell St) Synagogue London E.1 - by 1887
• Mansell Street (or Zussman's) Synagogue) London E.1 – prior 1870
• Mikra Chevrah Synagogue (or, Plotzker, Fashion Crt Chevra) Lon. E.1 – 1858
• Mile End New Town Synagogue London E.1 – 1880
• Moses Moore's Synagogue, London E.1 - abt 1840
• New Road Synagogue Whitechapel, London E.1 – 1892
• North Bow & Victoria Prk Synagogue Lond. E.3 – 1894
• Poplar Associate Synagogue Poplar, London E.14 – 1892
• Prescot Street Synagogue (formerly Rosemary La. Congregation) London E.1 - 1870's (see also Gun Yard Polish Syn.and Cutler St Polish Syn.)
• Princelet Street Synagogue Spitalfields, London E.1 - 1862
• St. Mary Street Synagogue London E.1 - 1896
• The Sandys Row Synagogue Middlesex Street, London E.1 - 1853
• Scarborough Street Synagogue (formerly Gun Yard)
• "Polish" Synagogue; (see also Rosemary La.) City of London, London E.C.3 - 1792
• Spitalfields Great Synagogue -1898
• Spital Square (formerly German) Synagogue, New Broad St. or Old Broad St) of Spital Sq., Bishopsgate, London E1 – 1858
• Vine Court Synagogue Whitechapel, London E.1 – 1896
• Voice of Jacob Chevra London E.1 - by 1887
• Warsaw (Gun Str.) Synagogue) Lon. E.1 - by1895
• Wellington Rd Synagogue & B'Noth Zion Hebrew Classes
• White's Row Synagogue London E.1 - by 1870
• Winsor Street Chevra London E.1 - by 1887

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The Genealogist's UK's photostream on Flickr.

Finally! Lancashire Ancestral Research Un-plugged!

Lancashire is one of the most complex (and populated ) counties in which to trace ancestry. Lancashire originally had only about 76 parishes, and unlike most other England counties, was comprised by far of mostly (over 400) chapels of ease (chapelries) of the Church of England,  each of  which subdivided the parish to which it was attached. These numerous smaller chapels of ease and district chapels comprise a vast portion of its geographical tapestry and each one possessed registers of baptisms, and sometimes burials, and in only a few isolated cases, marriages, i.e. in the pre-1754 or, post-1837 eras.
Key Strategy: Always be certain to search for your ancestor[s] in ALL chapelries of a parish and their registers as well in the registers of its ancient parish.

Because of this unique attribute in Lancashire church records research, identifying each chapel's parish to which each was attached  is paramount to thoroughness in research. Accurately identifying all chapels was until recently fairly difficult, and especially required comprehensive, diligent study in more than one or two reference aids in order to accurately list all chapels and churches. 

However, today, I am thrilled to announce that starting November 12, 2012, FamilySearch's Wiki for Lancashire has just made researching in the county of Lancashire a much less formidable task! Editors and compiler-volunteers for the last 14 months have performed all the leg-work and due diligence to simplify and bring to you and your desktop or laptop--almost all available online resources at no or little cost--links to Lancashire's vast and complex tapestry of churches, chapels and parish registers' online data content!  The links to online data include to as late as the twentieth century! And, as accurately as can be determined--a formal List of all chapels of ease, chapelries, district churches, and parochial chapels lying within the boundary of each ancient parish, and with mentions of most or all other denominations found within each parish and/or township boundary (as of at least 1851).

For the first time, Lancashire researchers no longer have to do the nearly futile due diligent study to try to determine all chapels attached to a parish, because the Wiki user is introduced to not only a page for each chapel or district chapelry (with links to online data), but with also a link to the page[s] to the ancient parish (to which it was attached). *The Parish pages provides researchers with a comprehensive list of the names of all chapelries, district churches, and ecclesiastical parishes found within the boundary of each parish and, with available links to each's online data--plus much more!

So test FamilySearch's Lancashire Wiki's "Parish" pages today, and discover your family ancestry more quickly than ever!

Here are the links that take you directly to the critical pages:

• The Parishes (A-Z)
• The Chapelries (A-Z) 

 Have fun with these pages, and while you're at it--   Happy(!) Ancestry Hunting in Lancashire!!

How Well Do You Know Greater London's Parishes and Chapelries: Westminster!

Here's a comprehensive List of Westminster's parishes and chapelries in pre-1900; those with asterisks (*) indicate the ancient or 'mother' parishes:

Westminster St. James:

• * St. James - 1685
• St. John the Baptist, Great Marlboro' Street - 1867
• St. Luke, Berwick Street - 1841
• St. Paul, Wilton Place, Westminster - 1843
• St Peter, Great Windmill Street - 1861
• St Peter, Palace St - 1822
• St Peter’s Chapel, Palace St - 1890
• St. Thomas, Regent Street - 1869
• Westminster, St. Margaret and St. John Evangelist:
• All Saints, Knightsbridge - 1849 Christ Church, Broadway - 1840

*Holy Trinity, Knightsbridge - 1658 (used to be Knightsbridge Chapel ca. 1629)

• Holy Trinity, Vauxhall Bridge Road - 1852
• St. Andrew, Victoria Street - 1856
• St. James the Less, Upper Garden Street - 1861

* St. John the Evangelist - 1728

* St. Margaret - 1539

• St. Mary the Virgin, Tothill Fields - 1841 
• St. Matthew, Great Peter Street - 1850
• St. Peter, Abbey - 1607 (Westminster Abbey)
• St Peter, Regent St, Westminster - 1861 
• St. Stephen, Rochester Row - 1847

*Westminster St. Mary le Strand - 1558
St. Martin-in-the-Fields:

• St. John the Evangelist, Drury La. - 1855
• * St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster – 1550
• St. Michael, Burleigh St. - 1848

*St Martin le Grand, Westminster - pulled down in 1548
St. Anne, Soho:

* St. Anne - 1686

• St. Mary the Virgin, Charing Cross Road - 1850

* St. Clement Danes - 1558
*St George Hanover Square:

• Berkeley Chapel, John Street, Berkeley Square, Mayfair [by at least 1810; became St Saviour's in 1864]. Proprietary Chapel - became: St.Mary, Bourdon Street. Chapel-of-Ease to St.Geo.Han.Sq.[in 1882]
• Brunswick Chapel, Upper Berkley St - 1899
• Charlotte Chapel [?] (See under "Pimlico" in the Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales at Vision of Britain)
• Christ Church, Down Street, Mayfair [1865]
• Curzon Chapel, Curzon Street, Mayfair. Proprietary Chapel. Successor to the Mayfair Chapel, the marriage shop of the infamous Dr.Keith who defied church and state authority, with his asistants conducting 7,000-plus marriages c.1730 until activities were stopped by the Lord Hardwicke Marriage Act of 1753. Oddly enough, the registers were well-kept and went to the parish church (St.George's Hanover Square), and the Bishop's Transcripts to the diocesan registry. Out of operation by 1894.
• Eaton Chapel, Eaton Terrace. Proprietary Chapel. [1836?] closed 1901??
• Ebury Chapel [a proprietary chapel] of ease [prior to 1870]
• Grosvenor Chapel, South Audley Street [1730] - Still open
• Hanover Church, Regent Street [1823] became district church, then replaced by: St. Anselm, Davies Street, Berkeley Square. [Separate parish 1899?] - closed 1938, Parish united to Hanover Square and St. Mark, North Audley Street. Is now gone.
• St. Anselm Davies Street - see Hanover Church
• St Barnabas, Church Street, Pimlico -1850
• St John's Chapel, Pimlico Road. Chapel-of-Ease to above.
• St Gabriel, Warwick Square, Pimlico - 1852
• St George's Chapel, Albermarle Street. Proprietary Chapel [1740?] Licensed for marriages 1899-1909. Registers survive 1888-1909.
• St. George Hanover Square: All Saints - 1871
• St John, Belgrave Square. Proprietary Chapel. Possibly the same as: Belgrave Chapel Halkin Street [1898-1910].
• St John the Evangelist, Wilton Road Chapel-of-Ease to above [1874?] 
• St Mark, North Audley Street [1828]. Parish united to St.George Hanover Square 1968
• St Mary Bowdon Street - see St George Hanover Square - 1725
• St Mary, Graham Street [now Bourne Street] [1909]
• St. Michael, Chester Square - 1846 
• St. Paul, Knightsbridge w/ St. Mary, Graham
• St Paul, Wilton Place [Knightsbridge] - 1843
• St Peter, Eaton Square - 1827
• St Peter, Buckingham Gate/Palace Street Chapel-of-Ease - 1822?
• St Philip, Buckingham Palace Road [1888]. Separate parish 1890
• St Saviour's (for Deaf and Dumb) Chapel, Oxford Street
• St Saviour, St George's Square, Pimlico. 1864
• Trinity Chapel, Conduit Street - 1691

Taken from:  A Guide to Ancestral Research in London