FindMyPast Starts 2023 With Over 12,000 New Records

Findmypast announced its first release of the new year – and it’s a big one! Here is a rundown of everything that’s new here on Findmypast.

Gibraltar Census 1871-1921

This brand-new collection comprises of six decades of census returns from Gibraltar. With Gibraltar being a British Overseas Territory from 1713, many of our ancestors moved over for military work and to help rebuild the city. A significant portion of these families didn’t leave until the Second World War, when they were evacuate to London.

Through these records, you can trace your ancestors through the years, and discover how their families changed and transformed over six decades.

These collections will give you similar information to census records from the UK – full name, residence, birth year, and occupation. However, the 1891, 1901, and 1911 Censuses also includes notes on disability. This may involve education level too, such as if your ancestor could read or write.

Gibraltar Military Deaths 1869 – 1914

Another brand-new collection, these records document 2,749 British military deaths in Gibraltar in the 45 year before the First World War. 

Gibraltar became a hugely important base for the Royal Navy from the 18th century onwards. This is because it controlled the Gibraltarian choke point to the Mediterranean Sea, which is only 14.3 km wide.

To this day, this passage is incredibly important for both military and importation, and up until around 20 years ago, the British military was Gibraltar’s largest economy.

The death records in this collection are likely not due to conflict, but instead over other causes; for example, William Able’s death in 1872 is listed as ‘multiple injuries by a fall out of barracks window.’

The medical details tend to be quite vivid, and these transcripts also often include the period of residence in Gibraltar, the duration of the death, and the medical practitioner that saw to it. There is also sometimes a separate field for primary and secondary cause of death, which can differ, such as in William Madden’s record.

Gibraltar Marriages 1902-1942

To conclude the first weekly release of records, Findmypast has added 4,420 records to their Gibraltar Marriages between 1802 and 1920. In these new additions you’ll find:

Military marriages spanning 1869-1914

Civilian marriages spanning 1862-1920

Protestant marriage licenses spanning 1802-1883

Most of these records are fairly detailed, giving the full name of both spouses, the residence of both spouses, the groom’s occupation, the father’s name and occupation, and the religious denomination of the marriage.

Hot off the press

You’ll find over 600,000 new pages at the archive. Amongst three new titles, discover Lady of the House,  an Irish newspaper that dedicated itself to the life of women in the early 20th century:

“The want has long been felt of a high-class Irish Journal solely devoted to Fashion, the Beautifying of the Home and Person, Scientific Cookery, the Toilet, the Wants and Amusements of Children, the Garden and Conservatory, and the hundred-and-one-matters which interest educated women.”

A typically middle- and upper-class title, it included advice on women’s domestic duties, notes on how to acceptably earn money as a woman, fashion and beauty tips, as well as illustrations dedicating themselves to types of Irish beauty and contemporary trends.

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