Findmypast: Our Newest Genealogy Database

Findmypast is a family history and genealogy database that offers access to a collection of over 2 billion historical records covering the United States, England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and other parts of the globe. Our subscription marks the return of electronic access to PERiodical Source Index (PERSI), one of the most helpful tools in genealogy research. PERSI indexes by surname and location genealogy and family history periodicals from around the world, and Findmypast is the only genealogy database that provides digital images to select periodicals indexed in PERSI. Digital images of articles in the PERiodical Source Index will be increasingly accessible (18,000 images added this summer), which means you can find the citation in PERSI and link to a digital image of the article.

Our genealogy community might not be as familiar with Findmypast as it is a British owned genealogy company whose website has recently been made available to libraries in the United States. However, this company has been leading the way in family history for years as it was the first company in the world to publish the complete birth, marriage, and death indexes for England and Wales online. Findmypast contains over 1,000 exclusive records collections with its strength being European records. It is the only online place to gain access to the 1939 Register, which is the only surviving overview of the civil population of England and Wales spanning the period 1921-1951 as the 1931 census was destroyed during an air raid on London and the 1941 census was never taken.

Highlights of Findmypast’s Collections

• U.S. Census Complete 
• UK census collection, 1841-1911 
• 1939 Registers 
• Ireland census collection 
• PERiodical Source Index (PERSI) 
• Births, deaths & marriages 
• Parish records, including 40 million baptisms, marriages and burials from across England and Wales dating back to 1538 
• Military collections, including U.S. Military and British Army Records, 1760-1915 
• Local English, Welsh, Irish and Scottish records dating back to 1700, including school admissions, workhouse registers and apprenticeships records. 
• Immigration and naturalization records 
• Local and social histories 
• Passenger lists Griffith’s valuation 1847-1864 for Ireland 
• Irish petty session and prison registers 

We are excited about this newest addition to our genealogy databases, and the Southern History Department will debut its Findmypast class on Wednesday, October 19, 2016 from 9:15-10:15 am in the Computer Lab, 4th floor of of the Linn-Henley building.  To register, please call 205-226-3680 as space is limited.

Patrons can use Findmypast on any networked computer at the Central Library, and there are shortcut icons located on the computers in the Southern History Department. Although this database is in-library use only, patrons can register for a free account enabling them to build their family tree and save their personal records to use at home, working in tandem with the library's subscription to provide maximum access.

Laura M. Gentry
Southern History Department
Central Library