Friday, October 8, 2010

FamilySearch Releases 20 Million New Images

An increasing number of “image only” collections are being published on the FamilySearch.org website, signifying a new phase in the site’s digital pipeline. Rather than waiting until the index is complete for each collection, FamilySearch is releasing the digital images as soon as possible in a browsable format. This gives patrons quicker access to records, which they can search in a similar way they would with a microfilm reader

This week FamilySearch published its first digital Chinese collection, along with additional digital image collections from Belgium, Germany, Guatemala, Mexico, Netherlands, Philippines, and Puerto Rico. Twenty million additional indexed records were also published for Civil War and Revolutionary War collections and the 1851 Census for England and Wales. Search these records now at http://Beta.FamilySearch.org.

See the chart below for the complete list of newly added or updated collections.

Project

Indexed Records

Digital Images

Comments

Belgium, Civil Registration, 1795-1910—Part 1


4,306,478

New images*

Central America, Colonial Census Records—Guatemala, 1662-1900


31,443

New images

China, Feng Ping Shan Library—Chinese Genealogies, 1500-1900


77,527

New images published as “Chinese Genealogies”

Germany, Hessen-Nassau Civil Registers and Church Books, 1701-1875


233,196

New images

Germany, Mecklenburg-Schwerin Census, 1890

57,723

96,982

New records and images

Mexico, Guerrero—Catholic Church Records, 1576-1969


1,248,009

Additional images added

Mexico, Hidalgo—Catholic Church Records, 1546-1963


151,539

Additional images added

Mexico, Mexico (Estado)—Catholic Church Records, 1567-1970

4,684,171

Additional images added

Mexico, Tlaxcala—Catholic Church Records, 1576-1989


980,189

Additional images added

Netherlands, Drenthe—Civil Registration, 1811-1942


177,438

Additional images added

Netherlands, Friesland—Civil Registration, 1811-1932, Part 2


938,253

Additional images added

Netherlands, Friesland—Civil Registration, 1811-1950, Part 1


610,369

Additional images added

Netherlands, Gelderland Province Civil Registration, 1811-1950


3,115

New images

Netherlands, Zeeland—Civil Registration, 1796-1922


317,736

Additional images added

Netherlands, Zuid-Holland—Civil Registration, 1811-1942


1,976,874

Additional images added

Philippines, Manila—Civil Registration, 1899-1994, Part 1


2,555,676

New images

Puerto Rico, Roman Catholic Church Records, 1645-1969


62,751

Additional images added

United Kingdom, 1851 Census—England and Wales

18,341,933


New indexed records

United States, South Carolina—Civil War Confederate Service Records, 1861-1865

1,192,363


New index pointing to Footnote.com's website

United States—Civil War Pension Index Cards

291,369


Additional records added

United States—Navy Widows' Certificates, 1861-1910

1,003,115


New index pointing to Footnote.com's website

United States—Revolutionary War Service Records, 1775-1785

1,997,022


New index pointing to Footnote.com's websit


*To view the images in this collection, patrons must be logged in at
beta.familysearch.org. There is no access or subscription fee.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Ancestry.com buys Footnote.com parent

Ancestry.com Inc. said Thursday it agreed to buy iArchives Inc. and its American history website Footnote.com for $27 million in stock, cash and debt. According to an Ancestry.com press release, the acquisition will provide it with a complementary consumer brand, expanded content offerings and enhanced digitization and image-viewing technologies. Ancestry states that iArchives had digitized more than 65 million original source documents to date, especially as they regard the Revolutionary War, Continental Congress, Civil War and other U.S. historical events.