For the West Midlands, the “black sheep” of the family tree may have just become easier to find. In a partnership with the Worcestershire Archive & Archaeology Service,

Worcestershire, England, Calendar of Prisoners, 1839–1921

Lists of prisoners awaiting trial or serving sentences. Beyond the basics of names, aliases, ages, occupations, and specific charges the linked original images often reveal the name of the presiding judge, the date a warrant was issued, and even unique notes like claims for goods taken during an execution.  44,382 records

Worcestershire, England, Quarter Sessions Order Books, 1632–1921

These handwritten logs document the court system’s activities, covering everything from minor thefts to serious assaults. They capture cases that were too serious for the “Petty Sessions” but not quite capital offenses destined for the “Assizes.” Both defendants and claimants are named.
257,096 records

Choose from these selected free online events. All times are Eastern Time, unless otherwise noted. Registration may be required in advance—please check the links to avoid disappointment. For many more events, mainly in the U.S., visit ConferenceKeeper.

Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) is advertising discounts on its full range of tests and pushing test bundles. The biggest discount is for the  Family Finder + Big Y-700 + mtFull Sequence bundle at $499 US.

If the paternal line is of most interest, the right test for you might be the Y-111 (111 markers tested) at $199 US. Be aware that FTDNA is now sequencing more locations on the chromosomes in its Family Finder test (about 9% of the total), just as MyHeritage is now doing.

https://www.familytreedna.com/

While on break, I posted briefly about the England, Prerogative and Exchequer Court of York Wills, 1389–1858. With 2,462,539 records, it deserves a closer look.

In addition to extracting name, place of residence, relationship to head of household, will date, and probate date, the collection includes a list of individuals mentioned and their relationship to the testator. This feature is absent from Ancestry’s Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384–1858, almost certainly because it relies on AI, which was not available when the PCC records first appeared on Ancestry in 2014.

A second, and even larger, addition to Ancestry from the Borthwick Institute is the Yorkshire, England, Bishops’ Transcripts of Church of England Baptism, Marriage and Burial Registers, 1558–1912, with 13,500,549 records. Baptism entries include name, date and place of baptism, and parents’ names (though not the mother’s maiden name). Marriage entries include names, date and place, and burial entries include name, date of death, and date and place of burial.

Both collections link to images of the original records. These days, it’s good practice to run those images through an AI tool for analysis. The results may not be perfect, but they’re often useful.

This is a gentle restart of blog posts after a relaxing break, cruising in the Mediterranean. There’s a lot to catch up on while I was away.

The FreeBMD database was updated on 23 March 2026 to contain 295,418,598 unique entries, up from 295,226,698 the previous month, an increase of 371,900 entries.

The years with more than 10,000 additions are 1995-6 for births and marriages, 1994 and 1996-7 for deaths.

Ireland, Dublin Port Employment records, 1862-1925
Years covered: 1862-1925
Records added: 1,635

The Jewish Year
Book
Years covered: 1895-1955
Records added: 425,089

Newspapers

225,300 pages added this week, with six new titles and sixteen updated publications. Featuring Suffolk to Scotland.

Sourced from the Borthwick Institute for Archives, transcribed records may include: name, place of residence, relationship to head of household, will date, and probate date. Additional information is in the linked images, the majority written in Latin.

The newly released titles include:

• Calendar of Chancery Proceedings, Bills & Answers: 1625–1649
• Calendar of Chancery Cases During Reign of Queen Elizabeth I 1558-1603
• Exchequer Deponents: 1559–1695
• List of Proceedings in the Court of Star Chamber 1485–1558
• List of Proceedings in the Court of Requests 1509–1603
• Courts of Requests for the City of London, Southwark, Palace Court &Tower Hamlets, 1831
• Ducatus Lancastriae (Duchy of Lancaster) – Calendar to Pleadings: 1503–1603 

Find disputes, petitions and everyday conflicts that brought your ancestors before the courts. They typically record bills, answers, depositions and pleadings that can reveal relationships, occupations, property ownership and even personal disputes.

http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk

Britain, The Medical Registers

Year covered: 1859-1895
Records added: 393,288

London (and Provincial) Medical Directory

Years covered: 1847-1869
Records added: 511,311

Nine more newspaper titles now online

Bolton Guardian, Linlithgow Advertiser and Times Illustrated are among the latest publications to join our ever-growing newspaper collection.

What’s the weather going to be?
It’s one of the most asked questions.

We take it for granted that we can find the answer in a matter of seconds at the touch of a mobile phone screen or flick of the television switch.

But behind each forecast are millions of observations, crunched through thousands of processors in the extraordinary and unique global network coordinated by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

23 March is World Meteorological Day. Read more here.

The 2026 edition of Beechwood Cemetery’s Annual Irish History Night is scheduled for Wednesday, 25 March at 6:30pm

Beechwood welcomes Dr. Laura Smith, who will present her acclaimed research: “Unsettled Settlers: Irish Catholics, Irish Catholicism, and British Loyalty in Upper Canada, 1819-1840.”

Dr. Smith’s work explores the complexities of loyalty, faith, and identity among Irish Catholic communities in early 19th-century Upper Canada. Her analysis sheds light on how these settlers balanced religious convictions with colonial expectations, shaping the cultural and political landscape of their new homeland.

Register here.

Guidance for LAC, pointing to deficiencies as well as acknowledging achievements.

http://www.canada.ca/en/library-archives/corporate/transparency/reports-publications/audits-evaluations/evaluation-public-services-online-access.html

Key Recommendations

• ​Prioritize High-Value Content: Focus digitization and metadata efforts on materials the public actually wants to see.
• ​Adopt Modern Systems: Replace the aging “MIKAN” archival system with one that supports AI-driven indexing and “Linked Data.”
• Improve User Autonomy: Integrate help tools, tutorials, and simplified research guides directly into the search applications.