Migrant records hit Findmypast
Family history website findmypast. co.uk has announced the launch of a new database of 98 million records of migrants to the New World, with free access available for a limited time.
The British and Irish Roots Collection was created from existing records picked by Findmypast’s in-house experts, tracing 400 years of migration from Britain and Ireland to the USA, Canada and the Caribbean.
It brings together transcriptions of millions of passenger lists, census records, naturalisation applications and draft registrations, as well as birth, marriage and death records, in one place.
The records date from 1573 to 1990, and can be searched for an individual’s name or for a date, country of origin or destination country.
Researchers can use British and Irish Roots to locate anyone emigrating from the UK or Ireland to the USA, Canada or the Caribbean, as well as anyone emigrating between the three regions, including British and Irish emigrants who stopped there on the way to the USA. The records also cover children born to immigrant parents.
The collection is initially available for free, but it will eventually be included as part of the Pro subscription to the website, which was announced in recent changes to its pricing structure. The Pro package includes records from all over the world, as well as Findmypast’s newspaper collection, and costs £15.95 a month or £156 a year.
Findmypast members can view the collection at bit.ly/british-irish-roots.