10 Free Findmypast Collections

A glimpse at some of the fascinating and diverse UK and Irish record sets that are available to explore on Findmypast without paying for a subscription

BRITAIN, PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS, 1830–1923

Record count 31,862

Copies of registers listing members of the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

BRITISH & IRISH ROOTS COLLECTION

Record count 63,023,456

A ‘mega collection’ detailing people found in smaller North American record sets who hailed from Britain or Ireland.

BRITISH RED CROSS SOCIETY REGISTER OF OVERSEAS VOLUNTEERS, 1914–18

Record count 243,983

Transcribed index cards of First World War Red Cross volunteers, showing information such as job title and home address.

DEVON WILLS INDEX, 1163–1999

Record count 295,609

A volunteer-created resource bringing together details of nearly 300,000 Devon wills from hundreds of different sources.

DUNDEE AND FORFARSHIRE (ANGUS) HEARTH TAX, 1691

Record count 5,824

Transcriptions showing how much money residents had to pay as part of Scotland’s 17th-century hearth (or fireplace) tax.

ENGLAND, MINING DISASTER VICTIMS

Record count 18,447

Details of people killed in mining accidents in Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire, which have been compiled by Alan Beales.

IRELAND ROMAN CATHOLIC PARISH BAPTISMS

Record count 7,395,282

An index to the National Library of Ireland’s vast microfilm collection, with images. The smaller marriage and burial sets are available for free too.

LIVES OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR, 1914–1918

Record count 458,101

Has details of First World War personnel uploaded by the public as part of Imperial War Museums’ centenary campaign.

PETERLOO WITNESSES AND CASUALTIES, 1819

Record count 1,180

Information collected about people present at the Manchester pro-democracy rally stormed by cavalry on 16 August 1819.

SOUTH RONALDSAY & BURRAY CENSUS, 1821

Record count 2,227

An 1821 record of these two Orkney communities, which – unlike most pre-1841 census returns – lists individuals by name.