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It’s been a crazy couple of weeks here, with getting ready for Unlock the Pasts 10th cruise, as well as releasing seven new Unlock the Past guide books in amongst that.

The seven new titles come from six different authors, and cover everything from Google, Protestant Nonconformity, Irish history, Norfolk Island, Scottish church records, migration to New Zealand, and the Genealogy Do-over. So truly something for everyone.

So let me tell you about the wonderful new titles that have just been released …

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UTP0288-2 Decade of Centenaries Researching IrelandA DECADE OF CENTENARIES: Researching Ireland 1912-1923
Author: Chris Paton
ISBN: 978125323436
Year: 2016
Item Code: UTP0288

Printed Book: paperback, 60 pages, $15.00 more information
Ebook: download, $9.95 more information

As the issue of Home Rule reared its head for a third time, its supporters and detractors raised militias to defend their positions, whilst women fought for the vote and labourers fought for better terms from their employers. The First World War would soon dramatically change everything, leading some to see England’s difficulty as Ireland’s opportunity. When an independent republic was proclaimed through force of arms at Easter 1916, the response would see a brutal guerilla war fought between the British forces the Irish republicans, a partitioned island, and a nation divided.

A century on, in this book from Unlock the Past, Northern Irish born family historian Chris Paton will help you to discover whether your ancestors were caught up in the events of that period – whether they were Suffragettes, unionised workers, Ulster or Irish Volunteers, fighting with the British Army and Crown forces, against them as rebels and revolutionaries, and in the ensuing civil war on both sides of the Treaty divide. With improved cataloguing by archives, and better access to the records, both online and offline, a new gateway has been opened into one of the island’s most tumultuous, tragic, exciting, and utterly desperate periods of the 20th century. In this book he will show you how to step through it

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UTP0341-2 Protestant nonconformity in EnglandDISCOVER PROTESTANT NONCONFORMITY IN ENGLAND AND WALES
Author: Paul Blake
ISBN: 9781925323474
Year: 2016
Item Code: UTP0341

Printed Book: paperback, 60 pages, $15.00 more information
Ebook: download, $9.95 more information

Not all our ancestors were Church of England, of even Catholic. A fair number, particularly after the start of the eighteenth century, joined other denominations such as Baptists, Congregationalists or Methodists. Although the State at various periods did its best to eradicate Catholicism and all forms of Protestant nonconformity, particularly during the late-sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, large numbers persisted in their thinking and were persecuted for their beliefs.

Therefore, it is quite usual, almost expected, for those researching their family in England and Wales to find it includes religious dissenters. Identifying these folk is not always straightforward: they may have continued to use the local parish church for their baptisms, marriages and burials; and may have belonged to congregations that kept few (if any) records. But there are often clues. Their beliefs, at variance to those of the Anglican Church, may have been short-lived or they may have lasted through many generations and perhaps still persist today.

As more and more records relating to protestant nonconformists become available online, the task in discovering more about them is becoming easier. And that trend is sure to continue

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UTP0281-2 Discover Scottish Church RecordsDISCOVER SCOTTISH CHURCH RECORDS (2nd edition)
Author: Chris Paton
ISBN: 9781925323351
Year: 2016
Item Code: UTP0281

Printed Book: paperback, 92 pages, $28.00 more information
Ebook: download, $9.95 more information

In this greatly expanded second edition of Chris Paton’s popular title, he explores the history and records of the various churches in Scotland prior to 1855, the year in which civil registration commenced within the country. He describes the theological changes imposed by the Reformation of 1560, the nature of the state’s battles with the Kirk, and the Kirk’s subsequent battles within itself. Most importantly, he also discusses the nature of the records generated by the various Scottish churches, how to interpret them, and above all else, how to find them.

Whether you are looking for tales of ministers carried into the air by Scotland’s fairy folk, the fire and thunder of John Knox, a detailed explanation of the online offerings of the ScotlandsPeople website, or the treasures waiting in the National Records of Scotland, this is the definitive research guide to help anyone with Caledonian connectio

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UTP0182-2 Google the Genealogists FriendGOOGLE: The Genealogist’s Friend
Author: Helen V. Smith
ISBN: 9781925323450
Year: 2016
Item Code: UTP0182

Printed Book: paperback, 52 pages, $15.00 more information
Ebook: download, $7.95 more information

Everyone knows Google as the most used search engine in the world, but for genealogists it can do so much more to further their family history research.

Finding an image of the ship on which your ancestor went to war, using Street view to walk the streets of your ancestral area, translating that document, finding that distant cousin who has the photos of family bible, mapping their migration path – these are just some of the ways you can use Google in your family history.

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UTP0441-2 Migration to New ZealandMIGRATION TO NEW ZEALAND: A Guide for Family History Researchers (2nd edition)
Author: Christine Clement
ISBN: 9781925323412
Year: 2016
Item Code: UTP0441

Printed Book: paperback, 68 pages, $15.00 more information
Ebook: download, $7.95 more information

Author, Christine Clement has often been asked how to find when an ancestor came to New Zealand. This set her off on an exploratory path a number of years ago putting together the different schemes, periods and times to find out just who the people were coming at the different time periods and why.

This booklet is designed to make readers think beyond the square to see what else was happening in the world that may have led people to New Zealand.

Australia and New Zealand’s history is linked as far back at 1788 and trans-Tasman migration began a little later with whalers and sealers, often with convict crew, from Sydney.

A shipping and migration bibliography and a list of basic New Zealand genealogical sources have been included for further reading, and this second edition has been updated to include all the latest resources.

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UTP0461-2 Researching Family History Norfolk IslandRESOURCES FOR RESEARCHING YOUR FAMILY HISTORY NORFOLK ISLAND 1788-1814
Author: Cathy Dunn
ISBN: 9781825323375
Year: 2016
Item Code: UTP0461

Printed Book: paperback, 28 pages, $11.50 more information
Ebook: download, $5.95 more information

Historian Cathy Dunn takes you on a journey back to the 1st Settlement of Norfolk Island 1788-1814 describing the archives and records that are available, where copies of the records are kept and what family historians can find online.

Discovering how your ancestors lived Norfolk Island does take one across a large variety of records. Cathy reviews the victualling books and musters; birth, death and marriages records; land grants and leases records; hospital records; diaries and journals; Sydney Gazette; Rev. Fulton BDMs; shipping records and musters as well as other records for family historians related to Norfolk Island 1788-1814.

It was not just convicts who went to Norfolk Island. There were also marines, members of the NSW Corps, free settlers, colonial offenders, aboriginal people and civil appointees.

There are very few known or surviving records for Norfolk Island for the period May 1796-December 1801. Also presented is a diverse bibliography for a complete range of references to Norfolk Island 1st Settlement research resources for family history research.

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UTP0426-2 Genealogy Do-Over WorkbookThe Genealogy Do-over Workbook
Author: Thomas MacEntee
ISBN: 9781925323399
Year: 2016
Item Code: UTP0426

Printed Book: paperback, 72 pages, $15.00 more information
Ebook: download, $9.95 more information

Back in December 2014, Thomas MacEntee made the big accouncement online saying that “Genealogy and I are parting ways. Done. Finished. Game over.”

While many people took that that to mean he was leaving the genealogy community or closing down his genealogy business, he then clarified what he menat by “leaving”. Starting in 2015 Thomas decided to set aside his 20+ years of genealogy research aside, and started over. From scratch.

If you think it’s time for a genealogy makeover, or better yet a Genealogy Do-over, this workbook will take you step by step though the process he followed with his own research throughout 2015.