Over 22 million more US records released

With this week's release, dive into millions of records from across the whole of America, spanning all the way up until 2014. Here's a rundown of everything that's new this week.

United States Obituaries Notices

This expansive record collection doesn't just extend across all 50 states, but also includes the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. We've added over 22 million records to this collection alone, meaning there are now over 56 million notices in total. These provide the necessary details to track down an ancestor's death and a full obituary, if one was released.

In this video, our American genealogist and in-house expert Jen Baldwin discusses our extensive collection of US records and how best to dive into them.

United States, Freedmen’s Bureau Marriages

The Freedmen's Bureau - or The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandon Lands - was established during the Reconstruction era post-Civil War, and existed between 1865-1872. It was installed with the purpose of offering much-needed aid to the four million African Americans who were freed after the abolition of the slave trade.

Within these records, you'll find documentation of the marriages that were not previously recognised by the law. This was the Bureau's attempt to retrospectively legalise them, as enslaved people were not allowed to marry without their master's permission. They also record and officiate the marriages that occurred immediately after the trade ended; both prior and new unions, then, are reflected in these documents.

The Bureau was volatile in its assistance of the transition for previously-enslaved people. Between the rampant racism of post-war America (that still takes place systemically to this day) and its majorly white American employees and government opportunists, it was not as effective as it should have been. However, this record release still offers a unique insight into the unions that occurred both during and after the slave trade, offering a glimpse into the individual lives of those that were, at the time, dismissed.

Did your ancestors migrate from Britain or Ireland over to the US? Diaspora and immigration has always been a large component of British and Irish history. This British and Irish Roots Collection identifies migrants within the US, utilizing an incredible 63 million records. Within its pages, you'll find everything from marriage records, death records, migrations, draft registrations, and passenger lists, all available to help support and facilitate your journey into your own diasporic history.

Newspapers

We have reached an incredible milestone at Findmypast, having now released over 46 million newspaper pages on our site. Eight brand new papers have been added this week alone, and an amazing 86 have been updated, totaling a collective 181,690 pages. Our new titles include the Law Chronicle, Commercial and Bankruptcy Register, which named and shamed the businessmen that had fallen on hard times, and The London & China Herald, which reported commercial intelligence between the east and the west, including the trade prices of silk, tea, and cotton.

New titles include:

• Beckenham Journal, 1890-1911, 1913-1914
• Law Chronicle, Commercial and Bankruptcy Register, 1813-1819, 1821-1847
• London & China Herald, 1867-1870
• London & Provincial News and General Advertiser, 1861-1863
• London and Scottish Review, 1875
• London Mirror, 1872-1873, 1875-1876
• Peterborough Express, 1884-1896, 1898-1910, 1913-1917
• Weekly Review (London), 1862, 1864-1881

Updated titles include:

• Alloa Journal, 1913-1914
• Arbroath Guide, 1960
• Arbroath Herald and Advertiser for the Montrose Burghs, 1960-1961
• Banffshire Advertiser, 1913-1914
• Banffshire Herald, 1913-1914
• Barking, East Ham & Ilford Advertiser, Upton Park and Dagenham Gazette, 1913-1914
• Barrhead News, 1913
• Bexley Heath and Bexley Observer, 1913-1914
• Bolton Evening News, 1912-1914
• Brechin Advertiser, 1960-1961
• Broughty Ferry Guide and Advertiser, 1960-1961
• Bury Free Press, 1998-1999
• Cambrian News, 1913-1914
• Carlisle Journal, 1913-1914
• Christchurch Times, 1913-1914
• Clitheroe Advertiser and Times, 1960
• County Down Spectator and Ulster Standard, 1913-1914
• County Express, 1913-1914
• Crewe Guardian, 1913
• Cumberland & Westmorland Herald, 1913-1914
• Cumberland Pacquet, and Ware’s Whitehaven Advertiser, 1872
• Dalkeith Advertiser, 1960-1961
• Denbighshire Free Press, 1913-1914
• Evesham Standard & West Midland Observer, 1960-1961
• Exmouth Journal, 1913
• Fermanagh Herald, 1913
• Forres Elgin and Nairn Gazette, Northern Review and Advertiser, 1913-1914
• Glasgow Chronicle, 1848
• Hampshire Telegraph, 1960-1961
• Haverhill Echo, 1998-1999
• Herts & Cambs Reporter & Royston Crow, 1913-1914
• Highland News, 1913-1914
• Huntly Express, 1913
• Irish Times, 1910
• Isle of Wight County Press and South of England Reporter, 1913
• Jersey Evening Post, 1913-1914
• John o’ Groat Journal, 1913
• Kenilworth Advertiser, 1878
• Kilburn Times, 1913
• Leven Mail, 1960
• Liverpool Journal of Commerce, 1873, 1878, 1883
• Lloyd’s List, 1914
• Maidenhead Advertiser, 1913-1914
• Midland Tribune, 1913-1914
• Montrose Standard, 1960
• Morecambe Guardian, 1960
• Newark Advertiser, 1892-1895, 1898-1901, 1903, 1919
• Newmarket Journal, 1998-1999
• Newry Reporter, 1912-1913
• North Star and Farmers’ Chronicle, 1913
• Northern Chronicle and General Advertiser for the North of Scotland, 1914
• Northern Scot and Moray & Nairn Express, 1913
• Northwich Guardian, 1913
• Nuneaton Observer, 1913-1914
• Oban Times, and Argyllshire Advertiser, 1877
• Orcadian, 1913-1914
• Pearson’s Weekly, 1913
• Penrith Observer, 1960
• Port-Glasgow Express, 1960-1961
• Ross Gazette, 1913-1914
• Saffron Walden Weekly News, 1986-1989, 1998-1999
• Salisbury and Winchester Journal, 1913-1914
• Sheerness Times Guardian, 1876
• Shipley Times and Express, 1960
• Soulby’s Ulverston Advertiser and General Intelligencer, 1913
• Southend Standard and Essex Weekly Advertiser, 1913-1914
• Spalding Guardian, 1998-1999
• Stamford Mercury, 1920-1921, 1923-1925, 1927, 1930, 1937, 1946-1953
• Strabane Chronicle, 1913-1914
• Strabane Weekly News, 1913-1914
• Suffolk and Essex Free Press, 1998-1999
• Surrey Advertiser, 1877
• Sussex Agricultural Express, 1959-1961
• The Berwick Advertiser, 1959
• The Referee, 1913
• Tottenham and Edmonton Weekly Herald, 1913-1914
• Uttoxeter Advertiser and Ashbourne Times, 1913-1914
• Waterford Star, 1915-1917
• West Cumberland Times, 1913-1914
• Willesden Chronicle, 1913
• Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard, 1913-1914
• Windsor and Eton Express, 1913
• Witney Gazette and West Oxfordshire Advertiser, 1914
• Workington Star, 1913-1914

Findmypast Fridays Live

Want to delve into more US history? Discover the genealogical roots of past US presidents, or uncover the reason that British and Irish migrants travelled across Canada to get to the US.