Discover 150,000 new records from Ireland to India and beyond

We're taking Findmypast international this week, with a whole host of new records and newspapers from across the globe. Whether your ancestor was a Merchant Navy seaman or perhaps had ties to the Caribbean, this is a release you don't want to miss.

Britain, Merchant Seamen, 1918-1941

A collection renowned for its rich biographical detail and physical descriptions, we've updated it with nearly 5,000 new records.

As well as physical descriptions, such as tattoos and distinguishable marks, some records include photos. This can be incredibly valuable for forming a deeper connection with your ancestors.

These records don't just come from British land - they hold information for British merchant seamen stationed all across the globe, including Italy, Romania, West Africa, and more. As well as this, you could also discover crucial details such as rank, rating, discharge number, and voyage dates.

There are over a million records in this collection, and it will only ever grow from here, so make sure to keep checking what's new every week to see if your ancestor is hiding in these pages.

Ireland Newspaper Birth Notices

If diving into the entirety of our newspaper archive seems like a daunting task, fret not. We have streamlined these Irish birth notices into one, fully searchable collection.

Most of these records won't include a name for the child, but by searching the family name you can discover both parents, birth date, and sometimes a place of residence. This helps give you a broader picture to flesh out your family tree.

Ireland Newspaper Marriage Notices

Once you've discovered the birth of your ancestor, take a step forward in time and see if you can find their marriage.

As well as discovering the marriage date, you could also discover parents' names, the reverend who officiated the marriage, and even the exact church of union. If you fancy a trip away, visiting the local area of your ancestor could be a poignant way to connect with them.

Ireland Newspaper Death Notices

Close out your ancestor's journey by searching for their death notice in this collection.

While these records will give you the name and age of the deceased, you could also find extra information about their address and their occupation, making these notices a valuable resource for enriching the picture you have of your ancestor's life.

In fact, all three of the Irish newspaper notices collections may come in handy if you've struggled with tracing your heritage. Irish genealogy is notoriously difficult, but you're in the right place - we have the largest online collection of Irish records available, and as this week proves, we just keep adding to them. Once you've scoured these records, make sure to check back every week to see what else we've added (and, of course, make sure to let us know what you find).

British India births, baptisms and marriages

From Ireland to British India now, we've added records to both our British India Office Births and Baptisms collection and our British India Office Marriages collection.

Both of these collections cover those living and working in India while it was under British rule, and the surrounding territories such as Burma, St. Helena and Sumatra.

As well as the standard information you can gather from birth, baptism and marriage records, you may find a variety of other information including occupation, names of witnesses or officiators, and parents' names.

The Caribbean is calling

We hope you're not jet-lagged from all of this global travel, because it's time for a trip to the Caribbean. As well as two brand new Irish newspaper titles, we've expanded our international newspapers this week with five new titles from over the South Eastern Americas. Discover shipping intelligence in the Voice of St. Lucia, the stringent detailing of local life in The Dominica Chronicle, or the events of local police courts in the Colonial Standard and Jamaica Dispatch.

The full list of new and updated titles is below.

New titles:

• Carlow Nationalist, 1883-1916
• Colonial Standard, 1858, 1864, 1866, 1868-1869, 1871, 1873, 1875-1878, 1880-1888, 1890-1895
• Cork Weekly Examiner, 1896, 1898-1912
• Dominica Chronicle, 1911-1915
• Dominica Guardian, 1893-1920
• Mirror (Trinidad & Tobago), 1898, 1904-1907, 1909-1911
• Voice of St. Lucia, 1885-1888, 1890-1915

Updated titles:

• Acton Gazette, 1984
• Belper Express, 1992
• Birmingham Daily Post, 1953
• Bootle Times, 1987
• Horley & Gatwick Mirror, 1987
• Huddersfield Daily Examiner, 1986
• Merthyr Express, 1989
• Stirling Observer, 1991

Have you found an ancestor over the shores? Perhaps they were working in British India, or you found their photo in the British Merchant Seamen collection? We want to hear about it. Email discoveries@findmypast.com for a chance to be featured on our social media.