Links

Immersing yourself in family history is made so much easier these days by the quantity and quality online facilities available. Here is a list of the ones that I go to constantly. They are free, easily navigable, and contain core information to sustain the hunt for another leaf on the family tree. The links below all seem to be working for the moment. Several sites have gone

  • MANX iMUSEUM - digitised parish records, photographs and newspapers. Access to the newspapers attracts a fee but all other repositories are free
  • MANX NOTEBOOK (MNB)- an extraordinary compendium of Manx records, collected from multiple original sources, and transcribed by Frances Coakley
  • WILL SUMMARIES (in MNB) - brief overviews of thousands of Manx wills, organised by parish and time
  • INDEX of WILLS (in MNB) - list of testators on each microfilm in Manx National Archives
  • WILLS, BURIALS, MEMORIALS collected fy the IOM Family History Society from a range of sources, including Ian Radcliffe's site (mannin cloud) and Jim Smith's site (laxeyjim)
  • MANX MANORIAL ROLL - pre-1700 records, especially relating to land holdings, rents etc created by Robert Cannell
  • CREW LIST - mariners and ships in Manx waters, as well as shipping registers
  • FREE UK BMD - Birth, Marriage, Death records 1838+ (not IOM)
  • FREE UK CENSUS DATA - Census Records 1841-1901, including IOM
  • DUSTY DOCS - A clever facility that sorts data from a variety of sources, including LDS FamilySearch, according to geographic region
  • LANCASHIRE ONLINE PROJECT - transcribed Lancashire Church Records (birth, marriage, burial)
  • TOXTETH PARK CEMETERY RECORDS
  • TROVE - digitised Australian newspapers 1803-1982
  • PAPERS PAST - digitised New Zealand newspapers 1839-1945
  • HAMILTON CEMETERY SEARCH
  • FREE SETTLER or FELON? - NSW Hunter Valley residents in 1800s
  • THE MYLROIEs from the ISLE OF MAN by MARY PENBERTHY - a personal account of one branch of the Lonan Mylroie family

Updates

MAY 2025 NEW

Mylrea of Glen Wyllin tells the story of Thomas Mylrea, the miller at Glen Wyllin from about 1846 through to his death. He came from the Douglas Mylrea clan, and while his life in Michael was unremarkable, the lives of his children revealed a taste for adventure

MAY 2025 REVISED (minor editing)

Mylrea of Cronk Urleigh is a narrative about a short-lived offshoot of the Ballacooiley Mylreas. John Mylrea, second son of a second son, went to Michael in the early 1800s. His son John prospered but the "star of the show" in many respects was his grand daughter Mary Ann who ran the family estate and more besides.