Record Collections Added in the Second Half of December

821.2 million records were added to MyHeritage in the last two weeks of December — bringing the total number of historical records in MyHeritage SuperSearch to 11 billion records! This update includes over 600 million records about published authors from the U.S. and around the globe, a Hesse Birth Index and Hesse Marriage Index, a Military Death Index from France, and 9 U.S. state newspaper collections.

Here is the full breakdown of records:

Collection	Description	Number of Records	Link to Search
Historical Books – Index of Authors and People Mentioned, 1811–2003	An index of persons mentioned in various English-language public domain books as well as the names of authors of these publications.	494,096,291 records in 3,024,213 books	Search collection now
Authors of Scholarly Articles	Names of authors of millions of scholarly articles	272,046,994 records	Search collection now
Texas Marriages and Divorces	An index of marriage license applications from all counties in the state of Texas for the years 1966 to 2016	26,591,435 records	Search collection now
France, Military Death Index, 1914–1961	An index of death records of individuals who died fighting in the French armed forces, members of foreign armed forces who died fighting in France, and civilians who were killed in France.	5,332,260 records	Search collection now
Germany, Hesse Marriage Index, 1849–1931	An index of marriage records from several communities that are within the state of today’s Hesse Germany.	4,770,560 records	Search collection now
Germany, Hesse Birth Index, 1874–1911	An index of birth records from several communities that are within the state of today’s Hesse Germany.	3,784,938 records	Search collection now
Florida Newspapers, 1901–2009	A compendium of newspapers published in various cities and towns in the state of Florida from 1901 to 2009.	8,084,846 pages in 25 newspaper titles	Search collection now
Wisconsin Newspapers, 1884–2009	As above for Wisconsin, from 1884 to 2009.	2,887,946 pages in 3 newspaper titles	Search collection now
Kansas Newspapers, 1869–2009	As above for Kansas, from 1869 to 2009.	1,473,037 pages in 39 newspaper titles	Search collection now
Texas Newspapers, 1848–2009	As above for Texas, from 1848 to 2009.	1,254,230 pages in 33 newspaper titles	Search collection now
Oklahoma Newspapers, 1927-2009	As above for Oklahoma, from 1927 to 2009.	521,793 pages in 14 newspaper titles	Search collection now
Montana Newspapers, 1890–2009	As above for Montana, from 1890 until 2009.	155,210 pages in 94 newspaper titles	Search collection now
Minnesota Newspapers, 1902–2009	As above for Minnesota, from 1902 until 2009.	92,171 pages in 26 newspaper titles	Search collection now
Illinois Newspapers, 1840–2009	As above for Illinois, from 1840 until 2009.	83,452 pages in 14 newspaper titles	Search collection now
Tennessee Newspapers, 1870–2009	As above for Tennessee, from 1870 until 2009.	66,994 pages in 8 newspaper titles	Search collection now

Historical Books – Index of Authors and People Mentioned, 1811–2003

This collection of 494 million records is an index of persons mentioned in various English-language public domain books as well as the names of authors of these publications. The number of digitized books is over 3 million. The following searchable information can be found in most records in the index: the title and the year of publication, name of the author(s), birth and death year of the author(s), the names of all the individuals mentioned in the publication, the publisher, and the subject(s) of the publication.

The dataset for this collection was obtained with the help of the GDELT Project.

Authors of Scholarly Articles

This collection of 272 million records includes the names of authors of millions of scholarly articles. Authors’ names are collected from over 50,000 journals and open-access repositories from all over the world. Records typically include the given name and surname of authors and co-authors, the article’s title and date, the name of the journal, and the name of its publisher. For some of the articles, a link is provided to view the article online.

The articles are Open Access content. They originate from legitimate sources including repositories run by universities, governments, and scholarly societies, as well as open content hosted by the publishers themselves.

Texas Marriages and Divorces

This collection comprising 26 million records contains indexes of marriage license applications from all counties in the state of Texas for the years 1966 to 2016. The collection also includes divorce records from 1968 to 2015. The indexes were prepared by the Texas Vital Statistics Unit of the Department of State Health Services.

A marriage record may include the age of the bride, the age of the groom, the bride’s given name and surname, the groom’s given name and surname, calculated birth year for the bride and groom, date of marriage, and place of marriage.

The divorce records are a compilation of the Reports of Divorce Decrees or Annulment to Marriage by the district clerk’s office in the county where the court decree was filed. A divorce record may include husband and wife names, ages, number of children, date of marriage, date of divorce, and the county where the divorce occurred. Reports of divorces and annulments were reported to the Bureau of Vital Statistics from 1968 onward. Before that time, the county clerk may have recorded the event.

France, Military Death Index, 1914–1961

This free collection of 5 million records is an index of death records of individuals who died fighting in the French armed forces, members of foreign armed forces who died fighting in France, and civilians who were killed in France. The majority of the records pertain to the First World War, although there are also records from the Second World War, the Franco-Prussian War, and various other conflicts that occurred in France or that involved the French armed forces. Records may contain the following searchable information: first and last name of the individual, date and place of birth, date and place of death, burial place, and the first and last names of the individual’s parents and spouse.

The following information may also be found in most records: rank and regiment, company, conflict, military decorations, additional notes on locations, and the individual’s family situation. The content is provided for free by MyHeritage as a beneficial, non-commercial service to the genealogy community, courtesy of Mémorial Gen Web.

Germany, Hesse Marriage Index, 1849–1931

This collection of 4.77 million records includes marriage records from several communities within today’s Hesse, Germany. Marriages were usually recorded in the bride’s place of residence. When the information is available a record will include the groom’s given name and surname, age or birthdate, birthplace, residence, occupation, marriage date, and information about the groom’s parents. A record will also include the bride’s given name and surname or maiden name, age or birthdate, birthplace, residence, occupation, and information about the bride’s parents.

Starting in 1874, the state mandated that new local civil registry offices be responsible for creating civil registers of birth, marriage, and death records in the former Prussian provinces, among them many communities in Hesse.

Germany, Hesse Birth Index, 1874–1911

This collection of 3.78 million records includes birth records from several communities within today’s Hesse, Germany. When the information is available a record will include the child’s given name, the date of a birth, and sex. Information about the mother includes given name, maiden name, last name, address, and spouse. Information is also provided about the informant. An informant was often the father of the child or a midwife.

Newspaper collections from Florida, Wisconsin, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Montana, Minnesota, Illinois, and Tennessee

This is the next installment in our U.S. newspaper collections. We have added 14.6 million pages from nine states: Florida, Wisconsin, Kansas, Texas, Montana, Minnesota, Illinois, and Tennessee. The newspapers in this update range in date from the late 19th/early 20th century to 2009.

Newspapers are an important resource for genealogy and family history research as they contain obituaries and other vital record substitutes such as birth, marriage, and death notices. Additionally, society pages and stories of local interest contain rich information on activities and events in the community and often provide details about the persons involved.

Before vital records were recorded by city, county, or state governments, local newspapers often published articles listing or detailing these events. Obituaries contain vital and biographical information on the deceased as well as his or her family and relatives.

Society pages began as a way to entice readers with gossip and news about the wealthy and famous but soon evolved to cover the goings-on of “average” citizens. An incredible array of information can be discovered in these society pages or sections from seemingly mundane notices and reports on events such as parties, job changes, hospital stays, and social visits by friends or relatives. These pages are a source of historical events that are unlikely to exist in any other record.

Coverage and completeness in this collection varies by title.

Florida Newspapers, 1901–2009

This collection is a compendium of over 8 million newspaper pages from 25 newspaper titles published in various cities and towns in the state of Florida from 1901 until 2009.

Wisconsin Newspapers, 1884–2009

This collection of 2.8 million newspaper pages is a compendium of newspapers published in various cities and towns in the state of Wisconsin from 1884 until 2009.

Kansas Newspapers, 1869–2009

This collection of 1.4 million newspaper pages is a compendium of newspapers published in various cities and towns in the state of Kansas from 1869 until 2009.

Texas Newspapers, 1848–2009

This collection of 1.2 million records is a compendium of newspapers published in various cities and towns in the state of Texas from 1848 until 2009.

Oklahoma Newspapers, 1927-2009

This collection is a compendium of newspapers published in various cities and towns in the state of Oklahoma from 1927 until 2009.

Montana Newspapers, 1890–2009

This collection is a compendium of newspapers published in various cities and towns in the state of Montana from 1890 until 2009.

Minnesota Newspapers, 1902–2009

This collection is a compendium of newspapers published in various cities and towns in the state of Minnesota from 1902 until 2009.

Illinois Newspapers, 1840–2009

This collection is a compendium of newspapers published in various cities and towns in the state of Illinois from 1840 until 2009.

Tennessee Newspapers, 1870–2009

This collection is a compendium of newspapers published in various cities and towns in the state of Tennessee from 1870 until 2009.

Summary

Searching all of these collections in MyHeritage SuperSearch is free, but a Data or Complete subscription is required to view the full records, save them to your family tree, and fully access Record Matches. Our Record Matching technology will automatically find relevant historical records revealing new information about any ancestors who appear in these records.

We hope this recent update will help boost your family history research in the new year. Leave us a comment below and let us know what treasures you discover!

The post Record Collections Added in the Second Half of December appeared first on MyHeritage Blog.

Source: My Heritage