New British and Black History records

2-3 minute read

By Alex Cox | February 18, 2021

Discover marriages, pub landlords and more

Findmypast is the only place to be for new family history releases every Friday. Here's what's new this week.

Britain, Marriage Licences

Search over 100,000 new additions from the Diocese of Durham dating all the way back to the 16thcentury.

With records from as early as 1115, this useful collection covers fifteen English counties including London, Lancashire, Suffolk, Exeter, Lincoln, Yorkshire, and more. Marriage licenses will reveal your ancestor’s intended spouse, father’s name, and the intended marriage place.

Cambridgeshire, Licensed Victuallers

Were your Cambridgeshire ancestors pub landlords? Discover the name of their establishment, its location and when they ran it.

The surviving records for Cambridgeshire 1764-1828 are kept in the Cambridgeshire Archives in Ely. They have been photographed and transcribed by members of the Cambridgeshire & Huntingdonshire Family History Society, which has kindly licensed the records for the use of researchers on Findmypast. Each record normally includes the name and abode of the victualler, the name of the alehouse, tavern or inn, and the name and abode of the person providing surety.

United States, Inspection Roll Of Negroes, 1783

Search the records of Black Loyalists evacuated by the British from New York in 1783 after defeat in the American War of Independence. Please note that the terms used in historical records reflect the attitudes and language of the time and may now be considered inappropriate, derogatory or offensive.

A page from the Inspection Rolls documenting Harry Washington, former slave of George Washington, who escaped to British lines in 1776 and rose to the rank of corporal in Lord Dunmore's regiment of "Black Pioneers".

The records in the Inspection Roll are highly detailed. The exact content varies according to the status of the individual evacuee (for instance, whether free, or former slave, or slave of a Loyalist), but most will include a combination of their name, age, statues, physical description and the vessel they were evacuated on.

Newspapers

Explore11 new titles covering diverse locations from India, China, Dominica and Antigua to Beverley, Birkenhead and Blandford. Brand new to the collection this week are: