Using Maps in Genealogy
James F. S. Thomson
Durham Region Branch OGS Meeting
February 7, 2017
Collections of Online Digital Maps for British Isles Research – Selected Examples
British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/catalogue/maps
The British Library (BL) http://www.bl.uk/
BL: Online Gallery – Maps http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/maps/
Georeferencing and georeferenced maps http://www.bl.uk/maps/ and http://www.bl.uk/georeferencer/
Description: http://www.museumsandheritage.com/advisor/news/item/2794
BL: Fire Insurance Plans http://www.bl.uk/collection-guides/fire-insurance
National Library of Scotland (NLS) – Map Images http://maps.nls.uk
(Cairt (newsletter) www.nls.uk/collections/maps/subject-info/cairt)
Recent additions: http://maps.nls.uk/additions.html
Example – John Wood town plans: http://maps.nls.uk/mapmakers/wood.html
Historic Maps at UCD and on the Web – All Island Ireland: http://libguides.ucd.ie/findingmaps/mapshistIreland
Ordnance Survey http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/
History of the Ordnance Survey: http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/about/overview/history.html
PRONI Historical Maps Viewer
Boundary Maps and Boundary Changes – Selected Examples
FamilySearch Research Wikis https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Main_Page (read the “Historical Geography” and “Maps” topics in all relevant jurisdictions)
England Jurisdictions 1851 http://maps.familysearch.org/
Description: https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/England_Jurisdictions_1851
A Vision of Britain through Time www.visionofbritain.org.uk
ScotlandsPlaces http://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/digital-volumes/published-gazetteers-and-atlases/hay-shennan-county-and-parish-boundaries-1892
The IreAtlas Townland Data Base http://www.thecore.com/seanruad/
Irish Place names http://www.irish-place-names.com/
Map Portals for British Isles Research – Selected Examples
Old Maps Online www.oldmapsonline.org World's largest portal to discovering online images of historical maps.
GENUKI http://www.genuki.org.uk/ [Search for map links at different jurisdictional levels, including counties.]
CindysList http://www.CyndisList.com (check the “Maps and Geography” categories in all relevant jurisdictions)
British Cartographic Society: http://www.cartography.org.uk/
Interactive Map Sites for British Isles Research – Selected Examples
England and Wales (see also England Jurisdictions 1851, above)
Bomb Sight: Mapping the WW2 London Blitz Bomb Census http://www.bombsight.org
e-mapping Victorian Cheshire http://maps.cheshire.gov.uk/tithemaps/
Locating London's Past http://www.locatinglondon.org/
London Low Life http://www.amdigital.co.uk/m-products/product/london-low-life/
(academic library subscriptions; check on-campus availability through a guest account)
London OS Five Feet to the Mile Sheets [NLS] http://maps.nls.uk/os/london-1890s/index.html
The Map of Early Modern London http://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/index.htm
Tracks in Time, The Leeds Tithe Maps Project http://tithemaps.leeds.gov.uk/
Mapping Shakespeare's London http://map.shakespeare.kcl.ac.uk/
Scotland
AddressingHistory http://addressinghistory.edina.ac.uk/
RCAHMS: PastMap https://www.historicenvironment.scot/archives-and-research/archives-and-collections/pastmap/ and http://pastmap.org.uk/
Ireland
Ask about Ireland – Griffith's Valuation www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/
(The best current resource for free Griffith's Valuation maps and plans.)
Army Barracks of Eighteenth-Century Ireland https://barracks18c.ucd.ie/
Clare County Library http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/maps/index.htm
Putting County Clare Surnames on the Map
http://irish-genealogy-news.blogspot.ca/2013/07/putting-clare-surnames-on-map.html
Cork Past & Present: Maps of Cork http://www.corkpastandpresent.ie/mapsimages/corkinoldmaps/
The Down Survey Project http://downsurvey.tcd.ie/
NLS: Explore georeferenced maps (choose Ireland as the category) http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/
Ordnance Survey Ireland – Historical Mapping http://maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/#V2,588882,739883,1,10
http://www.osi.ie/blog/genealogy/
Alan Godfrey Maps
http://www.alangodfreymaps.co.uk
Statements of Permissible Use – Selected Examples
NLS: Copyright – Map images http://maps.nls.uk/copyright.html
Digital Archive: Toronto Public Library – Public Domain Designation
http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/digital-archive/license.jsp
New York Public Library: http://www.nypl.org/blog/2014/03/28/open-access-maps
See also: http://www.legalgenealogist.com/blog/2014/04/03/mapping-memory-2/
OpenStreetMap Wiki: Out-of-copyright maps (general information, not legal advice)
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Out-of-copyright_maps
Canadian Sites – Selected Examples
Toronto Public Library – Digital Archive: http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/digital-archive/
Archives of Ontario – Digitized Patent Plans: http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/en/about/patent-plans.aspx
University of Toronto Map & Data Library – Maps & Atlases: http://mdl.library.utoronto.ca/collections/maps-atlases
Ontario Historical County Maps Project: http://maps.library.utoronto.ca/hgis/countymaps/maps.html
The Canadian County Atlas Digital Project: http://digital.library.mcgill.ca/countyatlas/searchmapframes.php
Library and Archives Canada - Maps, Charts and Architectural Plans Collection:
http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/maps-charts-plans/Pages/maps-charts-architectural-plans.aspx
Perth & District Historical Society – Historical Mapping Project: http://www.perthhs.org/
Note that in addition to the trench maps available on the NLS site, McMaster University also has a significant collection online: The Lloyd Reeds Map Collection: http://library.mcmaster.ca/maps/
© Copyright 2011 - 2017, James F. S. Thomson. All rights reserved.