PRONI (Public Records Office of Northern Ireland)

[akanex2]

Still no sign of the elusive wills yet, but the street directories have reappeared online

http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/search_the_archives/street_directories.htm

[akanex2]

I recently emailed PRONI to ask about when the 1858-1910 wills will be going online linked to the index which has been available for ages.  The website has said these will be "available shortly" ever since the index went online.

The reply I received recognised that this had been delayed beyond the original timetable, but stated it was their intention to have these images available on the site before they closed for the move next year.  PRONI also indicated that pre 1910 inquests would also be going on the site in the next 12 months as well.

Many people are concerned at the long planned closure while PRONI moves from Balmoral Avenue to the Titanic Quarter so hopefully these new online resources will be some compensation.  Also the press release announcing the closure indicated that they were looking at potential locations for making their microfilmed resources available until the new premises opened.  As these include a large number of church records so vital to genealogists, let us hope this is sorted out properly so that access can be maintained.

[Rab]

PRONI have announced a half hearted effort to maintain access to some microfilms mainly Church records.
At the moment there are 23 film readers available to the public + another 6 in the reading room.
PRONI have indicated that a total of 6 {SIX} readers will be available on a part time basis{2 days and 3 afternoons} at Cregagh Branch Library. " Of these 2 will be set aside for students who can pre book, leaving 4 for all other users including genealogists. You can only imagine the mayhem that is bound to ensue.

PRONI is the National Archives of Northern Ireland. To have this vital and unique facility operating on a part time basis from a spare room in a branch library would be hilarious if it were not so serious.

Rab

[aghadowey]

Coleraine Library does have copies of many of the PRONI microfilmed church records (for some Co.Derry and Co.Antrim areas) but it is recommended to pre-book a microfilm reader as they only have a few and they usually aren't all in working order at the same time.

[The Banshee]

The Will calendars have gone online at the PRONI site today.

http://www.northernireland.gov.uk/index/media-centre/news-departments/news-dcal/news-dcal-291110-minister-launches-new.htm

Minister launches new online genealogy resource

Approximately 100,000 images of probated wills have been made available online for the first time.
~ Monday, 29 November 2010

This is the culmination of a project by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) to index and digitise early wills from the three District Probate Registries of Armagh, Belfast and Londonderry between the years 1858 and 1900.

Speaking today about the Wills application, Culture Minister Nelson McCausland said: “One of PRONI’s key goals is to digitise key cultural resources and make them easily available to a worldwide audience. This free of charge application will therefore be of enormous assistance to anyone trying to trace their genealogical roots and will be of particular help to those wanting to begin their research from the comfort of their own home.

“In recent years there has been a huge increase in people researching their family history and trends have shown that a large number of these people are from outside the UK. I am sure this new application will be of particular interest to this international audience.”

Wills are one of the most used archival sources by both family historians and solicitors. The images have been linked to an existing searchable index which allows researchers to view details such as name, dates and the abstracts taken from the original entries.

Future digitisation plans include the addition of further pre-1858 will indexes to the PRONI Name Search facility. These indexes from Northern Ireland dioceses, will list the names of people who had wills probated as early as the seventeenth century – pushing the possibility of family and local history research further back in time.

Looking ahead to next year’s opening of the new PRONI headquarters, the Minister added: “I recently had the privilege to visit the stunning new PRONI headquarters at Titanic Quarter. This much needed £30million investment in our cultural infrastructure was provided by the Northern Ireland Executive. The new state-of-the-art facility will open to the public early next year and will protect Northern Ireland’s irreplaceable archives in a safe and secure environment.”

http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/search_the_archives/will_calendars.htm

[J.A.M.]

Digital copies of wills are now linked to the index. I'm not sure if it is the entire collection or just a few. I did find a few items for my families.

[aghadowey]

Yes, that's the 29 November 2010 announcement earlier in this thread. All the Wills are not online as I have copies of quite a few that do not yet appear there.

[The Banshee]

And now they've updated the Name Search database.

http://insideireland.ie/2011/03/11/ni-minister-launches-online-name-search-facility-11641/

[aghadowey]

And now they've updated the Name Search database.

http://insideireland.ie/2011/03/11/ni-minister-launches-online-name-search-facility-11641/

Name Search currently includes the following set if indexes:

    * index to pre-1858 wills (which are to be found in various collections in PRONI) and a selection of diocesan will and administration bond indexes
    * surviving fragments of the 1740 and the 1766 religious census returns
    * 1775 dissenters petitions
    * pre-1920 coroners' inquest papers