WorldVitalRecords.com

WorldVitalRecords.com

Oh great – another genealogy service that I feel compelled to join just in case that one vital piece of the puzzle is there. WorldVitalRecords.com launched in February. World Collection Membership is $119 (USD) for a year.

Here’s what they have so far for New Zealand Records:

Defenders of New Zealand & Maori History (13,823 records)
New Zealand Gazette 1876 (67,530 records)
New Zealand Gazette 1877 (82,848 records)
New Zealand Gazette 1878 (112,979 records)
New Zealand Gazette 1886 (138,880 records)
New Zealand PO Directory 1890 (Wise) (408,283 records)
Stevens & Bartholomews New Zealand Directory 1866-67 (45,272 records)

I gave it a try by typing in one of the less common surnames in my research – Ghezzi. Four hits in the New Zealand PO Directory 1905 (Wise). Yeap, it’s them.

Since so many Scots immigrated to New Zealand, let’s see what records they have for Scotland:

A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland, Volume 1 (52,460 records)
An Ordinary of Scottish Arms (39,336 records)
Directory of Scots Banished to the American Plantations, 1650 - 1775 (23,936 records)
Folk Lore and Genealogies of Uppermost Nithsdale (14,534 records)
Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland, 1896 (212,622 records)
Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: County Maps (196 records)
SCT Scotch Ancestry of President McKinley (1,708 records)
SCT Scottish Deaths 1747-1868 (13,585 records)
The Gazetteer of Scotland, 1882 (37,058 records)
The History of the Celtic Place Names of Scotland (40,909 records)

Other than maps and gazetteers not much else. A paltry 13,585 records in the death collection. I typed in the surname of Fraser and got 13 deaths. Here’s a sample of the information on one of the results:

Name: Fraser, Catherine
Relative: , ()
Relative's Occupation:
Residence: Beveridgewell
Death Date: 25 Nov 1847
Age: 62
Estimated Birth Year: 1785
Cause of Death: dropsy
Modern Cause of Death:
Parish: Dunfermline
County: Fife
Country: Scotland

A neat little map opens with a pointer to Dunfermline, a feature I like. Still, until they get more records online, might be better off using ScotlandsPeople.com for BDMs.