This page is intended to bring attention to news that may be of
interest to family historians
Ford Park Cemetery Photographic/
Sculpture Exhibition
Saturday 16th - Sunday 17th August 2008
Entry Free 10 am - 4 PM
There is to be an exciting display of original art work by talented
local and Student artists. All the work will be available to buy on
the day. One third of the money raised from the sale of any of the
Artwork will be kindly donated to the Rejuvan8 appeal to restore
our Victorian Chapel.
info@ford-park-cemetery.org
http://www.ford-park-cemetery.org
Ford Park Cemetery Trust
Ford Park Road
Plymouth
PL4 6NT
Tel. 01752 665442
Fax. 01752 601177
Ford Park Cemetery Sleep-In
Friday 15th August 2008
We are having a sleep in in our Victorian Chapel in aid of our
Rejuvan8 Appeal we have 6 out of 30 places still available for this
fun night all you have to do is raise £100 in sponsorship to
be able to stay the night. It will include a free BBQ, storytelling
plus a Continental breakfast at 8 am.
The BBQ, Storytelling and refreshments is also available to
Everyone. If you wish to just come to the story telling and BBQ
there is a fee of £6.00 for the evenings entertainment which
starts at 7 pm and finishes 10.30pm.
All are welcome so please do come along to this fun evening.
info@ford-park-cemetery.org
http://www.ford-park-cemetery.org
Ford Park Cemetery Trust
Ford Park Road
Plymouth
PL4 6NT
Tel. 01752 665442
Fax. 01752 601177
PARTICIPANTS WANTED for DNA series
on Sky Real Lives
• Do you have unanswered questions that could be solved by a
DNA test?
• Do you think you've found a long-lost relative but need
proof?
• Are you seeking answers about a family secret?
TV favourite, Lorraine Kelly, will be returning soon to UK TV
screens to present a second series of DNA Stories on Sky Real
Lives. The producers (SMG Productions) of this unique series are
now looking for participants.
DNA Stories sets out to help people find answers to unresolved
family issues. With the help of a free DNA test we can confirm the
identity of a relative, or reunite you with a long-lost
sibling.
Participants are filmed in the comfort of their own home, where the
DNA test will be carried out by one of the leading DNA testing
companies in the country. Joined by their family, they then meet
presenter, Lorraine Kelly, on a private set, where the potentially
life-changing results are revealed.
If you are interested in appearing on the programme, SMG
Productions want to hear from you! Please contact the production
team on 0871 827 5020 or email
dnastories@stv.tv
Those who call will be under no obligation to take part, and all
information is completely confidential.
The first series of DNA Stories aired on Sky Real Lives earlier
this year.
News from the GRO - Digitisation of
Vital Events (DoVE)
DoVE Update - July 2008
What is DoVE?
This is the project to scan, digitise and index birth, death and
marriage records for England and Wales from 1837 to 2006
(Digitisation of Vital Events ). In 2005, Siemens IT Solutions and
Services was awarded a three year contract to undertake this
project. The contract with Siemens expires at the end of July this
year and both Siemens and the Identity and Passport Service (IPS)
have mutually decided not to extend it.
Which types of records have been digitised?
Siemens has currently delivered over 130 million records; this is
approximately half the total number of General Register Office
(GRO) records of birth, death and marriage. Siemens has undertaken
to complete the birth records (from 1837 to 1934) and death (1837
to 1957) records. These are the record types most requested by
members of the public applying to GRO for copies of certificates,
often for the purposes of family history research.
What has happened to the records which have already been
digitised?
The digitised records are now being used by GRO within a system
known as EAGLE (Electronic Access to GRO Legacy Events ). The use
of digitised records in handling certificate applications enables a
quicker and more efficient system to be used for identifying and
printing certificates. As well as a database and image store, the
EAGLE system also allows for the recording and tracking of customer
orders.
What happens next?
IPS and GRO are now undertaking a comprehensive review of the
digitisation programme to define the next steps. IPS and GRO remain
committed to delivering the project to digitise Births, Deaths and
Marriage records.
When will the digitised Index be made available online?
The project to produce the digitised index and make it available to
the public online is the MAGPIE project (MultiAccess to GRO Public
Index of Events). This project is dependent on the completion of
DoVE. Given the developments with DoVE, clearly the availability of
the online index is likely to be delayed further.
Where can I get further information?
Updates will appear on the General Register Office website, as
information becomes available.
http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/aboutus/lookingahead/Digitisation_of_Vital_Events.asp#0
Alternatively, you can contact GRO by emailing to:
gro.communications@ons.gsi.gov.uk
Probate Calendar on the
Internet
In July 1999, following an extensive procurement exercise, a
25-year PFI contract was awarded to Iron Mountain "for the
provision of data handling and storage services for Probate Records
for England and Wales". By virtue of this contract, Iron Mountain
holds all Probate records from 1858 on behalf of the Probate
Service, and provides copy documents to the Registries as requested
by the public.
As part of their obligation under the contract to update delivery
of the service as advancements in technology allow, Iron Mountain
is in the process of digitising the Probate Calendar (index of
grants of probate/letters of administration issued). The Calendar
back to 1858 has been scanned and those scanned images are
currently being quality checked. In the future, all that will be
required is for the user to type in the name and date (or range of
dates) of death of the person for whom details are required. IT
equipment has been supplied to the Registries so that when a search
of the Calendar is being sought and a record will appear on screen
if a match is found. Copies of grants can then be requested
electronically.
Iron Mountain has supplied a public terminal for each Registry and
most sub-Registries to facilitate public searching of the calendar
(which will be available in full outside of London and York for the
first time). The corrected digitised Calendar dating back to 1921
has already been loaded onto the equipment in the Registries, and
as further corrections are made, the corrected Calendar will be
uploaded in batches from 1921 back to 1858. You will therefore see
we are working hard with our PFI partner to improve public access
to our records.
We are acutely aware of the public interest in the records held by
the Probate Service, and the importance of making them even more
accessible. To that end, we have begun internal discussions about
amongst other suggestions, making the digitised Calendar available
over the Internet. These discussions are currently in their
infancy, and may take some time to come to fruition. As those
discussions proceed, we will ensure that direct public access to
the Probate Calendar is taken into consideration, as those
discussions develop.
Ancestry.com and National Archives
(USA) Join Forces to Make Millions of Historical Documents
Available Online
Ancestry.com and National Archives (USA) Join Forces to Make
Millions of Historical Documents Available Online to Americans
Wanting to Research Family History
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and The
Generations Network, Inc., parent company of Ancestry.com, today
announced an agreement that makes millions of historical records
more easily available to the American public. The agreement, which
will be signed today at the NARA headquarters in Washington, D.C.
and celebrated with a military theme in honor of this Memorial Day,
allows for the ongoing digitization of a wealth of historical
content, including immigration, birth, marriage, death and military
records.
The new agreement provides critical access to these important
historical records at a faster rate than ever before due to the
placement of Ancestry.com technicians and scanning machines at NARA
to continually digitize content for online access. The initial NARA
collections to be digitized under the new agreement include INS
Passenger and Crew Arrival and Departure Lists from 1897-1958 and
Death Notices of U.S. Citizens Abroad from 1835-1974, which have
not been available to the public outside of NARA research rooms
before now.
For more than a decade, Ancestry.com and NARA have collaborated to
make important historical records available to the public,
demonstrating their dovetailing commitment to preserving America's
heritage. Ancestry.com currently has the largest online collection
of digitized and indexed NARA content, including the complete U.S.
Federal Census Collection, 1790-1930, passenger lists from
1820-1960 and WWI and WWII draft registration cards. Through this
new agreement, Ancestry.com and NARA have greatly enhanced their
working relationship. More on the agreement and the long-term
relationship between Ancestry.com and NARA can be found at
http://www.ancestry.com/nara.
Free Public Access on Ancestry.com
To commemorate the NARA-Ancestry.com agreement on the eve of
Memorial Day, Ancestry.com is making its entire U.S. Military
Collection -- the largest online collection of American military
records -- available for free to the public. From May 20 through
May 31, people can log on to
http://www.ancestry.com/military
to view more than 100 million names and 700 titles and databases of
military records, the majority of which come from NARA, from all 50
U.S. states.
Maggie Loughran
Joint Administrator, Federation of Family History Societies
www.ffhs.org.uk
Find My Past and Family Search - new
partnership announced
UK family history website
www.findmypast.com has announced
the start of a new partnership with US-based FamilySearch
www.familysearch.org.
The two family history organisations have been awarded licences by
The National Archives of the United Kingdom to digitise and make
available both the 'Chelsea Pensioners' retired soldiers records
between 1760 and 1914, and the Merchant Seamen's collection of
records dating from 1835 to 1941.
Chelsea Pensioners and militia records
The three-year digitisation project will scan eight million images
from the War Office's 'Royal Hospital Chelsea Soldiers' Service'
documents dating from 1760 and 'Militia Attestation Papers'
documents from 1870, through to 1913.
These fascinating records truly bring to life the comings and
goings of pensioners in the Royal Hospital Chelsea, including each
ex-serviceman's name, age, birthplace and service history, as well
as details of physical appearance, conduct sheet, previous
occupation, and in some cases the reason for discharge. After 1883,
details of marriages and children may also appear.
Merchant Seamen records
The partnership will also digitise the Board of Trade's merchant
seamen records from the periods 1835 to 1844 and 1918 to 1941. The
documents will be made available online to enable people to easily
search the names, dates and places of birth of ancestors who served
as merchant seamen.
Fascinatingly, many of the twentieth century records include
portrait photographs of the sailors as well as personal details and
summaries of the voyages they served on. The records include people
of many nationalities and women's service records.
Nearly a third of UK families have ancestors who served as a
merchant seaman, this series of records are of huge importance to
the nation's heritage and history.
Digitisation partnership
Findmypast.com will create indexes and transcriptions to enable
members of the public to easily search the records online at both
www.findmypast.com and
www.familysearch.org, while
FamilySearch will be responsible for scanning the images on site at
The National Archives.
Maggie Loughran
Joint Administrator, Federation of Family History Societies
www.ffhs.org.uk
General Register Office (GRO) Open
Days
The Certificate Services Branch will once again be holding Open
Days, giving members of the public a chance to find out more about
how birth, death and marriage certificates are produced and see
inside the wonderful Victorian building which is the home of Civil
Registration for England and Wales.
The Open Days will take place on Saturday 7th June 2008 and
Saturday 14th June 2008.
Visitors to the Open Days will be given the opportunity to:
Take a tour of the General Register Office (GRO) site
in Southport and see a demonstration of the certificate production
processes.
View exhibitions from various Family History Organisations
including The National Archives.
View and discuss issues with other business areas of GRO
Attend talks on various topics connected with GRO and other
organisations.
All places need to be booked well in advance.
If you are interested in attending on either of the above dates
please contact:
Certificate Services Contact Centre
Tel: 0151 471 4508 or 0151 471 4530
8:00am to 4:00pm - Monday to Friday
Maggie Loughran
Joint Administrator, Federation of Family History Societies
www.ffhs.org.uk
Don Steel
Many of us owe our first forays into Family History to Don Steel,
following his involvement in the TV programme about Gordon
Honeycombe's ancestry and Don's book "Discovering your Family
History".
Don was a Devon FHS member and a regular visitor to our Conferences
and other events.
Maureen Selley
Chairman Devon FHS
News from the Federation of Family History Societies
Many of you will be saddened to learn of the death after a long
illness on Monday 7 April of Don Steel. Don was instrumental in the
founding of a number of family history societies, but also, perhaps
most importantly, the founding of the Federation of Family History
Societies in 1974.
As an accomplished author Don was a driving force behind the early
volumes of the Society of Genealogists' 'National Index of Parish
Registers' series. Later as education officer for BBC South West,
Don was the pioneer behind the 1979 BBC TV series 'Family History',
narrated by Gordon Honeycombe and based on Gordon's own researches.
The following year Don wrote 'Discovering Your Family History' to
accompany the series.
For over 40 years Don Steel made a major contribution to the family
history world as a speaker and author. He was also a Fellow of the
Society of Genealogists.
Maggie Loughran
Joint Administrator, Federation of Family History Societies
www.ffhs.org.uk
An independent review of the
'30-year rule'
http://www.30yearrulereview.org.uk/default.htm
On 25th October 2007 the Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown MP,
announced that he had asked Paul Dacre, working with Professor
David Cannadine and Sir Joseph Pilling, to chair an independent
review of the '30-year rule', under which most government records
are transferred to The National Archives and made available to the
public by the time they are 30 years old.
The review is now in progress and will report to the Prime Minister
and the Lord Chancellor by summer 2008.
Consultation ends 14 April 2008
The 30-year rule review consultation deadline for members of the
public ends on Monday 14th April.
Find
out how to contribute your own views
Learn about the 30-year rule review
This website contains information about the review, links to
documents produced by the review and an online consultation that
enables members of the public to contribute their views to the
review team. The review's final report will be published on this
site.
Contribute your views
If you would like to respond to the review in writing, please use
our
online
consultation form. If you have any questions or comments about
the review, please write to the Secretary using either of the
following addresses:
The Secretary
30-year Rule Review
PO Box 824
Richmond
TW9 4XF
Tel: +44 020 8392 5210/ +44 020 8392 5375
secretary@30yearrulereview.org.uk
GRO Indexes in Plymouth
A new and extended service is now available to family historians in
the Plymouth area, following the closure of the Family Records
Centre in London on 15 March.
Plymouth Central Library has been selected as one of only four new
regional centres around England and Wales to offer complete indexes
on microfiche to birth, marriage and death certificates from 1837
to 2006/7. For the first time, details of civil partnerships and of
adoptions are now available outside London.
The microfiche indexes are a vital tool for family historians, as
they help them to identify the key events in their family's
history. Having done that, they can then order copies of the
certificates they are interested in. Last year, some 2.1 million
certificates were ordered nationally, up 800,000 on the number
issued five years ago.
To assist researchers to make the best use of the new indexes,
representatives from the General Register Office will be available
in the Central Library on Tuesday 8 April from 9am to 3pm to give
advice on topics such as how to make the best use of the indexes,
how to read information on the microfiches which is unclear, and
how to order certificates online. This advice will be given in an
informal 'one-to-one' basis. It is free, and there is will be no
need to book in advance.
Welcoming the plans, Registrar General Karen Dunnell said, 'Family
history has become immensely popular in recent years and I am
delighted that many researchers should now be able to consult the
indices they need more easily. These proposals would be a real
improvement for many people interested in their family history but
who can't easily get to London'.
The indexes are available for use on the first floor of the Central
Library in Drake Circus, and will continue to be there at least
until free, online access to them can be provided, probably in
2010.
For further information, please contact
Joyce Brown
Local and Naval Studies Librarian
Plymouth Central Library
Drake Circus
Plymouth
PL4 8AL
Local and Naval Studies Library Tel 01752 305909
Email
joyce.brown@plymouth.gov.uk
Closure of The National Archives'
services at the Family Records Centre
(Press release from The National Archives)
The staff and services provided by The National Archives at the
Family Records Centre move to Kew when the doors close on 15 March
2008. The transfer of these services and expertise into one
building will make research easier.
The National Archives in Kew is being extensively refurbished and
improved. This is part of an ongoing improvement programme and
allows us to incorporate the services provided by The National
Archives at the Family Records Centre. When complete, additional
seating, microfiche readers and computer terminals will be
available to visitors, improving access to original records,
research resources and the ever-growing range of online
material.
Following consultations with visitors to The National Archives and
Family Records Centre the talks programme has been extended. There
will be two new talks rooms providing an educational programme of
talks on a variety of topics from family history to military
history. In addition, three smaller surgery rooms will be available
for more in-depth consultations.
Commenting on the new services Jeff James, head of advice and
records knowledge at The National Archives said: "The exciting
developments underway at Kew will genuinely improve our visitors'
experience, from the improved restaurant and new museum, to the
redeveloped reading rooms. The reading rooms have been designed to
create a more open and accessible environment for our
visitors."
People who used to visit the first floor of the Family Records
Centre will find all of the information they enjoyed available at
Kew. In addition, they will be able to consult documents and
records spanning 1,000 years of history and have access to a wider
range staff expertise.
To provide security for staff and visitors whilst also ensuring
documents are protected The National Archives has installed a new
security system.
If you would like any more information about the improvements at
Kew please visit The National Archives website at,
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Changes to car parking at The
National Archives
The National Archives is installing barriers in the public car
park. These barriers are part of a programme to proactively manage
the use of the public car park for the benefit of its visitors
Installation commences on Monday 17 March, and barriers should be
fully functional by mid-April. The car park will remain in use
while barriers are installed, and visitors will be kept informed of
any short-term or localised disruption.
There will be no charge for parking using this system.
The National Archives wishes to ensure that access to the car park
benefits its genuine visitors. The car park can often become
crowded during busy periods, and its use continues to increase with
the popularity of the records. It is anticipated that demand for
spaces will continue to rise, so it is important that The National
Archives now begins to actively manage the use of the car park.
When visitors enter the car park the system will issue a ticket,
which they must validate before they leave. The validation machine
will be housed in the reception area at The National Archives.
For further information contact Elise at
elise.oliver@nationalarchives.gov.uk
or 0208 392 5237.
New Science and Historical show -
The Great British Body
The Great British Body - New Science and Historical show is being
produced by ITV, who are looking for people who can trace all of
their family lines back at least three generations.
This is a programme that aims to inform, entertain and inspire
using a combination of science, human stories and history. In
particular, ITV are interested in families who can trace their
ancestry back at least three generations to perceive what the body
inherits genetically and how social and cultural change can affect
you. The show aims to audit the British Body and to see how it has
developed over the years to eventually culminate in a celebration
of the British body, past, present and future and what we represent
as a nation.
ITV are trying to find people from every county in the UK to come
along to their roadshows in Brighton, Birmingham and Newcastle to
best see how geographical situation can make a marked difference,
as well as more specific reasons that relate to the family
themselves. The dates for the roadshows are Saturday 12 April,
Newcastle; Sunday 13 April, Brighton; Saturday 19 April,
Birmingham.
ITV are hoping this will be an interesting experience for the
families involved and a chance for them to explore their own
ancestry and the way their family has developed.
So if 3 out of 4 of your great grandparents were born in the same
county as you were, Warren Townsend at ITV would like to hear from
you, on Tele 020 7157 4732 or email
warren.townsend@ITV.com
ATTIC ARCHIVE
What secret histories lurk in your attic?
Are you sitting on old letters from a long lost generation that
talk of grand tea parties, village scandals or wartime
romances?
Have you inherited a box of shrapnel or an ancient wedding
dress?
Maybe a matchbox containing a medal?
A sword, a christening cup or an old bit of family silver?
Or old photographs of ancient relatives, with a story that needs
telling. . .
Denham Productions are making a new TV series for ITV Westcountry
and ITV West. We want to unearth hidden treasures, not for their
monetary value but to tell the People's History of Britain.
Time marches on these days in a rush of texts, emails and rushed
conversations.
We need to remember what's gone before and to dig out and protect
all our personal histories. Not just the grand stories but the
minutiae of people's lives that come together to paint a bigger
picture of how we all used to live.
Please get in touch with details of any treasures you might have
at home, that you might want to share and investigate further with
our resident historian - Dr Nick Barratt (the Genealogical
Consultant on BBC's Who Do You Think You Are?). It might be a
letter, diary, an object, a photograph or bit of film. We just want
a good story, whether it be about a military campaign or the time
your great grandmother had to be airlifted from the top of her
house.
We'd love to hear from you . . .
Please write to the producer Charlotte Barton at Denham
Productions, Quay West Studios, Old Newnham, Plymouth, PL7 5BH or
go to
www.denhams.tv
FFHS-NEWS Births, marriages and
deaths indexes free online at The National Archives
In response to growing demand, The National Archives has agreed
free onsite internet access to the birth, deaths and marriages
indexes, through findmypast.com, the UK family history website. For
more information on this visit:
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/news/stories/180.htm?news=rss
Maggie Loughran
Joint Administrator, Federation of Family History Societies
Email:
admin@ffhs.org.uk
www.ffhs.org.uk
FFHS-NEWS Tracing Your Roots
For anyone who missed the Radio 4 series 'Tracing Your Roots'
program broadcast last year, the series producers in collaboration
with the BBC's 'Who Do You Think You Are?' genealogy magazine have
created two CDs, each featuring three programmes from the first
series of Tracing Your Roots.
If you would like a copy of the CDs all that's required is that you
send a large (preferably padded) self-addressed envelope, to:
Tracing Your Roots (CDs)
Zone 3.05
BBC Scotland
Pacific Quay
Glasgow
G20 8NS
Postage will be paid by 'Tracing Your Roots'
Maggie Loughran
Joint Administrator, Federation of Family History Societies
Email:
admin@ffhs.org.uk
www.ffhs.org.uk
Writing the Century
I work in the Drama Radio department at the BBC in Manchester. If
its possible, I'd like to make a request and direct you to a really
useful page on the BBC website that some of your members may
like.
I'm currently researching a new Radio Drama series called Writing
the Century in which we aim to dramatise the letters and diaries
that tell the story of the century from many different
perspectives.
We're looking for as many interesting correspondences and personal
logs/diaries as possible and I felt your site would be a great way
to gain input. Basically, as part of our appeal for these diaries
and letters, we have a BBC webpage set up called Memoryshare, where
anyone can contribute memories from 1900-2000.
Along with a link to Memoryshare,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/memoryshare
this would be an interesting way for the public to immortalise
their treasured documents on the radio and to pass onto future
generations.
Joanne Clement On Behalf Of The Whole Writing the Century Team
Devon Record Office and Devon Family
History Society - Joint Projects
The Devon Record Office has organised a display showing samples of
the many books produced jointly with Devon Family History Society.
This excellent display uses a large window in the entrance to the
Record Office opposite the Refreshment Room. Details on display
include information on Dartmoor convicts with associated items such
as a ball & chain, handcuffs etc
The major part of the window concentrates on the various booklets
produced including Lunatic Paupers at Exminster Hospital, Return of
Deaths, Vaccination Registers, Boys' Reformatory School, Exeter
Friendless & Fallen Girls and Apprentice Registers.
We have had favourable comments and if you are in the area please
visit the Devon Record Office and see the display.
Details of all Small Projects booklets can be found at
http://www.devonfhs.org.uk/publications.htm#Joint
Diana Lewis
Small Projects Co-ordinator
TRANSFER OF GENERAL REGISTER OFFICE
(GRO) TO IDENTITY & PASSPORT SERVICE (IPS)
The Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 and creation of
the independent Office for National Statistics (ONS), left the
General Register Office (GRO) uncertain as to which government
department it would move to from ONS for the next financial
year.
However it has been announced today that the GRO will become part
of the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) from 1 April 2008. Under
the new arrangements ONS will relinquish the registration role it
currently holds.
IPS is an Executive Agency of the Home Office, and is responsible
for handling passport applications from UK Nationals. It employs
over 3,500 staff at various locations around the UK. You can find
more information about them on their website www.ips.gov.uk. The
decision to make the transfer of GRO to IPS has been finalised
following the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review.
A full statement on these changes can be found at
www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/aboutus/lookingahead/registration-transfer.asp
Maggie Loughran
Administrator, Federation of Family History Societies
www.ffhs.org.uk
WITHDRAWAL OF PAPER INDEXES FROM
FRC
At the Family Records Centre (FRC) Users Consultative Group Meeting
on 3 October 2007 the following schedule of withdrawals was
announced:
12/13 October - B,M,D Indexes 1947-2005
19/20 October - B,M,D Indexes 1865-1946
26/27 October - B,M,D Indexes 1837-1864
26/27 October - All Overseas Indexes
Paper indexes for Adoptions will remain at FRC until it closes, and
will then be moved to Kew.
Following the removal of the paper indexes from FRC, five sets of
indexes on microfiche will be available on the first floor at FRC
until it closes.
Thereafter, there will be just three sets available at The National
Archives (TNA) Kew - currently there is only one set there.
The following summary of GRO services on the first floor at FRC
from November 2007 to March 2008 may be helpful.
Microfiche copies of B,M,D and Overseas Events Internet access to
GRO Indexes held on third party web sites (not all free) PC based
systems providing access to modern indexes for B,M,D, Adoptions,
Civil Partnerships, and Overseas Events Paper indexes for the older
Adoption Records Online ordering via Registration OnLine (ROLO) and
Internet access supported by TNA Customer Service Point
The Customer Service Point will be located in "C" Section and will
be covered by two GRO staff to provide a check on unclear
references on microfiche. It may not be possible to give instant
answers - it will depend on the nature of the query. This facility
will exist only from November 2007 to March 2008.
Roger Lewry
FFHS Archives Liaison Officer
Email:
exec.member.rl@ffhs.org.uk
GRO TO PROVIDE A COLLECT SERVICE
FROM SOUTHPORT FROM 30.10.07
It was previously announced that the current facility for customers
to order and collect certificates from Family Records Centre (FRC)
would be withdrawn from November 2007 and there was no intention to
provide a replacement service. However, on 28 September the FFHS
and other members of the FRC Users Consultative Group Meeting User
Group were advised by the GRO's Certificate Services Branch that a
certificate collection service will be available at the GRO office
in Southport with effect from 30 October 2007.
Details are still being finalised but this facility will be
available only for orders placed by telephone or post or by
Registration OnLine (ROLO) account holders. It is envisaged that
collection in person will be available from 10.00-16.00
Monday-Friday.
While this is to be welcomed as a small step in the right
direction, it remains to be seen to what extent this meets the
needs of users. We will keep you advised as more news becomes
available.
Roger Lewry
FFHS Archives Liaison Officer
Email:
exec.member.rl@ffhs.org.uk
FFHS NEWS: FAMILIES AT WAR
Medialab wants you!
Medialab are looking for contributors to appear on a television
programme documenting the experience of families whose relatives
have served throughout the duration of the wars in Afghanistan.
They would be very interested to hear, for example, from someone
serving in the current conflict whose ancestor fought in the 19th
century. They hope to talk to the families about their experience
of this shared history.
If you know of anyone to whom this may be of interest, please do
not hesitate to contact Yas at Mediablab:
yasalam@medialabuk.com or 020
78394182
Medialab is a concept development company specialising in science,
history and factual documentaries, together with new media. We work
with a number of international broadcasters including Channel 4,
Five, National Geographic, Discovery and the History Channel,
devising ideas, which we co-produce with established production
companies.
Maggie Loughran
Administrator, Federation of Family History Societies
www.ffhs.org.uk
The Westcountry Studies Library
Family and Local History Day
The Westcountry Studies Library will be holding a Family and Local
History Day on Saturday 27th October, between 10.00 am and 4.00
pm.
The aim of the day is to introduce people to the local studies
library and the facilities and material that are held there. It
will also give people who wish to start researching their family,
house or village, the opportunity to come and talk to staff on how
best to undertake this. For the more experienced researcher staff
will be avaliable to advise on any problems that they are having
with their research, and offer advice on how to best find
information on their particular subject.
As well as staff from the Westcountry Studies Library,
representatives from the Devon Record Office, Devon Family History
Society, Devonshire Association, Friends of Devon's Archives and
the Historic Environment Service will also be there to offer
advice.
The Family and Local History Day is being run as a 'drop in' event
so there is no need to book in advance.
For more information contact the Westcountry Studies Library on
01392 384216.
Caring for our Collections
On 25 June 2007 a report entitled
Caring for our collections
was published by the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee.
Devon FHS submitted evidence to the Select Committee, which was
quoted in the report.
For more details, see
http://www.ffhs.org.uk/news/news070701.php
Maureen Selley
Chairman Devon FHS
ONS TO VACATE GROUND FLOOR OF FAMILY
RECORDS CENTRE BY 31 OCTOBER 2007
At the Family Records Centre User Consultative Group Meeting today
at the Family Records Centre (FRC) Myddelton Street, London, the
Federation of Family History Societies representatives (Maureen
Bullows and Geoff Riggs) were extremely disturbed to be informed
that the Office for National Statistics (ONS) will vacate the
ground floor at the FRC by 31
st October 2007.
From 31
st October until the previously announced date of
closure, the end of March 2008, access to the Indexes for Births,
Deaths and Marriages will be on the first floor of the FRC on
MICROFICHE only.
Ordering of certificates will be ONLINE only and there will be no
provision for certificate collection.
The ONS and General Register Office (GRO) were left in no doubt by
the unanimous protestations of the Family Records Centre User
Consultative Group.
Full details and a copy of the Public Briefing paper can be found
at:
www.ffhs.org.uk/archives/gro/briefing070725.php
Maggie Loughran
Administrator, Federation of Family History Societies
www.ffhs.org.uk
Grave matters spur national call for
action
Grave concerns have led to a search for Britain's most surprising,
enigmatic or bizarre historical gravestone epitaph, to be launched
tomorrow, 24 July, by BBC History Magazine.
The call for action aims to raise awareness and understanding of
the importance of gravestone inscriptions as Britain's gravestones
come under increasing danger.
Dave Musgrove, Editor of BBC History Magazine commented:
"Gravestones are vital to learning about our family and local
history and give us a unique insight into the past. From accounts
of bizarre deaths and witty last words, to highlights of lives
lived, personal assaults and biting social commentary, they tell us
some fascinating stories of past human life, and that's exactly
what we're asking people to find for us."
It's estimated that there are around 6 million gravestones in
England, but less than half of these have been recorded, and a
staggering 25,000 are thought to be lost to weathering, relocation
and vandalism every year.
Inscriptions on gravestones are a key and largely untapped family
history resource, complementing and adding to the data already
available in burial indexes, and often giving us information that
has never before been recorded.
Dr Richard Smart, Director of the National Archive of Memorial
Inscriptions (NAOMI), says: "It's critical that the public
understand the importance of gravestone inscriptions, and get
involved in helping us to record this often overlooked but
incredibly valuable historical information."
The public are being asked to send in any 'Mysterious Memorials'
they know of or find to BBC History Magazine by 1 September 2007.
Submissions must include the text of the epitaph, along with a
picture of the gravestone, and details of where it is. The person
who sends in the most surprising, enigmatic or bizarre gravestone
epitaph will win a Canon Digital IXUS 70 camera worth over
£200.
For further information and interviews, please contact:
Tabitha Morton
Head of Press & PR | BBC Magazines Bristol
T 0117 3148300 | M 07977 62817
E
tabithamorton@bbcmagazinesbristol.com
W
www.bbchistorymagazine.com
The National Archives to move its
Family Records Centre staff and services to Kew
The National Archives and the Office for National Statistics (ONS)
today made a joint announcement about the provision of services to
family historians. As part of a review of strategy, which has
focused on the huge changes in information management over the last
10 years, The National Archives is announcing its intention to move
its Family Records Centre (FRC) staff and services to Kew from
their current location at Myddelton Street, Islington, by the end
of 2008.
The National Archives and ONS have for some time managed the FRC as
a joint operation in Myddelton Street, Islington. Users can access
historic census returns in The National Archives part of the Centre
and establish basic details of births, deaths and marriages in the
indexes maintained by ONS prior to ordering copies of relevant
certificates.
ONS has an extensive project in hand to digitise registration
records and modernise other aspects of service provision, but has
not yet made data and documents available online to the same extent
as The National Archives. Over the coming months ONS will be
reviewing its future requirements for services at FRC in the light
of this project and The National Archives' plans to relocate its
service to Kew. The review will be carried out in close
collaboration with The National Archives to ensure that service
delivery by the two organisations continues to be as closely
aligned as possible.
James Strachan, Director of Public Services and Marketing for The
National Archives, said: "We have already made most of our material
housed at the FRC available online. We remain committed to
providing high-quality services to family historians, and are
therefore planning to develop new online services that reflect
customers' needs, and to integrate FRC onsite services at Kew
during 2008. We will retain a dedicated family history service, and
retain the jobs of our FRC staff in the new service at Kew."
Peter Murphy, Director of Registration Services at ONS, said: "The
hard copy indexes of birth, death and marriage registration, which
are available at the FRC, remain for now the resource enabling the
Registrar General to meet her statutory obligation to make indexes
available to the public. Clearly advances in technology now permit
other approaches to providing public access and that is what our
review will be concentrating on. We will work closely with National
Archives colleagues in conducting the review and hope to be able to
reveal its main conclusions by the autumn of this year."
Maggie Loughran
Administrator, Federation of Family History Societies
PARLIAMENTARY ARCHIVES CALL ON
FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETIES
The Parliamentary Archives are calling for Family History Societies
to come forward to help transcribe a number of eighteenth century
Slave Trade petitions. The transcribed petitions will feature on
www.parliament.uk/slavetrade,
a comprehensive website about Parliament's complex relationship
with the British Slave Trade, being launched on May 23rd.
To coincide with the anniversary of the 1807 Act to Abolish the
British Slave Trade, the Parliamentary Archives made available a
transcribed version of the biggest surviving parliamentary
anti-slave trade petition – a document over 5 metres long -
which was sent from Manchester in 1806. In just four weeks the
documents on the site have been accessed nearly 24,000 times. The
Manchester petition was transcribed with the help of the Manchester
and Lancashire Family History Society - see April 2007 edition of
the FFHS Ezine for more information on this.
There are many other such petitions in the Parliamentary Archives
from places all over the UK. "We would very much like to be able to
make more of them available but to do this we need the local
expertise and manpower of family history societies", said David
Prior, Parliamentary Archives.
Anyone interested in taking part in this project should email:
slavetrade1807@24hourmuseum.org.uk
The petition from Manchester will be on display in the exhibition
The British Slave Trade: Abolition, Parliament and People which
will be in Westminster Hall from 23 May to 23 September 2007.
Were you a Supermarket Shopper in
the 1950s and 1960s?
Researchers at the Universities of Exeter and Surrey are looking
for shoppers from the period 1945 - 1975 to talk about their
experiences. The information will be used to build up a picture of
how Britain changed from being a nation that predominantly bought
its goods from small retailers to one that pushed a trolley around
the local supermarket once a week. The research is sponsored by the
Arts and Humanities Research Council and is set to run until the
end of the year.
The project aims to investigate the different reactions to
self-service in different regions of the UK. It is also designed to
look at the differences between male and female consumers and
whether different ways of organising family life influenced the way
people shopped. If you can remember using self-service food shops
or supermarkets please contact Adrian Bailey at the University of
Exeter: Tel. 01392 262523. He will forward a questionnaire, which
will inform you about their exciting oral history project.
To find out more, please visit their research website
www.sobe.ex.ac.uk/shopping
THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES ANNOUNCES ITS
PARTNER IN DIGITISING THE 1911 CENSUS
The National Archives is delighted to announce that Scotland Online
will partner the UK government's official archive in the
forthcoming project to put the 1911 census for England and Wales
online.
Scotland Online was established in 1995, and is one of the UK's
leading Internet business solutions providers. In 2002, in
partnership with the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS),
Scotland Online established what is now one of the world's leading
genealogy websites ScotlandsPeople
www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk.
The 1911 census (document references RG14 and RG78) is huge - it
currently occupies 2 kilometres of shelving at The National
Archives. Comprising over eight million householder schedules and a
further 38,000 enumerators' summary books, it details information
relating to approximately 35 million people then living in England
and Wales.
Once digitised the census will take up an equally large ½ a
petabyte of computer memory or, physically, 800 data tapes. The
digital scanning alone in preparation for digitisation will create
18 million images - 14 times the number of images created in
advance of the 1901 census being launched online in 2002.
From 2009 there will be a phased release of the information in the
1911 census starting with the major conurbations. This will include
images and transcription data, but with sensitive data redacted in
line with the Information Commissioner's recent ruling. From 3
January 2012 the public will have full access to the entire 1911
census, including the information not accessible in 2009.
Researchers anywhere in the world will be able to search across the
fields of the census by name, address or The National Archives
reference, and download high-resolution digital images.
For more information on this and the status of the 1911 census for
Scotland and Ireland see the April edition of FFHS Ezine - due next
week.
Maggie Loughran
Administrator, Federation of Family History Societies
www.ffhs.org.uk
To subscribe to the FFHS's new Ezine visit
www.ffhs.org.uk/ezine/subscribe.php
E-petition: Response from HM
Government
E-petition: Response from HM Government
The e-petition asking the Prime Minister to "reduce the classified
period for census data from 100 years to 70 years" has now closed.
This is an email response from HM Government.
Re: the e-petition calling for the closure period on census data to
be reduced from its present 100 years to 70 years for the 1911,
1921 and 1931 censuses.
The Government understands the frustrations this delay can cause,
particularly to people who are researching their family history.
But these frustrations have to be balanced against the assurances
given to people at the time about confidentiality. This also has
implications today, for public confidence in the privacy of
information which people provide in future censuses.
Clearly, the importance of the personal information provided in the
census is that it enables a detailed and accurate picture to be
built up of our society. This is of great assistance to Government
and to the community as a whole in helping shape policies and set
priorities for the future. But unless people believe that the
personal data they provide - which includes details of their
occupation and who is living with them - will remain confidential
and secure as they have been promised, the danger is that they
might feel reluctant to give sensitive information.
It is for this reason that there is a policy of a 100-year delay
before releasing the personal data in the census. The purpose is to
minimise the risk of embarrassment both to those living and to
their immediate descendants. The Government does not believe this
policy should be altered or the explicit assurances given to people
at the time broken.
You might like to know, however, that the 1911 census was not taken
under this Act. The census returns are held by the National
Archives, not the Office for National Statistics. Plans are
underway to set up an on-line search service of the 1911 census by
2009, although again personally sensitive material will not be
released until 2011. The National Archives will also respond to
certain requests for information on the 1911 census under the
Freedom of Information Act.
On a sadder note, the 1931 census records were destroyed by fire
during the Second World War.
We know this reply will disappoint many people, but hope you will
understand that in the long-term, the reasons given are in the best
interests of preserving the census for future generations.
News Releases from ONS
Family historians will be interested to learn that the Office for
National Statistics (ONS) have today issued two News Releases.
Firstly, ONS intends to close its public search facility,
currently located at the Family Records Centre (FRC) in Islington,
and instead to make indexes available at The National Archives
(TNA) in Kew. The relocation is expected to be complete by April
2008. The services currently provided by ONS in Islington will then
cease. (When TNA announced earlier this year that it intended to
relocate from the FRC 1st Floor to Kew, ONS said that it would be
reviewing the services it offered at the FRC on the Ground
Floor.)
The News Release can be read at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/frc0107.pdf
but, as its wording is open to misinterpretation, the FFHS has
contacted the Project Manager of the Digitisation of Vital Events
(DoVE) team at Southport for clarification.
The heading of the Release states "Births, marriages and deaths
records to go on the Internet" and in its main body it states "This
will enable researchers to access records yet to be digitised in
paper or microfiche format."
What we have been told will be available at Kew are the indexes
to Births, Marriages and Deaths, not the records themselves (i.e.
full registration details will still only be obtainable by
purchasing copy certificates).
Furthermore, the DoVE Project will not have been completed at the
time the relocation takes place. For those records that have been
digitised and re-indexed, the newly produced indexes will be
accessible on computer screens at Kew. Where digitisation will not
have been completed, it is the existing indexes that will be made
accessible: we understand that ONS have not yet established with
TNA whether these will be the binders currently in use at the FRC
or whether, because of space constraints, they will need to be
provided in microfiche format.
The FFHS is scheduled to hold its periodic liaison meeting with
the DoVE Team next week, and we will continue to keep you posted
with the latest information on the DoVE Project as soon as it is
available.
The second announcement from ONS today is that is also proposing to
close its London headquarters at Drummond Gate, Pimlico, by 2010.
Most of the 600 staff will move to Newport, South Wales, as part
of a government programme to move jobs out of London, the ONS said.
A small number of staff will go to Titchfield, in Hampshire, whilst
the remainder numbering 100 or so will move to the FRC
building.
Although this news does not apparently appear on the ONS website,
fuller details can be viewed at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6267087.stm
Geoff Riggs,
Chairman,
Federation of Family History Societies
www.ffhs.org.uk
Historic passenger lists go
online
People looking to track ancestors who emigrated from British ports
will from Wednesday be able to search online passenger lists of the
ships that carried them to new lands.
Released by Britain's National Archives, the passenger manifests
give an insight into all long-distance trips made by 30 million
travellers from the country's ports between 1890 and 1960,
including that of the Titanic which sank in 1912.
"We hope the digitization will open up a hugely valuable resource
for genealogists and social historians all over the world," said
Dan Jones, National Archives' head of business development.
The records, available at
http://www.ancestorsonboard.com,
or via commercial Web site
http://www.findmypast.com/ which
was licensed by The National Archives, also show the passages of
trans-European migrants.
Many were Jews fleeing persecution, who began their journeys in
continental Europe and travelled to British ports like Southampton
and Liverpool to catch cheap sailings.
During this period, thousands of Britons were propelled by economic
reasons to seek new beginnings abroad. Between 1890 and 1914 an
estimated 125,000 Britons emigrated every year to the United
States, with 50,000 going to Canada and 25,000 to Australia.
Trips to all continents are covered with sailings to South America,
the Caribbean, West Africa and all parts of Asia.
Initially only the period from 1890-1900 will be available but
subsequent decades will be put online over the next few months.
The lists provide an intriguing glimpse of individual voyages.
What, for example, did 40-year-old Glaswegian spinster dairy maid
Elizabeth Barr make of New Zealand when she arrived in 1923 on the
steamship Remuera?
Did she perhaps strike up an onboard friendship with John Woodrow,
21, a rabbit-catcher from Warwickshire or maybe she built a new
life with another fellow passenger, 33-year-old London fireman
Rufus Workman?
Although the passenger lists have been available at the archives'
offices in Kew, southwest London, for some time they are indexed by
port of departure only and not name, making it difficult to find a
particular individual.
The passenger lists, which are available online in their original
form vary. Some are typed, others are handwritten. Some record
tantalizingly little detail while others give occupations, address
and ultimate destination overseas.
News from the National Archives
about 1911 census
In response to great public demand The National Archives is
developing an online 1911 census service, covering most parts of
the census, with an external partner; we are actively investigating
the possibility of launching this digital service in 2009. Over two
kilometres of census records, containing the details of 35 million
UK ancestors, will be digitised. This will provide an online
service, across most fields of the census, enabling researchers
anywhere in the world to search and download digital scans of
images from the census. As with our current online census services
it will be both address and name searchable. It is anticipated that
it will be available from 2009. It will offer a much cheaper and
speedier access to the census returns than the planned FOI service.
The full 1911 census won't be released until 2012.
For further details see
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/1911census/
and
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/13dec2006.pdf
The Friends of Devon's
Archives
The Friends of Devon's Archives have launched their new
website on
http://www.foda.org.uk/
Please visit this new site to show your support of the group.
The Friends of Devon's Archives were founded in 1998 and exist to
promote the preservation and use of historical records throughout
Devon and to raise public awareness of their importance for
research and education.
The Devon and Exeter Oath Rolls 1723 http://www.foda.org.uk/oaths/
can now be searched by name or parish.
Projects include
- Eighteenth century Devon: people and communities
- Tithe apportionments project
- Black History
- Devon maps and mapmakers
Plans for LDS church's web site and
news of digitizing project
With a complete overhaul of the church's
FamilySearch.org Web site planned for
the months ahead, even those who have no experience researching
family history will be able to "do something meaningful without
having to learn anything prior," according to Steve W. Anderson,
online marketing manager for the church's Family History
department.
The digitizing project will eventually allow the images of such
information as census records, birth, death, marriage, tax and land
records - now contained on its 2.4 million rolls of microfilm - to
not only be placed online, but to be indexed in order to allow
nearly instant access.
The project is estimated to take from five to 15 years to
complete.
After that anyone looking for access to literally billions of
individual documents will be able to search for them in minutes
online.
For more information, see
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650194998,00.html
Online release of 1911
census
The National Archives is committed to making census data available
online. We know from our own experience the huge excitement
generated by the release of any new census and recognise the great
historical and research value of census information. So we are
already making plans to make the 1911 census available online in
just under six years´ time, on the first working day
of 2012.
The release of the census returns after 100 years is determined by
long-standing government policy. The 1911 census form included the
following emphatic assurance to householders: ´The
contents of the Schedule will be treated as confidential. Strict
Care will be taken that no information is disclosed with regard to
individual persons.´ In 1966 the Lord Chancellor
determined that ALL decennial census returns should be closed for a
period of 100 years, on the grounds that they contained personal
information supplied by citizens about themselves.
Since then successive governments have consistently maintained this
position, and from 1981 onwards there has been an explicit
assurance on census forms that they will remain closed to the
public for 100 years. This is the assurance that we all receive
when we provide sensitive personal information in our completed
census forms. The Government continues to believe that the
100-year closure period strikes the right balance between
protecting confidential data about us as individual citizens and
releasing the information, which is so valuable to researchers and
historians alike.
Under the Freedom of Information Act, The National Archives
considers requests for access to information contained in the 1911
census returns in consultation with the Office for National
Statistics (ONS) as the department that transferred the record to
us. On the specific enquiries received to date it has not been
possible to release the information that has been sought, on the
grounds that it is exempt under section 41 of the Act, which
relates to information provided in confidence.
The 1911 census is a huge document - more than 12 times the size of
the 1901 census, with 35,000 volumes containing the details of our
35 million ancestors and occupying some 2 kilometres of shelving.
They are in good condition and suitable for scanning, with less
than 5 per cent requiring more extensive conservation work to be
scanned safely. In addition there are also 38,000 volumes of
enumerators´ summary books that are in excellent
condition. These are likely to be included in the online project as
they contain useful and unique information that supports the census
information. However, they do not provide the level of personal
details that can be found in the actual census schedules.
By far the best option for providing access to the census is online
delivery, making the returns available to the widest possible
audience and preserving the integrity of the original records.
Proposals are well underway to find the very best company to work
with us in order to provide a good reliable service for millions of
potential users. We have published our requirements in the Official
Journal of the European Union and over the next couple of months
will seek to create a shortlist of potential suppliers.
Learning from previous experience and building on our current
plans, The National Archives is eagerly looking forward to
launching the 1911 census online in January 2012, which we are
confident will rapidly become a major resource for family
historians of British descent throughout the globe.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/news/stories/110.htm
A New Vision for The National
Archives, 2006 - 2011
James Strachan, Director of Public Services and Marketing at The
National Archives (TNA), presented
A New Vision for The National
Archives, 2006 - 2011, at public meetings at the Family Records
Centre (FRC) on 29 June and at Kew on 30 June. To read a summary of
the Questions and Answers about future plans, including TNA's
planned move of its holdings from FRC to Kew, see
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/news/stories/124.htm
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION IN BRITAIN'S
GENETIC HISTORY PROJECT
Did you know that historical patterns of people's movements, from
Anglo-Saxon invasions to those of the Vikings and Normans, may have
an impact on 21st Century medical science?
To investigate this, three Oxford professors have been given
funding by the Wellcome Trust to launch a study to analyse the
geographical variation in Britain's genetic history.
If you have settled in the same rural area as your parents and all
four grandparents and would like to volunteer or learn more about
the project, get in touch with Susan Tonks or Bruce Winney on 01865
228 627, by e-mail
susan.tonks@clinpharm.ox.ac.uk,
bruce.winney@clinpharm.ox.ac.uk,
or by post Dept. of Clinical Pharmacology, Radcliffe Infirmary,
Woodstock Road, Oxford, OX2 6HE.
www.peopleofthebritishisles.org
Civil Registration
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This page last revised Sunday, 20 July
2008
Copyright © 2008 Devon Family History
Society
