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2009 News Archive

Ancestry.com Inc. has filed a preliminary registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in preparation for going public on the USA Stock Market

This statement is preliminary to issuing an initial public offering with the objective of raising $75 million. The company, founded in 1983 and based in Provo, Utah, plans to list on Nasdaq or NYSE under the symbol ACOM. The present Ancestry.com has many owners, but the majority stake of some 67% is held by Spectrum Equity Investors, a media/communications firm, which paid about $300 million in 2007 for its share of the company. The other investors include Sorenson Media, CMGI@Ventures and EsNet Group.

Together with appendices the registration document is more than 150 pages of financial tables and legalese. Anyone who feels they can digest the document will find it online at the SEC

A number of genealogy blogs have kindly gleaned and digested some of the more interesting snippets to be found in the document and I am grateful to member John D Reid of Anglo Celtic Connections, Dick Eastman and Kimberley Powell at About Genealogy.com for the following information:

Ancestry.com is the world’s largest online resource for family history, with almost one million paying subscribers around the world as of June 30, 2009. Revenues have increased from $122.6 million in 2004 to $197.6 million in 2008, a compound annual growth rate of 12.7%. For six month of 2009, it had revenues of $99.9 million with profits of $8.18 million, compared to $87.4 million revenues in first six month of 2008 and profits of $1.24 million. The total cost of revenues was $43,614,000. The total operating expenses were $138,257,000, the largest single component of which was $52,341,000 for advertising and marketing. The company has invested about $80 million to date in making the genealogy content available to subscribers, to acquire or license, digitize, index and publish additional records.

Approximately 45% of subscribers have been with the company continuously for more than two years as of June 30, 2009. In the six months ended June 2009, visitors to the company websites spent an average of 19.1 minutes on their websites per usage day. The company sees even more potential or growth with introduction of the TV show "Who Do You Think You Are?" in U.S. in early 2010, following a similar show on BBC in 2006.

In 2008 Beijing Formax, based in Zhongguancun Science Park, Beijing, China, performed a majority of the company's data transcription as measured by cost.

The company considers its competition to be:

  • FamilySearch, and its website FamilySearch.org
  • Commercial entities, including online genealogical research services, library content distributors, search engines and portals, retailers of books and software related to genealogical research and family tree creation and family history oriented social networking websites.
  • Other non-profit entities and organizations, genealogical societies, governments and agencies that may make vital statistics or other records available to the public for free.

As of June 30, 2009, the company had approximately 570 full-time employees and approximately 100 part-time and contingent employees. All but one of the 13 directors and executive officers are male. Their ages range from 33 to 61. Nine are in their 40s.

For 2008 Timothy Sullivan, President and Chief Executive Officer, received total compensation of $2,242,482 on a base salary of $350,000. total compensation for the other company executives was: Joshua Hanna $1,219,890; Andrew Wait $778,871; David Rinn $620,925; Michael Wolfgramm $473,175.

Else Churchill 6 Aug 2009

Bright Solid/findmypast has purchased the Friends Reunited Group

There have been a number of developments in the commercial genealogy sector that will be of interest to the family history community.

Of perhaps greatest interest to British family historians is the news that D C M Thomson the publishing newspaper giant behind brightsolid/findmypast has purchased the Friends Reunited Group which includes its sister site Genes Reunited. The acquisition of Friends Reunited creates Britain’s leading genealogy business by bringing together Genes Reunited and findmypast.com (which operate the official 1901 and 1911 Census websites respectively in association with The National Archives) and ScotlandsPeople in partnership with General Register Office for Scotland, the National Archives of Scotland and the Court of the Lord Lyon. The Society of Genealogists has been told that "there are no immediate plans to merge findmypast and Genes and the company believes they offer complementary services, but [Brightsolid] will be reviewing the strengths of the brands and the best way to maximise the benefits of the group synergies".

Read the official press release from Bright Solid

TNA proposes changes to opening hours and other cost savings

An outline of the proposed cuts and changes at TNA will be found posted on its website by the end of this week. The PowerPoint presentation and questions will be put up in full, Anyone wishing to comment or make suggestions can email

Report, by Else Churchill (SoG), on the Open Meeting held at the TNA on 2 July 2009

Staff and users at TNA have now been informed what TNA is proposing to meet the challenges of reducing the operating costs of £42 million by about 10% (£4.2m.) Jeff James, Director of Operations and Services has outlined why TNA is having to make cuts, what the cuts will be and what impact they will have on staff and readers. Cuts won’t be across the board but will be implemented, we are told, strategically. Staff costs comprise about half of TNA’s operating costs. Public Services employs about 400 of the 660 staff and TNA is looking to lose about 60 places overall, in some instances by not filling about 30 current vacant positions and looking at redundancy packages for about another 35. Public Services will have to contribute some £900K of the £4.2 millions savings. Some staff will have to be what is termed "displaced", i.e. moved internally within TNA or given the opportunity to work elsewhere in the Civil Service. Many staff will be expected to reapply for jobs although there will be fewer places. Expertise and knowledge accumulated in various departments are clearly at risk. Archives and Records Knowledge (ARK) is expected to lose 12 out of its 102 posts. Staff reductions and streamlining services are intended to save about £0.5m. Other back office duties, its information and government policy role and the advisory and executive functions of the National Archives are also expected to contribute to savings.

TNA is looking to cut the number of days the reading rooms are open. It is proposed to reduce the opening days to Tuesday to Saturday only. Not only will this reduce staff requirements but shift patterns will be altered to use resources differently. It is proposed, for example, that expert specialist staff will not be available on the late night openings between 5-7pm but will be redirected to the busier periods between 11am and 3pm.

TNA is having to make sure all its activities are managed efficiently Some of its commercial activities are profitable, such as the income from the licences to digitise the 1911 census. However publishing books apparently makes little money as does the limited research service. TNA is also proposing streamlining its copying services including withdrawal of the Digital Express and the estimating services and the introduction of a new online copying request service.

Reaction at the first open meeting was most divided about the proposals to charge for the use of the public car park at Kew. Some vehemently against and others feeling it was better to charge for this rather than subsidise it out of operating income.

While not contributing greatly to the costs reductions per see, the removal of selected large microfilm and fiche records series from the reading rooms now they are digitised will enable space to be freed up as film and fiche cabinets are removed and older equipment will no longer have to be maintained and replaced. There is however much criticism of this policy as the online surrogates aren’t absolutely satisfactory and films will still be available to order through the catalogue.

The closure of the Family Record Centre and addition of the GRO fiche indexes for births, marriages and deaths to 2007 have undoubtedly placed a burden on TNA staff who are helping many readers use records that are not actually its responsibility. TNA is proposing that it no longer provides free access to the GRO fiche indexes and will not take the updated indexes in future.

Future investment will continue TNA’s drive online and it intends to continue to develop the online catalogue and digitisation projects. However IT savings are forecast to be considerable and one cynically wonders whether any IT project has actually saved a government department money? TNA wants to encourage most people to use its records remotely and not come to Kew unless it is necessary, but acknowledges there will never be enough money to scan every document it holds. Family historians have probably seen the best of investment made so far and any future digitisation will always be aimed at who are most likely to pay. However the building itself is getting old and is costly to run. We cannot rule out the unthinkable that The National Archives may well have to consider relocating.

It is intended that all changes are implemented by March 2010. The proposals are currently being negotiated with Staff and Unions, there will be the "consultation period" for comments up to about September when notice will be given of the changes. The opening hours will probably change in January and the films and fiche withdrawn by the end of March 2010.

Else Churchill
Genealogist
Society of Genealogists

Irish Catholic registers at the Society of Genealogists

On 16 June 2009, after two years of negotiation, the National Library of Ireland has granted permission for the Society of Genealogists to buy film copies of Catholic parish registers.

A full list of registers, arranged by Diocese, including NLI film reel numbers, is available from the National Library’s website. The cost is 100 Euros per reel.

Members of the SoG are invited to sponsor the purchase of registers which they would like to see in the Library. We are unable to loan the films to sponsors for use at home due to copyright restrictions and they are only to be used for private research. Nevertheless, we believe that this is extremely welcome news for all those of us with Irish Catholic ancestry.

Members who are interested should contact the Librarian, Sue Gibbons.

Family & Local History conference 28-31 August 2009

The Society of Genealogists is sponsoring a stream of expert speakers at the next national Family & Local History conference ‘Open the Door & Here are the People’. This 4 day conference is being hosted by the Halsted Trust 28-31 August 2009 at the East Midlands Conference Nottingham. The SoG stream covers a series of talks given by Else Churchill, John Hanson, Geoff Swinfield and Alec Tritton, covering everything from Surname searching to the very best websites; DNA and family history to Tracing Living Relatives.

The conference cost of £369 includes en-suite accommodation, all meals, lectures, and entertainment. The day rate, cost of partial attendance, booking form, and full programme are available at www.openthedoor.org.uk Save £40 on the full conference price (reducing it to £329) by going to www.openthedoor.org.uk/booking.html clicking on the special offer code tab, then entering SG101 into both the ‘user name’ and ‘password’ fields.

Other speakers include military historian, broadcaster and author Richard Holmes; historians and authors Kate Williams and Sarah Wise; TV genealogist Nick Barratt; George Redmonds, leading authority on English surnames plus speakers from The Galleries of Justice, Institute for Name-Studies, King’s College, London, The Library & Museum of Freemasonry, The Media Archive for Central England, The National Archives, National Maritime Museum, National Monuments Record, Parliamentary Archives, Royal Geographical Society, The Royal Observatory and The Women’s Library.

June Perring
ceo

Press release

Location of Event: Trinity Square, Hull

Time of event: 10.00-16.00

Name of event: Who Do We Think We Are?

Details of event: This living history event provides fun for all ages. Building on the success of the BBC television programme 'Who Do You Think You Are?' the series of linked events allows young and old alike to discover more about how movement and identity have influenced the development of the region. All events are free to attend and full accessible to all. The events centre on Hull's historic Trinity Quarter, 10.00-16.00 on Saturday, 4th July 2009.

Inside Britain's largest parish church, Hull's Holy Trinity Church, people can meet some of the country's leading experts who have worked on the TV programme 'Who Do You Think You Are' to explore their own heritage. Whether using state of the art technology, learning about family history, exploring the history of the area from the rooftop of Holy Trinity Church, or handling interactive history from the Imperial War Museum in the North, this event looks set to inspire everyone to delve into the people, goods and ideas that have influenced who we think we are.

Outside children and adults in period costume will bring the historic centre of Hull alive in dance, music, and playing games from the days before health and safety controlled what we could and could not do at school. Free English-Heritage approved tour guides will be on hand to help you look at the people, buildings and events that influenced the way Hull evolved as the third largest port in Britain.

At Hull Museums Hands on History Museum everyone will be encouraged to handle the past through a series of engaging and fun events by costumed characters and experts from the City's museums. Come and see costumed characters and learn about Victorian craft making.

Around the City Centre people can experience Victorian Hull through a series of outside events including costumed enables, entertainers, rides in horsedrawn Victorian carriages or musical entertainment.

Participants include: Hull History Centre, University of Hull's History experts, Hull University Archives, Wilberforce Institute for the study of Slavery and Emancipation, East Yorkshire Local History Society, East Yorkshire Treasure House, North East Lincolnshire Archives, Hull Local Studies Library, East Yorkshire Family History Society, Grimsby Family History Society, the Society of Genealogists, Guild of One Name Study Groups, Imperial War Museum in the North, Hull Museums, BBC, experts advisors for Who Do You Think You Are?, Gale Newspapers, Ancestry.com databases.

Further details: For further details please contact: Sarah Carter, Wilberforce Institute for the study of Slavery and Emancipation, University of Hull, 27 Oriel Chambers, High Street, Hull, HU1 1NE. Tel: 01482 305176, or email: sarah.carter@hull.ac.uk

The Society of Genealogists takes its courses online with Pharos

The Society of Genealogists and Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd are pleased to announce a new joint online course called I’m Stuck! How can the Society of Genealogists Help Me? starts 28th May 2009 and is repeated from 2nd July 2009.

In this short two week course, Else Churchill of the Society of Genealogists will guide you through the steps needed to help you think logically about research problems and how to solve them. She also introduces you to records and indexes, held by the Society of Genealogists, which can be used to break down those brick walls, and demonstrates how these resources help you extend your family tree. Emphasis is also placed on learning how to apply research techniques to solve your problems.

Prospective students can pay and enroll via the Pharos website at a price of £23.99 or a discounted price of £19.99 for members of the Society of Genealogists.

The course is suitable for genealogists who have had some experience in family history research in England & Wales but who have found they have been unable to identify where their ancestor might have come from.

It is hoped that this will be the start of a wider collaboration on distance learning courses between the Society and Pharos.

Helen Osborn, Managing Director of Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd, said today "We are very pleased to be given the opportunity of working with the Society of Genealogists in this collaborative way and to bring the vast knowledge of the Society to a wider audience."

Else Churchill, Genealogist at the Society & tutor for Pharos courses, said today "The Society of Genealogists is delighted to offer the first of, what we hope will be many, distance learning opportunities for the Society. This course will enable those who are unable to visit the Society and take part in our extensive education programme to learn more about the techniques of family history research and the Society of Genealogists in particular."

Contacts:

Pharos Tutors: Helen Osborn
Telephone: 020 8542 6552
Email: helen@pharostutors.com
Website: http://www.pharostutors.com

Society of Genealogists: Else Churchill
Telephone: 020 7702 5488
Email: genealogy@sog.org.uk
Website: www.sog.org.uk

Print(pdf) a copy of the full Press Notice

Free Library tours at the Society on Sunday 3 May.

Anyone attending the Family History event at the Barbican on Sunday 3rd May is welcome to join the free tours of the Society of Genealogists. The Society will be opening specially on this Sunday for tours around the library, advice on your research from the SoG experts and guidance on starting your family history in our free community family history access area.

The library itself will not be fully staffed or open for research. However, anyone attending the Family History Event or coming to the SoG on the tours will receive a free day search voucher valid for two hours’ free use of the SoG library during normal opening hours. In addition the SoG will be waiving the £10 joining admin fee for anyone who becomes a member of the Society at the event or at the SoG on Sunday 3rd May.

The SoG will pick you up for tours and guide you round to the Society from the Barbican so do come and see us at our stand at the show.

The library will be open, as usual, on Saturday 2 May and will be closed, as usual, on Monday (Bank Holiday) 4th May

Else Churchill - Genealogist

6 March 2008 - BUDGETING, STAFFING AND CHANGES IN LIBRARY OPENING HOURS

In setting the budget for 2009 the Trustees have had to adopt a very realistic approach in times of economic crisis. For the last few years our Finance Report has clearly spelled out that our income from subscriptions does not meet our expenditure. We have been very fortunate that large legacies and payment we received from losing some of our light helped ‘bridge the gap’. The Trustees have been trying to find other ways to help but it has taken two years to finally get someone in the Fundraising post, despite several adverts and interview processes, and one successful applicant even turning down the position. This initiative is now in place but will take time to add any value to future finances.

In 2008 the final accounts are yet to be audited but they will show a substantial loss. The Society had enough reserves from the previous year to carry this but is unable to carry any more loss in 2009. Increasing subscriptions would not be an answer to the problem. People are having to be careful with their finances at the moment and we are already seeing memberships not being renewed. Last year we lost 260 members and this may well increase this year. Although genealogy continues to be popular, fewer people join a Society, more preferring just to pay a subscription to the commercial companies providing online data or spending a day at Kew where no charges are made.

Over the last few years the Society has pared back normal expenditure and the only significant expenditure left to reduce is the staff budget. During the budget process many scenarios were looked at, such as cutting the lecture programme, which appears to make a loss in the Annual Report. However a lot of the associated lecture costs are apportionments of other overheads or salaries and doing this would not make a significant saving. The Trustees also believe this to be one of our main charitable objectives in providing education as are some of our other remits.

To make the saving required the Society has had to shed the equivalent of 100 staff hours across all departments. Priority had to be made on how to achieve this with the minimum of loss of service to you the member, whilst still making it manageable for remaining staff. The Society is committed to its digitisation programme in order to make its data more accessible to you all and does not want to see this area suffer. With only approximately 26% of members actually coming into the physical building it is important we are able to make our records and data available to those not able to come in. With this in mind the Society has re-assessed its opening hours. To enable the remaining staff to cope with the workload that will increase, not only by the loss of 100 hours labour but by the new digitisation projects, the Society will be closing for one extra day a week. We have looked at all the entrance statistics and having found only approximately 50 members come in on a Friday; this seemed the sensible day to close.

We are hoping this will not cause the members who come in that day any major inconvenience but we are really trying to do the best for all our members.

Colin Allen FSG Chairman of the Board of Trustees

25 January 2009 - Changes to access to New Zealand Birth Death and Marriage Indexes

The Society has received notice from the Registrar General of New Zealand that from 25 January 2009 sales of the indexes will no longer be available. The Society of Genealogists holds microfiche indexes of New Zealand Births and Marriages from 1840-1920 and Deaths from 1849-1920 and due to this change the Society will not be able to acquire later fiche.

The removal of the indexes from sale is a requirement the New Zealand Births, Death, Marriages and Relationships Registration Act 1(1995) which comes into force today - 25 January 2009. The Act also provides that "historical information" may be made available by the New Zealand Registrar-General on the Internet.

Historical Information is defined as:

  • Births that occurred at least 100 years ago
  • Still births that occurred 50 years ago
  • Marriages and Civil unions that occurred 80 years ago
  • Changes of Names for persons born overseas - if they were born at least 100 years ago
  • Deaths of people who dies at least 50 years ago or who were bon at least 80 years ago

The Registrar-General states this Internet service will be made available as close to 25 January 2009 as possible. The service will offer enhanced information that is not currently available on the indexes. We have not been told how much the new internet service will cost.

Individuals and institutions that currently hold the fiche indexes will be able to continue to use this information - subject to Crown Copyright and New Zealand Privacy Act restrictions that currently apply.

However please note that as of January 25 it will be an offence for any person to publish index information unless the information relates to the person publishing it, or if the person to whom it relates has given permission for it to be published, or information is "historical information" or could not reasonably be expected to identify any particular person due to its form.

Please note that these restrictions apply to any information published on "member only" websites or internal "Intranet" sites.

Index information that is currently published on the Internet and that does not comply with the requirements above must be removed within 14 days of the Act coming into force - in other words by Sunday 7th February 2009.

Any breach of these new legislative requirements is punishable "upon summary conviction" by a fine of up to NZ$50,000

Anyone wishing more information about accessing New Zealand Civil registration information might be interested in reading the notes on the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Amendment Act as posted by the New Zealand Department for Internal Affairs. Link to www.bdm.govt.nz

Of particular interest are the notes on what may be available on the internet and possible restrictions on access to more modern information. Anyone who requests access to registered information, with some exceptions (e.g. "historical" information), will have his or her full name recorded in the access register. Also recorded in the access register will be the date that the request was made and whether or not the request was complied with.

The subject of the registered information (or a parent if the person is under 18) or other person authorised in writing by the subject will be able to access the new register to find out who has applied for access to the subject’s records. Public sector agencies will also be able to search the access register for maintenance of law purposes

Non-disclosure directions.

A non-disclosure direction may be placed on a person’s records under certain conditions and for a particular length of time (which will be set out in regulations).

A non-disclosure direction means that, generally, only the person who is the subject of the information (or a parent if the person is under 18), or any other person authorised by the subject of the information may access registered information about the subject of the non-disclosure direction. If any other person attempts to access registered information when a non-disclosure direction is in place he or she will be advised that the information exists but that the information cannot be provided. However, a person may seek to verify any information that has been published by the subject of the record, despite a non-disclosure direction being in place on the record.

A non-disclosure direction expires after a certain period of time, and may be reinstated or withdrawn.

Else Churchill
Genealogist
Society of Genealogists

24 January 2009 -The new series of Who Do You Think You Are?

The new series of Who Do You Think You Are? will now begin at 9pm on BBC One on Monday 2 February, the BBC has announced. The series was originally reported to start on Wednesday 4 February, but the BBC has since announced changes to the schedule. The impressionist Rory Bremner will kick-off the much-anticipated new series by delving into his family's fascinating military past. Newsreader Fiona Bruce will trace her Scottish roots a week later. The series will also feature chef Rick Stein, actress Zoë Wanamaker, and actor Kevin Whately.

Check radiotimes.com for more details.

15 January 2009 - 1911 Census Update

At the moment the Society has no arrangement for free access to the 1911 census in the SoG library while the census remains exclusively on the 1911census.co.uk website. However it is our understanding that the exclusive licence issued to Brightsolid/Findmypast as the sole online provider will last only 6 months from the final content launch. Once the full exclusive licence has been operating for 6 months other online providers will have the opportunity to purchase the scanned images and get a licence to provide their own indexes. Once this is done we hope that the 1911 census will be available on those sites such as Findmypast etc which are available free at the SoG.

Note

The 1911census.co.uk site is free to view at the National Archives in Kew. Vouchers to view the 1911cenus.co.uk site will be available from the SoG shop and users may of course use their credit cards on the SoG computers but are requested to speak to the library staff before do so.

1911 Census index now available to the public

Following the launch today of the 1911 Census on www.1911census.co.uk Else Churchill, Genealogist at the Society of Genealogists says "This endeavour has been eagerly anticipated by the family history community ever since the Data Commissioner announced that Freedom of Information legislation could allow the 1911 Census records to be released early. The National Archives and Findmypast are to be congratulated for having achieved such a great deal in just two years as this has been an enormous project.

This census will be valuable to so many family historians as it provides vital information on our ancestors, particularly those born in the period between 1901 and 1911when the General Register Office birth indexes lack information about the mother’s maiden name. The snapshot of families living in the early part of the twentieth century, just before the First World War provides a fascinating insight into their lives. These families were living in times quite distinct from the Victorian age shown in earlier censuses. I am sure this census will help many more people to start tracing their family history and also help many existing genealogists overcome some long standing "brick walls" in their research.

I personally am eager to look for the first instance of my Welsh grandfather Protheroe Churchill appearing in the census and am looking forward to the completion of this project."

Else Churchill
Genealogist
Society of Genealogists
14 Charterhouse Buildings
Goswell Road
London EC1M 7BA
direct phone 020 7702 5488
visit the Society of Genealogists' Website www.sog.org.uk

WOULD YOU LIKE ADVICE ON YOUR FAMILY HISTORY?

From beginners onwards: all queries and problems welcomed. Phone our dedicated family history advice line on 020 7490 8911 Thursdays 6pm - 7.45 pm; Saturdays 11 am - 1pm and 2pm - 4 pm

2008 News Archive

SoG index to St Leonard Shoreditch Burials 1813-1853 now online

The St Leonard Shoreditch Burial index, complied by the Society of Genealogists has now been launched on The Origins Network

The Index covers over 32,000 burials in this parish, in the period 1813-1854.

The elegant church of St Leonard Shoreditch was built between 1736 and 1740 after the tower of its predecessor collapsed during a service in 1716. There had been a church on this spot since the 12th century and in the Elizabethan period it was used by many actors working at the two nearby theatres. The grave of Shakespeare’s friend, and builder of the Curtain theatre, Richard Burbage, is in the churchyard. By the middle of the 18th century the parish had a population of about 10,000. The 1801 census showed an increase in just 50 years to 35,000. Between 1822 and 1827 the "Waterloo churches" of St John Hoxton and St Mary Haggerston were built to cope with the rising population and in 1830 they were spilt off to form two new ecclesiastical parishes. In 1831 the population was recorded as 69,000. A third ecclesiastical parish (St James, Curtain Road) was created in 1841. By 1851 the population had risen to 109,000.

Overcrowding, disease and poverty were so great in this area that the Shoreditch vestry levied a special Poor Rate in 1774 to create a workhouse for the parish. This was the first in London to have a separate isolation ward for housing those with infectious diseases, in particular those infected with cholera. The parish burial registers for the 41 years from 1813 to 1853 record the deaths of 32,684 individuals. The average number per year was about 800 but during the cholera epidemics of 1832 and 1849 the number shot up to over a thousand.

There are separate burial registers for the Workhouse 1778-1828 but the bodies of many people who died there were claimed by relatives and buried in St Leonard’s churchyard. These burials are recorded in the registers of the parish church and are included in this index. The coverage of the index will soon be extended backwards to 1805 and forwards to the end of interment in the churchyard in 1858 and to include Workhouse burials 1820 to 1828. Earlier entries relating to adult males buried at Shoreditch between 1560 and 1745 can be found in the Society of Genealogists’ collection ’Boyd’s London Burials", also available on The Origins Network

Else Churchill
Genealogist

SoG St Andrew Holborn marriage data now on British Origins

The Society of Genealogists is pleased to announce that its project to index the parish registers of St Andrew Holborn in London has been published on the British Origins website.

The church of St Andrew Holborn is the largest of Sir Christopher Wren's London parish churches and stands at the western end of Holborn Viaduct by Holborn Circus. It also served one of the biggest parishes in London (it actually spanned the boundary of London and Middlesex) out of which five new parishes were eventually formed. The registers are large and contain many thousands of entries, as the parish has always been a popular place to marry. More significantly, the entries from the marriage registers do not appear on the International Genealogical Index or in Boyd's Marriage Index. Pallot's Marriage index has entries for 1780-1837 but these give only year and omit many of the details from the original registers. It is for these reasons that, in 2003, the Society of Genealogists decided to embark a project to transcribe and index the registers.

The index for the period 1754-1812, comprising 18,724 marriages and around 92,000 names, is now available online.

View more detailed information about this dataset

Earlier and later data will follow in due course.

This data is available to SoG members free of charge as part of their quarterly access to the British Origins site.

Else Churchill
Genealogist
Society of Genealogists
14 Charterhouse Buildings
Goswell Road
London EC1M 7BA

23 September 2008

GRANDPARENTS AND GRANDCHILDREN

My name is Jo Abel and I am a documentary director. I am working on a series for BBC 4 exploring the relationship between grandparents and their grandchildren — what it means, how it is different to the relationship with your own children and how it impacts on the family as a whole. I know from personal experience that the arrival of grandchildren creates a massive shift in family dynamics both exhilarating and challenging. I am keen to learn from grandparents about this relationship and how it impacts on life. We have been given this unique opportunity to make this series, and to give it the thought and understanding it needs I need to talk to grandparents , parents and grandchildren about their experiences and relationships with one another.

I am keen to talk to as many people as possible. I can be contacted at dkahlon@blastfilms.co.uk or jabel@blastfilms.co.uk

Press Notice - FINDMYPAST.COM EXTENDS ONLINE PARISH RECORDS COLLECTION

Online access to millions of nationwide parish marriage records pre- dating the civil registration of births, marriages and deaths

UK family history website findmypast.com today announced it has added 3.2 million marriage records to its Parish Records Collection. The new parish records, dating back to 1538, join the 15 million burial records already available to search on the site.

The Parish Records Collection brings together in one easy-to-search central place the disparate records from local parishes, which have been collated by local family history societies since 1911, coordinated by the Federation of Family History Societies.

The registers are particularly valuable sources of information for people seeking to research their family tree back further than the civil records of birth, marriage and death, which began in 1837, and the nineteenth century censuses.

Easy to search

Thanks to the cross-database search facility at findmypast.com, you will be able to search for your ancestor by surname across all the parish records on the site without needing to know where in the country they came from, helping people to delve even deeper into their ancestors' pasts.

Famous people in the parish marriage records

Among the famous names recorded in the parish marriages is writer Charles John Huffam Dickens, whose marriage to Catherine Thomson Hogarth took place in Chelsea on 2 April 1836, just one year prior to civil registration in England and Wales.

In the same year, on 5 July, engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel's marriage to Mary Elizabeth Horsley is shown in Kensington.

Both records have been contributed by the West Middlesex Family History Society.

Debra Chatfield, Marketing Manager at findmypast.com said: "The parish registers are an essential resource for anyone trying to trace their ancestors back to the early sixteenth century. By publishing these records online, findmypast.com is helping to open up new avenues of research for family historians worldwide from the comfort of their own home."

Over the coming months findmypast.com will be adding parish baptism records to the website too.

ENDS

findmypast.com
e-mail: marketing@findmypast.com
web: www.findmypast.com
24 Britton Street, London, EC1M 5UA, United Kingdom
Tel: 020 7549 0990 Fax: 020 7549 0949

The Ministry of Defence has launched a public consultation process regarding the transfer of historic Armed Forces Service Personnel records to The National Archives.

The MOD has made the following announcement

Members of the public are being asked for their views on the process the Ministry of Defence has developed to transfer to The National Archives records of soldiers, sailors and airmen who served in the Armed Forces between the two World Wars and for those who were members of the Home Guard during the Second World War.

The department transferred First World War service records to The National Archives in the 1990s and these have proved a popular resource with family and military historians alike.

But the opening of records at The National Archives needs to ensure that personal data is handled in accordance with data protection legislation and has the support and confidence of the public.

The MOD's Departmental Record Officer, Katie de Bourcier, said:

"The MOD is using a public consultation process to seek views on whether the processes developed for transferring of the records to The National Archives are adequate. At this time of heightened public interest about government handling of personal data, it is important that those likely to be affected by the decision to transfer the records should have an opportunity to comment on the proposed arrangements."

Although the Ministry of Defence transferred the records of Armed Forces personnel who served in the First World War to The National Archives in a rolling programme from 1996, it continues to hold a substantial number of service records which are over thirty years old under permission from the Lord Chancellor. We therefore need to develop a policy and process to manage transfer of such records to The National Archives.

The consultation document can be found on the MOD website

Responses are to be received by 30th September

The Society of Genealogists will of course respond to the document but encourages as many individual family historians as possible to give their views.

Else Churchill
Genealogist
Society of Genealogists
14 Charterhouse Buildings
Goswell Road
London EC1M 7BA

8 July 2008

Government proposals for changes to registrations of births

The Government has announced proposals to change the law regarding the registration of children of unmarried parents. The proposals described in the Times require joint registration of both parents on the birth certificates, that father’s have an obligation to register and a right to do so. Registrars may use their judgments and allow sole registrations if getting both parents names would be "impossible, impractical or unreasonable". The department for Schools Children and Families has issued a press statement. The White Paper Joint birth registration: recording responsibility can be found at: DWP Web site or Every Child Matters web site

The Society of Genealogists Family History Show at Who Do You Think You Are? Live 2008. Olympia 2-4 May

Else Churchill

I’m pleased to report that the second Who Do You Think You Are? Live was once again an enormous success and the Society of Genealogists Family History Show (now in its sixteenth year) continues to be an integral part of the event. The move to Olympia’s larger Grand Hall with its wider aisles made this year’s visit considerably more comfortable than last year, but even still, the family history exhibition stands were heaving with visitors, with Saturday being the busiest day but only just ahead of Friday and Sunday. The SoG Family History Show, sponsored by Family Relatives, continued to provide a thriving mix of some 80 local societies and smaller vendors offering everything the family historian needs from software to online courses; from books, maps and charts to chat-groups. The larger commercial areas saw the huge displays of The National Archives, the National Library of Wales and other repositories along with the impressive presence from Family Search, Ancestry, Findmypast and Family Relatives.

Enhancing the family history element of this year’s show was the colourful presence of men (and women) in military uniforms and hardware throughout the centuries and the military show within the show. Many a grown man looked on wistfully as the fragile First World War aircraft (sorry I never did catch on as to what make it was) was gently unpacked from its box like a giant Airfix kit. There was lots of military memorabilia and even the odd tank and medals specialists and booksellers mingled with family historians. I’m sure stories, research tips and cards were exchanged. The shouted re-enactment of army drills or drums made it quite a challenge to lecture in some of the open workshops but the microphones always won out.

The presence of celebrities from the Who Do You Think You Are? Series and Tony Robinson, Phil Harding and Julian Richards in the Super Theatre and the Council of British Archaeology lectures didn’t seem to stop the SoG’s own workshops from being extremely very well attended. Most of the SoG’s 60 lectures had people standing at the back and in the aisles to hear the talks. The speakers, who were a mix of SoG stalwarts and show exhibitors provided a wide variety of talks on sources and techniques. Naturally titles like I’m Stuck, My Ancestor was an Agricultural Labourer and Can’t Find Them in the Census? had huge audiences. So a heartfelt thanks from me to all who volunteered to talk at the show.

2008 FHS Sog Stand

The biggest team of SoG volunteers ever was brought together by Lori our events co-ordinator. They worked the SoG stands selling new and second hand books, answered questions about the SoG and promoted membership. We had a tremendous number of new members join the Society and we are delighted to welcome you. Perhaps you’ll be volunteering to help us next year? The SoG bookstall also did extremely well. The computers in the Society’s Ask the Expert Area, sponsored by Tiscali, were buzzing as the team of experts from the SoG, The National Archives and our own Census Detectives John Hanson, Graham Walter and Jeanne Bunting all under the supervision of Kathy Elam, Colin Allen and Frank Hardy faced hoards of people looking for help, patiently queuing round the hall to book a consultation. Tiscali were delighted with our experts and filmed many of them for further video information pieces on the newly designed genealogy section of the Tiscali website (written for them by the Society of course!!). If you want to see some interviews from the SoG and some of the forthcoming tips from experts at the show have a look at the Tracing Your Family Tree pages on the lifestyle section of Tiscali’s website

The media kept us busy - we did interviews before hand and during the show itself which were published on BBC Radio and elsewhere. A report of the show was made on BBC Radio 5 Lives Up All Night programme in the early hours of Tuesday (May 6) morning. If you’d like to hear interviews with Else Churchill and other experts from the show go to Up All Night home page and choose the listen again option near the top of the page for 0100 Tuesday The first reports were broadcast at 13minutes past (about 9.38 minutes into the show) and the next bit was 0305.

Reports of the show and interviews with Sally Magnusson will also be broadcast on Radio 4’s Tracing Your Roots on Sunday 10 May at 13.30pm

All in all this year’show was a huge amount of work by all the team involved at the Society but it was all worth it. We hope everyone who came along had a great time and we’ll see you next year. Watch this space for further details.

More pictures(pdf)of the Society at the show and general pictures of the event

NEWS RELEASE 7 March 2008

Family History Show Sponsor announced

The Society of Genealogists is please to announce Familyrelatives.com as the new sponsor of the Society of Genealogists Family History Show 2008. The Family History Show ­ Who do you think you are? LIVE promises to be bigger and better and is taking place in May starting on Friday 2nd to Sunday 4th Grand Hall, Olympia, London

Click for Press Release(pdf)
Click image for Press Release(pdf)

7 March 2008

2007 News Archive

NEWS RELEASE 12 December 2007

1911 Irish Census Details Now Online

After a several year project by the National Archives of Ireland, in partnership with Libraries and Archives Canada, anyone may now search the 1911 census of Ireland by first or family name. The site contains the digital equivalent of 4,000 reels of microfilm and 3.5 million images. It currently holds records for Dublin only, but project organisers plan to add the rest of the country, as well as details of the 1901 census, next year.

Each entry includes a person's education, religion, profession and place of birth. A category for "children still living" suggests some astonishing child mortality rates. Another column asks people, in the jargon du jour, if they are "deaf and dumb; dumb only; blind; imbecile or idiot; or lunatic." You can read more about the records at www.census.nationalarchives.ie/about/index.html

The online version includes both a transcription as well as scanned images of each page. You can search the transcriptions for names, then click on a link to see the original image. The 1911 census has some interesting entries:

  • William B Yeates (sic), a "dramatic author and poet" was recorded in the company of Lady Gregory at Nolan's Hotel on South Frederick Street.
  • The return for Marjorie Dixon of Buckingham Street shows that she had lost seven of her 13 children during her 28-year marriage.

The 1911 census records of Dublin, Ireland can be found at www.census.nationalarchives.ie

12 December 2007 - Else Churchill

NEWS RELEASE 6 December 2007

WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? LIVE RETURNS!

After the huge success of Who Do You Think You Are? LIVE earlier this year, the show next year will be bigger and better and will take place in the stunning Grand Hall at Olympia from Friday 2nd to Sunday 4th May 2008 (open 10-6 except Sunday 10-4).

The Society of Genealogists Family History Show will take place for the 16th consecutive year and will feature more family history societies and organisations than ever before. Plus the event will see an increase in the number of dedicated family history exhibitors. The SoG workshop programme will continue to provide the most comprehensive level of family history expertise than is available anywhere else in the UK featuring speakers including Else Churchill, Geoff Swinfield, Mike Gandy and John Hanson.

Experienced family historians and beginners alike will find a range of workshops or lectures covering record sources, techniques and tips to take it further. Local experts from the regional family history societies can tell you what’s available in their area and of course there are oodles of opportunities to indulge your hobby with some retail therapy at the bookstalls; genealogical and archive suppliers, picture postcard sellers and CD sellers. In addition to all this, the show will give you access to more military records than is available anywhere else.

Plus you can expect to see more celebrities who have appeared on the TV programme sharing their experiences as well as hear TV personalities such as Time Team presenter Tony Robinson and military historians Dan and Peter Snow as they bring to life some on the influential battles of the 20th Century in the amazing new ‘Battle Theatre’.

The Society of Genealogists gives you the chance to buy two tickets for £20*. That's a saving of £20! To book simply call: 0871 230 1091 or visit Who Do Your Think You Are? Live! and quote SOG241 at the time of booking.

Or, if you would like to book for a group of 20 or more, you can purchase two adult tickets for just £15*. To gain this discount simply quote SOGGROUP,

*£1.95 per transaction charge will apply. The normal adult on door ticket price is £20. Tickets go on sale on 1st December 2007.

[1 December 2007]

NEWS RELEASE 29 November 2007

CIVIL SERVICE EVIDENCE OF AGE INDEX GOES LIVE AT FINDMYPAST.COM

New online resource helps family history enthusiasts find their elusive ancestors

The Society of Genealogists www.sog.org.uk today announced that its unique collection the Civil Service Evidence of Age index is launched on the UK family history website www.findmypast.com. This new online resource contains the dates of birth or baptism for some 64,300 people born between 1752 and 1948 many of whose births do not appear in the central birth registers for England and Wales.

The Society of Genealogists has been working in partnership with findmypast.com to publish online the index to this fascinating set of records held at the Society’s London headquarters. The records were created after 1855 when the Civil Service Commission came into being and required applicants to both the Civil Service entry examinations and its pension scheme to provide evidence of age. For those whose births had not been registered in England and Wales, declarations as to birth were submitted, often in the form of handwritten letters.

The records mainly relate to lower-ranking Civil Servants, including prison officers, postmen, museum workers, messengers and engineers. The collection covers both successful and unsuccessful applicants to the Civil Service who were otherwise unable to prove their date of birth. This was either because they were born before 1 July 1837 when Civil Registration began in England and Wales, or they were born overseas, or their birth was not registered. This new online resource will therefore enable many family historians to fill some longstanding gaps in their family tree.

Visitors to the findmypast website will be able to search the records by entering the name of their ancestor, which will produce a free list of results showing the name, year and place of birth or baptism. To view the full details, customers will need to register on the site and either purchase pay-per-view units or an Explorer subscription. Full details will provide the exact date of birth or baptism and the reference number to the original source documents for that person. They will then be able to contact the Society of Genealogists quoting that reference to order copies of the original documents for a fee of £14. On average the Society holds three pages for each person listed in the index.

Among the records can be found applicants to the Indian Civil Service, workers at the Australian Royal Mint and the Admiralty dockyard in Valletta, Malta. In total the Society of Genealogists is storing around 190,000 pages, filled with fascinating human interest stories.

A special offer is available to SoG members who wish to access this dataset and all the other data hosted by findmypast.com at home. Members will receive 20% extra pay-per-view units or 10% discount on subscriptions to findmypast.com by using the special members’ codes

  • Pay per View Units; 20% more units free: SOG637P
  • Subscription; 10% off any subscription package: SOG274S

Else Churchill, Genealogist at the Society of Genealogists said "The Society is delighted to make one of the Society’s largest special collections available to a much wider audience after so much time has been spent by our volunteers conserving, sorting and indexing the records"

Elaine Collins, Commercial Director at findmypast.com said "This is great news for anyone who has hit a brick wall in their family history research. All the people included in the index are there because their birth was not recorded centrally, making them near impossible to find until now. We’re particularly excited that our customers will have the option of ordering the original source material from the Society of Genealogists as these documents add colour to the lives of our ancestors and it is so rare to find examples of their handwriting."

ENDS

For further information, please contact:
Elaine Collins / Else Churchill
findmypast.com / sog.org.uk
020 7549 0956 / 020 7702 5488
elaine.collins@findmypast.com / genealogy@sog.org.uk

About findmypast.com

Findmypast.com (formerly 1837online.com) was the first company to make the complete birth, marriage and death indexes for England & Wales available online in April 2003.

Following the transcription, scanning and indexing of over two million images, the company launched the first website to allow the public easy and fast access to the complete indexes, which until then had only been available on microfiche film in specialist archives and libraries. The launch was instrumental in creating the widespread and growing interest in genealogy seen in the UK today.

Findmypast has subsequently digitised many more family history records and now offers access to over 500 million records dating as far back as 1664. This allows family historians and novice genealogists to search for their ancestors among comprehensive collections of military records, census, migration, occupation directories, and current electoral roll data, as well as the original comprehensive birth, marriage and death records.

As well as providing access to historical records, findmypast is also developing a range of online tools to help people discover and share their family history more easily, beginning with the launch of Family Tree Explorer in July 2007.

Over 1.7 million people in the UK have researched their family trees and findmypast.com has over 800,000 active registered users, revealing the mass appeal of genealogy and findmypast.com’s position as the leading family history website based in the UK.

In April 2007 findmypast’s parent company Title Research Group received the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation 2007 in recognition of their achievement.

In November 2006 findmypast launched the ancestorsonboard.com microsite in association with The National Archives to publish outbound passenger lists for long-distance voyages departing all British ports between 1890 and 1960.

About The Society of Genealogists

The Society of Genealogists (SoG) is an educational charity the purpose of which is to "promote, encourage and foster the study, science and knowledge of genealogy". The Society’s premises in Central London house the largest family history research library in the UK. The Society of Genealogists’ Library is open to members and paying non-members.

Holdings include:

  • Unique research collections
  • Document Collection of manuscript family history research notes
  • Thousands of compiled family histories and biographies
  • Thousands of parish records
  • Boyd's Marriage Index covering some 2,600 parish registers with nearly seven million names
  • Nonconformist registers
  • Memorial inscriptions
  • Local histories, poll books and directories
  • Sources for apprenticeships, trades, professions and occupations
  • Published emigration records for the British overseas

Case Studies from the Civil Service Evidence of Age Records

Annie McCullough of Dublin, born 1835

An extract from a letter from a previous employer to support her statement of age:

"She while with them became attached to a young man, also in their employment, but being at the time a Presbyterian while the young man was a Roman Catholic, there was no prospect of their being married. To remove the barrier, she became a Roman Catholic but so inopportunely did she make the change that at the same time the gentleman became a Protestant, leaving the difficulty just as it was."

Alfred Joseph Lowe of Balham, Surrey born in 1847, Boulogne, France

An extract from a letter in Alfred’s own hand:

"I was born on or about the 15th day of May 1847 at Boulogne sur Mer in the Republic of France. That I have been informed repeatedly of this by my father and mother who are now both dead. At the time of my birth the country in which I was born was considerably disturbed by revolution and the deposition of the then King Louis Philippe and that no register was then kept of births at Boulogne sur Mer."

Else Churchill
Genealogist
Society of Genealogists
14 Charterhouse Buildings
Goswell RoadLondon EC1M 7BA
direct phone 020 7702 5488
visit the Society of Genealogists' Website

[29 November 2007]

NEED SOME HELP?

TRY THE SOCIETY OF GENEALOGISTS’ FAMILY HISTORY ADVICE SERVICE - ONLINE, FACE-TO-FACE OR BY PHONE!!!

Family History Phone In

Have you got a question about your family history research? Need some fresh ideas or places to look? The Society of Genealogists is just at the end of the phone. The Society is launching a trial period for specialist family history telephone advice sessions on Saturdays throughout December 2007.

Contact the SoG’s Family History Advice line on 020 7490 8911 between 11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm on Saturdays throughout December.

Family History Advice Sessions

The Society runs regular one-to-one advice half hour advice sessions with experts at the Society’s library on alternate Saturdays from 2pm. Note the Society also runs free morning tours of the library on the same Saturdays.

Telephone the library direct on 020 7702 5485 to book an advice session or library tour on the following Saturdays:

Family History Advice Sessions in 2008
19 January 26 July
2 February 23 August
16 February 6 September
1 March 20 September
15 March 4 October
29 March 9 August
12 April 18 October
26 April 1 November
17 May 8 November
31 May 22 November
14 June 6 December
28 June 20 December
12 July  

Members Advice and Help List

SOG-UK-L@rootsweb.com

This online mailing list is open to all members of the Society. The aim of this list is to provide a forum for members to exchange opinions on genealogical matters and to help each other by sharing information and experience. More details about the SoG members mailing list.

To join the list for the first time send an email with the following information:

  • your name
  • your membership number
  • whether you wish to join the normal mail list [default], or the digest list.

You will receive an email from the list manager containing details of how to send and receive messages. Please read the Rules & Guidelines for list members.

[28 November 2007]

My Ancestor was an Agricultural Labourer

This much anticipated latest addition to the My Ancestors series by Ian Waller will be of interest to all genealogists and family historians. Most family trees contain an agricultural labourer somewhere and Ian Waller's book enables you to understand the social and economic context of their lives while outlining the various records available to research these ubiquitous ancestors. Buy at the Online.Shop

London Metropolitan Archive is closed until 21 January 2008
and forthcoming closures of The National Archives at Kew.

London Metropolitan Archives is currently closed to the public for major internal refurbishment until 9.30am Monday 21 January 2008. Our telephone and distance enquiry service, including our family history research service, will remain in operation during this closure except over the Christmas and New Year period. Visit the LMA building works page for the latest information.

Due to essential building work, the reading rooms and other public areas of The National Archives at Kew will be closed to visitors from:

  • 1 to 16 December 2007 (inclusive)
  • 21 to 27 January 2008 (inclusive)

All online services will be available as usual at

Please note that The National Archives at Kew will also be closed over the Christmas period as follows:

  • 22 to 26 December 2007 (inclusive)
  • 1 January 2008

Reading room services will also be affected by noise, disruption and reduced seating capacity from now until March 2008.

Please check for the latest information on our website before planning a visit to The National Archives at Kew. The National Archives will continue to display regular updates at Kew and at the Family Records Centre in Islington.

The General Register Office will become part of the Identity and Passport Service from April 2008.

10 October 2007

The Society of Genealogists welcomes news that the General Register Office (GRO) is to be part of the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) from April 2008. The Society hopes that this decision puts an end to any uncertainty about the registration service and that work on the digitisation of certificates (DOVE) and the enhanced online indexes to births, marriages and deaths (MAGPIE) will now go ahead.

Go to the Office of National Statistics’ website for a GRO press statement about the registration service transfer from the ONS.

Go the Identity and Passport Office’s website for a press statement about the new service.

It is interesting to note that IPS and GRO have been working to provide online access for IPS to GRO birth, marriage and death registers. The Society of Genealogists strongly urges Meg Hillier, Home Office Minister responsible for Identity (and presumably for the GRO) and IPS Chief Executive James Hall to enable the GRO to continue its work to create improved online public indexes to the records.

Family Historians are encouraged to contact their MPs, the Home Office Minister Meg Hillier and the Identity and Passport Service to express their concerns that that work on the improved online indexes is completed as soon as possible.

A new E-petition has been opened on the 10 Downing Street Website to ensure that the General Register Office completes ASAP, as promised, the digitisation of, and online index to, the national birth marriages and death indexes dating back to 1837 previously held in the Family Records Centre in London.

Go to the 10 Downing Street Website to support the petition.

Industrial Dispute UK Postal Services

Currently it is expected that UK Postal Services will be affected by an industrial dispute during the period 5 October to 9th October which will impact on our ability to dispatch orders from the OnlineShop including lecture tickets. Lecture tickets can be booked by email or phone. Any Orders placed will be dispatched as soon as possible.

Continue to the OnlineShop.

The National Archives offers a three month institutional access trial to their Documentsonline Service in the Society's Library.

The Society of Genealogists and The National Archives are delighted to announce the launch of a three-month trial offering institutional access to The National Archives’ DocumentsOnline service at its library at Charterhouse Buildings.

From 1st October to 24 December 2007, members and day searchers at the SoG will be able to search and download images such as PCC wills and WW1 Medal cards from DocumentsOnline free of charge. The downloaded images - which usually cost £3.50 each ­ can be printed out at 20p per page.

The library at Charterhouse Buildings has a dozen Internet computers available for use in the Lower Library. Four of these can be pre-booked with the library for an hour. The remainder are available for use on a first come-first served basis. SoG library staff will be on hand to answer any queries.

During this trial period the SoG will ask for feedback and comments from users. This will enable The National Archives to assess and review the three-month trial for possible future partnerships.

Go to DocumentsOnline for a list of all the records available.

Society amalgamates stocktaking closures

Society will be closed the first week in January 2008 when for the first time stocktaking of the Bookshop and the Library will take place rather than a separate week’s closure for the Bookshop in January and for the Library in February.

Therefore the Society will close for New Year and Stocktaking at 6pm on Saturday 29 December and will re-open on Tuesday 8 January at 10am.

Please note that the Society will also be closed from 6pm on Saturday 22 December to 10am on Thursday 27 December.

Society of Genealogists makes prestige award to FreeBMD

The Society of Genealogists was delighted to make the presentation of the Prince Michael of Kent Award at its recent AGM to FreeBMD.

The award made for distinguished and outstanding services to Genealogy has only been made four times in its history. Previous recipients were The Family Record Centre, ABM Publishing and The Genealogical Society of Utah.

See further the details the Press Release

GRO chaos as local registrars are told to abandon computer system

Genealogists will be disappointed in the report in the Times Newspapers of Thursday 3 May of problems with the new electronic registration of births, marriages and deaths faced by local registrars as they try to implement the RON (Remote online records) system for General Registration.

Link to Full article at Times Online

It would seem that the computer system is not robust enough to cope with the number of registrations. Given that the Registration Service and its partners Siemens and Man Tech must have known the number of staff expected to be working on the system it is inconceivable that advance testing did not prepare the service for the problems. This situation is reminiscent of the problems faced by the National Archives with the 1901 census of which GRO was well aware.

Siemens are the General Register Office’s partners for the DOVE (Digitisation of Vital Events) process which is capturing the data from the Registrar General’s copies of certificates. The GRO is currently developing MAGPIE (Multiple Access to GRO published index of events) which will provide new and supposedly improved indexes to vital events that will be available online from 2008.The plan is that by March 2008 the infrastructure will be in place and GRO will publish online indexes to historic birth certificates and then add additional data incrementally. This system is intended to be in place by the time the General Register Office leaves the Family Record Centre in 2008.

The Society of Genealogists has previously questioned, on behalf of the genealogical community whether the GRO’s system would be robust enough to take over from the FRC closure. GRO responded that full testing would take place to ensure that the system could cope with the demand. The troubles faced by the local registration service do not support these reassurances.

The National Archives has announced its partner in digitizing the 1911 census

Link to TNA News Release

Scotland Online currently provides digital access to Scottish birth, marriage and death records, parish registers and censuses for the GRO Scotland. The National Archives assures the Society of Genealogists that it has learnt lessons from the launch of previous censuses and that with its track record Scotland Online will be able to avoid the technical problems that beset the launch of the 1901 census in 2002, and will ensure a service that will be robust and sufficient to meet demand.

The scanning of the enormous amount of 1911 census data will commence and from 2009 there will be a phased release of the images and indexes starting with major conurbations. The Society is gratified to hear this as this was what it advised when given the opportunity to comment on the required specification and search functionality for the 1911 census tenders. We hope the providers will take heed all comments from users. The National Archives has not said what its minimum specification for the index fields will be thus we assume it will be similar to that currently offered for Scottish censuses. The service from 2009 will redact (i.e. edit out) certain parts of the census images that contain sensitive information but the full returns will be available from 2012.

The Society of Genealogists looks forward to seeing the 1911 census returns made widely available on the Internet and wishes TNA and it partners success in their venture.

Gene Detectives

The following information provides some background to Gene Detectives which is shortly to be screened on BBC1 and which used the SoG as a location.

The series, presented by Melanie Sykes with Anthony Adolph as the 'Gene Detective', is starting on Monday 19 February on BBC1 and will run each morning at 9.15 for two weeks.

Filming only finished last week, and the transmission time was only announced a few weeks ago, so there was never any chance of getting any advance publicity into The Genealogist's Magazine, which is a real shame, but you may still consider it newsworthy. It is certainly a new venture in genealogy-related TV!

The show is about people seeking long-lost close relatives - brothers and sisters, parents and children and in one case a lady who has lost most of her family and who was seeking a first cousin who was the only survivor of her immediate family in the Blitz.

Melanie Sykes’s role was to accompany the seekers on their journey, visiting them at home before hand and sharing their emotional experiences on their day in the Gene Detectives studio. Anthony’s role was to trace the long-lost relatives in the first place using conventional genealogical means - General Registration, electoral registers, telephone directories and so on. When they got down to the last three, however, the researchers invited the three possible relatives to come to the studio for a series of tests, the results of which would be compared with those of tests conducted on the seekers themselves.

These tests covered physical characteristics (height, cholesterol levels, eyesight, blood pressure and and lung capacity, all of which - or the propensities to them - are genetically inherited), facial mapping - to see how people's features did or did not match up - and a 'deep ancestry' DNA test. They also asked everyone if they had any particular physical quirks, such as being able to roll their tongues, wiggle their ears or place one arm over one shoulder and the other under the other shoulder and touch their hands behind their backs.

The aim here was not only to come closer to working out who the real relative really was, but also to see to what extent close relatives really do (or don't) match each other in terms of some of those elements of ourselves that we inherit from our parents. Anthony tells us he found the results fascinating: in many cases, facial similarities, physical matches, DNA results and body quirks really did point towards who it was - but not always. Bizarrely (or not, as they are just as much indicators of genetic inheritance as anything else), the most consistent indicators of true family connections seemed to come through the body quirks!

It also gave the seeker themselves the opportunity of seeing whether they could work out who their long-lost relative really was before they met them. Many people who have never met close relatives think, or hope, that they will be able to recognise them instinctively and that close family connections produce an immediate gut reaction. In some cases, this proved not to be the case, but in some instances the gut reaction was astonishingly strong.

At the end of each program, after the tests have been completed and the necessary off-screen professional counselling has been undertaken, the long lost relatives are reunited with each other. It’s interesting in this context that just the other week the press reported that the novelist Ian McEwan discovered he had a long-lost half-brother, and met him. The Telegraph reported "They had been warned by the Salvation Army not to expect an emotional first meeting. ‘That only happens in films’, they were told. They exchanged an ‘awkward hug’ and sat down for a drink". It’s true that many such meetings can be anti-climaxes: besides actually finding the long-lost relatives for the ten seekers featured in the programs, Gene Detectives gave them genuinely emotional reunions, with the support of a professional councilor, and in a very supportive environment.

Else Churchill

Collected news archive on the planned closure of the family Records Centre in 2008

Early closure of FRC(GRO) ­ further update

What can the genealogical community do now?

The Chancellor of the Exchequer determines the policy and financial framework within which the Office for National Statistics (ONS) operates. The Chancellor delegates this responsibility to another Treasury minister, currently the Financial Secretary, Jane Kennedy MP. The operational management of ONS is delegated to the director of ONS. This is currently Karen Dunnell, National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales.

The General Register Office has published a short note concerning the access to indexes and the closure on its website.

Anyone wishing to make comment on this issue might consider writing to

Public Relations Unit
Certificate Services Section
General Register Office
Trafalgar Road
Southport
PR8 2HH
Email: certificate.services@ons.gov.uk
(please enter GQ in the subject field to avoid receiving an auto response)
 Fax: +44 (0) 1704 550013

In person

Complaints about the Family Records Centre (FRC) in London can also be made in person to the supervisor if it relates to certificates or to the manager regarding the general level of service at the FRC. The names of both the supervisor and manager are displayed in the Public Search Room at the FRC

Taking it further

While the Society of Genealogists has no wish to defend the GRO's management of the FRC project along with the various digitization initiatives, the problem would seem to lie at a higher level than GRO itself. The people who need to be made aware of the genealogical community's feelings are clearly the ministers and the National Statistician/Registrar General. The Society of Genealogists would encourage genealogists to make their feelings known directly to Jane Kennedy and Karen Dullen

The MP Jeremy Corbyn has issued an early day motion on 24 July 2007 which states the following:

  • "This House Deplores the decision by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to close the FRC in Islington in 2008, leaving England and Wales without a Public Search Room for the first time since 1836 and resulting in the compulsory redundancy of 20 members of staff; believes that the provision of service online and or microfiche is a completely inadequate substitute, especially for customers requiring documents urgently, for example in support of passport applications or benefit claims; and therefore believes that the ONS' decision represents a complete withdrawal of services that the Registrar General has a duty to provide to customers ranging from legal firms to genealogy societies"

Parliament goes into Summer Recess on 26 July and returns in October. However MPs are still active and take note of their constituent’s concerns.The Society of Genealogists encourages members of the public to lobby their MPs to support this motion. If you know the name of your MP the House of Commons website gives links to emails and website addresses.

You can discover the name of your MP and contact details from writetothem.com

An E-petition against the early closure has been created on the Downing Street Website

Else Churchill

ONS fails to deliver on its services for the genealogical community

The Society of Genealogists is extremely concerned that ONS is to close its services at the Family Record Centre early without putting into place the improved digitised indexes or any satisfactory service to replace what is currently available.

ONS announced at a meeting of the Family Record Centre Users Group on 25 July 2007 that the anticipated closure of its Public Search Room facilities at Myddelton Street, which was due to occur by the end of March 2008, will now actually occur some 5 months earlier. Due to the rationalisation of its services and the relocation of ONS staff from Drummond Gate, the ground floor GRO Public Search Room at the FRC will close at the beginning of November 2007. No certificate ordering or collection service will be put in its place and the paper indexes will be withdrawn. ONS maintains that the statutory provision for the GRO to maintain a public accessible index to births, marriages and deaths will be satisfied by the existing online images and indexes provided by commercial companies and the provision of microfiche copies of the indexes which can be found in some libraries, and for a short while, an unspecified number of sets of the microfiche indexes will be made available upstairs in the National Archives section of the FRC. The SoG does not believe these provisions satisfy the statutory requirements.

Of even more worry is the fact that the GRO’s Digitisation of Vital Events (DOVE) project is at least twelve months behind schedule and because of budgetary constraints and overspend on this and other IT projects the GRO is unlikely to find funding in the near future to create the improved online index search facility known as MAGPIE. The closure of the FRC was intended to go hand in hand with improved online indexes to birth, marriages and death records but this is no longer to be the case.

The Society of Genealogists has repeatedly said that the closure of the GRO’s London search room at the FRC is a regrettable withdrawal of services for the genealogical community. The possibility of new improved indexes which would make online searching easier and improve back office efficiency in Southport would seem to have been only a carrot dangled before the genealogical community. It is wholly unsatisfactory that GRO should close its services and make access to the existing indexes more restricted by withdrawing the paper indexes to Christchurch, Dorset without providing some means of improved index access for those who will be reliant on the only means of obtaining birth, marriages and death certificates ­ namely online or postal ordering.

ONS has prepared a briefing paper (pdf) explaining the background to its decision.

The Office of National Statistics will move from the Family Records Centre in 2008

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has 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

Readers may find the statement unclear and therefore we hare grateful to the Federation of Family History Societies for the following clarification:

“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 SoG is scheduled meet with the DoVE Team next week, and we will continue to keep readers updated with the latest information on the DoVE Project as soon as it is available.

The second announcement from ONS is that it also proposes closing 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.

Fuller details can be viewed at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6267087.stm

2006 News Archive

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The Freedom of Information Commissioner has decided that Limited Access can be made to Information from the 1911 Census

The National Archives(TNA) released the following press release
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/13dec2006.pdf

The Society of Genealogists met with TNA on 13 December and was delighted to learn that the effect of the decision means that The National Archives must supply SOME information from the 1911 in response to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. Family Historians and other searchers will be able, from 17 January 2007, to pay for searches in the census from the TNA paid research service at a cost of £45 per address search. Sensitive information will be redacted (i.e. blacked out) from the census information given to the recipient.

Note that until the census is fully digitised searches can only be made using addresses and not surnames. Hence searches must be made using the special online census search request forms that will be made available on TNA’s web site in January.

See the 1911 FAQ http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help/1911census/faq-foi.htm  for more information on making a search request. The Census will not be made available in microform nor will public access be allowed to the original returns.

TNA is developing a digitised online 1911service and is speeding up the process. It hopes that a limited online search facility will be ready in 2009 with some key sensitive information (such as infirmity or mental condition) withheld until the release of the full census in 2012.

Genealogists will no doubt find the online search facility quicker, cheaper and easier to use than the paid search requests and will probably wait until the full index is available in 2009.

Further notes on access to the census are available on TNA’s web site http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/1911census/?homepage=news

The Information Commissioners decision is available online at http://www.ico.gov.uk/tools_and_resources/decision_notices/2006_12.aspx

Else Churchill
Genealogy Officer
13 December 2006

Society of Genealogists' Family History Show to join forces with Who Do You Think You Are? LIVE

The Society of Genealogists Family History Show will take place on 5-7 May 2007 at as part of the Who Do You Think You Are? LIVE History Show at Olympia.

The hugely popular BBC TV series, renowned for taking celebrities on a journey to discover their ancestral roots, is branching out into the event field to create Who Do You Think You Are? LIVE. The Society is delighted with this opportunity to bring the Society of Genealogists' Family History Show to a bigger audience. An expanded show will enable the genealogical community, local societies, record holders and exhibitors to reach the wider family history interest. The Society of Genealogists, along with its show sponsor Findmypast.com, looks forward to working with our exhibitors to make this 15th Family History Show the best ever.

The Event will take place at the National Hall, Olympia, London from 5-7 May 2007 and will incorporate the Society of Genealogists' Family History Show. And with an expected audience of around 15,000 visitors it will be the biggest event of its kind by far.

Index to the Surname Document Collection published

The Surname Document Collection is arranged A-Z by surname and consists of:

  1. Original documents such as birth, marriage and death certificates, deeds, wills, marriage licences and settlements, apprenticeship indentures, letters etc
  2. Manuscript and typescript transcripts of wills, parish register entries etc, family trees and other research notes

This index lists all of the surnames that are included in the Surname Document Collection. Cross references to alternative spellings may have been included but these are not necessarily complete.

Material may be photocopied (at the Librarian's discretion) but is not available for loan, nor, due to limited staff time, can it usually be searched for named individuals. Enquiries should be made using the link to the Limited search & copy service.

This index was compiled from a physical examination of the contents of the boxes forming the Collection. It is now regularly updated by volunteers and further help in this task is always welcome. Please contact the Librarian if you would like to volunteer.

Additions to the document collection

Any new material for the Society's Document Collection such as birth, marriage and death certificates, copies of wills (especially un-probated ones), family trees etc are always welcome. Please give any items to the staff in the Middle Library or send it to the Society care of the Librarian. Donations are noted in the Genealogist's Magazine and any "new" surnames are added to the index.

gotoarrow Society of Genealogists - Index to the Surname Document Collection

Hidden House History

Hidden House HistoryThe History Channel will be continuing their ten part series, Hidden House History, in September 2006 which should be of interest to genealogists. This is a project which shows people how to unlock the real stories within their homes and discover how to unearth documents, find architectural evidence and follow the clues. The programmes are presented by Nick Barratt and Jonathan Foyle.

The programmes can be seen on Sky Digital (channels 529 & 530), NTL (channels 504 & 138) and Telewest (channel 234).

gotoarrow Further details at the History Channel.

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