Records Offices?

[Mark Dudley]

I have so far managed to avoid visiting any Records Offices as it is much easier sitting behind the keyboard and following people on censuses etc than working out a) what I want to know, b) how to find out what I want to know, and c) finding the time. (In other words I'm lazy and shy!)

To encourage me (and others) could some of you give examples of things you would never have found out if you hadn't made the effort?

[Chrissie Smiff]

When Grandma and her mother and siblings actually entered the workhouse and when they left and under what circumstances.

p.s. No need to be nervous. Nobody is more timerous than me but everyone was lovely and helpful.

[WendyPusey]

I spent two whole days sitting in my local RO and wrote down every single BMD for my Chambers and Colenutt families. I managed to get back to 1500 this way, something I would never have been able to do just by browsing the internet.

Mind you, the RO made it easy as every BMD has been put onto index cards and then sorted into alphabetical order. All the details from each BMD has been recorded and if you want to see the original record then they will fetch it for you.

[vikki brace]

Hi Mark

I'm just like you, but have decided to bite the bullet and I am going to the LMA in February with my sister (First time to a RO) as I don't want to go on my own either:o

If I don't go i'm never going to sort out my London Ancestors

[Snowdrops in Bloom]

My metcalfe family mentioned in the parish minute book over several generations and their connection as parish wardens.

The fact that items were donated to said church in their name.

Their contribution to the upkeep of a road was also in another book (forget which one, it might have been the same one actually).

Their contribution to the building of the school house from the parish chest.

All that and I didn't delve too deeply either - am off again at some point to have a better dig around.

It is SOOOOOOOO worth while going - even if you don't find anything just being able to see the documents (many filmed admittedly, but still better than seeing plain typed transcriptions on-line) is satisfyling.

I'd definitely recommend going.

[samesizedfeet]

one of my first meet ups was at the East of London Fair some years ago. It was held in some drab educational building that took ages to get to. Having whipped round teh stalls in about two minutes and then sat drinking for about two hours we wandered out and across the road was a library that held local records that was still open.

Everyone else was going in so I trotted along behind them withut anything in particular to search for.

Once inside I perused the census index books and couldn't see anyone I want. Then hit the name index cards with my two unusual names. And BINGO! one of the names was there.

So I ordered up the document and it was 15-20 pages of a lawsuit and counter suit. Mainly between a brother and his married sister (she married into my family). They and their two surviving sisters had been left some property and a butchers premises. As the sisters and then the mother died off their shares fell between the main two in a very confusing way.

To cut a long story short - brother who worked the shop reckoned the sister owed him money for having to put in drains, sister reckoned brother owed her money for renting her half of the shop. They corresponded back and forth giving the minutae of what they spent on meat at one point and whether she had to pay him or she owned the meat and was taking what was hers. In the end fed up brother decided only way to settle the disputes caused by his sister owning 50% of his shop was to destroy it so he pulled down a room or two and told her she now owned a big bit of rubble.

So off they went again.

I found it very amusing AND it answered the question as to how/why one of my rellies was born in Buenos Ayres as it was all detailed in the documents.

[samesizedfeet]

And without the LMA I'd have never discovered all 19 of my 4 x great grandfathers children or his brothers 14 children (pathetic effort on his part).

Some of them appeared on th eIGI. Most of them didn't. But - I checked even the ones I had form the IGI whilst there and it gave me addresses and occupations and helped me confirm that a death I had was definitely my 5 x great grandfather as 10 years earlier he lived in one sons house and the house he died in was another sons house.

If I'd stuck to doing it from home I'd still have mt doubts over it

[JBee]

I've only been to a couple of records offices and the first one when I was an absolute complete novice - I found in the workhouse records details of an older step daughter who seems to have gone there when her mother remarried after she'd been left with her grandmother who then died.

However it gave the 2 places of work she'd been sent to from the workhouse and the last entry was that she'd absconded!!!!!!!! aged 14.

Don't think I blame her either but that's another story.

[Rosie Knees]

I don't think I have found any huge revelations yet, but I've only been 3 times lol. Don't expect too much the first visit; I was completely overwhelmed!

Just one particular 'thing' I have got on my mind at the moment: if you have got any birth certs and the child is illegitimate it is worth looking for the baptisms in the hope that the vicar was 'kind' enough to write - as I have seen at the RO - "bastard child of Jo Bloggs". That could be useful to you.

They won't let you take all your 'stuff' in - just a clipboard with a few pages, a shorthand notebook and a pencil.

What I DID think was excellent it that when you find a record that you want you can get a print out for just 60p. So take a pocket full of change with you!

I have only heard of this Parish Chest thingy since last time I went, so will need to look into that.

Apparently, also discovered on my way out last time I went, you can go on the computer and type in a parish name and it will bring up all the info they have got at the RO.

I'll stop now, or you will feel bombarded lol.

One last thing - make a detailed list OF WHAT YOU WANT TO KNOW. I also took print outs of IGI baptism and marriages to check. Oh (sorry!) a good quick-hit is MIs if you have got place and date of death.

I'll shuttup now

Enjoy your trip!

[Little Nell]

I was once as scared as you

but I am glad I bit the bullet and went. In a nutshell, what you find is what you can't find on the internet or the originals of what you've found. For example, C of E baptism registers often give more information - father's occupation, or an address for the family, which aren't on the IGI.

Not just records offices, but local history centres too, have a wealth of information - maps, electoral rolls, street directories, photos etc.

But to give you an idea, I found my gt gt gt grandfather Robert Chowns on A2A - Access to Archives | Home as a witness. I had to go to Aylesbury to find the original records and I'm glad I did. He was subject of a settlement dispute between two parishes, and the court records told me that he had 3 daughters and their names and ages. His witness statement told me how he earned his living, how his ceiling had fallen in, who his father-in-law's employer was, how much his rent was and so on. I wouldn't have found that anywhere else.

[Guinevere]

Settlement certificates.

If , for example, your family appear seemingly out of nowhere in a particular parish it may be that they were granted a settlement by the parish guardians. These will will in the parish chest papers, which also record if any got parish relief and why.

[Pamdidle]

Ilove going to the local archives (or RO as u call it). It is a 20 minutes drive away. I get quite excited when l know l am going (really sad).:o

I found the inquest report on my gg grandfathers death. It also told me a bit about his life and how many children, grandchildren and great granchildren he had at the time of his death.

I mainly check out mariages,and find the witnesses help to confirm l have the right people, which l couldn't do online.

Think l may be a bit apprehensive about going to a large RO though

Pam

[KiteRunner]

The first time I ever went to my local record office it was to look through the National Probate Calendar for any of my Bristow relatives who were in there. I found an entry for administration on the estate of my great-grandmother whose death I had been searching for for years (she died in Belfast and until then I didn't even know she'd ever been to Ireland!). Just managed to restrain myself from jumping in the air and shouting, "Yes!" but I couldn't concentrate on looking for anything else that day.

[Christine in Herts]

I went to Hants RO in Winchester to get a copy of one of OH's ancestor's marriage register entries (pre 1837). It was on the IGI, but the IGI didn't tell me that the groom was in the crew of HMS Victory! That meant I could go and look up ship's musters at Kew - which gave his PoB as St Crux in York. The only likely Baptism for him is in Portsea, so all the other researchers had Portsea as his PoB, not York.

A visit to Oxford RO to harvest family names from the registers has told me that the name GARDNER has appeared not only in obvious variants, but also as GARNER, and GARNAR. That should help with further searches.

Christine

[Olde Crone Holden]

Many ROs also have catalogues on line, so browse through that lot, to get a taste of what is available.

A few highlights of Records Office visits have been:

A dispute over a bit of land, that lasted over 70 years and three generations - gave me the most incredible information, and more importantly, CONFIRMATION, that my pencilled work about this family was correct.

Bastardy/Removal/Settlement orders.

A pile of church magazines for an obsure and defunct church - there was a whole missing family and lots of trivial chit chat about them.

Probably the best ever - the Will of my umpty times GGF, written in the 1500s. Nothing remarkable about it - but for one second, I touched something he had touched. I doubt if I will ever beat that feeling.

OC

[Canadian Cousin]

Stop, stop ... it's too painful.

Living an ocean away, I can only dream about visiting the Devon or Cornwall RO. And the Totnes Museum Study Centre has a number of documents I'd love to look at.

If I ever win the big prize in a lottery, I'll be off like a shot.

If it's practical for you to travel there, I'd say go.

Good hunting -

Tim

[Tilly Mint]

My first time to a RO - i stood there like a lemon not knowing what to do, a very kind gentleman if i needed help, i told him i did but had no idea what i wanted to look at, he asked me where my Mam had lived ect and the next thing i was looking at the voters rolls, he kindly showed me around and told me what kind of information i could find.
I found that day an obituary for my Grandmothers 1st husband, no mention of my grandmother........i felt that they were seperated/devorced, this proved to me they were not "together"

I went again last week - my second time, and i found out some of the info i went find, :D while doing this i noticed some names that someone had on thier postings, i took all the info down and emailed her with it, she didnt have this info and was glad of it!!
I felt really proud of myself.............Lol

Go for it, you'll be suprised :D

Jacky xx :D

[Michael]

I've found ROs to be a great help in trying to track down rellies with very common names - if I'm looking for, say, David Evans in the GRO indexes I might well find a dozen or more entries which could possibly be mine but if I've got a parish register I can be sure I've got the right one.

[Sue from Southend]

I'm not sure what record office/archive centre you're planning to visit but the LMA offers an introduction to what they have and how to access it. I found that really helpful, it only took a couple of hours but made it all easier to understand and less scary!

Along with all the stuff already mentioned I found the licensed victuallers records interesting - my 2xgt grandfather was licensed for a billiard table on his premises!!

[Asa]

They are just my favourite places on earth: ) When I first started going, in 1987, I actually used to look at the parish registers themselves - something I never see now.

I just love them - they are full of treasures - fully transcribed and indexed registers, wills and deeds, non parochial registers, coroner's reports, workhouse records. And it's so cool when you've spent hours looking through film or fiche to suddenly make that discovery. Or finding a parish that isn't anywhere on line or to be bought on disc that has three hundred years of a direct line. Or like Bix, Oxon parish registers which for a decade or two around the turn of the C18th have mother's maiden names, parents of adults of all ages and causes of death all in the burial register.

My favourite ever moment I think was with my great x 4 grandfather bargeman John Rolfe (1796-1843) at Berkshire RO. He lived in Newbury, Berkshire and whatever I did and wherever I searched I couldn't seem to connect him to any of the Rolfes in the town or the surrounding parishes. And then the 1815 census of Newbury was published and he was in there a barge at the wharf and it said "from Aldermaston" - there he was baptised at Aldermaston. Still waiting for that piece of luck with his flipping parents though; )