Decisions, decisions!

[lorry53]

I have a week off work later this month and I want to spend some time making progress with the Welsh side of my tree. Trouble is, I can't decide where to spend my time. Would you recommend I visit The National Library of Wales, Powys County Archives Office, the library in Newtown, Powys, or Kew. All but Kew would involve at least one night's stay, so I want to make sure my money is well spent. I'm thinking maybe a visit to Newtown library and the Powys County Archives Office in Llandrindod Wells would be best. Has anyone any knowledge of how useful these are?

Thanks!

[Trina]

I suppose someone researching the same areas would know best - presumably Shropshire and Montgomeryshire? Perhaps putting those in the title might catch their eye?
Can you look at their holdings online to see if there is anything particularlyuseful to you?

[Kit]

What is it that you want to accomplish on your tree? If you tell us what you are up to them maybe there will be a more helpful answer.

PS: I can't advise as I don't know the places involved but someone else might.

[Meridian Line]

I can't advise on where to visit....although Kew is amazing & if you haven't been its definitely worth a visit, BUT I would say, make a list of everything you want to find.
There's nothing worse than sitting at a Record Office & not knowing what to look at next.
I have a word document continuously on the go, & if I come across anything I need to look up, I make a note of it there & then, then print the document off before I go, to take with me.

[lorry53]

Thanks for all your advice. Doesn't look like I can edit the thread title, but that's something I should have thought of. Doh!

What I want to try to do is verify some of the information I've found, mainly from the hints at Ancestry, for my dad's lineage. I've managed to find some marriage dates from the early to mid 19th century and would like to check some birth info, too, as both of these will give info on the previous generation. I'm still a bit of a novice, but I was thinking that it may be useful to physically search the parish records and maybe check out the local churchyards. At least then I can confirm that I'm not going down a blind alley!

[Trina]

If it were me I would find their online list of collections and check that they have the relevant parish records first. Or phone and ask - actually it is often a good idea to book a viewer and ask for the records to be found first I understand.
It is easier to locate the burial records first and then get a map to find a grave - going to a churchyard without that information first could be very frustrating. The records will usually have been deposited with the local Archives somewhere. Local councils have a cemetry department with records and maps of graveyards.
Doesn't Ancestry give the source for the records you have found? Perhaps if you Google that you could locate them. Or try the National Archives search.
GenUKI can help locate them too.

[Trina]

Try Access to Archives - A2A - that would be your best bet I think

[Meridian Line]

If you've found birth/marriages &/or deaths on say, FreeBMD, so you have the correct year & quarter, then a Record Office or Library that holds the Parish records & local newspapers ( preferrably on microfilm) would be most useful to visit.

I start by looking at the newspapers for births/marriages/deaths, this usually gives the church (for marriages), then you can go straight to that particular parish records & find the actual details. Its quite difficult to search them if you only have a vague idea of the area, as there are usually a number of different churches, & you could waste alot of time looking at the wrong ones.
If you're thinking of looking for graves at a church...again its a good idea to check the burial record for that particular church. I spent a couple of (very wet) fruitless hours last weekend looking for headstones in what I was sure was the right church, without checking the parish registers first, & couldn't find any.....this is for a well to do landowning family, who always have large headstones. I now need to go back & check which church it was.

Even if you have certificates, its still worth looking at the parish records, as you may find other family members, or your relatives might have been marriage witnesses, which may give more clues.

[Trina]

Louise is right about newspapers being useful - I had forgotten that - especially if someone was well known - there can be masses of information in an obituary!

[lorry53]

Thanks, Trina & Louise. I'll do a bit of digging first, but I suspect I'll be visiting Llandrindod Wells and Newtown, hopefully armed with some decent info.

[Mary from Italy]

Have a look for wills if you go to the Record Office (County Archives). They should have a card index, sorted by surname.

You could also look in the Poor Law section for apprenticeship deeds and such like.

[Mary from Italy]

This page tells you what you can find at Powys County Archives:

Cyngor Sir Powys County Council: Records held by Powys Archives

[Mary from Italy]

Looks as though pre-1858 Powys wills aren't at the County Archives, but in the National Library of Wales:

Cyngor Sir Powys County Council: Source Material 1: Family History

Post-1858 wills seem to be at the Shropshire Records Office, according to the same page (or you can order them from York in the usual way).

[lorry53]

Thank you, Mary. ;D I think I'm probably going to visit the Powys County Archives as a start and see how I get on.

[Trina]

Good luck - hope you find lots of fascinating information
Don't forget your camera and a pencil

[Wilf]

I had the same dilemma regarding my Welsh ancestors. Mine lived in Montgomeryshire, Denbighshire and Flintshire which all border my county of Shropshire.

I went to the National Library of Wales as I thought all the records in one place I expected to get a b&b because one day was not enough. This was not the case.
I did find some information there but was disappointed to find that there was very little information on Methodists which most of my lot were.

My advice if you decide to go there is to phone first and check what records they have.

Allie x

[lorry53]

Don't forget your camera and a pencil

:D Good thinking.

I had the same dilemma regarding my Welsh ancestors. Mine lived in Montgomeryshire, Denbighshire and Flintshire which all border my county of Shropshire.

I went to the National Library of Wales as I thought all the records in one place I expected to get a b&b because one day was not enough. This was not the case.
I did find some information there but was disappointed to find that there was very little information on Methodists which most of my lot were.

My advice if you decide to go there is to phone first and check what records they have.

Allie x

Thanks, Allie. I checked out the National Library website and wasn't impressed with their search facility. I decided the Powys Archives would be a better bet. Mine come from Montgomeryshire & Shropshire, too, and have proved pretty elusive due to the proliferation of Evanses. I so wish I had an unusual name!