Saturday, May 13, 2006

computers in genealogy in Holland

Genealogical Computer Association in the Netherlands founded 1 January 2006

Genealogische Computer Vereniging GCV

Mission Statement De Genealogische Computer Vereniging GCV is een onafhankelijke en zelfstandige vereniging van en voor geïnteresseerden in het gebruik van de computer, programmatuur en het internet als hulpmiddel bij het genealogisch onderzoek waar eigen werkzaamheid en professionaliteit van het gebodene voorop staat.

Onder het motto "leden voor leden" werken de GCV-leden aan belangenbehartiging, uitwisseling van gegevens en ervaringen, voortgaande professionalisering en kwaliteitsverbetering van de door de vereniging zelf, danwel door andere partijen aangeboden en ontwikkelde digitale ontsluiting van archiefmateriaal. Zij doet dat o.a. door collectieve projecten, uitgaven, workshops en themabijeenkomsten.

Met de eenduidige doelstelling om een substantiële bijdrage te leveren aan de ontwikkeling van de digitale toegankelijkheid van archieven en gegevens, wenst de vereniging dit met een kenmerkende pragmatische aanpak te verwezenlijken.

Friday, May 12, 2006

heraldry mills

My So-Called Family Coat of Arms: "a treasured keepsake in childhood was the 'family' coat of arms."

In Pitfalls in Genealogical Research, noted genealogist Milton Rubincam shared his experience in ordering a heraldic report on his surname.

This time, however, the mail-order heralds did not cite a source because there was none. Finding no a coat of arms to use, one was conjured from the fertile (yet heraldically inaccurate) imagination of an artist.
What resulted was an arms depicting a shield divided into four quarters, one of which included the letter "R." If anything, placing the letter "R" in the coat of arms is for ridiculous, a word Milton Rubincam used in describing that illustration.

As Rubincam wrote, "No coat of arms quartered has the initial letter of any surname."

Library Ireland: Irish books online

Library Ireland: Irish books online: "a completely FREE service, offering access to an ever-expanding collection of out-of-print books and other Irish material, which we hope will prove useful to the reader and researcher alike. "

for example site:www.libraryireland.com antrim - Google Search
but their own site search gives twice as many hits like:-

The Principal Families of Ulster: In Ulidia, or Down and Part of Antrim: "From 'Irish Pedigrees; or, the Origin and Stem of the Irish Nation' by John O'Hart, Fifth Edition, 1892 "

Glengoland Dunmurry lingers in my memory - happy days at the Belfast School of Music

Thursday, May 11, 2006

scanstone

A New Face for FamilySearch: "The most exciting for genealogists is the progress that FamilySearch is making on digitizing their entire microfilmed collection of family history records.
That's more than 2.3 million rolls of microfilm, the equivalent of about 6 million 300-page volumes! They have spent tremendous amounts of money, time, and resources on the necessary equipment and staff for this project, known as ScanStone, and by the end of this year hope to have their digitizing up to the rate of 32 million images per month, approximately 370,000 rolls of microfilm per year. At that amazing rate, the entire collection of the Family History Library could be available online in digital format in as few as six years!

But what good are all those amazing records without an easy way to find what you're looking for. Even with a high-speed Internet connection, most of us just don't have the kind of time to dig through that much data page by page. This is where the FamilySearch Indexing project comes in. They have created software which makes it easy for societies, groups, and even individual volunteers to extract the important key information out of a document to be included in the growing index.

The software is very user friendly. I got a chance to try it out today. As you tab through the entry fields in the transcription box, the section of the digitized document where the information can be found is highlighted. In the case of commonly used terms and names, such as county names, or race selections, the choices are presented in a dropdown format.
Specific instructions for each step tell you what to enter, and what to do if no information is included in that field on the original document. Each record will also be indexed by at least two unrelated individuals. If the computer finds a disagreement between the two, the record will go out to a third individual for clarif"

scanstone -site:se -site:dk - Google Search

000===000
seen on another site, a message board, from ads by google:-

Gripe Water
Fast delivery of baby gripe water, when your baby needs it urgently!

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

manorial records

FINDING YOUR ROOTS: Discovering Ordinary Folk in Manorial Records: "Manorial records either deal with estate management or the business of the manorial court (court baron or court leet). They include surveys (often with maps); rentals or rent rolls and terriers, which covered the management or the estate; and court rolls, estreat rolls and custumals, which were produced by the manorial courts.
A nice transcription of a manorial record can be viewed at http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/Manor.html
or at
http://www.hertfordshire-genealogy.co.uk/data/places/tring-pendley.htm.
Surveys: One of the best resources for family historians, manorial surveys are valuable because they actually name tenants, note the terms on which they held the land (including the rent they paid), and give an idea of their status and place within the community -- whether they were successful or poor, freemen or not. Surveys may also include a map of the area.

Manorial surveys normally identify the men who were tenants, but not their wives and children; however, by the 14th and 15th centuries, some women had also become tenants, so they may appear in these documents. Please note that these records do not necessarily provide all the tenants' names. Some tenants may have held lands on adjoining manors, so their names could appear in those records instead. Refer to the relevant terriers to check for this possibility.

Terriers described the lands belonging to a particular manor, and are arranged topographically. A terrier is a manorial document listing holdings and tenants with their obligations in labour services and rent, and is also known as an extent.

Rentals or rent rolls: Lists of tenants and their rents, as paid in cash or produce. Court rolls or books: These record the proceedings of the court baron and court leet, " . . . . continues TimeTravel-Britain.com: archaeology magazine

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Ancestry message boards have a new interface

Ancestry.co.uk - Community: "In this area, you can share research or ideas with other Ancestry members or contact those members with research interests similar to yours."

a new look to Rootsweb and the message boards in the Ancestry version.

Sunday, May 07, 2006

Hampshire Record Office

CALM Database
many records - wills, inventories, deeds, settlements,removals etc. are now listed on the Hampshire record office CALM database

Hampshire Record Office
Sussex Street, Winchester, Hampshire SO23 8TH Tel 01962 846154
http://www.hants.gov.uk/record-office/

The Living Album-Hampshire's Gypsy Heritage An HLF funded project to explore the history and culture of the Gypsy community in Hampshire.

http://www.hants.gov.uk/record-office/microform/microfiche.html FAQ of some of the documents on microform

Birmingham Central Library

the toffee coloured glazed bricks of Moor Street station opposite Selfridges in the Birmingham Bullring, where the 97 sets down passengers, and the bus turned up just as I wanted to take the third picture of the panorama. I had to go in to get a refund of a duplicate senior rail pass.


the second library reading room beloved of my teenage years researching a James Watt beam engine and the Great Western Railway broad gauge.


photo of a photo of the old dome

The first library was burned down in 1879, and this fine victorian edifice survived the german bombs and blitz only to fall to the city councillors. It had a wonderful broad staircase with a polished brass handrail to the bannister.

Today on the fifth floor of Birmingham Central Library there is the collection of the calenders of WILLS and ADMONS filling nearly a whole wall of shelves.


Wills and Admons of 1887 - Calender of the Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration made in the Probate Registries of the High Court of Justice in England, togther with Irish Probates and Scotch Confirmations resealed in England during the year 1887
London printed by Eyre and Spottiswoode
printed to the order of . . ..?? . . .
for Her Majesty's Stationary Office

I found several references to my Monmouthshire family's wills
so I need value pound historical money - Google Search

Economic History Resources - What Is Its Relative Value in U.K. Pounds?
which has a choice of including from one to all five of :-
Retail Price Index
GDP Deflator
Average Earnings
Per Capita GDP
GDP

the last of the original cloth bindings 1943 and my notebook
In 2004, £5782 7s 8d from 1935 and the will of my grandfather Alfed Henry Watkins (13 AUG 1862 Highmead, Llanvair Kilgeddin, Monmouthshire to 2 JAN 1935 Woodbank, Usk) was worth: -
£260,054.63 using the retail price index,
£273,334.82 using the GDP deflator,
£971,584.66 using average earnings,
£1,127,899.09 using per capita GDP,
£1,439,955.66 using the GDP

Edward Jones merchant Raglan (his wife's father) In 2004, £7403 17s 8d from 1900 was worth £4,615,294.70 using the GDP, and his father;
John Jones 5 Castle Street, Raglan In 2004, £4593 3s 2d from 1887 was worth
£4,221,351.77 using the GDP.

PROBATE - LoveToKnow Article written in 1911 on PROBATE: "The Court of Probate Act 1857 transferred the jurisdiction both voluntary and contentious of all ecclesiastical, royal peculiar, peculiar and manorial courts to the court of probate thereby constituted, created a judge and registrars of that court, abolished the old exclusive rights in testamentary matters of the advocates of Doctors Commons, and laid down rules of procedure. Contentious jurisdiction was given to county courts when the personal estate of the deceased was under 200 in value.
The Judicature Act 1873 merged the old court of probate in the probate divorce and admiralty division of the High Court of Justice. The division now consists of the president and one other judge. The practice of the division is mainly regulated by the rules of the Supreme Court 1883."

GENUKI: Ireland Probate: "'Amongst the various sources of information open to the genealogist, it is generally admitted that Wills occupy the most important place.
From a testamentary document, it is often possible to obtain particulars of three or four generations of a family, besides a general insight into the extent of civilization and social position of our ancestors.' [Sir Arthur Vicars, Office of Arms, Dublin Castle, November 1897]"



getting ready to cycle home
his and hers with crash helmets
seen as I walked down to my 97 bus

White Hart public house at the city boundary seen from the bus means I am nearly home. Because of the new ban on smoking in bars., I think that pub gardens are going to become very popular.