Contrast and Compare

They say that comparisons are odious. However a holiday in eastern England included visits to two local record offices which triggered some thoughts on the differences between them - and the Heritage Hub - and between English and Scottish records.

First up was the Bedford Record Office housed in a late 20^th century building in need of a bit of TLC. No formalities required when you sign in and they’re happy for you to use your camera provided you sign a simple copyright declaration. One of the differences between Scotland and England is that Parish Registers and all the other contents of the Parish Chest are deposited in the local record office. Bedfordshire parish records were transcribed by the county archivist many years ago and they are justifiably proud of the quality of the transcript. In fact they seemed quite offended when I asked to see the film of the original register.  The Bedfordshire FHS has produced a county wide index of these transcripts - very useful for finding those intinerant relatives we all have.

We moved onto the Norfolk Archive Centre, a very modern purpose built archive a couple of years older than the Heritage Hub in Hawick. Whilst you merely had to sign in to look at micro-form records, identification with an address was required before you would be given access to original documents.  Norfolk is part of the CARN (County Archive Research Network) so that the ID they issue can be used at other record offices. They also charge for the privilege if you want to use your camera. I didn’t have a good day as I wanted to look at poor law records from the early 19^th century prior to the Poor Law Act of 1834. The records of the Parish Overseer form part of the Parish Chest but nothing had survived for either of the parishes I was interested in. Digging around however I did find a whole series of militia lists in the private papers from Felbrigg Hall - I wonder if the Norfolk FHS knows about them?

Leaving aside the fact that we’re stuck with the records from the places where our ancestors lived, do I have a preference ? Not really, there are good and bad features both nationally and locally. For example, Scots parish records have all been transcribed and images are available on the internet. English parish records always include marriages as well as banns (intimations) and deaths and beginning with marriages in 1754 were kept in pre-printed registers.

The picture at the head of this blog comes from the Time & Tide Museum in Great Yarmouth. It’s located in an old herring smoke house and includes reference to the significant influence that Scots had on the herring fishery.

The Impact Of Computers On Archive Research

Linda Bankier from Berwick Record Office will be giving a talk on Friday 17 June 7pm-9pm on the Impact Of Computers On Archive Research  at the William Elder Building, Castlegate, Berwick Upon Tweed, TD15 1JT, England.  Map.

Come and find out how to make best use of your computer when researching family and local history!

Free admission, everyone welcome and refreshments available! Don’t miss it!

Advice on Conserving Documents, Photos, Film and Files at Preservation Roadshow, Seattle

The National Archives and Records Administration regional office in Seattle is providing the roadshow from 10am to 2pm on Saturday, May 14 at 6125 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, Washington, USA.

Their intention is to help the public learn how to preserve their treasured family and personal materials.

At the roadshow, the public can bring questions about preserving their personal or family documents (in any format) and get free practical advice.

There are workshops to attend, raffles, and competitions.

More details.

This looks like a fun and very useful roadshow to attend if you're in or near
Seattle, Washington.

Unfortunately, I suspect most of the readers of this blog won't be attending - it's rather a long way.

For these readers, however, there's a really useful 'Public Resources' section and I suggest you look at it.

Eastern European Ancestors

Last Sunday's programme, the sixth episode of the new 'Digging up Your Roots', which is broadcast on 92-95 FM every Sunday at midday until 21 February was about ancestors from Eastern Europe.

Write to: Digging Up Your Roots, BBC Radio Scotland, Beechgrove Terrace, Aberdeen, AB15 5ZT or email them at diggingupyourroots@bbc.co.uk .

If you missed this, it is available as a podcast.

This programme was a complete eye-opener to me, as I had no idea that so many people came from eastern Europe to Scotland.

The first story was about a Polish family sent to a Russian gulag (a slave labour camp) but escaped and made a 6,000 mile roundabout trip journey to join the Polish army in Kazakhstan in 1942; most of the time starving hungry; some of the family died on the way. Father got to Persia, joined the Polish Navy and eventually got to Scotland and became a successful businessman.

Apparently 30,000 Poles were sent to gulags.

Another story was about a Pole from Lvov (now Lviv in the Ukraine), and another about a White Russian volunteer evacuated from southern Russia by a British ship, went to Egypt, was there for 2 years, and then came to Scotland.
More information in the Archives of Ukraine.

The International Council on Archives has a list of archives around the world. During World War II, some Jewish records were  safeguarded by churches.
When looking a Russian records, remember that surnames change according to gender, and that Russians use patronymics as the middle name, which must make identification of the right family a lot easier.
Useful resources are Cyndi's List and the Federation of East European Family History Societies.

Hundreds of thousands of Jews fled their homes in eastern Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, to escape harsh economic conditions and persecution. They went to USA, many arriving at Leith or Dundee, travelling across to Glasgow, and sailing to New York. Some stayed, mostly in London, Glasgow, and other industrial cities. The cost of crossing the North Sea was £1.50 per person, and the transatlantic crossing was £5 or £6, a lot in those days.
The refugees faced lots of fear, there were health scares about disease in eastern Europe, and there were lots of con tricks and scams pulled on them, too.
In Glasgow, many of the Jews filled gaps in tailoring, carpentry, and cigarette making.
The US National Archives have microfilms of concentration camp records, and although they're not online, they will search them for you.
Another very useful site is JewishGen.

Many Lithuanian miners were recruited for Lanarkshire mines by owners at low wages, to the fury of the local workforce; but they, other Lithuanians, and Russians were sent back to Russia to fight in the Russian Army in 1917, under a treaty between Britain and Russia, and never came back to Britain. A useful site is Lithuanian Global Genealogical Society.

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