This week sees the anniversary of Malcolm Campbell breaking the land speed record again. It got me thinking how different the speeds he was achieving were from those of the general public. Malcolm Campbell was born in 1885 in Kent. He first took up motorcycle racing in the 1900’s and then cars as well in the 1910’s. It was with the cars that he started to call them Blue Bird. During WW1 he started out as a dispatch rider and was then in the Royal Flying Corp as a pilot. It was in the 1920’s when he began taking on speed records, as well as Grand Prix racing. In 1927 and 1928 he won the French GP. Campbell first broke the land speed record in 1924 on Pendine Sands in Carmarthenshire, Wales when he achieved 146 mph in a V12 Sunbeam beating Ernest Eldridge’s record of 145mph. He then broke this record again in 1927 at 174 mph in the Napier Campbell Blue Bird also at Pendine Sands beating Parry Thomas’ 170mph record set on the beach. For his next 2 records he took to the USA. In 1931 on Dayton Beach he achieved 244mph beating Henry Segrave who achieved 231mph. The result of this record earned Campbell a Knighthood from the King. He continued getting faster and faster but when he moved the attempts to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah and with his car Blue Bird he achieved 301mph beating his own record he set on Dayton beach of 276mph. Campbell then moved to the water and took on the water speed record which he achieved in 1939 on Conniston Water in the lake district of England when he achieved 141mph in Blue Bird K4 beating his own record of 126mph he achieved in Blue Bird K3. Sir Malcolm Campbell died in 1948. Unlike most of his fellow speed men he died as a result of a stroke and not behind the wheel of a vehicle. So how did these speeds compare with what regular drivers were achieving? Well despite what you might think drivers never had to have someone walking along with a flag in front of them and it was the technology of the day that limited the speed, to an extent. In the UK until 1931 the speed limit was 20mph, so when Campbell broke his first record at 146mph he was 126 mph faster than he could drive on the roads. Admittedly when he broke the records between 1931 and 1935 there was actually no speed limit in the UK. You really could go as fast as you wanted. Let’s put that into perspective. In the 1920’s the fastest production car in the world was the American Dusenberg Model J which could achieve 119mph. The UK Government decided this was daft as people were speeding along and unfortunately hitting people. So in 1935 they introduced a speed limit of 30mph in built up areas but else where you could still go as fast as you wanted. Thus on the early motorways car companies used them as test tracks late at night. It wasn’t until 1965 that the 70mph limit was introduced. But if you think about it the last speed record set by a car with an internal combustion engine was in 1947 at 394mph. That’s 324mph higher then we can do now. Can you imagine the speed in the 1920’s at 20mph. Your ancestors would have been astounded if they could go in a car, as unless they had gone on a train or had a really fast horse they wouldn’t have known such speed. These days 70mph is the norm on motorways and 125mph on the trains. Planes are a little faster at around 500mph so when you jet off abroad you are faster than the land speed record of an internal combustion engine but not as fast as Wing Commander Andy Green who hold the record in a jet powered car of 760mph. Me, the fastest I’ve gone is 125mph on a train, although I swear when I fell down the stairs as a kid I was going much faster! I have driven along Pendine Sands in a car and a mobility scooter but I didn’t achieve Malcolm Campbell’s speeds. That was back when you could still take your car on the beach and drive along.
So I thought for Christmas I’d see what 12 gifts a genealogist would want. .On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me a birth certificate for my tree.
On the second day of Christmas my true love sent to me 2 prison register records and a birth certificate for my tree. On the third day of Christmas my true love sent to me 3 trips to graveyards, 2 prison register records and a birth certificate for my tree. On the fourth day of Christmas my true love sent to me 4 probate returns, 3 trips to graveyards, 2 prison register records and a birth certificate for my tree. On the fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me 5 marriage banns, 4 probate returns, 3 trips to graveyards, 2 prison register records and a birth certificate for my tree. On the sixth day of Christmas my true love sent to me 6 wills of ancestors, 5 marriage banns, 4 probate returns, 3 trips to graveyards, 2 prison register records and a birth certificate for my tree. On the seventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me 7 books on family history, 6 wills of ancestors, 5 marriage banns, 4 probate returns, 3 trips to graveyards, 2 prison register records and a birth certificate for my tree. On the eighth day of Christmas my true love sent to me 8 baptism records, 7 books on family history, 6 wills of ancestors, 5 marriage banns, 4 probate returns, 3 trips to graveyards, 2 prison register records and a birth certificate for my tree. On the ninth day of Christmas my true love sent to me 9 passenger lists, 8 baptism records, 7 books on family history, 6 wills of ancestors, 5 marriage banns, 4 probate returns, 3 trips to graveyards, 2 prison register records and a birth certificate for my tree. On the tenth day of Christmas my true love sent to me 10 ancestral newspaper articles, 9 passenger lists, 8 baptism records, 7 books on family history, 6 wills of ancestors, 5 marriage banns, 4 probate returns, 3 trips to graveyards, 2 prison register records and a birth certificate for my tree. On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me 11 census returns, 10 ancestral newspaper articles, 9 passenger lists, 8 baptism records, 7 books on family history, 6 wills of ancestors, 5 marriage banns, 4 probate returns, 3 trips to graveyards, 2 prison register records and a birth certificate for my tree. On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love sent to me 12 subscriptions to family history societies, 11 census returns, 10 ancestral newspaper articles, 9 passenger lists, 8 baptism records, 7 books on family history, 6 wills of ancestors, 5 marriage banns, 4 probate returns, 3 trips to graveyards, 2 prison register records and a birth certificate for my tree. Christmas gifts for genealogist are great idea especially if they are personalised. What about photos of ancestors put in matching frames? Or even photos put into baubles to hang on the tree. You could make a photo book of their ancestors or get them the things needed to make their own scrapbook around their ancestors. How about a subscription to a family history society from places their ancestors came from. You could look through old photos to find pictures of past Christmas’s and recreate things like the decorations of the genealogists past or even how the cake was decorated. Ah I can see it now, paper streamers, balloons, cards hung from paper chains and tinsel everywhere. If you want a comedy version of the 12 days of Christmas have a look at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQkF7fpw-wI and listen to Frank Kelly’s take on the song. Merry Christmas to all from Family History Research England. So in December there are many birthdays of people who influenced our lives and those of our ancestors. Let’s start on the 17th December 1778. Grace Davy nee Millet the wife of Robert Davy a wood turner from Cornwall goes into labour. She eventually gives birth to her first child, a boy she names Humphrey. Humphrey Davy became an apprentice to an apothecary and developed a keen interest in chemistry. By 1801 Davy was working at the Royal Society in London. Via his experiments and research he discovered many chemical elements including sodium, barium, magnesium, potassium and strontium. Davy also discovered that diamonds are just carbon and not something more mystical. One of Davy’s most famous discoveries was the miner’s lamp around 1815. This stopped the methane from the flame from setting fire to the gases in the pits and leading to explosions. Just think how many lives this saved. As the descendent of miner’s then there is a chance I wouldn’t be here without Sir Humphrey Davy. In Preston, Lancashire on the 23rd December 1732 Richard Arkwright was born. He started out as a barber and wig maker. Arkwright was an inventor though and began working on a machine to spin cotton. This would greatly speed up the process and mean more cotton could be produced. Arkwright initially powered his machine using horse power at his works in Nottingham but soon went into partnership with wealthy Derbyshire mill owners and build Cromford mill which was powered by water from the river Derwent. The mill was so successful Arkwright was able to build his workers homes in the village of Cromford. He also built a second mill in nearby Matlock Bath (which is now a shopping centre and heritage centre as is Cromford Mill). Arkwright also had mills in Wirkworth, Chorley and New Lanark. Arkwright was hit by riots as the mills didn’t need as many workers to run them as he developed his water power and steam power and the mill in Scotland was destroyed by the rioters. He did employee hundreds of people and developed fabric manufacture which meant our ancestors could potentially get cheaper clothes for them and their families all thanks to Sir Richard Arkwright. It’s Christmas day 1642 and in Lincolnshire Isaac Newton was born. Now he is most famous for discovering gravity, but he was also worked in the fields of maths, mechanics and optics. He realised that light was made up of different colours and that if you put light through a glass prism it splits into the colours of the spectrum. He is most famous for sitting under an apple tree and seeing an apple falling and this lead him to formulate that there was an invisible force acting upon us, i.e., gravity. So thanks to Sir Isaac Newton we know why we don’t fly into space. On Boxing Day 1792 Charles Babbage entered the world in London. Now Charles Babbage was a genius of his time. He was a mechanical engineer and mathematician who became professor of mathematics at Cambridge University. He also helped found the Royal Astronomical Society. He is probably best known for his work on the Difference Engine. This was a calculating machine he began working on in 1822. He never completed it but it has since been built by the science museum and it would have worked. Through his work Charles Babbage is known as the father of computing and his work in the early Victorian era lead to you being able to use anything computing based. Now onto one of my favourite inventors who was born on the 27th December 1773 near Scarborough in the North Riding of Yorkshire. He was the son of a baronet and developed an interest in aviation and engineering. He developed the self-righting boat, seat belts and the glider. He was Sir George Cayley. In 1804 he flew his first model glider that looked like the layout of a plane. He developed his design and by 1853 his glider was flown by a member of his staff in front of Waydale Hall his country seat. Some accounts say the employee, possibly his coachman resigned afterwards. It was the early 1900’s before true flights began, but every time you get on a plane to go on holiday think of Sir George Cayley and his terrified coachman. So it could be said all these inventors changed the lives of our ancestors as well as ours.
Knowing where the archives for these counties were found can be really useful as when researching family history we sometimes need to visit an archive to find out some information that cannot be found online. So I thought I’d put together a list of the counties of the UK with the location of their main archives for the county. So I’ve looked at the counties of Wales and I’ve done parts 1, 2 and 3 of England so on to more of England. 1. Essex
Off to the south of East Anglia on the east coast. This is where you will find Essex. The county has an approximate population of 1.8 million and the county town is Chelmsford. This is also where the archives reside and you can visit the website at: https://www.essexarchivesonline.co.uk/ 2. Bedfordshire In central south England Bedfordshire has a population of around 660,000. The county town is Bedford and the archives are in the town. The archives website can be found at: http://bedsarchives.bedford.gov.uk/ArchivesAndRecordOffice.aspx 3. Buckinghamshire Also in central southern England Buckinghamshire has an approximate population of 800,000. The county town is Aylesbury and the archives are in the town and can be found at: https://www.buckscc.gov.uk/services/culture-and-leisure/centre-for-buckinghamshire-studies/ 4. Surrey Located to the south west of London Surrey has an approximate population of 1.2 million. The county town of Surrey is Guildford but the archives for the county are held in the town of Woking. The archives web address is: https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/culture-and-leisure/history-centre 5. Kent In the east of England Kent has coast to 3 sides of the county. It has a population of around 1.8 million. The county town if Kent is Maidstone and this is where the archives are held. The website for the archives is: https://www.kent.gov.uk/leisure-and-community/history-and-heritage/kent-archives 6. East Sussex On the south coast of England East Sussex has an approximate population of 840,000. The county town is Lewes. The archives or the Keep as it is known can be found in Brighton. You might find the fictional genealogist Morton Farrier in the reading room reading the latest novel by Nathan Dylan Goodwin. If you want the web address for the Keep it is: https://www.thekeep.info/esro/ 7. West Sussex Next to East Sussex on the south coast West Sussex has an approximate population of 850,000. The county town is Chichester and the archives are in the town. The archive website is: https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/leisure-recreation-and-community/history-and-heritage/west-sussex-record-office/ 8. Hertfordshire Back to central southern England Hertfordshire has a population of around 1.18 million. The county town is Hertford and it is here you will find the archive who’s web address is: https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/services/libraries-and-archives/hertfordshire-archives-and-local-studies/hertfordshire-archives-and-local-studies.aspx 9/10. London/Middlesex A tricky place as part of London is in many counties but most of Middlesex is in London. So I’ve lumped them together. Middlesex has a population of around 2.7 million and London is the county town. The population of London is around 8.7 million which I assume includes the population of Middlesex. As for the archives you have several options. Archives for London’s web address is: https://archivesforlondon.org/ The City of London archives address is: https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/london-metropolitan-archives/Pages/search.aspx The London Metropolitan Archives site is: https://search.lma.gov.uk/scripts/mwimain.dll?logon&application=UNION_VIEW&language=144&file=[WWW_LMA]home.html and finally there is the National Archives at: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ 11. Isle of Wight This county is an Island off the south coast by Hampshire. At one time the Isle of Wight came under the jurisdiction of Hampshire. The population of the county is around 141,000 and the county town is Newport which is where the archives are located. The web address for the archives is: https://www.iow.gov.uk/Residents/libraries-cultural-and-heritage/Records-Office/ In all of these counties don’t forget the local family history societies as well as the local libraries. These are also excellent sources of information. Also within the counties each town or city may have their own archive or records office. So make sure you do your complete research into where you may find relevant documents for your genealogy. These places are vast repositories for so many different documents or collections. There more than just baptism, marriage and burial records. There are other parish records, town and village information and so much more. The websites will tell you what repositories each archive holds. So hopefully this will help you in locating where the information you need may be held. Part 1 can be found at: http://www.familyhistoryresearchengland.co.uk/blog/counties-of-england-part-1 Part 2 can be found at: http://www.familyhistoryresearchengland.co.uk/blog/counties-of-england-part-2 Part 3 can be found at: http://www.familyhistoryresearchengland.co.uk/blog/counties-of-england-part-3 Wales can be found at: http://www.familyhistoryresearchengland.co.uk/blog/counties-of-wales Knowing where the archives for these counties were found can be really useful as when researching family history we sometimes need to visit an archive to find out some information that cannot be found online. So I thought I’d put together a list of the counties of the UK with the location of their main archives for the county. So I’ve looked at the counties of Wales and I’ve done parts 1 and 2 of England so on to more of England. 1. Oxfordshire
In the south of England Oxfordshire has a population of around 700,000 and the county town is Oxford. This is also where the county archive can be found. The website for the archive is: https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/residents/leisure-and-culture/history/oxfordshire-history-centre?utm_term=nil&utm_content= 2. Berkshire Also in the south of the country Berkshire (pronounced Barkshire) has a population of around 900,000. The county town is Reading (pronounced Reding) and the archive is in the town. The web address for the archive is: https://www.berkshirerecordoffice.org.uk/ 3. Hampshire On the south coast of England the county town of Hampshire is Winchester (the old capital of England) and the county has a population of around 1.9 million. The archives for the county are housed in Winchester and can be found at: https://www.hants.gov.uk/librariesandarchives/archives 4. Gloucestershire Located of the border with Wales Gloucestershire has a population of approximately 900,000. The county town is Gloucester and the archives are located in the city. The web address for the archives is: https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/archives/ 5. Wiltshire A land locked county, Wiltshire has a population of around 700,000. The county town is Trowbridge and the archives are held in the town of Chippenham and can be found at: http://www.wshc.eu/our-services/archives.html 6. Dorset Situated on the south coast Dorset’s county town is Dorchester and the county has an approximate population of 770,000. If you want to visit the archives they are located in Dorchester and the website is: https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/libraries-history-culture/dorset-history-centre/dorset-history-centre.aspx 7. Somerset On the west coast of England the county of Somerset incorporates the defunct county of Avon. The county town is Taunton and the population of the county is around 950,000. If you want to go to the archive then you need to go to Taunton and the address for the archives is: http://www1.somerset.gov.uk/archives/ You may also need the archives in Bristol which can be found at: http://archives.bristol.gov.uk/ 8. Devon Down in the south west the coastal county of Devon has a population of around 1.2 million. The county town is Exeter and this is where the archives are found. To visit the archive website go to: https://swheritage.org.uk/devon-archives/ 9. Cornwall The most southerly and westerly of the English counties Cornwall has a population of approximately 560,000 and the county town is Truro. The archives live in Redruth and their address is: https://kresenkernow.org/ In all of these counties don’t forget the local family history societies as well as the local libraries. These are also excellent sources of information. Also within the counties each town or city may have their own archive or records office. So make sure you do your complete research into where you may find relevant documents for your genealogy. These places are vast repositories for so many different documents or collections. There more than just baptism, marriage and burial records. There are other parish records, town and village information and so much more. The websites will tell you what repositories each archive holds. So hopefully this will help you in locating where the information you need may reside. Part 1 can be found at: http://www.familyhistoryresearchengland.co.uk/blog/counties-of-england-part-1 Part 2 can be found at: http://www.familyhistoryresearchengland.co.uk/blog/counties-of-england-part-2 Wales can be found at: http://www.familyhistoryresearchengland.co.uk/blog/counties-of-wales Knowing where the archives for these counties were found can be really useful as when researching family history we sometimes need to visit an archive to find out some information that cannot be found online. So I thought I’d put together a list of the counties of the UK with the location of their main archives for the county. So I’ve looked at the counties of Wales and I’ve done part 1 of England so on to more of England. 1. Norfolk
Off to East Anglia. Norfolk has a population of around 900,000 and the county town is Norwich. The archives for the county are held in Norwich and the website can be found at: https://www.archives.norfolk.gov.uk/ If you have family from Norfolk I can highly recommend Norfolk Family History Society as they have fantastic records online. 2. Suffolk Also in East Anglia, Suffolk has a population of around 758,000 and the county town is Ipswich. The county archives are in held in 3 places, namely Ipswich, Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds. The web address for the archives is: https://www.suffolkarchives.co.uk/ 3. Rutland Rutland is a small landlocked county with a population of around 40,000. The county town is Oakham and this is where you will find the archives: https://www.rutland.gov.uk/my-services/leisure-and-culture/arts-and-heritage/records-and-archives/ . As Rutland as a county disappeared for a time some of the records are held elsewhere so you may need to go to the archives for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland: http://www.recordoffice.org.uk/ 4. Cambridgeshire Located in central England the population of the Cambridgeshire is approximately 850,000 and the county town is Cambridge. The archives for the county are in Cambridge and the website can be found at: https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/libraries-leisure-&-culture/archives/ . You may need to use the archives for Northamptonshire in conjunction with Cambridgeshire as they have swapped places between each other. 5. Northamptonshire With a population of around 742, 000 Northamptonshire is found in the central area of England. The county town is Northampton and the archives are in the town. The web address is: https://www3.northamptonshire.gov.uk/councilservices/archives-and-heritage/northamptonshire-archives/Pages/default.aspx . Don’t forget you may need to use Cambridgeshire records for this county as well. 6. Warwickshire Another of the central counties is Warwickshire which has a population of around 565,000. The county town is Warwick and this is where the archives are located. The web address is: http://heritage.warwickshire.gov.uk/warwickshire-county-record-office/ . Also you may need Birmingham archives as Birmingham used to be separate and the archives can be found at: https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/archives 7. Herefordshire Off to west England now with Herefordshire. The county boarders Wales and has a population of 200,000. The county town is Hereford and the archives are in the town. The web site can be found at: https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/archives 8. Worcestershire Worcestershire is a landlocked county famous for the sauce. The population is approximately 590,000 and the county town is Worcester. The archives are in Worcester and the web address is: http://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/info/20019/archives_and_research 9. Shropshire Another of the boarder counties with Wales Shropshire has a population of around 500,000. The county town is Shrewsbury and the archives live in the town. Their address is: https://www.shropshirearchives.org.uk/ . Ebenezer Scrooge’s grave is in the county, really! 10. Staffordshire In central England Staffordshire has a population of around 1,100,000 and the county town which houses the archives is Stafford. If you want to visit the archives then the website can be found at: https://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/Heritage-and-archives/homepage.aspx . 11. Leicestershire Back into central England and the burial county of King Richard III. Leicestershire has an approximate population of 1,050,000 and the county town is Leicester. The archives are housed in Wigston at the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland and the web address is: http://www.recordoffice.org.uk/ 12. Lincolnshire Off to east England now with Lincolnshire. The county town is Lincoln and the county has an approximate population of 1,080,000. A trip to the archives will take you to Lincoln and the archives website can be found at: https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/libraries-and-archives/lincolnshire-archives/ . Part of Lincolnshire used to be covered by Humberside so you may need East Yorkshire archives: https://www.eastriding.gov.uk/leisure/archives-family-and-local-history/ 13. Nottinghamshire Robin Hood’s county. Again in central England Nottinghamshire has a population of around 1,150,000. The county town is Nottingham (or Snottingham as it used to be called). The archives reside in Nottingham and can be found at: https://www.inspireculture.org.uk/heritage/archives/visiting-archives/ 14. Cheshire The final county in this section of Cheshire another of the western counties. Cheshire has a population of around 1,055,000 and the county town is Chester and the archives live there. You can view them at: http://www.cheshirearchives.org.uk/home.aspx . Some of Cheshire has fallen under Manchester at times so you may need to look at: https://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/448/archives_and_local_history . In all of these counties don’t forget the local family history societies as well as the local libraries. These are also excellent sources of information. So hopefully this will help you in locating where the information you need may be stored. Part 1 can be found at: http://www.familyhistoryresearchengland.co.uk/blog/counties-of-england-part-1 Wales can be found at: http://www.familyhistoryresearchengland.co.uk/blog/counties-of-wales In a previous blog I looked at the counties of Wales and where the archives for these counties were found. I did this as when researching family history we sometimes need to visit an archive to find out some information that cannot be found online. So I thought I’d put together a list of the counties of the UK with the location of their main archives for the county. This blogs is the first of 5 parts based on the counties of England. I’m starting at the top and working my way down. Northumbria or Northumberland (Light Blue)
Situated in the extreme north east of England Northumbria. It partly encompasses Tyne and Wear so you need to remember this when document locating. The population of Northumbria is around 330,000. The county town is Alnwick. The archive for the county is located in Ashington and also there is a record office in Berwick upon Tweed. The website for the county can be found at: https://www.northumberlandarchives.com You may also need the Tyne and Wear archives in Newcastle upon Tyne which can be found at: https://twarchives.org.uk/ Cumbria (Orange) Cumbria boarders Scotland to the north and is in the extreme north west of England. The population of the county is approximately 500,000 with the county town being Carlise. The main county archives are housed in Carlise and there are also branches in Whitehave, Kendal and Barrow. The website can be found at: https://www.cumbria.gov.uk/archives/ County Durham (Dark Green) County Durham is in the north east of England and has a population of approximately 863,000. The county town is Durham and the archives for the county are held here as well. The website address is: http://www.durhamrecordoffice.org.uk/article/8338/Home Lancashire (Pink) Again this is a county that has several regions. It is located in the north west of England. Lancashire encompasses Greater Manchester and Merseyside. Lancashire it’s self has a population of around 1.5 million. The county town is Lancaster and the archives are in Preston. The website can be found at: https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/libraries-and-archives/archives-and-record-office/ You may also need the Manchester archive at: https://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/448/archives_and_local_history and the Liverpool archives at: https://liverpool.gov.uk/libraries/archives-family-history/ Yorkshire The largest of the counties of England. It is split into 4 counties these days, but it used to be 3 ridings. York is the major town of Yorkshire as a whole. The entire population of the county is around 5.4 million. North Yorkshire (Purple) The most northerly of the counties of the best county in the country, Yorkshire. North Yorkshire has a population of around 1.2 million. The county town is Northallerton. The archives for the county can be found in Northallerton and the website is: https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/county-record-office You will also need to consider the archives in York who’s website is: https://www.exploreyork.org.uk/archives/ and don’t forget the Bothwick Institue a part of York University at: https://www.york.ac.uk/borthwick/ West Yorkshire (Dark Blue) As the name suggests the westerly region of Yorkshire, which in the past included South Yorkshire. The population of West Yorkshire is around 2.3 million and the county town is Wakefield. The archives for the county are spread over 5 locations in Wakefield, Leeds, Calderdale, Bradford and Kirklees. The website for the archives is: https://www.wyjs.org.uk/archive-service/ Also don’t forget you may need the archives in York as well (see North Yorkshire). East Yorkshire (Light Green) The easterly county of Yorkshire and at one point part of the county fell under Humberside. East Yorkshire has a population of around 600,000 and the county town is in Beverley. The archives for the county can be found in Beverley and the website is: https://www.eastridingarchives.co.uk/ again you may need the archives in York (see North Yorkshire). South Yorkshire (Red) The south region of Yorkshire which used to fall under West Yorkshire. The population of the region is around 1.4 million. The county town is Barnsley (I thought it was Doncaster and I lived in the county for 27 years). There is no central archive for the county rather you have to go to the major towns and cities archives. Sheffield archives: https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/home/libraries-archives/access-archives-local-studies-library , Doncaster: https://library.doncaster.gov.uk/web/arena/archives ,Rotherham: https://www.rotherham.gov.uk/info/200062/libraries/718/archives_and_local_history , Barnsley: http://www.experience-barnsley.com/archives-and-discovery-centre . Also you may need the archives in York (see North Yorkshire) and Derbyshire as part of Sheffield used to be in Derbyshire. Derbyshire (Black) The most southerly county in the section. Derbyshire boarders South Yorkshire. The population is around 1, 050,000 and the county town in Derby. The main archive for the county is in Matlock and the website is: https://www.derbyshire.gov.uk/leisure/record-office/derbyshire-record-office.aspx In all of these counties don’t forget the local family history societies as well as the local libraries. These are also excellent sources of information. So hopefully this will help you in locating where the information you need may be stored. When researching family history we sometimes need to visit an archive to find out some information that cannot be found online. So I thought I’d put together a list of the counties of the UK with the location of their main archives for the county. I’m starting with Wales as it’s a country of the UK which I haven’t done a blog about before. 1. Anglesey
Anglesey or Ynys Môn in Welsh is the only island county in Wales. It is located in the north west of the country and has a population of around 70,000 inhabitants. The main towns include Holyhead, Beaumaris and of course Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. The county town is Llangefni, not Holyhead as many believe. The archive for the county is also in Llangefni and the following is a link to the website: https://www.anglesey.gov.uk/en/Residents/Archives/Visiting-Anglesey-Archives/Plan-your-visit-to-the-Archives.aspx 2. Brecknockshire Brecknockshire or Sir Frycheiniog in Welsh is located in the mid east of the country. Its current population is approximately 43,000. The main towns in the county include Buith Wells, Brecon and the smallest town Britain Llanwrtyd Wells. Today although still a county the governance falls under the larger ancient and preserved county of Powys. The county town is Llandrindod Wells (which is in Radnorshire). The archives for Powys and Brecknockshire are held in Llandrindod Wells and the website is at: https://en.powys.gov.uk/archives 3. Caernarfonshire Caernarfonshire or Sir Gaernarfon in Welsh is on the west coast of the country. It has a population of approximately 122,000. The main places in the county are Betws-y-Coed, Caernarfon, and Conwy. The county town of the county is Caernarfon. The county falls under Gwynedd. The archives for the county are in Caernarfon and can be found at: https://www.gwynedd.llyw.cymru/en/Residents/Libraries-and-archives/Archives-and-family-history/Archives-and-family-history.aspx 4. Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire or Sir Gaerfyrddin in Welsh is in the south west central region of Wales. It has an approximate population of 185,000. The main places in the county are Carmarthen, Pendine, St Clears and Llandeilo. The county town is Camarthen and the archive website can be found at: https://www.carmarthenshire.gov.wales/home/council-services/libraries-archives/archives-family-history/#.XWfFUd5KiM9 5. Cardiganshire Cardiganshire or Ceredigion in Welsh is on the west coast of Wales and has an approximate population of 76,000. The main places are Cardigan, Aberystwyth and Lampeter. The county town is not Cardigan as you may think but it is Aberystwyth. The archives website can be found at: https://archifdy-ceredigion.org.uk/ 6. Denbighshire Denbighshire or Sir Ddinbych in Welsh is found on the north coast of Wales and has a population of approximately 175,000. The main places in Denbighshire include Rhyl, Wrexham and Denbigh. The county town is Ruthin and the archive website is: http://archives.denbighshire.gov.uk/ 7. Flintshire Flintshire or Sir y Fflint in Welsh is on the north coast of Wales and boarders England in some places. It has an approximate population of 155,000. The main places of the county are Connah’s Quay, Flint and Mold. The county town is Mold and the archives website can be found at: https://www.flintshire.gov.uk/en/LeisureAndTourism/Records-and-Archives/Home.aspx 8. Glamorgan Glamorgan or Sir Forgannwg in Welsh is on the south coast of Wales and has a populations of approximately 130, 500. The main places in the county are Cardiff, Swansea, Port Talbot and the Gower peninsular. The county town is Cardiff and the archive website can be found at: https://glamarchives.gov.uk/ 9. Merionethshire Merionethshire or Merioneth or Sir Feirionnydd in Welsh is in northern Wales and goes inland from the coast. It has an approximate population of 46,000. The main places in the county include Dolgellau, Bala and Harlech. The county town is Dolgellau. The county falls under Gwynedd. The archives for the county are in Caernarfon and can be found at: https://www.gwynedd.llyw.cymru/en/Residents/Libraries-and-archives/Archives-and-family-history/Archives-and-family-history.aspx 10. Monmouthshire Monmouthshire or Sir Fynwy in Welsh is found in the south east of the country and boarders England. The population of the county is approximately 503,000. The main towns are Monmouth, Abergavenny and Chepstow. The county town is Newport. The archives fall under Gwent and the web address can be found at: http://www.gwentarchives.gov.uk/ 11. Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire or Sir Drefaldwyn in Welsh is in central Wales and has an approximate population of 64,000. The main places in the county include Welshpool, Newtown and Machynlleth. The county town is Welshpool. The archives fall under Powys and can be found in Llandrindod Wells and the website is at: https://en.powys.gov.uk/archives 12. Pembrokeshire Pembrokshire or Sir Benfro (the best of the Welsh counties in my opinion) is in on the south west Wales coast. The population of the county is approximately 122,500. The main places of the county are Haverfordwest, Pembroke, Milford Haven, Fishguard and Britain’s smallest city St David’s. The county town is Haverfordwest and the archives for the county are in Haverfordwest and the web address is: http://www.culture4pembrokeshire.co.uk/content.asp?nav=3 13. Radnorshire Radnorshire or Sir Faesyfed in Welsh is in central east Wales and has an approximate population of 26,000. The main places of the county include, Presteigne, Knighton and Rhayader. The county town is Presteigne, although the county now comes under Powys. The archives can be found in Llandrindod Wells and the website is at: https://en.powys.gov.uk/archives So I hope this helps people in their Welsh research in identifying which part of the county any records they wish to view may be located, but don’t forget there will be repositories of information in other more local places. So in August 1990 Tim Berners-Lee started to develop the world wide web. What’s that got to do with genealogy or history I hear you say but it does. Pre tinternet (Yorkshire for Internet) can you imagine how much more difficult genealogy was. No quick look ups. It’s a road trip to a records office. So I want to consider how the internet has helped my genealogy journey. Now I’ve always known my family came from around the country but just consider how difficult my research would have been pre 1990. As a by thought just doing my degree in the late 1990’s/early 2000 I didn’t really use the internet, jeez I feel old. So off track there. So my research would have started at the records office in Sheffield, but that would have only got me so far. On my maternal side I would have found no records. On my paternal side I would have got back quite a way. Then I would have had to travel further afield to both Rotherham and Barnsley as well as Chesterfield. Next stop would have been up to West Yorkshire and then North Yorkshire. So it works out at about one record office per generations and probably 2 as couples are not necessary from the same place. If you consider my twice great grandparents James was from Leeds and Mary was from Barnsley. So this couple would be a trip to Barnsley which is a 40 minute journey and Leeds is an hour. Now comes the secret side of my paternal line. OK, I have ancestors from Lancashire (help Yorkshire lass). Well they started off in Cheshire before they came to Sheffield so next stop would have been the registry office in Chester which is a good couple of hours away, and then it would be up to Preston in Lancashire. So onto my maternal side. First stops would be Peterborough and Norwich. From here we would be off to Ipswich, Lincoln London and Nottingham. I’d also need to travel north to both Durham and Newcastle upon Tyne. Also calling in at Glasgow, Carlisle and who knows where the records for the Isles of Scotland are. I sound like a train announcer. Now consider what all this really means. It’s not just the travelling to the locations. You have to factor in that you would have to spend probably days in the records office. You would have to go through each parish register one by one. Just because your ancestors lived in one place doesn’t mean they were baptised or married there. Also if you think about it if the census says your ancestor was from Leeds, how many parish records would you have to troll through. Then their sibling’s records may not be in the same place so that’s more searching and there may be siblings you don’t know about. So you’re going to need to stay probably a few more days than you thought. Then there are visits to where our ancestors lived. You may want to visit the church your ancestors were married or where they were buried. So I decided to add you all the miles between home and the archives I would have to travel to for my research and it comes to approximately 1500 miles. The cost soon adds up as does the amount of time. So the internet takes all this away. You sit at home and clickety click away and up pop your ancestors for you (not really easy but you know what I mean). So you could say the internet along with the magnificent people who scan in the records and upload them, that Time Berners-Lee and the others have radically improved the process of tracing our families back through time. It also means I can watch youtube while I’m doing it, Count Duckula today I think!
I often wonder how best to sum up genealogy and why we do it. So this week is a collection of quotes on the subject.
“It is indeed a desirable thing to be well descended, but the glory belongs to our ancestor” Plutarch “Money doesn’t grow on trees but ancestors do”. “A family tree can wither if nobody tends its roots”. “If we know where we came from, we may better know where to go. If we know who we came from, we may better understand who we are.” Anonymous “We don’t own our family history. We simply preserve it for the next generation.” Rosemary Alva Days gone by – “The special book upon the shelf, was made with many hands. Our ancestors who posed back then, all came from different lands. Their pictures were all tucked away, and rarely did we see, the importance of these treasures, the start of you and me. The history of our families, now here in black and white, preserved with special care and time, each page is done just right. When time permits we take it down and think of days long past. Our hopes, our dreams, our heritage all safe and made to last” Unknown. “To forget one’s ancestors is to be a book without a source, a tree without a root”. Chinese proverb. “I am bond to them, though I cannot look into their eyes or hear their voices. I honour their history. I cherish their lives. I will tell their story. I will remember them.” Unknown “If you could see your ancestors all standing in a row, would you be proud of them or not? Or don’t you really know? But here’s another question which requires a different view. If you could meet your ancestors would they be proud of you?” Nellie Winslow Simmons Randall “The more you know of your history the more liberated you are.” Maya Angelou. “The challenge I give you as a genealogist is to reach beyond the vital statistics to a new world of understanding, both of your ancestors and of yourself. Preserve those details of your family in written form that will bring understanding to many others and truly enable their hearts – along with your own – to turn to their fathers. Someone has said that there is little point in digging up an ancestor if your aren’t going to make him live. If that is true – and I believe it is – your job is not finished until you feel a bit of what he felt, have shared vicariously in his joys and heartaches – perhaps shed a tear with him in his sorrow, laughed at the humor in his life, and felt pride in his accomplishments.” Val D Greenwood Dear Ancestor. “Your tombstone stands among the rest neglected and alone. The name and date are chiseled our on polished marble stone. It reaches out to all who care it is too late to mourn. You did not know that I exist you died and I was born. Yet each of us are cells of you in flesh and blood and bone. Our blood contracts and beats a pulse entirely not our own. Dear ancestor, the place you filled one hundred years ago. Spreads our among the ones you left who would have loved you so. I wonder how you lived and loved I wonder if you knew. That someday I would find this spot and come to visit you.” Walter Butler Palmer “If you don’t know your history, then you don’t know anything. You are a leaf that doesn’t know it is part of a tree.” Michael Crichton “You’re never alone, even during what you think are your weakest moments. You have thousands of years of powerful ancestors within you, the blood of the divine great ones in you, supreme intellect and royalty in you. Infinite strength is always on tap for you. Know that.” Author Unknown And know for my favourites the humour based quotes. “Genealogists: I disturb the dead and irritate the living” “My family coat of arms ties at the back is that normal?” “Genealogy. It’s not the size of the tree that matters it’s the quality of the nuts you find” “Genealogist – proving once and for all that insanity is hereditary.” “Eventually all genealogists come to their census”. “If you think your family is normal then you’re probably not a genealogist”. Unknown. “Genealogy is not fatal, but it is a grave disease”. “I regretfully decline your offer to interact socially, I’m doing genealogy” “Genealogy is like a jigsaw puzzle. You’re always looking for the missing pi” |
Hello and thank you for taking the time to read my Family History Ramblings on genealogy and history in general. I hope you find it informative and hopefully funny!
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