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The Newsletter of the Family Records Centre (FRC)
Issue 28 Autumn 2004 (15th online edition)
Closure Dates in 2004
Friday 24 December to Tuesday 28 December (Christmas)
Saturday 1 January to Monday 3 January 2005 (New Year)
Who Do You Think You Are?
The BBC's major new family history series has really
caught the public's imagination and is already inspiring
thousands of new researchers to investigate their own
family histories.
To tie in with the series, the FRC is hosting a series
of free talks for beginners. The talks take place on
Saturday mornings at 11:30 and last for approximately
one hour. Tickets are free and will be issued on a first-come,
first-served basis from the New Customers Desk on the
first floor on the day of the talk. There is no advance
booking.
13 November - Tracing Your Ancestors at the FRC
20 November - Using the 1901 Census Online
27 November - Tracing Your Ancestors at the FRC
4 December - Tracing Your Ancestors at the FRC
11 December - Using the 1901 Census Online
18 December - Family History on the Internet
Camden & Islington Local History Map
A group of archives and record offices based in Camden
& Islington (including the FRC) have joined together
to produce a new leaflet and map illustrating the wealth
of resources in the area and showing how easy it is
to get from one archive to another. The map has been
produced in association with the national Archive Awareness
Campaign and is available to download from the FRC's
website.
The FRC will be hosting a series of talks this winter,
illustrating the main family history sources held by
each of the archives involved. The full programme is
as follows;
30 November - Family Records Centre
7 December - Society of Genealogists
14 December - Camden Local Studies
11 January - British Library
18 January - BT Archives
25 January - Postal Heritage Trust
1 February - Islington Local History Centre
8 February - London Metropolitan Archives
The talks will take place on Tuesdays at 2pm. Tickets
are free and will be issued on a first-come, first-served
basis from the New Customers Desk on the first floor
on the day of the talk. There is no advance booking.
Upgrade to Cloakroom Facilities
From mid-November, visitors to the Family Records Centre
will benefit from a new anti-theft cloakroom facility
that is being installed on the lower ground floor. As
part of our commitment to making the FRC as safe and
secure as possible, the Facilities Management Unit (FMU)
are replacing the existing system with an updated version.
The upgrade will complement the existing locker facilities.
These will be re-organised to make the area more spacious.
The FMU encourages visitors to make full use of the
locker facilities on the Lower Ground Floor and would
like to remind visitors to keep personal belongings
with them at all times whilst at the FRC.
Walter Tull at the FRC
To celebrate Black History Month in October the FRC
mounted a major new exhibition featuring the life of
Walter Tull, one of England's first black professional
football players. Walter served in the trenches as an
officer in World War One and was tragically killed on
25 March 1918. The exhibition will run until December
2004 in the display area on the first floor.
Open Meeting
The next FRC Open Meeting will take place on Wednesday
10 November at midday.
Recent changes to the Reference Area
There has been a major rearrangement of the material
in the General Reference Area. The new arrangement should
make it easier for customers to find books on particular
subjects. We have acquired several new titles, including;
- Words From Wills by Stuart Raymond
- Gathering the Clans: Tracing Scottish Ancestry on the Internet by A Stewart
- Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry (3rd edition) by Kathleen Cory
- Maritime Information: a guide to libraries and sources of information in the United Kingdom by R Fenton
- The Family History Project a collection of the stories from the recent History Channel competition
of the same name.
There are also two new TNA titles,
Wills and Other Probate Records by Karen Grannum and
Nigel Taylor, and DNA and Family History by Chris Pomery.
Census Surname Indexes
We have recently installed the CD version of the index
to the unfilmed returns for Manchester and Salford in
1851 on our Family History Database computers. Other
recent acquisitions include surname indexes to Montgomeryshire
for 1861 (on CD), and Monmouthshire for 1851 and 1861
(on microfiche).
Dr Williams' Library
In the last edition of the Family Record we mentioned
the registry of births, commonly known as Dr Williams'
Library. We have been asked to remind our customers
that the registers are not held at Dr Williams' Library
but can be seen at the FRC and Kew on microfilm.
Dr Williams' Library is 'the pre-eminent research library
of English Protestant nonconformity' and serves a very
wide readership, not only ministers and lay people of
all denominations and faiths, but academics, independent
scholars, family historians and students. The library
is located at 14 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0AR. For
more information about this invaluable resource visit
the library's website at: www.dwlib.co.uk.
| Did you know... |
...In 1854, 3,827 searches were made in
the Birth, Marriage and Death indexes, then held at
Somerset House. This resulted in 3,001 applications
for certificates, at a total cost of £568 7s 6d. How
times have changed! |
News From The GRO, Southport
New telephone number for GRO Southport
In response to customer feedback and as part of our
commitment to customer care in ensuring value for money,
we are pleased to announce that we have replaced our
national rate telephone number with a new non-geographic
local rate number. With effect from 1 September 2004
the new telephone number for certificate orders and
enquiries is: 0845 603 7788.
GRO continues to meet Service Targets
Our performance is monitored against a number of targets
on a monthly basis. The following table details our
performance for the period July to September 2004 in
just some of the areas monitored. The target in each
area is for 95% of applications to be processed within
the set number of days.
| Type of application |
Target |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
| FRC Collect |
4 days |
100% |
100% |
100% |
| FRC Post Out |
4 days |
98% |
98% |
97% |
| Southport |
5 days |
99% |
98% |
98% |
| Online |
4 days |
99% |
99% |
99% |
Figures have been rounded up to the nearest whole number.
On 8 July 2004 our online ordering site was opened
up to customers applying from outside the UK. In the
first week we received around 2,000 additional online
applications. The online method of application continues
to become more popular with our customers and applications
received in this way now represent over 55% of the total
GRO receipts. 351,685 certificate applications were
made during the period July to September, representing
an 35% increase on the figures for the same period in
2003.
Southport Open Days
GRO Open Days are taking place on Saturday 13 November
and Saturday 20 November 2004 in Southport. The format
will be similar to last year with a guided tour around
Certificate Services Branch and working demonstrations
of the certificate production process. Visitors will
also have the opportunity to talk to GRO and FRC staff.
GRO
Customer Survey 2004 Results
As part of its annual survey, Certificate Services
Branch sent out 2,000 questionnaires to customers. 956
questionnaires were returned (48%) and the results show
an improvement in the service rating for the third consecutive
year. The full results will be published on the GRO
website: www.gro.gov.uk.
We also welcome comments and suggestions that are made
on the survey forms as these help us not only to monitor
our services but also to focus on areas where improvements
can be made. One area that has been receiving increasing
comment is our website. We had already recognised the
increasing importance of our website as a communication
tool and the survey showed that of respondents who had
access to the internet 74% have visited our website.
Postal Application Service User Group
The fourth PAS User Group meeting was held on Tuesday
28 September in Southport. The forum comprises customers
who use our services either by telephone, fax, post,
online or e-mail. The forum presents an opportunity
for members to provide independent feedback on the service
we offer as well as a chance for them to give an opinion
on our literature and to make suggestions on ways to
improve the service.
There was a varied programme during the day with speakers
providing information on such issues as the Contact
Centre Development, Online Ordering and Commemorative
Certificates. Members of the group were provided with
an optional tour of the production area at the end of
the meeting.
Commemorative Certificates
At recent Family History Fairs and consultation groups,
customers were invited to comment on our Commemorative
Anniversary Certificate service. They were shown samples
of certificates on which the married couple's personal
details were hand-written and other samples on which
the details were printed using a computer package. A
significant majority favoured the hand-written certificates
giving reasons that it gave the certificates a more
"personal" or "attractive" appearance. Certificate Services
will invest in training in calligraphy to add greater
quality to future hand-written certificates.
Feedback also indicated that there was little awareness
that this service existed and that more publicity was
needed to bring it to the attention of the general public.
A campaign to publicise this service will begin in earnest
in early 2005 when it is expected we will be offering
a greater range of certificates from those which we
currently provide (Silver, Ruby, Gold and Diamond).
| Did you know... |
...Six months ago a team of night workers
was established at Southport to support the production
of birth, marriage and death certificates twenty four
hours a day, four nights per week in Certificate Services.
This helps produce a further 4,500 certificates per
week on average. |
News From TNA, Kew
Catalogue Awareness Day
The National Archives' online Catalogue (formerly known
as PROCAT) now contains 9.5 million descriptions of
documents from central government, courts of law and
other UK national bodies, including records on family
history, medieval tax, criminal trials, UFO sightings,
the history of many countries and lots of other subjects.
On Wednesday 24 November a Catalogue Awareness day
is being held at Kew. With presentations on subjects
as diverse as admiralty records, Caribbean ancestry,
palaeography and the Citizenship Project, and tips on
search strategies, this is a great opportunity to find
out how to get the most out of the online Catalogue.
To book a place, please email The National Archives
at: catalogue@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Caribbean Family History Day
Saturday 13 November 2004 - 10am until 4pm
Want to find out about your Caribbean heritage? Don't
know where to start? Join us at Kew on our Caribbean
Family History Day. It's a day for history and a day
for families. While you learn, your children will have
fun, exploring and learning through creative and magical
entertainment provided by Alex Pascall and friends.*
For the adults, Patrick Vernon, founder of Every Generation
Media, the online community resource to support black
history and heritage, will host a varied programme of
talks and discussions. S I Martin, the respected researcher
and writer on Black history will pose the question 'Whose
Britain? Who's British?' Paul Crooks gives his own account
of how, in tracing his Jamaican family tree, he re-connected
with his West African great great great great grandmother!
Inspired but overwhelmed? Guy Grannum and Kathy Chater,
experts in the field of Caribbean family history, are
on hand to share their tips and advice to get you started.
And what does the future hold? Arthur Torrington and
Chris Pomery talk about exciting developments, including
DNA testing. Refreshments and lunch will be provided.
Places are limited, especially for children. Be sure
to book soon! Prices are £5.00 per adult, accompanying
children are free but must be pre-booked. For further
information or to book, please call 020 8392 5202 or
email events@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
*The entertainment is suitable for children aged between
7 and 12. Full details of the children's programme can
be provided upon request.
| Interesting Find... |
...In the 1871 census returns for 5 Walnut
Tree Walk, Lambeth there is an entry for an Algernon
F. Austen who is described as:
"Slightly Blind, Two Broken Legs, Deaf one side"
TNA reference: RG10/665 folio 27 |
Further information
If you would like more information about any of the
items in this newsletter please telephone us on 0845 603 7788 (GRO enquiries) or 0208 392 5300 (TNA enquiries).
You can also email us at:
frc@nationalarchives.gov.uk
To subscribe to the electronic version of the Family
Record please send an email to:
FRC-Newsletter@nationalarchives.gov.uk
with the word 'Subscribe' in the subject heading.
The Family Record is jointly produced by the General
Register Office (GRO) and The National Archives |
