For those who aren’t already aware, prices for certificates purchased from local records offices have increased from £9 to £10.  Certificates obtained from the General Register Office (GRO) remain at £9.25.

Dale – rootSleuth

The Bristol and Avon Family History Society (BAFHS) have produced a number of indexes to the baptism, marriage and burial registers of Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.  When I was in their Search Room last week the news was that Family Search has integrated these indexes into their free searchable database. https://www.familysearch.org/

I understand there have been a number of teething problem with the integration of the two databases but these are being addressed.

If, like me, you find the new Family Search website frustrating to search, alternatively you can purchase these index CD’s through the Society Shop on its’ website. http://www.bafhs.org.uk/index.php

The BAFHS indexes are a fantastic resource and the members of the Society who transcribed the documents and brought it all together have provided researchers around the world with a huge helping hand.  Good though it is, as all researchers know, transcriptions and indexes can have errors and omissions and when using this resource the original document must ALWAYS be checked for accuracy before accepting the data.

Dale

Hi

My gallery on my blog includes sepia photographs of a number of buildings in the Bristol area.  The following thumbnails show the gallery pictures, the large scale versions can be found in my gallery.

All the best

Dale.

It has just been announced by the Bristol Record Office that it has been successful in its application to the National Manuscripts Conservation Trust for a grant for the further restoration of the St Thomas Bible.

Along with funding from the St Thomas Ecclesiastical Charity and the Churches Conservation Trust, who now own the building, this has enabled Chris Clarkson an archive conservator to continue with the partially restored document.

This is only one of many documents damaged during the bombing of Bristol in World War II.  Other documents of interest to Family Historians which were damaged during this time period are the parish registers of Temple, St Mary Le Port, St Paul and St Paul Bedminster.  The register for Temple was once described to me as resembling a charred brick.  But do not despair as Bishop’s Transcripts were taken of these parishes registers not as good as the original register,  as most researchers will know BT’s provide just the bare bones of a parish register, date and name(s) only, but it’s better than the alternative.

It is unfortunate that Bristol Record Office do not have to have a dedicated conservation department here in the city.  Due to funding it appears that there is very little, if any, conservation work being undertaken at the moment to Bristol documents and any that is done it must be sent to other establishments thereby increasing the costs.

http://www.bristol.gov.uk/page/bristol-records-office-news

Dale.

rootSleuth Facebook

For those who use facebook, you may be interested to know that I now have a rootsleuth Facebook page.  I hope to provide status updates providing  tips and insights as I come accross them.

Please feel free to visit my page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/RootSleuth-Family-History-Research/229575327093234.

Don’t forget, if you want to follow my posts, then click ‘like’ when you are there.

All the best

Dale.

This website gives you an opportunity to locate the streets and sometimes the houses where your ancestors lived. I cannot recommend this site enough, I only wish it covered a greater area.

http://www.bristol.gov.uk/page/know-your-place

HRI Online Publications is the publishing arm of the Humanities Research Institute at the University of Sheffield. They have some well establshed databases such as the Old Bailey Proceedings on line, but have now just launched the Cause Papers Database, documents dealing with the church courts of the Diocese of York 1300-1858.

The documents detail a wide range of issues including marriage, separation taxation as well as church ones. The database is searchable by surname and you can view images of the original documents, so if you are researching in this area its worth a look.

http://www.hrionline.ac.uk/hrionline/index.php

Visiting the Bristol Records Office today.

Doing a blanket search for a birth in the mid 1700′s and a marriage search in St Mary Redcliffe registers.

Dale

New rootSleuth Website

It’s taken me a few months to review the design, but my new rootSleuth website is now finally live at the same address as before: www.family-history-researcher.co.uk. Comments gratefully received, and of course enquiries for research work are always welcome.

Dale