As part of the Society's former subscription to the Federation of Family History Societies (UK), we received regular parcels of wonderful books. Additions to the Society Library included:Reviews of FFHS Publications (and others) * COLLINS, Aubrey, Basic Facts About - Using Colindale and Other Newspaper Repositories, 1st, edit., 2001, 16pp.
"The aim of this book is to suggest where and how family historians can find newspaper and magazine articles that will be of use in their research. It may not be possible to find references to your named ancestors in the news, but the incidental detail you find during a search can add greatly to your understanding of their lives and times." Colindale is a copyright library and must receive a copy of every publication in the UK, besides having a policy of purchasing at least two other newspapers from every country in the world. The collection began in 1820 and the book gives full details of how to get there, facilities, hours, times, requirements. It has 82 places for consulting original newspapers, 54 microfilm readers, 8 microfilm read-printers, 4 computer terminals, 2 fiche readers. An extraordinary range of copies is available - coloured transparencies, coloured photographs, even ordinary photocopies. Not to be missed when visiting England!* DAVIS, Bill, Irish Ancestry, A beginner's guide, 3rd edit., 2001, 160pp.
"Many people still find Irish family history ... confusing, for little effort has been made to acquaint them in simple terms with basic principles of Irish research. " This book answers, or attempts to answer, "Why Irish research is so difficult and whether anything is being done about it."
This reader having made pages of notes, decided it was best to recommend reading this very detailed and comprehensive work, but does wonder why the author thinks that Australian immigrant shipping records are held at the State Library in Sydney, rather than State Records.* GIBSON, Jeremy, Bishops' Transcripts and Marriage Licences, Bonds and Allegations - A guide to their location and indexes, 5th edit., 2001, 52pp.
The records named are vital to family historians as alternatives, support or enhancement of marriage records. The Introduction is a short history of the various types of documents, who used them and their survival prospects. The book is organised by the counties of England and Wales, then Isle of Man and Ireland, with useful little maps within each section. Taking Essex as an example, it was probably a stroke of luck to find wanted bonds and allegations in the Essex Record Office because it appears such documents may also be lodged in other repositories. A work definitely worth a look when research turns to documentation for English and Welsh marriages.* RAYMOND, Stuart A., Londoners' Occupations - A genealogical guide, 2nd edit., 2001, 72pp. There can't be many occupations not to be found in London, and the absence from this book of coalminers, shearers, pearl divers and jackeroos might only mean they haven't yet been "written up"! Occupations, from "Actors and Actresses" to "Zoo Keepers" are in alphabetical order, each with all manner of references. For instance, "Actors and Actresses" has references to Bibliography, Biographical Dictionaries, Plays and Players, Dramatic Records, Theatres and companies. Separate indexes include Authors (of references), Family Names and Place Names. There are many fascinating occupations - Bell Ringers, Bow Street Runners, Hackney Coach Drivers and more. EVEN, Club Members, Convicts, Debtors, Drovers, Martyrs, Smugglers.
* RAYMOND, Stuart A., Family History on the Web - A directory for England and Wales, 1st edit., 2000, 70pp.
Gateways, search engines, libraries and record offices, family history societies, discussion groups, mailing lists, newsgroups, county pages, surnames etc., etc., all clearly organised under these various headings with further indexes by Subject, Institutions, Place.* SWINNERTON, Iain, Identifying Your WW I Soldier from Badges and Photographs, 1st edit., 2001, 114pp.
"The most important thing to know when conducting such a search [the career of a soldier] is the regiments or corps in which the soldier served, but so often, this is not known." This book would certainly be invaluable to researchers who have only a photograph of their soldier/s because the badges, caps, buttons, belts and all manner of detail on the uniform can identify that wanted regiment or corps. Several photographs in the book are convincing proof of the value of this sort of identification. Although the material is for the UK, the illustrations are fascinating.------------------------------------------ NSW & ACT ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETIES Inc., Conference Guidelines, 2000/1, 19pp.
Our Society has been host to two State Conferences and another at a weekend in 2000, when no State Conference was held. All the suggestions in this book are very valuable and extremely practical and very much the route we adopted in organising our three conferences. However, Section 15 on "Publication of Papers" should be noted carefully. "... there is considerable work involved in editing and preparing the papers for publication and the market for the published papers may be quite small." If the Newcastle experience counts for anything - dozens of hours of tape transcription, consultations with speakers for proofreading (they don't all provide scripts beforehand or adhere to them), having them read the Qs and As, production, printing etc. - take note. The lack of response/ interest in all the work is not only disappointing, it is puzzling, to say the least.------------------------------------------ Earlier additions to the Society Library include:* CHAPMAN, Philip J. Basic Approach to ... Your Family History with Postcards (1st ed., 2000, 16pp)
While many postcard collectors specialise, i.e., look only for churches, uniforms, occupations, towns, etc., this little book is interesting in applying postcards to illustrating your family history material. Chapman's suggestions include what to look for at Sales (Postcard Fairs are a Big Thing in Britain), examining them with a magnifying glass but also not being too fussy if they are what you want, if priced within reason. He also warns against collecting for profit as you could have your fingers burned. L2/20/22
* GIBSON, Jeremy & MEDLYCOTT, Mervyn, Militia Lists and Musters 1757-1876, A directory of holdings in the British Isles (4th ed., 2000, 48pp.)
G&M outline the survival rate of these lists, the majority of which are in the PRO, Kew or the Scottish Record Office although some are to be found in County Record Offices or specialised libraries, such as the Bodleian at Oxford University or the Borthwick Institute, York. The work is organised by the counties of England and Wales, then the Channel Islands, Isle of Man, Scotland and Ireland. An introductory remark is "Whilst the nineteenth century census records from 1841 on are a staple diet for family and local historians, other earlier census-type sources have to date received very little attention. These are the Militia Ballot Lists, 1757-1831 and the 'defence lists', 1789-1803/4." M5/70/4
* HAWGOOD, David, Genuki (48pp.)
This Bulletin editor defends her position on not filling a 14-page news- letter with Internet "sites", "addresses" etc. on two grounds. First, not an Internet buff to start with but, secondly and more importantly, there seems to be plenty of help from everywhere else. This excellent book supports the second contention. Although it "only" covers the UK and Ireland, do I show my ignorance in supposing that its principles can be generally applied? (The question is rhetorical - no correspondence will be entered into. - E) L2/20/23*LOGAN, Roger, An Introduction to ... Friendly Society Records (1st ed., 2000, 46pp.)
"In recent years the role of Friendly Societies during the 19th century has come back into public consciousness as politicians of all parties have looked to the past in efforts to find alternatives to the 'welfare state' and its associated values." (Introduction, p.5) Further, "Research has firmly
established that, by 1750, friendly societies were being formed with increasing regularity in local communities throughout England, Scotland and Wales."(p.9) There can be few of us whose ancestors were never in need of benevolent assistance and this interesting book covers the vast range of sources from county societies, trade societies (forerunner of trade unions), funeral funds, to newspapers as material to be examined. Lots of facsimile examples of documentation. M5/5/9*RAYMOND, Stuart A. Information Sources for Yorkshire Genealogists - Guide 1 (1st ed., 2000, 63pp)
A thorough work on where you can find what, in the numerous repositories in London and Yorkshire itself, in sources such as archives, periodicals, newspapers and maps. Of special interest to family historians is probably the section on Parish and Local Histories which is, as are all the other headings, organised by localities. NYo5/5/1* RAYMOND, Stuart A. Yorkshire Parish Registers, Monumental Inscriptions and Wills - Guide 2 (1st ed., 2000, 87pp)
Within each of these sections, the published works are organised by villages, towns, cities etc. Monumental inscriptions are further indexed by family names and there is a separate index of place names and authors. This is the usual in-depth work by this expert on Yorkshire material.
NYo5/12/1* RAYMOND, Stuart A., Yorkshire Occupations - Guide 5 (1st ed., 2000, 47pp)
Was your Yorks. ancestor an ulnager? Another thorough and exhaustive Raymond work of great value and importance to anyone with Yorks ancestry, cataloguing the enormous amount of reference material on the subject. Access to these works might not be as difficult as you think, as in his Introduction Raymond notes the many sources through which books can be found - interlibrary loan, Internet, libraries (he mentions the GSV in Melbourne as a noteworthy repository). "The term 'occupation' is interpreted liberally, including Romanies, Sheep Rustlers, Telephone Subscribers etc.". To this can be added Cricketers, Criminals, Footballers, Foundling Children, Murderers. The list of references begins with Actors and ends with Wood Choppers. There is a very large section on schools worth a close look. NYo5/82/1*RAYMOND, Stuart A., Yorkshire Family Histories and Pedigrees - Guide 6 (1st ed., 2000, 100pp.)
Set out in Raymond's usual meticulous fashion, material is clearly accessible by surname in such headings as Heraldry, Diaries, Letters & Household Accounts, Biographical Dictionaries and published family histories. NYo3/32/1*FFHS, Organising a Family History Conference (2nd ed., 2000, 37pp). For the masochists who want to organise such an affair (or a family reunion), everything you could possibly want to know. It could put you off. L2/10/36
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