Genealogy Chat

See below when I've typed it!

ooooooH what have i done to upset you Lou? Good I haven't , well, not that i know of! jess xx

I know this only applies to a VERY small amount of people but when you ask for a look up either on an early census or at the Records Office, PLEASE take into consideration how long this actually takes to do, not just for me but for everyone who has access to them Many of the early census are NOT name indexed, some areas with a population under 4000 don't even have a street index. It is totally different to Ancestry where you type in a name and an area and get a list of choices. It sometimes involves searching literally 1000's of pages in the hope of finding the right family. And although I only live 15 minutes on the train from Manchester Records Office, I have 2 small children and am registered disabled. It takes planning! I offer to help because I have the resources to be able to do so and because I get a LOT of help from others on the areas that I don't have access to. But it's starting to get a bit annoying getting personal messages 2 or 3 times A DAY asking whether I've found anything out yet. When I have (or not as the case may be!), I WILL get back to you! Thank you....moan over! Lou

It WAS along moan, Pat, but feel SO much better now!

Lou...bet you feel better now you have got that off your chest!!! But, can I just add.....twice now I have asked for a look up on a particulat thread and on each occasion, someone else has got back to me on my private mail. I do message the original person whom I have asked and told them this so that they don't waste any more time... but then I feel guilty that they have probably already spent some time looking for me. But on the other hand I don't want to hurt their feelings.......so a bit of a quandry...do I tell them someone else has found it...or not? Anne in not so sunny Surrey! PS A BIG BIG thankyou to all who have helped me!

Hi Dea I couldn't have made the progress I have with my Essex/London side without the help I've had from people on here (especially the wonderful Joan, Pat, Jon and Tammy in Australia who is sending her cousin to Colchester recs office for me next week!) cos coverage for those areas online is very fragmented an I simply can't get to Colchester or the LMA at the moment. But I was on the boards till gone 2am last night (waiting up for hubbie coming home!) and by the time I switched on at 10am today, I'd had 2 messages from someone I'd said I'd check a census for. I have to sleep sometime! Lou

I'm with you Lou, I can look at census returns and BDM This 'do you have crystal ball...' mentality does get to me! I know they are terribly expensive and are a rare comodity, but are ''thank you's'' and endangered species? jess x

Hi Lou I totally agree with you. like you im getting personal messages asking have i found anything yet, even after i explianed to all who have contacted me that im having problems with my computer ansd will get back to them. Then when they recieve the info, you don't even get a thankyou. Lou you have helped me out no end, even if its just to confirm there not in that area and i appreicate all the hard work you put in when helping me, even going to the records office which was really kind of you to do. Some people need to realise that searching some records are very hard to read, time comsuming. Julie

Just read your MOAN Lou...that was a good one... Hope you feel better now and hope those people you help...including me understand ..... Lou says SHE WILL GET BACK TO YOU !! That ok Lou?? I probably got a bigger gob than you and can shout louder!! lol Take care chuck...Anne :))))))

Thanks Anne Perfect! Lou

Hi Lou, I think you're quite entitled to have a moan, so moan away girl! LOL Because I have 'in Edinburgh' in my name, I regularly get messages from people asking if I could go to GRO and look-up such and such for them. Like yourself I have have children and there's also the cost.....it's 17 pounds per day to go. Obviously we all help where and when we can, but yes a simple thank you, does make all the difference I also get the impression from some of the newbies, that they don't realise we are all just members like them. They seem to think we work for GR and are available at any time and have to hand every available resource! My moan over! Keep up the good work Lou, and everyone else Christine

Hi Christine Maybe that IS where the problem lies. Because I have Lancashire in my name, I get requests for records that are only held at Preston or Burnley. I'm as far away from there as Edinburgh is from Glasgow and its just not accessible for me! Lancashire is a big county and I'm actually closer to Huddersfield than I am to Preston! Lou

Morning Lou I would like to say THANK YOU for what you have done for me in the past and am sure thanked you at the time Having just agreed to transcribe for FreeCen have recd a cd to work from, dont know how to do it yet though, I had a quick look at cd and discovered I need an extra brain a, to work out the handwriting and b, to decipher what it says, so can appreciate how long it would take to find someone. Keep up the good work Ann

Hi Ann Me too....I'm doing 1861 Lancashire given that I'm SO familiar with it now. Not started yet, just waiting to get my instructions! Lou

Hi Lou Ive got 1861 Durham which is my county of interest but as I said the writing is very faint and requires concentration - difficult sometimes after a day in the office being nice to people - I am an estate agent - but I am also a nice person Lancashire and County Durham are my places of interest as paternal side lancashire maternal county durham Born London brought up Essex moved North Yorkshire 4 years ago Lancashire not too familiar with but this morning plucked up courage to ring and see if my dads sister still alive she has got to be in her 80s - spoke to her - shes a bit deaf - I suggested I write and tell her what I've done so far and she may be able to fill in some details - also she may have some early photos of which I have none Ann

And Im still waiting for info re Uncle Jack who had the Raleigh bike in Brighton Lou!

Lou, I'm astonished that anybody volunteers to do look ups from census cds, let alone visiting records offices to look up censuses. Even in the best organised, self service record offices it probably takes a minimum of twenty minutes to get a film, load it, find the reference, check it's the right one, rewind the film, find a working, unoccupied photocopier and take a print. With some of the vague requests that are posted, it would take considerably longer. Looking for strays in Norwich in 1851 before an index was available took two solid days. I think you can only make the point again and again that searches in the early censuses are difficult, because many newcomers to the boards will not know this. Brenda

Thank you for this thread Lou. I am sure many people who are relatively new to Genealogy do not realise what is involved in doing a lookup on a Census. Not only do they have to find the Area on the Index on several CDs, but often there may be umpteen books within that Area if they are looking at a large town. Add to that the faintness of many pages and the crabby handwriting, and it can take hours to go through a Census on someone's behalf. Not so bad if it is a Area in which you may have a personal interest, but how seldom does that happen. Praise and respect to those who do spend the time doing it, for no reward except the knowledge that they are helping someone. And a Thank You doesn't hurt. Jim

My Lancashire rellies generally live in a nice small town with between 4 (!) and 26 pages per census. Not too bad! Thanks to everyone that's helped me do this - only another 3 months then I can chill out with it!

I want to say thank you again to Lou! She looked up some information for me when we had that really bad weather, I was really grateful! People like Lou are invaluable to the likes of me - I live a long way from Lancashire but 99% of my tree are from there. (Due to financial constraints I haven't been able to visit there yet, but hope to later in the year.) I was happy to wait as long as it was necessary for Lou to get the information, because at the end of the day Lou is offering her services free of charge and she will get the information a lot quicker than I can, how ever long it takes!! Cate :))