General Chat

'n'

About as good as their 'launch' of the records from the LMA which was heralded with much information about how we would all be able to access parish records, electoral rolls, school records, etc. etc.At this point in time there are births at workhouses (5 Unions only) and some records of children who died in their first year....mainly Holborn and Islington.

They have also got some workhouse records but these are not digitised and once again only a few Unions have been put on line. Unless you know the workhouse your ancestors were in it is a hell of a job trying to find anyone. I have been informed that it could be at least 4 years before all LMA records are available to us through Ancestry.

I understand a few more LMA records will be put on line during the Autumn but I am not holding my breath as I'm still waiting for them to get past N in the World War 1 pension records. I have been waiting over a year now and they still haven't updated them.

I know it seems as if I am moaning.... and I suppose I am lol and I am still willing pay my £104 per year for the records they have. I just wish they wouldn't keep advertising new records until they actually had them on line.

Jean.

response rec'd to my e-mail to Ancestry:

My question: I watched with great interest this morning (9 June) Olivier Van Claster being interviewed on BBC News. I was very interested to hear his comments that we will now be able to view birth records including mother & father's names, address of birth and occupation of father.

What was very unclear was where this information can be accessed from and any cost involved.

I eagerly logged on to Ancestry tonight to find that Births are now all transcribed, but, the info Olivier Van Claster had said was available isn't.

Can you please clarify the situation.

Response from Ancestry: We do apologize for any confusion. But the new option about the birth records is that they are now fully indexed and searchable by name. There is no new information.

If there is anything else with which we might assist you, please let us know.



So we will still have to send for certs to ensure we have the right people.

MGHS

Thanks for that and that is what I am going to do.

I have just had a reply from
Ancestry who state the half price offer is for new UK members only but if I ring the phone line they have given they will offer me a 20% discount. Sorry Ancestry but that's not 50%.
I hate the way some of these genealogy sites treat their loyal members.

n

Am I being cynical in thinking that they have a half price subscription offer until the 30th June. This is for potential new members and lapsed members only.
I had an E-mail from Ancestry yesterday informing me my renewal fee is due 30th June (it expires 29th June) and as they are going to charge me £84.30 and will not give a reduction I have E-mailed them and told them I am disgusted with how they treat their loyal members and will not be renewing at that price.
I await a reply, apparently they have received loads of E-mails.
Will let you know what happens.
Pat

I wish they had left them alone as I can't now search for myself,which I like to do.
I cannot find several family members because they have obviously been misread and are not there under the correct spelling of the name or any closely resembling them.,.
Now had they left it alone I could have still searched qtr by qtr and eventually found them.
So not a happy bunny here. Tricia xx

Hi Annielaurie, I didn't know you used to be able to search by mother's surname, very interesting.

Also, when this database first appeared on Ancestry you could search births by putting in the mothers maiden name too. You can't now. And it's not complete. If it's not fully complete then there's no point to it.

Phew - SO glad it isn't just me who wondered what on earth that man from Ancestry was mumbling on about.

He wasn't at all clear, and I got the impression that he was referring to the indexes on-line as a new thing!! In fact when asked a few questions, he couldn't give a straight answer, and repeated what he'd said 5 minutes earlier, which I thought was odd. There was no mention of money or subscriptions either, and the impresion was given that you just bumble along, immediately find what you're looking for, and hey presto, your family tree is done.
Was he trying to promote Ancestry, in which case he did a bad job, or was he deliberately being evasive and hoping people won't understand what it was all about, in which case he did an excellent job!!!

Yours,
None the Wiser. xxx

Seems to be the usual con but will live in hopes that something good will come out of it - but I won't hold my breath.

I feel quite annoyed about this interview, very misleading and very surprised Colin Jackson took part.
Gill

I shall look forward to reading the replies from
Ancestry and the BBC.
Anyone want to bet, we still won't get any straight answers!!!!!!!!!!
But then I might be wrong----- lol

Trish

I have e mailed the bbc to ask for clarification of the interview> I will keep you all posted

Hi Penny, like you, I thought the birth dates on Ancestry looked a bit different so checked them out. As far as I can see, you can see the index details up to 1983, as before, but when I looked up my son's birth, born in 1992, it said 'image not available.' I can however order it from Ancestry, sight unseen. (Why would i want to do that???)

Maybe this is what they were talking about???

I got the impression that he ( Ancestry man ) was talking about he indexes. He said his wife went a few years ago & spent all day trawling through the books ( of the indexes) & this is to replace that.

Just looked on Ancestry - haven't been on for a while & they have changed the indexes. Now 1916-2005 births is together. Looked up me - bit of a drag as have to go through whole of the letter to find me - hope there is a different way!

This is what it says on the press release section of Ancestry dated 9th June 2009 (this is the link: http://www.ancestry.co.uk/about/default.aspx?section=pr-2009-6-9)

Interestingly virtually the same press release was released in Feb of this year (when the birth index was fully transcribed). Presumably the same info being released to press today as they didn't get enough publicity the first time around! (Oops - did that sound a bit cynical!).

It definitely seems to suggest that only the indexes are available on line, i.e. post 1911 you will be able to see mother's maiden name, but it certainly doesn't seem to suggest what was apparently suggested on the BBC i.e. that occupation etc are also available. Looks like we will still need to order certs for that.

Helen

Prince William, the Kray Twins and Kate Winslet - 134m UK Birth Indexes Now Fully Searchable Online - World First

More than 134 million names of everyone born in England and Wales, since civil registration in 1837, are now available fully name searchable online for the first time on the UK’s leading family and social history website, Ancestry.co.uk.

In partnership with FreeBMD , Ancestry.co.uk has completed indexing by name, registration date and district the General Records Office (GRO) Birth Indexes for England and Wales dating from 1837 to 2005.

Although all GRO indexes (for records of births, marriages and deaths) have been available online for some time, this is the first time that the birth indexes have been made fully name searchable.

Considered ‘core’ records by family history researchers, this major addition to Ancestry.co.uk’s historical record collection will be of great significance both in the UK and internationally.

Modern day celebrity names in the indexes include Prince William, Russell Brand and Victoria Adams (Beckham). Other famous historical figures include John Lennon, JRR Tolkien, and Emeline Pankhurst.

Because each name has now been individually indexed, for the first time the complete record indexes can reveal name trends over the last 170 years, which prove that Victorian parents also named their children after celebrities of the day. Examples include:

Ellen entered the list of most popular names in the 1870s at the same time as the beautiful and glamorous Shakespearean actress Ellen Terry (1847-1928) reached the height of her fame

Joseph is a relatively uncommon name that entered the ‘top ten’ between 1907 and 1915 as the people’s politician and statesman Joseph Chamberlain (1836-1914) peaked in popularity

Annie was the most popular girl’s name between 1887 and 1896, influenced by the World famous Annie Oakley (1860-1926), an American sharpshooter and star of the touring show Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, who performed in person for Queen Victoria
Researching historical birth indexes also tells us that ‘unusual’ modern day celebrity baby names are not as original as we may think.

The first names Brooklyn, Romeo, Apple and Princess actually all made their debut long before they became famous in the 21st century, first appearing in the birth indexes from the 19th century.

Ancestry.co.uk is also working with FreeBMD to fully index the GRO’s Marriage and Death indexes. When complete , the England and Wales Birth, Marriage and Death Indexes from 1837-2005 will contain more than 250 million fully searchable names – only on Ancestry.co.uk.

Ancestry.co.uk Managing Director, Olivier Van Calster comments: “This is a real breakthrough for anyone researching ancestors born in England and Wales after 1837 as birth indexes are considered core records essential for anyone exploring their UK family history.

“To be able to search the entire England and Wales Birth Indexes armed with no more than a name could yield in minutes or less what once might have taken days to achieve.”

I have just e-mailed Ancestry to clarify what Olivier Van Claster said in the interview.

Surprise Surprise 'We are presently experiencing a high volume of emails'

Will update when / if I get a response

I have been all round BBC news and Ancestry, I can't find anything about it.
Gill

I saw this interview this morning and I am so glad it isn't just me that was confused with what they were saying.

So I thought I would take down the guys name from Ancestry.co.uk.
His name is Olivier Van Claster and he is the Managing Director of Ancestry.co.uk

We should all bombard him with emails to ask for all the details that he was trying to tell us aboutthis morning about BMD'S being online now.

Hope someone does email and gets an answer.