Newsletter – 15th
December 2021
Do you have a special family photo? ENDS
TOMORROW
Census history: Evaluating the 1881
Census Transcription
Spring into action in
my winter competition: more prizes announced
Home access to
Ancestry Library Edition to end
The LostCousins
newsletter is usually published 2 or 3 times a month. To access the previous
issue (dated 10th December) click here; to find earlier articles use the customised Google search
between this paragraph and the next (it searches ALL of the newsletters since
February 2009, so you don't need to keep copies):
To go to the main
LostCousins website click the logo at the top of this newsletter. If you're not
already a member, do join - it's FREE, and you'll get an email to alert you
whenever there's a new edition of this newsletter available!
Do you have a special family photo? ENDS TOMORROW
Our
family photos are always special to us, but do you have one in your collection
that really stands out? Who Do You Think You Are? magazine are looking for six special photos in their Family Photo
Competition, and yours could be one of them.
There
are six loosely-defined categories, with a prize for
each of a one year subscription to the magazine, whilst the overall winner will
get a cash prize of £200. I don’t expect to win but I'll be entering anyway –
it’s a good excuse to have a look through the family albums and bring back
memories of relatives who are long gone, but fondly remembered.
To
enter follow this link – but don't delay,
because entries must be in before midnight on Thursday 16th December. Sadly this competition is only open to residents of the UK.
BONUS:
If
any of the winners are LostCousins members they'll be able to claim a free
LostCousins subscription by writing to me (to qualify the winner must have
joined LostCousins before the winning entries are announced).
Census history: Evaluating
the 1881 Census Transcription
In
the last issue I wrote about the 1831 Census, only fragments of which have
survived, and which was never intended to provide the level of detail that
family historians have come to expect.
When
I began my research I relied heavily on the 1881
Census – it was the first British census to be transcribed in its entirety,
thanks to co-operation between the Federation of Family History Societies and
the Genealogical Society of Utah (better known as FamilySearch). Despite the
involvement of so many knowledgeable volunteers there were a significant number
of transcription errors, and a project was established to survey the entries
for 26 enumeration districts in Hertfordshire in order to
better understand the nature of the errors and what the error rate was.
Despite
anecdotal reports of high numbers of errors the survey
concluded that:
"it is clear that – in terms of overall quality – the
Hertfordshire transcription is remarkably good, and better than might have been
expected given the more general anecdotal evidence on the 1881 transcript to
the contrary. Again in overall terms, serious errors
that would worry the historian are quite rare, small both in number and as a
proportion of the total number of records affected, and virtually insignificant
when broken down by category of information. This bodes well for analysis of
this data at national, county and sub-district level
currently in train at the University of Essex. The genealogist too should be
encouraged by the results for surnames, for a mere 20 out of a total of 15,564
were found to be seriously mistranscribed."
You
can read the full report (in PDF format) here.
Why use a transcription?
Since
there are always going to be errors in any transcription you might wonder why I
chose to use the 1881 England & Wales Census transcription when I was
developing the LostCousins website in late 2003.
There
were two key reasons: the first was that it was the only complete census that
was available free online – this meant that anyone with access to the Internet
would be able to take part in my project to connect family historians around
the world who were researching the same ancestral lines.
The
second reason was that 100% accurate automated matching required cousins to
input the same data for the same relative – and this was most likely to happen
if they used the transcribed information. It might be wrong or incomplete, but
it was easy to read. Of course, no one likes publishing incorrect information,
but that doesn't matter, because at LostCousins nobody else can see your
entries.
On
the other hand, when it comes to information that you're going to put on your
family tree, whether it’s a public tree or one you only share with relatives,
you should aim to be as accurate as possible – though when you’re dealing with
someone whose name or name spelling changed during their lifetime it can be
quite challenging!
Spring into action in my winter competition: more prizes
announced
I promised there would
be more prizes, and I'm delighted to announce that Baroness Scott of Needham
Market has agreed to lend her support.
SPECIAL PRIZE: Baroness Scott
interview followed by Q&A session (11am 3rd February 2022)
Baroness Ros Scott
was the prime driver behind the legislation that allows the General 
Register Office to
provide 'certificates' in an electronic format – I first reported her proposals on
Christmas Day 2014, and what a Christmas present for family historians it
turned out to be!
The 2015 Deregulation
Act subsequently
imposed a duty on the GRO to come forward with proposals relating
to historic certificates, and in late 2016 we were all taking part in the PDF trial,
which eventually became a permanent service.
I will be talking to Baroness
Scott in front of a small virtual audience about her interest in family history
and how that has fed into her work in the House of Lords – I suspect I'll be
asking whether she hopes that one day there will be instant access to the
historic registers for England & Wales, as there already is in Scotland.
Following the interview there will be an opportunity for members of the
audience to ask questions.
To
maximise your chance of winning this valuable opportunity add as many relatives
as possible to your My Ancestors page during the period of the competition, and indicate your interest on the My Prizes
page at the LostCousins site.
INVITED PRESENTATION: 'Brits to Canada', with John D Reid (date to
be arranged)
From the first part
of the 19th century, to late in the 20th, many
British people from all walks of life chose to cross the Atlantic for
opportunities in Canada. Are they missing from your family history? Explore the
resources available to you to throw light on your Canadian cousins and some remarkable
personalities and stories.
Born
in Norfolk, now a long-time resident of Ottawa, John D Reid is a retired
environmental research scientist. Since 2006, he has presented an independent
view of British and Canadian family history resources and developments, seen
from an Ottawa perspective in his Canada's Anglo-Celtic Connections blog.
Here's
a reminder of the other prizes on offer:
STAR
PRIZE: One-to-one brick wall busting session with the editor of Who Do You
Think You Are? magazine
Most of you will know Sarah Williams as the editor of Who
Do You Think You Are? magazine – but she is also a highly competent
genealogist with a Masters
degree in Medieval Studies. I'm delighted to say that Sarah has generously
offered to help knock down an English 'brick wall' for the lucky winner of this
prize.
This
one-to-one consultation will take place over Zoom on a mutually convenient
date, and whilst there's no guarantee that Sarah will be able to solve your
problem during the session, I'd be surprised if her insight into your 'brick
wall' doesn’t lead you in a new and more productive direction. To maximise your
chance of winning this valuable opportunity add as many relatives as possible
to your My Ancestors page before Christmas, as the winner of
this prize will be chosen on Christmas Day.
Tip:
only one lucky member can win this prize or the one below but everyone can
benefit from the advice in my Masterclass 'Knocking down brick walls' which was
recently updated and can be found here. (Note: that there
are links to ALL of my Masterclasses on the
Subscribers Only page.)
STAR
PRIZE: One-to-one brick wall busting session with Dr Janet Few, author and genealogist
Janet is an experienced and qualified family, social, and
community historian who has spoken at many national and international
genealogical events. She is also a well-known author, several of whose books
have been reviewed in this very newsletter, including Putting Your
Ancestors in Their Place. A founder member of the Society for
One-Place Studies, and a former Chair and Vice-Chair of the organisation, she
is currently Chair of Devon Family History Society.
Janet
has kindly volunteered to provide a one-to-one 'brick wall' busting Zoom
consultation on a mutually-convenient date for one
lucky member. If you have a English 'brick wall' in
your family tree, Janet will suggest productive areas of research so that in 2021
you'll be able to approach the problem from a different angle.
To
maximise your chance of gaining this valuable opportunity to transform your
research add as many relatives as possible to your My Ancestors page
before the end of December, as the winner will be chosen on New Year's Day.
STAR
PRIZE: 12 month Diamond subscription to The
Genealogist (normal price £139.95)
You
could win unlimited access to a wide range of records including non-conformist
records, exclusive tithe records and tithe maps, and a growing collection of
'Lloyd George' Domesday records and maps which you won't find at any other
site. If you already have a Diamond subscription an additional 12 months will
be added.
The
prize winner will be chosen after the competition closes on 31st January 2022,
but if you can't wait (or are looking to buy yourself a Christmas present) the
good news is that the Black Friday offer I wrote about in the last
newsletter is still continuing, so you can currently get a Diamond subscription
for the price of a Gold subscription (and much more besides) if you follow this
link.
STAR
PRIZE: 12 month unlimited subscription to British
Newspaper Archive (normal price £79.95)
Over
46 million pages from historic British and Irish newspapers, with hundreds of
thousands more pages added every month. Upwards of half a billion articles,
notices, and adverts, and literally billions of names. Was your ancestor famous
for 15 minutes?
Optimised
search features include the ability to search for articles added after a
particular date, so that you don't have to repeatedly trawl through articles
you've previously read or discarded. The prize winner will be chosen after the
competition closes on 31st January 2022.
SPECIAL PRIZE:
Scottish Research Resources Before 1800 with Chris Paton (mid-January, date to
be confirmed)
Do
you have Scottish ancestors? In this talk Chris Paton, author and professional
genealogist will Zoom you to pre-19th century Scotland, when things begin to
get a little more complicated with your ancestral research. From Kirk to state,
a variety of records are available but it's one thing to find them, and quite
another to understand them, with different handwriting styles, language
problems and the feudal nature of Scottish society forming some of the many challenges
that make earlier Scottish research fun but challenging.
Chris
will explore the various record types available, and how to access them both
online and offline. This exclusive Zoom presentation in front of a select
audience will be followed by a question and answer
session in which all are invited to participate. To maximise your chances of
being one of the lucky few to attend, add as many relatives as possible to your
My Ancestors page bearing in mind that the winners will be selected
about a week before the talk takes place.
You'll
find my reviews of two of Chris's most recent books here and here.
SPECIAL
PRIZE: Seminar on marriage law with Professor Rebecca Probert (date to be
confirmed)
Many of you will
already be familiar with Professor Probert's books for genealogists (you'll
find my reviews here and here), but even if you
haven't read the books you'll know, I'm sure, that she is the leading authority
on historical marriage law in England & Wales. Her books have over-turned
numerous myths about the ways our ancestors married, shedding new light on
their behaviour and the sometimes difficult decisions
they were faced with.
Currently
Professor of Law at Exeter University, in 2015 she was seconded to the Law
Commission to work on their scoping paper Getting Married and since August
2019 she has been acting as specialist advisor to the Commission on their Weddings Project.
This
exclusive Zoom presentation in front of a small invited
audience will be followed by a question and answer session in which all are
invited to participate. To maximise your chances of being one of the lucky few
to attend add as many relatives as possible to your My Ancestors page.
SPECIAL
PRIZE: Nathan Dylan Goodwin interview followed by Q&A session (date to be
confirmed)
I'll be interviewing
Nathan Dylan Goodwin, the creator of the Forensic Genealogist series featuring
Morton Farrier, live on Zoom – and you could be in the audience! Amongst other
things I'll be asking questions about the characters in the books, and where
the inspiration for them came from.
After
the interview I'll be inviting questions from the floor – note that the number
of attendees will be kept low so that as many people as possible have the
chance to ask their question. However you can also
submit questions on the My Prizes page – that way your question could
get asked even if you’re not fortunate enough to be invited.
To
maximise your chances of being one of the lucky few to attend, add as many
relatives as possible to your My Ancestors page – and don't leave it to
the last minute, because this is an opportunity that no fan of Morton Farrier
will want to miss!
Note: you'll find my review of Nathan's latest book here.
SPECIAL
PRIZE: Secrets of the census with Dr Donald Davis (date to be confirmed)
Speaking to us from Canada will be Dr Donald Davis
, who retired from a vocation studying the health of populations to an
avocation exploring population records – he is currently looking forward to the
release of the 1921 England & Wales Census which, taken following the Great
War, explored new avenues of importance to family historians.
When the previous census (1911) was released we saw for the first time the forms that our
ancestors had filled in, replete with misunderstandings, spelling mistakes,
amendments, and gratuitous comments. This was eye-opening – all that had
survived from the 1841-1901 censuses were the enumerators' summary books. Or so
it was thought – then Don discovered a cache of household schedules from the
1841 Census at Shropshire Archives and many of our assumptions about the census
were overturned.
Home access to Ancestry Library Edition to
end
Soon
after the pandemic began some resources which were previously only available
within a subscribing library were temporarily extended to library members. It
has now been announced that home access to Ancestry Library Edition will end no
later than 31st December, so if you don't have a subscription of your own, or need to look up records which aren’t included in
your subscription, it’s your last chance!
I
don't know why, but a lot of people think that you need a subscription to
contribute to the LostCousins project to connect family historians around the
world who are researching the same ancestral lines – however you don't, and
that means that every reader of this newsletter can take part in my
competition.
You
don't even need a subscription to Ancestry or Findmypast,
because they allow free access to the 1881 England & Wales Census
transcription (the Scotland transcription is free at ScotlandsPeople).
Most of the other censuses we use are also free online – that's why they were
chosen.
Note:
although LostCousins members never need to buy a subscription, I'm very
grateful for the support of those who do, because it’s thanks to them that this
newsletter remains independent.
DNA
for Christmas – exploring the possibilities of DNA
DNA
is part of the legacy that we have inherited, and it's also part of the legacy
that we can pass on to future generations. In an easy-to-follow Zoom
presentation starting at 4pm next Wednesday, 22nd December, I'll explain why
DNA is important to family historians and how to make the most of it. There
will be plenty of time for questions and answers, so whether you are a sceptic
or disciple, it's a great opportunity to find out what DNA can and can't do,
and the pitfalls that await the unwary.
IMPORTANT:
if you want to have a chance of attending please go to
your My Prizes page and indicate your interest before the weekend;
successful applicants will be chosen at the weekend based on entries made
during the period of the competition up to that point. Even if you have made
only one entry you'll have a chance, but the more entries you make the more
chances you will have. Winners will be notified by email on Monday.
There
will be time after the presentation to order Ancestry DNA kits at the sale
prices shown below. However if you have already made
up your mind, and want delivery before Christmas, I suggest you place your
order now – please use the relevant link below so that you can support
LostCousins with your purchase:
Ancestry.co.uk (UK only) - Ancestry DNA
reduced from £79 to £59 (plus shipping) ENDS 26/12
Ancestry.com.au (Australia & New
Zealand) – Ancestry DNA reduced to $89 (plus shipping) ENDS 24/12
Ancestry.com (US only) – Ancestry
DNA reduced to $59 (plus taxes and shipping) ENDS 31/12
Note:
shipping works out cheaper if you order more than one test at a time; remember,
you don’t need to specify who will be testing.
In
the next issue I'll tell you how Megan knocked down her 'brick wall' using DNA
– it’s a very instructive tale!
If
you live in one of the countries where the Omicron variant has already taken
off, please be extra careful over the next few weeks. Even if the variant is slightly
less harmful than Delta and other variants, as the early data hints, it's still
possible that health services could be overwhelmed – in some places they
already are.
Remember
that if you buy goods by mail order in the UK, by law you have 14 days to
return them – but if you buy them in a shop your rights are much more limited
(however many retailers do have special arrangements around this time of the
year).
Also
remember to visit your My Prizes page at the LostCousins site to indicate
which of the prizes on offer in the competition are of most interest – don’t
leave it until the last minute, do it now!
Stop Press
This is where any major updates and corrections will be
highlighted - if you think you've spotted an error first reload the newsletter
(press Ctrl-F5) then
check again before writing to me, in case someone else has beaten you to
it......
Peter Calver
Founder, LostCousins
© Copyright 2021 Peter Calver
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