http://xml.sandn.net/images/feedlogo.JPGhttp://xml.sandn.netRegularly updated genealogy information in the UK. Includes general information and news, information about online information, updates from family history websites, reviews of genealogy products, and more.http://xml.sandn.neten-gbCopyright (c) British Data Archive1article.php?id=1As anyone with ancestors in the London area knows, research there can be a nightmare. There are different records offices for the City of London, Westminster, and Greater London. So what's the best way to do your research?

As anyone with ancestors in the London area knows, research there can be a nightmare. There are different records offices for the City of London, Westminster, Greater London, parishes in the pre-1888 counties of Surrey and Kent, as well as a multitude of local history libraries. If a family moved only a few streets, it can mean decamping from one repository to another to track them. This is time-consuming enough for Londoners but for those elsewhere the time and travel expenses are multiplied. Two of S&N's publications go some way to overcoming the obstacles for those working on the mid-nineteenth century, when people were flooding into London from all over the country. The London 1852 Directory can help to pinpoint where an ancestor lived because it would have been compiled in the census year. The set of two CD-ROMs making up the London 1851 Census should locate him or her in this important census, the first to require place of birth. The 31 discs include a street index. The whole of the 1851 census for London, digitised from microfiche and supplemented where necessary from the original books, is included. As there is no complete index, S&N are encouraging people to help produce one by including an Excel spreadsheet in this pack and showing which areas have been already done on their website. S&N also have a CD-ROM containing the 1851 index at its current state, which can be accessed for the same price at TheGenealogist. Some areas have been indexed and are available from the volunteers that created them, usually local family history societies. Even if your ancestors were not skilled enough to be included in the Directory or you don't know exactly which street they lived in, clicking through a district of the census at home is certainly preferable to traveling to the FRC to use the microfilms. It will also probably be cheaper than making several trips to London if you live outside.

24 Nov 2006http://www.genealogysupplies.com/44article.php?id=44The three Bronte sisters - Charlotte, Emily and Anne - grew up with their brother Branwell in Parsonage House in Haworth, Yorkshire. They can be found in the 1841 Census.

The three Bronte sisters - Charlotte, Emily and Anne - grew up with their brother Branwell in Parsonage House in Haworth, Yorkshire. Their childhood was blighted by the deaths of their mother from cancer, and their elder sisters, Maria and Elizabeth, from tuberculosis. Their father Reverend Patrick Bronte was understandably a somewhat melancholy character, and the children depended on writing stories to entertain themselves. Creating sophisticated sagas about imaginary countries and kingdoms, they developed literary skills which they took with them into adulthood. Parsonage House - The home of the Brontes Parsonage House famously stands within an area of expansive moorland, which they were allowed to roam on as children, and which would have given their imaginations free rein. The harsh landscape formed the inspiration for the windswept, treacherous moors immortalised in Emily's most famous work, Wuthering Heights. All three worked occasionally as governesses, and in 1841 we can see that Charlotte is working away in this capacity whilst Emily and Anne remain at home. They all disliked the job, and Charlotte and Anne both wrote novels (Jane Eyre and Agnes Grey) which describe its perils, and the general pressures on women of their social standing during this period. They could marry, find work as a governess or servant, or remain with their families- but couldn't easily achieve a meaningful independence. Their writing allowed them to explore and document this situation. Ironically, due to the restrictions of the time, their poetry and novels were published under the male pseudonyms of Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell - three brothers rather than sisters. Their works are very different, but share common strengths of innovation and vision, particularly Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, which both received a decidedly lukewarm reception on their initial publication, but are now hailed as classics. All three are to be found on the 1841 census, but Emily died of tuberculosis in 1848 and Anne of an unknown illness a year later, and only Charlotte appears, back in Haworth, in 1851. She died in 1855, having revealed her true identity as the author of Jane Eyre only a few years previously. With that information in hand, I set out to look for their census records in the Yorkshire 1841 & 1851 Census CD sets purchased from British Data Archive. I looked up Charlotte Bronte on www.TheGenealogist.co.uk by doing a search under the 1841 Yorkshire census transcripts, and immediately found her. I decided to view an image of the census record and found her to be living at Upper Road House. The search results informed me that I could also find this record on the CD set (CD 28, HO107 / 1313 / 7, folio 13). After my success with Charlotte, I decided to tackle the other two sisters, Emily and Anne. I searched for Emily first, again on www.TheGenealogist.co.uk, loaded up the census image, and found her living at Parsonage House with her sister Anne and their father Patrick. The search results showed me that I could also find this record on the CD set (CD21, HO107/1295/6/, Folio 41).

12 Mar 2007http://www.yorkshirecensus.co.uk5article.php?id=5The 1851 Census includes the records for Knebworth House, the 'stately home of rock', which has welcomed acts such as Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and Queen.

The 1851 Census for Hitchin, Hertfordshire (HO107/1709-1710) includes the records for Knebworth House, the 'stately home of rock', which has welcomed acts such as Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and Queen. The Lytton family have owned Knebworth House, which began life as a red brick tudor manor house, since 1490. The house was greatly altered by its most famous resident, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, who added a heavy gothic element to the building. Edward, who because an MP in 1831, was also a popular writer of his day, publishing novels such as Pelham, Godolphin, and The Last Days of Pompeii. He also had a talent for coining a memorable phrase, notably 'the pen is mightier than the sword' and 'in pursuit of the almighty dollar'. Edward succeeded to Knebworth in 1843, and often invited illustrious friends from literary and parliamentary circles to stay there, including Charles Dickens. If you take a look at the 1851 Census for Hertfordshire, you can find E Bulwer Lytton listed as a baronet and proprietor of land employing 25 labourers. (HO107/1709, folio 302). Census sets are available on CD from British Data Archive.

13 Dec 2006http://www.britishdataarchive.com15article.php?id=15Daniel Albone is famous for inventing the Ivel tractor, and is said to have changed the world of agriculture. He can be found in the 1861 census at the age of only six months.

Daniel Albone was born in Biggleswade in 1860 and at a young age he was introduced to the world of engineering. Albone built on his skills and opened the Ivel Cycle Works in 1880, named after the nearby river. Here he invented and produced the Ivel safety cycle and developed one of the earliest women's safety bicycles. He was also a successful competitive cyclist and won the national championships five times. In the late 1890s Albone started working on motor cars and motorbikes, but probably his most famous invention was the revolutionary Ivel tractor. Its lightweight three-wheeled design is said to have changed the world of agriculture, and it quickly became apparent that this invention would soon replace the need for horses in the fields. The Ivel tractor was exported world wide and a few restored working samples can still be seen today. We can find Daniel in the 1861 Census for Bedfordshire at the age of only six months. (RG9/996, folio 58b, page 116). The CD set for the Bedfordshire 1861 Census is available from British Data Archive.

28 Jan 2007http://www.britishdataarchive.com/