Newsletter - 2 April 2011
Thank you
Would you write your own obituary?
DNA sequencing cost tumbles
British Library holds census exhibition
Newspapers online
Overseas births and marriages fully
indexed
Membership reaches 85,000
Information and misinformation
New BBC series not to be sniffed at
Do you remember Pathé News?
Adding sound to cine footage
Identifying family photographs
Hampshire parish registers
Unclaimed court funds
How you can help your cousins
Peter's tips
Stop Press
About
this newsletter
The LostCousins newsletter is
published twice a month on average, and all LostCousins members are notified by
email when a new edition is available (unless they opt out). To access the
previous newsletter (dated 21 March 2011) please click here. Each newsletter links to
the one before, and you can go back to February 2009 when the newsletter first
went online; there will shortly be an online index to articles.
Whenever possible links are
included to the websites or articles mentioned in the newsletter (they are
highlighted in blue or purple and underlined, so you can't miss them).
Note: when you click on a link a new browser window or tab will open so that
you don’t lose your place in the newsletter - if you are still using Internet
Explorer you may need to enable pop-ups (if the link seems not to work, look
for a warning message at the top of the browser window).
Thank you
I'd like to begin this newsletter by
thanking the hundreds of members who wrote to offer their condolences on the
recent death of my father at the age of 94. The funeral was on Monday, and was
very well-attended, but I'm glad to say that it was far from being a sombre
occasion - indeed, one of my father's oldest friends wrote afterwards:
"Yesterday
was a real celebration of Dennis's long life reflecting his humour and love of
music which he shared with so many people. We doubt whether the undertakers had
ever been to a funeral service like it!"
If you haven't already read Dad's
obituary, you'll find it online here.
Perhaps it will inspire you to write something similar for your parents (or
maybe for yourself - see the next article).
I was also heartened that, even though
they never met him, so many LostCousins members chose to make a donation in
memory of my father through the JustGiving website
(which makes it easy for the charity to claim Gift Aid from the Government). If
you haven't contributed, but would like to, here are the links again:
The Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer
Research
CLIC Sargent
- for children with cancer
Please note that although you have to
register with JustGiving to make a donation, you
won't be bombarded with emails - in fact, the only emails I have received since
registering as a donor some years ago are the ones thanking me for each donation
that I have made. It is a very good system.
Tip:
the supplement of 3p in the pound that the Government adds to Gift Aided donations
ends on Tuesday 5 April - so if you are a UK taxpayer, now is the time to make
any donations you have been planning.
Would you write your own obituary?
My wife recently spotted an unusual item
on the BBC
News website - residents of a Wiltshire village are being asked to write
their own obituaries.
Have you ever wondered what people will
say about you, when the time comes? I suppose that writing the obituary
yourself is one way of ensuring that the important facts are correct, though I
have to say that I didn't have any difficult writing my father's obituary,
partly because I'd asked him so many questions while he was alive, but also because
he'd left so much behind that I could draw on.
What will you leave behind?
DNA sequencing cost tumbles
It's not that many years since the human
genome was first sequenced. That first project cost several billion dollars,
but as technology has advanced prices have fallen fast, and Complete Genomics in Mountain View, California is charging just
$9500 per genome (or $5500 for orders of 1000 or more). To put that price
reduction into perspective, if petrol prices had fallen by the same amount over
the same period you would be able to fill your car up for a fraction of a
penny!
But before you write a cheque out, I
should mention that Complete Genomics isn't currently
offering its services to members of the public. However, it is an indication of
how fast things are moving in this exciting field.
British Library holds census exhibition
Until 29 May the British Library is
holding a free exhibition in the Folio Society Gallery focusing on the origins
and history of the census. From the limited information on the British Library
website I wouldn't suggest making a special trip, but if you're in London
anyway, why not pop along?
Tip:
on the Upper Ground Floor there is a permanent exhibition area for the British
Libraries philatelic collections - if you have ever been a stamp collector it's
a great way of passing the time.
Newspapers online
The British Library holds the biggest
collection of newspapers in Britain, but they aren't held at the main St Pancras site in Central London - they are at Colindale, in north-west London. Forty-nine 19th century
local and national titles have been digitised, and are available online on a
subscription basis through the British Library website, or free at many public
libraries in Britain as part of the Gale newspaper archives.
Whilst that collection comprises 2
million pages, it will soon be overwhelmed by the much larger collection that
is being digitised by BrightSolid, the owner of findmypast and Genes Reunited.
Over a 10-year period 40 million pages will be digitised, and the first 4
million should be available by 2012.
I've written in the past about TROVE,
the Australian government site that offers free access to newspaper archives,
but I don't think I've mentioned Papers Past,
which is the New Zealand equivalent. Many thanks to my 'lost cousin' Sue for
bringing this latter site to my attention.
Overseas births and marriages fully
indexed
The GRO indexes of overseas births and
marriages have now been fully indexed by findmypast - previously you would have
been provided with a list of pages that might
include the surnames you are looking for. The indexes include:
·
British overseas births 1818-2005
·
British armed forces births 1761-2005
·
British overseas marriages 1818-2005
·
British armed forces marriages 1796-2005
Membership reaches 85,000
For the first time ever, LostCousins
membership now exceeds 85,000 - which is a creditable achievement for any
independent site, but quite incredible for a site that's run by just one
person.
But unlike Governments, I'm not fooled
by statistics - what really matters is how many of those members have linked up
with cousins, either cousins they already know, or 'lost cousins'.
What's the point of linking with cousins
you already know? If they are already members in their own right then linking
to them provides me with an additional point of contact in the event that I
lose touch with either of you. To link with someone who is already a member go
to your My Cousins page and click Connect to a member you already know.
Linking with cousins who aren't already
members is even more important - because it introduces someone new to the
LostCousins community, someone who will be related to lots of members who aren't
connected to you (because even 1st cousins only share half of your family
lines). When you invite a relative to join LostCousins you can do them an extra
big favour - by using your My Referrals
page to issue the invitation and identifying the relatives on your My Ancestors page that your cousin
shares.
In case you haven't used My Referrals recently, here's an example
of a referral I sent to a cousin of mine
- note how the personal message near the end makes it clear that it isn't spam:
Subject: Peter
Calver wants to tell you about LostCousins
Hi,
Your relative,
Peter Calver, is a member of LostCousins, and thought you might also be
interested. To take a look around the site just click the link below (or paste
it into your browser):
http://www.lostcousins.com/?ref=LCR931501719
Whether you're
an experienced researcher or new to family history, LostCousins can help you
extend your knowledge of your family tree, by putting you in contact with other
researchers who share your ancestors or your interests.
For anyone who
has never attempted to trace their family tree, LostCousins is a great place to
start! There's a free Ancestor Chart that you can download and fill in - and a
superb Beginners Guide. You can get these even if you don't decide to register!
But everyone,
no matter how experienced, runs into a 'brick wall' eventually, and that's when
you'll really appreciate the LostCousins newsletter, which is published about
twice a month, and is crammed with news and tips to help you knock down those
'brick walls'.
How much does
all this cost? It needn't cost you a penny - it's free to register at
LostCousins, and standard membership is also free.
We hope you'll
visit to find out about how LostCousins works. When register please enter the
referral code LCR931501719 so that we can tell Peter Calver that you've joined,
and pass on to you the details of 20 ancestors and other relatives recorded in
historic Censuses that both of you share.
Once you've
registered, just go to My Ancestors to see the details. You will also find
Peter Calver listed on your My Cousins page, which is the other really
important page at the site.
IMPORTANT! The
referral code above is intended to be used once only. But don't worry - once
you've registered with Lost Cousins you'll be able to recommend the site to as
many friends and relatives as you like. We'll provide each one with a unique
referral code so that we can let you know when they sign up.
By the way,
Peter Calver asked us to pass on this message:
"John, the
relatives I've forwarded are from the Stevens and Bright lines. Don't forget to
enter the code otherwise they won't show up on your account."
We look forward
to seeing you soon!
The LostCousins
Team
It's worth remembering that the name that
appears when you log-in at LostCousins is the same name that appears on the My Cousins page of your relatives, and
is also the name we use when sending referral emails. If the name you registered under isn't the one
you are known by, I'd recommend updating your My Details page.
Tip:
emails from 'The LostCousins Team' are standard emails that are automatically
generated by the LostCousins website, and come from a different email address; when
I write an email myself I sign my name, even if - like the email that announced
this newsletter - it is going out to tens of thousands of members.
Information and misinformation
In the latest issue of New Scientist there's an article
entitled 'Drowning, surfing, and surviving', in which the author highlights the
problem of finding truth on the Internet "amid a multitude of plausible
fictions".
Reading it reminded me of the ongoing
tussle between the family historians who believe in publishing their tree
online where anyone can see it, and those who worry- with good reason - that
their well-researched tree could end up attached to that of someone who is
completely unrelated to them.
In recent newsletters I've highlighted
the plight of a handful of members who've suffered in this way, but it's important
to remember that the tales I've related are just the tip of the iceberg -
partly because there are plenty of similar stories that I haven't had space to
publish, but mainly because when our information is misused it could be years
before we discover what has happened.
Badly-researched trees tend to be much
bigger than carefully-researched trees. Why? Because it takes
a lot longer to do the job properly. And yet there's a natural tendency
to assume that the more individuals on someone's family tree, the more
experienced they are likely to be. Some people with very large trees have been
researching for 30 or 40 years, but most haven't - and some have simply added
the research of others to their tree, often without verifying it, or even
proving that there is a connection.
In practice big, badly-researched trees
are more likely to proliferate than smaller well-researched trees. By allowing
your data to be annexed by people who don't have your experience, and probably
don't share your values, you are devaluing your own research. Over 450 years
ago Sir Thomas Gresham, financial adviser to Queen Elizabeth I, pointed out that
when there are good coins and bad coins in circulation the bad coins will
proliferate - and sadly the same seems to be true for information on the
Internet.
New BBC series not to be sniffed at
At 9pm on 5 April BBC2 begins showing a
three-part series called Filthy Cities in which
Dan Snow takes viewers back to 14th century London, revolutionary Paris, and
industrial New York to explore the sights and awful smells of the cities.
Do you remember Pathé News?
For 70 years Pathé News provided
newsreels for British cinemas, and in the days before television it was the
only way that people could see what was happening around the world. By 1970
Pathé had accumulated 3500 hours of newsreels with 90,000 separate items - an amazing
treasure trove that you can view free
online!
When I wrote about Pathé News 5 years
ago a number of readers wrote in to tell me that they had recognised relatives
in one or other of the films. Now British Pathé want members of the public to tell
them about the people and places they spot, but who aren't already mentioned in
the captions. And perhaps you'll let me know, too?
Adding sound to cine footage
I have some wonderful cine footage from
the 1950s and 1960s which was taken by family friends - but in those days there
was no soundtrack. Now that the footage has been transferred to DVD it would be
wonderful to add relevant sound effects, and a friend of mine in the US sent me
a link to an example of how effective
this can be. This particular film shows impromptu celebrations in the streets
of Honolulu when Japan surrendered in 1945, and the sound effects have been
added so skilfully that I found it hard to believe that they weren't original.
See what you think!
Have you added sound to your silent home
movies?
Identifying family photographs
Jayne Shrimpton,
author of several books on dating and interpreting photographs is presenting a
full day course at the Society of Genealogists on Saturday 16 April, starting
at 10.30am. The cost is £30 (£24 for SoG
members) but there are a limited number of places, so book now!
Hampshire parish registers
Findmypast
have just added nearly 1.5 million parish register entries for Hampshire; if
you view the announcement you will find
lists of the parishes that are included.
Unclaimed court funds
A few weeks ago a member mentioned a
family story about money held 'in Chancery' relating to a 19th century court
case, and as you can imagine I immediately thought of Bleak House, and Charles Dickens' tale of Jarndyce vs Jarndyce in
which the disputed estate was swallowed up in legal fees.
However, it turns out that there is a Government
department that deals with these matters, called the Court
Funds Office, and at their website you can search for unclaimed funds, some
of which date back to 1726. The only compulsory information is the surname of
one of the parties, so if you type in some of the surnames from your tree you
might be lucky!
How you can help your cousins
Sadly in the past few weeks I've had to
refuse assistance to several LostCousins members - not because I was too busy,
but because they hadn't completed their My
Ancestors page. This may seem old-fashioned to some of you, but I take the
view that if a researcher isn't prepared to help their own cousins, then it
would be wrong for me to encourage their selfish behaviour.
Of course, in most cases the members
concerned weren't being intentionally selfish, or even
lazy - they just hadn't thought things through.
I enjoy helping members - but even
better is the warm feeling I get when a member writes to thank me for putting
them in touch with a new cousin!
Peter's tips
I'm sure that members in the UK don't
need reminding that postage rates go up on Monday 4 April - and because they
are increasing by about 12% it makes sense to buy as many 1st and 2nd class
stamps as you possibly can - not just the stamps for this year's Christmas
cards, but the ones for 2012 and 2013 too. Most supermarkets and many petrol
stations sell books of stamps, so even if you don't read this until Sunday,
you've still got a chance to buy stamps at the old price.
Talking of stamps, Tom wrote from the US
to let me know that the Isle of Man Post Office recently issued a set
commemorating genealogy - possibly the first such stamps anywhere in the world.
If you click here
you'll not only see what they look like - you'll also have the opportunity to
enter a competition to win a free VIP trip to the Isle of Man.
I hate waste, and I also like to help
charities - so I'd like to tell you about Tony Bowden, who is known locally as
the 'Medicine Man'. He collects unwanted medicines and ships them out to
Zimbabwe, where there is a severe shortage and (as you'll know from the news) much
suffering and deprivation. If you or your relatives have any in-date medicines
that you won't be using, don't take them back to the pharmacy - they'll only be
destroyed. Instead, post them to Tony Bowden, Latchings,
Latchmere Bank, Nr Bishop's Stortford,
CM22 7PH (please mention LostCousins so that Tony knows how kind and generous
our members are).
Just as I was finalising this newsletter
I learned of a very special offer from Albelli,
who are offering new customers a free photo book worth £15.95 (or £15.95 off
the price of a more expensive photo book from their range). Of course, there is
a catch - you do have to pay for postage - but even so it's a great way to
create a book with photos of your ancestors and other family members. Click here
to go to the special offer page.
This is where any amendments or updates
will be highlighted.
That's all for now - I hope you've found
my newsletter interesting. Many of the articles are inspired by you, the
members, so please do keep writing in with your thoughts, comments, and
suggestions.
Peter Calver
Founder, LostCousins